JP2017077060A - Electric equipment management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric equipment management system capable of appropriately managing electricity charges based on power consumption by specific electric equipment applied with a discount.SOLUTION: An electric equipment management system comprises: a watthour meter which measures power consumption of electric equipment; a reading device which reads the ID assigned to the electric equipment; an association device which associates IDs with power consumption; and an information processing device which calculates an electricity charge on the basis of power consumption. The information processing device comprises: a storage unit which stores discount data including the information indicating the IDs to which an electricity charge discount is applied; a determination unit which determines whether electricity charge discount application conditions are satisfied per ID; and a calculation unit which applies a discount rate to the electricity charge corresponding to the power consumption associated with the ID for which the determination unit determined that the conditions are satisfied and cancels application of a discount rate to the electricity charge corresponding to the power consumption associated with the ID for which the determination unit determined that the conditions are not satisfied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical equipment management system.

  When applying a discount on electricity charges for power consumption by a specific electrical device (hereinafter, “specific device”), it is necessary to grasp the power consumption of each electrical device. As a method for grasping the power consumption amount of each electric device, a method of calculating the power consumption amount for each electric device from the usage status of each electric device is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 5078585

  However, the method described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to accurately grasp the amount of power consumption because it is impossible to specifically grasp fluctuations in power consumption during use of an electric device.

  In addition, there may be conditions associated with discounting electricity charges. As such conditions, for example, a user using a specific device performs an activity such as a questionnaire response, and a company (for example, an electric power company) that collects an electricity bill has a manufacturing company or a sales company of the specific device. For example, the company pays expenses to compensate for the discounted electricity bill. When such a condition is not satisfied, the application of the discount to the specific device is canceled, but it has been difficult to manage whether or not the discount according to such a condition is managed by the conventional method.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electric equipment management system that can more appropriately manage an electricity bill based on the amount of power consumed by a specific electric equipment to which a discount is applied.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an electrical equipment management system according to the present invention includes a watt-hour meter that measures the power consumption of the electrical equipment, and a reading device that reads a unique ID assigned to the electrical equipment. An association device that associates the ID read by the reading device with the power consumption measured by the watt hour meter, and an information processing device that calculates an electricity bill based on the power consumption measured by the watt hour meter The information processing apparatus includes: a storage unit that stores discount data including information indicating an ID to which an electricity price discount is applied; and whether or not a condition for applying the electricity price discount is satisfied. Electricity charges by applying a predetermined discount rate or discount amount to the electricity charges corresponding to the power consumption associated with the ID determined to satisfy the condition for applying the discount and the determination unit to be determined every time Calculate Then, the application of the predetermined discount rate or discount amount to the electricity charge corresponding to the power consumption associated with the ID determined that the condition for applying the discount is not satisfied is calculated to calculate the electricity charge And a calculation unit.

  As a desirable mode of the present invention, the ID is assigned by fixing an external ID holding unit to an electric device not having the ID.

  As a desirable aspect of the present invention, a distribution device that distributes data to an electric device is provided, the distribution device communicating with an electric device, association data that associates the distribution data, the ID, and the distribution data. And a distribution unit that distributes the distribution data associated with the ID assigned to the electronic device to the electronic device.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electricity bill based on the power consumption by the specific electric equipment to which a discount is applied can be managed more appropriately.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main configuration of an electrical equipment management system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of discount data stored in a storage device included in the storage unit. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing related to calculation of an electricity bill. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a main configuration of an electrical equipment management system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of association data between a device ID and distribution data. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing related to data distribution. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of discount data. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating another example of discount data. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the flow of processing related to the calculation of the electricity bill.

(Embodiment 1)
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main configuration of an electrical equipment management system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The electrical equipment management system includes a watt-hour meter 10, a reading device 20, a smart meter 30, an information processing device 40, and the like. Among these, the configuration excluding the information processing apparatus 40 is provided in a facility where the electric power company has concluded a contract relating to power supply, for example, a house of a general household, a facility of a company, or the like. The information processing apparatus 40 is provided, for example, in a power company facility. The electric equipment management system functions as an electric power charge processing system that performs processing related to calculation of an electric charge based on the power consumption of the electric equipment.

