JP2018054512A - Energy consumption management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an energy consumption management system that restrains power consumption of a battery-operated monitoring device.SOLUTION: An energy consumption management system is provided with: a terminal side management unit 2 that generates an amount of energy supplied to an energy supply object A as supply amount information S, includes a terminal side control unit 20 for making a terminal side radio communication unit 21 to communicate it every communication interval instructed in advance, and operates powered by a battery; and a body side management unit 3 including a body side control unit 30 for making a body side first communication unit 31 communicate with the terminal side radio communication unit 21. The communication interval is found on the basis of the supply amount information S.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention provides a battery including a terminal-side control unit that generates an energy amount supplied to an energy supply target as supply amount information and communicates at a terminal-side wireless communication unit at every communication interval specified in advance. The present invention relates to an energy consumption management system provided with a terminal-side management unit that operates as a power source and a main-unit-side management unit that includes a main-unit-side control unit that communicates with the terminal-side wireless communication unit in the main-unit-side first communication unit.

  In recent years, there has been a demand for energy consumers who are energy supply targets to monitor energy usage. Energy refers to fuel gas such as natural gas and electricity. For example, in the case of gas, which is an example of energy, the gas usage fee is set such that the basic fee for the gas supply contract increases when the gas usage amount per unit time exceeds the contract range. For this reason, many gas consumers (energy consumers) monitor the current gas usage and the gas usage per unit time to save energy and reduce costs, so that the gas does not exceed the contract range. We are taking measures such as reducing the amount of consumption.

  Patent Document 1 is a monitoring device that is driven by a commercial power supply (AC 100 V), and can monitor the amount of gas used by counting the generation of a supply signal emitted from a load meter connected to an energy supply target gas meter each time. This is known.

  Also, a battery-type monitoring device is known in order to be able to monitor the energy consumption state such as gas consumption in a gas meter without a commercial power source in the vicinity. In general, battery-powered devices are configured to count when a supply signal is issued from a load meter of a gas meter in order to reduce power consumption.

Utility Model Registration No. 3150241

Since the monitoring apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses a commercial power supply, there is a problem that the degree of freedom of installation is low.
Also, such a monitoring device needs to continue to monitor the generation of the supply signal. However, if the power source is battery-powered in order to obtain a degree of freedom of installation, it is necessary to replace the battery when the battery life is exhausted. It is troublesome because there are. Therefore, it is desired to reduce the power consumption of the monitoring device in order to extend the battery life.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to realize an energy consumption management system that suppresses power consumption of a battery-type monitoring device.

In order to achieve the above object, the characteristic configuration of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention is:
Generates the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target as supply amount information, and operates with a battery as a power source, equipped with a terminal-side control unit that communicates with the terminal-side wireless communication unit at every communication interval specified in advance A terminal-side management unit;
A main body side management unit including a main body side control unit that communicates with the terminal side wireless communication unit in the main body side first communication unit;
The communication interval is determined based on the supply amount information.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, the energy consumption management system can communicate with the terminal-side control unit based on the supply amount information of the supply signal, that is, the energy amount supplied to the energy supply target.

Therefore, the terminal side management part can communicate with the main body side management part corresponding to the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target.
Specifically, for example, the terminal-side control unit can communicate at a communication interval obtained based on the energy amount.
More specifically, for example, communication is performed at short intervals when the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target is large, and communication is performed at long intervals when the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target is small. be able to.

In other words, if the gas usage per unit time cannot exceed the contract range, the terminal side management unit can reduce the power consumption by increasing the communication interval with the main unit side management unit. it can.
Therefore, it is possible to realize an energy consumption management system that performs communication only when necessary and suppresses power consumption of the battery-type monitoring device.

Further features of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention are as follows:
The main body side control unit is configured to instruct the terminal side control unit of the communication interval based on the supply amount information.

According to the above characteristic configuration, the energy consumption management system can instruct the communication interval to the terminal-side control unit based on the supply amount information of the supply signal, that is, the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target. it can.
Therefore, it is possible to realize an energy consumption management system that performs communication only when necessary and suppresses power consumption of the battery-type monitoring device.

