JP5694098B2 - Device control apparatus and control method - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a device control apparatus for monitoring and controlling each equipment device such as a building or a factory, and a control method for controlling an operation schedule of a device (air conditioner, lighting, etc.) capable of setting an operation time schedule. .

Facilities such as buildings and buildings in recent years are equipped with equipment control devices that monitor the operating status of various equipment installed in tenants and the usage status of equipment related to the usage of power, water and gas. . This type of device is also used to centrally operate and control equipment such as air conditioning and lighting for each tenant. The equipment control device controls the operation / stop (on / off) of the equipment of each facility according to a preset time schedule.

JP 2007-71405 A

  The facility usually has an occupied part occupied by each tenant and a common part such as an elevator hall or a corridor. Since the equipment is provided in both the occupying part and the shared part, it is necessary to prepare the time schedule of the occupying part and the time schedule of the shared part separately. However, it is necessary for the administrator to create the schedule for the equipment in the shared section based on the schedule for the occupied section. In creating it, it was necessary to make settings in consideration of the operation status of the equipment according to the time schedule of each facility other than the common part, which was a heavy burden on the administrator.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device control device and a control method that reduce the time schedule creation effort.

According to the embodiment, the device control apparatus controls a plurality of devices including at least one shared device and a plurality of individual devices operating according to individual time schedules. The device control apparatus includes a creation unit and a control unit. The creation unit creates a synthesis schedule that is a logical sum of the time schedules for each individual device. The control unit operates the shared device according to the synthesis schedule. The time schedule is a schedule that defines an ON period or an OFF period of an individual device and an operation mode in an ON period that is selectively determined from a plurality of operation modes. A synthesis schedule that defines the logical sum of the on period or the off period shown in FIG. 5 and the operation mode in the on period that is selectively defined from among a plurality of operation modes is created.

The system diagram which shows an example of the monitoring system concerning embodiment. The block diagram which shows the principal part of the monitoring system shown by FIG. The functional block diagram which shows an example of the monitoring server 21 shown by FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the monitoring server 21 shown in FIG. 3. The figure which shows 1st Embodiment about the relationship between the time schedule of an individual apparatus, and a synthetic | combination schedule. The figure which shows 2nd Embodiment about the relationship between the time schedule of an individual apparatus, and a synthetic | combination schedule. The figure which shows 3rd Embodiment about the relationship between the time schedule of an individual apparatus, and a synthetic | combination schedule. The figure which shows 4th Embodiment about the relationship between the time schedule of an individual apparatus, and a synthetic | combination schedule. The figure which shows 5th Embodiment about the relationship between the time schedule of an individual apparatus, and a synthetic | combination schedule. The figure which shows 6th Embodiment about the relationship between the time schedule of an individual apparatus, and a synthetic | combination schedule.

  FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring system according to the embodiment. The monitoring system shown in FIG. 1 is installed in a facility such as a building and is connected to a local area network (LAN) 20, an integrated control device 11, a plurality of local controllers 13a, 13b, 13c, and a monitoring server. 21. In the embodiment, a building such as a normal office building is assumed as the facility.

  The integrated control device 11 corresponds to a central control station that controls the plurality of local controllers 13a, 13b, and 13c in an integrated manner. The monitoring server 21 collects measurement data corresponding to the operation state (operation state and use state) of the devices 15a, 15b, and 15c installed in the building from the local controllers 13a, 13b, and 13c, and stores them in the internal storage. It has a filing function stored in a database (DB) 16 made up of devices and a schedule combining function for combining time schedules for controlling the devices 15a, 15b and 15c. Each local controller 13a, 13b, 13c outputs a control signal for controlling the operation of the devices 15a, 15b, 15c, and the lighting, air conditioning, elevator, etc. in the building through the operation of the devices 15a, 15b, 15c. Has a management function to manage the environment.

