Electrical device, power supply control system equipped with electrical device, and control method and program for electrical device

Abstract

To provide an electric device, a power supply control system having the electric device, a power supply control method for an electric device and a program that reliably protect an electric device itself from a lightning surge in the event of a lightening.SOLUTION: In a power supply control system, an electric device 10 that generates an operation voltage on the basis of an AC voltage of commercial power supply supplied via an external power supply line and operates with the operation voltage, comprises: a communication unit 32 that communicates with outside via a communication line 21; a control unit 31 that makes the communication unit acquire lightning prediction information including a predicted time of lightning in an area where the electric device is located via the communication line; and a power supply unit which incorporates a battery 42 and generates the operation voltage on the basis of the AC voltage of the commercial power or inter-terminal voltage of the battery. If the current time has reached the predicted time of lightning in the lightning prediction information, the control unit makes the operation voltage generated on the basis of the inter-terminal voltages of the battery, and after that, makes the operation voltage be generated on the basis of the AC voltage of the commercial power supply on the basis of the lightning prediction information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric device, a power supply control system including the electric device, and a power supply control method and program for the electric device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a control method for electrical appliances that reduces power consumption in accordance with the weather. This control method includes a route calculation step of calculating a travel route for a terminal carried by a user, an acquisition step of acquiring weather information including information about the weather along the travel route, an accumulation step of calculating cumulative weather information by accumulating the weather information acquired in the acquisition step along the travel route calculated in the route calculation step, and an appliance setting step of calculating the magnitude of the weather impact on the user based on the accumulated weather information and configuring the electrical appliance to control the electrical appliance in accordance with the calculated magnitude. This control method can further reduce the power consumption of the electrical appliance by reducing the impact of the weather.

[0003] Patent Document 2 discloses a power supply system equipped with a lightning detector that detects the occurrence of lightning and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that can supply power to a load from a battery in the event of a power outage. In this power supply system, power from a main power input unit is normally supplied to the uninterruptible power supply via a circuit breaker, and when the lightning detector detects distant lightning, a power generator is started to generate power, and when close-range lightning is detected, the power supply from the main power input unit is cut off by the circuit breaker, and the output voltage of the generator is supplied to the uninterruptible power supply via a system switch, and power from the generator is supplied to the load. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2014 / 050067 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-245190 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the conventional control method for electrical equipment described in Patent Document 1 only controls the electrical equipment to reduce its power consumption based on weather information, and does not aim to prevent electrical equipment from failing during lightning strikes, since even if information that could lead to electrical equipment failure is obtained, the electrical equipment will fail if a lightning surge caused by a lightning strike flows through the electrical equipment.

[0006] In the conventional power supply system described in Patent Document 2, after the lightning detector actually detects lightning, the power supply from the main power input section to the load is cut off, and instead the output voltage of the power generator is supplied to the load, which has the problem that the electrical equipment itself, which is the load, cannot be reliably protected from lightning surges.

[0007] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to focus on each of these issues and to provide electrical equipment that can reliably protect the electrical equipment itself from lightning surges caused by lightning strikes, a power supply control system equipped with the electrical equipment, and a power supply control method and program for the electrical equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The electrical device of the present invention generates an operating voltage based on an AC voltage of a commercial power supply supplied via an external power supply line, and operates using the operating voltage, and includes: a communication unit that communicates with the outside via a communication line; a control unit that causes the communication unit to acquire, via the communication line, lightning strike prediction information including a predicted time of lightning strike in an area where the electrical device is located; and a power supply unit that has a built-in battery and generates the operating voltage based on the AC voltage of the commercial power supply or the voltage between terminals of the battery, wherein, when the communication unit acquires the lightning strike prediction information and the current time reaches the predicted time of lightning strike in the lightning strike prediction information, the control unit causes the power supply unit to generate the operating voltage based on the voltage between terminals of the battery instead of the commercial power supply, and thereafter, based on the lightning strike prediction information acquired by the communication unit or based on a reception state of the lightning strike prediction information by the communication unit, causes the power supply unit to generate the operating voltage based on the AC voltage of the commercial power supply instead of the battery. The power supply unit includes an AC-DC power supply circuit that receives an AC voltage from the commercial power supply and rectifies and smooths the AC voltage to generate a DC voltage; a power supply switching circuit that outputs, as the operating voltage, either the DC voltage output from the AC-DC power supply circuit or a voltage between the terminals of the battery in accordance with control by the control unit; and a circuit breaker that cuts off an electrical connection between the AC-DC power supply circuit and the power supply switching circuit in accordance with control by the control unit during a period in which the power supply switching circuit generates the operating voltage based on the voltage between the terminals of the battery. It is characterized by the following.

