JP2014239369A - Energy consumption apparatus control device and energy consumption apparatus control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the reliability of terminal authentication when the terminal authentication is executed in order to control a home electric appliance in a house according to a control request from a mobile terminal outside the house.SOLUTION: A home server 10, which controls the operation state of a home electric appliance in a house on the basis of a control request email transmitted from a user terminal 30 outside the house, obtains password information for terminal authentication by communicating with the user terminal 30 when it is in a state of being able to communicate with the user terminal 30 inside the house, registers the password information with a storage unit, and when it received the control request email, analyzes the email and obtains password information for terminal authentication integrated in an email sentence. Then, the home server 10 determines whether the password information obtained by analyzing the control request email and the registered password information match or not, and only when the home server 10 determines that they match to each other, controls the operation state of the home electric appliance on the basis of the control request email.

Description

  The present invention relates to an energy consuming equipment control device and an energy consuming equipment control method using the same, and in particular, an operating state of an energy consuming equipment in a building based on a control request transmitted from a mobile terminal outside the building. The present invention relates to an energy consuming device control apparatus and an energy consuming device control method for controlling the energy consumption.

  In recent years, a so-called HEMS (Home Energy Management System) has been attracting attention as a control system for energy consuming equipment, in which a control device such as a home server or home gateway is installed in a house to control the operating state of home appliances in the house. ing. In HEMS, the said control apparatus communicates with household appliances via a home network, controls the driving | running state of the apparatus, and collects the information regarding a driving | running state.

  Also, in HEMS, a system in which a control device receives a control request transmitted from a house resident through a mobile terminal from outside the home, and the control device controls home appliances in response to the request, that is, remote control. A system has been developed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to the remote control system described in Patent Literature 1, it is possible to control home appliances from outside the house through a simple operation through an external network, and a highly reliable remote control system is realized.

  Specifically, in the remote control system described in Patent Document 1, when receiving a control request from outside the home, the terminal identification information included in the control request by the control device and the terminal identification included in the control request When the terminal that compares the information and transmits the control request is not included in the terminal registered on the control device side, the home appliance is not controlled. With such a configuration, in the remote control system described in Patent Document 1, an illegitimate person, for example, a person other than a resident, illegally accesses the control device, and remotely controls the home appliance to damage the device. It is possible to avoid a situation where a secret or a secret leaks.

JP 2002-44765 A

  By the way, the above-described terminal identification information registered in the control device is normally input to the control device from the terminal side used for control request transmission at the time of initial setting, but such input can be performed from any terminal. Then, a person other than a resident impersonates a resident and inputs the terminal identification information of his / her terminal to the control device, so that the person illegally accesses the control device and operates the home appliance remotely without permission. It will invite a situation. In this regard, when performing terminal authentication for home appliance control, its reliability, in simple terms, excludes registration of authentication information by the above-mentioned “spoofing” and properly authenticates the authentication information. It is necessary to improve the security to accept only the input of those who can register.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to perform terminal authentication when controlling energy consuming equipment in a building in response to a control request from a mobile terminal outside the building. It is providing the energy consumption apparatus control apparatus and energy consumption apparatus control method which improved the reliability of authentication in the structure which performs.

  According to the energy consuming equipment control device of the present invention, the problem is that the energy consumption used in the building based on the control request installed in the building and transmitted from the mobile terminal outside the building. An energy consuming device control device that controls an operation state of a device, wherein the energy consuming device control device and the portable terminal communicate with the portable terminal when the energy consuming device control apparatus and the portable terminal are communicable with each other in the building. A registration unit that acquires authentication information and registers the first authentication information in a storage unit, and the control request is being analyzed by analyzing the control request when the energy consuming equipment control device receives the control request. Whether or not both of the analysis unit that acquires the second authentication information incorporated in the first authentication information and the second authentication information acquired by the analysis unit and the first authentication information registered by the registration unit A determination unit, only when said judging unit with both match is determined, is solved by providing a control execution unit that controls the operating state on the basis of the control request.

  In the configuration of the energy consuming equipment control device of the present invention described above, terminal authentication is performed when controlling the energy consuming equipment in the building in response to a control request from a portable terminal outside the building. The information registered on the energy consuming equipment control device side is acquired when the energy consuming equipment control device and the portable terminal are in a communicable state in the building. In other words, since the process of transmitting authentication information from the mobile terminal side to the energy consuming equipment control device and registering the information is performed when the mobile terminal is in the building, those who are permitted to enter and exit the building Only the above authentication information can be registered. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation where a person outside the building illegally accesses the energy consuming equipment control device and registers the authentication information of his / her terminal. As a result, it is possible to increase the reliability when performing terminal authentication by comparing authentication information registered on the energy consuming equipment control device side with authentication information incorporated in the control request from the terminal. It becomes.

Further, in the above configuration, the energy consuming device control device can communicate with a communication target device in the building including the energy consuming device via a communication network constructed in the building, and the registration unit When the portable terminal is in an area communicable with the energy consuming device control apparatus via the communication network in the building, it is preferable that the first authentication information is acquired by communicating with the portable terminal. is there.
More specifically, the registration unit is in an area where the portable terminal can communicate with the energy consuming device control apparatus via the communication network in the building, and the user of the portable terminal The first authentication information is communicated with the portable terminal when a program for distributing the character string information input as the one authentication information to the energy consuming device control device is activated in the portable terminal. And the analysis unit may acquire the character string information as the second authentication information incorporated in the control request by the mobile terminal by analyzing the control request. .
With the above configuration, unless the mobile terminal enters the area that can communicate with the energy consuming device control device via the communication network built in the building, the authentication information of the terminal is stored in the energy consuming device control device. You will not be able to enter. As a result, the reliability of terminal authentication can be further increased.

Further, in the above configuration, the energy consuming equipment control device is a home server that is installed in a house as the building and controls an operating state of the electrical equipment as the energy consuming equipment used in the house. The registration unit is in an area where the mobile terminal can communicate with the home server via a home network as the communication network built in the house, and the program is started on the mobile terminal. The character string information as the first authentication information may be acquired by communicating with the portable terminal.
With the above configuration, in the configuration where the home electrical device is remotely controlled through the home server, the authentication information registered on the home server side is compared with the authentication information incorporated in the control request from the terminal. It is possible to improve the reliability when performing terminal authentication.

