JP2013198269A - Energy supply system and energy supply method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an energy supply system capable of efficiently executing processing for creating a control rule in accordance with an order of priority by flexibly corresponding to a changed order of priority in the case that the order of priority is changed when controlling power supply to each electrical equipment existing in a dwelling house in accordance with an order of priority.SOLUTION: A smart tap 1 for controlling power supply to each electrical equipment in a dwelling house, and a center server group comprising a rule server 5, an API server 6 and a DB server 7 are provided, the DB server 7 receives a user operation performed to give an order of priority of power supply to each electrical equipment, the rule server 5 creates a control rule corresponding to an order of priority of the electrical equipment to be control objects targeted by the smart tap 1, and he API server 6 transmits control rule data showing the control rule created by the rule server 5. The smart tap 1 receives the control rule data from the API server 6, and performs control so as to supply the power to electrical equipment having a high order of priority preferentially.

Description

  The present invention relates to an energy supply system and an energy supply method for supplying energy to each of a plurality of energy consuming devices arranged in a building, and particularly according to a priority set for each of a plurality of energy consuming devices. The present invention relates to an energy supply system and an energy supply method capable of controlling energy supply to each energy consuming device.

  In an energy supply system that supplies energy to each of a plurality of energy consuming devices arranged in a building, in order to level the energy consumption in the building, the usage time of each energy consuming device is used at the same time. It is necessary to rationalize the energy supply in the building by reviewing the number of energy consuming devices. As one of the methods for rationalizing energy supply, it is well known to set priorities for each of a plurality of energy consuming devices and control the energy supply of each energy consuming device according to the priorities. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  Specifically, Patent Document 1 describes a system that controls the operating states of a plurality of electrical devices. In the system, the total power consumption state of each electrical device exceeds an upper limit value. The power consumption is sequentially reduced from the devices with the lowest priority or the operation is stopped, and the operation state of each electric device is controlled so that the above total is within the upper limit value. Patent Document 2 describes a system that supplies power to a plurality of loads from a battery of a battery power storage device at the time of a power failure of a commercial power source. In this system, priorities are set in advance for each load, and the priorities are set. Electric power is supplied to each load for the time corresponding to the rank. Patent Document 3 describes a system for controlling a plurality of electric devices arranged in a house through a home server. In this system, the home server operates an ideal operation based on the operating conditions and priority of each electric device. The pattern is calculated, and each electric device operates based on the ideal operation pattern.

Japanese Patent No. 4363835 JP 2005-185070 A JP 2008-67473 A

  By the way, the priority set for each energy consuming device in controlling the energy supply reflects the behavior pattern and intention of the building user (in other words, the user of the energy consuming device). There is a need. Furthermore, when the user's behavior pattern or intention changes, the priority may change accordingly. On the other hand, only the case where the priorities are set in advance is described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 described above, and the case where the priorities change according to the user's behavior pattern, change in intention, and the like. However, it is not possible to sufficiently cope with the technology disclosed in the above.

  In addition, when controlling the energy supply to each energy consuming device according to the priority order, processing for creating a control rule in consideration of the priority order, and controlling energy supply to the energy consuming device according to the control rule Processing is executed. Here, if the process for controlling the energy supply and the process for creating the control rule are executed by the same device, the processing load is concentrated on the device, and the process may not be executed efficiently. In particular, when the priority changes according to the behavior pattern and intention of the user of the building, the above problem becomes more apparent.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to prioritize the energy consuming equipment in controlling the energy supply to the energy consuming equipment arranged in the building. Accordingly, it is an object to provide an energy supply system and an energy supply method capable of efficiently executing a process for creating a control rule in response. In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide an energy supply system and an energy supply method that can flexibly cope with changes in priority according to the user's intention and the like.

  According to the energy supply system of the present invention, the subject is a control device that controls energy supply to a control target device among a plurality of energy consuming devices arranged in a building, and the control device is connected to the control target device. A rule creation mechanism that creates a control rule that is applied when controlling the energy supply of the plurality of energy consumptions. A receiving unit that receives a user operation performed for giving to each of the devices, and a priority that indicates the priority order given to each of the plurality of energy consuming devices in the user operation received by the receiving unit A storage unit for storing rank data, and a plurality of the energy consuming devices based on the priority order data stored in the storage unit After specifying each of the priorities, a creation unit that creates the control rules according to the priorities of the devices to be controlled among the identified priorities, and the control rules created by the creation unit A transmission unit that transmits control rule data indicating, wherein the control device receives the control rule data transmitted by the transmission unit, and according to the control rule indicated in the received control rule data, The problem is solved by controlling energy supply to the control target device so that energy is preferentially supplied to the energy consuming device having a higher priority than the control target device.

  With the above configuration, in the present invention, a user (user) of a building receives an operation to be given priority, and a control rule is created after specifying the priority. The reflected energy supply control can be realized. Furthermore, in the present invention, the rule creation mechanism creates a control rule and transmits data indicating the control rule to the control device, while the control device receives the data and acquires the control rule, The energy supply to the energy consuming device is controlled according to the acquired control rule. That is, in the present embodiment, a device that executes a process for creating a control rule and a device that executes a process for controlling energy supply to an energy consuming device are separately provided. Thereby, in this invention, a processing burden can be disperse | distributed and it becomes possible to perform each process efficiently.

In the above configuration, the rule creation mechanism includes a monitoring unit that monitors whether the priority data stored in the storage unit has been changed, and a rule creation that requests the creation unit to create the control rule A request unit, and when the monitoring unit detects that the priority data has been changed, the rule creation request unit requests the creation unit to create a new control rule, and The creation unit identifies the changed priority order from the changed priority order data, creates a new control rule according to the changed priority order of the control target device, and creates the creation unit. When the new control rule is created by the transmission unit, the transmission unit transmits the control rule data indicating the new control rule, and the control device follows the new control rule. It may be controlled energy supply to the control target device so that preferentially energy into higher the priority of the changed the energy consuming device is supplied than the control target device.
With such a configuration, even when the priority is changed according to the user's intention, etc., it is possible to flexibly deal with and efficiently execute the process of recreating the control rule according to the changed priority. It becomes possible.

In the above configuration, a communication device that communicates with the rule creation mechanism and the control device, receives the control rule data from the rule creation mechanism, and transmits the received control rule data to the control device. The communication device stores the control rule data received from the rule creation mechanism, and the control rule data is stored in the communication device storage unit. A communication device-side notification unit that notifies the control device of the fact, and a communication device-side transmission unit that reads the control rule data stored in the communication device-side storage unit and transmits the data to the control device. And the control device includes a data transmission request unit that requests the communication device to transmit the control rule data, and the control device is on the communication device side. Upon receiving the notification from the knowledge unit, the data transmission request unit requests the communication device to transmit the control rule data, and the communication device side transmission unit responds to the request from the data transmission request unit. If the control rule data is read from the communication device storage unit and transmitted to the control device, a more suitable energy supply system is realized.
In other words, in the above configuration, the above communication device functions as a device that relays between the rule creation mechanism and the control device. As a result, the processing load distribution effect is improved, so that the control rule creation processing and energy consumption are improved. It becomes possible to more efficiently execute control processing of energy supply to the device.

In the above configuration, when the priority given to each of the plurality of energy consuming devices in the user operation received by the receiving unit changes according to a time zone, the storage unit stores time The priority order data is stored for each band, and the creation unit identifies the priority order of each of the plurality of energy consuming devices from the priority data corresponding to the time period after switching each time the time period is switched. In the above, the control rule corresponding to the time zone after the switching is created, and the transmission unit transmits the control rule data for the time zone after the switching indicating the control rule corresponding to the time zone after the switching. When the communication device receives the control rule data for the time zone after the switching from the transmission unit, the communication device side storage unit receives the switch. The control rule data for the time zone after switching is stored, and the communication device-side notification unit notifies the control device that the control rule data for the time zone after switching has been stored in the communication device-side storage unit. When the control device receives a notification from the communication device side notification unit, the data transmission request unit requests the communication device to transmit control rule data for the switched time zone. Then, in response to a request from the data transmission request unit, the communication device side transmission unit reads out the control rule data for the switched time zone from the communication device side storage unit and transmits it to the control device In this way, an even more suitable energy supply system is realized.
That is, in the above configuration, the priority order is set for each time zone, and accordingly, the control rules are also created for each time zone. Therefore, the user's energy consumption behavior pattern is different for each time zone. Thus, it is possible to flexibly cope with the case where the priority order changes for each time zone during the day.

Further, in the above configuration, the communication device is a home gateway installed in a building, and the rule creation mechanism is configured by at least two or more servers arranged outside the building, and the at least two or more servers. Among the servers, the server having the creating unit and the server having the transmitting unit are different from each other, and the server having the transmitting unit communicates with the server having the creating unit and the home gateway through a network. Thus, if the control rule data is acquired from a server including the creation unit and the acquired control rule data is to be delivered to the home gateway, a more preferable energy supply system is realized.
In particular, the rule creation mechanism is composed of three servers, and among the three servers, the first server includes the creation unit, and the second server includes the transmission unit, the monitoring unit, and the rule creation request. It is more desirable if the third server includes the receiving unit and the storage unit.
In other words, with the above configuration, a plurality of servers are in charge of a series of processes performed to create a control rule according to the priority order and transmit data indicating the control rule to the control device. Become. As a result, the processing load can be further distributed, so that the control rule creation process can be executed more efficiently.

Further, in the above configuration, the control device is a tap to which a plurality of electrical devices as the energy consuming devices are connected, and the tap supplies power to each of the plurality of electrical devices connected to the tap. A power supply control unit that controls according to the control rule, and a rule creation request instruction unit that instructs the rule creation request unit to request the creation unit to create the control rule, When the electrical device is newly connected to the tap, the rule creation request instructing unit notifies the rule creation request unit to the electrical device to which the power supply control unit is newly connected to the tap. If the creation unit is instructed to request creation of the control rule to be applied when controlling power supply, a more suitable energy supply system is realized.
That is, in the above configuration, even when the combination of electric devices connected to the tap is changed, it is possible to flexibly cope with the change. More specifically, for example, when a newly purchased electric device is connected to the tap, there is no control rule related to the electric device, so the request for creating the control rule is instructed from the tap side. Thereby, it becomes possible to acquire a control rule for a newly purchased electric device and to appropriately control power supply to the electric device thereafter.

