Controllable power switching device, power switching method, socket and electrical equipment

Abstract

A controllable power switching device (10) is provided with: a circuit breaker (11) for opening and closing a power supply line (2i); a control input (12) for receiving a control command (Sb) and generating an adjustment switching signal (Rss) in accordance with the control command; a power monitoring device (13) for monitoring the power supplied through the power supply line (2i) and generating a monitoring switching signal (Uess) in accordance with the monitoring result; and a switching control device (14) for controlling the circuit breaker (11) with a switching control signal (Sss) in accordance with the regulating switching signal (Rss) and the monitoring switching signal (Uss).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Corresponding to the independent claims, the invention relates to a controllable power switch device, a power switch method, a socket and an electrical appliance, such as a circuit breaker for a blind. Background Art

[0002] It is increasingly often desired to be able to switch on and off electrical consumers with extended functions, in particular functions that were not originally created in the device itself. Examples are remote controls (wireless or via a network connection), extension operation connections, operation by motion sensors or gesture recognition, environmentally-dependent controls (e.g. according to temperature and / or brightness), or also the switching of all power lines, i.e. L and N. In order to be able to meet these requirements, more and more additional switches are being connected to the device power supply line, which then enable the electrical consumers to be switched on and off in accordance with the desired additional functions.

[0003] exist Figure 6 6 shows a general topology, within which this is achieved if the topology is understood without blocks 10, 10', 10" and Sb. 69 denotes an electrical appliance, such as a washing machine. The washing machine has, for example, an electric motor as an electrical consumer 61. The washing machine has a main switch 62 which can be operated by an operator. In addition, it is possible to set Figure 6 64 indicates an electrical circuit, and 63 indicates a plug. Plug 63 can be inserted into a socket 65, which can be provided as a wall mount, for example. The socket 65 (usually via concealed wiring) is connected to a power supply by lines 1, 2, 3, L, N, wherein the lines are protected by line protection switches 4. Line protection switches 4 have specific disconnect characteristics on the one hand, taking into account short-term overloads, for example due to short circuits or long-term overloads. Line protection switches have specific rated values, for example 16A in household appliances. In the case of a large excess of the rated value, for example in the case of a short circuit, the line protection switch must be disconnected quickly (within a few milliseconds). In the case of a less severe excess of the rated value, for example due to a blockage of the motor, which consumes more power than the opposite case, the line protection switch must also be disconnected, but this can be done more slowly. These requirements are pre-set by the standard. Quick disconnection can be performed electromagnetically. Disconnection due to overheating can be achieved with the aid of bimetal. At least one power line, preferably a phase conductor L, passes through the line protection switch 4 and can be interrupted there if necessary.

[0004] If in this scenario an additional switch is installed in the power supply line in accordance with the desired additional functions shown above, this switch is tested with the maximum permissible electrical values ​​of the line protection switch in order to cope with the loads that may occur without thermal or electrical faults occurring. However, the design of this additional switch for testing the additional switch is very complex to implement, since it necessarily results in a relatively large installation, which can no longer be carried out "in small quantities", especially when retrofitting.

[0005] On the other hand, the known protection mechanism for additional switches is current monitoring in the following manner, i.e., when a current peak or a certain current integral over time occurs, as an overload detection for the additional switch, the additional switch is disconnected. The purpose of this additional protection is to eliminate the additional switch and the associated circuit itself as a source of danger. In the event of a short-term large excess, they will not overheat or catch fire or melt. The same applies to less severe long-term overloads.

[0006] A disadvantage of this known monitoring algorithm is that it is poorly adaptable to actual conditions and must therefore be designed to be relatively sensitive, which often results in false alarms. Summary of the invention

[0007] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a controllable power switch device, a power switch method, a socket and an electrical appliance, which can be switched by utilizing extended functions and the switch is effectively protected.

[0008] The above-mentioned technical problem is solved by means of the features of the independent claims.

[0009] The controllable power switch device comprises: a circuit breaker for switching a power supply line; a control input for receiving a control command and generating an adjustment switch signal according to the control command; a power monitoring device for monitoring power-related parameters on the power supply line and generating a monitoring switch signal according to the monitoring result; and a switch control device for controlling the circuit breaker using a switch control signal according to the adjustment switch signal and the monitoring switch signal.

[0010] That is, according to the invention, the current amplitude is not primarily evaluated, but rather power-related variables are observed. The evaluation can be carried out taking into account one or more characteristic values ​​of the circuit breaker itself, such as the internal resistance of the circuit breaker, the thermal insulation of the circuit breaker that may be provided by the installation, and similar variables. This results in a measure of how much power loss occurs and accumulates in the power switching device itself. In this case, monitoring can be carried out so that a value that characterizes the energy input into the power switching device can be determined and evaluated. This can be done, for example, by observing the internal resistance of the power switching device and other relevant variables.

[0011] The power monitoring device may have a current measuring device for measuring the current flowing in the power supply line, which can continuously generate individual current measurement values ​​In based on sampling. These individual current measurement values ​​In can be used directly as current signals Im, or short-time average values ​​of multiple (preferably continuous) measurement results can be continuously determined therefrom, and these short-time average values ​​are used as current signals Im, and the monitoring signals are determined using these short-time average values.

