Method, system, and program for detecting equipment operating status

Abstract

To provide a method for detecting equipment operating status that can issue a warning as soon as an abnormality occurs in the equipment operating status, and a method for detecting equipment operating status that accommodates the diameter and voltage of AC power lines for various measurement targets without requiring changes to the computational processing performed by a computational processing unit in the sensor.SOLUTION: A system for detecting equipment operating status includes one or more sensor devices for detecting the operation status of one or more pieces of equipment driven by a three-phase or single-phase three-wire AC power source, one or more gateways, and a server. The system for detecting equipment operating status processes equipment operation status detection by a first control unit of each of the sensor units within the sensor devices, a second control unit of each of the gateways, and a third control unit of the server.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for detecting the operating status of equipment in a system for detecting the operating status of equipment driven by a three-phase or single-phase three-wire AC power supply. [Background technology]

[0002] There are systems that use power generation (induced current by electromagnetic induction) by current transformers to detect changes in the current and power that drives target equipment without power supply (electricity). One example is a submersible pump monitoring system that can check the operating status of submersible pumps installed and operating at multiple locations inside a tunnel in real time, "anytime, anywhere" (see Non-Patent Document 1). However, when using such a system to measure current with a power sensor, it is common to generate power by clamping only one single-phase or three-phase AC wire. Therefore, it can only tell whether the equipment is stopped or running, and in the case of, for example, a ground fault in the AC wire, an alarm must be issued only after the equipment has stopped, which can delay response. Furthermore, the voltage resulting from the input current and power to the current transformer being measured is calculated by the calculation processing unit of the measurement circuit connected to the current transformer. However, if the current transformer or measurement circuit is changed according to the diameter of the AC electric wire (diameter of the cabtyre cable) or voltage, the calculation processing content of the calculation processing unit of the measurement circuit must be changed according to these characteristics. Therefore, it takes time and cost to accommodate various AC electric wires. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] "Development of the 'Newt' Submersible Pump Monitoring System," by Satoru Yamamoto, Nishimatsu Construction Technical Report, Vol. 44 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide an equipment operation status detection system and an equipment operation status detection method that can issue a warning as soon as an abnormality occurs in the operation status of the equipment. Another aim is to provide an equipment operation status detection system and an equipment operation status detection method that do not require changes to the calculation processing content of the calculation processing unit in the sensor in order to accommodate various diameters and voltages of AC electric wires to be measured. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The method for detecting the operating status of an appliance according to the present invention is a method for detecting the operating status of an appliance in an appliance operating status detection system for detecting the operating status of one or more appliances driven by a three-phase or single-phase three-wire AC power supply, the appliance operating status detection system comprising one or more sensor devices, one or more gateways, and a server, each of the sensor devices being a non-powered sensor, each comprising one current transformer and one sensor unit, each of the current transformers clamping each of the three wires of the three-phase or single-phase three-wire AC power line that drives each of the appliances one by one, Each of the sensor units is connected in pairs with one of the current transformers and includes a detection circuit unit having a rectifier and an IV converter, a wireless transmission unit, and a first control unit that controls the wireless transmission unit and outputs data, and the detection circuit unit receives the output current from the current transformer, converts the output current into a DC current in the rectifier, and converts the DC current into a voltage value in the IV converter and outputs it to the first control unit as a measured voltage value, and each of the gateways is associated with a specific sensor device or specific multiple sensor devices by an association means, and includes a wireless reception unit, a sensor device information storage unit, and a first a network transceiver unit, a wireless receiving unit, a sensor device information storage unit, and a second control unit that controls the first network transceiver unit to input and output data; the server comprises a data input unit, a transmission information storage unit, the second network transceiver unit, and a third control unit that controls the data input unit, the transmission information storage unit, and the second network transceiver unit to input and output data; and the equipment operating status detection method includes a first step in which, when the third control unit of the server determines that the sensor device serial number of the sensor device and current transformer sensor unit characteristic information corresponding to the sensor device serial number have been input by the data input unit, the second network transceiver unit transmits the sensor device serial number and the current transformer sensor unit characteristic information as sensor device information from the second network transceiver unit onto the network; a second step in which, in each of the gateways, when the second control unit determines that sensor device information on the network including the sensor device serial number associated with its own gateway by an associating means has been received from the first network transceiver unit, the second control unit stores the sensor device information in the sensor device information storage unit in advance; anda third step of transmitting the measured voltage value and the sensor device serial number of the sensor device from the wireless transmitting unit of the sensor unit only once when the first control unit is started up or at regular intervals while the first control unit is running by outputting the measured voltage value to the wireless transmitting unit; a fourth step of, in each of the gateways, when the second control unit determines that it has received from the wireless receiving unit transmission information including the sensor device serial number associated with its own gateway by the associating means, calculating a measured input current value which is input to the current transformer from the current transformer sensor unit characteristic information in the sensor device information in the sensor device information storage unit which corresponds to the sensor device serial number in the transmission information and the measured voltage value in the transmission information, and transmitting the sensor device serial number and the measured input current value as transmission information onto the network from the first network transceiver; and a fifth step of, when it determines that it has received transmission information onto the network from the second network transceiver unit, storing the transmission information in the transmission information storage unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] The equipment operation status detection method of the present invention performs measurements by simultaneously clamping all three wires of the three-phase or single-phase three-wire AC power lines that drive each of the devices using a current transformer. This effectively achieves the effect of realizing an equipment operation status detection method that can issue a warning as soon as an abnormality occurs in the operation status of the equipment. Furthermore, the equipment operation status detection method of the present invention calculates the measured input current value using the characteristics of the associated sensor device in the gateway. This effectively achieves the effect of realizing an equipment operation status detection method that can accommodate various diameters and voltages of AC power lines to be measured, without requiring changes to the calculation content of the calculation processing unit in the sensor. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an appliance operating status detection system configured to implement an appliance operating status detection method according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2]FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a first step of the device operating status detection method according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a second step of the device operating status detection method in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a third step of the device operational status detection method in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a fourth step of the device operational status detection method in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a fifth step of the device operational status detection method in the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the device operating status detection method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [Term definition] In the present invention, "devices driven by a single-phase three-wire AC power supply" is defined as devices that are driven by extracting voltage from the two wires (R phase and T phase) other than the N phase of the single-phase three-wire AC power supply. In the present invention, the term "device operation status detection system" is defined as a system for detecting the operation status of a target device through unmanned monitoring using IoT. In this invention, a "non-powered sensor" is defined as a sensor (sensor device in this invention) that can operate and detect without relying on external power (including rechargeable batteries and replaceable batteries that are charged from external power). "LoRa" in this invention is an abbreviation for Long Range, and refers to a wireless communication method that uses chirp modulation as the modulation method and spread spectrum as the spreading method. It is also a type of LPWA (Low Power Wide Area), and is a wireless communication method that is power-saving and enables wireless communication over long distances. In the present invention, the "measured input current value" is defined as the maximum value or effective value of the AC current that is the input current to the current transformer. [Example]