Further features of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention are as follows:
A central management unit with a central control unit that communicates with the central communication unit is provided,
The main body side management unit includes a main body side second communication unit that communicates the supply amount information with the central side communication unit,
The said main body side control part is in the point which communicates with the said central side communication part by the said main body side 2nd communication part, and acquires the said communication interval which should instruct | indicate to the said terminal side control part.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, the main body side control unit communicates with the central management unit, transmits supply amount information to the central control unit, and acquires a communication interval to be instructed from the central control unit to the terminal side control unit. it can.

Further features of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention are as follows:
The main body control unit is configured to store the supply amount information in the main body storage unit when the supply amount information is communicated from the terminal side management unit.

According to the above characteristic configuration, the main body side management unit stores the supply amount information communicated from the terminal side management unit in the main body side storage unit, and reads out from the main body side storage unit when communicating with the central management unit. The supply amount information can be transmitted to the central management unit.
Therefore, the main body side management unit can separately determine the communication interval between the main body side management unit and the terminal side management unit and the communication interval between the main body side management unit and the central management unit.

Further features of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention are as follows:
The central control unit is to obtain an energy supply speed to the energy supply target based on the supply amount information and obtain the communication interval based on the energy supply speed.

According to the above characteristic configuration, the terminal-side management unit can communicate with the main body-side management unit according to the energy supply speed to the energy supply target.
Specifically, for example, when the amount of energy supplied per unit time to the energy supply target is large, that is, when the energy supply speed is fast, communication is performed at short intervals, and per unit time to the energy supply target. When the amount of energy supplied is small, that is, when the energy supply rate is low, communication can be performed at long intervals.

  That is, according to the energy supply speed to the energy supply target, the terminal side management unit can communicate with the main body side management unit at an appropriate communication interval.

Further features of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention are as follows:
When the energy supply rate is slower, a longer time interval is set.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, when the energy supply rate is low, the terminal-side management unit can lengthen the communication interval to reduce the number of communications, and avoid battery consumption due to communication.

Further features of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention are as follows:
The communication interval is set to a longer time interval when the remaining battery level of the battery is small.

  According to the above-described characteristic configuration, the battery life of the battery is extended, and the timing for replacing the battery is convenient for the user or the like. In other words, when the remaining battery level is low, the communication interval is lengthened to reduce battery power consumption, the period until the battery is consumed and the terminal side management unit stops operating, You can earn time until you replace it.

Further features of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention are as follows:
The central control unit obtains an energy supply pattern to the energy supply target for each time zone in at least one day based on the energy supply rate, and determines the communication interval based on the energy supply pattern. There is in point to ask.

  According to the characteristic configuration described above, the terminal-side management unit has a relatively fast energy supply rate or a relatively slow energy supply rate based on at least one day's energy supply pattern for each time zone. By distinguishing the time zone, the terminal side management unit can communicate with the main body side management unit at an appropriate communication interval in each time zone.

Further features of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention are as follows:
In the energy supply pattern, the communication interval is set to a longer time interval in a time zone in which the energy consumption by time zone in a day is small.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, the terminal-side management unit reduces the number of communications by increasing the communication interval and avoids battery consumption due to communication during a time period in which the energy consumption by time period in the day is small. be able to.

Further features of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention are as follows:
In the energy supply pattern, the communication interval is set to a longer time interval in a time zone in which a time zone in which energy consumption for each time zone in a day is small overlaps with a predetermined time zone. There is in point.

According to the above characteristic configuration, the terminal-side management unit increases the communication interval in a time zone in which the energy consumption amount by time zone in the day is small and a predetermined time zone overlap. Thus, the number of communications can be reduced, and battery consumption due to communications can be avoided.
For example, if the time zone when the energy supply target is stopped is designated as a predetermined time zone, the number of times of communication between the terminal side management unit and the main body side management unit is reliably and safely reduced. Battery consumption due to communication can be avoided.

Further features of the energy consumption management system according to the present invention are as follows:
In the energy supply pattern, the communication interval is set to a longer time interval in a time zone in which energy consumption by time zone in a day decreases.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, the terminal-side management unit increases the communication interval to reduce the number of communications and reduces battery consumption due to communication during a time period in which the energy consumption by time period in the day decreases. Can be avoided.

