JP2006197030A - Gateway device and remote supervisory control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gateway device capable of improving the reliability of power-line carrier communication by reducing congestion of the power-line carrier communication, and to provide a remote supervisory control system using the same. <P>SOLUTION: The gateway device is equipped with a network communication section 41 which communicates with a supervisory control terminal, a power-line carrier communication section 42 which performs power-line carrier communication with a power-line carrier communication terminal device, a terminal information management section 43 which stores time information that the power-line carrier communication terminal device requires for power-line carrier communication to operates together, and a control section 45 which transmits a control instruction corresponding to a received control request by the power-line carrier communication section 43 when the control request to one power-line carrier communication terminal device is received by the network communication section 41 and also inhibits a new control instruction from being transmitted by the power-line carrier communication section 43 based upon the time information stored in the terminal information management section 43 after the control instruction is transmitted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a gateway device that transmits a control command for the operation of a plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices connected to a power line to the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices via the power line by power line carrier communication, and such a gateway. The present invention relates to a remote monitoring control system using an apparatus.

  Various devices such as lighting devices, air conditioning devices, measuring devices, and security devices are installed in buildings such as detached houses, apartment buildings, government buildings, halls, commercial buildings, office buildings, and factories. In recent years, due to advances in communication technology and the like, these devices are connected to each other via a wired or wireless transmission path so that they can communicate with each other, and further, a device monitoring control device is connected to the network and the device monitoring control device is connected. Centralized monitoring and / or control. With the spread of the Internet, recently, development of a remote monitoring control system that remotely monitors and / or controls these devices from a terminal device using the Internet is also progressing (for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document). 2).

  FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a remote monitoring control system according to this type of background art. A remote monitoring control system 101 shown in FIG. 19 includes a monitoring control terminal 103 that accepts an operation instruction from a user and displays information, a gateway device 104 that is an aspect of the device monitoring control device, and a power line carrier communication function. M switch terminals 105-1 to 105-M and N lighting terminals 106-1 to 106-N, which are examples of the power line carrier communication terminal apparatus. As the power line carrier communication terminal device, not only the switch terminal 105 and the lighting terminal 106 but also a power line carrier communication terminal device having a power line carrier communication function such as an air conditioner, floor heating, a security device, etc. is used. Here, in this specification, when referring generically, it shows with the reference symbol which abbreviate | omitted the suffix, and when referring to an individual structure, it shows with the reference symbol which attached the suffix.

  The monitoring control terminal 103 and the gateway device 104 are connected so as to be able to transmit and receive data via a communication network 108 such as a fieldbus or the Internet. Further, the gateway device 104, the switch terminal 105, and the lighting terminal 106 are connected by a power line 109 so that power line carrier communication is possible. Furthermore, between the gateway device 104 and the switch terminal 105 and the lighting terminal 106, or between the switch terminal 105 and the lighting terminal 106, for example, according to SCP (Simple Control Protocol) which is a power line carrier communication protocol of Microsoft Corporation in the United States. Peer-to-peer (peer-to-peer) power line carrier communication is performed.

  When the gateway device 104 receives a control request from the supervisory control terminal 103 to the power line carrier communication terminal device, for example, the switch terminal 105-1, via the communication network 108, the gateway device 104 converts the control request into a power line carrier communication protocol such as SCP. And transmitted to the switch terminal 105-1.

In addition, a power line carrier communication terminal device having an interlock control function that operates in conjunction with other power line carrier communication terminal devices is known. For example, the address of a plurality of lighting terminals, for example, lighting terminals 106-1 to 106-10, is stored in the switch terminal 105-1 as interlocking information in advance, thereby turning on the switch terminal 105-1 from the user, for example. Is sent to the gateway device 104 via the communication network 108 by the monitoring control terminal 103, the gateway device 104 instructs the switch terminal 105-1 via the power line 109 to "ON" by power line carrier communication. A control command is transmitted. If it does so, switch terminal 105-1 which received the control command which directs "ON" from gateway apparatus 104 will light illumination with respect to lighting terminals 106-1 to 106-10 based on the interlocking information memorize | stored beforehand. A control command is sent to the effect. Accordingly, the switch terminal 105-1 and the plurality of lighting terminals 106-1 to 106-10 operate in conjunction with each other.
JP 2004-208472 A JP 2002-044765 A

  By the way, since the power line carrier communication performed via the power line 109 performs the power line carrier communication by superimposing the communication signal on the power supply voltage applied to the power line 109, the power line carrier communication is performed with the gateway device 104 performed via the power line 109. The communication speed of the power line carrier communication between the switch terminal 105 and the lighting terminal 106 is between the monitoring control terminal 103 and the gateway device 104 which are performed via the communication network 108 which is a communication path dedicated to communication. Slower than the communication speed.

  Then, for example, a plurality of control requests, for example, a control request for turning on the switch terminal 105-1 and a control request for turning on the switch terminal 105-2 are continuously transmitted to the gateway device 104 from the monitoring control terminal 103. In this case, a control command instructing “ON” is transmitted from the gateway device 104 to the switch terminal 105-1 via the power line 109 by power line carrier communication, and the switch terminal 105- that has received the control command instructing “ON”. 1 during the processing period in which the control command for lighting the illumination terminal 106-1 to the illumination terminal 106-10 is transmitted to the illumination terminal 106-10 from the gateway device 104 via the power line 109. A control command instructing “ON” may be transmitted to the power line 109. Congestion of the line carrier communication signal occurs, and control loss occurs due to the control command transmitted from the gateway device 104 to the power line carrier communication terminal device such as the lighting terminal 106 being discarded or not accepted. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and is a gateway device that can reduce the occurrence of congestion in power line carrier communication and improve the reliability in power line carrier communication, and a remote device using the same. An object is to provide a supervisory control system.

  In order to achieve the above object, the gateway device according to the first means of the present invention monitors a control request for the operation of a plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices connected to a power line via a network. A gateway device that receives a control command in response to the received control request from the control terminal and transmits the control command to the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices via a power line by power line carrier communication. A network communication unit that performs communication via the network, a power line carrier communication unit that performs power line carrier communication via the power line between the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices, and the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices When the control command is transmitted by the power line carrier communication unit to one power line carrier communication terminal device, the one power line carrier communication A storage unit that stores in advance time information related to a time required for the terminal device to execute power line carrier communication with another power line carrier communication terminal device in association with each power line carrier communication terminal device; and the network communication unit When the control request from the supervisory control terminal to one power line carrier communication terminal device among the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices is received via the network by the control according to the received control request The power line carrier communication terminal device transmits the command to the one power line carrier communication terminal device, and after the control command is transmitted by the power line carrier communication portion, the one power line carrier communication terminal device stored in the storage unit In the time until the time based on the time information corresponding to the time elapses, a new control command of the power line carrier communication unit It is characterized in that it comprises a control unit that prohibits signal.

  Further, in the gateway device described above, the control unit causes the power line carrier communication unit to receive the time information from the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices, and the time line information received by the power line carrier communication unit The time information about the power line carrier communication terminal device is stored in the storage unit.

  In the above-described gateway device, the power line carrier communication unit is configured to execute the power line carrier communication at a plurality of communication speeds, and the storage unit includes a plurality of communication speeds that can be executed by the power line carrier communication unit. Communication speed correspondence information for associating the time information corresponding to each with the communication speed in advance, and the control unit sets a communication speed of the power line carrier communication by the power line carrier communication unit and stores it in the storage unit The transmission of the new control command is prohibited based on the set communication speed and the time information associated with the power line carrier communication terminal device that is to execute the power line carrier communication based on the communication speed correspondence information that is set. It is characterized by doing.