  The interface 12 is a so-called human-machine interface (HMI), is connected to the integrated control device 11, and is an input device for performing an operator's input operation, and a display device for displaying DB (database) information of the integrated control device 11. And an output device for displaying information output from each local controller. Each local controller 13a, 13b, 13c is also called a local control server (LCS), and controls a plurality of devices 15a, 15b, 15c via remote input / output devices (RIO) 14a, 14b, 14c. The remote input / output devices (RIO) 14a, 14b, and 14c output control signals for controlling the corresponding devices 15a, 15b, and 15c, and acquire measurement signals from the devices 15a, 15b, and 15c, respectively.

  Each local controller 13a, 13b, 13c collects measurement signals indicating the operation or state of each device 15a, 15b, 15c via the RIOs 14a, 14b, 14c, and converts the measurement data converted into digital values to the LAN 20 To the integrated control device 11 and the monitoring server 21. The devices 15a, 15b, and 15c are lighting devices and air conditioners installed on each floor in a building, for example.

In the embodiment, a time schedule for operations including ON / OFF of the devices 15a, 15b, and 15c is given from the monitoring server 11 to the local controllers 13a, 13b, and 13c, and the devices 15a, 15b, and 15c are controlled. Is assumed.
Here, it is assumed that the devices 15a and 15b are installed in, for example, different tenants on the same floor, and the device 15c is installed in a common part of the floor. The devices 15a and 15b operate according to a preset individual time schedule, but the time schedule for controlling the device 15c has conventionally required manual creation manually. In the following, an embodiment capable of reducing this effort will be described.

  The monitoring server 21 is connected to the integrated control device 11 via the LAN 20. The monitoring server 21 is connected to a building operation server 32 via a wide area network (for example, the Internet) 30.

  The building operation server 32 is connected to a computer (PC) 31 via the network 30 to realize a display / operation function between the monitoring system and the computer (PC) 31. The PC 31 is a personal computer operated by a user who is a building tenant, for example.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part of the monitoring system shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the integrated control device 11, the monitoring server 21, and the local controller 13 have a database for storing schedule data, the databases are equalized among the devices, and the contents are managed in synchronization.
First, individual time schedules of the devices 15a and 15b are input to the integrated control device 11 through the interface 12 or the computer 31 and set. The schedule data set in the integrated control apparatus 11 is notified to the monitoring server 21 and is equalized and managed.

When the monitoring server 21 acquires a schedule composition request from the integrated control apparatus 11, the schedule composition function operates. That is, the monitoring server 21 synthesizes the schedule and equalizes the synthesized schedule to each device. The local controller 13 operates and stops each device according to the schedule.
The schedule data mainly includes information such as a control target device, calendar information in which holidays and special days are set, a period during which the schedule is applied in the calendar, operation and stop time of the control device, and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the monitoring server 21 shown in FIG. The monitoring server 21 includes a schedule data update detection unit 100, a change notification unit 200, a synthesis schedule creation unit 300, a synthesis schedule higher-level writing unit 400, and a synthesis schedule lower-level writing unit 500 as functional blocks according to the embodiment. Both are functional blocks realized by software using the arithmetic processing function of the Central Processing Unit (CPU).

  In the embodiment, the synthesis schedule creation unit 300 creates a synthesis schedule at the timing detected by the schedule data update detection unit 100. In detecting the update timing of the schedule data, the schedule data update detection unit 100 determines whether it is the timing for synthesizing a new schedule or the timing for updating an existing synthesis schedule. When the timing for synthesizing a new schedule is detected, the schedule data update detection unit 100 sends information on the forced synthesis schedule flag set to the change notification unit 200.