Overview diagram of energy consumption management system A diagram for explaining an example of changes in gas consumption per day

  Hereinafter, an energy consumption management system 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The energy consumption management system 100 is a system that manages the gas consumption state when natural gas is consumed as one of the energy consumption states of the energy supply target A. The concept of the gas consumption state includes, for example, concepts such as gas consumption, gas supply rate or gas consumption rate, and their time series changes.
In this example, the energy consumption management system 100 can also manage the power consumption state as the energy consumption state together with the gas consumption state. The concept of the power consumption state includes concepts such as power consumption, power consumption (power supply speed or power consumption speed), and time-series changes thereof.
In this example, the supply speed and the consumption speed are synonymous. That is, the energy supply rate and consumption are the same, and the energy supply rate is the same as the energy consumption rate.

  The method of managing the energy consumption state by the energy consumption management system 100 is basically the same when managing the gas consumption state and when managing the power consumption state. Therefore, first, the case where the energy consumption management system 100 manages the gas consumption state will be described first.

The energy consumption management system 100 includes at least a terminal-side management unit 2 including a terminal-side wireless communication unit 21 and a main body-side first communication unit 31 that communicates with the terminal-side wireless communication unit 21 of the terminal-side management unit 2. And a main body side management unit 3 provided. In this example, the energy consumption management system 100 further includes a central management unit 4 that communicates with the main body side management unit 3.
The energy consumption management system 100 receives information on the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target A from the device that measures the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target A, and the energy consumption state of the energy supply target A Manage.

  In this example, the energy supply target A is provided on the gas flow path 10 drawn into the energy supply target A, and the gas amount measuring unit 1 is a gas meter that measures the supply amount of the gas supplied to the energy supply target A. I have.

The gas amount measuring unit 1 is an example of a device that measures a gas supply amount that is an energy amount supplied to the energy supply target A.
The gas amount measuring unit 1 of this example outputs a gas supply signal as a pulse signal P at the same time each time a unit energy amount is supplied from the gas flow path 10 to the energy supply target A. In this example, in the case of gas, the unit energy amount is 1 cubic mail under atmospheric pressure.
The gas supply signal and the pulse signal P are included in the concept of information related to the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target A.

More specifically, the gas amount measurement unit 1 supplies the gas signal to the energy consumption management system 100 at the same time as one unit of gas is supplied to the gas consuming device in the energy supply target A as a unit energy amount. Are output.
In the present example, the term "simultaneously" includes delays such as arithmetic processing time of machine devices and various arithmetic devices, processing time, waiting time, arithmetic time and communication time of signal lines such as telecommunication lines. It means not delay.

  Hereinafter, the terminal-side control unit 20 that generates the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target A as the supply amount information S and communicates with the terminal-side wireless communication unit 21 at every communication interval t1 specified in advance. A terminal side management unit 2 that operates using the battery 22 as a power source, and a main body side management unit 3 that includes a main body side control unit 30 that communicates with the terminal side wireless communication unit 21 by the main body side first communication unit 31; The main body side control unit 30 is configured to instruct the terminal side control unit 20 on the communication interval t1 based on the supply amount information S. The energy consumption management system 100 will be described in detail.

First, an outline of the terminal side management unit 2 will be described.
The terminal side management unit 2 is installed in the vicinity of the energy supply target A, acquires the gas consumption state of the energy supply target A, and communicates information related to the gas consumption state by wireless communication with the main body side management unit 3. It is a device to do.
The terminal-side management unit 2 operates using the battery 22 as a power source. Therefore, when the battery 22 is exhausted, the battery 22 needs to be replaced. Therefore, the terminal-side management unit 2 requires a power saving configuration that suppresses the consumption of the battery 22.
The terminal side management unit 2 includes at least a terminal side control unit 20 and a terminal side wireless communication unit 21. In this example, the terminal-side management unit 2 further includes a timer unit 23 and a counting unit 24.

The terminal-side management unit 2 generates the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target A as supply amount information S, and communicates with the terminal-side wireless communication unit 21 at every communication interval t1 specified in advance. 20 is provided.
In this example, every time the unit gas amount (unit energy amount) is supplied to the energy supply target A, the terminal side management unit 2 receives the pulse signal P output from the gas amount measuring unit 1, and supplies the supply amount information. S is generated.

  More specifically, the terminal-side management unit 2 receives the pulse signal P output from the gas amount measurement unit 1 every time a unit gas amount is supplied to the energy supply target A, and the pulse signal P is received. The number of times received is generated as supply amount information S as information indicating the amount of energy (gas supply amount) supplied to the energy supply target A, and information relating to the gas consumption state including the supply amount information S is instructed in advance. The terminal-side control unit 20 that communicates with the terminal-side wireless communication unit 21 at every communication interval t1 is provided.