[0009] A power supply control system of the present invention is a power supply control system that generates an operating voltage based on an AC voltage of a commercial power supply supplied via an external power supply line and includes an electric device that operates on the operating voltage, the system including a control server that receives weather information supplied from a weather information server and obtains lightning strike prediction information including a predicted time of lightning strike in an area where the electric device is located based on the weather information and provides the lightning strike prediction information to the electric device, the electric device including a communication unit that communicates with the control server via a communication line, a control unit that causes the communication unit to obtain the lightning strike prediction information via the communication line, and a power supply unit that has a built-in battery and generates the operating voltage based on the AC voltage of the commercial power supply or the voltage between terminals of the battery, the control unit causing the power supply unit to generate the operating voltage based on the voltage between terminals of the battery instead of the commercial power supply when the communication unit obtains the lightning strike prediction information and the current time reaches the predicted lightning strike time in the lightning strike prediction information, and thereafter causing the power supply unit to generate the operating voltage based on the AC voltage of the commercial power supply instead of the battery based on the lightning strike prediction information obtained by the communication unit or based on a reception state of the lightning strike prediction information by the communication unit The power supply unit includes an AC-DC power supply circuit that receives an AC voltage from the commercial power supply and rectifies and smooths the AC voltage to generate a DC voltage; a power supply switching circuit that outputs, as the operating voltage, either the DC voltage output from the AC-DC power supply circuit or a voltage between the terminals of the battery in accordance with control by the control unit; and a circuit breaker that cuts off an electrical connection between the AC-DC power supply circuit and the power supply switching circuit in accordance with control by the control unit during a period in which the power supply switching circuit generates the operating voltage based on the voltage between the terminals of the battery.It is characterized by the following.

[0010] The power supply control method for an electrical device of the present invention includes: a communication unit that communicates with an external device via a communication line; The power supply includes an AC-DC power supply circuit that receives AC voltage from a commercial power supply supplied via an external power supply line and generates a DC voltage by rectifying and smoothing the AC voltage, a battery, a power supply switching circuit that outputs either the DC voltage generated by the AC-DC power supply circuit or a voltage between the terminals of the battery as an operating voltage, and a circuit breaker, A power supply control method for an electrical device that operates using the operating voltage, comprising: a first step of causing the communication unit to acquire lightning strike prediction information, including a lightning strike prediction time in an area where the electrical device is located, via the communication line; and when the communication unit acquires the lightning strike prediction information and the current time reaches the lightning strike prediction time in the lightning strike prediction information, The DC voltage generated from the AC-DC power supply circuit is supplied to the power supply switching circuit. Instead, the operating voltage is determined based on the terminal voltage of the battery. output and a second step of a third step of causing the circuit breaker to interrupt the electrical connection between the AC-DC power supply circuit and the power supply switching circuit during a period in which the power supply switching circuit outputs the operating voltage based on the voltage across the battery; The aforementioned Third After the step is executed, based on the lightning strike prediction information acquired by the communication unit or based on the reception state of the lightning strike prediction information by the communication unit The power supply switching circuit Instead of the battery The DC voltage generated from the AC-DC power supply circuit The operating voltage is set based on The fourth output The method is characterized by including the steps of:

