JP2002118986A - Power monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that, when a slave unit transmits more detailed information of power usage, from which even the presence of the use can be discriminated on a master unit side, the traffic of communications is increased so that only a few containable systems can be secured. SOLUTION: The master unit 1 is provided with a timer means 6, a communicating means 7 that constantly transmits electronic mails to a slave unit, one after the other to inquire of the slave unit usage state and receives responses from the slave unit, a storage means 8 that stores the usage state of the slave unit shown on the received electronic mails, and a notification means 9. The slave unit, provided with a usage state transmission preparing means 15 that prepares to transmit the presence of the use detected by the usage state detecting means at the intervals of receiving the mails from the master unit, replies to the mails from the master unit. The master unit serve as a power monitoring system that notifies the chronological change of the usage state of the slave unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power monitoring system that measures the power consumption of a device, reports the amount of power used, and reports the use or non-use of the device, thereby enlightening or practicing energy saving.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of power monitoring system has
The slave unit responds to the inquiry message of the master unit, or voluntarily transmits the used power or the used power amount, and notifies the used power amount, the integrated power amount, and the peak used power amount. In some cases, energy conservation was provided by enlightenment on energy conservation or by controlling to reduce peak power consumption. Alternatively, the slave unit detects the abnormally used power amount and the like,
In some cases, an abnormality such as a failure of a device is transmitted to the parent device to notify the abnormality.

[0003]

However, the conventional power monitoring system suppresses communication traffic by transmitting the accumulated power consumption and the like for a certain period, and secures the capacity of the master unit and the slave unit. However, if the slave unit transmits more detailed power consumption information that can determine whether the master unit is used or not, communication traffic increases at a stretch and the number of systems accommodated in the master unit and the slave unit can be secured very little. There was a problem that.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a master unit and a slave unit connected to a device using electric power from a power supply source, wherein the master unit includes a timer unit and a timer unit. Communication means for periodically transmitting a message inquiring of the use state of the device to the slave unit and receiving a message returned from the slave unit, and storage means for storing the use state of the slave unit indicated in the received message And a notifying unit, wherein the slave unit determines a use state such as whether or not the device is used based on a result of measurement by the communication unit, a power measurement unit that measures power consumption of the connected device, and the power measurement unit. Device use state detection means, and use state transmission preparation means for preparing to transmit whether or not the device use state detection means is used at a reception interval of a device use state inquiry message from the base unit; Device usage status inquiry message As the use returns status information transmission preparation means, the base unit informs the temporal transition based on use status of the slave unit stored in the storage means configured for,
The slave detects the device usage status and sends usage detection information in response to the inquiry of the master, so that the user can check his / her actual usage status at the master and collectively without increasing communication traffic. The power monitoring system is capable of securing the number of systems of the master unit and the slave units.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 comprises a master unit and a slave unit connected to a device that uses power from a power supply source, wherein the master unit includes a clock unit, Communication means for periodically transmitting a message inquiring of the use state of the device to the slave unit by the time keeping means and receiving a message returned from the slave unit, and storing the use state of the slave unit indicated in the received message. The slave unit includes a storage unit and a notification unit, wherein the slave unit includes a communication unit, a power measurement unit that measures power consumption of the connected device, and a usage state such as whether or not the device is used based on a measurement result of the power measurement unit. Device use state detecting means for determining whether or not to use the device use state detection means at a reception interval of a device use state inquiry message from the master unit. Inquiry about device usage status from machine In response to the message, the information of the use state transmission preparation unit is returned, and the master unit notifies the time transition based on the use state of the slave unit stored in the storage unit. By detecting the status and transmitting the usage detection information in response to the inquiry of the master unit, the user can check his / her actual usage status at the master unit and collectively check the master unit and slave unit without increasing communication traffic. Power monitoring system capable of securing the number of systems accommodated.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the slave unit includes timing means for counting a time interval equal to or shorter than an interval at which the master unit transmits a message inquiring about the use state, and the use state transmission preparation means includes: , Take the presence / absence of use detected by the equipment use state detection means at the interval timed by the timekeeping means of the slave unit, prepare in pairs with the start time of the time interval, and respond to the message asking the use state from the base unit As a configuration to send a reply, it was possible to determine the use time unit independently of the interrogation interval from the master unit to notify the presence or absence of use, and furthermore, it was not possible to receive the inquiry message from the master unit due to a communication failure In this case, a power monitoring system with improved communication reliability that can reply when the next inquiry message is received is provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the slave unit is provided with device operation information input means for detecting an operation input of the device, and the use state transmission preparation means is provided with information indicating whether or not use is detected by the device use state detection means. The device operation information input means detects the logical use of the presence or absence of use. As a configuration, the use information that cannot be detected only from the power consumption is input to supplement the use information, thereby improving the reliability. The power monitor system is capable of responding to environmental issues.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the slave unit has a human body detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a human body in a predetermined area,
The use state transmission preparation means prepares the presence or absence of a human body by the human body detection means separately at the same time interval as the preparation time interval, and includes the presence or absence information of this human body in a reply message to the message asking the use state from the base unit. As a configuration to add and send,
By transmitting the presence / absence of a person at the same time as whether or not the child device is used, the user can collectively check the presence / absence of use of each device and the presence / absence of a person near the device by using the parent device, thereby reducing wasteful use. It is a power monitoring system that can clearly see if there is any.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the base unit includes a use predicting unit for performing use prediction from the storage contents of the storage unit, and a message for inquiring the slave unit of the use state in accordance with the prediction result of the use prediction unit. Device control planning means for performing control planning of the power consumption of the device at a time interval longer than the transmission interval of the device, the slave unit includes device control means for controlling the power consumption of the device, and the base unit includes the device control planning means According to the plan, send a message to control the power usage of the device to the slave unit,
The received slave unit is configured to control the power consumption of the device by the device control means, so that the probability of performing the unexpected power control is reduced, so that the user is less likely to feel inconvenience, and the power consumption is high and the energy saving effect is high. Monitor system.

