Power consumption measurement system

Abstract

Provided is a material for determining whether a change has occurred in an electrical device constituting an electrical system in a calculation system for calculating an emission reduction contribution amount for the electrical system. A measurement unit 11 measures the power consumption of each of a plurality of electrical devices 21 constituting the electrical system 20. A collection unit 12 collects information pertaining to the power consumption measured by the measurement unit 11, and transmits the collected information pertaining to the power consumption to a carbon dioxide emission reduction contribution amount calculation system 30. The carbon dioxide emission reduction contribution amount calculation system 30 calculates an emission reduction contribution amount for carbon dioxide gas emitted by the electrical system 20. In response to a request from the carbon dioxide emission reduction contribution amount calculation system 30, an authentication processing unit 13 performs a process for responding with authentication information for each of the plurality of electrical devices 21.

Description

Power Consumption Measurement System

[0001] The present invention relates to information processing technology.

[0002] Various technologies have been proposed to contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions due to energy consumption (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). In addition, methods for evaluating the contribution of such technologies to greenhouse gas emission reductions have been proposed (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent No. 5408077 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-217450 Japanese Patent No. 7348421

[0004] The Institute of Life Cycle Assessment of Japan, "Guidelines for Calculating Avoided Greenhouse Gas Emissions," The Institute of Life Cycle Assessment of Japan, 2nd Edition, March 8, 2022

[0005] Industrial facilities that realize the production and transportation of goods include electrical systems that include multiple electrical devices such as drive devices. Such electrical systems are composed of energy-consuming drive devices such as motors and inverters, and mechanical equipment that includes these devices such as machine tools, conveyors, transport robots, and automated guided vehicles (AGVs).

[0006] In order to reduce the energy consumed in the production and transportation of goods, it is important to optimize the energy consumption of electrical equipment by optimally controlling the operation of the equipment.

[0007] On the other hand, in recent years, there has been a widespread demand for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions caused by the generation of energy consumed by electrical equipment can be reduced, for example, by changing the production process or transportation process of goods. The amount of reduction achieved by implementing such methods is called avoided emissions. Avoided emissions are increasingly being used as an indicator to demonstrate the results of efforts to address environmental issues, and it is desirable to be able to calculate them as a more realistic value.

[0008] In Japan, the chemical and electrical / electronics industries are making progress in developing methods for calculating greenhouse gas emissions. However, these methods are specialized for specific industries and do not involve calculating greenhouse gas emissions avoidance contributions for the entire industry.

[0009] The Institute of Life Cycle Assessment (ILCA) of Japan and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), with the participation of participating companies, are currently organizing ideas regarding greenhouse gas emission avoidance contributions across the entire industrial sector. The Institute of Life Cycle Assessment (ILCA) of Japan and the WBCSD have also considered and published a summary of ideal methods for assessing greenhouse gas emission avoidance contributions. For example, the Institute of Life Cycle Assessment (ILCA) of Japan has published the aforementioned Non-Patent Document 1.

[0010] Non-Patent Document 1 summarizes the evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions, and states that the avoided emissions can be calculated by multiplying the following three items:

[0011] 1. The net greenhouse gas emission reduction amount compared to the baseline based on the life cycle assessment per functional unit of the final product, etc. that demonstrates the reduction effect. 2. The amount of the final product, etc. that demonstrates the reduction effect in use. 3. The contribution rate of the product, etc. being evaluated.

[0012] Furthermore, Non-Patent Document 1 describes the following principles for setting a baseline:

[0013] "The product to be compared (base equipment) is defined as the product that would have been in widespread use if the product to be evaluated (target equipment) did not exist. If the product to be evaluated (target equipment) is a final product that demonstrates a reduction effect, the product to be compared (base equipment) is defined as the baseline. The baseline must have the same functions as the final product that demonstrates a reduction effect."

[0014] Here, consider the case where the calculation of avoided emissions in greenhouse gas emissions is continuously carried out using each electrical device that makes up the aforementioned electrical system as the target device. In this case, the base device used as the baseline is, for example, an electrical device that was actually in operation at a certain time. Therefore, to continuously calculate avoided emissions in accordance with the above principles, the target device must maintain the same functionality as the base electrical device.

[0015] An embodiment of the power consumption measurement system includes a measurement unit, a collection unit, and an authentication processing unit. The measurement unit measures the power consumption of each of multiple electrical devices that make up an electrical system. The collection unit collects information on the power consumption measured by the measurement unit and sends the collected information on power consumption to a calculation system. The calculation system calculates the amount of carbon dioxide gas emissions avoided by the electrical system. The authentication processing unit performs processing to return authentication information for each of the multiple electrical devices in response to a request from the calculation system.

[0016] According to the above aspect, it is possible to provide a calculation system that calculates the avoided emissions of an electric system with information for determining whether or not to change the electric devices that make up the electric system.