Further, according to the energy supply method of the present invention, the above-described problem is a control process for controlling energy supply to a control target device among a plurality of energy consuming devices arranged in a building; A rule creation process for creating a control rule to be applied when controlling energy supply, the rule creation process having a plurality of energy consumption priorities when energy is supplied to the energy consuming device. A process of accepting a user operation performed for giving to each of the devices, and priority data indicating the priority given to each of the plurality of energy consuming devices in the accepted user operation are stored Specifying the priority of each of the plurality of energy consuming devices from the processing and the stored priority data A process for creating the control rule according to the priority order of the control target device, and a process for transmitting control rule data indicating the created control rule. In the processing, the transmitted control rule data is received, and energy is preferentially given to the energy consuming device having a higher priority than the control target device in accordance with the control rule indicated in the received control rule data. The energy supply to the device to be controlled is controlled so as to be supplied, and the control process and the rule creation process are executed by different apparatuses.
That is, according to the energy supply method of the present invention, as described above, a user operation performed for assigning a priority order is accepted and a control rule is created after specifying the priority order. It becomes possible to realize energy supply control that reflects the intention. Furthermore, in the energy supply method of the present invention, a rule creation process for creating a control rule and transmitting data indicating the control rule, and a control process for controlling energy supply to the energy consuming device according to the acquired control rule, Since the processing is executed by different devices, the processing load can be distributed, and thus each processing can be executed efficiently.

In the energy supply method, the rule creation process further includes a process for monitoring whether the stored priority order data is changed, and a process for requesting the creation of the control rule, In the process of monitoring whether the priority order data has been changed, when the change in the priority order data is detected, in the process of requesting the creation of the control rule, a request is made to create a new control rule. In the process of creating, after specifying the changed priority order from the changed priority order data, create a new control rule according to the changed priority order of the control target device, a new When the control rule is created, in the process of transmitting the control rule data, the control rule data indicating the new control rule is changed. And when the control rule data indicating the new control rule is transmitted, in the control process, the energy consuming device having a higher priority than the control target device according to the new control rule It is more preferable to control the energy supply to the control target device so that energy is preferentially supplied.
By the energy supply method of this procedure, even if the priority is changed according to the user's intention, etc., it is possible to respond flexibly and efficiently execute the process of recreating the control rule according to the changed priority It becomes possible.

In the energy supply method, the rule creation process is executed by at least two or more servers, and among the rule creation processes, the process of creating the control rule and the process of transmitting the control rule data are It is even more suitable if executed by different servers among at least two or more servers.
In particular, the rule creation process is executed by three servers, and among the rule creation processes, the process for creating the control rule is executed by a first server among the three servers, and the control rule data , A process for monitoring whether or not the priority data has been changed, and a process for requesting the creation of the control rule are executed by a second server and process for receiving the user operation and the priority order More preferably, the process of storing data is performed by a third server.
By the energy supply method of the above procedure, a plurality of servers will be in charge of a series of processes related to the rule creation process, and it becomes possible to further distribute the execution burden of each process. The rule creation process can be executed more efficiently.

  According to the energy supply system and the energy supply method of the present invention, when the energy supply to the energy consuming devices arranged in the building is controlled, the process of creating the control rule according to the priority order is efficiently executed. Is possible. Furthermore, according to the energy supply system and the energy supply method of the present invention, it is possible to flexibly cope with the case where the priority order changes according to the user's intention.

It is explanatory drawing of a control rule. It is a figure which shows the apparatus structure of the energy supply system which concerns on this embodiment. It is an external view of the tap which concerns on this embodiment. It is a block diagram of the tap which concerns on this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the structure of the energy supply system which concerns on this embodiment from the functional surface. It is an operation screen at the time of setting a priority. It is a figure which shows the 1st procedure regarding the energy supply control of this embodiment (the 1). It is a figure which shows the 1st procedure regarding the energy supply control of this embodiment (the 2). It is a figure which shows the 2nd procedure regarding the energy supply control of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the 3rd procedure regarding the energy supply control of this embodiment (the 1). It is a figure which shows the 3rd procedure regarding the energy supply control of this embodiment (the 2).

Hereinafter, an energy supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a control rule. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a device configuration of the energy supply system according to the present embodiment. 3A and 3B are diagrams relating to the tap according to the present embodiment, FIG. 3A is an external view of the tap, and FIG. 3B is a configuration diagram of the tap. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the energy supply system according to the present embodiment from the functional aspect. FIG. 5 is an operation screen for setting priorities. 6 and 7 are diagrams illustrating a first procedure related to the energy supply control of the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a second procedure regarding the energy supply control of the present embodiment. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating a third procedure relating to the energy supply control of the present embodiment.

  In the following, a house H is given as an example of a building, and the present invention relates to an energy supply system that supplies energy to energy consuming devices arranged in the house H. However, the house H is merely an example of a building, and the present invention can be used in other buildings such as commercial buildings, buildings in factories, stores, and the like.

<< Overview of energy supply system according to this embodiment >>
First, the outline | summary is demonstrated about the energy supply system (henceforth this system) S which concerns on this embodiment.
The system S supplies electric power as energy to the electric devices arranged in the house H. Electric equipment is an example of energy consuming equipment. Specifically, electric appliances are used for operation, such as home appliances such as TVs, entrance locks and security buzzers in houses H, and contact devices for monitoring and controlling window sensors. It is a device that requires. In the present embodiment, a plurality of electric devices are arranged in the house H, and the system S is to supply power to each of the plurality of electric devices.

  In addition, the system S can control the power supply to each electrical device for the purpose of leveling the power load in the house H, that is, the power consumption in the house H. More specifically, each electric device is connected to a smart tap 1 described later in order to receive power, and the power supply to each electric device is controlled according to a control rule by the function of the smart tap 1. Become.

  The control rule is a rule that is created for each electric device and applied when the smart tap 1 controls power supply to each electric device. More specifically, the control rule defines the operating states that can be taken by each electrical device under the constraints on power supply. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the control rule is described in IF-THEN syntax. Is a set of conditional expressions. Here, the constraint condition regarding the power supply includes the upper limit set for the power load in the house H, the priority given to each of the plurality of electric devices arranged in the house H, and the like. It is done.

  The priority order is a priority order when power is supplied, and is determined relatively between electrical devices. And electric power with higher priority is preferentially supplied with electric power. When power is preferentially supplied, for example, when the power supply destination is limited so that the power load in the house H does not exceed the upper limit value, priority is given to the operation of the electric device having a high priority. Therefore, it is to suppress the operation of the electric device having a low priority, and to pass the electric power secured thereby to the electric device having a high priority. In the control rule illustrated in FIG. 1, the electric device A has a higher rank than the electric device B.

In the present embodiment, it is possible to set priorities according to the operating conditions of the electrical equipment as well as between the electrical equipment. The operating condition of the electric device is an item that can be switched and adjusted when controlling the operation of the electric device, such as the operation mode of the electric device, the operation control value such as the set temperature, and the operation intensity (for example, work rate). . Specifically, the vacuum cleaner D3 of the present embodiment is divided into three levels of operating strength (suction strength): strong, medium, and weak, and priority is set for each strength. Is possible.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the priority order may be set only for the electric device, and the operation condition may not be set.

  And the control rule of each electric equipment is created according to the priority of the electric equipment concerned. More specifically, a control rule applied when controlling power supply to each electrical device is created so that power is preferentially supplied to electrical devices with higher priorities. As a result, among the plurality of electric devices arranged in the house H, when controlling the power supply of the control target device, the electric device having a higher priority than the control target device according to the control rule for the control target device Thus, power supply to the control target device is controlled so that power is preferentially supplied to.

  By the way, the above-mentioned control rule is used in the house H, more specifically, by the smart tap 1 described later, and the smart tap 1 shows the control rule when executing the control according to the control rule. Data (hereinafter, control rule data) is acquired. In the present system S, the control rule data is generated by the center server group 4 arranged outside the house H, downloaded through the outside network GN such as the Internet, and finally taken into the smart tap 1. Yes. Here, the outside network GN corresponds to the network of the present invention, and is constructed to communicate with a server or a terminal outside the house H.

  Further, as described above, the control rule for each electric device is created according to the priority order of the electric device. On the other hand, in providing a comfortable living environment for the resident of the house H, in other words, the user of the system S, the power supply control to each electric device needs to be executed so as to match the lifestyle of the user. There is. From this point of view, the priority order as a parameter when creating the control rule described above needs to reflect the user's behavior pattern and intention. Furthermore, when the user's behavior pattern or intention changes, the priority may change accordingly.

  For the above reasons, in the present embodiment, the user himself / herself sets the above-mentioned priority order, and even after the priority order is set, the user can change the priority order according to his / her will. It has become. And this system S produces the control rule of each electric equipment according to the priority set by the user itself, and controls the electric power supply to each electric equipment according to the said control rule. As a result, it is possible to realize power supply control that reflects the user's intention, etc., for each electrical device in the house H, and even if the priority is changed according to the user's intention, etc. It becomes possible to respond flexibly. Details of the above will be described later.

<< About the system configuration >>
Next, the configuration of the system S will be described with reference to FIGS. For ease of explanation, FIG. 2 illustrates only the television D1, the audio D2, and the vacuum cleaner D3 as the electric devices in the house H. In the following description, each part of the system S and the electric devices This relationship will be described using the three electric devices D1 to D3 as specific examples. However, the three electric devices D1 to D3 are merely examples of electric devices used in the house H, and of course, electric devices other than the three electric devices are arranged in the house H. Of course, the present invention can also be applied to a system that supplies electric power to electric devices other than the three electric devices.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the system S is composed of devices inside the house H and devices outside the house H. The devices inside the house H include a smart tap 1 as a tap and a home gateway (hereinafter referred to as HGW). 2) and user terminal 3. As a device outside the house H, there is a center server group 4, and the center server group 4 includes a rule server 5, an API server 6, and a database server (hereinafter referred to as a DB server) 7. Hereinafter, each component of the system S will be described in detail.