[0011] The program of the present invention is a program for a power supply control method for an electrical device that operates on an operating voltage, the program including: a communication unit that communicates with the outside via a communication line; an AC-DC power supply circuit that receives an AC voltage from a commercial power supply supplied via an external power supply line and rectifies and smooths the AC voltage to generate a DC voltage; a battery; a power supply switching circuit that outputs either the DC voltage output from the AC-DC power supply circuit or the voltage between the terminals of the battery as an operating voltage; and a circuit breaker, the program comprising: a first step of causing a computer to acquire lightning forecast information including a predicted lightning strike time in an area where the electrical device is located via the communication line; and, when the communication unit acquires the lightning forecast information and the current time reaches the predicted lightning strike time in the lightning forecast information, The DC voltage generated from the AC-DC power supply circuit is supplied to the power supply switching circuit. Instead, the operating voltage is determined based on the terminal voltage of the battery. output and a second step of a third step of causing the circuit breaker to interrupt the electrical connection between the AC-DC power supply circuit and the power supply switching circuit during a period in which the power supply switching circuit outputs the operating voltage based on the voltage across the battery; The aforementioned ThirdAfter the step is executed, based on the lightning strike prediction information acquired by the communication unit or based on the reception state of the lightning strike prediction information by the communication unit The power supply switching circuit Instead of the battery The DC voltage generated from the AC-DC power supply circuit The operating voltage is set based on The fourth output The method is characterized by executing the steps of: [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The electrical equipment, power supply control system equipped with the electrical equipment, and power supply control method and program of the present invention prevent lightning surges caused by lightning strikes from flowing into the circuits within the electrical equipment, thereby reliably protecting the electrical equipment itself from lightning surges. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a communication system including an electrical device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] A diagram showing the activity level and lightning conditions indicated by the lightning nowcast information obtained from the weather information server in the system in Figure 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of electrical equipment in the system of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration formed by a control unit in the electrical device of FIG. 3 executing software. [Figure 5] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the lightning strike countermeasure control of the control unit in the electrical device of FIG. 3. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of AC operation recovery control by a control unit in the electrical device of FIG. 3. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of a control unit in the electric device of FIG. 3 to control stopping of the electric device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0015] 1 shows the basic configuration of a power supply control system equipped with an electrical device 10 to which the present invention is applied. In addition to the electrical device 10, the power supply control system also includes a control server 11 and a weather information server 12. The electrical device 10 and the control server 11 are connected to a LAN (local area network) line 21 and are able to communicate with each other via the LAN line 21. The control server 11 and the weather information server 12 are connected to an internet line 22 and are able to communicate with each other via the internet line 22.

[0016] The control server 11 is a control server for the electric appliance 10, and controls communication between the electric appliance 10 and communication devices on the Internet line 22. The communication devices include the weather information server 12 and communication terminals.

[0017] The weather information server 12 is a server that provides weather information. The weather information is information that predicts lightning strikes, precipitation, tornado occurrences, etc. within a specific time period (for example, one hour) from the present for each region. For example, lightning strike prediction information is lightning nowcast information provided by the server of the Japan Meteorological Agency. As shown in Figure 2, the lightning nowcast information is expressed by an activity level (lightning strike prediction value) of 1 to 4 for each region.

[0018] The control server 11 receives electrical appliance information such as operation information, location information, and various sensor information from the electrical appliance 10, and provides the electrical appliance 10 with weather information and control information related to the electrical appliance 10 based on the weather information provided by the weather information server 12. The weather information related to the electrical appliance 10 is, for example, a lightning strike forecast for the area where the electrical appliance 10 is located.

[0019] In the present invention, the weather information server 12 is not limited to a server of the Japan Meteorological Agency, but may be, for example, a weather information server of a private weather information provider. Furthermore, the information provided by the control server 11 to the electrical appliance 10 is not limited to weather information and control information, but may include other information such as traffic information. Furthermore, the electrical appliance 10 may include the functions of the control server 11 and obtain weather information directly from the weather information server 12.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, the electrical device 10 includes a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, a ROM (read-only memory) 33, a timer 34, a RAM (random access memory) 35, a storage unit 36, an RTC (real-time clock) 37, a power supply switching circuit 38, a cutoff unit 39, an AC-DC power supply circuit 40, a battery 42, and an electrical device main body 43.

[0021] The control unit 31, communication unit 32, ROM 33, timer 34, RAM 35, memory unit 36, RTC 37, power supply switching circuit 38, circuit breaker 39, AC-DC power supply circuit 40 and electrical equipment main body unit 43 are connected to a bus 45, and commands and data can be exchanged via the bus 45.

[0022] The control unit 31 is a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and operates by executing a program (including a system BIOS) written in advance in the ROM 33. As shown in Fig. 4, the control unit 31 is formed with a control information receiving unit 51, a control information storage unit 52, an application unit 53, a control instruction unit 54, a system control unit 55, an AC / battery switching control unit 56, and an AC circuit interruption control unit 57 by executing the program.

[0023] The communication unit 32 performs communication via the LAN line 21 under the control of the control unit 31. The weather information provided by the weather information server 12 is obtained via the Internet line 22, the control server 11, and the LAN line 21.

[0024] The storage unit 36 ​​is made up of, for example, a semiconductor memory, and stores data such as a scheduled switching time and a next start time, which will be described later, in response to commands from the control unit 31.

[0025] The power supply switching circuit 38, the circuit breaker 39, the AC-DC power supply circuit 40, and the battery 42 constitute a power supply unit.

