JP5907811B2 - Power consumption adjustment system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power consumption adjustment system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for adjusting the total power consumption by controlling the operation of various household electrical appliances and household appliances that operate on electricity in a house, for example.

  As a conventional control system for controlling the operation of various household electrical appliances and household appliances that operate on electricity in a house, for example, each household electrical appliance / household appliance is provided with a communication function, and each household appliance is identified by wireless communication information from a wireless terminal device. There is one that performs power on / off control of devices and residential devices (Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-140991 A

  However, in the control system for home appliances / household appliances of Patent Document 1, it is possible to control each device individually by turning it on or off based on the will of the resident (user). When a power suppression amount, that is, a power saving target (for example, “15% power saving”, etc.) is set, whether the power is operating at that time or the operating state (air conditioning set temperature, lighting brightness, etc.) at that time By performing control to turn off the power of devices that have little utility to maintain as they are or to control to change the operating state, more specifically, if necessary, control to turn off the power of multiple devices at once or change the operating state By performing the control, it is not possible to automatically and easily create a situation for achieving the power saving target as a whole household electric appliance / household appliance group. For this reason, it cannot be said that the contribution degree and versatility especially with respect to suppression of power consumption are high.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a power consumption adjustment system that can automatically control power on / off of home appliances / household appliances according to the setting of total power consumption for the entire household appliance / household appliance group. The purpose is to do. In other words, the present invention automatically and easily achieves the target of total power consumption (power saving target) for the entire home appliance / household appliance group by controlling the power on / off of the home appliance / household appliance. It is an object of the present invention to provide a power consumption adjustment system that can perform the above-mentioned.

In order to achieve this object, a power consumption adjustment system according to claim 1 includes a controller having a control unit and a communication unit, and at least one instruction device having an input unit , a display unit, and a communication unit. The operating state of household appliances and household appliances that are operated by electricity is input to the controller of the controller via the communication section of the controller, and the controller controller controls the total power consumption of the entire device group including the household appliances and household appliances. If the total power consumption is greater than the power consumption upper limit setting value, the power consumption upper limit setting value is updated to the total power consumption value, and the power consumption from the user via the input unit of the pointing device When an instruction to change the upper limit setting value is given, an instruction to change the setting value of the upper power consumption limit is issued via the communication unit of the instruction device and the communication unit of the controller. Given control unit determines the operation control command home devices and household equipment, based on the total power consumption and settings, as well as utility power cap together with a control unit of the controller calculates the utility for each home device and household equipment The instruction device displays the content of the operation control command on the display unit, and the communication unit of the controller transmits the operation control command.

  Therefore, according to this power consumption adjustment system, when the user is instructed to change the power consumption upper limit setting value, the total power consumption and the power consumption upper limit setting value and the utility for each device operating on electricity are used. Since the operation control command is determined based on this, the content of the operation control of the device to achieve the amount of power consumption reduction is automatically determined, and the device group without operating each device individually A target state (power saving target) of the amount of suppression of the total power consumption for the whole is created.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the power consumption adjustment system according to the first aspect, the utility for each household electric appliance and house device includes an effect that varies depending on the elapsed time since the manual operation. In this case, the utility of a frequently operated device or a recently operated device is increased, so that the possibility that such a device is an object of automatic operation control according to the present invention is reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the power consumption adjustment system according to the first aspect, the set values of the total power consumption and the power consumption upper limit are displayed on the display unit of the pointing device. In this case, the user can change the set value of the power consumption upper limit while visually confirming the set values of the total power consumption and the power consumption upper limit at that time.

  According to the power consumption adjustment system of the present invention, the content of the operation control of the device to achieve the power consumption suppression amount is automatically performed by a very simple operation of only changing the set value of the power consumption upper limit. Since it is possible to create a state of the total power consumption suppression amount (power saving target) for the entire device group without determining and operating individual devices, operation as a total power consumption monitoring and control tool It is possible to improve performance and ease of handling, and in particular, it is possible to reduce the total power consumption, that is, improve the versatility as a power saving tool.

  According to the power consumption adjustment system of the second aspect, it is possible to further reduce the possibility that a frequently operated device or a recently operated device is a target of automatic operation control according to the present invention. Therefore, it is possible to prevent operation control that is inconvenient for the user, and in particular, it is possible to reduce the total power consumption, that is, to improve the comfort as a power saving tool.

  According to the power consumption adjustment system according to claim 3, the power consumption upper limit setting value can be changed while visually confirming the total power consumption and the power consumption upper limit setting value. This makes it easy to grasp and can realize a sense of achievement of power consumption suppression, and in particular, it is possible to increase the significance of suppressing the total power consumption, that is, a power saving awareness improvement tool.

It is a flowchart explaining an example of embodiment of the power consumption adjustment system of this invention, and is a flowchart explaining the processing step as the whole power consumption adjustment system. It is a flowchart explaining an example of embodiment of the power consumption adjustment system of this invention, and is a flowchart explaining separately the processing content in each of a controller and an instruction | indication apparatus. It is a functional block diagram of the adjustment system of power consumption of an embodiment. It is a figure explaining an example of an instruction device. It is a figure explaining another example of an instruction device. It is a figure explaining another example of a pointing device. It is a figure which shows the example of the utility function of a lighting fixture and an apparatus. (A) is a figure which shows the example of the utility function showing interaction utility. (B) is a figure which shows the example of the utility function showing a human state utility. (C) is a figure which shows the example of the utility function showing environmental utility. It is a figure which shows the example of the utility function of an air conditioner and an apparatus. (A) is a figure which shows the example of the utility function showing interaction utility. (B) is a figure which shows the example of the utility function showing a human state utility. (C) is a figure which shows the example of the utility function showing environmental utility. It is a figure explaining the utility function showing environmental utility. It is a functional block diagram explaining the specific structural example (Example 1) of the adjustment system of the power consumption of this invention. It is a functional block diagram explaining the concrete other example of composition (example 2) of the adjustment system of power consumption of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram explaining the concrete further another structural example (Example 3) of the power consumption adjustment system of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail based on an example of an embodiment shown in the drawings.

  1 to 8 show an example of an embodiment of the power consumption adjustment system of the present invention. The power consumption adjustment system includes a controller 1 having a control unit 1a and a communication unit 1b, and at least one instruction device 2 having an input unit 2a and a communication unit 2d. The operation state of the devices 3A, 3B,... That are electrically operated is input to the one control unit 1a, and the controller 1a of the controller 1 grasps the total power consumption Pn of the devices 3A, 3B,. When an instruction to change the set value Pu (Pug) of the power consumption upper limit is given from the user via the input unit 2a of the pointing device 2, the communication unit 2d of the pointing device 2 and the communication unit 1b of the controller 1 are used. An instruction to change the set value Pu (Pug) of the power consumption upper limit is given to the control unit 1a of the controller 1, and the control unit 1a of the controller 1 calculates the utility U for each device 3A, 3B,. In addition, based on the total power consumption Pn, the set value Pu (Pug) of the power consumption upper limit, and the utility U, operation control commands for the devices 3A, 3B,. Configured to send commands.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main points of the process of the power consumption adjustment system according to the present invention are to grasp the operating state of each device 3A, 3B,... The total power consumption of the entire group 3A, 3B,... Operating in (P2) is updated (P3) when the total power consumption is changing (P3), and the power consumption While the upper limit set value change instruction is not given from the user (P4: No), the process from P1 to P3 is repeated while the power consumption upper limit set value change instruction is given from the user (P4: No). Yes) is to calculate the utility of each device 3A, 3B,... Operated by electricity to be managed / controlled (P5) and to control the operation of the devices 3A, 3B,. .

