CN109310224B - Power command device and operation management system - Google Patents

Power command device and operation management system Download PDF

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Publication number
CN109310224B
CN109310224B CN201780038634.8A CN201780038634A CN109310224B CN 109310224 B CN109310224 B CN 109310224B CN 201780038634 A CN201780038634 A CN 201780038634A CN 109310224 B CN109310224 B CN 109310224B
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China
Prior art keywords
information
cooking
home
power
reserved
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CN109310224A (en
Inventor
坂田直也
川田幸男
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Mitsubishi Electric Home Appliance Co Ltd
Mitsubishi Electric Corp
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Mitsubishi Electric Home Appliance Co Ltd
Mitsubishi Electric Corp
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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47J—KITCHEN EQUIPMENT; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; APPARATUS FOR MAKING BEVERAGES
    • A47J27/00—Cooking-vessels
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04M11/00—Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q9/00—Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Cookers (AREA)
  • Selective Calling Equipment (AREA)

Abstract

Electric appliances such as rice cookers have a highly convenient structure that can confirm whether or not an operation has been completed in accordance with a reservation by an information communication terminal device and can also automatically adjust the start time of the operation. The disclosed device is provided with: an electric heater; an input operation unit capable of designating a scheduled operation mode in which a cooking operation is started at a predetermined timing; a transmitting part for transmitting the cooking completion and unfinished report signal to the outside; a receiving part for receiving an inquiry signal of a cooking reservation state from the outside; and a control device for detecting whether the operation according to the reservation is completed, wherein the control device sends a signal for reporting that the cooking operation is not completed from the sending part when the reserved cooking operation is not performed at the time point when the reserved set time passes, and automatically sends a signal for reporting that the cooking is completed after the cooking operation is completed. Further, the current position of the information communication terminal device is grasped, and the timing of the cooking operation is automatically adjusted.

Description

Power command device and operation management system
Technical Field
The invention relates to an electric cooker, a household electrical appliance, a power instruction device and an operation management system of the household electrical appliance.
Background
In a general household, electric power is supplied to a plurality of household electrical appliances in a kitchen, for example, an induction heating cooker, via one circuit breaker. The maximum power consumption of the induction heating cooking apparatus is 4800W (or 5800W), and the proportion of the household power is large. In addition, the maximum power consumption of electric cookers and air conditioners (air conditioners) is also large as other home appliances. Therefore, various apparatuses and systems have been proposed for collectively managing the electric power of these home appliances, and in the home appliances, for example, a user such as a rice cooker can reserve the start time of the operation from an outgoing destination. In this case, there is a problem that whether or not the operation is reliably performed cannot be known from the destination.
On the other hand, if the user forgets that the cooking is not performed when the user goes home when the user goes out without instructing the start of cooking by remote control after the user goes out in preparation for cooking, the user cannot notice that the rice soaked in water remains in the rice cooker until the user sees the rice cooker when the user next cooks. When water and rice are placed in the rice cooker for a long time, problems of rot, mildew and the like are caused. In order to solve this problem, it has been proposed to send a notification signal from the rice cooker side to an information communication terminal held by the user to alert the user when the user does not actually give an operation instruction from an outgoing destination within a predetermined period of time from a time point at which the rice cooker side can be remotely controlled (see, for example, patent document 1).
On the other hand, in order to realize that the operation contents of a cooking device such as a rice cooker can be switched by the rice cooker itself based on information from an information communication terminal device carried by a user without depending on an instruction of the user, there has been proposed a method of determining, for example, a timing of starting an operation of a reserved cooking function based on distance information calculated based on current position information of the information communication terminal device and position information of a location where the cooking device is disposed (see, for example, patent document 2).
Further, the following home power control system is proposed: information of an expected time of return to home is requested from an information communication terminal device carried by a user to an arrival time search server via a communication network, and the information of the expected time of return to home obtained as a result of the request is transmitted from the information communication terminal device to an electric device, thereby correcting an operation start time of the home electric device for which a scheduled operation is set (see, for example, patent document 3).
Documents of the prior art
Patent document
Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2014-226236 (page 1, FIG. 5)
Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2015-8804 (page 2, FIG. 3)
Patent document 3: japanese patent laid-open No. 2014-96877 (page 82, FIG. 61, FIG. 62)
Disclosure of Invention
However, in the rice cooker of patent document 1, since the report signal from the rice cooker side is transmitted to the outgoing destination, if the time until the user returns home is long, it is assumed that the user of the rice cooker may forget the notice of receiving at the outgoing destination, and it is still not an effective measure for improvement because the user does not notice that the rice soaked in water remains in the rice cooker. This is a problem that is also present in other household appliances than rice cookers.
In the heating cooker of patent document 2, with respect to the start of cooking in the reserved cooking program, the user transmits a signal permitted from the information communication terminal device to the heating cooker side at the outgoing destination, but in the case of going back to home later, for example, in the case where the time until going back to home is longer than expected, it is assumed that the user of the heating cooker forgets to instruct the start of cooking at the outgoing destination, and there is a problem similar to that of patent document 1.
In the home power control system of patent document 3, the information communication terminal device requests the arrival time search server to provide expected time information of the arrival time at home, and as a result, the information communication terminal device acquires the information of the arrival expected time at home or the like and transmits the information to the power command device (power control device). Further, since the power command device identifies the home appliance in which the scheduled operation is set and instructs the home appliance to change the operation start time, the power command device is required, the system as a whole may be complicated, and it is difficult to perform autonomous scheduled operation control on each home appliance side.
The invention provides a rice cooker with a reserved cooking function, which is characterized in that the cooking operation is reported from the rice cooker to the outside.
The 2 nd object of the present invention is to report, from a home appliance having a reserved operation function, an operation that has been reserved to the outside.
The 3 rd object of the present invention is to report the operation status of a reserved home appliance in a power command device for controlling the power of the home appliance having a reserved operation function.
The 4 th object of the present invention is to enable a user or a resident to be reliably notified of the operation status of a reserved home appliance in an operation management system for a home appliance having a reserved operation function.
The rice cooker as the invention 1 relates to the subject 1, characterized by comprising:
an electrical heating source;
an input operation part which can select 2 reservation cooking modes of a time reservation cooking mode and a position corresponding reservation cooking mode;
a transmitting part for wirelessly transmitting a cooking completion report signal to the outside;
a receiving unit that wirelessly receives an inquiry signal for reserving cooking execution and a distance determination information signal of an external information communication terminal device from the information communication terminal device; and
A control device for receiving the selection of the cooking appointment mode from the input operation part and controlling the electric heating source,
the control device adjusts the cooking start time according to the distance obtained based on the distance determination information signal when the position corresponds to the reserved cooking mode,
further, the control device transmits a scheduled cooking operation completion report signal from the transmission unit when the cooking operation in the scheduled cooking mode is completed, in a case where the inquiry signal for scheduled cooking execution is received from the reception unit.
According to the rice cooker of claim 1, in response to an external inquiry, when the scheduled cooking operation is performed, a completion report signal of the scheduled cooking operation can be transmitted to notify a user or the like.
The rice cooker as the invention 2 relates to the subject 1, characterized in that it comprises:
an electrical heating source;
an input operation part which can select 2 reservation cooking modes of a time reservation cooking mode and a position corresponding reservation cooking mode;
a transmitting part for wirelessly transmitting a cooking completion and unfinished report signal to the outside;
a receiving unit for receiving an inquiry signal for reserving cooking execution and a distance determination information signal of the information communication terminal device from outside in a wireless manner; and
A control device for receiving the selection of the appointed cooking mode from the input operation part, controlling the electric heating source and detecting whether the cooking action in the appointed cooking mode is finished or not,
the control device adjusts the cooking time according to the distance represented by the distance judgment information signal when the position corresponds to the reserved cooking mode,
further, the control device transmits a cooking operation completion report signal from the transmission unit when the cooking operation in the reserved cooking mode is completed, and transmits a cooking operation non-completion report signal from the transmission unit when the cooking operation set in the reserved cooking mode is not performed when the inquiry signal for reserved cooking execution is received.
According to the rice cooker of claim 2, when the scheduled cooking operation is performed, a predetermined notification signal is transmitted from the rice cooker side to notify the user or the like of completion of cooking. In addition, when the cooking operation is not performed, an unfinished notification signal of the cooking operation can be transmitted from the rice cooker to the user in response to an external inquiry signal.
The rice cooker of claim 3 relates to the 1 st object, and comprises:
An electrical heating source;
an input operation part capable of designating a time reservation cooking mode for starting operation at a time point which becomes a predetermined time and 2 reservation cooking modes of the position-corresponding reservation cooking mode;
a transmitting part for transmitting a cooking completion report signal to the outside; and
a control device for receiving the appointed cooking appointment mode from the input operation part, controlling the electric heating source and detecting whether the operation in the appointed cooking appointment mode is completed or not,
the control device transmits a cooking operation completion report signal from the transmission unit when the cooking operation in the reserved cooking mode is completed,
further, the control device has the following functions: the distance determination information signal is received from the information communication terminal device, and the timing for starting the cooking operation is determined so that the timing for completing the cooking operation approaches the arrival time based on the estimated time until the occupant of the information communication terminal device moves to reach the living space.
According to the rice cooker of claim 3, the rice cooker has a function of determining the time when the resident having the information communication terminal device returns to the place where the rice cooker is present, and adjusting the timing of starting the cooking operation, and when the cooking operation is performed, a predetermined report signal is transmitted from the rice cooker side to notify the user or the like of the completion of cooking.
The home appliance of claim 4 relates to the subject 2, and includes:
an electrical heating source or power source;
an input operation unit capable of selecting 2 reserved operation modes, namely a reserved time operation mode for starting operation at a time point which is a predetermined time and a position-corresponding operation mode;
a transmission unit that wirelessly transmits a completion report signal and an uncompleted report signal of a scheduled operation to the outside;
a receiving unit that wirelessly receives an inquiry signal for performing a scheduled operation and a distance determination information signal of an external information communication terminal device from the information communication terminal device; and
a control device for receiving an instruction of a reserved operation mode from the input operation part, controlling the heating source or the power source, and detecting whether the operation in the reserved operation mode is completed,
when the position-corresponding operation mode is designated, the control device adjusts at least one of the start time and the end time of the operation based on the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal,
further, the control device transmits the unfinished report signal from the transmission unit when the inquiry signal for reserved operation execution is received from the reception unit and the operation in the reserved operation mode is performed, and transmits the finished report signal from the transmission unit when the operation in the reserved operation mode is completed.
According to the household electrical appliance of the invention 4, the household electrical appliance itself has a function of determining the time when the resident returns to the place where the rice cooker is present and adjusting the timing of starting the cooking operation, and the completion report signal of the scheduled operation is transmitted from the household electrical appliance to the outside when the scheduled operation is performed, and the completion report signal of the scheduled operation can be transmitted from the household electrical appliance to the outside and reported in response to an inquiry from the outside when the scheduled operation is performed.
The power command device according to claim 5 relates to claim 3, and includes:
a power control unit that transmits a power reduction command signal to limit the total amount of power in a home to a home appliance that can receive a remote operation signal and a distance determination information signal from an information communication terminal device and execute a reserved operation;
a receiving unit for receiving a remote operation signal and a distance determination information signal from the information communication terminal device, and a setting signal of a scheduled operation and a completion signal of the scheduled operation from the home appliance device;
a report unit that reports power information such as power consumption of a home and information for specifying a home appliance for which a scheduled operation is set, respectively; and
A central control unit that controls the power control unit and the report unit,
the central control unit stores information indicating the adjusted reserved operation condition and reports the adjustment result of the reserved operation condition to the information communication terminal device, when the condition for reserved operation is adjusted by the home appliance based on the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal, or when the information indicating the condition for reserved operation is adjusted by the home appliance and the information indicating the condition for reserved operation is transmitted as a result of the central control unit itself calculating the required time until the home appliance returns from the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal and transmitting the information of the required time to the home appliance,
the central control unit is configured to be able to report information for specifying the home appliance by the report means when a signal for completing the scheduled operation is not received from the home appliance that transmitted the signal for starting the scheduled operation.
According to the power command device of the 5 th aspect of the present invention, when the home appliance estimates the time of return of the resident and adjusts the condition for the scheduled operation, or when the central control unit calculates the time required until the home appliance returns and transmits the time to the home appliance, and as a result, the home appliance adjusts the condition for the scheduled operation and transmits information indicating the adjusted condition, the power command device can store the information indicating the adjusted condition for the scheduled operation and report the adjustment of the condition for the scheduled operation to the information communication terminal device.
Further, when a signal indicating that the resident has returned home is received, if there is a home appliance that has not been operated in the reserved operation mode, information that can identify the home appliance can be reported.
The power command device according to claim 6 relates to the problem of claim 3, and is characterized by including:
a power control unit that limits the total amount of power in a home by sending a power reduction command signal to a home appliance capable of setting a scheduled operation;
a receiving unit configured to receive a remote operation signal and a distance determination information signal from an information communication terminal device for the home appliance, information indicating a scheduled operation setting status of the home appliance, and home return detection information of a resident;
a report unit that reports power information such as power consumption of a home and information for specifying a home appliance for which a scheduled operation is set, respectively; and
a central control device that controls the power control unit and the report unit,
the central control device reports information indicating the adjusted reserved operating condition by the reporting means when the home appliance adjusts the reserved operating condition based on the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal of the information communication terminal device or when the central control device adjusts the reserved operating condition based on the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal of the information communication terminal device,
Further, when the home appliance set with the reserved operation has not completed the operation, the central control device reports the home appliance through the report means in response to an input operation by a resident.
According to the power command device of the invention 6, when the home appliance estimates the time when the resident goes home and adjusts the condition for the scheduled operation, or when the central control unit calculates the time required until the resident goes home and transmits information indicating the adjusted condition to the home appliance as a result of the home appliance adjusting the condition for the scheduled operation, the power command device can store the information indicating the adjusted condition for the scheduled operation and report the adjustment of the condition for the scheduled operation to the information communication terminal device.
Further, if the resident performs an input operation, if there is a home appliance that is not operating in the reserved operation mode, it is possible to notify information that can specify the home appliance.
An operation management system for a home appliance according to claim 7 relates to the 4 th object, and is characterized by comprising:
a household appliance comprising a 1 st communication unit for wireless communication and a heating source or a power source operated by electric energy;
An information communication terminal device for transmitting a remote operation signal and a distance determination information signal which enable the home appliance device to perform a reserved operation; and
an overall management device for acquiring the operation information signal from the household electrical appliance,
the home appliance device includes: a control device for controlling the heating source or the power source; and an operation input unit for inputting a reservation setting input signal for starting operation at a predetermined time to the control device,
the overall management device includes a display unit for displaying the operating state of the home electric appliance,
the home appliance has a function of adjusting the reserved operating condition according to a distance indicated by a distance determination information signal from the information communication terminal device,
the overall management device acquires information indicating a result of adjusting the reserved operating conditions of the home appliance and displays the information on the display unit.
According to the operation management system for a home electric appliance of the 7 th aspect, in the overall management device for acquiring operation information from the home electric appliance, the condition change result of the reserved operation is displayed with respect to the home electric appliance in which the reserved operation is set, and thus a highly convenient system can be provided to the user.
An operation management system for a home appliance according to claim 8 relates to the 4 th object, and is characterized by comprising:
a plurality of household electrical appliances, which are provided with a 1 st communication part for wireless communication and a heating source or a power source operated by electric energy;
an information communication terminal device for transmitting a remote operation signal enabling the home appliance device to perform a reserved operation and transmitting a distance determination information signal; and
a power command device having a 2 nd communication unit which wirelessly communicates with the 1 st communication units of the plurality of home electric appliances, respectively, and acquires an operation information signal,
the home appliance device includes: a control device for controlling the heating source or the power source; and an operation input unit for setting a reserved operation mode for starting operation at a predetermined time,
the power command device has a selection operation unit capable of selecting a home mode and an out mode,
the home appliance has a function of changing the reserved operating condition according to a distance indicated by a distance determination information signal from the information communication terminal device,
the power command device acquires information indicating a result of changing a reserved operating condition of the home appliance,
the power command device displays, on a display unit, information that enables identification of a home appliance in the reserved operation mode when the home appliance is not yet operated when a resident performs a switching operation from the outgoing mode to the home mode on the selection operation unit.
According to the operation management system for a home appliance of the 8 th aspect of the present invention, the condition change result of the reserved operation can be obtained for the home appliance whose reserved operation condition is changed, by the overall management device that obtains the operation information signals of the plurality of home appliances.
Further, it is possible to provide a highly convenient system that can report information that can specify a home appliance when the home appliance is not operated in the reserved operation mode when the resident operates the selection operation unit from the out mode to the in mode.
According to the rice cooker of claim 1, in response to an external inquiry, when the scheduled cooking operation is performed, a completion report signal of the scheduled cooking operation can be transmitted to notify a user or the like.
According to the rice cooker of claim 2, when the scheduled cooking operation is performed, a predetermined report signal is transmitted from the rice cooker side to notify the user of completion of cooking. In addition, when the cooking operation is not performed, an unfinished notification signal of the cooking operation can be transmitted from the rice cooker to the user in response to an external inquiry signal.
According to the rice cooker of claim 3, when the scheduled rice cooking operation is performed, a predetermined report signal is transmitted from the rice cooker side to notify the user of completion of the rice cooking. In addition, when the cooking operation is not performed, an unfinished notification signal of the cooking operation can be transmitted from the rice cooker to the user in response to an external inquiry signal.
According to the home appliance of claim 4, the reserved operation completion report signal can be transmitted from the home appliance to the outside when the reserved operation is performed, and the reserved operation completion report signal can be transmitted from the home appliance to the outside in response to an inquiry from the outside when the reserved operation is performed.
According to the power command device of claim 5, when a signal indicating that the resident has returned home is received, if there is a home appliance that has not been operated in the reserved operation mode, information that can identify the home appliance can be reported.
According to the power command device of claim 6, when the home electric appliance set with the reserved operation does not complete the operation when the resident performs the predetermined input operation, the power command device can report the home electric appliance.
According to the operation management system for a home appliance of the invention 7, the condition change result of the scheduled operation can be acquired by the overall management device.
In addition, when the occupant operates the selection operation unit from the home mode to the out mode, if there is a home appliance that is not operating in the reserved operation mode, information that can identify the home appliance can be reported, and a highly convenient system can be provided.
According to the operation management system for a home electric appliance of the 8 th aspect of the present invention, the result of changing the conditions for the scheduled operation is displayed by the overall management device, so that a system with high convenience can be provided to the user.
Further, it is possible to provide a highly convenient system capable of reporting information that can specify a home appliance when the home appliance is not operated in the reserved operation mode when the occupant operates the selection operation unit from the out mode to the home mode.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of 1 household according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of an external communication circuit connected to the operation management system of the home appliance of fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram of a power command device and a home electric appliance according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is an external view of various home electric appliances according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the rice cooker according to embodiment 1 of the present invention in a state where the lid is opened.
Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing a part of a rice cooker lid body according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is a control circuit diagram of the electric cooker of embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing a control circuit configuration of the electric cooker of fig. 7.
Fig. 9 is an explanatory view of a cooking process of the rice cooker of fig. 7.
Fig. 10 is a block diagram showing a control circuit configuration of an information communication terminal device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram 1 showing a power control operation of the power command device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 12 is an explanatory diagram 2 showing a power control operation of the power command device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 13 is a flowchart 1 showing the operation of the rice cooker according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 14 is a flowchart 1 showing the operation of the power command device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 15 is a flowchart 2 showing the operation of the power command device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 16 is an explanatory diagram 1 showing in time series the operation of the power control system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 17 is an explanatory diagram 2 showing the operation of the power control system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention in time series.
Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram 3 showing the operation of the power control system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention in time series.
Fig. 19 is an explanatory diagram 4 showing the operation of the power control system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention in time series.
Fig. 20 is an explanatory diagram 5 showing the operation of the power control system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention in time series.
Fig. 21 is an explanatory diagram 6 showing the operation of the power control system according to embodiment 1 of the present invention in time series.
Fig. 22 is a front view of a display panel of a power command device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention 1.
Fig. 23 is a front view 2 of a display panel of a power command device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 24 is a front view 3 of a display panel of a power command device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 25 is a front view of a display panel of the power command device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention 4.
Fig. 26 is a front view 5 of a display panel of a power command device according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.
Fig. 27 is a flowchart 1 showing the operation of the rice cooker according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.
Fig. 28 is a flowchart 2 showing the operation of the electric rice cooker according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.
Fig. 29 is a flowchart 3 showing the operation of the rice cooker according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.
Fig. 30 is a flowchart 4 showing the operation of the rice cooker according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.
Fig. 31 is a plan view of the lid body of the rice cooker according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.
Fig. 32 is a flowchart showing the steps of the control unit operation until the rice cooking reservation mode of the rice cooker of fig. 31 is set and determined.
Fig. 33 is a front view showing a liquid crystal display screen and an input operation unit in a display panel of a power command device according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.
Fig. 34 is a flowchart illustrating a part of the operation procedure of the central control unit of the power command device of fig. 33.
Fig. 35 is a front view showing a liquid crystal display screen and an input operation unit in a display panel of a power command device according to embodiment 4 of the present invention.
Fig. 36 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation procedure of the central control unit of the power command device of fig. 35.
(symbol description)
AS 1: a power curtailment request signal; AS 2: a power curtailment command signal; BK: a circuit breaker; EE: a home appliance device; EP: an ac 200V power supply (commercial power supply); ES: an abnormality occurrence report signal; h1: a preheating procedure; h2: a cooking process; H2A: a strong fire step (execution period of priority cooking menu); H2B: a weak fire process; h3: a stewing process; h4: a heat preservation procedure; HA: a living space; KP: household appliances in the kitchen; KS: a cooking start permission signal; L1-L8: an operational information signal; LN: a report signal indicating that cooking is not performed is reserved; SL: a ceiling; SB: a wall; 1: power supply lines (main lines); 2: a TV receiver; 3: an electric heat preservation rice cooker; 4: an air conditioner; 5A: a lighting fixture; 5B: a lighting fixture; 6: a power command device (overall management device); 6A: a power command device main body; 7: a composite sensor; 8: a composite sensor; 9: a temperature sensor; 10: a human perception sensor; 11: a human perception sensor; 12: an outdoor antenna; 13: a router; 13A: a router A; 13B: a router B; 14: an external mechanism; 14A: an external mechanism; 14B: an external mechanism; 15: a wide area communication network; 15A: a wide area communication network; 15B: a wide area communication network; 16: an electricity meter; 17: ASP servers (information servers); 18: a relay server; 19: using a power control unit; 20: an information communication terminal device; 21: a base station; 22: a facility; 23: a power control unit; 24: a display panel; 25: an input operation unit; 26: displaying a picture by a liquid crystal; 27: a central control unit; 27A: a 1 st storage unit; 27B: a 2 nd storage unit; 28: a storage device; 29A: an input/output unit; 29B: an input/output unit; 29C: an input/output unit; 30: an environment detection unit; 31: a human perception portion; 32: a home detection unit; 33: an electronic lock; 34: a personal authentication device; 35: an earthquake determination section; 36: a seismic sensor; 37: an input/output unit; 38: an input/output unit; 39: a hot water supply device; 40: an NFC input/output unit; 41: a clock circuit; 50: kitchen furniture; 51: an induction heating cooker; 52: a grill cooker; 53: a cooking range; 54: a tableware cleaning dryer; 55: a rice cooker main body case; 56: a cover body; 57: a steam treatment device; 59: a cooking start button; 60: an inner container; 61: a heating unit (heater); 62: an inner cover; 63: a steam generating port; 64: a liquid crystal display unit; 65: a steam pipe; 66: a can cover; 67: a steam inlet; 68: a main power switch; 68A: an operation button of the main power switch; 69: displaying the information; 70: displaying the information; 71: an operation section; 72: a heat-preserving key; 73: a menu key; 74: rice bonding; 75: a voice guide key; 76: a reservation key; 77: an off/cancel key; 78: a cooking mode key; 79: a power-saving switch; 80: a health information display key; 81: an NFC input/output unit; 82: wireless tags (NFC tags); 83: a control unit; 84: a power supply unit; 85: a control unit; 85R: a storage unit; 86: an inner container temperature detection part; 88: a water level sensor; 89: a water temperature sensor; 90: a wireless communication unit (input/output unit) (1 st communication unit); 91: a temperature detection circuit; 92: an inverter circuit; 93: a heater for heat preservation; 94: a drive circuit; 95: a drive circuit; 96: a sound synthesizing device; 97: a speaker; 98: a power cable; 99: a timing unit (clock circuit); 100: a remote control unit; 101: a standby judging section; 102: a storage unit; 110: maximum allowable power information; 111: displaying information using the current power; 113: a setting key; 114: displaying information using a device; 115: a use display unit; 116: an information key; 117: a help mode key; 118: an abnormality display unit; 119: a recommendation area; 120: a selection key (selection operation unit in home mode); 121: a selection key (a selection operation unit not in the home mode); 122: a display area; 123: a select key (batch power OFF key); 124: 1 st reserved operation confirmation information; 125: reserved operation confirmation information; 126: reserved operation confirmation information; 130: a display unit; 130A: displaying a picture by a liquid crystal; 131: an operation input unit (operation unit); 132: a communication unit; 132A: a wireless interface section; 132B: a wireless interface section; 133: a posture detection unit; 134: a control unit; 135: a Central Processing Unit (CPU); 136: a storage unit; 137: ROM, RAM portion; 138: an application software section; 139: a reception processing unit; 140: a transmission processing unit; 141: a communication establishment unit; 142: a display control unit; 143: a selection determination section; 144: a reporting section; 145: a position detection unit; 146: a position information storage unit; 147: a distance information calculation unit; 148: a GPS satellite; 150: a time reservation cooking mode selection key; 151: the position corresponds to a key for selecting a cooking appointment mode; 152: an NFC input/output unit; 153: an NFC input/output unit; 154: a release key; 155A to 155F: a device selection key; 160: a setting key (touch input unit) of an operation mode; 161: NFC input/output unit (for monitoring mode selection).
Detailed Description
Embodiment 1.
Embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to fig. 1 to 26
(definition)
In the present invention, the "home electric appliance" EE is an electric appliance designed to be used mainly in a home, and includes a kitchen home electric appliance KP such as an electric heat-insulating rice cooker (hereinafter referred to as "rice cooker") 3, a video device such as a television receiver 2, an air conditioner 4, an air cleaner, an air processing device such as an air deodorizer, a heating device such as an electric stove, an electric vacuum cleaner, an electric washing machine (including an electric washing machine with a drying function), and a hot water supply device (including a hot water supply device with a hot water pipe) 39 used in a rainy weather. In the following description, the home appliance EE includes the rice cooker 3 unless otherwise specified.
The "heating source" means a heating source that generates heat by consuming electric energy. A radiant electric heater, an induction heating heater (a heater including an induction heating coil), and the like are an example.
The "power source" refers to an electric motor, an electric compressor driven by the motor, an electric blower, an electric pump, and the like. In general, home appliances such as an automatic washing (clothes) dryer and a dish washing and drying machine have such a power source built therein. In addition, 1 household electrical appliance may include both a heat source and a power source.
In the present invention, the "identification information" of the home appliance EE is information for identifying the home appliance EE, is information unique to the home appliance EE, and is important information required for reliable repair and inspection. For example, the following examples are specifically included in the identification information, but are not limited to these. The home appliance EE will be described in detail later.
(1) Maker name of household electrical appliance
(2) Type number
(3) Format numbering
(4) Manufacturing number (fuselage number)
(5) Rated power consumption
(6) Purchases are made year, month and day (often the day of inception of the manufacturer, seller's quality assurance period)
(7) Year, month and day of use (day of start of legal inspection period in the case of tableware cleaning/drying machine)
(8) Warranty serial number
The legal inspection (7) is an inspection based on a "long-term use product safety inspection system" newly established in "consumer life product safety law" modified and executed from 4/1/2009. In addition, in "electrical product safety law" independent of the law, a long-term use product safety display system is created by modifying a technical standard provincial law, and for a specific product of consumer products, display of a caution or the like is obligated to remind a consumer of appropriate maintenance and inspection with respect to a standard use period in design and aged deterioration. Therefore, the "identification information" of the home appliance EE may include information on "the date of manufacture of the product" and "the number of years elapsed since the date of manufacture" displayed to the consumer as a reference for the standard use period.
Note that whether or not the "specific home electric appliance" (environment improvement equipment) such as the air conditioner 4 described later is a part of the identification information is also provided, and when wireless communication is performed with the overall management device (also referred to as "power command device") 6, the identification information is provided from the specific home electric appliance (environment improvement equipment) side to the overall management device 5 side.
In the present invention, the "time reservation operation mode" of the home appliance means the following control method: the user specifies a desired time, and specifies the start of the operation or the completion of the operation before the desired time. For example, the following is true: the operation of an air conditioner (air conditioner) is automatically started when the scheduled time is reached, and the rice cooking operation is automatically ended before the scheduled time. The following is also true: the operation of an air conditioner (air conditioner) is automatically stopped at the time of reaching a scheduled time. This is generally called timer operation, and although the length of the operation time such as 1 hour or 2 hours is often specified, the operation may be stopped at a specified time.
In the present invention, the "time-scheduled cooking mode" of the rice cooker is also referred to as timer cooking mode, and refers to a control method in which the user designates a desired (cooking completion) time and designates completion of cooking before the time. When the cooking operation is started at a desired timing, the cooking operation is completed in 1 hour or less depending on the amount of cooked rice, and the start timing may be specified. In addition, since the reservation may be made by specifying an elapsed time such as "8 hours after the current time" at the stage of specifying the reserved cooking, the reservation is referred to as "time reservation" in the meaning including both time reservation and time reservation.
The "cooking time" means either or both of the time when the cooking operation is started and the time when the cooking operation is completed.
In the present invention, the "position-corresponding cooking reservation mode" of the rice cooker means a control method of: the start time of the cooking operation is automatically selected on the rice cooker side based on the distance between the information communication terminal device, which transmits an inquiry signal or the like for reserving the execution of cooking to the rice cooker, an input signal of a cooking mode, and the like, and the rice cooker itself and the installation place thereof. When the mode is designated, the cooking is automatically adjusted to be able to be completed in accordance with the time of return home of the resident who holds the information communication terminal device. However, this automatic adjustment does not guarantee that the time of returning home and the time of completion of cooking are exactly the same. When the time of return is 20 hours and 00 minutes, the cooking completion time may be 19 hours and 40 minutes, or the cooking operation may be completed immediately after the return. The intention is that the just-cooked delicious rice can be enjoyed with less wasted electric energy input if the time of return to home is as close as possible.
The "overall management device" 6 referred to in the present invention is a device for coordinating 2 or more home appliances EE. For example, the rice cooker 3 to be the object of the present invention is operated in cooperation with the operation of other home electric appliances EE, for example, the air conditioner 4, the TV receiver 2, and the like. The "cooperative operation" means that one of the home appliances uses information indicating the operation state of the other home appliance and acquired data for operation, display, and the like. Therefore, the overall management device 6 has a function of acquiring information on the current status of the home appliance EE, such as the operation, stop, and standby states of the home appliance EE, from the home appliance EE by using a wired or wireless signal.
The "power command device" referred to in the present invention is a device having a function of limiting power consumption in the "overall management device" 6 and a function of limiting the upper limit of the total power consumption in 1 household. In some cases, the "overall management device" may also serve as the "power command device" for 1 household electrical appliance. The "power command device" 6 of 1 household electrical appliance is not limited to a power command device for other household electrical appliances.
In the present invention, "environment information" of the environment detection unit 30 is information collectively referred to as "environment data" itself detected by the environment detection unit 30 described later and "environment evaluation information" created from such environment data, and includes information of the following kind that affects the living comfort of a house, but is not limited thereto.