The terminal-side control unit 20 is a functional unit that performs arithmetic processing for controlling each unit of the terminal-side management unit 2 and performing communication with the main body-side management unit 3.
Specifically, the terminal-side control unit 20 receives the output of the pulse signal P from the gas amount measurement unit 1 and performs an operation of generating the number of times of receiving the pulse signal as the supply amount information S. Then, the terminal side control unit 20 controls the terminal side wireless communication unit 21 to transmit the supply amount information S to the main body side management unit 3.

Specifically, when the terminal-side control unit 20 receives the output of the pulse signal P from the gas amount measurement unit 1, the terminal-side control unit 20 acquires the accumulated number of times from the counting unit 24 to the present, and the obtained accumulated number of times is supplied amount information S is generated.
That is, the supply amount information S includes the cumulative number of pulse signals P output from the gas amount measurement unit 1 as information of an integer of 1 or more. Further, the accumulated number of times of the output pulse signal P can be the accumulated number of times from the time when the operation of the terminal side control unit 20 is started.
Hereinafter, the n-th supply amount information (n is an integer of 1 or more) is indicated as Sn. Further, for example, the supply amount information S when the cumulative number is n−1 and n + 1 is respectively expressed as supply amount information Sn−1, supply amount information Sn + 1, and so on.

The terminal-side control unit 20 communicates (sends) the supply amount information S to the main body side management unit 3 at every communication interval t1 instructed from the main body side management unit 3 in advance.
The communication interval t1 is instructed from the main body management unit 3. That is, in this example, the communication interval t <b> 1 is an interval instructed in advance from the main body side control unit 30 of the main body side management unit 3.
The instruction related to the communication interval t1 is included in the instruction C1 which is instruction information transmitted to the terminal side management unit 2.
That is, the terminal-side management unit 2 includes a time measuring unit 23 that measures the passage of time, and the terminal-side control unit 20 measures the progress of the communication interval t1 with the time measuring unit 23, and the terminal-side wireless type is measured every communication interval t1. The communication unit 21 communicates with the main body side management unit 3 and communicates (transmits) the supply amount information S to the main body side management unit 3.

As the terminal-side wireless communication unit 21, a known wireless communication chip is used.
Since the terminal-side management unit 2 operates using the battery 22 as a power source, it is desirable to employ a wireless communication method with low power consumption. Specifically, for example, “wireless LAN” of IEEE802.11 system, “wireless PAN” of IEEE802.16 system, “wireless WLAN” of IEEE802.16 system, etc. can be used, among these, IEEE802.15.4g It is particularly preferable to use a communication standard / communication system that conforms to When the IEEE 802.15.4g frequency band is used, the 920 MHz band is used, and GFSK or the like can be used as the modulation method.

  The main body side management unit 3 communicates information related to the gas consumption state by wireless communication with the terminal side management unit 2, and communicates information related to the gas consumption state acquired by communication with the central management unit 4 to perform central management. It is a relay apparatus which transmits the information which concerns on a gas consumption state to a part. Here, the supply amount information S is included in the information related to the gas consumption state.

  The main body side management unit 3 communicates with the main body side first communication unit 31 communicating with the main body side control unit 30 and the terminal side wireless communication unit 21 of the terminal side management unit 2, and supply amount information received through communication The main body side storage unit 32 that stores S and the main body side second communication unit 33 that communicates with the central side communication unit 41 of the central management unit 4 are provided.

  As the main body side first communication unit 31, a known wireless communication chip is used. In this example, a wireless communication chip corresponding to the communication method of the terminal-side wireless communication unit 21 is used.

Operations of the main body side control unit 30 and the main body side storage unit 32 will be described.
The main body side storage unit 32 is a functional unit that stores the supply amount information S received by communicating with the terminal side management unit 2 in the main body side first communication unit 31.

The main body side control unit 30 stores the supply amount information S in the main body side storage unit 32 sequentially when the supply amount information S is transmitted from the terminal side management unit 2 by communication.
For example, when supply amount information Sn-1, supply amount information Sn, and supply amount information Sn + 1 are sequentially transmitted, these are sequentially stored.

