JP6424565B2 - Power conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power conditioner which is provided in a solar power generation system or the like and causes power generation to be grid-connected to a power system, and a power generation system in which a plurality of power conditioners are communicatively connected.

  If a commercial power grid failure occurs during grid-connected operation of the power conditioner, and the normal condition is restored from the blackout condition, the operation of the power conditioner is manually operated until the operation switch provided in the power conditioner is operated. Some are settable so as not to resume operation. When multiple power conditioners with such a configuration are installed outdoors, it is necessary to manually operate the operation switches of all the power conditioners at the time of recovery from power failure. Depending on the scale and the like, there are cases where the installation places of a plurality of power conditioners are separated, which causes a problem that the operation of operating the operation switches of all the power conditioners becomes complicated.

  On the other hand, although the thing which carries out package operation of a plurality of power conditioners using the remote control provided with the communication function is disclosed, for example in the following patent documents 1, for the user who does not need additional functions, such as display of the amount of generation. There is a sense that the operation remote control has a sense of price increase, and the number of connectable units is often limited, which causes a problem that the system configuration for each site is limited.

Patent No. 4293673

  Therefore, the present invention has an object of enabling to simultaneously operate a plurality of power conditioners while suppressing the cost increase, and to be able to cope with a flexible system configuration.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following technical measures.

  That is, the power conditioner according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a power conversion unit that converts generated power output from the power generation unit into AC power that is grid-connected to the power system, and control that performs operation control of the power conversion unit. Unit, an operation switch capable of switching on / off states, an external switch connection portion capable of connecting an external switch, and an external switch state signal generation circuit, wherein the external switch state signal generation circuit is connected to the external switch When an external switch connected to the unit is operated to the on side, a signal indicating an on state is output to the control unit, and when an external switch connected to the external switch connection unit is operated to the off side, the control unit is operated to the control unit. Outputting a signal indicating an off state, and further outputting a signal indicating an on state to the control unit when an external switch is not connected to the external switch connection portion; Control unit is characterized in that one of said operating switch and the external switch to stop the operation control of the power converting unit to be determined to be in an off state (claim 1).

  According to the power conditioner of the present invention, the operation control of the power conversion unit is stopped by any operation of the operation switch provided in the own machine and the external switch provided independently of the power conditioner. Therefore, by installing the external switch at a convenient location in the building, the operation of the power conditioner can be switched on and off quickly at the time of recovery from a power failure or the like. Also, when installing only one power conditioner, if there is no need to install an external switch, it is not necessary to provide an external switch, and even if the external switch is not connected to the external switch connection, the external switch status signal Since a signal indicating that the external switch is on is output to the control unit by the generation circuit, the control unit determines that the external switch is on and starts and stops operation control of the power conversion unit. You can Also, even when a plurality of power conditioners according to the present invention having the same specifications are installed, an external switch is connected to the external switch connection portion of any one of the power conditioners, and the other power conditioners are connected to the other power conditioners. By sending a signal indicating the status of the external switch, multiple power conditioners can be operated at one time using a common external switch, and the device configuration is simpler and cost is reduced compared to those operated collectively by a remote control. Can be

  In the power conditioner according to the present invention, the control unit starts the operation control of the power conversion unit when it is determined that both the operation switch and the external switch are in the ON state, but detects the occurrence of a power outage of the power system. Even if it is determined that the drive switch and the external switch are both in the on state, there is a change in the on / off state in either the drive switch or the external switch after detection of the occurrence of a power failure. Operation control of the power conversion unit may be stopped until detection is performed (claim 2). According to this configuration, it is possible to cancel the operation stop state at the time of the occurrence of the power failure by operating either the operation switch or the external switch after the occurrence of the power failure.

  Moreover, the electric power generation system which concerns on the 2nd aspect of this invention can be suitably implemented as what is provided with a 1st power conditioner and a 2nd power conditioner. The first power conditioner connects a power conversion unit that converts the generated power output from the power generation unit into alternating current power that is grid-connected to the power system, a control unit that controls the operation of the power conversion unit, and an external switch And an external switch state signal generation circuit, wherein the external switch state signal generation circuit turns on the control unit when an external switch connected to the external switch connection portion is operated on. A signal indicating a state is output, and when the external switch connected to the external switch connection portion is operated to the off side, a signal indicating the off state is output to the control portion, and an external switch is connected to the external switch connection portion When not, it is configured to output a signal indicating an on state to the control unit. The second power conditioner includes a power conversion unit that converts generated power output from the power generation unit into AC power that is grid-connected to the power system, a control unit that performs operation control of the power conversion unit, and an on / off state And the control unit is configured to be capable of receiving a signal indicating the state of the external switch from the control unit of the first power conditioner, and the operation switch and the first When it is determined that any of the external switches of the power conditioner is in the off state, the operation control of the power conversion unit is stopped (claim 3).

  According to the power generation system of the present invention, the operation control of the power conversion unit of the second power conditioner can be stopped by operating the external switch connected to the first power conditioner, and the second power Even if the conditioner is installed at a place away from the first power conditioner, the operation for stopping and restarting the second power conditioner can be performed from the periphery of the first power conditioner. Also, when an external switch is unnecessary, it is not necessary to connect the external switch to the first power conditioner, and even in that case, the external switch is turned on from the first power conditioner to the second power conditioner. Since a signal indicating that there is a signal is transmitted, it can be prevented that the second power conditioner does not resume operation while it is stopped.