  The devices 3A, 3B,... That operate on electricity in the present invention are not limited to specific devices, and are installed in a house (referred to as home appliances) installed in a house and operated by receiving electricity, or installed in a house. Any device that is provided and operates by receiving supply of electricity (referred to as a housing device) can be a target. Specifically, for example, as home appliances, televisions, stereos, movable air conditioners (fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, etc.), refrigerators, electric kettles, movable lighting fixtures (table desk lamps, etc.) Residential equipment includes fixed lighting devices (ceiling lights, etc.) attached to the ceiling or walls, fixed air conditioners (air conditioners, etc.) attached to the ceiling, walls, etc. . It should be noted that the category of home appliances and home appliances is merely for convenience of explanation, and the category itself has no particular meaning, and in the following, the appliances 3A, 3B,. In the following description, when it is not necessary to distinguish each of the home appliances 3A, 3B,... And when referring to the whole home appliances 3A, 3B,.

  In the present invention, for example, a control target facility such as a house or various buildings is provided with the controller 1 and an instruction device used by a resident or a user of the control target facility. In this embodiment, a plurality of instruction devices 2A, 2B,. In the following, when it is not necessary to distinguish each of these indicating devices 2A, 2B,..., And when referring to the entire indicating devices 2A, 2B,. In the following description, a set of users of a plurality of instruction devices 2 in a certain control target facility is referred to as a user group and is simply referred to as a group.

  One controller 1 is provided for a group of appliances 3 to be managed and controlled, and the operation state of each appliance 3 (specifically, the power source of the appliance) based on a control instruction from the instruction device 2. Communication between the control unit 1a that performs processing related to the determination of the on / off state, the set temperature and set airflow of the air conditioner, the set illuminance of the lighting, and the measuring device 4 And a communication unit 1b to perform.

  The instruction device 2 relates to an input unit 2a that is an interface for giving a user control instruction to the processing unit 2b, a processing unit 2b that performs processing based on the control instruction input from the input unit 2a, and power consumption. A display unit 2c that displays information and a communication unit 2d that communicates with the controller 1 are included.

  Only one instruction device 2 may be provided for a group of home appliances 3 to be managed and controlled, or a plurality of instruction devices 2 may be provided. The pointing device 2 may be a fixed type that is fixedly installed in the facility or a portable type that can be freely carried by the user.

  In addition to the original function as a home appliance, each home appliance 3 has a control unit 3a that grasps its own drive state and controls the drive state based on a drive control command from the controller 1; And a communication unit 3b that performs communication with each other.

  Here, the home appliance 3 in the present invention is the same as a normal device except that it includes a control unit 3a and a communication unit 3b for grasping and controlling the driving state (and the control unit 3a and The communication unit 3b does not need to be built in, and can be additionally attached as a unit or the like, or connected to the home appliance 3 or the like 3 to exhibit functions corresponding to the control unit 3a and the communication unit 3b. I do not care). Accordingly, each home appliance 3 can be switched by the switch operation or remote control operation of the device itself in addition to the control of the operation state based on the operation control command from the controller 1 as well as the normal device. It doesn't matter. However, it may be a device such as a home appliance that performs only the control of the driving state according to the present invention. In this case, the control unit 3a and the communication unit used for controlling the driving state while having no switch or the like of the device itself. You may make it have 3b.

  Further, in the present invention, various measuring devices 4 for measuring and acquiring data necessary for calculating the utility of each appliance 3 are appropriately provided (in FIG. 3, the measuring device 4 is a single device). Although only one is shown, a plurality of measuring devices 4 may be provided in accordance with data items used for utility calculation). The type of the measuring device 4 for collecting the data necessary for calculating the utility is not limited to a specific device because it depends on the calculation method of the utility. Specifically, for example, for example, A sensor for detecting whether or not a person is present in a room where the appliance 3 is installed, a sensor for measuring a place where a person is present in the room or a distance between the person and the appliance 3, Measuring devices that determine the state of the person and activities such as sleeping, watching TV, or using a fan, sensors that measure room temperature and humidity in the room, and sensors that measure the brightness of the room Etc.

  And various measuring devices 4 for measuring and acquiring data necessary to calculate the utility of each appliance 3 are not only the original functions as measuring devices but also the measurement state (specifically, A control unit 4a that controls measurement start / end, measurement value holding, and the like, and a communication unit 4b that communicates with the controller 1. Here, the data measured by the measuring device 4 may be directly transmitted from the measuring device 4 to the controller 1, or may be transmitted from the measuring device 4 to, for example, a server as an external storage device and transmitted to the server. The collected measurement data may be appropriately read by the controller 1 as necessary.

  In the present invention, for example, it is not necessary to manage and control all the home appliances in the controlled facility such as houses and various buildings, that is, a part of the home appliances in the controlled facility. Only the management / control target according to the present invention may be used. For example, devices such as medical devices that are troublesome when the power is automatically switched on / off are included in the management / control targets of the operation state management / control targets of the power consumption adjustment system of the present invention. It doesn't matter.

  The control unit 1a of the controller 1, the processing unit 2b of the pointing device 2, the control unit 3a of the appliance 3 or the like, and the control unit 4a of the measuring device 4 are, for example, microcomputers (work areas for executing various processes and operations). Or a memory corresponding to the memory or a memory area corresponding to the memory).

  The configuration related to communication including the communication unit 1b of the controller 1, the communication unit 2d of the indicating device 2, the communication unit 3b of the appliance 3 or the like, and the communication unit 4b of the measuring device 4 is configured between the controller 1 and the indicating device 2. As long as it can transmit and receive signals such as data and control commands between the controller 1 and the appliance 3 and between the controller 1 and the measuring device 4, it is not limited to a specific one, and various wireless communication means However, it may be a wired communication means, and of course, the wireless communication means and the wired communication means may be properly used (in other words, mixed) depending on the type and installation / installation state of the appliance 3 or the like. good.

  Note that the control unit 3a and the communication unit 3b of the home appliance 3 have a unique power supply system that is different from the power supply system related to the operation of the original function of the home appliance 3 itself. 3 is configured to be operable even when the main power supply of itself is turned off.

  In this embodiment, the process (P1 to P6) in FIG. 1 is executed by the steps (S1 to S18) shown in FIG. 2 with the device configuration shown in FIG. When the process of FIG. 1 is associated with the steps of FIG. 2, P1 is S1 to S2, P2 is S3, P3 is S4 to S10, P4 is S11 to S15, P5 is S16, and P6 is S17 to S18. Correspond.

  In this embodiment, first, initial setting is performed for variables used when the system is operated (S1).

  Specifically, initial values are set for the previous total power consumption Pp value, the total power consumption update reference time Tso, the previous power consumption upper limit user set value Pup, the power consumption upper limit update reference time Tco, and the control threshold value Pt. Done.

