JP4614889B2 - Electricity rate management system, method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system configured to give a discount, when a specific period is specified and the electric charge is prepaid, to allow subscription in a group and give a discount to such a group, and to compute an interest rate and pay back to the customer, when the remaining amount at the expiration of the term of contract is equal to or higher than the maximum limit. <P>SOLUTION: The electricity charge management system is such as to implement following: details of a contract with a customer, such as the charge for electricity that can be used for a period, are recorded on a readable/writable card; when electricity is consumed, a charge corresponding to the consumed power is deducted from the card; when the remaining amount becomes a predetermined value, the customer is given an option of choosing whether to have supplying of power stopped or to have power transmission continued; and when there is a remaining amount at the expiration of the term of contract, the amount of money to be paid back to the customer is computed at a certain interest rate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  In the power usage contract, the prepaid discount, long-term contract discount, and multiple locations are prepaid and payment is made at one location. The present invention relates to an electric charge management system, method and program related to an electric power contract in which a contract charge is returned at a certain interest rate if there is any.

  Traditionally, electricity bills were paid monthly and there was no prepaid system. There was no liberalization of power. In addition, there was no group-based subscription or contract, and multiple contracts such as prepaid or group were possible. Furthermore, prepaid and group contracts and discount systems based on prepaid for those contracts were not provided as services.

  Further, Patent Document 1 sets a target value for, for example, an electricity bill in a certain facility for a predetermined period such as one month or one year, and controls the amount of power used and the maximum power in the power load based on this target value. The usage of each unit time is based on the target value of the amount of power used for a predetermined period and the amount of power used for a unit time divided into a predetermined period. A technique has been proposed in which a target value of electric power is calculated to control the amount of electric power used by an electric power load.

Patent Document 2 proposes a technique for reading an inserted ticket and preventing the owner of the ticket from passing when it does not satisfy the passage condition and guiding the settlement process to be performed regarding an automatic ticket gate device and the like. Yes. Patent Document 3 proposes a system that does not require the use of 1-yen coins and 5-yen coins when making a payment, for example, by making the card readable and writable in a system using a prepaid card.
Japanese Patent No. 3238696 Japanese Patent No. 2723261 Japanese Patent Publication No. 07-120464

  However, as mentioned above, as a service that has been provided to customers in the past using electric power, pre-payment of electricity charges for a certain period and price discount service at that time were not provided, so it was matched to customer needs The service could not be provided. Furthermore, even if the customer cooperated in power saving, the customer was evaluated, and for example, a service that the usage fee was reduced by that amount was not provided. In addition, there is a liberalization policy for electric power, and since customers can select electric power companies, it is also desirable for electric power companies to provide attractive services to customers.

  Furthermore, the technique proposed in Patent Document 1 does not mention providing a service to a customer by making a discount by paying in advance a power usage amount in a set period. Furthermore, there is no mention of providing a discount service for a service for a group that pays electricity charges by a single contractor at a plurality of locations. Furthermore, there is no description that communication can be made in one place in the case where payment is made in one place. In addition, when the contract expires, there is no service for returning the remaining amount at a constant interest rate when there is a remaining value of available power set at the time of contract.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and provides a discount service for customers who pay in advance for an electricity bill, and also provides a discount service for customers who contract multiple locations together. If there is a remaining value of power that can be used when the contract period expires, a service is provided that returns a fixed rate that depends on the contract period to the amount remaining corresponding to the remaining value. Furthermore, if the customer uses power that exceeds the limit during the period, the power transmission is immediately stopped or the customer is warned via the communication network and the customer wishes to continue power transmission. Aims to provide technology to provide continuous service.

  In order to achieve the above object, an electricity charge management system according to the present invention is an electricity charge payment system that pays an electricity charge in advance, calculates a discount rate according to a set period, and supplies electricity for a contracted period. A card issuing device that determines a charge, records the contract contents on a card that can record and read the determined electricity charge and customer information, and can read the contents of the recorded card; A power cut-off device that cuts off the supply of electric power when the available electric charge recorded correspondingly is subtracted and the remaining value of the available electric power reaches a predetermined value is provided.

  According to the present invention, a discount rate is calculated in accordance with a contract period, an electricity fee to be paid in advance is determined, the electricity fee and customer information, etc. are recorded on a card, and the electricity is used at each power user's home using the card. When the remaining charge value of usable power becomes a predetermined value, for example, zero, the power supply can be automatically stopped. By using a card, information leakage can be kept to a minimum, and further, a service can be provided that can receive power transmission wherever there is a card. In addition, the power company can automatically stop power transmission when the planned power consumption is used up, so that a high-efficiency income can be obtained.

  Another electricity charge management system proposed in order to achieve the above object is an electricity charge payment system that pays an electricity charge in advance, calculates a discount rate according to a set period, and contracts A power usage management server that determines an electricity charge for a period to be obtained, a card issuing device that acquires the determined electricity charge and customer information from the power usage management server and records them on a readable card, and the record The card contents can be read, the available electricity charges recorded according to the amount of power used are subtracted, and the supply of power is cut off when the remaining amount of available power reaches a predetermined value. And a power interruption device.

  According to the present invention, when paying a prepaid electricity charge, the power usage management server calculates a discount rate according to the contract period designated at the time of the contract, determines the electricity charge for the contract, and uses the determined electricity charge to the card Recorded on the card by the issuing device, and further subtracts the recorded power usage according to the power usage, and automatically when the remaining amount of power that can be used reaches a predetermined value, for example, zero Thus, the power supply can be stopped.

