Management device, management method, storage medium, and program

Abstract

A management device that controls an interrupting means provided between an electric power source and each of a plurality of receptacles, the management device including: a monitor means that on the basis of a difference between supplied power of the electric power source and power consumption of a load connected to each of the plurality of receptacles, determines whether each receptacle is in insufficient power supply status; a determination means that determines priority of the plurality of receptacles; and a control means that brings the interrupting means associated with the receptacle with low priority based on the determination result by the determination means into a shut-off status, if the receptacle is determined by the monitor means to be in the insufficient power supply status.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a power supply technology in an off-grid or microgrid. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, off-grid power supply systems have been adopted to meet the demand for electricity in areas without electricity or during disasters. In such off-grid power supply systems, power is supplied not from large-scale power generation facilities such as power plants, but from power supply sources such as solar power generation, engine power generation, and batteries connected to the system. Therefore, the power that can be supplied by the power supply system depends on the power generation capacity of the connected power supply source. Therefore, in order to operate the power supply system stably, it is necessary to control the power supply situation when the power generation capacity decreases or when the power consumption exceeds the power generation capacity.

[0003] Patent document 1 discloses a method for controlling whether or not to permit energy consumption based on the characteristics (use) of electrical devices connected to the grid or subgrid when there is demand under conditions where the available energy is low. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-535972 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the method of Patent Document 1, the load (device, etc.) connected to the outlet is identified, and whether or not to permit power consumption is determined according to its use, which may not necessarily meet the demands of consumers. In other words, if the use of the load desired by a consumer is determined to be a low-priority use, there are cases in which the load cannot be used.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to realize a stable power supply while reflecting the demand of consumers in a power supply system where the power supply is restricted. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to the present invention, A management device for controlling an interruption means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, a monitoring means for determining whether or not a power supply shortage state exists based on a difference between the power supply of the power supply source and the power consumption of the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; A determining means for determining a priority of the plurality of outlets; a control means for turning off the on / off means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on a result of the determination by the determination means when the monitoring means determines that the supply is insufficient, each of the plurality of outlets includes an acquisition means for acquiring, when a load is connected, priority identification information from a storage medium to which the priority identification information is assigned; the determining means determines a priority of each of the plurality of outlets based on the priority identification information acquired by the acquiring means; A management device is provided.

[0008] Further, according to the present invention A management method for controlling an interruption means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, comprising the steps of: The management device: a monitoring step of determining whether or not there is a supply shortage state based on a difference between the power supplied by the power supply source and the power consumed by the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; a determining step of determining a priority of the plurality of outlets; a control step of turning off the interrupting means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on a result of the determination step when it is determined in the monitoring step that the supply is insufficient, each of the plurality of outlets acquires, when a load is connected, identification information of a priority from a storage medium to which the identification information of a priority is assigned; In the determining step, a priority of each of the plurality of outlets is determined based on the priority identification information acquired for the each of the plurality of outlets. A management method is provided.

[0009] According to the present invention, A computer that controls an interrupting means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, a monitoring process for determining whether or not there is a supply shortage state based on a difference between the power supplied by the power supply source and the power consumed by the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; a process for determining a priority of the plurality of outlets; a control process for turning off the interrupting means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on a result of the determination process when the supply shortage state is determined in the monitoring process; and A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing the following: each of the plurality of outlets acquires, when a load is connected, identification information of a priority from a storage medium to which the identification information of a priority is assigned; In the determination process, a priority of each of the plurality of outlets is determined based on the priority identification information acquired for the each of the plurality of outlets. A storage medium is provided.

[0010] According to the present invention, A computer that controls an interrupting means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, a monitoring process for determining whether or not there is a supply shortage state based on a difference between the power supplied by the power supply source and the power consumed by the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; a process for determining a priority of the plurality of outlets; a control process for turning off the interrupting means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on a result of the determination process when the supply shortage state is determined in the monitoring process; and A program for executing each of the plurality of outlets acquires, when a load is connected, identification information of a priority from a storage medium to which the identification information of a priority is assigned; In the determination process, a priority of each of the plurality of outlets is determined based on the priority identification information acquired for the each of the plurality of outlets. A program characterized by the above is provided. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, in an electric power supply system where the amount of power supply is restricted, it is possible to realize a stable supply of electric power while reflecting the demand of consumers.

[0012] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components throughout the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. [Figure 1] Schematic diagram of the power supply system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a management device 100. [Diagram 3] A block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the dwelling unit 300. [Figure 4]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating outlet information managed by an outlet DB 110. [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an intermittent control process executed by the management device 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6A] A diagram illustrating another method for prioritizing outlets. [Figure 6B] FIG. 13 illustrates yet another technique for prioritizing outlets. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] [Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more features among the multiple features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. In addition, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0015] In the embodiment described below, an example of a management device in which the present invention is applied to a management device capable of monitoring the power generation status of a power supply source and the power supply status to a plurality of dwelling units used by consumers in an off-grid power supply system will be described. However, the present invention can be applied to any device capable of monitoring the power supplied from a power supply source to the power supply system and the power consumption of a load connected to an outlet belonging to the power supply system.

[0016] In addition, in this specification, the term "power supply source" refers to any device equipped with a power supply function. For example, typical power supply sources in an off-grid power supply system include generators of any power generation method, such as solar power generation, wind power generation, and engine power generation. A charged battery can also be used as the power supply source.

[0017] <Power supply system configuration> 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a power supply system according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the power supply system, power is supplied from a power supply source 200 to a plurality of dwelling units 300 via a predetermined power line. Each dwelling unit 300 is provided with one or more outlets 302 and an electronic control unit (ECU: Electronic Control Unit) 301 that acquires the power supply status to the load connected to each outlet 302 and switches the presence or absence of power supply to each outlet 302. A management device 100 manages the power supply to all of the outlets 302 belonging to the power supply system. In the power supply system, the management device 100, the power supply source 200, and the plurality of ECUs 301 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network 350.