[0026] The AC-DC power supply circuit 40 receives AC power, which is a commercial power source, from the outside via the power supply line 25, transforms and rectifies it, and then stabilizes the voltage before outputting it from the DC output terminal. The DC output terminal of the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 is connected to the power supply switching circuit 38 via a circuit breaker 39. That is, the DC voltage output from the DC output terminal of the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 is supplied to the power supply switching circuit 38 via the circuit breaker 39. The AC-DC power supply circuit 40 also includes an AC detection unit (not shown) that detects the flow of AC current supplied from the power supply line 25. The AC flow detection result by the AC detection unit is transmitted as data to the control unit 31 via a bus 45.

[0027] The circuit breaker 39 is, for example, an on / off switch, and in response to a cut-off command from the control unit 31, cuts off the supply of the DC voltage output from the DC output terminal of the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 to the power supply switching circuit 38.

[0028] The power supply switching circuit 38 has two input terminals and one output terminal, and supplies operating voltages from the output terminals to the control unit 31, communication unit 32, ROM 33, timer 34, RAM 35, storage unit 36, RTC 37, circuit breaker 39, and electrical device main body 43 within the electrical device 10. One input terminal of the power supply switching circuit 38 is connected to the circuit breaker 39. The other input terminal is connected to the battery 42. That is, the power supply switching circuit 38 is supplied with a DC voltage output from the DC output terminal of the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 and a DC voltage between the positive and negative terminals of the battery 42. During normal operation of the electrical device 10, the power supply switching circuit 38 selects the DC voltage supplied to one input terminal from the DC output terminal of the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 via the circuit breaker 39, and outputs it from the output terminal. Furthermore, when the electrical device 10 is in battery operation, the power supply switching circuit 38 selects the output voltage (DC voltage between the positive and negative terminals) of the battery 42 supplied to one input terminal instead of the DC voltage supplied to the other input terminal, and outputs this as the operating voltage from the output terminal. The selection of the power supply switching circuit 38 is switched in response to a switching command from the control unit 31.

[0029] In addition, the power supply switching circuit 38 may select the output DC voltage of the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 and output it as the operating voltage, and the battery 42 may be charged by the output DC voltage of the AC-DC power supply circuit 40.

[0030] The electrical device main body 43 is the main body of the electrical device 10 that performs various operations under the control of the control unit 31. The electrical device main body 43 includes loads such as various sensors, drivers, and circuits, and the control unit 31 operates, for example, as the above-mentioned application unit 53 to start the electrical device main body 43 and cause it to function appropriately or stop. Other than having the above-mentioned configuration, the electrical device 10 is not particularly limited, and may be a household electrical appliance such as an air conditioner, air purifier, electric refrigerator, or AV (audio-visual) equipment.

[0031] Next, the control operation of the control unit 31 with respect to the power supply switching circuit 38 in the electrical device 10 in the communication system having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

[0032] During normal operation, the electrical device 10 is in an AC operating state in which the power supply switching circuit 38 selects and outputs the DC voltage output from the AC-DC power supply circuit 40. In the AC operating state, the control unit 31 executes the lightning strike countermeasure control shown in FIG.

[0033] When the control server 11 receives weather information for the area where the electrical device 10 is located from the weather information server 12, it determines whether the received weather information includes a lightning strike forecast indicating the possibility of a lightning strike. If a lightning strike forecast is found, the control server 11 transmits the lightning strike forecast information to the electrical device 10. For example, if the lightning strike forecast information indicates a lightning strike within one hour from the present, and the lightning nowcast information indicates an activity level of 2 or higher, the control server 11 can determine that there is a possibility of a lightning strike. Furthermore, if a lightning strike forecast is found, the control server 11 calculates a scheduled switching time corresponding to the predicted lightning strike time and transmits the scheduled switching time to the electrical device 10. The scheduled switching time is calculated, for example, based on the activity level of the lightning strike forecast and may be slightly earlier than the time when the lightning strike occurs. The scheduled switching time may not be calculated by the control server 11, but may be calculated within the electrical device 10 based on the activity level of the lightning strike forecast. The scheduled switching time may also be a time that has elapsed from the current time by a time that is preset corresponding to the activity level of the lightning strike forecast.

[0034] In the electric appliance 10, the lightning strike prediction information transmitted from the control server 11 is received by the communication unit 32 and then supplied to the control unit 31. Note that the electric appliance 10 may transmit a lightning strike prediction request including the location information of the electric appliance 10 to the control server 11, and receive the lightning strike prediction information as a response from the control server 11 to the request if there is a possibility of lightning strike in the area.

