JP2011150651A - Facility for guiding to area used - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To guide workers to desired working areas within an office space according to time divisions. <P>SOLUTION: A facility for guiding to areas used includes a plurality of power feeding devices 2 for feeding power to electric apparatuses 5 installed in each working area A and used by workers in the working area A, and a central control device 1 which can communicate with the power feeding devices 2. The central control device 1 performs control to switch the on/off state of the power feeding device 2 in each working area A according to usable area definition information. In the working area A where the power feeding device 2 is in a power off state, power is fed from the power feeding device 2 to personal computers and other electric apparatuses 5 so that they cannot be used for work. Naturally workers move spontaneously into the area where the power feeding device 2 is in a power on state. In this way, the working area A to be used by the workers can be controlled in a desired way. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a use area guidance facility which is applied to an office space including a plurality of work areas and which intends to guide a worker to a desired work area according to a time division.

  A free address office (for example, see the following non-patent document) that employs a free address format office layout is said to have started in the late 1980s. In the free address office, there will be a cafe-style floor with desks and chairs that anyone can use freely without fixing their own seats. The worker brings equipment to be used such as a personal computer and necessary documents, and sits in a vacant work area to work. It is only necessary to prepare a work area that is smaller than the number of workers enrolled, and it is possible to reduce the floor area and reduce furniture and fixtures by improving the efficiency of space use. And has been widely adopted by service departments.

In recent years, the reason for introducing a free address office has also changed. In other words, effects other than cost reduction have come to be close-up, and an increasing number of companies are implementing free addressing for the following secondary effects.
・ Activation of communication between workers due to the fact that seats are not fixed ・ Collaboration across departments and departments depending on the work content If the free address office continues to operate for a long time, it tends to fall into a situation where the same worker is seated in the same work area at any time. If this happens, it will be virtually the same as fixing each person's own seat, and the benefits of the free address system will not be demonstrated.

  Furthermore, today, there is a demand for offices that are more conscious of ecology and energy conservation. For example, in a situation where a relatively small number of workers continue to work, such as after the end of normal working hours, if workers are scattered over a wide area on the floor, the number of workers is small. Therefore, lighting and air conditioning must be supplied to the entire floor, resulting in wasted energy consumption.

  Even within a single floor, there are differences in environmental conditions depending on the location, such as sunny areas, areas where it is difficult to get in the sun, areas where air conditioning is effective, and areas where ventilation is significant. If it is daytime, the use of a sunny area mainly leads to suppressing the amount of illumination on the floor and heating in winter. If it is after sunset, it is preferable to use an area with good air-conditioning and high heat retention regardless of the sunlight.

  If workers can be voluntarily collected in a work area that is advantageous in terms of energy conservation, energy efficiency can be improved. However, the viewpoint of guiding a worker to a desired work area according to time and circumstances has not been paid attention so far.

Hitoshi Shimamura, Tetsuya Yamada, Takeshi Sugiyama, Minari Iwata, “Study on Free Addressing of Research Office Space Part 1: Analysis of Effects of Free Address Office Using Folding Mobile Desk by User Satisfaction Evaluation”, Architectural Institute of Japan Planning-related papers, Architectural Institute of Japan, July 30, 1998, No. 509, pp. 129-134 Kazuyuki Iwakiri, Ippei Mohri, Midori Toyama, Kaori Nose, Takanori Ochiai, Hiroshi Saito, Susumu Saito, “Attitudes and physical fatigue of VDT workers in free address office layouts”, Journal of Occupational Health, Japan Industrial Hygiene Society, January 20, 2006, Vol. 48, pp. 7-14

  An object of the present invention is to enable a worker to be guided to a desired work area in an office space according to a time division.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is applied to an office space that includes a plurality of work areas, and is installed in each work area, and a plurality of power feeds for feeding power to an electrical device used by a worker in the work area. Equipment and a central control device communicable with each of the power supply devices. The central control device uses each power supply to turn ON / OFF power supply for each time section. An area definition storage unit that stores and holds usable area definition information that is individually defined for each device, and a power supply by each power supply device according to a time division based on the usable area definition information stored in the area definition storage unit A power supply command transmission unit that transmits a control command for realizing ON / OFF switching to each power supply device, and the power supply device includes the central control device. A power supply command receiving unit that receives a control command from the power supply, a power supply control unit that switches ON / OFF of power supply in response to the control command received by the power supply command receiving unit, and a power supply ON / OFF that is switched by the power supply control unit A use area guidance facility is provided that includes a power supply state display unit that displays an OFF state in a manner that the worker can visually recognize.