[0012] In the power supply line of an electrical appliance, the current is a variable parameter related to the power loss in the power supply line, especially in the power switch device. The current can be collected by sampling a suitable analog signal. It can be digitized and then further processed in digital form or in other suitable ways.

[0013] In order to determine the effective power value Im2 from the current signal Im, the current value Im can be squared and then integrated over a suitable time period, in particular over a full wave or a multiple thereof, which can be done digitally to determine the effective power value signal Im2. The sampling frequency can be selected according to the Nyquist criterion to be at least twice the highest harmonic to be acquired. Calibration values ​​can be taken into account. The effective value determination can also be done by filtering.

[0014] The sampling or current signal determination or effective power value determination does not have to be performed continuously. It can be performed "occasionally", for example once a second or once a minute. The current result is then stored and used until an update is made.

[0015] The power monitoring device may have a square device for squaring the current signal Im and then integrating it, wherein the square result of the integration into the power effective value signal Im2 is used to determine the monitoring signal. The current signal is the instantaneous value of the grid AC current that changes according to the grid frequency. Its square is also an instantaneous value, but it no longer has a sign due to squaring.

[0016] If the integral of the square of the current signal Im is used as the power effective value signal Im2, this is a good reflection of the instantaneous power input into the power switching device. As is well known, the power consumption on the resistor can generally be calculated by the following formula:

[0017] P=I 2 *R,

[0018] In this case, P is generally the power, I is the effective value of the applied current, and R is the resistance of the device or device component under consideration, in this case, for example, the internal resistance of the power switching device. The power losses in the power switching device are converted into heat therein. If, on the one hand, the power losses corresponding to heat fed in are continuously greater than the power losses corresponding to heat dissipated, the power switching device will initially heat up and, later on, may become damaged or catch fire. However, this does not happen instantaneously. The reverse effect is cooling by thermal diffusion. The higher the temperature gradient of the heat source relative to the surroundings, the greater the cooling by thermal diffusion.

[0019] Therefore, the power monitoring device may have an autoregressive averaging device, which calculates the current monitoring signal from the corresponding most recent power effective value signal Im2 according to the following formula:

[0020] Uesa=k*Im2+(1-k)*Uesv,

[0021] Among them, Uesa is the current monitoring signal, Uesv is the previous monitoring signal, Im2 is the most recent power effective value signal Im2, and k is a predetermined weighting factor between 0 and 1.

[0022] As described, the power effective value signal Im2 is a measure for the current power input. In contrast, the previous monitoring signal Uesv is a reflection of the power input and outflow history. Through the weighting factor k, these two values ​​are converted and especially added in a mutually related manner. The value k can be relatively small, for example, it can be 0.01 or 0.005 or even smaller. But the value k is greater than 0. The formula shown is suitable enough for simulating real processes. If a stable state is dominant, for example, a stable power effective value signal Im2 is dominant, then sooner or later, a balance will be generated in the operation at a subcritical or possibly also at a critical or supercritical level. This formula reflects this. If there is a constant condition, then this formula also leads to a limit value.

[0023] Here, the limit value is obtained not only based on the measured value or power effective value signal Im2, but also based on the selectable parameter k and the calculation frequency. In other words, the calculation frequency and parameter k can be used to match the obtained curve to the actual situation. Due to the weighted conversion relative to the history, unlike the case of simply considering the current, a short-term overcurrent will not lead to an erroneous disconnection.

[0024] The power monitoring device may have a factor setting device, which sets the weighting factor k, and in particular sets the weighting factor k in the following manner, that is, if the current power effective value signal Im2 is greater than the current monitoring signal Uesa, the weighting factor k is set to a predetermined first factor value, otherwise the weighting factor k is set to another predetermined second factor value, and the second factor value may be less than the first factor value. If the two are the same, the currently applicable factor value can be retained. Instead of the current monitoring signal Uesa, the previous monitoring signal Uesv can also be used for comparison.

[0025] By means of a situation-dependent setting of the value of the factor k, different physical conditions can be taken into account when heating or cooling the power switching device. For the inflow, as explained above, the power input is mainly decisive due to the power loss. For the heat dissipation, the insulation degree of the circuit and the temperature gradient relative to the surrounding environment, which can be predicted to a certain extent, are mainly decisive. By setting different factors k in a situation-dependent manner, a relatively close to realistic recalculation or simulation corresponding to the temperature is obtained in the power monitoring device. This can be compared with a suitable threshold value. If the threshold value is exceeded, disconnection can be carried out.

[0026] Correspondingly, the power monitoring device may have a comparison device, which is designed to generate a monitoring switch signal according to a comparison between the current monitoring signal and the threshold value. The switch control device may have a threshold value generating device, which is used to generate a threshold value according to previously input and stored parameters, in particular the internal resistance of the power switch device or a key component therein. The threshold value generating device is used to provide another parameter, which can be used to determine the disconnection characteristic.