[0035] In the lightning countermeasure control, the control unit 31 first determines whether or not lightning strike prediction information has been received from the control server 11 (step S11). If lightning strike prediction information has not been received, step S11 is executed again at a predetermined repetition timing.

[0036] When the control unit 31 receives lightning prediction information, the lightning prediction information includes the scheduled switching time transmitted from the control server 11, and therefore the control unit 31 stores the scheduled switching time in the storage unit 36 ​​(step S12). Thereafter, the control unit 31 determines whether the current time obtained from the RTC 37 has reached the scheduled switching time (step S13). If the current time has not yet reached the scheduled switching time, step S13 is executed again at the aforementioned repeat timing.

[0037] When the current time reaches the scheduled switching time, the control unit 31 determines whether the current operation mode of the electric appliance 10 is battery operation (step S14). The electric appliance 10 has two operation modes, AC operation and battery operation, and if it is not battery operation, it is AC operation. The control unit 31 stores data such as an operation mode flag indicating whether the current operation mode of the electric appliance 10 is AC operation or battery operation, and can determine the current operation mode from that data. Therefore, if it is not battery operation, the control unit 31 sends a switch command to the power supply switching circuit 38 to switch the operation mode from AC operation to battery operation (step S15). After executing step S15, the control unit 31 sends a break command to the circuit breaker 39 (step S16). Step S16 is also executed if it is determined in step S14 that the current operation mode of the electric appliance 10 is battery operation.

[0038] In response to the command to switch to battery operation transmitted from the control unit 31 by executing step S15, the power supply switching circuit 38 receives the output voltage of the battery 42 and outputs it from the output terminal, instead of the DC voltage supplied from the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 via the circuit breaker 39. Thus, the electrical device 10 enters the battery operation state.

[0039] In response to the shutdown command sent from the control unit 31 by executing step S16, the circuit breaker 39 changes from the on state to the off state, and cuts off the supply of the DC voltage output from the DC output terminal of the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 to the power supply switching circuit 38.

[0040] Therefore, when lightning forecast information indicating the possibility of a lightning strike is received, the electrical device 10 stops operating from AC and switches to battery operation, and the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 connected to the external power supply line 25 is electrically disconnected from loads such as other circuits within the electrical device 10.

[0041] After executing step S16, the control unit 31 is in battery operation, and therefore executes the AC operation recovery control shown in FIG. 6. In the AC operation recovery control, the control unit 31 first determines whether lightning prediction information has been received again from the control server 11 (step S21). If lightning prediction information has not been received, the control unit 31 determines whether a certain period of time has passed since no lightning prediction information was received (step S22). If the certain period of time has not passed since no lightning prediction information was received, the control unit 31 returns to step S21 and determines whether lightning prediction information has been received again. If this is done again, the control unit 31 executes it at a predetermined repetition timing. On the other hand, if a certain period of time has passed since no lightning prediction information was received, the control unit 31 executes step S25, which will be described later. Note that if a certain period of time has passed since no lightning prediction information was received, this means that there is no lightning prediction for that area in the weather information.

[0042] When lightning strike prediction information is received again in step S21, it is determined whether the value of the lightning strike prediction, which indicates the degree of possibility of a lightning strike, for example, activity, has become equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (step S23). For example, the threshold is an activity of 1 in lightning nowcast information. If the lightning strike prediction value has become equal to or less than the threshold, it is determined whether the lightning strike prediction value has remained equal to or less than the threshold for a certain period of time or more (step S24).

[0043] If it is determined in step S23 that the lightning strike prediction value is not below the threshold value, or if it is determined in step S24 that the lightning strike prediction value has not remained below the threshold value for a certain period of time or more, the control unit 31 returns to step S21 and determines whether lightning strike prediction information has been received again from the control server 11.

[0044] If it is determined in step S24 that the lightning strike prediction value is equal to or less than the threshold value and continues for a certain period of time or more, the control unit 31 transmits a command to cancel the interruption to the circuit breaker 39 (step S25).

[0045] In response to the interruption release command sent from the control unit 31 by executing step S25, the circuit breaker 39 changes from the off state to the on state, and if a DC voltage is being output from the DC output terminal of the AC-DC power supply circuit 40, the circuit breaker 39 supplies the DC voltage to the power supply switching circuit 38.

[0046] After executing step S25, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the flow of AC current supplied to the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 from the power supply line 25 has been detected for a certain period of time or more (step S26). As described above, the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 is provided with an AC detection unit that detects the flow of AC current from the power supply line 25, and the AC detection result by the AC detection unit is transmitted as data to the control unit 31 via the bus 45. Based on the data of the AC detection result, the control unit 31 can determine whether or not the supply of AC power to the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 has been detected for a certain period of time.

