JP2011055121A - Equipment control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an equipment control system which performs control in accordance with a state of a person in a home by a simple system configuration and secures flexibility of the system. <P>SOLUTION: An equipment control device 1 includes: a place information storage part 1a in which installation place information of each piece of equipment X in the home is stored; an equipment state acquisition part 1b which acquires a state of each of the equipment X in the home; an equipment control part 1c which controls the operation of each of the equipment X in the home; and a rule storage part 1d in which a control rule including, as a condition, the state of the person in the home estimated by installation places and states of one or more pieces of equipment X in the home and defining control contents of one or more pieces of equipment X in the home is stored. When the state of the equipment X in the home is changed, the equipment control part 1c refers to a control rule including, as a condition, the state of the person in the home estimated by the installation place of the equipment X in the home of which the state has changed, and states of respective pieces of equipment X in the home, to determine whether equipment control is to be executed or not. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a device control system.

  Conventionally, what is described in patent document 1 is provided as a home appliance control system for controlling home appliances such as lighting equipment, air conditioning equipment, and various security equipment. In such a conventional system, a device control device monitors and controls a plurality of home devices, and based on measurement data of various sensors such as human sensors and temperature sensors, home devices such as lighting devices, air conditioning devices, and security devices. Is controlling.

JP 2006-67417 A

  However, if control is to be performed according to the condition of the people in the house (location, number of people, etc.), it is necessary to install human sensors throughout the house to detect the condition of the person in the house. When adding a function, it was necessary to add a sensor. That is, in order to acquire location information in the system, the system configuration is complicated, and the flexibility of the system is low.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described reasons, and the object of the present invention is to perform control according to the state of a person in the house with a simple system configuration and to ensure the flexibility of the system. It is to provide a device control system.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of devices installed in each room of a house, a device control device connected to each device via a network so as to be communicable, and a location information storage means for storing installation location information of each device And a rule storage means for storing a control rule that defines the control content of the one or more devices on the condition of the state of a person in the house estimated from the installation locations and states of the one or more devices. Includes a device status acquisition unit that acquires the status of each device, and a device control unit that controls the operation of each device. And it is characterized by determining whether to perform device control with reference to a control rule including a condition of a person in the house estimated from the state of each device as a condition.

  According to the present invention, since device control is performed with reference to a control rule based on the condition of a person in the home estimated from the installation location and state of the house device, it can be adapted to the state of the person in the house with a simple system configuration. When a new function is added, it can be realized by adding a control rule, and the flexibility of the system can be ensured.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the installation location information includes information on a room in which each device is installed, and the control rule changes when the state of the device changes. The control contents of one or a plurality of devices installed in the room are defined on the condition of the state of a person in the room estimated from the state of each device installed in the same room as the device, and the device control When a change in the state of a plurality of devices occurs within a certain period, the device control unit of the apparatus indicates that a person exists in one or more rooms in which the device is installed based on the location information of the device whose state has changed. Whether to execute device control with reference to a control rule that includes the condition of the person in the room estimated from the state of each device installed in the room that has been determined to be present It is characterized by determining.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform control according to the states of a plurality of people.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the information processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, further comprising number-of-persons information storage means for storing a maximum number of persons permitted to be present in the home, wherein a notification device for alarming the home is connected to a network, and the installation location information Includes information on the room in which each device is installed, and the device control unit of the device control device, when a change in the state of a plurality of devices occurs within a certain period, the location of the device whose state has changed Based on the information, the number of rooms in which the device is installed is derived, and it is estimated that there are people in each derived number of rooms, and the number of derived rooms is larger than the maximum number of people allowed to exist in the house. In this case, it is characterized in that it is determined whether or not an alarm notification is to be given to the home by referring to a control rule that the alarm device is operated because there is a possibility that a suspicious person has entered the home.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to control a device that functions as a security system.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the control rule has the same state of a plurality of devices having the same function and different installation locations as a result of a change in the state of the device. In this case, it is assumed that people in multiple installation locations are using devices having the same function in the same state, and only one device is operated among the plurality of devices, and the operation of other devices is performed. It is a rule that stops the process.

