JP2002218562A - Power supply control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power supply control system that can simultaneously control ON/OFF of a timer and a power supply of all electric apparatus with a simple operation. SOLUTION: A control terminal transmits a 1st power-off signal instructing to turn off a power supply of a home use electric apparatus 10 to each home use electric device 10 via a home network 20. In this case, the control terminal 30 transmits a 1st power-off signal to all the home use electric devices 10 except a refrigerator 10A. On the other hand, upon the receipt of the 1st power-off signal via the home network 20, each home use electric apparatus 10 except the refrigerator 10A turns off the power supply. Furthermore, since no 1st power-off signal is supplied to the refrigerator 10A, the power of the refrigerator 10A is kept on.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power supply control system, and more particularly to a power supply control system for controlling power supply of an electric device connected via a home network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art
2. Description of the Related Art A home network has been proposed in which the operation states of a plurality of home electric appliances such as a television receiver, a video tape recorder, an air conditioner, a microwave oven, and a washing machine are monitored and centrally managed.

[0003] The home network includes a control terminal device capable of operating all home electric devices having a remote control function such as a television receiver and a video tape recorder. It can be operated remotely.

[0004] However, even in such a home network, when the user goes out, the power of each household electric device must be individually turned off, and an operation of turning off the power as the number of home electric devices increases. There was a problem that the burden increased.

When a user goes out for a long period of time, for example, for one month, the user must turn off the timer as well as the power supply of the electric equipment. On the other hand, when going out for several hours, the user must turn off the power of the electric device, but sometimes wants to operate only the timer. For this reason, there has been a demand that the power of the household electric appliance and the ON / OFF of the timer be simultaneously controlled in accordance with the time of going out.

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned problem, and provides a power supply control system capable of simultaneously controlling the power supply of all the electric devices and the on / off of the timer with a simple operation. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a power supply control system for inputting power-off information for instructing an electric device selected from a plurality of electric devices connected to a network to turn off the power. A control terminal device comprising: an input unit; and a transmission unit configured to transmit power-off information input to the input unit to the selected electric device via the network. Receiving means for receiving power-off information via the power-supply unit, and power-supply control means for controlling power-off when the power-off information is received by the receiving means.

[0008] The control terminal device controls each electric device connected via a network. As an input unit for inputting power-off information, a touch panel having an input function and a display function may be used in addition to a dedicated input device. The transmitting unit transmits the power-off information to the selected electric device via the network. The network can apply various standards, such as power lines, telephone lines,
Metal wires, optical fibers, and the like can be used. The electric device is preferably a so-called home electric appliance used in a general home, and is configured to be controllable via a network.
Therefore, all the electric devices that have received the power-off information turn off the power. Thus, it is possible to prevent the power supply of only some of the electric devices from being forgotten to be turned off, and to avoid wasteful power consumption.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the power supply control system according to the first aspect, some of the plurality of electric devices further include a timer unit for performing a predetermined operation at a preset time. The power-off information is first power-off information for instructing the selected electric device to turn off the power, or for instructing power-off and stopping operation of the timer means. Second
And the transmission unit transmits the first or second power-off information to the selected electric device via the network.

[0010] The control terminal device may receive first power-off information for instructing power-off, or second power-off information for instructing power-off collectively and stopping operation of the timer means. Send the information to the selected electrical device. Thus, the electric device can turn off only the power or stop the operation of the timer unit while turning off the power based on the received power-off information.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the power supply control system according to the first or second aspect, at least one of the plurality of electric devices is a refrigerator, and the input means is an electric device other than the refrigerator. The apparatus further comprises means for inputting power-off information for instructing the apparatus to turn off the power, wherein the transmitting means transmits the power-off information input to the input means to the electrical equipment excluding the refrigerator via the network. Is transmitted.

As a result, the power of the refrigerator, which must always be turned on, is turned on while the refrigerator is turned on.
The power of other electric devices can be turned off to avoid unnecessary power consumption.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a power supply control system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of home electric appliances 10.
(Refrigerator 10A, microwave oven 10B, washing machine 10C, air conditioner 10D, floor heater 10E, kotatsu 10F, rice cooker 10G, water heater 10H), each home electric device 10 and home network 20 connected to each other. And a control terminal device 30.

