KR101796317B1 - A network system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a network system.
A network system according to the present invention includes at least a first energy generation unit, a utility network capable of transmitting energy information including electricity rate information or electric fee information; At least one energy consuming unit consuming energy generated in the energy generating unit, the home network capable of receiving the energy information; And communication means for enabling transmission or reception of the energy information in the utility network or the home network, wherein the predetermined mode for driving the energy consuming unit includes a power saving mode related to the energy information At least one mode is included.

Description

A network system

The present invention relates to a network system.

Suppliers simply supply energy sources such as electricity, water, and gas, and demanders simply use the supplied energy sources. Therefore, effective management in terms of energy production, distribution, or energy use is difficult to perform.

In other words, energy is a radial structure that is distributed from an energy supplier to a large number of consumers, that is, from the center to the periphery, and is characterized by a one-way supplier center rather than a consumer center.

The price information of electricity can not be known in real time, but it can be seen only through the power exchange, and because the price system is also a fixed price system, incentives such as incentives for consumers through price changes can not be used There was also a problem.

In order to solve these problems, there has been a lot of efforts recently to implement a horizontal, cooperative and distributed network that can efficiently manage energy and enable interaction between a consumer and a supplier.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a network system capable of effectively managing an energy source and reducing electricity bill and / or energy consumption.

A network system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes at least a first energy generation unit and a utility network capable of transmitting energy information including electricity rate information or electric fee information; At least one energy consuming unit consuming energy generated in the energy generating unit, the home network capable of receiving the energy information; And communication means for enabling transmission or reception of the energy information in the utility network or the home network, wherein the preset mode for driving the energy consuming unit includes a power saving mode related to the energy information At least one mode is included.

Also, a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes at least a first energy generation unit, a utility network capable of transmitting energy information including electricity rate information or electric fee information; At least one energy consuming unit consuming energy generated in the energy generating unit, the home network capable of receiving the energy information; Communication means for enabling transmission or reception of the energy information in the utility network or the home network; And an energy management unit for managing the energy information with respect to the energy consuming unit, wherein the energy consuming unit or the energy managing unit is provided with a control unit for controlling the power consumption of the energy consuming unit, 1 input section.

According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently produce, use, distribute, and store an energy source, thereby effectively managing the energy source.

In addition, it is possible to drive and control the electric appliances in the home using the energy information transmitted from the supplier, and it is possible to reduce the energy usage fee or power consumption.

1 is a schematic diagram of a network system according to the present invention.
2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a network system according to the present invention.
3 is a block diagram illustrating an information delivery process on the network system of the present invention.
4 (a) is a graph showing time of use (TOU) information and critical peak pattern (CPP) information, and FIG. 4 (b) is a graph showing RTP real time pattern) information.
5 is a block diagram schematically showing a first embodiment of a network system according to the present invention.
6 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a second embodiment of a network system according to the present invention.
7 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a third embodiment of a network system according to the present invention.
8 is a view showing communication between an electrical product and communication means according to the present invention.
9 is a diagram illustrating a network system to which the network registration apparatus according to the present invention is applied.
10 is a flow chart showing a first embodiment of a control method for driving an electric appliance according to the present invention.
11 is a flow chart showing a second embodiment of a control method for driving an electric appliance according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram of a network system according to the present invention.

The network system is a system for managing energy sources such as electricity, water, and gas. The energy source means that the generated amount or the used amount can be measured.

Therefore, an energy source not mentioned above can also be included in the management of the present system. Hereinafter, the electricity will be described as an example of the energy source, and the contents of this specification can be similarly applied to other energy sources.

Referring to FIG. 1, the network system of one embodiment includes a power plant that produces electricity. The power plant may include a power plant that generates electricity through thermal power generation or nuclear power generation, and a power plant that uses eco-friendly energy such as hydro, solar, and wind power.

Electricity generated by the power plant is transmitted to a power station through a transmission line, and electricity is transmitted to a substation in a substation so that electricity is distributed to consumers such as a home or an office.

Electricity generated by environmentally friendly energy is also transmitted to the substation and distributed to each customer. Electricity transmitted from the substation is distributed through an electric storage device or directly to the office or each household.

In the home using a home network (HAN, home area network), electric power can be produced, stored, distributed, or distributed through a solar cell or a fuel cell mounted on a PHEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) The remaining electricity can be sent back to the outside (for example, a power company).

In addition, the network system includes a smart meter for real-time monitoring of electricity consumption of a consumer (home or office), an AMI (Advanced Metering infrastructure) for measuring electricity usage of a large number of consumers, May be included. That is, the measurement apparatus can measure the amount of electricity used by receiving information measured by a plurality of smart meters.

In this specification, the measurement includes not only what the smart meter and the measuring apparatus itself measure, but also what the smart meter and the measuring apparatus can recognize by receiving the amount of generated or used amount from other components.

In addition, the network system may further include an energy management system (EMS: Energy Management System) for managing energy. The energy management device can generate information about the operation of one or more components in relation to energy (generation, distribution, use, storage, etc.) of the energy. The energy management device may generate at least instructions related to operation of the component.

The function or solution performed by the energy management apparatus in this specification may be referred to as an energy management function or an energy management solution.