  Note that “previous” means that the present invention repeatedly performs a predetermined process (the process from S1 to S18 in the present embodiment), and if one cycle from S1 to S18 is called a turn, It means "in the previous turn". On the other hand, “present” means “in this turn” or “latest”.

  The initial value of each variable is not limited to a specific value, but considering the subsequent processing, the previous total power consumption Pp value and the user set value Pup for the previous power consumption upper limit may be sufficiently small. In this embodiment, both are set to zero (that is, Pp = 0, Pup = 0).

  It is appropriate that the total power consumption update reference time Tso is at least one cycle of the power supply frequency. Specifically, if the power supply frequency is in the range of 50 [Hz], it is set to 1/50 [second] or more. Is appropriate. The total power consumption update reference time Tso is preferably shorter in order to finely adjust the power consumption. Specifically, for example, the total power consumption update reference time Tso is appropriately set within a range of about 1/50 to 3 seconds. . In addition, when the user setting value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is changed, the effect of changing the user setting value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is more immediate if there is an immediate response to the switching of the operating state of the appliance 3 or the like. This is preferable in that it can be intuitively understood and grasped. From this point, the total power consumption update reference time Tso is preferably short.

  In addition, the power consumption upper limit update reference time Tco is set to the power consumption upper limit when the power consumption upper limit setting value Pu (Pug) is changed and the operation state of the home appliance 3 is changed more quickly. Since the effect of changing Pu (Pug) can be understood and grasped immediately and intuitively, it is preferable. In consideration of this, the power consumption upper limit update reference time Tco is appropriately set in a range of, for example, about 1/60 to 3 [seconds].

  The control threshold value Pt is used to determine whether to adjust the power consumption according to the present invention based on the difference between the total power consumption Pn at a certain point in time and the power consumption upper limit set by the user. The threshold value is appropriately set to such a level that the power consumption is not adjusted according to the present invention depending on fine fluctuations including power consumption noise measured in real time. For example, it may be set to a level slightly lower than the minimum power consumption in the appliance 3 such as a home appliance to be managed and controlled, and specifically set to about 5 to 20 [W].

  Then, initial values are set for the controller 1 for the previous value of the total power consumption Pp, the value of the total power consumption update reference time Tso, and the value of the control threshold value Pt. 1a.

  In addition, initial values are set for the instruction device 2 for the user setting value Pup of the previous power consumption upper limit and the power consumption upper limit update reference time Tco, and the respective values are set in the processing unit 2b of the instruction device 2. Retained.

  Next, the operation state of each of the appliances 3 to be managed / controlled is grasped (S2).

  Specifically, the control unit 3a of each home appliance 3 is in an operating state (operation / setting of a device that can be the target of operation control according to the present invention or can be considered in the calculation of the utility of home appliances, etc. And, specifically, the power on / off state of the device, the set temperature and air volume of the air conditioner, the set illuminance of the lighting, etc.), and the communication of each home appliance 3 according to the inquiry from the controller 1 The unit 3b transmits the operation state to the controller 1.

  And the driving | running state about each of the household appliances 3 transmitted from each household appliance 3 is received by the communication part 1b of the controller 1, and is input into the control part 1a, and these driving | running states are input to the control part 1a of the controller 1. Retained.

  Next, the current total power consumption in the controlled facility is grasped (S3).

  The grasp of the total power consumption in the controlled facility is not limited to a specific method, and is performed by an appropriate method according to the situation of the facility 3 such as the facility or home appliance. Specifically, for example, a current transformer may be electrically connected to the distribution board of the facility, and measurement may be performed. If the power consumption of each appliance 3 is known in advance, S2 The power consumption of the home appliances 3 that are turned on may be calculated based on the power-on / off state as the operation state of the home appliances 3 that is grasped in the processing.

  When only a part of home appliances or the like in the control target facility is set as a management / control target according to the present invention, the total power consumed in the process of S3 is, for example, the power consumption Depending on the purpose of control, the power consumption by all the home appliances and the like in the controlled facility may be used, or the power consumption by only the home appliances and the like to be managed and controlled. That is, the total power consumption may be power consumption by a device group including at least appliances such as home appliances that are the management and control targets according to the present invention.

  The grasped value of the total power consumption is input to the control unit 1a of the controller 1 as the current total power consumption Pn, and the current value of the total power consumption Pn is held in the control unit 1a of the controller 1.

  Subsequently, when the current value of the total power consumption Pn is larger than the previous value of the total power consumption Pp, the group setting value Pug of the power consumption upper limit is updated (S4).

  Specifically, the control unit 1a of the controller 1 grasps the current total power consumption Pn that is grasped in the process of S3 and is input and held in the control unit 1a, the process of S1 of the first turn, or the previous turn. Compared to the previous value of total power consumption Pp determined and held in the process of S6, if Pn> Pp, the group setting value Pug of the power consumption upper limit is updated to the current value of total power consumption Pn. Hold.

  Next, a comparison is made between the current total power consumption Pn and the previous total power consumption Pp, and the elapsed time since the last time the current total power consumption Pn was transmitted from the controller 1 to the pointing device 2. Comparison between Ts and the total power consumption update reference time Tso is performed (S5).

  First, the control unit 1a of the controller 1 grasps the value of the current total power consumption Pn grasped in the process of S3 and inputted and held in the control unit 1a, and the previous value held in the control unit 1a at that time. The total power consumption Pp is compared.

  When Pn ≠ Pp (S5: Yes), the controller 1a of the controller 1 sends the current value of the total power consumption Pn and the group setting value Pug of the power consumption upper limit to the instruction device 2 by the communication unit 1b. The previous total power consumption Pp is updated to the current total power consumption Pn and held (S6). Furthermore, the control unit 1a of the controller 1 starts measuring the elapsed time Ts after the transmission of the current value of the total power consumption Pn. And the controller 1 progresses to the process of S13.

  On the other hand, in the case of Pn = Pp, the control unit 1a of the controller 1 determines the previous value of the total power consumption update reference time Tso set and held in the process of S1 and the previous value of the current total power consumption Pn. Is compared with the elapsed time Ts when the measurement is started after the transmission of.

  When Ts ≧ Tso (S5: Yes), the controller 1a of the controller 1 sends the current value of the total power consumption Pn and the value of the group setting value Pug of the power consumption upper limit to the instruction device 2 by the communication unit 1b. The previous total power consumption Pp is updated to the current total power consumption Pn and held (S6). Furthermore, the control unit 1a of the controller 1 starts measuring the elapsed time Ts after the transmission of the current value of the total power consumption Pn. And the controller 1 progresses to the process of S13.

  On the other hand, if Pn = Pp and Ts <Tso (S5: No), the controller 1 proceeds to the process of S13.

  When the instruction device 2 receives the current total power consumption Pn and the group setting value Pug of the power consumption upper limit (S7: Yes), the user setting value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit is the group setting of the power consumption upper limit. It is updated to the value Pug (S8).

  Specifically, when the processing unit 2b of the instruction device 2 receives the current total power consumption Pn transmitted from the controller 1 in the process of S6 by the communication unit 2d (S7: Yes), the received current total power The value of the power consumption Pn is held in the processing unit 2b, and the display related to the current total power consumption Pn on the display unit 2c is updated.

