JP6392522B2 - Operation terminal, program, and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation terminal, a program, and a method for operating a plurality of devices.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a control system (EMS: Energy Management System) that controls a plurality of devices provided to electric power consumers has attracted attention. In such a control system, a control device that controls a plurality of devices is provided.

  In addition, in order to operate a device using an operation terminal possessed by a user, a technique in which an operation instruction for the device is transmitted from the operation terminal to the control device via the network, and the control device controls the device based on the operation instruction. Has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-374484 A

  According to such a technique, since it is possible to operate a plurality of devices with a single operation terminal, it is expected that the operability of the operation terminal is improved to meet various needs of users. .

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an operation terminal, a program, and a method that can improve operability.

  The operation terminal according to the first feature includes information indicating a plurality of combination operation target devices to which a combination operation defined by a combination of a display unit, a communication unit that performs communication, and an operation for each device is applicable. A storage unit that stores a table associated with the operation content, and a combination operation object that indicates the content of the combination operation based on the table when the plurality of combination operation target devices are operated by the communication unit. A control unit that performs control to display on the display unit.

  1st characteristic WHEREIN: The said control part transmits the operation instruction | indication of the apparatus corresponding to the said combination operation by the said communication part based on the said table, when the user input which selects the said combination operation object is detected. Take control.

  In the first feature, the control unit acquires device information of a plurality of devices by the communication unit, and based on the acquired device information and the table, the plurality of combination operations from the plurality of devices. Identify the target device.

  In the first feature, the control unit acquires device information of the plurality of devices from a control device that controls the plurality of devices, and the control unit issues an operation instruction for each device corresponding to the combination operation. To the control device.

  In the first feature, the control unit acquires device information of the plurality of devices from each of the plurality of devices, and the control unit receives an operation instruction for each device corresponding to the combination operation. To each combination operation target device.

  In the first feature, the device information of the plurality of devices includes information indicating a type of the device.

  The program according to the second feature is information indicating a plurality of combination operation target devices to which a combination operation defined by a combination of individual operations can be applied to an operation terminal including a display unit and a communication unit that performs communication. And referring to a table associated with the contents of the combination operation, and a combination operation indicating the contents of the combination operation based on the table when the plurality of combination operation target devices are operated by the communication unit. Performing a control of displaying an object on the display unit.

  A method according to the third feature is a method used in a control system including an operation terminal including a display unit, a communication unit that performs communication, and a plurality of operation target devices. A step of referring to a table in which information indicating a plurality of combination operation target devices to which the defined combination operation can be applied is associated with the content of the combination operation, and operating the plurality of combination operation target devices by the communication unit And a step of performing control to display a combination operation object indicating the content of the combination operation on the display unit based on the table.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an operation terminal, a program, and a method that can improve operability.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a consumer according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an application scene of the control system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating device properties according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the operation terminal according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a combination table according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an operation screen according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the operation terminal according to the embodiment.

[Outline of Embodiment]
The operation terminal according to the embodiment includes information indicating a plurality of combination operation target devices to which a combination operation defined by a combination of a display unit, a communication unit that performs communication, and individual device operations is applicable. A storage unit that stores a table associated with content, and a combination operation object that indicates the content of the combination operation based on the table when the plurality of combination operation target devices are operated by the communication unit. And a control unit that performs control to be displayed.

  In the embodiment, a combination operation is defined by a combination of individual device operations. The operation terminal, when operating a plurality of combination operation target devices, based on a table in which information indicating a plurality of combination operation target devices and the content of the combination operation are associated with each other, the combination operation object indicating the content of the combination operation Is displayed. Therefore, it is possible to provide an operation terminal, a program, and a method that can improve operability.

[Embodiment]
(Customer)
Below, the consumer which concerns on embodiment is demonstrated. Drawing 1 is a figure showing consumer 10 concerning an embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the customer 10 includes a distribution board 110, a load 120, a PV unit 130, a storage battery unit 140, and a HEMS controller 200.

  Distribution board 110 is connected to distribution line 31 (power system). Distribution board 110 is connected to load 120, PV unit 130, and storage battery unit 140 via a power line. The distribution board 110 may have a measurement unit that measures the power supplied from the distribution line 31.

  The load 120 is a device that consumes power supplied through the power line. For example, the load 120 is a refrigerator, lighting, an air conditioner, a television, or the like.

