WO2016147402A1

WO2016147402A1 - Controller, screen generation method, and program

Info

Publication number: WO2016147402A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/058325
Authority: WO
Inventors: 聡司峯澤; 遠藤　聡; 一郎丸山
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2015-03-19
Filing date: 2015-03-19
Publication date: 2016-09-22
Also published as: JPWO2016147402A1; JP6373484B2

Abstract

According to the present invention, a data storage unit (13) stores family information (131) about parent generation and child generation of a family. The data storage unit (13) also stores apparatus information (132), energy information (133), and the like associated with predetermined items to be viewed, which are information about household electrical appliances. A secret setting unit (142) automatically establishes a secret section of the family information (131). An information processing unit (143) deletes or integrates at least a portion of the apparatus information (132), the energy information (133) and the like according to the set secret section. An image generation unit (12) generates a screen containing the information deleted or integrated by the information processing unit (143) according to a user specifying an item to be viewed.

Description

Controller, screen generation method, and program

The present invention relates to a technology capable of appropriately restricting information to be browsed from the viewpoint of privacy protection in a home system introduced in a two-family house or the like.

In recent years, home systems (for example, energy management systems, etc.) in which various household electrical appliances arranged in a home are connected according to a prescribed communication standard have become widespread in ordinary homes. In this home system, various home appliances such as air conditioners, lighting equipment, rice cookers, IH cookers, dehumidifiers, ventilation fans, and water heaters are communicably connected, and management (monitoring and control) of each home appliance is appropriate. Can be done.

Recently, such home systems are being introduced to, for example, two-family houses, share houses, and condominiums. In that case, since home appliances (located in each residential area) in each household are centrally managed by the home system, privacy protection is required, such as preventing the viewing of information on other households indefinitely. become.

As a prior art for protecting privacy, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a home system (power control system) that displays a power usage status only for a room or the like corresponding to a user who is identified personally.

JP 2010-288388 A

However, even if the technique of Patent Document 1 described above is applied to a home system introduced in a two-family house, it is expected that detailed restrictions on information of other households cannot be made. In other words, when the technology of Patent Document 1 is applied to a home system introduced into a two-family house or the like, a user who has been personally identified cannot view any other household information, but can view only his own household information. Become. Such strict restrictions are appropriate for households with no acquaintance, but are not so appropriate for two-family houses where exchanges between households are active to some extent.

Therefore, there is a need for a technology that can appropriately limit the information to be browsed based on the exchange between households in a home system introduced in a two-family house.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a controller, a screen generation method, and a program capable of appropriately protecting privacy in a two-family house or the like. Objective.

In order to achieve the above object, a controller according to the present invention provides:
A controller for managing home appliances arranged in a first living area and a second living area,
A display control unit that displays a screen that conceals at least a part of the collected information or a screen that is not concealed on the display device based on the family information of the user to be browsed and the collected information related to the home electrical appliance to be browsed;
Is provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately protect privacy in a two-family house or the like.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the whole structure of the home system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of a controller. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of family information. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the screen which a screen production | generation part produces | generates. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the screen which a screen production | generation part produces | generates. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of household appliances. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of a terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows an example of an initial setting process. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a screen production | generation process. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of family information when a home system is introduced into a share house. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of family information when a home system is introduced into an apartment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of family information when a home system is introduced into a one-family house. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the apparatus control screen which a screen production | generation part produces | generates. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the apparatus control screen which a screen production | generation part produces | generates. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the whole structure of the home system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of family information. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the screen which a screen production | generation part produces | generates. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of family information. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the whole structure of the home system which concerns on other embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the following, as a specific example, the case where the present invention is applied to a home system introduced into a two-family house will be described. However, as will be described later, a home system introduced into a share house, a dormitory, an apartment, etc. Similarly, the present invention can be applied. That is, the embodiment described below is for explanation, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art can employ embodiments in which each or all of these elements are replaced with equivalent ones, and these embodiments are also included in the scope of the present invention.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the home system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This home system 1 is installed in a two-family house (for example, a residential area of a parent household and a residential area of a child household), and is required between the controller 10 and the home appliance 20 (20a, 20b). It is a system that manages (monitors and controls) the home appliance 20 while transmitting and receiving various data. As shown in the figure, the home system 1 includes a controller 10, a home appliance 20, a terminal device 30 (30a, 30b), and a power measuring device 40 (40a, 40b) in a residence H (in a two-family house). Has been placed. The controller 10, the home appliance 20, and the terminal device 30 are connected to be communicable via, for example, a home network 90 including a wired LAN (Local Area Network) or a wireless LAN.

