A feeder terminal and a hierarchical power consumption control method thereof

Abstract

The application discloses a feeder terminal and a hierarchical power consumption control method thereof, and aims at the problems of limited power of primary and secondary fusion pole-mounted switch capacitor power supply and high power consumption of a traditional terminal. A backup battery grouping distribution switching circuit is arranged on the hardware side of the application, and intelligent battery management system power consumption is saved by parallel self-balancing. Unified 3.3V power supply is adopted for the core circuit, and a non-isolated power supply and a module-level power supply switch are adopted. On the software side, multiple power consumption modes are preset, automatic step-by-step switching and a throw-off word forced designation are supported. The application can reduce the overall machine power consumption, adapt to a small-power power supply scene, prolong power-off endurance, and improve operation reliability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to power distribution automation systems, specifically to a feeder terminal and its hierarchical power consumption control method. Background Technology

[0002] With the advancement of distribution network automation, integrated pole-mounted circuit breakers with deep primary and secondary circuit breaker integration are widely used. Their supporting feeder terminals are typically powered by primary-side capacitive voltage transformers (PTs). Due to the limitations of the capacitive voltage divider principle, increasing the power extraction capacity directly reduces the primary insulation withstand voltage performance, creating an inherent contradiction. Therefore, the rated power extraction capacity of existing primary PTs is generally designed to be around 10W. At the same time, the single-sided power supply operation of the tie switch also requires that the steady-state power consumption of the entire feeder terminal be controlled within 10W.

[0003] Currently, conventional feeder terminals cannot meet the aforementioned low-power requirements. At the hardware level, existing terminals mostly use a 5V core power supply combined with an isolated DC / DC power supply solution, which has low power conversion efficiency and high operating power consumption; they are generally equipped with independent battery management modules, which generate additional power loss; and communication, sampling, metering, and time synchronization modules are mostly in a long-term powered state, lacking a hierarchical power management mechanism, which further increases the overall basic power consumption of the device.

[0004] At the software operation level, the power consumption management logic of existing feeder terminals is relatively crude, typically only distinguishing between normal operation and power failure backup states. It cannot dynamically adjust the power consumption level based on external power supply conditions, remaining battery power, and on-site functional requirements. When the power supply is insufficient or the system switches to backup battery power, it cannot shut down unnecessary functions in a step-by-step manner, which can easily lead to short battery life, premature power failure and shutdown of the device, weaken fault detection and remote control capabilities, and reduce the on-site operational reliability of the primary and secondary integrated pole-mounted circuit breaker. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Purpose of the invention: The purpose of this invention is to provide a low-power feeder terminal and its hierarchical power consumption control method.

[0006] Technical Solution: The feeder terminal of this invention includes a main control unit, a power supply unit, a switch operation unit, and a backup battery pack. The backup battery pack is divided into a first battery pack and a second battery pack. The backup battery pack is equipped with a switching circuit controlled by the main control unit. The switching circuit is used to switch the series-parallel topology within the first battery pack, as well as the connection relationship and output power supply path between the two battery packs. A battery protection element is connected in series in the main charging and discharging circuit of the backup battery pack.

[0007] This solution adapts to the power limitations of primary-side capacitor power extraction, eliminating the additional power consumption of traditional intelligent battery management systems. It achieves dynamic topology switching between the two battery banks through a switching circuit. During charging, the two battery banks are connected in parallel, relying on the physical characteristics of parallel cell connection to achieve voltage self-balancing, eliminating the need for balancing algorithms and microcontroller calculations in intelligent battery management systems. During remote control operation, the first battery bank switches to series mode, outputting high voltage to drive the switching operation unit, while the second battery bank independently maintains power to the terminal core circuit, solving the problem of insufficient instantaneous operating power in low-power power extraction scenarios. Battery protection components provide basic overcharge, over-discharge, and overcurrent protection, ensuring the reliability of the battery bank operation.

[0008] Furthermore, the switching circuit consists of a relay and a matching drive circuit. The main control unit controls the on / off state of the relay contacts through the drive circuit to switch the series-parallel connection relationship of the two battery sets and the output power supply path. The topology switching is achieved using conventional relay devices, resulting in a mature and reliable circuit structure with low steady-state power consumption during switching, thus meeting the overall low-power design goal of the terminal.

[0009] Furthermore, each functional circuit module of the terminal has an independent power control switch connected in series in its power supply circuit, and the control terminals of these power control switches are all connected to the main control unit. This design provides a hardware execution platform for management and control. The power supply circuits of non-essential functional modules can be directly cut off through the independent power control switches, eliminating standby leakage current and static power consumption of the modules. The main control unit can precisely control the on / off state of each power switch according to the operating conditions, expanding the range and accuracy of power consumption adjustment.