[0009] This method is an apparatus operating status detection method in an apparatus operating status detection system 1 for detecting the operating status of one or more apparatuses D driven by a three-phase or single-phase three-wire AC power supply.

[0010] [System configuration] The configuration of an appliance operating status detection system 1 configured to implement the appliance operating status detection method will be described below. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an appliance operating status detection system 1 configured to implement an appliance operating status detection method according to this embodiment. The equipment operating status detection system 1 includes one or more sensor devices 2, one or more gateways 3, and a server 4. Here, as shown in Fig. 1 , one gateway 3 is associated with one or more sensor devices 2, and another gateway 3 is associated with another one or more sensor devices 2.

[0011] Each of the sensor devices 2 is a non-powered sensor, and is composed of one current transformer 21 and one sensor section 22. That is, one sensor device 2 is composed of one current transformer 21 and one sensor section 22.

[0012] Each of the current transformers 21 is connected across each of the three wires that drive each of the devices D, one at a time.

[0013] That is, as shown in Fig. 1, one bundle of three wires of three-phase or single-phase three-wire AC electric wires W is connected to one current transformer 21, and one sensor device 2 detects the operating state of one device D. Another bundle of another AC electric wires W is connected to another current transformer 21, and another sensor device 2 detects the operating state of another device D. Here, Fig. 1 shows a three-wire type AC electric wire, but in the case of three phases, it may be a four-wire type including the N phase.