  Then, the processing unit 2b of the instruction device 2 sets the current power consumption upper limit user setting value Pu of the power consumption upper limit group setting value Pug transmitted from the controller 1 and received by the communication unit 2d in the process of S6. Update to a value and hold it (S8). Further, the processing unit 2b of the instruction device 2 updates the display based on the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit on the display unit 2c.

  Subsequently, the instruction device 2 compares the current total power consumption Pn with the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit (S9).

  Specifically, the processing unit 2b of the instruction device 2 receives the value of the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit updated in the processing of S8 and held in the processing unit 2b, and the processing of S7. The current total power consumption Pn held in the processing unit 2b is compared.

  When Pn> Pu is satisfied (S9: Yes), the processing unit 2b of the instruction device 2 updates the value of the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit to the value of the current total power consumption Pn and holds it. At the same time, the display related to the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit on the display unit 2c is updated (S10). And the instruction | indication apparatus 2 progresses to the process of S11.

  On the other hand, when the instruction device 2 has not received the current total power consumption Pn and the group setting value Pug of the power consumption upper limit as the processing of S7 (S7: No), and when Pn ≦ Pu in the processing of S9 (S9: In No), the instruction device 2 proceeds to the process of S11.

  Then, the instruction device 2 compares the user setting value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit with the user setting value Pup of the previous power consumption upper limit, and the current power consumption upper limit from the instruction device 2 to the controller 1. A comparison is made between the elapsed time Tc from the previous transmission of the user setting value Pu and the power consumption upper limit update reference time Tco (S11).

  First, the processing unit 2b of the pointing device 2 determines the value of the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit held in the processing unit 2b at that time and the previous consumption held in the processing unit 2b at that time. The power set upper limit user setting value Pup is compared.

  When Pu ≠ Pup (S11: Yes), the processing unit 2b of the instruction device 2 transmits the value of the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit to the controller 1 by the communication unit 2d. The value of the user setting value Pup of the previous power consumption upper limit is updated to the value of the user setting value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit (S12). Furthermore, the processing unit 2b of the instruction device 2 starts measuring the elapsed time Tc after the transmission of the user set value Pu of the current upper limit of power consumption is performed, and the instruction device 2 returns to the process of S7. .

  On the other hand, when Pu = Pup, the processing unit 2b of the pointing device 2 sets the value of the power consumption upper limit update reference time Tco that is set and held in the process of S1 and the user set value of the current power consumption upper limit. The elapsed time Tc at which measurement has been started since the previous transmission of the value of Pu is performed is compared.

  When Tc ≧ Tco (S11: Yes), the processing unit 2d of the instruction device 2 transmits the value of the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit to the controller 1 by the communication unit 2d. The value of the user setting value Pup of the previous power consumption upper limit is updated to the value of the user setting value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit (S12). Furthermore, the processing unit 2b of the instruction device 2 starts measuring the elapsed time Tc after the transmission of the user set value Pu of the current upper limit of power consumption is performed, and the instruction device 2 returns to the process of S7. .

  Note that the current power consumption upper limit user setting value Pu is updated with the power consumption upper limit group setting value Pug in the process of S8 (that is, the power consumption upper limit is set by the user who uses the other instruction device 2). In addition to being updated with the current total power consumption Pn in the process of S10), the user using the pointing device 2 may operate the input unit 2a. Can be changed. The change of the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit by the operation of the input unit 2a of the pointing device 2 is accepted regardless of the processing step (in other words, the processing stage) of the controller 1 or the pointing device 2. Is stored in the processing unit 2b of the instruction device 2 until the processing of S11 is performed (specifically, the changed user setting value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit) is performed by the processing of S11 and S12. Reflected.

  On the other hand, when Pu = Pup and Tc <Tco (S11: No), the instruction device 2 returns to the process of S7.

  Here, the input unit 2a of the pointing device 2 is configured so that the user can change at least the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit, and the display unit 2c is, for example, the current total power consumption Pn and the current power consumption upper limit. The user setting value Pu can be displayed.

  Specifically, for example, an aspect based on an arc-shaped band graph as shown in FIG. 4 can be considered. In the example shown in FIG. 4, when the change of the user set value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is not instructed, the current total power consumption Pn is displayed by the arc-shaped band 6a as shown in FIG. The arc-shaped band 6a extends clockwise from the lower left end in the drawing in accordance with the current total power consumption Pn.

  On the other hand, when an instruction to change the user set value Pu for the power consumption upper limit is given, as shown in FIG. 5B, the tip of the arc-shaped band 6a displaying the current total power consumption Pn (the upper right end in the drawing). ) As a starting point, the user set value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is displayed as a run-up range 6b extending counterclockwise in accordance with the size of Pu along the band 6a.

  The display unit 2c also serves as a touch panel type input unit, and touches the annular band 6c, which is the base part of the arc-shaped band 6a displaying the current total power consumption Pn, so that the annular band 6c is turned to the left. By operating to rotate, the user set value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is changed to be small (that is, changed so as to increase the reduction amount in the direction of strengthening suppression of power consumption), while the annular band 6c is moved to the right The user set value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is greatly changed (that is, changed so that the amount of reduction is reduced in the direction of reducing power consumption). That is, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the annular band portion 6c corresponds to the input portion 2a. Note that the run-up range 6b representing the user set value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is expanded or shortened in accordance with the user's operation.

  Further, a mode based on a linear band graph as shown in FIG. 5 is also conceivable. In the example shown in FIG. 5, when the change of the user set value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is not instructed, the current total power consumption Pn is displayed by the linear band 6a as shown in FIG. The straight band 6a extends rightward from the left end in the drawing in accordance with the current total power consumption Pn.

  On the other hand, when an instruction to change the user set value Pu for the power consumption upper limit is given, as shown in FIG. 5B, the front end of the linear band 6a for displaying the current total power consumption Pn (the right end portion in the drawing). ) As the starting point, the user set value Pu for the upper limit of power consumption is displayed as a run-up range 6b extending leftward along the band 6a in accordance with the size of Pu.

  The display unit 2c also serves as a touch panel type input unit, and touches the straight band 6c, which is the base part of the straight band 6a displaying the current total power consumption Pn, so that the straight band 6c is turned to the left. The user setting value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is changed small by operating to move, while the user setting value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is changed greatly by operating to move the straight band portion 6c to the right. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the straight band portion 6c corresponds to the input unit 2a. Note that the run-up range 6b representing the user set value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is expanded or shortened in accordance with the user's operation.

  Furthermore, an aspect based on a configuration including a linear band graph and buttons as shown in FIG. 6 is also conceivable. The example shown in FIG. 6 is the same as the example shown in FIG. 5 with respect to the linear band graph portions (6a, 6b). On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 6, it has a pair of upper and lower buttons 6d, 6d of the touch panel type corresponding to the input unit 2a, and the user set value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is greatly changed by touching the upper button 6d. Then, by touching the lower button 6d, the user set value P of the power consumption upper limit is changed to be small.

  Although not shown in the examples shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the numerical value of the current total power consumption Pn may be displayed numerically, or the user set value of the power consumption upper limit for the current total power consumption Pn. The rate of decrease (in other words, the power saving rate) may be displayed as a percentage (numerical value).

  Also, in any of the examples shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the operation method is not limited to the touch panel method, and the operation may be performed using a mouse.