[0010] Furthermore, the power supply unit is equipped with a 3.3V power supply output terminal, and the core operating circuits of the main control unit and various functional circuits of the terminal are all connected to the 3.3V power supply output terminal for unified power supply. This design optimizes the voltage level for the core operating circuits, and compared with the traditional 5V power supply scheme, it can reduce the operating power consumption of the core circuits under the same load conditions, thereby reducing the overall basic power consumption of the device from the power supply side.

[0011] Furthermore, all voltage conversion circuits in the power supply unit adopt a non-isolated DC-DC converter topology. Compared with traditional isolated DC-DC circuits, this topology eliminates the core and winding losses of the isolation transformer, thereby improving power conversion efficiency, reducing useless power consumption in the power supply stage, and improving the overall power utilization efficiency of the device.

[0012] Furthermore, the power supply unit also has an independent 5V power supply circuit for the remote signaling circuit. This design balances low power consumption with functional reliability. The remote signaling circuit requires a high drive level to ensure detection accuracy and anti-interference capability. The independent 5V power supply circuit does not affect the 3.3V low power consumption design of the core circuit, while ensuring stable operation of the remote signaling function.

[0013] The graded power consumption control method for the feeder terminal of the present invention has multiple preset power consumption operation modes; the method includes the following steps: (a) Real-time collection of terminal operating status and remaining power of backup battery pack, and automatic matching of corresponding operating mode based on the collection results; (b) Control the power control switches of each functional circuit module to turn on and off according to the determined operating mode, and adjust the terminal power consumption.

[0014] This method breaks away from the traditional model of providing full-function, all-time power to terminals, matching terminal power consumption with current functional requirements and reducing energy consumption while meeting operational requirements.

[0015] Furthermore, the multi-level power consumption operation mode has four levels, in ascending order of power consumption: sleep mode, standby mode, energy-saving mode, and full-power mode. Mode switching follows a step-by-step change rule, switching only between adjacent power consumption levels without skipping levels. The four-level power consumption gradient can cover all terminal operation scenarios, achieving fine-grained power consumption classification; step-by-step switching can avoid power supply voltage fluctuations and state jumps caused by the simultaneous switching of a large number of modules, ensuring a smooth switching process and reducing the impact of instantaneous current surges on the power system.

[0016] The four power consumption modes correspond to different function activation ranges and power consumption levels: Sleep mode only retains communication interface input monitoring, and the main control unit is in a low-power sleep state, which is the lowest power consumption level; Standby mode enables the corresponding communication interaction function, and the other function modules are powered off; Energy-saving mode enables remote sensing, remote control and automation protection functions, and can complete the basic monitoring and control tasks of the distribution network, while non-core auxiliary functions are powered off; Full power mode enables all function modules and fully runs all business functions, which is the full power consumption level.

[0017] Furthermore, in step (a), the automatic matching of operating modes follows a step-by-step wake-up rule from low to high. The terminal wakes up step by step from the sleep operating mode: when a valid communication message is detected, it switches to the standby operating mode; when a change in remote signaling status is detected, the AC / DC sampling circuit is first turned on, and after the sampled value exceeds the preset telemetry dead zone, it switches to the energy-saving operating mode; when the AC power input is detected to be normal, it switches to the full-power operating mode. The terminal is normally in the sleep operating mode with the lowest power consumption, retaining only basic communication monitoring functions, and wakes up the corresponding functional modules step by step according to external trigger conditions, avoiding unnecessary modules from being powered on for a long time and reducing the average power consumption of the terminal under normal operation.

[0018] Furthermore, in step (a), the automatic matching of operating modes follows a step-by-step degradation rule from high to low. Under backup battery power, the terminal gradually degrades from full-power operation mode: when the remaining battery power falls below the first threshold, it switches to energy-saving operation mode; when the remaining power continues to drop below the second threshold, it switches to standby operation mode and reports alarm information to the master station. This rule is designed for battery-powered conditions where external power is lost. As battery power is consumed, non-core auxiliary functions, sampling and protection functions are sequentially shut down, prioritizing core monitoring and communication functions to extend the terminal's battery life under power loss conditions. Simultaneously, alarm information is promptly pushed to the master station, facilitating maintenance personnel's understanding of the equipment's operating status.

