JP4422569B2 - Central control system terminal device and central control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal device and a central control system of a central control system that is connected to a center device via a communication line and monitors and controls an operating state of a load device in response to an instruction content from the center device.

  Conventionally, a technique for monitoring and controlling a load device from a distance using a communication line is known. For example, a remote control device has been proposed in which a load device such as an electrical device with an HA terminal is remotely controlled by a tele controller connected to a telephone line (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The remote control device described in Patent Document 1 uses a telephone line as a communication line. By giving an instruction to the telecontroller using a DTMF signal from a telephone outside the office, operation of the load device with the telephone outside the office, It is possible to stop and check the status. Further, although not explicitly specified in Patent Document 1, when the load device is already in operation when the operation of the load device is instructed from the telephone, or when the load device is instructed to stop from the telephone, the load is already When the device is stopped, a message indicating that the load device is already instructed is sent back to the telephone. The remote control device described in Patent Literature 1 can operate, stop, and check the state of a plurality of load devices with a single telephone, and it can be said that a centralized control system is constructed.

  However, the telecontroller is generally used for driving, stopping, and checking the status of a load device installed at home by a householder in a private home. When an administrator centrally manages the status of load devices for multiple homes, such as in an apartment house, or when providing a service that manages the status of load devices in multiple homes, it is not a housekeeper outside the home. A center device managed by an administrator is provided, and it is required to centrally manage the operation state of load devices in a plurality of houses in the center device.

  In order to satisfy this type of request, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the load device (air conditioner, hot water heater, hot water heater remote control device, electric lock, etc.) 3 having an HA terminal (JEM-A) has a communication function. The terminal device 1 is connected, and the terminal device 1 and the center device 2 are connected to the communication line 4 so that data communication is performed between the center device 2 and the terminal device 1, and the terminal is connected from the center device 2 to the terminal. It is conceivable to instruct the device 1 to control and monitor the load device 3. The terminal device 1 is connected to the load device 3 on a one-to-one basis (in the illustrated example, an air conditioner or a water heater), or a plurality of load devices 3 are connected.

  By the way, the terminal device 1 functions only as an interface between the center device 2 and the load device 3, and the center device 2 performs processing for monitoring and controlling the operation state of the load device 3. That is, when the center device 2 instructs the load device 3 to operate or stop, the center device 2 first acquires the current operating state of the load device 3 and then loads the load device 3 to be instructed from the center device 2. Are compared with the acquired operation state of the load device 3, and the center device 2 instructs the load device 3 to change the operation state only when they do not match. In the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the load device 3 includes an HA terminal, and an operation control signal instructing a change in the operation state of the load device 3 can be given from the terminal device 1. In the terminal device 1, the operation state of the load device 3 is changed. The case where it can acquire with a driving | operation monitor signal is assumed. The operation control signal is a rectangular pulse signal, and the load device 3 alternately reverses operation and stop every time the operation control signal is input to the HA terminal. That is, the load device 3 can control only two states of operation and stop.

  A procedure in which the center apparatus 2 instructs to change the operating state of the load device 3 is shown in FIG. Before the center device 2 gives an instruction to give an operation control signal to the load device 3 to the terminal device 1, first, the center device 2 gives an instruction to acquire the operation state of the load device 3 (P1). In response to the instruction, the terminal device 1 acquires the operation state of the load device 3 from the operation monitor signal of the load device 3 (P2), and returns the operation state of the load device 3 acquired by the terminal device 1 to the center device 2 ( P3). The center device 2 compares the operation state of the load device 3 acquired from the terminal device 1 with the operation state to be instructed to the load device 3 (P4), and if the two match, an instruction to the terminal device 1 is given. Discard the instructions without giving them.