(1) Smart Tap The smart tap 1 has an appearance as shown in FIG. 3A and is supplied from the commercial power supply 8 via the distribution board 9 or the in-home outlet 10 with an electrical device connected thereto. Is distributed to each electric device.

  More specifically, the smart tap 1 is provided with a plurality of tap outlets 104 (three in FIG. 3A) as shown in FIG. 3A. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the power supply line extending from the tap-side plug 101 branches into a plurality of parallel lines inside the smart tap 1, and the tap-side outlet 104 is arranged at the end of each branch line. Yes. On the other hand, the smart tap 1 has a built-in microcomputer 103, and each of the branch lines is provided with a control circuit 102 for controlling the magnitude of the current flowing through the branch line.

  In the smart tap 1 configured as described above, the microcomputer 103 controls the magnitude of the current flowing through each branch line through the control circuit 102. As a result, the power to the electrical device plugged into the tap-side outlet 104 is determined. Supply will be controlled. As described above, in the present embodiment, the smart tap 1 functions as a control device that controls power supply to the control target device among the plurality of electric devices arranged in the house H. The device to be controlled is an electric device whose power supply is controlled by being connected to the smart tap 1.

  In addition, the smart tap 1 according to the present embodiment can be connected to the home network TN via the USB connector 1a illustrated in FIG. 3A. The home network TN is a network constructed in the house H, and is, for example, a wired communication network using an Ethernet (registered trademark) cable. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the home network TN may be constructed by a wireless IP network using IEEE802.1x or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  Then, the smart tap 1 acquires the above-described control rule data from the HGW 2 by communicating with the HGW 2 through the home network TN. The acquired control rule data is stored in the microcomputer 103, and is read out and used by the microcomputer 103 when controlling the power supply to each electric device. As a result, the smart tap 1 controls the power supply to each electric device according to the corresponding control rule.

  The smart tap 1 according to the present embodiment has a function of automatically recognizing an electrical device plugged into the tap-side outlet 104. With this function, the smart tap 1 recognizes which electrical device is plugged into which tap-side outlet 104, and then controls power supply to each electrical device according to the corresponding control rule. .

  Furthermore, the smart tap 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a power sensor 105 that measures the amount of power supplied to the connected electrical device, in other words, the power consumption of the electrical device. The power sensor 105 is provided for each branch line described above, and the measurement result of the power sensor 105 is transmitted to the HGW 2 through the home network TN and finally delivered to the DB server 7 through the outside network GN. It is.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the power sensor 105 is built in the smart tap 1, it is possible to measure the power consumption of the electric device connected to the smart tap 1. On the other hand, data indicating measurement results (hereinafter referred to as measurement result data) is stored and accumulated in the DB server 7. If the measurement result data accumulated in the DB server 7 is statistically analyzed, the average operation time in one day is calculated for each electric device, and the time zone in which the operation was actually performed in one day is calculated. It is also possible to specify.

(2) HGW
The HGW 2 is installed to monitor the power supply / demand situation in the house H, and includes a CPU 2a, a ROM 2b, a RAM 2c, and a communication interface 2d (indicated as communication I / F in FIG. 2) as components. The HGW 2 can communicate with devices in the house H through the home network TN and can communicate with the API server 6 through the outside network GN by a communication program stored in the ROM 2b.

  More specifically, the HGW 2 is a communication device that receives control rule data from the API server 6 through the outside network GN and transmits the received control rule data to the smart tap 1 through the home network TN. That is, the HGW 2 functions as a device that relays between the API server 6 and the smart tap 1 in the system S.

  In addition, when the HGW 2 according to the present embodiment receives the control rule data from the API server 6, the HGW 2 temporarily stores the data in the RAM 2c and controls the above-described control rule for the smart tap 1 through the home network TN. Notify that data has been acquired. The smart tap 1 that has received this notification requests the HGW 2 to transmit the control rule data. In response to the request, the HGW 2 reads the control rule data from the RAM 2c and transmits it to the smart tap 1.

  In the present embodiment, among the devices that the HGW 2 can communicate with via the home network TN, there is a sensor group SGP installed in the house H. The sensor group SGP includes, for example, a sensor (not shown) for measuring the total amount of power consumed in the house H, and a sensor (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of a human in each room in the house H such as a living room. It is included. The HGW 2 acquires data indicating measurement results from these sensors, and further passes the acquired data to the API server 6 and the smart tap 1. Thereby, the measurement result of the sensor group SGP can be reflected in the creation of the control rule and the power supply control by the smart tap 1.

(3) User Terminal The user terminal 3 is a terminal operated when the user sets priorities, and includes a CPU 3a, ROM 3b, RAM 3c, a communication interface 3d (indicated as communication I / F in FIG. 2), and input means. 3e is provided as a component. Specifically, the user terminal 3 according to the present embodiment is a PDA, and includes a touch panel as the input unit 3e. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be configured by a mobile phone such as a personal computer or a smartphone, an operation panel fixedly installed in the house, or the like.

  Further, the user terminal 3 is connected to the outside network GN and can communicate with the DB server 7. Then, when the user operates the touch panel as the input means 3e to set the priority order for the electric devices in the house H, the user terminal 3 sends the data indicating the setting result to the DB server 7 through the outside network GN. Send to.

  More specifically, when the priority order setting program stored in the ROM 3 b of the user terminal 3 is activated, the operation screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the touch panel of the user terminal 3. The operation screen displays a list of electrical devices that are candidates for setting priorities. In the operation screen shown in FIG. 5, televisions, audios, and vacuum cleaners are listed as candidates for electrical devices for which priority orders are set.

  Of the above electrical equipment, the vacuum cleaner is divided into three stages of strong, medium, and weak suction conditions as operating conditions. As described above, in this embodiment, for each operating condition, Priorities can be set. Therefore, in the operation screen shown in FIG. 5, each suction strength of the vacuum cleaner is also listed as a candidate for setting priority.

  On the other hand, a priority order determination button Bt1 is provided for each candidate for which a priority order is set, and a priority order is assigned to each candidate according to the order in which the priority order determination button Bt1 is pressed. More specifically, among the candidates listed, the one with the first priority determination button Bt1 pressed is the first priority, and thereafter, the priority is higher in the order from the one with the priority determination button Bt1 pressed. Ranking is given.

  The order in which the priority order determination button Bt1 is pressed, that is, the priority order set by the user for each electrical device and operating condition is displayed on the operation screen as shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the priority determination button Bt1 is pressed in the order of television, strong operation of the vacuum cleaner, middle operation of the vacuum cleaner, audio, and weak operation of the vacuum cleaner, and the priority is given in the above order. .

  As described above, priority is given to the operation of setting the priority order through the user terminal 3 for the electrical equipment and the operation conditions listed as candidates, more specifically, the operation of sequentially pressing the operation order determination button Bt1. This corresponds to a user operation performed to assign a ranking to each of a plurality of electrical devices and operating conditions.

  When the priority order determination button Bt1 is pressed for all candidates, the user confirms the result of setting the priority order displayed on the operation screen, and if there is no problem, the completion displayed on the upper right of the operation screen is completed. Press the button Bt2. When the completion button Bt2 is pressed, the above user operation ends. On the other hand, if the user wishes to reset the priority after confirming the priority setting result, the clear button Bt3 or a correction for returning the priority to the previous stage and resetting it. The button Bt4 is pressed to reset the priority order.

  When the completion button Bt2 is pressed, the user terminal 3 generates data (hereinafter referred to as operation data) indicating the priority setting result in the user operation, and transmits the operation data to the DB server 7. . On the other hand, the DB server 7 receives the operation data through the outside network GN, and analyzes the received operation data, so that the priority given to each of the plurality of electric devices and the operating conditions in the user operation is determined. Identify. Further, the DB server 7 converts the specified priority order into data, and stores the data (hereinafter referred to as priority order data) in the hard disk 7e.

  In the present embodiment, a user operation for setting a priority order with respect to a plurality of electric devices arranged in the house H and its operating conditions is performed in association with the time zone. That is, in the present embodiment, it is possible to change the priority given to each of the plurality of electrical devices and the operating conditions in the user operation according to the time zone. In particular, in the present embodiment, the priority can be set by changing every hour.

  More specifically, on the operation screen shown in FIG. 5, priorities in the time zone of 14:00 to 15:00 can be set. When the feed button Bt5 in the operation screen is pressed, the screen is switched, and the next It is possible to set priorities in the time zone, specifically, from 15:00 to 16:00. Similarly, when the return button Bt6 is pressed in the operation screen shown in FIG. 5, it becomes possible to set priorities in the previous time zone, specifically, the time zone from 13:00:00 to 14:00.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the priority order can be set for each time zone, and the DB server 7 stores the priority order data indicating the set priority order for each time zone. Become. As a result, for example, even when the priority changes from time to time because the user's power consumption behavior pattern varies from time to time, it is possible to respond flexibly.

(4) Rule Server The rule server 5 constitutes the center server group 4 together with an API server 6 and a DB server 7 described later, and includes a CPU 5a, ROM 5b, RAM 5c, and a communication interface 5d (indicated as communication I / F in FIG. 2). As a component. Here, the center server group 4 corresponds to the rule creation mechanism that creates the control rule described above, and among them, the rule server 5 is a server that actually creates the control rule and generates data indicating the control rule. . That is, the rule server 5 corresponds to a first server including a rule creation unit 52 (the rule creation unit 52 will be described later) that creates a control rule among the three servers constituting the center server group 4.

  Specifically, the rule server 5 creates a control rule for each electrical device by executing the control rule creation program stored in the ROM 5b, using the priority assigned to each electrical device as a parameter. To do. More specifically, the rule server 5 acquires the priority order data stored in the DB server 7 from the DB server 7, and specifies the priority order of each of the plurality of electrical devices from the data. After that, a control rule for each electrical device is created according to the priority order of each electrical device.

  That is, the rule server 5 according to the present embodiment specifies the priority of each of the plurality of electrical devices from the priority order data stored in the DB server 7 and then prioritizes the control target device among the specified priorities. It has a function of creating a control rule according to the order.

