Power Storage Relay Panel Signal Masking for Maintenance Downtime

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing power storage systems experience prolonged downtime during maintenance, particularly when monitoring lithium-ion storage batteries, leading to reduced user convenience and inefficiency, as operations are stopped for maintenance even for batteries in a normal state due to detection of abnormal or warning states.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a power storage system with relay panels and maintenance devices that allow for a masking function, enabling maintenance to be performed while storage battery groups are in an operating state by temporarily invalidating monitoring signals for the battery panel being maintained, allowing other panels to continue operating and reducing downtime.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If storage batteries are monitored continuously to detect abnormal or warning states, then system reliability is improved, but system downtime increases during maintenance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem reliabilityVSAvoidsystem downtime
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system divides storage batteries into multiple independent panels, each with its own monitoring and control capabilities. This segmentation allows individual panels to be maintained without affecting the operation of other panels, thereby reducing overall system downtime while maintaining continuous monitoring of all panels.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

A maintenance device is introduced as an intermediary component that enables maintenance operations without requiring complete system shutdown. The maintenance device facilitates signal masking and panel isolation, allowing technicians to perform maintenance on specific panels while the rest of the system continues to operate and be monitored.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If operations are stopped for maintenance of storage battery panels, then maintenance safety is improved, but productivity decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemaintenance safetyVSAvoidsystem productivity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts the maintenance function from the operational flow by providing a dedicated maintenance device that interfaces with the relay panel. This allows maintenance operations to be performed on isolated panels without stopping the entire system, thereby maintaining productivity while ensuring safety through electrical isolation of the maintenance area.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system maintains continuous operation of non-maintained panels while maintenance is performed on specific panels. The masking function allows the system to continue monitoring and operating with masked signals from panels undergoing maintenance, ensuring uninterrupted useful action across the overall system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

3Ease of repair

If all storage battery groups are stopped for maintenance, then ease of maintenance is improved, but loss of time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of maintenanceVSAvoidmaintenance stop time
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of repairVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments storage batteries into independent panels that can be maintained individually. This segmentation allows maintenance personnel to work on one panel at a time while other panels remain operational, making maintenance easier to schedule and execute without requiring complete system shutdown, thereby reducing total maintenance stop time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of stopping all panels for maintenance, the system applies partial action by isolating and maintaining only the specific panel that requires attention. The masking function allows the system to tolerate masked signals from maintained panels, enabling maintenance on a portion of the system without affecting the rest.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3048663B1Power storage system and method of maintaining power storage system
Publication Date: 2019.12.18 RESONAC CORP
  • EP3048663B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3048663B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3048663B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An object of the present invention is to provide a technology with which the time of stopping operations of storage battery groups in performing preventive maintenance and maintenance works of storage batteries in a power storage system can be reduced. In the power storage system of the present invention, a storage battery panel 3 transmits a first signal (F1) based on monitoring of states of storage battery packs 4 to a superordinate relay panel 2, and the relay panel 2 transmits a second signal (F2) based on the first signal to a superordinate power control device 1. A maintenance device 5 transmits, based on an operation of designating a storage battery panel 3 to be maintained by a maintenance person, a third signal (M) to the superordinate relay panel 2 of the storage battery panel 3 to be maintained, and the relay panel 2 masks and invalidates the first signal from the storage battery panel 3 to be maintained or the second signal based on the first signal in accordance with the third signal.