  The watt-hour meter 10 integrates and measures the power consumption by the electric device D connected to the specific outlet C. When there are a plurality of outlets C, the watt-hour meter 10 is provided for each outlet C. More specifically, the watt-hour meter 10 is an electronic watt-hour meter 10 associated with, for example, an outlet ID, and outputs data indicating the measured power consumption amount to the smart meter 30.

  The reading device 20 reads the unique ID assigned to the electric device. Specifically, the reading device 20 is provided in, for example, the outlet C, and acquires an ID of the operating electrical device D connected to the outlet C. The specific configuration of the reading device 20 depends on the ID holding method. For example, the reading device 20 has a network communication function, and receives an ID transmitted from a configuration for performing communication provided in the electrical device D, and acquires the ID. Specifically, for example, the reading device is a reading device for a non-contact type IC chip, and reads the ID from a non-contact type IC chip provided in the vicinity of the plug P of the electric device D and recorded with an ID. . Here, the operation timing of the reading device may be a timing at which the plug P of the electric device D is inserted into the outlet C where the reading device is provided. In this case, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the reading apparatus randomly acquires the ID of another electrical device D in the vicinity. An electrical device that does not have an ID can also be connected to the outlet C. In that case, reading of the ID by the reading device 20 is not established.

  The ID may be assigned by fixing an external ID holding unit to an electric device that does not have an ID. For example, the ID holding unit is provided as a fixed adapter A that is attached to the plug P of the electric device E that does not have an ID. The adapter A includes a configuration (for example, a non-contact type IC chip) that holds an ID by a mechanism similar to that of the electric device D having the ID. For example, the adapter A is electrically connected to the plugged portion into which the plug plug P is inserted and the plug plug P inserted into the plugged portion, similarly to the conversion plug or extension cord of the so-called plug plug P. And a plug part to be inserted into the plug receiver. After the insertion plug P of the electric device E is inserted into the insertion portion, the adapter A is fixed by a method that does not cancel the connection between the insertion portion and the insertion plug P. This method is, for example, a method in which the adapter A is made unremovable from the insertion plug P by a method in which a screw thread is crushed after being fixed using a screw.

  The specific mechanism relating to the assignment of the ID to the electric device D and the reading of the ID by the reading device can be changed as appropriate. For example, a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card of a mobile communication system can be attached to the electric device D, and the ID recorded in the SIM may be read by the reading device. Further, the reader 20 may acquire the ID by performing communication by PLC (Power Line Communication) or other methods between the electric device D and the adapter A. Note that the IDs of the electric devices D and E may be “000001” and “000003”, for example, but this is an example and the present invention is not limited to this.

  The smart meter 30 transmits information indicating the power consumption measured by the watt hour meter 10 to the information processing apparatus 40. The smart meter 30 includes the power consumption measured by the watt hour meter 10, the outlet ID of the outlet C provided with the watt hour meter 10, and the IDs of the electric devices D and E connected to the outlet C. The associated data (hereinafter “consumption data”) is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 40. As described above, the smart meter 30 according to the present embodiment functions as an associating device that associates the ID read by the reading device 20 with the power consumption measured by the watt hour meter 10. When the outlet C and the watt hour meter 10 are one, the watt hour meter 10 and the smart meter 30 may be integrated into one device.

