A secondary cable phasing device

Abstract

A secondary cable phasing device is composed of a master and a slave, the master includes a master microcontroller and a master power management module, a master wireless communication module and a master terminal connected with the master microcontroller, the slave includes a slave microcontroller and a slave power management module, a slave wireless communication module and a slave terminal connected with the slave microcontroller, and the master and the slave realize communication through the master wireless communication module and the slave wireless communication module.The application adopts a LoRa long-distance wireless communication module combined with a single-chip microcomputer controlled MOSFET grounding mode, realizes remote one-by-one conduction control of the slave on the cable core, and combines automatic detection and digital display feedback of the master on the conduction response, fundamentally improves the efficiency, accuracy and safety of the cable phasing operation, and has the advantages of low cost, simple operation, wide application range and the like, and is significantly superior to the existing manual or semi-automatic detection technology.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of power system technology. Background Technology

[0002] In power systems, secondary cables are mainly used to connect protection devices, control devices, and field equipment to achieve signal transmission and remote control. Among these operations, cable phasing is a critical task during on-site construction and maintenance, especially during equipment replacement, secondary circuit modification, or commissioning. It is essential to accurately identify the phase and functional correspondence of each conductor in the cable to avoid malfunctions in protection systems, incorrect signal connections, or equipment damage.

[0003] Currently, there are relatively mature instruments and methods for phasing primary cables (i.e., main power cables), such as using high-voltage phase determiners and wireless voltage sensing devices. However, for phasing secondary cable cores, especially in cases of dense wiring, cross-screen laying, unclear cable numbering, or missing records, there is still a lack of convenient, efficient, and reliable dedicated tools or methods.

[0004] In existing technologies, the following methods are commonly used for phasing secondary cables: (1) Two-person cooperative voice communication method: Two people are at opposite ends of the cable, one carrying a jumper wire and the other carrying a multimeter. The two communicate via walkie-talkie. One wire is grounded using the jumper wire, while the other person uses the multimeter in continuity mode to test the continuity of each wire to ground. The process is repeated when another wire is grounded. In order to detect faults such as short circuits between wires, the multimeter must test other wires even after it has found the corresponding wire. This method is currently the most commonly used method on construction sites. However, this method relies on personnel cooperation, is cumbersome to operate, and has low efficiency.

[0005] (2) Simple continuity test pen or buzzer method: Some on-site personnel use commercially available simple continuity test tools for identification, but these tools cannot achieve long-distance or multi-point judgment.

[0006] In summary, existing secondary cable phasing technology has the following drawbacks: Inefficient: Relying on manual, one-by-one inspection is slow and the efficiency is insufficient to meet the actual needs of the field. High error rate: The operation process relies on manual identification and is easily affected by environmental noise, poor contact or communication interference; High dependence on personnel: It requires two groups of people to work together, which increases labor costs and coordination difficulties; Poor equipment adaptability: There is no dedicated equipment, making it difficult to adapt to the complexity of secondary wiring of modern protection devices.

[0007] It is difficult to detect cable faults.

[0008] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a secondary cable phasing device that can be operated by a single person, quickly identify, synchronize multiple cores, communicate wirelessly, and has strong anti-interference capabilities, in order to solve the problems of low efficiency, easy error and strong reliance on manpower in the existing technology, and improve the efficiency and safety of power operation and maintenance. Summary of the Invention

[0009] In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems of existing phasing methods for secondary cables, the present invention provides a phasing device for secondary cables.

[0010] The technical solution adopted by this invention to achieve the above objectives is as follows: a secondary cable phasing device, comprising a master unit and a slave unit. The master unit includes a master microcontroller and connected to it a master power management module, a master wireless communication module, and master terminals. The slave unit includes a slave microcontroller and connected to it a slave power management module, a slave wireless communication module, and slave terminals. The master and slave units communicate through the master and slave wireless communication modules. The master and slave terminals are used to connect the cable cores. One end of the secondary cable to be identified is connected to the slave terminal, and the other end is connected to the master terminal. The slave control I / O port outputs a low level by default, and during the test, it sequentially controls each I / O port to output a high level. The target port is temporarily connected to ground. Each port of the host uses pull-up input mode, and is high level by default. The host microcontroller can detect the change in the level of the terminal block to determine the slave port corresponding to the currently grounded port. The host and slave communicate through a wireless communication module. The host microcontroller sends a test command, specifying the slave port number to be grounded. After receiving the command, the slave's wireless communication module transmits the data to the slave microcontroller, which controls the corresponding I / O port to be grounded. After the grounding is completed, the slave sends back a "grounded" signal through the wireless communication module. After receiving the feedback information, the host starts to read the level status of all I / O ports one by one, and identifies the host port whose level is pulled low. This process is repeated to complete the test of all ports in sequence.