[0018] In any of the dwelling units 300, when a load is connected to the outlet 302, the ECU 301 intermittently acquires the power supply status to the load. The ECU 301 sends the acquired information on the power supply status together with information identifying the outlet 302 to the management device 100, and the management device 100 can acquire the power supply status to the outlet 302. The power supply source 200 is also provided with a communication unit (not shown) that intermittently acquires information on the power (supplied power) being supplied to the power supply system as its power generation status, and the management device 100 acquires the supplied power information from the communication unit.

[0019] The power supply system of this embodiment is assumed to be an off-grid system that supplies power generated by the power supply source 200 to a small area having, for example, about 10 dwelling units 300, and therefore the network 350 will be described as a LAN. However, in a mode in which power is supplied to a wider area or in a mode in which information is transmitted to an external server (not shown) to calculate power usage fees, for example, the network 350 may be a wide area network such as the Internet.

[0020] The hardware configuration involved in realizing the present invention will be further described below with reference to the drawings.

[0021] <Hardware Configuration of Management Device 100> First, the hardware configuration of the management device 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 2. The control unit 101 is a processor represented by a CPU, and realizes operation control of each block and various functions described later by expanding a program recorded in the storage device 102 into the memory 103 and executing it. The storage device 102 is a non-volatile storage device capable of permanently storing information, such as a ROM or HDD. Here, the program executed by the control unit 101 may be installed in the storage device 102 of the management device 100 via a storage medium such as a CD-ROM. The memory 103 is a volatile storage device such as a RAM, and is used not only as a program expansion area and a function work area, but also as a storage area for temporarily recording information output by the operation of each block. The communication I / F 104 is an interface for performing information communication with an external device, and in this embodiment, performs information communication with each ECU 301 and a communication unit of the power supply source 200 via a network 350.

[0022] The storage device 102 includes an outlet DB 110 that manages various information (outlet information) related to the outlets 302 belonging to the power supply system, in addition to the programs executed by the control unit 101. For the purpose of simplifying the explanation, it is assumed that the management device 100 of this embodiment sequentially receives information on the power supply status to each outlet 302 from each ECU 301, and updates the managed outlet information.

[0023] <Outlet Information> The outlet information managed for each outlet 302 in the outlet DB 110 is configured such that each record includes an outlet ID 401, a dwelling unit ID 402, a priority 403, a load connection flag 404, a supply status 405, and an on-off status 406, as shown in FIG.

[0024] Here, the outlet ID 401 is identification information that uniquely identifies the outlet 302 that belongs to the power supply system. The dwelling unit ID 402 is identification information that uniquely identifies the dwelling unit 300 in which the outlet 302 is installed. The priority 403 is information that indicates the priority of power supply in the entire power supply system, set for the outlet 302. Although details will be described later, in the power supply system of this embodiment, a consumer can set a priority for the outlet 302 by attaching an IC tag around the plug of the load and inserting it into the outlet 302. The priority information for the outlet 302 may be obtained, for example, when a load is connected to the outlet 302, and sent to the management device 100.

[0025] The load connection flag 404 is information indicating whether or not a load is connected to the corresponding outlet 302. The load connection flag 404 may be, for example, logical information, and indicates that a load is connected when it is "True" and that a load is not connected when it is "False." Whether or not a load is connected is determined and managed based on, for example, the detection result received by the management device 100 when the ECU 301 detects that a plug related to a load is inserted into the outlet 302 and becomes conductive, and that the plug is removed and becomes non-conductive, and the determination is managed based on this detection result.

[0026] The supply status 405 indicates various information indicating the power supply status to the load connected to the corresponding outlet 302. In this embodiment, the supply status 405 includes a power consumption history 411 indicating the power consumption by the connected load for a plurality of timings including the latest information acquisition timing, and a connection time 412 indicating the timing when the load was connected. The power consumption history 411 may be configured to be capable of holding a history for a predetermined period of time, such as 24 hours or one week.

[0027] The intermittent state 406 indicates whether or not power is being supplied to the corresponding outlet 302. Although details will be described later, in a situation where the power consumption of the entire power supply system is greater than the power supplied by the power supply source 200 to the power supply system, the supply voltage may drop and all connected loads may stop. For this reason, in the power supply system of this embodiment, an interrupter is provided in the power line connected to the outlet 302, and control is performed to appropriately cut off the power supply to some of the outlets 302 so as to prevent a power shortage.

[0028] For example, the record 421 shown in FIG. 4 indicates outlet information related to the outlet 302 provided in the dwelling unit 300 with the dwelling unit ID 402 of "A" and identified in the power supply system with the outlet ID 401 of "A0003". The information of the priority 403 and the intermittent state 406 indicates that the priority of the outlet 302 is set to "high" and that the outlet 302 is currently in a state in which power can be supplied via the power line. The information of the load connection flag 404 indicates that a load is currently connected to the outlet 302. The information of the supply status 405 indicates that a load was connected at 13:23:35 on March 1, 2022, and the history of power consumption at the most recent specified time.

[0029] Hardware configuration for dwelling unit 300 Next, the hardware configuration installed in each dwelling unit 300 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of Fig. 3. ECU 301 is hardware incorporating a CPU, ROM, RAM, and a communication I / F, and executes various controls related to one or more outlets 302 provided in one dwelling unit 300 based on information received from management device 100. ECU 301 also transmits and receives information to and from management device 100. Each of outlets 302 includes a tag reader 311, a power meter 312, and an interrupter 313 as shown in the figure.