In the present embodiment, when the rule server 5 creates a control rule according to the priority order, the rule server 5 defines the correspondence between the combination pattern of the priority order given to each electrical device and the control rule of each electrical device. A control rule is created by referring to the table data (not shown) and identifying a control rule corresponding to the combination of priorities identified from the priority data.
However, the above content is only an example of a method for creating a control rule, and naturally, the control rule may be created by another method. For example, the priority order and the upper limit value of the total power consumption in the house H are used as parameters, so that the total power consumption in the house H does not exceed the upper limit value, and priority is given to electric devices with higher priority Then, the control rule may be created by numerically calculating and determining the optimum operation mode of each electric device on condition that power is supplied.

  Further, as described above, in this embodiment, the priority order is set for each time zone, and the DB server 7 stores the priority order data for each time zone. Then, each time the time zone is switched, the rule server 5 identifies each priority order of the plurality of energy consuming devices from the priority order data corresponding to the time zone after switching, and then corresponds to the time zone after switching. Create a control rule.

(5) API Server The API server 6 is a server that provides an API (application program interface) for requesting control rule creation by the rule server 5 from the HGW 2, and is one of the three servers constituting the center server group 4. It is. The API server 6 includes a CPU 6a, a ROM 6b, a RAM 6c, and a communication interface 6d (indicated as communication I / F in FIG. 2) as constituent elements, and among the three servers constituting the center server group 4, This corresponds to a second server including a transmission unit (specifically, an API server-side data transmission unit 62 described later) that transmits the control rule data described above.

  More specifically, the API server 6 can communicate with the HGW 2, the rule server 5, and the DB server 7 via the outside network GN. More specifically, the API server 6 communicates with the rule server 5 via the outside network GN to request the rule server 5 to create a control rule, while the control rule created by the rule server 5 Is obtained from the rule server 5.

Further, when the API server 6 acquires the control rule data from the rule server 5, the API server 6 delivers the data to the HGW 2. As a result, the HGW 2 receives control rule data transmitted from the API server 6 through the outside network GN.
Further, the API server 6 receives priority order data required when creating a control rule on the rule server 5 side from the DB server 7 by communicating with the DB server 7 via the outside network GN, The received priority order data is delivered to the rule server 5 through the outside network GN.

  In addition to the functions described above, the API server 6 according to the present embodiment further includes a function of monitoring whether the priority order data stored in the DB server 7 has been changed by data update. When the API server 6 detects that the priority data stored in the DB server 7 has been changed, the API server 6 requests the rule server 5 to create a new control rule, and sends the changed priority data. After obtaining from the DB server 7, it is delivered to the rule server 5.

  As a result of the above processing being executed by the API server 6, the rule server 5 specifies the changed priority order from the changed priority order data, and then adds a new one according to the changed priority order of each electrical device. New control rules will be created. Then, when the rule server 5 creates a new control rule, the API server 6 acquires control rule data indicating the new control rule from the rule server 5 through the outside network GN, and acquires the acquired control rule data from the HGW 2. To send to.

(6) DB Server The DB server 7 is one of the three servers that constitute the center server group 4 and stores the above-described priority data to construct a database. The DB server 7 includes a CPU 7 a, a ROM 7 b, a RAM 7 c, a communication interface 7 d (indicated as communication I / F in FIG. 2), and a hard disk 7 e as constituent elements, and among the three servers constituting the center server group 4. This corresponds to a third server including a receiving unit that receives a user operation, a storage unit that stores priority data, and a data transmission unit that transmits priority data.

  Here, the accepting unit accepts a user operation performed to give priority to each of the plurality of electric devices through the user terminal 3 described above, and specifically, operation data acquisition described later. The part 71 corresponds. The DB server 7 has a function of acquiring data indicating the content of the user operation, that is, the operation data described above from the user terminal 3 through the outside network GN when the user operation is performed on the user terminal 3. Yes.

The storage unit stores priority data indicating the priority given to each of the plurality of electrical devices in the user operation received by the DB server 7, and specifically, priority data described later. The storage unit 73 is applicable. As described above, the DB server 7 according to the present embodiment stores priority data for each time zone.
The data transmission unit reads out stored priority order data and transmits it to the API server 6, and specifically corresponds to a priority order data transmission unit 74 described later. As a result, the API server 6 receives the priority order data transmitted from the DB server 7 through the external network GN, and delivers the received priority order data to the rule server 5.

  Further, in addition to the above function, the DB server 7 has a function of analyzing the acquired data to identify the priority order and generating priority order data indicating the identified priority order. More specifically, when receiving the operation data from the user terminal 3, the DB server 7 analyzes the operation data. As a result of the analysis, the DB server 7 specifies the priority order given to each of the plurality of electric devices in the user operation, and acquires priority order data indicating the specified priority order.

  The DB server 7 can also specify the priority from the measurement result data indicating the measurement result of the power sensor 105 built in the smart tap 1 by using the function of specifying the priority by data analysis. is there. More specifically, the DB server 7 receives the measurement result data distributed from the smart tap 1 and analyzes the data, thereby calculating the average operation time for one day for each electric device and the one day. Identify the time zone during which you were actually driving. Then, the DB server 7 can determine the priority order of each electrical device based on the average operation time and the operation time zone, and can obtain priority order data indicating the priority order.

Next, the configuration of each part of the system S described above will be described again from the functional aspect with reference to FIG.
First, the smart tap 1 as a control device will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the smart tap 1 includes a power supply control unit 11, a smart tap side storage unit 12, a control rule data acquisition unit 13, a notification reception unit 14, a data transmission request unit 15, and a rule creation request instruction unit. As a smart tap side instruction section 16. Each part of the smart tap 1 is realized by a control circuit 102, a microcomputer 103, and various programs stored in the microcomputer 103, which are components of the smart tap 1.

  In the smart tap 1 configured as described above, the control rule data acquisition unit 13 acquires control rule data from the HGW 2 (more specifically, the HGW side data transmission unit 23 described later) through the home network TN, and the acquired control. The rule data is stored in the smart tap side storage unit 12. Then, the power supply control unit 11 reads the control rule data from the smart tap side storage unit 12, and supplies power to each of the plurality of electric devices connected to the smart tap 1 according to the control rule indicated in the data. Control. At this time, the power supply control unit 11 controls power supply to the control target device so that power is preferentially supplied to an electrical device having a higher priority than the control target device.

  Note that the power supply control unit 11 recognizes which electrical device is plugged into which tap-side outlet 104 and controls power supply to the electrical device plugged into each tap-side outlet 104. Then, the control is performed according to the control rule corresponding to the electric device.

  Further, according to the smart tap 1 having the above-described configuration, for example, when a new control rule is created, the HGW 2 notifies that fact. More specifically, when control rule data indicating a new control rule is stored in the HGW 2 (more specifically, the HGW side storage unit 21 described later), the smart tap 1 is notified from the HGW 2 to that effect. Then, the notification receiving unit 14 receives the notification. Then, when the notification is received by the notification receiving unit 14, the data transmission requesting unit 15 requests the HGW 2 to transmit control rule data indicating a new control rule. As a result, control rule data indicating the new control rule is transmitted from the HGW 2 to the smart tap 1.

  Further, when an electric device is newly connected to the smart tap 1, it will be described in an easy-to-understand manner. When a new electric device is introduced into the house H and the electric device is connected to the smart tap 1, the smart tap side The instruction unit 16 instructs the API server 6 (more specifically, a rule creation request unit 64 described later) to request the rule server 5 to create a control rule. More specifically, when an electrical device is newly connected to the smart tap 1, the smart tap side instruction unit 16 is connected to the API server 6 and the power supply control unit 11 is newly connected to the smart tap 1. The rule server 5 is instructed to request creation of a control rule to be applied when controlling the power supply to the electrical equipment.

  Furthermore, as described above, the power sensor 105 is built in the smart tap 1, and the power supply amount to the electric device connected to the smart tap 1 is measured by the power sensor 105. Data indicating the measurement result (measurement result data) is transmitted from the smart tap 1 and finally delivered to the DB server 7 via the HGW 2 or the like.

  Next, the HGW 2 as a communication device will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the HGW 2 includes an HGW side storage unit 21 as a communication device side storage unit, a transmission request reception unit 22, an HGW side data transmission unit 23 as a communication device side transmission unit, and a communication device side notification unit. A notification unit 24, an HGW side data acquisition unit 25, an instruction reception unit 26, an HGW side instruction unit 27, and an analysis unit 28 are included. Each unit of the HGW 2 is realized by various programs stored in the CPU 2a, the ROM 2b, the RAM 2c, the communication interface 2d, and the ROM 2b constituting the HGW 2.

  In the HGW 2 configured as described above, when the HGW side data acquisition unit 25 receives control rule data from the API server 6 through the outside network GN, the received control rule data is stored in the HGW side storage unit 21. That is, the HGW side storage unit 21 is for storing the control rule data received from the API server 6. When the control rule data is stored in the HGW side storage unit 21, the notification unit 24 notifies the HGW 2 accordingly.

  The notification issued from the notification unit 24 is received by the notification reception unit 14 of the smart tap 1 as described above. When the notification receiving unit 14 receives the above notification, that is, when the smart tap 1 receives the above notification, the data transmission request unit 15 of the smart tap 1 requests the HGW 2 to transmit control rule data. To do. This request is received by the transmission request reception unit 22 of the HGW 2, and the HGW side data transmission unit 23 reads the control rule data stored in the HGW side storage unit 21 in response to the above request, and sends it to the smart tap 1. To send.

  In the HGW 2 configured as described above, the instruction receiving unit 26 receives an instruction given from the smart tap side instruction unit 16, that is, an instruction of a control rule creation request to the API server 6, and the HGW side instruction unit 27 receives the instruction. Based on the content received by the unit 26, the API server 6 is again instructed to create a control rule.

  Furthermore, the HGW 2 of the present embodiment can collect data from the sensor group SGP installed in the house H, and can further analyze the collected data by the analysis unit 28. The analysis result can be reflected in the creation of control rules and the power supply control by the smart tap 1. More specifically, for example, when the total power consumption in the house H is managed so as not to exceed the limit value, the analysis unit 28 uses the power sensor (not shown) to measure the total power consumption. ) Analyze the measurement results.