[0010] In the invention described in claim 6, the master unit is provided with a user consent confirmation unit for inputting a user's intention for planning by the device control planning unit, and a time period during which the user's consent is obtained. A command message for controlling the power consumption of the device is transmitted to only the child device, and the received child device is configured to control the power consumption of the device by the device control means. The power monitoring system is further reduced so that the user does not feel inconvenience and energy saving can be performed without difficulty.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the slave unit is provided with a power consumption control notifying unit, and when receiving a command message for lowering the power consumption of the device transmitted from the master unit, the slave unit uses the power consumption control notifying unit. A configuration in which notification is performed for a predetermined time, and control is performed to reduce the power consumption of the device by the device control unit only when the use is not detected by the device use state detection unit, the device operation information input unit, or the human body detection unit within the notification time. As a power monitoring system that can reduce the probability of performing unexpected power control even for irregular use, and reduce the user's inconvenience more and more, and can perform reasonable energy saving. I have.

[0012]

(Embodiment 1) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. Reference numeral 1 denotes a base unit of the power monitoring system (hereinafter, simply referred to as a base unit 1). Reference numeral 2 denotes a child unit A which is one of the child units of the power monitoring system. Reference numeral 3 denotes a child unit which is one of the child units of the power monitoring system. The devices B and 4 are devices A connected to the child device A (the heating toilet seat is connected in this embodiment), and the devices 5 are devices B connected to the child device B (the TV is connected in this embodiment).

The base unit 1 includes a clock unit 6, a communication unit 7,
It comprises storage means 8 and notification means 9.

The slave unit A2 includes a device connection unit 10 for connecting the device A4, an AC power supply connection unit 11, and a device A4.
4 comprises a power measuring means 12 for measuring the power consumption, a device use state detecting means 13, a communication means 14, and a use state transmission preparing means 15.
It comprises a current detecting means 16 for detecting a used current, a power calculating means 17 for calculating power based on a detection result of the current detecting means 16, and a connected equipment setting means 18 for setting what the connected equipment is. Is done.

