KR101542410B1 - A control method for an electric appliance having a detachable communication modem - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control method of an electrical product equipped with a detachable communication modem, and more particularly, to a control method of an electrical product equipped with a detachable communication modem, To the outside so that this information can be used from the outside.

(A) the step of mounting a detachable communication modem on an electrical product;

(B) checking whether the communication modem connected to the electrical appliance on the power management network is capable of communicating; (C) when the communication modem is incommunicable, the operation information of the electric appliance itself is confirmed and stored, and when the communication modem is changed into a communicable state, the operation information stored in the electric appliance is transmitted to the outside of the electric appliance (D) controlling the electrical product according to a power management program capable of saving power consumption and power charges when it is determined that communication is possible in the communication check step A control method of an electric product equipped with a communication modem is provided.

Energy management devices, electrical products, communication modems

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a control method for an electric appliance equipped with a detachable communication modem,

The present invention relates to a control method of an electric appliance provided on a power management network and equipped with a detachable communication modem. More particularly, the present invention relates to a control method of an electric appliance, Is transmitted to the outside of the communication modem at the time of communication resumption so that this information can be used from the outside.

Electric power used for electric appliances such as home electric appliances or office appliances to be used is generally supplied through a power plant operated by KEPCO, a transmission line, and a wiring line in this order Feature.

This is a centralized power source rather than a distributed power source. It has a radial structure that spreads from the center to the periphery, and is characterized by a supplier center rather than a consumer center.

In addition, the technology base is analog or electro-mechanical, has to be manually restored in case of an accident, and the equipment must also be manually restored.

The price information of electricity can not be known in real time, but it can be seen only through the power exchange, and because the price system is also a fixed price system, incentives such as incentives for consumers through price changes can not be used There was also a problem.

In order to solve these problems and improve the efficiency of energy, researches on a power network capable of realizing flexible power control are actively underway, and such power control includes demand response control and intelligent power control.

As described above, the current grid is a centralized and producer-controlled vertical, centralized network, while the system for demand response control or intelligent power control is less focused on suppliers, It is a horizontal, collaborative, and distributed network that enables interaction between the two.

In order to realize such a flexible power control, a power management network, in which individual electric appliances and a plurality of electric products are connected to each other, is required to be unilaterally received in order to be implemented in the position of a power user such as a home or a building. There has been a need for two-way communication with respect to power information and a need for new devices for such two-way communication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and a method of operating the same in a communication modem, The present invention provides a control method of an electric appliance that enables information to be used externally.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a communication modem, the method comprising: (A)

(B) checking whether the communication modem connected to the electrical appliance on the power management network is capable of communicating;

(C) when the communication modem is incommunicable, the operation information of the electric appliance itself is confirmed and stored, and when the communication modem is changed into a communicable state, the operation information stored in the electric appliance is transmitted to the outside of the electric appliance Transmitting;

(D) controlling the electrical product according to a power management program capable of saving power consumption and power charges when it is determined that communication is possible in the communication check step, A method of controlling an electrical product is provided.

Further comprising an energy management device or a measurement device for processing and controlling operation information or power information of the electric product,

In the step (D), the control command of the electric appliance for performing the power management program is performed by the energy management apparatus, the measurement apparatus, or the communication modem.

The power management program executed by the energy management device, the measurement device, or the control of the communication modem performs an operation to comply with the upper limit target value of the operation or power consumption value for suppressing the power consumption and the power charge in the peak time period .

Determining whether there is a response signal of the check signal transmitted from the energy management apparatus or the electrical product to the communication modem;

Determining whether the number of times the check signal is transmitted exceeds a predetermined reference number when the response signal is not present;

And determining that the communication modem is in a communication disabled state when it is determined that the number of check signal transmission times exceeds a predetermined reference number.

And transmits the check signal to the communication modem again when it is determined that the number of check signal transmission times does not exceed a predetermined reference number.

Determining whether an electrical appliance equipped with the communication modem is operating in a communication disabled state of the communication modem;

Further storing information related to the current operation in the previously stored operation information when it is determined that the electrical product is in operation;

And checking the previously stored operation information if it is determined that the electrical product does not operate.