  According to the present use area guidance facility, each power supply apparatus installed in each work area can be switched ON / OFF according to the necessity of an operator of the office space or the like. In a work area where the power supply apparatus is in a power supply OFF state, the power supply apparatus cannot supply power to a personal computer or other electrical equipment and use it for work. Then, the worker cannot work in the work area or it becomes difficult to work. Inevitably, the worker easily moves to an area where the power supply apparatus in which power supply is in an easy state, that is, in a power supply ON state, is located. In this way, the work area used by the worker can be arbitrarily controlled.

  The central control device receives a power amount information indicating the amount of power supplied by each of the power supply devices, and based on the power amount information received by the power amount reception unit, each work area or office space A power consumption storage unit for storing and holding power consumption, and a cumulative or time series of power consumption of each work area or office space stored in the power consumption storage unit is displayed on a display, printed out, Or, if it is further provided with a power consumption output unit that transmits to an external information processing apparatus, an operator of the office space can easily grasp the power consumed in each work area or office space. It becomes possible.

  If the power supply apparatus further includes a power supply display unit that displays the power currently supplied by the power supply apparatus or the amount of power supplied so far in a manner that the worker can visually recognize, the work area is used. Alternatively, it is possible to make the worker who wants to use know the power consumption and / or the amount of power consumption and to be aware of energy saving.

  Based on the usable area definition information stored in the area definition storage unit by the central control device, the lighting device that illuminates the work area where the power supply device is currently in the power supply ON state or the air conditioner that air-conditions the work area To send control commands for turning them on toward the lighting device and turn them off toward the lighting device that illuminates the work area where the power supply device is currently in the power supply OFF state or the air conditioner that air-conditions the work area If a supplementary command transmission unit for transmitting the control command is further provided, ON / OFF switching of power feeding from the power feeding device in each work area, and ON / OFF switching of illumination and / or air conditioning supplied to the work area And the worker's induction effect and energy saving effect are further enhanced.

  The power supply device is connected to the central control device from the electrical equipment or other accompanying equipment (equipment attached so that a worker using a work area can be used, for example, a printer, a facsimile, a copier, a soft drink, If a power supply is turned off immediately when receiving a control command to turn off the power supply to a provider (such as a vending machine), the worker is using these devices. There is a risk of forcibly stopping the operation of the equipment, which not only imposes a burden on the worker, but may also lead to failure of these equipment (hard disk crash, paper jam, etc.). Therefore, the power supply control unit of the power supply device determines the operating status of the electrical device or the associated device connected to the power supply device before switching the power supply to OFF, and the electrical device or the associated device is operating. If it is determined, it is preferable to maintain the power supply without immediately turning off the power supply.

  According to the present invention, a worker can be guided to a desired work area in an office space according to a time segment.

The figure which shows the whole use area guidance facility of one Embodiment of this invention. The typical top view which shows the installation aspect of the electric power feeder in the embodiment. The perspective view which shows the installation aspect of the electric power feeder. The perspective view of the electric power feeder. The figure which shows the hardware resource of the electric power feeder. The functional block diagram of the electric power feeder. The figure which shows the hardware resource of the central control apparatus in the embodiment. The functional block diagram of the central control apparatus. The figure which illustrates the usable area definition information which the central control apparatus stores. The figure which illustrates the information of the electric energy of supply (consumption) in each electric power feeder which the same central control apparatus stores. The flowchart which shows the example of a procedure of the process which the same central control apparatus performs. The flowchart which shows the example of a procedure of the process which the electric power feeder in the same embodiment performs.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the use area guidance facility of the present embodiment is applied to an office space that includes a plurality of work areas A, such as a free address office. The work area A is a section having at least one office seat, and the size is a desk unit, an island unit, a partition unit, a room unit, a floor unit, a floor unit (an office space spans multiple floors). And so on). Each worker is engaged in work in any work area A while using various electric devices 5 such as personal computers and other OA devices, task lights, cup warmers, and table fans.