(1) Temperature information
(2) Humidity information
(3) Dust divergence (amount of dust per unit volume of air) information
(4) Pollen scattering amount information
(5) The light amount (visible light amount) information · in other words, information of the brightness of the living space.
(6) The noise information … is information on the quietness of the living space.
In the present invention, the "environment data" acquired by the environment detection unit 30 is data itself indicating a physical state such as a measured temperature and humidity. For example, the air temperature of 35 ℃ is comparable to environmental data. Information classified, ranked, or otherwise processed according to an arbitrary evaluation criterion, calculation processing, or the like based on the air temperature of 35 ℃ corresponds to "environmental evaluation information" as described above. For example, the information such as "room temperature is high" and "standard temperature" corresponds to the "environmental evaluation information" described above.
In embodiment 1, the term "use of environmental information" refers to use of the environmental information in efficient operation or effective operation of the home appliance EE or operation in consideration of the environment by various home appliances EE described later, and includes the following examples.
(1) When the temperature is high, the heat retaining function of the rice cooker 3 is started following the end of the cooking process.
(2) In the case of humidity, 1 type of dehumidifier as the home electric appliance EE is operated. Alternatively, the ventilator is started to operate. The operating conditions (target room temperature, etc.) of the air conditioner 4 are changed.
(3) When fine dust floating in the air flies, the air cleaner is operated. Or, the ventilator is started to operate.
(4) When the amount of pollen scattered is large, the operation of the air cleaner is started.
(5) When the amount of light (amount of visible light) is small, the lighting fixtures 5A and 5B are turned on.
(6) In the case of noise, the operation of the self-propelled electric dust collector which generates the operation sound of the blower motor and the travel sound and the operation of the washing and drying machine which generates the operation sound of the electric motor which rotates the washing and drying drum are avoided according to the period of silence such as late night according to the state without noise.
Further, the operation of the air conditioner 4 is started by calculating a so-called "discomfort index" in accordance with the relationship between the air temperature and the humidity.
In embodiment 1, the "home detection unit" 34 (also referred to as "home detection means") includes the following embodiments, but not all of them are described in detail in the following description of the embodiments, and only a representative embodiment is described in detail.
(1) The mode of returning the resident to home is detected based on the electronic lock 33 installed outside the entrance (entrance) of the house and the password and biometric information (e.g., fingerprint information) input to the electronic lock.
(2) A method in which the power command device 5 directly reads personal identification information recorded on a unique identification card, an ID card, or the like held by a resident by a magnetic method, an optical method, or a short-range communication method or another communication method, and interprets the read information to determine that the resident is at home.
(3) A method in which the power command device 6 directly reads personal identification information recorded in an information communication terminal device 20 such as a cellular phone held by a resident by short-range communication or other communication method, and decodes the read information to determine that the resident is at home.
(4) A method in which a specific home electric appliance EE is caused to read personal identification information recorded in an information communication terminal device 20 or the like, such as an ID card or an ID card unique to a person, or a method in which a home electric appliance EE is caused to read an ID number or a password known only to a person or an ID number or a password known only to a person is input by an input key and the personal identification information or the password is interpreted by the power command device 6 and determined as being home of the person who has read the personal identification information or the password.
In embodiment 1, "occupants" refer to the persons who live in the following 1 house, and include parents and children, brothers, sisters, and the like having a relationship of consanguineous, but include visitors who temporarily lodge in the following living space HA for a predetermined period, and other persons who live together. But also persons borrowing one or more living spaces by 1 or more persons. When the rice cooker 3 or the other home electric appliance EE is used, the resident is referred to as a "user".
In embodiment 1, "home" refers to 1 house managed by a specific manager, and may include an apartment where a plurality of rooms are present and a plurality of family members are present. That is, even in such an apartment, when the upper limit of the commercial power is collectively managed by 1 power cut-off facility (1 breaker BK or a plurality of power cutters, etc.) as in the case of 1 house, it is regarded as a home as referred to herein.
In embodiment 1, the "operation information" of the overall management device (also referred to as "power command device") 6 described later is information indicating the total power amount set at the upper limit of 1 household, information indicating the currently used power amount, information indicating the difference between the total power amount and the used power amount, specifically, information such as the name of the home appliance EE to be controlled by the power command device 6, information indicating the use state of the home appliance EE, information indicating the power amount used by each home appliance EE (for example, average power amount of 1 minute), and the like, but is not limited thereto.
In embodiment 1, the "power limitation information on the household electrical appliance side" refers to information on any signal related to the amount of power consumption received by the household electrical appliance from the power command device 6, and includes information related to commands such AS a power reduction request signal AS1 and a power reduction command signal AS2, which will be described later. These pieces of information include information indicating the reception period of the signal (time of year, month, and second) and the meaning of the signal. For example, the electric power reduction command signal AS2 at an arbitrary time point for the induction heating cooker 51 described later is a signal AS "reception time: information indicating that the maximum power consumption amount decreased by 2% "at 00 seconds at 17/1/4/2016. The power limit information ON the home appliance side is stored in time series in the storage device of the control device of the home appliance, for example, the rice cooker 3, and does not disappear even if the main power supply is turned ON or OFF. The main power is turned ON and then OFF is considered as1 cooking, and at least the amount corresponding to several times is stored and held. The amount exceeding it is automatically deleted in turn.
In embodiment 1, the "home appliance-side position information" is information (code) indicating in which room the home appliance is present in the living space HA, and is, for example, normalized by the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 so that the living room is code 001, the kitchen is code 002, and the bedroom is code 003, and when the home appliance EE is used and the (power) control target of the power command device 6, the position information is registered in the power command device 6 together with the identification information of the home appliance. Note that, even the home electric appliance EE which is not the (power) control target of the power command device 6 can transmit the latest position information indicating the installation position and the use place thereof.
In the case of a home appliance EE of a non-movable type, in which the initial installation position is not changed, such as a built-in induction heating cooker 51 used in kitchen furniture installed in a kitchen or an air conditioner 4 used fixed to a wall, the position information can be continuously used as it is.
However, in the case of a (transportable) home electric appliance EE which is easily transportable to any place by a user, for example, when performing wireless communication with the power command device (overall management device) 6, the latest position thereof is calculated by the power command device 6. When the electric power command device (overall management device) 6 calculates the location, the identification code of the living space at that time is stored in the storage unit (storage unit 2 to be described later) 27A of the control unit 27 of the overall management device 6 in a pair with the data (for example, operation start time and operation end time) of the operation of the home electric appliance EE.
Various techniques for specifying the position of a home appliance that establishes an electrical connection or a communication session with the power command device 6 from the power command device 6 side have been proposed.
For example, in japanese patent laying-open No. 2014-79036, in order to solve the problem that a user of a home appliance has to manually register information in order to manage relationship information between a newly introduced home appliance and a "power outlet", the following techniques are proposed: when the home appliance is connected to the power outlet, the home appliance (information home appliance) management apparatus that notifies the appliance connection detection event from the power outlet and notifies the start completion event from the home appliance registers candidate information of which home appliance has the power plug of the power cable inserted into the connection port in the table, in response to the notification of 2 pieces of information home appliance.
In this conventional technique, a power OFF instruction is then given from the home appliance management apparatus to the power outlet to the corresponding connection port, the communication state of the information home appliance in the assumed correlation is monitored, and when communication with the home appliance in the assumed correlation is disconnected as a result of the power OFF instruction, the power ON instruction is newly given to the corresponding connection port, and the home appliance and the connection port are registered assuming that the assumed correlation is correct.
In the home appliance management device according to the related art, a technique has been proposed that can perform automatic registration processing without manually detecting an accurate connection relationship between a connection port and a home appliance. In other words, by grasping the connection port, the location where the home appliance is used can be specified.
In the description of embodiment 1, a detailed description of a mode of grasping the latest position of the rice cooker 3 and the other portable home appliances will be omitted. Further, the device connection detection event information may be transmitted from the home appliance EE itself without transmitting the device connection detection event information from the power outlet.
(Overall Structure)
Fig. 1 shows an example of 1 house using a rice cooker 3 according to embodiment 1. In fig. 1, HA1 represents the living space (bedroom) of 1 house. HA2 represents an adjacent living space (kitchen) separated from the living space HA1 by a wall SB. In addition, HA is used as a symbol when the living space is collectively referred to. Although not shown in fig. 1, there are living spaces such as "living room" and "bathroom" and rooms having toilets. Other rooms are also possible.
Electric power having a voltage of 200V is supplied to all living spaces HA from a commercial power supply EP of an electric power company located outside the house, for example. The power is introduced into the interior of the house via an electricity meter 16. Reference numeral 1 denotes a power supply line (main line) connected to the commercial power supply EP having a voltage of 200V via a circuit breaker BK. The power cord 1 is connected to a television receiver (hereinafter, referred to as "TV receiver") 2 capable of receiving various broadcasts, a rice cooker 3, an air conditioner 4, lighting devices 5A and 5B, kitchen electrical equipment (hereinafter, referred to as "kitchen home appliance") KP, and a hot water supply device 39. In fig. 1, only 1 TV receiver 2, only 1 air conditioner 4, and only one kitchen home appliance KP are shown, but a plurality of TV receivers, air conditioners 4, and home appliances KP may be provided. In addition, the number of the lighting apparatuses is not limited to 2, that is, 5A and 5B, and the illustration of the other lighting apparatuses is omitted.
Reference numeral 6 denotes a power command device (also serving as an overall management device) to which power is supplied via the circuit breaker BK, and is installed in a wall-mounted state in a place such as a wall surface of a living space HA2 (kitchen) where family members can easily approach or on the ground. As other home appliances, there are a plurality of dish washing and drying machines 54 (see fig. 4), automatic washing and drying machines (not shown), and other home appliances, which will be described later.
In fig. 1, AD is the above-described "power outlet". In embodiment 1, since each of the household electrical appliances EE in the living space transmits an identification code indicating the position information of the installed living space HA, the room information, and the like to the power command device 6, the power outlet may be omitted.
In fig. 1, SL denotes a wall surface constituting a ceiling of the living space HA. Reference numeral 7 denotes a composite sensor (temperature and humidity sensor) for detecting the indoor air temperature and humidity in the living space HA1, and is 1 type of environmental sensor. Reference numeral 8 denotes a composite sensor (temperature and humidity sensor) for detecting the indoor air temperature and the indoor humidity of the living space HA2, and is 1 type of the environmental sensor. Reference numeral 9 denotes a temperature sensor installed in an external space (an outer surface of an outer wall, etc.) of a house, and is 1 type of environmental sensor.
The composite sensors 7 and 8 and the temperature sensor have a function of transmitting the measured temperature and humidity wirelessly or by an electric signal to an environment detection unit 30 of the power command device 6 described later. The power source may be a charged battery or may be power from the power supply line 1. Since these sensors consume power of as little as 1W (watt) to several watts, they are not subject to power limitation by the power command device 6 even when operated with power from the power supply line 1, and therefore, the measurement data is continuously transmitted to the power command device 6 at a predetermined timing.
Although not shown, other than the environment sensors, 1 type of the environment sensors includes a pollen sensor for measuring an amount of pollen scattering in the air, a noise sensor for detecting a level of noise in the room, and an illuminance sensor for detecting brightness in the room, which are provided at appropriate positions in each living space. In addition to the composite sensors 7 and 8, a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor for detecting the outdoor air temperature and humidity may be provided, or the pollen sensor may be provided not only indoors but also outdoors (for example, an outer wall surface of a house, an outer frame of a window, a balcony, or the like).
The environment detection unit 30 is installed in a place or other living space apart from the main body 6A of the power command device 6, is connected to the main body 6A in a wireless or wired manner, and acquires environment detection information under the control of the central control unit 27 incorporated in the main body 6A, and is therefore defined as "a part of the power command device 6" in embodiment 1 of the present invention.
In fig. 1 and 6, reference numeral 10 denotes a human sensing sensor capable of detecting infrared rays naturally emitted by a human and detecting the presence or absence of a human in the living space HA 1. Similarly, the human sensor 11 detects the presence of a human in the living space HA2 by detecting infrared rays naturally emitted from the human. Further, such a human perception sensor may be provided in the other living space HA. These human perception sensors 10 and 11 have a function of transmitting a result of detecting whether or not a human is present to a human perception portion 31 of the power command device 6 described later wirelessly or by an electric signal. The power supply may be a battery charged in advance, or may be power supplied by branching from the power supply line 1. Since the power consumption of these sensors is small on the order of 1W to several W, the sensors are not subject to power limitation of the power command device 6 even when operated with power from the power supply line 1, and therefore, the measurement data is continuously transmitted to the power command device 6 at a predetermined timing (for example, every 10 seconds).
FIG. 1 is explained next. Reference numeral 12 denotes an outdoor antenna connected to a tuner (not shown) of the TV receiver, and 13A denotes a router a connected to the power command device 6, and the router a connects the power command device 6 to an external unit 14A such as an electric power company or a regional earthquake information providing unit that transmits information to a region of the house via a wide communication line network (sometimes referred to as "communication network" or "internet") 15 such as the internet.
Reference numeral 13B denotes a router B connected to the TV receiver 2, and the router B connects the TV receiver 2 to the external unit 14A or an external unit 14B (not shown) independent thereof via the wide communication network 15.
The external unit 14B is, for example, a television station that provides a broadcast program, a public institution that provides medical and health information, a private company, or the like, but may be any other unit. The 2 external mechanisms 14A and 14B are independent, and may be the same mechanism. The reference symbol used in the case of 2 routers in total is "13", and the reference symbol used in the case of 2 external devices in total is "14".
The hot water supply device 39 includes a heat source unit 39H and a tank 39T for storing hot water produced by heat of the heat source unit. The heat source unit 39H is, for example, a heat pump type heat source unit. That is, the hot water supply facility of embodiment 1 is a natural refrigerant heat pump hot water supply.
Next, a communication environment outside the home will be described with reference to fig. 2. Further, the power command device 6 according to embodiment 1 is connected to the external device 14A via the router a13A through a network, but a device generally called a home gateway may be used. The home gateway in this case is a device for home use installed between various digital information media such as internet connection, digital broadcasting, and IP telephone, and terminal devices such as the power command device 6 and the home appliance EE, and plays a role of controlling the power command device 6 and the like in a network form or transmitting information received from a communication and broadcasting medium to the power command device 6 and the home appliance EE. When IP telephony and content distribution services are provided in addition to internet connection in a constantly connected broadband service, a router that an operator borrows from a resident (user) of such a home is often referred to as a "home gateway".
The power command device 6 is connected to the external unit 14A via the wide area communication network 15 in fig. 1, but actually, as shown in fig. 2, the wide area communication network 15 includes 2 or more of the wide area communication networks 15A and 15B, and accesses an ASP (referred to as "application service provider") server 17, which is one of the external units, via a relay server 18 and the wide area communication networks 15A and 15B. The ASP server 17 is provided with databases 17M and 17U described later, and is configured to store various kinds of information described later in correspondence with a plurality of houses.
The above-mentioned ASP server 17 is hereinafter referred to as "information server". The information server functions as a main control unit and an information providing unit for various home electric appliances EE, and is provided individually by an organization such as a manufacturer (manufacturer), a vendor, a repair maker, or an information service provider of the home electric appliances EE or collectively by 2 or more organizations, and provides various services related to the home electric appliances EE to users via the communication line networks 15A and 15B.
The information server 17 is provided with: a central processing unit 17CP functioning as a host computer of the server; a communication unit 17IF as communication means connected to the communication network 15 for exchanging information; an improvement software (countermeasure program) providing unit 17S for storing application software of the home appliance EE and storing improvement software; a user identification database (also referred to as "user information database") 17U for identifying a user of the electric home appliance EE; a manufacturer-side information database 17M for storing technical information provided by a manufacturer (manufacturer) of the electric home appliance EE; and a determination unit 17H that receives physical data from the home appliance EE during operation and during stoppage and determines whether or not there is an abnormality.
The above-described information server 17 may be generally referred to as a "Web server" (hereinafter referred to as a "Web server"). The WEB server is a server computer that provides display information of HTML and objects (images and the like) to a WEB browser of information processing device (client) side software such as the aforementioned power command device 6 or other personal computer that is located at each home or the like and has an information communication function, and various information communication terminal devices 20 described later, in accordance with HTTP (protocol for exchanging data such as HTML documents and images between the WEB server and the WEB browser), and the like, and that operates the service. In addition, a WEB browser is also called an "internet browser" or a "WWW browser", and is a browser provided for use of the "world wide WEB".
The user specification database 17U stores, as information received from a user such as the home appliance EE of the rice cooker 3 by so-called user registration, user unique information such as a login ID and a password to the information server 17, setting information such as a network address (MAC address) of the router a13A, and unique information such as a network address, a type, and a model of a specific home appliance EE (including the "identification information"). That is, the home appliance EE has a function of accumulating user information of the home appliances EE in a retrievable state in many homes.
The improvement software provider 17S stores and stores control application software that can remotely control the power command device 6 or the home appliance EE from a place remote from the outside of the living space HA, for example, a place of work of a resident, a destination of exit, or the like. Thus, the remote control can be realized by accessing the information server 17 from the mobile phone terminal device (information communication terminal device) 20 of 1 type, which is an information communication terminal device described later, and downloading (reading) the control application software.
In the information server 17, the "improvement software" in which the content of the operation program of the home appliance EE is improved is stored in association with the specific model of the home appliance EE, and when the power command device 6 obtains the improvement software via the wide area communication network 15, the improvement software is supplied from the power command device 6 to the home appliance EE side via the input/output unit 29A. The "improvement software" referred to herein is also referred to as "countermeasure software". The improved software is not only manufactured 1 time, but sometimes an upgraded version for further improvement is prepared as needed.
The information communication terminal device 20 referred to in embodiment 1 is a terminal device that can be carried by a user with ease and that enables communication of data (including mail information) and calls indoors, outdoors, at other places. A device that cannot make a call but can download information, send mail, or send a remote operation signal using the internet is called a "portable communication device". Portable and mobile small-sized personal computers are also 1 type of portable communication terminal devices.
The "information communication terminal device" 20 in embodiment 1 has a function of exchanging signals by near field communication to the input/output unit of each of the household electrical appliances EE by approximately several centimeters (or may be in contact with the input/output unit). The near field communication is an international standard technique for wireless communication known as Near Field Communication (NFC).
In the NFC communication, a so-called wireless tag (NFC tag) 82 (see fig. 6) is embedded in the home appliance EE. The NFC tag 82 includes a communication control IC for NFC (hereinafter referred to as an "NFC control circuit"), an antenna connected to the control circuit and generating power for the control circuit when receiving radio waves of a predetermined frequency from the outside, and a microchip memory (hereinafter referred to as an "NFC storage unit") connected to the NFC control circuit.
On the other hand, on the information communication terminal device 20 side such as a mobile phone terminal device, it is possible to read data (acquire status information) from an NFC storage unit (not shown) of the rice cooker 3, which is one of the home electric appliances EE, via the NFC tag, and in turn, to transmit control data (control command) from the information communication terminal device 20 side to the NFC storage unit (not shown) of the rice cooker 3, and the control device 85 of the rice cooker 3 performs a control operation in accordance with the control command stored in the NFC storage unit (such an NFC tag is sometimes referred to as an "active tag").
The home electric appliance EE other than the rice cooker 3 has the same configuration. That is, the NFC according to embodiment 1 has not only a function of reading information stored in the internal storage device of the home appliance EE on the information communication terminal device 20 side (in some cases, an NFC tag having such a function is referred to as a "simple tag"), but also a function of enabling an operation on the home appliance EE side to be started in response to a control command from the information communication terminal device 20. In other words, the information communication terminal device 20 has not only a function of reading various information from the home electric appliance EE but also a writing function to the NFC storage unit, and has 2 functions of a reader and a writer.
Further, NFC has an advantage that it is not limited to a form of data that can be exchanged by communication in general, and text data, animation, XML data, and the like can be exchanged.
The base station 21 of the information communication terminal device 20 is connected to the wide communication network 15B via the relay server 18 and the wide communication network 15A, and the information communication terminal device 20 can access the information server 15A and the router a13A via the base station 21.
If the information communication terminal device 20 owned by the resident of the home is connected to the wide area communication network 15A from an outside destination as in the facility 22 at the work place of the separated place as shown in fig. 2, it is possible to access the information server 17, download the control application software of the power command device 6 or the electric equipment EE, and remotely control the electric equipment EE from the facility 22 separated from the home.
In embodiment 1, the rice cooker 3 and the other electric equipment EE cannot be directly remotely operated from the information communication terminal device 20. This is because, in the home electric appliance EE, there is an appliance which directly emits radiant heat indoors, such as an electric cooking device, and therefore, for safety reasons, it is not necessary to perform remote operation from outside the house via a communication circuit which many people use, but instead, it is performed entirely via the power command device 6. Further, inside the house (living space HA), the information communication terminal device 20 is limited to be remotely located from the outside so that only both the TV receiver 2 and the rice cooker 3 can be operated. The contents of the remote control are described in detail later.
Fig. 3 shows a configuration example of the power command device 6 according to embodiment 1. In fig. 3, reference numeral 6A denotes a main body of the power command device 6, and the external shape is a box shape. The main body 6A stores therein all of the main components of the power command device 6, such as a power control unit 23 (described later), a use limit setter (not shown) for determining an upper limit of a total power use amount of a home appliance and an upper limit of a power consumption use amount of each household appliance to be controlled, a comparator (not shown) for comparing the upper limit with an amount of power used by the household appliance and monitoring the power use amount so as not to exceed the upper limit, and a setting unit (not shown) for determining a priority of power supply among the plurality of household appliances.
The display panel 24 for inputting the upper limit value for determining the power consumption to the usage limit setting device includes: an input operation unit 25 having a touch input function; and a liquid crystal display screen 26 capable of arbitrarily displaying the input result of the input operation unit 25 and "operation information" of the power command device 6.
The display panel 24 is in a box shape that can be moved and carried, and is attached to and detached from the main body 6A of the power command device 6. Information exchange with a central control unit 27, which will be described later, inside the main body 6A is performed via an input/output unit (interface unit) 37. For this purpose, the main body 6A has an input/output unit 38.
The central control unit 27, which will be described later, in the main body 6A of the power command device 6 outputs a display signal to be displayed on the liquid crystal display screen of the display panel 24 and a voice command signal to a voice guidance device (not shown) incorporated in the display panel 24 to the display panel 24 side by wireless, so that the display signal and the voice command signal can sufficiently arrive in the living space HM even if the display panel 24 is separated from the main body 6A of the power command device 6. In addition, an input signal is wirelessly transmitted from the display panel 24 to the main body of the power command device 6, and the signal is recognized by the central control unit 27. These wireless signals are exchanged via a pair of input/ output units 37 and 38 shown in fig. 3.
The display panel 24 may be provided in the entrance so that the occupant can immediately recognize the state in the living space HA and the states of the various home electric appliances EE when the occupant returns home.
The main body 6A of the power command device 6 is supplied with information on the power usage state, particularly the power shortage, in the area where the house is located from an external facility 14A such as an electric power company via the wide area communication network 15 and the router a 13A. That is, the main body 6A of the power command device 6 can automatically receive a signal of a power reduction request from a power company or other public facilities.
Reference numeral 27 denotes a central control unit (control device) having a host computer function of the power command device 6, which collectively controls the power control unit 23 (and the respective components such AS the comparator and the priority setting means) and commands the transmission of the power reduction request signal AS1 and the power reduction command signal AS2 to the home appliance to be power-limited.
Reference numeral 28 denotes a storage device (mass storage) incorporated in the TV receiver 2, and examples thereof include a DVD, various semiconductor memories, and a hard disk drive device (HDD).
In fig. 3, reference numerals 29A, 29B, and 29C denote input/output units (also referred to as "interface units") for exchanging wired or wireless signals.
Reference numeral 29A denotes a wireless communication input/output unit provided in common to the respective home electric appliances EE, and reference numeral 29B denotes a wireless communication input/output unit provided for the router a 13A. Further, reference numeral 29C denotes an input/output unit for the TV receiver 2.
Even when the main power supply of the TV receiver 2 is turned on, the TV receiver 2 is always connected to the power command device 6 by a predetermined wire (cable) through the input/output unit 29C in a state where the TV display screen is not driven and any video is not displayed.
The TV receiver 2 is connected to the external units 14A and 14B via the router B13B and the wide communication network 15 via an input/output unit (not shown) independent of the input/output unit 29C. Thus, when urgent information such as request information for urgent reduction (peak clipping) of the total electricity amount of the home is desired to arrive at the TV receiver 2 from the external facilities 14A and 14B during the daytime in summer, or when urgent earthquake information arrives from a weather hall, a disaster prevention center in a region in charge of a living area, an earthquake alarm center, or the like, the resident in the living space HA can know the information early.
Various TV receivers have been proposed in the past which are activated based on the emergency shutdown information even when the TV receiver 2 is not being viewed and the information is reported even when the information is transmitted, and therefore a detailed description thereof is omitted here.
In fig. 3, reference numeral 27A denotes a storage device, which stores data and control programs related to the power control unit 23. Various data transmitted from the rice cooker 3 and the home electric appliance EE, and an "operation information signal" described later are also stored in the area specified by the unique address in the storage device 27A. Further, information such as information of the upper limit value of electric power set in the breaker BK, data of the upper limit value of electric power amount for limiting the amount of electric power consumption of various home electric appliances EE, and the upper limit value of electric power use (permission) set for each resident is stored.
Reference numeral 27B denotes a storage device, which stores data from the environment detection unit 30 described later, a control program for determining comfort in the environment of the living space HM, and the like. In addition, abnormality monitoring data transmitted from a heating cooker (including an induction heating cooker) such as the rice cooker 3, a home electric appliance EE such as the air conditioner 4, and the like, and a determination program for determining an abnormality are stored.
The storage devices 27A and 27B may be various types of RAM (random access memory) or hard disks. In addition, the memory may be a nonvolatile memory that retains memory contents even when the power is turned off, such as another semiconductor memory, a CD, a DVD, or an optical card, or may be a memory of another type.
In fig. 3, reference numeral 30 denotes an environment detection unit which receives information on the temperature and humidity measured by the composite sensors 7 and 8 and the temperature sensor 9 which measures the outdoor air temperature.
Although not shown, the living sections HA1 and HA2 are provided with a sensor for detecting the degree of dust scattering, a sensor for detecting the amount of pollen scattering, an illuminance sensor for detecting the amount of light (visible light amount), and a noise sensor, respectively, and the environment detection unit 30 is configured to receive detection information from these various environment sensors.
The illuminance sensor is a sensor for determining whether the living space HA is bright or dark, and for example, when the illuminance sensor indicates a bright state in a situation where the human sensing unit 31 described later determines that no human is present in a certain living space HA2, it is conceivable that the occupant may forget to keep the lighting fixture 5B in the on state. Therefore, in such a case, even if the total power usage amount at that point in time is a small amount that is sufficiently more than the upper limit value set by the usage limit setting device, the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 reports the turning off of the lighting fixture 5B to the occupants (via the TV receiver 2) in the other living space HA1 from the viewpoint of eliminating the waste of electric energy. Then, the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 transmits a turn-off command signal to the lighting fixture 5B (which needs to be connected so that the lighting fixture becomes a power reduction target device of the power command device 6).
Reference numeral 31 denotes a human sensing portion that receives human sensing information of the human sensing sensors 10 and 11. Reference numeral 32 denotes a home detection unit (also referred to as a home detection unit) configured to receive a detection signal for detecting the presence or absence of a person from the person sensing unit 31.
The environment detection unit 30 transmits a signal of "1 st alarm" level to the central control unit 27 at a time point when the air temperature is 29 ℃ and the humidity is 70%, and transmits a signal of "2 nd alarm" level to the central control unit 27 at a time point when the room temperature is 30 ℃ or more and the humidity exceeds 75%. When the human perception unit 31 detects that the living space in which the human occupant or the like exists outputs the "1 st alarm", the central control unit 27 performs a process for outputting the "1 st alarm" described below.
Countermeasure 1: the alarm is outputted on the liquid crystal display screen 25 of the display panel 24 of the power command device 6.
Countermeasure 2: if the TV receiver 2 is in a watching state, an alarm is output by a character on the display screen.
Countermeasure 3: the information communication terminal device 20 outputs an alarm signal via the router a13A and the wide area communication network 15.
In a case where the temperature is not improved to be lower than 29 ℃ or lower than 70% of humidity within 5 minutes from the output of the operation commands of measures 1 to 3, it is assumed that the person in the living space does not feel hot, and in this case, the central control unit 27 performs processing for outputting "alarm 2" as follows.
Countermeasure 4: in the environment improvement equipment in the living space, the air conditioner 4 having the cooling capacity (air temperature rise suppression effect) is forcibly started to operate (for example, the indoor target temperature at this time is 27 ℃).
In embodiment 1, the case where the air conditioner 2 is located in the living space includes, of course, the case where the apparatus itself is located inside the living space. Further, the device itself may be located outside the living space, but the present invention also includes a case where the treated air is supplied into the living space. When the living space does not have the air conditioner 2, or when it is known that the plug of the power cable is disconnected from the connection port and the like and the operation is disabled, the operation of other environment improvement devices (other environment improvement devices described later, for example, a ventilator, an air cleaner, and the like) is started.
In addition, the environment detection unit 30 immediately outputs the "2 nd alarm" to the central control unit 27 at a time point when the room temperature is 30 degrees or more and the humidity exceeds 75%, regardless of whether the "1 st alarm" is output. The central control unit 27 instructs the process of the countermeasure 4 described above when the living space in which the human sensing unit 31 detects the presence of an arbitrary resident or the like outputs the "2 nd alarm". Every 1 minute after the command countermeasure 4, the environment detection unit 30 measures and monitors the latest environmental condition of the living space in which the alarm is output.
An electronic lock 33 (not shown) is provided outside an entrance (not shown) that is a shared entrance/exit of the living space HA, and a personal authentication device 34 that detects that the resident HAs returned home based on a password or biometric information (e.g., fingerprint information) input to the electronic lock is provided. The personal authentication device 34 is configured to determine whether or not the resident is present based on the password input from the resident, and to transmit the determination result to the home detection unit 32. In addition, although a number of configuration examples have been proposed for the electronic lock 33 and the personal authentication unit that electrically lock the doors of the entrance, and a detailed description thereof is omitted, in embodiment 1, a unique password is assigned to each of 4 occupants a to D. For example, an instruction to all occupants decides the password according to the rule "number 2 characters after 4 digits (common) number". The password for occupant a is "123401", the password for occupant B is "123402", and the password for occupant a is "123403". The password is input by 10 input keys (numeric keys) of the electronic lock provided in the entrance door.
When the resident enters the living space HA and then goes out from the entrance in reverse after entering the living space HA, the home detection unit 32 determines that all the residents go out, cancels the password input record of all the residents input until then, and changes the detection information from the home state to the out-of-home state, without inputting the password, but when the human sensing unit 31 fails to detect the presence of the human from all the living spaces HA within a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes). Therefore, when the occupant returns home later, the password needs to be re-entered. Further, if the personal authentication device 34 is entered into and exited from each resident while the person is going out from the entrance, the detection of the home state is more accurate. As described above, in order to omit the input of the password, a method of converting the password into a method of detecting the return of the resident from the biometric information (for example, fingerprint information) or a method of directly reading the personal authentication device 34 into the personal identification information recorded on the unique identification card, the ID card, or the like held by the resident by a magnetic method or an optical method may be used, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted.