  The main body side control unit 30 communicates with the central management unit 4 at the main body side second communication unit 33 at every predetermined communication interval t2, reads the supply amount information S from the main body side storage unit 32, and the central management unit 4 Communicate (send) to

The main body side second communication unit 33 may have a known communication function. In this example, an example is shown in which a mobile communication system is employed in which communication is performed by connecting to a so-called mobile phone network.
Further, in the present example, the main body side second communication unit 33 is connected to the so-called Internet network N via the mobile phone line, and is connected to the Internet network N.

  In this example, 10 minutes is determined as the predetermined communication interval t2. The communication interval t2 is arbitrarily determined based on the communication cost and the real-time property of the information related to the gas consumption state requested by the central management unit 4. Therefore, for example, it may be set to 1 minute or 30 minutes. In this example, it is preferable to set the time to 5 to 15 minutes in consideration of the communication cost and the real-time property of the information related to the gas consumption state requested by the central management unit 4.

  When the main body side control unit 30 reads the supply amount information S from the main body side storage unit 32 and communicates (transmits) it to the central management unit 4, the main body side control unit 30 returns to the terminal side management unit 2 at the same time, or when necessary. The communication interval t1 to be instructed is acquired as an instruction C2. The main body side control unit 30 instructs the terminal side control unit 20 of the terminal side management unit 2 using the communication interval t1 as an instruction C1.

  The central management unit 4 communicates with the plurality of main body side control units 30, receives information related to the gas consumption state from the plurality of main body side control units 30, and performs necessary operations on the plurality of main body side control units 30. The central control unit of the energy consumption management system 100 transmits an instruction as an instruction C2.

  The central management unit 4 stores the supply amount information S received through communication with the central control unit 40 and the central communication unit 41 communicating with the main body side second communication unit 33 of the main body side management unit 3. A central storage unit 42.

The central communication unit 41 communicates with the main body side second communication unit 33.
The central communication unit 41 of the central management unit 4 may have a known communication function. In this example, a so-called optical fiber line is employed. The central side communication unit 41 of this example is further connected to the Internet network N, similarly to the main body side second communication unit 33.
Therefore, the central side communication unit 41 and the main body side second communication unit 33 are connected via the Internet network N.

It supplements about the central control part 40, the center side memory | storage part 42, and the supply amount information S. FIG.
When the central control unit 40 receives the supply amount information S, the central control unit 40 stores it in the central storage unit 42. In this example, when the supply amount information S is received, the central control unit 40 obtains a difference from the supply amount information S stored immediately before, and obtains the number of pulse generations for each communication interval t2 and the section supply speed ΔS. When the communication interval t2 is 10 minutes, the section supply speed ΔS is a gas consumption amount every 10 minutes. In this example, the section supply rate ΔS is further integrated for each time, and the gas supply rate V per hour is obtained. When the communication interval t2 is 10 minutes, the continuous section supply speed ΔS can be obtained every six times.

That is, the central control unit 40 obtains the gas supply rate V that is the energy supply rate to the energy supply target A based on the supply amount information S.
Further, the central control unit 40 can calculate and obtain the energy supply pattern d to the energy supply target at least for each time zone in one day based on the gas supply rate V.
An example of this energy supply pattern d is illustrated in FIG.

The energy supply pattern d illustrated in FIG. 2 will be described.
FIG. 2 is an example in which the energy supply pattern d is obtained by plotting the gas consumption of the energy supply target A every hour.
In FIG. 2, the vertical axis of the graph represents the gas consumption amount of the energy supply target A, and the unit is cubic meters. In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis of the graph indicates the time of the day.
The gas consumption amount of the energy supply target A every hour is the gas supply rate V obtained every predetermined time zone in this example.

The example of FIG. 2 shows the energy supply pattern d when the factory which stops operation at midnight is the energy supply target A, for example.
The energy supply pattern d shown in FIG. 2 is divided into, for example, a section X and a section Y according to the operation state of the factory.

The section X is a time zone in which the energy consumption by time zone in the day is small. In this example, it is a section with a small amount of gas consumption by time of day. That is, it is a section where the gas supply speed is slow. Moreover, it is an area where the fluctuation | variation for every hour of gas consumption is small.
This section X corresponds, for example, from midnight to early morning when the industry stops operation.

