Generator control system, generating apparatus control method, program and record medium

• US 20050107892A1
• Filed: 11/19/2004
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsui, Masaru, Noguchi, Eiji, Nishitani, Kazuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,489,988 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/28
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/62 The condition being non-electrical, e.g. temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/38 Arrangements for parallely feeding a single network by two or more generators, converters or transformers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving

Abstract

In the case where a user changes a set state of apparatuses, an apparatus operation control portion repressively controls the apparatuses, in spite of an instruction of a control signal according to that change, so that an increasing amount of power consumption of the apparatuses obtained from an apparatus power consumption measuring portion will not exceed an increasing amount of the generating capacity of a generator obtained from a generating capacity measuring portion so as to gradually bring it closer to a target set state set up by the user.

Claims

1. A generator control system comprising:

an apparatus operation detecting portion of detecting a predetermined setting parameter of a apparatus; and

a generator control portion of outputting a control signal to a generator according to the predetermined setting parameter when said apparatus operation detecting portion detects a change of the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus.

2. The generator control system according to claim 1, comprising:

a generating capacity measuring portion of measuring a generating capacity of the generator;

an apparatus power consumption measuring portion of measuring power consumption of the apparatus; and

an apparatus operation control portion of controlling the apparatus irrespective of a value of the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus so that an increasing amount of the power consumption of the apparatus obtained from said apparatus power consumption measuring portion should correspond to the increasing amount of the generating capacity of the generator obtained from said generating capacity measuring portion.

3. The generator control system according to claim 2, wherein the change of the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus includes a change from a stopped state to an operating state.

4. The generator control system according to claim 2, wherein said generator control portion outputs a control signal to the generator based on data held in advance indicating a relation between the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus and the power consumption of the apparatus.

5. A generator control system according to claim 1, comprising:

a generating capacity measuring portion of measuring a generating capacity of the generator;

an apparatus power consumption estimating portion of predictively calculating power consumption of the apparatus at least from the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus; and

an apparatus operation control portion of controlling the apparatus irrespective of a value of the setting parameter of the apparatus by using estimated power consumption of the apparatus obtained from said apparatus power consumption estimating portion so that an increasing amount of the power consumption of the apparatus should correspond to the increasing amount of the generating capacity of the generator obtained from said generating capacity measuring portion, wherein

said generator control portion of outputting a control signal to the generator according to the power consumption of the apparatus calculated by said apparatus power consumption estimating portion corresponding to the changed setting parameter when said apparatus operation detecting portion detects a change of the setting parameter of the apparatus.

6. The generator control system according to claim 5, wherein the change of the set state of the apparatus includes a change from a stopped state to an operating state.

7. The generator control system according to claim 5, wherein said generator control portion outputs a control signal to the generator based on data held in advance indicating a relation between the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus and the estimated power consumption of the apparatus.

8. The generator control system according to claim 5, wherein the system further comprises an environment measuring portion of measuring environment information on an environment of operating the apparatus, and said apparatus power consumption estimating portion predictively calculates the power consumption of the apparatus based on the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus and the environment information obtained from said environment measuring portion.

9. The generator control system according to claim 5, comprising an environment measuring portion of measuring environment information on an environment of operating the apparatus, and an apparatus power consumption measuring portion of measuring power consumption of the apparatus,

wherein said apparatus power consumption estimating portion gathers information from the apparatus power consumption measuring portion, said environment measuring portion and said apparatus operation control portion so as to modify a power consumption estimation model performed by itself at any time.

10. The generator control system according to claim 9, wherein, in the case where the generator has enough generating capacity compared to the power consumption measured by said apparatus power consumption measuring portion, said apparatus operation control portion controls the apparatus by using the power consumption of the apparatus obtained from said apparatus power consumption estimating portion and ignoring the setting parameter of the apparatus so that an increasing amount of the power consumption of the apparatus should correspond to the increasing amount of the generating capacity of the generator obtained from said generating capacity measuring portion.