  When the controller 1 receives the value of the current power consumption upper limit user setting value Pu transmitted from the instruction device 2 (S13: Yes), the power consumption upper limit group setting value Pug is the current power consumption. The value is updated to the upper limit user setting value Pu (S14).

  Specifically, the control unit 1a of the controller 1 sends the group setting value Pug of the power consumption upper limit to the user setting of the current power consumption upper limit transmitted from the instruction device 2 and received by the communication unit 1b in the process of S12. Update to the value Pu and hold.

  On the other hand, when the controller 1 does not receive the user set value Pu of the current power consumption upper limit (S13: No), the controller 1 returns to the process of S2.

  Following the processing of S14, the controller 1 compares the absolute value of the difference between the current total power consumption Pn and the group setting value Pug of the power consumption upper limit with the control threshold value Pt (S15).

  Specifically, the controller 1a of the controller 1 grasps the current total power consumption Pn that is grasped in the process of S3 and is input and held in the controller 1a, and is held in the controller 1a at that time. The value of | Pn−Pug | is compared with the value of Pt using the value of the group setting value Pug of the power consumption upper limit and the value of the control threshold value Pt set and retained in the processing of S1.

  If | Pn−Pug | ≦ Pt (S15: No), the controller 1 returns to the process of S2.

  On the other hand, if | Pn−Pug |> Pt (S15: Yes), the utility is calculated for each of the appliances 3 to be managed and controlled (S16).

In this embodiment, the utility U of the appliance 3 is calculated by Equation 1.
(Equation 1) U = U _{I ×} U _{H ×} U _E
Where U: Utility of appliances, etc.
U _I : Interaction utility,
U _H : Utility of human condition,
U _E : Indicates environmental utility.

Interaction utility U _I is the utility derived from interaction with the household electrical appliance or the like 3 and a human (user) (Interaction) history. For example, high interaction utility U _I of home appliance or the like 3 human operated manually in recent interaction utility U _I of home appliance or the like 3 is set so as to decrease in accordance with the passage of time since the last manual operation .

The human state utility U _H is an utility derived from a physical relationship between the appliance 3 and the person (user). For example, humans have high human state utility U _H of home appliance or the like 3 in the vicinity, as human state utility U _H of home appliance or the like 3 as the distance becomes longer between the home electronics such as device 3 and human is reduced The human state utility U _H of the appliance 3 such as the home appliance 3 that is set or that is highly necessary for the content of the human activity at that time is high, and as the necessity for the content of the human activity decreases, the human The state utility U _H is set to be reduced.

The environmental utility U _E is the relationship between the environment around the home appliance 3 (the natural environment when the home appliance 3 is not in operation) and the environment realized by the home appliance 3 The utility derived from For example, the greater the difference between the environment realized (provided) by the home appliance 3 and the surrounding natural environment, the higher the environmental utility U _E of the home appliance 3 is. It is set so that the environmental utility U _E of the home appliance 3 is reduced as the difference between the realized (provided) environment and the surrounding natural environment becomes smaller.

For any of the above-mentioned utilities (U _I , U _H , U _E ), what factor is related to how, in other words, the utility function having the utility of the appliance 3 as an explained variable What can be adopted as the explanatory variable and the function form (what is appropriate to adopt) can vary depending on the specific types of home appliances 3, and the home appliances to be managed and controlled It is selected and set as appropriate based on the three types.

Specifically, for example, FIG. 7 shows an example of a utility function representing each utility U _I , U _H , U _E when the home appliance 3 is a lighting fixture / device. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the interaction effect U _I can be related to the factors that the elapsed time from the power-on manual, the moment in which the power-on manually (i.e., the elapsed time is 0) is the highest utility in, power supply The longer the elapsed time from ON, the lower the utility, and the utility is set to zero after a certain period of time. Note that “manually” means to distinguish from the case where the power is automatically turned on by the mechanism of the present invention.

In addition, the human state utility U _H is related to the factor of the distance between the luminaire / device and the person, and is most effective when the person is in the immediate vicinity of the luminaire / device (ie, the distance is 0). As the distance between the luminaire / device and the person increases, the utility decreases, and when the distance exceeds a certain distance, the utility is set to zero.

Furthermore, the environmental utility U _E is related to the factor of the brightness of the surroundings of the lighting fixtures / devices (that is, the brightness in the natural state when the lighting is not turned on). Is set so that the utility becomes lower as the surroundings become brighter and the utility becomes zero when the brightness exceeds a certain level.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a utility function representing each utility U _I , U _H , U _E when the home appliance 3 is an air conditioner / device. In the example shown in FIG. 8, interaction utility U _I are factors and implicating that the elapsed time from the remote control (e.g., such as changing the operation start and the set temperature) manually, the moment in which the remote control operation by a manual (i.e., elapsed The utility is the highest at time 0), and the utility becomes lower as the elapsed time from the remote control operation becomes longer, and the utility is set to zero after a certain time.

In addition, the human state utility U _H is related to the factor of the elapsed time since the person left the room, and has the highest utility when the person is in the room (the highest utility when the elapsed time is 0). The longer the elapsed time from leaving the room, the lower the utility, and the utility is set to zero after a certain period of time.

Furthermore, the environmental utility U _E is related to the factor of room temperature (that is, the room temperature in the natural state when the air conditioner is not operating), and when the room temperature is the optimum temperature, the utility is zero and the optimum temperature. It is set so that the utility becomes higher as it gets colder or hotter.

Here, the graph of the utility function of the environmental utility U _E in FIG. 7C is an utility for realizing a certain brightness by the lighting fixture / device when the ambient brightness (horizontal axis) is. The graph of the utility function of the environmental utility U _E in 8 (C) represents the utility of realizing a certain room temperature by the air conditioner / apparatus at a certain room temperature (horizontal axis). That is, the environmental utility U _E in FIG. 7C and FIG. 8C varies depending on the natural environment when the home appliance 3 is not in operation and is realized by the home appliance 3. The environmental utility U _E of the luminaire / device is expressed as shown in FIG. 9, for example (in FIG. 9, the realized brightness corresponds to the wattage input) If so). That is, FIG. 7C shows a change in utility in a cross section at a certain input wattage p ₁ to the lighting apparatus / device in FIG.

  Although the utility function shown as an example in FIGS. 7 and 8 is a straight line, the function form of the utility function is not limited to a straight line. Specifically, for example, a logistic curve may be used.

The interaction utility U _I and the human state utility U _H have utility functions specified, and values of explanatory variables of the utility function at the time of calculating the utility U of the appliance 3 (for example, an elapsed time from power-on) The utility is calculated by identifying the distance between the lighting and the person.

On the other hand, the environmental utility U _E is calculated by specifying the natural environment at the time of calculating the utility U of the home appliance 3 and the environment change realized by the home appliance 3 is given. Is done. The change in the environment for calculating the environmental utility U _E is defined in advance as a change in the setting contents regarding the operation state of the device. Specifically, for example, in the case of a lighting fixture / device, the setting content related to the operating state may be set to the wattage input to the fixture / device or the set illuminance provided in the fixture / device itself. If it is an instrument / apparatus, the pitch of the set temperature change can be obtained.