On the other hand, when the operation state of the load device 3 acquired from the terminal device 1 in the center device 2 does not match the operation state to be instructed to the load device 3, the operation state of the load device 3 is changed with respect to the terminal device 1. (P5). When instructed to change the operation state of the load device 3, the terminal device 1 outputs an operation control signal to the load device 3 to invert the operation state of the load device 3 (P6). Thereafter, the terminal device 1 acquires an operation monitor signal output from the load device 3 (P7), and the terminal device 1 transmits the operation state acquired from the load device 3 to the center device 2 (P8).
Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-3992

  As described above, the center device 2 acquires the current operation state of the load device 3, determines whether the operation state to be instructed to the load device 3 and the acquired operation state match or does not match, and the determination result Since it is determined whether or not to instruct the load device 3 to change the operation state based on the above, when changing the operation state of the load device 3, transmission and reception of data to and from the terminal device 1 are performed. Must be performed twice. In other words, the traffic on the communication line is about twice that in the case where the transmission and reception of data are performed once each in order to instruct the change of the operating state of the load device 3 from the center device 2. If the number of load devices 3 to be managed by 2 increases, inconvenience due to an increase in traffic may occur.

  In addition, the operation state of the load device 3 acquired from the terminal device 1 and the operation state of the load device 3 to which an instruction is to be given are compared in the center device 2, and the operation state of the load device 3 is changed from the center device 2. Since the center device 2 determines whether or not to do so, the load is concentrated on the center device 2. As a result, when the number of load devices 3 increases, the load on the center device 2 increases, and the center device 2 is required to have a high processing capacity.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned reasons, and the object thereof is relatively small in traffic with the center apparatus, and by sharing a part of processing conventionally performed in the center apparatus, the center apparatus is provided. An object of the present invention is to provide a central control system terminal device and a central control system that can reduce the load on the system.

The invention of claim 1 is a terminal device of a centralized control system that is connected to a center device via a communication line and monitors and controls an operating state of a load device in response to an instruction content from the center device. Connected to the center device for performing data communication with the center device, an operation control unit for instructing the operating state of the load device, an operation monitoring unit for acquiring the operating state of the load device, and an instruction from the center device through the communication unit The comparison unit that compares the operation state of the loaded device with the operation state of the load device acquired by the operation monitoring unit and the operation state of the load device through the operation control unit only when the comparison result by the comparison unit does not match. change in accordance with an instruction from the device, and a terminal processing unit which transmits the operating state of the load device after the change to the center device, the terminal processing unit matches the comparison result by the comparison unit Sometimes, characterized in that transmitting the operating state of the load device obtained by the operation monitoring unit without ignoring an instruction from the center device changes the operation state of the load device to the center device.

In the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1 , the load device is a terminal device that can be used in a home automation system, and the operation control unit outputs an operation control signal to an HA terminal provided in the terminal device. The operation monitoring unit receives an operation monitor signal from an HA terminal provided in the terminal device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the communication unit performs Internet connection.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects of the present invention, the communication unit forms a wireless transmission path in at least a part of the communication line.

The invention of claim 5 is a centralized control system, and data communication is performed between the terminal device of the centralized control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , the center device, and the center device. The center device instructs the terminal device when the operation state of the load device is instructed from the information terminal device, and the operation state of the load device from the information terminal device. When confirmation is instructed, the terminal device is instructed to confirm the operation state, and the operation state of the load device transmitted from the terminal device is transmitted to the information terminal device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, at least one of a web page and an electronic mail is used for data communication between the center device and the information terminal device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the operation state of the load device is instructed from the center device, the operation result of the load device acquired by the operation monitoring unit is compared with the instructed operation state, and the comparison result is obtained. Since the operation state of the load device is changed according to the instruction from the center device only when they are inconsistent, the center device transmits only the data indicating the operation state of the load device without acquiring the operation state of the load device in advance. Well, data transmission for acquiring the operating state of the load device at the center device, which was necessary in the conventional configuration, is no longer necessary, and traffic to and from the center device can be greatly reduced compared to the conventional configuration. There is an advantage that you can. In addition, the operation state of the load device and the operation state that the center device tries to instruct the load device are not compared in the center device, but the operation state of the load device and the operation state that the center device tries to instruct the load device. Compared with the terminal device, even if there are many load devices, it is possible to avoid load concentration by providing multiple terminal devices, and consequently prevent load concentration on the center device. There is an advantage that you can.