[0017] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a power consumption measuring system; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first example of the physical configuration of the power consumption measuring system; FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first example of an installation configuration of a slave unit; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device; FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the processing content of an example of a measurement process; FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processing content of an example of a collection process; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the physical configuration of the power consumption measuring system; FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a second example of an installation configuration of a slave unit; FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a third example of an installation configuration of a slave unit; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a first example of the placement of an authentication processing unit; FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the placement of an authentication processing unit; FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the placement of an authentication processing unit; and FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the processing content of an example of an authentication process.

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0019] FIG. 1 shows an example of the functional configuration of a power consumption measuring system 10 embodying the present invention.

[0020] In FIG. 1 , a power consumption measurement system 10 is connected to an electrical system 20 and a carbon dioxide emission reduction contribution calculation system 30, and is configured to be able to exchange various types of information with them.

[0021] The power consumption measuring system 10 includes a measuring unit 11, a collecting unit 12, and an authentication processing unit 13 as functional components.

[0022] The electrical system 20 is configured to include a plurality of electrical devices 21 .

[0023] The carbon dioxide emission reduction contribution calculation system 30 calculates the carbon dioxide emission reduction contribution, which is the amount of reduction that the electrical system 20 contributes to in reducing carbon dioxide gas emissions, which is a greenhouse gas emitted by the generation of electricity supplied to the electrical system 20.

[0024] In the following description, the power consumption measurement system 10 and the carbon dioxide emission reduction contribution calculation system 30 may be simply referred to as the "measurement system 10" and the "calculation system 30", respectively.

[0025] The measurement unit 11 measures the power consumption of each of the plurality of electrical devices 21 that make up the electrical system 20 .

[0026] The collection unit 12 collects information about the power consumption measured by the measurement unit 11 and sends the collected information about the power consumption to the calculation system 30 .

[0027] By having these components, the power consumption measurement system 10 provides the calculation system 30 with information on the power consumption of each electrical device 21 that constitutes the electrical system 20. The calculation system 30 uses the provided information to calculate the current amount of carbon dioxide gas emissions for the electrical system 20, and calculates the difference between the calculated emissions and pre-registered emissions by a base system as the amount of avoided emissions. Note that information on the power consumption of the base system may be registered in advance in the calculation system 30, and the registered power consumption information may be used to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide gas emissions by the base system, which may then be used to calculate the amount of avoided emissions.

[0028] In addition, instead of the calculation system 30 calculating the carbon dioxide gas emissions for the current electrical system 20, the power consumption measurement system 10 may perform the calculation as described below and provide the calculated emissions to the calculation system 30.

[0029] The authentication processing unit 13 performs processing to return authentication information for each of the multiple electrical devices 21 in response to a request from the calculation system 30. The authentication information of the electrical device 21 is identification information of the electrical device 21, including, for example, its own model name, type name, and serial number.

[0030] The calculation system 30 determines whether the electrical appliance 21 to be measured by the measurement unit 11, which is identified by the authentication information returned from the authentication processing unit 13, can be guaranteed to be objectively reliable, i.e., whether functional equivalence with the base system is maintained. This determination is made, for example, by registering authentication information about the electrical appliance 21 whose objective reliability can be guaranteed in advance in the calculation system 30 and determining whether the authentication information returned from the authentication processing unit 13 matches the registered authentication information. Here, if the returned authentication information does not match the registered authentication information, the avoided energy consumption calculated based on the power consumption information sent from the collection unit 12 is treated as information that does not have objective reliability.

[0031] The authentication processing unit 13 will be described in detail later.

[0032] Next, a first example of the physical configuration of the measurement system 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0033] First, the configuration of the electrical system 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0034] In this embodiment, each of the multiple electrical devices 21 constituting the electrical system 20 includes a rotating machine 22 and an inverter 23 that supplies power to the rotating machine 22 to operate the rotating machine 22. The electrical system 20 also includes a power supply 24 that supplies power to the multiple electrical devices 21 and a PLC 25 that controls the operation of the multiple electrical devices 21. "PLC" is an abbreviation for Program Logic Controller. The PLC 25 is a control unit that controls the operation of the multiple electrical devices 21 by sending control information transmitted through control signal lines 26 that daisy-chain the multiple electrical devices 21.

[0035] The measurement system 10 is physically configured by a combination of a slave unit 14 and a master unit 15 .

[0036] The slave unit 14 is provided for each of the plurality of electrical appliances 21 , has the function of the measuring unit 11 , and measures the power consumption of the corresponding electrical appliance 21 .