(C) transmitting the check signal to the communication modem to determine whether the communication modem is in a communicable state;

Transmitting operation information of an electrical appliance operated in a communication disabled state by the communication modem to the energy management device or the measurement device when it is determined that the communication modem is communicable;

And transmitting operation information of the electric appliance received by the energy management device or the measurement device to a power company operating the power management program.

(E) performing a diagnosis or a service request by the self-diagnosis program when there is a diagnosis request by a user's self-diagnosis program or when there is a service request for a utility company or an electric appliance manufacturer .

According to the present invention, when the communication modem, which is removably provided in the electrical product, can not communicate, the operation information, the additional operation information, and the power information stored in the electrical product can be transmitted to the outside when the communication modem can communicate.

In other words, the information is transmitted to an energy management system or a measuring device that is connected to an electrical product and a network, and the transmitted operation information and power information are transmitted to a power management program operating entity such as a power company, So that the user can know the state of use of the electric appliance.

On the other hand, since the communication modem is mounted on the electrical product without significantly changing the design of the electrical product, the electrical product can be easily operated according to the power management program performed in the power management network, It has the advantage of saving power.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a power management network 10 in the home.

The power management network 10 includes a measuring device (smart meter) 20 capable of real-time measuring power and electric power charges supplied to each home, a home appliance (home appliance) 20 connected to the measuring device And an energy management device (EMS) 30 connected to and controlling the operation of the plurality of electric devices.

Here, the electric power charge is charged based on the hourly charge, and the electric power charge becomes high in the time interval in which the electric power consumption is rapidly increased, and the electric power charge is reduced in the hour in the nighttime period in which the electric power consumption is relatively small.

The power management network 10 is driven by a power management program that efficiently manages and controls power charges and power consumption in the home based on the variable rate system over time.

In order to perform the power management program, the energy management device (EMS) 30 and the measurement device (smart meter) 20 can communicate with the operation subject 50 of the power management program such as a power company.

Here, the energy management device (EMS) 30 includes a screen 31 for displaying current electricity consumption state and external environment (temperature, humidity), and is provided with an input button 32 or the like And is provided in the form of a terminal equipped.

The energy management device 30 and the metering device 30 may be connected to the refrigerator 101, the washer and dryer 102, the air conditioner 103, , A TV 105 or a cooking appliance 104 and communicates with them.

Each of the electrical appliances is detachably provided with a communication modem 200 (201 to 205) for wireless communication with the energy management device (EMS) 30 and the measurement device (smart meter) 30.

Here, it is preferable that the communication modem 200 is coupled to the outside of the electrical product so that a user can easily attach and detach the same.

The communication mode of the communication modem 200 is implemented by a ZigBee method, which is a kind of wireless communication method, and is capable of one-to-one communication, one-to-many communication, and multi-party communication. However, the communication modem 200 is not limited to the ZigBee type, It is also possible.

Accordingly, the electric power information or operation information of the electrical product to which the communication modem 200 is connected is transmitted to the energy management device (EMS) 30 or the measurement device (smart meter) 20 through the communication modem 200. [ And communication in the opposite direction is also possible.

In order to attach or detach the communication modem 200, it is preferable that each electric appliance is provided with a slot or a port for mounting.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system in which each component is connected to a power management network according to the present invention.

Here, the power management program operating entity 50 may be a power company having general power generation equipment (thermal power, nuclear power, hydro power) or generating power using renewable energy (solar power, wind power, geothermal power) But is not limited thereto.

In addition, the power management network includes an electric power generating facility 51 such as a solar power generating facility that can be installed in each home, and a fuel cell 52 that can be provided in a fuel cell vehicle or a home.

The power supply source and the power management program operating entity 50 are connected to the measurement device (smart meter) 20 and the energy management device (EMS) 30.

The measuring device (smart meter) 20 and the energy management device (EMS) 30 are communicable with the electrical products through the communication modem 200.