[0019] Furthermore, step (a) also includes a step of forcibly specifying the mode: receiving the enable / disable configuration command, forcibly specifying the operating mode, and overriding the automatic matching result. This design adapts to the manual management needs of special on-site working conditions. Maintenance personnel can lock the terminal's operating power consumption mode by issuing enable / disable configuration commands from the main station, as a supplement to automatic management, improving the flexibility and scenario adaptability of power consumption control methods.

[0020] Beneficial effects: Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following significant advantages: it reduces the overall operating power consumption of the distribution automation feeder terminal, can adapt to the power capacity limit of the primary and secondary deeply integrated pole-mounted circuit breaker, and meets the operation requirements of single-sided power supply of the tie switch; it can dynamically match the power consumption level according to the on-site operating conditions, effectively extend the battery life, and can still ensure the stable operation of core functions when the power supply capacity is insufficient or the external power supply fails, greatly improving the on-site operating reliability and scenario adaptability of the complete set of pole-mounted circuit breaker equipment. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a low-power hardware circuit block diagram; Figure 2 This is a block diagram of the hierarchical power consumption control logic. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The technical solution of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] As shown in the figure, the feeder terminal described in this embodiment is adapted to a pole-mounted circuit breaker with deep integration of primary and secondary circuits. The overall design adopts a low-power design with hardware architecture optimization and software hierarchical management and control. It can operate stably under the condition of 10W capacitor power supply on the primary side, meeting the power consumption requirements of single-side power supply of the tie switch.

[0024] As shown in Figure 1, the feeder terminal hardware is divided into two main areas: a power management area and a functional area. The power management area is responsible for power conversion, battery management, and power input functions, while the functional area integrates the main control unit and all controllable functional circuits. Together, they achieve low-power design and hierarchical power management for the entire unit. The terminal hardware mainly includes a main control unit, a power supply unit, a switch operation unit, a backup battery pack, and multi-function circuit modules.

[0025] The power management area houses the power supply unit and backup battery pack power supply circuits. The power supply unit's input side is equipped with two AC 27V feeder terminal input interfaces, corresponding to the outputs of the capacitor-divided voltage transformers on both sides of the pole-mounted circuit breaker, providing redundancy for each other. The two AC inputs are rectified and then connected to the DC input bus. All voltage conversion circuits use a non-isolated DC-DC converter topology to convert the high-voltage DC from the bus to the low-voltage DC required for terminal operation. The power supply unit has a 3.3V feeder terminal main power supply output terminal, which outputs to the functional area. The main control unit and all core functional circuits, including communication, sampling, and protection circuits, are connected to this output terminal for unified power supply, reducing the operating power consumption of the core circuits at the voltage level. Simultaneously, the power supply unit has a separate 5V feeder terminal power supply circuit, dedicated to driving the external remote signaling input circuit, ensuring the threshold accuracy and anti-interference capability of remote signaling detection. This circuit is not connected to the 3.3V feeder terminal power supply network of the functional area.

[0026] The backup battery pack is divided into a first battery pack and a second battery pack. In this embodiment, the first battery pack consists of 8 single-cell lithium batteries, and the second battery pack consists of 2 single-cell lithium batteries of the same specification. The two battery packs are equipped with a switching circuit controlled by the main control unit. The switching circuit can dynamically switch the series-parallel connection relationship and output power supply path of the two battery packs. Under normal charging conditions, the switching circuit controls all 10 lithium batteries to be connected in parallel to the charging circuit. Voltage balancing is automatically achieved based on the physical characteristics of the parallel cells, eliminating the need for a separate intelligent battery management system and removing the static power consumption of the management module itself. During remote control opening and closing operations, the switching circuit controls 8 lithium batteries to output a DC27V operating voltage in series, driving the switch operation unit to complete the mechanism action. The remaining 2 lithium batteries independently maintain power supply to the main control and core circuits, solving the problem of insufficient capacitor power to support instantaneous remote control power. In the event of external power failure, the switching circuit controls all 10 batteries to output in parallel, jointly powering the entire terminal and extending the backup battery life. Battery protection components are connected in series in the main charging and discharging circuit of the backup battery pack, providing basic overcharge, over-discharge, and overcurrent safety protection.

[0027] The functional area is controlled by a main control unit, which centrally manages the power supply to all functional circuit modules within the area. The main control unit uses a core control CPU as its computational and control entity, and integrates multiple general-purpose input / output interfaces, an analog-to-digital converter channel, an Ethernet media access control interface, and multiple serial communication peripherals. The CPU's general-purpose input / output interfaces are connected to the control terminals of the power control switches of each functional circuit module, enabling independent on / off control of each module's power supply circuit by outputting high and low level signals. Its serial communication peripherals and Ethernet peripherals are connected to various communication modules to achieve data exchange and command reception. Its analog-to-digital converter channel is connected to an AC / DC sampling circuit to collect operating conditions and battery power data. The main control unit is also equipped with a non-volatile memory chip to store multi-level power consumption mode configuration parameters, battery power thresholds, and telemetry dead-zone thresholds, among other operating data.