  According to this invention, power saving can be achieved.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform control according to the state of a person in the house with a simple system configuration and to ensure the flexibility of the system.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the apparatus control apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of a household appliance control system same as the above. (A) (b) It is a figure which shows the structure of the table which stored the corresponding | compatible relationship between household equipment same as the above, and installation location information. It is a flowchart figure which shows the basic operation | movement of an apparatus control apparatus same as the above. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement (1) of an apparatus control apparatus same as the above. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement (2) of an apparatus control apparatus same as the above. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement (3) of an apparatus control apparatus same as the above. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement (4) of an apparatus control apparatus same as the above. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement (5) of an apparatus control apparatus same as the above. It is a figure which shows another structure of an apparatus control apparatus same as the above. It is a flowchart figure which shows operation | movement (6) of an apparatus control apparatus same as the above.

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

(Embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 2, the home appliance control system of this embodiment includes a plurality of subsystems in which a controller Cn (n = 1, 2,...) Installed in a home controls and monitors the home equipment in the home. SSn, a device control device 1 connected to the controller Cn of each subsystem SSn via the home network L0, and a home device X0 connected to the device control device 1 via the home network L0. The controller Cn, the device control device 1, and the home device X0 constitute a local area network (LAN).

  In a home network L0 using a LAN cable, a plurality of terminal devices are connected to the device control device 1. Furthermore, the device control apparatus 1 is connected to a router 2 for connecting to the Internet by a communication cable (usually a LAN cable), and the home network is connected to the Internet as an external network through the router 2.

  The home network L0 is connected to the center server (not shown) installed in the management center of the service provider company via the Internet, and includes a personal computer, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), etc. that can be connected to the Internet. By performing data communication between the external terminal and the center server via the Internet, for example, the home device can be controlled and monitored from the outside using the external terminal.

  The in-home subsystem SSn includes an in-home device Xn and a controller Cn that controls and monitors the in-home device Xn, and a communication protocol different from the in-home network L0 between the controller Cn and the in-home device Xn. Are connected via a subnetwork Ln.

  The in-home device X1 in the sub-system SS1 is an air conditioner, a lighting device, a floor heating device, a ventilation fan, an electric window, or the like installed in the living room, and the sub-network L1 is configured with a dedicated protocol. The home device X2 in the subsystem SS2 is a refrigerator, a microwave oven, an IH cooker, a dishwasher, an electric kettle or the like installed in the kitchen, and the subnetwork L2 is configured by a protocol such as ECHONET. The home device X3 in the subsystem SS3 is a TV interphone device, a fire alarm, an electric lock, a security sensor, etc. installed in the entrance, living room, etc., and the subnetwork L3 is configured by a dedicated protocol. The home device X4 in the sub-system SS4 is a solar power generation system, a storage battery system, and a hot water supply system, and the sub-network L4 is configured by an energy system protocol. The home device X5 in the subsystem SS5 includes a power meter for each system that measures power consumption for each system, a power meter for each device that measures power consumption for each home device, a human sensor installed in a room, an entrance, and the like. The subnetwork L5 is configured with a sensor protocol. In the following description, the home devices X1 to X5 are referred to as a living device X1, a kitchen device X2, a security device X3, an energy device X4, and a sensor device X5.

  The controller Cn is interposed between the home network L0 and the home device Xn, monitors and controls the home device Xn of the subsystem SSn, and performs protocol conversion of communication between the home network L0 and the subnetwork Ln. . When a control request message is received from a terminal device such as the device control device 1, the subordinate home device Xn is individually controlled, and when a monitoring request message is received from the terminal device such as the device control device 1 A function of individually obtaining monitoring information of the subordinate home device Xn and transmitting a control request or a response to the monitoring request (monitoring information of the home device Xn) to the terminal device that is the transmission source of the request message ( Control monitoring function).

  The home device X0 is a television set, HD recorder, personal computer, control panel, etc. installed in a living room, kitchen, etc., and is transmitted from a terminal device such as the device control device 1 connected via the home network L0. Control is performed by a control request message, and monitoring information such as the operating state of the home device X0 is transmitted to a terminal device such as the device control device 1. In the following description, the in-home device X0 is referred to as an information device X0. Note that the information device X0 may also exchange information via the controller Cn, similarly to the in-home device Xn.

