JP2003271812A - System for supporting use of home electronic appliances - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for supporting use of home electronic appliances capable of rousing incentive for the conservation of the earth environment when using home electronic appliances. <P>SOLUTION: A detection part 50 detects a use situation of home electronics appliances, and a situation discrimination part 52 judges whether the use situation of the home electronic appliances is good for the environment or not. For example, if a set temperature of an air conditioner is changed from a set temperature on the previous day, it is judged whether the change is good for the environment or not. If it is a good use, a point generation part 54 generates points corresponding to its degree. A point management part 56 generates a message and an image for rousing a user to save electric power in accordance with the points and transmits them to user's communication terminal unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for managing home appliances connected to a home network, and more particularly,
The present invention relates to a technology that supports the use of home appliances for saving power consumption.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, much research has been conducted on home electric appliance network systems in which home electric appliances are connected, and various technologies and standards necessary for realizing the same have been proposed. The realization of a home appliance network system is expected to offer various possibilities of providing convenience to users, such as allowing a plurality of home appliances to operate in cooperation with each other and allowing the devices to be operated from outside.

[0003]

At present, environmental problems such as global warming are becoming more serious, but from the viewpoint of global environment conservation, it is very important to reduce energy consumption in daily life. However, although people are aware of this, they are easily forgotten in their daily lives, and the awareness of saving power for the global environment is not high in ordinary households. Therefore, it is desirable to develop a system that can give users of home appliances an incentive to save electricity and raise their environmental awareness.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a home electric appliance use support system according to an aspect of the present invention is a home electric appliance based on a detecting unit for detecting a use status of a home electric appliance. A situation determination unit that determines whether or not the device is used favorably for the environment, a point generation unit that generates points according to the degree when the device is favorably used, and a user of the home electric device And a point management unit that performs processing according to points. The process performed by the point management unit includes a process of generating an image, a voice, or a text that gives the user of the home electric appliance an incentive to save power according to the point, and a process of reducing the electricity charge of the user. In response to the processing of the point management unit, the user recognizes that the use of his / her electric power affects the global environment and raises the awareness that he / she must voluntarily contribute to the conservation of the global environment. Expected to continue.

When the home electric appliance is connected to the home network, the home server may integrally manage the electric power used by the home electric appliance to realize the function as the home electric appliance utilization support system. In addition, each home appliance may include a detection unit that detects its own usage status, and the user's communication terminal may receive the usage status from each home appliance and perform point generation and processing according to the point. It is possible for each home electric appliance and the communication terminal to cooperate to realize the function as the home electric appliance use support system.

[0006] A home electric appliance use support system according to another aspect of the present invention is a home electric appliance use support system including a home server that integrally manages home electric appliances and a power management server that manages the electricity usage status of the home electric appliances. The home server and the power management server are connected by a network, the home server includes a detection unit that detects the usage status of home electric appliances, and the power management server is detected by the detection unit. When the usage status is received via the network, the status judgment unit that judges whether the home electric appliance is being used favorably for the environment, and when it is being used well, points are given according to the degree. It has a point production | generation part which produces | generates, and the point processing part which provides the user of a household electrical appliance with feedback according to the produced | generated point. For example, the power management server provides feedback to a user who has low power consumption during a time period when the power usage load is concentrated, for the purpose of leveling the power usage during the day, and excessive consumption of household electrical appliances during that time period. It is possible to give the user an incentive to refrain from using. The point processing unit may give feedback by reducing the electricity bill of the user.

It is to be noted that any combination of the above constituent elements and one obtained by converting the expression of the present invention among methods, devices, systems, recording media, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

[0008]

1 is a diagram showing an electric home appliance network system 100 for realizing an electric home use support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. here,
A plurality of home appliances such as the air conditioner 20a, the refrigerator 20b, and the TV 20c (hereinafter, may be represented by reference numeral “20”) and the home server 10 are the home network 3
It is connected through 0. Home network 30
Connects the plurality of home appliances 20 and the home server 10 by wire or wirelessly. The communication terminal 40 is a terminal having a communication function such as a PDA or a mobile phone, and communicates with the home server 10. Various environments are conceivable in addition to the home appliance network system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 as an environment for realizing the home appliance use support system. For example, when there is a switchboard for managing the amount of electricity used in the home, this Any environment may be used as long as it can communicate with the communication terminal 40. In this case, the home server 10 does not have to exist, and the communication terminal 40 has only to have a function of inquiring of the electricity usage amount to the switchboard, and the switchboard having a function of replying the electricity usage amount to the communication terminal. In addition, when each home electric appliance 20 has a function of managing its own electric power consumption, the environment may be such that communication can be established between the communication terminal 40 and each home electric appliance 20.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the home appliance use support system 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
This home appliance use support system 200 includes a detection unit 50, a situation determination unit 52, a point generation unit 54, and a point management unit 56.
And a storage unit 60. The storage unit 60 is the home electric appliance 2
It has a usage status storage unit 62 for recording the past usage status of 0, a point storage unit 64 for recording the points given according to the usage status, and a character storage unit 66 for storing a character for transmitting a message to the user. Figure 1
With reference to, the function of the home appliance use support system 200 may be included in the home server 10, and the communication terminal 40 may be provided.
May be provided for. Further, a part of the functions of the home electric appliance utilization support system 200 may be included in the home electric appliance 20, and the rest may be included in the home server 10 or the communication terminal 40, or both. As described above, the home appliance use support system 200 can be realized even in an environment where the home server 10 does not exist. In that case, a switchboard (not shown) that manages the amount of electricity used.
And the communication terminal 40, the home appliance use support system 200
May be realized. Below, home appliance use support system 2
A case where the home server 10 has the function of the home electric appliance use support system 200 will be described as a representative of the environment for realizing 00.

The detection unit 50 receives data indicating the usage status from each home electric appliance 20, and detects the usage status.
For example, the data indicating the usage state is data indicating the set temperature and the used current of the home electric appliance 20, and the usage state detected is the time used at the set temperature and the power consumption. The situation determination unit 52, based on the usage situation,
It is determined whether or not each home electric appliance 20 is used favorably for the environment. The usage status storage unit 62 holds the past usage history of each home electric appliance 20, and the status determination unit 52 determines that the current usage is better for the environment than the past usage based on the usage history. Judge whether there was. Here, this determination cycle can be set arbitrarily, and even if it is determined every month,
Alternatively, the judgment may be made every day. For example, when the situation determination unit 52 determines the use situation of the air conditioner 20a in winter, if the set temperature of the previous day is 30 degrees and the set temperature of today is 26 degrees, the air conditioner 20a of the day is set.
It is judged that the use of is good for the environment.

The above is a comparison with the past utilization situation by the user himself, but it is also possible to compare with the utilization situation of another person. In this case, the usage status storage unit 6
It is preferable that 2 stores the average usage status by others for each home electric appliance 20. The usage status of another person may be supplied from a server existing outside the home network 30, and this external server receives the usage status of the home electric appliances from a plurality of users and averages them every predetermined period. preferable. Taking the determination of the usage status of the air conditioner 20a in the winter as an example, when the average set temperature of another person is 28 degrees and the set temperature of the other person is 26 degrees, the situation determination unit 52 determines that the air conditioner of the user is the same. It is determined that the use of 20a is good for the environment.

Furthermore, not only comparison with oneself and others,
It is also possible to judge the usage status considering the natural environment. When determining the usage status of the air conditioner 20a in winter, the status determination unit 52 detects the difference between the room temperature before the operation of the air conditioner (hereinafter simply referred to as room temperature) and the set temperature of the air conditioner 20a. The room temperature may be detected by a temperature sensor built in the air conditioner 20a and may be supplied to the situation determination unit 52 as room temperature data together with the usage state of the air conditioner 20a. The status determination unit 52 compares the difference between the room temperature and the set temperature in the past recorded in the usage status storage unit 62 with the difference between the room temperature and the set temperature this time. Situation determination unit 52
Is, for example, the difference between the room temperature and the set temperature in the past is 20
However, if the difference is 15 degrees this time, it is recognized that the user has set the temperature of the air conditioner 20a to a temperature lower than usual, and this air conditioner 20a
It is judged that the use of is good for the environment.

As described above, the situation judging section 52 can judge the present situation of use of the home electric appliance 20 based on the past situation of use of itself, the situation of use of others, and further the natural environment. . Although the case where the situation determination unit 52 uses each of the criteria independently has been described above, these criteria may be combined to determine whether the usage status of the home electric appliance 20 with respect to the environment is good or bad. After determining the usage status, the status determination unit 52 generates data indicating the degree of good or bad, and supplies the data to the point generation unit 54. This data is, for example, 5 degrees lower than the previous time.
It may be data indicating that the temperature is set, and is preferably generated for each home electric appliance 20.

The point generation unit 54 generates points according to the degree of the home electric appliance 20 when it is used favorably in the environment. In the case of unfavorable use for the environment, negative points may be generated according to the degree. The points are preferably generated based on a unique standard for each home electric device 20. The point generation unit 54 records the generated points in the point storage unit 64.

The point management unit 56 performs processing according to points for the user of the home electric appliance 20. Specifically, the point management unit 56 generates an image, a sound, or a text that gives an incentive for saving electricity according to the points. The image is, for example, a graph showing the recent usage status of the home electric appliance 20 or the acquisition status of points, or the usage of the good home electric appliance 20 for the environment is compared to a virtual tree planting, and the tree grows. It may be an animation showing how the number of trees and trees increases. An example of the voice or text may be one that praises or encourages the user to use the home electric appliance 20 that is good for the environment. This processing may be performed based on the total points accumulated in the point storage unit 64, or may be performed based on the points generated this time. The generated image, sound, and text are supplied to the communication terminal 40 of the user. The user may select a character stored in the character storage unit 66 in advance, and the point management unit 56 may generate an image using the character and transmit the image to the communication terminal 40 of the user.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display screen of the communication terminal 40. This display screen shows that the character praises the user so as to call out an incentive for saving electricity. Also,
Taking advantage of the fact that trees are reminiscent of natural environments,
It is shown that a virtual tree is planted on the screen according to the acquired points so as to raise the user's awareness of the environment. The user praises from the character
By looking at the encouragement and the increasing number of trees, it is possible to sensuously recognize that you are contributing to environmental conservation and to further raise your awareness of power saving.

In the first embodiment, the home server 10 has the function of the home electric appliance use support system 200, but this is an example, and this function is another configuration in the home electric appliance network system 100. It is also possible to have it.

As a modification, the communication terminal 40 may have the function of the home appliance use support system 200.
In this case, the communication terminal 40 receives data indicating the usage status from each home electric appliance 20, and detects the usage status. It is preferable that the home electric appliance 20 has a function of wirelessly transmitting data to the communication terminal 40. Then, as described above, the communication terminal 40 determines whether or not this usage situation is favorable for the environment, and displays a message or image on the display screen or image that gives the user an incentive to save power. Output from the speaker. Communication terminal 40
May receive the usage state or usage status of the home electric appliance 20 from the switchboard that manages the electric power used by the home electric appliance 20, generate points, and perform processing according to the points.
Further, as another modification, each home electric appliance 20 has a display screen and a speaker, determines whether or not its own usage situation is good for the environment, and sends a message or message to the user. You may output an image. Also, the home server 10
The user may have a display screen and a speaker to output a message or an image to the user.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a network system 300 for realizing a home electric appliance utilization support system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this network system 300, the home appliance network system 100
Is connected to the power management server 80 via a network 90 such as the Internet. Power management server 8
0 is managed by, for example, an electric power company or the like.
0 has a function of accepting each usage status and determining whether the usage is good for the environment for each home electric appliance 20.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an electric home appliance use support system 400 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
This home appliance use support system 400 is a network 90.
The home server 10 and the power management server 80 are connected to each other via the power management server 80. The home server 10 includes the detection unit 41.
0, a point management unit 412, a transmission / reception unit 414, and a character storage unit 416. The detection unit 410, the point management unit 412, and the character storage unit 416 are respectively the detection unit 50 and the point management unit 5 described in FIG.
6 and the character storage unit 66, the same or similar functions and operations are realized. In addition, the power management server 80
Transmission / reception unit 420, situation determination unit 422, point generation unit 4
24, a point processing unit 426 and a storage unit 440. The storage unit 440 includes a usage status storage unit 442 and a point storage unit 444. The status determination unit 422, the point generation unit 424, the usage status storage unit 442, and the point storage unit 444 are the same as the status determination unit 52, the point generation unit 54, the usage status storage unit 62, and the point storage unit 64 described in FIG. 2, respectively. Alternatively, the same function and operation are realized.

First, in the home server 10, the detection unit 410 detects the usage status of each home electric appliance 20, and transmits the usage status from the transmission / reception unit 414 to the power management server 80. The power management server 80 receives the usage status at the transmission / reception unit 420, and the status determination unit 422 determines whether the home electric appliance 20 is being used favorably for the environment.
The situation determination unit 422 may determine the use situation in a predetermined time zone. For example, the situation determination unit 422
May determine the quality of the environment in which the home electric appliance 20 is used in accordance with the amount of electric power used, during a period in which the electric power consumption of the electric power company reaches its peak during the daytime to the evening in the summer. If power saving is performed during peak hours, it will be possible to level the amount of electricity used per day by the electric power company and keep the amount of electric power supplied constant. By this,
It can be expected to have the effect of eliminating the need to operate a new thermal power plant during peak hours, or reducing the amount of power generation when it is operating.

When the home electric appliance 20 is used satisfactorily, the point generator 424 generates points according to the degree. This point is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 420 to the home server 10, and the point management unit 412 generates a message or an image that encourages power saving,
It may be transmitted to the communication terminal 40. The generated points may be supplied to the point processing unit 426, and the point processing unit 426 may give feedback to the user according to the points. Specifically, as a consideration that has contributed to leveling the power consumption, the user may be given a privilege such as lowering the electricity rate. In addition, the home server 10 is notified via the transmitting / receiving unit 420 that the benefit is obtained.
The point management unit 412 may supply this to the user's communication terminal 40.

The present invention has been described above based on some embodiments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are mere examples, and that various modifications can be made to the combinations of the respective constituent elements and the respective processing processes, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. By the way.

For example, in the home electric appliance use support system 400 according to the second embodiment, the power management server 80 has the situation determination unit 422 and the point generation unit 424, but the home server 10 has these configurations. You may have. In addition, in the home appliance use support system 400,
Although only the home server 10 is shown as the configuration on the home appliance network system 100 side, a configuration in which the communication terminal 40 or the home appliance 20 realizes a part of the functions of the home appliance use support system 400 in place of the home server 10 is shown. You may have.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a home appliance use support system for supplying a user with a message or an image that raises awareness of environmental conservation when using home electric appliances.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a home appliance network system for realizing a home appliance use support system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a home appliance use support system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on a display screen of a communication terminal.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a network system for realizing a home electric appliance use support system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a home appliance use support system according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Home server, 20 ... Home appliances, 30 ...
..Home network, 40 ... Communication terminals, 50 ..
..Detection unit, 52 ... Situation determination unit, 54 ... Point generation unit, 56 ... Point management unit, 80 ... Power management server, 100 ... Home appliance network system,
200 ... Home Appliance Use Support System, 300 ... Network System, 400 ... Home Appliance Use Support System.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04Q 9/00 301 H04Q 9/00 301D (72) Inventor Tsunefumi Matsuoka 2-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3L060 AA03 AA08 CC02 CC10 DD06 EE01 5K048 AA16 BA12 DA05

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A detection unit that detects a usage status of a home electric appliance, and a status determination unit that determines whether or not the home electric appliance is used favorably for the environment based on the usage status. Home appliance use support characterized by including a point generation unit that generates points according to the degree of use, and a point management unit that performs processing according to points for the user of the home electric device system. 2. The point management unit is an image that gives an incentive for power saving according to points,
The home appliance use support system according to claim 1, wherein voice or text is generated. 3. A home appliance utilization support system comprising a home server that integrally manages home appliances and a power management server that manages the electricity usage status of the home appliances, wherein the home server and the power management server are networks. The home server includes a detection unit that detects the usage status of the home electric appliance, and the power management server receives the usage status detected by the detection unit, and the home electric appliance is environmentally friendly. The situation determination unit that determines whether or not it is being used well, the point generation unit that generates points according to its degree when it is being used well, and the A home appliance use support system, comprising: a point processing unit that performs feedback according to points.