Further, in the above configuration, when there are a plurality of the energy consuming devices used in the building, the device identification information given to each of the plurality of the energy consuming devices by communicating with the mobile terminal Is distributed to the portable terminal, and the distribution unit is located in an area where the portable terminal is communicable with the energy consuming device control apparatus via the communication network in the building. The second authentication information incorporated in the control request by communicating with the mobile terminal and distributing the device identification information to the mobile terminal, and the analysis unit analyzing the control request Acquiring the device identification information of the energy consuming device to be controlled and control condition information indicating a control condition, and the control execution unit includes a plurality of the energy consuming devices Among them, the operating state of the device corresponding to the device identification information which the analysis unit has acquired, when the analyzing unit is controlled according to the control condition indicated by the acquired control condition information, which is preferable.
With the above configuration, unless the mobile terminal enters the area that can communicate with the energy consuming device control device via the communication network built in the building, the authentication information of the terminal is stored in the energy consuming device control device. In addition to being unable to input, device identification information necessary for transmitting a control request cannot be acquired. That is, a person other than the person concerned in the building cannot input authentication information of his / her terminal, and further cannot send a control request due to lack of device identification information. That is, if the above configuration is adopted, it is possible to more effectively avoid a situation in which a person other than the person concerned in the building illegally accesses the energy consuming equipment control device and remotely operates the electrical equipment without permission. .

In the above configuration, the control request mail receiving unit that receives the control request mail as the control request via an external communication network is further provided, and the control request mail receiving unit transmits the control request mail transmitted from the mobile terminal. It is preferable to periodically communicate with a mail server that temporarily stores mail via the external communication network and receive the control request mail stored in the mail server.
With the above configuration, since the communication with the mail server is periodically confirmed to check for the presence of the control request mail, when there is a control request from the authenticated portable terminal, the device control according to the request is surely executed. Become so.

Further, according to the energy consuming equipment control method of the present invention, the above-described problem is that the energy consuming equipment control device installed in the building is based on a control request transmitted from a portable terminal outside the building. An energy consuming device control method for controlling an operating state of an energy consuming device used in a building, wherein the energy consuming device control device and the portable terminal are in a state where they can communicate with each other in the building. The consumer device control device communicates with the mobile terminal to obtain first authentication information, registers the first authentication information in the storage unit, and the energy consumer device control device receives the control request. A step of acquiring the second authentication information incorporated in the control request by analyzing the control request, and before registering the acquired second authentication information Only when the energy consuming device control device determines whether or not both of the first authentication information and the first authentication information match, the energy consuming device control device is based on the control request. And the step of controlling the operating state.
In the above method, what is registered on the energy consuming device control device side as information for terminal authentication is acquired when the energy consuming device control device and the portable terminal are in a communicable state in the building. It is possible to avoid a situation where a person outside the building illegally accesses the energy consuming equipment control device and inputs authentication information of his / her terminal. This makes it possible to increase the reliability when performing terminal authentication by comparing authentication information registered on the energy consuming equipment control device side with authentication information incorporated in the control request from the terminal. It becomes.

  According to the energy consuming equipment control device and the energy consuming equipment control method of the present invention, the authentication information registered on the energy consuming equipment control device side is compared with the authentication information incorporated in the control request from the terminal. When terminal authentication is performed, the reliability can be increased. That is, according to the energy consuming equipment control device and the energy consuming equipment control method of the present invention, it is possible to effectively prevent a person other than the person concerned in the building from illegally accessing the energy consuming equipment control device and remotely operating the electrical equipment without permission. It can be avoided.

It is a conceptual diagram of the control system containing the energy consuming equipment control apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the energy consuming equipment control apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and a portable terminal. It is the figure explaining each structure of the energy consuming equipment control apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and a portable terminal from the functional surface. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the memory | storage part. It is a figure which shows the procedure of initial setting. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation screen for initial setting. It is the schematic which shows the flow of an apparatus control process. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation screen for apparatus control. It is a figure which shows an example of a control request mail. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting information for performing transmission / reception of mail between an energy consuming apparatus control apparatus and a portable terminal. It is a figure which shows the flow of the process performed by the energy consuming apparatus control apparatus side in an apparatus control process. It is a figure which shows the correspondence of the control conditions for every apparatus, and its control content.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, this embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following, a case of controlling an energy consuming device used in a house, particularly an electric device will be described as a specific example. However, a house is merely an example of a building, and the present invention can be applied to a case of controlling an electric device used in a building other than a house, such as a commercial building, a building in a factory, a store, or the like. In addition, in this specification, the term “house” is a concept that includes a single-family house as well as a single room in an apartment house such as a condominium.

<< Overview of Energy Consumption Equipment Control System >>
First, an outline of a system including an energy consuming equipment control device according to the present embodiment, that is, an energy consuming equipment control system (hereinafter, this system) S will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the system S.
This system S is for remotely operating an electric device (hereinafter referred to as a home appliance) as an energy consuming device used in a house from outside the house, and as shown in FIG. The main server 10, the mail server 20, a user terminal 30 as a mobile terminal, and home appliances C 1 and C 2 that are electric devices to be controlled are provided as main components.

  More specifically, the resident of the house transmits a control request mail to the home server 10 through the user terminal 30 owned by the resident in order to switch the operation state of the home appliances C1 and C2 when going out. Here, the control request mail performs a predetermined input operation after starting a dedicated application program (hereinafter, control application) installed in the user terminal 30 in order to control the operation state of the home appliances C1 and C2. Created and sent by Incidentally, the operation state of the home appliances C1 and C2 is a concept indicating the current state of items that can be controlled with respect to operation such as on / off, operation modes such as cooling and heating, operation management values such as set temperatures, and the like. .

  Note that the user terminal 30 is a portable communication terminal such as a tablet, PDA, smartphone, notebook computer, or operation panel, and is equipped with a function that a general portable terminal has, such as a mail transmission / reception function. And the user terminal 30 receives the input operation by the resident of the house which is the user, and performs a predetermined | prescribed process. Hereinafter, a case where the user terminal 30 is a smartphone will be described as an example.

  When the control request mail is transmitted, the home server 10 installed in the house receives the control request mail via the mail server 20. Thereafter, the home server 10 analyzes the received control request mail, and controls the operation state of the home appliances C1 and C2 in the house according to the text of the mail.

  When the home server 10 is outlined, the home server 10 constitutes a home energy management system (HEMS) in the home, and the home appliances C1 and C2 in the home through a communication network built in the home, that is, the home network TN. Communication is possible. Note that the home server 10 according to the present embodiment communicates with each of the home appliances C1 and C2 using a communication protocol called ECHONET LITE (registered trademark, hereinafter the same). However, the communication protocol is not limited to ECHONET LITE, and other communication protocols (for example, ECHONET (registered trademark)) may be adopted.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of home appliances C1 and C2 (in other words, devices to be controlled by the home server 10) that can communicate with the home server 10 through the home network TN are installed in the home. As an example, an air conditioner and a lighting device are shown. However, the number and type of household electrical appliances C1 and C2 to be controlled are not particularly limited and can be arbitrarily set.
In the present embodiment, the home appliances C1 and C2 have a common communication protocol, and the above-described ECHONET LITE is adopted in both devices. However, it is not limited to this, It is good also as the communication protocol employ | adopted between household appliances C1 and C2.

