JP2013061780A - Controller, network system, and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a controller which controls operation of electronic apparatuses on the basis of power consumption.SOLUTION: A home controller 100 comprises: input interfaces 1031 and 1041 for receiving operations for controlling operation of at least one electronic apparatus among a plurality of electronic apparatuses; and a CPU 110 for controlling at least one electronic apparatus by using an allowed value of the total power consumption by the plurality of electronic apparatuses. The CPU 110 estimates the total power consumption in controlling at least one electronic apparatus according to the operations received by the input interfaces, and restricts operation of the at least one electronic apparatus according to the received operations when it is determined that the estimated total power consumption is larger than the allowed value.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology of a controller that is arranged in a house or the like and is connected to an electric device in the house.

  Currently, from the viewpoint of environmental protection, there is a demand for more effectively increasing the energy saving (abbreviation for energy saving) awareness of users who use home appliances. Energy conservation is intended to reduce energy consumption by using energy efficiently or by reducing the consumption of excess energy.

  From the viewpoint of energy saving, a control device that executes manual control content for a certain period of time when manual operation is performed during execution of automatic control of an electrical device, and then returns to automatic control is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-122867 (Patent Document 1). No. 63-208907).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-208907

  When switching from automatic control to manual control when a user operation is performed as in Patent Document 1, switching is performed regardless of whether or not manual control has an energy saving effect on power consumption. It was difficult to meet the demand for energy saving.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a controller, a network system, and an information processing method for controlling the operation of an electric device based on power consumption.

  A controller according to an aspect of the present invention includes an input interface for accepting an operation for controlling operation of at least one of the plurality of electrical devices, and an allowable value of total power consumption by the plurality of electrical devices. And a processor for controlling at least one electric device.

  The processor estimates the total power consumption when controlling at least one electrical device according to the operation accepted by the input interface, and determines that the estimated total power consumption is greater than the allowable value, the at least one device following the accepted operation Limit the operation of electrical equipment.

  Preferably, the controller further includes an output interface for outputting information. If the processor determines that the estimated total power consumption is smaller than the allowable value and larger than the target calculated based on the allowable value, the processor outputs a warning via the output interface.

  Preferably, the controller further includes a communication interface for communicating with a plurality of electric devices. When the processor determines that the estimated total power consumption is less than the allowable value, the processor transmits an operation control command according to the accepted operation to at least one electric device via the communication interface, and determines that the estimated power consumption is greater than the allowable value. Then, the command transmission of the operation control is limited.

  Preferably, when the processor determines that the estimated total power consumption is larger than the allowable value, a command for operating control so that the total power consumption is equal to or less than the allowable value is set via the communication interface. Send to the device.

  Preferably, the processor estimates and estimates the power consumption after warning, which is the total power consumption when the operation of at least one electric device is controlled according to the operation after warning that is an operation accepted by the input interface after outputting the warning. If it is determined that the power consumption after warning is equal to or less than the allowable value, an operation control command according to the accepted post-warning operation is transmitted to at least one electric device via the communication interface.

Preferably, the allowable value is changed variably.
Preferably, the allowable value is calculated using maximum power consumption of a plurality of electric devices.

  Preferably, the plurality of electric devices operate when power is supplied from the power supply source, and the processor acquires the amount of power supplied by the power supply source and determines an allowable value based on the acquired power supply amount. .

  Preferably, the power supply source is a solar power generation device, and the processor acquires the amount of power generated by the solar power generation device, and determines an allowable value based on the acquired power generation amount.

  Preferably, the power supply source is a storage battery, and the processor acquires the power amount of the storage battery and determines an allowable value based on the acquired power amount.

Preferably, the target is calculated based on an allowable value.
In a network system including a plurality of electric devices and a controller according to another aspect of the present invention, the controller accepts an operation for controlling the operation of at least one of the plurality of electric devices. An input interface; and a processor that controls at least one electric device using an allowable value of total power consumption by the plurality of electric devices.

  The processor estimates the total power consumption when controlling at least one electrical device according to the operation accepted by the input interface, and determines that the estimated total power consumption is greater than the allowable value, the at least one device following the accepted operation Limit the operation of electrical equipment.

  In still another aspect of the present invention, an information processing method in a controller including a processor for controlling a plurality of electric devices is provided.

  The controller further includes an input interface for receiving an operation for controlling the operation of at least one of the plurality of electric devices.

  The information processing method includes a step of estimating total power consumption by a plurality of electric devices when the processor controls at least one electric device according to an operation received by an input interface, and the total power consumption estimated by the processor is: Determining whether or not it is greater than an allowable value, and if the determining step determines that the value is greater than the allowable value, the processor restricting operation of at least one electrical device in accordance with the accepted operation; and Is provided.

  According to the present invention, the operation of the electric device is controlled based on the power consumption.

