IED Quick Start

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling an intelligent electronic device (IED) for an electric power system component, the method including rebooting the IED, where rebooting includes reloading an operating system; executing a basic mode of the IED while the IED is rebooting, the basic mode including at least one function for protecting an electric power system component connected to the IED; and executing a normal mode after the operating system is reloaded, where the normal mode includes a function for protecting and controlling the electric power system component.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), and more particularly to a method for controlling an intelligent electronic device for a power system component, an IED for a power system component, and a corresponding system. [Background technology]

[0002] IEDs are rebooted during firmware updates, to load new configurations, or in the presence of a power failure. The reboot process can last for several minutes, given the increasing complexity of software stacks (operating systems, applications, etc.). During this time, the functionality of the IED is unavailable. This could lead to serious damage to power system components. Due to increasing complexity and security requirements, IEDs receive new security patches more frequently, so reboots caused by firmware updates are likely to become more frequent in the future. Also, as more software runs on IEDs, there is an increasing need to update the software to fix bugs or add new features. These updates are likely to require a reboot of the device.

[0003] To eliminate reboots due to power failures, uninterruptible power supplies are often used in high-voltage applications. However, these power supplies add complexity to the system, increasing system costs and adding maintenance and support requirements. This can be a barrier to adoption in use cases that require a low-cost solution. Another solution to mitigate failure of individual IEDs during reboots is to use redundant devices that provide the same functionality. However, this method still suffers from the issue of boot time intervals when the system is not protected in the event of a power failure.

[0004] Therefore, the present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above problems and challenges, and provides increased protection of power system components and the grid attached to IEDs. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The invention is defined in the independent patent claims. The dependent claims describe preferred embodiments.

[0006] The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling an intelligent electronic device (IED) for an electric power system component, the method including rebooting the IED, where rebooting includes reloading an operating system; executing a basic mode of the IED while the IED is rebooting, the basic mode including at least one function for protecting an electric power system component connected to the IED; and executing a normal mode after the operating system is reloaded, where the normal mode includes a function for protecting and controlling the electric power system component.

[0007] Various embodiments may preferably implement the following features. Preferably, the method further includes performing a handover procedure to move the functionality of the basic mode to the normal mode after the operating system has been reloaded, and execution of the basic mode is preferably stopped after performing the handover procedure.

[0008] Preferably, the power system component is at least one of a circuit breaker, a transformer, a switch / load changer, a tap changer, an electric motor, or a capacitor.

[0009] Preferably, the basic mode involves monitoring physical values ​​of system components. Preferably, the physical value is at least one of a current, a voltage, a pressure, a temperature, a power, a resistance, or an impedance.

[0010] Preferably, the method further comprises triggering a circuit breaker when the physical value exceeds a predetermined threshold, preferably for a predetermined time.

[0011] Preferably, a circuit breaker is triggered to disconnect the IED from the energy grid.

[0012] Preferably, the method is performed by two entities, which may be implemented as software and / or hardware.

[0013] Preferably, the method includes running a basic mode on the first entity and a normal mode on the second entity.

[0014] Preferably, the first entity and the second entity are provided as a single unit, or the first entity is provided as a separate unit from the second entity.

[0015] Preferably, the first entity is a first processing unit and the second entity is a second processing unit.

[0016] Preferably, the first entity is a hypervisor and the second entity is a virtual machine.

[0017] The present disclosure further relates to an intelligent electronic device (IED) for a power system component, the intelligent electronic device including a processing unit configured to: reboot the IED, where rebooting includes reloading an operating system; execute a basic mode of the IED while the IED is rebooting, where the processing unit is configured to provide at least one function for protecting a power system component connected to the IED in the basic mode; and execute a normal mode after the operating system is reloaded, where the processing unit is configured to provide the function for protecting and controlling the power system component in the normal mode.

[0018] Preferably, the processing unit is further configured to perform a handover procedure to move functionality of the basic mode to the normal mode after the operating system has been reloaded, and the processing unit is preferably further configured to stop execution of the basic mode after performing the handover procedure.

[0019] Preferably, the IED is configured to be connected to a power system component, the power system component being at least one of a circuit breaker, a transformer, a switch / load changer, a tap changer, an electric motor, or a capacitor.

[0020] Preferably, the processing unit is further configured to monitor physical values ​​of system components in the basic mode.

[0021] Preferably, the physical value is at least one of a current, a voltage, a pressure, a temperature, a power, a resistance, or an impedance.

[0022] Preferably, the processing unit is further configured to trigger a circuit breaker when the physical value exceeds a predetermined threshold, preferably for a predetermined time.

[0023] Preferably, a circuit breaker is triggered to disconnect the IED from the energy grid.

