JP2014121122A - Power control server, power control program, and power control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control power consumption of an apparatus according to an operating state of the apparatus.SOLUTION: A power control server monitors power consumption of a building which is consumed by pieces of apparatus equipped with communication terminals of which position information is managed. The server comprises: apparatus search means which searches for the apparatus existing in the building; and power consumption control means which, when the power consumption exceeds a predetermined threshold, controls power consumption of the apparatus obtained by the apparatus search means according to an operating state of the apparatus.

Description

  The present invention relates to a power control server, a power control program, and a power control system.

  In recent years, there are increasing cases of introducing energy management systems for the purpose of reducing the amount of power used by improving the efficiency of energy use and suppressing the demand for power. In particular, an energy management system in a building such as an office or a commercial facility is called a BEMS (Building Energy Management System). BEMS measures and accumulates the amount of power used in buildings such as buildings to “visualize” it, and controls functions such as control of connected devices such as air conditioners and lighting equipment, and controls and controls the peak of power usage. Have.

  In the current high-voltage or special high-voltage power contract electricity rate system, the electricity rate is calculated based on the basic rate determined by the contracted power and the amount of electricity determined by the amount of power used. The average power used for 30 minutes is referred to as demand, and the contract power is determined based on the maximum demand (maximum demand) of the year. For this reason, even if the electricity charge is the same amount of power used, if the contract power increases, the charge will increase accordingly. Therefore, in order to reduce energy costs, introducing BEMS or the like and suppressing contract power is an effective means.

  Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing the power used in the facility from exceeding the contracted power by referring to the usage state of the personal computer by the user and controlling the operating state of the personal computer.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a control flag in which power consumption is preferentially limited when power used by lighting equipment, air conditioning equipment, and office equipment (control target equipment) in an office building is greater than or equal to a power reference value. A method for controlling operation so that power consumption is reduced is disclosed for a control target device in which is set.

  However, the use state of the personal computer by the user in the technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem whether or not the personal computer is actually operated by the user. Therefore, if the technique described in Patent Document 1 is applied to an electronic device other than a personal computer that does not necessarily require an operation in use, such as a display, the display is turned off even when the user is watching. There is a fear.

  Further, the technique described in Patent Document 2 is a target for reducing power consumption even if the user uses the device as long as the power consumption is preferentially reduced. As a result, there is a problem that it is inconvenient for the user in use.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to control the power consumption of a device in accordance with the usage status of the device.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above-described problem, the power control server is a power control server that monitors power usage in a building by a device to which a communication terminal in which position information of the communication terminal is managed is attached. Device search means for searching for the device located within, and when the power consumption exceeds a predetermined threshold, the power used by the device is determined according to the use status of the device searched by the device search means. Use power control means for controlling.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, the power consumption of a device can be controlled in accordance with the usage status of the device.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the electric power control system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the installation form of the delivery apparatus and communication terminal in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the operation | movement outline | summary of the electric power control system in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the communication terminal in embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the format of the data of the positional information in embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the data structure of the data containing the positional information in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware block diagram of the delivery apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the positional information which the delivery apparatus in embodiment of this invention delivers. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the gateway apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the positional infomation management server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the power control server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the electronic device in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the delivery apparatus and communication terminal in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of the gateway apparatus and location information management server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure showing an example of information memorized by a position information storage part of a position information management server in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the function structure of the electric power control server and electronic device in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the management object information storage part of the power control server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the electric power usage amount threshold value memory | storage part of the power control server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating determination of the presence or absence of the user possession of the predetermined range from an electronic device in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the format of the use electric power control signal in embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the operation | movement procedure in which the power control system in embodiment of this invention manages the positional information on a communication terminal. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the operation | movement procedure in which the power control system in embodiment of this invention controls the electric power used of an electronic device. It is a flowchart figure which shows an example of the process sequence of the used electric power control by the electric power control server in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the control content memory | storage part of the power control server in the modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart figure which shows an example of the process sequence of the used electric power control by the electric power control server in the modification of embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described with reference to the drawings.

[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a power control system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the power control system 1 includes communication terminals 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, and 5e (referred to as “communication terminal 5” if they are not distinguished from each other) and user-owned items 4a and 4b (respectively. Are referred to as “user property 4”), electronic devices 6a, 6b, and 6c (if not distinguished from each other, “electronic device 6”), distribution device 3, gateway device 7, It has a power control server 8, a location information management server 9, a switchboard 191, and a power measuring device 192. A communication terminal 5 is attached to the user property 4 and the electronic device 6. A plurality of distribution devices 3 and gateway devices 7 may exist. There may also be a plurality of communication terminals 5, user possessions 4, and electronic devices 6. The communication terminal 5, the distribution device 3, and the gateway device 7 are communicably connected via a network 891 based on ZigBee (registered trademark) that employs a physical layer and a MAC layer, for example, in an IEEE 802.15.4 standard architecture model. ing. In this case, the distribution device 3 uses the 800 MHz band, the 900 MHz band, or the 2.4 GHz band according to the usage region such as Japan, the United States, Europe, etc., and passes through the other adjacent distribution devices 3 to obtain the gateway device 7. Can send data to. The gateway device 7 and the location information management server 9 are communicably connected via a network 892 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. The location information management server 9 and the power control server 8 are communicably connected via a network such as a LAN or the Internet. The power control server 8 and the electronic device 6 are communicably connected via a network 893 such as a wireless LAN conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard. The power measuring device 192 and the power control server 8 are communicably connected via a network 894 such as a wireless LAN. The switchboard 191 and the power measuring device 192 are connected by a cabtire cable (CT cable). Note that the communication method of the network 891, the network 892, the network 893, and the like is not limited to the above, and if communication between each device is possible, for example, IEEE802.15.1 (Bluetooth (Bluetooth ( Registered trademark)).

  In the power control system 1, the location information management server 9 manages location information of the communication terminal 5. That is, the positions of the user property 4 and the electronic device 6 to which the communication terminal 5 is attached can be specified based on the position information of the communication terminal 5. The power control system 1 is a system that controls the power control server 8 to reduce the power used by the electronic device 6 when the power usage in the building measured on the switchboard 191 exceeds a predetermined threshold. At this time, the electronic device 6 whose power consumption is to be reduced is selected using the position information of the communication terminal 5 in accordance with the usage status of the electronic device 6. The use of the electronic device 6 in the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the case where the electronic device 6 is actually touched and operated to use the function. For example, when the electronic device 6 is a display device, viewing is performed away from the display device. And the case where the electronic device 6 is to be used. The usage status is a status indicating whether or not there is a user included in a predetermined range centered on the position of the electronic device 6. That is, when the user is within the predetermined range from the electronic device 6, this indicates that the electronic device 6 is being used. Conversely, when the user is not within the predetermined range, the electronic device 6 is not being used. It shows that. The presence or absence of a user is determined by whether or not the user property 4 to which the communication terminal 5 is attached is within a predetermined range. Thereby, the electronic device 6 that is not used, that is, the electronic device 6 in which the user does not exist within a predetermined range is selected as a target for reducing the power consumption. Thereby, control (for example, power-off) for reducing the power consumption is not executed on the electronic device 6 used by the user, and the user's use is not hindered and the convenience is not impaired.

  Is the distribution device 3 built in the electric devices 2a, 2b,... 2n (referred to as “electric device 2” if they are not distinguished from each other) installed on the indoor ceiling or the like as shown in FIG. Or they are attached to the outside.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an installation form of the distribution device 3 and the communication terminal 5 in the embodiment of the present invention. The electric device 2 supplies power to the distribution device 3. The electrical device 2 is, for example, a fluorescent lamp type LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting fixture. The electrical device 2 is not limited to an LED lighting device, and may be a general fluorescent lamp, a ventilation fan, a speaker, a surveillance camera, an air conditioner, or the like. The distribution apparatus 3 owns position information corresponding to the position where the own device is fixed, and transmits the position information continuously or intermittently to a predetermined range by a radio signal. The predetermined range is determined by the signal strength of the radio signal used and the directivity of the transmission antenna. The distribution device 3 is arranged so as to cover an area that is a position management target, and is configured so that the respective areas do not overlap. Or even if it is a case where it overlaps, in the side which receives a positional information, it is comprised so that any one delivery apparatus 3 can be determined based on the intensity | strength of a received radio wave. In the example of FIG. 2, a conical dotted line shown below the distribution device 3 represents a predetermined range. As a communication method for transmitting position information, for example, a ground complementary signal IMES (Indoor Messaging System) can be used. Further, the distribution device 3 can transmit and receive data other than the position information to the communication terminal 5 or the gateway device 7.