On the other hand, when the instruction from the center device and the operating state of the load device match, the instruction from the center device is ignored and the operating state of the load device is transmitted to the center device, so the operating state of the load device is changed unnecessarily. In addition, the center device has an advantage that the latest operating state of the load device can be known.

According to the invention of claim 2 , since the terminal device used in the home automation system is a load device, the central device can perform centralized monitoring control of the load device only by connecting to the HA terminal provided in the load device. There is an advantage of becoming.

According to the invention of claim 3 , since the Internet connection is performed, there are few restrictions on the location of the center device and the connection form.

According to the invention of claim 4 , the degree of freedom regarding the arrangement of the terminal device is increased. For example, the terminal device is provided adjacent to a plurality of load devices arranged at various locations in the house, and communication is performed without routing the wiring. There is an advantage that it is possible to collect the outlets to the outside of the line in one place.

According to the invention which concerns on Claim 5 , it becomes possible to instruct | indicate and confirm the driving | running state of a load apparatus from a distance by using the information terminal device which performs data communication between center apparatuses. As the information terminal device, a mobile telephone (for example, a mobile phone), a personal computer that can be connected to the Internet, or the like can be used. Therefore, it can be configured such that the user of the load device instructs or confirms the operation state of the load device from the outside, and the operation state of the plurality of load devices is collectively displayed by the information terminal device. It is also possible to construct a centralized control system for monitoring.

According to the invention of claim 6 , the information terminal device only needs to have a function of browsing a web page or a function of handling an e-mail, and for controlling or monitoring the operating state of the load device in the information terminal device. Since no special application program is required, it is possible to use various commonly used information terminal devices.

  In the embodiment described below, a terminal device having an HA terminal is exemplified so that it can be used as a load device in a home automation system. However, the technical idea of the present invention is also applied to other load devices not having an HA terminal. Is applicable. The load device to be controlled in the present invention is not particularly limited. In addition to a water heater, a fan heater, and a GHP that are gas devices, an air conditioner that is an electric device, a refrigerator, an electric lock that is a disaster prevention / crime prevention device, an alarm device, a flash Anything such as a light may be used. The HA terminal has a pair of terminals that reverses the operation state of the load device every time the operation control signal is input as a rectangular wave pulse signal (stops during operation and operates during stop), and And a pair of terminals for outputting an operation monitor signal representing an operation state of the load device.

  The overall system configuration is as shown in FIG. 3. The terminal device 1 is connected to the center device 2 via the communication line 4, and the terminal device 1 monitors and controls the load device 3. Although the communication line 4 is assumed to include the Internet, the technical idea of the present invention can be applied to a communication line that does not include the Internet. For example, a public network or ISDN can be used as the communication line. The portion of the communication line 4 that connects the terminal device 1 may be a wireless transmission path. When the terminal device 1 forms a wireless transmission path in the communication line 4, for example, by providing the terminal device 1 adjacent to the load device 3, one load device 3 is connected to one terminal device 1. Alternatively, several load devices 3 may be connected to one terminal device 1 and the terminal device 1 may be used as a wireless LAN terminal. In this case, if the wired part of the communication line 4 is pulled out of the house from the access point that constructs the wireless LAN, the wired part of the communication line 4 is connected to the load device 3 distributed in the house. It can be pulled out in one place and wiring construction becomes easy. Alternatively, the terminal device 1 may be provided with a function of a mobile terminal such as PHS and communicate with the center device 2 through a base station of the mobile communication network. Alternatively, the terminal device 1 may be configured by a parent device and a child device capable of performing communication by specific low-power radio, and a configuration in which the parent device is connected to the communication line 4 and the child device is connected to the load device 3 may be adopted. Good.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device 1 used in the present embodiment includes a communication unit 11 that can be connected to the Internet with respect to the communication line 4, and an operation control unit 12 a that can be connected to the HA terminal 3 a provided in the load device 3. And a load interface 12 including an operation monitoring unit 12b. The communication unit 11 performs data communication with the center device 2 through the communication line 4. That is, the communication unit 11 performs physical connection and electrical connection with the communication line 4 and extracts data from the transmission signal transmitted to the center apparatus 2. The HA terminal 3a provided in the load device 3 alternately reverses the operation state of the load device 3 every time an operation control signal is input from the outside (that is, alternately switches between the operation state of operation and stop). A total of four terminals including a terminal and a pair of terminals that output two types of operation monitor signals depending on whether the operation state of the load device 3 is operating or stopped are provided. The operation control unit 12 a instructs the operation state of the load device 3 by outputting an operation control signal to the load device 3, and the operation monitoring unit 12 b monitors the operation monitor signal from the load device 3. Get the driving status of.

