JPH04216295A - Home control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To present the home control system to prevent the abnormal state of completely disabling power supply from being generated by adjusting power to be consumed in an entire network when the state of disabling the power supply is predicted. CONSTITUTION:A home control device in a home bus system is equipped with an external interface 27, which inputs a control signal from the outside, and an objective load setting part 20a for control, and the objective load setting part 20a for control sets loads to be the objects of control and decides the priority order of those loads. When the control signal is inputted from the outside, based on the priority order decided by the objective load setting part 20a for control, the power supply is started being stopped from the load equipment having the low priority order.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a home control system, and more particularly to a home control system that allows control of various load devices in the home even from outside the home.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The progress of the information society in recent years has been remarkable due to advances in communication technology and the rapid development of microelectronics.

[0003] Furthermore, society's needs for telecommunications are becoming increasingly diverse, and in the near future, social, industrial, and
It is believed that the construction of information networks at each level, such as in the home, will be realized, and that the connections between each network will further advance. Against this background, the combination of the CATV network, which is expected to develop as an information communication network using bidirectionality, and the home bus system, which is expected to become popular in the future, is being considered, and the positioning of such a network is being considered. Based on this, C.
A system that combines an ATV network and a home bus system has been constructed, and research is being conducted to examine and verify communication methods, load measurement, load control technology, and other aspects of application to electric power use. As mentioned above, research on forming an information network by combining home bus systems and external information centers was disclosed as research on consumer equipment measurement and control technology in Kansai Electric Power Research Institute Report No. 40, second half of 1986. has been done.

[0004] In research on consumer equipment measurement and control technology, a central information center of the network has reported on automatic meter reading, load survey, and load control systems for each household. Automatic meter reading is a system in which a stationary integrated power meter is connected to the home bus system as a transmission method for automatic meter reading of the electric power meter, and automatic meter reading can be performed from the center of the two-way system. Load survey is a system that connects a controller with a built-in electricity meter to the home bus system and collects data from the center of the bidirectional system as a means of automatically collecting electricity usage charges by device and time of day. That is. A load control system is a system in which a home automation terminal is placed in the home, and load devices such as water heaters can be controlled individually or simultaneously in the home via a home bus, and their status can be monitored. It is something.

[0005] In addition, information service systems, television retransmission and video telephone systems, etc. have also been disclosed, and in home control systems configured in this way, it is possible to control the load equipment in the home from within the home. In addition to this, it is also possible to control load devices in the home from an external center. Furthermore, since the status of the controlled load devices in the home can be monitored, it is possible to provide various services at the same time.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in a home control system that combines an external network and a home bus, although it is possible to enhance services within each home, there is a problem with the supply of electricity within the network. There may also be cases where a shortage occurs. In other words, electricity is necessary to operate the home control system for providing services in each home, but there is a limit to the amount of electricity that can be supplied, so there is a shortage in the supply of electricity. It is.

[0007] For example, when using an air conditioner in the summer, if the amount used is too large, the power supplied cannot keep up and the power supply becomes impossible, and the load equipment in the home other than the air conditioner is also interrupted. Situations may arise that make it unusable. Even in such a case, the center cannot arbitrarily turn off the air conditioner switches in each home, and even though the center's control function functions, such a situation cannot be prevented.

[0008] As described above, even if a situation in which the supply of electric power is predicted to be impossible, it is impossible to even switch off the load devices in each household other than the air-conditioning equipment, and the supply of electric power becomes impossible. The reason why there is nothing you can do but stand by and watch a situation like this occur is that it does not matter if the power supply is cut off in the event of an emergency situation where the power supply is no longer available. This is because nothing is communicated to the center about the load devices that are missing.

[0009]Also, even if you report to the center about load devices that do not care if the power supply is stopped, the priority of the load devices you want to use changes depending on the season, etc., so this report is not necessary. The means must be simple and flexible.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to connect load equipment in each household to a central location where the power supply may be cut off in the event of an emergency. The object of the present invention is to provide a home control system that allows the power consumed in the entire network to be adjusted by controlling the network.

[0011]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above objects, the home control system according to the present invention is a home control system that controls load equipment via a home bus line, in which a communication line is connected from the outside. an external communication interface for inputting a control signal supplied through the interface; a selection means for selecting a load device to be controlled; and a priority setting means for setting a priority among the load devices to be controlled; and an adjusting means for stopping the supply of power from the load devices having a lower priority set by the priority setting means, and controlling each load device in the home from inside and outside the home.