The controller 10 is a device that controls the entire home system 1. The controller 10 acquires (collects) information (for example, operating state, control state, operating history, temperature, humidity, etc.) from the home appliance 20. In addition, the controller 10 acquires information related to energy (for example, power consumption and electricity bill) from the power measurement device 40. And when the browsing of information is requested from the terminal device 30, the controller 10 generates screen data in which the information is concealed or processed so as not to allow unlimited viewing of information of other households, as will be described later. Provided to the terminal device 30.

An example of the configuration of the controller 10 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the controller 10. As illustrated, the controller 10 includes a communication unit 11, an image generation unit 12, a data storage unit 13, and a control unit 14.

The communication unit 11 is, for example, a communication adapter for connecting to the home network 90, and performs communication with the home appliance 20 and the terminal device 30 via the home network 90 under the control of the control unit 14. For example, the communication unit 11 receives device information sent from each home appliance 20 in response to a request from the controller 10. In addition, the communication unit 11 transmits the screen data generated by the image generation unit 12 to the terminal device 30.

The image generation unit 12 generates screen data to be provided to the terminal device 30. For example, the image generation unit 12 generates screen data according to information stored in the data storage unit 13 (family information 131 and the like described later) and control of the control unit 14 (information processing unit 143 and the like described later). To do. Specific screen data will be described together with the control unit 14 described later.

The data storage unit 13 is composed of, for example, a non-volatile semiconductor memory and stores various information. As an example, the data storage unit 13 stores family information 131, device information 132, energy information 133, message information 134, and schedule information 135.

Family information 131 is information about a family living in a two-family house, and specifically includes household relations, family composition, browsing items, and secrecy classification as shown in FIG. The household relationship is information indicating a relationship between households (for example, “parent household” and “child household”). The family structure is information indicating a family structure in each household. Although omitted in FIG. 3, the family structure includes age, sex, and the like.

The browsing item indicates an item that can be designated (selected) when browsing from the terminal device 30. The browsing item is associated with any one of device information 132, energy information 133, message information 134, and schedule information 135 (there may be a plurality of items). For example, energy information 133 is associated with the viewing item “Electricity Charge”, and device information 132 is associated with the viewing item “Device Control”.

The secrecy classification indicates whether secrecy is necessary (“private” or “partially secret”) or unnecessary (“public”) when the target browsing item is specified from the terminal device 30 of another household. Yes. Note that “partially private” indicates that some information needs to be concealed. Specifically, in FIG. 3, the confidential classification of “device control” (browsing item) is set to “partially hidden”. In this case, for example, home appliance 20 (home appliance 20 of another household) It is possible to display (browse) up to the operating state, but the control buttons (ON and OFF) are not displayed.

In addition to these pieces of information, the family information 131 may include a password or the like for authenticating each user (a householder in a two-family house).

Referring back to FIG. 2, the device information 132 is information about the home appliance 20, and includes, for example, an operating state, a control state, an operating history, temperature, humidity, and the like. As an example, the device information 132 is associated with the “device control” viewing item in FIG. 3 described above.

The energy information 133 is information about the energy of the home appliance 20 and the entire household, and includes, for example, power consumption and electricity charges. As an example, the energy information 133 is associated with the browsing item “Electricity Charge” in FIG. 3 described above.

The message information 134 is information of a message transmitted (transmitted) or received by each user (for example, an e-mail or various short messages). Note that only messages transmitted and received within a household or between households (within two household users) may be stored as message information 134. As an example, the message information 134 is associated with the browsing item “message” in FIG. 3 described above.

The schedule information 135 is information such as an action schedule of each user and an event schedule of the entire household. As an example, the schedule information 135 is associated with the “schedule” viewing item in FIG. 3 described above.

Returning to FIG. 2, the control unit 14 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like (none of which are shown), and controls the entire controller 10. Functionally, the control unit 14 includes an information collection unit 141, a concealment setting unit 142, an information processing unit 143, and a command unit 144. These functions are realized by the CPU using the RAM as a work memory and appropriately executing various programs (such as a program for screen generation processing described later) stored in the ROM, for example.