  Furthermore, the gateway device according to the second means of the present invention receives a control request for the operation of a plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices connected to a power line from a monitoring control terminal connected via a network. A gateway device that transmits a control command corresponding to a received control request to the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices via a power line by power line carrier communication, and communicates with the monitoring control terminal via the network A network communication unit for performing power line communication between the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices via the power line, and a network communication unit from the monitoring control terminal via the network. The control request to one power line carrier communication terminal device among the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices is received. When the control command according to the received control request is transmitted to the one power line carrier communication terminal device by the power line carrier communication unit, and after transmission of the control command by the power line carrier communication unit, the power line Until the control completion notification that the power line carrier communication between the one power line carrier communication terminal apparatus and the other power line carrier communication terminal apparatus is completed is received by the carrier communication part, the new power line carrier communication part And a control unit for prohibiting transmission of the control command.

  Further, in the gateway device described above, the storage unit further stores in advance priority correspondence information that associates the priority order of the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices with each power line carrier communication terminal device, and the control unit includes: When the control requests to the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices are received by the power line carrier communication unit, the priority order stored in the storage unit for transmission of control commands to the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices Based on the correspondence information, the power line carrier communication unit performs the operations in descending order of priority.

  In the gateway device described above, a human detection device that detects the presence of a person is provided in the vicinity of the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices, and indicates the presence or absence of a human being transmitted from each human detection device. A detection signal receiving unit configured to receive a detection signal; and the storage unit includes position information indicating positions where the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices and the power line carrier communication terminal devices are provided, and each power line carrier communication. Position correspondence information for associating with the human detection device provided in the vicinity of the terminal device is further stored in advance, and the control unit receives control requests to the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices by the network communication unit. If the detection signal indicating the presence of a person is received by the detection signal receiving unit, the position correspondence stored in the storage unit Based on the information, the one power line carrier communication terminal device and the other power line in order from the power line carrier communication terminal device provided in the vicinity of the person detection device that is the transmission source of the detection signal indicating the presence of the person. The control line is transmitted to the carrier communication terminal device by the power line carrier communication unit.

  The remote monitoring and control system according to the third means of the present invention includes a power line carrier between a plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices connected to a power line and the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices via the power line. A gateway device configured to be able to perform communication, and a supervisory control terminal that is connected to the gateway device via a network so as to be able to communicate, and transmits a control request regarding the operation of the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices to the gateway device The gateway device is the gateway device described above.

  In the gateway device and the remote monitoring control system having such a configuration, a control request from the monitoring control terminal to one power line carrier communication terminal device among the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices is received by the network communication unit via the network. A control command corresponding to the received control request is transmitted to the one power line carrier communication terminal device by the power line carrier communication unit, and after the control command is transmitted by the power line carrier communication unit, the one power line carrier communication unit Transmission of a new control command by the power line carrier communication unit is prohibited until the time corresponding to the time required for the communication terminal device to execute power line carrier communication with another power line carrier communication terminal device elapses. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of congestion in power line carrier communication and improve the reliability in power line carrier communication.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the structure which attached | subjected the same code | symbol in each figure shows that it is the same structure, The description is abbreviate | omitted.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a gateway device and a remote monitoring control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. A remote monitoring control system 1 shown in FIG. 1 receives a user operation instruction and displays information, for example, a monitoring control terminal 3 including a door phone, a mobile phone, or a personal computer having a human interface such as a Web browser. A gateway device 4 that is an example of a device monitoring control device, M switch terminals 5-1 to 5-M that are an example of a power line carrier communication terminal device having a power line carrier communication function, and N lighting terminals 6-1 to 6-N and air conditioners 7-1 and 7-2 are provided. In addition, as the power line carrier communication terminal device, not only the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7, but also a power line carrier communication terminal device having a power line carrier communication function such as floor heating and a security device is used.

  The monitoring control terminal 3 and the gateway device 4 are connected via a communication network 8 such as a fieldbus or the Internet so that data can be transmitted and received. The gateway device 4 and the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7 are connected by a power line 9 so that power line carrier communication is possible. Furthermore, between the gateway device 4 and the switch terminal 5 and the lighting terminal 6 and between the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6 and the air conditioner 7, for example, by means of SCP which is a power line carrier communication protocol of Microsoft Corporation, Peer -To-peer power line carrier communication is performed.

  When the gateway device 4 receives a control request from the supervisory control terminal 3 to the power line carrier communication terminal device, for example, the switch terminal 5-1, via the communication network 8, the gateway device 4 converts the control request into a power line carrier communication protocol such as SCP. Then, the data is transmitted to the switch terminal 5-1.

  In addition, the switch terminal 5 stores, for example, addresses of a plurality of lighting terminals 6 such as the lighting terminals 6-1 to 6-10 in advance as interlocking information in the switch terminal 5-1, for example. When a control request for turning on the switch terminal 5-1 is transmitted from the user to the gateway apparatus 4 via the communication network 8 by the monitoring control terminal 3, the switch terminal 5- A control command instructing “ON” is transmitted to 1 by power line carrier communication. Then, the switch terminal 5-1 that has received the control command that instructs “ON” from the gateway device 4 illuminates the lighting terminals 6-1 to 6-10 based on the interlocking information stored in advance. A control command for turning on is transmitted. As a result, the switch terminal 5-1 and the plurality of lighting terminals 6-1 to 6-10 operate in conjunction with each other.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the gateway device 4. 2 includes a network communication unit 41, a power line carrier communication unit 42, a terminal information management unit 43 that is an example of a storage unit, a transmission data storage unit 44, a control unit 45, a timer 46, and the like. It has.

  The network communication unit 41 is a communication interface circuit that performs data transmission / reception with the monitoring control terminal 3 via the communication network 8.

  The power line carrier communication unit 42 superimposes the signal output from the control unit 45 on the power line 9 and transmits the signal to a power line carrier communication terminal device connected to the power line 9, such as the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7. The power line carrier communication that receives the power line carrier communication signal superimposed on the power line 9 by the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7, converts the signal into a signal that can be received by the control unit 45, and transmits the signal to the control unit 45. Interface circuit.

  The terminal information management unit 43 includes, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) that is a nonvolatile memory, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is a volatile memory, and the like, and is connected to the power line 9. The communication address of the power line carrier communication terminal devices such as the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7, and the power line carrier communication terminal devices for executing power line carrier communication with other power line carrier communication terminal devices. Management information related to each power line carrier communication terminal device, such as time information relating to the time required for the communication, is stored in advance in association with each power line carrier communication terminal device. As the time information, for example, the number of control points, which is the number of other power line carrier communication terminal devices set as interlocking targets corresponding to each power line carrier communication terminal device, is used.

  3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example of management information stored in the terminal information management unit 43. The terminal information management unit 43 stores, for example, a terminal information management table 430 shown in FIG. 3 and a delay time information table 431 shown in FIG. In the terminal information management table 430 shown in FIG. 3, for each power line carrier communication terminal device such as the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7, each power line carrier communication terminal device from the monitoring control terminal 3 via the communication network 8. Communication address 432 for specifying the communication network protocol for specifying the power line, communication address 433 for the power line carrier communication protocol for specifying each power line carrier communication terminal device from the gateway device 4 via the power line 9, and the power line carrier communication terminal device A terminal type 434 representing the type, an identification name 435 that is the name of each power line carrier communication terminal device, and a control point 436 are stored in association with each other.

  The terminal information management table 430 may include various information such as identification information of each power line carrier communication terminal device, manufacturer name, and installation location of each terminal device.

  In the delay time information table 431 illustrated in FIG. 4, for example, a terminal type 437, a control point number 438, and a delay time interval 439 are stored in association with each other.

  The delay time interval 439 is the transmission processing time of a control command to another power line carrier communication terminal apparatus according to the control point number of each power line carrier communication terminal apparatus, changes according to the control point number, and increases with the normal control point number Increase. Specifically, for example, when the power line carrier communication terminal device having three control points receives a control command from the gateway device 4, the delay time interval 439 is transmitted to the other three power line carrier communication terminals. This is the transmission processing time required from the start to the end of the transmission process for transmitting a control command to the apparatus. The delay time interval 439 is, for example, “T0 = 100 msec” when the number of control points is 0 (single operation only) based on experimentally measured values, for example, “T1 = 200 msec when the number of control points is 1 point”. In this manner, the delay time interval 439 is set.