[0011] The host also includes a display module and an alarm module, which are connected to the host microcontroller.

[0012] The host microcontroller and slave microcontroller are STC89C52RC microcontrollers, which are connected to a crystal oscillator circuit, a reset circuit, and a button circuit.

[0013] The host power management module and slave power management module include a 3.7V lithium battery, an MT3608 voltage regulator chip, an AMS1117-3.3 chip, a TP4056 chip, a Type-C 6-pin interface, a DW01A chip, and a CS8205A chip. The MT3608 voltage regulator chip and the AMS1117-3.3 chip constitute the power supply circuit, while the TP4056 chip, the Type-C 6-pin interface, the DW01A chip, and the CS8205A chip constitute the charging and overcharge / overcurrent protection circuit.

[0014] The host wireless communication module and slave wireless communication module include a LoRa module and an antenna. The TXS0104 level conversion chip, used to realize the level conversion between 5V and 3.3V, is connected to the serial port pin of the host microcontroller or slave microcontroller on the 5V side and to the LoRa module on the 3.3V side.

[0015] The host terminal block includes 16 pluggable spring terminals and a 16-pin PHB2.0 port, with each terminal block directly connected to the I / O port of the host microcontroller; The slave terminal block includes 16 pluggable spring terminals, MOSFET switching transistors, and a 16-pin PHB2.0 port. The drain of each switching transistor is connected to the spring terminal block, the source of the switching transistor is grounded, and the gate of the switching transistor is connected to the I / O port of the slave microcontroller.

[0016] The display module consists of 16 seven-segment digital tubes and a TM1640 digital tube driver chip. Each digital tube corresponds to a spring terminal of the host terminal block. The host microcontroller is connected to the TM1640 driver chip through the SPI interface.

[0017] The alarm module includes an active buzzer and its driving circuit.

[0018] The secondary cable phasing device of the present invention has the following technical effects: 1. Improve detection efficiency This invention enables long-distance wireless communication via a LoRa module. The slave device can receive commands from the host device at a distance of hundreds of meters or even further and automatically activate the designated port. The host device automatically detects the response port level and displays the results in real time. The entire process eliminates the need for manual grounding and individual measurements, significantly improving testing efficiency. In practical applications, a 16-core cable can complete phase detection in just one second, saving more than 70% of the time compared to manual methods.

[0019] 2. Significantly reduces labor intensity and labor costs. Traditional methods often require two people to operate: one for grounding and the other for measurement, and the operation is cumbersome and prone to errors. The system of this invention only requires one person to operate the host to complete the entire testing process, effectively reducing the on-site personnel requirements and labor intensity, and is particularly suitable for cable phasing scenarios with complex on-site environments or long distances.

[0020] 3. The automatic alarm function enhances system reliability and security. When all slave ports are in the off state, if a master port is pulled low, it indicates that a wire core is grounded. The device will determine this as a loose connection between the wire core and ground and sound an alarm. If, when one slave port is on, multiple master ports are pulled low, the system will automatically determine this as a short circuit between cable cores and immediately stop the test and trigger an alarm. This function effectively prevents false positives and false negatives, ensuring test safety and result reliability.

[0021] 4. High adaptability and scalability Employing wireless LoRa communication and MOSFET control circuitry, the system boasts excellent structural scalability. Whether it's increasing the number of test ports, extending the communication distance, or improving the detection algorithm to adapt to different cable types, all can be achieved through software or hardware module-level expansion. Its adaptability far surpasses traditional customized testing equipment.

[0022] 5. Costs are controllable and easy to promote and apply. The LoRa module, MOSFET device, and microcontroller used in this invention are all common industrial components. The system structure is simple and easy to assemble. While ensuring functionality and reliability, the manufacturing and maintenance costs are low, making it suitable for large-scale application in fields such as power supply, power construction, and communication engineering.

[0023] In summary, this invention, by combining wireless communication with electronic control, fundamentally improves the efficiency, accuracy, and safety of cable phasing operations. It also has advantages such as low cost, simple operation, and wide applicability, significantly outperforming existing manual or semi-automatic detection technologies, and has good practical value and prospects for promotion. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 This is an external schematic diagram of the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 3 This is the circuit diagram of the main / slave microcontroller for the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 4This is the circuit diagram of the main / slave electromechanical management module of the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 5 This is a circuit diagram of the host / slave wireless communication module of the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 6 This is a circuit diagram of the main unit wiring terminals of the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 7 This is a circuit diagram of the slave terminal of the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 8 This is a circuit diagram of the display module for the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 9 This is the circuit diagram of the alarm module of the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of the main working process of the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of the slave device operation of the secondary cable core phasing device of the present invention.