In such a home device control system, the device control device 1 performs integrated management of network communication in the system, and the home device X by the device control device 1 (hereinafter referred to as home device X0, Xn is not distinguished) Centralized control). Hereinafter, the control of the home appliance using the location information which is the gist of the present invention will be described. First, the home appliance X is given information (installation location information) regarding the installed location, and the device control apparatus 1 The data of the correspondence between the home device X in the system and the installation location information is stored, and the home device X is controlled using the installation location information when the status of the home device X changes.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the device control apparatus 1 includes a location information storage unit 1 a that stores installation location information of each home device X, a device state acquisition unit 1 b that acquires the state of each home device X, and each home device. The apparatus control part 1c which controls operation | movement of X and the rule memory | storage part 1d which stored the control rule mentioned later are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), the location information storage unit 1a stores correspondence data between the home device X in the system and installation location information in the tables TB1 and TB2. In the table TB1, the facility management number, the facility function type, the facility model, the installation room, the installation position, and the wattmeter number of the home devices X0, X1 to X4 other than the sensor device X5 in the subsystem SS5 are mutually connected for each home device. Correspondingly stored. In the table TB2, for the sensor device X5 in the subsystem SS5, the sensor number, the sensor type, the sensor type, and the installation location are stored corresponding to each other.

  In the table TB1, the installation location information is the installation room [living room, kitchen, bedroom, children's room, corridor, etc.] and the installation position [window side, center, door, living room, etc.], and the installation position indicates the detailed position in the room. It is necessary to register at least information on the installation room as the installation location information. In the table TB2, the installation location information is the installation location, and information on the sensing target home device X is registered.

  The device status acquisition unit 1b periodically acquires the monitoring information of the home device Xn periodically from the home device X, and also acquires the monitoring information transmitted from the home device Xn in which the state change has occurred. This monitoring information indicates the state of the in-home device X, and is each operation state of the information device X0, the living device X1, the kitchen device X2, the security device X3, the energy device X4, and the sensing data of the sensor device X5. In addition, the monitoring information transmitted from the home device X includes identification information (the equipment management number in the table TB1 and the sensor number in the table TB2) of the home device X that is the transmission source. The home device X can be distinguished based on this identification information.

  The rule storage unit 1d stores a control rule referred to by the device control unit 1c. The control rule defines the control contents of one or more home devices X on the condition of the state of a person in the home estimated from the installation locations and states of the one or more home devices X. A plurality of control rules having different combinations of places and states, estimated states of people in the house, and control contents are stored in the rule storage unit 1d.

  The device control apparatus 1 performs the basic operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 based on the monitoring information (operation state, sensing data) acquired from the home device X and the control rule. First, the device state acquisition unit 1b acquires the operation state from the home devices X0, X1 to X4, and further acquires sensing data from the sensor device X5 (S1). The device control unit 1c determines whether or not a change has occurred in the operating state of the home device X and the sensing data (S2). This determination process includes the operation state and sensing data acquired this time, the method of comparing the operation state and sensing data acquired last time, the operation state and sensing data acquired this time, the predetermined number of operation states acquired up to the previous time, There is a method of comparing with the average value of sensing data. If there is no change in the operating state or the sensing data, the processes in steps S1 and S2 are repeated.

  When there is a change in the operation state or the sensing data, the device control unit 1c refers to the control rule in the rule storage unit 1d, and the location information of the home device X whose state has changed or the state (operation state of each home device X). , Sensing data) is determined whether there is a control rule that matches the condition in the rule (S3). If there is no matched control rule, the process returns to step S1, and if there is a matched control rule, the control content defined by the matched control rule is executed for the home device X (S4).

  Next, a specific operation of the device control apparatus 1 based on the control rule will be described.

  (1) First, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the TV power is turned off → on, the lighting fixture is turned off → lit, and the operating state of the home device X [TV, lighting fixture] changes, and the device status acquisition unit 1b acquires the operation state from the in-home device X [TV, lighting equipment] (S11). Since a change has occurred in the operating state of the home device X [TV, lighting equipment], the equipment control unit 1c recognizes the TV: on state and the lighting equipment: lighting state, and then performs control corresponding to the state change. Judge the match with the rule.