In fig. 3, reference numeral 35 denotes an earthquake determination unit which determines occurrence of an earthquake, and when the earthquake is of a predetermined level, earthquake sensing information is instantaneously transmitted to the central control unit 27 based on information on the magnitude (acceleration) from a magnitude sensor 36 incorporated in a household appliance EE used at a predetermined position in a living space, such as a refrigerator, a built-in (built-in) type dish washing and drying machine, or an induction heating cooker. In addition, when the vibration sensor 36 is installed in a mobile or mobile home electric appliance EE such as an electric vacuum cleaner moving on the ground, the vibration during such movement may be erroneously detected as the vibration of an earthquake, which is not preferable.
In fig. 3, 40 denotes an NFC input/output unit, and when the wireless communication unit (also referred to as a "wireless input/output unit". not shown) of the information communication terminal device 20 approaches a predetermined distance (about 10 cm), it enters a communication setup state in which information can be exchanged (it becomes the start of 1 communication session), and information can be exchanged.
Reference numeral 41 denotes a clock circuit (hereinafter referred to as a "timer unit") called a real-time clock, which is driven for a long time by being supplied with power from a commercial power supply or a battery (not shown). For example, the present date and the correct time may be notified by a radio clock in seconds, and the date and time may be set to the correct date and time in the manufacturing stage or the setting stage of the power command device 6. Therefore, various operations (operations to start and end) of the power command device 6 can be set in advance on predetermined dates and times. For example, the operation of acquiring useful information from the external apparatuses 14A and 14B and the information server 17, replacing the information with old data in the storage unit 27A, and always storing the latest information is automatically executed.
Next, fig. 4 will be explained.
Fig. 4 shows a state in which the induction heating cooker 51, the rice cooker 3, and the like are used in 1 kitchen which is the living space HA.
Inside the housing 50A constituting the housing of the system kitchen (also referred to as "sink" or "kitchen furniture") 50, 5 home electric appliances described below are assembled. That is, the household electrical appliances in the kitchen include an induction heating cooker 51 having 2 heating ports on the left and right (a 1 st heating port 51L and a 2 nd heating port 51R having induction heating coils in a space below a top plate), a rice cooker 3, a grill cooker (electric fish roaster) 52, an electric range (hereinafter referred to as "range") 53 having an electric heater, and a dish cleaning dryer 54. The grill cooker 52 may be separately configured, but in embodiment 1, it is integrally assembled to the induction heating cooker 2, and configured to use 1 heating portion of a combined type induction heating cooker of an electrothermal and induction heating system. Therefore, when the main power circuit of the induction heating cooker 2 is cut off, the power supply to the grill cooker 52 is also cut off at the same time. Further, other household appliances in the kitchen, such as a refrigerator and a ventilation fan, are not described here.
The household electrical appliance KP in the kitchen is connected to a power supply EP of 200V ac via 1 breaker BK. The household electrical appliance KP in the kitchen and the power command device 6 are connected in a relationship of transmitting and receiving infrared rays or wireless signals, information such as required power, cooking conditions of each cooking device, and use permission power is transmitted between each use power control unit 19 (described in fig. 8) of the household electrical appliance KP in the kitchen and the power command device 6, and the use power control unit 19 individually controls each power of the household electrical appliance KP in the kitchen within the use power permitted by the power command device 6.
In embodiment 1, the power-using control unit 19 is a unit that uses a central frequency band in an ISM band called 2.4GHz, which is defined by "international standard ieee802.11b" that is one of the standards related to wireless LAN. In all the in-kitchen home electric appliances KP including the rice cooker 3, the actual center frequency of use is set to 2.412GHz (2412MHz) to 2.472 GHz.
The maximum rated power of the household electrical appliance KP in the kitchen, an electric hot plate on a table, and a boiler (electric kettle) is about 1000W, but is not specifically illustrated for the sake of simplicity of explanation. Further, the household electrical appliance KP in the kitchen and the power command device 6 may be controlled by a signal line connection that also serves as a power line using a power line transmission technique.
(Structure of rice cooker 3)
As shown in fig. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, the rice cooker 3 according to embodiment 1 includes a rice cooker main body case 55 having a rectangular or square shape with a long planar shape, a lid 56 and a steam processing device 57. The cooking device has an operation portion 71 on the surface of the lid 56 or the main body case 55, which is operated by a user when an input is made, and the operation portion has a cooking start button 59 (see fig. 6), and automatically starts cooking when the cooking start button 59 is pressed as is known, and completes cooking by completing cooking at once in a boiling step through a water absorption step. After the cooking, the rice is kept warm by a warm-keeping heater (not shown) for a predetermined time (for example, 7 hours) so as to maintain a predetermined temperature (for example, 70 ℃). The rice cooker 3 can be used in a place other than the system kitchen 1 because the user can freely move the cooker.
In fig. 5, the rice cooker 3 is illustrated.
The main body case 55 includes: a magnetic metal or carbon inner container 60 having a circular planar shape and an open upper surface; a lid 56 supported by a hinge mechanism at one side edge of the rear part of the main body case 55 so as to openably close the upper opening of the inner container; and a heating unit 61 for heating the inner container 60 (see fig. 7). The heating means uses an induction heating type heater (heating coil) which is provided in close contact with the outer bottom surface of the inner container 60 over a wide range or in a face-to-face relationship with a minute gap therebetween.
A circular inner lid 62 made of metal having good thermal conductivity, which is attached to an outer peripheral edge portion of the lid 56 by an annular rubber lid seal, is detachably fixed to the inside of the lid 56 so that steam does not leak to the outside from between the upper surface of the inner container 60 and the lid 56 when the lid 56 is closed. A steam generation port 63 for discharging the steam generated in the inner tub 60 to the outside is formed in a part of the inner lid 62.
The lid 56 houses a liquid crystal display unit 64 (see fig. 6) so as to face the upper surface thereof. On the display screen of the liquid crystal display unit, various condition setting information before the start of cooking, information on the cooking process to be performed, and the like are displayed by characters, symbols, illustrations, and the like so as to be visually recognizable. The operation state of the heating unit 61 and related information for reference during cooking (including information for paying attention to abnormal use and notifying the occurrence of an abnormal operation state) are also appropriately displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal display unit 64.
Reference numeral 65 denotes a steam pipe having one end connected to the steam generation port 63 and a steam discharge port 66 formed at the end, and the steam pipe is provided in a substantially horizontal direction in the lid 56.
The steam processing device 57 includes: a water tank (not shown) having an open top and capable of storing water for condensing the steam discharged from the steam generating port 63; and a lid 66 openably and closably covering an upper opening of the water tank.
Reference numeral 67 denotes a steam inlet provided at a position corresponding to the steam outlet 66 in the cover 66. A communication pipe (described later) communicating with the introduction port is provided below the introduction port. In a state where the lid body 56 is closed, the upper surface opening of the inner container 60 is sealed by the inner lid 62, and the steam inlet 67 is in close contact with the steam outlet 66.
The communication pipe (not shown) is vertically provided so that an upper end portion thereof is fixed to a lower surface of the cover 66 and most of the communication pipe is submerged in water in the water tank (not shown). The relationship between the vertical length of the communication pipe and the size (height) of the water tank is considered so that the lower end of the communication pipe is positioned at a predetermined depth (H) from the water surface of the water stored in the water tank. Thus, the steam released from the lower end opening of the communication pipe sufficiently contacts the water in the water tank, and is cooled to return to water.
Therefore, the predetermined depth position (H) is set so that all the steam generated from the steam generation port 63 can be condensed even when the heating unit 61 is energized with the maximum heating power, and is determined by the speed at which the steam bubbles are ejected from the water and the speed at which the steam is cooled and returned to the water at the stage when the high-temperature steam is output from the lower end opening of the communication pipe to the water. The "steam" referred to herein is steam that is generated inside the inner container 60 and introduced into the communication pipe in the "cooking step" and the "braising step" described later, and in the present embodiment, the steam in the "water absorption step" to the "heat retention step" can be all recovered. In the present embodiment, the heat-retaining step is performed 7 hours after the completion of the "rice-stewing step", but the length of this time may be changed as appropriate.
In a state where the lid body 56 is closed, the packing of the steam outlet 66 at the end of the steam pipe 65 is in close contact with the steam inlet 67 of the lid body 66, and the high-temperature steam passing through the inside of the lid body 56 reliably reaches the inside of the communication pipe to the water tank (not shown) without being communicated to the outside.
Next, in fig. 6, the lid 56 of the rice cooker 3 will be described. FIG. 6 is a top view of the rice cooker 3, and FIG. 64 is the liquid crystal display section.
68A is an operation button of the main power switch 68.
Numeral 69 denotes display information indicating a state in which a "strong fire" step in a "rice cooking step" described later is performed, and the display is indicated as "boiling" with a character.
Numeral 70 denotes display information indicating that the home electric appliance (rice cooker 3) enters a step (strong fire heating in a cooking step) in which electric power is preferentially secured at the time point. While the display information 70 is displayed, the power command reduction command signal is not output from the power command device 6, and the supply of power is not forcibly limited. In other words, the information indicates that the rice cooker 3 is guaranteed not to output the command such AS the power reduction request signal AS1, the power reduction command signal AS2, or the like from the power command device 6. When the rice cooker 3 receives the power reduction command signal AS2, it displays "power reduction in progress" or the like, which is 1 type of the "power limit information on the home appliance side".
Reference numeral 71 denotes an operation unit of the rice cooker 3, and each includes: a "cooking start button" 59 for starting a cooking operation or determining an appointment; a "heat-retaining key" 72 for starting a mode of retaining the cooked rice at a predetermined temperature; a menu key 73 for selecting various cooking menus such as usual cooking, porridge cooking, and cooking with rice; a "rice key" 74 for selecting and inputting the kind of rice to be cooked such as white rice and brown rice; a "voice guidance key" 75 for reporting the state of the rice cooker 3 and the operation required next by voice, adjusting the volume of the report, or switching the voice mode; an "appointment key" 76 for setting an appointment cooking function; an "off/cancel key" 77 for canceling or turning off various input operations, modes; the "rice cooking method key" 78 can select "normal" and "hard" rice cooking methods (adjustment of rice cooking degree), and "porridge cooking" different from normal rice cooking.
These keys 72 to 78 may be any of mechanical switches or electrostatic capacitance type touch switches that generate input signals when built-in electrical contacts are closed by pressing by a user, or may be used in combination.
The selection of the "time-scheduled cooking mode" and the "position-associated scheduled cooking mode" can be performed by the reservation key 76 for setting the scheduled cooking function. For example, when the reservation key 76 is pressed 1 time, the "time reservation cooking mode" is selected, and when the user presses 1 more time, the "position correspondence reservation cooking mode" can be selected. When the user presses the button 1 time again, the "time-reservation cooking mode" can be selected again. In a state before the "time-scheduled cooking mode" and the "position-corresponding scheduled cooking mode" are selected, the liquid crystal display unit 64 displays an input touch key for time setting.
In addition, in the information communication terminal device 20 described later, it is also possible to select any one of the "time-reservation cooking mode" and the "location-associated-reservation cooking mode" (a desired cooking completion time is specified in the "time-reservation cooking mode"), and in this state, the information communication terminal device 20 is brought into contact with or close to the NFC input/output unit 81, whereby the cooking mode can be easily input.
79 is a power saving switch capable of reducing power consumption by a predetermined amount by one push. For example, when the power saving switch is pressed in the warm-up process, the power consumption is reduced by an amount corresponding to the first several minutes, but the time required for the warm-up process is increased in accordance with the power consumption, so that the notice to that effect is displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal display unit 64, and "the power saving mode is selected" without pressing the audio guidance (guidance) key 75 every time. The time of the preheating process is prolonged by several minutes ".
Reference numeral 80 denotes a health information display key for displaying information on healthy rice cooking on the liquid crystal display unit 64 by one-time pressing. When the key is pressed, information such as rice and a cooking method may be obtained from the information server 17 and the external apparatuses 14A and 14B via the power command device 6.
Reference numeral 81 denotes an NFC input/output unit for enabling the information communication terminal device 20 having an NFC input/output unit to approach and perform near field communication, and is embedded inside the cover 56 in proximity to the upper surface thereof. Further, on the upper surface of the cover 56, a target position to bring the information communication terminal device 20 close to or into contact with is displayed with a character such as "contact" so that the user can easily visually recognize the position of the wireless tag (NFC tag) 82 of the NFC input/output unit 81.
Next, in fig. 7, the configuration of the main control unit of the rice cooker 3 will be described. Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing a main control unit constituting the rice cooker 3.
Reference numeral 83 denotes a control unit that controls the overall function of the rice cooker 3, and includes a power supply unit 84 and a control unit 85. The control unit 85 is configured mainly by one or more microcomputers. The microcomputer includes 4 parts, i.e., an input part, an output part, a storage part, and a CPU (arithmetic and control unit), and is supplied with dc power via the power supply part 84 to control the centers of the heating unit 61 and the liquid crystal display part 64.
The control unit 85 stores a table relating the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner container 60 and the temperature of the cooked rice, and each cooking menu (white rice, selection of wash-free rice, and "normal" and "hard" for adjusting the cooking level, and "porridge" different from normal cooking) in the nonvolatile semiconductor storage unit 85R (not shown) as the operating conditions of the heating unit 61.
Further, the storage section 85R stores a control program for sequentially executing 4 steps of "preheating step", "cooking step", "braising step", and "heat retaining step" as a step of cooking. As one of the "operating conditions" referred to herein, there is an energization condition which is an electrical physical condition of the heating unit 61 and is a general term of an energization time, an energization amount, an energization pattern (continuous energization, intermittent energization, an energization rate, and the like) of the heating unit 61, and the like.
In fig. 7, the inner container temperature detecting unit 86 is pressed against the bottom surface of the inner container 60 from below by a compression spring or the like, detects the temperature of the bottom surface of the inner container 60, outputs a detection signal thereof, and uses a thermistor type temperature sensor. Reference numeral 71 denotes an operation unit provided at a front portion of the upper surface of the lid body 56 of the main body 1.
In fig. 7, reference numeral 99 denotes a time measuring means (clock circuit) for measuring time, and since a time signal outputted from the time measuring means is inputted to the control unit 85 and current time and set time information are outputted to the liquid crystal display unit 64, these times are displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal display unit 64. Even if the power supply cable of the rice cooker 3 is pulled out (disconnected) from the power supply port, the timer unit can be operated for a long time by a battery (not shown) incorporated in the rice cooker 3. Further, the present invention may have a function of acquiring time information from the outside like a radio-controlled timepiece and correcting itself to be free from deviation from the current time during operation.
In fig. 7, 88 is a water level sensor for detecting the amount of water stored in the water tank by water level, and the water level of the water tank is detected by light, weight and other physical conditions, and is provided at a portion of the front portion of the main body case 41 that faces the water tank.
In fig. 7, reference numeral 89 denotes a water temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of water stored in the water tank, and is provided in a portion facing the wall surface of the water tank so as to detect the water temperature through the side wall of the water tank.
Next, fig. 8 is explained.
Reference numeral 19 denotes the power control means, which receives a command signal from the power command device 6 and controls the power of the rice cooker 3. The wireless communication unit 90 (input/output unit) is incorporated to transmit operation information signals L1 to L8 (see fig. 12) described later to the power command device 6. The actual center frequency of use of the wireless communication unit 90 is set to 2.412GHz (2412MHz) to 2.472 GHz.
In fig. 8, reference numeral 91 denotes a temperature detection circuit, which receives temperature detection signals from 3 of the water temperature sensor 89, a temperature sensor (not shown) provided above the inner lid 62 and detecting the internal temperature of the inner container 60, and the inner container temperature detection unit 86, and transmits the detected temperatures to the control unit 85.
Reference numeral 92 denotes an inverter circuit for supplying high-frequency power to the heating means (induction heating type heater) 61. Note that the dc power supply circuit is not shown in the figure.
Reference numeral 93 denotes a heat retention heater provided in the space above the inner lid 62 to heat the inner lid, and 94 denotes a drive circuit thereof. In the heat-retaining step described later, the heat-retaining heater 93 is energized.
Numeral 95 denotes a driving circuit for driving the liquid crystal display unit 64. Reference numeral 96 denotes a voice synthesizer for guiding the cooking condition, information on occurrence of an abnormality, and the like inputted from the operation unit 71 by voice through the voice guide key 75, and 97 denotes a speaker for reporting a voice from the voice synthesizer. Reference numeral 98 denotes a power supply cable arbitrarily drawn out from the rice cooker main body case 55, and a power supply plug is provided at the tip end thereof.
In fig. 8, reference numeral 100 denotes a remote control unit which transmits a command from the power command device 6 received via the wireless communication unit 90 (input/output unit) to the control unit 85.
Reference numeral 101 denotes a standby determination unit. When the operation is started at a predetermined time, the power supply unit 84 to the control device 85 is turned off because the power supply unit is in a standby state for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes before) from the current time to the predetermined time. When the standby state is reached, the supply of dc current from the power supply unit 84 to the control unit 85 is temporarily interrupted, and the liquid crystal display unit 64 also stops operating. Thus, the power consumption on the control unit 85 side is eliminated, and the process of calculating the time until the arrival of the specified time in the standby determination unit 101 is continued only by using the power control device 19 side.
Reference numeral 102 denotes a temporary storage unit that stores data (including data at the time of occurrence of an abnormality acquired from the control unit 85) necessary for the operation of the standby determination unit 101 and the remote control unit 100 for at least 12 hours. When the main power switch 68 is turned ON and the power supply unit 84 is activated at the start of the next cooking operation, the stored contents are automatically deleted.
(basic action of cooker)
Next, fig. 9 will be explained. The operation of cooking in the rice cooker 3 will be described, but the user will start cooking immediately instead of ordering cooking.
As shown in fig. 9, in the rice cooker according to embodiment 1, a control program is stored in the control unit 85 so that 4 steps of the preheating step, the cooking step, the stewing step, and the heat retaining step are sequentially performed.
First, the lid 66 of the water tank detached from the main body case 55 is detached by connecting the power plug of the power cable 98 to the power supply portion, and water is added to the water tank from the outside. Then, rice and water are added to the inner container 60 in prescribed amounts.
When the operation button 68A of the main power switch 68 is pressed, the liquid crystal display portion 64 is activated to perform a desired display, and information related to the setting of cooking conditions is acoustically guided from the speaker 97 which is a part of the acoustic guidance device.
Then, the rice cooking start button 59 on the upper surface of the lid 56 of the main body case 55 is pressed to start the rice cooking. Thereby, the heating unit 61 is heated to cook rice. Since the water absorption step is also performed in the first stage, display information (not shown) indicating "there is a possibility of power reduction" with characters is displayed on the liquid crystal display portion 64. Thus, the user knows that the home appliance performs the power reduction operation in response to an external command in the first stage of using the rice cooker 3.
In fig. 9, in the preheating step H1, the heating means 61 is first started to be energized in the continuous energization mode so as to be heated to strong heating power, but when the temperature detection unit 86 detects that the temperature inside the inner container 60 reaches a predetermined temperature (55 ℃), this information is input to the control unit 85, and the energization amount is suppressed so as to maintain 55 ℃, and the energization is intermittently performed, so that the steam is hardly generated, and the steam treatment (condensation treatment) in the water tank is not performed. The state maintained at 55 ℃ is continued for a certain time or longer. The clock circuit 87 measures the elapsed time from the time point at which the temperature becomes 55 ℃, and the clock signal is input to the control unit 85 to control the end time of the warm-up process H1.
Next, when the cooking process H2 is performed, in the first strong fire process H2A, the heating power of the heating unit 61 is increased, the temperature of the water in the inner container 60 gradually increases, and the water in the inner container 60 boils. When the boiling becomes severe and the steam amount increases, the pressure in the inner container 60 rises in comparison with the atmospheric pressure, and the steam generated in the inner container 60 is pushed out by the pressure and enters the closed space formed by the steam pipe 65 in the lid 56 from the steam generation port 63. Thereafter, steam is discharged from the steam pipe 65 to a water tank as the steam processing device 57. That is, the cooking process H2 includes 2 of the strong fire process H2A in which the rice is heated with the maximum heating power of, for example, 1300W, and the weak fire process H2B thereafter.
When the cooking process is started, display information (not shown) indicating "there is a possibility of power being reduced" disappears from the liquid crystal display unit 64, and instead, as shown in fig. 6, display information 70 indicating "power supply priority" is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 64.
Thus, the user knows that the electric power is secured preferentially to perform the cooking operation. Note that the same meaning may be reported by voice by the voice synthesizer 96. In addition, even if the power command device 6 is supposed to transmit a command signal corresponding to the power reduction request signal AS1 or the power reduction command signal AS2 to the used power control means 19 when the power command device 6 enters the first strong fire step H2A, the controller 85 ignores such a command, and therefore the used power in the strong fire step H2A is not reduced. In other words, the control unit 85 executes the strong fire step H2A at a predetermined heating power.
Then, the steam flowing into the water tank as the steam processing device 57 is ejected into the water from the lower end opening of the communication pipe (not shown), and thereby contacts the water in the water tank, and the heat is taken away by the water to condense and return to the water.
Thus, by processing the steam, it is possible to prevent the steam generated from the inner container 60 from leaking to the outside, and to prevent the steam during cooking from being directly released into the indoor space to cause an increase in uncomfortable moisture.
Further, the heating power of the heating unit 61 from the time point in the middle of the cooking process (wherein, the controller 85 measures the elapsed time from the time point when the boiling state is reached) becomes the weak fire process H2B, and the moisture in the inner bag 60 released by the vaporization of water at the end of the process becomes small, and the temperature in the inner bag 60 rapidly rises to about 130 ℃. Then, the temperature detection means 86 detects such a rapid temperature rise, and the control unit 85 determines that the cooking is completed after the temperature detection information is input from the temperature detection circuit 91 to the control unit 85.
At the time point when the weak fire step H2B is entered, the display information indicating "priority of power" displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 64 disappears. In the weak fire step and the warm-up step, when the power reduction request signal AS1 is received from the power control device 6, it is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 64.
Next, when the rice is cooked in the cooking step H3, the amount of steam generation gradually decreases with time, and the inner container 60 is cooled to reduce the pressure at the end of cooking. In addition, although the pressure inside the steam pipe 65 is reduced by this, since a check valve (not shown) is provided below the lid 66 on the upper portion of a communication pipe (not shown) that is mostly submerged in the water tank (not shown), external air is sucked through the check valve, and the pressure inside the inner bladder 60 returns to a state close to the original atmospheric pressure, so that the water inside the water tank is sucked to the lid 56 side and flows back to the inner bladder 60 side, which is an accidental situation.
The amount of steam generated during cooking varies depending on the combination of rice type (white rice, wash-free rice, etc.), cooking method (hardness, viscosity), menu (ordinary cooking, porridge), etc., but the water capacity in the water tank is set so that the steam treatment is reliably performed until the cooking menu is finished in either case, and the water temperature in the water tank after cooking is also set to a temperature that does not scald, for example, 55 ℃.
After the cooking is completed, the process proceeds to a heat-retaining step H4, where the temperature of the inner pot 60 is maintained at a predetermined temperature, for example, 70 ℃, by a heat-retaining heater 93 provided independently of the heating unit 61.
As described above, since steam is mainly generated in the cooking step H2 and the braising step H3, in embodiment 1 of the present invention, the amount of steam released in these steps is determined by calculation, experiment, or the like, and the water amount and the water level of the water tank are set separately. From this, even if a sufficient amount of water is provided, when steam is ejected into water at a shallow position in water, the steam rises in a bubble state and is released from the water surface to the atmosphere in a state where the steam and water are not always in sufficient contact. Therefore, in embodiment 1, the water level sensor 88 determines whether or not the water amount in the water tank is sufficient based on the detection information of the water level sensor 88 before the first water absorption step of the rice cooking step is started.
Further, since the water temperature sensor 89 that detects the temperature of the water stored in the water tank is provided, the output of the water temperature sensor is received, the temperature information of the water tank is transmitted from the temperature detection circuit 91 to the control unit 85, and the control unit 85 can determine whether or not the temperature of the water in the water tank is higher than a predetermined temperature. If the temperature is abnormally high, the control unit 85 does not perform the energization start operation on the heating unit 61, and therefore the warm-up process is not performed.
Further, although the water temperature of the water tank is set to be within the predetermined temperature range until the completion of cooking after the cooking process is once started, the water temperature sensor can detect that the water temperature of the water tank is higher than the predetermined temperature for any reason (for example, when the room temperature of the installation space of the cooker rapidly rises), and in such a case, the control unit 85 sets the control program of the control unit 85 so that the energization condition of the heating means 61 is changed to perform an operation of weakening the substantial heating power. However, the degree of suppression of the heating power is within a range that does not hinder the original cooking operation and cooking completion. As a method of reducing the heating power, an appropriate method such as reducing the amount of supplied power itself or reducing the power supply rate may be used.
In embodiment 1, the cooking operation is started when the water temperature is 35 ℃ or lower at the time of starting cooking, and the cooking operation is not started when the temperature exceeds 35 ℃. Among them, it is considered to avoid the temperature of the water tank from reaching an abnormally high temperature region at the end of cooking.
In the rice cooker 3, the first strong fire step H2A of the cooking step H2 is most influential on the cooking performance. Therefore, in the rice cooker 3, the control unit 85 designates the strong fire step H2A as "execution time period of the priority cooking menu". That is, the cooking menu is provided with a function of always grasping whether or not the cooking menu being executed is in the "execution period of the priority cooking menu" and reporting the meaning to the power command device 6 via the use power control unit 19, assuming that the cooking menu is in the execution period. This prevents inadvertent power reduction. When the process proceeds to the strong fire step H2A, the display information 70C is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 64, and the user knows that the electric power is secured with priority and performs the cooking operation.
The rice cooker of embodiment 1 is a type in which the steam generated during cooking is collected by the steam treatment device 57, but may be a type in which the steam treatment device 57 is not provided and steam is released into an indoor space during cooking.
(Structure of information communication terminal device)
Next, with reference to fig. 10, the configuration of the information communication terminal device 20 will be described.
The information communication terminal device 20 is a high-performance mobile phone called a smartphone, a portable tablet-type personal computer, or the like.
The information communication terminal device 20 includes: a display unit 130 having a liquid crystal display screen 130A; an operation input unit (operation unit) 131 having a plurality of input keys operated by a user; a wireless interface section (communication section) 132; a posture detecting unit 133; a control unit 134 having a microcomputer built therein; and a reporting unit 143 that outputs a plurality of types of synthesized sounds corresponding to the operation situation and incorporates a small vibrator that vibrates as necessary. When the vibrator outputs (sounds) a sound, the vibrator can vibrate in synchronization with the sound, and thus even in a situation where an operation situation or the like cannot be reliably transmitted to the user only through the display unit 130, it can be expected to be supplemented with the sound and the vibration.
The communication unit 132 includes 2 input/output units, and 1 of them is a wireless interface unit 132A which performs predetermined communication with the wide communication network (communication network) 15. The other 1 is a wireless interface unit 132B for performing short-range wireless communication with the NFC input/output unit 40 of the power command device 6 and the NFC input/output unit 81 of the rice cooker 3.
The display unit 130, the operation unit 131, the wireless input/output unit 132, the posture detection unit 133, the control unit 134, and the notification unit 143 are connected to each other by signal lines (not shown). The posture detecting unit 133 includes a gyro sensor, detects a posture when the user tilts the information communication terminal device 20 (in the left-right and front-rear directions), and outputs a signal indicating the posture to the control unit 134.
The control unit 134 is roughly provided with a Central Processing Unit (CPU)135 and a storage unit 136 having a semiconductor memory element formed in its main body. The CPU135 executes the entire process of the information communication terminal device 20 in accordance with a control program stored in the ROM and RAM sections 137 of the storage section 136, reads out data necessary for executing the process from the ROM and RAM sections 137, and stores data generated during the process into the ROM and RAM sections 137.
The storage unit 136 includes an application processing unit 138 capable of storing application software for the home appliance EE (at least the rice cooker 3 in embodiment 1). The application processing unit 138 also stores application software for the display panel 24 of the power command device 6. The software of the application processing unit 138 may be installed from the outside of the information communication terminal device 20, or may be stored in the storage unit 136 from the time of manufacture or shipment of the information communication terminal device 20.
The information communication terminal device 20 can download desired application software from the information server 17 via the wide area communication network 15 and store the downloaded application software in the application processing unit 138 of the storage unit 136.
The CPU135 executes processing in accordance with the application processing unit 138 to realize the functions of the predetermined reception processing unit 139, transmission processing unit 140, communication establishment unit 141, display control unit 142, and selection determination unit 143. The operation of these parts will be described later.
The information communication terminal device 20 includes a position detection unit 145 and a position information storage unit 146, which detect the current position of the information communication terminal device 20 itself, and a distance information calculation unit 147, respectively.
The position detection unit 145 has a function of receiving a GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite 148, analyzing the received signal, and calculating the current position of the information communication terminal device 20 on the earth. That is, the position detection unit 145 grasps the current position of the information communication terminal device 20 on the earth in real time.
The distance information calculation unit 147 has a function of calculating a distance to an object (referred to as an "object") registered in advance in the position information storage unit 146 based on position information of the object and information on the current position of the information communication terminal device 20. The information of the calculated distance is output to the control unit 134 as a "distance determination information signal". Then, the control unit 134 transmits the distance determination information signal to the outside via the wireless input/output unit 132. In the present embodiment, the information on the calculated distance is, for example, 100m, but may be other information. The user can select and set the input unit 131 from a predetermined unit.
When the power command device 6 is registered as one of the targets, the information communication terminal device 20 does not need to register each of the home appliances EE as the target because the distance to all the home appliances EE, for example, the rice cooker 3, existing in the living space HA in which the power command device 6 is installed is only a difference of several meters. However, in embodiment 1, since the information communication terminal device 20 transmits the "remote operation signal indicating the reserved operation condition", "inquiry signal for reserving cooking execution", and "inquiry signal for reserving operation execution" to be described later to each of the home electric appliances EE, each of the home electric appliances EE is set and registered as the target object. The setting registration may be performed 1 time for each of the home appliances EE as long as the information communication terminal device 20 is not changed or the living space HA is changed by moving the home, and will be described in detail later.
In the case of using the power command device (overall management device) 6, it is not necessary to register the information on the installation position of each of the home electric appliances EE individually to the information communication terminal device 20, and the information communication terminal device 20 may be caused to read the installation position information of the power command device (overall management device) 6 only 1 time and collectively register the information.
The control unit 134 also has a function of monitoring a time change of the distance determination information signal, and a function of calculating a moving speed of the information communication terminal device 20 based on a change value at every predetermined time. For example, the following operations are performed: the distance change indicated by the distance determination information signal is calculated at 1 minute intervals, and "moving speed information" such as "speed 100 m" and "speed 300 m" is generated and transmitted simultaneously with the "distance determination information signal" or after the signal is transmitted. Therefore, in the power command device 6 that has received the "distance determination information signal" and the "movement speed information" from the information communication terminal device 20, the power command device 6 can calculate the estimated time until the information communication terminal device 20 moves and reaches its own position.
In embodiment 1, the electric power command device 6 is provided between the information communication terminal device 20 and the rice cooker 3, and is not configured to perform direct communication, but in the case of adopting the direct communication method, the rice cooker 3 side of embodiment 1 is also provided with a function of obtaining the time when the information communication terminal device 20 moves and reaches the installation position of the rice cooker 3 by receiving the "distance determination information signal" and the "movement speed information".
(initial settings of information communication terminal equipment and household electric appliance)
When the "remote operation signal indicating the reserved operation condition", "inquiry signal for reserved cooking execution", and "inquiry signal for reserved operation execution" are transmitted from the specific information communication terminal device 20, in embodiment 1, the electric power command device 6 is not the electric home appliance EE such as the rice cooker 3 and the like which directly receives these various signals, so that the specific information for initially specifying the information communication terminal device 20 can be read and registered by the central control unit 27 via the NFC input/output unit 40 of the electric power command device 6. As a result, various communications can be performed from the wide area communication network 15 to the power command device 6 via the router a (13A). The information communication terminal device 20 is also provided with a control program for performing a cooperative operation from the power command device 6 side, and can acquire unique information of the power command device 6.