  Then, when receiving the control request mail, the home server 10 analyzes the control request mail and specifies the home appliances C1 and C2 to be controlled and the control conditions. Then, the home server 10 communicates with the control target device specified through the home network TN and controls the operation state of the device according to the specified control condition.

  Note that the home server 10 according to the present embodiment provides an API (Application Program Interface) for causing the home server 10 to execute processing for controlling the operation state of the home appliances C1 and C2 (hereinafter, device control processing). In the control application installed in the user terminal 30, the above API is used. As a result, the developer of the control application can develop the control application using a general Web communication program development method without being aware of the communication protocol of the home appliances C1 and C2 when developing the control application. It becomes possible.

  In addition, the user terminal 30 that executes the control application also communicates the mail text by using the above API when sending the control request mail to request the home server 10 to execute the device control process. It is not necessary to arrange the format according to the protocol, and a relatively simple message format can be obtained.

  In addition, on the home appliances C1 and C2 side to be controlled, information indicating the completion of control is transmitted to the home server 10 when the control of the driving state is completed. Receiving the information, the home server 10 creates a mail notifying that the control is completed (hereinafter referred to as a confirmation mail), and transmits the confirmation mail to the user terminal 30 that is the transmission source of the control request mail. The user terminal 30 receives the above confirmation mail via the mail server 20, and the resident who is the owner of the user terminal 30 who sees the text of the mail is the operating state of the home appliances C1 and C2 related to the control request. Can be confirmed to have switched to the desired state.

  As described above, according to the present system S, the resident of the house can remotely control the home appliances C1 and C2 in the home through a terminal (that is, the user terminal 30) that he / she owns when going out. Is possible. On the other hand, in a remote operation system such as the present system S, an unscrupulous person, specifically a person other than a resident, illegally accesses the home server 10 and remotely controls the home appliances C1 and C2. It is necessary to avoid the situation where the devices C1 and C2 are damaged or the secret is leaked. In the present system S, measures are taken to cope with such a security problem, and details thereof will be described later.

<< About the configuration of home server and user terminal >>
Next, configurations of the home server 10 and the user terminal 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the home server 10 and the user terminal 30 according to the present embodiment.
The home server 10 includes a so-called home gateway, and includes a CPU 10a, a memory 10b, a communication interface 10c, and a hard disk drive (denoted as HDD in FIG. 2) 10d as shown in FIG. The home server 10 is installed with a program for executing device control processing (hereinafter referred to as device control processing program) upon receipt of the control request mail.

  The home server 10 can communicate with the communication target devices including the home electrical appliances C1 and C2 through the home network TN, and when the user terminal 30 enters the corresponding area of the home network TN, It is also possible to communicate. Here, the corresponding area of the home network TN is an area that can communicate with the home server 10 via the home network TN in a house. Note that the home network TN according to the present embodiment is configured by, for example, a wireless LAN network.

  The home server 10 can communicate with a device connected to the external communication network UN via an external communication network UN such as the Internet. For example, the home server 10 communicates with the mail server 20 illustrated in FIG. Is possible. The mail server 20 is a server installed to temporarily store a control request mail transmitted from the user terminal 30 and a confirmation mail transmitted from the home server 10, and is a POP / STMP server.

On the other hand, as described above, the user terminal 30 is configured by a smartphone, and includes a CPU 30a, a memory 30b, a communication interface 30c, and a touch panel 30d as illustrated in FIG. Note that the control application is installed in the user terminal 30 as described above.
Further, the user terminal 30 transmits and receives information such as mail through a mobile communication line (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2). Note that mails (specifically, control request mails and confirmation mails) transmitted and received by the user terminal 30 are temporarily stored in the mail server 20 as described above.

Hereinafter, the configurations of the home server 10 and the user terminal 30 described above will be described again from the functional aspect with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of each of the home server 10 and the user terminal 30 according to the present embodiment in terms of functions.
First, the home server 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, as a part responsible for functions installed in the home server 10, a control request mail receiving unit 11, a server-side storage unit 12, an authentication information registration unit 13, A device identification information distribution unit 14, a mail analysis unit 15, a terminal authentication unit 16, a control execution unit 17, a control completion confirmation unit 18, and a confirmation mail transmission unit 19 are included. These are configured by the cooperation of the CPU 10a of the home server 10, the memory 10b, the communication interface 10c and the hard disk drive 10d, and the device control processing program installed in the home server 10.

  The control request mail receiver 11 receives the control request mail stored in the mail server 20 via the external communication network UN. In the present embodiment, the control request mail receiving unit 11 periodically communicates with the mail server 20 via the external communication network UN, and mail addressed to the home server 10 in the control request mail stored in the mail server 20. When there is (strictly speaking, a mail whose destination address is set to the address of the home server 10), the mail is received. Note that the interval at which the mail server 20 is accessed to inquire about the presence or absence of mail, that is, the mail reception interval, can be set freely. In this embodiment, any of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 60 minutes can be set. It is set to

  The server-side storage unit 12 corresponds to a storage unit and stores information acquired by the home server 10. The information stored in the server-side storage unit 12 includes terminal ID information registered by the authentication information registration unit 13 and device identification information distributed by the device identification information distribution unit 14. Hereinafter, the device identification information and the terminal ID information will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the server-side storage unit 12.

The device identification information is information that is given to identify each of the home electrical appliances C1 and C2 that are controlled by the home server 10, and is registered in the home server 10 when the home appliances C1 and C2 are installed, for example. Is done. The contents of the device identification information will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 4A, the device names of each of the home appliances C1 and C2, device IDs that are identification numbers, installation locations, and control items are included. Control items include items that can be remotely controlled with respect to the operating state of each home appliance C1, C2, for example, on / off for an air conditioner, operation mode (heating / cooling), set temperature, air volume, etc. On-off, toning, dimming, etc. are applicable.
Note that the device identification information is not limited to this, and some of the above items may not be included, or items other than the above items may be included. .

  The terminal ID information is information used when authenticating the user terminal 30 and is registered in the home server 10 with an initial setting described later. The contents of the terminal ID information will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 4B, the password for authentication, the mail server (sending mail server) that receives mail sent from the user terminal 30, and the user terminal 30 are sent. The mail server (received mail server) that receives the received mail and character string information indicating each of the mail addresses. Here, the character string information indicating the authentication password corresponds to the first authentication information of the present invention, and indicates the character string input by the resident through the user terminal 30 at the initial setting described later.