  The PV unit 130 is a device that generates power, and includes a PV 131 and a PCS 132. The PV 131 is a type of distributed power source, and generates power in response to received sunlight and outputs the generated DC power. The PCS 132 converts DC power output from the PV 131 into AC power, and outputs AC power via the power line.

  The storage battery unit 140 is a device that stores electric power, and includes a storage battery 141 and a PCS 142. The storage battery 141 stores power (charge) and outputs power (discharge). The PCS 142 converts AC power input via the power line into DC power when the storage battery 141 is charged, and outputs the DC power to the storage battery 141. The PCS 142 converts DC power output from the storage battery 141 into AC power when the storage battery 141 is discharged, and outputs AC power via the power line.

  The HEMS controller 200 is a control device that controls a plurality of devices (the load 120, the PV unit 130, and the storage battery unit 140) provided in the customer 10. The HEMS controller 200 controls the load 120, the PV unit 130, and the storage battery unit 140 via a signal line. The signal line may be wireless or wired.

(Applicable scene)
Hereinafter, application scenes of the control system according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an application scene of the control system according to the embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the control system according to the embodiment includes a narrow area network 70, a HEMS controller 200, a plurality of devices 300, and an operation terminal 500.

  The narrow area network 70 is a network provided in the customer 10. The narrow area network 70 may be a wireless LAN or a wired LAN. The narrow area network 70 includes a router 400. FIG. 2 illustrates a case where the HEMS controller 200 and the router 400 are connected by wire, and the device 300 and the operation terminal 500 and the router 400 are connected wirelessly. However, the HEMS controller 200 and the router 400 may be connected wirelessly, and the device 300 and the operation terminal 500 and the router 400 may be connected by wire.

  The HEMS controller 200 communicates with the device 300 and the operation terminal 500 via the narrow area network 70. When the HEMS controller 200 receives an operation instruction for the device 300 from the operation terminal 500, the HEMS controller 200 transmits the operation instruction to the device 300.

  The device 300 communicates with the HEMS controller 200 via the narrow area network 70. The some apparatus 300 contains the load 120, PV unit 130, and the storage battery unit 140, for example. The device 300 receives an operation instruction from the HEMS controller 200. The device 300 performs an operation according to the received operation instruction when receiving the received operation instruction. When the device 300 accepts the received operation instruction, the device 300 transmits a response to the received operation instruction to the HEMS controller 200. When the device 300 does not accept the received operation instruction, the device 300 transmits an unacceptable response to the received operation instruction to the HEMS controller 200.

  The operation terminal 500 communicates with the HEMS controller 200 via the narrow area network 70. The operation terminal 500 is a mobile terminal (for example, a smartphone or a tablet terminal) that performs wireless communication. Alternatively, the operation terminal 500 may be a personal computer that performs wired communication, a browser-mounted television, or the like. The operation terminal 500 transmits an operation instruction for the device 300 to the HEMS controller 200. In addition, the operation terminal 500 receives a response to the operation instruction or an unacceptable response from the HEMS controller 200.

  Alternatively, the operation terminal 500 may directly communicate with the device 300 instead of communicating with the HEMS controller 200. In that case, the operation terminal 500 transmits an operation instruction to the device 300 without going through the HEMS controller 200. The operation terminal 500 receives a response to the operation instruction or an unacceptable response from the device 300 without going through the HEMS controller 200.

  In the embodiment, messages (operation instructions, responses, and unacceptable responses) transmitted / received via the narrow area network 70 are messages that conform to the ECHONET Lite (registered trademark) standard. The ECHONET Lite (registered trademark) standard defines a “class” for each type of device, and defines a control target and setting information in the device as a “property” for each class.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating properties of the device 300 according to the embodiment. Here, an air conditioner that is a kind of load 120 is assumed as the device 300. The air conditioner belongs to the “household air conditioner class” in the ECHONET Lite (registered trademark) standard.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of properties are defined in the home air conditioner class. For example, the operation mode property indicates automatic, cooling, heating, dehumidification, or air blowing. The temperature set value property indicates a temperature set value in the range of 0 ° C to 50 ° C. The air volume setting property indicates an air volume level (any of eight levels) or an air volume automatic state. The wind direction swing setting property indicates wind direction swing OFF, up / down, left / right, or up / down / left / right.

  Each property defines an access rule. The access rule refers to whether or not “Set” that is a property value write request and “Get” that is a property value read request.