  The use area guidance facility is installed for each work area A, and a plurality of power supply devices 2 for supplying power to the electrical equipment 5 used by the worker in the work area A, and each of these power supply devices 2 and a LAN (Local Area Network). The main control unit 1 is a central control device 1 capable of communication via a telecommunication line such as WAN (Wide Area Network).

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the power feeding device 2 has an appearance like a power feeding tap attached to a work desk arranged in the work area A. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the power supply apparatus 2 includes hardware resources such as a power receiving circuit 2a, a power supply circuit 2b, a storage device 2c, a display 2d, an audio output device 2e, and a communication interface 2f. It is controlled by the controller 2g and operates in cooperation.

  The power receiving circuit 2a takes in electric power from an external power source, generally a power line laid in an office building. However, the external power source mentioned here may be a battery that supplies power to each work area unit, a battery that supplies power to a plurality of work areas at once, or a battery that supplies power to the entire office space. . For example, this battery stores electric power (so-called night electric power) from a power line or the like at night, and supplies the electric power to an electric device via the power feeding device 2 in the daytime. Of course, it may be one that stores electric power from solar power generation or other renewable energy sources.

  The power feeding circuit 2b supplies power taken from an external power source to the electrical equipment 5 used by the worker via one or a plurality of outlets 2h. On the power supply circuit 2b, a switch (a semiconductor switching element such as a transistor or a relay, not shown) that can be switched between energization / interruption to the outlet 2h, and the power and the amount of power supplied via the outlet 2h are measured in advance. A possible electronic watt-hour meter IC (not shown) is mounted.

  The storage device 2c is a flash memory or the like. The display 2d is a liquid crystal display or the like that can display at least character string information. The audio output device 2e is a piezoelectric element buzzer or the like. The communication interface 2f is a device for performing information communication via an electric communication line, and is typified by a NIC (Network Interface Card) or a wireless LAN transceiver, but in addition to these, a USB (Universal Serial Bus), IEEE1394, or the like is used. An interface can also be adopted. Incidentally, the power supply apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment also serves as a hub, and also includes a connector (modular jack) 2i that can connect a communication cable connected to a personal computer or the like used by the worker.

  The controller 2g inputs a control signal to the switch on the power supply circuit 2b to switch the energization / cutoff of the switch, obtains the supply power and supply power value measured by the watt-hour meter, or via the communication interface 2f. Various control processes such as communication with the central controller 1 are executed. In addition, the power supply apparatus 2 exhibits functions as a power supply command receiving unit 201, a power supply control unit 202, a power supply state display unit 203, a power supply power display unit 204, and a power amount transmission unit 205 shown in FIG.

  The power supply command receiving unit 201 receives a control command provided from the central control device 1 via the communication interface 2f. The control command is a command for realizing ON / OFF switching of power supply to the electric device 5 through the outlet 2h.

  The power supply control unit 202 performs power supply ON / OFF switching in response to the control command received by the power supply command receiving unit 201. Specifically, when the controller 2g inputs a control signal to the switch on the power supply circuit 2b, the controller 2g switches the connection / disconnection of the switch, thereby turning on / off the power supply to the electrical device 5 via the outlet 2h. To do.

  The power supply state display unit 203 displays the ON / OFF state of power supply switched by the power supply control unit 202 in a manner that the worker can visually recognize. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the controller 2g displays on the display 2d whether the power supply is currently ON or the power supply OFF state.

  The supplied power display unit 204 displays the power supplied by the power supply apparatus 2 via the outlet 2h or the amount of power supplied so far in a manner that the worker can visually recognize. Specifically, the controller 2g is within the current supply power W and / or the unit period up to the present time (morning / afternoon, daytime / nighttime, today, this month, this year, the most recent month, etc.) The value of the consumed integrated power amount kWh is acquired from the wattmeter, and the value is displayed on the display 2d as shown in FIG.