  The authentication information registering unit 13 corresponds to a registering unit, communicates with the user terminal 30 at the time of initial setting described later, acquires the terminal ID information described above, and registers it in the server-side storage unit 12. As described above, since the terminal ID information includes the character string information of the authentication password corresponding to the first authentication information, the authentication information registration unit 13 communicates with the user terminal 30 to One authentication information is acquired and the first authentication information is registered in the server-side storage unit 12.

  The device identification information distribution unit 14 corresponds to a distribution unit, communicates with the user terminal 30 during initial setting described later, and distributes the device identification information read from the server-side storage unit 12 toward the user terminal 30. And the user terminal 30 which received apparatus identification information comes to recognize an apparatus name, an installation place, and a control item about each of the household appliances C1 and C2 which can be controlled by the home server 10. FIG. As a result, when the user terminal 30 transmits a control request mail and requests the home server 10 to execute the device control process, as shown in FIG. It is possible to present the name and its location. After that, when the resident accepts an input operation for specifying the control target device, the control item is further presented to the resident, and the resident's input operation (for example, setting value input) for each control item is performed. Accept.

  The mail analysis unit 15 corresponds to an analysis unit, analyzes the received control request mail, and acquires various types of information incorporated in the mail. Here, the information incorporated in the control request mail includes information given to identify the user terminal 30 that is the mail transmission source, and appliances C1 and C2 that are controlled in the control request mail. Identification information and control condition information indicating a control condition are included. Among these pieces of information, the information given to identify the user terminal 30 that is the mail transmission source corresponds to the second authentication information of the present invention. Specifically, the resident is the user at the initial setting described later. This is character string information indicating an authentication password input through the terminal 30.

  In addition, among the information incorporated in the control request mail, the device identification information of the home appliances C1 and C2 that are controlled is for identifying the home appliances C1 and C2 designated by the resident through the user terminal 30. Information, specifically, an identification number of a device designated by a resident, that is, information indicating a device ID.

  The terminal authentication unit 16 corresponds to a determination unit, and executes terminal authentication processing each time the home server 10 receives a control request mail. Here, the terminal authentication processing is the character string information (first authentication information) of the authentication password included in the terminal ID information registered in the server-side storage unit 12 by the authentication information registration unit 13, and mail analysis. This is processing for determining whether or not both of the character string information (second authentication information) of the authentication password, which is the identification information of the user terminal 30 acquired by the unit 15 by analyzing the control request mail, match.

  The control execution unit 17 controls the operating state of the home appliances C1 and C2 in the house according to the analysis result by the mail analysis unit 15. More specifically, the control execution unit 17 specifies a corresponding device from the device ID indicated by the device identification information acquired by the mail analysis unit 15 among the plurality of home appliances C1 and C2 in the home, and performs mail analysis. The control condition indicated by the control condition information acquired by the unit 15 is specified. Then, the control execution unit 17 communicates with the specified control target device through the home network TN, and outputs a control signal that switches the operation state according to the specified control condition to the device.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the control execution unit 17 is based on the control request mail only when the terminal authentication unit 16 determines that the character string information of the two authentication passwords to be compared in the terminal authentication process matches. The operating state of the home appliances C1 and C2 is controlled. That is, in this embodiment, when the control request mail transmitted from the user terminal 30 is received, if the mail is not from the user terminal 30 authenticated by the terminal authentication process, the device control process is executed without responding to the request. I'm going to refuse.

The control completion confirmation unit 18 receives information indicating the completion of control from the devices C1 and C2 after controlling the operation state of the home appliances C1 and C2 to be controlled.
The confirmation mail transmission unit 19 transmits a confirmation mail to the user terminal 30 that is the transmission source of the control request mail when the control completion confirmation unit 18 receives the control completion information.

  Note that the home server 10 may have functions other than the nine functions described above. For example, a terminal detection unit that detects whether or not the user terminal 30 is in the home, and each home appliance C1, C2 And a state grasping unit that grasps the current operating state and power consumption of the devices C1 and C2 periodically.

  Next, the user terminal 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, an input operation receiving unit 31, a control request mail transmitting unit 32, a terminal-side storage unit 33, and a part responsible for functions installed in the user terminal 30 are described. Examples include a terminal ID information distribution unit 34, a device identification information acquisition unit 35, and a confirmation mail reception unit 36. Among these, the input operation reception unit 31 is configured by the touch panel 30 d of the user terminal 30. For other parts, specifically, the control request mail transmission unit 32, the terminal side storage unit 33, the terminal ID information distribution unit 34, the device identification information acquisition unit 35, and the confirmation mail reception unit 36, the CPU 30a of the user terminal 30 The memory 30b, the communication interface 30c, and the control application installed in the user terminal 30 cooperate with each other.

  The input operation reception unit 31 receives an input operation performed by a resident who is a user on the touch panel 30d. The operations accepted by the input operation accepting unit 31 include a control application activation operation, an authentication password input operation at the time of initial setting described later, and an input operation associated with transmission of a control request mail. .

  The control request mail transmission unit 32 creates a control request mail and transmits it to the home server 10 when the input operation reception unit 31 receives a predetermined input operation. More specifically, when the resident designates the home appliances C1 and C2 to be controlled and the control conditions on the touch panel 30d, the control request mail transmission unit 32 performs control in a form incorporating information indicating the designation result. Create a request email. At this time, the control request mail transmitting unit 32 reads the character string information of the authentication password stored in the terminal-side storage unit 33 described later, and creates the control request mail in a form that incorporates the character string information.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the control request mail transmitting unit 32 transmits the control request mail to the home server 10, the above-described API provided by the home server 10 is used. Thereby, when the control request mail transmitting unit 32 creates the control request mail, it can be created in a relatively simple message format. The text of the control request mail will be described in detail later.

  The terminal-side storage unit 33 stores information acquired by the user terminal 30. The information stored in the terminal-side storage unit 33 includes the terminal ID information distributed by the terminal ID information distribution unit 34 and the device identification information acquired from the home server 10 by the device identification information acquisition unit 35. Yes.

  As described above, the terminal ID information is composed of the contents shown in FIG. 4B, that is, character string information indicating each of the authentication password, the outgoing mail server, the incoming mail server, and the mail address. . Among these character string information, the character string information indicating the authentication password is stored in the terminal-side storage unit by the input operation receiving unit 31 receiving the character string input by the resident through the user terminal 30 at the initial setting described later. 33. For the outgoing mail server, the incoming mail server, and the mail address, character string information indicating each is set, for example, at the time of purchase contract of the user terminal 30 and registered in the terminal-side storage unit 33.