11. The generator control system according to claim 2 or 5, wherein the apparatus operation control portion exerts control to reduce the power consumption of the apparatus in the case where the generating capacity of the generator obtained from said generating capacity measuring portion exceeds a rated value.

12. The generator control system according to claim 2 or 5, wherein, in the case where there are a plurality of the apparatus, said apparatus operation control portion exerts control to keep priorities in reducing the power consumption of the apparatuses and reduce the power consumption of the apparatuses according to the priorities.

13. The generator control system according to claim 12, comprising a priority setting portion of having the priorities in reducing the power consumption of the apparatuses set by a user.

14. The generator control system according to claim 2 or 5, comprising an apparatus control selecting portion of selecting or deselecting whether or not said apparatus operation control portion controls the apparatus.

15. The generator control system according to claim 2 or 5, comprising a power information display portion of displaying the apparatus controlled by said apparatus operation control portion, the power consumption of the apparatus obtained from said apparatus power consumption measuring portion or said apparatus power consumption estimating portion and the generating capacity of the generator obtained from said generating capacity measuring portion.

16. The generator control system according to claim 2 or 5, wherein the apparatus is a domestic air conditioner, and said apparatus operation control portion controls at least one of preset temperature, air volume and air cleaning functions of the domestic air conditioner a plurality of times.

17. The generator control system according to claim 2 or 5, wherein the apparatus is illumination having an illumination adjustment function.

18. A program of the generator control system according to claim 2 of allowing a computer to function as an apparatus operation control portion of controlling the apparatus irrespective of a value of the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus so that an increasing amount of the power consumption of the apparatus obtained from said apparatus power consumption measuring portion should correspond to the increasing amount of the generating capacity of the generator obtained from said generating capacity measuring portion.

19. A program of the generator control system according to claim 5 of allowing a computer to function as an apparatus power consumption estimating portion of predictively calculating power consumption of the apparatus at least from the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus;

and

an apparatus operation control portion of controlling the apparatus irrespective of a value of the setting parameter of the apparatus by using estimated power consumption of the apparatus obtained from said apparatus power consumption estimating portion so that an increasing amount of the power consumption of the apparatus should correspond to the increasing amount of the generating capacity of the generator obtained from said generating capacity measuring portion.

20. A record medium recording the program according to claim 18 or 19, which is processable by the computer.

21. A generator control method comprising:

an apparatus operation detecting step of detecting a predetermined setting parameter of an apparatus; and

a generator control step of, if said apparatus operation detecting step detects a change of the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus, outputting a control signal to a generator according to the predetermined setting parameter.

22. A generator control method according to claim 21, comprising:

a generating capacity measuring step of measuring a generating capacity of the generator;

an apparatus power consumption measuring step of measuring power consumption of the apparatus; and

an apparatus operation control portion of controlling the apparatus irrespective of a value of the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus so that an increasing amount of the power consumption of the apparatus obtained from said apparatus power consumption measuring step should correspond to the increasing amount of the generating capacity of the generator obtained from said generating capacity measuring step.

23. A generator control method according to claim 21, comprising:

a generating capacity measuring step of measuring a generating capacity of the generator;

an apparatus power consumption estimating step of predictively calculating power consumption of the apparatus at least from the predetermined setting parameter of the apparatus; and

an apparatus operation control step of controlling the apparatus irrespective of a value of the setting parameter of the apparatus by using estimated power consumption of the apparatus obtained from said apparatus power consumption estimating step so that an increasing amount of the power consumption of the apparatus should correspond to the increasing amount of the generating capacity of the generator obtained from said generating capacity measuring step, wherein

said generator control step of, if said apparatus operation detecting step detects a change of the setting parameter of the apparatus, outputting a control signal to the generator according to the power consumption of the apparatus calculated by said apparatus power consumption estimating step corresponding to the changed setting parameter.