  Since the equipment management number of the home appliance as the transmission source is added to the monitoring information acquired from the home equipment X [TV, lighting equipment] whose state has changed as described above, the equipment control unit 1c adds the monitoring information to the monitoring information. Based on the facility management number, the location information of the television and lighting fixture whose state has changed is extracted from the location information storage unit 1a, and it is determined whether the location information of the television and lighting fixture whose state has changed is the same room. (S12). If the mutual location information is the same room, it is determined whether or not the current time is in the range from 6 am to 7 am based on the time measurement result of a clock means (not shown) provided in the device control device 1 ( S13) Further, based on the measurement data acquired from the current home appliance [thermometer], it is determined whether or not the current temperature is equal to or higher than 27 degrees (S14). In this case, since the current time is 6:30 am and the current temperature is 32 degrees, the time condition and the temperature condition are satisfied. Next, the device control unit 1c starts the air conditioner (S15) and opens the electric curtain for the home device X [air conditioner, electric curtain] installed in the same room as the home device X [TV, lighting equipment] whose state has changed. Each control of S16) is executed.

  In other words, this situation is as follows: “When a TV and lighting equipment installed in the same room such as a living room are turned on and turned on between 6 am and 7 am, the resident who wakes up has a room with a television such as a living room. It is presumed that the curtain of the room has been entered, and the curtain of the room is controlled to open, and if the current temperature is 27 ° C. or higher, the air conditioner of the room is started. The operation is performed according to this control rule.

  (2) Next, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, only the home device X [human sensor unit] installed at the entrance detected the person among the home devices X [human sensor unit] installed in the home. Later, the in-home device X [human sensor unit] installed at the entrance becomes an undetected state, and the device status acquisition unit 1b acquires the operation state from the home device X [human sensor unit] installed at the entrance (S21). ). Since a change has occurred in the operating state of the household device X [Human sensor unit], the device controller 1c recognizes the state change of the human sensor unit and then applies a control rule corresponding to the state change. The match judgment is performed.

  Since the equipment management number of the in-home equipment as the transmission source is added to the monitoring information acquired from the in-home equipment X [human sensor unit] whose state has changed as described above, the equipment control unit 1c adds the monitoring information to the monitoring information. Based on the facility management number, the location information of the human sensor unit whose state has changed is extracted from the location information storage unit 1a, and the installation location of the human sensor unit whose state has changed can be determined. Then, it is determined whether or not all human sensor units are in the undetected state at present (S22), and the human sensor unit installed at the entrance has finally changed from the human detected state to the undetected state. It is determined whether or not (S23). In this case, all the human sensor units are currently in the undetected state, and the human sensor unit installed at the entrance has finally changed from the human detected state to the undetected state, so that the human detection condition is satisfied. . Next, the device control unit 1c determines whether or not 10 minutes have passed without any human sensor unit detecting a person since the human sensor unit installed at the entrance is in an undetected state. (S24) Control is performed to turn off the power of the pre-designated home device X among the home devices X that are in the power-on state when 10 minutes have passed (S25).

  In other words, this situation is: “Of the human sensor units installed in the house, only the human sensor unit installed at the entrance detects a person, and then the human sensor unit installed at the entrance becomes an undetected state. If it continues for more than 10 minutes, all residents have gone out and the house is presumed to be out of office, and the pre-designated home device X is forcibly turned off. " The device control unit 1c operates according to this control rule.

  (3) First, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, when the TV is in the power-on state and the volume level is 30, the notification sound of the visitor notification sounds from the TV intercom device, and the in-home device X [TV intercom device] The operation state changes, and the device state acquisition unit 1b acquires the operation state from the home device X [TV intercom device] (S31). Since a change has occurred in the operating state of the in-home device X [TV intercom device], the device control unit 1c recognizes the TV: ON state and the volume level 30, and then determines the control rule corresponding to the state change. Perform a match determination. Note that the device status acquisition unit 1b periodically acquires monitoring information from each home device X as well as the monitoring information transmitted from the home device X whose status has changed. ing.