  The terminal information management table 430 and the delay time information table 431 may be stored in the terminal information management unit 43 using, for example, a dedicated setting tool (not shown) or a personal computer (not shown) connected to the communication network 8. Well, for example, by performing power line carrier communication with the power line carrier communication terminal device such as the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7 connected to the power line 9, the power line carrier communication terminal device has acquired it. Information may be stored. Alternatively, the monitoring control terminal 3 may have a setting function for the terminal information management table 430 and the delay time information table 431.

  The transmission data storage unit 44 is configured using, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) which is a volatile memory, and temporarily stores the reception data received by the network communication unit 41 and the power line carrier communication unit 42. A buffer, a transmission buffer for temporarily storing transmission data transmitted from the control unit 45 to the outside via the network communication unit 41 and the power line carrier communication unit 42, and the like are configured.

  The control unit 45 is configured using, for example, a microcomputer. For example, by executing a control program stored in a ROM (not shown) in advance, the network communication unit 41, the power line carrier communication unit 42, and the terminal information management unit 43 are executed. The operation of the transmission data storage unit 44 is controlled as described later. The timer 46 measures the elapsed time according to a control signal from the control unit 45.

  Next, the operation of the remote monitoring control system 1 configured as described above will be described. 5 and 6 are sequence diagrams for explaining the operation of the remote monitoring control system 1 shown in FIG. First, referring to FIG. 5, for example, when a commercial power supply voltage is supplied to the power line 9, the power line 9 is connected to the gateway device 4 and the power line carrier communication terminal device such as the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7. The commercial power supply voltage is supplied to start up (# 1). Next, the control unit 45 in the gateway device 4 refers to the terminal information management table 430 stored in the terminal information management unit 43 and controls the power line carrier communication terminal device stored in the terminal information management table 430. A control point acquisition request for requesting points is transmitted (# 2).

  Specifically, for example, the control unit 45 first designates “addr1” that is the communication address 433 for the power line carrier communication protocol of the air conditioner 7-1 stored at the head of the terminal information management table 430 as the destination. Then, the control line acquisition request is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42 to the air conditioner 7-1 having the address “addr1” via the power line 9. Note that the terminal information management table 430 does not store the number of control points 436 in the initial state.

  Next, the control number of the power line carrier communication terminal apparatus is returned from the power line carrier communication terminal apparatus that has received the control point number acquisition request to the gateway apparatus 4 (# 3). Specifically, for example, the air conditioner 7-1 having the address “addr1” is a device that operates independently without being linked to other power line carrier communication terminal devices, and therefore the gateway device 4 uses the control point “0” as the control point. Reply to In the initial state, only the communication address for communication network protocol 432 and the communication address for power line carrier communication protocol 433 are stored, the terminal type 434, the identification name 435, and the control point number 436 are not stored. In addition to the number of control points, the power line carrier communication terminal device that has received the message may return information related to the own terminal such as the terminal type and the identification name to the gateway device 4.

  Next, the control point returned from the power line carrier communication terminal device to the gateway device 4 is received by the power line carrier communication unit 42, converted into a data format that can be acquired by the control unit 45, and transmitted to the control unit 45. Then, the control unit 45 stores the control score in the terminal information management unit 43 as the control score of “air conditioner 7-1” of the communication address “Addr1” in the terminal information management table 430 (# 4).

  Thereafter, the processes of # 2 to # 4 described above are repeated for all communication addresses by the control unit 45, and the number of control points for all power line carrier communication terminal devices connected to the power line 9 is determined as terminal information management. It is stored in the terminal information management table 430 in the unit 43.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 5. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the gateway device 4, the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, the air conditioner 7, etc. When commercial power supply voltage is supplied to the power line carrier communication terminal device via the power line 9 and activated (# 21), the power line carrier communication terminal device to the gateway device 4 without waiting for the control point acquisition request from the gateway device 4 The configuration may be such that the number of control points of the power line carrier communication terminal apparatus is notified (# 22).

  As a result, even if the terminal information management table 430 does not store information such as the control point 436, the terminal type 434, and the identification name 435 in the initial state, the power line automatically connected to the power line 9 by the gateway device 4 Information such as the number of control points 436, the terminal type 434, and the identification name 435 is acquired from the carrier terminal device and stored in the terminal information management table 430 in the terminal information management unit 43. For example, the user uses a dedicated setting tool. Thus, there is no need to perform an operation for storing the information such as the number of control points 436 in the terminal information management unit 43, and labor saving of construction work can be achieved.

  Next, referring to FIG. 6, when the monitoring control terminal 3 continuously receives an operation input by the user to turn on the switch terminal 5-1, the switch terminal 5-2, and the air conditioner 7-1 ( # 5) A control request (# 6) for turning on the switch terminal 5-1 and a control request for turning on the switch terminal 5-2 from the supervisory control terminal 3 to the gateway device 4 via the communication network 8 (# 7) and the control request (# 8) to turn on the air conditioner 7-1 are continuously transmitted, received by the network communication unit 41 in the gateway device 4, and switched by the transmission data storage unit 44. A control request for turning on 5-1, a control request for turning on switch terminal 5-2, and a control request for turning on air conditioner 7-1 are stored. The control request is not limited to an on / off instruction, and may be a control request having contents according to the functions of the other power line carrier communication terminal device.

  Next, the control unit 45 processes the control request stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 (# 9). Specifically, in the order in which the control requests are stored in the transmission data storage unit 44, the control unit 45 first issues a control command for instructing an on operation based on a control request to turn on the switch terminal 5-1. It is transmitted from the carrier communication unit 42 to the switch terminal 5-1 via the power line 9 (# 10). For example, the switch terminal 5-1 is set so as to be linked to the lighting terminal 6-1 to the lighting terminal 6-4, and has four control points. Then, when a control command for instructing an on operation is received by the switch terminal 5-1, the switch terminal 5-1 performs an on operation on the lighting terminals 6-1 to 6-4 via the power line 9. Instructed control commands are transmitted sequentially.

  On the other hand, in the gateway device 4, after the control command for instructing the on operation to the switch terminal 5-1 is transmitted (# 10), in the terminal information management table 430 stored in the terminal information management unit 43 by the control unit 45. The control point number “4” of the switch terminal 5-1 is referred to, and T4 of the delay time interval 439 stored in the delay time information table 431 corresponding to the control point number “4” is acquired. Since T4 is a transmission processing time required for transmitting the control command to the four power line carrier communication terminal devices, the control command is sent from the switch terminal 5-1 to the lighting terminal 6-1 to the lighting terminal 6-4. Corresponds to the processing time to send.

  Then, the time T4 is counted by the timer 46 according to the control signal from the control unit 45, and when the time T4 has elapsed, the control unit 45 turns on the switch terminal 5-2 stored in the transmission data storage unit 44. A control command for instructing an ON operation based on the control request is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42 to the switch terminal 5-2 via the power line 9 (# 11). That is, transmission of a new control request is prohibited until the time T4, which is the time based on the time information corresponding to the switch terminal 5-1, elapses.

  Further, since the switch terminal 5-2 has eight control points, the control unit 45 stores the transmission data in the transmission data storage unit 44 after the elapse of time T8 as in the case of the switch terminal 5-1. A control command for instructing an ON operation based on a control request to turn on the air conditioner 7-1 is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42 to the air conditioner 7-1 via the power line 9 (# 12). That is, the transmission of a new control request is prohibited until the time T8, which is the time based on the time information corresponding to the switch terminal 5-2, elapses.

  Since the air conditioner 7-1 has 0 control points, the time until the time T0 that is the time based on the time information corresponding to the air conditioner 7-1 elapses in the same manner as the case of the switch terminal 5-1. Transmission of a new control request is prohibited.

  Further, when the operation input for turning on the switch terminal 5-2 by the user is received by the monitoring control terminal 3 alone (# 13), the switch terminal 5-2 is turned on as in the case of # 7. Control request (# 14) is transmitted, and the control unit 45 in the gateway device 4 transmits a control command for instructing an ON operation to the switch terminal 5-2 based on the control request to turn on the switch terminal 5-2 ( As in the case where the control request is continuously received after # 15), the time until the time T8, which is the time based on the time information corresponding to the switch terminal 5-2, Transmission is prohibited (# 16).

