Power system

Abstract

To prevent excessive temperature drops in a power storage device.SOLUTION: In a power system including a plurality of underground storage battery devices, at least a portion of wiring for connecting the plurality of storage battery devices is disposed in an underground drainage pipe through which domestic wastewater flows, thereby preventing excessive temperature drops in the storage battery devices.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to power systems. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, one proposed power system of this type includes an underground storage battery (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This system includes an exhaust pipe that discharges gases inside or around the storage battery above ground. This allows gases generated inside the storage battery and gases and water vapor remaining around the storage battery to be discharged above ground through the exhaust pipe. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-138638 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-described power system, when the underground temperature drops in winter, the temperature of the power storage device may drop excessively.

[0005] The main purpose of the power system of the present disclosure is to prevent an excessive temperature drop in the power storage device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The power system of the present disclosure employs the following measures to achieve the above-mentioned main object.

[0007] The power system of the present disclosure includes: An electric power system including a plurality of underground storage devices, At least a portion of the wiring for connecting the plurality of power storage devices to each other is disposed underground in a drainage pipe through which domestic wastewater flows. The gist of this is as follows.

[0008] In the power system disclosed herein, at least a portion of the wiring for connecting multiple power storage devices is disposed underground in a drainage pipe through which domestic wastewater flows. The temperature of domestic wastewater in the drainage pipe is often higher than that underground, even in winter. Because at least a portion of the wiring is disposed in the drainage pipe through which domestic wastewater flows, heat in the drainage pipe can be transferred to the power storage devices via the wiring. As a result, excessive temperature drops in the power storage devices can be suppressed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a power system 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration and operation of a switch 26a. FIG. [Figure 3] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration and operation of a switch 26a of a modified example. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a power system 20 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The power system 20 includes a plurality of power storage devices 22 and a power transmission line 24.

[0011] The plurality of power storage devices 22 are configured as, for example, lithium-ion secondary batteries or nickel-metal hydride secondary batteries. Each power storage device 22 is installed in a storage tank 30 buried underground. The storage tank 30 has an opening above ground and is attached to a manhole 32 buried underground. The storage tank 30 temporarily stores rainwater and the like that flows into the manhole 32. The manhole 32 is buried underground and communicates with a drainage pipe 34 through which domestic wastewater flows.

[0012] Power transmission line 24 is connected to a plurality of power storage devices 22, a solar power generation device 40 installed on the ground, and an external charging device 42 that charges a vehicle V installed on the ground. Positive line 24a of power transmission line 24 is connected to positive line 23a of wiring 23 extending from the plurality of power storage devices 22 via switch 26a installed in manhole 32. Negative line 24b of power transmission line 24 is connected to negative line 23b of wiring 23 extending from the plurality of power storage devices 22 via switch 26b installed in manhole 32. A portion of power transmission line 24 is disposed inside drainage pipe 34.

[0013] 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration and operation of switch 26a. Switch 26a includes push plate 27a, movable contact 27b located at the tip of movable segment 27d, and fixed contact 27c located at the tip of fixed segment 27e fixed to the end of manhole 32. Push plate 27a is positioned so as not to contact movable segment 27d when manhole 32 is open, but is positioned so as to contact movable segment 27d when lid 33 is placed over the opening of manhole 32. When lid 33 is placed over the opening of manhole 32, push plate 27a presses and deforms movable segment 27d, causing movable contact 27b to come into contact with fixed contact 27c and connect positive line 23a of wiring 23 to positive line 24a of power transmission line 24. When the cover 33 is removed from the opening of the manhole 32, the pressure on the movable segment 27d of the movable contact 27b is released, the movable segment 27d returns to its original shape, and the movable contact 27b moves away from the fixed contact 27c, thereby disconnecting the positive line 23a of the wiring 23 from the positive line 24a of the power transmission line 24. That is, when the cover 33 is placed over the opening of the manhole 32, the switch 26a is turned on to connect the positive line 23a of the wiring 23 to the positive line 24a of the power transmission line 24, and when the cover 33 is not placed over the opening of the manhole 32, the switch 26a is turned off to disconnect the positive line 23a of the wiring 23 from the positive line 24a of the power transmission line 24. The switch 26b has a similar configuration to the switch 26a. Switch 26b is turned on when lid 33 is installed on the opening of manhole 32, connecting negative line 23b of wiring 23 to negative line 24b of power transmission line 24, and is turned off when lid 33 is not installed on the opening of manhole 32, disconnecting negative line 23b of wiring 23 from negative line 24b of power transmission line 24.