[0035] In the diagram: 1. Main unit charging port, 2. Main unit power switch, 3. Start button, 4. Main unit common terminal, 5. Main unit antenna, 6. Digital tube, 7. Main unit terminal block, 8. Slave unit charging port, 9. Slave unit power switch, 10. Slave unit common terminal, 11. Slave unit antenna, 12. Slave unit terminal block, 13. Fiber core, 14. Cable. Detailed Implementation

[0036] This invention provides a secondary cable core phase identification device, suitable for the rapid and reliable identification of core correspondences in multi-core secondary cables (such as connecting cables for relay protection, monitoring, and control devices) within substations or switchyards. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the device consists of a master unit and a slave unit, which work together via wireless communication. It can automatically identify the orientation of cable cores, making it particularly suitable for scenarios such as relay protection device debugging, cabinet replacement, and cable modification. It solves the problems of low efficiency and high misjudgment rate in traditional methods.

[0037] The host unit includes: a host microcontroller, a host power management module, a host wireless communication module, host terminal blocks, a display module, and an alarm module. The slave unit includes: a slave microcontroller, a slave power management module, a slave wireless communication module, and slave terminal blocks. The host and slave microcontrollers are used for signal input, output, and analysis. The host and slave power management modules supply power to the host and slave units. The host and slave wireless communication modules enable wireless communication between the host and slave units. The host microcontroller connects to the host wireless communication module via a serial port; the slave microcontroller connects to the slave wireless communication module via a serial port. The host terminal blocks are used to connect to cable cores, and the host microcontroller detects the electrical level of the cable cores through these terminal blocks. The slave terminal blocks are used to connect to cable cores, and the slave microcontroller controls the electrical level of the cable cores through these terminal blocks. The display module displays core codes and fault information. The host microcontroller connects to the display module via SPI communication. The alarm module sounds an alarm. The host microcontroller connects to the alarm module via an I / O port.

[0038] like Figure 3 As shown, the master microcontroller and slave microcontroller are STC89C52RC single-chip microcontrollers, specifically including: a core control unit, used to receive key input signals, control other components to work together, and process data interaction between the master and slave; a crystal oscillator circuit, used to support the microcontroller chip's main frequency operation; a PH2.0 debugging interface, used for development and debugging; a reset circuit, used for resetting the master and slave; and a key circuit, used to input start-up commands to the master and slave.

[0039] like Figure 4 As shown, the host power management module and slave power management module include a 3.7V lithium battery for powering the host and slave; a power switch for starting and stopping the host or slave; an MT3608 voltage regulator chip, inductors, capacitors, resistors, and Schottky diodes for providing 5V power; an AMS1117-3.3 chip for providing 3.3V power; and a TP4056 chip, a Type-C 6-pin interface, a DW01A chip, and a CS8205A chip for charging the 3.7V lithium battery and providing overcharge and overcurrent protection.

[0040] like Figure 5 As shown, the host wireless communication module and the slave wireless communication module include a LoRa module and an antenna for wireless communication; the TXS0104 level conversion chip is used to convert the level between 5V and 3.3V, wherein the 5V side is connected to the serial port pin of the host microcontroller or the slave microcontroller, and the 3.3V side is connected to the LoRa module.

[0041] like Figure 6As shown, the host terminal block includes 16 pluggable spring terminals and a 16-pin PHB2.0 port. Each terminal block connects directly to the I / O port of the host microcontroller. The terminal blocks are used to connect cable cores, and the host detects the voltage level of the cable cores through these terminal blocks.

[0042] like Figure 7 As shown, the slave terminal block includes 16 pluggable spring terminals, MOSFET switches, and a 16-pin PHB2.0 port. The drain of each MOSFET is connected to a spring terminal, the source is grounded, and the gate is connected to the I / O port of the slave microcontroller. The slave microcontroller controls the on / off state of the MOSFET via its I / O pin outputs, thereby controlling whether the wires connected to the terminals are at ground potential. The 16 spring terminals are numbered 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, A, b, C, d, E, and F.

[0043] like Figure 8 As shown, the display module consists of 16 seven-segment LED displays and a TM1640 LED display driver chip. Each LED display corresponds to a spring terminal on the host terminal block. The host microcontroller is connected to the TM1640 driver chip via an SPI interface. The display module is used to display the phasing result, i.e., the number of the wire core corresponding to the spring terminal block.