  Since the equipment management number of the in-home equipment of the transmission source is added to the monitoring information acquired from the in-home equipment X [TV intercom equipment, television], the equipment control unit 1c has the equipment management number added to the monitoring information. Based on the above, the location information of the TV intercom device and the TV is extracted from the location information storage unit 1a, and it is determined whether or not the location information of the TV intercom device and the TV is the same room (S32). If the mutual location information is the same room, it is determined whether or not the volume level of the home device [TV] is 10 or more (S33). In this case, the volume level of the television is 30, so that the volume condition is satisfied. Next, the device control unit 1c executes control of temporary volume reduction (S34) for the home device X [TV] installed in the same room as the home device X [TV intercom device] whose state has changed.

  In other words, this situation is as follows: “When a user is watching a TV set in a room with a high volume and a TV intercom device is installed in the same room as the TV, Estimate that the viewer is going to make a call with a visitor using a TV intercom device, and set the volume level of the TV to 10 or more in order to prepare an environment for a call to be made with the visitor. For example, the device control unit 1c operates according to this control rule.

  (4) First, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, the home device X is turned on by the user operation such as power-off → power-on, air conditioner temperature setting change operation, TV volume change, channel change, and the like. A state change occurs, and the device state acquisition unit 1b acquires the operation state from the home device X (S41). Since a change in the operation state due to a user operation has occurred in the home device X, the device control unit 1c recognizes the state of the home device X and then performs a match determination with the control rule corresponding to the state change.

  Since the equipment management number of the transmission source home equipment is added to the monitoring information acquired from the home equipment X whose state has changed as described above, the equipment control unit 1c adds the equipment management number added to the monitoring information. Based on the location information storage unit 1a, the location information of the home device X whose state has changed is extracted. Since the location information includes the information on the installed room, the device control unit 1c can identify the room in which the home device X whose state has been changed is installed, and the home device X whose state has been changed by a user operation can be identified. It is determined that there is a person in the installed room (S42). Furthermore, the process for determining the presence of a person is performed when a state change of a plurality of home devices X occurs within a certain period, and there are a plurality of rooms where it is determined that a person exists due to the state change of the home device X. Determines that a person is present in the plurality of rooms at the same time. Then, for each room where a person exists, the control rule is applied to the home device X installed in the room to determine whether the control can be executed (S43). If the control rule is satisfied, the control is performed. Is executed (S44).

  In the rule storage unit 1d in this example, when the state of the home device X changes, the state of the person in the room estimated from the state of each home device X installed in the same room as the home device X whose state has changed As a condition, a control rule that defines the control content of one or more home appliances X installed in the room is stored. For example, “When the TV in the living room and the HD recorder are turned on and playback by the HD recorder is started, it is determined that the image recorded by the person in the living room has started playing, and the lighting in the living room is watched on the TV. Change the lighting state to a suitable lighting condition ”,“ If the kitchen luminaire is lit and the IH cooker is turned on, it is determined that the person in the kitchen has started cooking, and the kitchen ventilation fan is turned on. There are control rules such as “activate”.

  In other words, this situation is “specified based on the state change caused by the user operation of the home device X, the room where the person exists, and the state estimated from the state of each home device X installed in the room where the person exists. It is determined by referring to the control rule whether or not to control the home device X in the room based on the state of the person in the room. Furthermore, “the change in the state of the plurality of home devices X is constant. If there are multiple rooms that occur within the period and are identified as having a person due to the change in the state of the home device X, it is determined that there are people in these multiple rooms at the same time. " Is. That is, it is possible to perform device control in accordance with the states of a plurality of people existing in a plurality of rooms.

(5) First, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the home device X is turned on by the user operation such as power-off → power-on, air conditioner temperature setting change operation, TV volume change, channel change, and the like. A state change occurs, and the device state acquisition unit 1b acquires the operation state from the home device X (S51). Here, the point different from the above (4) is that the state of the in-home device X is changed using a remote controller (dedicated remote controller, mobile phone) to which identification information for each user is added. This remote control transmits an operation signal such as infrared rays to the in-home device X, and this operation signal includes user identification information. When the home device X is operated by the remote controller and changes its state, the user's identification information is added to the monitoring information indicating the operation state and transmitted to the device control apparatus 1.
And since the change of the operation state by user operation has generate | occur | produced in the household apparatus X, after the apparatus control part 1c recognizes the state of the household apparatus X and the user who operated, the control rule corresponding to the said state change and The match judgment is performed. Since a change in the operation state due to a user operation has occurred in the home device X, the device control unit 1c recognizes the state of the home device X and then performs a match determination with the control rule corresponding to the state change.