  The first power conditioner can have all the configurations of the power conditioner according to the first aspect of the present invention described above. In this case, the operation of the external switch common to the first and second power conditioners can collectively stop the first and second power conditioners or start the operation.

  Further, the first and second power conditioners can be operated as the first and second power conditioners, respectively, by changing the setting of the control unit using the power conditioners of the same specifications. For example, assuming that the control unit of each power conditioner is configured to be able to change the setting of the operation mode to either the master unit mode or the slave unit mode, the first power conditioner is set when the master unit mode is set. The second power conditioner can be configured to operate as the second power conditioner when the slave mode is set. A plurality of second power conditioners may be installed.

  In the power generation system according to the second aspect of the present invention, the control unit of the second power conditioner determines that the power is determined when it is determined that both the operation switch and the external switch of the first power conditioner are on. Although the operation control of the conversion unit is started, exceptionally, when the occurrence of a power failure in the power system is detected, it is determined that both the operation switch and the external switch of the first power conditioner are in the on state. Also, it is intended to stop the operation control of the power conversion unit until it detects that the on / off state has been changed in any of the operation switch and the external switch of the first power conditioner after detecting the occurrence of a power failure. (Claim 4). According to this configuration, regardless of the state of the operation switch and the external switch, the second power conditioner can be maintained in the operation stop state at the time of the power failure, and one of the operation switch and the external switch is temporarily The operation stop state is canceled by operating to the off side and operating to the on side again, and the operation control of the power conversion unit of the second power conditioner can be resumed.

  Furthermore, when the control unit of the second power conditioner receives no signal indicating the state of the external switch from the control unit of the first power conditioner, the power conversion is performed if the operation switch is in the on state. Start the operation control of the unit, but when detecting the occurrence of a power outage in the power system, change the on / off status to the operation switch after detecting the occurrence of the power outage, even if it is determined that the operation switch is on. The operation control of the power conversion unit may be stopped until it is detected that there is a problem (claim 5). According to this, the control unit of the second power conditioner generates a communication error or wiring error between the first power conditioner and the second power conditioner, or a setting error of each power conditioner, etc. Even if the signal indicating the state of the external switch can not be received from the control unit of the power conditioner 1 and the state of the external switch of the first power conditioner is unknown, the second power conditioner It can drive based on the state of the driving switch.

  Further, the control unit of the second power conditioner includes an external switch information storage unit formed of a rewritable non-volatile memory, and the external switch information storage unit receives the state of the external switch received from the control unit of the first power conditioner. The state of the external switch of the first power conditioner may be determined based on the information stored in the storage unit and stored in the storage unit (claim 6). According to this, particularly in the solar power generation system for purchasing the whole quantity, the power supply of the control unit of each power conditioner is turned off due to the power interruption at sunset, and the control unit of the second power conditioner is the first at the sunrise. When the controller is started earlier than the control unit of the power conditioner, it receives a signal regarding the state of the external switch because communication with the first power conditioner is not established even though the external switch is operated to the off side There is a possibility that the operation of the second power conditioner may be started because the operation can not be performed according to the setting of the external switch, but according to the present invention, it is stored in the external switch information storage unit before sunset. It is possible to determine whether or not to resume the operation after activation of the control unit of the second power conditioner based on the stored information, and the external switch is turned off. Possible to avoid the operation despite the second power conditioner is constant from being started.

  Furthermore, the control unit of the second power conditioner can be configured to overwrite the information stored in the external switch information storage unit to the on state when detecting that the operation switch has been operated (claim 7). According to this, since the storage of the external switch information can be reset by the operation of the operation switch of the own machine, it is possible to return to the power generation operation from the operation stop state of the second power conditioner even at the time of communication abnormality due to disconnection or the like. The power generated by the power generation unit corresponding to the second power conditioner can be effectively used without wasting.

  The second power conditioner of the power generation system according to the second aspect of the present invention may further include an external switch connection and an external switch state signal generation circuit similar to the first power conditioner. When the control unit of the second power conditioner determines that any one of the operation switch, the external switch of the first power conditioner, and the external switch of the own machine is in the OFF state, the operation control of the power conversion unit is performed. And when it is determined that neither the operation switch nor the external switch of the own machine is in the ON state, when a signal indicating the state of the external switch is not received from the control unit of the first power conditioner. The operation control of the power conversion unit can be started (claim 8). According to the power conditioner having such a configuration, when the second power conditioner is installed alone due to a mistake in construction or the like (for example, the one that is to be set in the master mode is set to the slave mode). If, for example, the external switch is not connected to the first power conditioner and the external switch is incorrectly connected to the second power conditioner, etc., the second power conditioner may be connected. The operation of the second power conditioner can be stopped by the operation of the external switch.

  Further, a power generation system according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of power conditioners, and each power conditioner converts power generated by the power generation unit into AC power interconnected with the power system. Unit, a control unit for controlling the operation of the power conversion unit, an operation switch capable of switching the on / off state, an external switch connection unit to which an external switch can be connected, and an external switch state signal generation circuit The external switch state signal generation circuit outputs a signal indicating an on state to the control unit when an external switch connected to the external switch connection portion is operated to the on side, and an external switch connected to the external switch connection portion When the switch is operated to the off side, a signal indicating the off state is output to the control unit, and when the external switch is not connected to the external switch connection, the control is performed. The control units of the plurality of power conditioners are communicably connected to each other, and the control units of each of the power conditioners are configured to output either a master mode or a slave mode. The control unit is configured to be able to change the setting of the operation mode and is set to the parent device mode, and the control unit receives a signal indicating the state of the external switch from the control unit of the other power conditioner, and includes all its own devices. When it is determined that one of the external switches of the power conditioner is in the OFF state, an operation prohibition command signal is transmitted to the control unit of the other power conditioner, and when the slave unit mode is set, the control unit The operation control of the power conversion unit in any case when receiving the operation prohibition command signal and when it is determined that the operation switch of the own machine is in the off state. It can be made to stop (claim 9). As described above, all the power conditioners are provided with the external switch connection section and the external switch status signal generation circuit, and the external switch status signals of all the power conditioners are aggregated to the master unit, and the master unit is all the power conditioners. By configuring to control whether or not to operate in an integrated manner, it becomes possible to operate all the power conditioners collectively by this external switch regardless of which power conditioner is connected, which improves the workability and Since the configuration is simple, cost can be reduced.