  As described above, after the control command is transmitted from the gateway device 4 to the power line carrier communication terminal device by the operations of # 5 to # 16, with other power line carrier communication terminal devices to be linked with the power line carrier communication terminal device. Since the transmission of a new control request is prohibited during the time during which the power line carrier communication is performed, the occurrence of congestion in the power line carrier communication is suppressed, and the switch terminal 5, lighting terminal 6, and It is possible to reduce the loss of control due to the control command to the power line carrier communication terminal device such as the air conditioner 7 being discarded or not accepted, and the reliability in the power line carrier communication can be improved.

  Further, in order to reduce congestion in the power line carrier communication, it is conceivable that a fixed time interval is provided when the control command is transmitted from the gateway device 4. In this case, the power line carrier connected to the power line 9 is used. Since it is necessary to set the time interval according to the communication terminal device having the longest communication time for the interlocking operation, the waiting time increases. On the other hand, in the gateway device 4 shown in FIG. 2, time information related to the time required for each power line carrier communication terminal device to execute power line carrier communication for linked operation with other power line carrier communication terminal devices, for example, control Since the delay time interval 439 is set according to the score, congestion can be reduced while suppressing the transmission waiting time of the control command.

  The information such as the number of control points 436 is not limited to the example acquired from the power line carrier communication terminal device connected to the power line 9, but the user uses a dedicated setting tool or a personal computer connected to the communication network 8. Information such as the number of control points 436 may be stored in the terminal information management unit 43. Further, the communication network protocol communication address 432 and the power line carrier communication protocol communication address 433 may be automatically assigned by the control unit 45 and stored in the terminal information management table 430 in the terminal information management unit 43. . Alternatively, the terminal information management table 430 may be configured to be stored in advance in the terminal information management unit 43 in a fixed manner. Moreover, although the example which uses the number of control points as time information and converts into the delay time interval 439 by the delay time information table 431 has been shown, the delay time interval 439 itself may be used instead of the number of control points.

  Further, in response to a user operation (# 5), a control request (# 6) for turning on the switch terminal 5-1 from the monitoring control terminal 3 to the gateway device 4 and a fact that the switch terminal 5-2 is turned on. The control request (# 7) and the control request (# 8) for turning on the air conditioner 7-1 are continuously transmitted. However, for example, the gateway device 4 has a specific control pattern such as “ The control pattern for “outing” is stored in advance, and when the control request for requesting such a specific control pattern is transmitted from the monitoring control terminal 3 to the gateway apparatus 4, the gateway apparatus 4 stores the control pattern in advance. A plurality of control commands, for example, a control command (# 10) for the switch terminal 5-1, a control command (# 11) for the switch terminal 5-2, and an air Control command for the 7-1 (# 12) may be configured to send.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a remote monitoring control system according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. A remote monitoring control system 1a according to the second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 as with the remote monitoring control system 1 according to the first embodiment. The remote monitoring control system 1a according to the second embodiment is different from the remote monitoring control system 1 according to the first embodiment in that a gateway device 4a is provided instead of the gateway device 4. Moreover, the gateway apparatus 4a which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is shown by FIG. 2 similarly to the gateway apparatus 4 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The gateway device 4a according to the second embodiment is different from the gateway device 4 according to the first embodiment in that the terminal information management unit 43 has a delay corresponding to an example of communication speed correspondence information instead of the delay time information table 431. The difference is that the time information table 431a is stored, and the operation of the controller 45a is different.

  Since the other configuration is the same as that of the remote monitoring control system 1 shown in FIG. 1, the description thereof is omitted, and the characteristic points of this embodiment will be described below. In power line carrier communication, communication is performed by superimposing a communication signal on the power line 9 used for power supply. Therefore, if the communication speed is not lowered due to the influence of the load state connected to the power line 9, the power line carrier is used. Communication may not be performed. Therefore, for example, in power line carrier communication such as SCP or Echonet, which is one of the power line carrier communication protocols, there is one in which the communication speed is changed in three stages, for example, 7.5 kbps, 2 kbps, and 1 kbps.

  The power line carrier communication unit 42 in the gateway device 4a can switch the communication speed in three stages of, for example, the communication speed A, the communication speed B, and the communication speed C in order of increasing communication speed. When the control unit 45a in the gateway device 4a performs power line carrier communication with each power line carrier communication terminal device such as the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7, for example, # 10 and # 11 in FIG. , # 12, # 15, if a communication error occurs when communication is performed at the communication speed A by the power line carrier communication unit 42, the communication speed of the power line carrier communication unit 42 is switched to the communication speed B, and further communication is performed. If an error occurs, the communication speed of the power line carrier communication unit 42 is switched to the communication speed C. In this way, the gateway device 4a switches the communication speed according to the communication status of the power line 9.

  By the way, the transmission processing time of the control command to other power line carrier communication terminal devices in each power line carrier communication terminal device in the interlocking operation changes if the communication speed is different. Therefore, the delay time information table 431a stores delay time intervals 439a corresponding to the communication speeds A, B, and C as shown in FIG.

  When the control command is transmitted from the gateway device 4a to each power line carrier communication terminal device such as the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7, for example, # 10, # 11, # 12, # in FIG. 15, first, the control unit 45 a determines the communication speed according to the communication status on the power line 9, and the control command is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42 to the power line carrier communication terminal device according to the determined communication speed. Thereafter, the control point number of the power line carrier communication terminal device of the transmission destination is acquired based on the control point number 436 in the terminal information management table 430 stored in the terminal information management unit 43, and the control point and the communication speed of the power line carrier communication are obtained. Based on the delay time interval 439a is acquired from the delay time information table 431a stored in the terminal information management unit 43, During the time interval 439a, transmission of a new control request is prohibited.

  Thereby, even if the communication speed of the power line carrier communication is switched according to the communication status by the power line 9, after the control command is transmitted from the gateway device 4a to the power line carrier communication terminal device, the power line carrier communication terminal Since transmission of a new control request is prohibited during the time when power line carrier communication is performed between the device and another power line carrier communication terminal device to be linked, the occurrence of congestion in power line carrier communication is suppressed, Since it is possible to reduce the loss of control due to the control command sent to the power line carrier communication terminal device such as the switch terminal 5, the lighting terminal 6, and the air conditioner 7 transmitted from the gateway device 4a being discarded or not accepted, the power line Reliability in carrier communication can be improved.

  Note that the communication speed by the power line carrier communication unit 42 is not limited to three stages, but may be two stages, four stages or more, and any configuration using a delay time interval 439a corresponding to the number of stages of the communication speed may be used.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a remote monitoring control system according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. A remote monitoring control system 1b according to the third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 as with the remote monitoring control system 1 according to the first embodiment. The remote monitoring control system 1b according to the third embodiment is different from the remote monitoring control system 1 according to the first embodiment in that a gateway device 4b is provided instead of the gateway device 4. In addition, the power line 9 includes switch terminals 5-1 to 5-L, illumination terminals 6-1 to 6-N, and switch terminals 5a-1 to 5a-1 instead of the air conditioners 7-1 and 7-2. Terminal 5a-L, lighting terminal 6a-1 to lighting terminal 6a-N, and air conditioners 7a-1 and 7a-2 are connected.

  And the gateway apparatus 4b which concerns on 3rd Embodiment is shown by FIG. 2 similarly to the gateway apparatus 4 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The gateway device 4b according to the third embodiment differs from the gateway device 4 according to the first embodiment in the operation of the control unit 45b. Further, the terminal information management unit 43 does not store the control points 436 and the delay time information table 431 in the terminal information management table 430.

  And the power line carrier communication terminal device connected to the power line 9 such as the switch terminal 5a, the lighting terminal 6a, and the air conditioner 7a is another power line carrier communication terminal for the interlocking operation according to the control request from the gateway device 4b. After the communication process with the apparatus is completed, a control completion notification indicating that the communication process for the interlocking operation is completed is transmitted to the gateway apparatus 4b.

