JPH08123562A - Solar battery applying equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To sufficiently effectively provide the ability of solar battery applying equipment through the year. CONSTITUTION: Concerning the solar battery applying equipment combining a solar battery 1, charge/discharge control circuit 3, storage battery 4 and load 6, this equipment is provided with a calendar timer means 17 of an year timer for outputting a value corresponding to a month, day or season while defining almost one year as one cycle and a central arithmetic circuit 18 for calculating allowable load power or allowable load current based on the conditions matched with the specification of the solar battery 1, storage battery 4 and load and the environment to install that applying equipment, especially, based on the sunshine conditions of the area to install the equipment for any arbitrary term in the past or at present and based on the arithmetic result, the power supply to the load and the charge/discharge control of the storage battery are performed by charge/discharge control means 3, 5 and 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a solar cell application device in which a solar cell, a charge / discharge control device, a storage battery and a load are combined, and particularly, it is adapted to the specifications of the load device to be connected and the environment in which the load device is installed. The present invention relates to a solar cell application device that controls the load power amount or the load current amount during system operation according to the above conditions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an application device of this type having a structure shown in FIG. 4 has been known. In FIG. 4, 1 is a solar cell, 2 is a backflow prevention diode, 3 is a charge / discharge control circuit, 4
Is a storage battery, 5 is a load control switch (or element),
6 is a load, 7 is a short-circuit switch (or element) for preventing overcharge, 8 is a storage battery voltage detection unit, 9 is a short-circuit control signal, 10
Is a load control signal, the output of the storage battery voltage detector 8 is input to the charge / discharge control circuit 3, and the short-circuit switch (or element) 7 for preventing overcharge and the load control switch (or element) 5 are used for charge / discharge control. It operates by the control signal of the circuit 3.

First, in FIG. 4, the storage battery 4 is charged by the solar cell 1, and the amount of electricity charged in the storage battery 4 is consumed by the load 6 by closing the load control switch (or element) 5. When the storage battery 4 is overcharged, both poles of the solar cell 1 are short-circuited by the short-circuit switch (or element) 7 for preventing overcharge, and when it is overdischarged, the load control switch (or element) 5 is opened to load the load. Basically, the power supply to 6 is stopped. Therefore, when the amount of solar radiation is sufficiently large, the load connecting switch (or element) 5 is normally closed to supply power to the load 6. On the other hand, when the amount of solar radiation is small, the capacity of the storage battery 4 decreases. Therefore, the decrease in the capacity of the storage battery 4 is detected by voltage or the like, and the load connection switch (or element) is detected according to the remaining capacity.
Open 5 to limit the current to the load 6. In this way, the amount of load power corresponding to the remaining capacity of the storage battery 4 is controlled.

Further, in the conventional example, for simplification, the portion 5 for controlling the electric power or current to the load 6 is drawn like a mechanical switch, but this is used as a semiconductor element to repeatedly open and close at high speed. Also, a control method or device for extending the apparent device usage time is known.

[0005]

By the way, the charge / discharge control device for the solar cell applied equipment which has been conventionally used in combination has only the so-called charge amount such as the storage battery voltage or the detected value similar to the remaining capacity of the storage battery. In addition, charge / discharge control or load electric energy control was performed. This means that the electric elements used or the control circuit combining them can be realized with a relatively simple structure, and some effects can be obtained in the short term.

However, in actuality, the stand-alone type solar cell application equipment, which is taken up by the present invention, is designed so that the storage battery used has a margin in order to guarantee the no-sunshine of the system. Therefore, it becomes more difficult to detect the remaining capacity more accurately as the capacity of the storage battery becomes larger, and controlling the charging / discharging or controlling the load electric energy only by the remaining capacity of the storage battery means that the amount of solar radiation changes daily. However, it cannot be said that it is the optimum control that takes into account the guarantee of non-sunlight, which means the size of the storage battery, and therefore it cannot be said that the solar cell application equipment is fully exerting its capabilities. It was