It is a figure which shows the whole network system structure concerning this Embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the home controller which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the electric power generation condition table which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the power consumption condition table which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the home controller which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the electric equipment which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the relationship between the prohibition condition which concerns on this Embodiment, and an energy saving condition. It is a processing flowchart concerning this embodiment. It is a processing flowchart concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the other network system which concerns on this Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

  In this embodiment, a home appliance (hereinafter abbreviated as a home appliance) is an electric device used in a house and refers to an electric device driven by electric power supplied from the outside. A house refers to a house, an office, etc., for example.

<Overall configuration of network system>
Referring to FIG. 1, network system 1 according to the present embodiment is installed in, for example, a house or an office. The network system 1 includes home appliances such as an air conditioner (air conditioner) 200A, a television 200B, a curtain opening / closing device 200C, a refrigerator 200D, and a light 200E installed indoors. The illustrated home appliances are examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.

  The network system 1 includes a solar power generation device 200X, a storage battery 200Y, and a power conditioner 200Z for controlling them. Storage battery 200Y may be installed in a house or the like, or may be a storage battery for automobiles that is also used as a storage battery for houses.

  The network system 1 includes a home controller 100 for controlling home appliances 200A to 200E, a solar power generation device 200X, a storage battery 200Y, a power conditioner 200Z for controlling them, and the like. The home controller 100 can perform data communication with the home appliances 200A to 200E, the photovoltaic power generation apparatus 200X, the storage battery 200Y, and the power conditioner 200Z for controlling them via a wired or wireless network 401. As the network 401, for example, a wireless local area network (LAN), ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), wired LAN, or PLC (Power Line Communications) is used. The home controller 100 may be portable, may be detachable from a base placed on a table, or may be fixed to a wall of a room.

  In network system 1 according to the present embodiment, power conditioner 200Z supplies power to storage battery 200Y, the system, and home appliances 200A to 200E through power line 402. And the power conditioner 200Z acquires electric power from the solar power generation device 200X, the storage battery 200Y, and a system (such as an electric power system provided by an electric power company) via the power line 402.

<Hardware configuration of home controller 100>
2, home controller 100 includes a memory 101, a display 102, a tablet 103, buttons 104, a communication interface 105, a speaker 107, a clock 108, and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110. Input interfaces 1031 and 1041 for accepting user operations of the tablet 103 and the button 104 and an output interface 1021 for outputting information to the display 102 are further included. As a device that outputs information to the user, a display 102 that displays images and a speaker 107 that outputs sound can be used.

  The memory 101 is realized by various types of RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read-Only Memory), a hard disk, and the like. For example, the memory 101 is a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk-Read Only Memory), which is used via a reading interface. USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, memory card, FD (Flexible Disk), hard disk, magnetic tape, cassette tape, MO (Magnetic Optical Disc), MD (Mini Disc), IC (Integrated Circuit) card (excluding memory cards) It is also realized by a medium for storing a program in a nonvolatile manner such as an optical card, a mask ROM, an EPROM, and an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

  The memory 101 stores a control program executed by the CPU 110, a power generation condition table 305A, a power consumption condition table 305B, and the like. Details of these tables will be described later.

  The display 102 displays the state of the home appliances 200A to 200E and the power conditioner 200Z by being controlled by the CPU 110. The tablet 103 detects a touch operation with a user's finger and inputs touch coordinates or the like to the CPU 110.

  In the present embodiment, a tablet 103 is laid on the surface of the display 102. That is, in the present embodiment, display 102 and tablet 103 constitute touch panel 106. However, the home controller 100 may not have the tablet 103.

  The button 104 is disposed on the surface of the home controller 100. The button 104 has a plurality of buttons and keys such as an enter button, a return button, a direction button, and a numeric keypad.

  The input interface 1031 or 1041 accepts a user operation via the tablet 103 or the button 104, and outputs the accepted operation signal to the CPU 110. The CPU 110 analyzes the input operation signal. If it is determined by the analysis that the received user operation is an operation related to the operation control of the home appliance, an operation control command according to the user operation is generated based on the analysis result. The generated operation control command is transmitted to the target home appliance via the communication interface 105.

  The communication interface 105 transmits / receives data to / from the home appliances 200 </ b> A to 200 </ b> E via the network 401 by being controlled by the CPU 110. As described above, the communication interface 105 transmits and receives data to and from the home appliances 200 </ b> A to 200 </ b> E by using, for example, a wireless LAN, ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), wired LAN, or PLC.

  The speaker 107 outputs sound based on a command from the CPU 110. For example, the CPU 110 causes the speaker 107 to output sound based on the sound data.

  The clock 108 inputs the current date and time to the CPU 110 based on a command from the CPU 110.

  The CPU 110 executes various types of information processing by executing various programs stored in the memory 101. In other words, the processing in the home controller 100 is realized by each hardware and software executed by the CPU 110. Such software may be stored in the memory 101 in advance. The software may be stored in a storage medium and distributed as a program product. Alternatively, the software may be provided as a program product that can be downloaded by an information provider connected to the so-called Internet.