[0024] Preferably, the processing unit includes two entities, which may be implemented as software and / or hardware:

[0025] Preferably, the first entity is configured to perform the basic mode and the second entity is configured to perform the normal mode.

[0026] Preferably, the first entity and the second entity are provided as a single unit, or the first entity is provided as a separate unit from the second entity.

[0027] Preferably, the processing unit is a system on chip (SoC) device, the SoC device comprising at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an image processing unit, or a graphics processing unit (GPU), and the first entity is configured to execute the basic mode on a subset of the SoC. This corresponds to an example of a hardware-based implementation.

[0028] Preferably, the first entity is a hypervisor configured to run in basic mode, and the second entity is a virtual machine configured to run in normal mode, which corresponds to an example of a software-based implementation.

[0029] The present disclosure further relates to a system comprising a power system component and an intelligent electronic device (IED) as described above.

[0030] The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are intended to provide additional features that will become readily apparent from a review of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. According to various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is understood, however, that these embodiments are presented by way of example and not limitation, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure that various modifications to the disclosed embodiments may be made while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0031] Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the example embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Additionally, the specific order and / or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is merely example approaches. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in a disclosed method or process may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, those skilled in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or operations in a sample order, and that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented, unless otherwise stated.

[0032] These and other aspects and implementations thereof are described in more detail in the drawings, the specification, and the claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0033] [Figure 1] 1 is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary IED according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0034] The method according to the present disclosure, sometimes referred to as quick-starting an IED, allows an IED to initiate basic control and / or protection functions (basic mode) without waiting for the entire operating system to be reloaded in the event of a reboot. In one embodiment, the basic IED mode can run outside of the operating system until the system is fully reloaded.

[0035] As used herein, in basic mode, a minimum protection system may be in operation. In normal mode, more advanced and selective protection and control schemes may be enabled and implemented. Note that normal mode may cover the functionality of basic mode.

[0036] The method will be described with reference to FIG. 1 , which shows an exemplary flowchart. The method is used to control an IED of a power system component. In particular, when the IED is operating in a normal mode S1, the method includes rebooting the IED S2, where the rebooting step S2 includes reloading the operating system. In parallel with the rebooting step S2, the IED executes a basic mode S3 of the IED, where the basic mode includes at least one function for protecting the power system component connected to the IED. After the operating system is reloaded, the IED executes the normal mode S1.

[0037] In other words, the IED can perform a handover from running the basic mode S3 to (back to) running the normal mode S1 after the operating system has been reloaded and the reboot step S2 has been completed.

[0038] The power system component to which the IED is attached may be one of a circuit breaker, a transformer, a switch / load changer, a tap changer, an electric motor, or a capacitor. The above list is not exhaustive and the present disclosure may be utilized with other suitable components.

[0039] Generally, as noted above, the base mode may relate to functions more related to protection of attached system components, while the normal mode may additionally or alternatively relate to functions related to control of power system components.

[0040] The basic mode can include monitoring physical values ​​of grid components. The physical values ​​can be, for example, at least one of current, voltage, pressure, temperature, power, resistance, or impedance, and this list is not exhaustive. Any value that indicates a possible fault or problem in the energy grid or its respective component can be monitored and processed.

[0041] The method may further include triggering a circuit breaker if the physical value exceeds a predetermined threshold. Action may be taken after the threshold has been exceeded for a minimum amount of time (a predetermined time), which may also be provided as a parameter of the function. Generally, the basic mode may monitor any physical value. The trigger function may then take one or more of the monitored physical values ​​into account when deciding whether or not to trigger the circuit breaker to disconnect the IED from the grid and avoid damage to the device.

[0042] Normal mode may consist of more complex functions, such as functions that require the history of monitored physical values ​​as input (e.g., directional and distance protection functions). Other examples of complex functions are those that depend on other functions. For example, an inrush protection function blocks an overcurrent function during transformer switch-on. In normal mode, multiple IEDs can be connected and the collected data, i.e., measured physical values, can be processed for the control and / or protection of each IED.

[0043] The method may be performed on two entities 11, 12. That is, the method may include running a basic mode on a first entity 11 and a normal mode on a second entity 12. The first entity 11 and the second entity 12 may be provided as a single unit, or the first entity 11 may be provided as a separate unit from the second entity 12.

[0044] The first entity 11 may be a first processing unit (processor) and the second entity 12 may be a second processing unit (processor). The method may also be implemented on a virtual machine, where the first entity 11 may be a hypervisor and the second entity 12 may be a virtual machine.

[0045] The present disclosure also relates to a corresponding IED 1 for a power system component, comprising a processing unit 10 configured to perform the method as described above. All functions described in the context of the method are applicable to the IED, and vice versa, and the processor unit 10 may be configured to perform the respective functions.