  Moreover, the power-off as a change of the driving state is regarded as an environment in which the environment realized by the appliance 3 such as a home appliance is left as it is (that is, the difference between them is a change in the environment). Moreover, the power-on as a change of the driving state is an environment in which an environment in a natural state is realized by the home appliance 3 (as an environment realized when the home appliance 3 was last turned off) Alternatively, an environment that is initially realized when the power is turned on may be defined as an initial setting) (that is, a difference between them becomes a change in the environment).

The environmental utility U _E when the power consumption upper limit set value Pu (Pug) is changed to a small value (that is, changed in the direction of strengthening suppression of power consumption) is the time when the utility U of the appliance 3 is calculated. In the environment in the natural state, it is calculated as a decrease in utility due to a change in the operation state of the appliance 3 such as the home appliance at that time (in other words, due to a change in the environment to be realized). For example, in the example of the environmental utility U _E of the lighting fixture / apparatus shown in FIG. 9, when the ambient brightness in the natural state is i _e , the wattage input is p ₁ to p ₂ (p ₁ > In the case of changing to p ₂ ), Δu ₁ is calculated as a decrease in utility due to the change in operation state, and Δu ₂ is calculated as a decrease in utility due to the change in operation state when the power supply of the device itself is turned off. The In addition, the decrease in utility in the environmental utility U _E is, in other words, maintaining the current operating state without lowering (deteriorating) the setting of the appliance 3 in the natural state at that time. The utility (Δu ₁ ) or the utility (Δu ₂ ) of maintaining the operation of the appliance 3.

On the other hand, the environmental utility U _E when the set value Pu (Pug) of the power consumption upper limit is greatly changed (that is, changed in the direction of reducing and suppressing power consumption) is the time when the utility U of the appliance 3 is calculated. Is calculated as an increase in utility due to a change in the operation state at the time of the appliance 3 (in other words, due to a change in the environment to be realized). For example, in the example of the environmental utility U _E of the lighting fixture / apparatus shown in FIG. 9, when the ambient brightness in the natural state is i _e , the wattage input is p ₂ to p ₁ (p ₂ < In the case of changing to p ₁ ), Δu ₁ is calculated as an increase in utility due to the change of the operating state, and when the environment is realized by the wattage p ₁ that is turned on when the device itself is turned on Δu ₂ is calculated as an increase in utility due to the state change. The increase in utility in the environmental utility U _E is, in other words, the utility (Δu ₁ ) of improving (improving) the setting of the home appliance 3 in the natural state environment at the time. Yes, or the utility (Δu ₂ ) of starting the operation of the appliance 3 or the like.

  Here, for the appliance 3 such as a microwave oven or a rice cooker where it is important that the power-on state continues for a certain period of time, the utility about the elapsed time from the power-on manually is It is possible to prevent the power from being automatically turned off by the mechanism of the present invention by setting the constant time without being reduced from the on time to be constant and higher than the other home appliances 3.

  In addition to the examples shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, factors that can be considered for each type of utility that can be considered for each combination of a specific type and a utility type of the home appliance 3 (that is, a utility function) Table 1 shows examples of explanatory variables.

In this embodiment, the utility function representing the interaction utility U _I , the utility function representing the human state utility U _H, and the utility function representing the environmental utility U _E are defined in the controller 1 a of the controller 1. Then, the control unit 1a of the controller 1, the utility U _I, U _H, to get properly through the respective communication portions 1b, 4b data from various measuring instruments 4 needed to calculate U _E, each The utilities U _I , U _H , U _E are calculated, and the utility U for each appliance 3 is calculated according to Equation 1.

Note that the utility classification for calculating the utility U of the appliance 3 is not limited to the above-described interaction utility U _I , human state utility U _H , and environmental utility U _E. In addition, the utility of other categories (fields) may be considered in accordance with the types and characteristics of the facilities and appliances 3 to be managed and controlled, and one or two of the above three categories may be considered. Only one may be considered. Also, the utility types are not limited to those shown in Table 1.

  For example, when the power is automatically turned off by the mechanism of the present invention in the processing of S17 and S18 described later, the power is automatically turned off because it is highly effective to recover (that is, turn on the power again). For the home appliance 3, a predetermined utility may be added to the utility U of the home appliance.

Further, in Equation 1, the utility U of the appliance 3 is calculated by multiplying the interaction utility U _I , the human state utility U _H, and the environmental utility U _E , but these individual utilities U _I , U _H , U _E (or some of these individual utilities) may be added to calculate the utility U of the appliance 3 such as the home appliance. In addition, when calculating the utility U of the appliance 3 by multiplying individual utilities as shown in Formula 1, if the zero is included in the range of utility values, any of the individual utilities In the case of zero, the utility U of the appliance 3 is always zero, so if any of the individual utilities is zero, it is considered less necessary to operate or maintain that state. Control is performed to the feeling that

  When Pn-Pug> Pt as the process of S17, the controller 1 determines the power source based on the operating state of each appliance 3 that is grasped in the process of S2 and is input and held in the control unit 1a. Of the home appliances 3 that are turned on is identified with the lowest utility U of the home appliances and the communication unit 1b sends an operation control command to change the operation state of the specified home appliance 3 3 is transmitted (S17). In addition, when the power consumption of each home appliance 3 is known in advance, the operating states of a plurality of home appliances 3 may be collected in some cases in order of increasing utility U of the home appliances until Pn ≦ Pug. May be changed.

  On the other hand, in the case of Pug−Pn> Pt, the controller 1 is turned on based on the operating state of each home appliance 3 that is grasped in the process of S2 and input and held in the controller 1a. The utility U having the highest utility U among the utility U of the home appliances due to the power-on for the home appliances 3 that are turned off and the utility U of the home appliances 3 due to the change in the operating state of the home appliances 3 being The communication control unit 1b transmits an operation control command for specifying and changing the operation state of the specified home appliances 3 or turning on the power to the home appliances 3 (S17). In addition, when the power consumption of each home appliance 3 is known in advance, depending on the order in which the utility U of the home appliance is high in the range of Pn ≦ Pug, the operation states of a plurality of home appliances 3 may be integrated. May be changed.

  As described above, the operation control of the appliance 3 or the like is not limited to turning the power off and on, but can be a change in various operation states. Specifically, for example, the set temperature may be changed for an air conditioner / apparatus, and the set illuminance may be changed for a luminaire / apparatus.

  In other words, in the present invention, the specification of the home appliances 3 that are the target of operation control and the details of the operation control (for example, switching power on / off, changing the set temperature and set air volume, changing the set illuminance of lighting, etc.) It is determined as an operation control command for the appliance 3 such as a home appliance, and is transmitted by the communication unit 1b of the controller 1.

  Subsequently, operation control is performed in the appliance 3 or the like that is the target of the operation control command (S18).

  Specifically, the control unit 3a of the household appliance 3 that is the target of the operation control command received by the communication unit 3b in the process of S17 according to the operation control command is in accordance with the content of the operation control command. Control the operation.

  In the process of S18, the name of the home appliance 3 that is the target of operation control and the content of the operation control are displayed on the display unit 2c of the instruction device 2, and the operation control is actually performed after the user's approval is obtained. May be. By displaying in advance on the display unit 2c of the pointing device 2, it is possible for the user to control the operation of the home appliance 3 that is invisible to the user or the home appliance 3 that is difficult to understand that the operation state has been changed. Anxiety can be reduced.