In the following description, a refrigerator 10A, a microwave oven 10B, a washing machine 10C, an air conditioner 10D, a floor heater 10E, a kotatsu 10F, a rice cooker 10
When the G and the water heater 10H are described collectively, the alphabetic symbols are omitted, and they are referred to as “home electric appliances 10”.

The control terminal device 30 is connected to each home electric device 1.
For 0, it is possible to control the power on / off and set a timer operation or the like. Also, the control terminal device 30
Can monitor the operating state of each household electric device 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the household electric appliance 10 includes a standby power supply circuit 11 for generating a DC power supply during standby,
A switch circuit 12 for turning on / off a commercial AC power supply;
The apparatus includes a main power supply circuit 13 for generating a DC power supply during operation, a main circuit 14, an input unit 15 for inputting information according to a user operation, and a memory 16 for storing timer information.

The standby power supply circuit 11 generates a stabilized DC power supply based on a commercial AC power supply (AC) and supplies at least the necessary DC power supply to the control unit 18 at the time of device standby. The main power supply circuit 13 is used for
A stabilized DC power supply is generated based on a commercial AC power supply supplied via the switch circuit 12, and the DC power supply is supplied to the main circuit 14.

Here, the switch circuit 12 is composed of, for example, a relay or a driving transistor, and is controlled on / off by the control unit 18. That is, the switch circuit 1
Numeral 2 turns on / off the commercial AC power supplied to the main power supply circuit 13 according to a drive signal from the control unit 18.

The main circuit 14 differs depending on the type of the household electric appliance 10. For example, the refrigerator 10A corresponds to a cooler or a thermometer, and the microwave oven 10B corresponds to a magnetron or an inverter control circuit. I do.

The input unit 15 inputs information for turning on / off the power supply or timer information for performing a predetermined operation at a predetermined time according to a user operation. And the control unit 1
8 turns on the switch circuit 12 when the information for turning on the power is input from the input unit 15 and turns on the main circuit 14.
Is controlled, and when the information to turn off the power is input from the input unit 15, the switch circuit 1
Turn 2 off.

The memory 16 stores timer information for performing a predetermined operation at a predetermined time. The control unit 18 sets a timer by reading the timer information stored in the memory 16 and controls to write the timer information to the memory 16 in accordance with an instruction from the input unit 15.

The control unit 18 performs predetermined control based on information input from the input unit 15 or the home network 20.
81 and a clock circuit 182.

The program ROM 181 stores programs for performing mutual communication with the control terminal device 30 and other home electric appliances 10 via the home network 20 and various control programs. The clock circuit 182 counts the current time and is used when performing a timer operation. For example, the control unit 18 controls the clock circuit 182
Is used to determine whether the current time has reached the predetermined time described in the timer information, and when it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed, the main circuit 14 is controlled to perform the predetermined operation described in the timer information. I do.

The control terminal device 30, as shown in FIG.
A control unit 31 for displaying information from the home network 20 on a touch panel 32 to be described later or transmitting information input to the touch panel 32 to the home network 20, a touch panel 32 having functions of an input unit and a display unit, It has.

The touch panel 32 displays a main menu 40, for example, as shown in FIG. The main menu 40 includes an on / off switching button 41 and a home appliance name button 4
2, a timer setting state display section 43, and a setting button 44
, A timer button 45, an optimal temperature control button 46, an electricity bill button 47, a power supply all-off button 48, and a long-term outing button 49.

The on / off switch button 41A is connected to the refrigerator 1
When the power of 0A is turned on, “ON” is displayed, and when the power of the refrigerator 10A is not turned on, “OFF” is displayed. The on / off switching button 41A is connected to the refrigerator 1
There is also a function of switching on / off the power supply of 0A, and switches the power supply of the refrigerator 10A from on to off or from off to on every time the user presses it.