  The schedule data update detection unit 100 detects timing for performing schedule composition. The timing for performing the schedule composition includes <daily timing>, <timing when the schedule composition source schedule is changed>, <timing when the schedule composition source is associated with schedule composition>, and <the monitoring server 21. For example, there are four timings:

  In <daily timing>, the synthesis schedule creation unit 300 synthesizes a schedule for one week including the current day with respect to all the synthesis schedules. In <the timing when the schedule of the schedule composition source is changed>, the composition schedule creation unit 300 includes the current composition schedule including the current day at the timing when the composition source schedule associated with the composition schedule is changed. For one week.

  In <the timing at which the association of the schedule composition source with respect to the schedule composition is changed>, the composition schedule creating unit 300 is the target composition schedule at the timing at which the composition source association is changed, which is associated with the composition schedule. Is synthesized for one week including the day.

  At <the timing when the monitoring server 21 is activated>, the synthesis schedule creation unit 300 synthesizes a schedule for one week including the current day for all the synthesis schedules. Here, examples of the schedule data that can be updated include target devices, operation and stop times of the target devices, calendar information for setting holidays and special days, and setting items unique to the synthesis schedule. An item that can be changed uniformly is correction time. The correction time is a parameter used when the operating time of the target device is advanced or delayed by a certain time.

  When the schedule data update detection unit 100 detects the timing of schedule synthesis, the schedule data update detection unit 100 notifies the change notification unit 200 of information indicating that. The notified information includes the flag indicating whether to synthesize a new schedule or update a group of existing schedules that have been synthesized. The change notification unit 200 gives an instruction to the synthesis schedule creation unit 300 with reference to this flag.

  Based on the information acquired from the change notification unit 200, the synthesis schedule creation unit 300 performs a new schedule synthesis operation or a synthesized schedule update operation. The synthesis schedule creation unit 300 creates a synthesis schedule at the timing detected by the schedule data update detection unit 100. That is, the synthesis schedule creation unit 300 creates a synthesis schedule that is a logical sum of time schedules for operating the devices 15a and 15b.

  The time schedule of the devices 15a and 15b describes the time when the devices 15a and 15b are turned on and the time when the devices 15a and 15b are turned off, respectively. That is, the time schedule is a schedule that defines the on / off schedule of the corresponding device, and the synthesis schedule creation unit 300 sets the logical sum of the on periods for each device as the synthesis schedule.

  When the synthesis schedule is created by the synthesis schedule creation unit 300, the synthesis schedule is written in the integrated control device 11 and the local controller 13, and the schedule data is updated. The synthesis schedule upper-level writing unit 400 writes a new synthesis schedule in the integrated control apparatus 11. The synthesis schedule lower-order writing unit 500 writes the synthesis schedule in the local controller 13. As a result, the schedule data of the integrated control device 11, the monitoring server 21, and the local controller 13 are synchronized and equalized.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the monitoring server 21 shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the monitoring server 21 determines whether or not there is a forced synthesis schedule creation flag (step S11). If this flag is set (Yes in step S11), it is determined that it is time to newly synthesize a synthesis schedule, and the monitoring server 21 acquires information on all synthesis source schedules from the schedule synthesis definition file.

  The schedule synthesis definition file is a file for recording the schedule group name and the control target point after the synthesis when the integrated control apparatus 11 performs an operation of newly synthesizing the schedule. The monitoring server 21 acquires the schedule group name and the control target point from the schedule synthesis definition file, and performs the subsequent processing.

  On the other hand, if the forced synthesis schedule flag is not set (No in step S11), the update operation of the synthesis schedule is performed individually. In this case, the monitoring server 21 refers to the changed file among the schedule group setting file, the schedule calendar setting file, and the schedule synthesis definition file, and determines the schedule number of the schedule to be changed (step S13). Based on this, the monitoring server 21 acquires information on the schedule group to be updated.

  Here, the schedule group setting file is a file in which information on registered schedule groups is recorded. The schedule calendar setting file is a file in which calendar information is set for a schedule group in which operation and stop times for each day of the week, operation and stop times for holidays and special days, and weekly schedules are set.

