JP2014195227A - Electric apparatus remote control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric apparatus remote control system that is able to check whether an object electric apparatus has operated normally or not when the electric apparatus is remotely operated.SOLUTION: An electric apparatus remote control system comprises: a remote control apparatus 10 that transmits an operation signal corresponding to each object electric apparatus 50 to one or more electric apparatuses 50 which the remote control system is able to remotely control by an operation signal of short-range communication, on the basis of operation information via a communication network from a communication terminal 60; individual power amount measuring instruments 21-23 that individually measure the amounts of power consumption of the electric apparatuses 50; a power amount collection device 30 that collects the amounts of power consumption measured by the individual power amount measuring instruments 21-23; an information management unit (server 40) that manages the operation information from the communication terminal and the amounts of power consumption collected by the power amount collection device; and an operation confirmation unit (server 40) that determines whether or not the operation states of the object electric apparatuses 50 are changed to operations corresponding to the operation information from the amounts of power consumption.

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control system for electrical equipment. In particular, the present invention relates to a remote operation system for an electric device that can confirm whether or not the target electric device has operated normally when the electric device is remotely operated.

  In recent years, a technique for “visualizing” the amount of power used has been proposed due to an increase in power users' awareness of power saving. For example, it can be attached to an electrical outlet, and it can be attached to an individual energy meter that individually measures the amount of power used by an electrical device, or to a distribution board (power line) in a building, factory, or home, and the power used for the entire building or circuit A total energy meter has been developed to measure the amount. In addition, an electric energy collection device that collects information on the electric energy used measured by these electric energy meters has been developed. And the system which manages electric power consumption using such an electric energy measuring device and an electric energy collection apparatus is proposed (for example, refer patent documents 1-3).

  On the other hand, an infrared (IR) remote control device (so-called “IR remote controller”) has been conventionally attached to an electric device such as an air conditioner, a TV, a video recorder, and an illumination. By transmitting an infrared operation signal, the operation signal can be received and remotely operated. In addition, learning remote controllers are known that store operation signals transmitted from IR remote controllers of various electrical devices and allow a plurality of electrical devices to be operated with a single remote controller. Furthermore, recently, a learning remote controller that has a network function and can be remotely operated via a communication network such as the Internet by a communication terminal such as a mobile phone, a personal computer, a tablet PC, or a smartphone from a remote location has been developed. Then, a system has been proposed in which such a learning remote controller is used to remotely operate a home electrical device by operating the learning remote controller from a remote location using a communication terminal (see, for example, Patent Documents 4 and 5).

JP 2011-253498 A JP 2011-253505 A JP 2011-254441 A JP 2008-283298 A JP 2012-191481 A

  As described above, there is a demand for operating an electrical device even from a remote place (outing). Examples of such requests include ON / OFF of power supplies such as air conditioners, televisions, and lighting, air conditioner temperature settings, video recorder recording reservation settings, and the like. In order to meet such demands, a home network system that enables remote operation via the Internet has recently been realized by connecting an electrical device equipped with a network function (so-called “network home appliance”) to the Internet. It's getting on. However, in order to introduce this system, it is not only possible to construct a home network, but it is also necessary for the electrical equipment to have a network function, so that it cannot be applied to existing electrical equipment.

  On the other hand, the techniques described in Patent Document 4 and Patent Document 5 described above are applicable to electrical devices that do not require home network construction and are not equipped with a network function. Patent Document 4 discloses a system that determines a current power state of an electric device by providing a sensor that detects a change in environment caused by power ON / OFF of the electric device. Examples of the sensor include an illuminance sensor for a lighting fixture, a temperature sensor for an air conditioner, and a noise sensor for an audio device. However, the technique of Patent Document 4 cannot accurately determine the operating state of an electrical device because it may be difficult to detect changes in the environment depending on the installation location of the sensor and the surrounding environment. Moreover, the technique of patent document 4 requires various sensors corresponding to various electric devices.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 5, a master device that is connected to a communication network, receives an operation instruction for the operation target device via the communication network, and transmits an infrared operation signal to the operation target device, and a target operation device. A system comprising a slave unit provided in the vicinity and monitoring an infrared operation signal transmitted from the master unit is disclosed. However, since the technique of Patent Document 5 estimates that the operation target device is operated by receiving the infrared operation signal transmitted from the parent device to the operation target device by the slave unit, I cannot check if the device is working properly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and one of the objects of the present invention is to confirm whether or not the target electric device has operated normally when the electric device is remotely operated. An object is to provide a remote control system for electrical equipment.