[0044] like Figure 9 As shown, the alarm module includes an active buzzer and its driving circuit. When a cable abnormality is detected, the buzzer sounds an alarm, and simultaneously the digital display corresponding to the abnormal wire core flashes.

[0045] The device works as follows: Connect all the wires at one end of the secondary cable to be identified to the slave terminal; connect all the wires at the other end to the master terminal. The slave control MOSFET's I / O port outputs a low level by default, meaning the MOSFET is in the off state by default. During the test, the slave controls each I / O port to output a high level sequentially, turning on the MOSFET and temporarily connecting the target port to ground, thus achieving "polling grounding".

[0046] The host's ports use pull-up input mode and are high by default. If a port is pulled to ground through a MOSFET at the ground terminal, the corresponding measurement terminal's I / O level will change from high to low. By detecting the change in the terminal block level through the host microcontroller, it can determine which slave port the currently conducting grounded port corresponds to. The corresponding slave port number is displayed on the digital tube corresponding to that host port, thus visually reflecting the cable core connection relationship.

[0047] When measuring wire 0, the slave microcontroller turns on the MOSFET of slave terminal 0, grounds terminal 0, and the corresponding wire 0 is at ground level, while the other wires are at the default high level. The master microcontroller detects the high-level terminal as terminal 0 and displays 0 on the corresponding digital tube.

[0048] The master and slave devices communicate via a LoRa wireless module. The master microcontroller sends a test command to the LoRa module via a serial port, specifying the slave port number to be activated. Upon receiving the command, the slave LoRa module transmits the data to its microcontroller, controlling the corresponding MOSFET to turn on and ground the corresponding port. After activation, the slave device sends back a "grounded" signal via LoRa. Upon receiving the feedback, the master device reads the level status of all I / O ports one by one, identifies the master port with a low level, and displays the tested slave port number on the corresponding digital display. This process is repeated until all ports are tested, and a complete core connection table is established.

[0049] In addition, the device also features automatic short-circuit detection. If, during any test, the main unit detects that multiple terminals are simultaneously pulled low, it indicates an abnormal short circuit between these wires. The test is immediately stopped, the alarm module buzzer sounds, and the digital displays corresponding to the simultaneously grounded main unit terminals flash to alert the user to troubleshoot the fault.

[0050] For example, in a field phasing operation, the operator connects all the cores at one end of the secondary cable requiring phasing to the slave port group, and connects the slave common terminal to the cable shield; at the other end of the cable, all the cores are connected to the master port group, and the master common terminal is connected to the cable shield. Each terminal in the slave port group corresponds to a number, "0, 1, 2...9, A, b, C, d, E, F", totaling 16. These numbers will serve as the test reference. Each terminal in the master port group corresponds to a digital display, which shows the corresponding slave terminal number after identification.

[0051] The entire testing process is as follows: After powering on, both the master and slave devices undergo initialization, configuring communication addresses and establishing a communication connection. At this time, all ports on the slave device are in a cutoff state. The master device detects the voltage levels of all ports; if any port is low, a buzzer sounds an alarm indicating a grounding fault. If there is no fault, the master device sends a control command, such as "TEST:0", to its LoRa module via serial port, indicating that port "0" of the slave device is being tested. This command is transmitted wirelessly to the slave device's LoRa module and received by the slave device's microcontroller via serial port. Upon receiving the command, the slave device turns on the MOSFET corresponding to port "0", completing the grounding operation of port "0". The grounding terminal then sends a "DONE:0" signal back to the master device, indicating that port "0" of the slave device has been grounded.

[0052] Upon receiving the "DONE:0" signal, the host immediately initiates the I / O port level detection process, sequentially reading the levels of all host ports. Normally, only one I / O port is pulled low, corresponding to the host port connected to slave port "0". The host then displays "0" on the corresponding digital display for that host port, indicating that the wire core connected to that host port is the same as that of slave port "0". This completes the phase determination of the wire core connected to slave port "0".

[0053] The system continues to execute the test command for the next port, testing all ports in sequence. Only one MOSFET is activated per test, ensuring the master-side test result is unique and clear, until all slave ports have completed polling, ending the entire cable core phasing process. Users can directly read the digital display numbers on each measurement port, which correspond to its grounding terminal number, thus completing the one-to-one identification of the cable cores.

[0054] More specifically, the cable core phasing process can be optimized as follows: 1. Print two sets of identical wire caps in sequence; 2. Place the wire caps onto the corresponding wire cores at the slave port "0", "1", "2", etc., in sequence. Then turn on the slave power; 3. Connect all wire cores to the master unit arbitrarily, turn on the master power, and the test will start automatically; 4. After about 1 second, the test is completed. On the master side, remove the wire cores in the same order as "0", "1", "2", etc., put on the wire caps, and the phasing work is completed.