[0014] By connecting three wires of a three-phase or single-phase three-wire AC electric wire W to one current transformer 21 at once, during normal operation, the magnetic flux changes due to the three-phase or two-phase AC current cancel each other out, and no induced current (output current) is generated by electromagnetic induction in the current transformer 21. If a leakage current or the like occurs in one or two systems, the balance of the canceling out of the magnetic flux changes is lost, and an induced current (output current) is generated.

[0015] The server 4 here is assumed to be a server configured as any one of a physical server, a virtual server, and a cloud server, or a combination thereof.

[0016] Each of the sensor units 22 is paired with one of the current transformers 21 and includes a detection circuit unit 221 having a rectifier 2211 and an IV converter 2212, as shown in FIG. 1, a wireless transmitter unit 222, and a first control unit 223 that controls the wireless transmitter unit 222 and outputs data. The detection circuit unit 221 receives the output current from the current transformer 21, converts the output current into a DC current in the rectifier 2211, and converts the DC current into a voltage value in the IV converter 2212, which outputs the voltage value to the first control unit 223.

[0017] Here, it is assumed that a general circuit is used for the rectifier 2211 and the IV converter 2212, and furthermore, since the circuit configuration is not an essential part of the present invention, these circuit diagrams are not shown.

[0018] In terms of electrical flow, first, an AC current is input as an input current from the AC wire W to the current transformer 21, and the output current of the current transformer 21 becomes an AC current having a magnitude according to the number of turns of the coil, and is input to the detection circuit unit 221. Then, the AC current (output current) is converted into a DC current by the rectifier 2211. The rectifier 2211 is composed of a diode or a thyristor, a capacitor, etc. The rectifier 2211 may be a full-wave rectifier or a half-wave rectifier. In the IV converter 2212, the DC current is converted into a voltage value proportional to the current value using a resistor or the like.

[0019] The capacitor in rectifier 2211 has a waveform smoothing function for smoothing the AC current waveform, and also has a power storage function for driving wireless transmitting section 222 and first control section 223 . In this embodiment, the power storage function is completely covered by the output current from the current transformer 21, without relying on external power (including rechargeable batteries and replaceable batteries charged from external power), so the sensor device 2 is a non-powered (non-electric) sensor.

[0020] As described above, when the target device is operating normally, no induced current (output current) is generated by electromagnetic induction in current transformer 21, and therefore wireless transmitting unit 222 and first control unit 223 are not driven and do not start up due to the power storage function. In the event of an abnormality, such as a ground fault occurring in one or two systems of AC electric wire W, an induced current (output current) is generated, and wireless transmitting unit 222 and first control unit 223 are driven and started up for the first time.

[0021] Each of the gateways 3 is associated by an association means with one specific sensor device 2 or with a plurality of specific sensor devices 2. That is, one gateway 3 is associated with one or more sensor devices 2, and another gateway 3 is associated with another one or more sensor devices 2.

[0022] This association means may be a physical / hardware association, a software association, or a combination thereof. In terms of physical / hardware association, it is considered that wireless communication between a sensor device 2 associated with a certain gateway 3 does not interfere with other wireless communication due to differences in location or radio communication method. A software-based association can be achieved by registering in advance in the gateway 3 the serial numbers of the sensor devices that are associated or should be associated with the gateway 3. Alternatively, a means can be considered in which the server 4 transmits current transformer sensor section characteristic information including the sensor device serial number, which will be described later, only to the target sensor device 2.

[0023] Each of the gateways 3 includes a wireless receiving unit 31, a sensor device information storage unit 32, a first network transceiver unit 33, and a second control unit 34 that controls the wireless receiving unit 31, the sensor device information storage unit 32, and the first network transceiver unit 33 and inputs and outputs data. The server 4 includes a data input unit 41, a transmission information storage unit 42, a second network transmission / reception unit 43, and a third control unit 44 that controls the data input unit 41, the transmission information storage unit 42, and the second network transmission / reception unit 43 to input and output data.

[0024] The types of network N here may include a wired LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless LAN using Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), a network using mobile communications such as LTE, 4G, or 5G, or the Internet, or a combination of these.