[0027] Although device parameters are described above as being used to generate threshold values, it should be noted that device parameters may alternatively or also be used to determine the monitoring signal.It is important that the signal and the threshold values ​​calculated in a power-dependent manner are reasonably calibrated with respect to each other.

[0028] The power switching device may have a setting device for inputting or determining and storing a sampling frequency of a current measuring device, wherein the current measuring device is designed to sample the current flowing in the power supply line, in particular its effective value or a signal related thereto, according to the set sampling frequency for measurement, and, if necessary, obtain an average value from multiple sampled values ​​to form a current signal.

[0029] The sampling frequency for current measurement is an important parameter that is decisive, in particular, for the required computing power. This parameter can be set according to the expected temperature dynamics. The sampling frequency can be lower than 10 Hz or 5 Hz or 2 Hz.

[0030] The power switching device can have an A / D converter in the current measuring device, which is used to perform an A / D conversion on the current measurement value, in particular the measured effective value or a related signal, and the power switching device has a digitally operated circuit, which is used to further process the digital output of the A / D converter in a digital manner. The current measuring device can have a measuring resistor or an inductive tap connected in series. The circuit breaker can have a relay, and the switch control device can have a drive circuit for the relay, which is designed to generate a relay control signal according to the switch control signal.

[0031] In general, the signal evaluation and processing to be carried out can be carried out in a suitable electronic circuit. It can be a fully or partially integrated circuit. It can work to a large extent digitally and can then be located between an analog / digital converter (A / D converter) at the input and a driver at the output. The circuit can be an ASIC or have an ASIC. It can be a small microcomputer with common computer components such as RAM, ROM, CPU, registers, input / output interfaces and buses.

[0032] Measuring resistors, also called "shunts", can be connected in series in the lines that are switched. They are relatively small, so that a correspondingly small voltage drop and a small power input are generated. The voltage drop along the measuring resistor is proportional to the current flowing in it, that is, to the current through the power switching device, and is therefore an accurate reflection of the current that determines the power input. However, the current can also be measured inductively. The voltage on the power supply line is usually an AC voltage, which can be measured by induction or by magnetic effects. The advantage of measuring by induction or magnetism is that it actually does not produce a voltage drop itself. The disadvantage is that the sensor technology and, if necessary, further processing into an evaluable signal are relatively complex.

[0033] If the current is AC, the measurement resistor or inductive sampling will also produce an AC signal as the measurement signal. Before it is sampled, it can be rectified and smoothed in analog form.

[0034] The circuit breaker itself can be a relay, in particular an electromechanical relay and / or a power semiconductor. In any case, a suitable drive circuit is provided. The power semiconductor can be or have a FET or a MOSFET or an IGBT or a TRIAC or a combination thereof, for example a combination of a TRIAC and a MOSFET.

[0035] The power switch device described can be installed in an electrical appliance or a line component. It can be installed in a socket, which can be installed in a building wall. Correspondingly, the socket has at least one power supply connector for connecting to a power supply line, a plug contact for inserting a plug of the electrical appliance, and the power switch device described between at least one of the power supply connector and the plug contact.

[0036] It may be a normal looking socket which, in addition to the conventional components, has the described power switching device which then allows additional switching of the power delivered through the socket, for example by means of a remote control connection or a motion sensor or the like which is also provided.

[0037] However, the power switch device can also be installed directly in the electrical appliance, for example in a washing machine or similar device, wherein this includes arranging the power switch device in a corresponding plug of the device or machine. This type of installation then also allows for the realization of other functions, such as remote control of the corresponding device. Correspondingly, the electrical appliance has an electrical appliance, a connection to the power network, a user switch between the electrical appliance and the connection for switching the power for the electrical appliance, and the described power switch device between the electrical appliance and the connection. In addition to the conventional device switch, the power switch device is also provided.

[0038] The power switch device can also be accommodated separately. It can be sized for installation in a mounting recess, such as in a standard dark-wire socket. It can be sized for installation under other components installed in a dark-wire socket, such as a socket or switch or button or dimmer, and it can be sized to be flat or matching. It can also be designed and accommodated for series installation. It can be designed for support rail installation in a distribution board or sub-distribution board. It can also be designed as an intermediate plug. The intermediate plug can be installed as a recessed device for a normal socket, i.e. wirelessly.

[0039] A power switching method is also the subject of the present invention, which has the following steps: monitoring a power-related parameter on a power supply line having a circuit breaker therein and generating a monitoring switching signal according to the monitoring result; and controlling the circuit breaker according to the monitoring switching signal to switch the power supply line. The circuit breaker can be controlled according to a characteristic value of the circuit breaker, in particular the internal resistance of the circuit breaker. In addition, in the power switching method, the circuit breaker can also be controlled according to another standard, which corresponds to the main function of the power switching device.