  Further, it is preferable that the power usage management server and the card issuing device are connected via a communication network, and the determined electricity bill and customer information are transmitted and received via the communication network. According to the present invention, the power usage management server can automatically and definitely notify the card issuing device of the calculated and determined electricity charge without any manual intervention via the communication network. By linking the power usage management server and the card issuing device, there are few mistakes and efficient operation is possible.

  Further, it is preferable that the power cut-off device has a function of starting the supply of power by inserting the card and cutting off the power by removing the card. According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent power supply unless the card is owned.

  More preferably, the power usage management server combines a plurality of electricity bill contracts into one contract, attaches the monthly electricity bills at the plurality of locations to the customer of the one contract, and the card issuing device The power usage content contracted for each location is recorded on the card for each location, and the power cut-off device is configured to provide power when the remaining amount of usable power at one or more locations contracted reaches a predetermined value. It is configured to cut off the supply of. According to the present invention, a plurality of related locations are handled as one group, the total electricity charges for each month are added to the main contractor, and the usage of power can be calculated for each group member. If there is a member of a group whose remaining power value is predetermined, for example, zero, the power supply to the group members can be stopped, Management becomes easy and the use of power can be managed for each user. The user side can easily manage the electricity charges and receive a discount. Therefore, for example, a service that is useful for a family member who wants a plurality of contracts or a company having a plurality of bases is provided.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the power shut-off device is configured to raise a predetermined alarm before the remaining amount value reaches a predetermined value. By notifying the power user before the remaining amount of power that can be used according to the present invention becomes a predetermined value, for example, zero, power transmission is performed when the remaining value becomes a predetermined value, for example, zero. Convenience can be given to customers who do not want to stop, and the customer can make the next contract without stopping power transmission.

  In addition, the power usage management server and the power shut-off device are connected via a communication network, and the power usage management server allows the customer to pay additional electricity charges before the remaining amount of available power reaches a predetermined value. When receiving the information that the power cut-off device related to the contract is received, the power cut-off device related to the contract is first notified not to cut off the power, and the power cut-off device receiving the first notification is used It is also preferable that the power is not cut off even if the remaining amount of available power reaches a predetermined value. According to the present invention, power transmission can be continued without immediately stopping power transmission even when the usage amount of power contracted first is exceeded. Convenience can be given to customers who do not want to immediately stop power transmission.

  In addition, the power usage management server and the power shut-off device are connected via a communication network, and the power usage management server can use the power that can be used at one or a plurality of locations belonging to a contract in which one contract at the plurality of locations is collected. If the contractor receives the information that the contractor has made an additional payment of the electricity charge before the remaining value of the battery reaches the predetermined value, the power cut-off device at one or a plurality of locations related to the contract is cut off. The first notification is made so as not to be performed, and the power cut-off device that has received the first notification is configured not to cut off the power even when the remaining amount of available power reaches a predetermined value. Is also preferable. According to the present invention, even when the power usage amount of the members who have contracted in the group exceeds the contracted value, the power usage management server does not stop the power cut-off device from stopping power transmission for each excess portion. By giving instructions, it is possible to provide convenience to customers who do not want to stop power transmission.

  Furthermore, an electricity bill payment system that pays an electricity bill in advance, calculates a discount rate according to a set period, and determines an electricity bill for a contracted period, and the determined power usage management server A card issuing device that obtains information on electricity charges and customer information from the power usage management server and records it on a readable card, and a power cutoff device that has a function of cutting off the supply of power and exists in a facility under the jurisdiction of the power company The power usage management server includes a second power cutoff device configured to shut down the contractor's power when the contractor's usable remaining amount value is detected to be a predetermined value. It is also preferable that the power cut-off device that performs the notification and receives the second notification is configured to cut off the power. According to the present invention, the power cut-off device does not cut off the power by itself using the card, but the power cut-off device is installed in the facility of the electric power company, and the power use management server issues the power cut-off instruction. By doing so, it becomes possible to control in the center, and more flexible response to power interruption is possible.

  More preferably, the power usage management server is configured to notify a predetermined person in charge by a predetermined method before the remaining amount value reaches a predetermined value. It may be configured to notify the contractor by a predetermined method before the value reaches a predetermined value. According to the present invention, when the remaining amount of available power reaches a predetermined value, it is detected that the customer is likely to exceed the amount of power available at the time of contract, and either the power company or the customer or Notify both parties that they are likely to exceed the amount of power available at the time of contract. As a trigger for the next contract, the system can automatically notify the person in charge by e-mail or on the screen when there is a customer who is likely to use up the contracted power amount for the power company. It can be used for business purposes. Therefore, the person in charge of the power company or the customer can be prepared to exceed the power usage.

  In addition, the power usage management server creates a customer's power usage, electricity charges and card power balance for that period, a forecast of power usage vs actual results, and a temperature correction expected vs actual results graph for each period. The power usage management server accesses the created power usage amount, the electricity charge, the power usage balance of the card, the predicted power consumption vs. actual power consumption graph, and the temperature correction predicted vs actual performance graph via the communication network. Alternatively, it is preferable that the display is made possible. According to the present invention, the present value of the remaining amount of power that can be used is presented, and a graph of the amount of power usage and the forecast at the time of contracting, and a temperature corrected forecast vs. performance graph corrected by temperature are made to the customer. By presenting the information, the customer can recognize the current situation regarding the use of electric power, and can be used as information for planning measures for the future, so that the customer's awareness of power saving can be enhanced. In addition, by making it possible to view the created graph via a communication network, it is possible to provide convenience to the customer and raise awareness of power saving.