[0028] The functional area integrates multiple types of functional circuit modules, including remote signaling acquisition branches, remote control output branches, AC / DC telemetry acquisition branches, communication modules, and auxiliary function modules. Each module's power supply circuit has an independent power control switch connected in series. The control terminals of all power control switches are connected to the core control CPU, and the main control unit centrally controls their on / off states, achieving refined power management at the module level and completely cutting off standby leakage current in non-operating states. The specific composition of each module is as follows: The remote signaling acquisition branch includes an input logic chip and an external remote signaling input interface. The external remote signaling signal is driven by a 5V level and is powered by an independent 5V power supply circuit in the power management area. The input logic chip realizes signal level conversion, anti-jitter filtering and electrical isolation, and inputs the processed switch signal to the core control CPU. Its core working circuit is powered by 3.3V and is controlled by an independent power switch.

[0029] The remote control output branch includes an output logic chip and an external remote control output interface. The output logic chip amplifies and electrically isolates the weak control signal output by the core control CPU, and outputs a drive signal to the switch operation unit. Its power supply circuit is controlled by an independent power switch.

[0030] The AC / DC telemetry acquisition branch includes two independent analog-to-digital converter (ADC) chips, corresponding to AC telemetry and DC telemetry acquisition respectively. The AC telemetry channel acquires analog signals of grid voltage and current, while the DC telemetry channel acquires analog DC signals such as battery terminal voltage and bus voltage. After being converted into digital quantities, these signals are sent to the core control CPU for processing. Each of the two ADC chips is equipped with an independent power control switch, which can be turned off individually according to the operating conditions.

[0031] The communication module includes two Ethernet physical layer (PHY) chips, a serial communication interface, a communication module, and an encrypted Bluetooth module. The two Ethernet PHY chips support dual-port redundant communication, and the serial communication interface is adapted to industrial-grade serial communication protocols. All are powered by independent power switches. In sleep mode, only the input detection circuit of the interface physical layer is powered, and the other functional circuits are completely powered off to reduce static power consumption.

[0032] The auxiliary function modules include a BeiDou time synchronization module, a temperature and humidity detection module, and a metering module. These are all non-core auxiliary functions, each equipped with an independent power control switch. Power is only supplied in full-power operation mode; in other power consumption modes, they are powered off to reduce the overall power consumption of the device. Figure 2 As shown, the hierarchical power consumption control method in this embodiment is implemented based on the aforementioned hardware architecture. It has four preset power consumption operation modes, and the overall control logic is divided into two paths: automatic matching and forced specification. In automatic matching mode, the main control unit collects the terminal's operating status and the remaining power of the backup battery pack in real time, and switches the operation mode step by step according to preset rules. In forced specification mode, the terminal receives the enable / disable configuration command issued by the main station, directly locks the operation mode, and overrides the automatic matching result. After the mode is determined, the main control unit controls the power control switches of each functional circuit module to ensure that the terminal's power consumption matches the current functional requirements.

[0033] like Figure 2 As shown, the sleep mode is the terminal's lowest power standby mode and also the default operating mode under normal conditions. In this mode, the main control unit is in a low-power sleep state, retaining power only for the communication module input monitoring, network port input monitoring, serial port communication input monitoring, and encrypted Bluetooth input detection circuits. The power control switches of all other functional modules are in the off state. The main control unit polls the input signals of each communication interface in real time. When a valid communication message is detected on any one of the interfaces, the power control switch of the corresponding communication interface is turned on to start the message interaction function. At the same time, the main control unit exits the sleep state, and the terminal automatically switches to the standby mode.

[0034] In standby mode, the terminal maintains power supply and message exchange functions for the communication interface after wake-up, while other functional modules remain powered off. When the remote signaling circuit detects a change in switch position, or the appearance of a closed or open signal, the main control unit first turns on the power control switch of the AC / DC sampling circuit to start AC telemetry and DC telemetry acquisition. When the voltage and current values ​​acquired by the sampling circuit exceed the preset telemetry dead zone, the power control switch of the remote control and automatic protection function circuit is then turned on to activate the corresponding protection function, and the terminal automatically switches to energy-saving operation mode.