  Further, a power generation system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of power conditioners, and each power conditioner converts electric power generated by the power generation unit into AC power interconnected with the electric power system. Unit, a control unit for controlling the operation of the power conversion unit, an operation switch capable of switching the on / off state, an external switch connection unit to which an external switch can be connected, and an external switch state signal generation circuit The external switch state signal generation circuit outputs a signal indicating an on state to the control unit when an external switch connected to the external switch connection portion is operated to the on side, and an external switch connected to the external switch connection portion When the switch is operated to the off side, a signal indicating the off state is output to the control unit, and when the external switch is not connected to the external switch connection, the control is performed. The control units of the plurality of power conditioners are communicably connected to each other, and the control units of each of the power conditioners are configured to output signals from the control units of the other power conditioners to the states of the external switches. When it is determined that one of the external switches of all the power conditioners including the own machine is in the off state, and when it is determined that the operation switch of the own machine is in the off state. Also in this case, the operation control of the power conversion unit can be stopped (claim 10). In such a configuration, the control units of all the power conditioners operate in an equal manner, and the control units of each power conditioner operate autonomously to collect the external switch information of all the power conditioners. It is determined whether to drive or not. Thus, the external switch information of the own machine is shared by the other power conditioners by communication, and each power conditioner converts the power based on the external switch information of all the power conditioners and the operation switch of the own machine. Also by determining whether to start or stop the operation control of the unit, collective operation becomes possible regardless of which power conditioner is connected to the external switch, and the workability is improved.

  In each of the above-described aspects, the control unit may input a voltage detection signal from the voltage sensor of the grid power to autonomously detect the occurrence of a power failure. Alternatively, a signal indicating occurrence of a power failure may be received from a suitable external device or the like, and the occurrence of the power failure may be detected based on the signal. Further, the control unit may be configured to be settable to perform the above operation, and may perform different operations by performing different settings. For example, the above operation is performed when the power failure automatic return prohibition setting is made, and when the power failure automatic return permission setting is made, when it is detected that the power system recovers from the power failure, the power conversion unit It can also be configured to resume operation control.

  According to the power conditioner of claim 1 of the present invention, the operation control of the power conversion unit can be performed by either operation of the operation switch provided in the own machine and the external switch provided independently of the power conditioner. By setting the external switch at a convenient location in the building, it is possible to quickly perform the on / off switching operation of the operation of the power conditioner at the time of recovery from a power failure or the like. Also, when installing only one power conditioner, if there is no need to install an external switch, it is not necessary to provide an external switch, and even if the external switch is not connected to the external switch connection, the external switch status signal Since a signal indicating that the external switch is on is output to the control unit by the generation circuit, the control unit determines that the external switch is on and starts and stops operation control of the power conversion unit. You can Also, even when a plurality of power conditioners according to the present invention having the same specifications are installed, an external switch is connected to the external switch connection portion of any one of the power conditioners, and the other power conditioners are connected to the other power conditioners. By sending a signal indicating the status of the external switch, multiple power conditioners can be operated at one time using a common external switch, and the device configuration is simpler and cost is reduced compared to those operated collectively by a remote control. Can be

  Moreover, according to the power conditioner concerning Claim 2 of this invention, the operation stop state at the time of a power failure generation can be cancelled | released by operating either a driving switch or an external switch after a power failure generation.

  Further, according to the power generation system according to claim 3 of the present invention, the operation control of the power conversion unit of the second power conditioner can be stopped by operating the external switch connected to the first power conditioner. Even if the second power conditioner is installed at a distance from the first power conditioner, the second power conditioner can be shut down and restarted from the periphery of the first power conditioner. be able to. Also, when an external switch is unnecessary, it is not necessary to connect the external switch to the first power conditioner, and even in that case, the external switch is turned on from the first power conditioner to the second power conditioner. Since a signal indicating that there is a signal is transmitted, it can be prevented that the second power conditioner does not resume operation while it is stopped.

  Further, according to the power generation system of claim 4 of the present invention, the second power conditioner can be maintained in the operation stop state at the occurrence of a power failure regardless of the state of the operation switch and the external switch. The operation stop state can be canceled by operating either the operation switch or the external switch once to the off side and the operation to the on side again, and the operation control of the power conversion unit of the second power conditioner can be resumed. .

  Further, according to the power generation system according to claim 5 of the present invention, communication abnormality or wiring mistake between the first power conditioner and the second power conditioner, or setting error of each power conditioner, etc. When the control unit of the second power conditioner can not receive a signal indicating the state of the external switch from the control unit of the first power conditioner, whereby the state of the external switch of the first power conditioner is unknown However, the second power conditioner can be operated based on the state of the operation switch of the own machine.