[0040] The method may generally include the steps described above as being implemented by a certain set of equipment, and in particular also includes the calculation of the current monitoring signal, threshold comparison, determination of various system parameters, sampling and A / D conversion described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0042] Figure 1 shows the power switch device in a possible installation environment,

[0043] Figure 2 shows the current measurement device,

[0044] Figure 3 shows the average means,

[0045] Figure 4 shows a switch control device,

[0046] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5F shows different timing diagrams,

[0047] Figure 6 shows a further installation possibility of the power switching device, and

[0048] Figure 7 Images of real devices are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] Figure 1 The power switch device 10 is shown installed at an abstractly shown installation location 50. An electrical consumer 9 is schematically shown on its right side. It can be, for example, a lighting device or an electrical device. The power grid is located on the left side of the power switch device 10. The power grid is usually an AC grid, for example, for Germany, an AC voltage grid with an effective value of 230 V and 50 Hz. The power supply is applied between the neutral line N, 3 and the phase conductors L, 2, and is tapped from there via branch lines 2a, 3a.

[0050] The power tap is usually protected by a line circuit breaker 4, the properties of which are standard. The line circuit breaker 4 has already been described at the beginning. At least one power line, preferably a phase conductor L, passes through the line circuit breaker 4 and, as described, can be interrupted there if necessary.

[0051] At least one of the power supply conductors 2, 3, preferably the phase conductors L, 2, 2a, 2b, passes through the power switching device 10. Within the power switching device 10, the phase conductors are denoted by reference numeral 2i. 11 denotes a circuit breaker, which is designed to carry the expected power, in particular the expected current. It can be a relay or a power semiconductor. In each case, however, it also has an internal resistance, for example a contact resistance in the case of a relay, or a threshold value common to semiconductors in the case of a semiconductor, so that when a current flows, heat is generated according to this voltage drop.

[0052] The circuit breaker 11 is mainly used to realize additional switching functions, such as the described remote control or motion or gesture-sensitive control or similar functions. For this purpose, a control input 12 is provided, which performs this main function and can ultimately also act on the circuit breaker 11. The remote control is shown by the diagram, which sends a control command Sb, which is received at the control input 12 and is further processed appropriately, so that a regulating switching signal Rss is generated.

[0053] In addition, a power monitoring device 13 is provided for protecting the power switch device 10 from equipment failures, in particular heating at the internal resistance of the power switch device 10. The power monitoring device 13 monitors the transmitted power and thereby generates appropriate switching signals, which can also act on the circuit breaker 11. In particular, if it is determined that the power switch device 10 is overheated, this may cause the switch 11 to be disconnected, so that the power flow is interrupted and the device is cooled. The power monitoring device 13 therefore generates a monitoring switch signal Uess. The control input 12 generates a regulating switch signal Rss. 14 shows a switch control device, which receives the regulating switch signal Rss from the control input 12 according to the main function, and receives the monitoring switch signal Uess from the power monitoring device 13 according to the monitoring function or the secondary function. The power monitoring device 13 thereby determines the switch control signal Sss, which is generally used to control the circuit breaker 11.

[0054] The reset of the disconnection, i.e. the reconnection after the disconnection due to power monitoring, can be carried out according to a number of strategies. For example, the monitoring algorithm can simply continue to run, but different lower thresholds can be used for the reconnection in a delayed manner. It is also possible to monitor the normal switching activity of the circuit on the required power and / or line protection switch, for example, a short-term disconnection-connection pattern, and to collect data for the reconnection based on it. It is also possible to provide a switch or button on the power switching device itself, which enables manual reconnection, possibly after inputting a predetermined switch or button pattern, for example, a plurality of button presses performed in succession within a short period of time.

[0055] Since a disconnection due to monitoring is ultimately a serious error, a warning mechanism or an alarm generator may be provided which is activated in the event of a disconnection due to monitoring.

[0056] The switch control device 14 can have a driver circuit which generates the required analog signals from digital signals, if necessary, for controlling the circuit breaker 11 .

[0057] Figure 1 The embodiment in which two power supply conductors L, 2 and N, 3 are led through the power supply switching device 10 is shown. Correspondingly, the power supply switching device 10 itself has connections 18a, 18b, 19a, 19b, or the installation environment 50 has connections 58a, 58b, 59a, 59b. However, both power supply conductors 2, 3 do not necessarily have to be led through the power supply switching device 10. In order to switch the power supply, only one of the two power supply conductors 2, 3 can be led through the power supply switching device 10. Then, in Figure 1 In the embodiment, the branch line away from the neutral conductor N, 3 will not pass through the power switch device 10.

[0058] Figure 2 The features of the power monitoring device 13 are shown. The power monitoring device 13 can perform current measurement. A measuring resistor 21 inserted into the power supply line 2i, L is shown, which is often also called a "shunt". When current flows through the line 2i, L, a voltage drop is generated along the measuring resistor 21, which can be collected and preprocessed in the measuring circuit 22. The measuring circuit can have a sampling and holding amplifier, followed by an analog / digital conversion (A / D conversion), which is represented by the reference numeral 22a. The sampling and holding amplifier 22a can be sampled according to a predetermined sampling frequency or sampling frequency. The predetermined parameters can come from the setting device 25. This forms a current value measured in a time series, which can be measured digitally at the output of the A / D converter with a desired resolution, such as 8 bits. Here, a first short-time average 22b can also be performed by correspondingly deriving an average value from some measured values ​​in a time series. It is averaged over less than half a wave, for example, less than 20 or 10 or 5 continuous measured values. The sampling frequency can be higher than 1 or 2 or 5 or 10 kHz. The sampling frequency can be lower than 20 or 10 kHz. The averaging can acquire values, in particular unsigned values, over a half-wave or full-wave or multiples thereof.