The minimum system is one for each of the parent and child units. However, in this embodiment, since the system has a plurality of child units, the child unit B3 has the same configuration as that of the child unit A2. It is assumed that a plurality of slave units having the configuration exist in the same system.
Further, in this embodiment, the AC power supply connection unit 11 of the slave unit is a plug and is connected to a power outlet, and the device connection unit 10 is an outlet type to which a plug of the device can be connected.
Power shall be supplied to the device from the AC power supply connection unit 11,
The communication means 7 and the communication means 14 are wireless communication means.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.
First, the user uses the connected device setting means 18 of each of the slave units A2 and B3 to select and set the connected device from the prepared options. The power measuring means 12 of each of the slave units A2 and B3
The current detection means 16 detects the current used by the equipment connected to the device, and the power calculation means 17 calculates the used power every second.
Device use state detecting means 1 of each of slave unit A2 and slave unit B3
3 detects the presence or absence of use from the power pattern of the power consumption per second measured by the power measurement unit 12 according to the setting content of the connection device setting unit 18 according to the device. For example, in the case of the television of the device B5, when power of 20 W or more is used, it is detected that there is use. In addition, if the seat is a heating toilet seat of the device A4, the disturbance of the power pattern every second due to the seating is read to detect the use. In this case, device B
In the case of TV 5, since the use time is long and the power change due to use is large, the timing of power measurement can be read at longer time intervals than 1 second. In order to read the presence or absence of use (seating) from the used power, the timing of the power measurement needs to be about one second. As described above, the device use state detecting unit 13 detects whether or not the device is used in synchronization with the timing at which the power measuring unit 12 measures the used power of the connected device. Furthermore, the presence / absence of the detected use is ORed with the use state preparation means 15 to prepare for accumulation. That is, if there is at least one use, it is prepared that there is use.

On the other hand, master device 1
Every minute, a message for inquiring about the use status of the connected device is transmitted to the slaves sequentially at intervals of 5 seconds. Handset A2, which has received this message to itself, sends back the use status prepared to use state preparation means 15. At this time, the child device A2
It also returns the amount of accumulated power used. When the reply is completed normally, the slave unit A2 clears the use status prepared in the use state preparation unit 15 and determines that no use is made. Master device 1 reports the presence / absence of use every 10 minutes and the cumulative amount of power used returned from child device A2 to reporting device 9, and stores these information in storage device 8.

Although the communication means is a wireless communication means in this embodiment, other communication means such as a power line carrier communication means may be used. Further, in the present embodiment, the connection device setting means is separately provided, but the device use state detection means may automatically determine the device to be connected from the pattern of the used power. Further, although the method of notifying the notifying means is character display, it is also possible to use an LED or the like or to make a sound.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the slave detects the use condition of the device and transmits the use detection information in response to the inquiry of the master device, so that the user can determine the actual use condition of the master device. When the parent device determines whether or not the device is in use, all of the power information per second must be transmitted from the child device. Since only one bit is required for the transmission timing, a power monitor system capable of securing the number of systems accommodated in the master unit and the slave unit without increasing communication traffic is realized.

(Embodiment 2) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, a timer unit 19 is provided in each of the slave units.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.
The base unit 1 allows the user to set the connected device with the connected device setting unit 18, the power measuring unit 12 of each slave unit measures the used power of the connected device every second, and the device use state detecting unit 13.
However, the operation from the setting of the connected device setting unit 18 to the detection of the presence / absence of use from the power pattern of the power consumption per second measured by the power measuring unit 12 according to the device according to the device is the same as that of the first embodiment. The same is true. The slave unit A2 is provided with
The timing at which the master 1 transmits a message inquiring about the use state of the device at every 10 minutes or less (in the present embodiment, the master 1
In the same manner as in (10 minutes), the use state detected together with the time counting start time is logically ORed in the use state preparation means 15 to prepare for accumulation. That is, if there is at least one use in units of 10 minutes managed by the own timekeeping means 19 independently of the timing of receiving a message from the master 1, use is determined, and the start time of that 10 minutes (for example, 11: 30) to be prepared. Each time the timer 19 counts 10 minutes, the slave unit A2 clears the presence / absence of use prepared in the use state preparation unit 15 and determines that there is no use.