  When the confirmed schedule number is acquired by the monitoring server 21 (step S14), a loop necessary for the subsequent processing is executed. First, the monitoring server 21 acquires a schedule time and a value for each composition source schedule corresponding to the confirmed schedule number (step S15). When the procedure of step S15 is repeated for the composition source schedule, the monitoring server 21 reflects the correction time on the set time of the schedule acquired in step S15 (step S16).

  Next, the monitoring server 21 creates a weekly schedule based on the minute schedule created in step S16 and reflects it in the schedule information (step S17). The procedure of steps S15 to S17 is repeated for seven days when creating a weekly schedule. When exiting this loop, the monitoring server 21 writes the updated data to the integrated control device 11 and the local controller 13 (step S18). The procedure obtained by adding step S18 to steps S15 to S17 is looped by the determined schedule number. The schedule composition operation is performed by the above procedure. Next, a plurality of embodiments regarding the relationship between the schedule of the individual device and the synthesis schedule will be described.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment regarding a relationship between a time schedule and a synthesis schedule of individual devices. 5-10, the code | symbol A is made into the time schedule of the apparatus 15a, and the code | symbol B is made into the time schedule of the apparatus 15b. A synthesis schedule which is an operation time schedule of the device 15c is shown as (composition).

In FIG. 5A, schedule A is a schedule that is on at 8:00 and off at 12:00. Schedule B is a schedule that is on (ON) at 10:00 and off (OFF) at 18:00. Schedules A and B are treated as synthesis sources. The logical sum of these schedules is a schedule that is on (ON) at 8:00 and off (OFF) at 18:00, and this is a synthesis schedule. The device 15c is operated according to this operation schedule.
A set of ON time and OFF time is determined as one operation time zone. The logical sum for the schedule time is a so-called superposition of the operating time of one schedule and the operating time of the other schedule.
FIG. 5 (2) shows that schedule A has two on / off times in one day. By taking a logical sum with the schedule B, a synthesis schedule is generated in the same manner.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the time schedule of the device 15c that is a shared device is automatically generated based on the time schedule of the device 15a and the time schedule of the device 15b that are individually operated. . As a result, a part that has been required to be manually operated manually by the system is replaced by the system in the past, so that it is possible to provide a device control device and a control method that reduce the time schedule creation effort.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a second embodiment regarding the relationship between the time schedule of individual devices and the synthesis schedule. FIG. 6A shows an example in which the synthesis schedule completely includes the schedule of one device (schedule A in this case). FIG. 6B shows an example in which the schedules A and B of both devices are completely independent in the synthesis schedule. Depending on the time setting of the devices 15a and 15b, the conditions shown in FIGS.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a third embodiment regarding the relationship between the time schedule and the synthesis schedule of individual devices. FIG. 7A shows a state in which a plurality of ON times of the composition source schedule are set. For example, in schedule A, the device is turned on at 5:00 and 9:00. In this case, in the third embodiment, ON that precedes in time (ON of 5:00) is preferentially handled, and the logical sum of this point and schedule B is set as a synthesis schedule.

  In FIG. 7 (2), in schedule A, the device is turned off at 13:00 and 20:00. In this case, in the third embodiment, a logical sum of OFF that precedes in time (OFF at 13:00) and schedule B is set as a synthesis schedule. That is, if either one of schedules A and B is ON, the composition schedule is set to ON. That is, in the synthesis schedule, the off at 20:00 is ignored, and the device 15c is turned off at 18:00 corresponding to the schedule B. Thus, in the third embodiment, an on time point or an off time point that precedes in time is incorporated into the synthesis schedule.

  When multiple ON times or OFF times are set in the composition source schedule, for example, assuming that the lighting device is automatically turned on and then turned off manually, the setting is automatically turned on again. There are cases to incorporate. There is a need to wake up the lighting equipment in the common area before the person enters the tenant. In addition, there is a need to turn on for a while after all tenants have returned. The third embodiment can cope with such a case.