  Since the other configuration is the same as that of the remote monitoring control system 1 shown in FIG. 1, the description thereof will be omitted, and the operation of the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the remote monitoring control system 1b shown in FIG. First, when an operation input for turning on the switch terminal 5a-1, the switch terminal 5a-2, and the air conditioner 7a-1, for example, by the user is continuously received by the monitoring control terminal 3 (# 101), the monitoring control terminal 3 to the gateway device 4b via the communication network 8, a control request (# 102) for turning on the switch terminal 5a-1, a control request (# 103) for turning on the switch terminal 5a-2, an air conditioner The control request (# 104) for turning on 7a-1 is continuously transmitted and received by the network communication unit 41 in the gateway device 4b, and the switch terminal 5a-1 is turned on by the transmission data storage unit 44. Control request, control request to turn on switch terminal 5a-2, and control to turn on air conditioner 7a-1 Asked Metropolitan is stored.

  Next, the control unit 45b processes the control request stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 (# 105). Specifically, in the order in which the control requests are stored in the transmission data storage unit 44, the control command for instructing the on operation based on the control request for turning on the switch terminal 5a-1 is first performed by the control unit 45. It is transmitted from the carrier communication unit 42 to the switch terminal 5a-1 via the power line 9 (# 106).

  For example, the switch terminal 5a-1 is set so as to be interlocked with the lighting terminals 6a-1 to 6a-4. When the switch terminal 5a-1 receives a control command instructing an on operation, the switch terminal 5a-1 5a-1 sequentially transmits a control command for instructing an ON operation to the lighting terminals 6a-1 to 6a-4 via the power line 9, and the switch terminal 5a-1 and the lighting terminals 6a-1 to 6a-1 The local interlocking operation with 6a-4 is executed (# 107). When the communication processing between the switch terminal 5a-1 and the lighting terminals 6a-1 to 6a-4 that are set in conjunction with each other is completed, the gateway device 4b is connected from the switch terminal 5a-1 via the power line 9. The control completion notification is transmitted to (# 108).

  Next, when the control completion notification from the switch terminal 5a-1 is received by the power line carrier communication unit 42 in the gateway device 4b, the control unit 45b changes the switch terminal 5a-2 stored in the transmission data storage unit 44. A control command for instructing an on operation based on a control request for turning on is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42 to the switch terminal 5a-2 via the power line 9 (# 109). That is, after transmission of a control command for turning on the switch terminal 5a-1 by the power line carrier communication unit 42, the power line carrier communication unit 42 connects the switch terminal 5a-1 to the lighting terminals 6a-1 to 6a-4. The transmission of a new control command by the power line carrier communication unit 42 is prohibited until a control completion notification indicating that the power line carrier communication in FIG.

  Then, as in the case of the switch terminal 5a-1, the local interlock operation by the switch terminal 5a-2 is executed (# 110), and between the switch terminal 5a-2 and the illumination terminal set to be interlocked When the communication process is completed, a control completion notification is transmitted from the switch terminal 5a-2 to the gateway device 4b via the power line 9 (# 111).

  Next, when the control completion notification from the switch terminal 5a-2 is received by the power line carrier communication unit 42 in the gateway device 4b, the control unit 45b turns on the air conditioner 7a-1 stored in the transmission data storage unit 44. A control command for instructing an ON operation based on the control request to be transmitted is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42 to the air conditioner 7a-1 via the power line 9 (# 112). That is, after the transmission of the control command to turn on the switch terminal 5a-2 by the power line carrier communication unit 42, the power line carrier communication with the lighting terminal that is linked to the switch terminal 5a-2 by the power line carrier communication unit 42 Until a control completion notification indicating that the power line has been completed is received, transmission of a new control command by the power line carrier communication unit 42 is prohibited.

  The operation of the air conditioner 7a-1 is executed by the air conditioner 7a-1 that has received the control command to turn on the air conditioner 7a-1 (# 113), and the air conditioner 7a-1 to the gateway device 4b via the power line 9 is executed. A control completion notification is transmitted (# 114). In this case, after the control command for turning on the air conditioner 7a-1 by the control unit 45b is transmitted until the control completion notification is received from the air conditioner 7a-1 by the power line carrier communication unit 42, the power line is transmitted by the control unit 45b. Transmission of a new control command by the transport communication unit 42 is prohibited.

  In addition, after the transmission of the control command in the above-described # 106, # 109, and # 112, the control unit 45b, when a control completion notification is not received by the power line carrier communication unit 42 even after a predetermined time, for example, 5 seconds elapses. May transmit a new control command without waiting for reception of the control completion notification. Thereby, for example, even when the control completion notification is not returned due to a trouble such as a failure of the power line carrier communication terminal device, the transmission of the control command to other power line carrier communication terminal devices can be continued.

  Further, since the terminal information management unit 43 does not need to store the control points 436 and the delay time information table 431 in the terminal information management table 430, the storage capacity of the memory used as the terminal information management unit 43 can be reduced. . Moreover, since it is not necessary to time to prohibit the transmission of a new control request based on the delay time interval 439 after the processing of # 1 to # 4 shown in FIG. 5 and the transmission of the control command to the power line carrier communication terminal device, The processing of the control unit 45b can be simplified.

  As described above, after the control command is transmitted from the gateway device 4b to the power line carrier communication terminal device by the above-described operations of # 101 to # 114, another power line carrier communication terminal that is the target of the interlock setting with the power line carrier communication terminal device. Since the transmission of a new control command is prohibited during the time when the power line carrier communication is performed with the device, the occurrence of congestion in the power line carrier communication is reduced, and the switch terminal 5 and the lighting terminal 6 transmitted from the gateway device 4 are reduced. Further, it is possible to suppress the loss of control due to the control command to the power line carrier communication terminal device such as the air conditioner 7 being discarded or not accepted, and the reliability in the power line carrier communication can be improved.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a remote monitoring control system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. A remote monitoring control system 1c according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 like the remote monitoring control system 1 according to the first embodiment. The remote monitoring control system 1c according to the fourth embodiment is different from the remote monitoring control system 1 according to the first embodiment in that a gateway device 4c is provided instead of the gateway device 4. And the gateway apparatus 4c which concerns on 4th Embodiment is shown by FIG. 2 similarly to the gateway apparatus 4 which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The gateway device 4c according to the fourth embodiment differs from the gateway device 4 according to the first embodiment in the operation of the control unit 45c.

  The control unit 45c receives a new control request for the same power line carrier communication terminal device by the network communication unit 41 before processing the control request stored in the transmission data storage unit 44, that is, receives a plurality of control requests. If so, the newly received control request is processed without processing the control request already stored in the transmission data storage unit 44. In addition, when the network communication unit 41 receives a control request with a high priority set in advance, for example, a state acquisition request for requesting information regarding the operation state of the air conditioner 7-2, the request is stored in the transmission data storage unit 44. Before processing another control request, a control request with a high priority is processed.

  Since the other configuration is the same as that of the remote monitoring control system 1 shown in FIG. 1, the description thereof will be omitted, and the operation of the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 10 shows a remote monitoring control system 1c in the case where a control request for the same power line carrier communication terminal apparatus is newly received by the network communication unit 41 before processing the control request stored in the transmission data storage unit 44. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement.

  First, when the monitor control terminal 3 continuously receives an operation input for turning on the switch terminal 5-1, the switch terminal 5-2, and the air conditioner 7-1 by the user (# 201), the monitor control terminal 3 Control request (# 202) to turn on the switch terminal 5-1, control request (# 203) to turn on the switch terminal 5-2, and the air conditioner 7 to the gateway device 4c via the communication network 8. -1 to turn on the control request (# 204) is continuously transmitted and received by the network communication unit 41 in the gateway device 4c, and the transmission data storage unit 44 turns on the switch terminal 5-1. A control request, a control request for turning on the switch terminal 5-2, and a control request for turning on the air conditioner 7-1 are stored. The control request is not limited to an on / off instruction, and may be a control request having contents according to the functions of the other power line carrier communication terminal device.