  The information processing apparatus 40 is a computer including a calculation unit 41, a storage unit 42 (first storage unit), a communication unit 43, and the like. The information processing apparatus 40 calculates an electricity bill based on consumption data transmitted from the smart meter 30. The calculation unit 41 includes, for example, a CPU, reads out a software program corresponding to the processing content from the storage unit 42, and executes the software program. The storage unit 42 includes, for example, a RAM, a ROM, and other rewritable storage devices (for example, an HDD, a flash memory, etc.), and stores software programs and data used for processing of the calculation unit 41. The communication unit 43 includes a communication device for communicating with the smart meter 30, receives consumption data, and passes it to the calculation unit 41.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of discount data 42 a stored in the storage device included in the storage unit 42. The discount data 42a is data that associates parameters such as an ID, a discount rate, a discount condition, a conditional performance deadline, and a conditional performance status. Hereinafter, the discount rate associated with one ID in the discount data 42a, the condition for discount, the condition performance deadline, the condition performance status, etc. will be referred to as “record”.
The discount rate indicates a discount rate of the electricity charge applied to the power consumption by the electric devices D and E having the associated ID. The discount rate is represented by a value (0 to 100) indicating a percentage, for example. As described above, the discount data 42a includes information indicating an ID to which a discount on the electricity charge is applied. The electric devices D and E having an ID whose discount application is “0” are electric devices to which no discount is applied, such as an electric device for which the discount period of the electric charge has ended.

  The discount condition is a character string indicating a condition for applying a discount on the electricity charge. The data indicating the discount condition is a character string recorded for the administrator of the information processing apparatus 40 to grasp the condition, and is not necessarily required for processing by the information processing apparatus 40.

  The condition performance deadline indicates the performance deadline of the discount condition. The condition fulfillment status indicates whether or not a discount condition has been fulfilled. If the terms of the discount are fulfilled, the date of fulfillment is recorded in the fulfillment status. The method for recording the condition fulfillment status is arbitrary. For example, the administrator of the information processing apparatus 40 may manually input the condition fulfillment status via an input device (for example, a keyboard), or the condition fulfillment status is automatically linked with another system that is separately constructed. May be recorded. As another system, for example, a transaction system between manufacturers of electric devices D and E to which a discount is applied can be cited. In this case, in the transaction system, when the payment of the discount allowance from the manufacturer is confirmed, the condition fulfillment status is updated. If the discount conditions are not fulfilled, the fulfillment status is not recorded (null).

  The calculation unit 41 of the information processing apparatus 40 reads out the discount data 42a and the software program for calculating the electricity bill using the discount data 42a as shown in FIG. Calculate the fee.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing related to calculation of an electricity bill. When consumption data is received via the communication unit 43 (step S1), the calculation unit 41 reads a record including an ID included in the consumption data (step S2). The computing unit 41 calculates an electricity bill by applying a normal electricity bill to the power consumption indicated by the consumption data received in step S1 (step S3). Data indicating a normal electricity bill is stored in the storage unit 42 in advance.

  The calculation unit 41 determines whether or not the discount rate in the read record is “0” (step S4). When it is determined that the discount rate is not “0” (step S4: No), the calculation unit 41 determines whether or not the condition fulfillment status of the record read in step S2 is recorded (step S5). When it is determined that the condition fulfillment status of the record is recorded (step S5: Yes), the calculation unit 41 calculates the discount rate of the record read in step S2 with respect to the electricity rate calculated by the process of step S3. Apply (step S6) and fix the electricity bill (step S7). Data indicating the confirmed electricity bill is output to, for example, a bill collection system (not shown) and used for processing related to collection of the electricity bill.

  If it is determined in step S4 that the discount rate is “0” (step S4: Yes), or if it is determined in step S5 that the condition fulfillment status of the record is not recorded (step S5: No) ), The process proceeds to step S7. That is, in these cases, the electricity charge is not discounted. That is, the calculation unit 41 cancels the application of the discount in these cases.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, the calculation of the electricity charge according to the power consumption amount of the electric devices D and E to which the ID is assigned is noted, but the power consumption amount of the electric device to which the ID is not assigned. The calculation unit calculates a normal electricity bill.