In the network system of the present invention, the energy management device may be included in one or more components in a separate configuration, or may be included as an energy management function or solution in one or more components.

2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a network system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the network system of the present invention is configured by a plurality of components. For example, power plants, substations, power stations, energy management devices, household appliances, smart meters, capacitors, web servers, measuring devices, and home servers are components of the network system.

Further, in the present invention, each component can be constituted by a plurality of detailed components. For example, when one component is a household appliance, the microcomputer, the heater, the display, and the motor constituting the household appliance may be detailed components.

That is, in the present invention, everything that performs a specific function may be a component, and these components constitute the network system of the present invention. And the two components can communicate by communication means.

Further, one network may be a single component or may be composed of a plurality of components.

In this specification, a network system in which communication information is related to an energy source may be referred to as an energy grid.

The network system of one embodiment may be composed of a utility network (UAN) 10 and a home network (HAN) 20. The utility network 10 and the home network 20 can be wired or wirelessly communicated by communication means.

In this specification, assumption means a group of specific components such as a building, a company, and the like, as well as assumptions of a dictionary meaning. A utility is a collection of specific components outside the home.

The utility network 10 includes an energy generation component 11 for generating energy, an energy distribution component 12 for distributing or transferring energy, and an energy storage unit An energy storage component 13 for managing energy, an energy management component 14 for managing energy, and an energy metering component 15 for measuring energy related information.

When one or more components of the utility network 10 consume energy, the energy consuming component may be an energy consuming part. That is, the energy consuming part may be a separate component or included in another component.

The energy generating unit 11 may be, for example, a power plant. The energy distribution unit 12 distributes or transfers the energy generated by the energy generation unit 11 and / or the energy stored in the energy storage unit 13 to the energy consuming unit. The energy distribution unit 12 may be a power transmission unit, a substation, a power station, or the like.

The energy storage unit 13 may be a battery and the energy management unit 14 may include an energy generation unit 11, an energy distribution unit 12, an energy storage unit 13, an energy consumption unit 26). ≪ / RTI > In one example, the energy management unit 14 may generate commands relating to operation of at least a specific component.

The energy management unit 14 may be an energy management device. The energy measuring unit 15 may measure information related to energy generation, distribution, consumption, storage, and the like, and may be, for example, an AMI. The energy management unit 14 may have a separate configuration or may be included as an energy management function in another component.

The utility network 10 may communicate with the home network 20 by a terminal component (not shown). The terminal component may be, for example, a gateway way. These terminal components may be provided in at least one of the utility network 10 and the home network 20. [

Meanwhile, the home network 20 includes an energy generation component 21 for generating energy, an energy distribution component 22 for distributing energy, an energy storage component for storing energy a storage component 23, an energy management component 24 for managing energy, an energy metering component 25 for measuring energy related information, and an energy consuming part a consumption component 26, a central management component 27 for controlling a number of components, an energy grid assistance component 28, an accessory component 29, a consumable handling component 29, component: 30).

The energy generation component 21 may be a household power generator and the energy storage component 23 may be a battery and the energy management component 24 may be an energy management device. have.

The energy metering component 25 may measure information related to energy generation, distribution, consumption, storage, and the like, for example, a smart meter.

The energy consuming unit 26 may be a heater, a motor, a display, or the like that constitutes a home appliance (a refrigerator, a washing machine, an air conditioner, a cooking appliance, a cleaner, a drier, a dishwasher, a dehumidifier, . It is to be noted that there is no limitation in the kind of the energy consuming section 26 in the present embodiment.

The energy management unit 24 may be an individual component or may be included as an energy management function in another component. The energy management unit 21 may communicate with one or more components to transmit and receive information.

The energy generating unit 21, the energy distributing unit 22, and the energy storing unit 23 may be individual components or a single component.

The central management unit 27 may be, for example, a home server for controlling a plurality of appliances.

The energy network auxiliary unit 28 is a component having an original function while performing an additional function for the energy grid. For example, the energy network auxiliary unit 28 may be a web service providing unit (e.g., a computer), a mobile device, a television, and the like.

The accessory component 29 is a dedicated energy network component that performs an additional function for the energy network. For example, the accessory component 29 may be an energy-network-dedicated weather-receiving antenna.

The Consumable handling component 30 is a component that stores, supplies, and delivers a consumable, and can confirm or recognize information on a consumable. The consumable may be an article or a material to be used or processed in the operation of the energy consuming unit 26, for example. The consumable processing unit 30 may be managed by the energy management unit 24 in the energy network.

For example, the consumable may be a food in a washing machine, a cooking appliance in a washing machine, a detergent or a fabric softener for washing laundry in a washing machine, or a seasoning for cooking a food.

The energy distributing units 12 and 22, the energy storing units 13 and 23, the energy managing units 14 and 24, the energy measuring units 15 and 25, The central management unit 26, and the central management unit 27 may exist independently of each other, or two or more may constitute a single component.

For example, the energy management units 14 and 24, the energy measurement units 15 and 25, and the central management unit 27 exist as a single component, and each of the smart meters, the energy management device, Or the energy management units 14 and 24, the energy measurement units 15 and 25, and the central management unit 27 may constitute a single component mechanically.