The section Y is a time zone in which the energy consumption by time zone in the day is large. In this example, it is a section where there is a large amount of gas consumption by time of day. That is, it is a section where the gas supply speed is fast. Moreover, it is an area where the fluctuation | variation for every hour of gas consumption is large.
The section Y corresponds to, for example, a time zone from daytime to night when the industry operates.

  In section Y, section Z can be further defined. That is, the section Z is a time zone in which the energy consumption by time zone in the day decreases. In this example, it is a section where the gas supply rate for each time zone in the day decreases. This section Z corresponds to, for example, a time zone from evening to night when the industry stops operation.

  The central control unit 40 recognizes at least the section X and the section Y based on the energy supply pattern d as shown in FIG. 2, and calculates and obtains an appropriate communication interval t1 for each of the section X and the section Y. be able to. For example, when the gas supply speed is slower as in each time zone of the section X, the communication interval t1 can be set to a longer time interval. In addition, in the energy supply pattern d illustrated in FIG. 2, the time zone of the section X, which is a time zone in which the energy consumption for each time zone in the day is small, is set to a time zone defined as a longer communication interval t1. can do.

  In the case of the energy supply pattern d as shown in FIG. 2, the central control unit 40 can determine the communication interval t1 as follows, for example.

In the central control unit 40, the gas consumption per unit time is contracted in the time zone where the gas consumption is large, the gas supply speed is high, and the fluctuation of the gas consumption every time is large as in the section Y. Therefore, the communication interval t1 can be set to a short interval of, for example, 30 seconds to 120 seconds.
In general, a predetermined value is often used as it is for the communication interval t1 in the section Y.

The central control unit 40 does not think that the amount of gas used per unit time suddenly exceeds the contracted range, as in the section X, and does not need to measure the gas supply rate V more frequently during communication. The interval t1 can be set to a long time interval of about 10 to 30 minutes, for example.
That is, the communication interval t1 in the section X is set to be longer than the communication interval set in the section Y.

  The central control unit 40 can set the communication interval t1 to a relatively long time interval of, for example, about 5 minutes to 10 minutes in the time zone in which the gas supply rate decreases as in the section Z.

  That is, the central control unit 40 obtains the gas supply rate V as the energy supply rate to the energy supply target A based on the supply amount information S, and based on this energy supply rate, at least the time zone in one day Another energy supply pattern d to the energy supply target A can be obtained, and the communication interval t1 can be obtained based on the energy supply pattern d.

The case where the central control unit 40 obtains the energy supply rate based on the supply amount information S and obtains the communication interval t1 based on the energy supply rate will be supplemented.
The central communication unit 41 of the central management unit 4 can further communicate with the user terminal 5. In this way, the central control unit 40 can receive various operation instructions input from the user terminal 5 by the user from the user terminal 5.

  In this example, even when the central control unit 40 obtains the energy supply pattern d and obtains an appropriate communication interval t1 for at least the section X and the section Y, depending on the user's intended use, for example, the section In some cases, X uses a large amount of energy.

  Therefore, in this example, the central control unit 40 recognizes the section X in the predetermined time zone permitted by the operation instruction input by the user with the user terminal 5 in advance, and an appropriate communication interval for the section X. It is configured to obtain t1.

In this example, the time zone outside the business hours or outside the business hours of the energy supply target A is used as the time zone permitted by the operation instruction input by the user in advance at the user terminal 5. The information related to the time zone when the user does not consume energy or the user does not supply energy, such as business hours and operating hours, is stored in the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target A. It may be included in such information. That is, information such as an energy supply pattern indicating how much energy is consumed in what time zone is also information (supply amount information S) related to the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target A. Included in the concept.
In other words, the central control unit 40 is a time zone in which the time zone outside the business hours or outside the business hours of the energy supply target A previously input by the user at the user terminal 5 and the section X recognized by the central control unit 40 overlap. The communication interval t1 is set to a longer interval than the communication interval set in the section Y.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the time zone outside the operating hours is illustrated as the non-operating time section F. In the case of the example in FIG. 2, the section X is included in the non-operating time section F. Therefore, the example of FIG. 2 shows a case where the communication interval t1 is permitted to be set longer than the communication interval set in the interval Y in all the intervals X.