  In addition, when there is a remaining value of available power that exceeds the limit set at the time of contract when the contract expires, a refund calculation that calculates the amount by multiplying the remaining value by a certain interest rate as a refund It is also preferable that the apparatus is provided with means, and further, the fixed interest rate is configured to vary depending on the contract period. According to the present invention, when the customer executes power saving and a certain amount remains from the upper limit value of the available power at the time of the contract, the refund is made with the interest rate corresponding to the available remaining amount value for the customer. Is calculated and returned to the customer as a refund. As a result, customers can expect further energy saving efforts.

  Further, the card correction device may be configured to have a function of reading the contents recorded on the card, inquiring about the power usage results of the contractor managed by the power usage management server, and correcting it. According to the present invention, it is possible to perform correction by comparing the measured value of the amount of power measured by the card with the value measured by the power company.

  An electricity charge management method according to the present invention for achieving the above object is an electricity charge payment method that pays an electricity charge in advance, calculates a discount rate according to a set period, and supplies electricity for a contracted period. A first step of determining a charge; a second step of acquiring the determined electricity charge and customer information and recording it on a readable card; and reading the recorded card content to use power And a third step of cutting off the supply of electric power when the remaining amount of available electric power recorded according to the amount is deducted and the remaining amount of usable electric power reaches a predetermined value.

  Furthermore, the first step includes a step of collecting a plurality of electricity price contracts into one contract and adding the monthly electricity charges at the plurality of places to a customer of the one contract. The step includes a step of recording the contents of electricity usage contracted for each location on a card for each location, and the third step has a predetermined remaining electric power value for one or a plurality of locations for which the contract is made. It is also preferable that the power supply be cut off when the value is reached.

  In addition, a configuration is included that includes a fourth step of calculating, as a refund, an amount multiplied by a certain interest rate when there is a remaining amount of available power that exceeds the limit set at the time of contract when the contract expires. It is also good to do.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to pay in advance for the usage fee of power, and when the customer has a discount for a long-term contract by a prepaid system, a discount by power usage, and a remaining power value available at the end of the contract You can get a refund. Differentiated by services from other companies, which will increase customer satisfaction. In addition, there is a synergistic effect of increasing repeat contracts.

  An electricity charge management program according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a program that operates on a computer of an electricity charge prepayment system, and a contract amount for a contract period is calculated by discounting the electricity charge according to the contract period. A first process that is calculated as a charge, a second process that subtracts the amount of power used for a certain period from the contract usage power amount corresponding to the prepaid amount, and the subtracted remaining amount value reaches a predetermined value The third process of stopping the power supply of the power line corresponding to, and if the remaining amount of power that can be used exceeds the limit set at the time of contract when the contract expires, it is multiplied by a certain interest rate A fourth process for returning the amount of money to the customer is executed on a computer.

  Calculate a discount rate for complex electricity charges depending on the rank of the customer automatically determined using the computer according to the present invention, and further calculate the electricity usage fee corresponding to the amount of electricity used by the customer in real time, If the amount of power used is the same as the amount paid in advance, the power transmission is automatically stopped, and if there is a remaining remaining amount that exceeds a certain amount when the contract expires, a return corresponding to the remaining amount is returned. The money can be returned to the customer.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a power consumer can receive a discount service by paying an electricity bill in advance. Furthermore, for example, when a family has residences in multiple locations, it is possible to join in groups at multiple locations, and it becomes possible for the contractor to bear the expenses at the time of the contract. Convenience for both electric power consumers and electric power companies that form Furthermore, when the contracted power usage amount is exceeded, it is possible to stop the power transmission, and the power company can stop the unnecessary power transmission. In addition, if there is a remaining amount of power usage at the end of the contract period, it is possible to return the contract money as a refund at a certain interest rate. Has the advantage of being able to receive a refund if they make an effort to save power.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an electricity bill management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. An outline of the configuration of the electricity rate management system according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. In the first embodiment, the electricity rate management system includes a card issuing device 2, a card correction device 3, a power usage management server 1, a power station 7 for transmitting power, and a power consumer. It is comprised from the power interruption apparatus 5 installed in the side, and the contract card 6 created at the time of contract. The power shut-off device 5 is under the control of the power company, and the power transmission station is under the control of the power company, but the location is not necessarily adjacent to the power company.

  On the power consumer side, there are power consumer groups 1 and 2 having a contractor for only one person and a plurality of customers as a group. Individual customers also exist as “individual customers”. The line 10 extending to each factory, the head office private house, etc. is a distribution line, and carries the power from the power transmission station 7 to the customer's house. As shown in FIG. 1, the power interruption device 5 is installed near the customer's residence for each customer. FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of the power use management server 1 and the power cut-off device 5 via the communication network 4. The power usage management server 1 is mainly composed of a transmission / reception unit 12 that transmits / receives information to / from the communication network 4 and an input unit 15 that has a man-machine interface function and is used to transmit an operator input to the central processing unit 13. , A display unit 16 for displaying information from the central processing unit 13 to the operator, a central processing unit 13 having various functions, and a storage unit 14 for storing various information in order to realize the present embodiment. ing.