  The power amount transmission unit 205 transmits the amount of power supplied by the power supply device 2 via the outlet 2h toward the central control device 1. Specifically, the controller 2g acquires the value of the integrated power amount kWh consumed within the unit period up to the present time from the wattmeter, and transmits information including the value via the communication interface 2f.

  The central controller 1 is a personal computer, a workstation, a server computer, or the like, or a similar computer, and is managed by a person who operates an office space. As shown in FIG. 7, the central control device 1 includes hardware resources such as a processor 1a, a main memory 1b, an auxiliary storage device 1c, a display control device 1d, a display 1e, an operation input device 1f, and a communication interface 1g. These are controlled by the system controller, I / O controller, etc. 1h, and operate in cooperation.

  The auxiliary storage device 1c is a hard disk drive, a flash memory, an optical disk drive, or the like. The display control device 1d temporarily stores the video chip (or graphics processor) that generates image data to be displayed based on the drawing instruction received from the processor 1a and sends it to the display 1e, and the image data. The video memory etc. The operation input device 1f is a pointing device such as a push button, a keyboard, a mouse, a track pad, or a touch panel that can be operated with fingers. As described above, the communication interface 1g is a device for performing information communication via a telecommunication line.

  A program to be executed by the processor 1a is stored in the auxiliary storage device 1c. When the program is executed, the program is read from the auxiliary storage device 1c into the main memory 1b and decoded by the processor 1a. In the present embodiment, an existing operating system program and various device driver programs attached thereto are installed in advance to mediate use of hardware resources by other programs. In addition, programs necessary for configuring the central control device 1 are installed, and the hardware resources are operated according to these programs, so that the area definition storage unit 101 and the power supply command transmission unit 102 shown in FIG. The power consumption receiving unit 103, the power consumption storage unit 104, the power consumption output unit 105, and the auxiliary command transmission unit 106 are exhibited.

  The area definition storage unit 101 stores and holds usable area definition information for individually specifying ON / OFF of power supply for each time section by the power supply apparatus 2 for each power supply apparatus 2. FIG. 9 is an example of usable area definition information. The area definition storage unit 101 includes a value indicating a time segment (hour, minute, day of the week, date, etc.) and a value indicating whether power supply by the power supply device 2 is turned on or off in the time segment. Is stored in association with an identifier for identifying the power feeding device 2 (or work area A). This usable area definition information is information that defines a usable time zone of each work area A in which the power supply apparatus 2 is installed. That is, the time zone in which the power feeding by the power feeding device 2 is in the ON state is the time zone in which the use of the target work area A is permitted. The usable area definition information is manually input via an operation input device 1f by an operator of an office space or the like, or is transmitted from an external information processing apparatus connected via an electric communication line. The central control device 1 accepts or receives manual input of usable area definition information, and stores it using a required storage area of the main memory 1b or the auxiliary storage device 1c.

  Based on the usable area definition information stored in the area definition storage unit 101, the power supply command transmission unit 102 issues a control command for realizing ON / OFF switching of power supply by each power supply device 2 according to the time segment. It transmits toward each electric power feeder 2. Specifically, referring to the usable area definition information, compared with the current date and time acquired from the clock circuit (not shown), the power feeding device 2 (to be switched from the power feeding ON state to the power feeding OFF state at the current date and time) Identifier) and the power supply device 2 (identifier) to be switched from the power supply OFF state to the power supply ON state are extracted. Then, a command to turn off the power supply is transmitted to the power supply apparatus 2 to be switched from the power supply ON state to the power supply OFF state via the communication interface 1g, and the power supply apparatus 2 to be switched from the power supply OFF state to the power supply ON state is transmitted to A command to turn on the power supply is transmitted via the communication interface 1g.

  The power amount receiving unit 103 receives power amount information indicating the amount of power supplied from each power supply device 2 that is supplied from each power supply device 2 via the communication interface 1g.