[0037] In this embodiment, the slave unit 14 uses the sensor 17 to measure the applied voltage and the inflow current from the power source 24 to the inverter 23 included in the electric device 21, and obtains a value by multiplying these measured values ​​together to obtain the power consumption value of the electric device 21. Note that the slave unit 14 may also use the sensor 17 to measure the applied voltage and the inflow current from the inverter 23 to the rotating machine 22 included in the electric device 21, and obtains a value by multiplying these measured values ​​together to obtain the power consumption value of the rotating machine 22. Furthermore, the slave unit 14 may obtain the power consumption value of the inverter 23 by obtaining a value by subtracting the power consumption value of the rotating machine 22 from the power consumption value of the electric device 21.

[0038] The power for driving the parent device 15 may be obtained from a commercial power source or from the power supply 24 of the electrical system 20. The power for the child device 14 may be the voltage measured by the sensor 17, or may be obtained from the parent device 15 via the data signal line 16.

[0039] The parent device 15 has the function of the collection unit 12, collects information on the power consumption of the electrical devices 21 measured by the child devices 14, and sends the collected information on the power consumption to the calculation system 30. The parent device 15 collects the information on the power consumption of the electrical devices 21 via a data signal line 16 that daisy-chains the plurality of child devices 14.

[0040] 2 has a daisy chain connection for each of the data signal line 16 and the control signal line 26. In such a configuration, the slave unit 14 is coupled to and held in place by, for example, a dedicated mounting jig. Alternatively, the slave unit 14 may be installed as in the first example shown in FIG. 3 and coupled to the electrical device 21.

[0041] 3, the communications card 27 will first be described.

[0042] The communication card 27, when installed in the electric device 21, provides a communication interface to the electric device 21. The communication card 27 receives control information from the PLC 25 from the upstream side of the daisy-chain connection of the control signal lines 26 and transmits it to the downstream side of the daisy-chain connection of the control signal lines 26. When installed in the electric device 21, the communication card 27 is connected to a first receptacle 28-1 and a second receptacle 28-2 provided in the electric device 21. The first receptacle 28-1 can be connected to a first plug connector 18-1 provided at the end of the upstream cable in the daisy-chain connection of the control signal lines 26. The second receptacle 28-2 can be connected to a second plug connector 18-2 provided at the end of the downstream cable in the daisy-chain connection of the control signal lines 26.

[0043] When the first plug connector 18-1 and the second plug connector 18-2 are directly connected to the first receptacle 28-1 and the second receptacle 28-2, respectively, the electrical device 21 joins a daisy chain connection for the control signal line 26. However, in the example of Fig. 3, the first plug connector 18-1 is connected to the first receptacle 28-1 via the first relay connector 19-1, and the second plug connector 18-2 is connected to the second receptacle 28-2 via the second relay connector 19-2.

[0044] The first relay connector 19-1 and the second relay connector 19-2 are both connectors that relay control information transmitted through the control signal line 26, and are provided in the slave device 14. The first relay connector 19-1 can be connected to both ends thereof with the first plug connector 18-1 and the first receptacle 28-1, respectively.

[0045] 3, the slave unit 14 is coupled to and held by the electrical device 21 through the connections between the first relay connector 19-1 and the second relay connector 19-2 and the first receptacle 28-1 and the second receptacle 28-2, respectively. Furthermore, these connections and the connections between the first relay connector 19-1 and the second relay connector 19-2 and the first plug connector 18-1 and the second plug connector 18-2, respectively, add the electrical device 21 to the daisy chain connection of the control signal line 26. By installing the slave unit 14 in this manner, the above-mentioned mounting jig is not required.

[0046] Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 40 provided in the child device 14 and the parent device 15 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0047] In this embodiment, the slave device 14 is provided with an information processing device 40 that functions as the measurement unit 11 , and the master device 15 is provided with an information processing device 40 that functions as the collection unit 12 .

[0048] In the configuration example of Fig. 4, the information processing device 40 includes components such as a CPU 41, a memory 42, an auxiliary storage device 43, a communication I / F 44, a sensor I / F 45, and a calculation system I / F 46. Each component is connected to a bus line 47, and is configured to enable various types of data to be exchanged between the components. Note that "CPU" is an abbreviation for Central Processing Unit. Also, "I / F" is an abbreviation for Interface.

[0049] The CPU 41 controls each component of the information processing device 40 by, for example, executing a predetermined program using the memory 42, thereby enabling the provision of each function.

[0050] The memory 42 is, for example, a semiconductor memory, and includes a RAM area and a ROM area. Note that "RAM" is an abbreviation for Random Access Memory, and "ROM" is an abbreviation for Read Only Memory.

[0051] The auxiliary storage device 43 is a non-volatile storage device, such as a flash memory.

[0052] The communication I / F 44 transmits and receives various data to and from other devices in accordance with instructions sent from the CPU 41. For example, the communication I / F 44 provides an interface for data communication performed through a daisy-chain connection of the data signal line 16. In this embodiment, this data communication is performed using a general-purpose communication protocol such as industrial Ethernet (registered trademark) such as EtherCAT (registered trademark). Furthermore, the information processing device 40 included in the parent device 15 also provides an interface for data communication with the calculation system 30. In this embodiment, this data communication is also performed using a general-purpose communication protocol such as Ethernet.