  Furthermore, the central processing unit 13 includes means having various functions as shown below in 133 to 139. The input / output control unit 132 controls input / output between the input unit 15 and the display unit 16. The transmission / reception processing means 131 transmits / receives information from the communication network 4 and bridges the functions of the central processing unit 13. The data input / output means 133 has a function of registering and extracting customer information and contract data. The card creation means 134 has a function of extracting the contents to be written on the card and notifying the card issuing device 2 of information.

  The predicted vs. actual graph creation unit 135 has a function of creating a graph with the amount of power used regularly and the amount of power predicted in advance as inputs. The group management unit 136 has a function of managing a group as a single group of customers at a plurality of locations. The discount calculation usage fee determining means 137 has a function of calculating a discount rate for a contract such as a contract period, a contracted power consumption amount, a contract as a group when determining a contract with a customer, and determining a usage fee at the time of contract. Have The remaining value depletion notification means 138 is a means such as email or telephone to the contractor or the person in charge of the electric power company when the remaining amount of power that can be used by continuing to use power after contracting reaches a predetermined value, for example, zero. It has a function to notify with. The alarm notification unit 139 has a function of notifying a contractor or a person in charge of a power company when a remaining amount of available power reaches a predetermined value, for example, a predetermined value before becoming zero.

  Although the memory | storage part 14 has various databases, in this Embodiment, the database (DB) called 141-144 is preserve | saved. As shown in FIG. 4, the customer information database (DB) 141 has a customer name, an address, a telephone number, an e-mail address, a distribution line ID, a customer rank, a flag indicating whether or not to immediately shut off, a contract ID, etc. Stores various customer information. The contract database (DB) 142 stores data related to contracts with customers, as shown in FIGS. The contract IDs are stored in stages according to the rank of the customer, the contract period, the power capacity of the contract, etc., and this contract ID corresponds to the discount rate on a one-to-one basis in this embodiment. The group ID shown in FIG. 6 further determines a discount rate and a contract ID depending on the number of members when the group is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the charging information database (DB) 143 corresponds to the upper limit value of the available power capacity that has been contracted for each customer, the current remaining capacity value, and the amount of power used in each month for each month. Stores electricity charges. In the group contract database (DB) 144, as shown in FIG. 7, the total number of groups and the IDs of existing groups are linked, and each group ID is a contractor who is subordinate to the main contractor. 2 Contractors are registered.

  The power shut-off device 5 installed in the power consumer's house is also largely configured as follows. A transmission / reception unit 52 for transmitting / receiving information to / from the power usage management server 1 via the communication network 4, a central processing unit 53 having various functions, and a storage unit 54 for storing various information necessary for realizing the functions. , An input unit 55 that controls a man-machine interface, a display unit 56, a power cut-off unit 57 that cuts off the power, a card mounting unit 58 that is a card mounting unit, and an alarm unit 59 that has a function of generating an alarm. .

In addition, the central processing unit 53 further transmits / receives information and transmits / receives functions and information that the central processing unit 53 has, input / output processing means 532 that controls external input / output, and card Read / write means 533 and power cutoff means 534 having a power cutoff function are provided. The storage unit 54 includes contract data 542 for storing data related to a contract, and power usage data 543 for storing power usage that varies in real time. Here, since the connection function with the communication network 4 is not provided in the first embodiment, the communication network 4 and the transmission / reception unit 52 exist in FIG. 3 in the description of the first embodiment to be described. Explain that it is not.
The electricity rate management system in the first embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation will be described below.

[1. Pre-registration of data]
Registration of customer data and contract data is performed as follows. Customer information is registered in the customer information DB 141. In the present embodiment, the data input means 133 in the power usage management server 1 shown in FIG. 3 registers data. FIG. 9 shows an operation flow relating to registration of various data. First, customer information is registered by starting the “customer information data registration routine” (S91), and then the “contract data registration routine” is started to register data related to the contract (S92). The data is input by the operator through the input unit 15 and the confirmation is performed through the display unit 16.

  Data input from the input unit 15 is acquired by the data input / output unit 133 via the input / output processing unit 132, and the data input / output unit 133 records the data in the customer information DB 141 or the contract DB 142. Conversely, customer information or contract information is manipulated by the data input / output means 133 controlling the customer information DB 141 or contract DB 142 to obtain information and sending the obtained information to the display unit 16 via the input / output processing means 132. Can see. The data flow is as described above, and each routine will be described below.

  The “customer information data registration routine” will be described with reference to FIG. Corresponding to each customer in the customer information database (DB) 141 shown in FIG. 4, the customer name, address, telephone number, e-mail address that may include the e-mail address of the mobile phone, and the distribution line transmitting power to the customer Distribution line ID and customer rank are registered (S101). Whether or not to immediately block (yes / no) and the contract ID items are set at the time of actual contract. Customer rank is, for example, a rank that is set based on a relationship with a power company such as a customer who has already entered into various contracts, or is a customer with whom the contract is more than a certain level. Consideration is given such as obtaining a discount rate.

  Next, the operation flow of the “contract data registration routine” will be described with reference to FIG. The contract period corresponding to the customer rank and its discount rate are registered (S111), and the registration work is continued for all customer ranks (S112). This is the end of data pre-registration. The data flow for both routines is as described above.