[0055] Furthermore, if, during any round of testing, the host detects that the voltage levels of two or more I / O ports are pulled low, the system automatically determines that the slave port is connected to multiple host ports, indicating a possible short circuit or incorrect connection. At this point, the host stops the test, drives the corresponding digital displays to flash, and emits a buzzer alarm, prompting the user to immediately troubleshoot the fault.

[0056] The entire operation of the device requires no manual contact; simply connecting the cable and turning on the device will automatically complete the test. Wireless communication simplifies field wiring, making it convenient for operators in complex or space-constrained environments.

[0057] This embodiment fully demonstrates the collaborative working method of the invention in various aspects such as hardware circuitry, communication control, signal acquisition, short-circuit detection, and information display, verifying the feasibility, practicality, and reliability of the device in secondary cable phasing applications. The process is as follows: Figure 10 and Figure 11 As shown.

[0058] This invention has been described through embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that various changes or equivalent substitutions can be made to these features and embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, under the teachings of this invention, these features and embodiments can be modified to adapt to specific situations and materials without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, this invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, and all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims of this application are within the protection scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A secondary cable phasing device, characterized in that: The system consists of a master unit and a slave unit. The master unit includes a master microcontroller and connected master power management module, master wireless communication module, and master terminal blocks. The slave unit includes a slave microcontroller and connected slave power management module, slave wireless communication module, and slave terminal blocks. The master and slave units communicate through their respective wireless communication modules. The master and slave terminal blocks are used to connect the cable cores. One end of the secondary cable to be identified is connected to the slave terminal block, and the other end is connected to the master terminal block. The slave unit's control I / O ports default to a low level. During testing, each I / O port is sequentially controlled to output a high level, temporarily connecting the target port to ground. Each port adopts pull-up input mode, and is high level by default. The slave port corresponding to the grounded port can be determined by detecting the change in the level of the terminal block by the host microcontroller. The host and slave communicate through a wireless communication module. The host microcontroller sends a test command, specifying the slave port number to be grounded. After receiving the command, the slave's wireless communication module transmits the data to the slave microcontroller, which controls the corresponding I / O port to be grounded. After the grounding is completed, the slave sends back a "grounded" signal through the wireless communication module. After receiving the feedback information, the host starts to read the level status of all I / O ports one by one, and identifies the host port whose level is pulled low. This process is repeated to complete the test of all ports in sequence.

2. The secondary cable phasing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The host also includes a display module and an alarm module, which are connected to the host microcontroller.

3. The secondary cable phasing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The host microcontroller and slave microcontroller are STC89C52RC microcontrollers, which are connected to a crystal oscillator circuit, a reset circuit, and a button circuit.

4. A secondary cable phasing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The host power management module and slave power management module include a 3.7V lithium battery, an MT3608 voltage regulator chip, an AMS1117-3.3 chip, a TP4056 chip, a Type-C 6-pin interface, a DW01A chip, and a CS8205A chip. The MT3608 voltage regulator chip and the AMS1117-3.3 chip constitute the power supply circuit, while the TP4056 chip, the Type-C 6-pin interface, the DW01A chip, and the CS8205A chip constitute the charging and overcharge / overcurrent protection circuit.

5. A secondary cable phasing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The host wireless communication module and slave wireless communication module include a LoRa module and an antenna. The TXS0104 level conversion chip, used to realize the level conversion between 5V and 3.3V, is connected to the serial port pin of the host microcontroller or slave microcontroller on the 5V side and to the LoRa module on the 3.3V side.

6. A secondary cable phasing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The host terminal block includes 16 pluggable spring terminals and a 16-pin PHB2.0 port, with each terminal block directly connected to the I / O port of the host microcontroller.

7. A secondary cable phasing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The slave terminal block includes 16 pluggable spring terminals, MOSFET switching transistors, and a 16-pin PHB2.0 port. The drain of each switching transistor is connected to the spring terminal block, the source of the switching transistor is grounded, and the gate of the switching transistor is connected to the I / O port of the slave microcontroller.

8. A secondary cable phasing device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The display module consists of 16 seven-segment digital tubes and a TM1640 digital tube driver chip. Each digital tube corresponds to a spring terminal of the host terminal block. The host microcontroller is connected to the TM1640 driver chip through the SPI interface.

9. A secondary cable phasing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The alarm module includes an active buzzer and its driving circuit.

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