[0053] The sensor I / F 45 provides an interface with the sensor 17 used to measure power consumption. The information processing device 40 included in the master device 15 does not require the sensor I / F 45.

[0054] The calculation system I / F 46 provides an interface with the calculation system 30. Note that the calculation system I / F 46 is not necessary in the information processing device 40 provided in the slave device 14.

[0055] Next, a description will be given of various processes performed by the information processing device 40. These processes are realized, for example, by the CPU 41 reading and executing a predetermined program stored in advance in the auxiliary storage device 43.

[0056] First, a description will be given of a measurement process that causes the information processing device 40 included in the slave device 14 to realize the functions of the measurement unit 11. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the measurement process.

[0057] 5 starts, first, in S101, a timer (not shown) is started to start timing. This process uses, for example, a timer function of the CPU 41. Then, in S102, a process is performed to determine whether a request for measuring power consumption has been received from the calculation system 30. If it is determined in this determination process that a request for measuring power consumption has been received (if the determination result is YES), the process proceeds to S104. On the other hand, if it is determined in this determination process that a request for measuring power consumption has not been received (if the determination result is NO), the process proceeds to S103.

[0058] The determination process in S102 may be a process for determining whether or not an occurrence of a non-periodic power consumption measurement event has been detected for any electrical device 21. A request for power consumption measurement from the calculation system 30 is an example of such a non-periodic power consumption measurement event.

[0059] In S103, a process is performed to determine whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the timer was started by the process of S101 most recently executed. This determination process is performed by determining whether the elapsed time measured by the timer since the start has reached a predetermined time. Note that this predetermined time corresponds to the time interval for performing regular measurements.

[0060] In the determination process of S103, if it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed since the timer was started (if the determination result is YES), the process proceeds to S104. On the other hand, in the determination process of S103, if it is determined that the predetermined time has not elapsed since the timer was started (if the determination result is NO), the process returns to S102, and the determination process of S102 described above is repeated.

[0061] In S104, the slave device 14 including the information processing device 40 measures the power consumption of the electrical device 21 that is the measurement target. In this process, as described above, actual measured values ​​of the applied voltage and inflow current to the inverter 23 included in the electrical device 21 are obtained from the sensor 17, and these measured values ​​are multiplied to obtain the power consumption value of the electrical device 21. Here, the power consumption of the rotating machine 22 and the inverter 23, which are components of the electrical device 21, may be measured as described above.

[0062] In S105, the power consumption information obtained in the process of S104 is transmitted to the parent device 15 through the daisy chain connection of the data signal line 16. After this process is completed, the process returns to S101, and thereafter, the processes of measuring and transmitting power consumption are repeated.

[0063] The above-described processing is an example of the measurement processing, and the function of the measurement unit 11 is provided by the information processing device 40 included in the slave device 14 performing this processing.

[0064] Next, a collection process will be described, which is a process for realizing the functions of the collection unit 12 in the information processing device 40 provided in the master device 15. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the collection process.

[0065] When the process of FIG. 6 starts, first, in S201, a process of receiving power consumption information is performed, and then in S202, a process of determining whether or not the power consumption information has been received is performed.

[0066] The power consumption information received in the process of S201 is information transmitted from the slave device 14 when the information processing device 40 included in the slave device 14 executes the process of S105 in FIG.

[0067] If it is determined in the determination process of S202 that the power consumption information has been received (if the determination result is YES), the process proceeds to S203. On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination process of S202 that the power consumption information has not been received (if the determination result is NO), the processes of S201 and S202 are repeated until it is determined that the power consumption information has been received.

[0068] In S203, the power consumption information received from the slave device 14 in S201 is stored in the auxiliary storage device 43.

[0069] In S204, it is determined whether or not the power consumption information transmitted from all slave devices 14 included in the measurement system 10, i.e., the power consumption information for all electrical devices 21 included in the electrical system 20, has been received through the process of S201. If it is determined in this determination process that power consumption information has been received from all slave devices 14 (if the determination result is YES), the process proceeds to S205. On the other hand, if it is determined in this determination process that there are still slave devices 14 from which power consumption information has not been received (if the determination result is NO), the process returns to S201, and the processes of S201 to S204 are repeated until power consumption information has been received from all slave devices 14.

[0070] In S205, a process is performed to determine whether the measurement system 10 will convert the power consumption of the electrical device 21 measured by the sub-unit 14, as indicated by the information saved by repeating the process of S203, into carbon dioxide gas emissions.