[0030] In the power supply system of the present embodiment, a consumer can set the priority of the outlet 302 as desired by attaching an IC tag to the plug of a load connected to the outlet 302. The IC tag is configured with a built-in storage medium to which priority identification information is attached. In the following description, in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, it is assumed that two types of usable IC tags, "high (highest priority)" and "medium (second highest priority)", have been issued. Therefore, each consumer can assign three levels of priority, high, medium, and low, to the outlet 302 to which a load is connected in three ways: (1) attaching a high IC tag to the plug of the load, (2) attaching a medium IC tag to the plug of the load, and (3) attaching no tag to the plug of the load. The IC tag may be issued, for example, by the provider of the power supply system or the power supply source 200 and distributed to each consumer. Alternatively, the IC tag may be distributed as appropriate in response to a request from a consumer.

[0031] When a load is connected to the outlet 302, that is, when the plug 320 of the load is inserted, the tag reader 311 acquires information from the IC tag 321 attached to the plug 320. That is, the tag reader 311 acquires priority identification information from a storage medium of the IC tag 321 attached to the plug 320, for example, by close proximity wireless communication. When the tag reader 311 acquires the priority identification information, it associates, for example, the outlet ID of the outlet 302, and transmits the information to the ECU 301. When the ECU 301 receives the priority identification information from the tag reader 311, it associates the corresponding outlet ID and transmits the information to the management device 100. Then, the control unit 101 updates the priority 403 of the corresponding outlet information based on the received information, thereby realizing the setting of the priority related to the corresponding outlet 302. At this time, the control unit 101 may also update the connection time 412 of the outlet information based on the reception time of the information.

[0032] The power meter 312 intermittently measures the power supplied to the load (power consumed by the load) connected to the outlet 302. When the power meter 312 obtains a measurement result, it transmits the measurement result to the ECU 301, for example by associating the measurement result with the outlet ID of the outlet 302. When the ECU 301 receives the measurement result from the power meter 312, it transmits the measurement result to the management device 100, associating the measurement result with the corresponding outlet ID. Then, the control unit 101 updates the power consumption history 411 of the corresponding outlet information based on the received measurement result.

[0033] The interrupter 313 is configured to switch the on / off state of the electric path to the outlet 302. The interrupter 313 can switch between a connected state in which power is supplied to a load connected to the outlet 302, and a cut-off state in which power is not supplied to the load. The state change (on / off) of the interrupter 313 is controlled by the ECU 301.

[0034] <<Outline of intermittent control>> An outline of the on / off control for switching on / off the power supply to each outlet 302 in the power supply system of this embodiment will be described below.

[0035] In the power supply system of this embodiment, the control unit 101 monitors the power supply status of the entire system and judges whether or not power supply to some of the outlets 302 should be cut off. As described above, the management device 100 collects information on the power supply from the power supply source 200 and information on the power supply status of the outlets 302 to which a load is connected (hereinafter referred to as the used outlets) from the ECU 301 of each dwelling unit 300. The control unit 101 first adds up the power consumption of all the used outlets at a predetermined time interval to derive the power consumption of the entire power supply system at that time (hereinafter referred to as the total power consumption). More specifically, the control unit 101 identifies information for which the load connection flag 404 is true among the outlet information managed by the outlet DB 110, and derives the total power consumption by summing up the power consumption at the latest information acquisition timing included in the power consumption history 411 of the information. Then, the control unit 101 judges whether or not there is a current supply shortage state based on the difference between the derived total power consumption and the supplied power.

[0036] Here, the supply shortage state may include a state in which the total power consumption exceeds the supply power and a state in which a supply shortage actually occurs, and a state in which a supply shortage does not actually occur but may occur. The state in which a supply shortage actually occurs includes a state in which the total power consumption increases and exceeds the supply power, and a state in which the supply power decreases and the supply power falls below the total power consumption. In addition, the state in which a supply shortage may occur may be determined based on a predetermined condition, such as, for example, the value of the total power consumption minus the supply power is below a threshold value, or it is predicted that a supply shortage will occur within a predetermined time based on the history of the total power consumption and the supply power.

[0037] When it is determined that there is a current supply shortage, the control unit 101 determines an outlet with a low priority among the outlets in use as an outlet for cutting off the corresponding power interrupter 313, i.e., an outlet for cutting off the power supply to the load (hereinafter referred to as a cut-off outlet). Specifically, when there is a supply shortage, the control unit 101 identifies one of the outlets in use that has the lowest priority set at that time and determines it as the cut-off outlet. Then, the control unit 101 configures and sends a command to the ECU 301 of the dwelling unit 300 in which the determined cut-off outlet is installed, to cut off the power interrupter 313 associated with that outlet. Upon receiving the command, the ECU 301 controls the corresponding power interrupter 313 to be switched to the cut-off state. As a result, when there is a supply shortage, the power line to the outlet 302 that has the lowest priority for the consumer at that time is cut off, so that the power supply situation can be restored by the amount of power consumed by the load connected to that outlet.

[0038] Incidentally, in an embodiment in which three levels of priority can be set for the outlets 302 as in this embodiment, the same priority can be set for multiple outlets. This includes cases where IC tags 321 with the same priority are used for loads in different dwelling units 300, cases where the same consumer uses IC tags 321 with the same priority for multiple loads, or both cases. Therefore, when the control unit 101 tries to determine the outlet to be shut off, there is a possibility that multiple outlets with the lowest priority exist.

[0039] At this time, it is possible to restore the power supply status by determining all of the lowest priority outlets as shutoff outlets, but depending on the number of outlets, there is a possibility that the consumer's preferred use of power may be hindered. In addition, in a situation where the outlets with medium and low priorities are already in the shutoff state, shutting off all of the high priority outlets in use means that power supply is not permitted to any of the outlets, and therefore the consumer's power demand cannot be met. Therefore, after identifying a priority (the lowest priority of the used outlets) for selecting an outlet to be shut off in a supply shortage state, the control unit 101 first determines whether or not there are multiple used outlets to which the priority is set. Then, if there are multiple used outlets to which the priority is set, the control unit 101 determines which of the multiple used outlets (hereinafter referred to as shutoff candidate outlets) to shut off based on the supply status of each of the shutoff candidate outlets. In this embodiment, the control unit 101 evaluates the supply status from the following three perspectives.