In embodiment 1, since the information communication terminal device 20 transmits the "remote operation signal indicating the scheduled operation condition", "inquiry signal for scheduled cooking execution", and "inquiry signal for scheduled operation execution", which will be described later, to each of the home electric appliances EE, the rice cooker 3 is set and registered as 1 of the target objects. In this case, the control unit 85 can read and register the unique information for initially specifying the information communication terminal device 20 via the NFC input/output unit 81 of the rice cooker 3. Further, the information communication terminal device 20 is also equipped with a control program for performing a cooperative operation with the rice cooker 3, and thereafter, can perform various communications from the wide area communication network 15 via the router a (13A) and the power command device 6. The information communication terminal device 20 can also acquire unique information and identification information of the rice cooker 3.
As described with reference to fig. 2, the information communication terminal device 20 may access the information server 17, download control application software for the power command device 6 and the rice cooker 3, and install a control program for cooperating with the power command device 6 and the rice cooker 3.
In the 1 method of setting and registering the rice cooker 3 and the power command device 6 as the target object, the information communication terminal device 20 is used in the living space HA, and the current position information detection function of the information communication terminal device 20 is activated. Then, since the current position information is displayed on the display unit 130 in the information communication terminal device 20, the control unit 85 is read and registered via the NFC input/output unit 81 of the rice cooker 3 in this state. Thereby, the setting position information of the rice cooker 3 is registered in the information communication terminal device 20.
Similarly, in this method, in a state where the current position information is read out from the information communication terminal device 20, the current position information is read in and registered in the central control unit 27 via the NFC input/output unit 40 of the power command device 6. Thereby, the installation position information of the power command device 6 is registered in the information communication terminal device 20. As another method, information (latitude and longitude information, address code based on accurate address information, and the like) of the house where the actual living space is located is directly input to the control unit 134 through the input unit 131 of the information communication terminal device 20.
(basic operation of Power command device)
Next, the basic operation of the power command device 6 will be described with reference to fig. 11.
In 1 in-kitchen home electric appliance KP such as the above-described rice cooker 3, there is "execution period of priority cooking menu".
In addition, in the induction heating cooker 51, there are a plurality of heating units (heating ports) 51L, 51R, and in the case where 1 of them is in the "execution period of the priority cooking menu" and is actually in the middle of executing cooking, and the other heating units are not in the "execution period of the priority cooking menu", power is maintained to the heating unit in the "execution period of the priority cooking menu", and power of the other heating units is a reduction target.
The priority of ensuring electric power is high in the rice cooker 3 and the induction heating cooker 51. Then, the priority of ensuring electric power is determined in the order of the air conditioner 7, the hot water supply device 39, and the dish washing and drying machine 54, thereby preventing the user from being impaired in workability.
The air conditioner 4 is not installed in the kitchen, but is configured to cut off power via the same breaker BK, and is set in a lower order than the rice cooker 3 and the induction heating cooker 51. In addition, the priority is set higher than the dish cleaning dryer 54.
Next, a case will be described in which a command to reduce the total amount of electricity is issued from the power command device 6 when 1 air conditioner 4, induction heating cooker 51, and rice cooker 3 are used simultaneously.
In fig. 11, the following is explained: the result of summing up the power demand results from the household electrical appliances KP in each kitchen and the air-conditioning apparatus 4 by the demanded power adder (not shown) of the power command device 6 is that the total power does not exceed the breaker capacity (for example, 8000W), but the user spontaneously lowers the upper limit value of the used power by viewing the display screen (display screen 26 of the display panel 24) of the use limit setting device.
In this case, as shown in fig. 11, the power command device 6 determines in the first step 1 that a command for reducing the total power is externally given (ST 1).
Then, the new upper limit value (2 nd upper limit capacity, for example, 7000W) is compared with the power request result from each of the household electrical appliances KP in the kitchen and the air conditioner 4 by a comparator (not shown) (ST2), and when the new upper limit value exceeds the upper limit value, a power reduction width is determined by a power reduction width determination means (not shown) (ST 3).
Then, a power reduction instruction is transmitted to the air conditioner 4 in use in accordance with the priority. Upon receiving the command, the air conditioner 4 reduces the power consumption (ST 4). When the power reduction width is 300W, the air conditioner 4 changes the target temperature for cooling from 26 ℃ to 28 ℃, and the rotational speed of the electric compressor (not shown) that consumes the most power in the air conditioner 4 is reduced, thereby changing to the energy saving operation in which the amount of power consumption is reduced. Further, since the amount of power used when the rotation speed of the electric compressor is reduced is obtained in advance by an experiment or the like from the correlation between the target temperature and the current indoor temperature, and the data is stored in the air-conditioning unit 7 side, the operating conditions of the electric compressor (not shown) for the power reduction operation are instantaneously determined in accordance with the power reduction request from the power command device 6.
If the air conditioner 4 is not used, neither the rice cooker 2 nor the induction heating cooker 51 is immediately subjected to power reduction. This is because the rice cooker 3 is in the process of executing the strong fire step (boiling step) H2A, and the induction heating cooker 51 is also in the "execution time zone of the priority cooking menu".
After that, the air conditioner 4 reports to the power command device 6 that the used power is reduced by 300W. In the power command device 6, when the result of summing up the power demand results from the respective kitchen home electric appliances KP and the air-conditioning apparatus 4 again later (ST5) is that the power demand total value is small and there is a margin exceeding the power reduction width of 300W, for example, when the power demand total value at this time point does not exceed 6500W with respect to the new upper limit value (7000W), there is a margin of 500W, and therefore, it is presented (reported) in advance to the air-conditioning apparatus 4 to return the power used by the air-conditioning apparatus 4, which has been previously reduced by 300W, to the original level. The air conditioner 4 automatically returns to the operation of lowering the target temperature to 26 c within a predetermined time from the report (ST 6). As shown in fig. 10, when the operation to reduce the power consumption is performed and the operation to increase the power is performed, the air-conditioning apparatus 4 transmits the information of the power consumption to the power command device 6 immediately after the operation.
In this way, the operation information (execution of a cooking menu, setting of heating power, and the like) is transmitted to the power command device 6 at any time in the entire process from the power-on to the power-off of each in-kitchen home appliance KP. In the air conditioner 4, since the operation information (execution of the cooling and heating operation menu, setting of the target temperature, and the like) is also transmitted to the power command device 6 at any time in the entire process from the power-on to the power-off, the power usage status of the plurality of home electric appliances EE can be always grasped. This will be described in detail below.
Fig. 12 is a time chart showing a state where operation information (execution of a cooking menu, setting of heating power, and the like) is transmitted to the power command device 6 at any time in the entire process from power-on to power-off of the rice cooker 3 as a representative example. In the same manner as above, the other in-kitchen home appliances KP and the air conditioner 4 also transmit the operation information to the power command device 6 at any time.
In fig. 12, L1 to L8 are operation information signals transmitted from the rice cooker 3 to the power command device 6. L1 is a signal indicating that the main power supply is ON (ON), and is transmitted at the time when the operation button 68A of the main power supply switch 68 is pressed. The abnormality occurrence report signal ES described later is also 1 of the operation information signals.
L2 indicates that the scheduled cooking mode is selected. L3 is advance notice information (also referred to as "start request signal") transmitted when a scheduled time for starting cooking approaches (for example, 5 minutes before the scheduled time for scheduling cooking). Further, the information of the L2 includes a recognizable code as to which of the time-scheduled cooking mode and the position-corresponding-scheduled cooking mode is designated, and the power command device 6 can recognize the code. Except for the information L2, the operation information signals L1, L3 to L8 transmitted from the rice cooker 3 in the time-scheduled cooking mode and the position-corresponding scheduled cooking mode are the same.
In fig. 12, KS is a "cooking start permission signal" transmitted from the power command device 6 within a short time (usually within several seconds) from the start advance notice information (also referred to as "start request signal") L3. As long as the information does not reach the rice cooker 3, the actual cooking operation of the rice cooker 3 is not started.
L4 is 1 of the operation information signals, and indicates that the inverter circuit 92 is actually driven, the induction heating operation is started, and the warm-up process H1 is started.
L5 is an operation information signal indicating the start of the cooking process H2A. L6 is an operation information signal indicating the end of the cooking process H2A. In the cooking process H2A, the reduction in power is not performed in response to an operation or a command from the outside. That is, it is determined whether the rice cooker 3 is actually in the "execution period of the priority cooking menu" according to whether or not the information L5 and later (in which the next information L6 is not received).
L6 indicates an operation information signal indicating the completion of the cooking process H2A. L7 shows the completion of the braising step H3. L8 is information indicating the turning OFF (OFF) of the main power switch 68. The current time is included in the pieces of information L1 to L8 in units of seconds. Further, there is a response signal from the power command device 6 side with respect to each operation information signal, but detailed description is omitted.
Since the power command device 6 gives the highest priority to the required power of the rice cooker 3 and secures the required power of the rice cooker 3 with the highest priority, even if the capacity of the breaker BK exceeds 8000W or the power capacity (for example, 7000W) which exceeds the upper limit specified by the user, the power is not reduced in the boiling step H2A, and thus, delicious rice can be cooked.
(reservation cooking action of rice cooker)
Next, the operation of the rice cooker 3, which is one of the features of embodiment 1, will be described with reference to fig. 13.
Steps S1 to S8 show operations until the setting of the scheduled cooking, and are operations of the control unit 85 of the rice cooker 3.
When the user sequentially presses the button 68 and the reservation key 76 of the operation portion 71 and finally presses the cooking start button 59, a setting confirmation signal for reserving cooking is generated and the setting of the reserved cooking is confirmed (S1).
Upon receiving the determination signal, the operation information signal L2 indicating the setting of the scheduled cooking mode is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 90 to the power command device 6 (S2). At this time, the information on the start time of the cooking operation is set to "20: 00 "are transmitted together so as to be displayed for 24 hours. The information of the reservation setter (presumed to be the user) may be transmitted by including a code number indicating "resident B" or the like in the data.
Next, the time interval between the cooking start time and the current time set by the user is calculated. In addition, when the user sets the desired cooking time, "cooking completion time" is set. That is, in consideration of the fact that it is desired that the cooking is completed when the user returns home, the set time is set to "20 hours 00 minutes", but the control unit 85 receives the input, calculates the required time for the cooking step (in this case, 3 of the preheating step H1, the cooking step H2, and the braising step H3 shown in fig. 9), and calculates the start time of the preheating step H1 (S3).
If the time is 15 minutes or longer according to the calculation result of step S3, yes is obtained in the next step S4, and the process proceeds to the next step S5. The "standby processing" in step S5 means that, when the standby determination unit 101 incorporated in the power use control unit 19 receives information of the cooking start time from the control unit 85, the standby state is set for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes before) from the current time to the specified time, and therefore, the power supply unit 84 to the control unit 85 is turned off and the liquid crystal display unit 64 also stops operating. This eliminates power consumption on the control unit 85 side.
The standby determination unit 101 checks whether or not a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) is reached at a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) at intervals of a certain time (for example, 1 minute) from the current time to the specified time of cooking (starting). The following operations will not be described.
On the other hand, if there is no time longer than 15 minutes from the calculation result of step S3, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, it is checked at regular time intervals whether or not the time is a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) before the specified time, and if yes in this step, the flow proceeds to step S7.
In step S7, an operation information signal (advance notice signal) L3 indicating the start of cooking in the reserved cooking mode is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 90 to the power command device 6. At this time, the cooking operation start time information is set to "20: 00 "are transmitted together so as to be displayed for 24 hours.
In the next step S8, the start of the cooking operation is notified by voice or character through the voice synthesizer 96 and the liquid crystal display unit 64. The following operations will not be described.
(remote operation for reserving cooking time)
Next, 2 cases of changing the reservation time of the "operation start time (start reservation time a)" of the home electric appliance EE, for example, the rice cooker 3 and changing the reservation time of the "operation end time (end reservation time a)" of the home electric appliance EE (rice cooker 3) which are one of the features of embodiment 1 will be described.
Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6. The basic operation program (information processing program) shown in the flowchart is stored in a semiconductor memory (ROM) inside a microcomputer (not shown) constituting the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6.
The resident B (user B) makes a cooking reservation for the rice cooker 3 in advance in the "time reservation cooking mode" as an "operation end time" reservation 20: 00 (8 pm) will be described as an example.
After the meal-cooking reservation, the resident B goes out and changes the expected time of return to home from the facility 22 at a distant place as shown in fig. 2 to 22 by the information communication terminal device 20 such as a mobile phone terminal device dedicated to the resident B: 00, in this case, the information of the scheduled (expected) time to return home is transmitted from the information communication terminal device 20 and reaches the power command device 6 via the wide area communication network 15. Specifically, the information reaches the central control unit 27 via the router a13A and the input/output unit 29B (step 1, hereinafter, "step" is described as "SU"). Further, if the expected time to return home is changed to 22: the remote operation signal such as 00 is also 1 of the "remote operation signal from the information communication terminal device to the home appliance" referred to in the present invention.
Next, the central control unit 27 compares the scheduled time obtained in advance from the rice cooker 3 with the scheduled time to go home (SU 2).
Based on the comparison result, it is determined whether or not there is a deviation of 30 minutes or more (SU3), and if there is a deviation of 30 minutes or more, a change instruction is output to the rice cooker 3 so that the scheduled time matches the scheduled (expected) time to come home (SU 4). Therefore, in the case of the rice cooker 3, the scheduled cooking completion time is changed to 22: 00.
the reason why the deviation of 30 minutes or more is set as the threshold value here is that there is a possibility that an inappropriate operation is made on the home appliance side every time the change should be made for a shorter time than that. For example, since the rice cooker 3 requires about 30 minutes from the start of cooking to the end of the boiling process as described above, even if the "operation end time" is advanced by about 20 minutes by rapidly increasing the time to return home by about 20 minutes, cooking cannot be completed before the scheduled time to return home. If there is no deviation of 30 minutes or more based on the comparison result of SU3, SU4 is skipped and no instruction to change the reserved time is issued.
In embodiment 1, when there is a time difference of 30 minutes or more, the reservation time is set to 22: 00, before the rice cooker 3 is instructed to change, the unit price of electricity rate applied (specified in the contract with the electric power company) at the time after the change is compared with the unit price of electricity rate applied at the time before the change (SU 4). In this comparison, an index such as "cheap" or "expensive" may be prepared based on the unit price per time period and compared with the electricity fee itself, instead of the comparison. The information on the unit price of the electricity fee may be acquired from the external devices 14A and 14B by the power command device 6 in advance, or may be acquired from the outside each time.
In the case where the cost price is in the direction of increasing based on the comparison result (in the case where there is no economic benefit), the central control unit 27 reports to the information communication terminal device 20 of the sender of the information (22: 00) of the return-to-home scheduled (expected) time that there is a period of no benefit in the electricity fee. For example, a predetermined mail (SU6) is transmitted, which "the cooking schedule of a rice cooker is delayed according to the time of arrival at the information communication terminal device 20, but the electric power rate is increased from 'cheap' to 'medium' (" the time of arrival at home). There is a case where the resident B reads the mail and sends a new scheduled time to go home.
In the case of the rice cooker 3, the scheduled cooking completion time is set from 20: 00 is changed to 22: 00, but before 20 hours and before 22 hours, the "morning and evening time" is described above, and therefore, there is neither a benefit nor a benefit in the electricity rate by the change.
When a certain electric device at a predetermined time (operation start time or operation end time) is changed to a scheduled time for returning home, it is determined whether or not the "operation avoidance period" set for the specific electric device has entered (SU 7). The "operation avoidance period" referred to herein is a period from late night 10 (22 hours) to next morning 6 hours, for example, in the case of a home appliance that emits an operation sound such as the autonomous traveling vacuum cleaner (also referred to as a "cleaning robot". though not shown). The reason for this is that, although the household electrical appliances and the time zone to be set can be individually set by the user (resident) through the power command device 6, in the case of the autonomous traveling electric vacuum cleaner, the operation sound of the blower motor and the like are generated by the operation, which naturally interferes with the sleep of the resident, and in the case of an apartment, the resident in the next room may also interfere with the sleep with noise.
In the case of the rice cooker 3, since the "operation avoidance period" is not set, the judgment step (SU7) is yes, and the process proceeds to the next step SU 8. The SU8 is a step of determining whether or not the target home appliance is suitable for various environmental conditions when operating at the changed time. For example, in the case of the rice cooker 3, the central control unit 27 determines that the room temperature is 2 to 35 ℃ as "appropriate" based on the information from the environment detection unit 30. That is, when the air temperature in the kitchen is assumed to be 4 ℃ at the cooking start time (for example, 21: 20), the temperature is changed from 21: the cooking operation is started at 20 (the initial water absorption process is started at 21: 20). If the temperature is 0 ℃, the water in the steam recovery device of the rice cooker is frozen and the generated steam cannot be recovered, so that whether to start cooking is determined according to the temperature range.
As described in the example of fig. 9, the normal automatic transition from completion of cooking to the temperature keeping step is performed, and the temperature keeping operation is continued for a maximum of 7 hours, but the rice cooker 3 can select the transition to the temperature keeping step before the start of cooking, and if the temperature keeping step is stopped, the electric power consumption is also reduced in accordance with the amount of current supplied to the temperature keeping heater. However, since rice may be rotten when the room temperature is high, the central control unit 27 determines that the room temperature is 2 to 23 ℃ as "suitable" based on the information of the environment detection unit 30. That is, for example, when the room temperature in the kitchen is assumed to be 30 ℃ at the time point before the boiling step is finished and the heat-retention step is started, the operation is automatically shifted to the heat-retention step without stopping the heat-retention operation even if the mode of "heat-retention off" is selected.
As described above, SU8 in fig. 15 is a process of determining whether or not "the environment condition is appropriate" in response to the determination of the update reservation time, based on the room temperature of the living space HA in which various home appliances are installed and other environment conditions. The "permission condition" as a basis of this determination is set by the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 and is stored in the 2 nd storage unit 27B in advance.
SU9 of fig. 15 is a check process of correction possibility. Here, for example, in the case where the air conditioner 4 is not suitable for the environmental conditions (for example, in the case where the room temperature is too low for cooling), since it is only necessary to shift to the energy saving control for raising the target indoor air temperature or lowering the cooling capacity, it is determined whether such operation conditions (heating amount, output of the motor, cooling capacity, and the like) can be corrected. If the correction process is possible, the correction process is performed (SU10), and a command to change the operating conditions is output from the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 to the relevant home electric appliance (in this case, the air conditioner 7). In the case of the present rice cooker 3, the step SU9 is yes.
When it is determined in the above-described step SU8 that the environmental conditions are suitable and after the change processing SU10 to the energy saving control is performed, the change processing of the scheduled time (the operation start time or the operation end time) is performed. Specifically, a change command of the operation start time or the operation end time is output from the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 to the relevant home electric appliance (SU11), and the home electric appliance EE performs a process of changing the operation start time or the operation end time in accordance with the change command. In the case of the rice cooker 2 described above, the cooking is carried out at a temperature of 22: 00 the cooking is completed and the reserved content is rewritten.
On the other hand, when the operation in the operation avoidance period is performed in the case where the process of changing the reserved time (operation start time or operation end time) is performed, such change of the reserved time cannot be permitted, so that the response process SU12 is performed without permission. In practice, the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 transmits information indicating the reason for the non-permission, and the transmitted information reaches the information communication terminal device 20 via the wide area communication network 15. Therefore, a predetermined resident using the home electric equipment EE which generates an operation sound such as the autonomous traveling electric vacuum cleaner can understand that the return time of the resident is a late night period based on the information from the power command device 6, and cannot start the operation of the autonomous traveling electric vacuum cleaner (not shown) from the viewpoint of noise prevention.
If the process SU8 of determining whether or not the "environmental condition is satisfied" is "not suitable" and the correction process SU10 is not possible, the process proceeds to the same step SU12, and the power command device 9 transmits information indicating the reason for the non-permission to end a series of processes. In the unauthorized reply processing SU12, various reply contents are considered according to the type of the electric device and the environmental conditions, and the replies are modeled in advance and stored in the 2 nd storage unit 27B, and the central control unit 27 selects and transmits an appropriate reply content each time. Note that, for example, when the operation avoidance period is a reason, the answer content may be expressed in a concise manner such as "operation is prohibited in late night" or "operation is not possible due to low indoor air temperature". The reason for sending such an unauthorized message is intended to avoid misunderstanding by the resident (user). That is, since the notification of the home time reports that the reserved time (operation start time or operation end time) of the home appliance cannot be automatically changed, the resident (user) can predict the operating state of the home appliance by knowing that the notification is not permitted at the stage before the home is returned. If the unauthorized notification is received, the return time is advanced or the reserved content of the electric device is changed.
Through the above-described procedure, even when the reservation time is changed as a result, the central control unit 27 issues a command to change the reservation time (operation start time or operation end time) acquired in advance from the target home appliance to the scheduled time to return to home notified after the information communication terminal device 20 (SU 11 in fig. 15). In the above example, in the case of the rice cooker 2, the cooking is carried out at 22: 00 to finish cooking, the reserved contents are rewritten (therefore, the preheating process is started before 22 o' clock).
Fig. 16 to 19 are time-series operation explanatory diagrams for explaining the rice cooker 3, the air conditioner (air conditioner) 4, the power command device 6, the information communication terminal device 20, and the power control system and the operation management system of the home appliance including them.
In fig. 16 to 19, various processes (transmission of command signals, transmission of report signals, and the like) executed by the power command device 6, the home appliance EE, and the information communication terminal device 20 are indicated by consecutive numbers with occurrence orders as indicated by T1, T2, and T3. In fig. 16 to 19, arrows indicate that various reports, instructions, and the like are issued
Fig. 16 to 19 show an example in which it is assumed that reservation setting of rice cooker 3 is performed while resident a and resident B are at home, and thereafter resident a and resident B go out and resident B carries information communication terminal device 20.
Fig. 16 shows a case where the scheduled cooking of the rice cooker 3 is set in a state where the air-conditioning apparatus 4 is operating.
When the air conditioner 4 starts operating, the operating state signal is transmitted to the electric power command device 6 (T1). The 1 st storage unit 27 of the power command device 6 has an area for recording a basic database of the electric power control target home electric appliances EE, and data indicating the operation conditions (including information on the maximum power consumption, scheduled operation end time, and the like) executed by each home electric appliance EE is written and updated as needed.
The basic database additionally records the operation information of the air conditioner 4 (T2).
Next, after the scheduled cooking of the rice cooker 3 is set by the operation portion 71, the scheduled cooking setting determination is made at the time point when the cooking start button 59 is pressed as described above (T3).
Then, the scheduled cooking setting information L2 is transmitted from the rice cooker 3 to the power command device 6 (T4). The 1 st storage unit 27 of the power command device 6 has a basic database (hereinafter referred to as "out-of-home mode setting database") for electrical devices having a reserved time (operation start time or operation end time). In this case, the reservation setting condition of the rice cooker 3 is recorded (T5). At the time point of T5, information specifying which of the time reservation cooking mode and the position-associated reservation cooking mode is to be set is recorded in the out-of-home-mode setting database. That is, in the time reservation (timer) cooking mode, information of a cooking start time (for example, 20 hours 00 minutes) desired by the user (for example, resident B) is recorded in the out-of-home mode setting database. In addition, when the location corresponds to the scheduled cooking mode, for example, the scheduled return time is recorded in the same manner. The scheduled time of return to home may be approximate time, and a time period of 8 pm (a range of 1 to 59 minutes at 8 pm) may be specified.
Next, the power command device 6 reports the scheduled cooking setting to the information communication terminal device 20 (referred to as "report a". Here, information for determining which of the time reservation cooking mode and the position correspondence reservation cooking mode is set is transmitted to the information communication terminal device 20. However, in the case where it is detected that the holder of the information communication terminal device 20 is still in the living space HA, this step T6 may be omitted. The power command device 6 has a function of being able to grasp the home situation of the occupant, and the function will be described later. Further, the power command device 6 reports to the rice cooker 3 that the contents of the scheduled cooking setting are registered in the out-of-home mode setting database (T7). At this time, it is also reported that the designated time reservation cooking mode or the designated position is registered corresponding to the reservation cooking mode.
Upon receiving the notification signal T7 from the rice cooker 3, the standby determination unit 101 turns off the power supply unit 84 to the control device 85, and the liquid crystal display unit 64 also stops operating and enters a standby state (T8). The standby state is also referred to as a "standby power cut-off state" because the contents of the reservation settings such as start of operation and stop of operation are changed in response to a remote operation command from the power command device 6 or the information communication terminal device 20.
When the reservation cooking of the rice cooker 3 is set as described above and both the resident a and the resident B go out, the "out-of-home mode" is set on the display panel 24 of the power commanding device 6 at a stage before at least one of the resident a and the resident B goes out of the living space HA at the time of going out, and the operation of collectively turning off the power supply of the home electric appliance EE is performed in order to suppress unnecessary power consumption at the time of not going home.
When the central control unit 27 senses such a setting of the "not-at-home mode" (T9), the central control unit 27 determines whether the household electrical appliance is completely powered off or not powered off when the household electrical appliance is not at home (the rice cooker 3 is appropriate in this case). For this purpose, the target electrical device is specified using data in the out-of-home mode setting database (T10).
Next, even if the air conditioner 4 is still operating at this point in time, an operation stop command signal is output to the power-using control unit 19 (T11), and the power supply of the household electrical appliance that completely cuts off the power when it is not at home is cut off together (T12). In the rice cooker 3, when the power supply using the power supply portion 84 of the power control unit 19 is continued but the power control unit 19 cannot be driven by the power from the commercial power source EP and is secured by another power source such as a battery, the main power switch 68 of the rice cooker 3 may be turned OFF.
Next, the air conditioner 4 transmits an operation state signal indicating the stop of the operation to the power command device 6 (T13). The operation stop information is also transmitted from the power command device 6 to the information communication terminal device 20 ("report B", T14). Then, the air conditioner 4 turns OFF the main power switch (not shown) itself (T15).
Fig. 17 is a diagram showing a situation continuing from the state of fig. 16, and shows a situation from a situation where both occupants a and B go out and where none are present in their home (living space HA) to a situation after returning home. In addition, the case of fig. 17 shows an example of cooking in which reservation is made in accordance with reservation. Fig. 17 shows a case where the time-reservation cooking mode is set.
The power command device 6 monitors whether or not the scheduled cooking start time of the rice cooker 3 is close to the data of the out-of-home mode setting database, and transmits a command signal for returning the power from the standby power cut-off state to the rice cooker 3 (T17) when it is determined that the scheduled cooking start time is the scheduled cooking time (for example, 5 minutes) (T16).
Further, the electric power command device 6 reports to the information communication terminal device 20 that a command to return the rice cooker 3 is issued ("report C", T18).
In the rice cooker 3, the standby determination unit 101 resumes the standby power cut-off state, and thus the power supply from the power supply unit 84 to the control unit 85 is restarted (T19).
Since the report C reaches the information communication terminal device 20 held by the resident B who is out of the home, if predetermined approval information is sent back from the information communication terminal device 20 (T20), the power command device 6 transmits a signal (cooking start approval signal KS) for approving the start of the reserved cooking operation to the rice cooker 3 (T21). As a method, the consent information return step may be omitted and the cooking start permission signal KS may be automatically transmitted, or the process may be advanced as being approved when the consent information is not transmitted during a certain short period of time. The reason is that it is assumed that the resident carrying the information communication terminal device 20 cannot return immediately when the vehicle is driven. The signal to which the consent information is sent is also 1 of the "remote operation signal from the information communication terminal device for the home appliance" referred to in the present invention.
When the rice cooker 3 receives the permission signal KS, the control device 85 starts the energization of the heating unit 61 (T23) at a stage when it is determined that the scheduled cooking start Time (TA) is reached (T22), and transmits the operation information signal L5 indicating that the scheduled cooking is started in advance to the power command device 6 (T24).
The central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 receives the signal L5, and stores the rice cooker 3 in the monitoring target list of the basic database in order to monitor the operating state and the amount of electric power of the rice cooker 3 (T25).
When the cooking process is completed and the cooking process is also completed, the rice cooker 3 proceeds to the temperature keeping process (T26), and transmits an operation information signal L7 indicating the completion of the cooking process to the power command device 6 (T27).
The central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 receives the signal L7, updates the monitoring target list in the database, and reflects the completion of the scheduled cooking in the database by the rice cooker 3 (T28).
Further, the power command device 6 reports completion of the scheduled cooking operation of the rice cooker 3 to the information communication terminal device 20 ("report D", T29).
Then, the resident B goes home first, performs an unlocking operation on the electronic lock of the entrance, and the personal authentication device 34 outputs an unlocking operation signal to unlock the electronic lock 33 of the entrance based on the input data for unlocking the electronic lock. The resident B who HAs thus returned to the living space HA cancels the "not-at-home mode" in the display tray 24 and returns to the "at-home mode" (T30).
At this time, upon receiving the signal for canceling the not-at-home mode, central control unit 27 displays information on liquid crystal display screen 26 that can identify home appliance EE that started operating when not at home. In particular, it is also displayed whether or not the home appliance EE set to start operation when not at home starts to start operation according to the reservation and ends (T31). In fig. 22 to 26, the display contents of the liquid crystal display screen 26 in this case will be described in detail.
As is clear from the description of fig. 16 and 17, when the resident B cancels the out-of-home mode when he or she goes home, the resident B can visually confirm both information that can specify the home electric appliance EE (rice cooker 3) to be started when he or she is not at home and information that indicates whether the home electric appliance (rice cooker 3) is started and ended in the time reservation (timer) cooking mode in accordance with the reservation, on the liquid crystal display screen 26 of the display panel 24 that performs the operation for canceling the out-of-home mode.
Fig. 18 shows a situation continuing from the state of fig. 16, from a situation in which both occupants a and B go out and who is not at home (living space HA) to a situation after going home. In addition, the case of fig. 18 shows an example of cooking in the time reservation cooking mode in which the reservation is not made in accordance with the reservation during the outgoing period.
In fig. 18, T16 to T22 are the same as those shown in fig. 17, and therefore, redundant description is omitted.
When the rice cooker 3 receives the operation start permission signal KS for reserving cooking and does not start the cooking operation for any reason (T23), the operation is performed as follows. Further, regarding the cause of the rice cooking operation not being started, for example, the following is assumed: although a predetermined amount of water is added to the water tank of the steam processing device 57 and a cooking reservation is determined, when the resident is out of home and an earthquake occurs and the rice cooker 3 is shaken, the position of the water tank moves to an abnormal position, and the water in the water tank overflows to the outside. Thus, when the amount of water is too small, the water level sensor 88 operates to take a safety measure such that the cooking operation is not started.
When the controller 85 determines that the scheduled cooking start Time (TA) is reached (T22), the rice cooker 3 starts the cooking operation by starting the energization of the heating means 61, but the cooking operation is not started (T23), the central control unit 27 of the power commanding device 6 checks whether or not the start information of the scheduled cooking is received from the rice cooker 3 (T24) after the scheduled cooking start Time (TA) is reached (a plurality of times).
When the start information of the scheduled cooking is not received within 5 minutes from the scheduled cooking start Time (TA), it is estimated that the scheduled cooking is not started due to a problem of the rice cooker 3 itself, and the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 stores the rice cooker 3 in the monitoring target list of the basic database (T25).