[0071] In this embodiment, information indicating whether the conversion is performed by the measurement system 10 or the calculation system 30 is registered in advance in the parent device 15, and the information is stored in the auxiliary storage device 43 of the information processing device 40. The determination process of S205 is performed based on the registered information.

[0072] In the determination process of S205, if it is determined that this conversion is to be performed by the measurement system 10 (if the determination result is YES), the process proceeds to S207. On the other hand, in the determination process of S205, if it is determined that this conversion is to be performed by the calculation system 30 (if the determination result is NO), the process proceeds to S206, where information on the power consumption of each electrical device 21 is sent to the calculation system 30, and then the process proceeds to S209.

[0073] In S207, a process is performed to convert the power consumption of each electrical device 21 included in the electrical system 20 into the amount of carbon dioxide gas emission. In this embodiment, the conversion of the power consumption into the amount of carbon dioxide gas emission is performed based on data indicating the relationship between the amount of power generated by the power supply source that supplies power to the electrical system 20 and the amount of carbon dioxide gas emission.

[0074] Here, a description will be given of a method for converting the power consumption into the carbon dioxide gas emission amount for the electrical appliance 21. The power consumption is converted into the carbon dioxide gas emission amount using the ratio data and the emission coefficient data.

[0075] The ratio data indicates the ratio of power supplied from each of a plurality of power sources to the installation location (e.g., a factory) of the electrical system 20. The emission coefficient data indicates, for each power source, the amount of carbon dioxide gas emitted when a unit amount of power is generated at the power source.

[0076] In the process of S207, first, for each power supply source, the emission coefficient for the supply source indicated in the emission coefficient data is multiplied by the proportion of that supply source indicated in the proportion data. The multiplication results obtained for each power supply source are then summed to calculate the emission coefficient for the installation location of the electrical system 20, i.e., the carbon dioxide gas emission per unit of power consumption. The carbon dioxide gas emission for each electrical device 21 included in the electrical system 20 is calculated by multiplying the emission coefficient for the installation location obtained in this way by the power consumption of each electrical device 21.

[0077] In this embodiment, the emission amount coefficient data is provided by each power supply source. The ratio data is provided by a power receiving and transforming system serving as a power source 24 that receives and transforms power supplied from each power supply source at the installation location of the electrical system 20 to supply power to the electrical system 20. In the measurement system 10, each time emission amount coefficient data or ratio data is provided, the parent device 15 sends the emission amount coefficient data or ratio data to each child device 14, and the child device 14 stores the received emission amount coefficient data or ratio data.

[0078] In S208, the information on the amount of carbon dioxide gas emission obtained by converting the power consumption of each electrical appliance 21 obtained in the process of S207 is sent to the calculation system 30.

[0079] In S209, the power consumption information for each electrical device 21 that has been saved by repeating the process of S203 is erased, and then the process returns to S201 and the processes from S201 onwards are performed again.

[0080] The above-described processing is an example of the collection processing, and the function of the collection unit 12 is provided by performing this processing by the information processing device 40 provided in the parent device 15 .

[0081] Next, a second example of the physical configuration of the measurement system 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0082] The first example shown in Fig. 2 is a configuration in which the data signal lines 16 and the control signal lines 26 are each daisy-chained. In contrast, the second example shown in Fig. 7 is a configuration in which the daisy-chain connection of the control signal lines 26 is shared as the data signal lines 16. That is, in the second example, the PLC 25 controls the operation of the multiple electrical devices 21 by sending control information transmitted through the control signal lines 26 that daisy-chain the multiple electrical devices 21. Meanwhile, the master device 15 having the function of the collection unit 12 uses the control signal lines 26 as the data signal lines 16 to collect information on the power consumption of the multiple electrical devices 21 measured by the multiple slave devices 14 having the function of the measurement unit 11.

[0083] In order to realize the configuration shown in FIG. 7, the installation form of each of the handset 14 and the base unit 15 may be as shown in the second example in FIG.

[0084] 8, a slave unit 14 having the function of the measuring unit 11 is provided in a communication card 27 that is attached to an electric device 21 and provides a communication interface to the electric device 21, and a master unit 15 having the function of the collecting unit 12 is provided in a PLC 25 that controls the operation of the electric device 21. This installation configuration can easily be shared with a daisy chain connection of a control signal line 26 for a data signal line 16.

[0085] When this installation configuration is adopted, for example, a hardware module corresponding to the slave unit 14 is incorporated into the communication card 27, and a hardware module corresponding to the master unit 15 is incorporated into the PLC 25. Here, the PLC 25 may be provided with software that causes the PLC 25 to perform the collection process shown in FIG. 6 so that the PLC 25 provides the function of the collection unit 12.

[0086] In order to achieve the configuration shown in FIG. 7, the installation form of each of the handset 14 and the base unit 15 may be as shown in a third example in FIG.