Further, in performing a single function, the functions may be sequentially performed in a plurality of components and / or communication means. For example, an energy management function may be sequentially performed in a separate energy management unit, an energy measurement unit, and an energy consumption unit.

In addition, a plurality of components of a specific function configuring the utility network and the home network may be provided. For example, the energy generating unit or the energy consuming unit may be plural.

On the other hand, the utility network 10 and the home network 20 can communicate by communication means (first interface). At this time, a plurality of utility networks 10 can communicate with a single home network 20, and a single utility network 10 can communicate with a plurality of home networks 20.

For example, the communication means may be a simple communication line or a power line communication means. Of course, the power line communication means may include a communicator (e.g., a modem or the like) connected to each of the two components. As another example, the communication means may be zigbee, wi-fi, Bluetooth, or the like.

In the present specification, there is no limitation on a method for wired communication or a method for wireless communication.

The two components constituting the utility network 10 can communicate by communication means.

In addition, the two components constituting the home network 20 can be communicated by communication means (second interface). The energy consumption unit 26 may be connected to at least one of the energy management unit 24, the energy measurement unit 25, the central management unit 27, the energy network auxiliary unit 28, As shown in Fig.

The microcomputer of each of the components (for example, the energy consuming unit) can communicate with the communication unit (the second interface) (third interface). For example, when the energy consuming unit is an appliance, the energy consuming unit may receive information from the energy management unit by a communication means (second interface), and the received information is transmitted to the microcomputer Lt; / RTI >

Further, the energy consuming unit 26 can communicate with the accessory component 29 through a communication means (fourth interface). Further, the energy consuming unit 26 can communicate with the consumable processing unit 30 through a communication means (fifth interface).

3 is a block diagram illustrating an information delivery process on the network system of the present invention. 4 (a) is a graph showing time of use (TOU) information and critical peak pattern (CPP) information, and FIG. 4 (b) is a graph showing RTP real time pattern) information.

Referring to FIG. 3, in the network system of the present invention, the specific component C can receive information related to energy (hereinafter, "energy information") by communication means. Further, the specific component (C) can be configured to include additional information (environmental information, program update information, time information, operation or status information of each component (failure), and consumer habit information using the energy consumption unit Can be further received.

The environmental information may include carbon dioxide emission amount, carbon dioxide concentration in air, temperature, humidity, rainfall amount, rainfall amount, insolation amount, air amount, and the like.

On the other side, the information includes internal information such as information related to each component (operation or status information (failure) of each component, energy use information of the energy consumption part, consumer habit information using the energy consumption part, etc.) (Energy information, environmental information, program update information, and time information).

At this time, the information can be received from other components. That is, the received information includes at least energy information.

The specific component may be one component that constitutes the utility network 10 or one component that constitutes the home network 20.

The energy information I may be one of electricity, water, gas, and the like as described above.

For example, the types of information related to electricity include time-based pricing, energy curtailment, grid emergency, grid reliability, energy generation amount, (operation priority), and energy consumption amount (energy consumption amount). In this embodiment, the charge related to the energy source is an energy charge.

That is, energy related information can be classified into charge information (energy charge) and non-charge information (energy reduction, emergency situation, network safety, power generation, operation priority, energy consumption, etc.).

Such information can be divided into scheduled information generated in advance based on previous information and real time information that varies in real time. The schedule information and the real-time information can be classified according to the prediction of the information after the present time (future).

The energy information I may be divided into time of use (TOU) information, critical peak pattern (CPP) information, or real time pattern (RTP) information according to a change pattern of data over time. The energy information I may vary with time.

Referring to FIG. 4 (a), according to the TOU information, data is changed stepwise according to time. According to the CPP information, the data changes stepwise or real-time with time, and emphasis is displayed at a specific time point. That is, in the case of the CPP pattern, the general charge is cheaper than the charge of the TOU pattern, but the charge at the specific point in time is significantly more expensive than the charge in the TOU pattern.

Referring to FIG. 4 (b), according to the RTP information, data changes in real time according to time.

On the other hand, the energy information I may be transmitted or received as true or false signals such as Boolean on the network system, actual price information may be transmitted or received, or a plurality of levels may be transmitted and received. Hereinafter, an example of information related to electricity will be described.

When the specific component C receives a true or false signal such as a Boolean signal, it recognizes one of the signals as an on-peak signal and the other signal as an off-peak ) Signal.

Alternatively, a particular component may recognize information about at least one drive that includes an electricity bill, and the particular component may compare on-peak and off-peak values by comparing the recognized information value with a reference information value off-peak.

For example, when a specific component recognizes leveled information or actual price information, the specific component compares the recognized information value with the reference information value to determine on-peak and off-peak values, Lt; / RTI >

At this time, the information value about the driving may be at least one of an electricity rate, a power rate, a rate of change of the electricity rate, a rate of change of the electric power rate, an average value of the electricity rate and an average value of the electric power amount. The reference information value may be at least one of an average value, an average value of a minimum value and a maximum value of power information during a predetermined section, and a reference change rate of power information during a predetermined section (for example, a slope of power consumption amount per unit time).

The reference information value may be set in real time or set in advance. The reference information value may be set in a utility network or set in a home network (input by a consumer direct input, energy management unit, central management unit, etc.).