On the other hand, master device 1
Every minute, a message for inquiring about the use status of the connected device is transmitted to the slaves sequentially at intervals of 5 seconds. Handset A2, which has received this message to itself, returns the use status prepared in use state preparation means 15 in combination with its start time. At this time, the child device A2 also returns the used integrated power amount at the same time. The base unit 1 notifies the notification unit 9 of the presence / absence of use every 10 minutes with the time and the integrated power consumption, which are returned from the handset A2.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to determine the unit of use time zone independently of the interrogation interval from the master unit and to notify the use or non-use of the unit. It is an object of the present invention to realize a power monitoring system with improved communication reliability that can reply when the next interrogated telegram is received even if the telegram cannot be received due to a communication failure.

(Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the second embodiment, each slave unit is provided with a device operation information input unit 21 for inputting information of an infrared remote controller 20 for operation attached to the device A4.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.
The base unit 1 allows the user to set the connected device with the connected device setting unit 18, the power measuring unit 12 of each slave unit measures the used power of the connected device every second, and the device use state detecting unit 13.
The operation from the setting of the connected device setting unit 18 to the detection of the presence or absence of use from the power pattern of the power consumption per second measured by the power measuring unit 12 according to the device according to the device is the same as in the second embodiment. The same is true. On the other hand, the device operation information input means 20 of the slave A2 receives an infrared signal transmitted every time the user operates the remote controller 20 attached to the device A. Further, the slave unit A2 is detected by the timing unit 19 at a timing of every 10 minutes or less (in this embodiment, 10 minutes similar to the master unit 1) when the master unit 1 transmits a message inquiring about the use state of the device. A logical sum of the logical sum of the use state preparation means 15 to determine whether or not it is used and the logical sum of whether the infrared signal is received by the device operation information input means 20 are prepared for accumulation. In other words, independently of the timing of receiving a message from the master unit 1, the time is controlled in units of 10 minutes managed by its own clock unit 19.
If there is something that determines the use from the power pattern at any time, or if the infrared ray of the remote controller 20 attached to the device A4 is received at least once, it is determined to be used and paired with the start time of 10 minutes (for example, 11:30). To prepare. Each time the time counting means 19 measures 10 minutes, the slave unit A2
Clears the presence / absence of use prepared in the use state preparation means 15 and makes no use.

The operation of master unit 1 is the same as that of the second embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the operation information is input by receiving a signal from an infrared remote controller attached to the device to which the device operation information input means is connected. It may be used as a switch. Also,
In the present embodiment, the device operation information input means is provided in all the slaves, but the device operation information input means may be provided only in some of the slaves.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the use information which cannot be detected only from the power consumption is input to supplement the use information to improve the reliability, and at the same time, the detection is performed only at the time of a specific use operation. It is intended to realize a power monitoring system which can cope with the variety of use of the power.

(Embodiment 4) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the third embodiment, each of the slave units includes a human body detection unit 23.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.
The base unit 1 allows the user to set the connected device with the connected device setting unit 18, the power measuring unit 12 of each slave unit measures the used power of the connected device every second, and the device use state detecting unit 13.
Detects the presence / absence of use from the power pattern of the power consumption per second measured by the power measurement unit 12 according to the setting of the connection device setting unit 18 according to the device, while the device operation information input unit 20 Receiving the remote control signal attached to the device to be connected, and controlling the time by the own timekeeping means 19 independently of the timing of receiving a message from the base unit 1 for every 10 minutes.
If there is something that determines the use from the power pattern even once, or if the remote control signal attached to the device is received even once, it is determined that there is use and the start time of 10 minutes (for example, 1
1:30), the operation up to preparation is described in Example 3.
Is the same as In addition, the presence or absence of a human body is detected by the human body detection means in units of 10 minutes managed by the own timekeeping means 19, and when a response is sent from the master unit 1 to a message inquiring about the use state of the device, the presence or absence of this human body is detected. Reply with additional information.
In other words, if there is something that determines the use from the power pattern at least once every 10 minutes, or if it receives infrared rays from the remote controller attached to the device even once, it is determined that there is use, and the presence or absence of a human body during that time is determined for 10 minutes. Start time (for example, 1
1:30).

