JP2016063295A - Home equipment control device and remote control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user in a dwelling to grasp a situation in which a consumer electronic appliance is remote controlled, even when the appliance is remote controlled by a user outside the dwelling.SOLUTION: A home equipment control device 40 comprises: a remote control information receiver 41 for receiving remote control information relating to remote control; and a remote control information reporting unit 42 for giving notification that remote control is performed, when the remote control information receiver 41 receives the remote control information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-home equipment control device and a remote operation method, and more particularly, to an in-home equipment control device and a remote operation method capable of remotely operating home electrical appliances using a mobile terminal.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an energy management device, an energy management method, and an energy management system as operating home electric appliances in a house using a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a tablet. According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to display the operating state of the load device 16 on the communication terminal 11 and allow the user to grasp the operating state of the load device 16 on the communication terminal 11.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an information notification system. According to the technology described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to visualize the power consumption of the power consuming device used in the house H at the communication terminal, and to allow the user to grasp the power consumption of the power consuming device. .

JP 2014-050155 A JP 2013-102281 A

  By the way, according to the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, as described above, it is possible for the user outside the house to grasp the operating state of the load device at the communication terminal. When home appliances are operated remotely, notifications are not sent to users in the house.

  Thereby, in the technique of the said patent document 1 and 2, even if a user operates a household appliance remotely, there exists a subject that the user in a house cannot grasp | ascertain the condition.

  In this way, if the user in the house cannot know that it has been remotely controlled, both the user outside the house and the user in the house can operate the home appliance. Because there is a possibility of going, it puts an unnecessary load on home appliances.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an in-home equipment control device and a remote operation method that allow a user in a house to grasp the situation even if the user remotely operates a home appliance with a communication terminal. Is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, an in-home equipment control apparatus according to the present invention receives remote operation information received by the remote operation information receiving means for receiving remote operation information related to remote operation, and the remote operation information receiving means. The remote operation information notifying means for notifying that the remote operation has been performed.

  In order to achieve the above object, a remote operation method according to the present invention receives remote operation information related to a remote operation and, when receiving the remote operation information, notifies that a remote operation has been performed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if a user remote-controls household appliances with a communication terminal, the user in a house can grasp | ascertain the condition.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the household equipment control apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment (1st Embodiment) of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the process performed by the household equipment control apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment (1st Embodiment) of this invention. It is a system block diagram which shows typically the system configuration | structure of the remote control system which concerns on other embodiment (2nd Embodiment) of this invention. It is an internal block diagram which shows the internal structure of the portable terminal which concerns on other embodiment (2nd Embodiment) of this invention. It is an internal block diagram which shows the internal structure of the control server which concerns on other embodiment (2nd Embodiment) of this invention. It is an internal block diagram which shows the internal structure of the HEMS controller which concerns on other embodiment (2nd Embodiment) of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the process performed by the portable terminal which concerns on other embodiment (2nd Embodiment) of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the control instruction displayed on a display part. It is a figure which shows an example of the control instruction | indication content transmitted to a control server from a portable terminal. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the process performed by the control server which concerns on other embodiment (2nd Embodiment) of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart of the process performed by the HEMS controller which concerns on other embodiment (2nd Embodiment) of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the control instruction | indication content displayed on LCD of a HEMS controller. It is a figure which shows the other example of the flowchart of the process performed by the HEMS controller which concerns on other embodiment (2nd Embodiment) of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
An embodiment (first embodiment) of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. First, the configuration of the in-home equipment control device 40 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a home facility control device 40 according to the present embodiment (first embodiment).

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the in-home equipment control device 40 of the present embodiment includes a remote operation information receiving unit (remote operation information receiving unit) 41 and a remote operation information notification unit (remote operation information notification unit) 42. ing.

  The remote operation information receiving unit 41 performs processing for receiving remote operation information related to remote operation. When the remote operation information receiving unit 41 receives the remote operation information, the remote operation information notification unit 42 performs a process of notifying that the remote operation has been performed.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, for example, even if a user outside the home remotely operates the home appliance with the mobile terminal, the user inside the home can grasp the situation.

  In the present embodiment, the user outside the house has remotely operated the home appliance with the mobile terminal. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the user inside the home can use the mobile terminal with the home appliance. Similarly, when the user is remotely controlled, other users in the house can grasp the situation.

(Remote operation method)
Next, the process to be executed by the in-home equipment control device 40 according to the present embodiment will be described using FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flowchart to be executed by the in-home equipment control device 40 of the present embodiment (second embodiment).