  As already described, the device identification information includes the contents shown in FIG. 4A, that is, the device names, device IDs, installation locations, and control items of the home-controllable home appliances C1 and C2 in the home. Has been. When the device identification information is stored in the terminal-side storage unit 33, the input operation reception unit 31 reads the device identification information from the terminal-side storage unit 33 when a control request mail is subsequently created. The input operation accepting unit 31 displays the input screen on the touch panel 30d and accepts the input of information necessary for creating the control request mail, as shown in FIG. After the location is presented and the control target device is designated, the control item is presented.

The terminal ID information distribution unit 34 distributes the terminal ID information stored in the terminal side storage unit 33 at the time of initial setting described later to the home server 10 via the home network TN.
The device identification information acquisition unit 35 acquires device identification information transmitted from the home server 10 via the home network TN at the time of initial setting described later.
The confirmation mail receiving unit 36 receives the confirmation mail transmitted from the home server 10 via the mail server 20.

  In addition, about the user terminal 30, it is good also as having functions other than the six functions mentioned above, for example, the information which shows the present driving state and power consumption of each household appliances C1 and C2 in a home | home server 10 is provided. A status information requesting unit for requesting the information, and a status display unit for expanding the information and displaying the current operating status and power consumption of each home appliance C1 and C2 on the display screen such as the touch panel 30d. It is good to be.

<< Contents and procedure of device control process >>
Next, the content and procedure of the device control process will be specifically described.
The device control processing according to the present embodiment is realized by the cooperation of the home server 10 and the user terminal 30, and employs the energy consuming device control method of the present invention. That is, the following description regarding the device control process corresponds to the description of the energy consuming device control method of the present invention, specifically, the method of controlling the home electrical appliances C1 and C2 using the home server 10.
The device control process proceeds in the order of initial setting as a preliminary process, transmission / reception of a control request mail, and execution of device control. Hereinafter, each process will be described individually with reference to the drawings.

(Initial setting)
The initial setting is performed prior to the execution of the device control process, and is a process of exchanging information necessary for terminal authentication and control request mail transmission / reception between the home server 10 and the user terminal 30. This initial setting is performed when the user terminal 30 is in a house, specifically, when the user terminal 30 is in a corresponding area of the home network TN.
Hereinafter, the initial setting procedure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an initial setting procedure. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an initial setting operation screen.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the initial setting starts when the user terminal 30 enters the corresponding area of the home network TN and is connected to the network TN (S001). On the other hand, for the initial setting, a control application is obtained and installed in the user terminal 30 (S002). In the present embodiment, the control application is obtained by downloading from an external application providing site. However, the method for obtaining the control application is not particularly limited.

  When the control application is activated on the installed user terminal 30 (S003), the user terminal 30 recognizes the home server 10 installed in the house and starts communication with the home server 10 (S004). . Thereafter, initial setting is performed, and various information is exchanged between the home server 10 and the user terminal 30. As described above, if the user terminal 30 is in the corresponding area of the home network TN when the control application is activated for the first time, the initial setting is automatically performed.

  More specifically, when the control application is activated for the first time, the initial setting screen P1 illustrated in FIG. 6 is drawn on the touch panel 30d of the user terminal 30. Two buttons are displayed in the central portion of the initial setting screen P1, and when one of them is pressed (the button labeled “automatic device setting” in FIG. 6), the home server 10 displays the device identification information. The information is distributed toward the user terminal 30, and the user terminal 30 receives the information through the home network TN (S005).

  Strictly speaking, the device identification information distribution unit 14 of the home server 10 reads out the device identification information of the home appliances C1 and C2 stored in the server-side storage unit 12 and distributes the device identification information to the user terminal 30, and the user terminal 30 device identification information acquisition units 35 acquire the same information via the home network TN. The acquired device identification information is stored in the terminal-side storage unit 33 of the user terminal 30. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the user terminal 30 can display the home-control devices C1 and C2 that can be remotely controlled in the house and their installation locations in a list format.

  Further, when another button displayed on the initial setting screen P1 (a button labeled “various settings” in FIG. 6) is pressed, a password input screen (not shown) pops up on the initial setting screen P1. . When the resident inputs a character string as an authentication password on the password input screen, the input operation reception unit 31 of the user terminal 30 receives the input operation and displays character string information indicating the authentication password. 33. Thereafter, the terminal ID information distribution unit 34 of the user terminal 30 distributes the terminal ID information including the character string information of the stored authentication password to the home server 10, and the authentication information registration unit 13 of the home server 10 The terminal ID information is acquired through the home network TN. The acquired terminal ID information is registered in the server-side storage unit 12 of the home server 10 (S006).

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the identification information of the user terminal 30 that has been initially set up with the home server 10, that is, the terminal ID information is registered in the home server 10. Thus, in the present embodiment, when the user terminal 30 is in the corresponding area of the home network TN in the house and the control application is activated on the user terminal 30, the home server 10 and the user terminal 30 Terminal ID information and device identification information are transmitted and received between the terminals. Here, the control application is a program for executing the series of processes performed in the initial setting. In this sense, the control application can be said to correspond to a program for accepting an input operation of an authentication password by a resident who is a user of the user terminal 30 and distributing character string information input to the home server 10. .

  In this embodiment, when the control application is started for the first time, the above initial setting, that is, transmission / reception of the terminal ID information and the device identification information between the home server 10 and the user terminal 30 is performed. The execution time of the process is not limited to the first activation of the control application. For example, when the number of activations of the control application on the user terminal 30 is the second or more, when the resident performs a predetermined operation and updates the authentication password, the user terminal 30 renews the procedure in the same manner as described above. It is good also as transmitting terminal ID information and updating the information registered into the home server 10. FIG. For the purpose of further improving security, the user terminal 30 periodically asks the resident to update the authentication password once every several months, and the same procedure as above after completing the password input. The terminal ID information may be transmitted again from the user terminal 30 and the information registered in the home server 10 may be updated.

  Furthermore, when the combination of household electrical appliances C1 and C2 in the house is changed due to the purchase or replacement of the device, the changed device identification information is distributed from the home server 10 to the user terminal 30 in the same procedure as described above. The user terminal 30 may acquire the device identification information through the home network TN and update the device identification information stored in the terminal-side storage unit 33. In this case, for the purpose of prompting the resident to update the device identification information, it is preferable that the home server 10 sends a notification to that effect to the user terminal 30 when the combination of the home appliances C1 and C2 is changed.

