DISTRIBUTION BOARD AND BATTERY PACK

• US 20150015075A1
• Filed: 10/15/2013
• Published: 01/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Toya, Shoichi, Ito, Motoshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,680,334 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/66
• CPC Class Codes: H02B 1/42 Mounting of devices therein
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 11/00 Circuit arrangements for providing service supply to auxiliaries of stations in which electric power is generated, distributed or converted
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0045 concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/02 for charging batteries from ac mains by converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/35 with light sensitive cells
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/06 with automatic change-over , e.g. UPS systems
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/061 for DC powered loads
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/70 Hybrid systems, e.g. uninterruptible or back-up power supplies integrating renewable energies

Abstract

A distribution board includes: a pack housing unit which houses a battery pack and includes a connecting unit; and a charge control unit. The battery pack includes a connecting terminal unit for charge and discharge of power and can supply power to the distribution board and another device different from the distribution board. The connecting unit is connectable to and disconnectable from the connecting terminal unit. The charge control unit converts AC power supplied from a power system into DC power, and supplies the DC power to the battery pack housed in the pack housing unit to charge the battery pack.

Claims

1. A distribution board comprising:

a power line for supplying, to a load, AC power that is supplied from a power system;

a pack housing which houses a battery pack and includes a connecting unit, the battery pack including a connecting terminal unit for charge and discharge, the connecting unit being connectable to and disconnectable from the connecting terminal unit of the battery pack; and

an AC/DC converter which converts the AC power supplied from the power system into DC power, and supplies the DC power to the battery pack housed in the pack housing to charge the battery pack.

2. The distribution board according to claim 1,

wherein the load comprises a plurality of loads including a normal load and an emergency load, and

the distribution board further comprises:

a DC/AC inverter which converts, into AC power, the DC power discharged from the battery pack via the connecting unit, and supplies the AC power to the load; and

a switching controller which switches between a grid connection mode and a self- sustained operation mode, the grid connection mode being a mode in which the AC power supplied from the power system is supplied to at least the normal load, the self-sustained operation mode being a mode in which electric power discharged from the battery pack is supplied to at least the emergency load via the DC/AC inverter.

3. The distribution board according to claim 1,

wherein the battery pack includes a display which displays a remaining power level of the battery pack, and

the pack housing houses the battery pack in an orientation that allows the display of the battery pack connected to the connecting unit to be viewed.

4. The distribution board according to claim 2, comprising

a plurality of the pack housings,

wherein a plurality of the battery packs are housed in the distribution board.

5. The distribution board according to claim 4,

wherein, when at least one of the battery packs is removed while electric power is supplied from the battery packs to the emergency load, the switching controller continuously supplies electric power to the emergency load by using the battery packs excluding the at least one battery pack that has been removed.

6. The distribution board according to claim 2, further comprising

a detector which detects whether or not electric power is being supplied from the power system,

wherein the switching controller selects the grid connection mode when the detector detects that electric power is being supplied from the power system to the distribution board, and selects the self-sustained operation mode when the detector detects that no electric power is being supplied from the power system to the distribution board.

7. The distribution board according to claim 2, further comprising

a switch for selecting the grid connection mode or the self-sustained operation mode,

wherein the switching controller switches between the grid connection mode and the self-sustained operation mode according to the mode selected by the mode switch.

8. The distribution board according to claim 2, further comprising

a receiver which externally receives a control signal,

wherein the switching controller switches between the grid connection mode and the self-sustained operation mode according to the control signal received by the signal receiver.

9. The distribution board according to claim 8,

wherein the control signal received by the receiver indicates which one of the grid connection mode and the self-sustained operation mode is to be selected, and

the switching controller switches between the grid connection mode and the self-sustained operation mode according to the mode indicated by the control signal.

10. The distribution board according to claim 8,

wherein the control signal received by the receiver is a power saving request signal, and

the switching controller switches from the grid connection mode to the self-sustained operation mode when the receiver receives the power saving request signal.

11. The distribution board according to claim 2, further comprising

a charge controller which controls charge of the battery pack,

wherein the charge controller obtains information about a remaining power level of the battery pack by communicating with the battery pack, and when the remaining power level is below a predetermined threshold value in the grid connection mode, the charge controller charges the battery pack by supplying, to the battery pack, the electric power supplied from the power system, and when the remaining power level is above or equal to the predetermined threshold value, the charge controller stops supplying, to the battery pack, the electric power supplied from the power system.

12. The distribution board according to claim 1,

wherein the battery pack includes a universal serial bus (USB) port, and

the electric power charged in the battery pack is supplied to a device different from the distribution board via the USB port in a state where the battery pack is removed from the connecting unit.

13. The distribution board according to claim 1,

wherein the battery pack is removably connected to a device different from the distribution board via the connecting terminal unit, and

the electric power discharged from the battery pack is supplied to the device via the connecting terminal unit.

14. A battery pack to be connected to a distribution board which supplies, to a load, electric power supplied from a power system, the battery pack comprising:

one or more storage batteries;

a connecting terminal unit for charge and discharge of electric power, the connecting terminal unit being mechanically and electrically connectable to and disconnectable from the distribution board;

a charge circuit which charges the one or more storage batteries by using the electric power supplied from the power system via the connecting terminal unit;

a discharge circuit which outputs electric power discharged from the one or more batteries; and

a power supplier which supplies, to a device different from the distribution board, the electric power output from the discharge circuit, by being electrically connected to the device.

15. The battery pack according to claim 14,

wherein the battery pack is connectable to and disconnectable from the device via the connecting terminal unit, and

the discharge circuit outputs, to the device via the connecting terminal unit, the electric power discharged from the one or more storage batteries, by the connecting terminal unit being electrically connected to the device.

16. The battery pack according to claim 14,

wherein the power supplier is formed as a universal serial bus (USB) port,

the device is connected to the USB port, and

the discharge circuit supplies, to the device via the USB port, the electric power discharged from the one or more storage batteries.