  Next, the control unit 45c processes the control request stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 (# 205). First, in the order in which the control requests are stored in the transmission data storage unit 44, a control command for turning on the switch terminal 5-1 is issued from the power line carrier communication unit 42 via the power line 9 by the control unit 45c. -1 (# 206). Then, after a control command for instructing the switch terminal 5-1 to perform an ON operation is transmitted by the control unit 45c, the number of control points of the switch terminal 5-1 in the terminal information management table 430 stored in the terminal information management unit 43 “4” is referenced, and T4 of the delay time interval 439 stored in the delay time information table 431 corresponding to the control point number “4” is counted by the timer 46, and the time until the time T4 elapses is newly added. Transmission of a control request is prohibited (# 207).

  Then, until the time T4 elapses, when the operation input for turning off the switch terminal 5-1, the switch terminal 5-2, and the air conditioner 7-1 by the user is continuously received by the monitoring control terminal 3. (# 208), the control request (# 209) for turning off the switch terminal 5-1 and the control for turning off the switch terminal 5-2 from the supervisory control terminal 3 to the gateway device 4c via the communication network 8 The request (# 210) and the control request (# 211) for turning off the air conditioner 7-1 are continuously transmitted and received by the network communication unit 41 in the gateway device 4c.

  FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a state of a control request stored in the transmission data storage unit 44. First, after a control command for turning on the switch terminal 5-1 is transmitted by the control unit 45c in # 206, the processed switch terminal 5- is processed from the transmission data storage unit 44 as shown in FIG. 1 is deleted, and the transmission data storage unit 44 stores a control request for turning on the unprocessed switch terminal 5-2 and the air conditioner 7-1.

  When a control request for turning off the switch terminal 5-1, the switch terminal 5-2, and the air conditioner 7-1 is received, an unprocessed data stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 is received by the control unit 45c. The control request for turning on the switch terminal 5-2 and the air conditioner 7-1 is deleted, and as shown in FIG. 11B, the newly received switch terminal 5-1, switch terminal 5-2, and air conditioner are received. A control request for turning off 7-1 is stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 (# 212).

  Further, in the order in which the control requests are stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 by the control unit 45c, first, a control command for instructing an off operation based on the control request to turn off the switch terminal 5-1 is issued. Is transmitted to the switch terminal 5-1 via the power line 9 (# 213), for example, the timer 46 measures the time T4 (# 214), and when the time T4 has elapsed, the control unit 45c stores it in the transmission data storage unit 44. A control command for instructing an off operation based on the control request to turn off the switch terminal 5-2 is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42 to the switch terminal 5-2 via the power line 9 (# 215). The time T8 is counted by the timer 46 (# 216), and when the time T8 has elapsed, it is stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 by the control unit 45c. A control command for instructing an off operation based on a control request for turning off the air conditioner 7-1 is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42 to the air conditioner 7-1 via the power line 9 (# 217), and the time T0 has elapsed. Until this time, transmission of a new control request is prohibited (# 218).

  As described above, the network communication unit 41 newly receives a control request for the same power line carrier communication terminal device before processing the control request stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 by the operations of # 201 to # 218 described above. In other words, when a plurality of control requests are received, the newly received control request is processed without processing the control request already stored in the transmission data storage unit 44, so that the power line carrier is transmitted from the gateway device 4c. Transmission of unnecessary control commands to the communication terminal device is reduced, processing is speeded up, and unnecessary operation of the power line carrier communication terminal device is suppressed.

  Next, the operation of the remote monitoring control system 1c when the network communication unit 41 receives a control request with a high priority set in advance, for example, a state acquisition request for requesting information regarding the operation state of the air conditioner 7-2. This will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the monitor control terminal 3 continuously receives an operation input for turning on the switch terminal 5-1, the switch terminal 5-2, and the air conditioner 7-1 by the user (# 201), the monitor control terminal 3 Control requests (# 202, # 203, # 204) to turn on the switch terminal 5-1, the switch terminal 5-2, and the air conditioner 7-1 are continuously transmitted to the gateway device 4c via the communication network 8. A control request for turning on the switch terminal 5-1 and a control request for turning on the switch terminal 5-2 by the transmission data storage unit 44; A control request for turning on the air conditioner 7-1 is stored.

  Next, the control unit 45c processes the control request stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 (# 205). First, in the order in which the control requests are stored in the transmission data storage unit 44, a control command for turning on the switch terminal 5-1 is issued from the power line carrier communication unit 42 via the power line 9 by the control unit 45c. -1 and transmission of a new control request is prohibited for the time until time T4 elapses (# 207).

  Until the time T4 elapses, control requests from the supervisory control terminal 3 to the switch terminals 5-1 and 5-2 and the power line carrier communication terminal device having higher priority than the air conditioner 7-1, for example, the air conditioner 7 -2 is received from the monitoring control terminal 3 (# 221) and received by the network communication unit 41 in the gateway device 4c, after the time T4 has elapsed. Prior to transmission of a control command to the switch terminal 5-2, processing for a request with high priority, for example, a state acquisition request processing interrupt (# 222) is executed.

  Specifically, before the transmission of the control command to the switch terminal 5-2, a status acquisition request for requesting information regarding the operation status is transmitted from the gateway device 4 to the air conditioner 7-2 in response to the status acquisition request (# 223), status information regarding the operating state of the air conditioner 7-2 is returned from the air conditioner 7-2 to the gateway device 4c (# 224), and status information is returned from the gateway device 4c to the monitoring control terminal 3 (# 225). Thereafter, the processing of the control request stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 is resumed (# 226), the control command to the switch terminal 5-2 (# 215), and the control command to the air conditioner 7-1 (# 217). ) Is sent.

  Thereby, when a high priority request is transmitted from the supervisory control terminal 3 to the gateway device 4, the priority is high without waiting for the processing of the control request stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 to end. The request can be processed first. For example, when notifying the operation state of the air conditioner 7-2 to the user, other control stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 is set by setting the priority of the state acquisition request higher than other processing. Since the status information of the air conditioner 7-2 can be acquired by the status acquisition request processing and notified to the user without waiting for the completion of the request processing, the waiting time of the user is shortened.

  It should be noted that priority is set in advance for each power line carrier communication terminal device or for each type of control command, and the control unit 45c determines the priority when a plurality of control requests are stored in the transmission data storage unit 44. Processing may be performed in order from the highest control request. The priority is set by, for example, storing the priority table 411 illustrated in FIG. 13 in the terminal information management unit 43 in advance. The priority table 411 corresponds to an example of priority order correspondence information, and is a data table in which priorities are associated and stored for each power line carrier communication terminal device connected to the power line 9. FIG. 13 shows that the priority is higher in the order of A, B, and C.

  FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example in which control commands are transmitted in the order of predetermined priority. As shown in FIG. 14, when the monitoring control terminal 3 continuously receives an operation input for turning on the switch terminal 5-1, the switch terminal 5-2, and the air conditioner 7-1 by the user (# 201). A control request (# 202) for turning on the switch terminal 5-1 and a control request (# 203) for turning on the switch terminal 5-2 are sent from the monitoring control terminal 3 to the gateway device 4c via the communication network 8. ) And a control request (# 204) to turn on the air conditioner 7-1 are continuously transmitted and received by the network communication unit 41 in the gateway device 4c, and the switch terminal 5-1 is switched by the transmission data storage unit 44. A control request for turning on, a control request for turning on the switch terminal 5-2, and a control request for turning on the air conditioner 7-1 are recorded. It is.

  Next, the control unit 45c processes the control requests stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 in descending order of priority according to the priority table 411 stored in the terminal information management unit 43 (# 205). In this case, in order of priority, the control command (# 206) to the switch terminal 5-1, the control command (# 207) to the air conditioner 7-1, and the control command (# 208) to the switch terminal 5-2. Control commands are sequentially transmitted from the gateway device 4c.