  Such software is read from the storage medium by using a reading device (not shown), or downloaded by using the communication interface 105 and temporarily stored in the memory 101. The CPU 110 stores the software in the form of an executable program in the memory 101 and then executes the program.

  As storage media, CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk-Read Only Memory), USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, memory card, FD (Flexible Disk), hard disk , Magnetic tape, cassette tape, MO (Magnetic Optical Disc), MD (Mini Disc), IC (Integrated Circuit) card (excluding memory card), optical card, mask ROM, EPROM, EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) And the like, for example, a medium for storing the program in a nonvolatile manner.

  The program here includes not only a program directly executable by the CPU but also a program in a source program format, a compressed program, an encrypted program, and the like.

<Overview of network system operation>
Next, an outline of the operation of the network system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  Home controller 100 receives power consumption data of home appliances 200A to 200E from each of a plurality of home appliances 200A to 200E installed in a house via network 401. Each home appliance 200A to 200E includes a communication unit for communicating with the home controller 100 and a power sensor for measuring the instantaneous power consumption (unit: kW) of the home appliance.

  The home controller 100 accumulates the received power consumption data of the home appliances 200A to 200E, thereby accumulating the power consumption amounts of the home appliances 200A to 200E over a predetermined period, and stores the accumulated power consumption amount in a predetermined storage area. If necessary, it is output (displayed) to the outside or transmitted to an external information processing apparatus.

  The power conditioner 200Z uses a power sensor (not shown) to detect the amount of photovoltaic power generation, which is the generated power of the photovoltaic power generation apparatus 200X, and the amount of electricity stored, which is the voltage due to the residual charge of the storage battery 200Y, and the data of the detected power amount Is transmitted to the home controller 100. The amount of photovoltaic power generation and the amount of electricity stored indicate today's integrated value (integrated from the morning).

  The home controller 100 controls the operation of each home appliance while supplying one or more types of power out of the power supplied from the grid, the power generated by the solar power generation device 200X, and the amount of power stored in the storage battery 200Y. In this case, under the energy saving conditions, the total amount of power consumption of home appliances in the network system 1 (hereinafter referred to as total network power consumption) is at least within a range that does not exceed the amount of power that can be supplied. Control the operation of home appliances. Such control is called energy saving control.

  In the present embodiment, the maximum total power that can be supplied to all household appliances by the power of the grid, the power generated by the photovoltaic power generation apparatus 200X, and the amount of power stored in the storage battery 200Y is set to “prohibition condition CD1”, that is, all This is referred to as the “allowable value” of the total power consumption by the home appliances, and the power less than the maximum of the total power is referred to as “energy saving condition CD2” or “target”. In the present embodiment, the power under the energy saving condition is, for example, 80% of the power under the prohibition condition. The home controller 100 normally controls the operation of each home appliance by energy saving control such that the total network power consumption is equal to or less than the energy saving condition CD2.

  When the user operates the operation unit (touch panel 106 or button 104) for operation control of each home appliance under energy saving control, the home controller 100, before transmitting the operation control command to the corresponding home appliance, Estimate (calculate) the total power consumption of the network when the home appliance is controlled in accordance with the accepted operation. When it is determined that the estimated total network power consumption exceeds the target (that is, the energy saving condition CD2), a warning is output to the display 102 via the output interface 1021. Moreover, the driving | operation of a household appliance is restrict | limited when the tolerance value (namely, prohibition condition CD1) larger than a target is exceeded. Here, the restriction refers to restricting the target home appliance from being driven according to the received user operation. That is, it refers to continuing current control (including energy saving control) for the home appliance without transmitting a control command based on the user operation to the target home appliance.

  Here, in order to simplify the explanation, it is assumed that a user operation for controlling the operation of each home appliance is received by the input interface 1031 via the operation unit (touch panel 106 or button 104). It may be received from an operation unit that is inherently included.

<Contents of power generation condition table 305A>
Referring to FIG. 3, power generation condition table 305A corresponds to each of a plurality of types of determination conditions for determining prohibition condition CD1 (unit: kW) and energy saving condition CD2 (unit: kW), and the determination conditions. Thus, the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 are stored.

  The determination condition refers to the value of the electric energy. Specifically, the user setting value that can be variably changed by the user via the operation unit, the solar power generation amount of the solar power generation device 200X and the storage battery 200Y that are power supply sources, and Includes the value of the amount of electricity stored. As described above, the amount of photovoltaic power generation and the amount of electricity stored indicate today's integrated value (integrated from the morning).

  When the determination condition is “user set value”, the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 indicate values that can be variably changed by the user. When the determination conditions are the photovoltaic power generation amount and the storage amount, the values of the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 indicate values corresponding to the corresponding power generation amount and storage amount.

  The prohibition condition CD1 refers to the amount of power that guarantees the driving capability of home appliances that can be operated simultaneously within the range of the amount of power that can be supplied to the network system 1. Further, the energy saving condition CD2 is determined as 80% of the corresponding prohibition condition CD1.