[0040] The first viewpoint is the increment of the total power consumption in the most recent specified time. When a load breaks down, there are cases where an irregular increase in the power consumption of the load is confirmed. Even if power is supplied to such a load, it may not operate in a suitable manner, and the consumer is not provided with an effect commensurate with the power usage fee charged. Therefore, the control unit 101 refers to the power consumption history 411 of the outlet information and judges whether the most recent power consumption indicates a value that exceeds a threshold value with respect to the maximum power consumption in the most recent specified time not including the most recent power consumption. That is, the control unit 101 judges whether the increment of the most recent power consumption from the most recent maximum power consumption exceeds a threshold value. Here, the threshold value may be determined according to the power consumption value of the load, for example, 50% of the most recent maximum power consumption. When the increment of the most recent power consumption from the most recent maximum power consumption exceeds the threshold value, the control unit 101 can determine that the load connected to the outlet has broken down and determine the outlet as a shutoff outlet.

[0041] The second viewpoint is the timing at which the load is connected. When a power supply system that was not in a supply shortage state becomes in a supply shortage state, it can be considered that the supply shortage is caused by the most recently connected load. In a power supply system such as an off-grid system, the specifications of the power supply source 200 are generally determined in advance taking into consideration the power demand of the consumers, and it is difficult to imagine that a supply shortage state will occur unless the power demand has changed since the beginning. Therefore, when a supply shortage state occurs, it is considered that some consumers have added new loads and are using power differently from the assumption, so that the control unit 101 can determine the outlet with the latest timing of connecting a load as the outlet to be shut off at the time when a supply shortage state occurs.

[0042] The third viewpoint is the amount of power consumption of the load. There is a high possibility that the supply shortage state can be resolved by cutting off the power supply to a load that consumes a large amount of power. Therefore, the control unit 101 can determine, as the outlet to be cut off, an outlet to which a connected load consumes a large amount of power.

[0043] Since each of these viewpoints evaluates the supply situation using different criteria to determine the outlet to be shut off, the control unit 101 prioritizes these viewpoints and selects the outlet to be shut off from among the candidate outlets to be shut off. Specifically, the control unit 101 selects the outlet to be shut off from among the multiple candidate outlets to be shut off in the following order of priority: an outlet whose load's power consumption increase in the most recent predetermined time period exceeds a threshold, an outlet whose load was connected late, and an outlet whose load power consumption is large. For example, the control unit 101 first determines whether or not there is a candidate outlet to be shut off whose power consumption is increasing rapidly based on the first viewpoint, and if there is, determines that outlet as the outlet to be shut off. If there is no candidate outlet to be shut off that meets the first viewpoint, the control unit 101 determines the outlet that was connected at the latest timing based on the second viewpoint as the outlet to be shut off. At this time, if there are multiple outlets that were connected at the latest timing, the control unit 101 determines the outlet whose load is connected at the highest power consumption among them as the outlet to be shut off.

[0044] The determination of the outlet to be shut off and the control of switching the corresponding interrupter 313 to the shutoff state based on the determination are repeated until the supply shortage state is resolved. That is, the control unit 101 sends a command to the ECU 301 of the dwelling unit 300 in which the determined shutoff outlet is provided to shut off the interrupter 313 related to the outlet and switches it to the shutoff state, and then compares the total power consumption with the supplied power again to determine whether the supply shortage state has been resolved. If the supply shortage state has not been resolved, that is, if the supply shortage state still exists, the control unit 101 determines the next outlet to be shut off and again controls the corresponding interrupter 313 to be shut off, and if the supply shortage state is resolved, the control unit 101 maintains the on-off state of the power line to each outlet 302 and continues operation. The on-off state of the interrupter 313 controlled to the shutoff state may be switched to the connected state in order from the outlet with the highest priority when, for example, a predetermined time has elapsed in a state in which the supply shortage state has been resolved and the difference between the supplied power and the total power consumption has reached a predetermined value or more.

[0045] By using this type of intermittent control, when the power supply system experiences a supply shortage, it is possible to realize an optimal power supply by cutting off the power supply to the outlet 302 to which the load that is interfering with stable operation is connected while reflecting the demand of the consumer.

[0046] Intermittent control processing Hereinafter, the intermittent control process performed in the management device 100 of this embodiment when a supply shortage state occurs will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 5. The process corresponding to the flowchart can be realized by the control unit 101 reading out a corresponding processing program recorded in the storage device 102, for example, and expanding and executing the program in the memory 103. This intermittent control process will be described as being started when the control unit 101 determines that a supply shortage state exists based on the difference between the total power consumption and the supplied power.

[0047] In S501, the control unit 101 identifies a priority (candidate priority) for selecting an outlet to be shut off based on the priority set for each of the outlets in use. Specifically, the control unit 101 determines the priority of all the outlets in use based on the outlet information, and identifies the outlet in use with the lowest priority at that time as the candidate priority.

[0048] In S502, the control unit 101 identifies, from among the outlets in use, an outlet whose set priority is a candidate priority as a candidate outlet to be shut off.

[0049] In S503, the control unit 101 judges whether or not there is a plurality of shutoff candidate outlets. If the control unit 101 judges that there is a plurality of shutoff candidate outlets, the process proceeds to S504, and if the control unit 101 judges that there is a single shutoff candidate outlet, the process proceeds to S505.

[0050] In S504, the control unit 101 refers to the supply status 405 of the outlet information of each of the shutoff candidate outlets, and determines the outlet to be shut off.

[0051] On the other hand, if it is determined in S503 that there is a single shutoff candidate outlet, the control unit 101 determines in S505 that the shutoff candidate outlet is the shutoff outlet.

[0052] In S506, the control unit 101 transmits a shutoff command including the outlet ID of the shutoff outlet to the ECU 301 of the dwelling unit 300 in which the determined shutoff outlet is provided, and controls the corresponding interrupter 313 to be in the shutoff state.