[0025] The wireless communication method between the wireless transmitter 222 of the sensor unit 22 and the wireless receiver 31 of the gateway 3 is preferably LoRa. LoRa is power-saving and enables wireless communication over long distances of over 400 m. If the wireless communication distance is short, there is a possibility that the number of gateways connected to each sensor device 2 will increase. However, the wireless communication method according to the present invention is not limited to LoRa. For example, it may be a wireless communication method (wireless communication distance: approximately 20 m) such as IEEE802.15.4 (using O-QPSK (Offset Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) as the modulation method and spread spectrum as the spreading method) used in the wireless microcomputer module TWELITE. Furthermore, the wireless communication method for one combination of wireless transmitter 222 and wireless receiver 31 may be different from the wireless communication method for another combination.

[0026] [Device operation status detection method] The following describes how to detect the operation status of the equipment: <First step> Figure 2 shows the first step. When the third control unit 44 of the server 4 determines that the sensor device serial number of the sensor device 2 and the current transformer sensor section characteristic information corresponding to the sensor device serial number have been input by the data input unit 41, the second network transceiver unit 43 transmits the sensor device serial number and the current transformer sensor section characteristic information as sensor device information in advance onto the network N.

[0027] <Second step> Figure 3 shows the second step. In each of the gateways 3, when the second control unit 34 determines that it has received sensor device information from the first network transceiver unit 33, the sensor device information including the sensor device serial number associated with the gateway 3 by the association means, the sensor device information is stored in advance in the sensor device information storage unit 32.

[0028] <Step 3> Figure 4 shows the third step. In each of the sensor units 22 of the sensor device 2, the first control unit 223 outputs the measured voltage value to the wireless transmitting unit 222, and the wireless transmitting unit 222 of the sensor unit 22 transmits the measured voltage value and the sensor device serial number of the sensor device 2 as transmission information only once when the first control unit 223 is started up, or at regular intervals while the first control unit 223 is started up.

[0029] As described above, when the target device is operating normally, the wireless transmitting unit 222 and the first control unit 223 are not activated or are in an inactivated state. When an abnormality occurs, such as when a ground fault or the like occurs in one or two systems of the AC electric wires W, the wireless transmitting unit 222 and the first control unit 223 are activated or are in an activated state. Since wireless transmitting unit 222 and first control unit 223 are activated only when an abnormality occurs, transmission information is transmitted only at the time of activation, thereby enabling abnormalities to be detected as soon as they occur. In normal operation, wireless transmitting unit 222 and first control unit 223 are not activated and transmission information is not transmitted, but this is sufficient as long as transmission is performed when an abnormality occurs. Furthermore, it is sufficient to transmit the information only once when an abnormality occurs, that is, when the device is started up, but it may be configured to transmit the information at regular intervals after the device is started up.

[0030] The regular intervals are, for example, every 5 seconds. Transmitting the transmission information at regular intervals may involve, for example, first control unit 223 sending transmission information to wireless transmitting unit 222 at regular intervals, so that wireless transmitting unit 222 transmits the transmission information every time it is sent. Alternatively, first control unit 223 may constantly send transmission information to wireless transmitting unit 222, but first control unit 223 may control wireless transmitting unit 222 to transmit the transmission information at regular intervals.

[0031] <Fourth step> Figure 5 shows the fourth step. In each of the gateways 3, when the second control unit 34 determines that it has received from the wireless receiving unit 31 transmitted information including a sensor device serial number associated with its own gateway 3 by the association means, the second control unit 34 calculates the measured input current value, which is the input to the current transformer 21, from the current transformer sensor unit characteristic information in the sensor device information in the sensor device information storage unit 32 that corresponds to the sensor device serial number in the transmitted information and the measured voltage value in the transmitted information, and transmits the sensor device serial number and the measured input current value as transmission information onto the network N from the first network transmission / reception.

[0032] The specific method for calculating the measured input current value is as follows: First, the second control unit 34 acquires current transformer sensor unit characteristic information (corresponding to the sensor device serial number in the transmitted information) from the sensor device information storage unit 32. Then, the second control unit 34 calculates the measured input current value from the current transformer sensor unit characteristic information and the measured voltage value in the transmitted information.

[0033] <5th step> Figure 6 shows the fifth step. When the third control unit 44 of the server 4 determines that the transmission information has been received from the second network transmission / reception unit 43, the transmission information is stored in the transmission information storage unit .