[0087] 9, the slave unit 14 is separate from the electrical device 21, and the slave unit 14 that measures the power consumption of the electrical device 21 is inserted upstream of the daisy-chain connection of the control signal line 26 through which a communication card 27 attached to the electrical device 21 receives control information. This installation configuration can also be easily shared with the daisy-chain connection of the control signal line 26 for the data signal line 16. In this case, as in the example of FIG. 8, the PLC 25 may incorporate a hardware module equivalent to the master unit 15, or may be provided with software that causes the PLC 25 to perform collection processing, so that the PLC 25 provides the function of the collection unit 12.

[0088] In addition, when the data signal line 16 and the control signal line 26 are connected in a daisy chain, the PLC 25 sends control information and each slave unit 14 sends information about the power consumption of each electrical device 21, for example, using the industrial Ethernet described above.

[0089] 9, a connector may be used to directly connect the communication card 27 attached to the electrical device 21 to the handset 14, and the handset 14 may be coupled and held by the connector to the electrical device 21. The handset 14 may also be installed as in the fourth example shown in FIG.

[0090] In the fourth example shown in Fig. 10, the electrical device 21 is provided with a first receptacle 28-1 and a second receptacle 28-2 similar to those in the first example shown in Fig. 3. On the other hand, the slave device 14 is provided with a first relay connector 19-1 similar to those in the example shown in Fig. 3, but is not provided with a second relay connector 19-2.

[0091] 10 , the first plug connector 18-1 is connected to the first receptacle 28-1 via the first relay connector 19-1, and the second plug connector 18-2 is directly connected to the second receptacle 28-2. In this example, the connection between the first relay connector 19-1 and the first receptacle 28-1 couples the slave unit 14 to and holds the electrical device 21. This connection, the connection between the first relay connector 19-1 and the first plug connector 18-1, and the connection between the second receptacle 28-2 and the second plug connector 18-2 add the electrical device 21 to the daisy chain connection of the control signal line 26. This type of installation configuration for the slave unit 14 also eliminates the need for the mounting jig described above.

[0092] 10, the slave device 14 may be provided with a second relay connector 19-2 similar to that of the first example shown in Fig. 3, instead of the first relay connector 19-1. In this case, the slave device 14 is coupled to and held by the electrical device 21 through the connection between the second relay connector 19-2 and the second receptacle 28-2. Furthermore, this connection, the connection between the second relay connector 19-2 and the second plug connector 18-2, and the connection between the first receptacle 28-1 and the first plug connector 18-1 allow the electrical device 21 to join the daisy chain connection for the control signal line 26.

[0093] As described above, the handset 14 may be coupled to the electrical device 21 by connecting at least one of the receptacles that can connect to the plug connectors provided on the control signal line 26, which the electrical device 21 has in plurality, to the relay connector provided on the handset 14.

[0094] Next, the authentication processing unit 13 will be described in detail.

[0095] First, a description will be given of Fig. 11. Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a first example of the arrangement of the authentication processing unit 13, in which the base unit 15 has the function of the authentication processing unit 13.

[0096] In the example of Figure 11, the parent device 15 having the function of the authentication processing unit 13 responds to a request sent from the calculation system 30 to obtain authentication information for each electrical device 21 that constitutes the electrical system 20, by returning the authentication information to the calculation system 30.

[0097] In addition, instead of the parent device 15 having the functions of the authentication processing unit 13, each of the multiple child devices 14 may be configured to have the functions of the authentication processing unit 13, as in the second arrangement example of the authentication processing unit 13 shown in Figure 12.

[0098] 12 , upon receiving a request to acquire authentication information sent from calculation system 30, parent device 15 transfers the request to each child device 14 using the daisy chain connection of data signal line 16. Child device 14, which has the functions of measurement unit 11 and authentication processing unit 13 as well, sends authentication information about electrical device 21 to be measured to parent device 15 via data signal line 16, and parent device 15 returns the authentication information received from each child device 14 to calculation system 30.

[0099] Furthermore, as in a third example of the arrangement of the authentication processing unit 13 shown in FIG. 13, the data collection device 50 may be configured to have the function of the authentication processing unit 13.

[0100] 13 , a plurality of electrical systems 20 are installed, and one measurement system 10 is provided for each of the electrical systems 20, measuring the power consumption of each of the electrical systems 20. The data collection device 50 is a device that collects power consumption information about each electrical device 21 in each of the electrical systems 20 from the parent device 15 of each of the measurement systems 10, and sends the collected power consumption information to the calculation system 30.

[0101] If the data collection device 50 has the function of the authentication processing unit 13 , when the data collection device 50 receives a request to acquire authentication information sent from the calculation system 30 , it returns the authentication information to the calculation system 30 .

[0102] In this embodiment, the data collection device 50 is provided with the information processing device 40 whose hardware configuration is exemplified in FIG. 4, and the information processing device 40 realizes the function of the authentication processing unit 13 .