[Fourth Embodiment]
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a fourth embodiment regarding the relationship between the time schedule and the synthesis schedule of individual devices. In FIG. 8 (1), only the ON time is set in the schedule A (10:00). If a logical sum with the schedule B is taken, the device is turned on after 5:00. In such a case, the maximum period of one day, for example, up to 23:59 may be set as the ON period. Similarly in FIG. 8 (2), the on state continues until the maximum period after 5:00 on.

[Fifth Embodiment]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a fifth embodiment regarding the relationship between the time schedule and the synthesis schedule of individual devices. FIG. 9 shows a case where only OFF is set in the composition source schedule. In this case, the first time every day (00:00) is started from the last value of the previous day. For example, as shown in schedule A, if [10:00 OFF] is set and the last day is ON, the schedule is handled as [00:00 ON] [10:00 OFF]. That is, the last time for each day is adopted as the end time of the operation time. This is reflected in the composition schedule in FIG.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 9 (2), if the last day is OFF, [00:00 OFF] [10:00 OFF], and therefore, it is handled in the same way as continuous OFF. In the case where the original schedule is continuous for a plurality of days, such as the first day = [ON] only, the second day = [OFF] only, the first day = [ON] only Only schedule synthesis, 2nd day = [OFF] is treated as schedule synthesis. That is, in this embodiment, the logical sum of either the on timing or the off timing indicated in the time schedule for each device is used as the synthesis schedule.

[Sixth Embodiment]
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a sixth embodiment regarding the relationship between the time schedule and the synthesis schedule of individual devices. In the sixth embodiment, not only two on / off states but also operation in a plurality of operation modes, so-called multi-states are considered. For example, four values of [stop], [cooling], [dehumidification], and [heating] in an air conditioner can be exemplified.

  FIG. 10 shows a case in which these mode values can be handled as a composition source by replacing them with binary values of ON and OFF and rereading them as “operation period”. For example, in the case of four values [stop], [cooling], [dehumidification], and [heating], it can be handled as ON = [cooling], [dehumidification], [heating], and OFF = [stop]. In other words, any of the operation modes of [cooling], [dehumidification], and [heating] is handled as on.

  In the schedule A in FIG. 10A, the device 15a is turned on at 08:00, the [dehumidification] function is activated, and stops at 12:00. In the schedule B, the device 15b is turned on at 10:00, the [cooling] function is activated, and stops at 18:00. In the synthesis schedule, ON is set at 08:00 and OFF is set at 18:00.

  In FIG. 10 (2), schedules (A, B) similar to those in FIG. 10 (1) are shown for the devices 15a, 15b, but [cooling] is set when the synthesis schedule is on. This operation mode at the time of ON is based on the default setting, and in addition, [Dehumidification] or [Heating] can be set. As described above, in the sixth embodiment, in order to cope with the operation in the multi-state, the operation modes of the operation start and stop states are set.

  That is, in this embodiment, the time schedule of each device is a schedule in which the operation mode in the ON period is selectively determined from a plurality of operation modes. The synthesis schedule creation unit 300 selects the operation mode of the shared device 15c during the on-period of the synthesis schedule from any of a plurality of operation modes [stop], [cooling], [dehumidification], and [heating]. Incorporate into.