  In addition, after storing a plurality of control requests in the transmission data storage unit 44, the control unit 45c stores the plurality of control requests stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 in the priority stored in the terminal information management unit 43. The example in which the processing is performed in descending order of priority according to the degree table 411 is shown, but the control unit 45c sends the control request received by the network communication unit 41 according to the priority table 411 stored in the terminal information management unit 43. It is good also as a structure which memorize | stores in the transmission data storage part 44 in order with a high priority, and processes a control request in the order memorize | stored in the transmission data storage part 44.

  Thereby, the priority of the processing of the control command can be set for each power line carrier communication terminal device or for each type of the control command, and the control command can be executed in the descending order of priority. For example, when the electric lock is connected to the power line 9 as a power line carrier communication terminal device, the priority of the control command for the electric lock is set higher than that of the switch terminal 5 so that the user can lock the electric lock, for example. When it is desired to perform the control before the lighting control, it is possible to preferentially execute the transmission of the control command to the electric lock over the switch terminal 5 set in conjunction with the lighting terminal 6 by the gateway device 4c. Can be improved.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, a remote monitoring control system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a remote monitoring control system 1d according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The remote monitoring control system 1d shown in FIG. 15 is different from the remote monitoring control system 1 shown in FIG. 1 in the following points. That is, the remote monitoring control system 1 d shown in FIG. 15 includes a gateway device 4 d instead of the gateway device 4. A remote monitoring control system 1 d shown in FIG. 15 is shown in FIG. 2 like the remote monitoring control system 1 shown in FIG. 1 and includes a control unit 45 d instead of the control unit 45.

  Sensors 10-1 to 10-6, which are examples of human detection devices that detect the presence of a person, are provided in the vicinity of the plurality of lighting terminals 6-1 to 6-6, respectively. The sensor 10-6 is communicably connected to the network communication unit 41 in the gateway device 4d via the communication network 8. In this case, the network communication unit 41 corresponds to an example of a detection signal receiving unit in the claims. The sensors 10-1 to 10-6 are human sensors configured using, for example, infrared sensors.

  Also, as illustrated in FIG. 16, for example, the terminal information management unit 43 in the gateway device 4d includes a terminal name 442 that is the name of the lighting terminal 6-1 to the lighting terminal 6-6 and a lighting terminal 6-1 to lighting. Position information 443 indicating the position where the terminal 6-6 is provided, and corresponding sensors which are names of the sensors 10-1 to 10-6 provided in the vicinity of the lighting terminals 6-1 to 6-6 A terminal location information table 441, which is an example of location correspondence information that associates the name 444, is further stored.

  FIG. 17 is a floor plan illustrating an example of installation states of the monitoring control terminal 3, the gateway device 4d, the lighting terminal 6, and the sensor 10 when the remote monitoring control system 1d is installed in a house, for example. In the floor plan shown in FIG. 17, the monitoring control terminal 3 and the gateway device 4 d are attached to the wall surface of the entrance, the sensor 10-1 and the lighting terminal 6-1 are installed in the living room, and the sensor 10-2 and the lighting terminal 6. -2 is installed in the dining room, the sensor 10-3 and the lighting terminal 6-3 are installed in the hallway, the sensor 10-4 and the lighting terminal 6-4 are installed in the bedroom, the sensor 10-5 and the lighting terminal 6-5 is installed in the bathroom, and the sensor 10-6 and the lighting terminal 6-6 are installed at the entrance. Further, the gateway device 4d is installed on, for example, a home information distribution board so as not to be noticed by the public.

  In the terminal position information table 441 shown in FIG. 16, the name of the room that indicates the location where each lighting terminal 6 is installed, for example, the living room, as the position information 443 of the lighting terminals 6-1 to 6-6. Character information indicating a room name such as dining, etc., and coordinate information indicating a position where each lighting terminal 6 is installed in two-dimensional coordinates such as (x1, y1) are stored. The terminal location information table 441 uses, for example, a dedicated setting tool connected to the gateway device 4d, a personal computer connected to the communication network 8, and a setting tool such as a Web browser operating on the personal computer, to use the terminal information management unit 43. Is remembered. As the two-dimensional coordinates such as (x1, y1), for example, two-dimensional coordinates based on the coordinate display on the setting tool can be used.

  The control unit 45d receives another control request from the network communication unit 41 before the transmission of the control command to the one power line carrier communication terminal device is started. When a control request to the power line carrier communication terminal device is received, that is, when a plurality of control requests are received and a detection signal indicating the presence of a person by the sensor 10 is received, it is stored in the terminal information management unit 43. Based on the terminal location information table 441, the one power line carrier communication terminal device, in order from the power line carrier communication terminal device provided in the vicinity of the sensor 10 that is the transmission source of the detection signal indicating the presence of the person, A control command to another power line carrier communication terminal device is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42.

  Since the other configuration is the same as that of the remote monitoring control system 1 shown in FIG. 1, the description thereof will be omitted, and the operation of the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the remote monitoring control system 1d shown in FIG. First, for example, when the user goes to the entrance to go out of the house, the presence of a person is detected by the sensor 10-6 installed at the entrance, and the person's presence is detected from the sensor 10-6 to the gateway device 4d via the communication network 8. A detection signal indicating the presence is transmitted (# 301).

  Furthermore, when an operation input for instructing “outing pattern control” set in advance as a control pattern when the user goes out of the house is received by the monitoring control terminal 3 (# 302), the outing pattern control request is The data is transmitted from the monitoring control terminal 3 to the gateway device 4d via the communication network 8 (# 303) and received by the network communication unit 41 in the gateway device 4d. In the gateway device 4d, for example, the terminal information management unit 43 turns on the entrance and corridor illumination (the illumination terminal 6-6 and the illumination terminal 6-3) as an operation corresponding to “outing pattern control”, and other illumination (illumination). Pattern settings for turning off the terminal 6-1, the lighting terminal 6-2, the lighting terminal 6-4, and the lighting terminal 6-5) are stored in advance.

  When the network communication unit 41 in the gateway device 4d receives the detection signal indicating the presence of a person from the sensor 10-6 and the outing pattern control request from the monitoring control terminal 3, the control unit 45d causes the terminal to Pattern setting is performed from the position information (x6, y6) of the lighting terminal 6-6 associated with the lighting terminal 6-6 that has detected the presence of a person by the terminal position information table 441 stored in the information management unit 43. The distance from the lighting terminal 6-1 to the lighting terminal 6-6 stored as is calculated based on the position information 443, and the control order is determined in the order from the lighting terminal 6-6. Then, by the control unit 45d, for example, the control command for turning on the lighting terminal 6-6, the control command for turning off the lighting terminal 6-5, and the lighting terminal 6-3 in the order closer to the lighting terminal 6-6. A control command for turning on, a control command for turning off the lighting terminal 6-1, a control command for turning off the lighting terminal 6-4, and a control command for turning off the lighting terminal 6-2 are in this order. The data is stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 and processed in the stored order (# 304).

  First, a control command for turning on the lighting terminal 6-6 stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42 to the lighting terminal 6-6 via the power line 9 by the control unit 45d. The lighting terminal 6-6 is turned on (# 305). Then, the control unit 45d refers to the terminal information management table 430 of FIG. 3 stored in the terminal information management unit 43 to acquire the control score “0” of the lighting terminal 6-6, and further, the delay shown in FIG. The time information table 431 is referred to, the time T0 corresponding to the control score “0” is acquired as the delay time interval 439, and the lighting terminal 6 stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 by the control unit 45d after the time T0 has elapsed. A control command for turning off −5 is transmitted from the power line carrier communication unit 42 to the lighting terminal 6-5 through the power line 9, and the lighting terminal 6-5 is turned off (# 306).

  The same operation is repeated for other control commands stored in the transmission data storage unit 44 (# 307 to # 310), and the control of the power line carrier communication terminal device corresponding to “outing pattern control” detects the presence of a person. It is executed in order from the closest position.