[0046] Thus, the processing unit 10 is configured to: reboot the IED, where rebooting includes reloading the operating system; execute a basic mode of the IED1 while the IED1 is rebooting, where the processing unit 10 is configured to provide at least one function for protecting power system components connected to the IED1 in the basic mode; and execute a normal mode after the operating system is reloaded, where the processing unit 10 is configured to provide a function for protecting and controlling the power system components in the normal mode.

[0047] An exemplary schematic diagram of an IED 1 according to the present disclosure is depicted in Figure 2. In particular, the IED comprises a processing unit 10 which may include a first entity 11 and a second entity 12, in line with the methods described above. As indicated by the dashed line of the first entity 11, the first entity 11 and the second entity 12 may be provided as a single unit, or the first entity 11 may be provided as a separate unit from the second entity 12.

[0048] As non-limiting examples, two ways of implementing a processing unit can be described. As a first example, the processing unit may be a system on chip (SoC) device, which includes at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an image processing unit, or a graphics processing unit (GPU). Multiple elements of an SoC device may be integrated into the same circuit. The normal mode may utilize the complete SoC device, while the basic mode may run on a different processing unit (see above) or a subset of the SoC than the normal mode.

[0049] In other words, the normal mode may run on the main processing unit (second entity 12, e.g., CPU) and the basic mode may run "bare metal" on the secondary processing unit (first entity 11, e.g., DSP).

[0050] When the system is rebooted, the secondary processing unit (first entity 11) executes the basic mode in “bare metal” mode while the main processing unit (second entity 12) reloads the operating system and the entire software stack. The term “bare metal” may refer to execution without an operating system. An advantage of a bare metal implementation is that it does not require the time to load an operating system. Thus, starting the basic mode may take a short period of time, e.g., less than one second. During this basic mode, the secondary processing unit may periodically check a flag stored in shared memory. This flag indicates whether the main processing unit has restored the entire software stack and is ready to execute in normal mode. When the system is reloaded, the main unit may set the flag to TRUE and resume execution. Optionally, the normal mode (executing on the second entity 12 acting as the main processing unit) inherits state from the quick-start secondary unit (first entity 11). This state may be available via shared memory. This state memory is also periodically updated by the main processing unit (second entity 12) so that when the system is rebooted the quickstart unit (first entity 11) uses this shared state to initialize its functions.

[0051] As a second example, the basic mode may be implemented using a virtual machine: the first entity 11 may be a hypervisor configured to run the basic mode, and the second entity 12 may be a virtual machine configured to run the normal mode.

[0052] A hypervisor, also known as a virtual machine monitor, is software that creates, runs, and manages virtual machines. When rebooted, the hypervisor has a significantly shorter initialization time compared to the overall system load. Therefore, the basic mode logic can operate as part of the hypervisor until the entire virtual machine that provides the normal mode is restored.

[0053] When the system reboots, the hypervisor can load very quickly, for example, within less than a second. Basic functionality can be included in the hypervisor and available while the virtual machine is being reloaded. Through the internal virtual network, the hypervisor can detect when the virtual machine has been restored and hand over functionality. Normal mode is then executed.

[0054] The present disclosure also relates to a system comprising an electric power system component and an intelligent electronic device as described above.

[0055] In the present disclosure, a novel quick-start feature for an IED is provided. By using a basic functional mode (i.e., basic control and / or protection algorithms) almost immediately after the device restarts and while the operating system is still rebooting, efficient protection and / or control of power system components attached to the IED can be ensured. This can avoid damage to the device itself, the power system components and the grid, or other devices / elements attached to the IED via the grid.

[0056] The remaining functionality (normal mode) becomes available once the entire software stack is reloaded.

[0057] Other aspects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the above summary and the following description, including the drawings and claims.

[0058] While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Similarly, various figures may depict example architectures or configurations provided to enable those skilled in the art to understand exemplary features and functionality of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the present disclosure is not limited to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but may be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. Furthermore, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, one or more features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described example embodiments.

[0059] It is also understood that any reference to an element herein using a designation such as "first," "second," etc., generally does not limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, reference to a first element and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be utilized or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

[0060] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that information and signals may be represented using any one of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols that may be referenced in the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0061] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, units, processors, means, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementations, analog implementations, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions (which for convenience may be referred to herein as "software" or "software units"), or any combination of these techniques.

[0062] To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various exemplary components, blocks, units, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or a combination of these techniques, depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, and such implementation decisions do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure. According to various embodiments, a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, unit, etc. may be configured to perform one or more functions described herein. The terms “configured to” or “configured for,” as used herein with respect to a specified operation or function, refer to a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, unit, etc. that is physically constructed, programmed, and / or configured to perform the specified operation or function.