  Here, the values of the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 can be variably changed by the user, and can be variably changed based on the power generation amount or the power storage amount of the solar power generation device 200X or the storage battery 200Y. Conditions for determining the values of the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 are not limited to these, and for example, conditions such as seasons when power consumption increases (winter, summer, etc.) and daily time zones may be combined. Or you may make it determine based on the total value of the maximum power consumption W1 (refer FIG. 4 mentioned later) corresponding to each household appliance of the power consumption condition table 305B.

<Contents of power consumption condition table 305B>
Referring to FIG. 4, in power consumption condition table 305 </ b> B, corresponding to each home appliance of home appliances 200 </ b> A to 200 </ b> E, a device name, maximum power consumption W <b> 1, current power consumption W <b> 2, and current operation are identified. Status information is stored in association with each other.

  The maximum power consumption W1 is a value according to the product standard of the corresponding home appliance, and is a fixed value. The current power consumption W2 indicates the power consumption periodically received by the CPU 110 of the home controller 100 from the corresponding home appliance, and is periodically updated (rewritten).

  The current operation state indicates the current operation state of the corresponding home appliance. For example, in the case of the air conditioner 200A, the operation mode (other than cooling / heating) and the target temperature are included. The current operation state is updated (rewritten) using the operation control command every time the CPU 110 transmits an operation control command according to a user operation received via the operation unit. In the present embodiment, since each home appliance is normally operated by energy saving control, the initial value of the current operation state indicates the value of energy saving control. Thereafter, each time an operation control command is transmitted to a home appliance by a command transmission unit 131 described later, the value of the current operation state of the home appliance is updated using the transmitted operation control command. Therefore, the current operation state of the corresponding home appliance can be represented by the current operation state.

<Functional configuration of home controller 100>
The functional configuration of the home controller 100 will be described with reference to FIG. Each functional unit shown in the figure is realized by using a program executed by the CPU 110, and therefore will be described as a function of the CPU 110 here. Each function may be realized by using a hardware circuit, or may be realized by a combination of program data and hardware circuit.

  The CPU 110 compares the condition setting unit 121 for setting the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2, the estimation unit 125 for estimating the total network power consumption, and the estimated network total power consumption and the prohibition condition CD1 or the energy saving condition CD2. Then, a determination unit 127 that determines whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied based on the comparison result, a warning output unit 129 for generating a warning message to be output based on the determination result of the determination unit 127 and outputting the warning message to the output interface 1021 And a command transmission unit 131 for generating a control command addressed to the target home appliance based on a user operation and outputting the control command to the communication interface 105.

  The condition setting unit 121 determines the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 based on the user operation input via the input interface 1031 or 1041, and writes them in the power generation condition table 305A of the memory 101. Thereby, the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 corresponding to the determination condition of the power generation condition table 305A corresponding to the “user set value” are updated to indicate values based on the user operation.

  In addition, the condition setting unit 121 includes a condition reading unit 123. The condition reading unit 123 searches the power generation condition table 305A based on the designated determination condition. As a result, the values of the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 corresponding to the designated determination condition are read from the power generation condition table 305A and output to the determination unit 127.

  Here, when the designated condition indicates “photovoltaic power generation amount”, the condition reading unit 123 generates power based on the solar power generation amount periodically received from the power conditioner 200Z via the communication interface 105. The condition table 305A is searched. Thereby, the values of the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 corresponding to the determination condition corresponding to the photovoltaic power generation amount are read from the power generation condition table 305A and output to the determination unit 127.

  When the specified condition indicates “amount of electricity”, the condition reading unit 123 searches the power generation condition table 305A based on the amount of electricity periodically received from the power conditioner 200Z via the communication interface 105. To do. As a result, the values of the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 corresponding to the determination condition corresponding to the power storage amount are read from the power generation condition table 305A and output to the determination unit 127.

<Hardware configuration of home appliances>
As an example of home appliances, the configuration of an air conditioner 200A will be described. Referring to FIG. 6, air conditioner 200A drives a memory 201 for storing a data program relating to operation, a button 204 for accepting an operation for operation control by a user, a communication interface 205, and a heat exchange cycle (not shown). It includes an air conditioning unit 207 including a motor for performing the operation, various sensors 209 such as a temperature / humidity sensor, and a CPU 210.

  The memory 201 can be realized in the same manner as the memory 101 of the home controller 100. The memory 201 stores a control program executed by the CPU 210, power consumption of the air conditioner 200A, a command input to the air conditioner 200A, an operating state of the air conditioner 200A, and the like.

  The communication interface 205 transmits and receives data to and from the home controller 100 via the network 401 under the control of the CPU 210. As described above, the communication interface 205 uses the wireless LAN, ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), wired LAN (Local Area Network), PLC (Power Line Communications), or the like, so that the home controller 100 is used. Send and receive data.