The EMS 30 includes a control unit 35 and an input unit 38, a communication unit 34 and a display unit 39. The measurement device (smart meter) 20 Also includes a control unit 25 and an input unit 28, a communication unit 24, and a display unit 29.

The communication units 34 and 24 are connected to a communication module 200 (not shown) mounted in the appliance, such as a refrigerator 101, a washing machine or a dryer 102, an air conditioner 103, 201-204) to transmit and receive power information and driving information.

The control unit 25 or 35 may be configured to receive setting information input by the user through the input unit 28 or 38 and / The operation history and the electric power usage history information of the accumulated electric products, and the amount of electric power supplied from the outside in real time.

Then, these pieces of information are processed in real time to control the operation of the electrical products and control the power supplied to the electrical products

The display units 29 and 39 display the electric power information supplied from the electric power source or the operation information and the electric power information of the electric appliance, and the communication status of each electric appliance.

The energy management device (EMS) 30 and the metering device (smart meter) 20 serve to control the operation of the electrical product, Saving mode and an energy saving mode that can save power consumption.

Here, the power-saving mode is performed based on information about the electric power rate that varies depending on the time when the electric appliance is operated.

The energy management device (EMS) 30 or the metering device (smart meter) 20 may control the electric appliance in consideration of the peak time during which the electric power charge is the highest during the day, or considering the upper limit target value of the electric power consumption or electric charge . .

Here, it is preferable that the power-saving mode operation considering the peak time period or the upper limit target value is performed by subscribing to the power management program provided by the power company.

By subscribing to these power management programs and receiving power management, they can save on electricity bills and enjoy beneficial effects such as electricity tariff policies provided by utilities.

The communication modem 200 (201 to 204) is provided with a control unit, a display unit, a communication unit, and an input unit, and can display a current communication state and can receive a user's command.

The communication modem 200 may be communicatively coupled to the energy management device (EMS) 30 or the metering device (smart meter) 20 to transmit a command according to a power management program that is provided therewith to the electrical product 100).

Thus, the electrical product 100 can perform a control operation according to the power management program.

The controller of the communication modem 200 may be provided with a function of controlling the electrical product 100 in consideration of the upper limit target value of the electric power charge or the electric power charge or the upper limit target value of the electric power consumption according to the time zone. It is possible to perform power saving operation such as electric power cost saving operation or power consumption saving operation of the electric product 100.

 Each of the electric appliances is provided with a display unit and a control unit. The display unit displays not only the operation status of each appliance, but also the communication status of the communication modem installed in the appliance.

Thus, when the user views the energy management device (EMS) 30 or the metering device (smart meter) 20, or the communication modem 200, or each electrical product, If the communication state is not normal, the communication modem connected to the electric appliance can be properly installed or replaced.

On the other hand, the control unit of the electrical product 100 stores information necessary for performing a power management program itself in an emergency such as communication failure of the communication modem, such as conventional time-based operation information and power consumption information of the respective electrical products .

As shown in FIG. 3, the communication modem 200 is embedded in a port or a slot provided in the electrical product 100, rather than buried in and fixed in the electrical product 100.

Thus, since the user can easily attach or detach the communication modem 200 to / from the electrical product 100, the user purchases the new electrical product 100 and connects the same to the power management network to perform the power management program You can do it yourself without going through the cumbersome process of calling a service technician.

Figs. 4 to 5 show a control flow chart of a control method of an electrical product equipped with a removable communication modem.

First, when a communication modem is installed in a specific electrical appliance (S401), it is checked whether or not the communication modem is improperly mounted or communication is enabled (S402).

Here, a check signal is transmitted from the energy management device (EMS) or the measurement device (smart meter) or the corresponding electric appliance toward the communication modem (S403).

Thereafter, it is determined whether there is a response signal from the communication modem with respect to the transmitted check signal (S404). If there is no response signal, it is determined whether the number of check signal transmission times m has exceeded a predetermined reference number n (S405).