[0063] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the various example logical blocks, units, devices, components, and circuits described herein can be implemented or embodied in an integrated circuit (IC), which can include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logical blocks, units, and circuits can further include an antenna and / or transceiver for communicating with various components within a network or device. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in combination with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration for performing the functions described herein. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium.

[0064] As used herein, the term "unit" refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. Furthermore, for purposes of explanation, various units are described as individual units. However, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art, two or more units may be combined to form a single unit that performs associated functions according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0065] Additionally, embodiments of the present disclosure may utilize memory or other storage devices and communication components. It will be appreciated that, for clarity, the above description has described embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains may be used without detracting from the present disclosure. For example, functionality shown to be performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Thus, references to specific functional units do not indicate a strict logical or physical structure or organization, but merely to suitable means for providing the described functionality.

[0066] Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method for controlling an intelligent electronic device (IED) (1) for a power system component, comprising: rebooting (S2) the IED (1), wherein rebooting includes reloading an operating system; Executing (S3) a basic mode of the IED (1) while the IED (1) is rebooting, the basic mode including at least one function for protecting a power system component connected to the IED (1); and executing (S1) a normal mode after the operating system is reloaded, the normal mode including functionality for protecting and controlling the power system components.

2. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: after the operating system is reloaded, performing a handover procedure to move the functionality of the basic mode to the normal mode, wherein the execution of the basic mode is preferably stopped after performing the handover procedure.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the power system component is at least one of a circuit breaker, a transformer, a switch / load changer, a tap changer, an electric motor, or a capacitor.

4. the fundamental mode includes monitoring a physical value of the system component; The physical value is preferably at least one of a current, a voltage, a pressure, a temperature, a power, a resistance, or an impedance; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, preferably further comprising triggering a circuit breaker to disconnect the IED (1) from an energy grid when the physical value exceeds a predetermined threshold, preferably for a predetermined time.

5. The method is carried out by two entities (11, 12), The method includes executing the basic mode on a first entity (11) and executing the normal mode on a second entity (12); 10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein preferably the first entity (11) and the second entity (12) are provided as a single unit or the first entity (11) is provided as a separate unit from the second entity (12).

6. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first entity (11) is a first processing unit and the second entity (12) is a second processing unit.

7. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first entity (11) is a hypervisor and the second entity (12) is a virtual machine.

8. An intelligent electronic device (IED) (1) for a power system component, comprising a processing unit (10, 11, 12), the processing unit (10, 11, 12) comprising: rebooting the IED (1), wherein rebooting includes reloading an operating system; Executing a basic mode of the IED (1) while the IED (1) is rebooting, wherein the processing unit (10, 11, 12) is configured to provide at least one function for protecting a power system component connected to the IED (1) in the basic mode; executing a normal mode after the operating system has been reloaded, the processing unit (10, 11, 12) being configured to provide functionality for protecting and controlling the power system components in the normal mode; An intelligent electronic device (IED) (1) configured to:

9. 9. The IED (1) of claim 8, wherein the processing unit (10, 11, 12) is further configured to perform a handover procedure to move the functionality of the basic mode to the normal mode after the operating system is reloaded, and the processing unit (10, 11, 12) is preferably further configured to stop the execution of the basic mode after performing the handover procedure.

10. 10. The IED (1) of claim 8 or 9, wherein the IED (1) is configured to be connected to a power system component, the power system component being at least one of a circuit breaker, a transformer, a switch / load changer, a tap changer, an electric motor, or a capacitor.

11. the processing unit (10, 11, 12) is further configured to monitor physical values ​​of the system components in the basic mode; The physical value is preferably at least one of a current, a voltage, a pressure, a temperature, a power, a resistance, or an impedance; The IED (1) according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the processing unit (10, 11, 12) is preferably further configured to trigger a circuit breaker to disconnect the IED (1) from an energy grid when the physical value exceeds a predetermined threshold, preferably for a predetermined time.

12. The processing unit (10, 11, 12) comprises two entities (11, 12), a first entity (11) configured to perform said basic mode and a second entity (12) configured to perform said normal mode; Preferably, the first entity and the second entity (12) are provided as a single unit, or the first entity (11) is provided as a separate unit from the second entity (12).

13. the processing units (10, 11, 12) are system on chip (SoC) devices, the SoC devices comprising at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an image processing unit, or a graphics processing unit (GPU); 13. The IED (1) of claim 12, wherein the first entity (11) is configured to run the basic mode on a subset of the SoCs.

14. 13. The IED (1) of claim 12, wherein the first entity (11) is a hypervisor configured to execute the basic mode, and the second entity (12) is a virtual machine configured to execute the normal mode.

15. A system comprising a power system component and an intelligent electronic device (IED) (1) according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

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