  Further, according to the power generation system according to claim 6 of the present invention, whether or not to resume operation after activation of the control unit of the second power conditioner based on the information stored in the external switch information storage unit before sunset It is possible to determine whether the second power conditioner is started to operate despite the external switch being set to the off side.

  Further, according to the power generation system according to claim 7 of the present invention, since the storage of the external switch information can be reset by the operation of the operation switch of the own machine, the operation of the second power conditioner is stopped even at the time of communication abnormality due to disconnection or the like. The power generation operation can be returned from the state, and the power generated by the power generation unit corresponding to the second power conditioner can be effectively used without wasting.

  Further, according to the power conditioner of claim 8 of the present invention, when the second power conditioner is installed alone due to a mistake in construction or the like (for example, one unit should be set to the parent device mode) Even if an external switch is not connected to the first power conditioner and the external switch is connected incorrectly to the second power conditioner, etc.). The operation of the second power conditioner can be stopped by the operation of the external switch connected to the second power conditioner.

  In the power generation system according to claim 9 of the present invention, the external switch connection portion and the external switch state signal generation circuit are provided in all the power conditioners, and the external switch state signals of all the power conditioners are used as the master unit. By connecting to an external switch to any power conditioner, it is possible to integrate all the power conditioners by using this external switch. As the collective operation becomes possible and the workability is improved, the cost can be reduced because of the simple configuration.

  Further, according to the power generation system according to claim 10 of the present invention, the external switch information of the own machine is shared by the other power conditioners by communication, and each power conditioner is the external switch information of all the power conditioners. By making it possible to determine whether to start or stop the operation control of the power conversion unit based on the operation switch of the own machine and the own machine, collective operation becomes possible regardless of which power conditioner is connected to the external switch. Improve.

1 is an overall block diagram of a power generation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the power conditioner of the same power generation system. It is a timing chart for explaining the communication timing between power conditioners of the power generation system.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a solar power generation system provided with a plurality of power conditioners 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the power generation system includes a plurality of (nine in the illustrated example) solar cell arrays 2 (hereinafter referred to as “power generation unit”) And a plurality of power conditioners 1 provided corresponding to each power generation unit 2. Each power conditioner 1 includes a power conversion circuit (power conversion unit) that converts DC power generated and output by the corresponding power generation unit 2 into AC power grid-connected to the commercial power grid 3 and outputs the AC power to the grid 3 There is. The power conditioner 1 illustrated at the top is set to operate as a master in communication, and the other power conditioners 1 are illustrated as set to operate as a slave in communication. In the present embodiment, all the power conditioners 1 are shipped as products of the same specifications, and when installing at the site, the installer sets the parent machine mode or the child machine mode, and between the power conditioners 1. Communication is supposed to be established. Further, in the present specification, the power conditioner 1 operating as a parent device may be simply referred to as a “master device”, and the power conditioner 1 operating as a child device may be simply referred to as a “child device”.

  The output of each power conditioner 1 is connected in parallel to the grid 3, and various grid electrical loads 4 in the house are connected to the grid 3. The effective voltage of the output of the power conditioner 1 is adjusted to be slightly larger than the effective voltage of the grid power in order to supply the generated power to the grid 4 with priority over the grid power. The surplus generated power that can not be consumed can be sold by reverse power flow to the grid 3. The generated power may not be supplied to the electric load 4 and may be configured as a whole purchase application. Between the grid 3 and the electrical load 4, a voltage sensor 5 and a current sensor 6 (current transformer) are provided for measuring the trading power, and these sensors 5, 6 are input terminals 5A of the parent machine. , 6A. In addition, an external monitoring device 7 for displaying the amount of generated power and the amount of trading power is provided, and the external monitoring device 7 is predetermined via the wireless interface 7B connected to the two-core communication terminal 7A of the master unit. It communicates with the information control unit 14B (see FIG. 2) according to the communication protocol of FIG. The two-core communication terminal 7A is connected to an appropriate device having a two-core communication circuit, such as a water heater 7C or a remote controller (not shown) thereof, and detection information on the occurrence of a power failure or external switch status information by communication The various information can be exchanged with each other.

  Each power generation unit 2 may have a conventionally known appropriate configuration, and generally, a plurality of solar cell modules are connected in series or in parallel, and installed on a roof of a building or the like. Each power generation unit 2 is connected by wiring so that DC power generated and output is input to the power input unit 1 a of the corresponding power conditioner 1. The power generation unit 2 can also be input to the power input unit 1 a of the power conditioner 1 via the boost connection box. As the power generation unit 2, for example, a solar cell array with a rated generated power of about 100 to 140 V can be adopted.

  The power conversion circuit of each power conditioner 1 is, as shown in FIG. 2, a DC link unit 10 constituted by a DC link capacitor, and the DC power supplied from the power In the case of 200 V AC power, the DC / DC converter 11 is a DC / DC converter 11 composed of a step-up chopper circuit which converts the power to a predetermined voltage (for example 350 V) corresponding to 280 V and outputs it to the DC link unit Voltage source bridge inverter 12 (DC / AC inverter) for converting the DC power to AC power linked to the grid power and outputting it to the grid 3, and for disconnecting provided on the output side of the inverter 12 Mainly composed of a protective relay 13. Further, each power conditioner 1 includes a control unit that performs various controls, and in the present embodiment, the control unit mainly controls the power conversion control unit 14A that performs power conversion operation control of the power conversion circuit, and mainly performs communication control. And an information control unit 14B for performing display control.