  As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the communication terminal 5 is attached to the user property 4 and the electronic device 6 and is, for example, an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag. The communication terminal 5 is not limited to being attached outside the user property 4 or the electronic device 6, and may be built in the user property 4 or the electronic device 6. A target to which the communication terminal 5 is attached and position information is managed is called a management target. That is, the user property 4 or the electronic device 6 is included in the management object. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, when the user property 4a is a portable terminal and the user property 4b is an ID card, the communication terminals 5a and 5b are built in, respectively. For example, the communication terminal 5 receives a positioning signal conforming to the ground complementary signal IMES standard transmitted from the distribution device 3 and acquires position information. Then, the communication terminal 5 transmits the received position information to the position information management server 9 via the network 891. Note that the position information transmitted from the communication terminal 5 includes identification information for uniquely identifying the communication terminal 5. Here, the identification information is, for example, a MAC (Media Access Control) address of the communication terminal 5. The identification information is not limited to the MAC address, but may be any information that can uniquely identify the device, and may be a device ID, for example.

  The user property 4 is an article that is owned and carried by a so-called user, and is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a notebook PC, or an ID card that is used for authentication and the like. The user property 4 can be attached to the communication terminal 5 and is not limited to an electronic device as long as the user can carry it, and may be a wallet, pencil case, clothes, shoes, etc. carried by the user.

  The electronic device 6 is a so-called electronic device, for example, an image forming apparatus such as a printer or an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral), a display device such as a projector or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) / liquid crystal display, or an information processing device such as a PC. . The electronic device 6 has a communication function for transmitting / receiving data to / from the power control server 8 via the network 893.

  The gateway device 7 connects the network 891 and the network 892 to each other, and bridges data transmitted from one network to the other network. The gateway device 7 is installed, for example, for each floor of a building or for each room partitioned by walls. When the network 891 is a network based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and ZigBee (registered trademark), and the network 892 is a LAN conforming to the IEEE 802.3 standard, the communication method between them is converted.

  The location information management server 9 is a computer having a location information management function and an information communication function for managing location information of the communication terminal 5. Here, an outline of an example of the position information management process performed by the position information management server 9 will be described.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, for example, the distribution device 3 installed on the ceiling distributes position information indicating the position where the distribution device 3 is installed by wireless communication. Thereby, the communication terminal 5 receives the position information distributed from the distribution device 3.

  Next, the communication terminal 5 transmits identification information for identifying the communication terminal 5 and the received position information to the distribution device 3 by wireless communication. In this case, the communication terminal 5 sends back the position information distributed and received from the distribution device 3 to the distribution device 3. Thereby, the distribution apparatus 3 receives the identification information and position information of the communication terminal 5.

  Next, the distribution device transmits the identification information and position information of the communication terminal 5 to the gateway device 7 by wireless communication.

  Then, the gateway device 7 transmits the identification information and position information of the communication terminal 5 to the position information management server 9 via the network 892.

  The location information management server 9 manages the identification information and location information of the communication terminal 5. Thereby, an administrator of the power control system 1 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “manager”) can manage the positions of the communication terminal 5 and the user property 4 and the electronic device 6 to which the communication terminal 5 is attached.

  Note that the communication terminal 5 may transmit data such as location information to the gateway device 7 when the gateway device 7 is present in the vicinity of the distribution device 3 that has transmitted the location information. Thereby, the identification information and position information of the communication terminal 5 can be transmitted to the position information management server 9 through the shortest path.

  The power control server 8 is a computer having a monitoring function for monitoring the power usage of a building, a communication function for transmitting / receiving data to / from each device, a power usage control function for controlling power usage of the electronic device 6, and the like.

  The switchboard 191 includes devices such as a control panel, an operation panel, a relay panel, and a converter panel, and distributes power to the electronic devices 6 in the building.

  The power measuring device 192 is a device that measures the power used by so-called electric devices and power facilities, and may be a commercially available device. Note that the power measuring device 192 has a communication function for communicating via a wireless LAN compliant with IEEE 802.11.

[System operation overview]
An outline of the operation of the power control system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of an operation outline of the power control system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, a user property 4 and an electronic device 6 to which a communication terminal 5 is attached are located on the first floor of a building X. A distribution device 3 is installed on the ceiling in the building, and the distribution device 3 transmits position information corresponding to the installation position of the distribution device 3. The communication terminal 5 receives the position information received from the distribution device 3 every time it moves or periodically (for example, every 60 seconds), and transmits the position information to the position information management server 9. That is, the location information management server 9 manages the location information of the communication terminal 5 in the building.

  Here, the operation | movement outline | summary of the power control system 1 when the electric power consumption in a building exceeds a predetermined threshold value is demonstrated. In the example of FIG. 3, the first floor of the X building in a certain building is shown, but the following operation is similarly executed for other buildings and floors in the same building.

  (1) The power control server 8 monitors the amount of power used in the building, and when it detects that the amount of electricity used exceeds a predetermined threshold, searches for the communication terminal 5 included in the building and its position. To do.

  (2) The power control server 8 specifies whether the management target attached to the communication terminal 5 is the user property 4 or the electronic device 6. In the example of FIG. 3, the management objects included in the first floor of the X building in the building are the user property 4a, 4b and the electronic devices 6a, 6b.

  (3) When the management target is the electronic device 6, the power control server 8 determines whether or not the electronic device 6 is being used. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the user property 4 exists within a predetermined range from the electronic device 6. In the example of FIG. 3, a user-owned item 4 b is included in a predetermined circular range 1001 a centering on the electronic device 6 a. On the other hand, the predetermined range 1001b centering on the electronic device 6b does not include the user property 4b. Note that the shape of the predetermined range is not limited to a circle, and may be, for example, a rectangle. Further, the center of the predetermined range is not limited to the position of the electronic device 6.

  (4) The power control server 8 instructs the electronic device 6b that does not include the user property 4 in a predetermined range to perform control for reducing the power consumption.

  (5) When the electronic device 6b receives the control instruction for the power used from the power control server 8, the electronic device 6b turns off the power of the own device or makes a transition to the standby state based on the control instruction.

  With the above operation, the power control system 1 can reduce the power consumption of the electronic device 6 that is not used or is not likely to be used when the power consumption in the building exceeds a predetermined threshold. . Thereby, it is possible to perform appropriate power control while ensuring the convenience of the user without hindering the use of the electronic device 6 that is likely to be used by the user.

[Hardware configuration]
<Communication terminal>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the communication terminal 5 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the communication terminal 5 includes a control unit 14 and a wireless communication unit 15.

  Among these, the control unit 14 receives the position information distributed from the CPU 401 that controls the operation of the entire control unit 14, the ROM 402 that stores the basic input / output program, the RAM 403 that is used as the work area of the CPU 401, and the distribution device 3. A communication circuit 404 and an antenna 404a, an acceleration sensor 405 that detects acceleration, an I / F 408 that transmits and receives signals to and from the wireless communication unit 15, and a bus line 409 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above-described units. It has. The control unit 14 is also provided with a button battery 406 and is driven by the button battery 406. In the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the button battery 406 is used will be described. However, the battery is not limited to the button type, and may be a dry battery such as AA or AAA, or a battery dedicated to the communication terminal 5.

  The communication circuit 404 receives position information distributed using IMES by the antenna 404a. Further, the control unit 14 supplies power of the button battery 406 to the wireless communication unit 15 via the connector 409a. Furthermore, the control unit 14 transmits and receives data (signals) to and from the wireless communication unit 15 via the connector 409b from the I / F 408.