  Sensor 209 includes a power sensor. The power sensor measures the power consumption of the air conditioner 200A. The measured power consumption is transmitted to the CPU 210 through the communication interface 205 and stored in the memory 201.

Other types of home appliances also have a configuration similar to that shown in FIG.
<Estimation of total network power consumption>
In this embodiment, the home controller 100 side periodically receives the power consumption (instantaneous power consumption (unit: kW)) measured from each home appliance from each home appliance, and integrates the power consumption to obtain the power consumption per unit period. The power consumption (unit: kWh) is calculated. In addition, you may make it perform this calculation in each household appliance side. That is, the configuration may be such that each home appliance cumulatively adds the power consumption measured by the power sensor using the memory 201 and transmits the cumulative addition result to the home controller 100 as the power consumption amount.

  The estimation unit 125 estimates the network total power consumption based on the power consumption from each home appliance as described above. When the estimation unit 125 inputs an operation for controlling the operation of the home appliance via the input interfaces 1031 and 1041, it analyzes the operation content and uses the analysis result to control the operation of the home appliance according to the operation. Estimate power.

  For example, the case where the operation of the air conditioner 200A is operated will be described. When the user operation is changed so as to decrease / increase the target temperature of the air conditioner 200A, the value of the current operation state of the power consumption condition table 305B, the variation amount of the target temperature, and the target temperature are changed by a unit amount. Is used to estimate (calculate) the power consumption by the air conditioner 200A when the target temperature is operated according to the user operation. Then, by adding the power consumption calculated for the other home appliances, that is, the current power consumption W2 of each other home appliance read from the power consumption condition table 305B, and the estimated power consumption of the air conditioner 200A, the total network consumption Calculate (estimate) power. The total network power consumption estimated in this way is output to the determination unit 127.

  It is assumed that the fluctuation amount of the power consumption of the air conditioner 200 </ b> A when the target temperature is changed by a unit amount is acquired in advance through experiments or the like and stored in the memory 101.

  Here, the case where the user operation is performed for the operation of the air conditioner 200A has been described. However, when the user operation is performed even for other types of home appliances, the total network power consumption can be estimated in the same manner.

<Energy saving and prohibition conditions>
With reference to FIG. 6, the energy saving condition and the prohibition condition will be described. The home controller 100 controls the operation of home appliances with reference to the total network power consumption and the threshold. As the threshold value, the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 read from the power generation condition table 305A by the condition setting unit 121 are used.

  In the present embodiment, home controller 100 normally operates each home appliance with energy saving control. In the energy saving control, the operation is controlled so that the total power consumption of the network is equal to or less than the energy saving condition CD2.

  In the energy saving control, when a user operation is performed on the operation of the home appliance, the determination unit 127 determines that the total network power consumption input from the estimation unit 125 is equal to or less than the energy saving condition CD2 input from the condition setting unit 121. An instruction for accepting a user operation is output to the command transmission unit 131. Thereby, the command transmission unit 131 generates an operation control command based on the user operation received by the input interfaces 1031 and 1041 and outputs the operation control command to the communication interface 105. The communication interface 105 transmits the control command to home appliances. As a result, the target home appliance transitions from the energy saving control operation to the manual mode operation by the user operation.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the estimated total network power consumption is greater than the energy saving condition CD2 and less than or equal to the prohibition condition CD1, the warning output unit 129 generates a warning message and outputs it to the output interface 1021 based on the determination result. . The output interface 1021 displays a warning (“the energy saving condition has been exceeded but the operation is accepted”) on the display 102. In addition, the user operation is accepted. That is, the determination unit 127 outputs an instruction to the command transmission unit 131. Thereby, the command transmission unit 131 generates an operation control command based on the operation and outputs the operation control command to the communication interface 105. The communication interface 105 transmits the control command to home appliances. As a result, the target home appliance transitions from the energy saving control operation to the manual mode operation by the user operation.

  If it is determined that the estimated total network power consumption is larger than the prohibition condition CD1, the warning output unit 129 generates a warning message based on the determination result and outputs the warning message to the output interface 1021. As a result, a warning (“The operation cannot be guaranteed because the energy saving condition has been exceeded and cannot be accepted”) is displayed on the display 102 and the user operation is not accepted. That is, the command transmission unit 131 does not generate an operation control command based on the operation based on an instruction from the determination unit 127. Therefore, since transmission of the control command based on the user operation is limited (not transmitted), the control of the target home appliance is not changed, and the energy saving control is continued.

  Thus, the range of the energy saving condition CD2 to the prohibition condition CD1 indicates the allowable range of the total power consumption of the network when the transition from the energy saving control to the control by manual operation is permitted.

  In the present embodiment, when the estimated total network power consumption exceeds the target energy saving condition CD2, a warning is output via the output interface 1021, exceeding the allowable range and larger than the prohibited condition CD1 (allowable value). When this happens, the user's manual operation is restricted. As a result, even if a user operation is performed, it is possible to prevent acceptance of a user operation such that each home appliance is driven exceeding the allowable range of the total power consumption of the network, and it is possible to guarantee a stable operation of each home appliance. It becomes.