  The communication unit 11 and the load interface 12 are connected to a terminal processing unit 10 composed of a microcomputer. The terminal processing unit 10 extracts necessary data from the data received from the center device 2 through the communication unit 11. The data transmitted from the center device 2 to the terminal device 1 includes information (terminal ID) for identifying the terminal device 1 in a network constructed by the terminal device 1 and the center device 2, and identifying the terminal device 1 on the Internet. Information (network address) and instruction content of the operating state of the load device 3 are included at least. When a plurality of load devices 3 are connected to the terminal device 1, information (load ID) for identifying each load device 3 is also included.

  A memory 13 is connected to the terminal processing unit 10, and a terminal ID, a network address, and a load ID are stored in the memory 13. The memory 13 also includes an area for storing the operation state of the load device 3 acquired by the operation monitoring unit 12b by monitoring the operation monitor signal. As the memory 13, a rewritable and nonvolatile semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM is used. In the terminal processing unit 10, when the network address and the terminal ID included in the data from the center device 2 received through the communication unit 11 match the network address and the terminal ID stored in the memory 13, the terminal device 1 and the center device 2. Is established, and data processing according to the content of data received from the center apparatus 2 through the communication unit 11 is performed. The load ID is used to identify each load device 3 when a plurality of load devices 3 are connected. In the present embodiment, the terminal device 1 shows an example of one-to-one correspondence with the load device 3. The load ID may not be used. In the present embodiment, as the data processing, it is assumed that the operation state of the load device 3 is changed and the operation state of the load device 3 is confirmed. Therefore, other functions of the terminal processing unit 10 are not particularly described.

  Further, the terminal processing unit 10 includes a comparison unit that compares the content of the operation state of the load device 3 transmitted from the center device 2 and received by the communication unit 11 with the operation state of the load device 3 stored in the memory 13. 14 and a timer 15 that determines a time from when data is received from the center device 2 to when data is returned to the center device 2.

  The terminal processing unit 10 outputs the operation control signal from the operation control unit 12a with the instruction contents regarding the operation state of the load device 3 received from the center device 2 being valid only when the comparison result of the comparison unit 14 is inconsistent. On the other hand, when the comparison result in the comparison unit 14 is coincident, the terminal processing unit 10 invalidates the instruction content regarding the operation state of the load device 3 received from the center device 2 and the operation control signal from the operation control unit 12a is invalidated. Do not output. However, the operation state acquired from the load device 3 and acquired by the operation monitoring unit 12b is obtained regardless of whether the operation state instructed from the center device 2 and the operation state acquired from the load device 3 match or do not match. The terminal device 1 returns it to the center device 2.

  The timer 15 times the predetermined time from the time when the comparison result is obtained when the comparison result of the comparison unit 14 is inconsistent, and the terminal processing unit 10 loads the load when the predetermined time timed by the timer 15 has elapsed. The operation monitoring signal output from the HA terminal of the device 3 is monitored by the operation monitoring unit 12b, and the operation state of the load device 3 is acquired. The predetermined time limited by the timer 15 is set to be slightly longer than the time until the operation monitor signal changes in response to the operation control signal being given to the load device 3. The time limit by the timer 15 may be set regardless of the comparison result in the comparison unit 14, and not only when the comparison result in the comparison unit 14 does not match, but also when the time limit of the timer 15 expires. The operating state of the load device 3 may be returned to the center device 2. Further, in this case, the time point start time of the timer 15 is not the time when the comparison result in the comparison unit 14 is obtained, but the time when the terminal processing unit 10 receives data from the center device 2 through the communication unit 11. Also good.