  Further, for example, an operation input for instructing “going out pattern control” is performed in the living room shown in FIG. 17 using a monitor control terminal that the user can move, such as a mobile phone or a Web browser operating on a personal computer. In this case, since a detection signal indicating the presence of a person is transmitted from the sensor 10-1 installed in the living room to the gateway device 4d via the communication network 8, the sensor 10- in the processes of # 304 to # 310 above. For example, lighting terminal 6-1, lighting terminal 6-2, lighting terminal 6-3, lighting terminal 6-6, lighting terminal 6-5, and lighting. In order of the terminal 6-4, the control command is transmitted from the gateway device 4d to the lighting terminals 6-1 to 6-6.

  Thereby, the operation | movement according to a user's control request | requirement can be made in an order from the power line carrier communication terminal device installed in the position near the user who performed the operation instruction of the remote monitoring control system 1d, that is, the position visible to the user. Therefore, it becomes easy for the user to visually confirm the operation of the power line carrier communication terminal device.

  In addition, although the example which memorize | stores pattern setting in the gateway apparatus 4d was shown, you may make it memorize | store in the monitoring control terminal 3. FIG. Further, in the terminal position information table 441, each power line carrier communication terminal device stores the position information of its own terminal. For example, when the remote monitoring control system 1d is activated, the gateway device 4d is connected to the power line carrier communication via the power line 9. The position information may be acquired from each power line carrier communication terminal device to generate the terminal position information table 441. The monitoring control terminal 3 stores the terminal location information table 441 in advance, and the gateway device 4d acquires the terminal location information table 441 from the monitoring control terminal 3 via the communication network 8 by communication. Good.

  The position information 443 in the terminal position information table 441 may be, for example, in the floor plan shown in FIG. 17, the coordinates indicating the position of each lighting terminal 6 with the lower right as the origin (0, 0), or in the actual room. The thing etc. which showed the distance between each lighting terminal 6 may be sufficient. Further, the terminal position information table 441 may be included in other data tables such as the terminal information management table 430 and the delay time information table 431, for example.

  In addition, although the sensor 10-1-the sensor 10-6 showed the example communicably connected with the network communication part 41 in the gateway apparatus 4d via the communication network 8, the sensor 10-1-the sensor 10-6 are shown, for example. Is a power line carrier communication terminal having a power line carrier communication function, and may be configured to transmit a detection signal to the gateway device 4d via the power line 9 by power line carrier communication.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the gateway apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and a remote monitoring control system. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the gateway apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the terminal information management table memorize | stored in the terminal information management part shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the delay time information table memorize | stored in the terminal information management part shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the remote monitoring control system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the remote monitoring control system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating another example of operation | movement of the remote monitoring control system shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the delay time information table memorize | stored in the terminal information management part shown in FIG. 2 in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the remote monitoring control system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the remote monitoring control system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the state of the control request memorize | stored in the transmission data storage part shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the remote monitoring control system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the priority table memorize | stored in the terminal information management part shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the remote monitoring control system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the remote monitoring control system which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the terminal location information table memorize | stored in the terminal information management part shown in FIG. It is a floor plan which shows an example of the arrangement | positioning plan at the time of arrange | positioning the remote monitoring control system shown in FIG. 15 in a house. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the remote monitoring control system which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the remote monitoring control system which concerns on background art.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d Remote monitoring control system 3 Monitoring control terminal 4, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d Gateway device 5, 5a Switch terminal 6 Lighting terminal 7, 7a Air conditioner 8 Communication network 9 Power line 10 Sensor 41 Network communication Unit 42 Power line carrier communication unit 43 Terminal information management unit 44 Transmission data storage unit 45, 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d Control unit 46 Timer 411 Priority table 430 Terminal information management table 431, 431a Delay time information table 436, 438 Control score 439, 439a Delay time interval 441 Terminal position information table 443 Position information

Claims (7)

A control request for operation of a plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices connected to a power line is received from a monitoring control terminal connected via a network, and a control command corresponding to the received control request is received from the plurality of power lines A gateway device for transmitting via a power line by power line carrier communication to a carrier communication terminal device,
A network communication unit that communicates with the monitoring control terminal via the network;
A power line carrier communication unit that performs power line carrier communication with the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices via the power line;
When the control command is transmitted by the power line carrier communication unit to one power line carrier communication terminal device among the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices, the one power line carrier communication terminal device communicates with another power line carrier communication terminal device. A storage unit that stores in advance time information related to the time required to execute power line carrier communication between the power line carrier communication terminal devices,
When the network communication unit receives the control request from the supervisory control terminal to one power line carrier communication terminal device among the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices via the network, the received control request The power line carrier communication unit transmits a control command according to the power line carrier communication unit, and the power line carrier communication unit stores the one power line stored in the storage unit after the control command is transmitted by the power line carrier communication unit. A control unit that prohibits transmission of the new control command by the power line carrier communication unit in the time until the time based on the time information corresponding to the carrier communication terminal device elapses;
A gateway device comprising:   The control unit causes the power line carrier communication unit to receive the time information from the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices, and receives the time information received by the power line carrier communication unit for the power line carrier communication terminal devices. The gateway device according to claim 1, wherein time information is stored in the storage unit. The power line carrier communication unit is configured to execute the power line carrier communication at a plurality of communication speeds.
The storage unit stores in advance communication speed correspondence information that associates the time information corresponding to each of a plurality of communication speeds executable by the power line carrier communication unit with the communication speed,
The control unit sets a communication speed of the power line carrier communication by the power line carrier communication unit, and tries to execute the set communication speed and power line carrier communication based on communication speed correspondence information stored in the storage unit. The gateway device according to claim 1, wherein transmission of the new control command is prohibited based on time information associated with the power line carrier communication terminal device. A control request for operation of a plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices connected to a power line is received from a monitoring control terminal connected via a network, and a control command corresponding to the received control request is received from the plurality of power lines A gateway device for transmitting via a power line by power line carrier communication to a carrier communication terminal device,
A network communication unit that communicates with the monitoring control terminal via the network;
A power line carrier communication unit that performs power line carrier communication with the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices via the power line;
When the network communication unit receives the control request from the supervisory control terminal to one power line carrier communication terminal device among the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices via the network, the received control request The power line carrier communication unit transmits a control command according to the power line carrier communication unit, and after the control command is transmitted by the power line carrier communication unit, the power line carrier communication unit transmits the control command. Control for prohibiting transmission of a new control command by the power line carrier communication unit until a control completion notification indicating that power line carrier communication with another power line carrier communication terminal device is completed is received from the terminal device And
A gateway device comprising: The storage unit further stores in advance priority correspondence information that associates a priority order of the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices with each power line carrier communication terminal device,
When the control request to the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices is received by the power line carrier communication unit, the control unit stores transmission of control commands to the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices in the storage unit. 5. The gateway device according to claim 1, wherein the power line carrier communication unit causes the power line carrier communication unit to perform the operations in descending order of priority based on the priority order correspondence information that has been set. A human detection device for detecting the presence of a person is provided in the vicinity of the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices,
A detection signal receiving unit for receiving a detection signal indicating the presence or absence of a person transmitted from each person detection device;
The storage unit includes position information indicating positions where the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices and the power line carrier communication terminal devices are provided, and the person detection device provided in the vicinity of each power line carrier communication terminal device. In addition, position correspondence information that associates
When the control signal to the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices is received by the network communication unit and the detection signal indicating the presence of a person is received by the detection signal receiving unit, the control unit stores the memory The one power line in order from the power line carrier communication terminal device provided in the vicinity of the person detecting device that is the transmission source of the detection signal indicating the presence of the person based on the position correspondence information stored in the unit The gateway device according to claim 1, wherein the power line carrier communication unit transmits the control command to a carrier communication terminal device and another power line carrier communication terminal device. A plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices connected to the power line;
A gateway device configured to be able to perform power line carrier communication with the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices via the power line;
A monitoring control terminal that is communicably connected to the gateway device via a network, and that transmits a control request for the operation of the plurality of power line carrier communication terminal devices to the gateway device;
With
The remote monitoring control system, wherein the gateway device is the gateway device according to claim 1.

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