Similarly, the on / off switching button 41
B, 41C, 41D, 41E, 41F, 41G, 41H
Are respectively a microwave oven 10B, a washing machine 10C, an air conditioner 10D, a floor heater 10E, and a kotatsu 10
F, the rice cooker 10G, and the water heater 10H have a function of displaying whether the power is on or not, and a function of switching on / off the power.

In the following description, when the "on / off switching buttons 41A,..., 41H" are described collectively, the alphabet is omitted and the "on / off switching button 41" is used.

The home appliance name button 42A is a button for displaying "Refrigerator" which is the name of the refrigerator 10A and an installation place (kitchen). The home appliance name button 42B is a button that displays “range”, which is an abbreviation of the microwave oven 10B, and an installation location (kitchen). The home appliance name button 42C is a button that displays “washing machine”, which is the name of the washing machine 10C, and an installation location (bath). The home appliance name button 42D is a button that displays “air conditioner”, which is an abbreviation of the air conditioner 10D, and an installation location (living room). The home appliance name button 42E is
This button is a button that displays “floor heating”, which is an abbreviation of the floor heater 10E, and an installation location (living room). The home appliance name button 42F is
This is a button that displays the name of the kotatsu 10F, “kotatsu” and the installation location (living room). The home appliance name button 42G is
This is a button that indicates the name of the rice cooker 10G, “cooker” and the installation location (kitchen). The home appliance name button 42H is
It is a button that displays the name of the water heater 10H, “Hot water heater”, and the installation location (kitchen).

In the following description, the “home appliance name button 4
When describing "2A,..., 42H" collectively, the alphabet is omitted, and "home appliance name button 42" is used.

The home appliance name button 42 displays a different color when the corresponding home electric appliance 10 is turned on and when it is not. Also,
When the home appliance name button 42 is pressed by the user, a control menu (not shown) for controlling the corresponding home electric appliance 10 is displayed. Thereby, the user can control desired home electric appliance 10.

The timer setting state display section 43D displays "ON" when the timer of the air conditioner 10D has been set, and displays the air conditioner 10D.
If no timer is set, "OFF" is displayed. Note that the timer setting state display section 43A always displays "OFF" for a refrigerator having no timer function such as the refrigerator 10A.

Similarly, the timer setting state display section 43
B, 43C, 43E, 43F, 43G, and 43H are also microwave ovens 10B, washing machines 10C, and floor heaters 10, respectively.
E, "ON" is displayed when the timer of the kotatsu 10F, rice cooker 10G, and water heater 10H is set, and "OFF" is displayed when the timer is not set.
In addition, the thing which does not have a timer machine always displays "OFF".

In the following description, when the "timer setting state display sections 43A,..., 43H" are described collectively, the alphabet is omitted and the "timer setting state display section 43" is used.

When changing the name (or abbreviation) displayed on the home appliance name button 42, the setting button 44 is a set of buttons including an on / off switching button 41, a home appliance name button 42, and a timer setting state display section 43. Add / delete,
It is used to change the order of the buttons in each set. Specifically, when the setting button 44 is pressed, a menu (not shown) for performing the above-described processing is displayed.

The timer button 45 is used for the home electric appliance 1.
This button is used to collectively set a timer of 0.
Specifically, when the timer button 45 is pressed, a timer setting menu (not shown) for setting the timer of each household electric device 10 is displayed. Therefore, the user not only operates the input unit 15 of each household electric device 10 to set the timer, but also operates the touch panel 32 when the timer setting menu is displayed, thereby providing the desired household electric device. Ten timers can be set.

The optimum temperature control button 46 is a button for automatically controlling the home electric appliances 10 related to air conditioning (for example, the air conditioner 10D and the floor heater 10E) while efficiently cooperating with each other. Specifically, when the optimum temperature control button 46 is pressed, a menu (not shown) for controlling the air conditioner 10D and the floor heater 10E is displayed.

The electricity bill button 47 is a button for displaying a menu for displaying the electricity bill for the household electric appliance 10 currently connected to the home network 20 and the electricity bill for the entire house in approximate values. .

The power supply all-off button 48 is used to turn off all power supplies of the household electric appliances 10 except for the refrigerator 10A (electric appliances designated in advance) when going out of the house (for example, going out for half a day). Button.

When going out for a long time (for example, going out for one day or more), the long-term outing button 49 is used to set the refrigerator 10A.
This button is used to turn off all the power of each household electric device 10 except for the above, and to cancel the timer of each household electric device 10.

The power control system 1 configured as described above executes the following processing when the user presses the on / off switching button 41 to turn on the power of the predetermined home electric appliance 10. .

The control unit 31 of the control terminal device 30 is turned on / off.
When detecting that the OFF switch button 41 has been pressed, the power supply control unit transmits a power-on signal instructing to turn on the power of the household electric device 10 to the household electric device 10 via the home network 20.

When receiving the power-on signal via the home network 20, the control unit 18 of the household electric device 10 controls the switch circuit 12 to be turned on. This allows
The main power supply circuit 13 generates a DC power supply from a commercial AC power supply and supplies the main circuit 14 with the DC power supply. As a result, the main circuit 14 can execute a predetermined process using the DC power from the main power supply circuit 13.

On the other hand, when the user presses the power supply all-off button 48, the power supply control system 1 executes the following processing.

When detecting that the power supply all-off button 48 displayed on the touch panel 32 has been pressed, the control unit 31 of the control terminal device 30 instructs to turn off the power of the household electric device 10. Is transmitted to the respective home electric appliances 10 via the home network 20. At this time, the control unit 31 transmits a first power-off signal to all the household electric appliances 10 except the refrigerator 10A.

On the other hand, when receiving the first power-off signal via the home network 20, the control unit 18 of each household electric device 10 except the refrigerator 10A receives the first power-off signal.
Control off. As a result, the main power supply circuit 13 cannot generate DC power to be supplied to the main circuit 14, and the power supply of the household electric device 10 is turned off. On the other hand, since the first power-off signal is not supplied to the refrigerator 10A, the power remains on.

When the control unit 31 of the control terminal device 30 confirms that all the household electric appliances 10 except for the refrigerator 10A have been turned off, the control unit 31 displays on the touch panel 32 FIG.
Is displayed as shown in FIG. On the main menu 40, an on / off switch button 41A
Displays “ON”, whereas the ON / OFF switching buttons 41B, 41C, 41D, 41E, 41F, 41
G and 41H all indicate "OFF". At this time, the timer setting state display section 43 remains in the same state as before the power all-off button 48 was pressed.

It should be noted that each home electric appliance 10 can operate the timer even when the power is turned off in this way. Therefore, even when the power is turned off as described above, the control unit 18 of the household electric appliance 10 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed based on the timer information stored in the memory 16. , Switch circuit 1
2 is turned on, and the main circuit 14 is controlled to perform a predetermined operation.

As described above, the power supply control system 1 includes all household electrical appliances except for the household electrical appliance 10 which must always be operated, such as the refrigerator 10A, only by pressing the power all-off button 48 by the user. The power of the electric device 10 can be turned off. As a result, when the user goes out,
It is possible to prevent an accident caused by not turning off the power of a certain home electric appliance 10 beforehand and to save power.

On the other hand, when the user presses the long-term outing button 49, the power supply control system 1 executes the following processing.

When detecting that the long-term outing button 49 displayed on the touch panel 32 has been pressed, the control unit 31 of the control terminal device 30 turns off the power of the household electric appliance 10 and cancels the timer. The instructed second power-off signal is transmitted to each household electric device 10 via the home network 20. At this time, the control unit 3
1 is all household electric appliances 10 except the refrigerator 10A.
, A second power-off signal is transmitted.

On the other hand, when receiving the second power-off signal via the home network 20, the control unit 18 of each household electric device 10 except the refrigerator 10A receives the second power-off signal.
Is turned off, and if a timer has been set, the setting of the timer is canceled.

As a result, the main power supply circuit 13
4 cannot be generated, and the power of the household electric device 10 is turned off. In addition, since the second power-off signal is not supplied to the refrigerator 10A, the power remains on.

When the control unit 31 of the control terminal device 30 confirms that all the household electric appliances 10 except for the refrigerator 10A have been turned off, the control unit 31 displays on the touch panel 32 FIG.
Is displayed as shown in FIG. On the main menu 40, an on / off switch button 41A
Displays “ON”, whereas the ON / OFF switching buttons 41B, 41C, 41D, 41E, 41F, 41
G and 41H all indicate "OFF". Further, all the timer setting state display sections 43 display “OFF”.

As described above, the power supply control system 1 includes all household electrical appliances except the household electrical appliance 10 which needs to be constantly operated, such as the refrigerator 10A, only by pressing the long-term outing button 49 by the user. The power of the device 10 can be turned off. As a result, when the user goes out, an accident caused by not turning off the power of a certain household electric device 10 can be prevented beforehand and power can be saved.

Further, the power supply control system 1 can simultaneously turn off the power of the predetermined home electric appliance 10 and release the timer setting of the home electric appliance 10 at a time. Household electrical appliances 10
Can be prevented from running by the timer.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be applied to the following cases.

In the above-described embodiment, for example, the configuration example shown in FIG. 2 has been described as the household electric appliance 10, but the configuration is not limited to such a configuration. That is, the home electric appliance 10 has a timer function for performing a predetermined operation at a predetermined time, and can control the power on / off via the home network 20 and can release the timer function. May be adopted. Further, as examples of the home electric appliance 10, in addition to the above, for example, a television receiver, a video tape recorder, a lighting fixture, and the like can be applied.

Further, signals may be transmitted and received between the home electric device 10 and the home network 20 by wireless communication such as infrared communication, or may be transmitted and received by wired communication such as a cable. The same applies between the control terminal device 30 and the home network 20.

[0061]

According to the power supply control system of the first aspect, the control terminal transmits power-off information for instructing the selected electric equipment to turn off the power through the network, and By controlling the power to be turned off when the power-off information is received, it is possible to prevent forgetting to turn off the power of some of the electric devices and to avoid generating unnecessary power consumption.

According to the power supply control system of the second aspect, the control terminal device instructs the power supply of each electric device to be turned off, or instructs the power supply of each electric device to be turned off and the operation stop of the timer means. By doing so, not only turning off the power but also turning on / off the timer means can be controlled simultaneously.

According to the power supply control system of the third aspect, the control terminal device transmits the power-off information to the electric equipment other than the refrigerator through the network, so that the other power supply can be maintained while the power supply of the refrigerator is maintained. By turning off the power of the device, wasteful power consumption can be avoided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a power supply control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electric device provided in the power supply control system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control terminal device provided in the power supply control system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating display contents of a touch panel provided in the control terminal device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining display contents of a touch panel provided in the control terminal device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating display contents of a touch panel provided in the control terminal device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power supply control system 10 Home electric equipment 20 Home network 30 Control terminal device 31 Touch panel 32 Control part

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5G064 AA01 AA04 AC03 AC06 AC08 CB01 CB06 CB12 DA07 5K048 AA16 BA12 DA02 DC04 EB02 EB06 FB05 FC03 HA01 HA02 HA21

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An input unit for inputting power-off information for instructing an electric device selected from a plurality of electric devices connected to a network to turn off power, and power-off information input to the input unit. A control terminal device including: a transmission unit that transmits the power-off information to the selected electric device via the network; a receiving unit mounted on the electric device, for receiving power-off information via the network; Power control means for turning off the power when the power-off information is received by the means. 2. Some of the plurality of electric devices further include a timer means for performing a predetermined operation at a preset time, and the power-off information includes:
The transmission means, comprising: first power-off information for instructing power-off, or second power-off information for instructing power-off and instructing the timer to stop operating. 2. The power supply control system according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting first or second power-off information to the selected electric device via the network. 3. 3. At least one of the plurality of electric devices is a refrigerator, and the input unit inputs power-off information for instructing the electric devices other than the refrigerator to turn off the power. 3. The power supply control system according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit the power-off information input to the input unit to an electric device other than the refrigerator via the network. 4. .