[0047] If it is determined in step S26 that AC power has not been detected for a certain period of time or longer, it is determined whether the number of times that AC power has not been detected is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (the predetermined value is a positive integer) (step S27). If the number of times that AC power has not been detected for a certain period of time or longer, i.e., the number of times the determination result in step S26 is NO, does not reach the predetermined value, step S26 is executed again. Note that when this re-execution is performed, control unit 31 executes it at a predetermined repetition timing as described above.

[0048] If the number of times that AC power is not detected over a certain period of time in step S27, i.e., the number of times the determination result in step S26 is NO, reaches a predetermined value, the control unit 31 causes the power supply switching circuit 38 to maintain the current operating state in order to continue battery operation (step S28). As a result, the power supply switching circuit 38 continues to output the output voltage of the battery 42 from the output terminal. Note that in step S28, the power supply switching circuit 38 need not perform a switching operation to AC operation, and therefore the operation of step S28 may be omitted if the battery operation state can be maintained even if the control unit 31 does not do anything special to the power supply switching circuit 38.

[0049] If it is determined in step S26 that AC power has been detected for a certain period of time, the control unit 31 sends a command to switch to AC operation to the power supply switching circuit 38 in order to switch the operation mode from battery operation to AC operation (step S29).

[0050] In response to the command to switch to AC operation transmitted from the control unit 31 by executing step S29, the power supply switching circuit 38 receives the DC voltage supplied from the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 via the circuit breaker 39, instead of the output voltage of the battery 42, and outputs it from the output terminal. Thus, the electrical device 10 is restored to the AC operation state.

[0051] As described above, in the embodiment, when there is a possibility of a lightning strike, the electric device 10 is switched from AC operation to battery operation, and the circuit breaker electrically disconnects the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 from the load in the electric device 10 that operates using the DC voltage output from the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 as its operating voltage, and the load in the electric device 10 operates using the output voltage of the battery 42 as its power supply voltage, so that a lightning surge caused by a lightning strike is prevented from flowing from the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 to the load in the electric device 10. Therefore, the electric device 10 can be reliably protected from a lightning surge without breaking down.

[0052] 7 is a flowchart showing the electric appliance stop control in which the control unit 31 stops the operation of the electric appliance 10 in the battery operation state. This electric appliance stop control is executed immediately after the execution of step S16 of the lightning strike protection control.

[0053] When electrical appliance stop control is performed on the electrical appliance 10, the control server 11 receives weather information for the area in which the electrical appliance 10 is located from the weather information server 12. The control server 11 determines whether the received weather information includes a lightning strike prediction indicating the possibility of a lightning strike. If a lightning strike prediction is present, the control server 11 transmits the next startup time to the electrical appliance 10 together with the lightning strike prediction and the scheduled switching time. The next startup time is the time at which the electrical appliance 10 is to be started again after the operation of the electrical appliance 10 has been stopped at the scheduled switching time. If a lightning strike is predicted, the control server 11 calculates the next startup time together with the scheduled switching time and transmits the scheduled switching time to the electrical appliance 10. The next startup time is calculated based on, for example, the activity level of the lightning strike prediction. The next startup time may be calculated within the electrical appliance 10, rather than by the control server 11.

[0054] In the electrical appliance 10 , the lightning strike prediction information including the lightning strike prediction, the scheduled switching time, and the next start time transmitted from the control server 11 is received by the communication unit 32 and then supplied to the control unit 31 .

[0055] In the electrical appliance stop control, the control unit 31 first receives the next start-up time transmitted from the control server 11 and stores the next start-up time in the storage unit 36 ​​(step S31). Then, the control unit 31 stops the operation of the electrical appliance main body unit 43 (step S32). The operation of the electrical appliance main body unit 43 can be stopped by forcibly terminating the execution of an application for the electrical appliance main body unit 43. That is, the application unit 53 is stopped as a control operation for the electrical appliance main body unit 43. Alternatively, the operation of the electrical appliance main body unit 43 may be stopped by stopping the supply of the output voltage of the battery 42 to the electrical appliance main body unit 43, which is the power supply voltage at that time.

[0056] After executing step S32, the control unit 31 reads the next startup time from the storage unit 36 ​​and determines whether the current time obtained from the RTC 37 has reached the next startup time (step S33). If the current time has not yet reached the next startup time, step S33 is executed again at the aforementioned repeat timing.