  The step-up chopper circuit constituting the converter 11 includes a step-up reactor 110, a step-up rectifier 111 for preventing backflow of current at the time of step-up operation to the step-up reactor 110, and switching such as IGBT for controlling stored energy of the step-up reactor 110. The cathode side of the rectifier 111 is connected to the positive side of the DC link unit 10. The power conversion control unit 14A is configured to perform input / output power control of the converter 11 by controlling on / off of the switching element 112 based on MPPT control.

  The inverter 12 is a full-bridge voltage-type bridge inverter, and is configured by connecting switching elements 120 such as four IGBTs in an H bridge type and connecting in parallel feedback diodes 121 to the respective switching elements 120, An interconnection reactor 122 is provided on the output side. The inverter 12 controls the output current by performing so-called current mode control (current control of the voltage source inverter) by the power conversion control unit 14A, and at the time of power output to the grid 3, the DC link unit 10 DC power is converted to AC power by PWM control or PAM control and output to the grid.

  The direct current path between the power generation unit 2 and the converter 11 includes a voltage sensor 8 for measuring the voltage of the direct current power supplied from the power generation unit 2 to the power conditioner 1 and a current for detecting the current flowing through the direct current path. A sensor 9 is provided. Although the voltage sensor 8 and the current sensor 9 are built in the housing of the power conditioner 1 in the illustrated embodiment, they may be connected to a DC path outside the housing. The detection values of the voltage sensor 8 and the current sensor 9 are input to the power conversion control unit 14A, and are used for operation control parameters of the converter 11 and the inverter 12 and calculation of the power generation amount.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the operation power is supplied from the DC link unit 10 to the power conversion control unit 14A and the information control unit 14B, and thereby the respective control units 14A and 14B are generated by the generated power during power generation. It can be operated. Specifically, the power conditioner 1 supplies a regulator 140 (power supply circuit) that functions as a power supply for the control units 14A and 14B and a supply for supplying DC power from the DC link unit 10 to the power input terminal of the regulator 140. A wire 141 is provided, and the feeder line 141 is provided with a reverse flow preventing diode 142.

  The power conversion control unit 14A mainly controls the power conversion operation of the converter 11 and the inverter 12 and the shutoff operation of the protection relay 13. The information control unit 14B mainly performs various communication control with the external device. is there. Each control function can be implemented as a control program, but may be configured by a dedicated circuit corresponding to each control function. The power conversion control unit 14A and the information control unit 14B are communicably connected to each other by an appropriate communication protocol such as UART communication. In addition, power conversion control unit 14A is configured to be able to detect the occurrence of a power failure based on the detection value of voltage sensor 5, and when protection is caused, protection relay 13 is operated in parallel and all power conversion operations are stopped. A signal indicating occurrence is transmitted to the information control unit 14B.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the information control unit 14B of each power conditioner 1 is connected to the digital data bus 30 via the communication unit 15, and the information control units 14B of all the power conditioners are communicably connected to each other. Are broadcasted to other unspecified power conditioners while being able to perform unicast communication with other specified power conditioners using a unique communication ID set for each power conditioner 1 It is configured to be communicable. As the communication unit 15, for example, a communication unit that performs half-duplex one-to-many communication on a single communication line such as a serial communication unit of RS-485 standard can be used. Are all taken in and sent to the information control unit 14B. That is, in the communication unit 15, selection of received data by the ID described later is not performed, and all data addressed to other IDs different from the own station ID are also sent to the information control unit 14B. The communication unit 15 includes two connection ports 15 a and is configured to be able to sequentially connect with the plurality of power conditioners 1 by cascade connection. As a communication protocol, it is preferable to adopt a master-slave method in which the information control unit 14B (master station) of the master controls communication with the information control unit 14B (slave) of each slave. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the information control unit 14B of the master unit (master) broadcasts a communication request signal to the data bus 30 at a predetermined cycle (for example, every 5 seconds), and each child receives the communication request signal. Information generation unit of the power generation unit 2 and other information within the data capacity of one packet from the delay time set for each communication ID based on the reception time of the communication request signal as the information control unit 14B of the slave (slave) Can be sent to the data bus 30 so that the information control unit 14 B of the parent device receives the response data signal from the data bus 30. Preferably, a predetermined interval Tm (for example, several tens of milliseconds) is provided between communication allocation times Ts (for example, several tens of milliseconds) for packet communication with different communication IDs.

  The setting of the base unit mode and the child unit mode of each power conditioner 1 can be performed by an appropriate method, and may be set automatically by communication between each information control unit 14B. Also, it may be set by a dip switch or other setting operation.

  On the front panel of the casing of each power conditioner 1, a display unit 31 of a plurality of digits composed of a 7-segment display and an operation switch 32 are disposed. The information control unit 14B of each power conditioner 1 controls the display operation of the display unit 31 and monitors the operation of the operation switch 32. As the operation switch 32, a contact-type switch that can be switched and operated by latching on / off can be used, or it can be configured by a touch switch. When the contact type switch is used, the information control unit 14B can detect the on / off state of the operation switch 32 by referring to the input port to which the operation switch 32 is connected as necessary. On the other hand, when a touch switch is used, the on / off state setting information of the operation switch 32 is stored in the rewritable non-volatile memory provided in the information control unit 14B, and each time the operation switch 32 is touched. The on / off state setting information can be configured to be switched between the on state and the off state.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the power conditioner 1 is connected to the external switch connection terminal 16A (external switch connection portion) to which the contact type external switch 16 capable of switching and operating the on / off state can be connected; And a generation circuit 16B. The external switch state signal generation circuit 16B is mainly configured by a photocoupler and a pull-up resistor, and the information control unit 14B is operated when the external switch 16 connected to the external switch connection terminal 16A is operated on the electric line disconnection side (on side). Outputs a High signal (a signal indicating the on state) to the external switch connection terminal 16A, and the external switch 16 connected to the external switch connection terminal 16A is operated to the short circuit side (off side). Signal is output, and when an external switch is not connected to the external switch connection terminal 16A, a High signal (a signal indicating an on state) is output to the information control unit 14B. In the illustrated embodiment, the external switch 16 is connected only to the master unit, and the slave unit does not have the external switch 16 connected thereto.