<Control switching process>
With reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and 9, the energy saving control by the home controller 100 and the manual control switching process by the user operation will be described. The program according to the flowchart is stored in the memory 101 in advance, and the function is realized by the CPU 110 reading and executing the program. Here, assuming that each home appliance of the network system 1 is operated by energy saving control, the prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 given from the condition setting unit 121 to the determination unit 127 are “user setting” in the power generation condition table 305A. It is assumed that the value corresponds to “value”. The given prohibition condition CD1 and the energy saving condition CD2 can be variably changed to values corresponding to “photovoltaic power generation amount” or “power storage amount” by a user operation via the operation unit.

  First, based on the output of the input interface 1031, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the user has operated the operation unit to accept a user operation on the home appliance (step S <b> 3). If it is determined that it is not accepted (NO in step S3), the process of S3 is repeated, but if it is determined that it is accepted (YES in step S3), the estimating unit 125 estimates the total network power consumption according to the above-described procedure based on the received user operation. Processing is performed (step S5).

  The determination unit 127 compares the estimated total network power consumption with the prohibition condition CD1 input from the condition setting unit 121. If it is determined that the condition (estimated network total power consumption> prohibition condition CD1) is satisfied based on the comparison result (YES in step S7), the process proceeds to a process when the prohibition condition is exceeded (step S13). The process of step S13 will be described later.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the above condition is not satisfied (NO in step S7), the estimated total network power consumption is compared with the energy saving condition CD2 input from the condition setting unit 121. If it is determined that the condition (estimated total network power consumption> energy saving condition CD2) is not satisfied based on the comparison result (NO in step S9), the command transmission unit 131 can accept the user operation based on the instruction from the determination unit 127. (Step S11). In step S11, a command for operation control based on a user operation is generated and transmitted to the target home appliance. In the target home appliance, operation is controlled based on the received operation control command.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the above condition is satisfied (YES in step S9), a warning (“energy saving condition is exceeded but operation is accepted”) is output via warning output unit 129 and output interface 1021 ( Step S15). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S11, the user operation is accepted, and a control command is transmitted to the target home appliance via the command transmission unit 131 and the communication interface 195 (step S11).

  After the operation control command is transmitted in step S11, the process returns to step S3, and the processes after step S3 are similarly repeated.

(Processing when the prohibition condition is exceeded)
FIG. 9 shows the process of step S13 described above.

  If the determination unit 127 determines that the estimated total network power consumption exceeds the prohibition condition CD1 (YES in step S7), the process proceeds to the process of FIG.

  First, the warning output unit 129 generates a warning message based on the determination result of the determination unit 127 and outputs the warning message to the output interface 1021. The output interface 1021 displays a warning message (“The operation cannot be guaranteed because the energy saving condition has been exceeded and operation cannot be guaranteed”) on the display 102 (step S21).

  Thereafter, the CPU 110 determines whether or not a user operation has been accepted based on the output from the input interface 1031 (step S23). That is, it is determined whether or not the user who has confirmed the warning in step S21 performs a new operation.

  If it is determined that the user operation is not accepted (NO in step S23), the process proceeds to step S29. In step S29, CPU 110 continues the energy saving control without changing the operation control of the home appliance.

  If it is determined that the user operation is accepted (YES in step S23), the estimating unit 125 estimates the total network power consumption based on the accepted user operation (step S25). The determination unit 127 determines whether the estimated total network power consumption falls within the allowable range, that is, whether or not the relationship of (energy saving condition CD2 ≦ estimated network total power consumption ≦ prohibition condition CD1) is satisfied (step S27). . If it is determined that it is established (YES in step S27), the process returns to the process of step S11, and the command transmission unit 131 generates a control command based on the user operation and transmits it to the target home appliance via the communication interface 105. Then, the process after step S11 is performed.

  Thus, even if the total network power consumption is larger than the prohibition condition CD1 according to the user operation accepted in step S3 (see case ST1 in FIG. 7), a new acceptance is made in step S23 after outputting the warning. When it is determined that the total network power consumption estimated based on the user operation is within the allowable range (see case ST2 in FIG. 7), the user operation is accepted and a control command is output.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the above relationship is not established (NO in step S27), the process proceeds to step S29, and in step S29, the energy saving control is continued without changing the operation control of the home appliance.

  In addition, after switching from energy-saving control to the operation control according to user operation, you may make it return to energy-saving control. Specifically, the CPU 110 transmits a new control command to the target home appliance and returns to the energy saving control when a predetermined time has elapsed since the control command based on the user operation is transmitted to the target home appliance. . The predetermined time may be a fixed value or may be changed variably by a user operation.

  In the process of FIG. 9, it is determined whether or not a user operation is accepted after the warning is output (step S21) (step S23). That is, after the warning in step S21, the energy saving control may be continued without changing the operation control of the home appliance regardless of the presence or absence of a user operation.