  For example, since both Set and Get are permitted as the operation mode property, the device 300 can correspond to the specified operation mode by transmitting a Set message (operation instruction) specifying the operation mode to the device 300. In this case, the designated operation mode can be set in the device 300. The operation mode set in the device 300 can be acquired by transmitting the operation mode property Get message (operation instruction) to the device 300.

  However, when the operation mode is specified by the Set message (operation instruction), the device 300 does not accept the Set message and transmits a Set impossible response message if it does not correspond to the specified operation mode. .

(Configuration of operation terminal)
Below, the structure of the operating terminal 500 which concerns on embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the operation terminal 500.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, the operation terminal 500 includes a display unit 510, an input unit 520, a communication unit 530, a storage unit 540, and a control unit 550.

  The display unit 510 displays various images based on the image signal input from the control unit 550. In the embodiment, the display unit 510 displays an operation screen of the device 300.

  The input unit 520 detects a user input and outputs a signal indicating the content of the user input to the control unit 550. The input unit 520 may be configured integrally with the display unit 510 (a so-called touch panel display).

  The communication unit 530 performs communication (for example, wireless LAN communication or wired LAN communication) via the narrow area network 70. Communication unit 530 receives the communication signal and outputs the received communication signal to control unit 530. Communication unit 530 transmits a communication signal input from control unit 550. The communication unit 530 may perform communication via a public network such as a mobile phone network.

  The storage unit 540 stores various information used for control in the control unit 550. The storage unit 540 stores a program (for example, application software) executed by the control unit 550. Furthermore, the memory | storage part 540 memorize | stores the combination table mentioned later.

  The control unit 550 performs various controls on the operation terminal 500 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 540. Details of the control by the control unit 550 will be described later.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a combination table according to the embodiment. The combination table is stored in the storage unit 540.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the combination table associates information indicating a plurality of combination operation target devices to which a combination operation defined by a combination of device-specific operations is applicable with the contents of the combination operation.

  For example, in the combination table shown in FIG. 5, when the content of the combination operation is “energy saving cooling”, a fan and an air conditioner are designated as a plurality of combination target devices. That is, “energy saving cooling” is a combination operation of an operation of turning on the operating state of the fan and an operation of turning on the operating state of the air conditioner, and means an operation capable of increasing the cooling efficiency. In addition, as an example of the combination operation, in the combination table shown in FIG. 5, “all-room air circulation” that simultaneously ventilates the house (combination of operations for opening and closing the window opening / closing device and the skylight opening / closing device), “Simultaneous ON / OFF” to turn on or off the lights in the house all at once (combination of operations to turn on / off the operation status of multiple lights), “Odekake mode” to stop specific devices at the same time when going out , A combination of operations for turning off the operating state of the air conditioner and floor heating) is specified.

  When a plurality of combination operation target devices are operated by the communication unit 530, the control unit 550 performs control to display a combination operation object indicating the content of the combination operation on the display unit 510 based on the combination table. When the control unit 550 detects a user input for selecting a combination operation object, the control unit 550 transmits an operation instruction for each device corresponding to the combination operation, based on the combination table, by the communication unit 530.

  That is, when operating the air conditioner, the lighting, and the floor heating, the control unit 550 displays a combination operation object of “outing mode” on the display unit 510 in addition to the object indicating the operation content of each device. Here, the “object” is an element constituting an operation screen displayed on the display unit 510, and includes a button selected by the user, a character string indicating the current setting state, and the like. When the control unit 550 detects a user input for selecting the combination operation object of the “outing mode”, the control unit 550 transmits an operation instruction to turn off the respective operation states of the air conditioner, the lighting, and the floor heating based on the combination table. 530 for transmission.

(Operation terminal operation)
Hereinafter, an operation of the operation terminal 500 according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the operation terminal 500. In the initial state of this flow, the operation screen is not displayed. For example, this flow is started with the activation of the device operation application as a trigger.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, in step S <b> 101, the control unit 550 acquires device information of a plurality of devices 300 using the communication unit 530. The control unit 550 acquires the device information from the HEMS controller 200 by requesting the HEMS controller 200 to transmit the device information. Alternatively, the control unit 550 may acquire the device information from each device 300 without passing through the HEMS controller 200 by requesting each device 300 to transmit the device information. The device information includes information indicating the device type to which the device belongs. The device information further includes information indicating an operation applicable to the device.

  In step S102, the control unit 550 generates an operation screen based on the device information acquired in step S101 and the combination table stored in the storage unit 540, and displays the generated operation screen on the display unit 510. .

