Fault point location system

• US 6,597,180 B1
• Filed: 11/12/1999
• Issued: 07/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Motokuni Takaoka, Nippon Kouatsu Electric Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Motokuni Takaoka, Nippon Kouatsu Electric Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Sugiura, Masanori, Takaoka, Motokuni
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Teresinski, John
• Application Number:
  US09/438,289
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 714/55, 714/100, 713/400, 370/503, 455/13.2, 455/67.1, 324/512, 324/520, 324/521, 324/535, 324/522
• US Class Current: 324/512
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/085 in power transmission or distribution lines, e.g. overhead
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/088 Aspects of digital computing

Abstract

A fault point location system comprises substation 1 installed along transmission and distribution line (TD line) to send a surge detection time (SD time), and master station 2 locates fault points based on the information. Substation 1 stores and updates past voltage or current waveforms of the TD line, stores a surge recognition level L2 (higher than a noise level), and a surge waveform starting level L1 (set lower than level L2), determines as the SD time, in the case where the voltage or current of the TD line exceeds level L2, the time at which the voltage or current first exceeded level L1 after going back through the waveforms stored from the time at which the surge recognition level was exceeded, and sends the SD time to master station 2 via the communication network.

Claims

1. A fault point location system comprising substations (1) which are installed along a transmission and distribution line to transmit information on surge detection time to a master station (2), and the master station (2) which locates fault points on the basis of the information on said surge detection time, wherein

said substation (1) determines a difference between a standard time of a GPS which is obtained from a received GPS radio wave, and a reference time of said substation (1) at which said standard time has been obtained, accumulates said difference over a certain period of time, corrects the reference time by adding an average value of said difference stored to said reference time, determines a detection time of a surge voltage or surge current produced by a fault having occurred at a certain point on the transmission and distribution line in accordance with said reference time, and then transmits the detection time to said master station (2) via a communication network.

2. A fault point location system according to claim 1, said master station (2) determines, as shown in the fault location system of a second invention, in accordance with said surge detection time t1 detected at one of a pair of substations across a fault point on said transmission and distribution line network, said surge detection time t2 detected at the other substation, surge propagation velocity v, and length L of the transmission and distribution line between said substations, distance L1 on the transmission and distribution line from one of the substations to said fault point by equation L1=(L+(t1−

t2)×

v)/2.

3. A fault point location system according to claim 1, said master station (2) determines, as shown in the fault point location system of a third invention, in accordance with said surge detection time t1 detected by a substation nearest to the source-side end along said transmission and distribution line network, said surge detection time t2 detected by another substation at the distal end of the transmission and distribution line network, surge propagation velocity v, and length L of the transmission and distribution line between said substations, distance L1 on the transmission and distribution line from the substation at said source-side end to said fault point by equation L1=L+(t1−

t2)×

v)/2; and

furthermore, determines, in accordance with said surge detection time t3 detected at one of a pair of substations across the fault point determined by the aforementioned calculation, said surge detection time t4 detected at the other substation, surge propagation velocity v, and length L′

of the transmission and distribution line between said pair of substations, distance L3 on the transmission and distribution line from said one of the substations to said fault point by equation L3=(L′

+(t3−

t4)×

v)/2.

4. A fault point location system comprising a substation (1) which is installed on a transmission and distribution line to transmit information on surge detection time to a master station (2), and the master station (2) which locates fault points on the basis of the information on said surge detection time, characterized in that:

said substation (1) stores and updates past voltage or current waveforms of said transmission and distribution line ranging at least from a current time to a preceding time for a certain period of time,

stores a surge recognition level which is a reference level for recognizing surges and sets the surge recognition level to a level higher than a noise level,

stores a surge waveform starting level which is a reference level for determining a starting point of surge waveforms and sets the surge waveform starting level to a level lower than said surge recognition level,

determines as a surge detection time, in the case where the voltage or current of said transmission and distribution line exceeds said surge recognition level, the time at which said voltage or current exceeded said surge waveform starting level for a first time after going back through said waveforms stored from the time at which said surge recognition level was exceeded, and

sends said surge detection time to said master station (2) via the communication network.

5. A fault point location system according to claim 4 wherein;

said master station (2) determines, in accordance with said surge detection time t1 detected at one of a pair of substations across a fault point on said transmission and distribution line network, said surge detection time t2 detected at the other substation, surge propagation velocity v, and length L of the transmission and distribution line between said substations, distance L1 on the transmission and distribution line from one of the substations to said fault point by equation L1=(L+(t1−

t2)×

v)/2.

6. A fault point location system according to claim 4 wherein;

said master station (2) determines, in accordance with said surge detection time t1 detected by a substation nearest to the source-side end on said transmission and distribution line network, said surge detection time t2 detected by another substation At the distal end of the transmission and distribution line, surge propagation velocity v, and length L of the transmission and distribution line between said substations, distance L1 on the transmission and distribution line from the substation at said source-side end to said fault point by equation L1=(L+(t1−

t2)×

v)/2; and

furthermore, determines, in accordance with said surge detection time t3 detected at one of a pair of substations across the fault point determined by the aforementioned calculation, said surge detection time t4 detected at the other substation, surge propagation velocity v, and length L′

of the transmission and distribution line between said pair of substations, distance L3 on the transmission and distribution line from said one of the substations to said fault point by equation L3=(L′

+(t3−

t4)×

v)/2.

7. A fault point location system according to claim 4 wherein;

said past voltage or current waveforms are stored in a form of discrete values to be sampled at intervals of constant time, allowing for determining, as said surge detection time, the sampling time next to the sampling time at which, going back from the time at which said surge recognition level was exceeded, a sample value fell short of said surge waveform starting level for the first time.