Then, the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 reports to the information communication terminal device 20 that the scheduled cooking operation of the rice cooker 3 is not completed ("report D", T26). Further, the central control unit 27 then transmits a signal for inquiring the execution status to the rice cooker 3 a plurality of times to confirm the "execution status" (T27, T28) of the rice cooking operation. This inquiry is continued for a maximum of 6 hours (for example, repeatedly performed at intervals of at least 30 minutes) from the scheduled cooking start Time (TA).
In the rice cooker 3, when communication is disabled due to a failure in the communication function or the like, the control unit 85 acquires information such as prohibition of starting operation due to detection of an abnormality by the water level sensor 89, for example (T29).
The rice cooker 3 collectively stores the history information (the cooking operation) acquired in this way and transmits the history information to the power command device 6 (T30). The signal at this time is referred to as "scheduled cooking non-execution report signal" LN.
Upon receiving the transmission result, the power command device 6 reports information (report E, T31) such as the reason why the scheduled cooking operation of the rice cooker 3 has not been completed to the information communication terminal device 20.
Thereafter, the resident B (or another resident) returns home, performs an unlocking operation on the electronic lock of the entrance, and the personal authentication device 34 outputs an unlocking operation signal to unlock the electronic lock 33 of the entrance based on input data for unlocking the electronic lock. The resident B who HAs thus returned to the living space HA cancels the "not-at-home mode" on the display panel 24 and returns to the "at-home mode" (T32).
At this time, when receiving the signal for canceling the out-of-home mode, central control unit 27 displays information (or also makes an audio notification by an audio guidance device) on liquid crystal display screen 26 so as to identify home appliance EE that started operating when the user is not at home. In particular, it is also displayed whether or not the home electric appliance EE started to operate when it is not at home is set to start and end the operation according to the reservation (T33). In the example of fig. 18, it is reported that although the rice cooker 3 performs scheduled cooking, cooking is not completely performed. The display contents of the liquid crystal display screen 26 in this case will be described in detail with reference to fig. 22 to 26.
As is apparent from the description of fig. 18, when the resident B cancels the out-of-home mode when he or she goes home, the resident B can visually confirm information that can specify the home electric appliance EE (rice cooker 3) to be started at the time of absence and information that indicates whether or not the home electric appliance EE (rice cooker 3) is started and ended in accordance with the reservation, in a lump on the liquid crystal display screen 26 of the display panel 24 that performs the operation for canceling the out-of-home mode. Further, since the resident B reports that the rice is not cooked before going home as in 2 times of the reports D and E, the resident B who has performed the scheduled cooking operation of the rice cooker B notices the rice cooker 3 before going home and also reports it when going home, and therefore, there is hardly any possibility that the resident B forgets to leave the rice cooker 3 with rice and water added for a long time.
After that, the information communication terminal device 20 of the resident B transmits again the confirmation information that the scheduled cooking of the rice cooker 3 is not performed ("report F", T34). This is a safety measure in which a case where occupants other than occupant B return home first is also assumed. The resident B who has received the report F can give an instruction for appropriate confirmation and improvement such as making a call to another resident who has come home first, sending a mail, requesting to observe the appearance of the rice cooker 3, or requesting to cook rice by adding water, and thus, convenience is high.
Fig. 19 is an example in which it is assumed that reservation setting of the rice cooker 3 is performed in a state in which the resident a and the resident B are at home, and thereafter both the resident a and the resident B go out and the resident B carries the information communication terminal device 20.
Fig. 19 shows the following case: in a state where the air-conditioning apparatus 4 is operating, the scheduled cooking of the rice cooker 3 is set. Here, fig. 19 shows a case where the position is set to correspond to the reserved cooking mode.
In fig. 19, when the air conditioner 4 starts operating, the operation state signal is transmitted to the power command device 6 (T41). In the base database of the electric power command device 6, data indicating that the position-corresponding cooking reservation mode is selected is also written as 1 of the operating conditions of the rice cooker 3.
The operation information of the air conditioner 4 is additionally recorded in the base database (T42).
Then, the scheduled cooking conditions of the rice cooker 3 are set by the operation unit 71. In this case, the user sets the scheduled time of returning home with the operation portion 71, because the cooking mode is set not to the time reservation (timer) cooking mode but to the position-corresponding reservation cooking mode. Specifically, the reservation key 76 is pressed to input the scheduled home time TB (in this case, the time may be designated not by the time but by "after 8 hours" or the like). When the cooking start button 59 is pressed as described above, the cooking setting determination is reserved at that point of time (T43). For example, the following description will continue with the scheduled home return time TB with an input of 19 hours and 30 minutes.
Then, the scheduled cooking setting information L2 is transmitted from the rice cooker 3 to the power command device 6 (T44). The reservation setting condition of the rice cooker 3 is recorded in the out-of-home mode setting database in the 1 st storage unit 27 of the power command device 6 (T45). The information specifying the location-based scheduled cooking mode is recorded in the out-of-home mode setting database at the time point of T45.
Next, the power command device 6 reports the scheduled cooking setting to the information communication terminal device 20 (referred to as "report a". Here, information for determining which of the time reservation cooking mode and the position correspondence reservation cooking mode is set is transmitted to the information communication terminal device 20. However, in the case where it is detected that the holder of the information communication terminal device 20 is still in the living space HA, this step T46 may be omitted. The power command device 6 has a function of being able to grasp the home situation of the occupant, and the function will be described later. Further, the power command device 6 reports to the rice cooker 3 that the contents of the scheduled cooking setting are registered in the out-of-home mode setting database (T47). At this time, it is also reported that the designated time reservation cooking mode or the designated position is registered corresponding to the reservation cooking mode.
In the rice cooker 3, upon receiving the notification signal T47, the standby determination unit 101 interrupts the power supply unit 84 to the control device 85, and the liquid crystal display unit 64 also stops operating and enters the standby state (T48). The standby state is also referred to as a "standby power cut-off state" because the contents of the reservation settings such as start of operation and stop of operation are changed in response to a remote operation command from the power command device 6 or the information communication terminal device 20.
When the reservation cooking of the rice cooker 3 is set as described above and both the resident a and the resident B go out, the "no-home mode" is set on the display panel 24 of the power command device 6 before at least one of the resident a and the resident B goes out of the living space HA during the outgoing, and the operation of collectively cutting off the power supply of the household electrical appliance EE is performed in order to suppress unnecessary power consumption at the time of no-home.
When the central control unit 27 senses such a setting of the "not-at-home mode" (T49), the central control unit 27 determines whether the household electrical appliance is completely powered off or not powered off when the household electrical appliance is not at home (the rice cooker 3 is appropriate in this case). For this purpose, the target electrical device is specified using data in the out-of-home mode setting database (T50).
Next, even if the air conditioner 4 is still operating at this point in time, an operation stop command signal is output to the power-using control unit 19 (T51), and the power supply of the household electrical appliance that completely cuts off the power when it is not at home is cut off together (T52). In the rice cooker 3, when the power supply using the power supply portion 84 of the power control unit 19 is continued but the power control unit 19 is not driven by the power from the commercial power source EP and is secured by another power source such as a battery, the main power switch 68 of the rice cooker 3 may be turned OFF.
Next, the air conditioner 4 transmits an operation state signal indicating the operation stop to the power command device 6 (T53). The operation stop information is also transmitted from the power command device 6 to the information communication terminal device 20 ("report B", T54). Then, the air conditioner 4 turns OFF the main power switch (not shown) itself (T55).
Fig. 20 shows a situation continuing from the state of fig. 19, from a situation in which both occupants a and B go out and who is not at home (living space HA) to a situation after going home. In addition, the case of fig. 20 shows an example of cooking in which reservation is made in accordance with reservation. Here, fig. 20 shows a case where the cooking mode is set to the position-corresponding reserved cooking mode.
When the "out-of-home mode" is set on the display panel 24 of the power command device 6 in a stage before the occupant a or B exits from the living space HA during the travel, the return-to-home scheduled time is input. For example, the scheduled time to return home is set to 19 hours and 30 minutes. The scheduled time to return home may be set or changed from the outgoing destination by the information communication terminal device 20. The scheduled time to return home is reflected in the out-of-home mode setting database of the power command device 6 at any time. In addition, when the user returns home for the same time period every day, the user may register the user in the no-home mode setting database so as to automatically set 1 time instead of inputting the scheduled time for returning home every time (every day, every time) when setting the "no-home mode".
Although the scheduled time to return TB of the rice cooker 3 is 19 hours and 30 minutes, the time may not coincide with the scheduled time to return to home set on the display panel 24. The rice cooker 3 operates based on data input to the rice cooker 3 at a predetermined time of return.
The power command device 6 monitors whether or not the scheduled home return time TB (19 minutes and 30 minutes) is close by using the data in the out-of-home mode setting database, and transmits a command signal for returning the power from the standby power cut-off state to the rice cooker 3 (T57) when it is determined that the scheduled home return time TB is a predetermined time (for example, 65 minutes) (T56). That is, the transmission time of T57 is 18 hours and 25 minutes. The 65 minutes is determined by adding the "margin time" of 5 minutes to the maximum expected time 60 minutes required for cooking.
Further, the power command device 6 reports to the information communication terminal device 20 that a command to return the rice cooker 3 is issued ("report C", T58). At this time, data indicating position information indicating the installation location of the power command device 6 may not be transmitted for the sake of caution. The reason for this is that since the information communication terminal device 20 is initially set as described above, the position information is already registered on the information communication terminal device 20 side.
In the rice cooker 3, the standby determination unit 101 resumes the standby power cut-off state, and thus the power supply from the power supply unit 84 to the control unit 85 is restarted (T59).
Since the report C reaches the information communication terminal device 20 held by the resident B who is out of the home, if predetermined approval information is sent back from the information communication terminal device 20 (T60), the power command device 6 transmits a signal (cooking start approval signal KS) for approving the start of the reserved cooking operation to the rice cooker 3 (T21). Since the example of fig. 20 is a case where the position-based reserved cooking mode is set, even if the signal KS permitting the start of the reserved cooking operation is not transmitted, the distance information calculation unit 147 in the information communication terminal device 20 automatically calculates the distance between the information communication terminal device 20 and the power command device 6, and transmits the distance determination information, which is the calculation result, to the power command device 6 (as the distance determination information signal) (T60).
As described above, the control unit 134 of the information communication terminal device 20 also has a function of monitoring the temporal change of the "distance determination information signal" calculated by the distance information calculation unit 147, and a function of calculating the moving speed of the information communication terminal device 20. Therefore, the "moving speed information" is transmitted simultaneously with the transmission of the "distance determination information signal". Alternatively, immediately after the signal is transmitted, an operation of transmitting "moving speed information" is performed. Therefore, in the power command device 6 that receives the "distance determination information signal" and the "movement speed information" from the information communication terminal device 20, the power command device 6 can calculate the estimated time until the information communication terminal device 20 moves and reaches its own position.
The power command device 6 refers to the out-of-home mode setting database, and transmits the calculated information of the estimated time until the rice cooker 3 returns home, the position of which corresponds to the reserved cooking mode (T61).
However, in embodiment 1, the electric power command device 6 is interposed between the information communication terminal device 20 and the rice cooker 3, and the time until the information communication terminal device 20 moves to the installation position of the rice cooker 3 can be obtained by receiving the "distance determination information signal" and the "movement speed information" even when a method of directly communicating via the wireless LAN device installed in the living space or the router a13A is employed on the assumption that the electric power command device 6 is not present. In other words, if the power command device 6 does not have a function of calculating the time required for the resident to return home to the living space HA (the time required for the information communication terminal device 20 to move to the living space) from the distance determination information signal and the movement speed information, the determination of the required time is performed in the rice cooker 3.
In the rice cooker 3, the time suitable for starting the cooking operation is calculated based on the relationship between the time required for the resident to return home to the living space HA (the time for the information communication terminal device 20 to move to the living space) and the current time.
For example, when the current time is 18 hours and 30 minutes and the time required to return home (estimated time) is 3 hours and 30 minutes (that is, the estimated time to return home is 22 hours and 00 minutes), even if the time from the start of cooking to the completion (the maximum time in consideration of the cooking amount) is assumed to be 1 hour, it is too early to immediately start the cooking operation (30 minutes at 18 hours). Therefore, the control unit 85 determines the cooking start time TN to be "21 hours" which is 1 hour before the time 22. Then, information that the start time of the scheduled cooking is 21 hours 00 minutes and the scheduled completion time is 21 hours is transmitted to the power command device 6 (this timing is indicated by symbol TG 1).
Although the distance information calculation unit 147 HAs been described as having a function of calculating the distance to the target object (in this example, the living space HA) from the position information of the living space HA and the information on the current position of the information communication terminal device 20, the information on the distance calculated here (distance determination information) need not be calculated in units of 1m to several m, and may be calculated with an accuracy of, for example, about 100m or 500 m. This is because, even if the occupant moves by public transportation means such as a private car or a bus or by foot, if the initial distance is large, it is not necessary to make the accuracy the same. Therefore, the accuracy of the subsequent moving speed information and the unit of the distance to be grasped may be automatically changed by the control unit 85 of the rice cooker 3, for example, in the case of a large distance such as 10km or in the case of a relatively short distance such as 1km, using the information indicated by the distance determination information signal transmitted from the portable information communication device 20 to the rice cooker 3 via the power commanding device 6.
When the power command device 6 receives the distance determination information signal and the moving speed information from the portable information communication device 20, the index corresponding to the magnitude of the distance may be converted in the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 and transferred to the rice cooker 3. For example, it is previously defined that the distance division (distance code) 1 means 100m to 200m, and the division 2 means 201m to 400m, and the division is transmitted to the rice cooker 3. Similarly, the estimated speed per unit time is also ranked (coded), and the estimated arrival time can be calculated from the rice cooker 3 side by 2 codes as "30 to 40 minutes". The operation of calculating the estimated arrival time on the side of the rice cooker 3 is not performed only 1 time, but data processing may be performed at regular time intervals and the processing (the cooking start time may be appropriate) may be advanced after each calculation by using the last calculated distance.
In this way, the control unit 85 of the rice cooker 3 has a function of determining whether the cooking start time is appropriate or not based on the relationship between the time (required for the resident to return home) of the change in distance indicated by the distance determination information signal from the information communication terminal device 20 (the time for the information communication terminal device 20 to move to the living space) and the current time.
Further, the cooking device has a function of automatically changing the cooking start time based on the determination result. In addition, since the actual operating time of the rice cooker 3 (the time of steps H1 to H3 shown in fig. 9) varies depending on the temperature of water, the amount of rice, and the like in the pot into which rice is added at the start of cooking, cooking cannot always be completed after a fixed time even if the cooking start time is the same.
For example, although the "time required for cooking" from the "water absorption step" to the "rice cooking step" varies slightly depending on the amount of rice cooked in the control unit 85 of the rice cooker 3 depending on the ambient air temperature, for example, 5.5-inch (1 liter) cooked rice is a standard cooking method and is stored for 60 minutes, and therefore, the time until the start of the heat-keeping step is known. The time required for cooking is not determined before the braising step, but is determined after cooking.
Since the load (rice cooking amount) of the heater 61 varies depending on the amount of rice and water charged into the inner pot 60, the water temperature thereof, and the like, the controller 85 cannot predict the rising curve of the water temperature after the start of energization of the heater 61 and estimate the time required for cooking from the magnitude of the rising rate thereof before the rice cooking step (see H1: fig. 9).
Therefore, when the control unit 85 of the rice cooker 3 determines the time required for cooking and determines the cooking start time, the control unit determines the cooking start time on the premise that the total value (65 minutes) is assumed as the "margin time" obtained by adding 5 minutes to the "margin time" and setting the time required for cooking to 60 minutes as described above. That is, the 65 minutes is a time period in which variations in the amount of cooked rice and the like are taken into consideration.
Therefore, when the time required for the occupant to return to home is determined using the distance determined from the distance determination information signal, and the cooking operation is started within the required time (for example, 3 hours, 30 minutes, or 210 minutes in the above example), and the cooking start time at which the timing of completion of the cooking operation matches the timing of the time of return to home is 150 minutes (210 minutes to TQ60 minutes) from the time point when the time required for cooking TQ is 60 minutes. Using the distance obtained from the distance determination information signal in this way, the control unit 85 calculates the estimated time for the resident B who holds the information communication terminal device 20 to move and arrive at the living space HA, and estimates the "arrival time" at which the resident returns to the living space based on the calculated estimated time. Further, the cooking device has a function of determining a timing of starting the cooking operation (in the above example, the starting time is 21 hours 00 minutes) so that the cooking operation up to the cooking step is completed at the estimated time (for example, 9 hours 00 minutes in the afternoon).
A process is performed to set the start time of cooking so that the time to the time of returning (arrival) to home assumed in this way is as short as possible. If the adjustment operation is not performed, for example, if the rice cooking operation is automatically started at 19 hours and 30 minutes from the scheduled-to-home time TB set at the time of going out, the rice cooking operation is completed around 20 hours and 30 minutes, and the rice cooking device 3 continues the heat insulating process from 1 hour to 22 hours and 30 minutes. This is also not preferable from the viewpoint of energy saving, and may also affect the taste of rice.
The power command device 6 reflects the information of the scheduled cooking start time TN (for example, 20 hours 00 minutes) and the scheduled cooking completion time (21 hours 00 minutes) obtained in this way to the out-of-home mode setting database (TG 2). When the registration with the database is completed, it is preferable to display the result of automatically adjusting the timing at which the cooking operation is started or completed on the liquid crystal display screen 26 of the display panel 24 by characters or numerals. As will be described later in the description of fig. 24, the second scheduled operation confirmation information 125 indicated by the character "scheduled" is displayed on the liquid crystal display screen 26 during the home mode, and here, in addition to the character information of "scheduled", a part of the scheduled cooking conditions such as "20 minutes at the cooking start time, 00 minutes" and the like may be displayed. That is, since the result of adjusting the scheduled operation (cooking) condition of the rice cooker 3 is reported, the user can easily confirm it. It is preferable that the 2 nd scheduled operation confirmation information 125 is performed immediately after the scheduled cooking conditions are changed.
The power command device 6 transmits information of the start time TN (21 hours) of the scheduled cooking and the scheduled completion time (22 hours 00 minutes) to the information communication terminal device 20 (reports C1, TG 3).
Further, in the rice cooker 3, after the information of the start time TN (21 hours 00 minutes) of the scheduled cooking and the scheduled cooking completion time (22 hours 00 minutes) is transmitted to the power command device 6, the standby determination unit 101 cuts off the power supply unit 84 to the control device 85, and the liquid crystal display unit 64 also stops operating, and enters the standby state (TG 4).
The power command device 6 monitors whether or not a start time TN (21 hours) of the reserved cooking of the rice cooker 3 is close to the home mode setting database, and transmits a command signal (TG5) for returning the power from the standby power cut-off state to the rice cooker 3 when it is determined that the scheduled time (for example, 5 minutes) has elapsed since the reserved cooking time.
In the rice cooker 3, the standby determination unit 101 resumes the standby power cut-off state, and therefore, the power supply from the power supply unit 84 to the control unit 85 is restarted (TG 6).
The rice cooker 3 starts energization to the heating unit 61 (T63), and transmits an operation information signal L5 indicating that scheduled cooking is started at a time 20 in accordance with the schedule to the power command device 6 (T64).
The central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 receives the signal L5, and stores the rice cooker 3 in the monitoring target list of the basic database in order to monitor the operating state and the amount of electric power of the rice cooker 3 (T65).
When the cooking process is completed and the cooking process is also completed, the rice cooker 3 proceeds to the temperature keeping process (T66) and transmits an operation information signal L7 indicating the completion of the cooking process to the power command device 6 (T67).
The central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 receives the signal L7, updates the monitoring target list in the database, and reflects the completion of the scheduled cooking in the database by the rice cooker 3 (T68).
Further, the power command device 6 reports completion of the scheduled cooking operation of the rice cooker 3 to the information communication terminal device 20 ("report D", T69).
After that, the resident B goes home first, performs an unlocking operation on the electronic lock in the entrance, and the personal authentication device 34 outputs an unlocking operation signal to unlock the electronic lock 33 in the entrance based on the input data for unlocking the electronic lock. The resident B who HAs thus returned to the living space HA cancels the "not-at-home mode" in the display tray 24 and returns to the "at-home mode" (T70).
At this time, upon receiving the signal for canceling the not-at-home mode, central control unit 27 displays information on liquid crystal display screen 26, which can identify home appliance EE that started operating when not at home. In particular, it is also displayed whether or not the home appliance EE set to start operation when not at home starts to start operation according to the reservation and ends (T71). In fig. 22 to 26, the display contents of the liquid crystal display screen 26 in this case will be described in detail.
As is apparent from the description of fig. 19 and 20, when the resident B cancels the out-of-home mode when he or she goes home, the resident B can visually confirm both information that can specify the home appliance EE (rice cooker 3) to be started at the time of being out of home and information that indicates whether the home appliance (rice cooker 3) starts and ends the operation in the reserved cooking mode corresponding to the reserved position in the liquid crystal display screen 26 of the display panel 24 that performs the operation for canceling the out-of-home mode.
If it is assumed that the rice cooking operation is not performed after step T63, the rice cooker 3 operates in cooperation with the power command device 6 as described with reference to fig. 18, and transmits the case where the rice cooking operation is not performed to the information communication terminal device 20.
This operation step will be described below with reference to fig. 21.
In fig. 21, the power command device 6 monitors whether or not the scheduled cooking start time TN, i.e., the proper cooking start time, calculated in advance by the rice cooker 3 using the data of the out-of-home mode setting database is close to each other, and when it is determined that the scheduled time (e.g., 5 minutes) has elapsed since the scheduled cooking start time TN (T56), it transmits a command signal for returning the power from the standby power cut-off state to the rice cooker 3 (T57). As described above, when the start time TN of the scheduled cooking is 21 hours 00 minutes, T57 is 20 hours 55 minutes.
Further, the power command device 6 reports to the information communication terminal device 20 that a command to return the rice cooker 3 is issued ("report C", T58).
In the rice cooker 3, the standby determination unit 101 resumes the standby power cut-off state, and thus the power supply from the power supply unit 84 to the control unit 85 is restarted (T59).
Since the report C reaches the information communication terminal device 20 held by the resident B at the outgoing destination, when the predetermined approval information is returned from the information communication terminal device 20 (T60), the power command device 6 transmits a signal (cooking start approval signal KS) for approving the start of the reserved cooking operation to the rice cooker 3 (T61). In addition, as a method, the heating cooking start permission signal KS may be automatically transmitted without the return step of the consent information, or the processing may be advanced as being granted when waiting for a certain short time and during which the consent information is not transmitted. The reason is that it is assumed that the resident B who carries the information communication terminal device 20 cannot return immediately in a situation such as driving a car. The signal to which the consent information is sent is also 1 of the "remote operation signal from the information communication terminal device for the home appliance" referred to in the present invention.
When the rice cooker 3 receives the permission signal KS, the controller 85 starts the energization of the heating unit 61 (T63) and starts cooking at a stage (T62) where it is determined that the scheduled cooking start Time (TN) is reached.
However, even after receiving the operation start permission signal KS for reserving cooking, if the rice cooker 3 does not start the cooking operation for any reason (T63), the operation is performed as follows. The reason why the cooking operation is not started is described with reference to fig. 18, and therefore, the description thereof is omitted.
When the controller 85 determines that the scheduled cooking start Time (TN) is reached (T62), the rice cooker 3 starts the cooking operation by starting the energization of the heating means 61, but the cooking operation is not started (T63), the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 checks whether or not the start information of the scheduled cooking is received from the rice cooker 3 (T64) after the scheduled cooking start Time (TN) is reached (a plurality of times).
When the start information of the scheduled cooking is not received within 5 minutes from the scheduled cooking start Time (TN), it is estimated that the scheduled cooking is not started due to a problem of the rice cooker 3 itself, and the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 stores the rice cooker 3 in the monitoring target list of the basic database (T65).
Then, the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 reports to the information communication terminal device 20 that the scheduled cooking operation of the rice cooker 3 is not completed ("report D", T66). Further, the central control unit 27 sends a query signal of the execution status to the rice cooker 3 several times thereafter to confirm the "execution status" (T67, T68) of the rice cooking operation. The inquiry is continued for a maximum of 6 hours (for example, repeatedly performed at intervals of at least 30 minutes) from the scheduled cooking start Time (TN).
In the rice cooker 3, when communication is disabled due to a failure in the communication function or the like, the control unit 85 acquires information such as prohibition of start of operation due to detection of an abnormality by the water level sensor 89, for example (T72).
The rice cooker 3 collectively stores the history information (the cooking operation) obtained in this way and transmits the history information to the power command device 6 (T73). The signal at this time is a "scheduled cooking non-execution report signal" LN.
Receiving the transmission result, the power command device 6 reports information (report E, T74) such as the reason why the scheduled cooking operation of the rice cooker 3 was not completed to the information communication terminal device 20.
Thereafter, the resident B (or another resident) returns home, performs an unlocking operation on the electronic lock of the entrance, and the personal authentication device 34 outputs an unlocking operation signal to unlock the electronic lock 33 of the entrance based on the input data for unlocking the electronic lock. The resident B who HAs thus returned to the living space HA cancels the "not-at-home mode" in the display tray 24 and returns to the "at-home mode" (T75).
At this time, upon receiving the signal for canceling the not-at-home mode, central control unit 27 displays information (or also, an audio notification by an audio guidance device) on liquid crystal display screen 26, which enables identification of home appliance EE that started operating when the user was not at home. In particular, it is also displayed whether or not the home appliance EE set to start operation when not at home starts to start operation according to the reservation and ends (T76). In the example of fig. 21, it is reported that the rice cooking is not completely performed although the rice cooker 3 performs the scheduled cooking. In fig. 22 to 26, the display contents of the liquid crystal display screen 26 in this case will be described in detail.
As is apparent from the description of fig. 21, when the resident B cancels the out-of-home mode when he or she goes home, the resident B can visually confirm information that can specify the home electric appliance EE (rice cooker 3) to be started at the time of absence and information that indicates whether or not the home electric appliance EE (rice cooker 3) is started and ended in accordance with the reservation, in a lump on the liquid crystal display screen 26 of the display panel 24 that performs the operation for canceling the out-of-home mode. Further, since the resident B reports that the rice is not cooked before going home as in 2 times of the reports D and E, the resident B who has performed the scheduled cooking operation of the rice cooker B notices the rice cooker 3 before going home and also reports it when going home, and therefore, there is hardly any possibility that the resident B forgets to leave the rice cooker 3 with rice and water added for a long time.
After that, the information communication terminal device 20 of the resident B is transmitted again the determination information that the scheduled cooking of the rice cooker 3 is not performed ("report F", T77). This is a safety measure in which a case where occupants other than occupant B return home first is also assumed. The resident B who has received the report F can give an instruction to appropriately confirm or improve the condition, such as making a call to another resident who has come home first, sending a mail, requesting to observe the condition of the rice cooker 3, or requesting to cook rice by adding water, and thus, convenience is high.
(liquid Crystal display screen of display panel 24)
Fig. 20 to 24 are views showing the liquid crystal display screen 26 of the display panel 24 of the power command device 6 in detail. In these figures, reference numeral 110 denotes maximum allowable power information indicating a value of a rated capacity (1 st upper limit capacity: 8000W) of the circuit breaker BK permitted to be used in the household, and reference numeral 111 denotes present used power display information indicating an amount of used power of the household currently used. Further, power margin information 112 (not shown) indicating the margin of the currently used power value with respect to the maximum allowable power value may be displayed.
Reference numeral 113 denotes a setting key capable of selecting 1 from 4 levels of the maximum allowable power of the home, and each key 113 displays an amount of power indicating the content of each setting key. In the state of fig. 22, only the 4000W key is displayed by a white letter, and therefore the power usage limit is half the predetermined capacity (8000W) of the breaker BK.
These setting keys 113 include touch keys such as electrostatic capacitance keys, and only when the keys are input by touch, characters (for example: 4000W) indicating outlines and a part of functions of the keys are visually displayed. In other words, in the input-disabled state, the input key itself is not displayed or displayed slightly to such an extent that it is hardly visually confirmed. In practice, a capacitive input key is formed on a glass plate covering the front surface of the liquid crystal display screen 26, and if a key at a predetermined position is touched, an input signal corresponding to the key is supplied from the operation input unit 25 to the central control unit 27.
Reference numeral 114 denotes a name of the home electric appliance EE controlled by the power command device 6, and abbreviated as used appliance display information, and includes a name 114A of the induction heating cooker 51, a name 114B of the rice cooker 3, and the like, and is displayed in a list form on the display area 122. The used device display information 114 is displayed on the left side, and is a device with higher priority in terms of power conservation.
Reference numeral 115 denotes a use display unit that is lit when power is used, that is, when power is currently used. In fig. 20, it is understood that the air conditioner 4 and the lighting fixture are used. The numerical value displayed in the vicinity of the use display unit 115 is the amount of power used, and for example, the average power value of the past 1 minute is displayed every 1 minute. In addition, when the priority of the home appliance EE is set, the screen display configuration may be such that the names of the set home appliances are displayed from left to right in the order of highest priority. Thus, the user can immediately recognize the home appliance having a high priority.
116 is an information key. When the user touches the information key, information such as power-related information, a cooking method for efficiently using power, a temperature setting method for an air conditioner, and the like, which is referred to the user in this case, is displayed on the liquid crystal display screen 26 each time.
When an abnormality or a failure occurs in the home appliance EE, the liquid crystal display screen 26 displays the contents of the abnormality or the failure related to the specific home appliance in detail by a character from the information database of the occurrence or the failure when the information key 116 is pressed.
Reference numeral 117 denotes a help mode key, which displays information that is referred to the user's operation in this case when the user touches the key, and also reports a correct operation method by voice through a voice guidance device (not shown) provided separately. When the key is pressed a plurality of times, the observation method, the input method, and the like of the liquid crystal display screen 26 are displayed in the entire liquid crystal display screen 26 using schematic diagrams and characters.
In fig. 22, it is understood that the induction heating cooker 51 is stopped at present due to an abnormality. Unlike the use device display information of the other home electric appliances, only the induction heating cooker 51 is displayed with a highlighted character, and the use display unit 115 is changed to an abnormality display unit 118 that displays a character indicating the occurrence of an abnormality.
The display area 122 for displaying information using devices includes a suggestion area 119 for displaying a power saving check point, an abnormality or failure of another home appliance EE, safety information, and the like. In the advice area 119, as shown in fig. 22, a home appliance EE (for example, the induction heating cooker 51) which is stopped urgently due to the occurrence of an abnormality is displayed by a character.
In fig. 22, the selection key (operation unit) 120 is a key for selecting a home mode in which the best living environment is set when the occupant goes home. Near the right side of the selection key 120, a selection key 121 is disposed which switches to a not-at-home mode (also referred to as "out mode").
Since a predetermined setting command for the out-of-home mode is given to the control unit 27 by pressing the selection key 120, the selection key is hereinafter referred to as "out-of-home mode selection means". Since a predetermined home mode setting command is given to the central control unit 125 by pressing the selection key (operation unit) 121, the selection key will be hereinafter referred to as "home mode selection means".
The out-of-home mode selecting unit 121 described above is explained. The key is a key that is convenient to use when the occupants are all out, for example, when one person goes out for shopping or traveling.
When the out-of-home mode selecting means 121 is pressed from the state shown in fig. 22, the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 operates as shown in fig. 23, and the display content of the liquid crystal display screen 26 changes.
The following describes a case where the occupant wants to set the out-of-home mode for going out.
In fig. 23, when the out-of-home mode selecting means 121 is pressed, the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 starts operating in accordance with a predetermined control program to set the out-of-home mode. Then, the central control unit 27 checks whether or not there is a record of obtaining the abnormality monitoring data in the 1 st storage unit 27A.