  Specifically, the control unit 550 specifies the device type to which each device 300 belongs based on the acquired device information. The control unit 550 compares the identified device type with the device type of the device included in the combination table. For example, in the combination table illustrated in FIG. 5, an air conditioner and illumination are associated as combination operation target devices in the “outing mode”. The control unit 550 generates an operation screen including a button corresponding to the “outing mode” when the plurality of devices 300 include an air conditioner, lighting, and floor heating.

  In step S103, when the input unit 520 detects a user input for selecting the displayed button, the control unit 550 transmits an operation instruction for instructing an operation associated with the selected button by the communication unit 530. To do. The operation instruction is, for example, a Set message. For example, when detecting a user input for selecting a combination operation object, the control unit 550 transmits, by the communication unit 530, an operation instruction for each device corresponding to the combination operation based on the combination table.

  In step S104, the control unit 550 confirms whether or not the input unit 520 has detected a user input for selecting an end button. The end button may be a button displayed on the display unit 510 or may be a physical button. When the user input for selecting the end button is not detected (step S104; NO), the control unit 550 returns the process to step S103. On the other hand, when the user input for selecting the end button is detected (step S104; YES), the control unit 550 ends the device operation application and ends the display of the operation screen.

(Operation screen)
Hereinafter, an operation screen displayed on the display unit 510 will be described. 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating a configuration example of the operation screen according to the embodiment.

  The control unit 550 acquires device information of each of the plurality of devices 300 and generates an operation screen based on the acquired device information.

  FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of an initial screen at the time of starting the device operation application among the operation screens. In FIG. 6A, the operation screen is a combination of a device selection button (object) for selecting one device to be operated from a plurality of devices 300 and a specific device in the plurality of devices 300. A combination operation selection button (object) for performing an operation. The operation screen shown in FIG. 6A includes selection buttons of “air conditioner”, “lighting”, “hot water heater”, “floor heating”, and “bathroom heating dryer” as device selection buttons. As a selection button for “outing mode”. The operation screen may further include a “various settings” button for setting display contents, a display format, and the like, a “visualization application” button for displaying the total power usage amount in the consumer, and the like.

  Here, the case where the illumination button is selected from the device selection buttons shown in FIG. When the control unit 550 detects a user input to the illumination button, the display unit 510 displays an operation screen for illumination. As shown in FIG. 6B, the operation screen for lighting includes an object associated with the property of lighting. In FIG. 6B, the operation screen includes an object corresponding to the property of light color and illuminance, an object corresponding to the property of the lighting mode, an object corresponding to the operation state property (lit or unlit), and the same device type (general An object corresponding to a list indicating other devices belonging to (lighting class). When the control unit 550 detects a user input to the object, the control unit 550 generates an operation instruction corresponding to the user input, and transmits the generated operation instruction using the communication unit 530. For example, when detecting a user input to the “light off” button, the control unit 550 generates a Set message for setting the operation state to OFF as an operation instruction.

  Next, a case where the outing mode button shown in FIG. 6A is selected will be described. When the control unit 550 detects a user input to the outing mode button, the control unit 550 displays an operation screen indicating information regarding the outing mode on the display unit 510. In FIG. 6C, the operation screen includes an object indicating a target device (air conditioner, lighting, and floor heating) in the outing mode and an “execute” button (object) corresponding to the execution of the outing mode. When the control unit 550 detects a user input to the “execute” button, the control unit 550 transmits, as an operation instruction, a Set message for setting the operation state of the target device (air conditioner, lighting, and floor heating) in the outing mode to OFF.

  As described above, the operation terminal 500 according to the embodiment associates information indicating a plurality of combination operation target devices to which a combination operation defined by a combination of device-specific operations is applicable, with the content of the combination operation. When a combination table is stored and a plurality of combination operation target devices are operated by the communication unit 530, a combination operation object indicating the content of the combination operation is displayed based on the combination table. That is, the operation terminal 500 stores a combination table in advance, and determines whether or not the plurality of devices 300 include devices corresponding to the combination operation. When a plurality of devices 300 include devices corresponding to the combination operation, the combination operation object (button) is displayed, so that the user can operate the plurality of combination operation target devices collectively by one operation. it can. In addition, upon accepting the collected operation, the operation terminal 500 identifies the device 300 that is the target of the combination operation, and sends a Set message that specifies the class of each device, the ID of the individual device, and the property regarding the operation content to the HEMS controller 200. Send to. In the HEMS controller 200, by sending this Set message individually to the target device, each device executes an operation designated as a combination operation. Thereby, the operativity of an operating terminal can be improved and it can respond to a user's various needs.