  The remote control system for electrical equipment according to the present invention includes a remote control device, an individual power meter, a power collecting device, an information management unit, and an operation check unit. The remote operation device is a device that supports one or more electric devices that can be operated remotely by an operation signal of short-distance communication based on operation information via a communication network from a communication terminal. Sends a distance communication operation signal. The individual electric energy measuring device individually measures the electric energy used by the electric device. The power amount collecting device collects the used power amount measured by the individual power amount measuring device. The information management unit manages the operation information from the communication terminal and the used power amount collected by the power amount collecting device. The operation confirmation unit acquires the operation information and the amount of power used from the information management unit, and determines whether or not the operation state of the target electrical device has been changed to an operation according to the operation information from the amount of power used.

  According to the above-described remote control system for an electrical device of the present invention, the remote control device transmits an operation signal for short-range communication to the target electrical device based on the operation information via the communication network from the communication terminal. Even from a remote location, the target electrical device can be remotely operated using a communication terminal. In addition, the individual electric energy measuring device individually measures the electric power consumption of the electric device, so that the current electric energy consumption of the target electric device can be grasped. Here, for example, the amount of power used is large (increases) when the power of the electric device is ON, and the amount of power used is small (decrease) when the power of the electric device is OFF. The actual operating state of the electric device can be grasped from the quantity. Therefore, the operation check unit can obtain the operation information from the communication terminal and the power consumption collected by the power amount collection device from the information management unit, so that the operation state of the target electrical device can be grasped from the power consumption. It is possible to determine whether or not the operation has been changed according to the operation information. Therefore, it is possible to confirm whether or not the target electric device has operated normally when the electric device is remotely operated.

  As the processing of the operation confirmation unit, for example, when there is an increase or decrease in the power consumption of the target electrical device within a predetermined time after the operation information from the communication terminal is transmitted to the remote operation device, For example, it may be determined that the operation state has been changed to an operation corresponding to the operation information.

  As one form of the remote operation system of the electric equipment of the present invention, when it is determined from the determination result of the operation check unit that the operation state of the electric equipment is not changed to the operation according to the operation information from the communication terminal, For example, it may include a retry command unit that requests the operation device to retransmit the operation signal.

  According to one aspect of the above-described remote operation system for an electric device of the present invention, when the target electric device cannot normally receive the operation signal from the remote operation device, the remote operation device retransmits the operation signal. Thus, certainty of operation of the electric device by the remote operation device can be enhanced.

  As one form of the remote control system of the electric equipment of the present invention, it is mentioned that the remote control equipment transmits an operation signal corresponding to each of a plurality of electric equipment based on operation information from a communication terminal.

  According to one aspect of the above-described remote control system for electrical devices of the present invention, when there are a plurality of electrical devices, a plurality of electrical devices can be operated with one remote control device. There is no need to install each remote control device.

  As one form of the remote control system of the electric equipment of the present invention, remote control equipment is arranged in each room where the electric equipment is installed.

  When electrical equipment is installed in multiple rooms, electrical equipment installed in a room different from the remote control equipment cannot receive the operation signal from the remote control equipment (the operation signal does not reach the electrical equipment). There is sex. According to one aspect of the electric device remote operation system of the present invention described above, the remote operation device is arranged in each room where the electric device is installed, so that the operation signal from the remote operation device is targeted. An electric device can receive reliably.