  As described above, the central control unit 40 considers the operation instruction including the information related to the predetermined time zone such as the non-business hours or the non-operating hours, which is input by the user in advance at the user terminal 5. Used when energy consumption greatly differs from the energy supply pattern d in the supply target A, and the communication interval t1 is set longer than the communication interval set in the section Y. Without inconvenience, the problem of the gas usage per unit time in the energy supply target A exceeding the contracted range is avoided, and the communication interval t1 is lengthened by increasing the communication interval t1 reliably and safely. Thus, it is possible to reduce the number of times of communication between the terminal-side management unit 2 and the main body-side management unit 3 and to avoid the consumption of the battery 22 due to the communication.

  In this example, as in the case of the section X, the central control unit 40 also detects the time zone outside the business hours or the non-operating hours of the energy supply target A and the section Z recognized by the central control unit 40 in the section Z. Is set to a longer interval than the communication interval set in the section Y.

  In this way, the energy consumption management system 100 that suppresses the power consumption of the terminal-side management unit 2 that operates using the battery 22 as a power source can be realized.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the terminal-side management unit 2 receives the pulse signal P output from the gas amount measurement unit 1 every time a unit gas amount is supplied to the energy supply target A, and the pulse The number of times the signal P is received is generated as supply amount information S as information indicating the amount of energy (gas supply amount) supplied to the energy supply target A, and information related to the gas consumption state including the supply amount information S is generated. The case has been described where the terminal-side wireless communication unit 21 includes the terminal-side control unit 20 that communicates with the main body-side management unit 3 at every communication interval t1 specified in advance, but the terminal-side management unit 2 is not necessarily a gas amount measurement unit. It is not limited to receiving one output.

  For example, the terminal-side management unit 2 receives information on the amount of power supplied to the energy supply target A, and supplies it as information indicating the amount of energy (power consumption) supplied to the energy supply target A. A terminal-side control unit that generates information on the power consumption including the supply amount information S and communicates with the main body-side management unit 3 at the terminal-side wireless communication unit 21 at each communication interval t1 that is specified in advance. 20 may be provided.

  An apparatus corresponding to the terminal-side management unit 2 when receiving information related to the amount of power supplied to the energy supply target A is shown as a terminal-side management unit 7 in FIG. The terminal-side management unit 7 receives information related to the amount of power supplied to the energy supply target A from the power meter 6. The power meter 6 outputs a signal related to the amount of power supplied from the power line 60 to the energy supply target A.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the terminal-side management unit 7 has shown an example in which information related to the amount of power supplied to the energy supply target A is received from the power meter 6, but the terminal-side management unit 7 The power meter 6 may be configured to receive information relating to the power supplied to the energy supply target A.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the main body side management unit 3 communicates with the terminal side management unit 2 is illustrated, but the main body side management unit 3 can also communicate with the terminal side management unit 7.
Communication of the main body side management unit 3 is not limited to one terminal, and the main body side management unit 3 can be configured to communicate with a plurality of terminal side management units 2 and a plurality of terminal side management units 7.

  When the main body side management unit 3 also communicates with the terminal side management unit 7, the central control unit 40 determines the energy to be supplied to the energy supply target A based on the supply amount information S including information indicating the energy amount (power consumption amount). An electric power supply rate W is obtained as a supply rate, and an energy supply pattern e related to the electric power supplied to the energy supply target A at least for each time zone in one day is obtained based on the energy supply rate. Based on e, the communication interval t1 between the main body side management unit 3 and the terminal side management unit 7 can be obtained.

  (4) In the above-described embodiment, the central management unit 4 exemplifies the case of communicating with one main body side management unit 3, but the central management unit 4 can communicate with a plurality of main body side management units 3.

(5) In the above-described embodiment, the central control unit 40 exemplifies a case where the communication interval t1 is set to a longer time interval when the gas supply rate is slower. However, the remaining battery level of the battery 22 is small. In some cases, a configuration may be added in which the communication interval t1 is set to a longer time interval.
For example, when a predetermined battery remaining amount (for example, a voltage of the battery 22 or a threshold value for a usage period of the battery 22) is determined to determine that the battery remaining amount of the battery 22 is low, What is necessary is just to judge that the battery remaining amount of 22 is small.

That is, when the gas supply rate is slower, the central control unit 40 sets the communication interval t1 to a longer time interval tα, but when the remaining battery level of the battery 22 is low, the central control unit 40 The communication interval t1 is set to a time interval tβ that is longer than the time interval tα.
By doing in this way, the lifetime of the battery 22 is extended, and it becomes convenient for the user or the like regarding the timing of replacing the battery 22.