  The power consumption amount storage unit 104 stores and holds the power consumption amount of each work area A or office space based on the power amount information received by the power amount reception unit 103. FIG. 10 is an example of information on power consumption. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the power consumption storage unit 104 supplies a value indicating a predetermined unit period and a value indicating the power consumption supplied by the power supply apparatus 2 in the unit period as a target power supply. It is stored in association with an identifier for identifying the device 2. The central controller 1 stores the information on the power consumption obtained from each power supply device 2 by using a required storage area of the main memory 1b or the auxiliary storage device 1c.

  The power consumption output unit 105 outputs the total or time series of the power consumption of each work area A or office space stored in the power consumption storage unit 104, and is used for browsing by an operator of the office space. The central control device 1 receives an instruction to output cumulative power consumption or time-series information by an operator of the office space or the like via the operation input device 1f or receives it from an external information processing device. . Then, based on the information stored in the power consumption storage unit 104, the integrated power amount kWh supplied from each power supply device 2 is calculated within the unit period, and / or within the office space within the unit period. The cumulative value of the integrated power amount kWh supplied from a plurality or all of the power supply apparatuses 2 is calculated. Further, a chart or graph representing a time series of the integrated power consumption kWh is drawn and generated, displayed on the display 1e, printed out, or transmitted to an external information processing apparatus via the communication interface 1g. .

  The auxiliary command transmission unit 106 is similar to the power supply command transmission unit 102, and based on the usable area definition information stored in the area definition storage unit 101, the work area A in which the power supply apparatus 2 is currently in the power supply ON state is displayed. The lighting device 3 that illuminates, the air conditioner 4 that air-conditions the work area A, or an accompanying device 6 such as a printer, a facsimile, a copier, or a vending machine that is attached to be used by a user who uses the work area A While the control command for turning them on is transmitted, the illumination device 3 that illuminates the work area A where the power supply device 2 is currently in the power supply OFF state, the air conditioner 4 that air-conditions the work area A, or the same work area A control command for turning them off is transmitted to the accompanying device 6 attached to A. In short, the object to which the control command is transmitted is the architectural lighting 3, the air conditioner 4, or the accompanying equipment 6 such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copier, a vending machine or the like that provides benefits to a worker who performs work in the work area A. Thus, the power supply command transmission unit 102 is different.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the associated device 6 is supplied with power from the power feeding device 2 ′. The power supply device 2 ′ is the same as the power supply device 2 except that the functions of the display 2d, the audio output device 2e, and the power supply state display unit 203 are omitted from the power supply device 2. . A control command for switching ON / OFF of the associated device 6 transmitted by the central control device 1 (complementary command transmission unit 106) is provided to the power supply device 2 ′, and the power supply device 2 ′ transmits the associated device 6 ′. ON / OFF of the associated device 6 is realized by turning ON / OFF the power supply to the.

  FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show the procedure of basic processing performed by the use area guidance facility of this embodiment. The central control device 1 acquires information on the current date and time from the timing circuit (step S1), refers to the usable area definition information, and determines the power supply device 2 to be switched from the power supply ON state to the power supply OFF state at the time of the current date and time. The identifier and the identifier of the power supply apparatus 2 to be switched from the power supply OFF state to the power supply ON state are respectively searched (steps S2 and S3).

  Then, a control command for turning off the power supply is transmitted to the power supply apparatus 2 to be switched from the power supply ON state to the power supply OFF state (step S4). At the same time, the lighting device 3 that provides illumination to the work area A where the power supply device 2 is located, the air conditioning device 4 that provides air conditioning, and a worker who performs work in the work area A A control command for turning off the function is transmitted to the power supply apparatus 2 ′ to which the associated device 6 to be used is connected (step S5).

  A control command for turning on the power supply is transmitted to the power supply apparatus 2 to be switched from the power supply OFF state to the power supply ON state (step S6). At the same time, the lighting device 3 that provides illumination to the work area A where the power supply device 2 is located, the air conditioning device 4 that provides air conditioning, and a worker who performs work in the work area A A control command for turning on the function is transmitted to the power supply apparatus 2 ′ to which the associated device 6 to be used is connected (step S7).

  On the other hand, the power feeding devices 2 and 2 'in each work area A are waiting for a control command from the central control device 1 (step S8). When the power supply device 2 or 2 ′ receives a control command for turning on the power supply (step S9), the power supply device 2 or 2 ′ switches the switch on the power supply circuit 2b to the energized state (step S10). Power can be supplied to the accompanying device 6. Conversely, when a control command for turning off the power supply is received (step S11), the switch on the power supply circuit 2b is switched to the cut-off state (step S12), and the electric device 5 and the associated device 6 used by the worker. Disabling power supply to It goes without saying that these steps S8 to S12 also apply to the lighting device 3 that provides illumination to the work area A and the air conditioning device 4 that provides air conditioning.

  However, in steps S11 to S12, power is being supplied from the power supply devices 2 and 2 'to the electric device 5 and the associated device 6, in other words, the work area A where the power supply device 2 is installed. If it is still in use, it is desirable not to immediately cut off its power supply. The power feeding device 2, 2 ′ compares the power consumption value acquired from the wattmeter with a predetermined threshold (step S13), and if the power consumption is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold, the electric device 5 or the associated device is connected via the outlet 2h. It is determined that power is being supplied to the device 6, and thus the power supply device 5 or the accompanying device is operating. Then, a warning is issued to a worker using the work area A in which the power supply device 2 is installed to notify that power supply will be turned off soon (step S14). This warning is made in a manner that appeals to the worker's vision or hearing. That is, a warning is displayed on the display 2d, or a warning sound is emitted via the audio output device 2e. However, step S14 is not essential, and there is a high probability that step S14 is not performed particularly in power feeding device 2 '. Thereafter, on the condition that a predetermined wait time (for example, 10 minutes) has passed or on the condition that the value of the power consumption obtained from the power meter has fallen below a predetermined threshold (step S15), the power feeding circuit 2b The upper switch is switched to the cutoff state (step S12).

  According to the present embodiment, a plurality of power supply devices that are applied to an office space that includes a plurality of work areas A and that are installed in each work area A and supply power to the electrical equipment 5 used by a worker in the work area A. 2 and a central control device 1 communicable with each of these power supply devices 2, and the central control device 1 turns on / off power supply for each time segment by the power supply device 2. Based on the area definition storage unit 101 that stores and holds usable area definition information that individually defines OFF for each power supply apparatus 2 and the usable area definition information stored in the area definition storage unit 101, And a power supply command transmission unit 102 for transmitting a control command for realizing ON / OFF switching of power supply by each power supply device 2 to each power supply device 2. The power supply command receiving unit 201 that receives a control command from the central control device 1 and a power supply control unit 202 that switches ON / OFF of power supply in response to the control command received by the power supply command receiving unit 201. And a power supply state display unit 203 that displays a power supply ON / OFF state that is switched by the power supply control unit 202 in a manner that the worker can visually recognize. Through the setting input of the area definition information, each power supply device 2 installed in each work area A can be switched ON / OFF according to the necessity of an office space operator or the like. The worker voluntarily moves to the area A where the power supply apparatus 2 in the power supply ON state is located after referring to the display by the power supply state display unit 203.

  By using this, for example, during the daytime, the power supply device 2 installed in the work area A with good sunlight is turned on, and the power supply device 2 installed in the work area A with poor sunlight is turned off. And Then, the worker can be guided to the sunny work area A during the daytime, and the output of the lighting and air conditioning supplied to the work area A can be reduced. Alternatively, if the power supply device 2 is turned on only in a specific work area A that is effective for cooling and heating and the power supply device 2 in other areas is turned off in a time zone such as after the normal end of work hours, the remaining power is left. Thus, workers who are continuing work can be gathered in a specific work area A, the other work areas A can be turned off, and air conditioning can be stopped. As a result, energy saving in the office can be improved.

  In addition, if the available work area A in which the power supply device 2 is in the power supply ON state is changed every moment, the problem of free address office operation that the office seats used by each worker are fixed is also solved. obtain.

  Based on the power amount information received by the power amount receiving unit 103, the power amount receiving unit 103 that receives the power amount information indicating the amount of power supplied by each of the power supply devices 2, the central control device 1 A power consumption storage unit 104 for storing and holding the power consumption of A or office space, and a cumulative or time series of the power consumption of each work area A or office space stored in the power consumption storage unit 104 is displayed. 2d, printed out, or further transmitted to an external information processing apparatus, the power consumption output unit 105 is further provided, so that the amount of power consumed in each work area A or office space can be It becomes possible for a space operator or the like to easily grasp. As a result, it can contribute to the planning of energy conservation policies in the office.

  Since the power feeding device 2 further includes a power feeding power display unit 204 that displays the power currently fed by the power feeding device 2 or the amount of power fed so far in a manner that the worker can visually recognize, the work area A The worker who uses or intends to use can be informed of the power consumption and / or the amount of power consumption, and can be aware of energy saving.

  Based on the usable area definition information stored in the area definition storage unit 101, the central controller 1 illuminates the work area A in which the power supply device 2 is currently in the power supply ON state or the same work area. Control commands for turning them on are sent to the air conditioner 4 that air-conditions A, and the power supply device 2 air-conditions the illumination device 3 that illuminates the work area A that is currently in the power-off state or the work area A Since the auxiliary command transmission unit 106 that transmits control commands for turning them off to the air conditioner 4 is further provided, the power supply ON / OFF switching from the power supply device 2 in each work area A can be performed. The lighting and / or air conditioning ON / OFF switching supplied to area A can be linked to further enhance the worker's guidance effect and energy saving effect. .

  Furthermore, when the power supply control unit 203 of the power supply device 2 or 2 ′ receives a control command from the central control device 1 to turn off the power supply to the electric device 5 or other associated device 6, When the operating status of the electrical device 5 or the accompanying device 6 is determined and it is determined that the electrical device 5 or the accompanying device 6 is operating, the power supply is maintained without turning off the power supply immediately. There is no risk of forcibly stopping the operation of the devices 5 and 6 while the workers are using the devices 5 and 6, and no unnecessary burden is given to the workers, and the devices 5 and 6 are not damaged. That's it.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described in detail above. To list, in the above embodiment, the power supply state display unit 203 of the power supply apparatus 2 is configured by the display 2d capable of displaying character string information. However, instead of such a display, a light emitting device such as an LED lamp is used. The power supply state display unit 203 can also be configured. In this case, the light emitting device is turned on or blinked in the power supply ON state, and the light emitting device is turned off in the power supply OFF state.

  In the above embodiment, the control command is directly transmitted from the central control device 1 to each power supply device 2 via the telecommunication line. However, it is also conceivable to transfer the control command in other modes. For example, a photo sensor is mounted on each power supply device 2, and a control command is transmitted from the central control device 1 to the architectural lighting device 3 provided individually for each work area A. The lighting device 3 in each work area A is in an ON state when a control command for turning on power supply is received, and in an OFF state when a control command for turning off power supply is received. The power feeding device 2 detects the illumination light supplied from the lighting device 3 in the ON state via the photo sensor, and switches the switch on the power feeding circuit 2b to the energized state while detecting the illumination light, While the light is not detected, the switch on the power feeding circuit 2b is switched to the cutoff state. In this aspect, the photosensor plays the role of the power supply command receiving unit 201 in the power supply device 2 and indirectly passes the control command from the central control device 1 to each power supply device 2 via the illumination device 3. .

  In the above embodiment, the central control device 1 refers to the usable area definition information and determines whether the power supply state of each power supply device 2 should be turned on or off. May be entrusted to the power feeding device 2 itself. In this case, the central controller 1 issues a control command for realizing ON / OFF switching of power feeding, information forming a part of usable area definition information, that is, a value indicating a time section, and the time A pair with a value indicating whether the power supply by the power supply device 2 is turned on or off in the section is transmitted toward the power supply device 2 identified by the corresponding identifier. The controller 2g of the power supply apparatus 2 receives the information from the central control apparatus 1, temporarily stores it in the storage device 2c, and compares the stored information with the current date and time acquired from the timing circuit. It is determined whether the power supply should be in the ON state or the power supply OFF state at the time. Then, the switch on the power feeding circuit 2b is connected / disconnected according to the determination result.

  In addition, the specific configuration of each unit, the processing procedure, and the like can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  The use area guidance facility according to the present invention can be applied to an office space including a plurality of work areas.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Central control apparatus 101 ... Area definition memory | storage part 102 ... Power supply command transmission part 103 ... Power consumption receiving part 104 ... Power consumption memory | storage part 105 ... Power consumption output part 106 ... Complementary command transmission part 2 ... Power supply apparatus 201 ... Power supply Command receiving unit 202 ... Power supply control unit 203 ... Power supply state display unit 204 ... Power supply display unit 3 ... Lighting device 4 ... Air conditioner 5 ... Electrical equipment A ... Work area

Claims (8)

Applied to an office space having a plurality of work areas, installed in each work area, a plurality of power supply devices for supplying power to the electrical equipment used by the worker in the work area, and a center capable of communicating with each of these power supply devices A use area guidance facility having a control device as a component,
The central controller is
An area definition storage unit that stores and holds usable area definition information for individually specifying ON / OFF of power supply for each time section by the power supply device for each power supply device;
Based on the usable area definition information stored in the area definition storage unit, a control command for realizing ON / OFF switching of power supply by each power supply apparatus is transmitted to each power supply apparatus according to the time segment. A power supply command transmission unit, and the power supply device includes:
A power supply command receiver for receiving a control command from the central control unit;
A power supply control unit that switches ON / OFF of power supply in response to the control command received by the power supply command receiving unit;
A use area guidance facility, comprising: a power supply state display unit that displays an ON / OFF state of power supply switched by the power supply control unit in a manner that a worker can visually recognize. The central controller is
An electric energy receiving unit that receives electric energy information indicating the electric energy supplied by each of the electric power supply devices;
Based on the power amount information received by the power amount receiving unit, a power consumption amount storage unit that stores and holds the power consumption amount of each work area or office space;
The power consumption amount that is displayed on the display, printed out, or transmitted to an external information processing device, the total or time series of the power consumption amount of each work area or office space stored in the power consumption amount storage unit The use area guidance facility according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit. The power supply device
The use area guidance facility according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a power supply display unit that displays the power that the power supply device is currently supplying or the amount of power that has been supplied so far in a manner that the worker can visually recognize. The central controller is
Based on the usable area definition information stored in the area definition storage unit, the power supply device is turned on for an illumination device that illuminates a work area that is currently in a power supply ON state or an air conditioner that air-conditions the work area The control command for turning off these is transmitted to the illumination device that illuminates the work area where the power supply device is currently in the power supply OFF state or the air conditioner that air-conditions the work area. The use area guidance facility according to claim 1, 2, or 3, further comprising an auxiliary command transmission unit. The power feeding control unit of the power feeding device is
When receiving a control command for turning off the power supply to the electric device or other accompanying devices from the central control device,
Judge the operating status of these electrical devices or associated devices,
The use area guidance facility according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein when it is determined that the electric device or the accompanying device is in operation, the power supply is maintained without immediately turning off the power supply. It is used for configuring the use area guidance facility according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.
An area definition storage unit for storing and holding usable area definition information for individually specifying for each power supply device ON / OFF of power supply for each time section by the power supply device installed for each work area;
Based on the usable area definition information stored in the area definition storage unit, a control command for realizing ON / OFF switching of power supply by each power supply apparatus is transmitted to each power supply apparatus according to the time segment. A central control device comprising a power supply command transmission unit. It is used for configuring the use area guidance facility according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, comprising a computer,
An area definition storage unit that stores and holds usable area definition information for individually specifying for each power supply device ON / OFF of power supply for each time section by the power supply device installed for each work area; and
Based on the usable area definition information stored in the area definition storage unit, a control command for realizing ON / OFF switching of power supply by each power supply apparatus is transmitted to each power supply apparatus according to the time segment. A program that functions as a power supply command transmitter. It is used for configuring the use area guidance facility according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.
A power supply command receiver for receiving a control command from the central control unit;
A power supply control unit that switches ON / OFF of power supply in response to the control command received by the power supply command receiving unit;
A power supply apparatus comprising: a power supply state display unit that displays an ON / OFF state of power supply switched by the power supply control unit in a manner that a worker can visually recognize.

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