  In step S1, the in-home equipment control device 40 performs remote operation information reception processing. In this process, the in-home equipment control device 40 performs a process of receiving information related to the remote operation.

  In step S2, the in-home equipment control device 40 performs a remote operation information notification process. In this process, the in-home equipment control device 40 performs a process of notifying that a remote operation has been performed.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, for example, even if a user outside the home remotely operates the home appliance using the communication terminal, the user inside the home can grasp the situation.

(Second Embodiment)
Another embodiment (second embodiment) of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the system configuration of the remote control system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram schematically showing the system configuration of the remote control system according to the present embodiment (second embodiment).

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the remote operation system according to the present embodiment includes a mobile terminal 101, a control server 102, an HGW 103, a HEMS controller (home equipment control device) 104, and a home appliance 105. HGW is an abbreviation of Home GateWay. HEMS is an abbreviation for Home Energy Management System.

  In the present embodiment, the portable terminal 101 and the control server 102 can communicate with each other via the Internet, for example, HTTP. Note that HTTP is an abbreviation for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Further, the control server 102 and the HEMS controller 104 can communicate with each other via the HGW 103 via the Internet, for example, an HTTP connection. Further, the HEMS controller 104 and the home appliances 105 a and 105 b can communicate with each other via a home network such as a LAN via the HGW 103. The home appliance 105 enables control according to a standard such as ECHONET Lite, for example. In the present embodiment, the HEMS controller 104 includes an LCD that displays control instruction contents from the mobile terminal 101. Note that LAN is an abbreviation of Local Area Network. The LCD is an abbreviation for Liquid Crystal Display.

  Specific descriptions of the portable terminal 101, the control server 102, and the HEMS controller 104 will be described later with reference to FIGS. The HGW 103 bridges the public line network and the home network. The home appliances 105a and 105b are home appliances installed in the house. In addition, since these HGW103 and the household appliances 105 are well-known techniques, it abbreviate | omits about specific description.

(Configuration of mobile terminal 101)
Next, the configuration of the mobile terminal 101 of the present embodiment will be described using FIG. FIG. 4 is an internal configuration diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the mobile terminal 101 according to the present embodiment (second embodiment).

  The mobile terminal 101 is a terminal such as a mobile phone or a tablet. As illustrated in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 101 is provided with a display unit 201 that displays application software or the like for performing a control instruction to a home appliance 105 described later installed in the house. ing.

  In addition, the portable terminal 101 is provided with an input unit 202 for a user to give a control instruction for the home appliance 105 installed in the house by application software.

  In addition, the mobile terminal 101 is provided with a data conversion unit 203 that converts a control instruction input by the input unit 202 into a data format that can be received by the control server 102. Further, the mobile terminal 101 is provided with a communication unit 204 for transmitting the control instruction converted by the data conversion unit 203 to the control server 102 and a control unit 205 for controlling each part of the mobile terminal 101. Yes.

(Configuration of control server 102)
Next, the configuration of the control server 102 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an internal configuration diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the control server 102 according to the present embodiment (second embodiment).

  The control server 102 is a server that accumulates control instructions to the home appliance 105 received from the mobile terminal 101. In the present embodiment, the control server 102 is provided with a data storage unit 301 for accumulating control instructions from the mobile terminal 101.

  Further, the control server 102 receives a control instruction from the mobile terminal 101 and transmits a control instruction stored in the data storage unit 301 to the HEMS controller (home equipment control device) 104 via the HGW 103. 302 is provided. The control server 102 is provided with a control unit 303 for controlling each part of the control server 102.

(HEMS controller 104)
Next, the configuration of the HEMS controller 104 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an internal configuration diagram showing an internal configuration of the HEMS controller 104 according to the present embodiment (second embodiment).

  The HEMS controller 104 receives a control instruction from the control server 102 and controls the home appliance 105 installed in the house according to the content of the received control instruction.

  In the present embodiment, the HEMS controller 104 is provided with an analysis unit 401 that analyzes a request received from the control server 102, as illustrated in FIG. Further, on the HEMS controller 104, based on the analysis result analyzed by the analysis unit 401, a display for visually displaying the details of the control instruction from the portable terminal 101 in a form that can be recognized by a person in the house. A part 402 is provided.

  Further, the HEMS controller 104 is provided with a buzzer sounding unit 403 for notifying a person in the house that a control instruction has been issued from the portable terminal 101 by a buzzer sounding. Further, the HEMS controller 104 is provided with a data conversion unit 404 for converting the control instruction received from the control server 102 into a format that can be recognized by the home appliance 105.