  (6) In the above-described embodiment, similarly to the case of the section X, the case where the communication interval t1 is set to be longer than the communication interval set in the section Y is illustrated in the section Z. However, in the case of the section Z, the communication interval t1 of the section Z is longer than the communication interval set in the section Y when the remaining amount of the battery 22 is low. It can also be set at a time interval.

  By doing in this way, about the zone Z where energy consumption is larger than the zone X, it communicates at the same communication interval t1 as the communication interval set in the zone Y just in case and gives priority to the safety of management, and the battery When the remaining battery capacity of the battery 22 is low, the battery life of the battery 22 can be extended, and the timing for replacing the battery 22 can be convenient for the user or the like.

  (7) In the above-described embodiment, the terminal-side management unit 2 illustrated the case where the energy amount supplied to the energy supply target A is generated as the supply amount information S. The supply amount information S includes information related to the time period that the user does not consume energy or the user does not supply energy, such as business hours and operating hours, which is input at the user terminal 5. May be. In this case, the communication interval t1 can be determined based on the supply amount information S.

  Note that the configurations disclosed in the above-described embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies hereinafter) can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in the other embodiments as long as no contradiction arises. The embodiment disclosed in this specification is an exemplification, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. The embodiment can be appropriately modified without departing from the object of the present invention.

  The present invention can be usefully used as an energy consumption management system for managing a gas consumption state of an energy supply target.

2: Terminal side management unit 3: Main body side management unit 4: Central management unit 7: Terminal side management unit 20: Terminal side control unit 21: Terminal side wireless communication unit 22: Battery 30: Main unit side control unit 31: Main unit side 1st communication part 32: Main body side memory | storage part 33: Main body side 2nd communication part 40: Central control part 41: Central side communication part 100: Energy consumption management system A: Energy supply object F: Section outside operation time (predetermined Time zone)
S: Supply amount information X: Section (time period in which energy consumption by time period in the day is small)
Z: Section (time period in which energy consumption by time period in the day decreases)
d: Energy supply pattern e: Energy supply pattern

Claims (11)

Generates the amount of energy supplied to the energy supply target as supply amount information, and operates with a battery as a power source, equipped with a terminal-side control unit that communicates with the terminal-side wireless communication unit at every communication interval specified in advance A terminal-side management unit;
A main body side management unit including a main body side control unit that communicates with the terminal side wireless communication unit in the main body side first communication unit;
An energy consumption management system configured to obtain the communication interval based on the supply amount information.   The energy consumption management system according to claim 1, wherein the main body side control unit is configured to instruct the terminal side control unit of the communication interval based on the supply amount information. A central management unit with a central control unit that communicates with the central communication unit is provided,
The main body side management unit includes a main body side second communication unit that communicates the supply amount information with the central side communication unit,
The energy consumption management system according to claim 2, wherein the main body side control unit communicates with the central side communication unit by the main body side second communication unit, and acquires the communication interval to be instructed to the terminal side control unit. .   The energy according to claim 3, wherein the main body side control unit is configured to store the supply amount information in a main body side storage unit when the supply amount information is communicated from the terminal side management unit. Consumption management system.   The energy consumption management according to claim 4, wherein the central control unit obtains an energy supply speed to the energy supply target based on the supply amount information, and obtains the communication interval based on the energy supply speed. system.   6. The energy consumption management system according to claim 5, wherein the communication interval is set to a longer time interval when the energy supply rate is slower.   The energy consumption management system according to claim 6, wherein the communication interval is set to a longer time interval when the remaining battery level of the battery is low.   The central control unit obtains an energy supply pattern to the energy supply target for each time zone in at least one day based on the energy supply rate, and determines the communication interval based on the energy supply pattern. The energy consumption management system according to any one of claims 5 to 7, which is obtained.   9. The energy consumption management system according to claim 8, wherein the communication interval is set to a longer time interval in a time zone in which energy consumption for each time zone in a day is small in the energy supply pattern.   In the energy supply pattern, the communication interval is set to a longer time interval in a time zone in which a time zone in which energy consumption for each time zone in a day is small overlaps with a predetermined time zone. The energy consumption management system according to claim 8.   The energy consumption management system according to claim 8, wherein the communication interval is set to a longer time interval in a time zone in which energy consumption by time zone in a day decreases in the energy supply pattern. .

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