Method for calibrating a measured value of detecting means

• US 6,082,122 A
• Filed: 10/15/1998
• Issued: 07/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Morita, Isao, Onizuka, Keigo, Madenokouji, Masaki, Tokizaki, Hisashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tanner, Harry B.
• Application Number:
  US09/172,904
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• Field of Search: 62/125, 62/126, 62/127, 62/129, 62/236, 62/235.1, 62/230, 62/298, 62/77, 374/1, 374/2, 374/3, 324/74, 324/130, 236/94, 236/51, 702/99, 702/104, 702/106
• US Class Current: 62/77
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 18/008 with calibration coefficients stored in memory
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 3/022 having an ideal characteristic, map or correction data stored in a digital memory

Abstract

There is provided a calibration method of a detecting section which is provided on a substrate incorporated into a system interconnection generator and which detects by detecting means an object to be detected or an value of the object to be detected. The calibration method comprises the steps of prior to the substrate being incorporated into the system interconnection generator, measuring by the detecting section a reference value of the object to be detected by the detecting section; storing at least one of an error with respect to the reference value measured by the measuring step and the measured value of the reference value in association with the measurement result; and after the substrate being incorporated into the system interconnection generator, outputting the measurement result of the detecting section based on at least one of the error and the measured reference value, stored by the storing step in association with the measurement result.

Claims

1. A calibration method for a detecting means in which a physical value, measured by the detecting means incorporated into an apparatus, is calibrated, comprising the steps of:

prior to installation of the detecting means in the apparatus, storing a plurality of sets of data of differences between previously-known physical values inputted into the detecting means and measured values of the previously-known physical values outputted from the detecting means in correspondence with said measured values of the previously-known physical values; and

calibrating a physical value measured by the detecting means after the detecting means is incorporated into the apparatus by adding thereto a value estimated from the differences stored in the data retrieved based on the physical value to be calibrated.

2. A calibration method of detecting means according to claim 1, wherein said detecting means is a plurality of detecting means, and said storing step stores at least one of the value of the difference or the measured value, which corresponds to the plurality of detecting means, and said calibrating step calibrates the physical value based on the value stored in said storing step for each of physical values measured by the plurality of detecting means.

3. An apparatus including means for calibrating a measured value by a detecting means incorporated into the apparatus, comprising:

storing means which stores a plurality of sets of data of differences between previously-known physical values inputted into the detecting means and measured values of the previously-known physical values outputted from the detecting means in correspondence with said measured values of the previously-known physical values prior to the detecting means being incorporated into the apparatus; and

calibrating means which calibrates, based on the data stored in said storing means, a physical value measured by the detecting means after the detecting means is incorporated into the apparatus by adding thereto a value estimated from the differences stored in the data retrieved based on the physical value to be calibrated.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the apparatus is a system interconnection generator, which allows electric power generated by a solar cell to be superimposed on a power line of a system.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said system interconnection generator comprises an interface which allows information exchange with a apparatus having a display device, wherein an operating state of the system interconnection generator is displayed on the display device via the interface.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus having the display device is comprised of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit so as to form a separate-type air conditioner which allows air conditioning for a room to be air-conditioned, and said interface superimposes operation information on a signal line which allows transmission and receiving of a signal between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit.

7. A calibration method for a detecting device in which a physical value, measured by the detecting device incorporated into an apparatus, is calibrated, comprising the steps of:

prior to installation of the detecting device in the apparatus, inputting a plurality of previously-known physical values into the detecting device;

outputting measured values of the previously-known physical values from the detecting device;

storing in a memory data of differences between the previously-known physical values and the measured values of the previously-known physical values in correspondence with said measured values of the previously-known physical values, wherein the number of sets of the data stored is such that non-linear approximation can be conducted between the previously-known physical values and the measured values thereof; and

after installation of the detecting device in the apparatus, calibrating a physical value measured by the detecting device by adding thereto a value estimated from the differences stored in the data retrieved based on the physical value to be calibrated.

8. The calibration method according to claim 7, wherein the previously-known values are values of electric current or voltage.

9. The calibration method according to claim 8, wherein the apparatus is a solar power generation system including solar cells and a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control system, and the detecting device is a detector for detecting electric current or voltage outputted from the solar cells to conduct MPPT control.