[2. Registration of new contracts, individual and group contracts]
With respect to the new power contract in the present embodiment, the operation of the individual and group new contract will be described with reference to FIG. First, by referring to the customer correspondence contract DB 142 shown in FIG. 5, the “discount rate” and “contract ID” are determined according to the contract period desired by the customer, the customer rank of the main customer, the contract period, and the amount of power of the contract. The extracted “contract ID” is registered in the “contract ID” column of the target customer information in the customer information DB 141 (S122). Next, according to the customer's intention whether or not to immediately stop power transmission when the power usage exceeds the contracted power usage upper limit value (S123), if it is desired to block the immediate power transmission, the customer information DB 141 will “Yes or 1” is set in “immediate interruption” (S124), and “no or 0” is registered if interruption of immediate power transmission is not desired (S125). This interruption of immediate power transmission may exist as an option. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the contractors below the second contractor subordinate to the content of “immediate shut-off” desired by the main contractor also conform.

  Next, the processing branches depending on whether or not the group contract is made (S126). If the customer wishes to make a group contract, in addition to the “contract ID” and the discount rate extracted earlier, the discount is further performed by the number of people in the group shown in FIG. 6 (S127). As shown in FIG. 6, a further discount rate and a contract ID at that time are extracted, and the extracted “contract ID” is registered in “contract ID” in the corresponding customer information of the customer information DB. Regarding the calculation of the discount rate for this group contract, the discount rate and the contract ID are obtained with the same data structure as in FIG. 5 based on “customer rank”, “contract period”, “group number”, and “contract power amount”. Also good.

  Next, a group ID is acquired to identify a contractor in the group (S128). As shown in FIG. 7, a customer belonging to the group is registered for each group ID (S129). In FIG. 7, “main contractor” is the main contractor to be paid in this group, and “second contractor” and subsequent contractors are subordinate contractors. The total number of groups created is also recorded. This group ID is created when a group is created, and is deleted when the group runs out. The operation of step S129 is repeated until all the customers making up the group are registered (S12A). When all the members have been registered, the process ends.

[3. Issue card]
Cards are created for all group members. By installing the created card in a power cut-off device installed at the customer's house, power transmission by contract is started. As shown in FIG. 14, the card structurally has, for example, a magnetic storage unit 64. In the storage unit 62, the customer ID shown in FIG. 13, the password for specifying the customer, and the contract The specified power amount, the upper limit value of power that can be used for the period specified at the time of contract, and the remaining amount of power that can be used for the current power are stored.

  FIG. 15 shows an operation flow when issuing a card. When the card is issued, the customer ID, password, contract power amount, and upper limit value of the power amount usable by the contract, which are items shown in FIG. 13, are recorded (S151). Next, it is determined whether the contract is a group contract (S152). If the contract is a group contract, the group ID is recorded (S153), and it is determined whether or not an immediate disconnection is performed. “yes” or “1” is recorded (S155), and “no” or “0” is recorded if it is not immediate interruption (156). Whether “yes” or “no” is recorded or “1” or “0” is stored may be determined depending on which is easy to judge.

[4. Attaching / detaching card to / from power shutoff device]
When the card is mounted on the customer's power cut-off device, the power cut-off device operates according to the operation flow shown in FIG. First, when the password is locked or when it is locked (S161), a password input is requested (S162). If the password is not correct, the screen will return to the initial password and input screen, and then the following operations will be repeated. If the password is correct (S163) or if no password is entered, it is next determined whether power transmission is in progress (S164).

  If power is being transmitted, it is determined whether there is a remaining amount value (S165). If there is no remaining amount, power transmission is stopped (S166). If there is a remaining amount value during power transmission, an upper limit value of the amount of power that can be used is set in the contract data 542 of the storage unit 54 of the power cut-off device 5 (S169), and then whether or not to immediately cut off the customer Is recorded in the contract data 542 in the power interruption device 5 (yes / no). If no power is being transmitted when the card is installed (no route in S164), it is determined whether there is a remaining power level available (S167), and if there is, power transmission is started (S168) in the next operation. Proceed to a certain step S169, and if not, do nothing and proceed to the next operation, step S169.

  Next, the operation of the power cut-off device 5 when the card is attached / detached will be described with reference to FIG. It is determined whether or not the power transmission is set to be cut off when it is attached or detached (S171). If it is not set to block, the process is terminated. If it is set to block, a password input is requested (S172). Alternatively, it may be an operation that does not require a password and proceeds to the next step. It is determined whether or not the input password is correct (S173). If it is not correct, the process returns to step S172 to wait for the input of the password again. At this time, although not described in the operation flow of FIG. 17, it may be expressed that an error has occurred on an error screen, a lamp, an alarm, or the like. If the entered password is correct, it is further determined whether or not power transmission is in progress (S174). If power is being transmitted, power transmission is stopped (S175) and the process is terminated.

[5. Normal operation]
The operation of the power shut-off device 5 during normal operation will be described with reference to FIG. During normal operation, the power shut-off device 5 monitors the use of power, specifies the amount of power used in real time every time power is used, and stores the remaining amount of current power used in the contract data in the storage unit 54. The amount of power used is subtracted from the value and recorded as a remaining amount value (S181). Next, it is determined whether or not there is a setting of “immediate shut-off” that designates whether or not immediate shut-off is performed when the remaining amount value becomes zero as a predetermined value (S182). If “no” (no), the process proceeds to step S186 described later. In the case of “yes”, it is determined whether or not the remaining amount of available power has reached a preset value (S183), and if it has reached (S184) a predetermined method Raise the alarm (S185). Although not described as an alarm, for example, an alarm lamp, an alarm device, etc. provided in the power interruption device.