If the specific component (for example, the energy consuming unit) recognizes an on-peak (for example, a recognition time point), the output may be set to 0 (stop or stop) and the output may be reduced. The specific component may determine the driving method in advance before starting the operation, and may change the driving method when the on-peak is recognized after the operation starts.

And, if a particular component recognizes off-peak, it can recover or increase its output when needed. That is, when a particular component that recognizes an on-peak recognizes an off-peak, the output can be restored to its previous state or increased further than the previous output.

At this time, the total consumed power and / or the total electricity use charge during the entire driving time of the specific component is reduced, even when the output of the specific component is recovered or the output is increased after recognizing the off-peak.

Alternatively, if the specific component recognizes an on-peak (for example, a recognition time point), the output can be maintained if the condition is operable. At this time, the operable condition means that the information value of the driving is below a certain standard. The information value of the driving may be information on an electric charge, an amount of power consumption, or an operation time. The constant criterion may be a relative value or an absolute value.

The predetermined criteria may be set in real time or may be set in advance. The predetermined criteria may be set in the utility network or in a home network (input by a consumer direct input, energy management unit, central management unit, etc.).

Alternatively, the output may be increased if the particular component recognizes an on-peak (for example, a point-in-time). However, even when the output is increased at the time when the on-peak is recognized, the total output amount during the entire driving period of the specific component can be reduced or maintained to be less than the total output amount when the specific component operates at the normal output.

Alternatively, the total power consumption or total electricity charge during the entire drive period of a particular component, even when the output increases at the time of recognizing the on-peak, It can be reduced than the electricity rate.

If the specific component recognizes an off-peak (for example, a recognition time point), the output can be increased. For example, when the operation reservation is set, a component whose operation starts before a setting time or a component having a large output among a plurality of components can be driven first.

Further, in the case of a refrigerator, it is possible to store the hot water in the hot water tank by supercooling the output by increasing the output from the existing output, or in the case of a washing machine or a washing machine, by driving the heater ahead of the scheduled operation time of the heater. This is to operate in off-peak in advance to be operated at an on-peak to be reached in the future, thereby reducing electric charges.

Or when a particular component recognizes an off-peak (for example, when it is recognized).

In the present invention, the particular component (e.g., the energy consuming unit) may maintain, reduce or increase the output. Thus, a particular component may include a power changing component. Since the power can be defined by current and voltage, the power variable component may include a current regulator and / or a voltage regulator. The power variable component may, for example, be operated according to an instruction issued from the energy management unit.

On the other hand, the energy curtailment information is information related to a mode in which the component is stopped or the electricity fee is reduced. The energy reduction information may be transmitted or received as a true or false signal, such as a Boolean on a network system. That is, a stop signal (turn off signal) or a reduction signal (lower power signal) can be transmitted and received.

When the specific component recognizes the energy reduction information, it can reduce the output (when the lower power signal is recognized) or to zero the output as described above (if the stop or stop state is maintained) have.

The emergency information (Grid emergency) is information related to a power failure or the like, and can be transmitted and received as a true or false signal, for example, as a Boolean. The information related to the power failure or the like is related to the reliability of components using energy.

If the particular component recognizes the emergency information, it may be immediately shut down.

When the specific component receives the emergency information as the schedule information, the specific component may increase the output before arriving at the emergency time point and perform the same operation as the operation at the off-peak of the specific component described above . And, at the time of the emergency, the specific component can be shut down.

The grid reliability information is information about the amount of electricity supplied or the amount of electricity supplied or information about the quality of electric power. The grid reliability information is transmitted or received as a true or false signal such as a Boolean or supplied to a component (for example, The component may determine the frequency of the AC power source.

That is, when the underfrequency of the AC power supplied to the component is detected (recognized), it is determined that the supplied electricity quantity is small. If an overfrequency higher than the reference frequency of the AC power supply is detected (recognized) Can be judged to be many.

When the specific component recognizes that the amount of electricity is low or the quality of the electricity is poor, the specific component may set the output 0 (stop or stop) depending on the case, as mentioned above, The output can be reduced, the output can be maintained, or the output can be increased.

The electricity generation excess information is information about the state where the electricity consumption of the component consuming energy is smaller than that of the electricity generation and the surplus electricity is generated and can be transmitted or received as a true or false signal such as Boolean.

The output can be increased if the specific component recognizes the generated electricity excess information (eg, when it recognizes grid overfrequency or recognizes an over energy signal). For example, when the operation reservation is set, a component whose operation starts before a setting time or a component having a large output among a plurality of components can be driven first. Further, in the case of a refrigerator, it is possible to store the hot water by supercooling the output by increasing the output from the existing output, or by driving the heater in advance of the operation time of the heater in the case of the washing machine or the washing machine.

Specifically, each type of information related to the energy includes first information (I1) that is not processed, second information (I2) that is information processed in the first information, And third information (I3), which is information for performing a function of the component. That is, the first information is raw data, the second information is refined data, and the third information is a command for performing a function of a specific component.

And, energy related information is included in the signal and transmitted. At this time, at least one of the first to third information may be converted only the signal, but the content may be transmitted a plurality of times without being converted.