The information collecting unit 141 includes information on the home appliance 20, information on the energy of the home appliance 20 and the entire household, information on messages transmitted or received by the user, and information such as a user's action schedule and an entire household event schedule. To collect. For example, the information collection unit 141 controls the communication unit 11 to access the home appliance 20 at regular time intervals, for example, when the operation state, the control state, the operation history, and the temperature (when obtained from the target home appliance 20). ), And humidity (when obtained from the target home appliance 20). The information collection unit 141 updates the device information 132 described above according to the acquired information. In addition to this, for example, the information collection unit 141 accesses the power measurement device 40 at regular time intervals, and acquires information such as power consumption and electricity charges. The information collection unit 141 updates the above-described energy information 133 according to the acquired information.

The secrecy setting unit 142 sets the secrecy classification in the above-described family information 131 in FIG. 3 at the time of initial setting to the family information 131 (any information) and information associated with the browsing items (that is, collected information). ) And set automatically. For example, taking the family information 131 in FIG. 3 as an example, the concealment setting unit 142 sets the concealment category according to information related to household relations, family structure, or browsing items.

Specifically, the secrecy category for the “Electricity Charge” viewing item is generally set to “Undisclosed”, but if the child household's “Father” age is lower than the reference value, If the concealment category of “Electricity charges” on the child household side is set to “Public”, and the age of the “Grandfather” of the parent household is higher than the standard value, the “Electricity charges” on the parent household side is concealed. The category is set to “Public”. That is, when the child household is a young couple, the electricity bill of the child household can be viewed from the terminal device 30 on the parent household side. On the other hand, when the parent household is an elderly couple, the parent device can be viewed from the terminal device 30 on the child household side. The secrecy setting unit 142 sets the secrecy classification so that the household electricity bill can be viewed. The secrecy classification for the other browsing items is also set by the secrecy setting unit 142 according to the household relationship, family structure, and the like.

Note that, as described above, after the secrecy section is initially set by the secrecy setting unit 142, the secrecy section can be arbitrarily reset according to a user's change operation. That is, the concealment setting unit 142 resets the concealment classification according to the user's instruction. For example, taking the family information 131 in FIG. 3 as an example, the secrecy classification for the “apparatus control” viewing item is initially set to “private”, but the parent household side terminal device 30 determines the parent household. When the operation for changing the “equipment control” secrecy category to “partially hidden” is performed, the secrecy setting unit 142 sets the “equipment control” secrecy category of the parent household to “one” according to the change operation. Reset to “Partially closed”. The secret setting unit 142 may reset the secret classification only for the change operation from a specific user, for example, by requesting a password when the change operation is requested.

The information processing unit 143 appropriately processes the information stored in the data storage unit 13. For example, when browsing of information of another household is requested, the information processing unit 143 deletes or integrates at least a part of the corresponding information according to the confidential classification in the family information 131 of FIG. 3 described above. Specifically, when the browsing item of “Electricity Charge” in FIG. 3 is requested to be browsed from the terminal device 30 on the child household side, the information processing unit 143 displays the parent whose secrecy classification is set to “undisclosed”. Without reading the household information from the energy information 133, only the child household information is read from the energy information 133 and supplied to the image generation unit 12. Then, the image generation unit 12 generates screen data as shown in FIG. 4A. In other words, screen data for electricity charges for only the child household (house B) is generated.

On the other hand, when the browsing item “Electricity Charge” in FIG. 3 is requested to be browsed from the terminal device 30 on the parent household side, the information processing unit 143 displays information on the child households whose secrecy classification is set to “open”. , And information on the parent household is read from the energy information 133 and supplied to the image generation unit 12. Then, the image generation unit 12 generates screen data as shown in FIG. 4B. That is, the screen data of the electricity charges of the parent household (A house) and the child household (B house) is generated.

In addition, when the confidential classification is set to “partially closed”, the information processing unit 143 may read out a part of the information stored in the data storage unit 13 (a part of the information processing unit 143). Processes such as deleting information) and adding some values (merging some information). More specifically, when the concealment category for the “electricity charge” viewing item in FIG. 3 is set to “partially closed”, the information processing unit 143 converts only the information in a certain time period into energy information. Processing such as thinning out from 133, reading out only the information of the time zone in which the charge is maximum, thinning out from the energy information 133, and adding the values of the information read out by thinning out are performed. In addition, the information processing unit 143 may combine the electricity charges of other households with the electricity charges of its own household to process the electricity charges of the entire two households.