[0059] This results in a pre-processed current signal Im, which is the instantaneous value of the current. Then, in the case of an ideally sinusoidal supply voltage, for the current signal Im, approximately:

[0060] Im=Io*sin(ωt),

[0061] Where Io is the current amplitude, ω is 2π times the grid frequency, and t is time. However, it should be noted that the load may react to the power supply, so a waveform that deviates significantly from the ideal direction may also be generated at the power supply input.

[0062] The current signal can be used to determine the power. For this purpose, a square and integration device 23 is shown as an example, which receives the current signal Im, squares it, and integrates it over a reasonable time period, especially over a half wave or a full wave or a multiple thereof, thereby generating and outputting a power effective value signal Im2. Here, the term "integration" can also refer to averaging or filtering (especially low-pass filtering).

[0063] The device 23 can work digitally or perform calculations. The power effective value signal Im2, corresponding to the square value of the current, is a measure of the power losses occurring in the power switching device 10. The latter is composed of individual power losses at the measuring resistor 21, at the circuit breaker 11, at the internal wiring and at the terminals.

[0064] Instead of the measuring resistor 21, an inductive or magnetic tap can also be used to measure the current flowing in the power supply line 2i, L. For the magnetic tap, a Hall sensor can be used, for example. When an alternating current flows, an alternating signal is generated not only along the measuring resistor 21, but also in the inductive or magnetic tap.

[0065] The power effective value signal Im2 from the square and integration device 23 is a mapping to the instantaneous power loss input in the power switching device 10. However, it does not reflect the overall mainstream situation, because it also depends on the previous history, in particular on the time length and size of the previous power input. Short-term power loss input may be harmless and does not necessarily lead to the shutdown of the device due to threatening overheating. Therefore, a further device is provided so that a monitoring signal that reasonably presents the real situation can be generated. For this purpose, an averaging device 24 is provided. Here, in particular, the autoregressive average value can be obtained by adding the new power effective value signal to the signal so far in a weighted manner according to the following formula:

[0066] Uesa=K·Im2+(1–k)·Uesv (Formula 1),

[0067] Among them, Uesa is the current monitoring signal, Uesv is the previous monitoring signal, Im2 is the most recent power effective value signal, and K is a predetermined weighting factor between 0 and 1.

[0068] The power effective value signal Im can be determined as described above or in other ways. The factor k can be relatively small. The factor k can be less than 0.5 or 0.2 or 0.1 or 0.05 or 0.02 or 0.01 or 0.005. When the conversion is continuously performed, the power effective value signal therefore "slowly" affects the current monitoring signal, which slowly follows the power effective value signal in a manner similar to the equalization process. For this purpose, the above formula 1 can be used because it can be easily implemented and only requires basic arithmetic operations and a few registers for processing.

[0069] Figure 3 The circuit for implementing the above equation 1 is schematically shown. The structure shown represents Figure 2 The averaging device 24 in FIG. It receives the power effective value signal Im2 on the left and outputs the current monitoring signal Uesa on the right. In discrete digital signal processing, an addition operation is performed at the summing point 32 in a clock-controlled manner, that is, the power effective value signal Im2 weighted by a factor K and the current monitoring signal fed back weighted by a factor 1-K are added, which logically represents the previous monitoring signal Uesv.

[0070] 35 denotes a factor setting device which sets the factor k used in the multipliers 31 and 34. A simple implementation of determining the factor is conceivable here. In contrast, Figure 3 A more complex embodiment is shown, in which the factor k should and can be set to the value k1 or k2, depending on whether the temperature is increasing or decreasing. This takes into account the idea that these physical effects are determined by different conditions and are therefore advantageously not calculated in the same way. The heating rate is determined by the power input, while the cooling rate is generated by equilibrium processes relative to the environment. This can be determined empirically in advance and can then be written into the device during its manufacture in the form of two factors k1 and k2, which are used in one case or the other.

[0071] The factor setting device 35 can be designed to identify whether there is a temperature rise or a decrease. It can be obtained by comparing the power effective value signal Im2 and the current monitoring signal Uesa. If the former exceeds the latter, there is a temperature rise, and one of the factors k can be used. Otherwise, another factor can be used. For the comparison of the power effective value signal, the previous monitoring signal Uesv can also be used.

[0072] In summary, in one embodiment, the signal processing can be listed as follows:

[0073] (1) Digitization and individual current measurements are performed by S / H amplifier 22a.

[0074] (2) Optionally: perform a digital short-time averaging in 22b (eg, over less than 20 or 10 or 5 consecutive individual current measurements) to compensate for measurement errors and noise that would be detrimental when squaring.