  When the total power consumption exceeds the predetermined value, the analysis unit 28 operates the HGW-side instruction unit 27 to instruct a control rule creation request to the API server 6. At this time, the HGW side instruction unit 27 transmits data indicating the analysis result by the analysis unit 28 to the API server 6, and the API server 6 delivers the received same data to the rule server 5. Thereby, on the rule server 5 side, a control rule is created reflecting the analysis result by the analysis unit 28, and more specifically, a control rule that keeps the total power consumption in the house H below a limit value. Is created.

  Next, the user terminal 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the user terminal 3 includes an operated unit 31 and an operation data transmission unit 32. The operated unit 31 is mainly configured by the input unit 3e of the user terminal 3. More specifically, the operated unit 31 includes a touch panel in the present embodiment, and displays the operation screen shown in FIG. To be operated.

  The operation data transmission unit 32 is configured by programs stored in the CPU 3a, ROM 3b, RAM 3c, communication interface 3d, and ROM 3b constituting the user terminal 3. The operation data transmission unit 32 specifies the content of the user operation performed through the operated unit 31, specifically, the order in which the priority order determination button Bt1 is pressed for each electric device, and is data indicating the content. Generate some operation data. Then, the operation data transmission unit 32 transmits the generated operation data to the DB server 7, and the DB server 7 (more specifically, an operation data acquisition unit 71 described later) operates the operation data through the outside network GN. Receive.

  Next, the rule server 5 as a first server will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the rule server 5 includes a creation request accepting unit 51, a rule creating unit 52 as a creating unit, a priority order data obtaining unit 53, a control rule data providing unit 54, and a rule server side instruction unit. 55. Each part of the rule server 5 is realized by a program stored in the CPU 5a, ROM 5b, RAM 5c, communication interface 5d, and ROM 5b constituting the rule server 5.

  In the rule server 5 configured as described above, when the creation request reception unit 51 receives a control rule creation request from the API server 6 (more specifically, a rule creation request unit 64 described later), the rule creation unit 52 Create control rules for each electrical device. Then, the rule creating unit 52 generates control rule data indicating the created control rule, and the control rule data providing unit 54 transmits the control rule data to the API server 6.

  In creating the control rule, the priority order data acquisition unit 53 acquires the priority order data stored in the DB server 7 via the API server 6. Then, the rule creation unit 52 creates a control rule based on the priority order data acquired by the priority order data acquisition unit 53.

  More specifically, the rule creation unit 52 specifies the priority order of each of the plurality of electrical devices from the acquired priority order data, and in accordance with the priority order of the control target equipment among the specified priority orders. Create control rules. To explain in an easy-to-understand manner, for example, when creating a control rule for the television D1, the rule creation unit 52 specifies the priority order of the television D1, and other electrical devices (more specifically, the audio D2 and the vacuum cleaner D3). The control rule is created in consideration of the relationship with the priority order.

  Further, in the rule server 5 according to the present embodiment, the rule server side instruction unit 55 instructs the API server 6 to request the creation of a control rule. Thus, in this embodiment, it is possible to send a control rule creation request instruction to the API server 6 from the rule server 5 side in addition to the smart tap 1 and the HGW 2. In the present embodiment, the rule server side instruction unit 55 requests the API server 6 to create a control rule when, for example, a predetermined time is reached every day or when the previously created control rule is incomplete. To instruct.

  Next, the API server 6 as a second server will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the API server 6 includes an API server-side data acquisition unit 61, an API server-side data transmission unit 62 as a transmission unit, an instruction reception unit 63, a rule creation request unit 64, and priority order data A transmission / reception unit 65 and a monitoring unit 66 are provided. Each part of the API server 6 is realized by a program stored in the CPU 6a, the ROM 6b, the RAM 6c, the communication interface 6d, and the ROM 6b constituting the API server 6.

  In the API server 6 configured as described above, the rule creation request unit 64 is sent to the rule server 5 when the instruction receiving unit 63 receives an instruction from the HGW side instruction unit 27 or the rule server side instruction unit 55. Request the creation of control rules. Further, while the rule creation requesting unit 64 requests the rule server 5 to create a control rule, the priority order data receiving / transmitting unit 65 obtains the priority order data from the DB server 7 through the outside network GN, and obtains it. The priority order data thus transferred is passed to the rule server 5 (more specifically, the above-described priority order data acquisition unit 53).

  When a control rule is created on the rule server 5 side and control rule data indicating the control rule is transmitted by the control rule data providing unit 54, the API server-side data obtaining unit 61 performs the above control through the outside network GN. Receive rule data. The control rule data received by the API server side data acquisition unit 61 is transmitted to the HGW 2 by the API server side data transmission unit 62, and the HGW side data acquisition unit 25 acquires the control rule data through the outside network GN.

  Furthermore, in the API server 6 according to the present embodiment, the monitoring unit 66 monitors whether the priority order data stored in the DB server 7 (more specifically, the priority order data storage unit 73 described later) has been changed. doing. When the monitoring unit 66 detects that the priority order data stored in the DB server 7 has been changed, the rule creation request unit 64 requests the rule server 5 to create a new control rule. On the other hand, the priority data receiving / transmitting unit 65 acquires the changed priority data from the DB server 7 and delivers the acquired priority data to the rule server 5. As a result, on the rule server 5 side, the rule creation unit 52 specifies the changed priority data from the changed priority data, and then sets each electrical device, that is, the control target device to the changed priority. Create a new control rule according to the response.

  When a new control rule is created by the rule creation unit 52, the API server-side data acquisition unit 61 acquires control rule data indicating the new control rule from the rule server 5, and the acquired control rule data Is transmitted to the HGW 2 by the API server-side data transmission unit 62.

  Next, the DB server 7 as a third server will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the DB server 7 includes an operation data acquisition unit 71 as a reception unit, a priority data acquisition unit 72, a priority data storage unit 73 as a storage unit, and a priority data transmission unit 74. have. Among these units of the DB server 7, the priority order data storage unit 73 is realized by the hard disk 7 e among the components of the DB server 7, and other parts (specifically, the operation data acquisition unit 71, the priority order data) The acquisition unit 72 and the priority order data transmission unit 74) are realized by programs stored in the CPU 7a, ROM 7b, RAM 7c, communication interface 7d, and ROM 7b.

  In the DB server 7 configured as described above, the operation data acquisition unit 71 receives the above-described operation data transmitted from the user terminal 3 through the external network GN. Through the reception of the operation data, the operation data acquisition unit 71 accepts a user operation performed to give priority to each of the plurality of electric devices. In other words, the operation data acquisition unit 71 as the reception unit according to the present embodiment receives the user operation via the user terminal 3.

  On the other hand, the operation data received by the operation data acquisition unit 71 is analyzed by the priority order data acquisition unit 72. As a result of the analysis, the priority order data acquisition unit 72 specifies the priority order given to each electrical device in the above user operation. Then, the priority order data acquisition unit 72 generates priority order data indicating the specified priority order. Through the above procedure, priority order data is acquired, and the acquired priority order data is stored in the priority order data storage unit 73. That is, the priority order data storage unit 73 stores priority order data indicating the priority order given to each of the plurality of electrical devices in the user operation received by the operation data acquisition unit 71.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the priority order data acquisition unit 72 can determine the priority order based on measurement result data indicating the measurement result of the power sensor 105 built in the smart tap 1. That is, as described above, in the DB server 7 according to the present embodiment, the priority order data acquisition unit 72 analyzes the measurement result data distributed from the smart tap 1, so that the average value for each electric device for one day is obtained. The driving time is calculated and the time zone during which the vehicle is actually driven in one day is specified. Then, the priority order data acquisition unit 72 determines the priority order of each electric device based on the specified average operation time and operation time zone, and thereby acquires priority order data indicating the priority order.

  In this embodiment, the function of analyzing the measurement result data distributed from the smart tap 1 and determining the priority order is mounted on the DB server 7, but is not limited to this. The above function may be provided in a server (for example, API server 6) other than the DB server.

  In addition, when the creation of the control rule is started on the rule server 5 side, in the DB server 7, the priority order data transmission unit 74 reads the priority order data stored in the priority order data storage unit 73 and sends it to the API server 6. Send to. The priority order data transmitted by the priority order data transmitting unit 74 is received by the priority order data receiving / transmitting unit 65 of the API server 6 through the outside network GN as described above.

  With the configuration described above, in the present system S, the priority order data indicating the priority order given to the plurality of electric devices in the user operation is stored in the DB server 7, and the rule server 5 is stored in the DB server 7. The priority order data is acquired from the priority order, the priority order of each electrical device is specified from the priority order data, and the control rule for each electrical device is created according to the priority order of each electrical device.

  The control rule data indicating the created control rule is finally received by the microcomputer 103 of the smart tap 1 after the API server 6 receives it from the rule server 5 and delivers it to the HGW 2. As a result, the smart tap 1 controls the power supply to the electric device plugged into the tap-side outlet 104 according to the control rule corresponding to the electric device. At this time, the smart tap 1 controls power supply to the control target device so that power is preferentially supplied to an electrical device having a higher priority than the control target device.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the user changes the priority order of each electrical device, that is, the user operation for assigning the priority order at the user terminal 3 is performed again, and the priority order stored in the DB server 7. When the data is changed (specifically, overwritten), the monitoring unit 66 of the API server 6 detects the change of the priority order data. In such a case, the rule creation request unit 64 of the API server 6 requests the rule server 5 to create a new control rule, and the rule server 5 determines the changed priority order from the changed priority order data. After specifying, a new control rule for each electric device is created according to the priority after the change of each electric device.

  The control rule data indicating the created new control rule is finally received by the microcomputer 103 of the smart tap 1 after the API server 6 receives the rule server 5 and delivers it to the HGW 2. As a result, the smart tap 1 controls the power supply to the electric device plugged into the tap-side outlet 104 according to a new control rule. At this time, the smart tap 1 controls power supply to the control target device so that power is preferentially supplied to the electrical device having a higher priority after the change than the control target device.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the priority given to each of the plurality of electrical devices is changed according to the time zone. Specifically, in the present embodiment, in the above-described user operation, the user can set the priority order of each electrical device in accordance with the time zone.