Returning to FIG. 2, the command unit 144 commands the target home appliance 20 through the communication unit 11 to control. For example, the user inputs an operation on an arbitrary home appliance 20 in a state where the viewing item “device control” in FIG. 3 described above is requested and the screen data generated by the information processing unit 143 is displayed on the terminal device 30. Then, the command unit 144 transmits a control command corresponding to the input operation to the target home appliance 20 through the communication unit 11.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the home appliance 20 (20a, 20b) is various electrical appliances used in each household in the residence H. As an example, the household electrical appliance 20a is an electrical appliance disposed in a residential area of a parent household, and the household electrical appliance 20b is an electrical appliance disposed in a residential area of a child household. The home appliance 20 includes, for example, an air conditioner, a television, an IH cooker, a refrigerator, a lighting device, an air cleaner, a ventilation fan, and a floor heater. An example of the configuration of such home appliance 20 will be described below with reference to the block diagram of FIG. As shown in the figure, the home appliance 20 includes a communication unit 21, a data storage unit 22, a main function unit 23, and a control unit 24.

The communication unit 21 is, for example, a communication adapter for connecting to the home network 90 and communicates with the controller 10 via the home network 90 under the control of the control unit 24. In addition, you may comprise the communication part 21 with the external communication adapter which can be attached or detached.

The data storage unit 22 is composed of, for example, a non-volatile semiconductor memory and stores information about the home appliance 20 (for example, control status, operation history, temperature, humidity, etc.). The data storage unit 22 also stores programs executed by the control unit 24.

The main function unit 23 has a configuration for realizing the original functions of the home appliance 20 (for example, air conditioning functions such as cooling, heating, and dehumidification for an air conditioner, and freezing and refrigeration functions for a refrigerator). Yes, controlled by the control unit 24.

The control unit 24 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, etc. (all not shown), and controls the entire home appliance 20. Functionally, the control unit 24 includes a data processing unit 241 and a control execution unit 242. These functions are realized by the CPU appropriately executing various programs stored in the ROM or the data storage unit 22 using the RAM as a work memory.

The data processing unit 241 updates the information stored in the data storage unit 22 sequentially from the measurement values obtained by sensors (not shown) of the home appliance 20 and the monitoring results such as the operating state and the setting state. Then, the data processing unit 241 transmits information stored in the data storage unit 22 to the controller 10 in response to a request from the controller 10.

The control execution unit 242 causes the main function unit 23 to execute control based on the command of the command unit 144 described above in the controller 10. That is, the control execution unit 242 causes the main function unit 23 to execute processing according to a command (control signal or the like) issued from the controller 10.

Returning to FIG. 1, the terminal device 30 (30a, 30b) is, for example, a portable terminal such as a tablet terminal or a smartphone. As an example, the terminal device 30a is a mobile terminal used in a parent household, and the terminal device 30b is a mobile terminal used in a child household. An example of the configuration of the terminal device 30 will be described below with reference to the block diagram of FIG. As illustrated, the terminal device 30 includes a communication unit 31, a display unit 32, an input unit 33, a data storage unit 34, and a control unit 35.

The communication unit 31 includes, for example, an interface for wireless LAN connection, and communicates with the controller 10 under the control of the control unit 35.

The display unit 32 includes a liquid crystal panel and displays various screens under the control of the control unit 35. Specifically, the display unit 32 displays a screen as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B described above from the screen data sent from the controller 10 as an example. In this case, the display unit 32 of the terminal device 30b used in the child household displays the electricity bill screen for only the child household (B house) shown in FIG. 4A. On the other hand, the display unit 32 of the terminal device 30a used in the parent household displays the electricity bill screen of the parent household (A house) and the child household (B house) shown in FIG. 4B.

The input unit 33 includes a touch panel, a touch pad, and the like, and performs processing for receiving an operation input from the user. For example, when a touch panel is adopted as the input unit 33, a transparent flat plate capacitive sensor that detects a change in electrostatic capacitance is mounted on the liquid crystal display. When this capacitive sensor detects a touch (press) on the touch surface (for the user, a display screen of a liquid crystal display) with a user's fingertip or a dedicated pen, the position information (coordinate data) is controlled. Is output to the unit 35.

The data storage unit 34 is composed of, for example, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory. The data storage unit 34 temporarily stores screen data generated by the controller 10 and received through the communication unit 31. In addition, the data storage unit 34 stores a program executed by the control unit 35.