For example, as shown in the figure, a component receiving a signal including the first information I1 may simply convert a signal and transmit a new signal including the first information I1 to another component.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the conversion of the signal and the conversion of the information are described as different concepts. At this time, it can be easily understood that the signals are also converted when the first information is converted to the second information.

However, the third information may be transmitted a plurality of times in a state in which the contents are converted, or may be transmitted a plurality of times in a state in which signals are converted while maintaining the same contents.

In detail, when the first information is unprocessed electricity rate information, the second information may be processed electricity rate information. The processed electricity bill information is information or analytical information in which electric bill is divided into multiple levels. The third information is an instruction generated based on the first information or the second information.

The specific component may generate, transmit, or receive one or more of the first to third information. The first to third pieces of information are not necessarily sequentially transmitted and received.

For example, a plurality of third information can be transmitted and received in sequence or in parallel without first and second information. Alternatively, the first and third information may be transmitted or received together, the second and third information may be transmitted or received together, or the first and second information may be transmitted or received together.

In one example, when a particular component receives the first information, the particular component may transmit the second information, transmit the second information and the third information, or transmit only the third information.

When a specific component receives only the third information, the specific component can generate and transmit new third information.

On the other hand, in the relationship between two pieces of information, one piece of information is a message and the other piece of information is a response to a message. Accordingly, each component constituting the network system can transmit or receive a message, and can respond to a received message when receiving a message. Therefore, the transmission and correspondence of a message is a relative concept for individual components.

The message may comprise data (first information or second information) and / or instructions (third information).

The command (third information) includes at least one of a data storage command, a data generation command, a data processing command (including generating additional data), an additional command generation command, a further generated command transmission command, Command, and the like.

In this specification, responding to a received message means that it is necessary to store data, to process data (including generating additional data), to generate a new command, to send a newly created command, ), Operation, transmission of stored information, transmission of an acknowledge character or negative acknowledge character, etc.

For example, if the message is first information, the component that received the first information may generate a second information by processing the first information, generate second information, and generate new third information, Only the third information can be generated.

Specifically, when the energy management unit 24 receives the first information (internal information and / or external information), the energy management unit 24 generates the second information and / or the third information, And may be transmitted to one or more constituent components (e.g., an energy consuming unit). The energy consuming unit 26 may operate according to the third information received from the energy managing unit 24. [

5 is a block diagram schematically showing a first embodiment of a network system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the first component 31 of the home network 20 may communicate directly with the utility network 10. The first component 31 may communicate with a plurality of components 32, 33, 34 (second to fourth components) of the home network. It is noted that there is no limit to the number of components of the home network that communicate with the first component 31 at this time.

That is, in this embodiment, the first component 31 serves as a gateway. The first component 31 may be, for example, one of an energy management unit, an energy measurement unit, a central management unit, an energy network auxiliary unit, an energy consumption unit, and the like.

A component acting as a gateway in the present invention not only enables communication between components communicating using different communication protocols, but also enables communication between components communicating using the same communication protocol.

Each of the second to fourth components 32, 33 and 34 may be one of an energy generating unit, an energy distributing unit, an energy managing unit, an energy storing unit, an energy measuring unit, a central managing unit, have.

The first component 31 may receive information from the utility network 10 or one or more components that make up the utility network 10 and may forward or process the received information so that the second component- (32, 34). For example, when the first component 31 is an energy measurement unit, the first component may receive electric bill information and transmit it to an energy management unit, an energy consumption unit, and the like.

And each of the second to fourth components can communicate with another component. For example, the first component 31 may be an energy measurement unit, the second component may be an energy management unit, and the energy management unit may communicate with one or more energy consumption units.

6 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a second embodiment of a network system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a plurality of components constituting the home network 20 of the present invention can communicate with the utility network 10 directly.

That is, in the present invention, a plurality of components (first and second components 41 and 42) serving as a gateway are included. The first and second components may be homogeneous components or other types of components.

The first component 41 may communicate with one or more components (e.g., the third and fourth components 43 and 44), and the second component 42 may communicate with one or more components And the sixth component 45, 46).

For example, each of the first and second components may be one of an energy management unit, an energy measurement unit, a central management unit, an energy network auxiliary unit, an energy consumption unit, and the like.

Each of the third to sixth components may be one of an energy generation unit, an energy distribution unit, an energy management unit, an energy measurement unit, a central management unit, an energy network auxiliary unit, and an energy consumption unit.

7 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a third embodiment of a network system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, each of the components 51, 52, 53 constituting the home network of the present embodiment can directly communicate with the utility network 20. [ That is, there is no component acting as a gateway as in the first and second embodiments, and each of the components 51, 52 and 53 can communicate with the utility network.

8 is a view showing communication between an electrical product and communication means according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the network system according to the present invention includes an electric appliance 200 as an energy consuming portion and a communication means 100 for communicating with the electric appliance 200. Here, the communication means 100 may be mounted on the electric product 200 or may be located within a distance communicable with the electric product 200.

When the communication unit 100 is spaced within a communicable distance from the electrical product 200, the communication unit 100 may be connected to the electrical product 200 by a wired or wireless scheme.