  Below, with reference to FIG. 2, the operation | movement when instruct | indicating the driving | running state of the load apparatus 3 from the center apparatus 2 is demonstrated. In order to instruct the operation state of the load device 3 from the center device 2, a transmission signal including data on the operation state to be instructed is transmitted from the center device 2 to the terminal device 1 through the communication line 4 (P1). The terminal processing unit 10 of the terminal device 1 that has received the transmission signal compares the network address and the terminal ID included in the data received from the center device 2 with the network address and the terminal ID stored in the memory 13, and both If they match, the instruction content of the operation state of the load device 3 is held in the terminal processing unit 10, the operation monitor signal of the load device 3 is read by the operation monitoring unit 12b, and the operation state of the load device 3 at that time is acquired (P2), and the obtained operating state of the load device 3 is stored in the memory 13. At this time, the previously acquired operating state of the load device 3 is deleted from the memory 13. That is, the area for storing the operation state of the load device 3 in the memory 13 is overwritten. However, when the capacity of the memory 13 is relatively large, there has been an instruction from the center device 2 regarding the operation state of the load device 3 for a predetermined number of times acquired by the operation monitoring unit 12b for each instruction from the center device 2 in the past. It may be stored in the memory 13 together with the date and time and a history may be taken.

  Next, the comparison unit 14 provided in the terminal device 1 compares the operation state (that is, the latest operation state) of the load device 3 stored in the memory 13 with the operation state of the load device 3 instructed from the center device 2. Compared with the unit 14 (P3), if they do not match, the operation control signal is output from the operation control unit 12a (P4), and the load device 3 is instructed to change the operation state. When the timer 15 expires after instructing the load device 3 to change the operation state, the operation monitor unit 12b monitors the operation monitor signal to acquire the operation state of the load device 3 (P5). The acquired operating state of the load device 3 is transmitted to the center device 2 through the communication unit 11 (P6). When the comparison unit 14 compares the operation state of the load device 3 instructed from the center device 2 (P3), when the comparison results match, the operation of the load device 3 acquired by the operation monitor unit 12b is performed. The state is transmitted to the center device 2 (P7).

  That is, the terminal processing unit 10 changes the operation state of the load device 3 only when the operation state instructed from the center device 2 and the operation state of the load device 3 acquired through the operation monitoring unit 12b do not match. . For example, the operation state instructed from the center device 2 is “operation”, and the operation state of the load device 3 acquired by the operation monitoring unit 12b when the instruction message from the center device 2 is received by the communication unit 11 is “stop”. ”, The two operating states are inconsistent, so that the operation control signal is output from the operation control unit 12a and the operation state of the load device 3 is reversed to change the operation state of the load device 3 to“ operation ”. Let

  If the operation state instructed from the center device 2 matches the operation state stored in the memory 13, the operation state stored in the memory 13 is not output from the operation control unit 12a without the operation control signal being output. Return to device 2. That is, the terminal device 1 does not instruct the load device 3 to change the operation state, and only returns the operation state acquired from the load device 3 to the center device 2 when the instruction message from the center device 2 is received. However, the center device 2 can acquire the operating state in response to instructing the load device 3 of the operating state.

  As described above, since the terminal processing unit 10 determines whether or not to give an operation control signal to the load device 3, even if there are a large number of load devices 3 under the control of the center device 2, When the operation state of the load device 3 is instructed from the device 2, the center device 2 does not need to acquire the operation state of the load device 3 in advance, and traffic on the communication line 4 between the center device 2 and the terminal device 1 is It can be greatly reduced. Further, when the center device 2 compares the operation state of the load device 3 acquired in advance when instructing the load device 3 with the operation state, the center device 2 compares the operation state with the center device 2. Therefore, if there are a large number of load devices 3 under the control of the center apparatus 2, the load on the center apparatus 2 becomes very large. In the configuration of this embodiment, the center apparatus 2 gives an instruction. Since the operation state and the actual operation state of the load device 3 are performed in the terminal device 1, if there is no load concentration in the center device 2 and is similar to the conventional configuration, the load device that can be managed by the center device 2 The number of units 3 can be greatly increased compared to the conventional configuration.