The control unit 35 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like (all not shown), and controls the terminal device 30 as a whole. Functionally, the control unit 35 includes a screen display processing unit 351 and an input detection unit 352. This function is realized by the CPU appropriately executing various programs stored in the ROM or the data storage unit 34 using the RAM as a work memory.

The screen display processing unit 351 displays a screen based on the screen data sent from the controller 10 (the screen shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B described above) on the display unit 32 through the communication unit 31.

When the input detection unit 352 receives an operation from the user for an item on the screen displayed on the display unit 32 (for example, a browsing item on the menu screen) from the input unit 33, the input detection unit 352 generates input detection data and passes through the communication unit 31. To the controller 10.

Returning to FIG. 1, the power measuring device 40 (40 a, 40 b) is, for example, a CT (Current Transformer) disposed on a power line 80 (80 a, 80 b) that supplies power to the home appliance 20. As an example, the power measuring device 40a is a CT disposed on the power line 80a of the parent household, and the power measuring device 40b is a CT disposed on the power line 80b of the child household. For example, the power measuring device 40 measures power consumption and an electricity bill at regular intervals, and notifies the controller 10 of the measurement result.

Hereinafter, the operation of the controller 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the initial setting process. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the screen generation process.

First, the initial setting process in FIG. 7 will be described. This initial setting process is a process for automatically setting the secret classification in the family information 131 of FIG. 3 described above when the home system 1 is introduced (installed).

First, the controller 10 acquires family information input from the terminal device 30 (step S101). That is, when the control unit 14 acquires information about the family sent from the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 11, the control unit 14 stores the information in the data storage unit 13 as family information 131. At this time, the secret classification in the family information 131 is blank.

The controller 10 automatically sets the secret classification (step S102). That is, the confidentiality setting unit 142 automatically sets the confidentiality classification based on the family information 131 (any information) and the information associated with the browsing item (that is, the collected information). For example, taking the family information 131 in FIG. 3 as an example, the concealment setting unit 142 sets the concealment category according to information related to household relations, family structure, or browsing items.

As an example, for the secrecy classification of “Electricity charges”, the secrecy setting unit 142 sets both to “private” in principle. However, when the age of the “father” etc. of the child household is lower than the reference value, Set the secret category of “Electricity charges” on the household side as “Public”. On the other hand, when the age of the parent household, such as “grandfather”, is higher than the reference value, the concealment setting unit 142 sets the concealment category of the “electricity charge” on the parent household side to “open”. The secrecy setting unit 142 also sets the secrecy classification of other browsing items according to the household relationship, family structure, and the like.

By such an initial setting process, the confidential classification in the family information 131 is automatically set based on the family information 131 (any information) and information associated with the browsing item (that is, collected information). Is done. Therefore, the secrecy classification according to the family information 131 and the information associated with the browsing item can be set while saving the user's trouble.

It should be noted that after the secrecy classification is initially set in this way, the secrecy classification can be arbitrarily reset according to the user's change operation. That is, the concealment setting unit 142 resets the concealment classification according to the user's instruction. For example, taking the family information 131 in FIG. 3 as an example, the secrecy classification for the “apparatus control” viewing item is initially set to “private”, but the parent household side terminal device 30 determines the parent household. When the operation for changing the “equipment control” secrecy category to “partially hidden” is performed, the secrecy setting unit 142 sets the “equipment control” secrecy category of the parent household to “one” according to the change operation. Reset to “Partially closed”. The secret setting unit 142 may reset the secret classification only for the change operation from a specific user, for example, by requesting a password when the change operation is requested.

Next, the screen generation process in FIG. 8 will be described. This screen generation process is started in response to a browsing request in which a browsing item is designated from the terminal device 30 operated by the user. Note that it is possible to determine from the identification information (for example, MAC address) of the terminal device 30 whether the request for browsing is a parent household or a child household in two households.

First, the controller 10 refers to the confidential classification of the browsing item designated from the terminal device 30 (step S201). That is, the control part 14 reads the family information 131 shown in FIG. 3 mentioned above from the data storage part 13, and refers to the secrecy division of the designated browsing item (the secrecy division of the browsing item in another household).

The controller 10 determines whether or not the referenced secrecy classification is public (step S202). That is, the control unit 14 determines whether or not confidentiality is necessary for information associated with the designated browsing item.