  Here, the target home appliance by the user operation is assumed to be one, but even when two or more home appliances are operated, the total network power consumption is similarly estimated, and the user operation can be accepted based on the estimated total network power consumption. It can be determined whether or not. Therefore, in the case of targeting a plurality of home appliances (if it is determined that the estimated total network power consumption has exceeded the prohibition condition D1 (corresponding to YES in step S7)), a warning is issued in step S21. After that, all the operation control of the plurality of home appliances may be shifted to the energy saving control regardless of the presence or absence of the user operation.

<Modification of control switching>
The switching between the energy saving control and the user operation may be as follows.

  For example, when the user performs an operation for changing the target temperature to 25 ° C. during energy saving control (for example, target temperature 28 ° C.) of the air conditioner 200A, the CPU 110 estimates when the target temperature is 25 ° C. If the calculated total network power consumption is calculated and the calculated estimated total network power consumption exceeds the allowable range, or exceeds the maximum power consumption W1 of the air conditioner 200A in the power consumption condition table 305B, it is within the allowable range and the maximum A target temperature that is less than the power consumption W1 may be calculated and presented.

  For example, if it is determined that the target temperature is within the allowable range and less than the maximum power consumption W1, it is 26 ° C. As a warning, “If you set it to 25 ° C, you cannot save energy! ”May be output, and a control command for changing the target temperature to 26 ° C. may be generated and transmitted to the air conditioner 200A.

  In addition, it is assumed that the current power consumption W2 of the air conditioner 200A has increased with the increase in the amount of incident light into the room or the increase in the number of people in the room after starting the control at the target temperature of 26 ° C. In this case, if the CPU 110 determines that the condition within the allowable range and less than the corresponding maximum power consumption W1 is not satisfied using the current power consumption W2 of the air conditioner 200A read from the power consumption condition table 305B, “increase energy saving”. It is possible to return to 28 ° C. because the achievement has become severe, ”and display a message to return to the energy-saving control from the control by the user's manual operation.

<Modified example of program>
The processing according to the above-described embodiment is realized by software that executes the CPU 110. Such software may be stored in the memory 101 in advance. The software may be stored in a storage medium and distributed as a program product. Alternatively, the software may be provided as a program product that can be downloaded by an information provider connected to the so-called Internet.

  Such software is read from the storage medium by using a reading device (not shown), or downloaded by using the communication interface 105 and temporarily stored in the memory 101. The CPU 110 stores the software in the form of an executable program in the memory 101 and then executes the program. Note that the storage medium and the program can be realized in the same manner as the recording medium and program according to the home controller 100.

[Other embodiments]
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the network system 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the home appliances 200 </ b> A to 200 </ b> E measure power consumption and transmit the power consumption to the home controller 100. On the other hand, in network system 1B according to the present embodiment, each of home appliances 200A to 200E does not transmit power consumption to home controller 100. That is, instead of the home appliances 200A to 200E, a communication device attached to an outlet for supplying power to the home appliances 200A to 200E measures the power consumption of each of the home appliances 200A to 200E, and supplies the power consumption to the home controller 100. To be sent.

<Overall configuration of network system>
Referring to FIG. 10, network system 1B according to the present embodiment is installed in, for example, a house or an office. The network system 1B includes home appliances (electric devices) such as an air conditioner 200A, a television 200B, a curtain opening / closing device 200C, a refrigerator 200D, and a light 200E.

  The network system 1B includes a solar power generation device 200X, a storage battery 200Y, and a power conditioner 200Z for controlling them.

  In network system 1B according to the present embodiment, communication device 400A for air conditioner 200A is installed between air conditioner 200A and the outlet of air conditioner 200A. In other words, communication device 400A is plugged into an outlet of air conditioner 200A, and adapter 250A of air conditioner 200A is plugged into communication device 400A. Similarly, a communication device 400C for the curtain opening / closing device 200C is installed between the curtain opening / closing device 200C and the outlet of the curtain opening / closing device 200C. In other words, the communication device 400C is inserted into the outlet of the curtain opening / closing device 200C, and the adapter 250C of the curtain opening / closing device 200C is inserted into the communication device 400C. Communication device 400D for refrigerator 200D is installed between refrigerator 200D and the outlet of refrigerator 200D. In other words, the communication device 400D is plugged into the outlet of the refrigerator 200D, and the adapter 250D of the refrigerator 200D is plugged into the communication device 400D. A communication device 400E for the light 200E is installed between the light 200E and the outlet of the light 200E. In other words, the communication device 400E is plugged into the outlet of the light 200E, and the adapter 250E of the light 200E is plugged into the communication device 400E.