  Since the priority order changes in each time zone in this way, in this embodiment, the priority order data storage unit 73 of the DB server 7 stores the priority order data for each time zone, and the rule creation request unit 64 of the API server 6 Each time the time zone changes, the rule server 5 is requested to create a control rule corresponding to the time zone after switching. Also, the API server 6 acquires priority data corresponding to the time zone after switching from the priority data stored in the DB server 7 from the DB server 7, and delivers the priority data to the rule server 5. .

  When the rule server 5 accepts the above request, it specifies the priority order of each electrical device corresponding to the time zone after switching from the priority order data corresponding to the time zone after switching, and then the time zone after switching. Create a control rule corresponding to. Thereafter, control rule data indicating a control rule corresponding to the created time zone after switching (hereinafter, control rule data for the time zone after switching) is transmitted from the rule server 5 to the API server 6, and the API server 6 Then, the control rule data for the time zone after the switching is transmitted to the HGW 2.

  When the HGW 2 receives the control rule data for the time zone after switching from the API server 6, the HGW 2 stores the data in the HGW side storage unit 21. Thereafter, the notification unit 24 of the HGW 2 notifies the smart tap 1 that the control rule data for the time zone after switching to the HGW side storage unit 21 has been stored. When the notification acceptance unit 14 of the smart tap 1 receives the notification from the notification unit 24, the data transmission request unit 15 of the smart tap 1 requests the HGW 2 to transmit the control rule data for the time zone after switching. .

  Then, in response to the above request, the HGW side data transmission unit 23 reads the control rule data for the time zone after switching from the HGW side storage unit 21 and transmits it to the smart tap 1. The transmitted control rule data for the time zone after switching is taken into the microcomputer 103 of the smart tap 1, whereby the smart tap 1 supplies power to the electrical device plugged into the tap-side outlet 104. Control is performed according to a control rule corresponding to the time zone after switching. At this time, the smart tap 1 controls power supply to the control target device so that power is preferentially supplied to an electrical device having a priority higher than the control target device corresponding to the time zone after switching.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, when a new electrical device is connected to the smart tap 1, a control rule for the electrical device is created, and it is possible to control power supply to the electrical device according to the created control rule. is there.

  More specifically, when an electric device is newly connected to the smart tap 1, the power supply control unit 11 automatically recognizes the newly connected electric device. Here, the control rule data indicating the control rule of the electric device, that is, the control rule applied when controlling the power supply to the newly connected electric device is stored in the smart tap side storage unit 12. If not, the smart tap side instruction unit 16 instructs the rule creation request unit 64 of the API server 6 to request creation of the control rule.

  Subsequently, the rule server 5 side creates a control rule for the newly connected electrical device by the above-described procedure, and the control rule data indicating the control rule is received from the rule server 5 by the API server 6 and then delivered to the HGW 2. Eventually, the data is taken into the microcomputer 103 of the smart tap 1. As a result, the smart tap 1 controls the power supply to the newly connected electric device according to the control rule corresponding to the electric device.

<< About the operation example of this system >>
Next, as an example of the operation of the system S, a control rule is created and control rule data indicating the control rule is transmitted to the smart tap 1 until the smart tap 1 controls power supply to the electric device according to the control rule. Describe the process. That is, the following description relates to the energy supply method by the system S, and the energy supply method according to the present invention is realized by executing the process described below.

First, a typical flow of a power supply control process to the electric equipment by the system S will be described with reference to FIGS.
A typical process is executed, for example, when a predetermined time is reached during the day or when the system S is operated, and as shown in FIG. The process starts from instructing the rule creation request unit 64 of the server 6 to request creation of a control rule (S001).

  When the instruction accepting unit 63 accepts the above instruction on the API server 6 side (S002), the rule creation requesting unit 64 requests the rule server 5 to create a control rule (S003). On the rule server 5 side, the creation request accepting unit 51 accepts the above request (S004), and the rule creating unit 52 starts creating a control rule.

  On the other hand, on the API server 6 side, the priority order data acquisition unit 53 requests the DB server 7 to store the priority order data in order to request the creation of the control rule and to acquire the priority order data necessary for the creation of the control rule. Request transmission (S005). On the DB server 7 side, when a transmission request for priority data is received (S006), it is confirmed whether or not priority data is stored in the priority data storage unit 73 (S007).

  When priority data is stored in the priority data storage unit 73 (Yes in S007), the priority data transmission unit 74 reads the data from the priority data storage unit 73 and transmits it to the API server 6 ( S009). On the other hand, when priority data is not stored in the priority data storage unit 73 (No in S007), the priority data acquisition unit 72 indicates a measurement result indicating the measurement result of the power sensor 105 built in the smart tap 1. By determining the priority order of each electrical device based on the data, priority order data indicating the priority order is acquired (S008). The acquired priority data is transmitted to the API server 6 by the priority data transmission unit 74 (S009).

  On the API server 6 side, the priority data receiving / transmitting unit 65 receives the priority data transmitted from the DB server 7 (S010), and further transmits the received priority data to the rule server 5 ( S011). On the rule server 5 side, the priority data acquisition unit 53 receives the priority data transmitted from the API server 6 (S012).

  Then, the rule creation unit 52 creates a control rule for each electrical device based on the received priority order data (S013). More specifically, the rule creation unit 52 identifies the priority order of each electrical device from the priority order data, and then creates a control rule corresponding to the priority order for each electrical device. After the creation of the control rule, the rule creation unit 52 generates control rule data indicating the created control rule. The control rule data is provided from the rule server 5 to the API server 6 by the control rule data providing unit 54 (S021).

  On the API server 6 side, the API server-side data acquisition unit 61 acquires control rule data provided from the rule server 5 (S022), and transmits the received control rule data to the HGW 2 (S023). On the HGW 2 side, the HGW side data acquisition unit 25 acquires the control rule data through the outside network GN (S024), and temporarily stores the data in the HGW side storage unit 21 (S025).

  When the control rule data is stored in the HGW side storage unit 21, a notification to that effect is made by the notification unit 24 (S026), and the notification is received by the notification receiving unit 14 of the smart tap 1 ( S027). On the smart tap 1 side, upon receipt of this notification, the data transmission request unit 15 requests the HGW 2 to transmit the control rule data stored in the HGW side storage unit 21 (S028).

  When the data transmission request is received by the transmission request receiving unit 22 of the HGW 2 (S029), the HGW side data transmission unit 23 reads the control rule data from the HGW side storage unit 21 and transmits it to the smart tap 1. (S030). The series of processes described above corresponds to the rule creation process of the present invention.

  When the control rule data is transmitted, the control process is executed on the smart tap 1 side. Specifically, first, the control rule data acquisition unit 13 acquires control rule data from the HGW 2 through the home network TN (S031), and the acquired control rule data is stored in the smart tap side storage unit 12 ( S032). As a result, the control rule data is incorporated into the microcomputer 103 of the smart tap 1.

  Thereafter, the power supply control unit 11 of the smart tap 1 controls the power supply to each electric device according to the control rule indicated in the control rule data (S033). At this time, the power supply control unit 11 of the smart tap 1 controls power supply to each electrical device so that power is preferentially supplied to electrical devices with higher priorities.

  By the way, in this embodiment, as described above, since the priority order is set for each time zone, the priority order data storage unit 73 of the DB server 7 stores the priority order data for each time zone. In this embodiment, every time the time zone changes, a control rule corresponding to the time zone after switching is created. That is, in this embodiment, the series of processes (S001 to S032) described above are repeatedly executed every time the time zone changes.

Next, a flow in the case of accepting a user operation performed through the user terminal 3 in order to give priority to each electric device in the house H will be described with reference to FIG.
The process according to this case starts when the operation data acquisition unit 71 of the DB server 7 accepts the above user operation (S041).

  Specifically, when the user presses the completion button Bt2 after setting the priority order of each electrical device on the operation screen of FIG. 5, the operation data transmission unit 32 of the user terminal 3 causes the contents of the user operation to be Specifically, operation data indicating the order in which the priority order determination button Bt1 is pressed for each electrical device is transmitted to the DB server 7. The transmitted operation data is received by the operation data acquisition unit 71 of the DB server 7 through the outside network GN.

  On the DB server 7 side, after receiving the user operation, the priority order data acquisition unit 72 analyzes the above operation data to identify and specify the priority order given to each of the plurality of electric devices in the user operation. Priority order data indicating the priority order is acquired (S042). The acquired priority data is stored in the priority data storage unit 73. However, when the priority data is already stored, the newly acquired priority data is associated with the data. It is overwritten (S043). That is, by storing the newly acquired priority order data, the priority order data stored in the priority order data storage unit 73 is changed.

  The priority order data stored in the priority order data storage unit 73 is monitored by the monitoring unit 66 of the API server 6, and when there is a data change as described above, the monitoring unit 66 detects the change. (S044). With this as an opportunity, on the API server 6 side, the rule creation request unit 64 requests the rule server 5 to create a new control rule based on the changed priority data (S045). On the rule server 5 side, the creation request receiving unit 51 receives the request (S046), and the rule creating unit 52 starts creating a new control rule.

  On the API server 6 side, the priority data acquisition unit 53 transmits the priority data to the DB server 7 in order to acquire the changed priority data as necessary data for making a new control rule. A request is made (S047). On the DB server 7 side, when the transmission request for priority data is received (S048), the priority data transmission unit 74 receives the priority data stored in the priority data storage unit 73, that is, the changed priority data. The data is read and transmitted to the API server 6 (S049).

  On the API server 6 side, the priority data receiving / transmitting unit 65 receives the priority data transmitted from the DB server 7 (S050), and transmits the received priority data to the rule server 5 (S051). . On the rule server 5 side, the priority data acquisition unit 53 receives the priority data transmitted from the API server 6 (S052).

  After receiving the data, the rule creating unit 52 specifies the changed priority order of each electrical device from the changed priority order data, and creates a new control rule according to the changed priority order. (S053). The subsequent procedure is the same as the procedure in the typical process described above. Here, a series of processes from receiving the above-described user operation to transmitting the control rule data toward the smart tap 1 corresponds to the rule creation process of the present invention.