  Next, it is determined whether the remaining amount of available power reaches zero as a predetermined value (S186, S187). If it has reached zero, it is determined from the customer information DB whether immediate interruption is set (S188). If immediate interruption is set, power transmission is interrupted (S189), and the process ends. If zero has not been reached, nothing is done and the process is terminated.

[6. When contract expires]
The operation of the power shut-off device 5 when the contract expires will be described with reference to FIG. When the contract expires, the power shut-off device 5 first acquires the remaining amount of available power from the power usage data 543 in the storage unit 54 in the power shut-off device 5 (S191). Then, record it in the area of the remaining value of the power usage fee data of the card. After this, the card is removed and attached to the card correction device 3 at the power company. An operation flow when a used card is loaded in the card correction device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The content recorded on the card is compared with the content stored in the power company (S201), and the correct value is recorded on the card (S202).

After this, the following operations are performed using a card with a card settlement machine. If the remaining amount of available power exceeds a certain amount, a certain interest rate is calculated, the usage fee at the time of contract is multiplied by the interest rate, and the resulting amount is calculated as a refund. FIG. 21 shows the interest rate data of the refund money. In the case of the present embodiment, when there is a remaining value of 10% or more of the total power usage amount for which a contract is made, the data is that 10% of the contract amount is returned as a refund. It is also possible to make the calculation method of the interest rate more complicated and to make a detailed calculation formula depending on the number of years of contract, the amount of power consumption of the contract and the ratio of the remaining value. The electric power company performs a process such as giving a refund to the customer based on the calculated refund.
The first embodiment of the present invention is configured and operates as described above.

  According to the present embodiment, a group user who uses a card to determine the amount of power usage, contracted power consumption, and the number of people for the period requested by the customer, and decides one main contractor to settle the usage fee etc. Based on the above, the prepaid fee is determined, and necessary contents such as the upper limit value of the power usage available for the card are recorded on the card by the card issuing device 2. The power shut-off device 5 stops the power transmission when the remaining power value of the available power becomes a predetermined value, for example, zero, by recording the power usage status and the like at any time. For customers who do not want to immediately stop power transmission, raise the alarm when the remaining value reaches a predetermined value, and if the remaining value exceeds the predetermined value when the contract expires, At a certain interest rate from the contract fee The fine-grained service that returns a Modokin to the customer can be provided to the customer.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an electricity bill management system according to the second embodiment. An outline of the configuration of the electricity charge management system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The difference from the first embodiment is that the card issuing device 2, the card correction device 3, and the card 6 are eliminated, and the power usage management server 1, the power transmission station, and the power cutoff device 5 are connected via the communication network 4 to the line 12. Connected to each other and can send and receive information. The line 12 may be, for example, the Internet using a broadband line such as a conventional dedicated line, FTTH (Fiber To The Home), ADSL (Asynmetric Digital Subscriber Line), CATV (Cable TV).

  Next, as in the first embodiment, [1. Pre-registration of data] to [6. The operation up to when the contract expires will be described below.

[1. Pre-registration of data], [2. Registration of new contracts, individual and group contracts]
The operations for pre-registration of data and new contracts for individuals and groups are the same as those in the first embodiment in which the power usage management server 1 is not used.

[3. Card issuance], [4. Set the card in the power cut-off device]
Since the second embodiment does not use a card, the operation of this portion described in the first embodiment is not performed in the second embodiment. However, since the same operation is performed by the power usage management server 1, this operation will be described below. In the first embodiment, the content recorded in the storage unit 64 of the card when the card is attached to the power interruption device 5 is recorded in the storage unit 54 of the power interruption device 5 as described in FIG. Done as shown. In FIG. 16, since the card is used, authentication is performed using a password. However, the power use management server 1 and the power cut-off device 5 connected to each other via the communication network 4 are, for example, a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Data is sent and received encrypted using, for example. Here, information is transmitted / received by a communication protocol so that an action of inputting a password by a human is not necessary, so the password authentication portion is deleted in FIG. In addition, it is deleted because there is no processing such as stopping power transmission due to card installation.

  The actual processing is as follows. First, the power usage management server 1 extracts the upper limit value of the available power amount contracted by the customer and transmits it to the power cutoff device 5 via the communication network 4 (S221b). The transmitted information is received by the data input / output unit 533 from the transmission / reception unit 52 of the power cut-off device 5 via the transmission / reception processing unit 531 (S221a) and stored in the corresponding area in the storage unit 54 (S222a). Next, the fact that the information has been correctly received is notified by a message such as “Receive OK” (S223a), and when the power usage management server 1 receives the “Receive OK” message (S222b), it immediately shuts down the next data. Whether or not the content designated by the customer (yes or no) is transmitted to the power cut-off device 5 (S223b). The power shut-off device 5 receives information related to immediate shut-down (S224a), stores the received content in the contract data 542 in the corresponding storage unit 54 (S225a), and then sends a “receive OK” message to the power usage management server. 1 (S226a) and the process is terminated. The power usage management server 1 receives the “reception OK” message (S224b), recognizes that the information has been correctly transmitted, and ends the process. Next, normal operation will be described below.

[5. Normal operation]
Since the amount of power used by the customer is known at the power transmission station 7 that transmits power, the power transmission station 7 and the power usage management server 1 are connected via the communication network 4 to exchange information as shown in FIG. Thus, the same function as in the first embodiment is realized. In the first embodiment, the same as described in FIG. 18 is performed via the communication network 4 as follows. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the power usage management server 1 and the power shut-off device 5 are connected to each other via the communication network 4, it is first determined whether or not the target customer is the main contractor of the group (S239b). If it is the main contractor of the group contract, the process proceeds to step S24a in FIG. If the customer is a normal customer, the power usage monitoring server 1 performs real-time monitoring and measurement of the power usage, and subtracts the used power from the upper limit of the available power recorded at the time of the contract, and the remaining amount value Is transmitted to the power cut-off device 5 via the communication network 4 (S231b). The power shut-off device 5 records the received remaining amount value (S231a) in the corresponding power usage amount data 543 in the storage unit 54 (S232a).