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, including a solar cell, a charge / discharge control device,
The objective is to make full use of the capabilities of solar cell application equipment that combines storage batteries and loads throughout the year.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the solar cell application apparatus of the present invention comprises a solar cell and a solar cell.
A calendar timer that is an annual timer that can output a value corresponding to the month and day or the season with one year as a cycle, and at least a value corresponding to the month and day or the season, which has been input in advance, upon receiving the output of the calendar timer. The amount of solar radiation applied in the area where the solar cell application equipment is installed, the output of the solar cell, the installation azimuth angle, the installation inclination angle, the allowable load power amount or the allowable load current amount that is determined by the conditions of the sunshine environment and the connected load. A central processing circuit for calculating, a charge / discharge control circuit for outputting a control signal for controlling the load based on the calculation result, a load control switch (or element), and a load. I try to control the amount. The calendar timer, the central processing circuit, the charge / discharge control circuit, and the load control switch (or element) form a charge / discharge control device.
The calendar timer, central processing circuit, charge / discharge control circuit, and load control switch (or element) are preferably integrated circuits or modules.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the charge / discharge control device has an allowable load power based on a period corresponding to the number of days of guarantee of no-sunlight in the central processing circuit and a past amount of solar radiation at the time of operation of the device. Amount or allowable load current amount is calculated, and the load electric power amount or the load current amount is controlled by the charge / discharge control circuit and the load control switch (or element). Also, the user of this solar cell application device can easily input various conditions. Further, the central processing circuit has a so-called learning function of taking in the amount of solar radiation during operation or a value corresponding thereto and automatically optimizing the control of the load electric power amount or the load current amount based on the value.

[0010]

According to the present invention, a solar cell, a charge / discharge control device,
In a solar cell application device that combines a storage battery and a load, the charging / discharging control device can meet the specifications of the solar cell, the storage battery, and the load, and the conditions in which the application device is installed, especially the past or present of the installation area. The power supply to the load is controlled based on the solar radiation conditions of the period,
Practically, charge / discharge control of the storage battery used is performed, and thereby stable load power control is realized throughout the year and the utilization efficiency of solar cell application equipment is improved.

Originally, in the case of a stand-alone solar cell application device which is constructed especially in combination with a storage battery, since the solar cell and the storage battery are designed with a sufficient margin with respect to the load, basically the load power amount depends on the storage battery capacity. It is not decided, but decided by the amount of electric power output from the connected solar cell. Therefore, when the amount of solar radiation happens to be larger than the design value, the control of invalidating the electric power such as the short circuit of the solar cell is performed, but a situation such as over-discharging rarely occurs.

[0012] Further, when the amount of solar radiation by month in various regions is investigated and the amount of solar radiation for a certain year is compared with the average amount of solar radiation for several years, the fact that there is no great difference is found. There is.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems by paying attention to these points, the present invention is set by a solar cell designed corresponding to a load in a solar cell application device and a desired number of days of guaranteed no-sunlight corresponding to the solar cell. It controls the load electric energy based on the storage battery capacity and the conditions according to the environment in which the applied equipment is installed, that is, the condition of the amount of solar radiation in the past month, for example, in the installation area. .

If the solar cell applied equipment for controlling the load electric energy as described above is used, for example, the setting of the solar cell applied equipment is set to the allowable load electric energy or the allowable load under the condition of the minimum solar radiation month in the area where the solar cell applied equipment is installed. If the amount of current is calculated, the amount of power generated by the solar cell is large in months other than the minimum solar radiation month, so control is performed by increasing the allowable load power amount or allowable load current amount to an amount that is approximately proportional to the ratio of the amount of solar radiation. It is possible.

From the opposite point of view, if the allowable load power amount or the allowable load current amount is calculated under the condition of the maximum solar radiation month, the amount of power generated by the solar cell is small in the months other than the maximum solar radiation month, and therefore the allowable load power amount is small. This means that the amount or the allowable load current amount may be controlled to be reduced to an amount substantially proportional to the ratio of the amount of solar radiation.

[0016]

EXAMPLE 1 FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a solar cell application device according to an example of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a solar cell, 2 is a backflow prevention diode, 3 is a charge / discharge control circuit, 4 is a storage battery, 5 is a load control switch (or element), 6 is a load, and 7 is an overcharge prevention short-circuit switch ( Or element), 8 is a storage battery voltage detection unit, 9 is a short circuit control signal, 10 is a load control signal, 1
Reference numeral 7 is a calendar timer, and 18 is a central processing circuit including load control data. The control signal of the central processing circuit 18 including the output of the storage battery voltage detection unit 8 and the load control data is input to the charge / discharge control circuit 3, and the signal of the calendar timer 17 is input to the central processing circuit 18 including the load control data. The short-circuit switch (or element) 7 for preventing overcharge and the switch (or element) 5 for load control operate according to the control signal of the charge / discharge control circuit 3.