[0053] In S507, the control unit 101 judges whether the supply shortage state will be resolved based on the difference between the total power consumption and the supplied power that has changed in response to the interruption by the process of S506. If the control unit 101 judges that the supply shortage state will be resolved, it ends this intermittent control process, and if it judges that the supply shortage state will not be resolved, it returns the process to S501.

[0054] In this way, the management device of the present embodiment can realize a stable power supply while reflecting the demand of the consumer in a power supply system with a limited supply of power. More specifically, in a state where the supply power is insufficient with respect to the power consumption in the power supply system, the management device can reduce the power consumption while stably maintaining the power supply to the load connected to the high priority outlet. In addition, the management device can determine the outlet to which the power supply should be cut off in a supply shortage state, reflecting the priority assumed by the consumer. In addition, when there are multiple outlets with the same priority, the management device can perform appropriate intermittent control that reflects the supply situation, and can realize power distribution that ensures fairness among consumers while dealing with the cause of the irregular supply shortage state. In addition, the management device can operate to allow consumers to freely consume power when the supply is sufficient, while restricting power consumption when a supply shortage has actually occurred or is expected to occur. Furthermore, in the event of a supply shortage, instead of increasing the amount of power generated by power supply source 200 or requiring investment to expand the scale, power is distributed within the limited supply capacity, thereby achieving an optimal power supply with reduced impact on the environment.

[0055] The priority may be, for example, a reference in the calculation of the power usage fee, and may be configured such that the higher the priority of the IC tag 321 attached to the plug 320, the higher the power usage fee. That is, by attaching an IC tag 321 with a high priority to the plug 320 of a load, a consumer can ensure that power is preferentially supplied to the load even in the event of a supply shortage, but in return, a higher power usage fee is charged than when an IC tag 321 with a lower priority is used. On the other hand, by attaching an IC tag 321 with a low priority to the plug 320 of a load, or by not attaching any IC tag, a consumer can more easily cut off the power supply to the load in the event of a supply shortage, but can reduce the power usage fee charged than when an IC tag 321 with a higher priority is used. In this way, fairness between consumers may be realized.

[0056] In the present embodiment, IC tag 321 is described as being attached to the periphery of plug 320 of a load as illustrated in Fig. 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, IC tag 321 may be built into plug unit 601 configured to allow plug 320 to be inserted as illustrated in Fig. 6A. Furthermore, the setting of priority for outlet 302 is not limited to a method in which tag reader 311 reads IC tag 321, and priority identification information may be directly transmitted to ECU 301 from plug unit 611 having a power line communication (PLC) function as illustrated in Fig. 6B.

[0057] [Variation 1] In the above embodiment, when there are multiple shutoff candidate outlets, the supply statuses of the outlets are evaluated from three different viewpoints, and the shutoff outlet is determined based on the priority of the evaluation. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The supply status may be evaluated from only one of the three viewpoints, rather than being evaluated from a composite perspective.

[0058] For example, the control unit 101 may determine, as an outlet to be shut off, at least an outlet for which an increment in power consumption of a load in a most recent predetermined time period exceeds a threshold value. At this time, if there is no candidate outlet for shutting off that satisfies the conditions, the control unit 101 may determine an outlet to be shut off by successively lowering the threshold value. This allows at least outlets 302 connected to loads suspected of malfunctioning or the like to be prioritized as targets for shutting off the power supply.

[0059] Also, for example, the control unit 101 may determine, as the shutoff outlet, the outlet that was connected to the load the latest among the shutoff candidate outlets. This makes it possible to determine whether the supply shortage state is resolved by restoring the power supply to a previous state before the supply shortage state occurred.

[0060] Also, for example, the control unit 101 may determine, as the outlet to be shut off, at least the outlet with the largest load power consumption among the shutoff candidate outlets. This makes it possible to achieve fair power distribution within the limited supply power.

[0061] [Variation 2] In the above embodiment, a method for determining an outlet to be shut off when there are multiple outlets to be shut off has been described in which three types of viewpoints for evaluating the supply status and their priorities are predefined, but the present invention is not limited to this. The method for evaluating the supply status and the information on the priorities of the evaluation when determining the outlet to be shut off based on the evaluation may be configured to be arbitrarily set by the designer or provider of the power supply system. In this embodiment, the control unit 101 accepts settings of shutoff priority conditions based on the supply status from the designer or the like, stores them in the storage device 102, for example, and can refer to them when there are multiple outlets to be shut off in a supply shortage state.

[0062] This will enable power supply based on cut-off rules in the event of a supply shortage, which reflect the power demand conditions in the area where the power supply system is installed and the demand trends of customers.

[0063] [Embodiment 2] In the above-mentioned embodiment and modification, the priority of the outlet 302 is set by the consumer attaching the desired IC tag 321 to the plug 320 of the load to be connected, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. The embodiment of the present invention only requires that the outlet 302 to which the load having a high priority for the consumer is connected can be identified, and for example, the priority of the outlet 302 may be set in advance at the time of installation in each dwelling unit 300. That is, the outlets 302 of all types of priorities may be installed in each dwelling unit 300, and each consumer may be configured to be able to adjust the priority of the power supply to the load depending on which outlet 302 to connect to. In other words, in the embodiment, each consumer does not need to obtain an IC tag 321 corresponding to a desired priority for each load and attach it to the plug 320, and can arbitrarily adjust the priority of the power supply to the load by changing the outlet 302 to be connected.

[0064] Information on which priority is set for the outlets 302 is stored as setting information, for example, in the storage device 102 or the ECU 301 of each dwelling unit 300, and the control unit 101 may reflect the setting information in the outlet information in the outlet DB 110 at any time. Since the required number of each type of outlet 302 may change depending on the demand of the consumer, the setting information may be configured to be changeable at any time. In this way, it is possible to assume that the consumer has agreed to the priority setting when the load is connected, and therefore, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to perform an appropriate power supply that reflects the consumer's demand in a supply shortage state.