As described above, by setting the logical sum of the time schedules of the individual devices as the time schedule of the shared device as described in the above embodiments, it is possible to automatically set the operation time of the facility device of the shared unit. In addition, even if the composition source schedule is changed, the contents of the change are reflected in the composition destination schedule, so that it is possible to prevent setting conflicts. Therefore, it is possible to provide a device control apparatus and a control method that reduce the time schedule creation effort.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the shared device may not be operated according to the synthesis schedule, but may be turned on earlier than a synthesis schedule by a certain period and turned off earlier by a certain period. Conversely, the shared device may be turned on later than the synthesis schedule by a predetermined period and turned off later by a certain period. That is, the shared device may be operated on a schedule that is earlier / slower than the synthesis schedule by a certain time. This is a control mode that becomes possible only when a synthesis schedule is generated, and can be sufficiently realized by the apparatus of the embodiment.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Local area network (LAN), 11 ... Integrated control apparatus, 12 ... Interface, 13a, 13b, 13c ... Local controller, 21 ... Monitoring server, 15a, 15b, 15c ... Apparatus, 16 ... Database (DB), 14a , 14b, 14c ... Remote input / output device (RIO), 30 ... Network, 32 ... Building management server, 31 ... Computer (PC), 100 ... Schedule data update detection unit, 200 ... Change notification unit, 300 ... Synthetic schedule creation , 400... Synthetic schedule upper writing unit, 500... Synthetic schedule lower writing unit 500

Claims (10)

In a device control apparatus that controls a plurality of devices including at least one shared device and a plurality of individual devices that operate according to individual time schedules,
A creation unit that creates a synthesis schedule that is a logical sum of the time schedules for each individual device;
A control unit for operating the shared device according to the synthesis schedule ,
The time schedule is a schedule that defines an on period or an off period of each individual device and an operation mode in an on period that is selectively determined from a plurality of operation modes,
The creation unit determines a logical sum of the on period or the off period indicated in the time schedule for each individual device, and an operation mode in the on period that is selectively determined from the plurality of operation modes. A device control apparatus for creating the synthesis schedule . In a device control apparatus that controls a plurality of devices including a shared device and a plurality of individual devices,
A creating unit that creates a synthesis schedule that is a logical sum for the time of the on period included in the time schedule for each of the plurality of individual devices;
A control unit for operating the shared device according to the synthesis schedule,
The said production | generation part is an apparatus control apparatus which makes the operation mode selectively defined from several operation modes the operation mode of the said shared apparatus in the ON period of the said synthesis schedule . Furthermore, a detection unit for detecting the update timing of the synthesis schedule is provided,
The device control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the creation unit creates the synthesis schedule at an update timing detected by the detection unit. 3. The device control according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the shared device to operate according to a schedule that is a fixed time earlier than the synthesis schedule or a schedule that is a predetermined time later than the synthesis schedule. apparatus. 2. The device control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the creation unit uses a logical sum of either an on period or an off period indicated in a time schedule for each individual device as the synthesis schedule . In a control method for controlling a shared device according to an operation schedule in relation to a plurality of individual devices operating on an individual time schedule,
Creating a composite schedule that is a logical sum of the time schedules for each individual device;
Operating the shared device according to the synthesis schedule,
The time schedule is a schedule that defines an on period or an off period of each individual device and an operation mode in the on period, which is selectively determined from a plurality of operation modes,
The creating includes a logical sum of the on period or the off period indicated in a time schedule for each individual device, and an operation mode in the on period that is selectively determined from the plurality of operation modes. A control method for creating the defined synthesis schedule. In a control method applicable to a device control apparatus that controls a plurality of devices including a shared device and a plurality of individual devices,
Creating a synthesis schedule that is a logical sum for the time of the on period included in the time schedule for each of the plurality of individual devices;
Operating the shared device according to the synthesis schedule,
The creating is a control method in which an operation mode selectively determined from a plurality of operation modes is set as an operation mode of the shared device in an on period of the synthesis schedule . Furthermore, the update timing of the synthesis schedule is detected,
The control method according to claim 6, wherein the creating creates the synthesis schedule at the detected update timing . 8. The operation according to claim 6, wherein the operation is to operate the shared device according to a schedule that is earlier than the synthesis schedule by a predetermined time or a schedule that is later than the synthesis schedule by a predetermined time. The control method described. The control method according to claim 6 , wherein the creation is to create the combination schedule of a logical sum of either an on period or an off period indicated in a time schedule for each individual device .

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