  As described above, the calculation unit 41 of the information processing apparatus 40 according to the present embodiment serves as the determination unit 41a that determines whether or not the condition for applying the discount for each ID is satisfied based on whether or not the condition fulfillment status is recorded. Function. In addition, the calculation unit 41 functions as a calculation unit 41b that calculates an electricity bill based on the power consumption measured by the watt-hour meter 10, and corresponds to an ID that is determined to satisfy a condition for applying a discount. The electricity charge is calculated by applying a predetermined discount rate to the electricity charge according to the attached electricity consumption, and the electricity consumption associated with the ID determined that the condition for applying the discount is not satisfied The application of a predetermined discount rate for the corresponding electricity charge is canceled and the electricity charge is calculated. The predetermined discount rate in the present embodiment is a discount rate associated with the ID in the discount data 42a, but may be a predetermined discount rate.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the determination unit 41a determines, for each ID, whether or not the condition for applying the discount on the electricity charge is satisfied. In addition, the calculation unit 41b applies a predetermined discount rate or discount amount to the electricity rate corresponding to the power consumption associated with the ID determined to satisfy the condition for applying the discount to obtain the electricity rate. Calculate and calculate the electricity bill by canceling the application of a predetermined discount rate or discount amount to the electricity bill corresponding to the power consumption associated with the ID determined that the condition for applying the discount is not satisfied . As a result, it is possible to more appropriately manage the electricity bill based on the amount of power consumed by the specific electrical device to which the discount is applied.

  Further, by assigning an external ID holding unit to an electric device E that does not have an ID, an ID can be included in the discount even if the electric device E does not have an ID. become able to. Therefore, since the conditions of the electric equipment required for introducing the service for discounting the electric charge can be relaxed, it becomes easier to increase the number of electric apparatuses to which the discount of the electric charge can be applied.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a main configuration of an electrical equipment management system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The electrical device management system may include a distribution device 50 that distributes data to the electrical devices D and E. The distribution device 50 may be the same device as the information processing device 40, or may be an independent information processing device as shown in FIG.

  The distribution device 50 determines whether or not to distribute data based on the ID. Specifically, like the information processing apparatus 40, the distribution apparatus 50 is a computer including a storage unit, a calculation unit, a communication unit, and the like. The distribution device 50 is different from the information processing device 40 in the software program and data held by the storage unit and the processing content performed by the calculation unit. In other respects, the calculation unit 51, the storage unit 52 (second storage unit), and the communication unit 53 included in the distribution device 50 have the same configuration as the calculation unit 41, the storage unit 42, and the communication unit 43 of the information processing device 40. It is. Hereinafter, data distributed by the distribution device 50 may be referred to as distribution data 52a. The distribution data 52a is not limited to one data, but can be a generic name for one or a plurality of data distributed to a plurality of electronic devices assigned different IDs.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of association data 52b between the device ID and the distribution data 52a. The storage unit 52 stores distribution data 52a (eg, “data α”, “data β”, etc.) and association data 52b that associates the ID of the electronic device with the distribution data 52a. “Data α” and “Data β” are, for example, software programs (firmware and the like) related to the operation of the electric devices D and E, but the data distributed to the electric devices D and E is not limited to this. These can be changed as appropriate. For example, the distribution data 52a may be data including information to be displayed on a display output unit included in the electric devices D and E.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing related to data distribution. The computing unit 51 of the distribution device 50 uses the IDs of the electric devices D and E as information related to authentication, and establishes communication with the electric devices D and E to which the IDs are assigned (step S11). The computing unit 51 reads the distribution data 52a associated with the IDs of the electric devices D and E with which communication has been established from the storage unit 52, and distributes the distribution data 52a to the electric devices D and E (step S12). The electric devices D and E that have received the distribution data 52a perform processing according to information included in the distribution data 52a. For example, when the distribution data 52a is a software program related to the operation of the electric devices D and E, the software distributed by operating the configuration (electronic circuit or the like) of the electric devices D and E related to the update of the software program -Update the software program using the program. As described above, the calculation unit 51 of the distribution device 50 functions as the distribution unit 51a that distributes the distribution data 52a associated with the ID assigned to the electronic device to the electronic device.