When there is a record of the acquired abnormality monitoring data, it means that an abnormality has occurred in the past in the equipment in the home appliance EE, and therefore, before the house is turned off and goes out, the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 transmits a current-time-point-of-state confirmation signal from the power command device 6 to the induction heating cooker 51 in the same manner as the command signal for reducing the total electric energy to the home appliance EE (induction heating cooker 51 or the like) in order to confirm the latest state.
Then, a notification signal (response signal) indicating that the operation has been stopped may be sent from the induction heating cooker 51, or the power supply may be completely shut off and no response may be made. From this, it is understood that the induction heating cooker 51 is already stopped at the latest timing on the side of the power command device 6.
Next, the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 completes the setting of the no-home mode in a stage where the stop of the induction heating cooker 51 is also confirmed, and starts the "batch power OFF operation" such as turning OFF the power of the household electrical appliance EE in the house together after a predetermined time (for example, after 10 minutes) has elapsed.
Instead of simultaneously turning off the power of all the home electric appliances EE, the timing of turning off the power may be delayed for lighting fixtures or the like in front of the entrance, which are preferably turned on when the occupant goes out. In other words, the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 cuts off the power supply to other home appliances except for the home appliances (for example, a refrigerator, an electric heater for keeping seawater for tropical aquarium fish, electric appliances for lighting thereof, etc.) which are exceptions set by the resident beforehand by the resident, and which should continue the power supply when the resident goes out (in some cases, a small amount of power may be supplied by setting some home appliances to a so-called standby mode without cutting off the power supply).
Next, the central control unit 27 checks whether or not the resident remains in the living space by the human detection unit 31 having the human sensor, and when a reaction of the presence of a human is detected, it issues an alarm by a speaker (not shown) incorporated in the main body 6A of the power command device 6. For example, in a case where a large pet (animal) is left in a room and goes out, or in a case where the human detection unit 31 erroneously detects the pet as a resident, in such a case, an input operation such as changing the sensitivity of a specific human detection sensor is performed to avoid erroneous detection of the pet. Further, the time required from when the out-of-home mode selection key 121 is pressed to when the alarm is issued may be within 1 minute. This is because if the alarm timing is slow, it is assumed that all occupants will move outdoors when the alarm is received and no alarm will be detected.
Next, when the presence of the resident is not detected by the person detection unit 31 and the locking completion of the electronic lock 33 of the entrance is confirmed based on the signal from the home detection unit 32, the central control unit 27 changes a part of the data stored in the storage device 28 of the home management database, and instructs the change of the data from "at home" to "absent" with respect to all the resident. At this point, the central control unit 27 enters the "no-home mode".
In the "not-at-home mode", central control unit 27 maintains the interruption of power supply to various home electric appliances EE, or maintains the following compulsory hold state: although the minimum power supply is allowed (so-called standby state), the start input of the actual operation for causing the original functions (heating, air conditioning) of various home electric appliances to function is not accepted.
After entering the no-home mode, the central control unit 27 outputs an operation command of the monitoring mode to the environment detection unit 30 while the no-home mode is being executed so as to monitor whether or not there is an abnormality in the living space HA. In response to this, the environment detection unit 30 performs measurement and monitoring of the temperature, humidity, and the like of the living space and recording operation of the measurement data at predetermined time intervals (for example, every several minutes). Further, the environment measurement data may be stored in an internal memory of the environment detection unit 30 temporarily for a certain amount of information, and then the stored data may be automatically transferred to the 2 nd storage unit 27B or the storage device 28.
On the other hand, when the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 confirms that the lock of the electronic lock of the entrance is released based on the signal from the home detection unit 32 and the presence of a person is detected by the person detection unit 31, the central control unit 27 determines that the resident returns home, partially automatically releases the "out-of-home mode" and turns on the entrance lighting or the like. When the occupant touches the "home mode selecting means" 120 on the front surface of the housing of the display panel 24, the home mode is completely restored, and therefore each home appliance EE in the home can be used (however, not all the occupants can use all the home appliances, but only a specific occupant can use a dedicated home appliance).
Next, the selection key 121 and the use state display information area 122 in the case where the "not-at-home mode" is set will be described.
In the state of the home mode (i.e., before switching to the not-home mode), the button keys (operation portions) 120 clearly display the outlines of the keys and the names of the keys as shown in fig. 22. On the other hand, the off-home mode selecting unit 121 displays the screen in an unobtrusive state on the surface of the display panel 24 as shown in fig. 22. Although the outline of the operation portion of the selection key 121 is slightly visible, a character indicating a function of "not in home mode selection" is clearly displayed.
Next, when the not-at-home mode selection unit 121 is touched from this state, as shown in fig. 23, first, the selection key 123 on which a character indicating the function of "batch power OFF" is displayed appears.
Although the user can confirm the abnormality of the induction heating cooker 51 by the display of the abnormality display information 118 already in the use state display information region 122 in the state of fig. 22, the display of the abnormality display information 118 is continued even at the stage when the liquid crystal display screen 26 is switched to the state of fig. 23, and therefore there is little possibility that the user (resident) may overlook.
As described above, the abnormality display information 118 corresponding to the abnormality occurrence device display information is one or more pieces of information for specifying the home appliance device (which may include the exercise measurement device, the health management device, and the like) in which the abnormality occurs, by visual information such as characters and graphics.
In the example of fig. 23, in order to indicate that an abnormality has occurred in the induction heating cooker 51, abnormality display information 118 is displayed directly above the name display unit of the induction heating cooker 51.
Therefore, the user can directly go to the site to confirm the state of the induction heating cooker 51. Then, if it is confirmed that the induction heating cooker 51 is surely stopped based on the result of the actual confirmation, the user touches the selection key 123 (hereinafter referred to as "batch power OFF key").
Next, as shown in fig. 24, the liquid crystal display screen 26 of the display panel 24 is in a state where the information 114B indicating the name of the induction heating cooker 51 is lost. Therefore, when the out-of-home mode selection unit 121 is subsequently touched in this state, the display of the batch power OFF key changes to a slightly visible state, and instead the character of "out-of-home mode determination" changes to a form in which the character is clearly displayed in the operation portion of the out-of-home mode selection unit 121, so the user can easily understand that the setting of the out-of-home mode is completed.
As shown in fig. 24, the reason why the information 114B indicating the name of the induction heating cooker 51 is eliminated is that, if such information 114B is displayed when the batch power is OFF, the user may misunderstand that the power of the induction heating cooker 51 can be unconditionally turned OFF by the remote operation in the stage of the "batch power OFF key" and the "out-of-home mode determination".
In fig. 23, reference numeral 124 denotes the 1 st reserved operation confirmation information indicated by a "reserved operation completed" character. The information indicates that the cooking has been completed at that point in time as a result of the scheduled cooking setting being made for the rice cooker 3.
Next, fig. 24 shows the liquid crystal display screen 26 in the case where the out-of-home mode is set from the in-home mode. In fig. 24, reference numeral 125 denotes reserved operation confirmation 2 information indicated by a "reserved" character. The information indicates that the cooking has not been completed at that time point as a result of the scheduled cooking setting being made for the rice cooker 3.
Next, fig. 25 shows the liquid crystal display screen 26 in the case where the occupant goes home from the outgoing destination and releases the switching to the home mode instead of the home mode. In fig. 25, 126 is the 3 rd reserved operation confirmation information indicated by the "unfinished" character. This information indicates that the cooking has not been completed at the time of the return home although the scheduled cooking setting is made for the rice cooker 3.
Next, fig. 26 shows the liquid crystal display screen 26 in the case where the occupant goes home from the outgoing destination and releases the switching to the home mode without going home as in fig. 25. In fig. 26, 126 is the 3 rd reserved operation confirmation information as described above.
In fig. 26, unlike the display contents of the advice region 119 in fig. 25, the rice cooker 3 is displayed with characters to indicate that the reservation cooking has not been completed, thereby realizing the attention of the resident who gets home.
(summary of embodiment 1)
As is apparent from the above description, the rice cooker 3 according to embodiment 1 is a rice cooker including:
an (induction heating type) heater 61 serving as an electric heating source;
an input operation unit 71 capable of designating a reserved operation mode in which an operation is started at a time point at which a predetermined time point is reached, and including a dedicated reserved key 76;
a wireless transmission unit 90 for transmitting a cooking completion report signal (fig. 12, operation information signal L7) to the outside;
a receiving part 90 for receiving a query signal of a cooking reservation state from the outside in a wireless manner; and
a control unit 83 for receiving the designation of the reserved operation mode from the input operation unit 71, controlling the heater 61, detecting whether the operation in the reserved operation mode is completed,
when receiving the inquiry signal (fig. 18. timing T27) of the scheduled cooking state (transmitted from the information communication terminal device 20 or the power command device 6) from the receiving unit 90, the control unit 83 transmits a report signal (see T30. fig. 18) indicating the operation state of the scheduled operation mode from the transmitting unit 90.
Further, the control unit 83 of the rice cooker 3 calculates the time required for the resident to return home to the living space HA (the time required for the information communication terminal device 20 to move to the living space) based on the distance determination information signal and the movement speed information transmitted from the information communication terminal device 20.
Further, the present invention HAs a function of calculating a time suitable for starting a cooking operation from a relationship between a time required for the occupant to return home to the living space HA and the current time (fig. 20. TG 1). Then, when the calculated time TB is reached, the cooking operation is started (fig. 19, T63).
Furthermore, in the rice cooker 3 of embodiment 1,
the transmission unit 90 and the reception unit 90 are constituted by 1 power control unit 19,
the power-use control unit 19 is configured to transmit the command signal AS2 for power reduction received from the receiving unit 90 to the control unit 85.
Further, the rice cooker 3 according to embodiment 1 further includes an NFC input/output unit 81 that establishes a short-range wireless communication with the communication unit of the information communication terminal device 20 independently of the transmission unit 90 and the reception unit 90.
The control unit 83 is configured to transmit a predetermined operation information signal (fig. 12, L2) from the transmission unit 90 when the user selects the reservation cooking mode by the reservation key 76.
The control means 83 is configured to transmit a predetermined operation information signal for advance notice of the start of the cooking operation in accordance with the reserved cooking mode designated by the user (see step S7 in fig. 13, l 3).
The control unit 83 has the following configuration: when a cooking process is started in accordance with a reserved cooking mode, a predetermined operation information signal (see fig. l5 and 12) for reporting the start of the process is transmitted, and power is not reduced even if an external power reduction command signal is received during the cooking process.
Furthermore, the power command device 6 according to embodiment 1 is characterized by including:
a power control unit (23) for transmitting a power reduction command signal to a household appliance (including a rice cooker (3)) capable of setting a reserved operation to limit the total amount of power in a home;
a receiving unit (i/o unit) 29A for receiving a remote operation signal and a distance determination information signal from the information communication terminal device 20, a setting signal for a scheduled cooking operation from the rice cooker 3 (see fig. 16, information including a reference cooking start time TA, T4), and a completion signal for the scheduled cooking operation (see fig. 17, T27, fig. 20, T67);
a reporting unit (display panel) 24 for reporting power information such as power consumption of the home and information for specifying the home appliance for which the scheduled operation is set, respectively; and
a central control unit 27 for controlling the power control unit 23 and the report unit 24,
When the rice cooker 3 changes the condition for reserving cooking (starting time of cooking operation) based on the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal of the information communication terminal device 20 or when the center control unit 27 calculates the required time until returning home based on the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal of the information communication terminal device 20 and transmits the information of the required time to the rice cooker 3 (see fig. 20 TG1), the center control unit 27 stores information indicating the changed condition for reserving cooking (registered in the database: see fig. 20 TG2) and reports the change of the condition for reserving cooking to the information communication terminal device 20 (see fig. 20, reports C1 and TG3),
when the completion signal of the scheduled cooking operation (see fig. 17, T27 and T67 of fig. 20) is not received after the rice cooker 3 which has sent the setting signal of the scheduled cooking operation (see fig. 16, T4), the central control unit 27 can report information (114A and 126 of fig. 22 to 26) which identifies the rice cooker 3 by the report means 24 (see fig. 23 and 24).
Furthermore, the power command device 6 in embodiment 1 includes a home detection unit 32 that receives home return detection information (see FIG. 17, T30) of the occupant,
the central control unit 27 is configured to report the presence of the rice cooker 3 for which the scheduled cooking operation has not been completed, by the reporting means 24, when the home detection unit 32 receives the home return detection signal.
Further, the operation management system for a home appliance in embodiment 1 includes:
a rice cooker 3 of 1 type as a household electrical appliance, which is provided with a 1 st communication part 90 for wireless communication and a heating source (induction heating type heater) 61 operated by electric energy;
an information communication terminal device 20 for transmitting a remote operation signal and a distance judgment information signal indicating the reserved operation condition of the rice cooker; and
the overall management device 6 acquires the operation information signals (L1-L8) from the rice cooker 3,
the rice cooker 3 comprises: a control unit 83 that controls the induction heating heater 61; and an operation input unit 71 for inputting a reservation setting input signal for starting operation at a predetermined time to the control unit 83,
the overall management device 6 has a display means (liquid crystal display screen) 26 for displaying the operation status of the rice cooker 3,
The rice cooker 3 has a function of receiving a distance determination information signal from an information communication terminal device 20 via the overall management apparatus 6 and changing the reserved operation condition according to the distance indicated by the signal,
the overall management device 6 acquires information indicating the result of changing the scheduled operation condition from the rice cooker 3 and displays the information on the display unit (liquid crystal display screen) 26.
Further, an operation management system for a home appliance according to embodiment 1 is characterized by including:
a rice cooker 3 of 1 type as a household electrical appliance EE, which is provided with a 1 st communication part 90 for wireless communication and a heating source (induction heating heater) 61 operated by electric energy;
a power command device 6 for transmitting a power reduction command signal AS2 to the 1 st communication unit 90 of the home appliance to limit the total amount of power in the home; and
an information communication terminal device 20 for transmitting a remote operation signal and a distance judgment information signal indicating a cooking reservation condition of the rice cooker 3,
the rice cooker 3 comprises: a control unit 83 for controlling the heating source; and an operation input unit 71 for inputting a reservation setting input signal to the control unit 83 by operating a reservation key 76 so as to start operation at a predetermined time,
Further, the rice cooker 3 has a function of judging whether or not the cooking start time is appropriate based on the distance indicated by the distance judgment information signal from the information communication terminal device 20 and a function of changing the cooking start time,
the electric power command device 6 has a display means (liquid crystal display screen) 26 for acquiring information indicating a result of changing the cooking reservation condition of the rice cooker 3 and displaying the result of the change,
when there is a rice cooker 3 whose scheduled cooking is not completed, the electric power command device 6 displays information (114A, 126) that can specify the rice cooker 3 on the display means 26, according to the operation of the resident.
Further, the power command device 6 of the operation management system of the home appliance according to embodiment 1 is configured to include selection operation units 120 and 121 that can select a home mode and a non-home mode.
Further, the operation management system for a home appliance according to embodiment 1 includes: when the occupant returns home and operates the selection operation units 120 and 121, the display unit 26 displays information (114A and 125) indicating the home appliance (rice cooker 3) in which the reservation setting is made and information (114C and 115) indicating the home appliance (air conditioner 4) in operation.
Further, the operation management system for another home appliance in embodiment 1 includes:
a rice cooker 3 including a 1 st communication unit 90 for wireless communication and a heating source (induction heating heater) 61 that operates by energy;
a power command device 5 having a 2 nd communication unit 29A that performs wireless communication with the 1 st communication unit 90 of the rice cooker 3, and acquiring operation information signals L1 to L8; and
an information communication terminal device 20 for transmitting a remote operation signal and a distance judgment information signal indicating the cooking reservation condition of the rice cooker 3,
the rice cooker 3 comprises: a control unit 83 that controls the heating source 61; and an operation input unit 71 capable of selecting 2 reserved cooking modes, i.e., a time reservation (timer) cooking mode in which a cooking operation is started at a time point at which a predetermined time is reached and a position-corresponding reserved cooking mode,
further, the rice cooker 3 has a function of judging whether the cooking start time is appropriate or not based on the distance indicated by the distance judgment information signal from the information communication terminal device 20 in the case where the position corresponds to the reserved cooking mode and a function of adjusting the cooking start time,
the power command device 5 includes: selection operation units 120 and 121 that can select a home mode and a non-home mode; and a display unit (liquid crystal display screen 26) for displaying the operation status of the rice cooker during the home mode and the non-home mode,
When the resident performs the switching operation from the out-of-home mode to the in-home mode with respect to the selection operation units 120 and 121, the overall management device 6 displays information (114A and 126) indicating whether or not the rice cooker 3 has completed the cooking operation during the reserved operation mode on the display means (liquid crystal display screen) 26.
Further, in the operation management system of the home electric appliance according to embodiment 1, the overall management device 6 is configured to acquire an operation information signal (abnormality occurrence report signal) ES from the home electric appliance (induction heating cooker 51) that has stopped due to an abnormality occurring while the home mode is set, and to display information (114B, 118) that can specify the home electric appliance (induction heating cooker 51) on the liquid crystal display screen 26.
In the operation management system of the home electric appliances according to embodiment 1, the overall management device 6 is configured to display information (114A, 125) capable of identifying the home electric appliances (rice cooker 3) in the display unit when the home mode is set and the home electric appliances have the reserved operation mode.
In embodiment 1 described above, the operation information signals L1 to L8 as described in fig. 12 are transmitted from the side of the rice cooker 3 and the induction heating cooker 51 whose power consumption is restricted by the power command device 6 every time there is a fluctuation in operation such as the turning on of the main power supply and the start of heating cooking, and the power command device 6 receives these signals and recognizes the turning on of the main power supply, the selection of the cooking menu, the progress of the cooking process, and the like with respect to the home electric appliance EE such as the rice cooker 3, and other signals may be transmitted from the side of the power command device 6 at regular intervals to inquire about the operation status. For example, the power command device 6 may issue a command requesting information such as the requested power and the cooking progress at intervals of several seconds to 30 seconds to the power control unit 19.
The electric power control unit 19 described in embodiment 1 may be used by being fixed to the inside or outer wall surface of the main body of the rice cooker 3 or the induction heating cooker 51 in the form of a communication adapter. The communication adapter may be a system in which the electric power is obtained from the power line (main line) 27 by directly connecting the communication adapter to the electric home appliance EE such as the rice cooker 3 and the induction heating cooker 51 independently of the electric home appliance EE, or a system in which the communication adapter is branched from the power circuit of the electric home appliance EE and connected thereto by a connection means such as a connector. Since a plurality of adapters are used in 1 home, an identification number (adapter ID) unique to each adapter is added to each adapter, and only a specific adapter of a communication partner can be identified when viewed from the power command device 6 side.
The information transmitted from the information server 17 to the power command device 6 and the information communication terminal device 20 may include information (including instructions and explanations of a special operation method for recovering the home appliance EE) useful for the abnormality of the home appliance EE, the response after the emergency automatic stop, and the recovery, an analysis result of the cause of the abnormality of the home appliance EE, and information (useful for the user) useful for preventing the recurrence, the repair, and the request for the inspection.
The wide area communication network 15 is an arbitrary communication network capable of bidirectional communication. The communication network may be, for example, the internet, a wired communication network, or a satellite communication network. In addition, different communication networks may be used for a transmission path from the home to the information server 17 (referred to as an "upstream communication path") and conversely, a transmission path from the information server 17 to the home (referred to as a "downstream communication path").
The information communication terminal device 20 such as the high-performance mobile phone terminal described in embodiment 1 can be used for either the "upstream communication path" or the "downstream communication path" described above. For example, the rice cooker 3 and the induction heating cooker 51 may transmit signals indicating their own operation states, abnormality monitoring information, and the like to the power command device 6, the power command device 6 may convert the operation states of the home electric appliances EE into signals suitable for high-speed communication and transmit the signals to the information communication terminal device 20, and the information communication terminal device 20 may report the operation states of the rice cooker 3, the induction heating cooker 51, and the like to the information server 17 via the wide communication line network 15. Alternatively, the power command device 6 may report the operation state of the rice cooker 3 or the like to the information server 17 via the wide communication network 15 without interposing the information communication terminal device 20.
Embodiment 2.
Next, embodiment 2 shown in fig. 27 to 30 will be described.
Fig. 27 to 30 are flowcharts showing the operation of the rice cooker 3 according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. Fig. 27 and 28 show the operation in the "time-scheduled cooking mode", and fig. 29 and 30 show the operation in the "position-corresponding scheduled cooking mode". Note that the same or corresponding portions as or to embodiment 1 are given the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.
In embodiment 2, the rice cooker 3 is connected wirelessly or by wire to a communication terminal (home gateway is an example) installed in a home, and is connected to an external (outside of a living space) wide area communication network 15 via the communication terminal, without using the overall management device (power command device) 6 as shown in embodiment 1.
In fig. 27, steps SV1 to SV19 represent operations of the controller 85 of the rice cooker 3 and the usage power control unit 19.
When the user connects the plug of the power cable to the power connection port and presses the operation button 68A of the main power switch 68, the main power switch 68 is turned ON (closed) (SV 1). Then, the liquid crystal display portion 64 is activated (SV 2).
Next, the reservation key 76 of the rice cooker 3 is pressed to select "time reservation cooking mode" or "position correspondence reservation cooking mode" (SV 3). In the former mode, the cooking completion setting time TF is input. When the "location-based scheduled cooking mode" is selected, the expected time TB of returning home is input, and the timing of returning home is approximately several hours later.
When the time reservation cooking mode is selected and the cooking start button 59 is pressed finally, a setting determination signal of the time reservation cooking mode is inputted to the control unit 85, and setting determination of the reserved cooking is performed (SV 4).
Assuming that the cooking completion setting time TF is set to 21 hours 00 minutes, the following description will be made.
In response to the determination signal, in the next step SV5, an operation information signal L2 indicating the setting of the reserved cooking mode is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 90 to the outside. The transmission of the operation information signal L2 is finally confirmed by the information communication terminal device 20 initially set to communicate with the rice cooker 3.
When the operation information signal L2 is transmitted, information indicating the set time TF at which cooking is completed is transmitted at the same time. The information of the reservation setter (presumed to be the user) may be transmitted by including the data with a code number indicating "resident B", for example.
In the above step SV5, after the completion of operation information signal L2 is transmitted, the standby determining unit 101 cuts off the power supply unit 84 to the control device 85, and the operation of the liquid crystal display unit 64 is also stopped. This eliminates power consumption on the control unit 85 side. Therefore, this step SV5 corresponds to step S5 described in fig. 13 of embodiment 1.
In the next step SV6, the time interval between the cooking completion setting time TF set by the user and the current time is calculated. In addition, generally, when the user sets the time at which the cooking is completed, the user does not know the time at which the cooking is actually started. However, it is considered that it is desirable to finish cooking before returning home, and the setting is "21 hours 00 minutes". The controller 85 receives the input, calculates the time required for the cooking step (in this case, 3 of the preheating step H1, the cooking step H2, and the braising step H3 shown in fig. 9), and calculates the start time of the preheating step H1.
Then, based on the result of calculating the time up to the start time, the start time of the actual warm-up process H1 is calculated as "20 hours 10 minutes", and it is checked at regular time intervals whether or not the time is 5 minutes before (that is, 20 hours 05 minutes) before the time. If "yes" in this step, the process proceeds to the next step SV 7.
At step SV7, since standby determination unit 101 releases the standby state, the power supply from power supply unit 84 to control unit 85 is resumed. The control unit 85 is activated and the water level sensor 88 determines whether or not the water level of the water tank in the steam processing device 57 is within a predetermined range (SV 8).
At step SV8, when the controller 85 determines that there is no water level abnormality (SV9), the process proceeds to the next step SV 10. However, when the water level is unexpectedly detected to be abnormally lowered, the process proceeds to step SV 20.
In step SV20, a response is made when an abnormality occurs, and a report signal ES indicating that an abnormality has occurred is transmitted to the information communication terminal device 20. The report signal (hereinafter referred to as "abnormal occurrence report signal") ES is generated by the control section 85 analyzing a detection signal of a predetermined voltage indicating a water level measurement result of the water level sensor 88.
The control unit 85 compares the detection output (voltage) of the water level sensor 88 with the abnormality determination table (comparison data), specifies the contents of the abnormality, and extracts information classified in advance to find the cause or the like corresponding to the type of abnormality (for example, the water level is abnormally low). Then, the abnormality determination date and time and the identification information (at least model number, form number, and manufacture number) of the rice cooker 3 are set and transmitted as an abnormality occurrence report signal ES to the information communication terminal device 20. In this case, the reason why the identification number is added is that the unique information included in the abnormality occurrence signal ES is transmitted to the information server 17 via the information communication terminal device 20.
When there is no water level abnormality, at the next step SV10, a rice cooking operation start advance notice signal L3 is transmitted to the information communication terminal device 20. Then, the next step SV11 is entered.
At SV11, control unit 85 repeatedly determines whether or not the set start time TA of the cooking operation is reached. If it is assumed that this time is reached, yes is performed in step SV11, and power supply to heater 61 is started (SV 12).
The process proceeds to the next step, where the heater 61 heats the inner container 60, then the water-absorbing preheating process H1 is started as described in embodiment 1, and the process proceeds to the cooking process H2. Then, at step SV13, it is judged whether or not the preheating step H1, the cooking step H2 and the braising step H3 are completed. When the process is completed, the process proceeds to the next step SV 14.
At step SV14, an operation information signal (corresponding to signal L7 shown in fig. 12 of embodiment 1) indicating the end of the process to the rice cooking is transmitted to the information communication terminal device 20. In addition, since the liquid crystal display portion 64 is already activated, the completion of cooking is displayed, and the completion of cooking is also notified by voice through the synthetic voice device 96 and the speaker 97.
Next, when the user sets the heat-keeping step H4, yes is issued to step SV15, and the heat-keeping step is started (SV 16).
Next, step SV17 is a step of determining whether or not an inquiry signal indicating whether or not a scheduled cooking operation is performed is received from the information communication terminal device 20. If there is an inquiry, a predetermined report signal indicating completion of cooking, for example, a signal corresponding to the operation information signal L7 shown in fig. 12 of embodiment 1, is transmitted (SV 18).
If the inquiry signal as to whether or not the scheduled cooking is performed is not received at step SV17, the routine proceeds to the next step SV 19. In this step, it is determined whether or not the user has instructed to stop the heat-keeping process. In the case where there is no instruction for suspension, the control program is, for example, to automatically stop the heat retention for a maximum of 12 hours after completion of the cooking process H2. Therefore, in this case, when an inquiry signal as to whether or not the scheduled cooking is made is received from the information communication terminal device 20 during the above-described 12 hours, the response is automatically made a plurality of times (step SV 18).
Next, fig. 28 is explained.
In fig. 28, steps SV20 to SV25 are operations of the control unit 85 and the used power control unit 19 when the occurrence of an abnormality is detected in the rice cooker 3.
At step SV20, the determination result of the occurrence of an abnormality of control unit 85 and the determination target data (abnormal lowering of the water level of the water tank) are temporarily stored in storage unit 102. This operation corresponds to "collection of scheduled cooking history data" T29 (see fig. 18) in embodiment 1.
In the next step SV21, the remote control section 100 transmits these data to the information communication terminal device 20 via the wireless communication section 90. The operation at this time corresponds to the transmission of the "reserved cooking history signal" T30 (see fig. 18) in embodiment 1, and the "reserved cooking non-execution report signal" LN is transmitted.
In step SV22, since standby determination unit 101 is in the standby state, the power supply from power supply unit 84 to control unit 85 is cut off.
Next, step SV23 is a step of determining whether or not an inquiry signal indicating whether or not the scheduled cooking is completed is received from the information communication terminal device 20. If there is an inquiry, a predetermined report signal indicating that cooking is not completed is sent back to the information communication terminal device 20. In step SV21, the result of determination of occurrence of an abnormality and the data to be determined are already transmitted, and therefore, the same data are not transmitted, but the water level sensor senses the abnormality and notifies that cooking is not performed in accordance with the reservation again.
The automatic response described above continues for 12 hours after the control unit 85 determines that there is a water level abnormality, and then automatically ends. After the lapse of 12 hours, even if an inquiry signal indicating whether or not the scheduled cooking is completed is received from the information communication terminal device 20, the use power control unit 19 does not respond to the completion of the scheduled cooking operation. The 12 hours may be extended and then continued to a time point at which a cooking operation (including an operation other than scheduled cooking) is performed.
Next, the basic operation of the rice cooker 3 in the case where the "position-corresponding cooking reservation mode" is selected will be described.
In fig. 27, steps SP1 to SP19 represent operations of the control unit 85 of the rice cooker 3 and the used power control unit 19.
The user turns ON the main power switch 68 (SV1), activates the liquid crystal display unit 64 (SV2), and selects "position-corresponding scheduled cooking mode" (SP 1).
Next, the user (resident) enters the expected time TB of returning home after going out, and the timing of returning home is a rough condition of several hours later (SP 2).
The following description is assumed to set the expected home time TR to 21 hours 00 minutes.
When the cooking start button 59 is pressed finally after the position corresponding to the reserved cooking mode is selected, a setting determination signal corresponding to the reserved cooking mode is input to the control unit 85, and the setting of the reserved cooking is determined (SP 3).
In step SP4, when the determination signal is received, the operation information signal L2 indicating the setting of the reserved cooking mode is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 90 to the outside. The transmission of the operation information signal L2 is finally confirmed by the information communication terminal device 20 initially set to communicate with the rice cooker 3.
When the operation information signal L2 is transmitted, information indicating the expected time TR of returning to home is also transmitted. The information of the reservation setter (presumed to be the user) may be transmitted by including the data with a code number indicating "resident B", for example.
In step SP4, after the operation completion information signal L2 is transmitted, the standby determination unit 101 cuts off the power supply unit 84 to the control device 85, and the liquid crystal display unit 64 also stops operating. This eliminates power consumption on the control unit 85 side. Therefore, step SP4 corresponds to step S5 described in fig. 13 of embodiment 1.
In the next step SP5, it is determined whether or not the time is 120 minutes before the expected time TR of returning home that the user has input to the rice cooker 3. In this step, the step of acquiring the information indicating the current position of the information communication terminal device 20 carried by the user to the outgoing destination is set to start 2 hours before the expected time of return to home. The 2 hours may be extended to 3 hours, or conversely, may be shortened to 90 minutes. It is determined appropriately according to the user's behavior and mode.
In the next step SP6, the standby determination unit 101 cancels the standby state, and therefore, resumes the power supply from the power supply unit 84 to the control unit 85.
In the next step SP7, a request signal requesting the information provision of the current position and the information provision of the calculation result on the moving speed is transmitted from the wireless communication section 90 to the information communication terminal device 20.
As described in embodiment 1, the information communication terminal device 20 includes the position detection unit 145, the position information storage unit 146, and the distance information calculation unit 147, respectively, which detect the current position of the device.
The position detection unit 145 has a function of receiving a GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite 148, analyzing the received signal, and calculating the current position of the information communication terminal device 20 on the earth. That is, the position detection unit 145 grasps the current position of the information communication terminal device 20 on the earth in real time.
The distance information calculation unit 147 HAs a function of calculating the distance to the target object based on the positional information of the living space HA registered in advance in the positional information storage unit 146 and the information of the current position of the information communication terminal device 20. The information of the calculated distance is output as a "distance determination information signal".
Further, as described in embodiment 1, the information communication terminal device 20 also has a function of monitoring the temporal change of the distance determination information signal, and a function of calculating the moving speed of the information communication terminal device 20 from the change value at every predetermined time.
Therefore, for example, the following operations are performed: the change in the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal is calculated at intervals of 1 minute, and "moving speed information" such as "speed 100 m" and "speed 300 m" is generated and transmitted to the rice cooker 3 together with the "distance determination information signal". Therefore, in the rice cooker 3 that has received the "distance determination information signal" and the "movement speed information" from the information communication terminal device 20, it is possible to calculate the estimated time until the information communication terminal device 20 has moved to reach the installation position of the rice cooker.