(Sending / receiving control request mail)
The control request e-mail is generated by performing a predetermined input operation after the resident starts up a control application on the user terminal 30 when going out, and is transmitted to the home server 10 via the mail server 20. And received by the home server 10.
Hereinafter, the flow of transmission / reception of the control request mail will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing a general flow of device control processing including transmission / reception of a control request mail. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen for device control. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a sentence example of the control request mail. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting information for sending and receiving mail between the home server 10 and the user terminal 30.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the transmission / reception of the control request mail is started when the resident starts up the control application on the user terminal 30 when going out (S011). At this time, if the initial setting is completed, a list of control target device candidates as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed on the touch panel 30 d of the user terminal 30. The list of control target device candidates is displayed when the input operation receiving unit 31 of the user terminal 30 reads out and expands the device identification information stored in the terminal-side storage unit 33.

  Thereafter, the resident performs an operation of designating a control target device from among the candidate devices displayed on the touch panel 30d (S012). The device designation operation is accepted by the input operation accepting unit 31, and the control screens Q1 and Q2 of the designated home appliances C1 and C2 are drawn on the touch panel 30d as the operation is accepted. On the control screens Q1 and Q2, items (control items) that can be controlled with respect to the operation state of the corresponding home appliances C1 and C2 are displayed, and each control item can be changed by a resident's input operation. .

  The control screens Q1 and Q2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 8. When a resident designates a living room air conditioner as a control target device, the control screen Q1 for the air conditioner is drawn and displayed on the screen Q1. The operation mode, the air volume and the set temperature are displayed as control items. Similarly, when the resident designates the LED lighting in the living room as the control target device, a control screen Q2 for the LED lighting is drawn, and the toning and dimming are displayed as control items on the screen Q2. .

  Then, the resident sets each control item by performing a predetermined input operation (touch operation) on the touch panel 30d. As a result of specifying the setting value of the control item in this way, the control condition in the device control process is determined. That is, the resident designates the control conditions on the control screens Q1 and Q2 (S013).

  On the other hand, a mail transmission button (a button labeled “Send” in FIG. 8) is displayed on each of the control screens Q1 and Q2. When the resident presses the mail transmission button, a control request for the user terminal 30 is made. The mail transmission unit 32 automatically creates a control request mail and transmits it to the home server 10 (S014, S015).

  More specifically, the control request mail transmission unit 32 starts the mail transmission program when the mail transmission button is pressed, and the home appliance C1 designated by the resident in the above-described steps S012 and S013. , C2 and control conditions are specified. Further, the control request mail transmission unit 32 reads out character string information indicating the authentication password stored in the terminal-side storage unit 33. Thereafter, the control request mail transmission unit 32 inputs the information indicating the specified control target device and control conditions and the character string information of the read authentication password into the mail body.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, since the control request mail transmission unit 32 uses the API provided by the home server 10 when transmitting the control request mail, the control request mail is in a relatively simple message format. Can be created. To explain in an easy-to-understand manner, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the mail text is input in a format in which “password”, “command”, and “option” are connected.

  Here, the character string information of the authentication password is input in the “password” field, and information (for example, the device name) for specifying the control target device is input in the “command” field. The control condition information is input in the "" column. When referring to the contents of the control condition information input in the “option” column, for example, among the control conditions to be set, specific numerical values are applicable for the set temperature, and “cold” or “ The character string information for specifying the operation mode such as “hot” is applicable.

  Then, after the mail text is completed by the above procedure, the control request mail transmitting unit 32 transmits the control request mail to the home server 10. Note that information to be set when transmitting mail from the user terminal 30 to the home server 10, specifically, the setting information illustrated in FIG. 10 (for example, the receiving server address and the receiving server user name) It is possible to obtain and set by the SET / GET method using the API provided by the network 10.

Thereafter, the control request mail transmitted from the user terminal 30 is temporarily stored in the designated mail server 20. On the other hand, the home server 10 periodically accesses the mail server 20, checks whether there is a control request mail sent to itself, and receives the mail via the external communication network UN if there is such a mail. (S016).
More specifically, the control request mail receiving unit 11 of the home server 10 periodically communicates with the mail server 20 via the external communication network UN, and is addressed to itself in the control request mail stored in the mail server 20. If there is an e-mail, the e-mail is received.

(Executing device control)
After receiving the control request mail, the home server 10 performs the processes after step S017 in FIG. 7 and executes device control according to the control request mail. The outline will be explained. As shown in FIG. 7, the home server 10 that has received the control request mail performs terminal authentication after analyzing the mail (S017), and is subsequently controlled in the control request mail. The home appliances C1, C2 and the control conditions are specified (S018). Then, the home server 10 communicates with the specified control target device via the home network TN, and outputs a control signal that switches the operation state according to the specified control condition to the control target device (S019).

  On the other hand, on the home appliances C1 and C2 side that have received the control signal, a controller (not shown) controls each part of the device so as to switch the operation state in accordance with the control signal. When the control is completed, the controller transmits information indicating the control completion to the home server 10 through the home network TN. On the other hand, on the home server 10 side, when the control completion confirmation unit 18 receives the control completion information, the confirmation mail transmission unit 19 sends a confirmation mail to the user terminal 30 that is the transmission source of the control request mail. Transmit (S020).

  Then, when the confirmation mail receiving unit 36 of the user terminal 30 receives the confirmation mail via the mail server 20, all the device control processing steps are completed.

  By the way, in the present embodiment, as described above, when the home server 10 receives the control request mail, the process S017 is performed to analyze the control request mail and perform terminal authentication. When the home server 10 determines that the user terminal 30 that is the transmission source of the control request mail in the terminal authentication is a terminal for which a remote control request is permitted, the control request mail is analyzed to control the control target device and the control device. A step S018 for specifying a condition and a step S019 for outputting a control signal to the device to be controlled are subsequently performed. These steps S017 to S019 will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flow of steps performed on the home server 10 side in the device control process, particularly a flow after receiving a control request mail. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between the control conditions for each device and the control contents.

  When the control request mail receiving unit 11 of the home server 10 receives the control request mail via the mail server 20 (S021), each process is performed according to the procedure shown in FIG. More specifically, first, the mail analysis unit 15 analyzes the control request mail and acquires various types of information incorporated in the mail.