0012

[Operation] In the home control system according to the present invention having such a configuration, the load devices to be controlled and their priorities are set by the priority setting means, so that the load devices can be controlled from the center side. The home load devices are programmed, and within that range, the center side controls the home load devices via an external communication interface.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment to which a home control system according to the present invention is applied.

[0014] This home control system includes a home control device (20) and a home bus line (22).
) and a plurality of household load devices (23a) connected to the home bus line (22), and a home bus system (25) and a plurality of household load devices (23). Power line (2
6).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the home control device (20) in FIG. 1. This home control device includes a control target load setting section (20a), a home bus communication interface (20b), and a CPU (20a).
0c) and an external interface (27), and has a display section (21b), a notification section (21C), and a control target load setting switch section (21a) on the surface.

First, this home control device (20
) on the surface of the control target load setting switch section (21a
) is operated, the controlled load setting section (20
In a), the loads to be controlled are set, and the priorities of these loads to be controlled are determined.

There are loads in the home that cannot be turned off (for example, gas sensors that detect gas leaks) and loads that can be turned off, such as lighting and air conditioners. For example, if we compare air conditioners and lighting, lighting is always necessary at night, but air conditioners are not necessarily necessary. In this way,
The loads to be controlled are set taking into account the functions and uses of each load in the home, as well as the location and time of day in which they are used, and their priorities are determined. In the embodiment, the control target load setting section (20a) is a memory that stores data, and the control target load setting section (20a) is operated by operating the control target load setting switch section (21a) on the surface of the home control device (20). Target loads and their priorities are programmed.

At this point, the external interface (27) is opened at the same time as the loads to be controlled and their priorities are programmed. By opening this external interface (27), the home control device (20) can receive control signals transmitted from the center. When the control signal transmitted from the center is received by the home control device (20), among the loads to be controlled programmed in the load to be controlled setting section (20a), the switches are selected in descending order of priority. It gets cut. At this time, in the embodiment, the fact that the control signal has been input is displayed on the notification section (21C), and the load equipment in the home that has been switched off by the control signal is displayed on the display section (21C).
b).

[0019] For example, in the event of an emergency situation in which air conditioners are used in large quantities during the summer, and the power supply cannot keep up with the usage of air conditioners so much that the power supply becomes impossible, , control signals are transmitted from the center to each home. If this control signal is sent, it will only be received by households where the external interface (27) is open. In the home that receives this control signal, among the loads to be controlled programmed in the load to be controlled setting section (20a), the switches are turned off in the order of priority. The switches that are turned off at this time are things that do not interfere with daily life even if they are not turned on, such as a light that is turned on in a place that does not need to be turned on during the day.

[0020] Then, in each household, items that would not cause much trouble in daily life without them, that is, load devices in the household with low priority, are switched off, making it impossible to supply electricity. When such a situation is predicted, and as mentioned above, when air conditioning is used in large quantities during the summer, it is possible to turn off the load equipment in the home other than the air conditioning equipment in each home, thereby preventing the supply of electricity from being possible. This can prevent situations like this from occurring.

[0021] Moreover, the home control device (20)
By operating the control target load setting switch section (21a) on the front surface, the load to be controlled and its priority are programmed, making it possible to control according to the time, place, and situation. . Note that if the control target load setting switch part (21a) on the surface of the home control device (20) is not operated and the control target load setting part (20a) is not activated, the external interface (27) will not be closed. It is impossible for the home control device (20) to receive control signals sent from the center, and the load devices in the home are not controlled by the center, and the home control device (20) has a normal control mechanism. It operates as a system.

[0022]

Effects of the Invention As described above, in the home control system of the present invention, when a situation in which the supply of electricity becomes impossible occurs or a situation in which the supply of electricity becomes impossible is predicted, Since the center side is informed about the load devices for which the supply of power can be stopped, it is possible to prevent an emergency situation from occurring where the supply of power becomes completely impossible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of an embodiment to which a home control system according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home control device of the home control system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

(20) Home control device (20a) Control target load setting section (20c) CPU (22) Home bus line (23) Household load equipment (24) Power meter terminal (25) Home bus system (26) Power line (27) External interface

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A home control system that detects and controls the operating status of each of a plurality of load devices via a home bus line, comprising: an external communication interface that inputs a control signal supplied from the outside via a communication line;
a selection means for selecting a load device to be controlled by the home control system; a priority setting means for setting a priority among the load devices selected by the selection means; control means for controlling each load device in the home from inside and outside the home, including an adjusting means for stopping the supply of power from load devices having a lower priority set by the priority setting means among the load devices selected by the means; A home control system that is characterized by: