JP2004023283A - Apparatus, method and program for controlling consumer electrical appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep total power consumption within an appropriate range by totally managing all consumer electric appliances inside in a house. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus is provided with a home controller 2 for registering power consumption corresponding to respective operating statuses for each of electric equipment 4-8 connected to a home network, detecting the power consumption in all the electric equipment connected to the home network at all the time when a rated power consumption in all the electric equipment is set by a personal computer 3, and partially suppressing the operations of the electric equipment according to the registered contents when the power consumption of all the electric equipment exceeds the set rated value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a home appliance control device, a home appliance control method, and a program for controlling home appliances in a house indoors.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Recently, with the spread of personal computers, the home LAN environment has advanced, and not only the above-mentioned personal computers but also household appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners have been connected to the network by wireless communication to actively control the living environment. Various home network technologies using technologies such as HomeRF, Bluetooth, and IEEE802.11b have been proposed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, it is easy to consider how to operate and control each home appliance using this type of wireless LAN standard. For example, it is necessary to manage all home appliances in the house in a unified manner. There is no reference to any of the technologies, and as a result, the total value of the power consumption of all home appliances exceeds the contracted power value of the house, and the breaker works and the power supply is temporarily cut off. Can be an unexpected situation.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object to control and manage all home electric appliances in a house so that total power consumption is maintained within an appropriate range. It is an object of the present invention to provide a home appliance control device, a home appliance control method, and a program that can be used.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 is a home appliance control device for controlling a plurality of home appliances connected to a home network, wherein each of the home appliances connected to the home network has a consumption corresponding to each driving situation. Registration means for registering an electric power value, setting means for setting a rated value of power consumption of the entire home electric appliance connected to the home network, and home electric appliance connected to the home network at that time Detecting means for detecting the value of the entire power consumption, and when the power consumption value of the entire home appliance exceeds the rated value set by the setting means, the detecting means detects the power consumption value according to the contents registered by the registering means. Control means for partially controlling the operation of the home electric appliance.
[0006]
With such a configuration, it becomes possible to control and manage all the home electric appliances in the house, so that the total power consumption does not exceed an appropriate range.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the registering means registers, for each home electric appliance, priority information of the electric appliance and a power consumption value corresponding to each operation state, The control unit may partially suppress the operation of the home electric appliance based on the priority information of the home electric appliance registered in the registration unit.
[0008]
With such a configuration, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1, the necessity and preference of the user such as a device that can be suppressed, a device that should not be suppressed, and a device that should not be suppressed, etc. By setting the priority information according to the above, more appropriate overall management of home electric appliances can be performed.
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the setting means sets a rating value in two levels, large and small, and the control means sets a rating value of a larger power consumption value in the entire household appliance. When the value exceeds the value, the operation of the home electric appliance is partially suppressed, and the suppressed operation is released when the power consumption value of the entire electric home appliance falls below the smaller rated value.
[0010]
According to such a configuration, in addition to the operation of the invention described in claim 1, when the total power consumption falls below an appropriate range, the suppression of the household electric appliance that has been operated while being suppressed is automatically performed. By canceling, it becomes possible for the user to manage and control the home electric appliances more comfortably.
[0011]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, one of the plurality of home appliances connected to the plurality of home networks is an air conditioner having a temperature measuring function, and the control means is When the temperature measured by the air conditioner is out of a predetermined range, the operation of the air conditioner is prioritized.
[0012]
With such a configuration, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, by actively controlling the room temperature that directly affects the living environment of the user who lives in the house, a more comfortable living environment Can be realized.
[0013]
The invention according to claim 5 is a home appliance control method for controlling a plurality of home appliances connected to a home network, wherein each home appliance connected to the home network corresponds to each driving situation. A registration step of registering the power consumption value obtained, a setting step of setting a rated value of power consumption of the entire home electric appliance connected to the home network, and a setting step of connecting to the home network at that time. A detection step of detecting the value of the power consumption of the entire home appliance, and, when the power consumption value of the entire home appliance detected in the detection step exceeds the rated value set in the setting step, the registration is performed in the registration step. And a control step of partially suppressing the operation of the household electric appliance in accordance with the contents described above.
[0014]
According to such a method, it becomes possible to control and manage all the home electric appliances in the house, so that the total power consumption does not exceed an appropriate range.
[0015]
The invention according to claim 6 is a program executed by a computer that controls a plurality of home appliances connected to a home network, and corresponds to each operating state for each home appliance connected to the home network. A registration step of registering the power consumption value obtained, a setting step of setting a rated value of power consumption of the entire home electric appliance connected to the home network, and a setting step of connecting to the home network at that time. A detection step for detecting the value of the power consumption of the entire home appliance; and, if the power consumption value of the entire home appliance detected in the detection step exceeds the rated value set in the setting step, registering in the registration step And causing the computer to execute a control step of partially suppressing the operation of the home electric appliance in accordance with the content.
[0016]
With such a program content, it becomes possible to control and manage all the home electric appliances in the house, so that the total power consumption does not exceed an appropriate range.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a home controller that integrally controls various home appliances by wireless communication in a house will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
FIG. 1 illustrates the relationship between a home controller 2 installed in a house 1 according to the embodiment and other devices. In FIG. 1, the home controller 2 is connected to a personal computer (PC) 3 via a serial interface cable such as a USB, for example, so that various home appliances can be set or registered, and a management operation according to the set contents can be performed. Execute.
[0019]
Here, specific home appliances to be managed include, for example, a lighting device 4, an air conditioner (hereinafter, referred to as "air conditioner" in the following description and drawings) 5, a television receiver 6, a refrigerator 7 and an electronic microwave oven 8. It is assumed that there is.
[0020]
Each of these home appliances 4 to 8 is a so-called “digital home appliance” that conforms to a home wireless LAN standard such as Bluetooth, for example, and switches on / off the power and sets and adjusts various operating states from the home controller 2. It is assumed that remote control is possible.
[0021]
In addition, among these home appliances 4 to 8, it is assumed that the lighting fixture 4, the refrigerator 7, and the electronic microwave oven 8 can be adjusted to suppress the operation state.
[0022]
That is, assuming that the lighting apparatus 4 is composed of, for example, a plurality of fluorescent lights, night lights such as pea balls, and a driving circuit thereof, in the adjustment operation, the lighting apparatus 4 temporarily suppresses lighting of the plurality of fluorescent lights, and temporarily stops lighting. Only the nightlight is lit.
[0023]
In the refrigerating refrigerator 7, in the adjustment operation, for example, the freezing room and the ice making room are maintained at a temperature at which the stored material is not defrosted at a minimum, while the refrigerator room and the chilled room are maintained at the temperature of the refrigerator room having a high temperature band. In addition, rapid freezing and refrigeration including ice making shall be temporarily prohibited.
[0024]
Further, in the microwave oven 8, in the adjustment operation, for example, the output of the microwave oven function is reduced from 600 [W] to 500 [W], and the oven function is temporarily prohibited.
[0025]
In particular, both the refrigerator 7 and the microwave oven 8 each have a display unit of a liquid crystal display panel with a backlight, and display a warning that the adjustment operation is being performed during the adjustment operation.
[0026]
Although details of the home appliances 4 to 8 will be described later, it is assumed that information of each device is registered in the home controller 2 by the personal computer 3 in advance.
[0027]
Next, a circuit configuration in the home controller 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0028]
In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a control unit for controlling the entire home controller 2, and a serial interface (I / F) 12, a wireless communication unit 13, a home appliance registration unit 14, and a home appliance operation The situation storage unit 15 is connected.
[0029]
The control unit 11 includes a CPU, a ROM storing fixed information such as an operation program, a RAM serving as a work memory, an RTC (Real Time Clock), and the like, and executes a process including an adjustment operation of a home appliance described later. .
[0030]
The serial interface 12 sends and receives various data to and from the personal computer 3 connected to the home controller 2 in accordance with, for example, a USB standard.
[0031]
The wireless communication unit 13 is wirelessly connected to the home electric appliances 4 to 8 by the antenna 16 to receive data on the operation status of those appliances and transmit an instruction signal for remotely operating those appliances. .
[0032]
The home appliance registering unit 14 receives identification information set for each of the home appliances 4 to 8, type information such as “lighting equipment” and “air conditioner” by input from the personal computer 3 in advance. This information is stored by registering priority information arbitrarily set by a user who operates and operates the personal computer 3 and power consumption values in each driving situation.
[0033]
Further, the home electric appliance registration unit 14 has two rated power consumption values Pr1 for shifting to an adjustment operation in which the operation of some electric home appliances is temporarily suppressed by the input setting from the personal computer 3 by the user. , Pr2 (Pr1> Pr2) are registered.
[0034]
The home appliance operation status storage unit 15 is for the home controller 2 to automatically grasp and store the operation status of each of the home appliances 4 to 8 at that time. By referring to the registered contents, it is possible to calculate the total power consumption value of the home electric appliances 4 to 8 at that time.
[0035]
Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
[0036]
FIG. 3 mainly shows processing contents periodically executed by the control unit 11 of the home controller 2.
[0037]
At the beginning of the process, the home appliances 4 to 8 are searched to determine the operation status (step S01), and the total consumption of the home appliances 4 to 8 is determined based on the contents stored in the home appliance operation status storage unit 15. The power value is calculated, and it is repeatedly determined whether the value exceeds the rated power consumption Pr1 (step S02) and whether the value is less than the rated power consumption Pr2 (step S03). By doing so, it waits for the power consumption to fall outside the range indicated by these rated power consumptions Pr1 and Pr2.
[0038]
However, if it is determined in step S02 that the total power consumption value exceeds the rated power consumption Pr1, then it is in an operation state where the power is turned on at that time, and the adjustment operation has not already been performed. Then, it is determined whether there is at least one device that can be shifted to the adjustment operation for suppressing power consumption (step S04).
[0039]
Here, when it is determined that at least one of the lighting fixture 4, the refrigerator 7 and the microwave oven 8 is in the operating state and the operation can be shifted to the adjustment operation, the priority is then given to the highest priority among them. A device having a low value of the degree information is selected (step S05), a setting process is performed to cause the device to perform an adjustment operation (step S06), and the process returns to the process from step S01 again.
[0040]
Thus, returning to the processing from step S01, if it is determined that the total power consumption value still exceeds the rated power consumption Pr1, this is determined again in step S02, and the processing in steps S04 to S06 is executed again. Then, the device having the next lowest priority is selected and the operation is shifted to the adjustment operation.
[0041]
If it is determined in step S04 that one of the lighting apparatus 4, the refrigerator 7 and the microwave oven 8 is not in the operating state, or if it is determined that the operation has already been shifted to the adjusting operation even if it is present. The processing in steps S05 and S06 is omitted as it is, and the processing returns to step S01.
[0042]
Further, when it is determined in step S03 that the total power consumption value is lower than the rated power consumption Pr2, at least the device in the operation state where the power is turned on at that time and the adjustment operation is already performed is at least performed. It is determined whether there is one (step S07).
[0043]
Here, if it is determined that at least one of the lighting fixture 4, the refrigerator 7 and the microwave oven 8 is in the operating state and the adjustment operation is being performed, then the priority is given to the highest priority among them. A device having a high information value is selected (step S08), a setting process is performed to cancel the adjustment operation of the device (step S09), and the process returns to the process from step S01 again.
[0044]
In this way, returning to the processing from step S01, if it is determined that the total power consumption value is still lower than the rated power consumption Pr2, this is determined again in step S03, and the processing in steps S07 to S09 is performed again. Then, the device with the next highest priority is selected to cancel the adjustment operation.
[0045]
Also, when it is determined in step S07 that one of the lighting fixture 4, the refrigerator 7 and the microwave oven 8 is not in the operating state, or if it is determined that all the adjustment operations have already been canceled, , The processing in steps S08 and S09 is omitted, and the processing returns to step S01.
[0046]
As described above, the home controller 2 controls and manages all the home appliances 4 to 8 in the house 1, so that the total power consumption of the appliances does not exceed an appropriate range.
[0047]
In particular, the home appliance registration unit 14 of the home controller 2 registers, for each of the home appliances 4 to 8, priority information of the appliance and a power consumption value corresponding to each operation state, and the control unit 11 The order of the appliances that perform the adjustment operation is determined based on the information on the priority of the home appliances registered in the appliance registration unit 14.
[0048]
Therefore, by setting priority information according to the needs and preferences of the user, such as devices that can be suppressed, devices that should not be suppressed, and devices that should not be suppressed, more appropriate Overall management becomes possible.
[0049]
In addition, two values of Pr1 and Pr2 are set as the values of the rated power consumption, and the home controller 2 determines that the power consumption value of the entire home electric appliances 4 to 8 exceeds the larger rated value Pr1. Then, the state is shifted to the state where the adjustment operation is performed, and the adjustment operation is released when the power consumption value of the entire home electric appliances 4 to 8 falls below the smaller rated value Pr2.
[0050]
By performing such a range setting, the user can arbitrarily set the above-mentioned two rated values, so that it is possible to perform general management so that the user becomes more comfortable and economical depending on the device.
[0051]
Although the air conditioner 5 generally has a temperature measurement function, the home controller 2 performs the above-described operation when the room temperature is out of a predetermined range based on the information on the room temperature obtained from the air conditioner 5 by the temperature measurement function. The operation of the air conditioner may be given priority.
[0052]
This is because the power consumption of the air conditioner 5 is considered to be particularly large among the home electric appliances 4 to 8 and that the operation of the air conditioner 5 directly affects the living environment of the user who lives in the house 1. Therefore, by actively controlling the room temperature, it is possible to realize a more comfortable living environment for the user.
[0053]
In the above embodiment, the connection between the home controller 2 and the personal computer 3 has been described as being performed by a serial interface such as a USB. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, it may be possible.
[0054]
In addition to setting the home controller 2 by the personal computer 3 in the same house 1, the personal computer 3 may be connected to the Internet or a telephone via a public telephone line. It is also conceivable to access the home controller 2 from outside the house 1 and change its setting state.
[0055]
In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.
[0056]
Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent features. For example, even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments, at least one of the problems described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved and the effects described in the column of the effect of the invention can be solved. When at least one of the effects described above is obtained, a configuration from which this component is deleted can be extracted as an invention.
[0057]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, it becomes possible to control and manage all the home electric appliances in the house, so that the total power consumption does not exceed an appropriate range.
[0058]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first aspect of the present invention, the necessity of the user such as a device that can be suppressed, a device that should not be suppressed, and a device that should not be suppressed. By setting the priority information according to the user's preference, more appropriate overall management of home electric appliances can be performed.
[0059]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, when the total power consumption falls below an appropriate range, the suppression of the household electric appliances which have been suppressed and operated is automatically performed. By canceling it, it becomes possible for the user to manage and control the home electric appliances more comfortably.
[0060]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, more comfortable by actively controlling the room temperature which directly affects the living environment of the user living in the house. A living environment can be realized.
[0061]
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to control and manage all the home electric appliances in the house, so that the total power consumption does not exceed an appropriate range.
[0062]
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to centrally manage all the home electric appliances in the house and prevent the total power consumption from exceeding an appropriate range.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a relationship between home electric appliances in a house and a home controller or the like as a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram showing a circuit configuration in the home controller according to the embodiment;
FIG. 3 is an exemplary flowchart showing processing contents executed by the home controller according to the embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 house 2 home controller 3 personal computer (PC)
4 lighting equipment 5 air conditioner (air conditioner)
6 TV receiver 7 Refrigerator 8 Microwave oven 11 Controller 12 Serial interface (I / F)
13 wireless communication unit 14 home appliance registration unit 15 home appliance operation status storage unit 16 antenna

Claims (6)

A home appliance control device for controlling a plurality of home appliances connected to a home network,
Registration means for registering a power consumption value corresponding to each driving situation for each home appliance connected to the home network;
Setting means for setting a rated value of power consumption of the entire home electric appliance connected to the home network,
Detecting means for detecting the value of power consumption of the entire home appliance connected to the home network at that time;
When the power consumption value of the entire home appliance exceeds the rated value set by the setting unit, the control unit partially controls the operation of the home appliance in accordance with the content registered by the registration unit. An appliance control device characterized by the following. The registering means registers, for each home electric device, priority information of the device and a power consumption value corresponding to each operation state,
2. The home appliance control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit partially suppresses the operation of the home appliance based on the priority information of the home appliance registered in the registration unit. The setting means sets a rated value in two levels, large and small,
The control means partially suppresses the operation of the home appliance when the power consumption value of the entire home appliance exceeds the larger rated value, and the power consumption value of the entire home appliance falls below the smaller rated value. The home appliance control device according to claim 1, wherein the suppression operation is released at a point in time. One of the plurality of home appliances connected to the plurality of home networks is an air conditioner having a temperature measurement function,
The home appliance control device according to claim 1, wherein the control means gives priority to the operation of the air conditioner when the temperature measured by the air conditioner is out of a predetermined range. A home appliance control method for controlling a plurality of home appliances connected to a home network,
A registration step of registering a power consumption value corresponding to each driving situation for each home appliance connected to the home network;
A setting step of setting a rated value of power consumption in the entire home electric appliance connected to the home network,
A detection step of detecting the value of power consumption of the entire home electric appliance connected to the home network at that time,
When the power consumption value of the entire home appliance detected in the detection step exceeds the rated value set in the setting step, a control step of partially suppressing the operation of the home appliance according to the content registered in the registration step. An appliance control method characterized by having: A program executed by a computer that controls a plurality of home appliances connected to a home network,
A registration step of registering a power consumption value corresponding to each driving situation for each home appliance connected to the home network,
A setting step of setting a rated value of power consumption of the entire home electric appliance connected to the home network,
A detection step of detecting a value of power consumption of the entire home electric appliance connected to the home network at that time,
When the power consumption value of the entire home appliance detected in this detection step exceeds the rated value set in the setting step, a control step of partially suppressing the operation of the home appliance according to the content registered in the registration step. Which causes a computer to execute the program.

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