  The acceleration sensor 405 detects a change in acceleration of the communication terminal 5. The change in acceleration is detected, for example, when the communication terminal 5 starts moving, when the communication terminal 5 stops moving, or when the communication terminal 5 tilts. When the process of the CPU 401 is stopped, when the acceleration sensor 405 detects a change in acceleration, the CPU 401 transmits a signal for starting the process to the CPU 401. As a result, the CPU 401 starts its own process and transmits a signal for starting the process to the communication circuit 404. Therefore, when the position information is distributed from the distribution device 3, the communication circuit 404 of the communication terminal 5 can start receiving the position information via the antenna 404a.

  On the other hand, the wireless communication unit 15 basically has the same configuration as the wireless communication unit 13 and transmits / receives data to / from the wireless communication unit 13 of the distribution device 3 using the same band as the wireless communication unit 13. Can do. As shown in FIG. 4, the wireless communication unit 15 includes a CPU 501 that controls the overall operation of the wireless communication unit 15, a ROM 502 that stores basic input / output programs and identification information, a RAM 503 that is used as a work area for the CPU 501, A communication circuit 504 and an antenna 504a for transmitting position information and identification information, an I / F 508 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the control unit 14, and a bus line 509 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the respective units. It has. The wireless communication unit 15 may also use ZigBee (registered trademark).

  Further, the communication circuit 504 acquires position information stored in the RAM 403 of the control unit 14 via the connector 409b according to a command from the CPU 501. Further, the communication circuit 504 reads the identification information stored in the ROM 502 and transmits it to the distribution device 3 via the antenna 504a together with the acquired position information.

  Further, the position information data transmitted by the communication circuit 504 has a format as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a data format of position information in the embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 5, the floor, latitude, longitude, and building number fields are represented by 9 bits, 21 bits, 21 bits, and 8 bits, respectively, and the representation format of each field conforms to the IMES standard. Actually, in addition to this format, a header and checksum information defined by the communication method are added, and as shown in FIG. 6, a transmission destination, a transmission source, and data contents (position information, etc.) are included. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a data structure of data including position information in the embodiment of the present invention.

<Distributor>
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the distribution apparatus 3 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the example of FIG. 7 is a hardware block diagram of the fluorescent lamp type LED lamp when the electric apparatus 2 in which the distribution device 3 is built is an LED lighting apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the LED lamp 130 mainly includes a power controller 140, lead wires (151a, 151b), terminal pins (152a1, 152a2, 152b1, 152b2), lead wires 153, lead wires 154, lead wires. 155 and the distribution device 3. Among these, the power supply control unit 140 controls a current output from the power supply, and is mainly configured by a current monitoring circuit 141 and a smoothing circuit 142. The current monitoring circuit 141 receives and rectifies the current output from the power supply. The smoothing circuit 142 smoothes the current rectified by the current monitoring circuit 141, and supplies power to each terminal pin (152a1, 152a2, 152b1, 152b2) via the lead wires (151a, 151b).

  Further, the power supply control unit 140 and the terminal pins (152a1, 152a2, 152b1, 152b2) are electrically connected by lead wires (151a, 151b). The power supply controller 140 and the distribution device 3 are electrically connected by a lead wire 154. Although only one LED 160 is shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of LEDs are actually attached. Also, the configuration shown in FIG. 7 is the same as that of a general LED lamp except for the distribution device 3.

  The distribution device 3 includes a voltage converter 100, a lead wire 155, a control unit 11, a position information distribution unit 12, and a wireless communication unit 13. The voltage converter 100 is electrically connected to the control unit 11, the position information distribution unit 12, and the wireless communication unit 13 via the lead wire 155.

  Among them, the voltage converter 100 is an electronic component that converts the voltage of the power supplied from the power supply control unit 140 into a drive voltage of the distribution device 3 and supplies the drive voltage to the control unit 11, the position information distribution unit 12, and the wireless communication unit 13. is there.

  In addition, the control unit 11 includes a CPU 101 that controls the operation of the entire control unit 11, a ROM 102 that stores basic input / output programs, a RAM 103 that is used as a work area for the CPU 101, a position information distribution unit 12, and a wireless communication unit 13, respectively. And an I / F (108a, 108b) for transmitting and receiving and a bus line 109 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above-described units.

  The position information distribution unit 12 includes a CPU 201 that controls the operation of the entire position information distribution unit 12, a ROM 202 that stores basic input / output programs and position information, a communication circuit 204 that distributes position information, an antenna 204 a, and the control unit 11. An I / F 208 for transmitting and receiving signals and a bus line 209 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above-described units are provided.

  Among these, the communication circuit 204 uses IMES, which is one of indoor positioning techniques called indoor GPS, and distributes position information by the antenna 204a. In FIG. 2, the reachable range (distributable range) of the position information is virtually represented by a broken line. In the IMES according to the embodiment of the present invention, for example, when the indoor ceiling height is about 3 m, the transmission output is set so that the radius of the reachable virtual circle of the position information represented on the indoor floor is about 5 m. Is done. However, if this transmission output setting is changed, it can be made smaller than 5 m, and can be made larger.

  In addition, the position information distributed by the distribution device 3 in the embodiment of the present invention indicates the position where the electric device 2 that is a fluorescent lamp type LED lighting apparatus is installed, and as shown in FIG. Includes items such as “latitude”, “longitude”, and “building number”.

  FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of position information distributed by the distribution device according to the embodiment of the present invention. Of these, the number of floors represents the number of floors of the building where the electrical equipment 2 (distribution device 3) is installed. “Latitude” and “longitude” represent the latitude and longitude of the position where the electrical device 2 (distribution device 3) is installed. “Building number” represents the building number of the building in which the electrical equipment 2 (distribution device 3) is installed. In the embodiment of the present invention, the “building number” is assigned based on a naming rule that uniquely identifies the building number. In the example of FIG. 8, the electrical device 2 (distribution device 3) is installed on the second floor of the X building of a certain building at a latitude of 35.66660 degrees north latitude and 139.76520 degrees longitude. It is shown. The latitude may be represented by the south latitude and the longitude by the west longitude.

  Returning to FIG. The wireless communication unit 13 receives the CPU 301 that controls the overall operation of the wireless communication unit 13, the ROM 302 that stores the basic input / output program and the device identification information, the RAM 303 that is used as the work area of the CPU 301, the position information and the identification information A communication circuit 304 and an antenna 304 a that transmit to the gateway device 7, an I / F 308 that transmits and receives signals to and from the control unit 11, and a bus line 309 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the respective units. ing.

  The wireless communication unit 13 transmits and receives data using the 920 MHz band. Since the radio wave reachability of the 920 MHz band is high, data is transmitted from the distribution device 3 to the gateway device 7 even when a pillar or wall of a building exists between the distribution device 3 and the gateway device 7. There is an effect that can be.

  Further, the communication circuit 304 uses at least a physical layer (layer) standard among the IEEE 802.15.4 standard architecture models, and transmits and receives data by the antenna 304a. In this case, a MAC address can be used as device identification information for identifying the distribution device 3 (wireless communication unit 13).

  When the standard used by the communication circuit 304 is ZigBee (registered trademark), data can be transmitted to the gateway device 7 via another adjacent distribution device 3. If multi-hop communication that transmits data via another distribution device 3 is used in this way, the wireless communication unit 13 of each distribution device 3 takes time for the routing process, but data is transmitted to the nearest distribution device 3. Therefore, there is an advantage that it can be driven with power saving.

  Further, the position information distributed by the distribution apparatus 3 may be stored in the storage unit 29 by the manufacturer before the distribution apparatus 3 is shipped from the factory, or the electric device 2 is installed on the ceiling after the distribution apparatus 3 is shipped from the factory. May be memorized by the installer. Further, the position information is received by the communication circuit 304 of the wireless communication unit 13 by wireless communication from an external device such as the position information management server 9 via the gateway device 7, and the position information distribution unit 12 is transmitted via the control unit 11. May be stored in the ROM 202.

<Gateway device>
As illustrated in FIG. 9, the gateway device 7 includes a wireless communication unit 17 and a wired communication unit 18.