In this embodiment, the human body detecting means is provided in all the slaves. However, the human body detecting means may be provided only in a part of the slaves.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the slave unit transmits the presence / absence of a person at the same time as the presence / absence of use, so that the user can determine whether or not each device is used and whether or not there is a person near the device. It is an object of the present invention to realize a power monitoring system in which presence / absence can be collectively confirmed by a parent device, and in particular, whether or not there is a wasteful use of a device such as a television.

(Embodiment 5) Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the fourth embodiment, a usage predicting unit 24 that performs usage prediction from the storage contents of the storage unit 8 in the base unit 1.
And a device control planning unit 25 for making a control plan of the power consumption of the device in accordance with the prediction of the use prediction unit 24. Each of the slave units has a device control unit 2 for controlling the power supply of the connected device.
6 is provided.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.
The base unit 1 allows the user to set the connected device by the connected device setting unit 18, the power measuring unit 12 of each slave unit to measure the used power of the connected device every second, and the device use state detecting unit 13 to set the connected device. The device operation information input means 20 receives an infrared signal transmitted from the remote controller attached to the device each time the user operates the device, and detects whether or not the device is used from the power pattern. Is determined to be used even if the power pattern determines that it is used at least once every 10 minutes managed by its own timekeeping means 19, or if it receives infrared light from the remote controller 20 attached to the device A4 even once. , And adding the presence or absence of a human body in the meantime, preparing the paired with the start time of 10 minutes (for example, 11:30),
The operation until the master unit 1 notifies the use information by the notifying unit 9 and stores it in the storage unit 8 at the same time as returning the reply to the usage state inquiry message from the master unit 1 is the same as that of the fourth embodiment.

The parent device 1 receives the data from each child device and stores
When the usage information of each device to be connected stored in the storage device is stored for a predetermined period (one week or more in the present embodiment), the usage prediction unit 24 sets the time interval (this execution In the example, the frequency of the past data in units of 10 minutes is weighted to predict the use in each 10 minutes. The device control planning means 25 is a time interval (30 minutes in the present embodiment) longer than an interval (10 minutes in the present embodiment) for transmitting a message inquiring of the slave unit about the use state in accordance with the prediction result of the usage predicting means 24.
Minutes), make a control plan for the power consumption of the equipment. In other words, when the degree of being predicted to be used in the unit of 10 minutes in the following 30 minutes at the time of 0 minute and 30 minutes is less than the threshold value, the corresponding child device is Plan to turn off the power to the device. In addition, once every 30 minutes thereafter
When at least one of the degrees predicted to be used in units of 0 minutes is equal to or greater than the threshold, the power supply of the device is turned on for the corresponding slave unit.
Schedule to do it. According to this plan, master device 1 transmits a command for controlling the power consumption of the device. The slave unit that has received this instruction addressed to itself controls the energization of the connected device by the device control unit 26.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the power is turned on / off from the master unit.
Although the OFF command is transmitted, it may be a command such as a change in the set temperature or a degree of dimming. Further, although the device control means is provided in all the slaves, the device control means may be provided only in some of the slaves. In this embodiment, the device control means turns on / off the power of the device. However, the device control means controls the power consumption by changing the set temperature or the like by transmitting a signal of a remote control attached to the device. It doesn't matter.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a power monitoring system is realized in which the probability of performing unexpectedly controlled power consumption is reduced and the user is less likely to feel inconvenience, and which has a high energy saving effect. It is.