  A part of or all of the operations of the electric devices D and E to which the IDs are assigned, in the same manner as the processing related to the distribution of data such as software programs related to the operations of the electric devices D and E. You may enable it to control from the processing apparatus side. In this case, the distribution data 52a is data including a command (command) related to the operation of the electric devices D and E.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the ID used for the discount of the electricity charge can be used for more various purposes.

  The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the technical features of the present invention. For example, although the discount rate is applied in the first embodiment, the discount may be applied by applying a fixed discount amount that is not affected by the power consumption.

  In addition, when the cancellation of the discount due to the absence of the record of the condition fulfillment status, that is, the cancellation of the discount due to the non-performance of the condition, the reason for the cancellation of the discount (non-performance of the condition) is notified to the user who pays the electricity bill Output may be performed. Such output is included in the output contents of the slip in the above fee collection system, for example. The output of the slip is, for example, by the slip print output by the slip output terminal 60 (see FIG. 4) having the communication unit 61 and the slip output unit 62. Further, when a discount is applied, an output for explicitly notifying the user that the discount has been applied may be performed.

  Moreover, you may make it perform the output for notifying that the conditions are not fulfilled with respect to the person or group which should fulfill the conditions. Such output is performed by e-mail or the like, for example. In this case, information for notification, such as an e-mail address of a notification destination, may be included in the discount data 42a.

  Further, the presence / absence of power consumption by the electric devices D and E to which the IDs are assigned may be used for safety confirmation and security of the user who uses the electric devices D and E. Specifically, when the power consumption by the electric devices D and E to which the ID is assigned is confirmed, or when the power consumption is not confirmed for a predetermined period or more, an e-mail or the like is sent to a predetermined notification destination. Notification may be performed. Thereby, it is possible to confirm the safety of the user who uses the electric devices D and E by the method of whether or not the evidence of using the electric devices D and E is confirmed. In this case, the charge related to the service may be collected by taking a measure such as adding a service charge to the electric charge substantially with a negative discount rate.

  7 and 8 are diagrams showing another example of the discount data 42a. The electrical equipment management system may tentatively apply a discount regardless of whether or not the condition fulfillment status is recorded until the condition fulfillment deadline expires. In addition, if the number of days remaining until the condition fulfillment deadline is less than the specified number of days, or if the condition fulfillment deadline has passed, etc., and the condition has not yet been fulfilled, the condition fulfillment for the person or group that should fulfill the condition You may make it perform the notification which prompts. In addition, when conditions are not fulfilled after provisional discounts, past discounts may be added to the calculation of the subsequent electricity charges. The “provisional application” record in the example illustrated in FIG. 7 indicates whether or not to apply such provisional processing. In FIG. 7, binary (1 or 0) is used for an item to which only one of two options is applied, such as the provisional application, but this is merely an example of a specific value of the record. It is not limited and can be changed as appropriate.

  In addition, when the discount application period is determined as shown in the “application period” record in the example illustrated in FIG. 7, data indicating the application period may be included in the discount data 42 a. In this case, the calculation unit 41 cancels the discount for the electricity charge of the ID that is out of the applicable period when calculating the electricity charge.

  In addition, processing such as payment of a fee or the like to a person or group that has collaborated when discounting the electricity bill, and notification associated with the payment may be performed together with the calculation processing of the electricity bill. Such fees, etc. are, for example, fees associated with mediation of contracts related to power supply. In the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 7, the “collaboration” record indicates identification information assigned to the person or group that performed the collaboration. In addition, a record such as “commission” indicates the payment amount. The “notification destination” record indicates information (for example, an e-mail address) used for the notification.