  Among these, the wireless communication unit 17 has basically the same configuration as the wireless communication unit 13 and transmits / receives data to / from the wireless communication unit 13 of the distribution device 3 using the same band as the wireless communication unit 13. Can do. As shown in FIG. 9, the wireless communication unit 17 includes a CPU 701 that controls the overall operation of the wireless communication unit 17, a ROM 702 that stores basic input / output programs and device identification information, a RAM 703 that is used as a work area for the CPU 701, A communication circuit 704 and an antenna 704a for transmitting information and the like, an I / F 708 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the wired communication unit 18, and a bus line 709 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the respective units are provided. . The wireless communication unit 17 transmits and receives signals to and from the wired communication unit 18 via the connector 709a from the I / F 708.

  The wireless communication unit 17 may also use ZigBee (registered trademark). The device identification information is unique information for identifying the gateway device 7 (wireless communication unit 17). Examples of the device identification information include a MAC address.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the wired communication unit 18 includes a CPU 801 that controls the overall operation of the wired communication unit 18, a ROM 802 that stores basic input / output programs and address information, and a RAM 803 that is used as a work area for the CPU 801. An Ethernet controller 805, an I / F 808a for transmitting / receiving signals to / from the wireless communication unit 17, an I / F 808b for transmitting / receiving data (signals) to / from the LAN 8e via the cable 809, and an address bus for electrically connecting the above units A bus line 809 such as a data bus is provided.

  Here, the CPU 801 and the Ethernet controller 805 convert the communication method (communication protocol) compliant with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard into the communication method (communication protocol) compliant with the IEEE 802.3 standard, and send it from the distribution device 3. The received data (information) is controlled so that Ethernet (registered trademark) packet communication can be performed.

  Further, the address information is unique information for identifying the gateway device 7 (wired communication unit 18). Examples of the address information include an IP (Internet Protocol) address. Note that the ROM 802 also stores a MAC address, but a description thereof is omitted to simplify the communication with the location information management server 9.

<Location information management server>
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the location information management server 9 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The location information management server 9 is configured by a computer. The location information management server 9 is used as a work area for the CPU 901 that controls the overall operation of the location information management server 9, a ROM 902 that stores programs used to drive the CPU 901 such as an IPL (Initial Program Loader), and the CPU 901. RAM 903, HD 904 for storing various data such as programs for the location information management server 9 and address information, HDD 905 for controlling the reading or writing of various data to the HD 904 according to the control of the CPU 901, data for the recording medium 906 such as a flash memory A media drive 907 that controls reading or writing (storage), a display 908 that displays various information such as a cursor, menu, window, character, or image, a network 892, and a network 893 Network I / F 909 for data communication using, keyboard 911 having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, selection and execution of various instructions, selection of processing target, movement of cursor, etc. For connecting a mouse 912 that performs the recording, a CD-ROM drive 914 that controls reading or writing of various data to and from a CD-ROM 913 as an example of a detachable recording medium, a communication circuit 915 that performs wireless communication, an antenna 915a, and an external device. The external device I / F 916 and a bus line 910 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above components are provided.

  Further, the address information is unique information for identifying the location information management server 9. The address information includes an IP address. Although the MAC address is also stored in the ROM 902, the description thereof will be omitted to simplify the communication with the gateway device 7.

<Power control server>
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the power control server 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The power control server 8 is configured by a computer. The power control server 8 includes a CPU 821 that controls the overall operation of the power control server 8, a ROM 822 that stores programs used to drive the CPU 821 such as an IPL, a RAM 823 that is used as a work area for the CPU 821, and the power control server 8 Controls reading / writing (storage) of data to / from a recording medium 826 such as a flash memory, an HDD 825 that controls reading / writing of various data to / from the HD 824 according to the control of the CPU 821 Media drive 827, cursor, menu, window, display 828 for displaying various information such as characters or images, network 892, and network 893 for network communication. A network I / F 829, a keyboard 831 having a plurality of keys for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, a mouse 832 for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, and the like, detachable A CD-ROM drive 834 that controls reading or writing of various data with respect to a CD-ROM 833 as an example of a recording medium, a communication circuit 835 and an antenna 835a for performing wireless communication, an external device I / F 836 for connecting an external device, and the above A bus line 830 such as an address bus or a data bus for electrically connecting each component is provided.

  Further, the address information is unique information for identifying the power control server 8. The address information includes an IP address. The ROM 822 also stores a MAC address.

<Electronic equipment>
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the electronic device 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 12 is a hardware configuration of a display device that is an example of the electronic device 6. A communication terminal 5 is attached to the electronic device 6 outside. However, the communication terminal 5 may be built in the electronic device 6.

  The electronic device 6 is a CPU 601 that controls the operation of the entire electronic device 6, a ROM 602 that stores basic input / output programs, a RAM 603 that is used as a work area of the CPU 601, and data reading or writing (storage). ) To control the media drive 605. Under the control of the media drive 605, the recording medium 604 from which data that has already been recorded is read or data is newly written and stored is detachable.

  Further, the electronic device 6 includes a wireless LAN communication unit 606 that performs wireless LAN communication compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard, a display 607 such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL that displays information for the user, and a hardware that is an interface that receives input from the user. An input unit 608 such as a button, a remote controller, and a soft key, a speaker 609 that converts an electric signal into sound and is used for audio output, and a bus line 610 such as an address bus and a data bus for electrically connecting the above-described units are provided. Yes. Note that the IP address used for wireless LAN communication is stored in the RAM 603, and the MAC address of the electronic device 6 is stored in the ROM 602.

[Function configuration]
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional configurations of the distribution device 3 and the communication terminal 5 in the embodiment of the present invention.

<Distributor>
First, the functional configuration of the distribution apparatus 3 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the distribution device 3 includes a conversion unit 10, a distribution control unit 20, and a wireless communication control unit 30 as functions or means.

  Among these, the conversion part 10 is a function or means implement | achieved when the voltage converter 100 shown by FIG. 7 operate | moves. The distribution control unit 20 is a function or means realized by the operation of the control unit 11 and the position information distribution unit 12 illustrated in FIG. Furthermore, the wireless communication control unit 30 is a function or means realized by the operation of the control unit 11 and the wireless communication unit 13 illustrated in FIG.

  The distribution control unit 20 has a storage unit 29 constructed by the ROM 202 shown in FIG. The storage unit 29 stores position information indicating the position where the distribution device 3 is installed. Further, the distribution control unit 20 includes a distribution unit 21, a communication unit 27, and a storage / readout unit 28.

  Among these, the distribution unit 21 is realized by the processing of the CPU 201 and the communication circuit 204 illustrated in FIG. 7, and distributes position information within a distributable range.

  The communication unit 27 is realized by the processing of the CPUs 101 and 201 shown in FIG. 7, the I / Fs 108a and 208, and the buses 109 and 209, and performs data (signal) communication with the wireless communication control unit 30.

  The storage / reading unit 28 is realized by the processing of the CPU 101 and the CPU 201 shown in FIG. 7, stores various data in the storage unit 29, and reads out various data from the storage unit 29. The storage / reading unit 28 stores and reads out position information data, for example.

  The wireless communication control unit 30 has a storage unit 39 constructed by the RAM 303 shown in FIG. The storage unit 39 stores address information (for example, an IP address).

  The transmission / reception unit 31 is realized by the processing of the CPU 301 and the communication circuit 304 shown in FIG. 7, and transmits / receives various data to / from the communication terminal 5 or the gateway device 7 through wireless communication.

  The communication unit 37 is realized by the processing of the CPUs 101 and 301 and the I / Fs 108B and 308 and the buses 109 and 309 shown in FIG.

  The storage / reading unit 38 stores various data in the storage unit 39 and reads various data from the storage unit 39.

<Communication terminal>
Next, the functional configuration of the communication terminal 5 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the communication terminal 5 includes a reception control unit 40 and a wireless communication control unit 50 as functions or means.

  The reception control unit 40 has a storage unit 49 constructed by the RAM 403 shown in FIG. The storage unit 49 can store the position information distributed from the distribution device 3. The reception control unit 40 further includes a reception unit 41, a detection unit 42, a determination unit 43, a measurement unit 44, a communication unit 47, and a storage / readout unit 48.

  Among these, the receiving unit 41 is realized by the processing of the CPU 401 and the communication circuit 404 illustrated in FIG. 4, and receives the position information distributed from the distribution device 3. In addition, the receiving unit 41 may be in a state where the position information can be received or cannot be received.

  The detection unit 42 is realized by the processing of the CPU 401 and the acceleration sensor 405 illustrated in FIG. 4, detects the movement (including tilt) of the communication terminal 5, and causes the reception unit 41 to start processing. Note that the detection unit 42 may be realized by a motion sensor using inertial force or magnetism instead of the acceleration sensor 405.

  The determination unit 43 is realized by the processing of the CPU 401 illustrated in FIG. 4, and determines whether the reception unit 41 has received at least one piece of position information. Further, the determination unit 43 determines whether the reception unit 41 has received each piece of position information from the plurality of distribution devices 3. In this case, the position information distributed from the same distribution device 3 is treated as one even if it is received a plurality of times within a predetermined time.

  The measurement unit 44 is realized by the processing of the CPU 401 illustrated in FIG. 4. When the determination unit 43 determines that each position information is received from the plurality of distribution devices 3, the measurement unit 44 relates to each position information. Measure signal strength.

  The communication unit 47 is realized by the processing of the CPU 401 shown in FIG. 4, the I / F 408 and the bus 409, and performs data (signal) communication with the wireless communication control unit 50.

  The storage / reading unit 48 is realized by processing of the CPU 401, stores various data in the storage unit 49, and reads various data from the storage unit 49. The storage / extraction unit 48 stores and reads out position information data, for example.

  The wireless communication control unit 50 has a storage unit 59 constructed by the RAM 503 shown in FIG. The storage unit 59 stores identification information (for example, a MAC address). The wireless communication control unit 50 further includes a transmission / reception unit 51, a determination unit 53, a measurement unit 54, a communication unit 57, and a storage / readout unit 58.

  The transmission / reception unit 51 is realized by the processing of the CPU 501 and the communication circuit 504 illustrated in FIG. 4, and transmits / receives various data to / from the distribution device 3 through wireless communication.

  The determination unit 53 is realized by the processing of the CPU 501 shown in FIG. 4, and determines whether the reception unit 51 has received the device identification information of at least one distribution device 3. Further, the determination unit 53 determines whether the reception unit 51 has received the respective device identification information from the plurality of distribution devices 3. In this case, the device identification information transmitted from the same distribution device 3 is treated as one no matter how many times it is received within a predetermined time.

  The measurement unit 54 is realized by the processing of the CPU 501 illustrated in FIG. 4. When the determination unit 53 determines that each device identification information transmitted from the plurality of distribution devices 3 has been received, each measurement device 54 The signal strength related to the identification information is measured.

  The communication unit 57 is realized by the processing of the CPU 501 shown in FIG. 4, the I / F 508 and the bus 509, and performs data (signal) communication with the reception control unit 40.

  The storage / reading unit 58 is realized by the processing of the CPU 501 shown in FIG. 4, stores various data in the storage unit 59, and reads out various data from the storage unit 59. For example, the storage / extraction unit 58 stores and reads data of device identification information of the distribution device 3 and identification information of the communication terminal 5.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional configurations of the gateway device 7 and the location information management server 9 in the embodiment of the present invention.

<Gateway device>
A functional configuration of the gateway device 7 will be described. The gateway device 7 includes a wireless communication control unit 70 and a wired communication control unit 80 as functions or means.

  The wireless communication control unit 70 is realized by the processing of the wireless communication unit 17 illustrated in FIG. 9 and basically has the same function as the wireless communication control unit 30 of the distribution device 3.

  Specifically, the wireless communication control unit 70 has a storage unit 79 constructed by the RAM 703 shown in FIG. The storage unit 79 stores address information (for example, IP address) of the gateway device 7. The wireless communication control unit 70 includes a transmission / reception unit 71, a communication unit 77, and a storage / reading unit 78.

  Among these, the transmission / reception part 71 is implement | achieved by the process of CPU701 and the communication circuit 704 shown by FIG. 9, and transmits / receives various data with the delivery apparatus 3 by radio | wireless communication.

  The communication unit 77 is realized by the processing of the CPU 701, the I / F 708, and the bus 709, and performs data (signal) communication with the wired communication control unit 80.

  The storage / reading unit 78 is realized by the processing of the CPU 801, stores various data in the storage unit 79, and reads various data from the storage unit 79.

  The wired communication control unit 80 is realized by the processing of the wired communication unit 18 shown in FIG. The wired communication control unit 80 has a storage unit 89 constructed by the RAM 803 shown in FIG. The storage unit 89 stores device identification information (for example, a MAC address) of the gateway device 7. Further, the wired communication control unit 80 includes a transmission / reception unit 81, a conversion unit 82, a communication unit 87, and a storage / reading unit 88.

  Among them, the transmission / reception unit 81 is realized by the processing of the CPU 801 and the I / F 808b shown in FIG.

  The conversion unit 82 is realized by the processing of the CPU 801 and the Ethernet controller 805 shown in FIG. The conversion unit 82 controls the various data (information) sent from the distribution device 3 so that Ethernet (registered trademark) packet communication can be performed by converting the communication method as described above.

  The communication unit 87 is realized by the processing of the CPU 801, the I / F 808a, and the bus 809, and performs data (signal) communication with the wireless communication control unit 70.

  The storage / reading unit 98 is realized by the processing of the CPU 801, stores various data in the storage unit 89, and reads various data from the storage unit 89.

<Location information management server>
Next, the functional configuration of the location information management server 9 will be described. The location information management server 9 includes a transmission / reception unit 91, an operation input reception unit 92, a communication terminal search response unit 93, a display control unit 94, a storage / reading unit 98, and a storage unit 99.

  The storage unit 99 is constructed by the RAM 903 and the HD 904 shown in FIG. 10, and includes a position information storage unit 991, a server information storage unit 992, and the like.

  The position information storage unit 991 stores position information transmitted from the communication terminal 5.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the position information storage unit 991 of the position information management server 9 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15, the location information storage unit 991 includes “management ID”, “identification information”, “latitude”, “longitude”, “floor number”, “building number”, “reception date”, and the like. . “Management ID” is a management number for uniquely identifying the position information of the communication terminal 5 in the position information storage unit 991. “Identification information” is information for identifying the communication terminal 5, for example, the MAC address of the communication terminal 5. “Identification information” is transmitted from the communication terminal 5. "Latitude", "longitude", "floor number", and "building number" are position information in the embodiment of the present invention, and are information shown in FIG. “Reception date and time” is the reception date and time when the location information management server 9 received location information from the gateway device 7.

  Returning to FIG. The server information storage unit 992 stores address information (for example, IP address) and identification information (for example, MAC address) of the location information management server 9.

  The transmission / reception unit 91 is realized by the processing of the CPU 901 and the network I / F 909 or the communication circuit 915 shown in FIG. 10, and transmits / receives various data to / from the gateway device 7 or the power control server 8 by wired communication or wireless communication.

  The operation input receiving unit 92 is realized by the processing of the CPU 901 shown in FIG. 10 and the keyboard 911 and mouse 912, and receives various selections or inputs from the administrator.

  The communication terminal search response unit 93 receives and responds to a communication terminal search request for acquiring identification information and position information of the communication terminal 5 located in the building transmitted from the power control server 8. The communication terminal search request includes information on the “building number” indicating the building to be searched, and the communication terminal search response unit 93 includes the information on the “building number” from the location information storage unit 991. 5 identification information and position information (latitude, longitude, floor number, building number) are acquired. Then, the communication terminal search response unit 93 generates a communication terminal search request response including the identification information and position information of the communication terminal 5 and transmits the communication terminal search request response to the power control server 8 via the transmission / reception unit 91. In the embodiment of the present invention, “building number” is used as information for identifying a building. However, information for identifying a building is not limited to “building number”, and for example, a building is uniquely defined using latitude and longitude. May be.

  The display control unit 94 is realized by the processing of the CPU 901 illustrated in FIG. 10 and performs control for displaying various images, characters, and the like on the display 908.

  The storage / reading unit 98 is realized by the processing of the CPU 901 shown in FIG. 10, stores various data in the storage unit 99, and reads out various data from the storage unit 99.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional configurations of the power control server 8 and the electronic device 6 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

<Power control server>
A functional configuration of the power control server 8 will be described. The power control server 8 includes a transmission / reception unit 841, a power usage monitoring unit 842, a communication terminal search unit 843, a device usage status determination unit 844, a usage power control instruction unit 845, a storage / readout unit 848, and a storage unit 849. The storage unit 849 is constructed by the RAM 823 and the HD 824 shown in FIG. 11, and includes a management target storage unit 8491, a power usage threshold storage unit 8492, and the like.

  The management target storage unit 8491 stores the communication terminal 5 and the management target (user-owned item 4 or electronic device 6) to which the communication terminal 5 is attached in association with each other.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the management target storage unit 8491 of the power control server 8 according to the embodiment of this invention. As illustrated in FIG. 17, the management target storage unit 8491 includes “ID”, “communication terminal identification information”, “management target identification information”, “management target category”, “management target type”, “ “Managed Object Name”, “Search Range”, “Managed Object Address Information”, and the like are stored. “ID” is a number for uniquely identifying the communication terminal 5 and the management object (the user property 4 or the electronic device 6) to which the communication terminal 5 is attached in the management object storage unit 8491. “Communication terminal identification information” is identification information (for example, a MAC address) for uniquely identifying the communication terminal 5. “Managed object identification information” is identification information (for example, a MAC address, a device ID, etc.) for uniquely identifying the user property 4 and the electronic device 6 that are managed objects. It is stored in association with the identification information. When the user property 4 is an article such as an ID card that is not an electronic device, for example, a value that can be uniquely identified by the administrator or the like among the management objects is arbitrarily set. The “managed object category” is a category in which managed objects are classified into user-owned objects 4 or electronic devices 6. The “managed object type” is classified based on the function of the managed object. For example, when the management target is a projector that is an example of the electronic device 6, “display device (projector)” is set as the “management target type”. “Managed object name” is the name of the managed object, and can be arbitrarily set. The “search range” is information that defines the above-described predetermined range that is set when the management target is the electronic device 6. In the “search range”, a radius (unit: meter) of a circle centering on the electronic device 6 is set. The range within the circle is a predetermined range, and the electronic device 6 to be used for controlling the power consumption is selected depending on the presence or absence of the user property 4 included in the predetermined range. The “search range” is set corresponding to the “managed object type”. For example, the search range of “display device (display)” that can be viewed from a wide range is set to be larger than the search range of “image forming device” in which the range that can be used is limited compared to the display device. The value set in the “search range” is arbitrarily set by an administrator or the like. In addition, the value set in the “search range” is not limited to being set in association with the “managed object type”, and may be set individually for each “managed object identification information”, for example. “Managed object address information” is address information such as an IP address assigned to the managed object. In the example of FIG. 17, an IPv4 address is set, but the address information may be, for example, an IPv6 address. Information stored in the management target storage unit 8491 is set in advance by an administrator or the like.

  Returning to FIG.

  The power usage threshold storage unit 8492 stores a threshold of electricity usage in the building. When the monitored electricity usage exceeds this threshold, the power control system 1 executes power usage control of the electronic device 6.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the power usage threshold storage unit 8492 of the power control server 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 18, “monitoring unit time”, “threshold value”, and “building number” of the building are stored in the power usage threshold storage unit 8492. The “monitoring unit time” is set in units of minutes, for example, and the power usage amount used per time set here is monitored. The “threshold value” is set, for example, in units of kw, and it is monitored whether the power consumption used per the set “monitoring unit time” exceeds the threshold value. In the example of FIG. 18, when the amount of electricity used exceeds “100” kw per “20” minutes, the power control system 1 executes power usage control of the electronic device 6. The “threshold value” is set to, for example, contract power, which is generally average power in units of 30 minutes, or a value equal to or less than contract power. When the value of contract power is set in “threshold”, it is desirable to set a value of less than 30 minutes for “monitoring unit time”. Thereby, the power consumption of the electronic device 6 can be controlled before exceeding the contract power, and the maximum power consumption (maximum demand) can be prevented from exceeding the contract power. “Building number” is information indicating the building to which this “threshold value” is applied, and represents the same information as the “building number” stored in the location information storage unit 991 of the location information management server 9.

  Returning to FIG.

  The storage / reading unit 848 is realized by processing of the CPU 821, stores various data in the storage unit 849, and reads out various data from the storage unit 849.

  The transmission / reception unit 841 is realized by the processing of the CPU 821 and the network I / F 829 or the communication circuit 835, and transmits / receives various data to / from the electronic device 6 or the location information management server 9 by wired communication or wireless communication.

  The power usage monitoring unit 842 monitors the power usage transmitted from the power measurement device 192 that measures the power of the switchboard 191. Specifically, the power usage monitoring unit 842 monitors whether or not the power usage exceeds the threshold stored in the power usage threshold storage unit 849. When the power usage amount monitoring unit 842 detects that the power usage amount threshold value has been exceeded, the power usage amount monitoring unit 842 uses the communication terminal search unit 843 to obtain information on the threshold value excess including the “building number” information stored in the power usage amount threshold value information storage unit 8492. Notify

  The communication terminal search unit 843 searches the position information management server 9 for the communication terminal 5 located in the building whose power consumption exceeds the threshold. Specifically, the communication terminal search unit 843 transmits a communication terminal search request including information on “building number” notified from the power usage monitoring unit 842 to the location information management server 9 via the transmission / reception unit 841. . And the communication terminal search part 843 acquires the identification information and position information of the communication terminal 5 located in the building from the position information management server 9. The communication terminal search unit 843 reads the management object identification information and the management object category (“electronic device” or “user property”) corresponding to the acquired identification information of the communication terminal 5 from the management object storage unit 8491. . Then, the communication terminal search unit 843 associates the read management object and management object category with the received position information, and associates the management object identification information, the management object category, and the position information with the device usage status determination unit. 844.

  The device usage status determination unit 844 determines whether or not the electronic device 6 is being used. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the user property 4 exists within a predetermined range from the electronic device 6. The predetermined range is determined based on the “search range” stored in the management target storage unit 8491. Then, the device usage status determination unit 844 selects the electronic device 6 in which the user property 4 does not exist within a predetermined range from the electronic device 6 as a target for controlling power consumption. The device usage status determination unit 844 reads the selected IP address of the electronic device 6 from the management target storage unit 8491 and notifies the power usage control instruction unit 845 of the IP address. Note that whether or not the user property 4 exists within a predetermined range from the electronic device 6 by the device usage status determination unit 844 is determined as shown in FIG. 19, for example.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining the determination of the presence / absence of the user property 4 within a predetermined range from the electronic device 6 in the embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 19, the position (latitude, longitude) of the electronic device 6 is (x1, y1), the position of the user property 4 is (x2, y2), and the search range stored in the management target storage unit 8491 (circle A predetermined range 1001 with “radius” being “L” and the search range L as a radius is shown. Here, the determination is made by comparing the distance between the position (x2, y2) of the user property 4 and the position (x1, y1) of the electronic device 6 with the radius “L”. When the distance between (x2, y2) and (x1, y1) is equal to or less than the radius “L”, it is determined that the user property 4 exists within a predetermined range from the electronic device 6. On the other hand, when the distance between (x2, y2) and (x1, y1) is larger than the radius “L”, it is determined that the user property 4 does not exist within a predetermined range from the electronic device 6.

  Returning to FIG.