[0103] 11, 12, and 13 all show configurations in which the data signal lines 16 have a dedicated daisy chain connection, similar to the first example shown in Fig. 2. Instead of this configuration, a configuration in which the daisy chain connection for the control signal lines 26 is shared as the data signal lines 16 may be used, as in the second example shown in Fig. 7.

[0104] Next, an authentication process will be described, which is a process for realizing the function of the authentication processing unit 13 in the master unit 15 in FIG. 11, the slave unit 14 in FIG. 12, or the data collection device 50 in FIG.

[0105] 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the authentication process. This authentication process is realized, for example, by the information processing device 40 of the master device 15, the slave device 14, or the data collection device 50 reading and executing a predetermined program stored in advance in the auxiliary storage device 43 by the CPU 41.

[0106] 14 is started when the installation of the electrical system 20 and the measurement system 10 at the installation location is completed and these systems are started. Then, first, in S301, a process is performed to acquire authentication information of each electrical device 21 that constitutes the electrical system 20, and then in S302, a process is performed to register the acquired authentication information.

[0107] When the information processing device 40 of the master device 15 performs authentication processing, the processing in S301 collects authentication information of the multiple electrical devices 21 that make up the electrical system 20 via the slave device 14 that measures the power consumption of the electrical devices 21. Then, the processing in S302 stores the collected authentication information in the auxiliary storage device 43.

[0108] On the other hand, when the information processing device 40 of the slave device 14 performs the authentication process, the process of S301 directly acquires the authentication information of the electrical device 21 that is the target of the power consumption measurement by the slave device 14. Then, the collected authentication information is stored in the auxiliary storage device 43 in the process of S302.

[0109] Furthermore, when the information processing device 40 of the data collection device 50 performs authentication processing, the processing in S301 collects authentication information of the multiple electrical devices 21 that respectively configure the multiple electrical systems 20 via the slave device 14 and the master device 15. Then, the collected authentication information is stored in the auxiliary storage device 43 in the processing in S302.

[0110] Next, in S303, a process of transmitting an initial registration request for authentication information of the electrical device 21 to the calculation system 30 is performed.

[0111] Next, in S304, a process of receiving an acquisition request for authentication information from the calculation system 30 is performed, and in the following S305, a process of determining whether or not an acquisition request for authentication information has been received is performed.

[0112] When the information processing device 40 of the parent device 15 or the data collection device 50 performs the authentication process, the request to acquire authentication information sent from the calculation system 30 is directly received by the parent device 15 or the data collection device 50. On the other hand, when the information processing device 40 of the child device 14 performs the authentication process, the request to acquire authentication information sent from the calculation system 30 is received by the child device 14 via the parent device 15.

[0113] In the determination process of S305, if it is determined that an authentication information acquisition request has been received (if the determination result is YES), the process proceeds to S306. On the other hand, in the determination process of S305, if it is determined that an authentication information acquisition request has not been received (if the determination result is NO), the process returns to S304, and the process of receiving the authentication information acquisition request continues.

[0114] In S306, the authentication information of the electrical device 21 registered by the processing of S302 is returned to the calculation system 30, and then the processing returns to S304 and the processing of receiving the request to obtain the authentication information is performed again.

[0115] When the information processing device 40 of the parent device 15 or the data collecting device 50 performs the authentication process, the authentication information of the electrical device 21 is sent directly from the parent device 15 or the data collecting device 50 to the calculation system 30 by the process of S306. On the other hand, when the information processing device 40 of the child device 14 performs the authentication process, the authentication information of the electrical device 21 is sent to the calculation system 30 via the parent device 15.

[0116] The above-described processing is the authentication processing of FIG.

[0117] As described above, in this embodiment, the measurement system 10 includes the measurement unit 11 that measures the power consumption of the electrical devices 21 that make up the electrical system 20, and the collection unit 12 that collects information on the measured power consumption and sends it to the calculation system 30, and is further provided with an authentication processing unit 13. The authentication processing unit 13 performs processing to return authentication information for each of the multiple electrical devices 21 in response to a request from the calculation system 30. Therefore, the measurement system 10 makes it possible to provide the calculation system 30 with information for determining whether or not the electrical devices 21 that make up the electrical system 20 have been changed.

[0118] Although the disclosed embodiments and their advantages have been described in detail above, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art may make various modifications, additions, and omissions without departing from the scope of the invention as clearly set forth in the claims.

[0119] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-132754, filed on August 8, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.