If the controller 10 determines that the confidential classification is public (step S202; Yes), the controller 10 generates a screen (screen data) from the target information (step S203). For example, when the browsing item “Electricity Charge” in FIG. 3 is requested to be browsed from the terminal device 30 on the parent household side and the confidential classification of the child household is set to “open”, the information processing unit 143 Household information and parent household information are read from the energy information 133 and supplied to the image generation unit 12. Then, the image generation unit 12 generates screen data as shown in FIG. 4B. That is, the screen data of the electricity charges of the parent household (A house) and the child household (B house) is generated.

If it is determined in step S202 described above that the confidential classification is not public (step S202; No), the controller 10 determines whether or not the referenced confidential classification is partially private (step S204). ). That is, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the information associated with the designated browsing item needs to be partially concealed.

If the controller 10 determines that the confidential classification is partially private (step S204; Yes), the controller 10 generates a screen in which the target information is processed (step S205). For example, when the concealment classification of the browsing item “Electricity Charge” in FIG. 3 is set to “partially closed”, the information processing unit 143 reads out only information in a certain time period from the energy information 133 and reads it out. In addition, only the information of the time zone in which the charge is maximum is thinned out and read out from the energy information 133, and further, the values of the thinned out and read out information are added. In addition, the information processing unit 143 may combine the electricity charges of other households with the electricity charges of its own household to process the electricity charges of the entire two households. Then, the image generation unit 12 generates screen data of the electricity bill according to the information processed by the information processing unit 143.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the confidential classification is not partially closed (not closed) (step S204; No), the controller 10 generates a screen without the target information (step S206). For example, when the browsing item “Electricity Charge” in FIG. 3 is requested to be browsed from the terminal device 30 on the child household side and the confidential classification of the parent household is set to “private”, the information processing unit 143 Without reading the parent household information from the energy information 133, only the child household information is read from the energy information 133 and supplied to the image generation unit 12. Then, the image generation unit 12 generates screen data as shown in FIG. 4A. In other words, screen data for electricity charges for only the child household (house B) is generated.

Then, the controller 10 transmits the generated screen (screen data) to the terminal device 30 (step S207).

In such a screen generation process, a screen corresponding to the user who specified the browsing item is generated based on the confidential classification in the family information 131. For this reason, it is possible to set how much information is disclosed by the family, and it is possible to appropriately protect privacy in a two-family house or the like. In addition, the information processing unit 143 can further protect privacy by processing such as deletion or integration of some information.

In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the home system 1 is introduced into a two-family house has been described as an example, but the present invention is also applicable to cases other than a two-family house. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied when the home system 1 is introduced into a share house, a condominium, a one-family house, and the like.

Specifically, when the home system 1 is introduced into a share house, the family information 131 as shown in FIG. 9A is used in the controller 10 that manages the home appliances 20 arranged in the living area (each room) of each resident. Is stored in the data storage unit 13. The family information 131 in FIG. 9A includes information on household relationships, browsing items, and confidential classification. The family information 131 may also include the family structure as in FIG. 3 described above. A plurality of tenant households are provided for each room.

In addition, when the home system 1 is introduced into a condominium, in the controller 10 that manages the home appliances 20 arranged in each tenant's occupied area (each house) and a shared area (for example, a shared part such as a hallway or a lobby). The family information 131 as shown in FIG. 9B is stored in the data storage unit 13. The family information 131 in FIG. 9B includes information on household relations, browsing items, and confidential classification. The family information 131 may also include the family structure as in FIG. 3 described above. In addition, a plurality of tenant households are provided for each house. Furthermore, the information regarding the household appliances 20 of a share part becomes object for the electricity bill of an administrator household, and a control apparatus.

In addition, when the home system 1 is introduced into a one-family house, the family information 131 as shown in FIG. 9C is stored in the controller 10 that manages the home appliances 20 arranged in the living areas (each room) of each user. It is stored in the storage unit 13. The family information 131 in FIG. 9C includes information on family relationships (parents, children, and others, including age), browsing items, and confidential classification. In the example of FIG. 9C, all the confidential classification is set to “public”, but when the child's age is lower than the reference value, the confidential classification of “equipment control” is set to “partial disclosure”. For example, you may make it display only the household appliances 20 of an own room so that control is possible.

More specifically, when a parent (father or mother) operates the terminal device 30, as shown in FIG. 10A, an air conditioner (an example of the home appliance 20) in any room is displayed in a controllable manner. When the child operates the terminal device 30, as shown in FIG. 10B, only the air conditioner in his / her room is displayed in a controllable manner. Note that the content of restriction by “partially private” may be other than this. For example, when a child operates the terminal device 30, only the operating state of the home appliance 20 is displayed, and the actual control cannot be performed without displaying the driving on / off button or the like. Good.