Embodiment 6 Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the fifth embodiment, the master unit 1 is provided with a user agreement confirmation unit 27 for confirming the user's agreement with the plan set by the device control planning unit 25.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
The base unit 1 allows the user to set the connected device by the connected device setting unit 18, the power measuring unit 12 of each slave unit to measure the used power of the connected device every second, and the device use state detecting unit 13 to set the connected device. The device operation information input means 20 receives an infrared signal transmitted from the remote controller attached to the device each time the user operates the device, and detects whether or not the device is used from the power pattern. Is determined to be used even if the power pattern determines that it is used at least once every 10 minutes managed by its own timekeeping means 19, or if it receives infrared light from the remote controller 20 attached to the device A4 even once. , And adding the presence or absence of a human body in the meantime, preparing the paired with the start time of 10 minutes (for example, 11:30),
A reply is sent to the usage status inquiry message from the base unit 1, and the base unit 1 notifies the use information by the notifying unit 9, and at the same time, stores it in the storage unit 8, and according to the content, the use prediction unit 24
The device control planning unit 25 predicts the use in each ten-minute zone and
However, the operation until the control plan of the power consumption of the device according to the prediction result is the same as that of the fifth embodiment.

When the device control planning unit 25 makes a control plan, the master unit 1 notifies the user of the plan with the notification unit 9. Furthermore, the user consent confirmation means 27 allows the user to input consent to the notified power control plan in units of 30 minutes, and controls the power consumption of the device according to the plan only in the 30 minutes zone agreed by the user. The command is sent to turn off the power to the device.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the power monitoring system which can reduce the probability of performing the power control that is not predicted and reduce the user's inconvenience and perform reasonable energy saving. Is realized.

(Embodiment 7) Next, a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the sixth embodiment, when a slave device receives a command transmitted from the master device 1 to control the power consumption of the device, the power consumption for performing a control advance notice for a predetermined time (10 seconds in this embodiment) Control notice means 28 is provided.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.
The base unit 1 allows the user to set the connected device by the connected device setting unit 18, the power measuring unit 12 of each slave unit to measure the used power of the connected device every second, and the device use state detecting unit 13 to set the connected device. The device operation information input means 20 receives an infrared signal transmitted from the remote controller attached to the device each time the user operates the device, and detects whether or not the device is used from the power pattern. Is determined to be used even if the power pattern determines that it is used at least once every 10 minutes managed by its own timekeeping means 19, or if it receives infrared light from the remote controller 20 attached to the device A4 even once. , And adding the presence or absence of a human body in the meantime, preparing the paired with the start time of 10 minutes (for example, 11:30),
A reply is sent to the usage status inquiry message from the base unit 1, and the base unit 1 notifies the use information by the notifying unit 9, and at the same time, stores it in the storage unit 8, and according to the content, the use prediction unit 24
The device control planning unit 25 predicts the use in each ten-minute zone and
However, according to the prediction result, the user's consent confirmation means 27 decides the control plan of the power consumption of the device by the user
The operation from the transmission of the command for controlling the power consumption of the device to the de-energization of the device only in accordance with the plan only in the zoning is the same as that of the sixth embodiment.

The slave unit, which has received a command to control the power consumption of the device from itself, is notified by the power consumption control notifying means 28 of a buzzer sound to the effect that the power supply is forcibly controlled from now on. Perform by blowing for 10 seconds.

In the present embodiment, when turning off from now on,
If "Peepy" is to be turned on now,
During the notification of "PPI" for 10 seconds when the power supply is turned off, the device control means 26 operates only when the use of the device is not detected by the device use state detecting means 15, the device operation information input means 21 or the human body detecting means 23. Turn off power
I do.

In the present embodiment, the buzzer sound is used for the notification by the power consumption control notification means 28.
It may be notified in such as.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the probability of performing unexpectedly used power control for irregular use is reduced, and the user is less likely to feel inconvenience. An object of the present invention is to realize a power monitoring system capable of performing energy saving without any problem.

[0048]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a master unit and a slave unit connected to a device that uses power from a power supply source, wherein the master unit includes a timer unit and the timer unit. Communication means for periodically transmitting a message inquiring of the use state of the device to the slave unit and receiving a message returned from the slave unit, and storage means for storing the use state of the slave unit indicated in the received message And a notifying unit, wherein the slave unit is a communication unit, a power measuring unit that measures power consumption of the connected device, and determines a use state such as whether or not the device is used based on a measurement result of the power measuring unit. Device use state detecting means for
A use state transmission preparation unit for preparing for transmission of the use of the device use state detection unit at the reception interval of the use state inquiry message of the device from the base unit is provided, and the slave unit transmits the use state inquiry message of the device from the base unit to the use state inquiry message. In response to this, information of the use state transmission preparation means is returned, and the master unit notifies the time transition based on the use state of the slave unit stored in the storage unit. By transmitting usage detection information in response to an inquiry from the master unit, the user can check his / her actual usage status on the master unit at a time, and furthermore, without increasing communication traffic, the system of the master unit and the slave unit can be checked. An object of the present invention is to realize a power monitoring system capable of securing the number of accommodations.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the slave unit includes timing means for counting a time interval equal to or shorter than an interval at which the master unit transmits a message inquiring of the use state, and the use state transmission preparation means includes: , Take the presence / absence of use detected by the equipment use state detection means at the interval timed by the timekeeping means of the slave unit, prepare in pairs with the start time of the time interval, and respond to the message asking the use state from the base unit As a configuration to send a reply, it was possible to determine the use time unit independently of the interrogation interval from the master unit to notify the presence or absence of use, and furthermore, it was not possible to receive the inquiry message from the master unit due to a communication failure In this case, a power monitor system with improved communication reliability capable of replying when the next inquiry message is received is realized.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the slave unit includes device operation information input means for detecting an operation input of the device, and the use state transmission preparation means determines whether or not the use is detected by the device use state detection means. The device operation information input means detects the logical use of the presence or absence of use. As a configuration, the use information that cannot be detected only from the power consumption is input to supplement the use information, thereby improving the reliability. It is intended to realize a power monitoring system that can respond to the demands.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the slave unit has a human body detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a human body in a predetermined area.
The use state transmission preparation means prepares the presence or absence of a human body by the human body detection means separately at the same time interval as the preparation time interval, and includes the presence or absence information of this human body in a reply message to the message asking the use state from the base unit. As a configuration to add and send,
By transmitting the presence / absence of a person at the same time as whether or not the child device is used, the user can collectively check the presence / absence of use of each device and the presence / absence of a person near the device by using the parent device, thereby reducing wasteful use. It is intended to realize a power monitoring system that can clearly determine whether or not there is a power monitoring system.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the master unit is a usage estimating unit for estimating the use from the storage contents of the storage unit, and a message for inquiring the child unit of the use state according to the prediction result of the usage estimating unit. Device control planning means for performing control planning of the power consumption of the device at a time interval longer than the transmission interval of the device, the slave unit includes device control means for controlling the power consumption of the device, and the base unit includes the device control planning means According to the plan, send a message to control the power usage of the device to the slave unit,
The received slave unit is configured to control the power consumption of the device by the device control means, so that the probability of performing the unexpected power control is reduced, so that the user is less likely to feel inconvenience, and the power consumption is high and the energy saving effect is high. This realizes a monitor system.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the master unit is provided with a user consent confirmation unit for inputting a user's intention with respect to the planning by the device control planning unit, and a time period during which the user's consent is obtained. A command message for controlling the power consumption of the device is transmitted to only the child device, and the received child device is configured to control the power consumption of the device by the device control means. An object of the present invention is to realize a power monitor system that can further reduce the number of inconveniences caused by the user, and can perform reasonable energy saving.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the slave unit includes a power consumption control notifying unit, and when the slave unit receives a command message for lowering the power consumption of the device transmitted from the master unit, the slave unit uses the power consumption control notifying unit. A configuration in which notification is performed for a predetermined time, and control is performed to reduce the power consumption of the device by the device control unit only when the use is not detected by the device use state detection unit, the device operation information input unit, or the human body detection unit within the notification time. As a result, a power monitoring system that can reduce the probability of performing unexpected power consumption control even for irregular use and reduce the inconvenience of the user more and more and can perform reasonable energy saving. It will be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power monitoring system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power monitoring system according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power monitoring system according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power monitoring system according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power monitoring system according to a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power monitoring system according to a sixth embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power monitoring system according to a seventh embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 master unit 2 slave unit A 3 slave unit B 4 device A 5 device B 6 timekeeping means 7 communication means 8 storage means 9 notification means 10 equipment connection unit 11 AC power supply connection unit 12 power measurement means 13 equipment use state detection means 14 communication Means 15 Use state transmission preparation means 16 Current detection means 17 Power calculation means 18 Connected equipment setting means 19 Timekeeping means 20 Remote control attached to equipment A 21 Equipment operation information input means 23 Human body detection means 24 Usage prediction means 25 Equipment control planning means 26 Equipment control Means 27 User consent confirmation means 28 Power control notice means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takaaki Okude 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Katsunori Zaizen 1006 Kadoma, Kazuma, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hirofumi Inui 1006 Odaka Kazuma, Kadoma, Osaka Pref. AC03 AC06 AC09 AC10 CB02 CB07 CB08 CB11 DA07 5G066 KA01 KA11 KB01 KB07 KC01 KD01 KD10