  The network system 1B includes a home controller 100 for controlling home appliances 200A to 200E, a photovoltaic power generation apparatus 200X, a storage battery 200Y, a power conditioner 200Z for controlling them, and the like. The home controller 100 can perform data communication with the home appliances 200A to 200E, the photovoltaic power generation apparatus 200X, the storage battery 200Y, and the power conditioner 200Z for controlling them via a wired or wireless network 401. The home controller 100 uses, for example, a wireless LAN, ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), wired LAN (Local Area Network), or PLC (Power Line Communications) as the network 401. The home controller 100 may be portable, may be detachable from a base placed on a table, or may be fixed to a wall of a room.

  In network system 1B according to the present embodiment, home controller 100 acquires the power consumption of home appliances 200A to 200E via communication devices 400A to 400E, as compared to network system 1 according to the above-described embodiment. It is different in point. Other configurations are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and thus description thereof will not be repeated.

[Still another embodiment]
It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a case where it is achieved by supplying a program to the home controller 100, the home appliances 200A to 200E, other mobile phones, and the like. Then, a storage medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention is supplied to the system or apparatus, and the computer of the system or apparatus (or CPU or MPU (Micro Processing Unit)) is stored in the storage medium. The effect described in the above-described embodiment can also be obtained by reading and executing the program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code However, it is needless to say that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  1,1B network system, 100 home controller, 102 display, 103 tablet, 104 button, 105 communication interface, 106 touch panel, 108 clock, 200A air conditioner, 200B TV, 200C curtain opening / closing device, 200D refrigerator, 200E light, 305A power generation condition table , 305B power consumption condition table, 400A, 400C, 400D, 400E communication device, 401 network, 402 power line, CD1 prohibition condition, CD2 energy saving condition.

Claims (13)

An input interface for receiving an operation for controlling the operation of at least one of the plurality of electrical devices;
A processor for controlling the at least one electrical device using an allowable value of total power consumption by the plurality of electrical devices,
The processor is
The total power consumption is estimated when the at least one electric device is controlled according to the operation accepted by the input interface, and the determined operation is performed when the estimated total power consumption is greater than the allowable value. A controller that limits the operation of at least one electrical device. The controller is
An output interface for outputting information;
The processor is
The warning is output via the output interface when it is determined that the estimated total power consumption is smaller than the allowable value and larger than a target calculated based on the allowable value. Controller described in. The controller is
A communication interface for communicating with the plurality of electrical devices,
The processor is
When it is determined that the estimated total power consumption is less than or equal to the allowable value, an operation control command according to the accepted operation is transmitted to the at least one electric device via the communication interface, and is greater than the allowable value. The controller according to claim 2, wherein the controller restricts transmission of the operation control command. The processor is
If it is determined that the estimated total power consumption is larger than the allowable value, a command for operation control so that the total power consumption is equal to or less than the allowable value is transmitted via the communication interface to the at least one electric device. The controller according to claim 3, wherein the controller transmits the address. The processor is
After the warning is output, the post-warning power consumption, which is the total power consumption when the operation of the at least one electrical device is controlled according to the post-warning operation that is an operation accepted by the input interface, is estimated. 5. The operation control command according to the received post-warning operation is transmitted to the at least one electric device via the communication interface when it is determined that the post power consumption is equal to or less than the allowable value. Controller.   The controller according to claim 1, wherein the allowable value is variably changed.   The controller according to claim 6, wherein the allowable value is calculated using an upper limit value of power consumption of the plurality of electric devices. The plurality of electric devices operate by being supplied with power from a power supply source,
The processor is
The controller according to claim 5, wherein the controller obtains the amount of power supplied by the power supply source and determines the allowable value based on the amount of power supplied. The power supply source is a solar power generation device,
The processor is
The controller of Claim 8 which acquires the electric power generation amount by the said solar power generation device, and determines the said allowable value based on the electric power generation amount to acquire. The power supply source is a storage battery,
The processor is
The controller according to claim 8, wherein an electric energy of the storage battery is acquired and the allowable value is determined based on the acquired electric energy.   The controller according to claim 6, wherein the target is calculated based on the allowable value. A network system comprising a plurality of electrical devices and a controller,
The controller is
An input interface for receiving an operation for controlling the operation of at least one of the plurality of electrical devices;
A processor for controlling the at least one electrical device using an allowable value of total power consumption by the plurality of electrical devices,
The processor is
The total power consumption is estimated when the at least one electric device is controlled according to the operation accepted by the input interface, and the determined operation is performed when the estimated total power consumption is greater than the allowable value. A network system that restricts the operation of at least one electrical device. An information processing method in a controller including a processor for controlling a plurality of electrical devices,
The controller is
An input interface for receiving an operation for operating and controlling at least one of the plurality of electrical devices;
The information processing method includes:
Estimating the total power consumed by the plurality of electrical devices when the processor controls the at least one electrical device according to an operation received by the input interface;
The processor determining whether the estimated total power consumption is greater than an acceptable value;
And a step of restricting the operation of the at least one electric device in accordance with the accepted operation when the step of determining determines that the value is larger than the allowable value.

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