[0065] [Embodiment 3] In the above-described embodiment and modification, when the control unit 101 determines an outlet to be shut off, the corresponding interrupter 313 is forcibly switched to the shutoff state, so that the operation of the load connected to the outlet may be stopped against the consumer's will. For example, if the priority of all the used outlets is high at the time of the supply shortage state, one of them is determined as the outlet to be shut off, and the corresponding interrupter 313 is controlled to the shutoff state. That is, it is terrible for the consumer who connected a load to the shutoff outlet to have the power supply cut off even though the consumer used the outlet so that the priority of the outlet to which the load is connected is set to high.

[0066] For this reason, in the power supply system of this embodiment, when the control unit 101 determines an outlet to be shut off, it notifies the consumer using the dwelling unit 300 in which the outlet is installed of information identifying the outlet to be shut off before transmitting a command to shut off the corresponding interrupter 313 to the relevant ECU 301. That is, to resolve the supply shortage, the consumer is notified in advance that the power supply will be shut off and of the information regarding which outlet will be shut off.

[0067] Here, the notification may be made, for example, using a mobile terminal used by the consumer or a notification speaker provided in the dwelling unit 300. The destination of the notification, i.e., contact information related to the consumer, may be included in information provided in a consumer DB in the storage device 102 that manages information on each consumer that uses the power supply system.

[0068] In this way, it is possible to provide a time allowance for the consumer to bring the load into a state in which the power supply may be cut off in response to the notified cutoff of the power supply. Alternatively, the notification is expected to encourage the consumer to take voluntary action, such as removing the load connected to the outlet 302, or removing loads connected to other outlets 302 with the same priority so that the power supply to the load is not cut off. Therefore, according to the management device of this embodiment, when a supply shortage occurs, it is possible to perform on-off control that takes the consumer's needs into consideration.

[0069] It should be noted that such notification may be annoying to consumers if it is made for all outlets 302, so it may be limited to outlets 302 with high priority, for example, or may be made only when an outlet with a specific priority is determined to be the outlet to be shut off.

[0070] [Variation 3] In the above-described embodiment and modified example, the control for switching the on / off state of the interrupter 313 for the shutoff outlet determined by the management device 100 has been described as being performed via the ECU 301, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is also applicable to an embodiment in which the ECU 301 is not provided in each of the dwelling units 300, and the control unit 101 collects information on each outlet 302 and directly controls the switching of the on / off state of the interrupter 313.

[0071] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment and modified example, the power supply system has been described as one in which the power supply source 200 supplies power to a plurality of dwelling units 300, but it goes without saying that the present invention is applicable to a unit of any size, such as a single dwelling unit 300. For example, in a configuration in which the power supplied from the power supply source 200 to a single dwelling unit 300 is distributed to a plurality of outlets 302 provided in the dwelling unit 300 for use, the present invention can be applied to intermittent control for resolving a supply shortage within the dwelling unit 300.

[0072] [Variation 4] In the above-described embodiment and modified examples, the present invention has been described as being applied to an off-grid power supply system. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be implemented in, for example, a microgrid or a power supply system configured to be capable of linking with a grid.

[0073] [Summary of the embodiment] The above-described embodiment discloses at least the following management device, management method, storage medium, and program.

[0074] 1. The management device of the above embodiment is A management device for controlling an interruption means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, a monitoring means for determining whether or not a power supply shortage state exists based on a difference between the power supply of the power supply source and the power consumption of the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; A determination means (S502) for determining the priority of the plurality of outlets; and a control means (S504, S505, S506) for switching off the on / off means associated with the outlet having a low priority based on the result of the determination by the determination means when the monitoring means determines that there is a supply shortage state. According to this embodiment, when the supply power in the power supply system is insufficient relative to the power consumption, it is possible to reduce power consumption while maintaining a stable power supply to a load connected to a high priority outlet.

[0075] 2. The management device of the above embodiment each of the plurality of outlets includes an acquisition means for acquiring, when a load is connected, priority identification information from a storage medium to which the priority identification information is assigned; The determining means (S502) determines the priority of each of the plurality of outlets based on the priority identification information acquired by the acquiring means. According to this embodiment, it is possible to determine the outlets to which the power supply should be cut off in a power shortage situation, by reflecting the priority assumed by the consumer.

[0076] 3. The management device of the above embodiment The determining means determines the priority of each of the plurality of outlets based on setting information that presets a priority of each of the plurality of outlets. According to this embodiment, because consumers are provided with outlets with pre-assigned priorities, it is possible to determine the outlets to which power supply should be cut off in the event of a supply shortage, assuming that the consumer's consent is given when the load is connected.

[0077] 4. The management device of the above embodiment An acquisition means for acquiring a supply status of each of the plurality of outlets; When there are a plurality of outlets with the same priority, the control means (S504) determines the outlet for which the on / off means is to be turned off based on the supply status of each of the outlets. According to this embodiment, when determining an outlet to which power supply should be cut off from a plurality of outlets having the same priority, it is possible to perform appropriate on / off control that reflects the power supply situation.

[0078] 5. The management device of the above embodiment The supply status includes a history of power consumption of a load connected to the outlet; When there are multiple outlets with the same priority, the control means determines at least one of the outlets for which the increase in power consumption of the load in the most recent specified period of time exceeds a threshold value as the outlet for which the interrupting means will be turned off. According to this embodiment, an outlet connected to a load suspected of having a malfunction or the like can be given priority in terms of cutting off the power supply thereto.

[0079] 6. The management device of the above embodiment The supply status includes information on the timing at which a load was connected to the outlet, When there are a plurality of outlets with the same priority, the control means at least determines, among the outlets, the outlet which was last to have a load connected thereto as the outlet for which the on / off means is to be turned off. According to this embodiment, it is possible to determine whether the supply shortage state is resolved by restoring the power supply to a previous state before the supply shortage state was reached.