  After the rule creation process is completed, the control process is executed on the smart tap 1 side. Specifically, control rule data indicating a new control rule is received, and power to each electric device is received according to the new control rule. Supply is controlled.

  The above procedure is repeated each time the priority order data stored in the DB server 7 is changed by accepting a user operation. As a result, even if the priority is changed due to a change in the user's intention, etc., the control rules can be recreated according to the changed priority, and the change in the priority can be flexibly handled. It becomes possible to do.

Next, the flow when adding an electric device connected to the smart tap 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the process according to this case starts when the power supply unit 11 of the smart tap 1 recognizes the added electric device (S061). Thereafter, it is confirmed whether or not the control rule data indicating the control rule of the added electrical device is stored in the smart tap side storage unit 12 (S062).

  When the control rule data indicating the control rule of the added electrical device is stored in the smart tap side storage unit 12 (Yes in S062), the power supply control unit 11 follows the control rule indicated in the control rule data. Then, power supply to the added electrical device is controlled (S063).

  On the other hand, when the control rule data indicating the control rule of the added electrical device is not stored in the smart tap side storage unit 12 (No in S062), the smart tap side instruction unit 16 adds to the API server 6. It is instructed to request creation of a control rule for the electrical device that has been made (S064). Such an instruction is once received by the instruction receiving unit 26 of the HGW 2 (S065). Then, the HGW-side instruction unit 27 instructs the API server 6 again to create a control rule for the added electrical device based on the content received by the instruction receiving unit 26 (S066).

  When the instruction accepting unit 63 of the API server 6 accepts the instruction (S067), the rule creation requesting unit 64 requests the rule server 5 to create a control rule for the added electrical device (S068). On the rule server 5 side, the creation request receiving unit 51 receives the above request (S069), and the rule creating unit 52 starts creating a control rule. On the API server 6 side, the priority order data acquisition unit 53 requests the DB server 7 to transmit data regarding the priority order data necessary for creating the control rule for the added electrical device (S070).

  On the DB server 7 side, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the above request is received (S071), whether or not the priority order data including the priority order of the added electrical device is stored in the priority order data storage unit 73. Is confirmed (S072). The subsequent flow is the same as a typical process, and if priority data is stored in the priority data storage unit 73 (Yes in S072), the priority data transmission unit 74 moves from the priority data storage unit 73. The priority order data is read and transmitted to the API server 6 (S074).

  On the other hand, if the priority order data is not stored (No in S072), the priority order data acquisition unit 72 includes each electric device including the added electric device based on the measurement result data of the power sensor 105 in the smart tap 1. The priority order of the devices is determined, and priority order data indicating the priority order is acquired (S073). The acquired priority data is transmitted to the API server 6 by the priority data transmission unit 74 (S074).

  On the API server 6 side, the priority data receiving / transmitting unit 65 receives the priority data transmitted from the DB server 7 (S075), and transmits the received priority data to the rule server 5 (S076). . On the rule server 5 side, the priority order data acquisition unit 53 receives the priority order data transmitted from the API server 6 (S077), and the rule creation unit 52 determines each electrical data based on the received priority order data. A control rule for the device is created (S078).

  The subsequent procedure is the same as the procedure in the typical process described above. Here, a series of processes from the recognition of the added electric device to the process of transmitting the control rule data to the smart tap 1 corresponds to the rule creation process of the present invention.

  After the completion of the rule creation process, the control process is executed on the smart tap 1 side. Specifically, control rule data indicating the control rule of each electric device including the added electric device is received, and the control Control of power supply to each electric device is performed according to the rules.

  According to the above procedure, even when the combination of the electric devices connected to the smart tap 1 is changed, it is possible to flexibly cope with the change. Specifically, for example, when a newly purchased electric device is connected to the smart tap 1, there is no control rule for the electric device, so the smart tap side instruction unit 16 sets the control rule for the electric device. A creation request is instructed to the API server 6. This makes it possible to acquire control rules for newly purchased electrical equipment and appropriately control power supply to the electrical equipment.

<< Effectiveness of this system >>
Next, the effectiveness of the system S described above will be described.
First, the first feature of the system S is that priority is set reflecting the user's behavior pattern and intention, and control rules for each electrical device are created according to the priority. More specifically, in the present system S, as described above, the priority order can be determined based on the measurement result data indicating the measurement result of the power sensor 105 built in the smart tap 1. Here, the measurement result of the power sensor 105 represents the power consumption amount of each electrical device, and the power consumption amount of each electrical device reflects the user's behavior pattern (power consumption behavior pattern). Therefore, the priority order determined based on the above measurement result data reflects the user's behavior pattern.

  Moreover, in this system S, the priority given with respect to each of the some electric equipment arrange | positioned in the house H from the user operation performed through the user terminal 3 is pinpointed, Then, each electric equipment These control rules are created according to the priority order of each electrical device. Here, since the user operation is naturally performed based on the user's own intention, the priority given to each electric device in the user operation reflects the user's intention.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the priority order is set reflecting the user's behavior pattern and intention, and the priority order of each electrical device is specified when creating the control rule for each electrical device. Above, the above-mentioned control rule is created according to the priority. As a result, a control rule that reflects the user's behavior pattern and intention is created, and as a result, the user's behavior pattern and intention are reflected in the control of power supply to each electrical device.

  The second feature of the present system S is that when the priority is changed according to the user's intention or the like, the control rule can be recreated according to the changed priority. Specifically, in the present system S, as described above, the monitoring unit 66 included in the API server 6 monitors whether the priority order data stored in the DB server 7 has been changed. For example, after the user operation for setting the priority order through the user terminal 3 is performed, the user operation is performed again, and the priority order set by the user is different between the previous user operation and the current user operation. Since the priority order data stored in the server 7 is changed, the monitoring unit 66 detects the change.

  When the monitoring unit 66 detects that the priority data stored in the DB server 7 has been changed, the rule server 5 identifies the changed priority from the changed priority data as described above. Then, a new control rule is created for each electrical device according to the changed priority. When a new control rule is created, the API server 6 transmits control rule data indicating the new control rule to the HGW 2, and the smart tap 1 that has acquired the control rule data from the HGW 2 taps according to the new control rule. The power supply to the electric device plugged into the side outlet 104 is controlled.

  As described above, in the present system S, it is possible to flexibly cope with the change even when the priority order of each electrical device is changed according to a change in user's behavior pattern or intention. In the present embodiment, priorities are set for each time zone in the day (more specifically, for each hour), and control rules are also created for each time zone accordingly. As a result, it is possible to flexibly cope with the case where the priority changes for each time zone in the day due to reasons such as the user's power consumption behavior pattern being different for each time zone.

  A third feature of the present system S is that a device that executes a process for creating a control rule and a device that executes a process for controlling power supply to an electrical device are separately provided. That is, in this embodiment, the center server group 4 creates a control rule and transmits control rule data indicating the control rule to the smart tap 1, and the smart tap 1 receives the control rule data and performs control. The rule is acquired, and the power supply to the electric device is controlled according to the acquired control rule. As described above, in the present embodiment, the control rule creation process and the control process for supplying power to the electrical device are executed by different apparatuses, whereby the execution burden of each process can be distributed. As a result, the processing can be executed efficiently.

  As described above, when the monitoring unit 66 detects that the priority order data stored in the DB server 7 has been changed, the rule server 5 creates a new control rule according to the changed priority order. Then, the API server 6 transmits control rule data indicating a new control rule, and the smart tap 1 that has acquired the control rule data controls power supply to each electrical device according to the new control rule. As a result, in the present embodiment, even when the priority is changed according to the user's intention or the like, it is possible to efficiently execute the process of recreating the control rule according to the changed priority.

Further, in the present embodiment, the HGW 2 is provided as a device that relays between the center server group 4 and the smart tap 1, thereby improving the above-described processing load distribution effect, and thus the control rule. It is possible to more efficiently execute the creation process and the process for controlling the power supply to the electrical equipment.
In addition, in this embodiment, the center server group 4 includes a plurality of servers, specifically, a rule server 5, an API server 6, and a DB server 7. For this reason, the three servers are in charge of a series of processes performed to create a control rule according to the priority order and transmit control rule data indicating the control rule to the smart tap 1. . As a result, the processing load can be further distributed, and therefore the control rule creation process can be executed more efficiently.

  The fourth feature of the present system S is that when an electric device is newly connected to the smart tap 1, the rule server 5 is requested to create a control rule for the electric device. Thereby, the rule server 5 comes to create the control rule of the electric equipment newly connected to the smart tap 1 according to said request | requirement. As a result, it is possible to acquire a control rule for a newly purchased electric device and to appropriately control power supply to the electric device thereafter.

<< Other Embodiments >>
In the above embodiment, the energy supply system and the energy supply method of the present invention have been specifically described with an example. However, the above embodiment is for facilitating 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.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which only one tap (in the above-described embodiment, the smart tap 1) is provided as a control device. However, the configuration is not limited thereto, and two or more taps are provided. The structure provided with the tap may be sufficient.

  In the above embodiment, the rule creation mechanism (in the above embodiment, the center server group 4) is configured by three servers, specifically, the rule server 5, the API server 6, and the DB server 7. It was. However, the number of servers constituting the rule creation mechanism is not limited to three. That is, the rule creation mechanism includes at least two or more servers, and among the at least two or more servers, a server having a creation unit that creates a control rule and a server having a transmission unit that transmits control rule data are mutually connected. As long as it differs, the structure different from said embodiment may be sufficient.

In the above-described embodiment, the priority order is set for each time zone in the user operation performed to assign the priority order to each of the plurality of electrical devices. Accordingly, in the above embodiment, every time the time zone changes, the priority order is specified from the priority order data corresponding to the time zone after switching, and a control rule corresponding to the time zone after switching is created. It was. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control rule may be created every day, every week, or every month. However, if it is said embodiment, since a user's power consumption action pattern changes for every time slot | zone, even if it becomes a case where a priority changes for every time slot | zone, it becomes possible to respond | correspond flexibly. In this respect, the above embodiment is more desirable.
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the priority order changes according to the time zone in the day has been described. However, for example, a case where the priority order changes between weekdays and holidays can be considered. In such a case, if a control rule for weekdays and a control rule for holidays are created in the same procedure as described above, it is possible to respond flexibly even when the priority changes between weekdays and holidays. Is possible.