  The used power control instruction unit 845 generates a used power control signal for reducing the used power of the electronic device 6, and transmits the generated used power control signal to the electronic device 6 notified from the device usage status determination unit 844. The used power control signal is generated based on the format shown in FIG. 20, for example.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a power usage control signal in the embodiment of the present invention. The format of the power usage control signal includes a control code 1101, a command code 1102, and a frame check code 1103. The control code 1101 is a 1-byte code indicating that the power control signal is used. For example, “0x01” is set as a fixed value. The command code 1102 is a 1-byte code indicating control content for reducing the power consumption. The command code 1102 includes, for example, “0x00” when requesting power-off of the electronic device 6 as control content, “0x01” when requesting transition to the standby state, “0x02” when requesting to lower the brightness of the display, and the like. Is set. Note that the command code 1102 may select the control content in accordance with, for example, the degree of excess power consumption. Further, the control content may be determined in advance by an administrator or the like. The frame check code 1103 is a 1-byte check code for error detection. The format of the power usage control signal is not limited to the format shown in FIG.

<Electronic equipment>
Next, the functional configuration of the electronic device 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The electronic device 6 includes a transmission / reception unit 61, a used power control instruction receiving unit 62, a used power control instruction executing unit 63, and the like.

  The transmission / reception unit 61 is realized by the processing of the CPU 601 and the wireless LAN communication unit 606, and transmits / receives various data to / from the power control server 8 through wireless communication. The transmission / reception unit 61 transmits / receives data by Ethernet (registered trademark) when the electronic device 6 includes an Ethernet card and the network 893 is a wired LAN.

  The used power control instruction receiving unit 62 receives a used power control instruction from the power control server 8. Specifically, the used power control instruction receiving unit 62 receives the used power control signal and controls the used power control instruction executing unit 63 to reduce the used power based on the command code 1102 included in the used power control signal. Let it run.

  The used power control instruction execution unit 63 executes used power control based on the used power control instruction from the power control server 8. Specifically, the used power control instruction execution unit 63 executes control for reducing the used power based on the command code 1102 included in the used power control signal.

[Operation procedure]
An operation procedure of the power control system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The operation of the power control system 1 includes a position information management operation for managing the position information of the communication terminal 5 by the position information management server 9, and a power use control operation for monitoring the power consumption and controlling the power consumption of the electronic device 6. It is roughly divided into

[Location information management operation]
FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation procedure in which the power control system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention manages the position information of the communication terminal 5.

[Location information management operation]
S11: The distribution control unit 20 of the distribution device 3 transmits the position information acquired from the storage unit 29 continuously or intermittently by IMES or the like.

  S12: The reception control unit 40 of the communication terminal 5 receives the position information transmitted from the distribution device 3 by the position information reception process performed periodically (for example, at a cycle of 60 seconds). When the communication terminal 5 includes an acceleration sensor, the position information may be received upon detection of a change in acceleration.

  S13: The reception control unit 40 stores the received position information in the storage unit 49.

  S14: The wireless communication control unit 50 of the communication terminal 5 sends a position information update request including the identification information acquired from the storage unit 59 (for example, the MAC address of the communication terminal 5) and the position information stored in the storage unit 49. Send to. The position information update request is a request for newly registering or updating the position information of the communication terminal 5 managed by the position information management server 9.

  S15: The transmission / reception unit 31 of the wireless communication control unit 30 of the distribution device 3 transfers the location information update request to the gateway device 7 using a communication method compliant with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.

  S16: When the transmission / reception unit 71 of the wireless communication control unit 70 of the gateway device 7 receives the location information update request transmitted from the distribution device 3, the conversion unit 82 of the wired communication control unit 80 conforms to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. The communication method is converted into a communication method conforming to the IEEE 802.3 standard adapted to the network 892.

  S17: The transmission / reception unit 81 of the wired communication control unit 80 transfers the location information update request to the location information management server 9. The transmission / reception unit 91 of the location information management server 9 receives the location information update request from the gateway device 7.

  S18: The storage / reading unit 98 of the location information management server 9 associates the identification information of the communication terminal 5 stored in advance in the storage unit 99 with the identification information included in the received location information update request. The storage unit 991 stores the position information of the communication terminal 5.

  In addition, the management operation | movement of the positional information of the communication terminal 5 of step S11-S18 mentioned above is performed independently from the electric power usage control operation demonstrated below.

  With the above operation procedure, the power control system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can manage the position information of the communication terminal 5 by the position information management server 9. Further, since the communication terminal 5 is attached or built in the user-owned item 4 and the electronic device 6, the position information of the communication terminal 5 is managed to manage the user-owned item 4 and the electronic device 6. Manage location information.

[Use power control operation]
FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation procedure in which the power control system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention controls the power used by the electronic device 6. In the initial state of the example of FIG. 22, based on the operation procedure of FIG. 21, the position information management server 9 manages the position information of the user property 4 and the electronic device 6 to which the communication terminal 5 is attached.

  S21: The power measuring device 192 measures the power usage in the switchboard 191 at a predetermined measurement cycle (for example, 1 minute cycle), and notifies the power control server 8 periodically (for example, at 1 minute intervals).

  S22: The power usage monitoring unit 842 of the power control server 8 monitors the power usage notified from the power measuring device 192. Specifically, the power usage monitoring unit 842 has a “threshold value” per “monitoring unit time” based on the “threshold” and “monitoring unit time” stored in the power usage threshold storage unit 8492. Monitor whether it exceeds.

  S23: The power usage monitoring unit 842 detects that the monitored power usage exceeds the threshold value. Then, the power usage monitoring unit 842 reads out the “building number” indicating the building that has exceeded the threshold from the power usage threshold storage unit 8492, and sends the “building number” to the communication terminal search unit 843 together with the power usage exceeding the threshold. Notice. As described above, since “building number” is assigned so as to be uniquely identified, the “building number” can identify the building to which “building number” belongs.

  S24: The communication terminal search unit 843 transmits a communication terminal search request including “building number” for searching for the communication terminal 5 located in the building to the location information management server 9 via the transmission / reception unit 841.

  S25: The communication terminal search response unit 93 of the location information management server 8 receives the communication terminal search request from the power control server 8 via the transmission / reception unit 91. Then, the communication terminal search response unit 93 receives the identification information and position information (latitude, longitude, building number, floor number) of the communication terminal 5 corresponding to the “building number” included in the communication terminal search request from the position information storage unit 991. Is read.

  S <b> 26: The communication terminal search response unit 93 generates a communication terminal search request response including the identification information and position information of the communication terminal 5, and transmits the communication terminal search request response to the power control server 8 via the transmission / reception unit 91.

  S27: The communication terminal search unit 843 of the power control server 8 receives the management object identification information and the management object category (“electronic device” or “user” corresponding to the received identification information of the communication terminal 5 from the management object storage unit 8491. Property)). Then, the communication terminal search unit 843 associates the read management object and management object category with the received position information, and associates the management object identification information, the management object category, and the position information with the device usage status determination unit. 844.

  S28: The device usage status determination unit 844 extracts management object identification information whose management object category is “electronic device” based on the notified management object identification information, management object category, and position information. Then, the device usage status determination unit 844 reads “search range” from the management target storage unit 8491 based on the identification information of the electronic device 6.

  S29: The device usage status determination unit 844 determines the usage status of the electronic device 6. Specifically, the device usage status determination unit 844 determines whether the user property 4 exists within a predetermined range based on the “search range” read for each electronic device 6. The position information of the electronic device 6 and the user property 4 is based on the notification in step S27.

  S30: As a result of the determination, the device usage status determination unit 844 selects the electronic device 6 in which the user property 4 is not located within a predetermined range as a target to be controlled so as to reduce power consumption. The device usage status determination unit 844 reads the IP address of the selected electronic device 6 from the management target storage unit 8491 and notifies the usage power control instruction unit 845 of the read IP address.

  S <b> 31: The used power control instruction unit 845 generates a used power control signal including control details for reducing the used power in the electronic device 6. The IP address of the notified electronic device 6 is set as the destination address of the power usage control signal.

  S32: The used power control instruction unit 845 transmits the used power control signal to the electronic device 6 via the transmission / reception unit 841.

  S33: When the used power control instruction receiving unit 62 of the electronic device 6 receives the used power control signal via the transmission / reception unit 61, the control content (command code 1102) included in the used power control signal is transmitted to the used power control instruction executing unit 63. ) Is requested to be executed. The power usage control instruction execution unit 63 executes processing based on the designated control content to reduce power usage.