  The characteristic configuration of this embodiment is the stop condition and start condition of the operation control of the power conversion circuit by the information control unit 14B based on the external switch state signal generation circuit 16B and the external switch state signal output from the generation circuit 16B. is there. Hereinafter, an embodiment of a preferable control configuration of the information control unit 14B will be described in detail.

(First embodiment)
The control configuration of the information control unit 14B of the parent device according to the first embodiment will be described. The information control unit 14B of the parent device relates to the information regarding the state of the external switch input from the external switch state signal generation circuit 16B. It transmits by communication to the information control unit 14B.

  If the signal related to the state of the external switch input from the external switch state signal generation circuit 16B is a signal indicating the off state, the information control unit 14B of the parent device determines that the external switch 16 is off and the state of the external switch If the signal relating to is a signal indicating an on state, it is determined that the external switch 16 is on.

  When it is determined that either the operation switch 32 of its own machine or the external switch 16 of its own machine is in the OFF state, the information control unit 14B of the parent machine sends an operation stop command to the power conversion control unit 14A. The operation control of the power conversion circuit (specifically, the output of control signals to the switching elements 112 and 120 of the converter 11 and the inverter 12) is stopped. Note that, if the external switch 16 is not connected, the external switch state signal generation circuit 16B always outputs a signal indicating the on state, so that the operation control is stopped only according to the operation of the operation switch 32 of the own machine. Become.

  In addition, when it is determined that both the operation switch 32 of the parent device and the external switch 16 of the parent device are in the on state, the information controller 14B of the parent device sends an operation start command to the power conversion control portion 14A. Thus, operation control of the power conversion circuit is started. However, exceptionally, when the occurrence of a power failure is detected, it is disconnected from the system 3 and the operation control of the power conversion circuit is forcibly stopped, and the occurrence of the power failure is notified to the information control unit 14B of the slave unit by communication. After detecting the occurrence of a power failure, the operation of the power conversion control unit 14A is started until it is detected that either the operation switch 32 or the external switch 16 of the own machine is once turned off and then turned on again. It is configured to maintain the operation control stop state of the power conversion circuit without sending a command, whereby it is possible to prohibit the operation of the parent machine from being automatically started when the power system recovers from a power failure.

  On the other hand, the information control unit 14B of the slave unit receives a signal indicating the state of the external switch 16 of the master unit by communication with the information control unit 14B of the master unit, and receives information related to the occurrence of a power failure. Based on the above, it is possible to determine the state of the external switch 16 of the master unit and to detect the occurrence of a power failure.

  The information control unit 14B of the slave unit sends an operation start instruction to the power conversion control unit 14A when it determines that both the operation switch 32 of the own unit and the external switch 16 of the parent unit are in the on state. Thus, operation control of the power conversion circuit is started. However, exceptionally, when the occurrence of a power failure is detected, it is disconnected from the grid 3 and the operation control of the power conversion circuit is forcibly stopped, and after detection of the occurrence of the power failure, the operation switch 32 of the own machine and the external switch of the parent machine The operation control stop state of the power conversion circuit is not transmitted without sending an operation start command to the power conversion control unit 14A until it is detected that any one of 16 is operated once in the off state and again turned on. It is configured to be maintained, and thus, it is possible to prohibit the operation of the base unit from being automatically started when the power system recovers from a power failure.

  In addition, when communication abnormality with the parent machine or communication can not be established, a signal indicating the state of the external switch 16 of the parent machine can not be received, but in this case, the state of the external switch 16 of the parent machine is "unknown". If the operation switch 32 of the own machine is in the ON state based on only the state of the operation switch 32 of the own machine, the operation control of the power conversion circuit is started. When it is determined that the operation switch 32 of the own machine is in the on state, it is detected that the operation switch of the own machine is once operated to the off state and then operated again after detection of the occurrence of a power failure. It can be configured to stop the operation control of the power converter.

  Preferably, the information control unit 14B of the slave unit can include an external switch information storage unit formed of a rewritable non-volatile memory, and communication is performed when communication with the information control unit 14B of the master unit is normally performed. The information regarding the state of the external switch of the master unit received by the above can be stored in the external switch information storage unit, and the state of the external switch 16 of the master unit can be determined based on the information stored in the storage unit. Note that when communication with the information control unit 14B of the parent device is normally performed, the external switch that receives information from the information control unit 14B of the parent device as needed via communication than information stored in the external switch information storage unit. It is also possible to make a determination based on the received information with priority given to information on the state.