In the rice cooker 3, the time required for returning to the rice cooker 3 from the current time as described above and the time required for cooking are compared (3 times required for performing the preheating step H1, the cooking step H2, and the cooking step H3 shown in fig. 9).
For example, when the time required for returning home is 70 minutes and the time required for cooking is 60 minutes, it is found that the cooking operation is started after 10 minutes from the current time point by the calculation of the control unit 85.
Then, based on the result of calculating the time up to the start time, the start time of the actual warm-up process H1 is calculated as "20 hours and 10 minutes", and the routine proceeds to the next step SP8 at a time 5 minutes before the start time (i.e., 20 hours and 05 minutes).
In step SP8, the control section 85 that has been activated checks the water level of the water tank in the steam processing device 57 via the water level sensor 88.
When the control unit 85 determines that there is no water level abnormality at step SP8 (SP9), the routine proceeds to next step SP 10. However, when the water level is unexpectedly detected to be abnormally lowered, the process proceeds to step SP 30.
In step SP30, the information communication terminal device 20 is dealt with when an abnormality occurs, and a report signal ES indicating that an abnormality has occurred is transmitted. The report signal (abnormality occurrence report signal) ES is generated by the control section 85 analyzing a detection signal of a predetermined voltage indicating the water level measurement result of the water level sensor 88.
The control unit 85 compares the detection output (voltage) of the water level sensor 88 with an abnormality determination table (comparison data), specifies the contents of the abnormality, and extracts information classified in advance to find the cause or the like corresponding to the type of the abnormality (for example, the water level is abnormally low). Then, the abnormality determination date and time and the identification information (at least model number, form number, and manufacture number) of the rice cooker 3 are set and transmitted as an abnormality occurrence report signal ES to the information communication terminal device 20. In this case, the reason why the identification number is added is that the unique information included in the abnormality occurrence signal ES is easily transmitted to the information server 17 via the information communication terminal device 20.
In the case where there is no water level abnormality, a signal to notify the information communication terminal device 20 of the start of a cooking operation L3 is transmitted in the next step SP 10. Then, the flow proceeds to next step SP 11.
In SP11, the controller 85 repeatedly determines whether or not the time is 5 minutes before (i.e., 20 hours 05 minutes) the start time (20 hours 10 minutes) of the warm-up step H1. If it is assumed that this time is reached, yes is obtained in step SV11, and power supply to heater 61 is started (SP 12).
After proceeding to the next step, the heater 61 heats the inner container 60, as described in embodiment 1, the water-absorbing preheating step H1 is started, and then the process proceeds to the rice cooking step H2. Then, at step SP13, it is judged whether or not the preheating step H1, the cooking step H2 and the braising step H3 are completed. When the completion is completed, the process proceeds to step SP 14.
In step SP14, an operation information signal (corresponding to signal L7 shown in fig. 12 of embodiment 1) indicating the completion of the cooking process is transmitted to the information communication terminal device 20. In addition, since the liquid crystal display portion 64 is already activated, the completion of cooking is displayed, and the completion of cooking is also notified by voice through the synthetic voice device 96 and the speaker 97.
Next, when the user sets the heat-keeping step H4, yes is given in step SP15, and the heat-keeping step is started.
Next, step SP17 is a step of determining whether or not an inquiry signal as to whether or not a scheduled cooking operation is performed has been received from the information communication terminal device 20. When there is an inquiry, a predetermined report signal indicating that cooking is completed, for example, a signal corresponding to the operation information signal L7 shown in fig. 12 of embodiment 1, is transmitted.
If the inquiry signal indicating whether or not the scheduled cooking has been made is not received in step SP17, the routine proceeds to next step SP 19. In this step, it is determined whether or not the user has instructed to stop the heat-keeping process. In the case where there is no instruction for suspension, the control program automatically stops the heat retention for a maximum of 12 hours after completion of the cooking process H2, for example. Therefore, in this case, when an inquiry signal as to whether or not the scheduled cooking is made is received from the information communication terminal device 20 during the above-described 12 hours, the response is automatically made a plurality of times.
Next, fig. 30 is explained.
In fig. 30, steps SP30 to SP35 represent operations of the control unit 85 and the used power control unit 19 when the occurrence of an abnormality is detected in the rice cooker 3.
In step SP30, the determination result of the occurrence of an abnormality of control unit 85 and the determination target data (abnormal lowering of the water level of the water tank) are temporarily stored in storage unit 102. This operation corresponds to "collection of scheduled cooking history data" T29 (see fig. 18) in embodiment 1.
In the next step SP31, the remote control section 100 transmits these data to the information communication terminal device 20 via the wireless communication section 90. The operation at this time corresponds to the transmission of the "scheduled cooking history signal" T30 (see fig. 18) in embodiment 1, and the "scheduled cooking non-execution report signal" LN is transmitted.
In step SP32, since the standby determination unit 101 is in the standby state, the power supply from the power supply unit 84 to the control unit 85 is cut off.
Next, step SP33 is a step of determining whether or not an inquiry signal indicating whether or not the scheduled cooking is completed is received from the information communication terminal device 20. If there is an inquiry, a predetermined report signal indicating that cooking is not completed is sent back to the information communication terminal device 20. Since the determination result of the occurrence of an abnormality and the determination target data thereof have already been transmitted in step SP31, the same data is not transmitted, but the water level sensor senses the abnormality and notifies that the cooking is not performed in accordance with the reservation again.
The automatic response described above continues for 12 hours after the control unit 85 determines that there is a water level abnormality, and then automatically ends. After the lapse of 12 hours, even if an inquiry signal indicating whether or not the scheduled cooking is completed is received from the information communication terminal device 20, the use power control unit 19 does not respond to the completion of the scheduled cooking operation. The 12 hours may be extended and then the cooking operation (including the reservation of cooking) may be continued.
(summary of embodiment 2)
As described above, the rice cooker 3 according to embodiment 2 includes:
a heater 61 serving as an electric heating source;
an input operation unit 71 capable of designating a time-scheduled cooking mode in which operation is started at a time point at which a predetermined time is reached and 2 scheduled cooking modes of the position-corresponding scheduled cooking modes;
a transmitting part 90 for transmitting a cooking completion report signal to the outside in a wireless or wired manner; and
a control unit 83 for receiving the designation of the reserved cooking mode from the input operation unit 71, controlling the heater 61, detecting whether the operation in the designated reserved cooking mode is completed,
when the cooking operation in the reserved cooking mode is completed, the control unit 83 transmits a cooking operation completion report signal from the transmission unit (see l 7.sv14. fig. 27).
Further, the control unit 83 has the following functions: receiving the "distance judgment information signal" and the "moving speed information" from the information communication terminal device 20, calculating and obtaining an estimated time for the resident having the information communication terminal device 20 to move and reach the living space HA, comparing the "time required for returning home" with the time required for cooking (the time required for performing 3 times of the warming-up process H1, the cooking process H2, and the cooking process H3 shown in fig. 9), and judging the timing at which the cooking operation can be started.
According to the electric rice cooker of this configuration, when a scheduled cooking operation is performed before the resident or the like goes home, a report signal indicating that the scheduled cooking operation is performed is transmitted from the electric rice cooker. Therefore, by using the report signal, the resident or the like can know the completion of the cooking operation in advance.
Further, the transmitting unit 90 wirelessly transmits both a cooking completion notification signal (see L7. FIG. 27) and a cooking non-scheduled notification signal (see SV21. FIG. 26) to the outside,
the control unit 85 is configured to transmit a cooking operation completion report signal L7 from the transmission unit 90 when receiving an inquiry signal of a reserved cooking state from the reception unit 90 and when the operation in the reserved operation mode is completed, and to transmit a cooking operation non-execution report signal LN from the transmission unit when the cooking operation is not completed in any of the specified 2 cooking modes (see sv21, fig. 28, fig. 30).
According to the rice cooker 3 having this configuration, when an inquiry signal for confirming whether or not a scheduled cooking operation is performed is received before the resident or the like returns home, for example, a report signal indicating that both scheduled cooking and non-scheduled cooking are performed is transmitted from the rice cooker. Therefore, by using the report signal, the resident or the like can know in advance the completion or incompletion of the cooking operation.
Further, the following functions are provided: the time required for the resident of the information communication terminal device 20 to return to the place where the rice cooker 3 is present is calculated and obtained to know in advance the completion or incompletion of the cooking operation, and the "time required for returning to the home" and the time required for cooking (the time required for performing 3 times of the preheating step H1, the cooking step H2, and the stewing step H3 shown in fig. 9) are compared to determine the timing at which the cooking operation can be started.
Embodiment 3.
Next, embodiment 3 shown in fig. 31 to 34 will be described.
Fig. 31 is a plan view of the lid 56 of the rice cooker 3, in which the liquid crystal display unit 64 is also activated and all the input keys are also displayed.
Fig. 32 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the control unit 85 until the scheduled cooking mode of the rice cooker 3 of fig. 31 is set and determined.
Fig. 33 is a front view showing the liquid crystal display screen 26 and the input operation unit 25 of the display panel 24 of the power command device 6.
Fig. 34 is a diagram showing a part of the operation procedure of the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 in fig. 33, and is a diagram showing an operation of setting a reservation mode of a home appliance such as the rice cooker 3 in stages. Note that the same or corresponding portions as or to embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping description may be omitted.
In fig. 31, reference numeral 71 denotes an operation unit of the rice cooker 3, and includes a reservation key 76 for setting a reserved cooking function. When the time-scheduled cooking mode is set as the scheduled cooking mode of the rice cooker 3 or the set position corresponds to the scheduled cooking mode, the user needs to press the reservation key. The reservation key 76 is a mechanical switch that generates an input signal to the control unit 85 by closing a built-in electrical contact when pressed by a user.
The "time-scheduled cooking mode" is a use mode in which the user designates a desired time and finishes cooking before the time, as in embodiment 1. Note that, although 2 modes including a case where a desired time is input and a case where the cooking operation is completed after a predetermined time from the current time are included, the following description will be made with a case where a time is input as "19 hours and 30 minutes".
When the reservation key 76 for setting the reserved cooking function is pressed, a key 150 for selecting the time-reserved cooking mode and a key 151 for selecting the position-corresponding reserved cooking mode are displayed in an aligned state on the liquid crystal display portion 64 that has been activated as shown in fig. 31.
The liquid crystal display unit 64 also has a function of the operation unit 71, and constitutes a capacitive touch switch that generates an input signal to the control unit 85 when the user touches the display portion of the keys 150 and 151.
Hereinafter, the 2 keys 150 and 151 are referred to as reservation mode selection keys. In addition, in a state where the cooking start button 59 is pressed to actually start the cooking operation, the cooking mode selection keys 150 and 151 automatically disappear, and even if the surface of the liquid crystal display portion 64 on which the selection keys 150 and 151 are displayed is touched in such a state that the cooking mode selection keys 150 and 151 disappear, no operation input signal is generated to the control portion 85.
Reference numeral 81 denotes an NFC input/output unit for enabling the information communication terminal device 20 having the NFC input/output unit to approach and perform near field communication, and is embedded inside the cover 56 in proximity to the upper surface thereof.
Next, fig. 32 is explained.
In fig. 32, steps SW1 to SW12 represent operations of the control unit 85 of the rice cooker 3 and the electric power control unit 19. The same or corresponding portions as those in embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
When the user connects the plug of the power cable to the power connection port and presses the operation button 68A of the main power switch 68, the main power switch 68 is ON (closed) (SW 1). Then, the liquid crystal display section 64 is activated (SW 2).
The liquid crystal display unit 64 simultaneously displays the reservation mode selection keys 150 and 151(SW 3). Then, it is checked whether or not the reservation mode selection key 150 for selecting "time reservation cooking mode" is touched (SW4), and if so, the flow proceeds to the next step (SW 5).
The user brings the information communication terminal device 20 such as a mobile phone terminal device into proximity with the NFC input/output unit 81 of the rice cooker 3 in advance to establish the near field communication (NFC communication session), transmits the MAC address of the information communication terminal device 20 to the rice cooker 2, and completes the initial setting, so that predetermined application software in the information communication terminal device 20 is activated, for example, the "rice cooking time 20 minutes 00" is inputted by voice.
At the stage of the above-described step SW5, the information communication terminal device 20 that registers the cooking schedule time as "20 minutes 00" as described above is brought close to the NFC input/output unit 81 of the rice cooker 3. Thereby, the NFC communication session is established again, and the cooking schedule time registered in the information communication terminal device 20 is read into the control unit 85 of the rice cooker 3.
When it is detected that the cooking start button 59 is pressed (SW6), the process proceeds to the next step, and a setting determination signal of the time-scheduled cooking mode is input to the control unit 85 to determine the setting of the scheduled cooking (SW 7).
In the next step SW8, the standby determination unit 101 turns off the power supply unit 84 to the control device 85, and the liquid crystal display unit 64 also stops operating. This eliminates power consumption on the control unit 85 side.
Upon receiving the determination signal, the operation information signal L2 (including the identification signal indicating the time-scheduled cooking mode) indicating the setting of the scheduled cooking mode is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 90 to the power command device 6 at the time point. At this time, the information indicating the start time of the cooking operation is "20: 00 "is transmitted. The information of the reservation setter (presumed to be the user) is transmitted by including the information in the data, for example, a code number indicating "resident B" registered in the information communication terminal device 20.
On the other hand, if the reservation mode selection key 150 of the time reservation cooking mode is not touched, the process proceeds to step SW9, and it is checked whether or not the reservation mode selection key 151 for selecting the reservation cooking mode corresponding to the position is touched, and if so, the process proceeds to the next step (SW 10).
The user registers in advance the information of "the predetermined time to return home 20 hours 00" and the time to return home "in the information communication terminal device 20.
By bringing the information communication terminal device 20 close to the NFC input/output part 81 of the rice cooker 3 as described above, the scheduled time for the resident B registered in the information communication terminal device 20 to go home is read into the control part 85 of the rice cooker 3 (SW 10).
When it is detected that the cooking start button 59 is pressed (SW11), the process proceeds to the next step, and a setting determination signal of the time-scheduled cooking mode is input to the control unit 85 to determine the setting of the scheduled cooking (SW 12).
In the next step SW8, the standby determining unit 101 cuts off the power supply unit 84 to the control device 85, and the liquid crystal display unit 64 also stops operating. This eliminates power consumption on the control unit 85 side.
Upon receiving the determination signal, the operation information signal L2 (including the identification signal indicating that the cooking mode is the position-corresponding cooking mode) indicating the setting of the cooking mode is transmitted from the wireless communication unit 90 to the power command device 6 at the time point. At this time, the return scheduled time information is "20: 00 "is transmitted. The information of the reservation setter (presumed to be the user) is transmitted by including the code number indicating "resident B" registered in the information communication terminal device 20 in the data.
As described above, in the location-based scheduled cooking mode, the step (SW10) of bringing the information communication terminal device 20 close to the NFC input/output unit 81 of the rice cooker 3 is not essential, but in the present embodiment, the control unit 85 determines that the scheduled time of return (20 hours 00) of the resident B registered in the information communication terminal device 20 is the cooking completion time of the rice cooker 3 in the first stage, and is configured not to prepare the cooking operation of the rice cooker 3 until the scheduled time of return (20 hours 00) approaches a certain level. For example, the determination operation of the current position of the information communication terminal device 20 is started at a stage 2 hours before the predetermined time (20 hours and 00 minutes) of the return home. The reason why the scheduled time to return home for resident B is set as the initial reference information in this way is that resident B can know that the time to return home does not greatly change from the past history of the time to return home. This can be achieved by transmitting information of the cooking action completion time from the rice cooker 3 every time corresponding to the return scheduled time registered in the information communication terminal device 20. Note that, in embodiment 1, the information of the completion time of the cooking operation is transmitted from the rice cooker 3 to the information communication terminal device 20 via the power command device 6b (see "report D" and T29 in embodiment 1), which is the same as in embodiment 3. Even when the scheduled cooking is performed in the information communication terminal device 20 without the power command device 6, the information of the cooking operation completion time is transmitted to the information communication terminal device 20 every time.
Next, fig. 33 is explained.
In fig. 33, the device selection keys 155A to 155F are displayed in a list in the display area 122 in place of the used device display information 114 shown in embodiment 1 on the liquid crystal display screen 26 of the display panel 24 of the power command device 6. The device selection keys 155A to 155F are formed of capacitive touch keys, and when the keys are touched, an input of a scheduled operation (scheduled cooking) for a home appliance (for example, the rice cooker 3) corresponding to the touched keys can be performed.
In the state of fig. 33, the use display portion 115 disposed directly above the device selection key 155A of the rice cooker is not lit, and therefore, it is understood that the rice cooker 3 is not performing a cooking operation.
152. Reference numeral 153 denotes an NFC input/output unit arranged in a row outside (below) the display region 122, and is similar to the NFC input/output unit 40 according to embodiment 1. The NFC input/ output units 152 and 153 can exchange information with the information communication terminal device 20 by NFC communication, similarly to the NFC input/output unit 81 of the rice cooker 3. 152A, 153A are wireless tags (NFC tags). The same as the wireless tag 82 of the rice cooker 3 shown in embodiment 1.
In fig. 33, reference numeral 154 denotes a cancel key capable of canceling settings for various scheduled operations (including scheduled cooking) of the home electric appliance EE in the power command device 6, and is formed by a capacitive touch key. When the key is touched, the reservation of the home appliance in which the reserved operation (reserved cooking or the like) is set before the touch can be released. For example, in fig. 33, the use display unit 115 displays "reserve", and if the device selection key 155E of the dish cleaning dryer 54 whose operation has not been started is touched and the release key 154 is pressed, the display of "reserve" on the use display unit 115 of the dish cleaning dryer 54 disappears, and the state is returned to a state in which nothing is displayed, such as the rice cooker 3. The cancel key 154 HAs a function of canceling all the reservations of the reserved operation received by the power specifying device 6 from the outside of the living space HA via the information communication terminal device 20, and this is based on an idea of giving priority to the operation of the resident who is actually in the living space HA.
Next, fig. 34 is explained. The central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 including the liquid crystal display screen 26 and the input operation unit 25 shown in fig. 33 can easily set a reservation mode of the home appliance such as the rice cooker 3 through the operation procedure shown in fig. 34.
First, as shown in fig. 33, in the state in which the home mode is set (SY1), the device selection key of the home appliance (for example, the key 155C of the air conditioner 4) displayed as "running" on the use display unit 115 is touched. Alternatively, a device selection key (for example, key 155A of rice cooker 3) of the home electric appliance, which is not displayed in the use display unit 115, is touched. This completes the selection step of the home appliance (SY 2).
Next, a step of selecting a mode of the reserved operation is performed.
The user brings the information communication terminal device 20 such as a mobile phone terminal device close to any one of the 2 NFC input/ output units 152 and 153 of the power command device 6 in advance to establish the near field wireless communication (NFC communication session), and completes the initial setting so that the information communication terminal device 20 and the power command device 6 can recognize each other.
When such an information communication terminal device 20 is brought close to the NFC input/output unit 152 by touching a device selection key (for example, the key 155C of the air conditioner 4), the conditions for the scheduled operation (the time when the power is ON, the time when the power is OFF) registered in the information communication terminal device 20 are read into the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6.
When the NFC input/output unit 152 detects that the NFC communication is performed (SY3), the process proceeds to the next step, a setting determination signal of the time reservation operation mode is input to the control unit 85(SY5), and the air conditioner stops operating when a predetermined reservation time is reached. The use display unit 115 of the air conditioner 4 continues the display of "in operation".
On the other hand, when the selection key 155A of the rice cooker 3 is touched and then the information communication terminal device 20 is brought close to the NFC input/output unit 153 after step SY2, information indicating that the position-corresponding reservation mode is set (set date and time, registered user name of the information communication terminal device 20, and the like) is read into the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 by the information communication terminal device 20, and reservation of the rice cooker 3 can be performed in the position-corresponding reservation mode (SY 4). Thereafter, the use display unit 115 of the rice cooker 3 displays "reservation". Then, the process proceeds to the next step, and a setting determination signal of the position-based reserved operation mode is input to the control unit 85(SY 6).
In this way, for each home appliance, the setting of the time reservation operation mode and the setting of the position-dependent reservation operation mode can be easily performed only by bringing the information communication terminal device 20, in which reservation conditions for touch operation and voice input are registered in advance, into proximity to the NFC input/ output units 152 and 153 of the power command device.
(summary of embodiment 3)
As described above, the rice cooker 3 according to embodiment 3 includes:
a heater 61 serving as an electric heating source;
an input operation part 71 capable of selecting 2 reservation cooking modes of a time reservation cooking mode and a position corresponding reservation cooking mode;
a transmitting part 90 for wirelessly transmitting a cooking completion report signal to the outside;
a receiving unit 90 that wirelessly receives an inquiry signal for reserving cooking execution and a distance determination information signal of the information communication terminal device 20 from an external information communication terminal device 20; and
a control unit 83 for receiving the selection of the reserved cooking mode from the input operation part 71 and controlling the heater 61,
the control unit 83 adjusts the cooking time corresponding to the distance obtained from the position information signal when the position corresponds to the reserved cooking mode,
further, when receiving the inquiry signal for reserving cooking execution from the receiving unit 90, the control unit 83 transmits a reserved cooking completion report signal from the transmitting unit 90 when the cooking operation in the reserved cooking mode is completed.
Further, the input operation unit 71 is disposed in the lid 56 for opening and closing the upper side of the inner container 60,
The lid 56 is provided with:
keys 150 and 151 for selecting the 2 reservation cooking modes of the time reservation cooking mode and the position corresponding reservation cooking mode; and
a cooking start input key (cooking start button) 59 supplies a predetermined input signal to the control unit 83 in order to determine the cooking reservation mode selected by the keys 150 and 151.
Further, the lid 56 is configured to be provided with a display unit (liquid crystal display part) 64,
in the case of selecting the reserved cooking mode, the keys 150 and 151 for selecting the 2 reserved cooking modes, i.e., the time reserved cooking mode and the position corresponding to the reserved cooking mode, are displayed through the display unit.
According to the above configuration, the selection key 150 of the time-scheduled cooking mode displayed on the display unit (liquid crystal display unit) 64 and the selection key 151 of the position-corresponding scheduled cooking mode can be directly touched to select the scheduled cooking mode, and then the cooking start input key (cooking start button) 59 can be operated to specify the scheduled cooking mode, so that the scheduled cooking operation can be simplified.
Further, the rice cooker 3 according to embodiment 3 includes:
a heater 61 serving as an electric heating source;
An input operation part 71 capable of selecting 2 reservation cooking modes of a time reservation cooking mode and a position corresponding reservation cooking mode;
a liquid crystal display screen 26 as a display unit for displaying the input result by the input operation unit 71;
a transmitting unit 90 for wirelessly transmitting an operation completion report signal to the outside;
a 1 st receiving unit 90 for wirelessly receiving an inquiry signal for reserving cooking execution and a distance determination information signal of the information communication terminal device 20 from an external information communication terminal device 20;
NFC input/output units 81 as 2 nd reception units that automatically communicate with each other by the approach or contact of the information communication terminal device 20; and
a control unit 83 for receiving the selection of the reserved cooking mode from the input operation part 71 and controlling the heater 61,
the control means 83 adjusts the cooking start time in accordance with the distance obtained from the distance determination information signal when the position corresponds to the reserved cooking mode,
further, when receiving the inquiry signal for the scheduled cooking execution from the receiving unit 90, the control unit 83 transmits a scheduled cooking operation completion report signal from the transmitting unit 90 when the operation in the scheduled cooking mode is completed.
Further, the control unit 83 is configured to acquire data for identifying the information communication terminal device 20 when the information communication terminal device 20 and the NFC input/output unit 81 communicate with each other after the scheduled cooking mode is selected by the input operation unit 71, and to specify the scheduled cooking mode with respect to the information communication terminal device.
According to the above configuration, if the predetermined communication session is established by bringing the information communication terminal device 20 close to or into contact with the NFC input/output unit 81 after selecting the selection key 150 of the time reservation cooking mode and the selection key 151 of the position-corresponding reservation cooking mode displayed on the display unit (liquid crystal display unit) 64 and selecting the reservation cooking mode, the reservation operation mode can be specified, and it is possible to easily perform setting such that information of the reserved operation can be transmitted from a heating device such as the rice cooker 3 to the information communication terminal device 20.
Embodiment 4.
Next, the contents shown in fig. 35 to 36 relate to embodiment 4 of the present invention.
Fig. 35 is a front view showing the liquid crystal display screen 26 and the input operation unit 25 of the display panel 24 of the power command device 6. Fig. 36 is a diagram showing a part of the operation procedure of the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 in fig. 35, and shows in stages an operation in which the monitoring mode can be selected in addition to the scheduled operation mode of the household electrical appliance such as the rice cooker 3. Note that the same or corresponding portions as or to embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping description may be omitted.
In embodiment 4 of the present invention, in addition to the time reservation operation mode and the position correspondence reservation mode, the "monitoring mode" can be selected.
Here, the "monitoring mode" refers to a mode for monitoring states (including a continuation time and a period of a certain state), power consumption, and the like from various electric devices EE in the living space HA, the hot water supply apparatus 39 located outdoors, the electronic lock 33 provided outside (on the entrance door) of the house (the entrance door), and the like (these are collectively referred to as "monitoring target devices").
First, in order to clarify the meaning and content of "monitoring", a typical prior art related to monitoring is explained.
Japanese patent application laid-open publication No. 2011-227699 describes a life status confirmation system using a television receiver. The television compares the stored data in the operation information storage part with the operation of the television, detects the abnormality of the resident when the difference occurs, and sends out the mail to the monitor. Specifically, the notification "start/stop switch of the television set is not ON at the set time" is transmitted by mail. "such an abnormal message.
In this prior art, the message generating apparatus for transmitting a message is also described as 1 embodiment in which the apparatus information including the status information and the operation information generated by the home appliance is referred to as the reference information, instead of referring to the power information consumed by the home appliance. The state information is information indicating a state of the home appliance at a current time point. The operation information is information related to an operation performed by the home appliance in response to an instruction from the user.
As another prior art document, there is Japanese patent laid-open No. 2000-293774 publication. This document discloses an invention of a "device for confirming whether or not to stabilize" in which a light receiving sensor detects a light signal emitted from a remote controller when the remote controller is operated by a resident who lives alone to turn on a power supply of a home appliance such as a television receiver or an air conditioner.
Further, this patent document discloses that the lid portion of the electric kettle is provided with an optical signal transmitter (light emitting diode) that emits an optical signal detectable by the light receiving sensor when the switch is pressed.
As still another prior art document, there is Japanese patent laid-open No. 2004-86383. This patent document discloses a life monitoring system that detects an operating state (continuous operating time, continuous non-operating time, or the like) of a home appliance in a residence of a resident as a monitoring target person based on energization information, manages the information by a management means outside the residence, and transmits the information to a relevant person.
The life monitoring system disclosed in this patent document determines in advance a predetermined value as abnormality detection for each home appliance, and compares the detected continuous operation time or continuous non-operation time with the predetermined value.
In embodiment 4 of the present invention, referring to the above conventional technology as well, the mode in which the overall management device (power command device) 6 detects the presence or absence of the following state is the "monitoring mode".
(1) In the rice cooker 3, the power is turned ON, and the menu key 73, the reserved cooking key 76, the reserved mode selection key 76 (see fig. 31), and the like are pressed, and in this state, it is not detected that the subsequent input operation is performed even after a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes or more) has elapsed. For example, the overall management device (power command device) 6 receives the operation information signal L1 indicating that the main power supply is ON (ON) from the rice cooker 3, and in this state, does not receive another operation information signal even after 5 minutes has elapsed.
(2) In the rice cooker 3, the operation information signal L6 indicating the completion of the scheduled cooking process is received, but the heat-retaining operation is not set, and the operation information signal L8 indicating that the main power supply is OFF is not received even after 2 hours or more. In this case, for example, it is assumed that the user (resident) forgets to cook rice.
(3) Although the operation information signal indicating that the heating cooking by the grill cooker 52 is completed for the time set by the timer (for example, 30 minutes) is received, the information indicating that the door of the grill cooker 52 is opened is not shown even after 1 hour elapses. In this case, for example, it is assumed that the user (resident) forgets to perform cooking.
(4) Although the operation information signal indicating the start of heating cooking is received by the induction heating cooker 51 in the kitchen, the operation information signal indicating the start of operation is not received from the ventilator in the kitchen even after 5 minutes from this time point. It is assumed that there is a failure of the ventilator that is automatically activated upon detection of the operation of the induction heating cooker 51.
(5) The information key 116 and the help mode key 117 of the input operation unit 26 provided in the display panel 24 of the overall management device (power command device) 6 are frequently pressed (repeatedly pressed) a plurality of times in a short time. Consider a case where an operation is made by a child, for example, living with the resident who is not the resident who made the operation.
(6) The environmental condition of the living space HA such as the kitchen acquired by the environment detecting unit 30 changes. For example, in a situation where the operation of the thermal equipment such as the induction heating cooker 51, the grill cooker 52, and the rice cooker 3 in the kitchen is not performed at all within the past 1 hour or more has elapsed from the end of the operation, the result of the atmosphere measurement in the kitchen acquired by the environment detection unit 30 indicates a sudden increase in humidity. For example, when the dish washing dryer 54 is in operation at this point in time, hot air (for dish drying) having a high temperature may be released from the dish washing dryer 54 into the air in the kitchen for any reason (it is assumed that the closing of the open/close door for closing the dish washing tub is insufficient or the sealing packing on the inner side of the door is deformed and the sealing property is impaired).
In the monitor mode, for example, the electric power command device 6 also recognizes at a time a shift from a state in which the rice cooking operation has not been started in the reserved rice cooking mode to a state in which the rice cooking operation is completed to the heat retaining operation with respect to the rice cooker 3.
Further, this state can be secondarily grasped by the information communication terminal device 20 such as a mobile phone. In the monitor mode, the central control unit 27 outputs a monitor operation command to the environment detection unit 30 to determine whether or not there is an abnormality in the living space HA, as in the case of the home mode. In response to this, the environment detection unit 30 measures the temperature, humidity, and the like in the living space in which the monitoring target equipment is installed at predetermined time intervals, temporarily stores the measurement data in the internal memory of the environment detection unit 30, and then transmits the stored data to the central control unit 27. The transmission data is stored in the 2 nd storage unit 27B or the storage device 28.
In the "monitoring mode", a plurality of occupants can simultaneously know the states of the monitoring target devices such as 1 home appliance EE.
Next, fig. 35 is explained. The display panel 24 includes a liquid crystal display screen 26 and an input operation unit 25 so that the operation of the power command device (overall management device) 6 can be collectively set.
The central control unit 27 of the power command device 6 can easily set the monitoring mode of the monitoring target device such as the rice cooker 3 through the operation procedure shown in fig. 36.
In fig. 35, the device selection keys 155A to 155F are displayed in a list in the display area 122 in place of the used device display information 114 shown in embodiment 1 on the liquid crystal display screen 26 of the display panel 24 of the power command device 6. The device selection keys 155A to 155F are formed of capacitance type touch keys, and when the keys are touched, mode input can be performed for the monitoring target device (for example, the rice cooker 3) corresponding to the touched keys.
In the state of fig. 35, the use display portion 115 disposed directly above the device selection key 155A of the rice cooker is changed to the display portion 162 displaying the character of "monitor". That is, it is known that the rice cooker 3 does not perform the cooking operation. In the dish washing and drying machine 54, the display portion 162 displaying the character "monitor" is displayed in proximity.
Reference numeral 160 denotes a touch input unit (key) disposed at the rightmost position outside (below) the display area 122, and when it is touched, a signal for setting or releasing the monitor mode or the reserved operation mode is input to the central control unit 27.