First, in the circuit of FIG. 1, the storage battery 4 is charged by the solar cell 1, and the amount of electricity charged in the storage battery 4 is consumed by the load 6 by closing the load control switch (or element) 5. . When the storage battery 4 is overcharged, an overcharge prevention short-circuit switch (or element) 7
It is a circuit that basically short-circuits both poles of the solar cell 1, opens the load control switch (or element) 5 when over-discharging, and stops the power supply to the load 6. Similar to the example.

Here, in the solar cell application device of the present embodiment, the central arithmetic circuit 18 including the load control data fetches and refers to the month and day representing the season output by the calendar timer 17 or a value corresponding thereto. Therefore, the allowable load calculated from the past monthly insolation in the area where the solar cell 1 to be used is installed, the output of the solar cell 1, the installation azimuth angle, the installation inclination angle, the sunshine environment, and the connected load conditions. Load the amount of electric power or allowable load current 6
Control to supply to.

According to the present embodiment, the load power amount or the load current amount can be controlled without being influenced by the remaining capacity of the combined storage battery 4 or the daily solar radiation condition during operation. As compared with the capacity detection type solar cell applied device, stable load control becomes possible and the utilization efficiency of the solar cell applied device can be improved.

That is, under normal solar radiation conditions in a predetermined area, the amount of power output from the solar cell 1 is balanced with the amount of load power or the amount of load current throughout the year to ensure proper and stable operation of the system. Therefore, it is possible to improve the utilization efficiency of the entire solar cell application device.

The load control switch (or element) 5 in this embodiment does not have to be a mechanical switch as in the conventional example of the storage battery remaining capacity detection type. By repeatedly using, it is possible to perform control so as to prolong the apparent operating time of the device.

If a circuit or module in which the calendar timer 17, the central processing circuit 18, the charging / discharging control circuit 3 and the load control switch (or element) 5 are integrated is used, the solar cell application apparatus can be made compact or inexpensive. Can be achieved.

[0023]

[Other Embodiments] Second Embodiment Although the solar cell applied equipment of the first embodiment can obtain a sufficient effect, in consideration of the capacity of the storage battery, which is generally said to be closely related to the number of days of guarantee of no-sunlight, Battery capacity,
That is, the load power amount may be calculated based on the past amount of solar radiation in the period and the time period corresponding to the number of days without the sun protection, and the load power amount or the load power amount may be controlled.

For example, when a solar cell applied device is installed, the capacity of the storage battery stores how many days of the amount of electric power output by the solar cell, that is, how many days of electric power there is without sunlight. It is decided by the design so that it can output.

In the second embodiment, the load electric energy is calculated and controlled on the basis of the capacity of the storage battery 4, that is, the past amount of solar radiation in the period corresponding to the number of days of the no-sunshine guarantee.

In the example of this concrete method, first, a period corresponding to the number of days of the no-sunlight guarantee is input in advance to the load control data of the central processing circuit 18 of FIG.
The control conditions for the load electric power amount or the load current amount of the solar cell application device currently in operation are determined according to the current date input from 7 and the period corresponding to the number of days of the no-sunlight guarantee. At this time, the setting of the period may be centered on the current date with respect to the current date, may be traced back to the past, or may be toward the future. Absent.

That is, in the second embodiment, the one in which the capacity of the storage battery 4 and the load control in the above-described embodiment are substantially unrelated is associated as one of the optimization conditions.

Therefore, if the control method according to the second embodiment is used, the fluctuation of the allowable load power amount or the allowable load current amount with the passage of time is corrected more appropriately, so that the balance of the entire system is balanced. Maintainability is improved, and more stable operation of the system is possible.