[0034] [Warning method using this system] The method for actually issuing a warning to the monitor that an abnormality has occurred in the operating status of device D using the transmission information (sensor device serial number and measured input current value) stored in server 4 is, for example, as follows. That is, when transmission information is stored in the transmission information storage unit 42 of the server 4, the server 4 sends a warning to the (mobile) terminal M of the monitor via the Internet I, for example, by a dedicated application or by a push-type warning email. Alternatively, a warning is issued on the screen of the server 4, etc. This allows the monitor to know that an abnormality has occurred in the operating status of the equipment and take action (for example, by carrying out an on-site inspection or other such action). The above warning method is not an essential part of the present invention, so FIG. 1 only shows a block diagram of a system relating to warning, and does not show the procedure in a flowchart or the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1. Equipment operation status detection system 2. Sensor device 21 Current transformer 22 Sensor section 221 Detection circuit section 2211 Rectifier 2212 IV Converter 222 Radio transmitter 223 First control section 3 Gateway 31 Radio receiving unit 32 Sensor device information storage unit 33 First network transceiver 34 Second control section 4 Server 41 Data Entry Section 42 Transmission information storage unit 43 Second network transceiver 44 Third control section D equipment W AC wire N Network Internet M (Mobile) Device

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus operation status detection method in an apparatus operation status detection system for detecting the operation status of one or more apparatuses driven by a three-phase or single-phase three-wire AC power supply, comprising: The equipment operation status detection system includes: One or more sensor devices, one or more gateways, and a server; Each of the sensor devices A non-powered sensor, Each of them is composed of one current transformer and one sensor unit, Each of the current transformers The three wires of the three-phase or single-phase three-wire AC electric wires that drive each of the devices are pinched and connected one by one, Each of the sensor units is paired with one of the current transformers, a detection circuit unit having a rectifier and an IV converter, a wireless transmitter unit, and a first control unit that controls the wireless transmitter unit and outputs data; The detection circuit unit an output current from the current transformer is input, the output current is converted into a DC current in the rectifier, the DC current is converted into a voltage value in the IV converter, and the voltage value is output to the first control unit as a measured voltage value; Each of the gateways The sensor device is associated with a specific one of the sensor devices or a specific plurality of the sensor devices by an association means, a wireless receiving unit, a sensor device information storage unit, a first network transmitting / receiving unit, and a second control unit that controls the wireless receiving unit, the sensor device information storage unit, and the first network transmitting / receiving unit to input and output data; The server a data input unit, a transmission information storage unit, a second network transmission / reception unit, and a third control unit that controls the data input unit, the transmission information storage unit, and the second network transmission / reception unit to input and output data; The device operation status detection method includes: a first step in which, when the third control unit of the server determines that the sensor device serial number of the sensor device and current transformer sensor unit characteristic information corresponding to the sensor device serial number have been input by the data input unit, the third control unit transmits the sensor device serial number and the current transformer sensor unit characteristic information as sensor device information from the second network transceiver unit onto the network in advance; a second step in which, in each of the gateways, when the second control unit determines that the sensor device information including the sensor device serial number associated with the gateway by the associating means has been received from the first network transmission / reception unit, the second control unit pre-stores the sensor device information in the sensor device information storage unit; a third step in which, in each of the sensor units of the sensor device, the first control unit outputs the measured voltage value to the wireless transmission unit, thereby transmitting the measured voltage value and the sensor device serial number of the sensor device from the wireless transmission unit of the sensor unit only once when the first control unit is started up or at regular intervals while the first control unit is started up; a fourth step in which, in each of the gateways, when the second control unit determines that it has received from the wireless receiving unit the transmitted information including the sensor device serial number associated with its own gateway by the associating means, the second control unit calculates a measured input current value, which is an input to the current transformer, from the current transformer sensor unit characteristic information in the sensor device information in the sensor device information storage unit that corresponds to the sensor device serial number in the transmitted information and the measured voltage value in the transmitted information, and transmits the sensor device serial number and the measured input current value as transmission information from the first network transmitting / receiving unit onto the network; a fifth step of storing the transmission information in the transmission information storage unit when the third control unit of the server determines that the transmission information has been received from the second network transmission / reception unit; A method comprising:

2. The device operating status detection method according to claim 1, further comprising: In the equipment operation status detection system, At least one of the wireless communication methods between the wireless transmitter of the sensor unit and the wireless receiver of the gateway is LoRa. A method characterized by:

3. 3. An appliance operating status detection system configured to perform the appliance operating status detection method according to claim 1.

4. A program for executing the device operation status detection method according to claim 1 or 2.

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