In the first embodiment, the case where the home system 1 is introduced into the same building such as a two-family house has been described as an example. However, even if the home system 1 that connects remote homes is introduced. Good. Hereinafter, the home system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the home system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The home system 1 uses a server 70 (for example, a server 70 on the Internet) to connect a remote house H (for example, a house Ha that is a residence area of a parent household and a house Hb that is a residence area of a child household). It is characterized by being able to connect and watch (safety confirmation). In other words, the home appliance 20 (20a, 20b), the terminal device (30a, 30b), the power measuring device 40 (40a, 40b), except that the controller 10a and the controller 10b can transmit and receive necessary information via the server 70. The home network 90 (90a, 90b) has the same configuration as that of the home system 1 shown in FIG.

The family information 131 as shown in FIG. 12 is stored in the data storage unit 13 of the controller 10. The family information 131 includes information on the watching section instead of the secret section in FIG. In addition, you may memorize | store the family information 131 which added the watching division to FIG.

The watching category indicates whether watching is required (“rough monitoring”) or not required (“not applicable”) when a target browsing item is designated from the terminal device 30 of another household. Note that “schematic monitoring” indicates that the target information is not displayed as it is, but is monitored to such an extent that the presence or absence of a change with time of the target information becomes clear. In the example of FIG. 12, the watching category is set only on the parent household side, and the watching category is omitted on the child household side.

Then, the information processing unit 143 of the controller 10 abstracts the target information so that the presence or absence of the change with the passage of time becomes clear according to the watching section in the family information 131 of FIG. For example, when the browsing item “Electricity Charge” in FIG. 12 is requested to be browsed from the terminal device 30 on the child household side, the information processing unit 143 sets the monitoring category to “rough monitoring”, The information read out from the information 133 is abstracted so that the presence / absence of a change with the passage of time becomes clear. As an example, the information processing unit 143 expresses the electricity charge in a certain time zone as one of “low”, “medium”, and “high”, and whether there is a change in the electricity charge (power consumption) over time. Abstract to be clear.

Specifically, the information processing unit 143 generates screen data as shown in FIG. That is, the information on the electricity charges for the child household (A house) is created in detail as usual, while the information on the electricity charges for the parent household (A house) is created abstractly. When such screen data is sent to and displayed on the terminal device 30 of the child household, the presence or absence of changes in the electricity price over time can be read from the abstracted electricity price information, thus protecting privacy appropriately. While watching the parent household.

In the second embodiment, for the purpose of watching, the information processing unit 143, as an example, describes a case where processing is performed so that the presence or absence of a change with the passage of time becomes clear based on the information on the electricity rate. However, processing may be performed based on other information. For example, the information processing unit 143 may process the information so that the presence or absence of a change with the passage of time becomes clear on the basis of the usage status and operating status of a specific home appliance 20. Specifically, the usage status and operation of home appliances 20 used daily by the parent household user to be watched over, such as the number of times the refrigerator is opened and closed, the number of times the electric pot is poured, and the number of times the toilet lamp is turned on / off You may process so that the presence or absence of the change with time progress may become clear based on a condition.

Furthermore, when an abnormal situation is clearly recognized from the home appliance 20 of the parent household to be watched over, safety may be prioritized over privacy protection. For example, in the case where the temperature is obtained from the home appliance 20, if a situation occurs in which the obtained temperature is extremely higher or lower than normal (standard value), the controller 10 notifies the abnormality on the parent household side. May be generated and displayed on the terminal device 30 on the watching side (child household). Moreover, at the time of such an abnormality, regardless of the setting contents of the above-described secrecy classification, the corresponding home appliance 20 can be controlled from the child household side. Specifically, in summer and winter, the temperature acquired from the air conditioner of the parent household is extremely high (summer) or extremely low (winter) even though the user of the parent household is at home (in the room) In this case, the controller 10 generates a screen for notifying the abnormality on the parent household side and displays it on the terminal device 30 on the watching side (child household). At that time, the controller 10 displays an operation button, a temperature setting button, and the like for the air conditioner of the parent household regardless of the setting contents of the device control secret classification, and controls the air conditioner of the parent household from the terminal device 30 on the monitoring side. Make it possible.

In the second embodiment, the case where the home system 1 is introduced so as to connect the parent household and the child household has been described as an example. In addition, the home system 1 is introduced to the local community connecting each house. In this case, the same applies.