[0075] (3) In the squaring / integrating means 23, the signal from 22a or 22b is squared to obtain the instantaneous value of power.

[0076] (4) Still in 23, averaging / integration / filtering is performed on the full wave to obtain the power effective value signal Im2.

[0077] (5) Im2 in (4) or the effective power value signal Im2 generated in other ways is made to enter the autoregression 24.

[0078] The effective power value Im for use in the autoregression can be determined by a dedicated IC. For example, the ADE9153A chip of Analog Devices and the method implemented therein can be used.

[0079] Figure 4 The switch control device 14 is schematically shown. The switch control device 14 generates and outputs a switch control signal Sss. The switch control device 14 receives, on the one hand, a regulating switch signal Rss for controlling the circuit breaker according to the desired main function. The switch control device 14 receives, on the other hand, a monitoring switch signal Uess, which reflects the monitoring result of the internal temperature. These two signals are combined in a suitable manner and then fed to the drive circuit 42. The combination can be an "OR" operation in the following manner, that is, for example, if either the regulating switch signal Rss or the monitoring switch signal Uess requires disconnection, a disconnection signal (interrupting the power supply line 2i by disconnecting the switch) is generated as the switch control signal Sss.

[0080] In order to make the power switch device easily adaptable to different installation situations or electrical environments, the power switch device can store multiple parameter groups (such as sampling frequency and / or value k, k1, k2 and / or threshold value Sw and / or calibration value) in a selectable manner, and has a selection device for this purpose. These parameter groups can respectively include one or more or all of the parameters described in this specification, and can include other parameters if necessary. If one of them is selected by the selection device, its parameters are set and used for the operation of the power switch device.

[0081] The power switching device, in particular the parameter set used during operation thereof, for example previously input or permanently written or selected, can be adapted or can be adapted to a typical installation situation or electrical operating environment of the power switching device, for example to the characteristics of the line protection switch and / or the installed electrical load. A plurality of parameter sets stored in a selectable manner can then reflect a plurality of such installation situations or electrical operating environments.

[0082] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5F The time trends of different parameters are shown as examples. The horizontal axis represents the time trend in units of measurement points, where it is assumed that two measurements are taken per second. That is, the 3500 calculation points shown correspond to a time of 1750 seconds, i.e. less than half an hour. 53 represents the measured current value, for which a ordinate 52 is given on the right side of the graph. 54 represents the current monitoring signal Uesa determined by calculation, for which a ordinate 51 is given on the left side. 55 represents the maximum allowable continuous current of the power switching device, for which a ordinate 52 is given on the right side again. 56 represents the threshold Sw from the device 26, for which the ordinate 51 on the left side applies.

[0083] exist Figure 5A A continuous overload of 25 A is assumed in the graph. According to curve 54, this continuous overload causes the monitoring signal Uesa to rise. Assume that the maximum permissible continuous current is 18 A. Assume that the threshold Sw is the value 324=18*18. It is exceeded at approximately the measuring time 1800, i.e. after approximately 900 seconds (equivalent to 15 minutes). This will then lead to a monitoring switch signal Uess, which disconnects the power switch device 10 by disconnecting (interrupting) the circuit breaker 11, because it is determined by calculation that the power switch device 10 is overheated, which can be stopped by interrupting the current feed.

[0084] exist Figure 5B In the example, curve 53 assumes a current of approximately 18 A, which is slightly lower than the permissible continuous current of 18 A according to curve 55. In the calculation described, a stable relationship is thus also produced. 56 again shows the threshold value corresponding to the permissible continuous current of 18 A. The stable calculated value of the current monitoring signal Uesa in curve 54 is slightly lower than the threshold value of curve 56, so that the device, i.e. the power switch device 10, can continue to operate without interruption.

[0085] Figure 5CThe following example is shown, in which, as shown by curve 53, the load has a current peak when switched on, wherein the current subsequently drops to a significantly lower value. According to curve 55, the permissible continuous current is again 18 A. This is clearly exceeded at the beginning. The calculation according to curve 54 and the monitoring signal Uesa results in curve 54, which does not exceed the threshold value Sw, namely 324=18*18.

[0086] Figure 5D An example is shown in which the current peak lasts longer when the device starts to operate, as shown by curve 53. Correspondingly, the calculated value Uesa of the current monitoring signal also rises to a value above the threshold value according to curve 56, so it is approximately equivalent to 150 seconds or 2 1 1 / 2 minutes, the current is disconnected at the calculation time 300 and the current immediately drops to 0. However, the situation assumed by the experiment is shown, in which the invention is not used and the current is not disconnected, but the current drops to a significantly lower value on its own. Correspondingly, the calculated value also drops and drops below the calculation threshold value 56 at approximately the calculation time 1200. After the disconnection according to the invention at the calculation time 300, it can be connected again according to one of the strategies mentioned above.