  In the above embodiment, each time the time zone changes, the rule server 5 is created to create a control rule corresponding to the time zone after switching. In the above embodiment, each time a control rule is created, control rule data indicating the control rule is transmitted to the HGW 2 by the API server 6 and then transmitted from the HGW 2 to the smart tap 1. That is, in the above embodiment, the above-described series of processing is repeatedly executed every time the time zone changes during the day. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the rule server 5 creates control rules for one day, in other words, control rules for all time zones, and the API server 6 The configuration may be such that the control rule data indicating the control rule is transmitted to the HGW 2 in a batch for all time periods. In such a configuration, the HGW 2 stores the control rule data for all the time zones in the HGW side storage unit 21, and when the time zone changes, among the data stored in the HGW side storage unit 21, Data indicating a control rule corresponding to the time zone, that is, control rule data for the time zone after switching is transmitted to the smart tap 1.

  In the above embodiment, a system for supplying power to an electric device arranged in a building (in the above embodiment, a house H) is described as an example of an energy supply system. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, the present invention is applicable to a system that supplies energy other than electricity (for example, gas or water usage) to an energy consuming device.

S System H Housing 1 Smart tap 1a USB connector 2 HGW
2a CPU
2b ROM
2c RAM
2d Communication interface 3 User terminal 3a CPU
3b ROM
3c RAM
3d Communication interface 3e Input means 4 Center server group 5 Rule server 5a CPU
5b ROM
5c RAM
5d Communication interface 6 API server 6a CPU
6b ROM
6c RAM
6d Communication interface 7 DB server 7a CPU
7b ROM
7c RAM
7d Communication interface 7e Hard disk 8 Commercial power supply 9 Distribution board 10 Domestic outlet 11 Power supply control unit 12 Smart tap side storage unit 13 Control rule data acquisition unit 14 Notification reception unit 15 Data transmission request unit 16 Smart tap side instruction unit 21 HGW Side storage unit 22 transmission request reception unit 23 HGW side data transmission unit 24 notification unit 25 HGW side data acquisition unit 26 instruction reception unit 27 HGW side instruction unit 28 analysis unit 31 operated unit 32 operation data transmission unit 51 creation request reception unit 52 Rule creation unit 53 Priority order data acquisition unit 54 Control rule data provision unit 55 Rule server side instruction unit 61 API server side data acquisition unit 62 API server side data transmission unit 63 Instruction reception unit 64 Rule creation request unit 65 Priority order data transmission / reception Unit 66 Monitoring unit 71 Operation data acquisition unit 72 Priority order Position data acquisition unit 73 Priority data storage unit 74 Priority data transmission unit 101 Tap side plug 102 Control circuit 103 Microcomputer 104 Tap side outlet 105 Power sensor D1 Television D2 Audio D3 Vacuum cleaner TN Home network GN Outside network SGP Sensor group Bt1 Priority determination button Bt2 Complete button Bt3 Clear button Bt4 Correction button Bt5 Send button Bt6 Return button

Claims (11)

A control device for controlling energy supply to a control target device among a plurality of energy consuming devices arranged in a building;
A rule creation mechanism for creating a control rule to be applied when the control device controls energy supply to the control target device, and
The rule creation mechanism is:
A receiving unit that accepts a user operation performed to give a priority when supplying energy to the energy consuming device to each of the plurality of energy consuming devices;
A storage unit for storing priority data indicating the priority given to each of the plurality of energy consuming devices in the user operation received by the reception unit;
After specifying the priority order of each of the plurality of energy consuming devices from the priority order data stored in the storage unit, among the specified priority orders, the priority order corresponding to the priority order of the control target device A creation unit for creating control rules;
A transmission unit that transmits control rule data indicating the control rule created by the creation unit, and
The control device receives the control rule data transmitted by the transmission unit, and follows the control rule indicated in the received control rule data to the energy consuming device having a higher priority than the control target device. An energy supply system that controls energy supply to the device to be controlled so that energy is supplied preferentially. The rule creation mechanism further includes a monitoring unit that monitors whether the priority order data stored in the storage unit has been changed, and a rule creation request unit that requests the creation unit to create the control rule. And
When the monitoring unit detects that the priority order data has been changed, the rule creation requesting unit requests the creation unit to create a new control rule, and the creation unit receives the changed priority. After specifying the priority after the change from the rank data, create a new control rule according to the priority after the change of the control target device,
When the new control rule is created by the creation unit, the transmission unit transmits the control rule data indicating the new control rule,
The control device supplies energy to the control target device so that energy is preferentially supplied to the energy consuming device having a higher priority than the control target device according to the new control rule. It controls, The energy supply system of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. A communication device that communicates with the rule creation mechanism and the control device, receives the control rule data from the rule creation mechanism, and transmits the received control rule data to the control device;
The communication device
A communication device-side storage unit for storing the control rule data received from the rule creation mechanism;
A communication device-side notification unit that notifies the control device that the control rule data has been stored in the communication device-side storage unit;
A communication device side transmission unit that reads out the control rule data stored in the communication device side storage unit and transmits the data to the control device;
The control device includes a data transmission request unit that requests the communication device to transmit the control rule data,
When the control device receives a notification from the communication device side notification unit, the data transmission request unit requests the communication device to transmit the control rule data, and the communication device side transmission unit transmits the data. 3. The energy supply system according to claim 2, wherein the control rule data is read from the communication device storage unit and transmitted to the control device in response to a request from the transmission request unit. When the priority given to each of the plurality of energy consuming devices in the user operation received by the receiving unit changes according to a time zone,
The storage unit stores the priority data for each time zone,
The creation unit specifies the priority order of each of the plurality of energy consuming devices from the priority order data corresponding to the time slot after the switching each time the time slot switches, and then enters the time slot after the switching. Create the corresponding control rule,
The transmission unit transmits control rule data for the time zone after switching indicating the control rule corresponding to the time zone after switching,
When the communication device receives the control rule data for the time zone after the switching from the transmission unit, the control rule data for the time zone after the switching is stored in the communication device side storage unit,
The communication device side notifying unit notifies the control device that the control rule data for the time zone after the switching is stored in the communication device side storing unit,
When the control device receives a notification from the communication device side notification unit, the data transmission request unit requests the communication device to transmit control rule data for the time zone after the switching, and the communication device In accordance with a request from the data transmission request unit, the side transmission unit reads out the control rule data for the switched time zone from the communication device side storage unit, and transmits it to the control device. The energy supply system according to claim 3. The communication device is a home gateway installed in a building,
The rule creation mechanism is composed of at least two servers arranged outside the building,
Of the at least two or more servers, the server including the creation unit and the server including the transmission unit are different from each other.
The server including the transmitting unit acquires the control rule data from the server including the creating unit by communicating with the server including the creating unit and the home gateway through a network, and the acquired control rule data is transmitted to the home The energy supply system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the energy supply system is delivered to a gateway. The rule creation mechanism is composed of three servers,
Of the three servers, the first server includes the creation unit, the second server includes the transmission unit, the monitoring unit, and the rule creation request unit, and the third server includes the reception unit and the storage. The energy supply system according to claim 5, further comprising a unit. The control device is a tap to which a plurality of electrical devices as the energy consuming devices are connected,
The tap is
A power supply control unit that controls power supply to each of the plurality of electrical devices connected to the tap according to the control rule;
A rule creation request instruction unit that instructs the rule creation request unit to request the creation unit to create the control rule;
When the electrical device is newly connected to the tap, the rule creation request instructing unit notifies the rule creation request unit to the electrical device to which the power supply control unit is newly connected to the tap. The energy supply system according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the creation unit is instructed to request creation of the control rule applied when controlling power supply. A control process for controlling energy supply to a control target device among a plurality of energy consuming devices arranged in a building;
A rule creation process for creating a control rule to be applied when controlling energy supply to the control target device,
The rule creation process
A process of accepting a user operation performed to give a priority when supplying energy to the energy consuming device to each of the plurality of energy consuming devices;
A process of storing priority data indicating the priority given to each of the plurality of energy consuming devices in the received user operation;
After specifying the priority order of each of the plurality of energy consuming devices from the stored priority order data, the control rule is created according to the priority order of the control target device among the specified priority orders Processing to
Processing to transmit control rule data indicating the created control rule,
In the control process, the transmitted control rule data is received, and according to the control rule indicated in the received control rule data, the energy consuming device having higher priority than the control target device is given priority. Controlling energy supply to the control target device so that energy is supplied;
The energy supply method, wherein the control process and the rule creation process are executed by different devices. The rule creation process includes
Processing to monitor whether the stored priority data has been changed;
And a process for requesting creation of the control rule,
In the process of monitoring whether the priority order data has been changed, when the change in the priority order data is detected, the process for requesting the creation of the control rule is requested to create a new control rule, and the control rule In the process of creating, after specifying the changed priority from the changed priority data, create a new control rule according to the changed priority of the control target device,
When the new control rule is created, in the process of transmitting the control rule data, the control rule data indicating the new control rule is transmitted,
When the control rule data indicating a new control rule is transmitted, in the control process, priority is given to the energy consuming device having a higher priority after the change than the control target device according to the new control rule. The energy supply method according to claim 8, wherein energy supply to the device to be controlled is controlled so that energy is supplied to the device. The rule creation process is executed by at least two servers,
The said rule creation process WHEREIN: The process which creates the said control rule, and the process which transmits the said control rule data are performed by a mutually different server in the said at least 2 or more server. Energy supply method. The rule creation process is executed by three servers,
Among the rule creation processes, the process for creating the control rule is executed by a first server among the three servers,
The process of transmitting the control rule data, the process of monitoring whether the priority data has been changed, and the process of requesting the creation of the control rule are executed by a second server,
The energy supply method according to claim 10, wherein the process of accepting the user operation and the process of storing the priority order data are executed by a third server.

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