The electronic product 200 includes a product input unit 220 for inputting a predetermined command and a display unit 210 for displaying an operating state of the electronic product 200 or input contents of the product input unit 220, .

The communication means 100 may include one or more components (for example, an energy generating portion, an energy distributing portion, an energy storing portion, an energy storing portion, an energy managing portion, and an energy measuring portion) other than the electric product 200 A second energy consuming unit, at least one of the Utility Area Network).

The communication means can be confirmed whether or not it is connected to the utility network 10 or the home network 20 before the communication is performed. Hereinafter, confirmation of whether or not communication between the communication means 100 and the electrical product 200 is performed will be described as an example.

The communication unit 100 includes a communication input unit 102 capable of inputting a predetermined command for performing communication with the electrical product 200. When the user operates the communication input unit 102, the communication unit 100 can recognize whether or not the electrical product 200 is connected.

Alternatively, when power is applied to the electrical product 200, the communication means 100 may be automatically set to a state in which the electrical product 200 can be recognized and communicable.

The communication means 100 may be provided as a removable module in the electrical product 200. When the communication means 100 is mounted on the electrical product 200, the communication means 100 can recognize the electrical product 200.

When the communication means 100 recognizes the electrical product 200, the communication means 100 confirms whether or not communication is possible between the communication means 100 and the electrical product 200 through a predetermined checking process . Even if the communication means 100 recognizes the electric product 200, the communication for information transfer may not be carried out smoothly, and therefore it can be understood as a procedure for confirming it in advance

Whether or not communication between the communication means 100 and the electronic product 200 is possible can be confirmed by whether or not a predetermined message (command or information) is transmitted and received between them. For example, when a predetermined message is received from the communication unit 100 of the communication means 100 or the product input unit 220 of the electric product 200, Can be confirmed as to whether or not they can be respectively displayed in the part.

Other embodiments are suggested.

In the electric appliance 200, the energy information 40 may be stored in advance. For example, the electrical product 200 may be configured to be connected to a removable storage medium (USB) or a web server to periodically update the energy information 40.

If the communication means 100 and the electrical product 200 are not connected or it is recognized that the mutual communication is impossible, the electrical product 200 may be provided with a power saving or electricity rate A drive for reduction can be performed.

9 is a diagram illustrating a network system to which the network registration apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

Referring to FIG. 9, the network system according to the present invention includes a network registration apparatus 300 for registering an unregistered electrical product on a network (utility network or home network).

When the connection between the communication means 100 and the electrical product 200 is recognized and recognized as a state in which they can communicate with each other, the electrical product 200 can be registered in the network through the network registration device 300.

The network registering apparatus 300 includes a display unit 301 for displaying information related to the registration of the electrical product 200. The information related to the registration of the electrical product 200 includes a home code defined by an identification code of each home using the electrical product, a product code defined by an identification code recognizing any one kind of the electrical product 200, A unique identification code may be included to distinguish between homogeneous products.

The network registration apparatus 300 further includes an input unit 303 for inputting a command related to the registration of the electrical product 200. [ Through the operation of the input unit 303, the network registration apparatus 300 can perform an initialization operation for communication with the communication unit 100. [ Of course, the initialization operation may be performed through the communication input unit 102.

The network registering apparatus 300 is further provided with a communication unit 302 for communicating with the communication means 100. [

The registration process of the electrical product 200 will be briefly described.

An initialization operation for communication between the communication unit 100 and the network registration apparatus 300 is performed by using an initialization button provided in the communication input unit 102 or the input unit 303. [

The information on the electrical product 200 is transmitted to the network registration apparatus 300 through the communication means 100. The network registration apparatus 300 transmits information about the electrical product 200 to the components provided in the home network 20, that is, the energy management unit 24, the energy measurement unit 25 or the central management unit 27 do.

The energy management unit 24, the energy measurement unit 25, or the central management unit 27 confirms whether the information on the received electrical product is already registered.

If the information received is already registered, the energy management unit 24, the energy measurement unit 25, or the central management unit 27 informs the network registration device 300 that the information is already registered.

Then, the display unit 301 of the network registration device 300, the display unit 210 of the electrical product 200, or the display unit of the communication unit 100 may display the notification contents.

The energy management unit 24, the energy measurement unit 25 or the central management unit 27 assigns a home code, a product code, or a unique identification code to the electrical product 200 if the received information is unregistered information . Through this process, the electric appliance 200 can be registered in the network system.

Other embodiments are suggested.

In the above embodiment, a separate network registration device 300 is provided so that the electrical product 200 is communicated with the energy management unit 24. Alternatively, the electrical product 200 may be connected to the communication means 100 The energy management unit 24 and the like. That is, the energy management unit 24 may perform the function of the network registration device.

Other embodiments are suggested.

The communication means 100 may be operated to reset the initialization process for communication between the communication means 100 and the network registration device 300. [

That is, when the communication unit 100 functions as a removable module, the information stored in the communication unit 100 is deleted.

After the communication unit 100 is reset, the communication unit 100 may store information of the electric appliance newly registered in the network.

10 is a flow chart showing a first embodiment of a control method for driving an electric appliance according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, a description will be given of a process in which an electrical product is registered in a network system and then can be driven in a predetermined mode for power saving.