[0087] Figure 5E Shown with Figure 5C The same current trend 53. However, it is assumed that a different device history already existed previously, so that the calculated value of the current monitoring signal according to curve 54 is different from that in Figure 5C Starting from the large value in Figure 5C The threshold value 56 is exceeded in different ways.

[0088] Fig. 5F The pulsating current profile of the device is shown. The device can be, for example, a continuously heated washing machine (basic current of approximately 8 A), in which the drum is occasionally (but not always) rotated, which results in a current peak of 20 A according to curve 53. Correspondingly, the calculated value of the current monitoring signal Uesa pulsates, but does not exceed the threshold value 56, which is again decisive. This means that no disconnection occurs.

[0089] Figure 6 Further installation possibilities of the power switch device 10 are shown. The entire right side shows the power switch device 10 as part of an electrical device 69, such as a washing machine. This can be, for example, a household appliance or also an industrial device or machine. 62 represents a conventional switch of the device. 10 is the described power switch device 10, which is provided with a power switch device 10 in addition to the conventional switch 62. 61 is the actual electrical appliance, such as a motor. For the main functions of the power switch device 10, control commands are shown, which can be fed to the power switch device 10 wirelessly.

[0090] As an alternative to providing the power switch device 10 in the device 69 itself, the power switch device 10 can be provided in the plug 63 of the device 69, which is indicated by the reference numeral 10', or the power switch device 10 can be provided in an intermediate plug. The plug may then be more cumbersome than a plug without the power switch device 10, but can then provide switches associated with extended functions. Here, too, the main functions are again indicated by the dashed indication of the fed control commands.

[0091] As so far Figure 6 Another alternative possibility to the possibility of mounting the power switch device 10 described in the embodiment is to arrange the power switch device 10 in the socket 65. Figure 6 Indicated by reference numeral 10". It will also receive the fed control command Sb according to the desired main function, for example, and otherwise work as described above. However, the power switch device 10 can also be installed in a control cabinet, a cable or any other suitable location.

[0092] Figure 7 The prototype is shown. Assuming that Figure 6 The installation method of the reference number 10" in the figure, that is, integrated in or integrated with a socket, which can be installed in a building wall (such as a dark wire socket). This can correspond to Figure 1 The installation environment 50 in the socket 65 has contacts 71 for a matching plug. Figure 7 The front view is shown on the left, and the rear view is shown on the right. On the back, the common power line connectors 72L for the phase conductors 2, L, the power line connector 72N for the neutral conductor 3, and the power line connector 72S for the protective conductor can be seen. 73 is a power switch device 10 fixedly installed in the socket, wherein Figure 7 In particular, the relays forming the circuit breaker 11 can be seen in the figure. 74 is a receiver structure located on the front side of the socket 65, with which control commands for the desired main functions of the power switching device 10 can be received wirelessly, which can then also be used to control the relay 73 as described. The receiver structure can also have an input possibility for the user, for example for issuing a command for reconnection after disconnection. This can be done manually by mechanical buttons or also wirelessly.

[0093] The values ​​required for calibration, such as factors k, k1, k2, threshold Sw, calculation frequency, proportionality constant, internal resistance, transition resistance, etc., can be determined empirically and written into the device electronically in a usable manner.

[0094] Features described in the present description and claims or shown in the drawings should therefore also be considered to be combinable with one another, even if their combination is not explicitly described, as long as the combination is technically possible. Features described in a specific context, a specific embodiment, a drawing or a specific claim should also be considered to be separable from this claim, context, embodiment or drawing or to be combined with other drawings, claims, embodiments or contexts, as long as this is technically possible. Embodiments and drawings should not be understood as necessarily excluding each other. The description of a method or a process or a method step or a process step should also be understood as a description of possible program instructions of an executable code on a device and / or a data carrier, which are suitable for implementing the method or a process or a method step or a process step, and vice versa.