It should be noted that the operation state of the appliance 3 or the like whose operation state has been changed by the process of S18 remains changed (for example, the power is turned off, the set temperature is changed, and the set illuminance is changed). In such a case, if the home appliance 3 has a switch or a remote control operation unit of the home appliance 3 itself, the user manually changes the operating state of the home appliance 3. You can also Then, by taken into consideration in the calculation of utility U of home appliance or the like 3 by setting the utility of the elapsed time from the operation manual interaction utility U _I, utility by changing the operating state manually U Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the home appliances 3 whose operating state has been manually changed will be changed again in the next and subsequent turns.

  In addition, according to the above-described mechanism of the present invention, even if the operation state of a certain home appliance 3 is automatically changed by reducing the user setting value Pu of the power consumption upper limit, the user setting of the power consumption upper limit is set. By returning the value Pu to the original state, the operation state of the home appliance 3 can be returned to the state before the change. Thus, the fact that the operating state of the appliance 3 can be automatically returned to the original state is expected to have an effect of reducing a sense of resistance against suppression of power consumption and improving a sense of security.

  And after the process of S18, the controller 1 returns to the process of S2, and the process after S2 is repeated.

  According to the power consumption adjustment system of the present invention configured as described above, when the user gives an instruction to change the power consumption upper limit setting value Pu, the total power consumption Pn and the power consumption upper limit setting value are set. Since the operation control command is determined based on Pu (Pug) and the utility U for each home appliance 3, the content of the operation control of the home appliance 3 to achieve the power consumption suppression amount is automatically set. Thus, it is possible to create a target state (power saving target) of the total power consumption suppression amount for the entire device group without individually operating each home appliance 3.

  Furthermore, according to the power consumption adjustment system configured as in the above-described embodiment, the utility U of the household appliances 3 that are frequently operated and the household appliances 3 that have been operated recently increases, so that It is possible to reduce the possibility that an appliance 3 such as a household electric appliance is an object of automatic operation control according to the present invention.

  In addition, according to the power consumption adjustment system configured as in the above-described embodiment, the user can visually check the total power consumption Pn and the set value Pu (Pug) of the power consumption upper limit at that time while the user can visually check the power consumption upper limit. The set value Pu (Pug) can be changed, and the operability can be improved and the utilization can be promoted.

  In addition, although the above-mentioned form is an example of the suitable form of this invention, it is not limited to this, A various deformation | transformation implementation is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the order of each process for executing the present invention follows the process diagram of FIG. 1 and the flowchart of FIG. 2, but the order of each process for executing the present invention is as shown in FIG. It is not limited to the process diagram of FIG. Specifically, for example, the process of grasping the operating state of each home appliance 3 (P1, S2) may be at any stage as long as it is prior to the process of determining home appliances (P6, S17) for operation control. .

  Further, the processing (work) sharing between the controller 1 and the instruction device 2 is not limited to the sharing in the above-described embodiment. Specifically, for example, the instruction device 2 only displays the value of the user setting value Pu of the power consumption upper limit among the processes of S7 to S12 and transmits to the controller 1 an instruction to change the user setting value of the power consumption upper limit by the user. The controller 1 may perform all other processing. In this case, the instruction device 2 does not need the processing unit 2b that performs at least the processing in the above-described embodiment. In this case, if there are a plurality of instruction devices 2, an identifier is assigned to each instruction device 2 as necessary, and the controller 1 manages each identifier.

  In the above-described embodiment, the indication device 2 includes the display unit 2c. However, the indication device 2 may not include the display unit 2c. That is, even if the instruction device 2 does not have the display unit 2c, if the input unit 2a is provided, the power consumption suppression amount cannot be visually confirmed, but the power consumption suppression according to the present invention can be performed.

  In the above embodiment, the controller 1 does not have a display unit. However, the controller 1 is configured to have a display unit, and the display unit displays a current total power consumption Pn value and a power consumption upper limit. The group setting value Pug may be displayed. The configuration of the controller 1 having a display unit is particularly beneficial when the pointing device 2 does not have the display unit 2c as described above.

  In the above-described embodiment, the description has been made on the assumption that the controller 1 and the pointing device 2 are provided separately, but the controller 1 and the pointing device 2 may be configured integrally. In other words, one controller 1 is provided for one system of the power consumption adjustment system, but the instruction device 2 is not provided, and a function corresponding to the input unit 2a of the instruction device 2 in the above-described embodiment is provided. However, the control unit 1b of the controller 1 may perform the processing that has been performed by the processing unit 2b of the pointing device 2. In this case, the controller 1 may include a display unit.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the pointing device 2 is a portable terminal type as shown in, for example, FIGS. 4 to 6 is provided as an example, but the form of the pointing device 2 is illustrated in FIGS. 6 is not limited to the form shown in FIG. 6 and is not limited to the portable terminal type. Further, even if there is only one indicating device 2 for one system of the power consumption adjustment system. I do not care. Specifically, for example, the display unit 2c of the pointing device 2 may be a liquid crystal screen having only a display function, and the input unit 2a may be configured by a dial or a button. Further, only one indicating device 2 may be provided for one power consumption adjusting system, and the indicating device 2 in this case may be a desktop installation type or a wall-mounted type.

  In the above-described embodiment, the home appliance 3 that performs the operation control is determined based on the utility U calculated for each home appliance 3, but the learning of the home appliance 3 that performs the operation control is learned. Functions may also be applied. Specifically, for example, since the utility is low when the user set value Pu of the power consumption upper limit is changed to a small value, the power is manually turned on immediately after the power is turned off even though the power is automatically turned off by the mechanism of the present invention. For the home appliance 3 that is frequently turned on, the utility U of the home appliance or the like is increased or a specific utility (for example, the utility for the distance between the device and the person) is increased. May be.

  In the above-described embodiment, the utility U for each home appliance 3 is independent from each other in the process of S17, and the home appliance 3 to be subject to operation control is specified by simply comparing each utility U. However, the specific method of the home appliance 3 that is the target of the operation control is not limited to this, and the utility U of the home appliance 3 can affect and change the home appliance 3 mutually. Considering that there is a target of operation control by comparing changes in utility U of home appliances 3 considering the relationship with other home appliances etc. when the operating state of each home appliance 3 is individually changed You may make it specify the apparatus 3 to be used.

  A specific configuration example of the power consumption adjustment system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this embodiment, an air conditioner 3A, a television 3B, a lighting (living room) 3C, a lighting (bedroom) 3D, a lighting (kitchen) 3E, and an electric kettle 3F are provided as the home appliance 3. The air conditioner 3A, the television 3B, and the lights 3C, 3D, and 3E are supplied with electric power from an outlet distributed from the distribution board 7, and the electric pot 3F is attached to an outlet distributed from the distribution board 7. Electric power is supplied through a remote control outlet 8.

  The air conditioner 3A, the television 3B, and the lights 3C, 3D, and 3E are devices that can be operated by an infrared remote controller, and the communication units 3b of these home appliances 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E are connected to the home appliances 3 respectively. It is constituted by an infrared remote control signal receiver provided from the beginning.