  Next, the power usage management server 1 determines whether the customer designates a power transmission warning notification (S232b). If the warning notification is designated, the process proceeds to step S236b. If immediate shut-off is not designated, it is determined whether the remaining amount of available power has reached a predetermined alarm value (S233b). If not, the process proceeds to step S236b. When it arrives (S234b), a message instructing to raise an alarm is transmitted to the power shutoff device 5 (S235b). In this case, any type of alarm may be used as long as it is a usable device such as a lamp or an alarm. Further, if there is a method for raising a plurality of alarms, an instruction is given to carry out by a predetermined method (S235b).

  Receiving the instruction to raise the alarm (S233a), the power cut-off device 5 raises the alarm by a predetermined method such as a lamp or an alarm (S234a). The message of “raise alarm” may be transmitted as many times as described in this operation flow, or may be configured not to be transmitted the second time when performed once.

  Next, it is determined whether the available remaining amount value is zero as a predetermined value (S237b). If it is not zero, do nothing and end the process. If it has become zero, it is determined from the customer information DB 141 whether or not immediate shutdown is set (S238b). If immediate shutdown is not set, exit without doing anything. If immediate interruption is set, a message for instructing to stop power transmission is transmitted to the power interruption device 5 (S239b), and the series of processing ends. The power cut-off device 5 that has received the message for instructing to stop the power transmission (S235a) cuts off the power transmission and ends the process (S236a).

  Next, an operation flow when the customer is a main contractor of a group contract will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the subordinate contractor of the group is not subject to management in this embodiment, but is targeted for the main contractor. If the contractor is a main contractor, the subcontractor is processed simultaneously. How to do the processing. Therefore, when the target customer is the main contractor of the group in FIG. 23, the work is performed according to the operation flow of FIG. 24 differs from FIG. 23 in that it is determined whether or not the processing for all the members constituting the group has been performed in step S249b, which is the first determination, and when the processing for all the members is completed, the process proceeds to step S23a. The work is about to end. The other operations are the same as those in FIG. FIG. 23 shows an operation flow for each customer, and the operation shown in FIG. 23 is performed for all customers except the subordinate contractors.

  The operation flow is based on the premise that measurement of power consumption and determination of power interruption are performed on the power usage management server 1 side. However, as in the first embodiment, measurement of power consumption is performed by the power interruption device 5. It is also possible to configure so that Similarly, information can be stored in both the power shut-off device 5 and the power usage management server 1. In addition, although not described, in the case of a group contract, it is possible not only to individually contract power transmission but also to perform a group unit. In addition, as another option in step S236b, if the customer desires, a notification may be made by a method desired by the customer, such as skipping an email to the email address registered by the customer, automatically faxing, or automatically making a call. Is possible.

  Further, although the operation when the communication network 4 is disconnected is not described in the present embodiment, for example, when the disconnection of the communication network 4 is detected, the power interruption device 5 is the same as that of the first embodiment. It is also possible to operate as follows.

[5a. Create graph]
By operating as follows at regular intervals such as the timing of billing, etc., the customer's power usage during that period, the electricity bill corresponding to the usage, and the power usage balance and power after that period are used Create a graph of usage vs. forecast and forecast vs. temperature after temperature correction. In case of group contract, the above report is prepared for all members and sent to customers.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the amount of electric power used during the period and the electricity bill corresponding to the amount used are calculated at predetermined intervals and stored as data for each predetermined period. The billing information DB 143 stores the upper limit value of the available power capacity determined at the time of the contract for each customer ID, the remaining remaining value used up to now, and the electricity charge corresponding to the amount of power used each month. It is configured. FIG. 25 shows an operation flow relating to creation of a graph that operates every time a certain period elapses.

  The power usage management server 1 first obtains the customer's power usage fee corresponding to the immediately preceding period from the power station (S251) and puts it in the buffer. Next, a usage fee for the customer's corresponding period is calculated from the acquired power amount (S252). Next, the power shut-off device 5 is accessed, and the available power remaining value recorded in the storage unit is obtained (S253). An expected and actual graph is created based on the acquired power usage amount for each month and the predicted power usage amount for each month created previously (S254). Furthermore, the temperature data in each period is obtained, and a graph of predicted vs. actual temperature corrected for the corresponding month is created (S255). Next, in the case of a group contract, it is determined whether or not it is a group member in order to create a graph of all members (S256). If it is not a group contract, the process proceeds to step S258. If it is a group contract customer, it is determined whether the work for all the members has been performed (S257). If all the members have not been completed, the process returns to step S251 again to perform the same work for the next customer again. If it is completed for all the members, the created file is sent to the customer as an attachment by e-mail (S258). Next, it is determined whether or not to publish the created graph on the communication network 4 (S259), and in the case of publishing, the created graph is converted into a file that can be viewed on the web, registered on the WEB server, and accessed on the Internet. (S25A).