[0080] 7. The management device of the above embodiment The supply status includes a power consumption of a load connected to the outlet; When there are a plurality of outlets having the same priority, the control means at least determines, among the outlets, the outlet in which the load has the greatest power consumption, as the outlet for which the on-off means is to be turned off. According to this embodiment, it is possible to realize fair power distribution within a limited power supply.

[0081] 8. The management device of the above embodiment The supply status includes a history of power consumption of a load connected to the outlet and information on a timing when the load was connected to the outlet; When there are multiple outlets with the same priority, the control means (S504) determines, from among the outlets, the outlet for which the disconnecting means will be turned off in the order of priority: an outlet whose increase in power consumption of the load in the most recent specified time period exceeds a threshold, an outlet whose load was connected late, and an outlet whose load has high power consumption. According to this embodiment, it is possible to realize power distribution that ensures fairness among consumers while dealing with the causes of irregularly occurring supply shortages.

[0082] 9. The management device of the above embodiment further comprising an input means for receiving a setting of a shutoff priority condition based on the supply status when there are a plurality of outlets with the same priority; When there are a plurality of outlets with the same priority, the control means determines the outlet for which the on / off means is to be put into the off state, based on the supply status of each of the outlets and the off priority condition. According to this embodiment, it is possible to perform power supply control that reflects the cutoff rules in the event of a supply shortage that are determined by the designer of the power supply system or the like.

[0083] 10. The management device of the above embodiment The control means (S507) repeats the control of turning off the on / off means associated with the outlet until it is determined by the monitoring means that the supply shortage state is no longer present. According to this embodiment, it is possible to realize a suitable power distribution that allows stable operation while cutting off the power supply to the outlet in stages.

[0084] 11. The management device of the above embodiment The power supply source and the plurality of outlets belong to an off-grid or microgrid power supply system. According to this embodiment, in an environment where the power supply is restricted, it is possible to realize a suitable power supply according to the state of the power supply source.

[0085] 12. The management device of the above embodiment The plurality of outlets are provided to a plurality of consumers, The management device further includes a transmission means for, when it is decided to shut off the interruption means associated with an outlet, transmitting information identifying the outlet to a contact point associated with a consumer using the outlet prior to shutting off the outlet. According to this embodiment, it is expected that the power supply to the load is not forcibly cut off, but the consumer in question is encouraged to disconnect the load by himself / herself.

[0086] 13. The management device of the above embodiment The supply shortage state is a supply shortage state indicating a state in which the power consumption has increased and exceeded the supply power, or a state in which the supply power has decreased and fallen below the power consumption, or a state that has been predetermined as a state that may lead to the supply shortage state. According to this embodiment, while allowing consumers to freely consume electricity when there is sufficient supply, the system can be operated to restrict power consumption when there is an actual supply shortage or when a supply shortage is expected to occur.

[0087] 14. The management method of the above embodiment is A management method for controlling an interruption means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, comprising the steps of: The management device: a monitoring step of determining whether or not there is a supply shortage state based on a difference between the power supplied by the power supply source and the power consumed by the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; A determination step (S502) of determining the priority of the plurality of outlets; and a control process (S504, S505, S506) for switching off the interrupting means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on the result of the determination process when it is determined in the monitoring process that there is a supply shortage state. According to this embodiment, when the supply power in the power supply system is insufficient relative to the power consumption, it is possible to reduce power consumption while maintaining a stable power supply to a load connected to a high priority outlet.

[0088] 15. The storage medium of the above embodiment is A computer that controls an interrupting means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, a monitoring process for determining whether or not there is a supply shortage state based on a difference between the power supplied by the power supply source and the power consumed by the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; A process of determining the priority of the plurality of outlets (S502); a control process (S504, S505, S506) for turning off the interrupting means associated with the outlet having a low priority based on the result of the determination process when the supply shortage state is determined in the monitoring process; The program to be executed is stored. According to this embodiment, when the supply power in the power supply system is insufficient relative to the power consumption, it is possible to reduce power consumption while maintaining a stable power supply to a load connected to a high priority outlet.

[0089] 16. The program of the above embodiment A computer that controls an interrupting means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, a monitoring process for determining whether or not there is a supply shortage state based on a difference between the power supplied by the power supply source and the power consumed by the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; A process of determining the priority of the plurality of outlets (S502); a control process (S504, S505, S506) for turning off the interrupting means associated with the outlet having a low priority based on the result of the determination process when the supply shortage state is determined in the monitoring process; Execute the command. According to this embodiment, when the supply power in the power supply system is insufficient relative to the power consumption, it is possible to reduce power consumption while maintaining a stable power supply to a load connected to a high priority outlet.

[0090] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

Claims

1. A management device for controlling an interruption means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, a determination means for determining whether or not a power supply shortage state exists based on a difference between the power supply of the power supply source and the power consumption of the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; A determining means for determining a priority of the plurality of outlets; a control means for turning off the on / off means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on a result of the determination by the determination means, among the plurality of outlets, when the determination means determines that the supply is insufficient; and and an acquisition means for acquiring, when a load is connected to the plurality of outlets, identification information of priority from a storage medium to which the identification information of priority is assigned, the determining means determines the priority of each of the plurality of outlets based on the priority identification information acquired by the acquiring means; A management device comprising:

2. A management device as claimed in claim 1, Further comprising another means for acquiring a supply status of each of the plurality of outlets, the control means, when there are a plurality of outlets having the same priority, determines an outlet for which the associated on / off means is to be brought into the cut-off state based on the supply status of each of the plurality of outlets. A management device comprising:

3. A management device for controlling an interrupting means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, comprising: a determination means for determining whether or not a power supply shortage state exists based on a difference between the power supply of the power supply source and the power consumption of the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; A determining means for determining a priority of the plurality of outlets; a control means for turning off the on / off means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on a result of the determination by the determination means, among the plurality of outlets, when the determination means determines that the supply is insufficient; and and another acquisition means for acquiring a supply status of each of the plurality of outlets, the control means, when there are a plurality of outlets having the same priority, determines an outlet for which the associated on / off means is to be brought into the cut-off state based on the supply status of each of the plurality of outlets. A management device comprising:

4. The management device according to claim 2 or 3, The supply status includes a history of the power consumption of the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; When there are a plurality of outlets having the same priority, the control means at least determines, among the plurality of outlets, an outlet for which an increment in the power consumption of the load in a most recent predetermined time period exceeds a threshold, as an outlet for which the associated on-off means is to be turned off. A management device comprising:

5. The management device according to claim 2 or 3, the supply status includes information on a timing when the load was connected to the plurality of outlets; When there are a plurality of outlets having the same priority, the control means at least determines, among the plurality of outlets, the outlet to which the load was connected latest as the outlet for which the associated on-off means is to be brought into the cut-off state. A management device comprising:

6. The management device according to claim 2 or 3, the supply status includes the power consumption of the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; When there are a plurality of outlets having the same priority, the control means at least determines, among the plurality of outlets, an outlet having the largest power consumption of the load as the outlet for which the associated on-off means is to be brought into the off state. A management device comprising:

7. The management device according to claim 2 or 3, the supply status includes a history of the power consumption of the load connected to the plurality of outlets, information on a timing when the load was connected to the plurality of outlets, and the power consumption of the load connected to the plurality of outlets; When there are a plurality of outlets having the same priority, the control means determines, from among the plurality of outlets, an outlet for which the associated on-off means is to be turned off in the order of priority of an outlet for which an increment in the power consumption of the load during a most recent predetermined time period exceeds a threshold, an outlet for which the load was connected at a later time, and an outlet for which the power consumption of the load is large. A management device comprising:

8. The management device according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising an input unit for receiving a setting of a shutoff priority condition based on the supply status when a plurality of outlets having the same priority are present; when there are a plurality of outlets having the same priority, the control means determines an outlet for which the associated on / off means is to be set to the on / off state based on the supply status of each of the plurality of outlets acquired by the other acquisition means and the on / off priority condition received by the input means. A management device comprising:

9. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the determining means determines the priority of each of the plurality of outlets based on setting information that presets a priority of each of the plurality of outlets. A management device comprising:

10. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the control means repeats the control of putting the on-off means associated with the outlet with a low priority into the cut-off state until the determination means determines that the supply shortage state is not present. A management device comprising:

11. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The power supply source and the plurality of outlets belong to an off-grid or microgrid power supply system. A management device comprising:

12. The management device according to claim 11, The plurality of outlets are provided to a plurality of consumers, The management device further includes a transmission means for transmitting, when it is determined that the on / off means corresponding to the outlet is to be in the cut-off state, information identifying the outlet to a contact point related to a consumer using the outlet prior to the cut-off. A management device comprising:

13. The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, The supply shortage state is a supply shortage state indicating a state in which the power consumption has increased and exceeded the supply power, or a state in which the supply power has decreased and fallen below the power consumption, or a state that is predetermined as a state that may lead to the supply shortage state. A management device comprising:

14. A management method for controlling an interruption means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, comprising the steps of: The management device: a determination step of determining whether or not there is a supply shortage state based on a difference between the power supplied by the power supply source and the power consumed by the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; a determining step of determining a priority of the plurality of outlets; a control step of turning off the interrupting means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on a result of the determination step, among the plurality of outlets, when it is determined in the determination step that the supply is insufficient; and and acquiring, when a load is connected to the plurality of outlets, information on the identification of priority from a storage medium to which the information on the identification of priority is assigned, In the determining step, the priority of each of the plurality of outlets is determined based on the identification information of the priority acquired in the acquiring step. A management method comprising:

15. A computer that controls an interrupting means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, a determination process for determining whether or not there is a supply shortage state based on a difference between the power supplied by the power supply source and the power consumed by the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; a process for determining a priority of the plurality of outlets; a control process for turning off the interrupting means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on a result of the determination process among the plurality of outlets when the supply shortage state is determined in the determination process; and an acquisition process for acquiring, when a load is connected to the plurality of outlets, identification information of priority from a storage medium to which the identification information of priority is assigned; A program for executing In the determination process, the priority of each of the plurality of outlets is determined based on the identification information of the priority acquired in the acquisition process. A program characterized by:

16. A management method for controlling an interrupting means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, comprising: The management device: a determination step of determining whether or not there is a supply shortage state based on a difference between the power supplied by the power supply source and the power consumed by the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; a determining step of determining a priority of the plurality of outlets; a control step of turning off the interrupting means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on a result of the determination step, among the plurality of outlets, when it is determined in the determination step that the supply is insufficient; and and another acquisition step of acquiring a supply status of each of the plurality of outlets, In the control step, when there are a plurality of outlets having the same priority, an outlet for which the associated on / off means is to be brought into the cut-off state is determined based on the supply status of each of the plurality of outlets. A management method comprising:

17. A computer controlling an interrupting means provided between a power supply source and each of a plurality of outlets, a determination process for determining whether or not there is a supply shortage state based on a difference between the power supplied by the power supply source and the power consumed by the loads connected to the plurality of outlets; a process for determining a priority of the plurality of outlets; a control process for turning off the interrupting means associated with an outlet having a low priority based on a result of the determination process among the plurality of outlets when the supply shortage state is determined in the determination process; and Another acquisition process for acquiring a supply status of each of the plurality of outlets; A program for executing In the control process, when there are a plurality of outlets having the same priority, an outlet for which the associated on / off means is to be brought into the off state is determined based on the supply status of each of the plurality of outlets. A program characterized by:

18. A computer-readable storage medium storing the program described in claim 15 or 17.

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