This is because it is a reliability problem to determine whether or not the communication modem can communicate by transmitting the check signal only once. Therefore, it is determined whether or not communication is possible by transmitting a check signal a plurality of times. And to take the follow-up action.

If the number m of transmission of the check signal does not exceed the reference number n in a state where there is no response signal, the check signal is once again transmitted (S406, S403).

On the other hand, if the number m of transmission of the check signal in the absence of the response signal exceeds the reference number n, it is finally determined that the communication modem is unable to communicate.

In order to allow the user to quickly and easily recognize the communication disabled state of the communication modem connected to a specific electrical product, the user can not communicate with the energy management device (EMS), the measuring device (smart meter) (S406).

Here, not only the time display but also the voice display such as an alarm sound can be displayed to indicate the communication disabled state.

It is impossible to receive information related to the operation of the electrical product outside the electrical product due to the communication failure of the current communication modem. However, in normal operation, the control unit or the data storage unit of the electric appliance stores the power information by time zone and the operation information by time, and is stored in a database form.

Accordingly, the stored information is checked first (S408).

In step S409, it is determined whether the electrical appliance in which the communication modem is mounted is operated in the communication disabled state of the communication modem.

That is, even if the communication modem is unable to communicate, the electric appliance such as the washing machine or the dryer may be operated by the arbitrary operation input of the user, and the electric appliance such as the refrigerator may be operated automatically This is because the case is common.

If the electrical product has been operated, operation information and power information related to the operation are additionally stored in the electrical product (S410). If the electrical product is not operated, the operation information and power information (S411)

Here, the power information refers to a change in the electric power charge by time slot as shown in FIG. 8, and the operation information includes an operation state of each component by time slot, power consumption information required to drive each of the components, And information related to whether or not the mobile terminal 100 is operating normally.

Then, it is determined whether the communication modem can communicate with the electric appliance, the energy management device (EMS) and the measurement device (smart meter) as shown in FIG. 5 (S501) And transmits operation information and power information of the additional stored electrical product to the energy management device (EMS) or the measurement device (smart meter) (S502).

The energy management device (EMS) and the measurement device (smart meter) transmit operation information and power information of the received electrical product to a power company that manages the power management program. Or may be transmitted to the electrical product manufacturer through the Internet network (S503).

The reason for transmitting the operation information of the electric appliance in this manner is to notify the fact that the user observes the power management program even when the user can not communicate, or to help the improvement direction of the power management program in case of communication failure.

However, the reason is not limited to this.

If the user requests to diagnose whether the product is malfunctioning or upgraded through a self-diagnosis program, or if the user requests to call a service article of a power company or an electrical product manufacturer (S504), the energy management device (EMS) Performs a self-diagnosis program through the Internet network or makes a service request to a power company or an electric appliance manufacturer (S505).

This is to judge whether the communication incapability is caused by a defect in the power management program provided by the electric power company or if the electric appliance itself is defective.

As shown in Fig. 6, when there is a response signal from the communication modem mounted on the electrical product, it is determined that the current communication modem is properly installed in the electrical product, and it is determined that the communication modem is currently in a communicable state (S601 )

Then, the communication modem communicates with the energy management device (EMS) or the measurement device (smart meter) (S602), thereby communicating with the power management program service provider (S603).

Subsequently, the power management program is subscribed and a control operation according to the power management program is started, and the electrical product is controlled accordingly (S604).

Here, the power management program is a program capable of saving electric power charges by minimizing or stopping the electric power consumption in the peak time interval as shown in FIG. 8, or the consumption of each electric appliance at the upper limit target of electric power consumption It is preferable that the program is a program capable of stopping the electric appliance or warning the user if the target value is exceeded and exceeds the upper limit value.

A method of recognizing a peak time interval type is as follows. First, it is determined whether the present time belongs to a peak time period (S605). If it is within a peak time period, the energy saving operation of the electric appliance is started (S606)

This type of saving operation can be performed in such a manner as to turn off the operation of the electric appliance, temporarily wait for the operation, or reduce the power consumption.