As described above, when it is recognized that the communication means 100 is connected to the electrical product 200 (S10), it is checked whether the communication means 100 and the electrical product 200 are in a communicable state (S20 ).

The communication unit 100 and the network registration unit 300 and the energy management unit 24 and the energy measurement unit 25 are connected to each other through the communication unit 100 and the electrical product 200, Or the central management unit 27 through the information transmission / reception process.

When the electric appliance 200 is registered in the network system, the electric appliance 200 transmits and receives information with the utility network 10 or other components constituting the home network 20 as the energy consuming unit 26 And its operation may be controlled by a specific component (S30).

In the state that the electric appliance 200 is registered in the network system, a specific mode for driving the electric appliance 200 may be selected.

The specific mode may include a power saving mode in which the operation thereof is controlled based on the energy information (40). The power-saving mode can be defined as power-saving driving of the energy consuming part driven for reducing power consumption or reducing electricity costs.

The energy information 40 includes information on electric power or power consumption, curtailment, grid emergency, grid reliability, energy amount, operation priority, ), And the like.

The power saving mode includes a first power saving mode and a second power saving mode.

The first power saving mode may include inputting first order information to be determined for driving the electronic product 200 and inputting the first order information through a user interface according to energy related information corresponding to the inputted first order information And a step in which the electric product is driven.

Here, the primary information includes information on a driving method (course) or a driving time, etc., that matches the characteristics of the electric appliance 200.

In addition, the energy-related information may include a selectable driving method (or time) for power reduction or reduction of electric charges when the electric appliance is driven according to the selected primary information.

In detail, when the user inputs the primary information for driving the electric appliance, the electric appliance 200 can display energy related information corresponding to the primary information.

The case where the electric product is a washing machine will be described as an example.

When the user selects the one-hour washing course, energy-related information, such as an electricity rate or an amount of electric power corresponding to the laundry course by time zone, may be displayed.

For example, if you drive a selected laundry course from 11:00 am to 12:00 am, the electricity rate is 500 won. If you drive the selected washing course from 12:00 to 13:00, you can drive the selected washing course from 800 won to 13:00 to 14:00 Information indicating that 1000 won is required can be displayed. Here, the information on the electricity rate may be stored as scheduled data, or may be transmitted in real time from the energy manager 24 or the energy measuring unit 25 or the like.

The case where the electric appliance is a cooking appliance will be described as an example.

The cooking appliance may include a power consumption device for cooking, for example, a bake heater, a convection heater, a convection fan or a broiler heater.

When the user selects the preheating temperature and the preheating time for the cooking of the food, the energy related information, for example, the electric charge or the electric energy amount per output mode, etc., can be displayed.

For example, a high power mode in which 4000 W is consumed when the bro heater and the bake heater are alternately heated for a predetermined time, an intermediate output mode in which 2500 W is consumed when the bake heater and the convection heater are alternately heated for a predetermined time, And a low power mode in which 2080 W is consumed when the heater and the convection fan are simultaneously operated for a predetermined period of time.

The user can select the desired time zone (washing machine) or output mode (cooker) by viewing the displayed energy related information. Then, the electrical product can be driven according to the selected information. The first power saving mode may be called "manual power saving mode ".

The second power saving mode includes inputting primary information to be determined for driving the electric appliance 200 and driving the electric appliance for power saving according to the energy related information corresponding to the inputted primary information A step performed is included.

In detail, when the user inputs the primary information for driving the electric product 200, the electric product 200 can be automatically driven according to the energy related information corresponding to the primary information.

That is, when the primary information is inputted, the control unit of the energy management unit 24, the energy measurement unit 25, the central management unit 27, or the electric product 200 recognizes the primary information, ). In addition, when the electric appliance 200 drives according to the primary information, it is possible to determine an optimal driving method or driving time in which the consumed electric power can be reduced or the electric charge can be reduced.

The driving of the electrical product 200 can be controlled according to the determined driving method or driving time. The second power saving mode may be called "automatic power saving mode ".

In the electrical product 200, only one mode can be set in advance. That is, the first power saving mode or the second power saving mode may be programmed with a name of "power save mode ". In this case, the user may activate the mode by operating a predetermined input unit (for example, a power saving mode input unit) for performing the set mode rather than the concept of selection.

The specific mode may further include a general mode in which the electrical product is driven according to the primary information. The normal mode may be called "manual mode ".

When the user selects the normal mode, the electric appliance 200 can be driven by setting a driving course or a driving time according to the user's intention regardless of the energy information. For example, the electric appliance 200 can be driven regardless of the point in time at which the electric appliance 200 is driven or the time interval at which the electric bill is expensive or the time interval.

The electric product 200, the energy management unit 24, the energy measurement unit 25 or the central management unit 27 may be provided with a predetermined input unit for selecting the power saving mode or the normal mode.

If the user selects the power saving mode, the display of the first power saving mode or the second power saving mode can be displayed, and the user can select one of the first power saving mode and the second power saving mode .

Meanwhile, the electric appliance 200 may be set to one of the power saving modes (the first power saving mode and the second power saving mode) or the general mode described above.