Third Embodiment In the first and second embodiments, the control of the load electric power amount or the load current amount is performed only by the operation specified in the control circuit of the solar cell applied device. However, there is a possibility that the predetermined control conditions may not apply due to inherent variations in installation conditions of solar cell applied devices. In such a case, it is preferable that the user of the solar cell application device can easily input various conditions for control.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of an applied device according to the third embodiment of the present invention, which allows the user to easily input various conditions. In the figure, 1 is a solar cell, 2 is a reverse current prevention diode, 3 is a charge / discharge control circuit, 4 is a storage battery, 5 is a load control switch (or element), 6 is a load, and 7 is an overcharge prevention short-circuit switch (or element),
Reference numeral 8 is a storage battery voltage detection unit, 9 is a short circuit control signal, 10 is a load control signal, 17 is a calendar timer, 18 is a central processing circuit including load control data, and 19 is a condition setting unit. The control signal of the central processing circuit 18 including the output of the storage battery voltage detection unit 8 and the load control data is sent to the charge / discharge control circuit 3, the signal of the calendar timer 17 is sent to the central processing circuit 18 including the load control data, and the condition setting unit The output of 19 is input to the central processing circuit 18 containing the load control data. The short-circuit switch (or element) 7 for preventing overcharge and the switch (or element) 5 for load control operate according to the control signal of the charge / discharge control circuit 3.

First, in the circuit of FIG. 2, the storage battery 4 is charged by the solar cell 1, and the amount of electricity charged in the storage battery 4 is consumed by the load 6 by closing the load control switch (or element) 5. . When the storage battery 4 is overcharged, an overcharge prevention short-circuit switch (or element) 7
In this circuit, the two electrodes of the solar cell are short-circuited, the load control switch (or element) 5 is opened when over-discharging, and the power supply to the load 6 is stopped.

The solar cell 1 to be used is installed by the central processing circuit 18 including the load control data taking in and referring to the month and day representing the season output by the calendar timer 17 or a value corresponding thereto. Control to supply the load 6 with the allowable load power amount or allowable load current amount calculated from conditions such as the past monthly solar radiation amount of the area, the output of the solar cell 1, the installation azimuth angle, the installed illumination angle, and the sunshine environment. The procedure is the same as in the first and second embodiments described above.

However, depending on the conditions of the environment in which the solar cell applied equipment is installed, when the control constant of the load power amount or the load current amount is actually operated at a predetermined value, the balance of the entire device is overloaded. It is in the state of being near discharge,
It may be in a state of overcharging. Therefore,
In the third embodiment, when such a situation is expected or when such a situation occurs, the user of the solar cell applied device inputs a correction value from the condition setting section. By optimizing the operation of the solar cell applied equipment, it is possible to do so.

As a result, it becomes possible to perform an operation that better matches the environmental conditions in which the solar cell application equipment is installed.

Fourth Embodiment In the third embodiment, the condition setting unit 19 is added, and the user of the solar cell application device inputs the condition setting for correction, so that the load power amount or the load current amount can be changed. Although it is intended to optimize the control, if it is assumed that the condition setting for correction is manually input, the correction input may be apologized. In these cases,
Import the amount of solar radiation during driving or a value equivalent to it,
This can be dealt with by providing a so-called learning function that can automatically optimize the control of the load power amount or the load current amount based on the value.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an applied device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention having such a learning function. 1 is a solar cell, 2 is a backflow prevention diode, 3 is a charge / discharge control circuit, 4 Is a storage battery, 5 is a load control switch (or element), 6 is a load, 7 is an overcharge prevention short-circuit switch (or element), 8 is a storage battery voltage detection unit, 9 is a short-circuit control signal, 10 is a load control signal, 17 is a calendar timer, 18
Is a central processing circuit including load control data, and 20 is a solar radiation amount detection unit. The control signal of the central processing circuit 18 including the output of the storage battery voltage detection unit 8 and the load control data is sent to the charge / discharge control circuit 3, and the signal of the calendar timer 17 is sent to the central processing circuit 18 containing the load control data. The output of the section 20 is input to the central processing circuit 18 containing the load control data. Short circuit switch (or element) to prevent overcharge
7 and the load control switch (or element) 5 are operated by the control signal of the charge / discharge control circuit 3.

First, in the circuit of FIG. 3, the storage battery 4 is charged by the solar cell 1, and the amount of electricity charged in the storage battery 4 is consumed by the load 6 by closing the load control switch (or element) 5. . When the storage battery 4 is overcharged, an overcharge prevention short-circuit switch (or element) 7
In this circuit, both electrodes of the solar cell 1 are short-circuited, the load control switch (or element) 5 is opened in the case of over-discharging, and the power supply to the load 6 is stopped.