  Since the equipment management number and the user identification information of the transmission source home device are added to the monitoring information acquired from the home device X whose state has changed as described above, the device control unit 1c is added to the monitoring information. On the basis of the equipment management number and the user identification information, the room where the state-changed home device X is installed and the user existing in the place can be specified. It is determined that a specific user exists in the installed room (S52). Further, the presence determination process is performed when a plurality of in-home devices X change in a certain period of time, and there are a plurality of rooms that are identified as having people by the change in the state of the in-home devices X. Determines that people are present in these multiple rooms simultaneously. Then, for each room where a person exists, the control rule is applied to the home device X installed in the room to determine whether or not the control can be executed (S53). If the control rule is satisfied, the control is performed. Is executed (S54).

  The rule storage unit 1d of the device control apparatus 1 in this example stores a control rule that uses not only the state and installation location of the home device X but also user identification information. For example, “If the TV in the living room is turned on and the user who operated the TV is a child, it is determined that the child has started watching the TV in the living room, and the lighting in the living room is used for watching the TV in the child. “Change the lighting state to a suitable lighting state”, “If the kitchen lighting device is turned on and the user who has operated the kitchen lighting device is a mother, it is determined that cooking by the mother has started in the kitchen, and the kitchen IH There are control rules such as “activate cooker and ventilation fan”.

  In other words, this situation indicates that “the home device specified in the room where the person exists and the user who exists in the room based on the state change caused by the user operation of the home device X are installed in the room where the person exists. It is determined by referring to the control rule whether or not to control the home device X in the room based on the state of a specific user in the room estimated from the state of X. When a change in the state of a plurality of home devices X occurs within a certain period and there are a plurality of rooms identified as having a person due to the change in the state of the home device X, a person is placed in the plurality of rooms. Is determined to exist at the same time. That is, device control according to the states of a plurality of specific users existing in a plurality of rooms can be performed.

  (6) As shown in FIG. 10, the device control apparatus 1 in this example includes a number information storage unit 1e (number information storage means) for storing information on the maximum number of persons permitted to exist in the house. The maximum number of people information can be arbitrarily set by the user, and for example, the number of family members is set. In addition, a notification device that outputs a notification sound is provided as the home device X.

  Then, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, a state change occurs in a plurality of home devices X, such as when the home device X is turned off → turned on, an air conditioner temperature setting change operation, a TV volume change, a channel change, and the like. Then, the device state acquisition unit 1b acquires the operation state from the home device X (S61). Since a change in the operating state has occurred in the home device X, the device control unit 1c recognizes the state of the home device X and then performs a match determination with the control rule corresponding to the state change.

  Since the equipment management number of the transmission source home equipment is added to the monitoring information acquired from the home equipment X whose state has changed as described above, the equipment control unit 1c adds the equipment management number added to the monitoring information. Based on the location information storage unit 1a, the location information of the home device X whose state has changed is extracted. Since the location information includes the information on the installed room, the device control unit 1c can identify the room in which the home device X whose state has changed is installed, and the change in the state of the plurality of home devices X is constant. When there are a plurality of rooms that are generated during the period and are identified as having a person due to the change in the state of the home device X, it is determined that a person is present in the plurality of rooms at the same time. Then, the device control unit 1c recognizes that there are at least as many people as there are rooms in which the person is present (S62), and refers to the number information storage unit 1e to determine the number of people in the recognized home. The number of persons and the maximum number of persons permitted to exist in the house are compared (S63). When the recognized number of people in the home exceeds the permitted maximum number, the device control unit 1c performs control to output a notification sound from the home device X [notification device], and a suspicious person has entered the home. It is notified that there is a possibility (S64).

  The control rule referred to by the device control unit 1c in the determination process is as follows: “When a change in the state of a plurality of home devices X occurs within a certain period, the home device X is determined based on the location information of the home devices X whose state has changed. Deriving the number of installed rooms, estimating that there are people in each of the derived number of rooms, and if the number of derived rooms is greater than the maximum number of people allowed to be present in the house, there is a suspicious person in the house “The alarm device is operated because there is a possibility of intrusion”. That is. Device control that functions as a security system is possible.