[flowchart]
A processing procedure of power usage control by the power control server 8 in the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of power usage control by the power control server 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The power usage monitoring unit 842 of the power control server 8 receives and monitors the power usage transmitted from the power measuring device 192 (S101).

  The power usage monitoring unit 842 determines whether the monitored power usage exceeds the “threshold value” per “monitoring unit time” stored in the power usage threshold storage unit 8492 (S102). If the power usage does not exceed the threshold (NO in S102), the power usage monitoring unit 842 continuously monitors the power usage (S101). On the other hand, when the power usage exceeds the threshold (YES in S102), the power usage monitoring unit 842 notifies the communication terminal search unit 843 of the “building number” of the building corresponding to the electrical usage exceeding the threshold.

  The communication terminal search unit 843 transmits a communication terminal search request including “building number” to the location information management server 9 in order to search for communication terminals included in the building, and has location information corresponding to “building number”. Identification information and position information of the communication terminal 5 are acquired (S103).

  Next, the communication terminal search unit 843 reads the management object identification information and the management object category corresponding to the acquired identification information of the communication terminal 5 from the management object storage unit 8491 (S104). Further, the management object identification information is associated with the position information acquired in step S103. That is, the position information of the user property 4 and the electronic device 6 attached to the communication terminal 5 in the building is specified.

  The device usage status determination unit 844 reads the “search range” from the management target storage unit 8491 based on the identification information of the electronic device 6 in the building, and specifies a predetermined range for each electronic device 6 (S105).

  Next, the device usage status determination unit 844 determines for each electronic device 6 whether or not the user property 4 is included in a predetermined range centered on the position of the electronic device 6 (S106). Here, when the user property 4 is included in the predetermined range (NO in S106), the power usage amount is continuously monitored (S101). On the other hand, when the user property 4 is not included in the predetermined range (YES in S106), the device usage status determination unit 844 selects the electronic device 6 that does not include the user property 4 in the predetermined range as a power consumption control target. (S107). The device usage status determination unit 844 notifies the power usage control instruction unit 845 of the IP address of the selected electronic device 6.

  The used power control instruction unit 845 generates a used power control signal (S108).

  Then, the used power control instruction unit 845 transmits the generated used power control signal to the selected electronic device 6 (S109).

  As described above, according to the power control system 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, when the power usage in the building to be monitored exceeds a predetermined threshold, the electronic device 6 located in the building is used by using the managed position information. And users (user property 4) can be searched. Based on the usage status of the electronic device 6 by the user, that is, the presence / absence of the user property 4 located within a predetermined range from the electronic device 6, the electronic device 6 to be controlled for reducing the power consumption can be selected. And it can control so that the electric power used of the selected electronic device 6 may be reduced.

  Thereby, the administrator of the power control system 1 can reduce the power usage amount without disturbing the user's use of the electronic device 6 even if the predetermined threshold value of the power usage amount set in consideration of the contract power is exceeded. Reduction can be achieved.

[Modification]
The power control system 1 according to the modified example of the embodiment of the present invention changes the control content for reducing the power used according to the number of people (the number of user-owned items 4) located within a predetermined range from the electronic device 6. The power control server 8 in the modification includes a control content storage unit that stores the number of people within a predetermined range and the control content for reducing the power consumption of the electronic device 6 corresponding to the number of people. The control content storage unit is constructed by the RAM 823 and the HD 824 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the control content storage unit 8493 of the power control server 8 according to the modification of the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 24, the control content storage unit 8493 has “number of people within a predetermined range” and “control content (command code)”. The “number of people within a predetermined range” is the number of user-owned items 4 included in the predetermined range from the electronic device 6. “Control content (command code)” is control content for reducing the power consumption of the electronic device 6. In “control content (command code)”, a command code 1102 (FIG. 19) of the used power control signal is set. In the example of FIG. 24, “0x00” for requesting power-off is set as the control content when the number of people within a predetermined range is “0”. Further, “N / A” is set as the control content for the number of people within the predetermined range “3”, in which the control of the power used is not executed. Further, if the number of people in the predetermined range is “3” or more, it indicates that the control of the power used is not executed. Note that the information stored in the control content storage unit 8493 can be arbitrarily set, and elements set for each item can also be added.

  FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of power usage control by the power control server 8 according to the modification of the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 25, the same processing as the processing shown in FIG. 23 is assigned the same step number as in FIG. 23, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the example of FIG. 25, when the device usage status determination unit 844 specifies a predetermined range for each electronic device 6 (S105), the number of user possessions 4 within the predetermined range is extracted for each electronic device 6 ( S206).

  Next, the device usage status determination unit 844 determines the control content for reducing the power consumption from the control content storage unit 8493 based on the number of extracted user possessions 4 (S207).

  Then, the used power control instruction unit 845 generates a used power control signal including the determined control content (command code) (S108).

  As described above, according to the power control system 1 in the modification of the embodiment of the present invention, the electronic device 6 is in accordance with the number of users (the number of user possessions 4) located within a predetermined range from the electronic device 6. It is possible to set the control content to reduce the power consumption.

  Thereby, the administrator of the power control system 1 instructs the control content to reduce the power consumption as the number of people within the predetermined range is smaller, and conversely, the use of the electronic device 6 is more affected as the number of people is larger. It is possible to instruct a control content with a small value.

[Other variations]
In the embodiment of the present invention, the location information management server 9 and the power control server 8 are different devices. For example, the power control server 8 manages the location information of the communication terminal 5 included in the location information management server 9. It may have a function (refer to Drawing 14).

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Can be changed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power control system 3 Distribution apparatus 4 User property 5 Communication terminal 6 Electronic device 62 Use power control instruction reception part 63 Use power control instruction execution part 7 Gateway apparatus 8 Power control server 842 Power use monitoring part 843 Communication terminal search part 844 Device usage status determination unit 845 Power usage control instruction unit 8491 Management target storage unit 8492 Power usage threshold storage unit 9 Location information management server 93 Communication terminal search response unit 991 Location information storage unit

JP2012-069086 JP-A-2004-360925

Claims (10)

A power control server that monitors power usage in a building by a device to which a communication terminal in which position information of the communication terminal is managed is attached,
Device search means for searching for the device located in the building;
A power control server comprising: a power usage control unit configured to control power usage of the device according to a usage status of the device searched by the device search unit when the power usage exceeds a predetermined threshold. Based on the presence or absence of a person included within a predetermined range from the device, having a determination means for determining the usage status,
The power usage control means includes
The power control server according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit performs control to reduce power used by a device that is determined not to include a person within a predetermined range from the device. Based on the number of people included in a predetermined range from the device, having a determination means for determining the control content to reduce the power consumption of the device,
The power usage control means includes
The power control server according to claim 1, wherein control is performed to reduce power used by the device based on the control content determined by the determination unit. Management object storage means for storing a management object to which the communication terminal is attached and position information is managed;
The power control server according to claim 1, wherein a person included in the predetermined range is specified based on the management target.   The power control server according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the predetermined range is determined for each device. Threshold storage means for storing a predetermined threshold of the power consumption;
The power control server according to claim 1, further comprising: a power usage monitoring unit that monitors the power usage and detects an excess of the power usage based on the threshold storage unit.   The power control server according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the communication terminal is an RFID tag.   The position information of the communication terminal is position information distributed by using a ground complementary signal from a distribution apparatus that distributes position information corresponding to a position where the own device is installed closest to the communication terminal. The power control server according to any one of 7. A power control program executed in a power control server that monitors power usage in a building by a device to which a communication terminal in which position information of the communication terminal is managed is attached,
The power control server,
Device search means for searching for the device located in the building;
A power control program that functions as a used power control unit that controls the used power of the device according to the usage status of the device searched by the device search unit when the power consumption exceeds a predetermined threshold. A power control system including a device to which a communication terminal in which position information of the communication terminal is managed is attached, and a power control server that monitors power usage in a building by the device,
The power control server
Device search means for searching for the device located in the building;
When the power usage exceeds a predetermined threshold, the power usage amount control means for controlling the power usage of the device according to the usage status of the device searched by the device search means,
The equipment is
A power control system comprising: a used power control executing means for reducing the used power of the device when an instruction for controlling the used power by the used power control means is received.

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