  In addition, it may be determined whether or not a condition for applying a discount on the electric charge is satisfied based on whether or not the power consumption amount per unit time is within an allowable range. In this case, the condition for applying the discount includes information indicating an allowable range of the power consumption per predetermined unit time. Specifically, for example, the record of “allowable range” in the example shown in FIG. 8 indicates the allowable range of power consumption per predetermined unit time. The watt-hour meter has a function of measuring the amount of power consumption per unit time. Specifically, the watt-hour meter has a configuration capable of measuring time or time, such as a clock circuit, and measures power consumption per unit time. In addition, the determination unit determines whether or not a condition for applying a discount for the electricity rate is satisfied based on whether or not the power consumption per unit time measured by the watt-hour meter is within an allowable range. .

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the flow of processing related to the calculation of the electricity bill. Of the processes shown in FIG. 9, processes similar to those shown in FIG. 3 may be assigned the same step numbers and description thereof may be omitted. The calculation unit 41 further determines the amount of power consumption per unit time measured by the watt-hour meter as a determination as to whether or not to apply the discount (step S6) after the normal calculation of the electricity bill (step S3). Is checked whether it is within the allowable range (step S21). Specifically, the consumption data received in step S1 in FIG. 9 includes information indicating the power consumption per unit time. In the processing of step S21, the calculation unit 41 indicates the combination of the power consumption amount per unit time and the ID included in the consumption data in the record of the ID and the “allowable range” (see FIG. 8) in the discount data 42a. It is determined whether or not the combination with the power consumption per unit time is appropriate. If it is determined to be appropriate (step S21: Yes) and if the determination conditions of steps S4 and S5 are also satisfied (step S4, step S5: Yes), a discount is applied (step S6). If it is determined that it is not appropriate (step S21: No), no discount is applied.

  The determination based on the power consumption per unit time can reduce the possibility that the IDs of the electric devices D and E are illegally diverted to other electric devices. For example, by setting the power consumption range in consideration of the upper limit of the power consumption that is considered to be consumed by the electric devices D and E to which the ID is assigned to the unit time as the allowable range of the power consumption per unit time. When the ID is illegally diverted to other electric devices, the diversion can be detected by the deviation of the power consumption per unit time. Thereby, it is possible to suppress application of an inappropriate discount due to unauthorized use of ID.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electricity meter 20 Reading apparatus 30 Smart meter 40 Information processing apparatus 41,51 Calculation part 41a Determination part 41b Calculation part 42,52 Storage part 42a Discount data 43,53,61 Communication part 50 Distribution apparatus 51a Distribution part 52a Distribution data 52b Association data 60 Slip output terminal 62 Slip output part A Adapter C Outlet D, E Electrical equipment P Plug plug

Claims (3)

A watt-hour meter for measuring the power consumption of electrical equipment;
A reading device that reads a unique ID assigned to an electrical device;
An associating device that associates the ID read by the reading device with the power consumption measured by the watt-hour meter;
An information processing device that calculates an electricity bill based on the amount of power consumption measured by the watt-hour meter,
The information processing apparatus includes:
A first storage unit that stores discount data including information indicating an ID to which a discount of the electricity rate is applied;
A determination unit that determines, for each ID, whether or not a condition for applying a discount on the electricity charge is satisfied;
Apply the discount by calculating the electricity rate by applying a predetermined discount rate or discount amount to the electricity rate corresponding to the power consumption associated with the ID determined to satisfy the conditions for applying the discount. A calculation unit that cancels the application of the predetermined discount rate or the discount amount to the electricity rate corresponding to the power consumption associated with the ID determined that the condition is not satisfied, and calculates the electricity rate Equipment management system. The electric device management system according to claim 1, wherein the ID is assigned by fixing an external ID holding unit to an electric device not having the ID. It has a distribution device that distributes data to electrical equipment,
The distribution device includes:
A communication unit for communicating with electrical equipment;
A second storage unit that stores distribution data and association data that associates the ID with the distribution data;
The electrical equipment management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a delivery unit that delivers the delivery data associated with the ID assigned to the electronic equipment to the electronic equipment.

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