  More preferably, the information control unit 14B of the slave unit stores in the external switch information storage unit when it detects that the operation switch 32 of its own unit has been operated from the on state to the off state and / or from the off state to the on state. Can be configured to overwrite the on information.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, the information control unit 14B of the slave unit does not use the external switch state of its own unit, but the external switch state of its own unit is output based on the signal output from the external switch state signal generation circuit of the own unit. Operation of the power converter when it is determined that the operation switch 32 of the own machine, the external switch of the parent machine, or the external switch of the own machine is in the off state. It can also be configured to stop control. If it is not possible to receive a signal indicating the state of the external switch from the master unit, operation control of the power conversion unit is started when it is determined that all are on based on only the operation switch of the own unit and the external switch of the own unit Can be configured to

  In this way, even when only one power conditioner 1 is installed by adding its own external switch status as an AND condition, even if it is set as a slave unit due to a mistake in the ID setting, the relevant one can not be changed. Operation can be stopped and restarted by operating the external switch connected to the slave unit.

Third Embodiment
In the first embodiment, the parent device transmits the external switch information to the child device, and it is determined whether the operation of the own device is to be stopped or started based on the external switch information received by the child device. It is determined whether the information control unit 14B of the master unit stops or starts the operation of all the power conditioners 1, and transmits either the operation prohibition command signal or the operation permission command signal to the slave unit. It may be configured.

  That is, the information control unit 14B of the master unit receives and collects signals indicating the status of the external switch of each slave unit through communication with the information control unit 14B of all slave units, and all the power conditioners including the own unit If it is determined that any of the external switches is in the OFF state, the operation control of the power conversion circuit of its own unit is stopped and an operation prohibition command signal is transmitted to the information control unit 14B of all the slave units, If it is determined that all of the power conditioners including the own unit are in the on state, an operation permission command signal can be transmitted to the information control units 14B of all the slaves. In this case, the information control unit 14B of the slave unit stops the operation control of the power conversion circuit either when receiving the operation inhibition command signal or when it is determined that the operation switch 32 of the own unit is in the off state. At the same time, when the operation permission command signal is received and it is determined that the operation switch 32 of the own machine is in the on state, the operation control of the power conversion circuit can be started.

Fourth Embodiment
Further, without providing a master-slave relationship in the information control units 14B of the plurality of power conditioners 1, each information control unit 14B transmits a signal indicating the state of the external switch of its own unit to all the information control units 14B by broadcast. Each information control unit 14B extracts a signal indicating the state of the external switch of all the other power conditioners 1 from the signal flowing through the communication line 30, and any one of the external switches of all the power conditioners including its own machine Can be configured to stop the operation control of the power conversion unit of the own machine in any case of when it is determined that the machine is in the off state and when it is determined that the operation switch 32 of the machine is in the off state. If it is determined that the external switches of all the power conditioners 1 including the own machine are in the on state and it is determined that the operation switch 32 of the own machine is in the on state, the power conversion control unit Operation control can be started.

  According to the power generation system and the power conditioner 1 according to the present embodiment described above, each power conditioner 1 is provided with an operation switch and can operate independently, and at the time of communication connection of a plurality of power conditioners 1 It is possible to recognize each other as separate bodies by the identification ID, and to perform minimum power conversion operation without connecting or connecting the external switch 16.

Reference Signs List 1 power conditioner 2 power generation unit 3 power system 16 external switch 16A external switch connection portion 16B external switch state signal generation circuit

Claims (10)