[6. When contract expires]
When the contract expires, the power usage management server 1 obtains the remaining amount value that can be used by the customer, and if the remaining amount value of available power exceeds a certain amount, the first embodiment Similar to, calculate a certain interest rate, etc., multiply the usage fee at the time of contract with the interest rate, and calculate the amount obtained as a refund. The calculation for calculating the return money is the same as in the first embodiment.
The second embodiment of the present invention is configured and operates as described above.

  According to the present embodiment, a group that determines the amount of power usage, contract power consumption, and the number of people for a period requested by a customer without using a card, and decides one main contractor to settle a usage fee, etc. A prepaid charge is determined based on the user, etc., and the upper limit value of the power usage amount that can be used for the power cut-off device via the communication network between the power use management server and the power cut-off device set at the customer's home or immediately cut off Whether or not the set value can be notified and registered. The power usage status is recorded by the power usage management server, and the status is notified to the power shut-off device as needed. The power shut-off device records the received information so that the remaining amount of available power is predetermined. When the value, for example, becomes zero, the power shut-off device 5 stops power transmission, and for a customer who does not want immediate power transmission stop, an alarm is raised when the remaining amount value becomes a predetermined value, and when the contract expires When the remaining amount value exceeds a predetermined value, it is possible to provide the customer with a fine service in which a refund is returned to the customer at a certain interest rate from the contract fee of power.

It is a whole lineblock diagram of the electricity bill management system in a 1st embodiment. It is a whole block diagram of the electricity bill management system in 2nd Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the electric power utilization management server and electric power interruption apparatus which comprise an electricity bill management system. It is a customer information database of 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is a customer rank corresponding | compatible contract database of 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is a group corresponding | compatible contract database of 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is a group contract registration database of the first and second embodiments. It is the accounting information database of 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart when registering various data to the electric power utilization management server of 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is an operation | movement flow of the "customer information registration routine" which registers customer information in the electric power utilization management server of 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is an operation | movement flow of the "contract data registration routine" which registers customer information with the electric power utilization management server of 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart at the time of newly registering customer information into a power usage management server. This is the content stored in the storage unit of the card in the first embodiment. It is a perspective view of the card | curd in 1st Embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart at the time of issuing the card | curd in 1st Embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart at the time of mounting | wearing with the card | curd in 1st Embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart at the time of attaching or detaching the card | curd in 1st Embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the electric power interruption apparatus at the time of the normal driving | operation of the daily electric power in 1st Embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart at the time of contract expiration in 1st Embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart at the time of the card | curd correction | amendment in 1st Embodiment. It is interest rate data of refund money in the 1st and 2nd embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the initial setting of the power interruption apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart at the time of the daily normal driving | operation in 2nd Embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart at the time of the daily normal driving | operation in the case of the group contract in 2nd Embodiment. It is an operation | movement flowchart which produces an anticipation versus performance graph etc. regularly.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power use management server 2 Card issuing apparatus 3 Card correction apparatus 4 Communication network 5 Power cut-off apparatus 6 Card 7 Power transmission station 8, 9 Contractor's house 10 Distribution line 11 Router 12 Line 12, 52 Transmission / reception part 13, 53 Central processing part 14, 54 Storage unit 15, 55 Input unit 16, 56 Display unit 57 Power cut-off unit 58 Card mounting unit 59 Alarm unit 131, 531 Transmission / reception processing unit 132, 532 Input / output processing unit 133 Data input / output unit 134 Card creation unit 135 Prediction Performance graph creation means 136 Group management means 137 Discount calculation usage charge determination means 138 Remaining value depletion notification means 139 Alarm notification means 533 Card read / write means 534 Power cut-off means 542 Contract data 543 Power usage data

Claims (3)

An electricity bill payment system that pays electricity charges in advance,
Assign a customer ID to the primary contractor and one or more subordinate contractors, calculate a discount rate according to the set period and group contract, determine the electricity bill for the contract period, For each customer ID, register the setting state of the immediate cutoff flag that specifies whether or not to immediately cut off the power supply when the upper limit value of the available power amount or the remaining amount of available power reaches a predetermined value A power usage management server;
A card issuing device for acquiring the upper limit value of the available power amount for each registered customer ID and the setting state of the immediate shut-off flag from the power usage management server and recording them on a readable card;
A function that is provided for each of the primary contractor and the subordinate contractor, connects to the power usage management server via a communication network, starts supplying power by inserting the card, and cuts off power by disconnecting the card. When the card is inserted, the contents of the recorded card are read, and the remaining power that can be used is subtracted from the upper limit value of the available power amount after every time period. It calculates the amount value, when the remaining amount value becomes a predetermined value, and a power cutoff device to immediately cut off the supply of power when the immediate blocking flag is set,
Each of the power shut-off devices outputs an alarm in a predetermined method before the remaining amount value reaches a predetermined value,
The power usage management server does not shut off power to the power shut-off device when an additional electricity charge is paid before the remaining amount of power available in the power shut-off device reaches a predetermined value. And make a notification
The power cut-off device that has received the notification does not cut off power even when the remaining amount reaches a predetermined value.

The power usage management server creates a customer power usage amount, an electricity charge, a power usage balance of the card, a predicted power consumption graph versus a power usage forecast vs actual performance graph, and a temperature-corrected predicted vs actual performance graph for each period. The electricity charge management system according to claim 1 , wherein: The power usage management server can access or display the created power usage, electricity charges, power usage balance of the card, the expected vs actual graph of power usage, and the expected vs actual graph after temperature correction via a communication network The electricity charge management system according to claim 2 , wherein:

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