[0057] When the current time reaches the scheduled switching time, the control unit 31 starts up the electric device main body unit 43 (step S34). The electric device main body unit 43 can be started up by executing an application for the electric device main body unit 43. That is, the application unit 53 is executed as a control operation for the electric device main body unit 43. Furthermore, in order to start up the electric device main body unit 43, if the supply of the output voltage of the battery 42, which is the power supply voltage at that time, to the electric device main body unit 43 has been stopped, the supply may be resumed.

[0058] After the electric equipment stop control is completed by executing step S34, the control unit 31 executes the AC operation recovery control shown in FIG.

[0059] By executing the electric appliance stop control in this manner, when there is a possibility of a lightning strike, the electric appliance 10 is switched from an AC operation state to a battery operation state, and the circuit breaker electrically disconnects the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 from the load within the electric appliance 10 that operates using the output DC voltage of the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 as its operating voltage, forcibly stopping the operation of the electric appliance main body 43. This prevents a lightning surge caused by a lightning strike from flowing from the AC-DC power supply circuit 40 to the load within the electric appliance 10, and also stops the operation of the electric appliance main body 43, which is a main part within the electric appliance 10. Therefore, the electric appliance 10 can be reliably protected from a lightning surge even if a lightning strike occurs. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 10 Electrical Equipment 11 Control Server 12 Weather Information Server 21 LAN lines 22 Internet connection 25 Power supply line 31 Control Unit 32 Communications Department 33 ROM 34 Timer 35 RAM 36 Memory section 37 RTC 38 Power supply switching circuit 39 Circuit Breaker 40 AC-DC power circuit 42 Battery 43 Electrical equipment body 45 Bus 51 Control information receiver 52 Control information storage unit 53 Application Section 54 Control instruction section 55 System control section 56 AC / battery switching control unit 57 AC circuit breaker control unit

Claims

1. An electrical device that generates an operating voltage based on an AC voltage of a commercial power supply supplied via an external power supply line and operates using the operating voltage, a communication unit that communicates with the outside via a communication line; a control unit that causes the communication unit to acquire, via the communication line, lightning strike prediction information including a lightning strike prediction time in the area where the electrical device is located; a power supply unit that includes a battery and generates the operating voltage based on the AC voltage of the commercial power supply or the voltage between the terminals of the battery; the control unit, when the communication unit acquires the lightning strike prediction information and the current time reaches the lightning strike prediction time in the lightning strike prediction information, causes the power supply unit to generate the operating voltage based on the terminal voltage of the battery instead of the commercial power supply, and thereafter causes the power supply unit to generate the operating voltage based on the AC voltage of the commercial power supply instead of the battery based on the lightning strike prediction information acquired by the communication unit or based on a reception state of the lightning strike prediction information by the communication unit; The power supply unit an AC-DC power supply circuit that receives an AC voltage from the commercial power supply, rectifies and smooths the AC voltage, and generates a DC voltage; a power supply switching circuit that outputs, as the operating voltage, either the DC voltage output from the AC-DC power supply circuit or the voltage between the terminals of the battery in accordance with control by the control unit; and a circuit breaker that interrupts the electrical connection between the AC-DC power supply circuit and the power supply switching circuit in accordance with control by the control unit during a period in which the power supply switching circuit generates the operating voltage based on the voltage between the terminals of the battery.

2. The electrical device described in claim 1, characterized in that the control unit causes the power supply unit to generate the operating voltage based on the AC voltage of the commercial power source instead of the battery when it determines that the communication unit has not acquired the lightning strike prediction information for a certain period of time or that the degree of possibility of a lightning strike indicated by the lightning strike prediction information acquired by the communication unit has been below a threshold for a certain period of time.

3. the AC-DC power supply circuit has an AC detection unit that detects the flow of AC current from the commercial power supply through the power supply line, 3. The electrical device according to claim 1, wherein when the control unit determines that the possibility of a lightning strike has almost disappeared based on the lightning strike prediction information acquired by the communication unit, the control unit determines that the flow of AC current from the commercial power source has been detected for a certain period of time or more based on the detection result of the AC detection unit, and then causes the power supply unit to generate the operating voltage based on the AC voltage of the commercial power source instead of the battery.

4. the lightning strike prediction information includes a next startup time indicating a time at which the main body unit of the electrical device will be started after the main body unit has stopped operating, The electrical device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the control unit stops operation of the main body of the electrical device when the power supply unit generates the operating voltage based on the terminal voltage of the battery instead of the commercial power supply, and then starts up the main body of the electrical device when the current time reaches the next start-up time.