[0120] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Power consumption measurement system 11 Measurement unit 12 Collection unit 13 Authentication processing unit 14 Child unit 15 Parent unit 16 Data signal line 17 Sensor 18-1 First plug connector 18-2 Second plug connector 19-1 First relay connector 19-2 Second relay connector 20 Electrical system 21 Electrical equipment 22 Rotating machine 23 Inverter 24 Power supply 25 PLC 26 Control signal line 27 Communication card 28-1 First receptacle 28-2 Second receptacle 30 Carbon dioxide emission reduction contribution calculation system 40 Information processing device 41 CPU 42 Memory 43 Auxiliary storage device 44 Communication I / F 45 Sensor I / F 46 Calculation system I / F 47 Bus line 50 Data collection device

Claims

1. A power consumption measurement system comprising: a measurement unit that measures the power consumption of each of a plurality of electrical devices that constitute an electrical system; a collection unit that collects information on the power consumption measured by the measurement unit and sends the collected information on power consumption to a calculation system that calculates the amount of contribution to avoided carbon dioxide gas emissions from the electrical system; and an authentication processing unit that processes to return authentication information for each of the plurality of electrical devices in response to a request from the calculation system.

2. A power consumption measurement system comprising: a slave unit having a measurement unit that measures the power consumption of each of a plurality of electrical devices that make up an electrical system; a master unit having a collection unit that collects information on the power consumption measured by the measurement unit and sends the collected information on power consumption to a calculation system that calculates the amount of contribution to reduced carbon dioxide gas emissions from the electrical system; and an authentication processing unit that processes to return authentication information for each of the plurality of electrical devices in response to a request from the calculation system.

3. The power consumption measurement system described in claim 2, characterized in that the electrical system includes a control unit that controls the operation of the plurality of electrical devices by sending control information transmitted through control signal lines that connect the plurality of electrical devices, each of the plurality of electrical devices includes a plurality of receptacles to which a respective one of a plurality of plug connectors provided on the control signal lines can be connected, and the sub-unit includes a relay connector that relays the control information and is capable of connecting at least one of the plurality of plug connectors to at least one of the plurality of receptacles, and the sub-unit is coupled to the electrical device that is the subject of measurement by connecting the relay connector to at least one of the plurality of receptacles provided on the electrical device that is the subject of measurement by the measuring unit of the sub-unit.

4. The power consumption measurement system described in claim 2, characterized in that the slave unit is provided for each of the plurality of electrical devices that are the subject of the measurement, and the collection unit collects information on the power consumption of each of the plurality of electrical devices measured by the measurement unit of the slave unit via a data signal line that daisy-chains the plurality of electrical devices.

5. The power consumption measurement system described in claim 4, characterized in that the electrical system includes a control unit that controls the operation of the plurality of electrical devices by sending control information transmitted through control signal lines that daisy-chain the plurality of electrical devices, each of the plurality of electrical devices includes first and second receptacles that can connect first and second plug connectors provided at the ends of the cables on the upstream and downstream sides of the daisy-chain connection of the control signal lines, and the sub-device includes either a first or second relay connector that relays the control information and is capable of connecting either the first or second plug connector to either the first or second receptacle, and is coupled to the electrical device that is the subject of measurement by the measuring unit of the sub-device by connecting the first or second relay connector to either the first or second receptacle provided on the electrical device that is the subject of measurement.

6. The power consumption measurement system described in claim 4, characterized in that the electrical system includes a control unit that controls the operation of the plurality of electrical devices by sending control information transmitted through control signal lines that daisy-chain the plurality of electrical devices, each of the plurality of electrical devices includes first and second receptacles that can connect first and second plug connectors provided at the ends of cables on the upstream and downstream sides of the daisy-chain connection of the control signal lines, and the sub-device includes first and second relay connectors that relay the control information and are capable of connecting the first and second plug connectors to the first and second receptacles, respectively, and is coupled to the electrical device that is the subject of measurement by the measuring unit of the sub-device by connecting the first and second relay connectors to the first and second receptacles provided on the electrical device that is the subject of measurement.

7. The power consumption measuring system described in claim 4, characterized in that the electrical system includes a control unit that controls the operation of the plurality of electrical devices by sending control information transmitted through a control signal line that daisy-chains the plurality of electrical devices, and the collection unit collects information on the power consumption of each of the plurality of electrical devices by sharing the control signal line that transmits the control information as the data signal line.

8. The power consumption measuring system according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the parent device is provided with the authentication processing unit.

9. A power consumption measuring system as described in any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that the sub-unit is equipped with the authentication processing unit, and the authentication processing unit performs processing to return authentication information about the electrical device that is the target of measurement by the measurement unit of the sub-unit via the data signal line.

10. A power consumption measurement system as described in any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the collection unit converts the power consumption measured by the measurement unit of the child device into the carbon dioxide gas emission amount and sends information on the converted emission amount to the calculation system.

11. The power consumption measuring system described in claim 10, characterized in that the collection unit converts the power consumption measured by the measurement unit into the amount of carbon dioxide gas emitted based on data indicating the relationship between the amount of electricity generated at the power supply source that supplies power to the electrical system and the amount of carbon dioxide gas emitted.

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