Claims (7)

[Claims] The present invention comprises a master unit and a slave unit connected to a device that uses power from a power supply source. The master unit includes a timer unit, and the slave unit periodically controls the slave unit by the timer unit. A communication unit for sequentially transmitting a message inquiring about the use state of the device and receiving a message returned from the slave unit, a storage unit for storing the use state of the slave unit indicated in the received message, and a notification unit, The slave unit includes: a communication unit; a power measurement unit configured to measure power consumption of the connected device; a device usage state detection unit configured to determine a usage state of the device based on a measurement result obtained by the power measurement unit; Use state transmission preparation means for preparing to transmit the presence or absence of use of the device use state detection means at the reception interval of the use state inquiry message of the device from the machine,
The slave unit returns information on the use state transmission preparation unit in response to the device use state inquiry message from the master unit, and the master unit changes over time based on the use state of the slave unit stored in the storage unit. Power monitoring system that notifies 2. The slave unit includes timing means for counting a time interval equal to or shorter than the interval at which the master unit transmits a message inquiring of the use state, and the use state transmission preparation means is a timer unit of the slave unit. A request for determining whether or not use is detected by the device use state detection means at a timed interval, preparing a pair with the start time of the time interval, and replying to a message asking the use state from the master unit. Item 2. The power monitoring system according to item 1. 3. The slave unit includes device operation information input means for detecting an operation input of the device, and the use state transmission preparing means includes: a use state detected by the device use state detection means; 3. The power monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein a logical sum of the use and non-use of the detected power is detected. 4. The slave unit includes a human body detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a human body in a predetermined area, and the use state transmission preparation unit includes:
Claims that the presence / absence of a human body is separately prepared by the human body detection means at the same time interval as the preparation time interval, and this human body presence / absence information is added to a reply message to a message inquiring about the use state from the master unit and transmitted. 4. The power monitoring system according to any one of 1 to 3. 5. The base unit includes: a use prediction unit configured to perform use prediction from the storage contents of the storage unit; and a time longer than an interval for transmitting a message inquiring of the use state to the slave unit in accordance with the prediction result of the use prediction unit. Device control means for controlling the power consumption of the device at intervals; the slave device includes device control means for controlling the power consumption of the device; and the master device controls the child device in accordance with the plan of the device control planning means. The electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a message for controlling power consumption of the device is transmitted to the device, and the child device that receives the message controls the power consumption of the device by the device control means. Power monitoring system. 6. The master unit includes a user consent confirmation unit for inputting a user's intention for planning by the device control planning unit. 6. The power monitoring system according to claim 5, wherein a message for controlling the power consumption of the slave device is transmitted, and the slave device that receives the message controls the power consumption of the device by device control means. 7. The slave unit includes a power consumption control notice unit,
When a command message for lowering the power consumption of the device transmitted from the master unit is received, a notification is given for a predetermined time by the power consumption control notifying means, and the device usage state detecting means or the device operation information input means or the human body is notified within the notification time. 7. The power monitoring system according to claim 5, wherein only when the use is not detected by the detection means, control for reducing the power consumption of the equipment is performed by the equipment control means.