  In addition, the HEMS controller 104 receives a control instruction for the home appliance 105 stored in the control server 102 via the HGW 103 via the network, and a communication unit 405 for transmitting the control instruction to the home appliance 105 via the network. Is provided. The HEMS controller 104 is provided with a control unit 406 for controlling each part of the HEMS controller 104.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, when a remote operation from the portable terminal 101 to the home appliance 105 is performed, the HEMS controller 104 notifies that fact.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the home appliance 105 is remotely operated from the portable terminal 101, the user in the house can grasp the situation.

(Mobile device processing)
Next, processing to be executed by the mobile terminal 101 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of processing executed by the mobile terminal 101 according to the present embodiment (second embodiment). FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of control instruction content displayed on the display unit 201. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of control instruction content transmitted from the mobile terminal 101 to the control server 102.

  In this processing, processing is performed until the user transmits the control instruction content of the home appliance 105 from the mobile terminal 101 to the control server 102 using the mobile terminal 101.

  In step S601, the mobile terminal 101 performs a process of displaying a screen for inputting the control instruction content of the home appliance 105 on the display unit 201 of the mobile terminal 101 (see FIG. 8). In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the display unit 201 displays ON / OFF, the operation mode, and the set temperature of the home appliance 105.

  In step S602, the user operates the input unit 202 to input the control instruction content to the home appliance 105 (see FIG. 8). In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the home appliance 105 is turned on / off, the operation mode is heating, and the set temperature is 25 ° C.

  In step S603, the portable terminal 101 converts the content of the control instruction to the home appliance 105 input in step S602 into a format that can be identified by the control server 102 (see FIG. 9). In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the device name of the home appliance 105 to be controlled, the MAC address of the home appliance 105, the set temperature = 25 ° C., the operation mode = heating, and ON / OFF = ON.

  In step S <b> 604, the mobile terminal 101 performs processing for transmitting the control instruction content converted in step S <b> 603 to the control server 102 through the communication unit 204.

(Control server processing)
Next, processing executed by the control server 102 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of processing executed by the control server 102 according to the present embodiment (second embodiment).

  In this process, the control server 102 receives the control instruction content from the portable terminal 101, and the control server 102 transmits the control instruction content to the HEMS controller 104.

  In step S <b> 801, the control server 102 performs a process of accumulating the control instruction content received from the mobile terminal 101 in the communication unit 303 in the data storage unit 301.

  In step S <b> 802, the control server 102 determines whether the control instruction content has been accumulated in the data storage unit 301. In this process, if the control server 102 determines that the control instruction content has already been stored in the data storage unit 301, the process proceeds to step S803. On the other hand, in this process, if the control server 102 determines that the control instruction content has not been stored in the data storage unit 301, the current process is terminated.

  In step S <b> 803, if it is determined in step S <b> 802 that the control instruction content has already been stored in the data storage unit 301, the control server 102 performs processing for acquiring the control instruction content from the data storage unit 301.

  In step S804, the control server 102 performs processing for transmitting the control instruction content acquired in step S803 to the HEMS controller 104.

(HEMS controller processing)
Next, processing executed by the HEMS controller 104 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13. In this process, a process is performed until the HEMS controller 104 receives the control instruction content from the control server 102, displays the control instruction content on the LCD, and controls the home appliance 105.

  First, an example of processing to be executed by the HEMS controller 104 described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart illustrating processing to be executed by the HEMS controller 104 according to the present embodiment (second embodiment). FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of control instruction content displayed on the LCD of the HEMS controller 104.

  In step S <b> 901, the HEMS controller 104 determines whether a control instruction content has been received from the control server 102. In this process, if the HEMS controller 104 determines that the control instruction content has been received from the control server 102, the process proceeds to step S902. On the other hand, in this process, if the HEMS controller 104 determines that the control instruction content has not been received from the control server 102, the current process is terminated.

  In step S902, if the HEMS controller 104 determines that the control instruction content has been received in step S901, the HEMS controller 104 performs processing for displaying the control instruction content on the LCD (see FIG. 12). Note that, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the LCD displays the device name of the home appliance 105 to be controlled, the MAC address of the home appliance 105, ON / OFF, the operation mode, the set temperature, and the date and time.

  Thus, in this embodiment, when it is determined that the control instruction content has been received, the control instruction content is displayed on the LCD. That is, in this embodiment, when remote operation from the portable terminal 101 to the home appliance 105 is performed, it can be said that the HEMS controller 104 notifies that fact.