The solar cell 1 to be used is installed by the central processing circuit 18 including the load control data taking in and referring to the month and day representing the season output by the calendar timer 17 or a value corresponding thereto. Control is performed to supply the load 6 with the allowable load power amount or the allowable load current amount calculated from conditions such as the past monthly amount of solar radiation in the region, the output of the solar cell 1, the installation azimuth angle, the installation inclination angle, and the sunshine environment. .

However, as in the case of the third embodiment, depending on the environmental conditions in which the solar cell applied equipment is installed, when the control constant of the load power amount or the load current amount is operated at a specified value, the balance of the entire device is The overload may be close to the overdischarge or may be close to the overcharge. Further, the correction method as in the third embodiment, which requires human intervention, requires a lot of labor and the correction. Input may be incorrect. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, by adding the solar radiation amount detecting unit 20 to the fact that such a state has occurred, the solar radiation amount during the operation of the solar cell applied device or a value corresponding thereto is fetched, and this is used as the basis. In addition, the operation of the solar cell application device is optimized by automatically correcting the control of the load power amount or the load current amount.

With such a so-called learning function,
By removing the human factor from the correction, it matched the actual environmental conditions in which the solar cell application equipment was installed,
Optimized operation is possible.

Although the fourth embodiment is described as if it is a solution to the problem in the third embodiment, it is possible to construct a solar cell application device by combining the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment. There is no limit.

[0042]

Since the present invention is constructed and operates as described above, it has the following effects.

Since it is possible to control the load electric power amount or the load current amount without being influenced by the remaining capacity of the combined storage battery or the daily solar radiation condition during operation, a storage battery remaining capacity detection type solar cell application device. Compared with the above, stable load control can be performed, and the utilization efficiency of the solar cell application device can be improved.

That is, under normal solar radiation conditions in a predetermined area, the amount of electric power output from the solar cell is balanced with the amount of load electric power or the amount of load current throughout the year, and the system operates properly and stably. Therefore, it is possible to improve the utilization efficiency of the entire solar cell application device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a solar cell application device according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a solar cell applied device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a solar cell applied device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a conventional solar cell application device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: solar cell, 2: backflow prevention diode, 3: charge / discharge control circuit, 4: storage battery, 5: load control switch (or element), 6: load, 8: storage battery voltage detection unit, 9: short-circuit control signal, 10: load control signal, 17: calendar timer, 18: central processing circuit including load control data, 1
9: condition setting unit, 20: solar radiation amount detection unit.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A solar cell, a storage battery charged by the output of the solar cell, a load supplied with power from the solar cell and the storage battery, charging / discharging of the storage battery, and power supply to the load are controlled. In a solar cell applied device in which a charge / discharge control device is combined, the charge / discharge control device is a charge / discharge control switch means and an annual timer capable of outputting a value corresponding to a month, day, or a season with one year as one cycle. A calendar timer means and, upon receiving the output of the calendar timer means, at least a value corresponding to the current month, day, or season, solar radiation data of a region in which the solar cell application device is installed, which has been input in advance, the output of the solar cell, A calculation means for calculating an allowable load electric energy or an allowable load current amount which is determined by the conditions of the installation azimuth angle, installation inclination angle, sunshine environment and connected load. Solar cell application apparatus, characterized in that comprises a charge and discharge control means for controlling the charging and discharging switching means based on the calculation result of the calculating means, for controlling the load power amount or the load current. 2. The solar cell application device according to claim 1, wherein any one or more of the calendar timer means, the arithmetic means, the charge / discharge control means, and the load control switch means are integrated into a circuit or a module. 3. The charging / discharging control device allows an allowable load power amount based on a period corresponding to the number of days of non-sunlight guarantee included in the solar radiation amount data by the calculating means and a past solar radiation amount at a time of operating the device. Alternatively, the allowable load current amount is calculated, and the load power amount or the load current amount is controlled by the charge / discharge control circuit and the charge / discharge switch means. 4. The charging / discharging control device comprises an input means for a user of the solar cell application device to input various conditions such as installation conditions of the solar cell. The solar cell application device according to any one of 3 above. 5. The calculation means has means for taking in the amount of solar radiation during operation or a value corresponding thereto and automatically optimizing the control of the load electric power amount or the load current amount based on the value. The solar cell application device according to claim 1.