JP2012122898A - Measurement system and measurement method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a measurement system capable of recognizing the position of an AC-power-plug-and-socket even when a power supply port to which the AC-power-plug-and-socket is to be attached is switched.SOLUTION: The measurement system for measuring power consumption of a power consumption apparatus to be driven by electric power supplied from a power supply port installed in a building includes: (A) the AC-power-plug-and-socket including a measurement part for measuring the power consumption of the power consumption apparatus and a transmission part for transmitting a radio wave indicating a measurement result of the measurement part, attachable/detachable to/from the power supply port and connected to the power consumption apparatus; (B) a reception part for receiving the radio wave from the transmission part at a reference position in the building; (C) a measurement part for measuring the receiving intensity of the radio wave received by the reception part at the reference position; and (D) a specification part for specifying, when a plurality of power supply ports are installed in the building, the power supply port to which the AC-power-plug-and-socket is attached among the plurality of power supply ports based on the measurement result by the measurement part and correspondence between installation positions of respective power supply ports and receiving intensity at the reference position.

Description

  The present invention relates to a measurement system and a measurement method, and more particularly, to a measurement system and a measurement method for measuring the power consumption of a power consuming device that is operated by power supplied from a power supply port provided in a building.

A measurement system for measuring the amount of power consumption of a power consuming device that operates with power supplied from a power supply port provided in a building is already known. Some of such measurement systems measure power consumption using a wiring plug connector (for example, a tap or the like) that relays between a power supply port and a power consuming device (for example, patents). Reference 1).
In the measurement management system described in Patent Document 1, a measurement tap including a measuring instrument that measures the amount of power consumption of a power consuming device and a communication unit that transmits a measurement value by the measuring instrument is used. The measurement tap is configured to be detachable from a power supply port (for example, an outlet) provided in the building. Therefore, it is possible to freely switch the power supply port to be attached, and thereby, the power consumption amount can be easily measured for each power consuming device used in the building, and the measured values are collected. Will also be easier.

JP 2010-216953 A

  However, in the conventional measurement system, when the power supply port to which the measurement tap is attached is switched, the receiving device side recognizes the mounting position of the measurement tap after switching (that is, the power supply port to which the measurement tap is attached). For this reason, there is a possibility that it is impossible to determine which power consuming device the power consumption of the measuring tap is measuring. For this reason, the power consumption of each power consuming device is not properly managed, and as a result, it has been difficult to reduce the total power consumption (energy saving) in the building.

  On the other hand, there are some measuring taps that can be input on the measuring tap side to determine the power consumption of which power consuming device. The advantage which the measurement tap which switches and uses a supply port freely will be spoiled.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is a measurement system capable of recognizing the position of the wiring plug connector even when the power supply port to be attached is switched. Is to realize.

According to the measurement system of the present invention, the subject is a measurement system for measuring the amount of power consumed by a power consuming device that is operated by power supplied from a power supply port provided in a building. ) A measurement unit that measures the power consumption amount of the power consuming device, and a transmission unit that transmits a radio wave indicating a measurement result by the measurement unit, and is detachable from the power supply port, A plug-in connector for wiring connected to a power consuming device; (B) a receiver that receives the radio wave from the transmitter at a reference position in the building; and (C) the receiver that the receiver has received. A measurement unit for measuring the reception intensity of the radio wave at the reference position; and (D) a measurement result by the measurement unit when each of the plurality of power supply ports is provided in the building, and each of the power supplies At the mouth installation position and the reference position And a specifying unit that specifies the power supply port to which the wiring plug connector is attached among the plurality of power supply ports based on the correspondence relationship with the received intensity. The
According to such a measurement system, the reception strength at the reference position of the radio wave transmitted from the wiring plug connector (more precisely, the transmitter of the wiring plug connector) is measured, By comparing the correspondence between the installation position of the power supply port and the reception intensity at the reference position, it is possible to identify the power supply port to which the wiring connector is attached. Therefore, even when the power supply port to be attached is switched, the position of the wiring plug connector can be accurately recognized.

In the above measurement system, the plug-in connector for wiring is a tap, and further includes a storage unit that stores data indicating the correspondence, and the data is installed in each of the power supply ports. Table data indicating a correspondence between a position and a calculated reception intensity calculated for each power supply port at the reference position when the tap is attached to each of the power supply ports. Identifies the power supply port corresponding to the calculated reception intensity corresponding to the measurement result as the power supply port to which the tap is attached by collating the table data with the measurement result. It is good to do.
With such a configuration, if the above correspondence is stored as table data, a power supply port to which the tap is attached (hereinafter also referred to as a tap position) can be accurately and quickly referred to by referring to the table data. ) Can be specified.

In the above measurement system, the transmitting unit starts transmitting the radio wave from the time when the tap is attached to the power supply port, and the radio wave is transmitted when the tap is removed from the power supply port. It is good also as ending transmission.
With such a configuration, it is possible to immediately specify the tap position when the power supply port to which the tap is attached is switched.

In the above measurement system, the measurement system includes a terminal that is installed in the building and can communicate with the transmission unit via the reception unit. The terminal includes a terminal-side reception unit as the reception unit, and the measurement unit. The terminal-side measuring unit and the specifying unit, the terminal-side measuring unit measures the terminal-side received intensity at the reference position of the radio wave received by the terminal-side receiving unit, the reference position is It may be a terminal installation position where the terminal is installed in the building.
With such a configuration, in a terminal installed in the building, the process of receiving radio waves transmitted from the tap, the process of measuring the received intensity at the reference position of the received radio waves, and the process of specifying the tap position are unified. Therefore, the measurement system can be easily constructed.

Further, in the above measurement system, a plurality of the taps are provided, and among the plurality of taps, one of the taps is a first tap, and one tap different from the first tap is a second tap. And when one said power supply port is made into a 1st power supply port among several said power supply ports, and the said one power supply port different from this 1st power supply port is made into a 2nd power supply port In addition, the first power supply port and the second power supply port have the same terminal-side received intensity of the radio wave from the transmitter of the first tap when the first tap is attached. When the first tap is attached to one of the first power supply port and the second power supply port, the specifying unit is configured to use the second tap. Is attached to the electric appliance After identifying the mouth, by identifying the relative position of the first tap to the second tap, it is also possible to identify the one of the power supply ports.
With such a configuration, even if there are a plurality of power supply ports with the same terminal-side reception intensity and a tap (first tap) is attached to any one of the power supply ports, the first tap with respect to the second tap By specifying the relative position, it is possible to accurately specify the power supply port to which the first tap is attached.

In the measurement system, the second tap includes a tap-side receiving unit that receives the radio wave from the transmitting unit provided in the first tap, and the radio wave at the reception position of the tap-side receiving unit. A tap-side measuring unit that measures tap-side received intensity, and the transmitter provided in the second tap includes the measurement result obtained by the measuring unit provided in the second tap, and the tap-side measurement. And the second table data is stored in the storage unit, and the second tap is attached to the second table data. The installation position of the power supply port and the tap-side received intensity when the first tap is attached to each of the first power supply port and the second power supply port are calculated for each power supply port. The calculated tap side received intensity, and the specifying unit includes the tap side measurement result indicated by the radio wave from the transmitter provided in the second tap, and the second table data. It is good also as specifying the relative position of the 1st tap with respect to the 2nd tap by collating.
According to such a configuration, if the correspondence relationship is stored as the second table data, the relative position of the first tap with respect to the second tap can be accurately and quickly referred to by referring to the second table data. Can be specified.

Further, according to the measurement method of the present invention, the above-described problem is (A) a measurement unit that measures the amount of power consumption of a power consumption device that is operated by power supplied from a power supply port provided in a building; A transmitter that transmits a radio wave indicating a measurement result by the measurement unit, and is detachable from the power supply port, and uses the wiring plug connector connected to the power consuming device. A measurement method for measuring power consumption, wherein (B) a reception step of receiving the radio wave from the transmission unit at a reference position in the building; and (C) the radio wave received in the reception step. A measurement step of measuring the reception strength at the reference position, and (D) a measurement result when the reception strength is measured in the measurement step when a plurality of the power supply ports are provided in the building, And the installation position of each of the power supply ports And specifying the power supply port to which the wiring connector is attached among the plurality of power supply ports based on the correspondence relationship between the strength at the reference position and the strength. It is solved by.
According to such a measurement method, the reception intensity at the reference position of the radio wave transmitted from the plug-in connector for wiring is measured, and the correspondence between the measurement result and the installation position of each power supply port and the reception intensity at the reference position By collating the relationship, it is possible to specify the power supply port to which the wiring connector is attached. As a result, the position of the wiring plug connector can be accurately recognized even when the power supply port to be attached is switched.

According to the measurement system of the present invention, the reception intensity at the reference position of the radio wave transmitted from the wiring plug connector is measured, the measurement result, the installation position of each power supply port and the reception intensity at the reference position, It is possible to identify the power supply port to which the wiring plug connector is attached. As a result, the tap position can be recognized even when the attached power supply port is switched.
And, by taking advantage of the tap that the power supply port to be attached can be freely switched and used due to the above effect, it is possible to appropriately grasp which power consumption device is measuring the power consumption amount It becomes possible to manage the total power consumption in the building appropriately.

It is a lineblock diagram of measuring system 1 concerning this embodiment. 2 is a configuration diagram of a measurement tap 10. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen 21P on the operation pad 21. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a home server 20. FIG. It is a floor plan of the house H which concerns on this example. It is a figure regarding a propagation loss characteristic. It is a figure which shows the correspondence of the installation position of each power supply port C1-C4, and the calculation reception intensity computed for every power supply port. It is a figure which shows the correspondence of the tap position of a 2nd tap, and the calculation tap side reception intensity | strength. It is a figure which shows the flow of the measurement process implemented by employ | adopting the measuring method which concerns on this embodiment (the 1). It is a figure which shows the flow of the measurement process implemented by employ | adopting the measuring method which concerns on this embodiment (the 2). It is a figure which shows the flow of the measurement process implemented by employ | adopting the measuring method which concerns on this embodiment (the 3).

<< About the measurement system 1 according to the present embodiment >>
A measurement system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, this embodiment) will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a measurement system 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the measurement tap 10. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display screen 21 </ b> P on the operation pad 21. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the home server 20.

A measurement system 1 according to the present embodiment (hereinafter also simply referred to as a measurement system 1) is a communication system for measuring the amount of power consumed by a power consuming device used in a building. Here, the power consuming device is a device that operates with power supplied from a power supply port provided in the building (FIG. 1 shows a TV, a personal computer, and an electric kettle as an example). The power supply port is an insertion port of the measurement tap 10 described later, and corresponds to, for example, an outlet or a sealing rosette.
Hereinafter, a house H will be described as an example of a building, and a measurement system 1 for measuring the power consumption of power consuming equipment used in the house H will be described. Note that the house H is merely an example of a building, and any power supply port may be provided in the interior space and power may be supplied from the power supply port to the power consuming device. It may be a building or the like.

  First, an outline of the measurement system 1 will be described. The measurement system 1 is for measuring the amount of power consumption of a power consuming device used in the house H, and notifies the resident of the house H (hereinafter simply referred to as a resident) of the measurement result. .

  More specifically, for each of the plurality of power supply ports, the amount of power consumed by the power consuming device is measured by measuring the value of the current flowing toward the power consuming device and the value of the voltage applied to the power consuming device. We are going to measure. In other words, the measurement system 1 measures the power consumption of the power consuming device connected to the power supply port by measuring the current value and the voltage value for each power supply port. In other words, in the present embodiment, the power supply port and the power consuming device are associated in advance. For example, when measuring the power consumption of a television, the current value and the power supply port to which the television is connected are measured. The voltage value will be measured. The association between the power supply port and the power consuming device is performed, for example, when the resident enters the house H or at the design stage of the house H.

  Next, the configuration of the measurement system 1 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the measurement system 1 includes a measurement tap 10, a home server 20, and a center server 30 as main components. While the measurement tap 10 and the home server 20 are used in the house H, the center server 30 is outside the house H, and is installed in a management company of the house H, for example. The home server 20 and the center server 30 can communicate with each other via the Internet 2, and the home server 20 and the measurement tap 10 can communicate with each other via a home network. Hereinafter, each component of the measurement system 1 will be described.

<Measurement tap 10>
The measurement tap 10 is a tap and is a wiring plug connector used for relaying between a power supply port and a power consuming device. The measurement tap 10 is detachable from the power supply port and is connected to a power consuming device. A plurality of measuring taps 10 are provided in the house H, and at least two measuring taps are provided in the present embodiment. On the other hand, a plurality of power supply ports are also provided in the house H, and at least three are provided in this embodiment (see FIG. 5).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the measurement tap 10 includes a measurement unit 11, a tap side communication unit 12, a tap side measurement unit 13, and an internal circuit 14, and these elements are connected via a tap controller 15. Are connected to each other.

The measuring unit 11 measures the amount of power consumption of the power consuming device connected to the measuring tap 10. Specifically, the current flowing from the plug 10 a of the measuring tap 10 to the insertion port 10 b and the plug The voltage between the part 10a and the insertion port part 10b is measured.
In the present embodiment, the measurement unit 11 starts measuring the power consumption from the time when the measurement tap 10 is attached to the power supply port and the power consuming device connected to the measurement tap 10 is activated. The process ends when the state is released (for example, when the measurement tap 10 is removed from the power supply port).

The tap-side communication unit 12 is for the measurement tap 10 to perform wireless communication with the home server 20 and functions as a receiving unit that receives radio waves from the home server 20 (hereinafter referred to as home server transmission radio waves). It also functions as a transmission unit that transmits radio waves (hereinafter referred to as tap transmission radio waves) toward the server 20. The tap transmission radio wave is generated by modulating various information, and the information includes a measurement result by the measurement unit 11. In this sense, it can be said that the tap transmission radio wave is a radio wave indicating a measurement result by the measurement unit 11.
In the present embodiment, the information indicated by the tap transmission radio wave includes not only the measurement result by the measurement unit 11 but also identification information for identifying the measurement tap 10 of the transmission source.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the tap side communication part 12 starts transmission of a tap transmission electromagnetic wave from the time of the measurement tap 10 being attached to the power supply port, and thereafter transmits at regular intervals (for example, every minute). Next, the transmission is terminated when the power supply port is removed.
Note that the tap-side communication unit 12 transmits the tap transmission radio wave in a state where the power consumption is not measured (for example, the measurement tap 10 is attached to the power supply port, whereas the measurement tap 10 10 (when no power consuming device is connected), a radio wave indicating that the measured value of power consumption is 0 (zero) is transmitted.

  Further, the tap-side communication unit 12 is also for performing wireless communication between the measurement taps 10, and transmits tap transmission radio waves toward other measurement taps 10 and tap transmission radio waves from other measurement taps 10. Receive. That is, the tap-side communication unit 12 is an example of a tap-side reception unit, and receives radio waves from the tap-side communication unit 12 provided in the other measurement taps 10.

  And the reception intensity at the time of the tap side communication part 12 of the other measurement tap 10 receiving the radio wave transmitted from the tap side communication part 12 of one measurement tap 10 by the wireless communication between the measurement taps 10, for example. Can be measured.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, the tap-side communication unit 12 built in each of the other measurement taps 10 transmits radio waves (tap-transmitted radio waves) transmitted from the tap-side communication unit 12 of one measurement tap 10. Can be received. Then, on the side of the measurement tap 10 that has received the radio wave from the other measurement tap 10, the tap side measurement unit 13 measures the radio wave reception intensity (hereinafter, tap side reception intensity) at the reception position of the tap side communication unit 12. . When the measurement is completed, the measurement result is modulated to generate a tap transmission radio wave. The tap transmission radio wave is distributed from the tap communication unit 12 as a radio wave indicating the measurement result by the measurement unit 11 and the tap side measurement result by the tap side measurement unit 13.
The wireless communication between the measurement taps 10 may be automatically started from the time when the measurement tap 10 is attached to the power supply port, and is executed only when a communication execution command is issued from the home server 20 side. It may be done.

The internal circuit 14 is disposed between the plug portion 10a and the insertion port portion 10b, and a switch SW is attached at a midway position thereof. The energization state of the measurement tap 10 can be switched through the opening / closing operation of the switch SW. That is, it is possible to switch on / off the power supply to the power consuming device by opening / closing the switch SW.
Note that the resident can remotely control the opening / closing of the switch SW (that is, on / off of the power supply) through the operation pad 21 described later. That is, the resident can remotely control the start and stop of each power consuming device through the operation pad 21, and the home server 20 that receives the remote operation transmits a home server transmission radio wave corresponding to the operation. On the other hand, on the measurement tap 10 side, when the tap-side communication unit 12 receives the home server transmission radio wave, the switch SW is opened and closed according to the content indicated by the home server transmission radio wave.

<Home server 20>
The home server 20 is an example of a terminal, and is a server computer that controls the entire measurement system 1. The home server 20 is installed in the house H, and can communicate with each measurement tap 10 (more precisely, the tap-side communication unit 12 of each measurement tap 10) through a communication device 22 configured by a router or the like. The home server 30 can communicate with the center server 30 by connecting to the Internet 2 through the communication device 22.

  Furthermore, the home server 20 can transmit data to the operation pad 21 through the communication device 22 and display character information and image information corresponding to the data on the display screen 21P of the operation pad 21. The operation pad 21 is a display for displaying a measurement result by the measurement system 1, and a resident can view the measurement result by the measurement system 1 on the display screen 21 </ b> P of the operation pad 21. . In addition, about the measurement result displayed on the display screen 21P of the operation pad 21, as shown in FIG. 3, the power consumption is displayed for each power consuming device (in other words, for each power supply port).

The operation pad 21 will be further described. A touch panel is employed, and the display screen 21P functions as a receiving unit that receives a resident's operation. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the display screen 21 </ b> P of the operation pad 21 has information for switching the operating status of the power consuming device (in other words, information for switching on / off of power supply to the power consuming device). ), The operation button B1 and the stop button B2 are displayed for each power consuming device. When the resident presses these buttons, data indicating which button is pressed is transmitted from the operation pad 21 to the home server 20. Thereafter, the home server 20 communicates with the measurement tap 10 according to the data, and controls opening and closing of the switch SW described above.
Note that the above-described operation of the resident can be accepted only by a power consuming device connected to the power supply port via the measurement tap 10. Therefore, for example, for a power consuming device that is not connected to the measurement tap 10, the operation status of the power consuming device cannot be switched, and the operation button B 1 and the stop button B 2 are displayed on the display screen 21 P of the operation pad 21. Not.

  In order to realize the above functions, the home server 20 includes a home server side communication unit 23a, a home server side measurement unit 23b, a specifying unit 23c, and a display data generation unit 23d as shown in FIG. And an open / close switching unit 23e and a data storage unit 23f. Each unit of the home server 20 includes a communication device 22, a CPU, a semiconductor storage medium such as a ROM and a RAM, a communication interface, a control circuit, an installed program, and the like, and is connected to each other via the control unit 23g. ing.

The home server side communication unit 23a is for communicating with each measurement tap 10, the center server 30, and the operation pad 21 described above. In addition to functioning as a terminal-side receiving unit that receives at a position, it also functions as a terminal-side transmitting unit that transmits radio waves (home server transmission radio waves) toward the measurement tap 10. Furthermore, the home server side communication unit 23a also has a function of communicating with the center server 30 to read data in the center server 30 and a function of receiving data transmitted from the operation pad 21 with respect to a resident's operation. Yes.
In the present embodiment, the reference position is a server installation position (one example of terminal installation) where the home server 20 is installed in the house H. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be any place in the house H. For example, when the communication device 22 is separated from the main body of the home server 20, the communication device 22 may be installed. Good.

The home server side measurement unit 23b measures the reception intensity (hereinafter, the home server side reception intensity) of the tap transmission radio wave received by the home server side communication unit 23a at the server installation position. The home server side reception strength is an example of the terminal side reception strength.
The specifying unit 23c uses a plurality of power supply ports provided in the house H to measure the power supply port to which the measurement tap 10 is attached (hereinafter also referred to as a tap position) as a result of measurement by the home server side measurement unit 23b ( That is, it is specified for each measurement tap 10 based on the measured value of the reception intensity on the home server side. The specifying unit 23c will be described in detail later.

The display data generation unit 23d generates data for displaying information on the display screen 21P of the operation pad 21. Specifically, the display data generation unit 23d analyzes the tap transmission radio wave, acquires information such as a measurement result of the power consumption indicated by the tap transmission radio wave, and displays the information on the display screen 21P. Generate data. The generated data is transmitted toward the operation pad 21 by the home server side communication unit 23a.
When generating data, the operation button B1 and the stop button B2 are displayed for the power consuming device connected to the power supply port via the measurement tap 10, and the other power consuming devices are not displayed. Data is generated.

  The opening / closing switching unit 23e switches opening / closing of the switch SW through the home server side communication unit 23a and the tap side communication unit 12 of the measurement tap 10 in accordance with a resident's operation for opening / closing of the switch SW. The data storage unit 23f temporarily stores and stores data generated by the display data generation unit 23d and data read by the home server side communication unit 23a from within the center server 30.

<Center server 30>
The center server 30 is a WEB server that communicates with the home server 20 via the Internet 2 and provides data to the home server 20. In particular, the center server 30 according to the present embodiment provides the home server 20 with data necessary for specifying the tap position by the specifying unit 23c. The center server 30 includes a storage unit 31 including an auxiliary storage device provided on the center server 30 side, and data provided to the home server 20 is stored in the storage unit 31 as a database. Has been.
The data stored in the storage unit 31 of the center server 30 will be described in detail later.

<< Specification of tap position >>
Since each measurement tap 10 is detachable from the power supply port as described above, the power supply port to which the measurement tap 10 is attached can be freely changed. That is, the measurement tap 10 can be attached to any power supply port, and by changing the power supply port to be attached, it is possible to freely set a power consuming device to be measured for power consumption.

  However, when the power supply port to which the measurement tap 10 is attached is changed, naturally, the arrangement position of each measurement tap 10 is changed. Here, after changing the power supply port to which the measurement tap 10 is attached, if it is not possible to recognize which measurement tap 10 is attached to which power supply port, which power consumption is measured by each measurement tap 10 It will not be possible to grasp whether it is related to consumer equipment.

  By the way, the tap transmission radio wave transmitted from the tap-side communication unit 12 of the measurement tap 10 has a property that the reception position is attenuated as the reception position is far from the transmission position, and the reception intensity at the reception position is weakened. Furthermore, the attenuation degree (propagation loss) of the tap transmission radio wave can be estimated based on the distance between the reception position and the transmission position and the presence or absence of an obstacle such as a wall existing in the section. Therefore, if the reception intensity of the tap transmission radio wave at the reception position is known, the distance between the reception position and the transmission position can be estimated from the degree of attenuation, and finally the measurement tap 10 is attached. The power supply port, that is, the tap position can be specified.

  Utilizing the above properties, in the present embodiment, the reception intensity of the tap transmission radio wave at the server installation position (home server side reception intensity) is measured using the server installation position as a reference position, and the tap position is determined from the measurement result. Is going to be identified.

  Hereinafter, a method for specifying the tap position will be described. In the following, for ease of explanation, the installation positions of the respective power supply ports and the server installation positions are the positions shown in FIG. A description will be given assuming a certain case (hereinafter, this specific example). FIG. 5 is a floor plan of the house H according to this example. In the following description, the symbols of the three measurement taps 10 are denoted as 10x, 10y, and 10z, respectively. Furthermore, in this specific example, four power supply ports are provided in the house H, and the codes of the respective power supply ports are denoted as C1, C2, C3, and C4.

  The specification of the tap position is executed by the specifying unit 23c described above. When specifying the tap position, first, the home server side measurement unit 23b measures the home server side reception intensity at the server installation position for the tap transmission radio waves transmitted from each of the three measurement taps 10x, 10y, and 10z. In addition, since the information which identifies a transmission origin is included in the information which a tap transmission radio wave shows, the home server side measurement part 23b identifies which radio wave is transmitted from which measurement tap 10x, 10y, 10z. After that, the reception strength on the home server side is measured.

  On the other hand, when specifying the tap position, the home server side communication unit 23 a communicates with the center server 30 to read data in the center server 30. Thereafter, the specifying unit 23c specifies the tap positions of the measurement taps 10x, 10y, and 10z based on the measurement result by the home server side measurement unit 23b and the data read by the home server side communication unit 23a.

  Data in the center server 30 read by the home server side communication unit 23a will be described. The storage unit 31 of the center server 30 stores data indicating the floor plan of the house H (that is, the floor plan data shown in FIG. 5). Then, on the center server 30 side, the correspondence between the installation positions of the power supply ports C1 to C4 and the home server side reception intensity at the server installation position is specified based on the floor plan data, and shows the correspondence. Data is stored in the storage unit 31.

The data indicating the correspondence will be described in detail. As described above, the attenuation degree (propagation loss) of the tap transmission radio wave is the distance of the section from the transmission position to the reception position, and obstacles such as walls existing in the section. It can be estimated by the presence or absence of an object. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the propagation loss is expressed as a function having the distance of the section from the transmission position to the reception position as a variable, and the function is the presence or absence and the number of obstacles in the section (for example, , The number of walls). FIG. 6 is a diagram relating to propagation loss characteristics.
Therefore, if the floor plan of the house H is found, it is possible to estimate the propagation loss from the transmission position to the reception position of the radio wave in the house H and the radio wave intensity at the reception position.

  Focusing on the above properties, in this embodiment, when the measurement taps 10x, 10y, and 10z are attached to the respective power supply ports C1 to C4 based on the floor plan data, the tap-side communication unit 12 The propagation loss of the tap transmission radio wave until the transmitted tap transmission radio wave is received by the home server side communication unit 23a is calculated. Based on the calculation result, the home server side reception intensity at the server installation position when the measurement taps 10x, 10y, and 10z are attached to the respective power supply ports C1 to C4 is calculated for each power supply port.

  With the above procedure, the correspondence between the installation positions of the power supply ports C1 to C4 and the calculated reception intensity calculated for each power supply port as shown in FIG. 7 is specified, and the table data indicating the correspondence is obtained. It is stored in the storage unit 31 of the center server 30. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between the installation positions of the power supply ports C1 to C4 and the calculated reception intensity calculated for each power supply port. Note that the calculated reception strength may be specified by a numerical value as shown in FIG. 7, or may be specified by a range.

  Then, the identifying unit 23c collates the table data with the measurement result by the home server-side measurement unit 23b, so that the power supply port corresponding to the calculated reception intensity corresponding to the measurement result is determined as the measurement tap 10x, 10y. 10z is specified as the power supply port to which 10z is attached. For example, when the measurement result when measuring the home server side reception intensity of the measurement tap 10x at the server installation position is 50, the specifying unit 23c uses the power supply port as the power supply port to which the measurement tap 10x is attached. C2 is specified.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the correspondence relationship between the installation positions of the power supply ports C1 to C4 and the calculated reception intensity calculated for each power supply port is specified, table data indicating the correspondence relationship, and server installation The power supply ports C1 to C4 (tap positions) to which the measurement taps 10x, 10y, and 10z are attached are collated with the measurement results of the reception intensity on the home server side of the measurement taps 10x, 10y, and 10z at the positions. Is identified. Such a procedure makes it possible to accurately and quickly specify the tap position.

  And if a tap position is specified, it will come to grasp | ascertain which electric power consumption of which electric power consumption apparatus each measurement tap 10x, 10y, 10z is measuring. As a result, on the home server 20 side, the display data generation unit 23d generates display data so that the measurement results obtained by the measurement taps 10x, 10y, and 10z are appropriately displayed. On the other hand, on the display screen 21P of the operation pad 21, each measurement result of the power consumption amount is appropriately displayed as the power consumption amount of the corresponding power consumption device based on the display data.

The table data indicating the above-described correspondence relationship is generated based on the floor plan of the house H at the stage (initial stage) before the resident enters the house H. On the other hand, after the resident enters the house H, it is also possible that the environment for propagation of radio waves in the house H changes as a result of furniture installation, remodeling, remodeling, and the like. Thus, the reception intensity at the server installation position of the radio wave transmitted from each measurement tap 10 changes according to the usage status of the house H, and accordingly, the calculated reception intensity for each power supply port also changes. Conceivable.
In consideration of this situation, when calculating the above calculated reception strength, the calculated reception strength calculated based on the floor plan of the house H may be adjusted up or down by a correction value according to the installation of furniture, etc. Good. Alternatively, the floor plan data of the house H may be updated to reflect the installation position of the furniture, and the calculated reception intensity may be calculated again based on the updated floor plan data.

In this specific example, the table data indicating the above-described correspondence is acquired as data common to the three measurement taps 10x, 10y, and 10z. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the table data may be acquired for each measurement tap 10.
If the table data is common to the three measurement taps 10x, 10y, and 10z as in this specific example, the number of data required to specify the tap position is reduced, so the calculation for specifying the tap position is performed. It can be done quickly. On the other hand, if the table data is acquired for each measurement tap 10, for example, even when the intensity (that is, initial intensity) and frequency of the radio wave at the transmission point are different for each measurement tap 10, the tap position is appropriately specified. It becomes possible.

  On the other hand, in the case where a plurality of power supply ports are provided in the house H, the calculated value (calculated reception strength) of the home server side reception strength at the server installation position is equal among the plurality of power supply ports. May exist. In the case of this specific example, as shown in FIG. 7, the calculated reception intensity is equal for the power supply port C1 and the power supply port C3. That is, when the measurement tap 10 is attached to either of the power supply ports C1 and C3, the home server side reception intensity at the server installation position is measured, and only by comparing the measurement result with the above table data, The tap position cannot be properly specified.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when there are a plurality of power supply ports having the same calculated value of the reception intensity on the home server side at the server installation position, when the measurement tap 10 is attached to one of the power supply ports, the measurement tap The tap position is specified based on the relative positional relationship between 10 and the other measurement tap 10.

Below, the procedure which specifies a tap position based on the relative positional relationship with the other measurement tap 10 is demonstrated.
In the following description, one measurement tap 10 (for example, measurement tap 10x) among the plurality of measurement taps is defined as the first tap, and one measurement tap 10 (for example, measurement tap 10y) different from the first tap is used. Is the second tap. Further, among the plurality of power supply ports C1 to C4, one power supply port (for example, the power supply port C1) is set as the first power supply port, and one power supply port (for example, different from the first power supply port) (for example, Let the power supply port C3) be the second power supply port.

  As described above, the first power supply port and the second power supply port have the home server-side reception intensity of radio waves transmitted from the tap-side communication unit 12 of the first tap when the first tap is attached. It is the power supply port which becomes equal. Therefore, when the first tap is attached to one of the first power supply port and the second power supply port, the radio wave from the tap-side communication unit 12 provided in the first tap is transmitted. The tap position of the first tap cannot be specified only by the measurement result of the home server side received intensity and the above-described table data.

  Therefore, the home server 20 first transmits a measurement result request to both the first tap and the second tap via the home server side communication unit 23a. This measurement result request measures the reception strength (tap-side reception strength) when one side receives a tap transmission radio wave from the other in wireless communication between the first tap and the second tap, and the measurement result is It is what is requested.

  More specifically, when the home server 20 transmits a measurement result request via the home server side communication unit 23a, the tap side communication unit 12 provided in the second tap is the tap provided in the first tap. The tap transmission radio wave from the side communication unit 12 is received, and the tap side measurement unit 13 provided in the second tap measures the reception intensity (tap side reception intensity) of the tap transmission radio wave at the reception position. Further, in the second tap, the tap side communication unit 12 shows the measurement result by the measurement unit 11 provided in the second tap and the tap side measurement result by the tap side measurement unit 13 provided in the second tap. Sends a tapping signal.

  In the home server 20 that has received the tap transmission radio wave, the specifying unit 23c analyzes the tap transmission radio wave. By this analysis, the tap side measurement result indicated by the tap transmission radio wave, that is, the measurement result of the reception intensity (tap side reception intensity) when the radio wave from the first tap is received on the second tap side is specified.

  On the other hand, the home server side communication unit 23 a communicates with the center server 30 and reads data related to the relative positional relationship between the first tap and the second tap from the center server 30. Thereafter, the specifying unit 23c specifies the relative position of the first tap with respect to the second tap based on the tap-side measurement result specified from the tap transmission radio wave and the data read by the home server-side communication unit 23a. Then, the specifying unit 23c specifies the tap position of the first tap, and then specifies the relative position between the first tap and the second tap, so that the tap position of the first tap (first tap) is finally determined. Identify the power supply port to which the is attached.

  Data that the home server side communication unit 23a reads from the center server 30 in order to specify the relative position of the first tap with respect to the second tap will be described. As described above, the data indicating the floor plan of the house H and the above-described table data are stored in the storage unit 31 of the center server 30. In addition to these data, the storage unit 31 of the center server 30 stores second table data.

The second table data shows the correspondence between the tap position of the second tap and the calculated value of the reception intensity (tap reception intensity) at the reception position of the second tap of the tap transmission radio wave from the first tap. Yes.
The second table data will be described in detail. First, based on the floor plan data, the propagation loss of the radio wave at the reception position of the second tap when the power supply port to which each of the first tap and the second tap is attached is changed is calculated. Here, the propagation loss at the reception position of the second tap is a propagation loss until the tap transmission radio wave transmitted from the first tap is received on the second tap side.
Based on the calculation result, for each combination of the tap position of the first tap and the tap position of the second tap, the reception intensity of the radio wave from the first tap when received on the second tap side (tap-side reception intensity) Is calculated.

  From the above calculation results, the correspondence relationship between the tap position of the second tap and the calculated value of the tap-side reception strength (calculation tap-side reception strength) as shown in FIG. Table data is stored in the storage unit 31 of the center server 30. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence relationship between the tap position of the second tap and the calculated tap-side reception intensity.

  According to the correspondence relationship indicated by the second table data, as shown in FIG. 8, the calculated value of the tap-side received radio wave on the second tap side (calculated tap-side received intensity) with respect to the tap position of the second tap. Is specified for each tap position of the first tap. For example, when the second tap is attached to the power supply port C2, the calculated tap-side reception strengths when the first tap is attached to the power supply ports C1, C3, and C4 are 80, 60, and 70, respectively. That is, the second table data includes the installation position of the power supply port to which the second tap is attached and the tap side when the first tap is attached to each of the first power supply port and the second power supply port. It can be said that it is data indicating the correspondence relationship with the calculated tap-side received intensity calculated for each power supply port.

  Then, the specifying unit 23c collates the second table data with the tap side measurement result by the tap side measurement unit 13 provided in the second tap, thereby calculating the tap side reception corresponding to the tap side measurement result. A combination of tap positions corresponding to the strength is obtained, and a relative position of the first tap with respect to the second tap is specified. For example, when the measurement result (tap side measurement result) related to the reception intensity when the radio wave from the first tap is received by the second tap is 70, as a combination of the tap positions of the first tap and the second tap, The power supply port C2 is the power supply port C4.

  On the other hand, the specifying unit 23c specifies the tap position of the second tap according to the procedure described above. That is, the reception intensity at the server installation position is measured for the radio wave from the second tap, and the tap position of the second tap is specified by comparing the measurement result with the table data.

  Then, after specifying the tap position of the second tap, the tap position of both the first tap and the second tap is specified by specifying the relative position of the first tap with respect to the second tap. For example, as a result of specifying the relative position of the first tap with respect to the second tap, the combination of the tap positions of the first tap and the second tap is the power supply port C2-the power supply port C4, and the tap position of the second tap Is the power supply port C2, the power supply port C4 is specified as the tap position of the first tap (that is, the power supply port to which the first tap is attached).

  Even if there are a plurality of power supply ports with the same reception intensity on the home server side and a tap (first tap) is attached to any of the power supply ports by the above procedure, the tap of the second tap By specifying the relative position of the first tap with respect to the second tap after specifying the position, the tap position of the first tap can be specified accurately. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when specifying the relative position of the first tap with respect to the second tap, the second table data is referred to, so that the relative positional relationship between the measurement taps 10 can be accurately and quickly determined. It becomes possible to specify.

<< About the measurement method according to this embodiment >>
In order to describe a measurement method using the measurement system 1 having the configuration described above, a measurement process performed by employing the measurement method will be described below with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11 are diagrams illustrating a flow of a measurement process that is performed by employing the measurement method according to the present embodiment.
In the following, description will be made centering on the contents related to the specification of the tap position in the measurement process (hereinafter simply referred to as the measurement process) implemented by employing the measurement method according to the present embodiment.

The measurement process starts from an attachment step of attaching the measurement tap 10 to the power supply port (S001). As described above, at the same time that the measurement tap 10 is attached to the power supply port, radio waves (tap transmission radio waves) are transmitted from the tap-side communication unit 12 of the measurement tap 10 toward the home server 20 (S002).
Note that radio wave transmission from the measuring tap 10 is performed at regular intervals, and when the power consuming device connected to the measuring tap 10 is in an operating state, the measuring unit 11 determines the power consumption of the power consuming device. Measurement is performed, and the measurement result is modulated and transmitted as a radio wave. On the other hand, when the measurement unit 11 is not measuring the power consumption, a radio wave indicating that the power consumption is 0 (zero) is transmitted as a measurement result.

  When the tap transmission radio wave is transmitted from the measurement tap 10, a receiving process is performed in which the tap transmission radio wave is received at the server installation position in the house H (S003). The reception process is performed by the home server 20 (more precisely, the home server side communication unit 23a) through the communication device 22. During the reception process, the home server 20 further performs a measurement process of measuring the reception intensity (home server side reception intensity) at the server installation position of the tap transmission radio wave received in the reception process (S004).

  Next, the home server side communication unit 23a accesses the center server 30 via the Internet 2 and reads data stored in the storage unit 31 of the center server 30 (S005). Here, the data read by the home server side communication unit 23a includes the installation position of each power supply port in the house H and the calculated reception strength of the tap transmission radio wave calculated for each power supply port (calculated value of the home server side reception strength). Table data showing the correspondence relationship between The read data is stored in the data storage unit 23f of the home server 20.

  Thereafter, the home server 20 performs a specifying step of specifying a power supply port to which the measurement tap 10 is attached among a plurality of power supply ports provided in the house H (S006). The specifying step S006 is performed based on the measurement result when the specifying unit 23c of the home server 20 measures the reception intensity on the home server side in the above-described measuring step, and the table data stored in the data storage unit 23f. Is called. Specifically, the identification unit 23c collates the table data with the measurement result, thereby supplying the power supply port corresponding to the calculated reception intensity corresponding to the measurement result to the power supply to which the measurement tap 10 is attached. Identify as mouth.

  Here, when there is only one power supply port corresponding to the calculated reception intensity corresponding to the measurement result, that is, when there is only one power supply port candidate serving as the tap position (in S007). Yes), the power supply port is determined as the power supply port to which the measurement tap 10 is attached (S008).

  On the other hand, when there are a plurality of power supply ports corresponding to the calculated reception intensity corresponding to the measurement result, that is, when there are a plurality of attached power supply ports (No in S007), the home server 20 A measurement result request is issued toward each measurement tap 10 (S009). In each measurement tap 10 that has received this measurement result request, the tap-side measurement unit 13 measures the radio wave reception strength (tap-side reception strength) at the reception position where the radio wave from the other measurement tap 10 has been received (S010). The measurement result (tap side measurement result) is modulated together with the measurement result of the power consumption and transmitted as a tap transmission radio wave (S011).

  The home server 20 side receives the tap transmission radio wave (S012) and communicates with the center server 30 (S013). At this time, the home server side communication unit 23a reads the second table data stored in the storage unit 31 of the center server 30, and stores the second table data in the data storage unit 23f.

  Then, the home server 20 performs a relative position specifying step of specifying a relative position with respect to the other measurement taps 10 for the measurement taps 10 in which a plurality of power supply port candidates as the tap positions are found (S014). In the relative position specifying step S014, the specifying unit 23c of the home server 20 measures the tap side received intensity received by the measuring tap 10 (the tap side measurement result), and the data stored in the data storage unit 23f. 2 based on the table data of No. 2. Specifically, the identifying unit 23c collates the second table data with the tap-side measurement result to obtain a combination of tap positions corresponding to the calculated tap-side reception intensity corresponding to the tap-side measurement result, The relative position is specified.

  On the other hand, the specifying unit 23c specifies the tap position according to the above-described procedure for the plurality of measurement taps 10 other than those in which a plurality of power supply port candidates as the tap position are found. Thereby, the relative positional relationship with the other measurement taps 10 is specified for the measurement taps 10 in which a plurality of power supply port candidates to be the tap positions are found, and the tap positions are specified for the other measurement taps 10. It will be. Finally, for the measurement tap 10 in which a plurality of candidates are found, one power supply port to which the measurement tap 10 is attached is specified from the plurality of candidates (S015).

In this way, the power supply port to which the measurement tap 10 is attached is specified, and data indicating the specification result is stored in the data storage unit 23f (S016). Thereafter, in the home server 20, the display data generation unit 23d reads the data, reflects the above-described specific result, and displays display data for displaying the measurement result of the power consumption amount on the display screen 21P of the operation pad 21. Generate (S017). Finally, the generated display data is transmitted to the operation pad 21, and the measurement result of the power consumption is displayed on the display screen 21P of the operation pad 21.
Through the procedure described above, the measurement result of the power consumption by each measurement tap 10 is appropriately displayed on the display screen 21P of the operation pad 21 as the power consumption of the power consumption device corresponding to the measurement tap 10. Become so.

  When the measurement tap 10 is removed from the power supply port, the transmission of radio waves from the measurement tap 10 is interrupted (S018), and resumes when the measurement tap 10 is newly attached to the power supply port. S001 to S017 are repeated.

<< Other Embodiments >>
In the above embodiment, the measurement system and the measurement method of the present invention have been mainly described. However, the above embodiment is for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and the present invention includes the equivalents thereof.

  Moreover, in said embodiment, the home server 20 provided in the house H is the home server side communication part 23a as a terminal side receiving part, the home server side measuring part 23b as a terminal side measuring part, and a specific part. 23c. With such a configuration, the home server 20 centralizes the execution of the process of receiving the tap transmission radio wave, the process of measuring the received intensity at the reference position of the received radio wave, and the process of specifying the tap position. This makes it easy to build a measurement system. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, regarding these processes, execution devices may be provided separately for each process.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the center server 30 is provided outside the house H, and the table data and the second table data are stored in the storage unit 31 of the center server 30. With such a configuration, table data and second table data can be managed for each house H, and appropriate table data and second table data can be provided according to the layout of each house H. It becomes possible. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the table data and the second table data may be stored in the house H (for example, the data storage unit 23f of the home server 20), or the center server itself. 30 may be provided in the house H.

1 measurement system, 2 internet,
10 Measuring tap, 10a plug part, 10b outlet part,
10x, 10y, 10z measuring taps,
11 Measurement unit, 12 Tap side communication unit, 13 Tap side measurement unit, 14 Internal circuit,
15 tap controller,
20 home server, 21 operation pad, 21P display screen, 22 communication device,
23a Home server side communication unit, 23b Home server side measurement unit, 23c identification unit,
23d display data generation unit, 23e open / close switching unit, 23f data storage unit,
23g control unit, 30 center server, 31 storage unit,
H residence, B1 operation button, B2 stop button,
C1, C2, C3, C4 Power supply port, SW switch

Claims (7)

A measurement system for measuring the amount of power consumed by a power consuming device operated by power supplied from a power supply port provided in a building,
A measuring unit that measures the amount of power consumption of the power consuming device; and a transmitting unit that transmits a radio wave indicating a measurement result by the measuring unit, and is attachable to and detachable from the power supply port. Plug-in connector for wiring connected to consumer equipment,
A receiver that receives the radio wave from the transmitter at a reference position in the building;
A measurement unit for measuring the reception intensity at the reference position of the radio wave received by the reception unit;
When a plurality of power supply ports are provided in the building, based on the measurement result by the measurement unit and the correspondence between the installation position of each power supply port and the reception intensity at the reference position A specifying unit for identifying the power supply port to which the wiring plug connector is attached among the plurality of power supply ports;
A measurement system characterized by comprising: The wiring connector is a tap,
A storage unit that stores data indicating the correspondence;
The data includes the installation position of each of the power supply ports, and the calculated reception intensity calculated by the power supply port for the reception strength at the reference position when the tap is attached to each of the power supply ports. Table data showing the correspondence of
The identification unit collates the table data with the measurement result to connect the power supply port corresponding to the calculated reception intensity corresponding to the measurement result to the power supply to which the tap is attached. The measurement system according to claim 1, wherein the measurement system is specified as a mouth.   The transmitting unit starts transmitting the radio wave when the tap is attached to the power supply port, and ends transmitting the radio wave when the tap is removed from the power supply port. The measurement system according to claim 2. A terminal installed in the building and capable of communicating with the transmitter via the receiver;
The terminal includes a terminal-side receiving unit as the receiving unit, the terminal-side measuring unit as the measuring unit, and the specifying unit,
The terminal-side measuring unit measures the terminal-side received intensity at the reference position of the radio wave received by the terminal-side receiving unit;
The measurement system according to claim 3, wherein the reference position is a terminal installation position where the terminal is installed in the building. A plurality of the taps are provided,
Of the plurality of taps, one of the taps is a first tap, one of the taps different from the first tap is a second tap, and one of the plurality of power supply ports is the power supply. When the port is a first power supply port and the one power supply port different from the first power supply port is a second power supply port,
The first power supply port and the second power supply port have the power supply in which the terminal-side received intensity of the radio wave from the transmitter of the first tap becomes equal when the first tap is attached. Mouth,
When the first tap is attached to one of the first power supply port and the second power supply port,
The specifying unit specifies the relative position of the first tap with respect to the second tap after specifying the electric supply port to which the second tap is attached, and thereby determines one of the power supply ports. The measurement system according to claim 4, wherein: The second tap includes a tap-side receiving unit that receives the radio wave from the transmitting unit provided in the first tap, and a tap that measures the tap-side reception intensity of the radio wave at a reception position of the tap-side receiving unit. A side measurement unit,
The transmitter provided in the second tap transmits the radio wave indicating the measurement result by the measurement unit provided in the second tap and the tap side measurement result by the tap side measurement unit,
The storage unit stores second table data,
The second table data includes an installation position of the power supply port to which the second tap is attached, and the first tap is attached to each of the first power supply port and the second power supply port. And shows the correspondence relationship between the calculated tap-side received strength for each power supply port and the calculated tap-side received strength.
The identifying unit compares the second table data with the tap-side measurement result indicated by the radio wave from the transmitter provided in the second tap, and thereby the first tap for the second tap. The measurement system according to claim 5, wherein the relative position of the tap is specified. A measurement unit that measures the amount of power consumption of a power consuming device that is operated by power supplied from a power supply port provided in the building, and a transmission unit that transmits a radio wave indicating a measurement result by the measurement unit A measurement method for measuring the power consumption amount using a wiring plug connector that is detachable from the power supply port and connected to the power consuming device,
A receiving step of receiving the radio wave from the transmitter at a reference position in the building;
A measurement step of measuring a reception intensity at the reference position of the radio wave received in the reception step;
When a plurality of the power supply ports are provided in the building, the measurement result when the reception intensity is measured in the measurement process, and the installation position and the reference position of each of the power supply ports Based on the correspondence relationship with the strength, among the plurality of power supply ports, a specific step of identifying the power supply port to which the wiring connector is attached,
A measurement method characterized by comprising:

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