  In step S <b> 903, the HEMS controller 104 performs processing to convert the control instruction content received from the control server 102 into a format that can be recognized by the home appliance 105. In this embodiment, it is converted into the control message format of ECHONET Lite.

  In step S904, the HEMS controller 104 performs processing for transmitting the control instruction content converted in step S903 to the home appliance 105.

  Thus, in this embodiment, when remote operation from the portable terminal 101 to the home appliance 105 is performed in step S902, the HEMS controller 104 notifies that fact.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the home appliance 105 is remotely operated from the portable terminal 101, the user in the house can grasp the situation.

  Next, another example of the process executed by the HEMS controller 104 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of a flowchart of processing executed by the HEMS controller 104 of the present embodiment (second embodiment).

  In addition, in this example, the point that the buzzer sounding unit 403 is used to notify the person in the house that the home appliance 105 has been remotely operated from the portable terminal 101 is different in that it is notified by voice. The point is similar.

  In this process, as described above, when the home appliance 105 is remotely operated from the portable terminal 101, the process until the HEMS controller 104 receives the control instruction content and causes the buzzer sounding unit 403 to sound is performed.

  In step S <b> 1101, the HEMS controller 104 determines whether the control instruction content has been received from the control server 102. In this process, if the HEMS controller 104 determines that the control instruction content has been received, the process proceeds to step S1102. On the other hand, in this process, if the HEMS controller 104 determines that the control instruction content has not been received, the current process ends.

  If the HEMS controller 104 determines in step S1102 that the control instruction content has been received in step S1101, the buzzer sounding unit 403 performs processing to output a sound.

  In step S <b> 1103, the HEMS controller 104 performs processing for converting the control instruction content received from the control server 102 into a format that can be identified by the home appliance 105. In the present embodiment as well, as in the second embodiment described above, the control message format is converted to ECHONET Lite.

  In step S1104, the HEMS controller 104 performs processing for transmitting the control instruction content converted in step S1103 to the home appliance 105.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, when a remote operation from the portable terminal 101 to the home appliance 105 is performed, the HEMS controller 104 notifies that fact.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the home appliance 105 is remotely operated from the portable terminal 101, the user in the house can grasp the situation.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the notification is made by voice as a notification means for notifying the remote operation from the portable terminal 101 to the home appliance 105. Thereby, in this embodiment, even if it is away from the HEMS controller 104, for example, the situation can be grasped.

  As described above, the remote operation system according to the present embodiment includes the mobile terminal 101, the control server 102, the HGW 103, the HEMS controller 104, and the home appliance 105, but is not limited thereto. A human sensor may be provided in the house.

  In this case, when the presence sensor detects that there is a person in the house, the presence sensor may notify the control server 102 of the fact. Then, the control server 102 may notify the portable terminal 101 that there is a person in the house.

  As a result, the user who has the mobile terminal 101 can grasp that there is a person in the house, and can suppress, for example, inadvertent remote operation from the mobile terminal 101. become.

  In this case, even if a remote operation is performed from the mobile terminal 101, the control server 102 may not transmit the fact to the HEMS controller 104. That is, when there are people in the house, it is preferable to prohibit the remote operation from the mobile terminal 101. Thereby, for example, it is possible to suppress competition for operation on the home appliance 105 between a person outside the house and a person inside the house.

40 In-home equipment control device 41 Remote operation information receiving unit 42 Remote operation information notifying unit

Claims (6)

Remote operation information receiving means for receiving remote operation information related to remote operation;
A home equipment control device comprising: remote operation information notifying means for notifying that a remote operation has been performed when the remote operation information is received by the remote operation information receiving means. The remote operation information notifying means comprises a display means that can be visually recognized by a person at home.
The in-home equipment control device according to claim 1, wherein when the remote operation information is received by the remote operation information receiving means, a message indicating that a remote operation has been performed is displayed on the display means. The remote operation information notifying means includes a voice output means that can be viewed by a person at home.
The in-home equipment control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the remote operation information is received by the remote operation information receiving means, a voice is output by the voice output means that the remote operation has been performed. Receive remote operation information related to remote operation,
A remote operation method for notifying that a remote operation has been performed when the remote operation information is received.   5. The remote operation method according to claim 4, wherein the remote operation is displayed on a display means visible to a person at home.   6. The remote operation method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein a sound is output by a sound output means that can be viewed by a person at home, indicating that the remote operation has been performed.

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