[0095] Reference numerals list

[0096] 1 Power supply network

[0097] 2-phase conductor

[0098] 3 Neutral conductor

[0099] 4 Line protection switch

[0100] 9 Electrical appliances

[0101] 10 Power switch device

[0102] 11 Circuit Breaker

[0103] 12 Control input

[0104] 13 Power monitoring device

[0105] 14 Switch control device

[0106] 18, 19 connector

[0107] 21. Measuring resistance

[0108] 22 Preprocessing

[0109] 22a Sample and Hold Amplifier

[0110] 22b Find the average

[0111] 23 Square and integral device

[0112] 24 Average Device

[0113] 25 Setting device

[0114] 26 Threshold Memory

[0115] 27 Comparison device

[0116] 31, 34 Multiplier

[0117] 32 Adder

[0118] 33 Registers

[0119] 35 Factor setting device

[0120] 41 Combination elements

[0121] 42. Driving circuit

[0122] 50 Installation location

[0123] 51 Calculated value vertical coordinate

[0124] 52 Current ordinate

[0125] 53 Current Direction

[0126] 54 Calculated value trend

[0127] 55 Current threshold

[0128] 56 Calculated value threshold

[0129] 60 Electrical equipment

[0130] 61 Electrical appliances

[0131] 62 User switch

[0132] 63 Plug

[0133] 64 lines

[0134] 65 socket

[0135] 69 Electrical equipment

[0136] 71 Contacts

[0137] 72 Connectors

[0138] 73 Installed power switch device

[0139] 74 Receiver

Claims

1. A controllable power switch device (10), the power switch device comprising: A circuit breaker (11), the circuit breaker being used to switch the power supply line (2i), a control input terminal (12), the control input terminal being used to receive a control command (Sb) and to generate a regulating switch signal (Rss) according to the control command, A power monitoring device (13), the power monitoring device being used to monitor power-related parameters on the power supply line (2i) and to generate a monitoring switch signal (Uess) according to the monitoring result, A switch control device (14) is used to control the circuit breaker (11) using a switch control signal (Sss) according to the regulating switch signal (Rss) and the monitoring switch signal (Uess).

2. The power switch device (10) according to claim 1, wherein: The power monitoring device (13) has a current measuring device (21, 22) for measuring the current flowing in the power supply line (2i) and generating a current signal (Im) according to the measurement result, wherein the current signal (Im) can be an average value of multiple current measurement results and is used to determine the monitoring switch signal (Uess).

3. The power switch device (10) according to claim 2, wherein: The power monitoring device (13) has a square and integration device (23) for squaring the current signal (Im) and integrating the square, wherein the integration result is used as a power effective value signal (Im2) for determining the monitoring switch signal (Uess).

4. The power switch device (10) according to claim 3, wherein: The power monitoring device (13) has an averaging device (24) which calculates a current monitoring signal (Uesa) from the corresponding most recent power effective value signal (Im2) according to the following formula: Uesa=k*Im2+(1-k)*Uesv, Wherein, Uesa is the current monitoring signal, Uesv is the previous monitoring signal, Im2 is the most recent power effective value signal (Im2), and k is a predetermined weighting factor, which is only between 0 and 1, And wherein the power monitoring device is designed to determine the monitoring switching signal (Uess) as a function of the current monitoring signal (Uesa), in particular by means of a threshold value comparison.

5. The power switch device (10) according to claim 4, wherein: The power monitoring device (13) has a factor setting device (35), which sets a weighting factor k, and in particular sets the weighting factor k in the following manner, that is, if the current power effective value signal (Im2) is greater than the current monitoring signal (Uesa), the weighting factor k is set to a predetermined first factor value, otherwise the weighting factor k is set to another predetermined second factor value, and the second factor value can be smaller than the first factor value.

6. A power switch device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The power monitoring device (13) has a comparison device (27) which is designed to generate the monitoring switching signal (Uess) as a function of a comparison of the current monitoring signal (Uesa) with a threshold value (Sw 26).

7. The power switch device (10) according to claim 6, wherein: The switch control device (14) has a threshold value generating device, which is used to generate the threshold value according to parameters input and stored in advance, in particular the resistance in the power switch device (10).

8. The power switch device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims and claim 2, comprising a setting device (25) for inputting or determining and storing a sampling frequency of the current measuring device (21, 22), wherein: The current measuring device (21, 22) is designed to sample the current flowing in the power supply line (2i) according to a set sampling frequency to measure the current and, if necessary, obtain an average value from a plurality of sampled values ​​to form the current signal (Im).

9. A power switching device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims and claim 2, wherein the power switching device has an A / D converter in the current measuring device (21, 22), the A / D converter being used to perform A / D conversion on the current measurement value, and the power switching device has a digitally operating circuit, the digitally operating circuit being used to further digitally process the digital output of the A / D converter.

10. The power switch device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims and claim 2, wherein: The current measuring device (21, 22) has a measuring resistor or an inductive tap or a Hall sensor connected in series.

11. The power switch device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims and claim 2, wherein: The circuit breaker (11) has a relay or a power transistor, and the switch control device (14) has a drive circuit for the relay or the power transistor, the drive circuit being designed to generate a relay control signal or a transistor control signal according to the switch control signal.

12. A socket, comprising: Power supply connector for connection to the power supply line (2i), The plug contacts for inserting a plug into an electrical appliance, and A power switching device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims between the power supply connection and at least one of the plug contacts.

13. An electrical equipment (60), the electrical equipment comprising: Electrical appliances (61), a connection (63) to the electricity network (1, L, N), a user switch (62) between the electrical appliance (61) and the connector (63), the user switch being used to switch the power for the electrical appliance (61), and A power switch device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 11 between the load (61) and the connection (63).

14. A power switch method (10), the power switch method comprising the following steps: Monitoring power-related parameters on a power supply line (2i) having a circuit breaker (11) therein and generating a monitoring switch signal (Uess) according to the monitoring result, and The circuit breaker (11) is controlled according to the monitoring switching signal (Uess) to switch the power supply line (2i).

15. The power switching method (10) according to claim 13, wherein: The circuit breaker (11) is controlled according to a characteristic value of the circuit breaker, in particular an internal resistance of the circuit breaker.

16. The power switching method (10) according to claim 13 or 14, wherein: The circuit breaker (11) is controlled according to another criterion.

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