In step S607, it is determined whether the peak time period has ended. If the peak time has ended, the operation returns to the original set state operation of the electrical product (for example, on operation, operation resumption, power consumption undesired operation) (S608).

The operation of such electrical appliances can be accomplished by an energy management device (EMS) or a measuring device (smart meter) that performs a power management program as described above. In addition, such a control function (such as power consumption Suppression control function, and control function in accordance with the upper limit target value setting).

7, the energy management apparatus (EMS) 30 displays the communication state of the electrical product, the real-time energy information, and the real-time power consumption of each electrical product, and the user can easily recognize can do.

In addition, such information may also be present in the above measuring device (smart meter).

As shown in Fig. 8, the power charge becomes the maximum in the time interval in which the normal power consumption becomes the maximum, and this interval becomes the peak time interval.

If the power is consumed in the peak time interval, the power rate is higher than when the power is consumed in a period other than the peak time, so that the power rate can be saved by using the power according to the power management program described above.

1 is a schematic diagram of a power management network including an electrical product equipped with a communication modem of the present invention.

2 is a control block diagram of a power management network including an electrical product equipped with a communication modem of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of a communication modem and an electric product of the present invention.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are control flow diagrams for determining the communication state of the communication modem of the present invention and for the case of communication incapability.

6 is a control flowchart showing the execution of a power management program when the communication modem of the present invention operates normally

7 is a front view of an energy management apparatus showing results according to the control method of the present invention.

8 is a graph of power charges and power consumption over time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

20: Measuring device 30: Energy management system

24, 34: communication unit 25, 35:

28, 38: input unit 29, 39:

50: Power Management Program Operator 200: Communication Modem

Claims (8)

(A) installing a detachable communication modem in an electrical product; (B) checking whether the communication modem connected to the electrical appliance on the power management network is capable of communicating; (C) when the communication modem is incommunicable, checking and storing internal operation information of the electric appliance itself, and when the communication modem is changed to a communicable state, the operation information stored in the electric appliance is transmitted to the outside ; (D) controlling an electrical product according to a power management program capable of saving power consumption and power charges when it is determined that communication is possible in a communication check step; (E) performing a diagnosis or service request by the self-diagnosis program when there is a diagnosis request by a user's self-diagnosis program or when there is a service request for a utility company or an electrical product manufacturer Wherein the detachable communication modem is mounted on the electronic product. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising an energy management device or a measurement device for processing and controlling operation information or power information of the electric product, Wherein in the step (D), the control command of the electric appliance for performing the power management program is performed by the energy management device, the measurement device, or the communication modem. / RTI > 3. The method of claim 2, The power management program executed by the energy management device, the measurement device, or the control of the communication modem performs an operation to comply with the upper limit target value of the operation or power consumption value for suppressing the power consumption and the power charge in the peak time period Wherein the detachable communication modem is mounted on the main body of the electronic product. 3. The method of claim 2, The step (B) Determining whether there is a response signal of a check signal transmitted from the energy management apparatus or the electrical product to the communication modem; Determining whether the number of times of transmission of the check signal exceeds a predetermined reference number in the absence of the response signal; Further comprising the step of determining that the communication modem is in a communication disabled state when it is determined that the number of times of transmission of the check signal exceeds a predetermined reference number. 5. The method of claim 4, And transmits the check signal to the communication modem again if it is determined that the check signal transmission number does not exceed the predetermined reference number. The method according to claim 1, The step (C) Determining whether an electrical appliance equipped with the communication modem is operating in a communication disabled state of the communication modem; Further storing information related to the current operation in the previously stored operation information when it is determined that the electrical product is in operation; And checking the previously stored operation information if it is determined that the electrical product is not operating. 3. The method of claim 2, The step (C) Determining whether the communication modem is in a communicable state by transmitting a check signal to the communication modem; Transmitting operation information of an electrical appliance operated in a communication disabled state by the communication modem to the energy management device or the measurement device when it is determined that the communication modem is communicable; And transmitting operation information of the electric appliance received by the energy management device or the measurement device to a power company operating a power management program. delete

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