  The remote control system for electrical equipment according to the present invention can confirm whether or not the target electrical equipment has operated normally when the electrical equipment is remotely controlled.

It is a figure explaining the remote control system of the electric equipment which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of the remote control system of the electric equipment which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the remote control system of the electric equipment which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of the remote control system of the electric equipment which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same code | symbol shows the same or an equivalent part.

<Embodiment 1>
The remote control system for electric devices according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes a remote control device 10, an electric energy measuring device 20, an electric energy collecting device 30, and a server 40. Hereinafter, a case where the electric device 50 is remotely operated by the communication terminal 60 using the electric device remote operation system according to the first embodiment will be described.

(Electrical equipment)
Examples of the electric device include an air conditioner, a TV, a video recorder, lighting, a refrigerator, an IH cooking heater, and an electric water heater. In the embodiment of the present invention, an electric device that can be remotely operated by an operation signal for short-range communication ( In short, it is intended for electrical equipment with a remote control attached. As short-range communication, for example, infrared (IR), radio frequency (RF), wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), WiFi (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), or other wireless systems, power line carrier communication (PLC), etc. In particular, the infrared method is typical. In FIG. 1, an air conditioner 51, a television 52, and a refrigerator 53 are illustrated as the electric device 50, but the air conditioner 51 and the television 52 are applicable. Note that the target electric device is not limited to an air conditioner and a television, and is an electric device that has an operation signal receiving unit that receives an operation signal for short-range communication (for example, infrared rays) and operates according to the operation signal. If applicable, it can be applied, for example, a video recorder or lighting.

(Remote control device)
The remote operation device 10 includes an operation information reception unit that receives operation information from the communication terminal 60 via a communication network, and an operation signal transmission unit that transmits an operation signal for short-distance communication. Then, the remote operation device 10 applies the target electric device 50 to the electric device 50 (air conditioner 51, television 52) that can be remotely operated by an operation signal of short-range communication based on operation information from the communication terminal 60. The operation signal of near field communication corresponding to is transmitted. The remote operation device 10 is a so-called “learning remote controller” that stores operation signals transmitted from remote controllers of various electric devices and enables a plurality of electric devices to be operated by one unit. Short range communication operation signals corresponding to the electric devices 50 (the air conditioner 51 and the television 52) can be transmitted. The operation signal includes an identification signal for the target electric device 50 and a control signal for turning on / off the power of the electric device 50 and setting an operation.

(Communication terminal)
The communication terminal 60 is connected to an input unit that inputs operation information for operating the target electric device 50 (air conditioner 51, television 52), a display unit that displays an operation screen, and a communication network such as the Internet or a LAN. A network connection unit (communication interface), and an operation information transmission unit that transmits operation information to the remote operation device 10 via the communication network. In FIG. 1, the smart phone 61, the notebook personal computer 62, and the tablet PC 63 are illustrated as the communication terminal 60. However, as long as it has a network communication function, it can be used as a communication terminal. The operation information includes identification information of the target electric device 50 and control information such as power ON / OFF and operation setting of the electric device 50.

  In this example, a home network (LAN) is constructed by the router 70, and the LAN is interconnected with the Internet 80 via the router 70. The router 70 uses a wireless LAN (WiFi) router. The communication terminal 60 can communicate with a device connected to the LAN via the router 70 via the Internet 80 or via the LAN. The remote operation device 10 is connected to the router 70 by communication means such as a wireless or wired LAN.

(Power meter)
The electric energy meter 20 is a device that measures the amount of electric power used. In this example, the electric energy meter 20 is attached to an outlet and individually measures the electric energy used by the electric device 50. And a total electric energy measuring device 24 that is mounted on the distribution board 25 and measures the electric energy used for the entire home or for each power line circuit. Each of the individual electric energy measuring devices 21 to 23 is interposed between an outlet (not shown) and a plug of each electric device 50, and measures the electric energy used by each connected electric device 50. Specifically, the individual power meter 21 measures the power consumption of the air conditioner 51, the individual power meter 22 measures the power consumption of the television 52, and the individual power meter 23 measures the power consumption of the refrigerator 53. . Further, each of the individual power amount measuring devices 21 to 23 transmits information on the measured power consumption amount together with its own identification information to the power amount collecting device 30. A specific low-power radio is used as a communication means between the individual power meter 21 to 23 and the power collector 30. Similarly, the total electric energy measuring device 24 transmits information on the measured electric energy consumption to the electric energy collecting device 30 together with its own identification information. As a communication means between the total energy meter 24 and the energy collection device 30, a specific low power radio may be used, or a wired communication such as serial communication (eg, RS485) may be used. These electric energy measuring devices 21 to 24 constantly monitor the electric energy used, and are configured to measure the electric energy used at intervals of 30 seconds and transmit it to the electric energy collecting device 30, for example. The measurement sampling time for the power consumption can be set as appropriate.

  For example, “Smart Eco Watt (registered trademark)” manufactured by ENEGATE Co., Ltd. can be used for the individual energy measuring devices 21 to 23, and “Smart EL sensor (registered)” is also used for the total energy measuring device 24. Trademark) ”.

(Electric power collection device)
The power amount collecting device 30 collects the power consumption amount measured by the power amount measuring devices 21 to 24. Since the information on the used electric energy transmitted from the electric energy measuring devices 21 to 24 includes the identification information of each electric energy measuring device, the individual electric energy measuring devices 21 to 23 measure the identification information based on the identification information. It is possible to make the used electric energy correspond to the electric devices 51 to 53 connected to the individual electric energy meter. The power amount collecting device 30 is connected to the router 70 by a communication means such as a wireless or wired LAN, and is connected to a communication network.

  For example, “Smart Gateway (registered trademark)” manufactured by ENEGATE Co., Ltd. can be used as the power amount collecting device 30.

(server)
The server 40 is installed on the Internet 80 and functions as an information management unit that manages operation information from the communication terminal 60 and the amount of power used collected by the power amount collection device 30. In this example, the server 40 periodically acquires the power consumption measured by the individual power meter 21 to 23 from the power collector 30 via the router 70 via the Internet 80. The server 40 is pre-registered with information on the electric device 50 (air conditioner 51, television 52) to be operated. The user connects to the Internet 80 from the communication terminal 60 and accesses the server 40. Is configured to input operation information. Specifically, function information (control information) of the electric device 50 that can be operated by the remote operation device 10 is registered in the server 40, and the user can obtain information on the target electric device 50 from the server 40 through the communication terminal 60. The information is acquired, the information is displayed on the operation screen, and the operation information of the target electric device 50 is input from the communication terminal 60. The operation information input from the communication terminal 60 is stored in the server 40 and transmitted from the server 40 to the remote operation device 10 via the Internet 80 or from the communication terminal 60 via the LAN. Sent to. The server 40 is also configured to acquire management information such as the time when the operation information is transmitted to the remote operation device 10. The server 40 includes user authentication means and electrical equipment information presentation means. The user authentication means authenticates the user from terminal identification information such as the IP address and MAC address of the communication terminal, and personal identification information such as an ID and password input from the communication terminal. The electric device information providing means provides the communication terminal 60 with information on the electric device 50 registered by the authenticated user (device manufacturer, model, control information, etc.).

  Furthermore, the server 40 also has a function of an operation confirmation unit that determines whether the operation state of the target electric device 50 (air conditioner 51, television 52) has been changed to an operation according to the operation information from the amount of power used. The processing of the operation confirmation unit is performed when the power consumption of the target electrical device 50 is increased or decreased within a predetermined time after the operation information from the communication terminal 60 is transmitted to the remote operation device 10. It is determined that the operation state of the device 50 has been changed to an operation corresponding to the operation information. Here, since the increase / decrease (change) in the amount of power used varies depending on the operation of the target electrical device 50, a threshold may be set as appropriate according to the operation information. Moreover, what is necessary is just to set suitably the above-mentioned predetermined time according to the time when the change of the amount of used electric power is measured after the electric equipment 50 of interest receives an operation signal.

[Example of remote control of electrical equipment using a communication terminal]
An example of remotely controlling an electrical device using a communication terminal will be described together with a processing flow according to Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the main device that executes the processing is described in [].

Operation example 1: A case where the home air conditioner 51 is remotely operated using a smartphone 61 from a remote place (outing).
The user connects to the Internet 80 from the smartphone 61 to access the server 40 and acquires operation information for operating the air conditioner 51 (step A in FIG. 2). Here, a case where the power supply of the air conditioner 51 is turned from OFF to ON will be described. Then, operation information is input from the smartphone 61 and transmitted from the server 40 to the remote operation device 10 via the Internet 80 (step B). The operation information input from the smartphone 61 is stored in the server 40 and transmitted to the remote operation device 10 via the router 70. The operation information is transmitted from the router 70 to the remote operation device 10 by, for example, WiFi communication. The remote operation device 10 transmits an operation signal for short-range communication corresponding to the air conditioner 51 based on the operation information from the smartphone 61 (step C). This transmission is performed by, for example, infrared communication. The air conditioner 51 that has received the operation signal from the remote operation device 10 operates according to the operation information (operation signal), that is, the power is turned on.

  At this time, the power consumption of the air conditioner 51 is increased by switching the power supply of the air conditioner 51 from OFF to ON. The power consumption of the air conditioner 51 is measured by the individual power meter 21 (step D), and the power consumption is collected by the power collection device 30 (step E). Furthermore, the power consumption measured by the individual power meter 21 stored in the server 40 on the Internet 80 from the power collection device 30 via the router 70 is updated. The operation confirmation unit of the server 40 obtains the operation information input from the smartphone 61, the used electric energy collected by the electric energy collection device 30, and the time when the operation information is transmitted to the remote operation device 10 (Step F). ). Then, in the operation confirmation unit of the server 40, whether or not the operation state of the air conditioner 51 is an operation corresponding to the operation information from the smartphone 61, that is, whether the power supply is turned on, based on the power consumption measured by the individual power meter 21. Determine whether. Specifically, it is determined whether or not there is an increase or decrease in the power consumption of the air conditioner 51 within a predetermined time after the operation information is transmitted to the remote operation device 10 (step G). In this case, it can be determined that the power supply of the air conditioner 51 is turned on due to an increase in the amount of power used by the air conditioner 51, and it is determined that the operation state of the air conditioner 51 has been changed to an operation corresponding to the operation information (normal determination). ) If for some reason the power of the air conditioner 51 does not turn from OFF to ON, the power consumption of the air conditioner 51 does not change substantially. Therefore, in the operation confirmation unit of the server 40, if there is no increase or decrease in the power consumption of the air conditioner 51 even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation information is transmitted to the remote operation device 10, It is determined that the operation is not changed according to the operation information (error determination). The user can confirm whether or not the air conditioner 51 has been normally operated by remote operation from the smartphone 61 by confirming the determination result of the operation confirmation unit of the server 40 by the smartphone 61.

  On the other hand, when the power supply of the air conditioner 51 is switched from ON to OFF, it can be determined that the power supply of the air conditioner 51 has been turned OFF due to a decrease in the amount of power used by the air conditioner 51.

  In the operation example 1 described above, the case where the power supply of the air conditioner 51 is turned on / off has been described as an example. Even when the set temperature of the air conditioner 51 is changed, the amount of power used by the air conditioner 51 also changes. Therefore, it can be determined that the set temperature of the air conditioner 51 has been changed, and whether or not the air conditioner 51 has operated normally by remote control. Can be confirmed. In the operation example 1, the case where the air conditioner 51 is remotely operated has been described as an example. However, the same operation can be performed when the television 52 is remotely operated. Furthermore, in the operation example 1, the case where remote operation is performed using the smartphone 61 from a remote location has been described as an example. However, the operation example is not limited to a smartphone, and any communication terminal having a network communication function may be used, for example, a laptop computer or tablet A PC or the like may be used.

Operation example 2: When the television 52 is remotely operated using a notebook computer 62 or a tablet PC 63 at home.
A user connects to the Internet 80 via the router 70 from a notebook computer 62 or the like, accesses the server 40, and acquires operation information for operating the television 52. Here, a case where the power of the television 52 is turned from ON to OFF will be described. Then, the operation information is input from the notebook computer 62 or the like, and the operation information is transmitted from the notebook computer 62 or the like to the remote operation device 10 via the LAN. Operation information input from the notebook personal computer 62 or the like is stored in the server 40 and transmitted to the remote operation device 10 via the router 70. The remote operation device 10 transmits an operation signal for short-distance communication corresponding to the television 52 based on operation information from the notebook personal computer 62 or the like. The television 52 that has received the operation signal from the remote operation device 10 operates according to the operation information (operation signal), that is, the power is turned off.

  At this time, the power consumption of the television 52 decreases as the power of the television 52 is turned off. The power consumption of the television 52 is measured by the individual power meter 22, and the power consumption is collected by the power collection device 30. Furthermore, the power consumption measured by the individual power meter 22 stored in the server 40 on the Internet 80 from the power collection device 30 via the router 70 is updated. The operation confirmation unit of the server 40 acquires the operation information input from the notebook personal computer 62 and the like, the used electric energy collected by the electric energy collection device 30, and the time when the operation information is transmitted to the remote operation device 10. Then, in the operation confirmation unit of the server 40, the operation state of the television 52 is changed to the operation according to the operation information from the notebook personal computer 62 or the like, that is, the power is turned off, based on the power consumption measured by the individual power meter 22. Judge whether or not. In this case, it can be determined that the power of the television 52 has been turned off due to a decrease in the power consumption of the television 52, and it can be determined that the operation matches the operation information. The user can confirm whether or not the television 52 has been normally operated by remote operation from the notebook personal computer 62 or the like by confirming the determination result of the operation confirmation unit of the server 40 by the notebook personal computer 62 or the like.

  Conversely, when the power of the television 52 is turned on from OFF, it can be determined that the power of the television 52 is turned on due to an increase in the amount of power used by the television 52.

  In the operation example 2 described above, the case where operation information is transmitted from the notebook personal computer 62 or the like via the LAN has been described as an example. However, as in the operation example 1 described above, transmission from the server 40 via the Internet 80 is performed. Is also possible. In the operation example 2, the case where remote control is performed by using the notebook computer 62 or the tablet PC 63 in the home has been described as an example, but a smartphone or the like may be used. When remotely controlling the electrical device 50 using the communication terminal 60 at home as in the operation example 2, for example, it is useful for remotely operating the electrical device 50 installed in a room different from the room where the user is located. It is.

<Embodiment 2>
The remote control system for electric devices according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention shown in FIG. 3 includes a plurality of remote control devices 10, and each remote control device is arranged in each room where the electric device 50 is installed. In this respect, it is different from the remote control system for electrical equipment according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 3 illustrates a case where the air conditioner 51 is installed in one room, the television 52 is installed in another room, and the remote control devices 11 and 12 are arranged in each room. Hereinafter, although Embodiment 2 is demonstrated, it demonstrates centering around difference with Embodiment 1 mentioned above, and the description is abbreviate | omitted about the matter similar to Embodiment 1. FIG.

  In the server 40, information of each electric device 50 (air conditioner 51, television 52) that can be operated by each remote operation device 11, 12 is registered. When the user accesses the server 40 from the communication terminal 60 and inputs and transmits operation information of the target electric device 50, the operation information is the remote operation device in the room where the target electric device 50 is installed. 10 is configured to be transmitted. For example, when the user inputs the operation information of the air conditioner 51, the operation information is transmitted to the remote operation device 11. On the other hand, when the user inputs the operation information of the television 52, the operation information is transmitted to the remote operation device 12. Sent to. Therefore, even if the electric device 50 is installed in a plurality of rooms, the target electric device 50 can reliably receive the operation signal from the remote operation device 10, and the operation signal from the remote operation device 10 can be received. Problems that do not reach the target electrical device 50 can be prevented.

  In the first and second embodiments, the case where the air conditioner 51 and the television 52 are remotely controlled has been described as an example. In addition to the air conditioner 51 and the television 52, for example, when there is a video recorder (not shown) as the target electric device 50, the video recorder can be turned on to set recording reservation. In this case as well, the amount of power used changes as the video recorder turns from OFF to ON, so the video recorder operates normally by remote control by measuring the power consumption of the video recorder with an individual power meter. It can be confirmed whether or not.

  Here, if the operation state of the target electrical device 50 is not changed, such as when the target electrical device 50 cannot normally receive an operation signal from the remote control device 10, the power used by the target electrical device 50 is changed. The amount does not change substantially. Therefore, in the operation confirmation unit of the server 40, even if a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation information from the communication terminal 60 was transmitted to the remote operation device 10, the amount of power used by the target electric device 50 did not increase or decrease. In this case, it can be determined that the operation state of the target electric device 50 has not been changed to the operation corresponding to the operation information. That is, it can be confirmed that the target electrical device 50 did not operate normally by remote control.

  When infrared communication is used for short-range communication between the remote operation device 10 and the target electric device 50, an operation signal transmission unit (infrared light emitting unit) of the remote operation device 10 and an operation signal reception unit (infrared ray) of the electric device 50 are used. If the light receiving unit is not correctly facing, there is a possibility that the electric device 50 cannot normally receive the operation signal from the remote operation device 10. Therefore, in order to expand the transmission range of the operation signal from the remote operation device 10, for example, a wide-angle infrared light emitting unit may be used, or a plurality of infrared light emitting units may be provided so as to transmit the operation signal in all directions. .

<Embodiment 3>
In the remote control system for an electrical device according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the operation state of the target electrical device 50 is changed to an operation corresponding to the operation information from the communication terminal 60 based on the determination result in the operation check unit of the server 40. When it is determined that it is not performed (error determination), the remote control device 10 includes a retry command unit that requests the remote operation device 10 to retransmit the operation signal. For example, the server 40 can have the function of the retry command unit. The number of retries to be retransmitted can be set as appropriate, for example, two times. Further, the remote control device 10 is provided with a direction changing mechanism for automatically changing the direction of the infrared light emitting unit. When the remote control device 10 receives a signal requesting retransmission, the direction of the infrared light emitting unit is changed. Then, the operation signal may be retransmitted from the remote operation device 10. The direction of the infrared light emitting unit can be changed by rotating the infrared light emitting unit or changing the direction (posture) of the remote control device 10 itself by the direction changing mechanism.

  Hereinafter, the processing flow of the system according to the third embodiment having the retry command unit will be described with reference to FIG. 4, but mainly the differences from the processing flow of the system according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will be described. Description of the same matters as those in the first embodiment will be omitted. In this example, the server 40 has a retry command unit, and the number of retries is set to two. In addition, in order to make the explanation easy to understand, the case where the air conditioner 51 is remotely controlled will be described as in the operation example 1 of the first embodiment.

  From step A in which the communication terminal 60 accesses the server 40 and acquires the operation information of the air conditioner 51, the power consumption of the air conditioner 51 increases or decreases within a predetermined time after the operation information is transmitted to the remote operation device 10. The process up to step G for determining whether or not is common to the processing flow of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In this example, the retry command unit of the server 40 initializes (i = 0) a retry counter i that counts the number of retries at the timing of step B in which the operation information of the air conditioner 51 is input and transmitted from the communication terminal 60 ( Step H). If there is no increase / decrease in the power consumption of the air conditioner 51 in step G, after the retry counter i is incremented (step I), it is determined whether the retry counter i exceeds the set number of retries (two times). Determine (Step J). If the retry counter i is within the range of the number of retries, the server 40 requests the remote operation device 10 to retransmit the operation signal (step K), retransmits the operation signal from the remote operation device 10, and uses the electric energy. (Steps C to G). When the retry counter i exceeds the number of retries (2 times) without increasing or decreasing the power consumption of the air conditioner 51, the operation state of the air conditioner 51 is changed to an operation corresponding to the operation information without requesting retransmission. If not, it is determined (error determination).

