Electric power control system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9780589-B2
Application number	US-201414478000-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 5, 2014
Priority date	Sep 11, 2013
Publication date	Oct 3, 2017
Grant date	Oct 3, 2017

Abstract

An electrical equipment is supplied with electric power from one of an electric power supply system and a secondary battery. The electrical equipment includes a switch circuit and a module. The switching circuit switches a power supply source for supplying electric power to the electrical equipment between the electric power supply system and the secondary battery. The module includes a processor to execute a program to perform a controlling process including a process of controlling the switch circuit to selectively connect the electrical equipment to one of the electric power supply system and the secondary battery according to a control signal supplied from an external device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electric power control system comprising:
an electrical equipment configured to be supplied with electric power from one of an electric power supply system and a secondary battery;
an electric power supplying part including the electric power supply system and the secondary battery;
a plurality of electric devices that receive electric power from the electric power supplying part, the electrical equipment serving as one of the electric devices;
an environment sensor that detects physical amounts representing a condition of an environment of the electric power control system and outputs detection data; and
an electric power control device that controls electric power supplied to the electric devices,
wherein the electrical equipment includes
a switch circuit that switches a power supply source for supplying electric power to the electrical equipment between the electric power supply system and the secondary battery; and
a module including
a controller to control the switch circuit to selectively connect the electrical equipment to one of the electric power supply system and the secondary battery according to a control signal supplied from an external device; and
an electric power sensor that detects electric power and outputs detection data,

wherein the electric power control device includes a computer that executes a program to perform an electric power controlling process including:
collecting the detection data from the electric power sensor and the environment sensor and storing the collected detection data in a detection data storing part;
storing control condition data in an electric power condition data storing part, the control condition data including information regarding a contract amount of electric power previously set and information regarding an accumulated amount of power consumption;
storing control device data in a control target device data storing part, the control device data including device identification information for identifying each of the electric devices and priority order identification information for identifying a priority order given to each of the electric devices;
acquiring a first result from determining which one of the electric power control system and the secondary battery is to supply electric power to the electric devices on an individual device basis based on information including the detection data, the control condition data and the control device data, and also acquiring a second result from determining an amount of electric power to be supplied to the electric devices on an individual device basis or determining whether to stop supplying electric power to the electric devices on an individual device basis; and
sending an instruction to the module to control the switch circuit in accordance with the first result and the second result, and

wherein the control condition data stored in the electric power condition data storing part includes a total amount of power consumption determined by a user, information regarding a battery remaining amount value, information regarding a planned power outage, information regarding a demand response, and information regarding an interruption of electric power supply from the electric power supply system.

2. The electric power control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electric power control device includes a display device that displays information regarding electric power supply and an input device that is used to update the control condition data and change the priority order given to each of the electric devices, and wherein the electric power controlling device computes a usable time for the electric devices currently being operated if the electric devices are continuously used by electric power supplied from the secondary battery, and displays the computed usable time on the display device.

3. The electric power control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the control target device data stored in the control target device data storing part includes information regarding which one of the electric power supply system and the secondary battery is connectable to each of the electric devices on an individual device basis.

4. The electric power control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electric power supply system includes a wiring board that serves as an electric power receiving terminal and provided with an electric power sensor, and the electric power supply device controls the supply of electric power to the electric devices using a detection signal output from the electric power signal provided in the wiring board.

5. The electric power control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electric power supply system includes a wiring board and/or a distribution board serving as an electric power receiving terminal, and when the electric power supply system and the secondary battery is connected in association with each other, the electric power supply device controls an amount of electric power supplied from the secondary battery to be smaller than or equal to an amount of electric power consumed by the electric devices using the electric power of the secondary battery.

6. The electric power control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the electric power supply system includes a wiring board that serves as an electric power receiving terminal and provided with an electric power sensor, and when the electric power supply system and the secondary battery is connected in association with each other, the electric power control device monitors an amount of electric power detected by the electric power sensor provided in the wiring board, and controls the electric power supplied from the secondary battery so that the electric power supply from the electric power supply system does not stop.

7. The electric power control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the module further includes:
an electric power sensor that detects electric power and outputs detection data; and
a communication interface that transmits the detection data output from the electric power sensor to an external control device and receives information regarding the controlling process from the external control device.

8. The electric power control system as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the electrical equipment further includes a plurality of receptacles each of which is connectable to a power supply plug of an electric device so that the electrical equipment serves as a power strip.

9. The electric power control system as claimed in claim 8 , wherein each of the receptacles is provided with an operating part that is operated by a user to input priority information to be set to the electric device connected to the corresponding one of the receptacles.

10. The electric power control system as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the electrical equipment further includes a lamp holder in which the module is incorporated and a LED lamp attached to the lamp holder so that the electrical equipment serves as an LED lamp.

11. The electric power control system as claimed in claim 10 , wherein a battery for emergency is incorporated in the lamp holder.

Assignees

• Yoshida Masaaki
• Takai Masami
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yoshida Masaaki
• Takai Masami

Classifications

• Y04S20/222

  Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving · CPC title

• Y04S20/242

  Home appliances · CPC title

• G05B15/02

  electric · CPC title

• Y02B70/3225

  Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving · CPC title

• H02J9/005

  using a power saving mode (for copiers G03G15/5004) · CPC title