Reference numeral 161 denotes an NFC input/output unit disposed outside (on the lower side) of the display region 122, and when the information communication terminal device 20 touches the NFC input/output unit, a monitoring mode for constantly monitoring the operation of the device to be monitored is selected. Further, at this time, the information communication terminal device 20 is registered to the central control section 27 as to the transmission destination of the monitoring data. Note that 152 and 153 are NFC input/output units similar to those described in embodiment 3.
The key for selecting the "monitor mode" corresponding to the time reservation cooking mode selection key 150 and the position-corresponding reservation cooking mode selection key 151 described in embodiment 3 is not provided on the side of the home appliance EE.
Next, the mode setting operation shown in fig. 36 will be described.
First, in a stage where the home mode is set as shown in fig. 35, touch input unit (key) 160 is touched (SX 1).
Next, the device selection key of the home appliance displayed as "running" on the use display unit 115 (for example, the key 155C of the air conditioner 4) and the device selection key of the home appliance displayed as "reservation" on the use display unit 115 (for example, the key 155G of the hot water supply device 39) are touched. Alternatively, a device selection key (for example, key 155A of rice cooker 3) of the home electric appliance, which is not displayed in the use display unit 115, is touched. This ends the selection step of the home appliance (SX 2). In fig. 35, the key 155A of the rice cooker 3 is displayed as "monitor", and the tableware cleaning/drying machine 54 is also displayed as "monitor", which indicate the states displayed after the monitor mode is set.
The step of selecting a particular mode follows.
The user brings the information communication terminal device 20 such as a mobile phone terminal device in advance close to any one of the 2 NFC input/ output units 152 and 153 of the power command device 6 to establish the near field communication (NFC communication session), and completes the initial setting so that the information communication terminal device 20 and the power command device 6 can recognize each other.
When a device selection key (for example, the key 155A of the rice cooker 3) is touched and then such an information communication terminal device 20 is brought close to the NFC input/output unit 152, the conditions of the scheduled operation (the timing at which the power supply is ON, the timing at which the power supply is OFF) registered in the information communication terminal device 20 are read into the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6. Alternatively, the information communication terminal device 20 may be started up and the conditions for the scheduled operation (the time when the power is ON and the time when the power is OFF) may be input to the rice cooker 3 after the NFC input/output unit 152 is approached without setting the conditions for the scheduled operation (step: SX 4).
When the NFC input/output unit 152 detects that NFC communication is performed (SX3), the process proceeds to the next step, a setting determination signal of the time reservation operation mode is input to the control unit 85(SX4), and the rice cooker 3 is determined to be set to the time reservation operation (rice cooking) mode. Then, in the use display portion 115 arranged immediately above the key 155A of the rice cooker 3, a character of "reservation" (which is not shown in fig. 35) is displayed.
On the other hand, after step SX2, when the selection key 155A of the rice cooker 3 is touched and then the information communication terminal device 20 is brought close to the NFC input/output unit 153, the fact that cooking reservation is registered in the information communication terminal device 20 is read into the central control unit 27 of the power command device 6, and reservation of the rice cooker 3 can be made in the position correspondence reservation mode (SX 5).
Thereafter, the use display unit 115 of the rice cooker 3 displays "reservation". Then, the process proceeds to the next step, and a setting determination signal of the position-corresponding reserved operation mode is input to the controller 85(SX 6).
In this way, the setting of the time reservation operation mode and the setting of the location-dependent reservation operation mode can be easily performed for each home appliance only by bringing the information communication terminal device 20 held by the resident close to the NFC input/ output units 152 and 153 of the power command device.
Next, after step SX2, when the information communication terminal device 20 held by the resident is brought close to or touched to the NFC input/output unit 161 that selects the monitoring mode, a signal indicating that the monitoring mode is selected is input to the central control unit 27(SX 7). Then, the central control unit 27 displays a character of "monitor" on the use display unit 115 of the rice cooker 3, thereby specifying the setting of the monitor mode (SX8) by only the rice cooker 3 and the specific information communication terminal device 20. If it is assumed that the monitoring mode is desired to be set also for the dish washing and drying machine 54, if the device selection key 155E of the dish washing and drying machine 54 is touched first and then the information communication terminal device 20 is brought close to or touched to the NFC input/output unit 161, character information of "monitoring" is displayed on the use display unit 115 of the dish washing and drying machine 54 as in the case of the rice cooker 3, and it is known that the monitoring mode is set.
The display area 122 for displaying information using devices includes a suggestion area 119 for displaying a power saving check point, an abnormality or failure of another home appliance EE, safety information, and the like. As shown in fig. 35, in the advice area 119, in order to perform the job of setting the monitor mode, the device to be monitored is displayed and registered by characters, and in the case where there is a home appliance EE already registered, the device is displayed by characters in the advice area (see fig. 35).
In embodiment 4, the electronic lock 33 provided outside the entrance (entrance) of the house is also 1 monitoring target device. In the case of the electronic lock 33, when the monitoring mode is set, even if the resident is left in the living space HA, an open signal or a close signal that is predetermined every time other resident or an alien opens or closes the door of the entrance is input to the home detection unit 32 (see fig. 3). Therefore, even when the resident a is in the living space HA (i.e., a state of going home) or in a state of going out, for example, the monitoring target device such as the rice cooker 3 and the information communication terminal device 20 of the contact destination that reports the monitoring state are registered in the "database for monitoring setting" in the 1 st storage unit 27 of the power command device 6, and therefore the monitoring information is transmitted to the information communication terminal device 20 in real time.
Even if the "no-home mode" is set on the display panel 24 of the power command device 6 while all the occupants are out, the setting of the "monitor mode" is not lost. Therefore, for example, even when the information such as the start of the operation of the hot water supply device 39 or the start of the operation of the dish washing and drying machine 54 is assumed to be the information communication terminal device 20 of the resident who arrives at the outgoing destination when the user is not at home, the user may forget to set the "not at home mode" and go out, and thus the user can take a response such as confirmation by telephone or mail contact to the user or other residents. Further, after the confirmation, the operation can be terminated by transmitting an instruction signal for canceling the start of the operation from the information communication terminal device 20 to the power instruction device 6.
Further, since the monitoring setting database and the non-home mode setting database are partially common, these databases may be collectively constructed.
(summary of embodiment 4)
As described above, the operation management system for a home appliance according to embodiment 4 relates to the 4 th problem, and includes:
a home appliance EE, a 1 st communication unit 90 for wireless communication, and a heating source or power source operated by electric energy;
An information communication terminal device 20 for transmitting a remote operation signal and a distance determination information signal which enable the scheduled operation of the household appliance EE; and
the overall management device 6 acquires the operation information signal from the home electric appliance EE,
the home appliance EE includes: a control unit 85 for controlling the heating source or the power source; and an operation input unit 71 for inputting a reservation setting input signal for starting operation at a predetermined time to the control unit 85,
the overall management device 6 has a display panel 24 for displaying the operating state of the household electrical appliance EE,
the home electric appliance EE has a function of adjusting the reserved operating condition according to the distance indicated by the distance judgment information signal from the information communication terminal device 20,
the overall management device 6 acquires information indicating a result of adjusting the reserved operating conditions of the home electric appliance EE and displays the information on the display panel 24.
The overall management device 6 further includes a central control unit 27 for acquiring various operation information signals L1 to L8,
the overall management device 6 includes an input operation unit 25 for setting a monitoring mode and a scheduled operation mode,
the input operation unit includes NFC input/ output units 152, 153, and 161 for supplying a signal for designating a monitoring mode and a reserved operation mode to the central control unit 27.
According to this operation management system for home appliances, the schedule operation mode and the monitor mode can be easily set in the input operation unit 25 in the overall management device 6 that acquires operation information from the home appliances.
In this system, as shown in fig. 35 and 36, the home appliances for which the monitor mode and the reserved operation mode are desired to be set are provided with the corresponding appliance selection keys 155A to 155G, and the home appliances can be selected by directly selecting the keys by the resident, so that setting errors by the resident can be eliminated, and convenience is enhanced.
In embodiment 4, the case where the information communication terminal device 20 that receives the monitoring information is 1, but the information communication terminal device 20A carried by the resident a and the information communication terminal device 20B carried by the resident B may be registered in the overall management apparatus 6 at the same time.
The information recorded in the monitoring database of the overall planning management apparatus 6 may be set to be automatically transferred to the information server 17. Thus, even if it is assumed that the resident outside the living space HA wishes to monitor the device to be monitored in the living space HA when the resident is not at home, the monitoring information in the information server can be acquired by accessing the information server 17 using the information communication terminal device 20 such as a smartphone, which is carried separately, and downloading (reading) the control application software. In addition, the remote operation (including the change of the operation condition and the stop of the operation) can be performed for the required household electrical appliance.
In the above description, the rice cooker 3 has been mainly described as a representative home appliance capable of performing the reserved operation, but the present invention can be applied to other home appliances, and therefore, the following description will be given.
For example, in the dish washing and drying machine 54 (see fig. 4) including an electric heater for drying, there is a case where a use method is adopted in which dishes desired to be cleaned are put in a washing tub and cleaned when a user goes out, and in this case, the user selects a normal cleaning step, a step of taking time and finely cleaning, and the like and determines a scheduled operation.
There is an example in which the start of the operation can be reserved and set at a predetermined time or after a predetermined time from the setting. The present invention can also be applied to such a dish washing and drying machine 54. That is, if the reservation setting is made so that the reserved cleaning operation is ended before the predetermined time in order to complete the reserved cleaning operation (including the drying process) before the resident returns home from the outside destination, when the dish cleaning/drying machine 54 receives the inquiry signal for confirming whether the reserved cleaning operation is performed or not before the resident returns home, the report signal indicating that both the reserved cleaning and the reserved cleaning are performed is transmitted from the dish cleaning/drying machine 54. Therefore, by using the report signal, the resident or the like can know in advance the completion or non-completion of the cleaning operation (scheduled operation) of the dish washing and drying machine 54.
In the case of a dish washing and drying machine, since the steps of washing and rinsing are generally determined by time, the time from the start of operation to the stop of operation (at the end of the dish drying step) is determined by performing rinsing 1 time or 2 times or the like. For example, the mist (fog) is blown out first from the start of operation to float stains on the surface of tableware, and then the cleaning step, the rinsing step (1 or 2), the heating rinsing step (1 or 2), and the drying step are performed, and it takes about 90 minutes in the standard step and about 120 minutes in the step of fine cleaning.
The tableware cleaning/drying machine 54 calculates the time required for returning to home (estimated) when the resident having the information communication terminal device 20 returns to the place where the living space HA of the tableware cleaning/drying machine 54 and the rice cooker 3 exists from a remote place or the like, compares the time required for returning to home with the time required for cleaning (including the drying step), and determines the timing at which the cleaning operation can be started, thereby enabling the operation to be ended in accordance with the timing at which the resident returns to home.
In an automatic washing and drying machine (automatic washing and drying machine) including a rotary drum (washing tub) into which laundry is put, a motor for rotationally driving the drum, and a warm air generating unit (electric heater, gas, heat pump heat exchanger, or the like) for supplying warm air to the laundry in the drum, there is a function of automatically performing a series of steps from washing to dewatering and drying during an outgoing period of a resident, and there is an example in which such an operation start can be set in advance at a predetermined time or after a predetermined time from the setting time. The present invention can also be applied to such a scheduled operation (scheduled washing and drying) of the home appliance.
The present invention can also be applied to the hot water supply apparatus 39 shown in embodiment 1 (fig. 1).
The hot water supply device 39 includes a heat source unit 39H and a tank 39T for storing hot water produced by heat of the heat source unit, and the heat source unit 39H is, for example, a heat pump type heat source unit, and such a hot water supply device is proposed in, for example, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2014-163640. In this conventional technique, the heat pump storage type hot water supply apparatus is configured to be controlled by a power command device (HEMS controller), and the heat source unit 39H heats water in the tank 39T to hot water with a predetermined heating capacity, and therefore includes a means for calculating the heating start time.
Therefore, when the resident performs reservation setting of the heating start time by remotely controlling the power command device from the information communication terminal device 20, the notification signal indicating that both the reserved heating operation and the non-reserved heating operation are performed can be transmitted from the hot water supply device 39 when the hot water supply device 39 receives the inquiry signal for confirming whether the reserved heating operation is performed or not before the resident returns home, as in the rice cooker 3 described above. Therefore, by using the report signal, the resident or the like can know in advance the completion or non-completion of the hot water supply operation (heating operation) of the hot water supply device 39. Further, if the time of returning home of the resident is late, the start timing of the hot water supply operation (heating operation) is also delayed correspondingly to the time, and it is possible to avoid an excessive heating operation and improve the energy saving performance. This can also be applied to a case where an operation of "supplying hot water" for storing hot water in a bathtub is performed. Therefore, a convenient use method capable of storing hot water in the bathtub according to the timing of returning home of the occupant can be realized.
(other embodiments)
At least a part of the control unit 85 of the rice cooker 3 according to embodiments 1 to 4 may be configured as hardware by a logic circuit formed on an integrated circuit, or may be realized by software using a CPU or the like.
The temperature detection circuit 91, the clock circuit 99, and the power control unit 19 may be implemented by software.
For example, when the power control unit 19 is implemented by software, it is configured to include a CPU that executes commands of a control program for implementing the respective functions, a ROM that stores the program, a RAM that expands the program, a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory that stores the program and various data, and the like.
In embodiments 1 to 4, the command signal is exchanged between the power control unit 19 and the control unit 85 by wireless communication, but the function of the power control unit 19 may be configured as hardware by a logic circuit formed on an integrated circuit without using such a wireless communication unit, and the circuit may be directly connected to the control unit 85 on the integrated circuit, or may be integrated with the hardware of the control unit 85.
In the power command device 6, at least a part of the central control unit 27 may be configured as hardware by a logic circuit formed on an integrated circuit, or may be realized by software using a CPU or the like.
The power control unit 23 and the central control unit 27 may be configured by a CPU that is 1 host computer and a logic circuit formed on an integrated circuit, and may be integrally configured as hardware. At least a part of the home sensing unit 32, the human sensing unit 31, and the storage device 28 may be configured as hardware by a logic circuit formed on an integrated circuit, or may be realized by software using a CPU or the like.
In embodiments 1 to 4, the operation start time and the operation end time of 1 household electrical appliance EE such as the rice cooker 3 are automatically adjusted, but it may be preferable to relate the operation timings of 2 or more household electrical appliances in the living space HA. For example, the rice cooker 3 described in embodiments 1 to 3 is configured such that high-temperature steam is not directly released into the room during cooking, but if a rice cooker that releases steam is assumed, when a scheduled cooking operation is performed during an outgoing period, steam released into the kitchen stays and humidity rises, which may impair comfort of a resident who goes home. Therefore, it is preferable that the power command device 6 commands the operation of the ventilation device in the kitchen to start ventilation in the kitchen at a time point when a predetermined time (for example, a time required for the water suction process) has elapsed from the start of the operation of the rice cooker 3. In order to realize such interlocking, the condition for interlocking the scheduled cooking operation of the rice cooker 3 with the operation start or stop operation of the ventilator may be stored in the "out-of-home mode setting database" in the 1 st storage unit 27 of the power command device 6. For example, the operation of the ventilation device may be started if 15 minutes have elapsed after the start of the operation of the rice cooker 3, and may be automatically stopped by operating the rice cooker 3 for 5 minutes after the completion of the rice cooking process after the completion of the operation.
In embodiment 1, the scheduled time of returning home is set in the display panel 24 of the power command device 6 at the time of setting "not in home mode" in the stage before at least one of the occupants a or B comes out of the living space HA when going out, but such input is not necessarily required.
For example, when the information communication terminal device 20 is caused to touch any of the NFC input/output units 152 and 153 (see embodiment 3 and fig. 33) of the liquid crystal display screen 26 when the information communication terminal device 20 is not set in the home mode so that the power command device 6 is automatically reflected in the home mode setting database when going out, the moment may be stored in the power command device 6, the measurement of the time may be automatically started from this point of time, for example, in a period of 6 hours from the point of time of touch, a mail or the like inquiring the home return scheduled time may be automatically transmitted from the power command device 6 to the information communication terminal device 20, and when the resident B who holds the information communication terminal device 20 returns to the home scheduled time, the home scheduled time may be registered in the home mode setting database of the power command device 6, all the home appliances set to the scheduled operation by the resident B reflect the information of the scheduled time to return home.
Alternatively, when the power command device 6 is set not to be in the home mode when going out, the power command device 6 may automatically register a time point when 8 hours have elapsed since the time point of the setting of the power command device 6 as a (temporary) scheduled time point for going home in the database for setting of the not-in-home mode. The 8 hours may be easily selected by the resident as 10 hours, 12 hours, or the like by the electric power command device 6.
In embodiment 1, the information communication terminal device 20 monitors the temporal change of the distance determination information signal, and calculates the moving speed of the information communication terminal device 20. Then, "moving speed information" is generated per unit time (for example, 1 minute), and the estimated time until the information communication terminal device 20 reaches the living space HA is obtained by the rice cooker 3 using the "moving speed information" and the "distance determination information signal", but the method of predicting the time to return to home is not limited to embodiment 1. For example, in order to improve the accuracy of the return time, a return time prediction system using a portable terminal (information communication terminal device), a fixed station, and a return time prediction device is described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2002-267487, but the accuracy of the prediction of the return time may be improved by using such a dedicated system between the information communication terminal device 20 and the rice cooker 3, the power commanding device 6, and the like.
In the input operation unit 25 on the display panel 24 of the power command device 6, the input setting key 113 and the like are touch keys such as capacitive keys. Each of the keys 72 to 78 of the rice cooker 3 is formed of any of a mechanical switch or a capacitive touch switch in which a built-in electrical contact is closed by pressing by a user to generate an input signal. However, the method of performing various inputs in the present invention is not limited to such mechanical switches, touch switches, keys, and the like. For example, a non-contact input method may be used. A typical approach is a proximity detection type information input method described in japanese patent No. 5501992 and japanese patent No. 4766340.
In addition, a voice input method may be adopted. Such a representative method is an information input method (suitable for an information terminal device) described in japanese patent application laid-open nos. 2014-477 and 2014-103536.
The embodiments disclosed herein are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the claims.
The operation management system for home appliances according to the present invention can be widely used not only in homes but also in stores, small-scale factories, and the like in which electric appliances for business are installed.

Claims (22)

1. An operation management system comprising an electric rice cooker and a power command device which perform wireless communication with each other,
the electric rice cooker comprises:
an electrical heating source;
an input operation unit capable of selecting 2 scheduled cooking modes, namely a time scheduled cooking mode for starting cooking at a time point of scheduled time and a position corresponding to the position of the information communication terminal equipment;
a transmission unit that wirelessly transmits start information indicating that the cooking operation is started to the power command device when the cooking operation in the reserved cooking mode is started, and wirelessly transmits a cooking operation completion report signal to the power command device when the cooking operation in the reserved cooking mode is completed;
a receiving unit that wirelessly receives an inquiry signal for reserving cooking execution from the power command device; and
a control device for receiving the selection of the cooking-reserving mode from the input operation part and controlling the electric heating source,
The control device is provided with an adjusting function for calculating the time for starting the cooking operation according to the position of the information communication terminal equipment and starting the cooking operation at the time when the position-corresponding cooking reservation mode is selected,
the control device transmits information of a start time of the changed rice cooking from the transmission unit to the power command device when the start time of the rice cooking is changed by the adjustment function in the position-corresponding reserved rice cooking mode, and transmits non-completion information from the transmission unit when the rice cooking operation in the position-corresponding reserved rice cooking mode is not completed when the inquiry signal is received from the reception unit after the elapse of the changed start time of the rice cooking,
the electric power instruction device judges whether the start information is received from the electric rice cooker within a first predetermined time after the start time of the cooking operation received from the electric rice cooker, and if the start information is not received, the electric power instruction device reports 1 st report that the cooking operation in the position-corresponding reserved cooking mode is not completed to the information communication terminal equipment,
The electric power instruction device sends the inquiry signal to the electric rice cooker after the 1 st report is carried out,
the power command device performs a 2 nd report of a reason why the cooking operation in the position-corresponding cooking reservation mode is not completed to the information communication terminal device when the incomplete information is received from the rice cooker,
when the resident returns home, the display panel of the power command device displays that the cooking operation in the reserved cooking mode is not completed at the position.
2. The operation management system according to claim 1,
when the control device detects an abnormality before a cooking process is started when the polling signal is received, the transmission unit transmits the detected abnormality information as the incompletion information to the power command device.
3. The operation management system according to claim 1 or 2,
the control device is provided with a control program for executing a water absorption process, a boiling process and a stewing process in sequence,
the processing of changing the start time of cooking is executed so that the cooking step is ended at the timing when the estimated required time is ended, by calculating the estimated required time for the information communication terminal device to move to reach the installation place of the rice cooker based on the distance determination information signal and the movement speed information received from the information communication terminal device.
4. The operation management system according to claim 1 or 2,
the transmission unit and the reception unit are configured as 1 power use control unit,
the power consumption control means transmits the command signal for power reduction received from the receiving unit to the control device.
5. The operation management system according to claim 1 or 2,
the rice cooker further comprises an NFC input/output unit which is independent of the transmission unit and the reception unit and is set to a state of establishing the near field communication with the communication unit of the information communication terminal device.
6. The operation management system according to claim 1 or 2,
the control device transmits a predetermined operation information signal from the transmission unit when the user selects the scheduled cooking mode.
7. The operation management system according to claim 1 or 2,
the control device transmits a predetermined operation information signal for notifying the start of the cooking operation before the cooking operation is started in accordance with the cooking reservation mode designated by the user.
8. The operation management system according to claim 1 or 2,
The control device transmits a predetermined operation information signal for reporting the start of the cooking process when the cooking process is started according to the reserved cooking mode, and does not reduce power even if an external power reduction command signal is received during the cooking process.
9. The operation management system according to claim 1 or 2,
the input operation part is arranged on a cover body which opens and closes the upper part of the inner container,
the lid is configured with: a key for selecting 2 of the reserved cooking modes corresponding to the reserved cooking modes of the time reserved cooking mode and the position; and a cooking start input key for providing a predetermined input signal to the control device to determine the reserved cooking mode selected by the key.
10. The operation management system according to claim 9,
the cover body is provided with a display unit,
in a case where the reserved cooking mode is selected, the keys for selecting 2 of the reserved cooking modes, the time reserved cooking mode and the position-corresponding reserved cooking mode, are displayed through the display unit, respectively.
11. An operation management system comprising a home appliance and a power command device that perform wireless communication with each other,
The home appliance device includes:
an electrical heating source or power source;
an input operation unit capable of selecting 2 reserved operation modes, namely a time reserved operation mode for starting operation at a time point which is a predetermined time and a position corresponding reserved operation mode corresponding to the position of the information communication terminal equipment;
a transmission unit that wirelessly transmits start information indicating that the operation is started to the power command device when the operation in the reserved operation mode is started, and wirelessly transmits a completion report signal of the reserved operation to the power command device when the operation in the reserved operation mode is completed;
a receiving unit that wirelessly receives an inquiry signal for performing a scheduled operation from the power command device; and
a control device for receiving selection of the scheduled operation mode from the input operation unit and controlling the electric heating source or the power source,
the control device has an adjustment function of calculating a time for starting the reserved operation based on the position of the information communication terminal device when the position-corresponding reserved operation mode is selected, and starting the reserved operation at the time,
The control device transmits information of a start time of the reserved operation after the change from the transmission unit to the power command device when the start time of the reserved operation is changed by the adjustment function in the position-corresponding reserved operation mode, and transmits non-completion information from the transmission unit when the operation in the reserved operation mode is not completed when the inquiry signal is received from the reception unit after the elapse of the start time of the reserved operation after the change,
the power command device determines whether or not the start information is received from the home appliance within a first predetermined time after a start time of the operation received from the home appliance, and performs a 1 st report to the information communication terminal device that the operation in the location-based reservation operation mode is not completed when the start information is not received,
the power command device sends the query signal to the home appliance after the 1 st report is made,
the power command device performs, when receiving the uncompleted information from the home appliance device, a 2 nd report that reports a reason why the operation in the location-based reservation operation mode has been uncompleted to the information communication terminal device,
When the resident returns home, a display panel of the power command device indicates that the operation in the position-corresponding reserved operation mode has not been completed.
12. The operation management system according to claim 11,
the transmission unit and the reception unit are constituted by 1 power control unit,
the power consumption control means transmits the command signal for power reduction received from the receiving unit to the control device.
13. The operation management system according to claim 11,
the home appliance further includes an NFC input/output unit that establishes a near field communication with the communication unit of the information communication terminal device independently of the transmission unit and the reception unit.
14. A power command device is characterized by comprising:
a power control unit that transmits a power reduction command signal to limit the total amount of power in a home to a home appliance that can receive a remote operation signal and a distance determination information signal from an information communication terminal device and execute a reserved operation;
a receiving unit that receives the remote operation signal and the distance determination information signal from the information communication terminal device, and a setting signal of a scheduled operation and a completion signal of the scheduled operation from the home appliance device;
A reporting unit that reports power information including power consumption of a home and information specifying the home appliance set to perform a scheduled operation, respectively; and
a central control unit that controls the power control unit and the report unit,
the central control unit stores information indicating the adjusted reserved operation condition when the household electrical appliance adjusts the condition for reserved operation based on the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal, and reports the adjustment result of the condition for reserved operation to the information communication terminal device,
the central control part transmits an inquiry signal for reserved operation execution to the home appliance when a completion signal of reserved operation is not received from the home appliance even after a second predetermined time elapses from a time point at which reserved operation is started, and then receives abnormality information detected as the incomplete information when the home appliance detects an abnormality before the start of reserved operation when incomplete information of reserved operation execution is received from the home appliance, and controls the reporting unit to transmit the incomplete information to the information communication terminal device,
determining whether or not start information indicating start of the operation is received from the home appliance within a first predetermined time after start time of the operation of the reserved operation received from the home appliance, and performing a 1 st report to report that the operation is not completed to the information communication terminal device when the start information is not received,
Transmitting the query signal to the home device after the 1 st report is made,
when the unfinished information is received from the home appliance, a 2 nd report is made to the information communication terminal device, the 2 nd report reporting the reason why the operation of the reserved operation is unfinished,
when the resident returns home, the display panel of the power command device displays that the operation in the reserved operation is not completed.
15. The power command device according to claim 14,
the case where the condition for reserved operation is adjusted by the home appliance based on the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal includes: the central control unit calculates a required time until the home appliance returns from the distance indicated by the distance determination information signal, and transmits information on the required time to the home appliance, and as a result, transmits information indicating that the condition for the reserved operation of the home appliance is adjusted.
16. The power instruction device according to claim 14 or 15,
the home appliance is a heating cooker and,
the heating cooker has an execution period of a priority cooking menu in an operation period,
The power control unit does not transmit a command signal for power reduction to the heating cooker in the execution period of the priority cooking menu.
17. The power command device according to claim 14 or 15,
the central control part receives the operation information signal sent from the heating cooker and provides the permission signal of the start of the operation to the heating cooker, and the central control part is also provided with a storage part for storing the report signal indicating the completion of the reserved operation.
18. An operation management system for a home appliance, comprising:
a household electrical appliance having a 1 st communication unit for wireless communication and a heating source or a power source operated by electric energy;
an information communication terminal device for transmitting a remote operation signal and a distance determination information signal which enable the home appliance device to perform a reserved operation; and
a population management device for acquiring an operation information signal from the home appliance,
the home appliance device includes: a control device for controlling the heating source or the power source; and an operation input unit for inputting a reservation setting input signal for starting operation at a predetermined time to the control device,
The overall management device includes a display unit for displaying the operating state of the home electric appliance,
the home appliance has a function of adjusting a reserved operation condition according to a distance indicated by a distance determination information signal from the information communication terminal device,
the overall management device acquires information indicating a result of adjusting the reserved operating conditions of the home appliance and displays the information on the display unit,
further, the overall management device transmits an inquiry signal for execution of the reserved operation to the home appliance when a completion signal for execution of the reserved operation is not received from the home appliance even after a second predetermined time elapses from a time when the home appliance starts operating according to the reserved operation condition adjustment result, and then receives incomplete information for execution of the reserved operation from the home appliance, receives the detected abnormal information as the incomplete information when the home appliance detects an abnormality before the start of the reserved operation, and controls to transmit the incomplete information to the information communication terminal device,
determining whether or not start information indicating start of the operation is received from the home appliance within a first predetermined time after start time of the operation of the reserved operation received from the home appliance, and performing a 1 st report to report that the operation is not completed to the information communication terminal device when the start information is not received,
Transmitting the query signal to the home device after the 1 st report is made,
when the unfinished information is received from the home appliance, a 2 nd report is made to the information communication terminal device, the 2 nd report reporting the reason why the operation of the reserved operation is unfinished,
when the resident returns home, the display means displays that the operation in the reserved operation is not completed.
19. An operation management system for a home appliance, comprising:
a plurality of household electrical appliances, which are provided with a 1 st communication part for wireless communication and a heating source or a power source operated by electric energy;
an information communication terminal device for transmitting a remote operation signal enabling the home appliance device to perform a reserved operation and transmitting a distance determination information signal; and
a power command device having a 2 nd communication unit which wirelessly communicates with the 1 st communication units of the plurality of home electric appliances, the power command device acquiring the operation information signal,
the home appliance device includes: a control device for controlling the heating source or the power source; and an operation input unit for setting a reserved operation mode for starting operation at a predetermined time,
The power command device has a selection operation unit capable of selecting a home mode and an out mode,
the home appliance has a function of changing a reserved operating condition according to a distance indicated by a distance determination information signal from the information communication terminal device,
the power command device acquires information indicating a result of changing a reserved operating condition of the home appliance,
the power command device displays information that can identify the home appliance when the home appliance has not been operated in the reserved operation mode when a switching operation from the outgoing mode to the home mode is performed by a resident on the selection operation unit and when the home appliance has not been operated in the reserved operation mode,
further, the power command device transmits an inquiry signal of reserved operation execution to the home electric appliance when a completion signal of reserved operation is not received from the home electric appliance even after a second predetermined time elapses from a time point at which operation is started according to the reserved operation condition change result, and then receives, when an uncompleted information of reserved operation execution is received from the home electric appliance, and an abnormality is detected before the home electric appliance starts reserved operation, receives the detected abnormal information as the uncompleted information, and controls to transmit the uncompleted information to the information communication terminal apparatus,
Determining whether or not start information indicating start of the operation is received from the home electric appliance within a first predetermined time after start time of the operation of the reserved operation received from the home electric appliance, and performing a 1 st report for reporting that the operation is not completed to the information communication terminal device when the start information is not received,
transmitting the query signal to the home device after the 1 st report is made,
when the unfinished information is received from the home appliance, a 2 nd report is made to the information communication terminal device, the 2 nd report reporting the reason why the operation of the reserved operation is unfinished,
when the resident returns home, the display means displays that the operation in the reserved operation is not completed.
20. The operation management system for home electric appliances according to claim 19,
when the resident operates the selection operation unit when returning home, the display unit displays information indicating the home appliance for which the reservation setting is made and information indicating the home appliance in operation.
21. The system for managing operation of an electric home appliance according to claim 19,
The power command device acquires an abnormality occurrence report signal from the home appliance stopped due to an abnormality occurrence while the home mode is set, and displays information enabling identification of the home appliance on the display unit.
22. The operation management system for home electric appliances according to claim 19,
the power command device displays, on the display unit, information that enables identification of the home appliance when the home appliance in the reserved operation mode is present during a home mode.
CN201780038634.8A 2016-06-28 2017-04-26 Power command device and operation management system Active CN109310224B (en)

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