  More specifically, the mail analysis unit 15 acquires character string information of an authentication password incorporated in the mail text. Thereafter, terminal authentication is performed to determine whether or not the character string information of the authentication password acquired by the mail analysis unit 15 is included in the character string information of the authentication password registered in the server-side storage unit 12 of the home server 10. The part 16 determines (S022). If the terminal authentication unit 16 determines that the two character string information does not match, the terminal authentication unit 16 transmits an error message to the user terminal 30 that has transmitted the control request mail (S023).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the two character string information indicating the authentication password matches, the mail analysis unit 15 further analyzes the control request mail and information indicating the mail address of the transmission source of the control request mail To get. Thereafter, the e-mail address acquired by the e-mail analysis unit 15 and the e-mail address stored in the server-side storage unit 12 as corresponding to the above authentication password (that is, registered as a set with the authentication password as terminal ID information). Terminal authentication unit 16 determines whether or not the e-mail address matches (S024). If the terminal authentication unit 16 determines that the two mail addresses do not match, the terminal authentication unit 16 transmits an error message to the user terminal 30 that has transmitted the control request mail (S023).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the mail addresses match, the mail analysis unit 15 further analyzes the control mail, information indicating the control target device input in the “command” field in the mail text, and The control condition information input in the “option” field is acquired. Thereafter, the control execution unit 17 outputs a control signal to the home appliances C1 and C2 corresponding to the control target device in accordance with the information indicating the control target device acquired by the mail analysis unit 15 and the control condition information.

More specifically, the control execution unit 17 specifies the control content (displayed as “message content” in FIG. 12) corresponding to the control target device and the control condition from the correspondence relationship shown in FIG. Generates and outputs a control signal that changes the operating state.
Prior to the output of the control signal, the control execution unit 17 determines whether the information indicating the control target device and the control condition information are in an appropriate format at the previous stage of the output of the control signal (S025). When the control execution unit 17 determines that any of the above information is not in an appropriate format, the control execution unit 17 transmits an error message to the user terminal 30 that has transmitted the control request mail (S026).

  Thereafter, when the home appliances C1 and C2 that have received the control signal are switched to the normal operating state, information indicating control completion is distributed from the devices C1 and C2 to the home server 10 (S027). In the present embodiment, the control completion information is specifically a return value made up of XML data. More specifically, the API provided by the home server 10 is a REST (Representational State Transfer) type API, and receives XML data as a response. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the API provided by the home server 10 may be a SOAP type API.

  Then, when the control completion confirmation unit 18 receives the control completion information, the confirmation mail transmission unit 19 creates a confirmation mail (S029). On the other hand, when the control completion confirmation unit 18 does not receive the control completion information because the operation state is not normally switched for some reason, the control execution unit 17 sends an error message to the user terminal 30 that has transmitted the control request mail. Transmit (S028).

  Thereafter, the confirmation mail transmitting unit 19 acquires information necessary for transmitting the confirmation mail, for example, the mail address of the mail transmission destination and the address of the transmission mail server (S030), and the user who has transmitted the control request mail A confirmation mail is transmitted to the terminal 30 (S031). As described above, the confirmation mail is temporarily stored in the mail server 20, and the confirmation mail receiving unit 36 of the user terminal 30 accesses the mail server 20 to address the mail stored in the mail server 20. You will receive a confirmation email.

<< Effectiveness of Home Server According to this Embodiment >>
As described above, the home server 10 according to the present embodiment authenticates the terminal when controlling the home appliances C1 and C2 in the house according to the control request mail transmitted from the user terminal 30 outside the house. I do. Here, among the information for terminal authentication, the information registered on the home server 10 side is specifically the user terminal 30 when the home server 10 and the user terminal 30 can communicate with each other in the house. Is acquired when entering the corresponding area of the home network TN. The home server 10 refuses to execute the device control process without responding to the request unless it is a control request mail from the user terminal 30 authenticated by the terminal authentication process.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the process of registering terminal authentication information in the home server 10 (that is, initial setting) is executed on condition that the user terminal 30 is in the house. Accordingly, only the resident who is permitted to enter and exit the house and a person in accordance with the resident can perform the initial setting. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which another person outside the house illegally accesses the home server 10 and registers the authentication information of the terminal held by the person. Thereby, it is possible to improve the reliability of terminal authentication by comparing the authentication information registered on the home server 10 side with the authentication information incorporated in the control request mail, that is, security. Become.

  In the present embodiment, initial setting is performed when the user terminal 30 enters the corresponding area of the home network TN and the control application is activated on the user terminal 30. With such a configuration, the authentication information of the terminal cannot be registered unless the user terminal 30 enters an area communicable with the home server 10 via the home network TN. It becomes possible to further improve the reliability of authentication.

  In the present embodiment, there are a plurality of home appliances C1 and C2 used in a house. In such a configuration, when a control request mail is transmitted, a control target device and a control condition are specified, and in performing such specification, identification information ( Device identification information) is required. In this embodiment, when the user terminal 30 is in the corresponding area of the home network TN, the user terminal 30 communicates with the home server 10 to acquire the device identification information. With such a configuration, unless the user terminal 30 enters the corresponding area of the home network TN, the authentication information of the terminal cannot be registered in the home server 10, and further, the device identification information described above You can't even get That is, a person other than the resident of the house cannot register the authentication information of his / her terminal, and further cannot send a control request due to lack of device identification information. As a result, it is possible to more effectively avoid a situation in which home appliances C1 and C2 at home are arbitrarily remotely controlled by a person other than the resident.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the home server 10 periodically accesses the mail server 20 that temporarily stores the control request mail, confirms whether or not there is a control request mail addressed to itself, and controls the mail server 20 to perform the above control. When the request mail is stored, it is received via the external communication network UN. In such a configuration, since the communication with the mail server 20 is periodically confirmed to check for the presence of the control request mail, when the control request mail is transmitted from the authenticated user terminal 30, the mail according to the text of the mail Device control is reliably executed.

<< Other Embodiments >>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above embodiment is for facilitating the understanding of the present invention and does not limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and the present invention includes the equivalents thereof.

  In the above embodiment, the devices to be controlled by the home server 10 are the home appliances C1 and C2, but the energy consuming devices to be controlled are not limited to electric devices. , Equipment that consumes fossil fuels such as gas and oil (specifically, water heaters and gas heaters), and other equipment that consumes tap water (specifically, dishwashers) Etc.) may be controlled devices. In addition to the energy consuming device, the control target device may include a security device such as a locking device.

  In the above embodiment, a plurality of devices whose operation state is controlled by the home server 10 are provided in the house. However, the present invention is not limited to this and is subject to control by the home server 10. It is good also as having only one apparatus.

  In the above embodiment, the control request mail is transmitted to the home server 10 in order to request the home server 10 to perform device control from the user terminal 30. However, the means for transmitting the control request to the home server 10 is not limited to e-mail. For example, an application program that requests the home server 10 to execute the device control processing is the control request data ( Data different from mail) may be generated and the data may be transmitted to the home server 10.