  On the other hand, the electric pot 3F is connected to the remote control outlet 8 and is supplied with electric power. The remote control outlet 8 is a device that can perform operations of supplying and shutting off electric power to the connected home appliance 3 such as a remote control code (infrared remote control signal) transmitted from the infrared remote control. In this embodiment, the communication unit 3b of the electric pot 3F is constituted by an infrared remote control signal receiving unit included in the remote control outlet 8.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 1a of the controller 1, the processing unit 2b and the display unit 2c of the pointing device 2 are configured by a personal computer, and the communication unit 1b of the controller 1 is configured by an infrared transmission device connected to the personal computer. It is configured.

  The infrared transmitter 1b learns in advance a remote control code for operating each home appliance 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E and the remote control outlet 8, and inputs an operation control command for the home appliance 3 from the personal computer 1a. Remote control code (infrared remote control) that operates to bring the electric pot 3F connected to the air conditioner 3A, the television 3B, the lights 3C, 3D, 3E, and the remote control outlet 8 into an operation state in accordance with the content of the operation control command. Signal).

  In the present embodiment, the input unit 2a of the pointing device 2 is constituted by a rotary knob connected to the personal computer 1a. The rotary knob 2a and the personal computer are connected by a signal line (wired), and the communication unit 2d of the pointing device 2 relating to communication between the rotary knob as the pointing device 2 and the personal computer as the controller 1 The communication unit 1b of the controller 1 is constituted by both signal input / output mechanisms including the signal line.

  In the present embodiment, the rated power or the value measured individually for each device as the power consumption of each appliance 3 is input and stored in the personal computer in advance. The current total power consumption Pn is given as the total of the ratings or individual measured values when the operating state of each home appliance 3 is input to the personal computer at the start of operation of the power consumption adjustment system.

  Another specific configuration example of the power consumption adjustment system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this embodiment, an air conditioner 3A, a television 3B, a lighting (living room) 3C, a lighting (bedroom) 3D, a lighting (kitchen) 3E, an electric kettle 3F, an electric refrigerator 3G, and a table lamp 3H are provided as the home appliances 3. . The air conditioner 3A, the television 3B, and the lights 3C, 3D, and 3E are supplied with electric power from an outlet distributed from the distribution board 7, and the electric pot 3F, the electric refrigerator 3G, and the electric stand 3H are provided with the distribution board. 7 is supplied with electric power via a smart tap 9 attached to an outlet that distributes power.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 1a of the controller 1, the processing unit 2b and the display unit 2c of the pointing device 2 are constituted by a personal computer, and the personal computer as the controller 1 and an air conditioner 3A, a television 3B, each illumination 3C, A communication unit 1b of the controller 1 related to communication between 3D and 3E is configured by an infrared ray transmitting device connected to a personal computer. The configuration of the infrared transmitter 1b is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  Further, the configuration associated with the input unit 2a and the communication unit 2d of the instruction device 2 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  The air conditioner 3A, the television 3B, and the lights 3C, 3D, and 3E are devices that can be operated by an infrared remote controller, and the communication units 3b of these home appliances 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E are connected to the home appliances 3 respectively. It is constituted by an infrared remote control signal receiver provided from the beginning.

  On the other hand, the electric pot 3F, the electric refrigerator 3G, and the electric lamp 3H are connected to the smart tap 9 and are supplied with electric power. The smart tap 9 has a plurality of outlets, and individually performs operations of supplying and shutting off power to each connected home appliance 3 based on a command signal input from the outside. It is possible equipment. In this embodiment, the smart tap 9 is connected to the personal computer 1a, and the electric power to each of the electric pot 3F, the electric refrigerator 3G, and the electric stand 3H is based on a command signal from the personal computer 1a as the control unit 1a of the controller 1. The supply and shutoff operations are performed separately. As shown in FIG. 11, the personal computer 1a and the smart tap 9 may be connected by wire such as a USB cable, or may be connected by a wireless communication function.

  And in a present Example, the communication part 1b of the controller 1 which concerns on communication between the personal computer as the controller 1, and the electric pot 3F, the electric refrigerator 3G, and the desk lamp 3H, and the communication part 3b which concerns on the said household appliances 3 are included. It is composed of a communication mechanism / signal input / output mechanism between the personal computer and the smart tap 9.

  In the present embodiment, the current is measured by the current transformer 10 connected to the distribution board 7, and the current value is input to the personal computer 1 a by the wireless communication device connected to the current transformer 10. Based on the value, the current total power consumption Pn is calculated.

  Another specific configuration example of the power consumption adjustment system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this embodiment, a thermometer / hygrometer 4A, an illuminometer 4B, a laser sensor 4C, and these measuring devices are used as measuring devices 4 for measuring and acquiring data necessary for calculating the utility U of each appliance 3 The second embodiment is the same as the second embodiment except that a server 11 for storing various data measured / acquired by 4 is further provided.

  In this embodiment, a thermometer / hygrometer 4A, an illuminance meter 4B, and a laser sensor 4C are provided as the measuring device 4, and data measured and acquired by these measuring devices 4A, 4B, and 4C are input to the data server 11 by wireless communication. And memorized.

The thermometer / humidity meter 4A measures room temperature and indoor humidity, and these data are used when, for example, calculating the environmental utility U _E of the air conditioner / device. The illuminance meter 4B measures the room illuminance, and this data is used, for example, when calculating the environmental utility U _E of the lighting fixture / device.

Further, the laser sensor 4C measures the position of the person where the sensor is installed, for example, when there is a person or a person in the room. These data are used, for example, when calculating the human condition utility U _H of the lighting fixture / apparatus or the air conditioning fixture / apparatus.

  In this embodiment, the data measured by each measuring device 4 is accumulated in the server 11 which is an external storage device. However, each measuring device 4 directly connects to a personal computer as the control unit 1a of the controller 1. You may make it transmit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Controller 1a Control part 1b Communication part 2 Instruction device 2a Input part 2b Processing part 2c Display part 2d Communication part 3 Home appliances 3a Control part 3b Communication part 4 Measuring equipment 4a Control part 4b Communication part

Claims (3)

A home appliance that includes a controller having a control unit and a communication unit , and at least one instruction device having an input unit , a display unit, and a communication unit, and that is electrically operated to the control unit of the controller via the communication unit of the controller And the operation state of the house device is input, and the controller of the controller grasps the total power consumption of the entire device group including at least the home appliance and the house device , and the total power consumption is based on the set value of the power consumption upper limit. update the set value of the power cap when even large value of the total power consumption, also change instruction of the power cap setting from the user via the input unit of the indicating device is provided Sometimes, an instruction to change the set value of the power consumption upper limit is given to the controller of the controller via the communication unit of the instruction device and the communication unit of the controller, Determining the operation control command for the home appliance and home appliance based on the set value and the utility of the total power consumption and the power cap together with a control unit of the serial controller calculates the utility of each of the home appliances and household equipment The power consumption adjustment system, wherein the instruction device displays the content of the operation control command on the display unit, and the communication unit of the controller transmits the operation control command. The power consumption adjustment system according to claim 1, wherein the utility for each of the home appliances and the home appliances includes a utility that changes depending on an elapsed time from a manual operation. Regulation system power consumption according to claim 1, wherein said that the setting value of the total power consumption and the power consumption upper limit is displayed on the display unit of the indicating device.

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