  (7) The device control unit 1c of the device control apparatus 1 in this example has the same function when the home device X installed in a certain room is operating. When it is detected that a plurality of other home devices X have started the same operation, only the home device X having the highest priority set in advance among the plurality of home devices X in which the same function is in an operating state. The operation is continued, and other in-home devices with lower priorities operate according to a control rule that turns off the power and stops the operation. That is, wasteful power consumption due to simultaneous operation of a plurality of in-home devices X having the same function and installed in different rooms is suppressed, thereby saving energy.

  For example, in the case of a home device X [TV], if a plurality of TVs operating in a living room, a child's room, etc. are set to the same channel, the operation of only the TV in the living room with the highest priority is continued. Other low-priority televisions are turned off and stopped.

  In the present embodiment, an example using the control rules (1) to (7) has been given. However, by adding a control rule other than the above, a new function can be added without adding a sensor. it can. That is, home devices X are installed at various locations in the home, and the state of the home device X already provided is used as a human state detection means, and the home device estimated from the installation location and state of the home device X Because device control is performed with reference to control rules based on the condition of the person in the home, it is possible to perform control according to the condition of the person in the house with a simple system configuration, and when adding new functions This can be realized by adding a control rule, and the flexibility of the system can be secured.

  In the present embodiment, the device control apparatus 1 includes a location information storage unit (location information storage unit 1a), a rule storage unit (rule storage unit 1d), and a number of people information storage unit (number of people information storage unit 1e). The location information storage unit, the rule storage unit, and the number of people information storage unit may be provided outside the device control apparatus 1, and the device control unit 1a may refer to each piece of external information. For example, location information storage means, rule storage means, and number information storage means may be provided in any one of the controllers Cn on the home network L0 or distributed to a plurality of controllers Cn. The unit 1a accesses each means via the home network L0.

1 device control device 1a location information storage unit 1b device state acquisition unit 1c device control unit 1d rule storage unit X home device L0 home network

Claims (4)

A plurality of devices installed in each room of the house, a device control device connected to each device via a network, a location information storage means for storing installation location information of each device, and one to a plurality of devices A rule storage means for storing a control rule defining the control content of one or more devices on the condition of the state of a person in the house estimated from the installation location and state of
The device control apparatus includes a device state acquisition unit that acquires the state of each device and a device control unit that controls the operation of each device, and the device control unit changes the state of the device when the state of the device changes. A facility control system that determines whether or not to execute device control with reference to a control rule including a condition of a person in the house estimated from the installation location of the device and the state of each device. The installation location information includes information on the room where each device is installed,
When the state of the device changes, the control rule is installed in the room on the condition that the state of the person in the room is estimated from the state of each device installed in the same room as the state-changed device. To the control details of multiple devices,
When the state change of a plurality of devices occurs within a certain period, the device control unit of the device control apparatus is configured to provide a person in one or more rooms in which the device is installed based on the location information of the device whose state has changed. Execute device control with reference to the control rule that includes the condition of the person in the room estimated from the state of each device installed in the room where it is determined that there is a person. The facility control system according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not to perform. A number information storage means for storing the maximum number of persons permitted to exist in the house is provided, and a notification device for alarm notification is connected to the network, and the installation location information includes information on a room in which each device is installed. And
The device control unit of the device control device derives the number of rooms in which the device is installed based on the location information of the device whose state has changed when a change in the state of a plurality of devices occurs within a certain period. If it is estimated that there is a person in each of the derived number of rooms and the number of derived rooms is greater than the maximum number of persons allowed to be present in the house, a notification device may indicate that a suspicious person may have entered The facility control system according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not an alarm notification is to be made in a home by referring to a control rule that causes the system to operate.   When the state of a plurality of devices having the same function and different installation locations becomes the same as a result of the change of the device state, the control rule is a device in which people present at a plurality of installation locations have the same function. It is a rule which presumes that it is used in the same state, and operates only one apparatus among the said several apparatuses, and stops operation | movement of another apparatus. Any of the equipment control systems.

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