In the above embodiment, the character string information indicating the authentication password is registered in the storage unit of the home server 10 (that is, the server-side storage unit 12) as the terminal authentication information. It is not limited. That is, the terminal authentication information may be other than the character string information of the authentication password. For example, a device number (specifically, an IP address) assigned to the user terminal 30, In the case of a transmission source e-mail address, user ID, mobile phone, or smartphone when sending e-mail, a telephone number may be used as information for terminal authentication.
Further, the storage unit in which the information for terminal authentication is registered is not limited to the case provided in the home server 10, and is different from the home server 10, specifically, a device that can communicate with the home server 10, For example, a center server owned by a home sales company or a management company may be used as the storage unit.

  In the above embodiment, when a resident who is a user of the user terminal 30 activates the control application and performs a predetermined input operation, the control request mail is created on the user terminal 30 side. In addition, the above-described control application has a function of automatically incorporating information for terminal authentication, specifically, character string information of the authentication password stored in the terminal-side storage unit 33 in the body of the control request mail. We decided to have it. However, the authentication password incorporated in the control request mail is not limited to the case where the password is automatically input by the function of the control application, and may be manually input by the resident every time the mail is created.

In the above embodiment, the case where the resident spontaneously transmits a control request for the home appliances C1 and C2 to the home server 10 has been described as an example. It is also possible to prompt the user to send a control request by calling attention or the like.
For example, when the home server 10 confirms whether or not the user terminal 30 is within the corresponding area of the home network TN, the presence / absence of the resident is determined, and when it is determined that the resident is out, the predetermined home appliance When the devices C1 and C2 (for example, an air conditioner) are in an on state, the user may be notified through the user terminal 30 to prompt transmission of a control request.
Alternatively, the home server 10 stores the resident's schedule and behavior pattern in advance, and turns on the home electrical appliances C1 and C2 in accordance with the time at which the resident returns home from the outside, and operates the vehicle under predetermined conditions. It may be urged to transmit a control request by inquiring of a resident through the user terminal 30 whether or not it is necessary.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Home server 10a CPU, 10b Memory, 10c Communication interface 10d Hard disk drive 11 Control request mail receiving part, 12 Server side memory | storage part 13 Authentication information registration part, 14 Device identification information delivery part 15 Mail analysis part, 16 Terminal authentication part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 17 Control execution part, 18 Control completion confirmation part 19 Confirmation mail transmission part 20 Mail server 30 User terminal 30a CPU, 30b Memory, 30c Communication interface 30d Touch panel 31 Input operation reception part, 32 Control request mail transmission part 33 Terminal side memory | storage part 34 Terminal ID information distribution unit 35 Device identification information acquisition unit 36 Confirmation mail reception unit C1, C2 Home appliance P1 Initial setting screen Q1, Q2 Control screen S System TN Home network UN External communication network

Claims (7)

An energy consuming equipment control device that is installed in a building and controls the operating state of the energy consuming equipment used in the building based on a control request transmitted from a mobile terminal outside the building,
When the energy consuming equipment control device and the portable terminal are in a state where they can communicate with each other in the building, the first authentication information is acquired by communicating with the portable terminal, and the first authentication information is stored in the storage unit. A registration department to register with,
An analysis unit that acquires the second authentication information incorporated in the control request by analyzing the control request when the energy consuming equipment control device receives the control request;
A determination unit that determines whether or not both the second authentication information acquired by the analysis unit and the first authentication information registered by the registration unit match;
And a control execution unit that controls the operating state based on the control request only when the determination unit determines that the two match. The energy consuming device control device is capable of communicating with a communication target device in the building including the energy consuming device via a communication network constructed in the building,
The registration unit communicates with the mobile terminal to obtain the first authentication information when the mobile terminal is in an area where the mobile terminal can communicate with the energy consuming device control apparatus via the communication network in the building. The energy consuming equipment control device according to claim 1. The registration unit is in an area where the portable terminal can communicate with the energy consuming device control apparatus via the communication network in the building, and is input as the first authentication information by a user of the portable terminal The character string information as the first authentication information by communicating with the portable terminal when a program for distributing the character string information to the energy consuming device control device is activated in the portable terminal Get
The analysis unit according to claim 2, wherein the analysis unit acquires the character string information as the second authentication information incorporated in the control request by the mobile terminal by analyzing the control request. Energy consuming equipment control device. The energy consuming device control device is a home server that is installed in a house as the building and controls an operating state of an electric device as the energy consuming device used in the house,
The registration unit is in an area where the mobile terminal can communicate with the home server via a home network as the communication network built in the house, and the program is started on the mobile terminal. 4. The energy consuming equipment control device according to claim 3, wherein the character string information as the first authentication information is acquired by communicating with the portable terminal. When there are a plurality of the energy consuming devices used in the building, the device identification information given to each of the plurality of the energy consuming devices is directed to the portable terminal by communicating with the portable terminal. It further includes a distribution unit for distributing,
The distribution unit communicates with the portable terminal to transmit the device identification information when the portable terminal is in an area in the building where the energy consuming device control apparatus can communicate with the energy consuming device control apparatus. Deliver to your device,
The analysis unit analyzes the control request to control the second authentication information incorporated in the control request, the device identification information of the energy consuming device to be controlled, and a control condition Get condition information
The control execution unit, according to the control condition indicated by the control condition information acquired by the analysis unit, is an operation state of a device corresponding to the device identification information acquired by the analysis unit among the plurality of energy consuming devices. It controls, The energy consuming equipment control apparatus of Claim 3 or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. A control request mail receiving unit for receiving a control request mail as the control request via an external communication network;
The control request mail receiving unit periodically communicates with the mail server that temporarily stores the control request mail transmitted from the mobile terminal via the external communication network, and is stored in the mail server. 6. The apparatus for controlling energy consuming equipment according to claim 1, wherein the control request mail is received. An energy consuming device control method for controlling an operating state of an energy consuming device used in the building based on a control request transmitted from a portable terminal outside the building by an energy consuming device control device installed in the building Because
When the energy consuming equipment control device and the mobile terminal are in a state where they can communicate with each other in the building, the energy consuming equipment control device communicates with the mobile terminal to obtain first authentication information, 1 registering information for authentication in the storage unit;
Obtaining the second authentication information incorporated in the control request by analyzing the control request when the energy consuming equipment control device receives the control request;
The energy consuming equipment control device determining whether or not both of the acquired second authentication information and the registered first authentication information match;
The energy consuming equipment control method comprising: the energy consuming equipment control device controlling the operation state based on the control request only when it is determined that the two match.

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