Specifically, when the home system 1 is introduced into a local community, the family information 131 as shown in FIG. 14 is stored in the data storage unit in the controller 10 that manages the home appliances 20 arranged in each living area (each house). 13 is stored. The family information 131 in FIG. 14 includes information on household relations, browsing items, and confidential classification. The family information 131 may also include the family structure as in FIG. 3 described above. Moreover, you may make it include a watching division similarly to FIG. 12 mentioned above. Furthermore, a plurality of resident households are provided according to each house.

(Other embodiments)
In the above embodiment, the case where the controller 10 is disposed in the house H has been described. However, the controller 10 may be disposed outside the house H. For example, the server 70 on the Internet may function as the controller 10.

For example, as shown in FIG. 15, a router 60 is arranged in the house H instead of the controller 10. On the other hand, for example, on the Internet outside the house H, a server 70 that functions as the controller 10 described above is disposed. In this case, the router 60 and the server 70 cooperate to play the role of the controller 10.

In this case as well, privacy can be appropriately protected in a two-family house.

Moreover, although the case where the dedicated controller 10 was used was demonstrated in the said embodiment, the said personal computer etc. are applied by applying the operation program which prescribes | regulates the operation | movement of these controllers 10 to an existing personal computer, an information terminal device, etc. It is also possible to function as the controller 10 according to the present invention.

Further, such a program distribution method is arbitrary. For example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an MO (Magneto Optical Disk), a memory card, etc. can be read by a computer. It may be distributed by storing in a recording medium, or distributed via a communication network such as the Internet.

The present invention is capable of various embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the broad sense. Further, the above-described embodiment is for explaining the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. That is, the scope of the present invention is shown not by the embodiments but by the claims. Various modifications within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the equivalent invention are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention can be employed in a controller, a screen generation method, and a program that can appropriately protect privacy in a two-family house or the like.

1 home system, 10 controller, 11, 21, 31 communication unit, 12 image generation unit, 13, 22, 34 data storage unit, 14, 24, 35 control unit, 20 home appliances, 23 main function unit, 30 terminal device, 32 display units, 33 input units, 40 power measurement devices, 60 routers, 70 servers, 90 home networks, 131 family information, 132 device information, 133 energy information, 134 message information, 135 schedule information, 141 information collection unit, 142 concealment Setting section, 143 information processing section, 144 command section, 241 data processing section, 242 control execution section, 351 screen display processing section, 352 input detection section

Claims

A controller for managing home appliances arranged in a first living area and a second living area,
A display control unit that displays a screen that conceals at least a part of the collected information or a screen that is not concealed on the display device based on the family information of the user to be browsed and the collected information related to the home electrical appliance to be browsed;
Controller with.
A family information storage unit for storing the family information about the user corresponding to the first living area and the second living area;
A collection information storage unit that stores the collection information that is the collection information related to the home appliance and is associated with a predetermined browsing item;
The display control unit displays, on the display device, a screen that conceals at least a part of the collected information or a screen that is not concealed based on the family information of the user who specified the browsing item and the corresponding collected information. Let
The controller according to claim 1.
Based on the family information and the collected information, further comprising a setting unit for setting whether or not the collected information needs to be concealed,
The display control unit causes the display device to display a screen corresponding to the user who specified the browsing item based on the necessity of secrecy set by the setting unit.
The controller according to claim 2.
According to the necessity of secrecy set in the setting unit, further comprising a processing unit that deletes or integrates at least a part of the collected information,
The display control unit causes the display device to display a screen including the collected information deleted or integrated by the processing unit, according to a user who specified the browsing item.
The controller according to claim 3.
The processing unit abstracts the collected information so that the presence or absence of a change with the passage of time becomes clear,
The display control unit causes the display device to display a screen including the collected information abstracted by the processing unit, according to a user who has designated the browsing item.
The controller according to claim 4.
A screen generation method for a controller that manages home appliances arranged in a first living area and a second living area,
A display control step of displaying on the display device a screen that conceals at least a part of the collected information or a screen that is not concealed, based on the family information of the user to be browsed and the collected information related to the home appliance to be browsed;
A screen generation method comprising:
A computer that manages home appliances arranged in the first living area and the second living area,
A display control unit that displays a screen that conceals at least a part of the collected information or a screen that is not concealed on the display device based on the family information of the user to be browsed and the collected information related to the home electrical appliance to be browsed;
Program to function as.