  In addition, in Embodiments 1 and 2, since the total energy measuring device 24 that measures the amount of power used for the entire home or for each power line circuit is installed, for electrical equipment that does not use an outlet (eg, lighting), The operating state can be confirmed from the amount of power used. Specifically, since the used electric energy of illumination can be estimated from the difference between the used electric energy measured by the total electric energy measuring device 24 and the used electric energy of the individual electric energy measuring devices 21 to 23, The server 40 (operation check unit) can determine whether or not the operation state has been changed to an operation corresponding to the operation information from the communication terminal 60. That is, it can be confirmed whether or not the lighting has been normally operated by remote control.

  In the above-described embodiment, the server 40 is provided with functions of an information management unit, an operation confirmation unit, and a retry command unit. However, these functions can also be provided in the power amount collection device 30 itself. . In this case, the power amount collection device 30 receives the operation information from the communication terminal 60 via the communication network (Internet 80 or LAN) and transfers (transmits) the power amount collection device 30 to the remote control device 10. It is conceivable to configure.

  As described above, the remote control system for electrical equipment according to the present invention can confirm whether or not the target electrical equipment has been operated normally by remote control. In particular, when the short-range communication between the remote operation device and the target electric device is one-way communication, even if the target electric device does not know whether the operation signal from the remote operation device has been normally received, the The system is useful because it can confirm whether or not the target electrical device has operated normally.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The remote control system for electrical equipment according to the present invention can be used for confirming the operation of the electrical equipment when the electrical equipment is remotely controlled by a communication terminal.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 11, 12 Remote operation apparatus 20 Electric energy measuring device 21-23 Individual electric energy measuring device 24 Total electric energy measuring device 25 Power distribution panel 30 Electric energy collecting device 40 Server 50 Electric equipment 51 Air conditioner 52 Television 53 Refrigerator 60 Communication terminal 61 Smartphone 62 Notebook PC 63 Tablet PC
70 router 80 internet

Claims (5)

Operation of near field communication corresponding to the target electric device based on operation information via a communication network from a communication terminal with respect to one or more electric devices that can be remotely operated by an operation signal of near field communication A remote control device for transmitting signals;
An individual energy meter that individually measures the amount of power used by the electrical device;
An energy collection device that collects the used energy measured by the individual energy meter;
An information management unit for managing the operation information from the communication terminal and the used electric energy collected by the electric energy collecting device;
An operation for obtaining the operation information and the used electric energy from the information management unit, and determining whether or not the operation state of the target electric device is changed to an operation corresponding to the operation information from the used electric energy. A remote control system for an electrical device, comprising: a confirmation unit;   When it is determined from the determination result of the operation confirmation unit that the operation state of the electric device has not been changed to the operation according to the operation information from the communication terminal, the operation signal is retransmitted to the remote operation device. The remote control system for electric equipment according to claim 1, further comprising a retry command unit that requests transmission.   The remote operation system for an electric device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the remote operation device transmits the operation signal corresponding to each of the plurality of electric devices based on the operation information from the communication terminal.   The remote operation system for an electric device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the remote operation device is disposed in each room in which the electric device is installed.   The operation check unit may be configured to increase or decrease the amount of power used by the target electrical device within a predetermined time after the operation information from the communication terminal is transmitted to the remote operation device. 5. The remote operation system for an electric device according to claim 1, wherein the operation state is determined to be changed to an operation corresponding to the operation information.

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