[0014] In power system 20 configured in this manner, when lid 33 is placed over the opening of manhole 32, switches 26a and 26b are turned on. As a result, multiple power storage devices 22 are connected to each other via wiring 23 and power transmission line 24 to form a large-capacity storage battery group. Electric power generated by solar power generation device 40 is supplied to multiple power storage devices 22 via power transmission line 24 and wiring 23, thereby charging multiple power storage devices 22. In addition, the electric power generated by solar power generation device 40 and the electric power stored in multiple power storage devices 22 are supplied to external charging device 42. External charging device 42 charges vehicle V using the supplied electric power.

[0015] In the power system 20, the power storage devices 22, the wiring 23, and the power transmission lines 24 are disposed underground, making them less susceptible to fluctuations in outside air temperature. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a temperature rise in the power storage devices 22, the wiring 23, and the power transmission lines 24 in response to an increase in outside air temperature due to radiation in summer, and to suppress a temperature drop in the power storage devices 22, the wiring 23, and the power transmission lines 24 in response to a decrease in outside air temperature in winter. Furthermore, a portion of the wiring connecting the power storage devices 22, i.e., a portion of the power transmission lines 24, is disposed underground in a drainage pipe 34 through which domestic wastewater flows. Since the temperature of domestic wastewater is somewhat high in winter (e.g., above 18°C), the heat from the domestic wastewater can be transmitted to the power transmission lines 24, the wiring 23, and the power storage devices 22 as a heat source. This suppresses an excessive temperature drop in the power storage devices 22, and suppresses a decrease in battery performance due to low temperatures in the power storage devices 22.

[0016] Furthermore, when cover 33 is not installed on the opening of manhole 32, switches 26a and 26b are turned off, and the connection between power storage device 22 and power transmission line 24 is released. As a result, when a worker enters manhole 32 to inspect or work on power storage device 22, cover 33 can be removed from the opening of manhole 32, thereby protecting the worker. Furthermore, even when cover 33 is not installed on the opening of manhole 32, the connections between power transmission line 24 and solar power generation device 40 and external charging device 42 are maintained. Therefore, when inspecting or working on power storage device 22, the work can be performed without interrupting power transmission from solar power generation device 40 to power transmission line 24 or power reception from power transmission line 24 by external charging device 42, thereby improving convenience.

[0017] According to the power system 20 of the present embodiment described above, by placing at least a portion of the power transmission lines 24 for connecting the multiple power storage devices 22 together inside a drainage pipe 34 that is placed underground and through which domestic wastewater flows, excessive temperature drops in the power storage devices 22 can be suppressed.

[0018] In the above-described embodiment, switches 26a and 26b are configured as switches including push plate 27a, movable contact 27b, and fixed contact 27c. However, switches 26a and 26b may have any configuration as long as they are turned on when lid 33 is placed over the opening of manhole 32 and turned off when lid 33 is not placed over the opening of manhole 32. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 3, switches 26a and 26b may be configured as switches including light-emitting unit 127a that emits laser light upward and light-receiving unit 127b that, upon receiving the light, drives movable contact 27b to bring it into contact with fixed contact 27c. In this way, when the lid 33 is placed over the opening of the manhole 32, the light emitted from the light-emitting unit 127a is reflected by the lid 33 and received by the light-receiving unit 127b, connecting the movable contact 27b and the fixed contact 27c, turning on the switches 26a and 26b; when the lid 33 is not placed over the opening of the manhole 32, the light emitted from the light-emitting unit 127a is not received by the light-receiving unit 127b, and the connection between the movable contact 27b and the fixed contact 27c is released, turning off the switches 26a and 26b.

[0019] In the above-described embodiment, the power transmission line 24 is connected to the wiring 23 via the switches 26a and 26b. However, the power transmission line 24 may be connected to the wiring 23 without the switches 26a and 26b, or the power transmission line 24 may be connected directly to the power storage device 22.

[0020] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the section on means for solving the problem will be explained below. In the embodiment, the power storage device 22 corresponds to the "power storage device" and the power transmission line 24 corresponds to the "wiring."

[0021] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiments and the main elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section does not limit the elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section, since the embodiments are examples for specifically explaining the mode for implementing the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section should be based on the description in that section, and the embodiments are merely specific examples of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section.

[0022] Although the embodiments have been described above as modes for carrying out the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments and can, of course, be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0023] The present disclosure is applicable to the power system manufacturing industry and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 20 Power system, 22 Power storage device, 23 Wiring, 23a, 24a Positive line, 23b, 24b Negative line, 24 Transmission line, 26a, 26b Switch, 27a Push plate, 27b Moving contact, 27c Fixed contact, 27d Moving intercept, 27e Fixed intercept, 30 Storage tank, 32 Manhole, 33 Cover, 34 Drain pipe, 40 Solar power generation device, 42 External charging device, 127a Light projecting unit, 127b Light receiving unit, V Vehicle.

Claims

[Claim 1] An electric power system including a plurality of underground storage devices, At least a portion of the wiring for connecting the plurality of power storage devices to each other is disposed underground in a drainage pipe through which domestic wastewater flows. Power system.

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