  When the center device 2 only monitors the operation state of the load device 3, the center device 2 may instruct the terminal device 1 to monitor, and the terminal device 1 that receives the monitoring instruction monitors the operation. The operation state of the load device 3 is acquired by the unit 12b, and the acquired operation state is transmitted to the center device 2.

  Further, by using an information terminal device that performs data communication with the center device 2, it is possible to instruct and confirm the operating state of the load device from a distance. In other words, the user of the load device can instruct and confirm the operation status of the load device from the outside, or centralized control that monitors the operation status of a plurality of load devices collectively with the information terminal device It becomes possible to build a system. It is desirable to use at least one of a web page and an electronic mail for data communication between the information terminal device and the center device 1. In this case, since the information terminal device only needs to have a function of browsing a web page or a function of handling an e-mail, the information terminal device needs a special application program for controlling and monitoring the operating state of the load device. Instead, generally used mobile telephones (for example, mobile phones), personal computers that can be connected to the Internet, and the like can be used as information terminal devices.

  In the above-described embodiment, since the communication unit 11 connects to the Internet, the center device 2 functions as a server constituting the Internet, and the functions of the center device 2 can be used from a separate information terminal device on the Internet. Then, it becomes possible to instruct the operating state of the load device 3 from the information terminal device. In this case, since an information terminal device on the Internet may be used, compared to the case where only a telephone line is used, there are many types of terminals that can be used, and the load device 3 can be controlled from various places.

  Note that it is only necessary that data communication is possible between the center apparatus 2 and the information terminal apparatus, and the information terminal apparatus does not necessarily have to be connected to the communication line 4 to which the terminal apparatus 1 is connected. That is, the communication line 4 that connects the terminal device 1 and the center device 2 and the communication line that connects the information terminal device and the center device 2 may be provided separately.

It is a block diagram which shows Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing same as the above. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a centralized control system according to the present invention. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal device 2 Center apparatus 3 Load apparatus 3a HA terminal 4 Communication line 10 Terminal processing part 11 Communication part 12a Operation control part 12b Operation monitoring part 13 Memory 14 Comparison part

Claims (6)

A terminal device of a centralized control system that is connected to a center device via a communication line and that monitors and controls the operating state of a load device in response to an instruction from the center device. A communication unit that performs data communication between them, an operation control unit that instructs the load device about the operation state, an operation monitoring unit that acquires the operation state of the load device, and the operation state of the load device instructed from the center device through the communication unit and a comparing unit for comparing the operation state of the load device obtained by the operation monitoring unit, the operating state of the load appliance through the operation control unit only when the comparison result by the comparing unit does not match changed according to an instruction from the center apparatus , and a terminal processing unit which transmits the operating state of the load device after the change to the center device, the terminal processing unit, center instrumentation when the comparison result by the comparing unit matches Terminal of the centralized control system, characterized in that the transmission command ignoring the operating state of the load device obtained by the operation monitoring unit does not change the operating state of the load equipment to the center apparatus from. The load device is a terminal device that can be used in a home automation system, the operation control unit outputs an operation control signal to an HA terminal provided in the terminal device, and the operation monitoring unit is an HA terminal provided in the terminal device. The terminal device of the centralized control system according to claim 1, wherein an operation monitor signal is input from . 3. The central control system terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit performs Internet connection . 4. The central control system terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit forms a wireless transmission path in at least a part of the communication line . 5. The central control system according to claim 1, the center device, and an information terminal device capable of data communication with the center device. When the operation state of the load device is instructed from the information terminal device, the operation state is instructed to the terminal device, and when the confirmation of the operation state of the load device is instructed from the information terminal device, the operation state is confirmed to the terminal device. A centralized control system characterized by instructing and transmitting an operating state of a load device transmitted from a terminal device to an information terminal device. Wherein the data communication between the center apparatus and the information terminal apparatus, the centralized control system of claim 5, wherein the use of at least one of the web pages and email.

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