5. a control server is externally connected to the communication unit; An electrical device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the control server receives weather information supplied from a weather information server, obtains the lightning strike forecast information for the area in which the electrical device is located based on the weather information, and supplies it to the communication unit.

6. A power supply control system that generates an operating voltage based on an AC voltage of a commercial power supply supplied via an external power supply line and includes an electrical device that operates on the operating voltage, a control server that receives weather information provided by a weather information server, obtains lightning strike forecast information including a predicted time of lightning strike in the area where the electrical device is located based on the weather information, and provides the lightning strike forecast information to the electrical device; The electrical equipment includes: a communication unit that communicates with the control server via a communication line; a control unit that causes the communication unit to acquire the lightning strike prediction information via the communication line; a power supply unit that includes a battery and generates the operating voltage based on the AC voltage of the commercial power supply or the voltage between the terminals of the battery; the control unit, when the communication unit acquires the lightning strike prediction information and the current time reaches the lightning strike prediction time in the lightning strike prediction information, causes the power supply unit to generate the operating voltage based on the terminal voltage of the battery instead of the commercial power supply, and thereafter causes the power supply unit to generate the operating voltage based on the AC voltage of the commercial power supply instead of the battery based on the lightning strike prediction information acquired by the communication unit or based on a reception state of the lightning strike prediction information by the communication unit; The power supply unit an AC-DC power supply circuit that receives an AC voltage from the commercial power supply, rectifies and smooths the AC voltage, and generates a DC voltage; a power supply switching circuit that outputs, as the operating voltage, either the DC voltage output from the AC-DC power supply circuit or the voltage between the terminals of the battery in accordance with control by the control unit; a circuit breaker that interrupts the electrical connection between the AC-DC power supply circuit and the power supply switching circuit in accordance with control by the control unit during a period in which the power supply switching circuit generates the operating voltage based on the voltage between the terminals of the battery.

7. a communication unit that communicates with the outside via a communication line; an AC-DC power supply circuit that receives AC voltage from a commercial power source via an external power supply line, rectifies and smooths the AC voltage, and generates a DC voltage; A battery, a power supply switching circuit that outputs either the DC voltage generated by the AC-DC power supply circuit or the voltage between the terminals of the battery as an operating voltage; a circuit breaker; A power supply control method for an electrical device that operates using the operating voltage, comprising: a first step of causing the communication unit to acquire, via the communication line, lightning strike forecast information including a lightning strike forecast time in an area where the electrical device is located; a second step of causing the power supply switching circuit to output the operating voltage based on a voltage between the terminals of the battery instead of the DC voltage generated by the AC-DC power supply circuit when the communication unit acquires the lightning strike prediction information and the current time reaches the lightning strike prediction time in the lightning strike prediction information; a third step of causing the circuit breaker to interrupt the electrical connection between the AC-DC power supply circuit and the power supply switching circuit during a period in which the power supply switching circuit outputs the operating voltage based on the voltage across the battery; and a fourth step of causing the power supply switching circuit to output the operating voltage based on the DC voltage generated from the AC-DC power supply circuit instead of the battery, based on the lightning strike prediction information acquired by the communication unit or based on the reception state of the lightning strike prediction information by the communication unit, after the third step is executed.

8. a communication unit that communicates with the outside via a communication line; an AC-DC power supply circuit that receives AC voltage from a commercial power source via an external power supply line, rectifies and smooths the AC voltage, and generates a DC voltage; A battery, a power supply switching circuit that outputs either the DC voltage output from the AC-DC power supply circuit or the voltage between the terminals of the battery as an operating voltage; a circuit breaker; A program for a power supply control method for an electrical device that operates using the operating voltage, the program comprising: a first step of causing the communication unit to acquire, via the communication line, lightning strike forecast information including a lightning strike forecast time in an area where the electrical device is located; a second step of causing the power supply switching circuit to output the operating voltage based on a voltage between the terminals of the battery instead of the DC voltage generated by the AC-DC power supply circuit when the communication unit acquires the lightning strike prediction information and the current time reaches the lightning strike prediction time in the lightning strike prediction information; a third step of causing the circuit breaker to interrupt the electrical connection between the AC-DC power supply circuit and the power supply switching circuit during a period in which the power supply switching circuit outputs the operating voltage based on the voltage across the battery; After the third step is executed, a fourth step is executed in which the power supply switching circuit outputs the operating voltage based on the DC voltage generated from the AC-DC power supply circuit instead of the battery based on the lightning prediction information acquired by the communication unit or based on the reception state of the lightning prediction information by the communication unit.

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