[Other Embodiments]
In the embodiment described above, the device 300 is an air conditioner that is a kind of the load 120. However, the device 300 may be a device 300 other than the air conditioner, that is, the load 120 other than the air conditioner, or the PV unit 130 or the storage battery unit 140.

  Moreover, although the case where the combination table illustrated in FIG. 5 is stored in the storage unit 540 of the operation terminal 500 has been described, the combination table may be stored in the storage unit of the HEMS controller 200. In this case, the HEMS 200 generates a Set message addressed to the operation target device.

  In the above-described embodiment, the system conforming to the ECHONET Lite (registered trademark) standard is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to a system conforming to the ECHONET Lite (registered trademark) standard, and the present invention may be applied to a system conforming to another communication standard such as ZigBee (registered trademark) or KNX, for example. .

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the control device is the HEMS controller 200 is illustrated. However, the control device may be provided by CEMS (Cluster / Community Energy Management System), BEMS (Building Energy Management System), FEMS (Factor Energy Management System), or SEMS (System Management System).

  In the embodiment described above, an example in which the operation terminal 500 transmits an operation instruction via the narrow area network 70 has been described. However, the operation terminal 500 may transmit an operation instruction to the server 600 via a public network such as the Internet. In such a case, the operation terminal 500 transmits an operation instruction to a server provided in the public network. The server transmits the operation instruction received from the operation terminal 500 to the HEMS controller 200 via the public network and the narrow area network 70. The HEMS controller 200 transmits the operation instruction received from the server 600 to the device 300 via the narrow area network 70. In such a case, the operation terminal 500 may configure the operation screen so that operations that can be remotely operated among operations applicable to the device 300 can be identified.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Consumer, 31 ... Distribution line, 70 ... Narrow area network, 110 ... Distribution board, 120 ... Load, 130 ... PV unit, 131 ... PV, 132 ... PCS, 140 ... Storage battery unit, 141 ... Storage battery, 142 ... PCS, 200 ... HEMS controller, 300 ... device, 400 ... router, 500 ... operation terminal, 510 ... display unit, 520 ... input unit, 530 ... communication unit, 540 ... storage unit, 550 ... control unit

Claims (5)

An operation terminal including a display unit, a communication unit, and a control unit,
The communication unit receives device information including an information element indicating a device type to which the device belongs and an information element indicating an operation applicable to the device from a plurality of devices operable by the operation terminal;
The control unit receives from the plurality of devices reference information that associates the contents of a combination operation defined by a combination of operations applicable to each of two or more target devices and the two or more target devices. based on the device information, it has row control to display the combination operation object indicating the contents of the combination operation on the display unit,
The operation that defines the combination operation includes an operation in which an operation instruction through a public network is allowed and an operation in which an operation instruction through the public network is not allowed .   The control unit controls the communication unit to transmit an operation instruction corresponding to the combination operation to the two or more target devices when detecting a user input for selecting the combination operation object. The operation terminal according to claim 1. Wherein, on the basis of whether the operation instruction to be transmitted via the public network from the communication unit, according to claim 1, the combination operation object and performs control to display on the display unit The operation terminal described in. In an operation terminal equipped with a display unit and a communication unit,
Receiving device information including an information element indicating a device type to which the device belongs and an information element indicating an operation applicable to the device from a plurality of devices operable by the operation terminal;
Based on combination information defined by a combination of operations applicable to each of two or more target devices and reference information for associating the two or more target devices with the device information received from the plurality of devices Displaying a combination operation object indicating the content of the combination operation;
Was executed,
The operation defining the combination operation includes an operation in which an operation instruction through a public network is allowed and an operation in which an operation instruction through the public network is not allowed . A method used in a control system including an operation terminal,
Receiving device information including an information element indicating a device type to which the device belongs and an information element indicating an operation applicable to the device from a plurality of devices operable by the operation terminal;
Based on combination information defined by a combination of operations applicable to each of two or more target devices and reference information for associating the two or more target devices with the device information received from the plurality of devices Displaying a combination operation object indicating the content of the combination operation;
Only including,
The method for defining the combination operation includes an operation in which an operation instruction through a public network is allowed and an operation in which an operation instruction through the public network is not allowed .

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