[0035] In energy-saving operation mode, the terminal maintains full power supply for remote control, remote monitoring, and automated protection functions, enabling it to complete basic monitoring, control, and protection tasks of the power distribution network. Non-core auxiliary function modules such as temperature and humidity detection, BeiDou time synchronization, and metering remain powered off. The main control unit monitors the AC power input status in real time. When it detects that either of the two AC power sources is normal and has sufficient power supply capacity, it turns on the power control switches of all auxiliary function modules, and the terminal automatically switches to full-power operation mode.

[0036] In full-power operation mode, the power control switches of all functional circuit modules of the terminal are turned on, and all functions are fully operational. At this time, the power consumption of the entire machine is the highest. In this mode, the main control unit monitors the voltage of the backup battery pack in real time and calculates the remaining power SOC. When the remaining power is lower than the first threshold of 50%, the power supply to all non-core auxiliary functional modules is cut off, and the terminal returns to the energy-saving operation mode. When the remaining power continues to drop to the second threshold of 20%, the power supply to sampling, protection and other functional circuits is further cut off, and only the communication and status monitoring functions are retained. The terminal returns to the standby operation mode and reports alarm information to the main station through the communication link until the battery is exhausted and the terminal is powered off.

[0037] In this embodiment, maintenance personnel can send configuration commands to the terminal via the main station according to the actual working conditions on site, forcing the terminal to run in a specified power consumption mode without having to follow the automatic matching logic, thus adapting to the energy-saving needs of special scenarios such as maintenance and long-term light load.

Claims

1. A feeder terminal, comprising a main control unit, a power supply unit, a switch operation unit, and a backup battery pack, characterized in that: The backup battery pack is divided into a first battery pack and a second battery pack. The backup battery pack is equipped with a switching circuit controlled by the main control unit. The switching circuit is used to switch the series-parallel topology within the first battery pack, as well as the connection relationship and output power supply path between the two battery packs. A battery protection element is connected in series in the main charging and discharging circuit of the backup battery pack. An independent power control switch is connected in series in the power supply circuit of each functional circuit module of the terminal. The control terminals of the power control switches are all connected to the main control unit.

2. The feeder terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that, The switching circuit consists of a relay and a matching drive circuit. The main control unit controls the relay contacts to open and close through the drive circuit, thereby switching the series-parallel connection relationship of the two battery sets and the output power supply path.

3. The feeder terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power supply unit is equipped with a 3.3V power supply output terminal, and the core working circuits of the main control unit and the terminal's various functional circuit modules are all connected to the 3.3V power supply output terminal for unified power supply.

4. The feeder terminal according to claim 3, characterized in that, All voltage conversion circuits in the power supply unit adopt a non-isolated DC-DC conversion topology.

5. The feeder terminal according to claim 3, characterized in that, The power supply unit is also equipped with an independent 5V power supply circuit for powering the remote signaling circuit.

6. A hierarchical power consumption control method applied to the feeder terminal as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method includes the following steps: It has preset multi-level power consumption operating modes. (a) Real-time collection of terminal operating status and remaining power of backup battery pack, and automatic matching of corresponding operating mode based on the collection results; (b) Control the power control switches of each functional circuit module to turn on and off according to the determined operating mode, and adjust the terminal power consumption.

7. The hierarchical power consumption control method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The multi-level power consumption operation mode has four levels, which are sleep operation mode, standby operation mode, energy saving operation mode and full power operation mode in order of power consumption from low to high; the mode switching follows a step-by-step change rule.

8. The graded power consumption control method according to claim 7, characterized in that, In step (a), the automatic matching of the operating mode follows a step-by-step wake-up rule from low to high, with the terminal waking up step by step starting from the sleep operating mode: (a1) When a valid communication message is detected, switch to standby mode; (a2) When a change in remote signaling status is detected, the AC / DC sampling circuit is first turned on. After the sampled value exceeds the preset telemetry dead zone, the energy-saving operation mode is switched on. (a3) When the AC power input is detected to be normal, switch to full power operation mode.

9. The hierarchical power consumption control method according to claim 7, characterized in that, In step (a), the automatic matching of operating modes follows a step-down rule from high to low. When powered by backup battery, the terminal gradually degrades from full-power operating mode: (a1) When the remaining power of the backup battery pack is lower than the first threshold, switch to energy-saving operation mode; (a2) When the remaining power continues to drop below the second threshold, switch to standby mode and report alarm information to the main station.

10. The hierarchical power consumption control method according to claim 6, characterized in that, Step (a) also includes receiving a command to enable / disable the operation mode and forcibly specifying the operation mode, with the forced specification overriding the automatically matched operation mode.

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