For example, the basic mode of the electrical product 200 may be set to the power saving mode. In this case, the power saving mode may be changed to the normal mode by operating the input unit. On the other hand, when the basic mode of the electrical product is set to the normal mode, the general mode can be changed to the power saving mode by operating the input unit.

Of course, the basic mode of the electrical product 200 may not be set. In this case, an interface (for example, a display) for requesting to select either the basic mode or the power saving mode is provided to the electrical product 200, the energy management unit 24, the energy measurement unit 25, or the central management unit 27 Can be implemented.

The user may select a power saving mode or a basic mode through an interface (for example, an input unit operation), and may select the first power saving mode or the second power saving mode among the power saving modes.

Of course, even if the user selects the one mode, the mode may be changed to another mode (S40).

When the mode selection step S40 of the electrical product 200 is completed, the step of displaying the price information according to the selected mode may be performed (S50). However, the step of displaying the price information may be performed when the first power saving mode among the specific modes is selected.

When the power saving mode is selected and the electric appliance 200 is driven, the electric appliance 200, the energy management unit 24, the energy measurement unit 25, or the central management unit 27 is provided with a power saving mode or a normal mode A display may be implemented to show that it is being performed.

The display method of whether the power saving mode or the normal mode is driven may include a display by a predetermined level or a graph.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the present embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in the order of the control method, the differences are mainly described, and the description and the reference numerals of the first embodiment are used for the same portions.

11 is a flow chart showing a second embodiment of a control method for driving an electric appliance according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, in the control method for driving the electric product 200, the mode selection step may be performed preferentially (S110). After the above-described mode selection step is performed, the communication means recognition step 120, the communication availability check step 130, and the network registration step S140 may be sequentially performed.

In the mode selection step S110, if the power mode of the electric appliance 200 is selected as the power saving mode but the communication means is not recognized or communication is impossible, the user can be informed that the power saving mode can not be performed. In this case, the electric appliance 200 may be driven in the normal mode.

If the specific mode is selected as the first power saving mode and communication means recognition, communication availability confirmation, and network registration are normally performed, information related to energy (for example, price information) may be displayed (S150).

10: utility network 20: home network
30: Component 40: Information
100: communication means 200: electric appliance
300: Network registration device

Claims (27)

A home network including an energy consuming unit for consuming the generated energy from a utility network including an energy generating unit; And
And communication means for enabling transmission or reception of energy information in the utility network or the home network,
Wherein the energy consuming portion is a washing machine or a cooking appliance,
One of a plurality of power saving modes for reducing an energy charge may be preset in the energy consuming unit,
In the plurality of power saving modes,
A first power saving mode in which power consumption of the energy consuming unit through the user interface is performed based on the energy information corresponding to the inputted primary information, ,
A second power saving mode in which primary information for determining a driving method or driving time of the energy consuming part is input and energy saving of the energy consuming part is automatically performed based on the energy information corresponding to the inputted primary information ,
In the first power saving mode, when the primary information is input, an electricity bill or an electric power amount corresponding to a laundry course by time of the washing machine is displayed, or an electricity bill or an electric power amount by an output mode of the cooking appliance is displayed, And to select the desired time zone or output mode by viewing the displayed energy related information. The method according to claim 1,
In the energy information,
A network system that includes information about energy bills and non-energy bills. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the energy charge information is at least one of an electric charge, a quantity of electricity, a rate of change of the electric charge, a rate of change of the quantity of electricity, an average value of the electric charges and an average value of the electric quantity. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein said non-energy rate information is one of energy reduction, emergency, network security, power generation, operation priority, and energy consumption. delete The method according to claim 1,
In the utility network,
A first energy distribution unit for distributing energy generated in the energy generating unit; And
And a first energy storage unit for storing energy generated in the energy generating unit or energy distributed in the energy distributing unit. The method according to claim 6,
In the home network,
A second energy generating unit for generating energy;
A second energy distribution unit for distributing energy generated in the second energy generation unit; And
And a second energy storage unit for storing energy generated in the energy generation unit or energy distributed in the energy distribution unit. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the energy information is at least one of an electricity rate, an amount of electricity, a rate of change of the electric charge, a rate of change of the amount of electricity, an average value of the electricity rate, and an average value of the electric energy. delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the energy consumption unit is capable of setting a general mode driven by the inputted primary information in advance. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the power saving mode or the general mode is selectable in an input step for driving the energy consuming unit. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the basic mode for driving the energy consuming unit is preset to the normal mode or the power saving mode. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the drive mode of the energy consuming portion includes:
Wherein the power saving mode can be changed from the power saving mode to the normal mode or from the normal mode to the power saving mode. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the communication means is ascertained whether or not it is connected to the utility network or the home network. 18. The method of claim 17,
Wherein whether the communication means is connected or not is confirmed whether or not the communication between the energy consuming unit and the communication means is confirmed. 19. The method of claim 18,
Further comprising: a network registering device for assigning an identification code to said energy consuming unit and registering said identification code in said utility network or home network. The method according to claim 1,
In the energy consuming portion,
And a first input unit for activating either the first power saving mode or the second power saving mode. delete 21. The method of claim 20,
In the energy consuming portion,
Further comprising a second input for inputting primary information for selecting a driving method or driving time of the energy consuming part. delete delete delete delete delete

Images