A power conversion unit that converts generated power output from the power generation unit into AC power that is grid-connected to the electric power system, a control unit that performs operation control of the power conversion unit, and an operation switch capable of switching on / off state , An external switch connection portion to which an external switch can be connected, and an external switch state signal generation circuit,
The external switch state signal generation circuit outputs a signal indicating an on state to the control unit when an external switch connected to the external switch connection portion is operated to the on side, and an external switch connected to the external switch connection portion When the switch is operated to the off side, a signal indicating the off state is output to the control unit, and further, when the external switch is not connected to the external switch connection unit, the signal indicating the on state is output to the control unit Configured and
The control unit determines that the external switch is in the off state if the signal relating to the state of the external switch input from the external switch state signal generation circuit indicates the off state, and the signal regarding the state of the external switch is in the on state And the external switch is determined to be in the on state, and any one of the operation switch and the external switch is determined to be in the off state to stop the operation control of the power conversion unit. Power conditioner.   The power conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control unit starts operation control of the power conversion unit when it is determined that both the operation switch and the external switch are in the on state, but a power outage of the power system occurs. Even if it is determined that the operation switch and the external switch are both in the on state, there is a change in the on / off state in either the operation switch or the external switch after the occurrence of a power failure is detected. A power conditioner characterized by stopping operation control of said power converter until it detects that. A power generation system comprising a first power conditioner and a second power conditioner,
The first power conditioner connects a power conversion unit that converts the generated power output from the power generation unit into alternating current power that is grid-connected to the power system, a control unit that controls the operation of the power conversion unit, and an external switch And an external switch state signal generation circuit, wherein the external switch state signal generation circuit turns on the control unit when an external switch connected to the external switch connection portion is operated on. A signal indicating a state is output, and when the external switch connected to the external switch connection portion is operated to the off side, a signal indicating the off state is output to the control portion, and an external switch is connected to the external switch connection portion When not, the controller is configured to output a signal indicating an on state,
The second power conditioner includes a power conversion unit that converts generated power output from the power generation unit into AC power that is grid-connected to the power system, a control unit that performs operation control of the power conversion unit, and an on / off state And the control unit is configured to be able to receive a signal indicating the state of the external switch from the control unit of the first power conditioner, and from the control unit of the first power conditioner If the signal relating to the state of the external switch to be received is a signal indicating the off state, it is determined that the external switch of the first power conditioner is in the off state, and the external switch received from the control unit of the first power conditioner both the signal about the state is if the signal indicating the oN state first external switch of the power conditioner is determined to be oN state, the operation switch And power generation systems either the first external switch of the power conditioner is characterized in that it stops the operation control of the power converting unit and determined to be the OFF state.   The power generation system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit of the second power conditioner determines that both the operation switch and the external switch of the first power conditioner are in the on state. Although the operation control is started, exceptionally, when the occurrence of a power failure of the power system is detected, the power failure occurs even if it is determined that both the operation switch and the external switch of the first power conditioner are on. The control of the operation of the power conversion unit is stopped until it is detected that either the operation switch or the external switch of the first power conditioner has changed on / off after detection of occurrence. Power generation system.   5. The power generation system according to claim 3, wherein the control unit of the second power conditioner does not receive the signal indicating the state of the external switch from the control unit of the first power conditioner. If the switch is in the ON state, operation control of the power conversion unit is started. However, when the occurrence of a power failure in the power system is detected, even after it is determined that the operation switch is in the ON state, A power generation system characterized in that operation control of the power conversion unit is stopped until it is detected that the operation switch has changed on / off state.   The power generation system according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the control unit of the second power conditioner includes an external switch information storage unit formed of a rewritable non-volatile memory, and the control unit of the first power conditioner A power generation system characterized by storing the received state of the external switch in the external switch information storage unit and determining the state of the external switch of the first power conditioner based on the information stored in the storage unit. .   The power generation system according to claim 6, wherein the control unit of the second power conditioner overwrites the information stored in the external switch information storage unit to the on state when detecting that the operation switch has been operated. A power generation system characterized by   The second power conditioner of the power generation system according to any one of claims 3 to 7, further comprising an external switch connection and an external switch state signal generation circuit similar to the first power conditioner, the control The unit stops the operation control of the power conversion unit when it determines that any one of the operation switch, the external switch of the first power conditioner, and the external switch of the own machine is in the off state, and the first power conditioner When it is determined that the operation switch and the external switch of the own machine are both in the on state when the signal indicating the state of the external switch is not received from the control unit of the power supply unit, the operation control of the power conversion unit is started. Power conditioner characterized by. A power generation system comprising a plurality of power conditioners, wherein
Each power conditioner switches an on / off state, a power conversion unit that converts generated power output from the power generation unit into AC power that is grid-connected to the power system, a control unit that controls the operation of the power conversion unit, and The operation switch includes an operable switch, an external switch connection portion to which an external switch can be connected, and an external switch state signal generation circuit. The external switch state signal generation circuit turns on an external switch connected to the external switch connection portion. When operated to the side, a signal indicating an on state is output to the control unit, and when an external switch connected to an external switch connection unit is operated to an off side, a signal indicating an off state is output to the control unit. Furthermore, when an external switch is not connected to the external switch connection unit, a signal indicating an on state is output to the control unit,
The control units of the plurality of power conditioners are communicably connected, and the control units of each power conditioner are configured to be able to change the setting of the operation mode to either the master mode or the slave mode,
When the main unit mode is set, the control unit receives a signal indicating the state of the external switch from the control unit of another power conditioner, and receives the state of the external switch received from the control unit of each power conditioner. If the signal shown indicates an off state, it is determined that the external switch of the power conditioner is in an off state, and the signal related to the state of the external switch received from the control unit of each power conditioner is a signal indicating an on state If it is determined that the external switch of the power conditioner is in the on state, and the signal related to the state of the external switch input from the external switch state signal generation circuit of the own machine is a signal indicating the off state, the external of the own machine It is determined that the switch is off, and the state of the external switch input from the external switch state signal generation circuit of the own machine If the signal is a signal indicating the ON state external switch of its own along with determined to be in the ON state concerning other when either of the external switches for all of the power conditioner including own apparatus is judged to be in an off state Sending an operation prohibition command signal to the control unit of the
When the slave unit mode is set, the control unit operates the power conversion unit either when receiving the operation inhibition command signal or when it is determined that the operation switch of the own unit is in the off state. A power generation system characterized by stopping control. A power generation system comprising a plurality of power conditioners, wherein
Each power conditioner switches an on / off state, a power conversion unit that converts generated power output from the power generation unit into AC power that is grid-connected to the power system, a control unit that controls the operation of the power conversion unit, and The operation switch includes an operable switch, an external switch connection portion to which an external switch can be connected, and an external switch state signal generation circuit. The external switch state signal generation circuit turns on an external switch connected to the external switch connection portion. When operated to the side, a signal indicating an on state is output to the control unit, and when an external switch connected to an external switch connection unit is operated to an off side, a signal indicating an off state is output to the control unit. Furthermore, when an external switch is not connected to the external switch connection unit, a signal indicating an on state is output to the control unit,
The control units of multiple power conditioners are communicably connected,
The control unit of each power conditioner receives a signal indicating the state of the external switch from the control unit of another power conditioner, and the signal indicating the state of the external switch received from the control unit of each power conditioner is in the OFF state If it is a signal indicating that the external switch of the power conditioner is in the off state, the signal related to the state of the external switch received from the control unit of each power conditioner is the signal indicating the on state. If the external switch of the device is in the on state, and the signal related to the state of the external switch input from the external switch state signal generation circuit of the device is a signal indicating the off state, the external switch of the device is off Relating to the state of the external switch input from the external switch state signal generation circuit of its own machine No. together it is determined that if the signal indicating the ON state external switch of its own is on, and when any of the external switch for all of the power conditioner including own apparatus is determined to be turned off A power generation system characterized by stopping operation control of the power conversion unit in any case when it is determined that the operation switch of the own machine is in the OFF state.

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