JP2007028036A - Controller and method for controlling apparatus using it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the sum total of power consumption exceeds a specified value when new power consumptions are required for an apparatus connected to a network in a conventional controller, and to provide a method for controlling the apparatus using the controller. <P>SOLUTION: In the method for controlling a plurality of the apparatuses through the network respectively, a plurality of waveform data of consumption predetermined powers based on each operation schedule of a plurality of the apparatuses are transmitted and received, and the peak power of the waveform data obtained by adding a plurality of the waveform data and the specified value are compared. In the method, a schedule change is decided on the basis of the comparison, either of a plurality of the waveform data is altered on the basis of the decision of the schedule change, and a plurality of the apparatuses are controlled so that the sum total of the consumption scheduled powers of a plurality of the apparatuses is lower than the specified value by scheduling the operations of a plurality of the apparatuses again. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a home appliance control device and a control method thereof, and more particularly to a home appliance control device having a power consumption scheduling function and a communication function and a control method thereof.

  In recent years, with the spread of computers, the development of a home network environment has progressed. In view of this, it has been proposed that the home network environment is used to communicate between home appliances to control the home appliance.

  As an example of the above proposal, Patent Document 1 discloses a home appliance control apparatus that performs communication between home appliances and appropriately maintains the total power consumption of home appliances in the home. FIG. 16 shows a block diagram of a system 300 using a conventional home appliance control device (home controller). A conventional home appliance control system 300 includes a PC 101, a home controller 102, home appliances A to B, and a network 104.

  The PC 101 is an input / output device for the user to control the home controller 102. The home controller 102 is a device that controls the home appliances A to C via the home network 104. It is assumed that information about each device is registered in advance in the home controller 102 from the PC 1.

  FIG. 17 shows a block diagram of the home controller 102. The home controller 102 includes a serial I / F (interface) 105, a control unit 106, a home appliance registration unit 107, a home appliance operation status storage unit 108, and a communication unit 109.

  The control unit 106 is a block that controls each block in the home controller 102. A serial I / F 105, home appliance registration unit 107, home appliance operation status storage unit 108, and communication unit 109 are connected to the control unit 106.

  The control unit 106 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores fixed information such as an operation program, a RAM that serves as a work memory, an RTC (Real Time Clock), and the like, and executes processing including adjustment operation of home appliances described later. .

  The serial I / F 105 transmits and receives various data between the home controller 102 and the PC 101 in accordance with a standard such as USB.

  The home appliance registration unit 107 registers the identification information, the type information, the priority information, the power consumption value in each driving situation, and the like set for each individual home appliance A to C by input from the PC 1 in advance. This information is stored. The home appliance registration unit 107 also includes an upper limit value Pr1 of two rated power consumption values for shifting to an adjustment operation that temporarily suppresses the operation of some home appliances by an input setting from the PC 1 by the user. The lower limit value Pr2 is registered.

  The home appliance operating status storage unit 108 is for the home controller 102 to automatically grasp and store the operating status of the home appliances A to C at a predetermined time. By referring to the registered contents, the previous power consumption values of the home appliances A to C at a predetermined time are calculated.

  The communication unit 109 is connected to the home appliances A to C via the network 104, receives data on the driving status of the home appliances A to C, and transmits an instruction signal for remotely operating the home appliances A to C.

  FIG. 18 shows a flowchart of the operation of the control unit 106 of the home controller 102. First, when the home appliance control device starts power management, the home appliances A to C are investigated to grasp the driving situation (step S101). Next, the total power consumption value Power consumed by the home appliances A to C is calculated from the contents stored in the home appliance operating state storage unit 108, and is the total power consumption value Power less than the upper limit value Pr1 of the rated power consumption? Is determined (step S102). If it is determined in step S102 that the total power consumption value Power is lower than the lower limit value Pr2 of the rated power consumption, it is determined (step S103). If it is determined in step S102 that the value is lower, the process returns to step S101 again, and steps S101 to S103 are repeatedly executed. Thus, it is determined whether or not the total power consumption value Power is within a range between the upper limit value Pr1 and the lower limit value Pr2 of the rated power consumption.

  When the total power consumption value Power exceeds the upper limit value Pr1 of the rated power consumption in step S102, the control unit 106 searches whether there is a device that can be adjusted and operated (step S104). If there is no device that can be adjusted, the process returns to step S101. If there is a device that can be adjusted and operated, one device having the lowest priority among the devices that can be adjusted and operated is selected (step S105). Subsequently, an adjustment operation setting process is performed on the selected device (step S106). Thereby, it is set as the power suppression operation state which suppresses the power consumption of the selected apparatus. After step S106 is completed, the process returns to step S101 again to continue the process.

  On the other hand, when the total power consumption value Power is lower than the lower limit value Pr2 of the rated power consumption in step S103, the control unit 106 searches whether there is a device in the adjustment operation (step S107). If there is no device in the adjustment operation, the process returns to step S101. If there is a device in the adjustment operation, one device having the highest priority among the devices in the adjustment operation is selected (step S108). Subsequently, the adjustment operation cancellation process is performed on the selected device (step S109). As a result, the selected device is released from the power suppression operation state, and the power consumption increases. After step S109 ends, the process returns to step S101 again to continue the process.

  In this way, the home controller 102 manages and manages all the home appliances A to C so that the total power consumption in the device does not exceed an appropriate range.

However, the conventional home appliance control system controls the operation state of each device afterwards. For this reason, for example, when a device that consumes a lot of power when starting up, such as an air conditioner, is activated, the output of the air conditioner used in another room is reduced to temporarily reduce the power consumption of other devices. The air conditioning environment in the room deteriorates. Further, when the total power consumption is constantly relatively large, the power is cut off when the total power consumption exceeds the capacity of the breaker even temporarily due to the activation of the air conditioner or the like. Accordingly, there is a problem that the power management cannot follow the user's operation of the device in the ex-post control.
JP 2004-23283 A

  The conventional control device and the device control method using the control device have a problem that the total power consumption exceeds the specified value when new power consumption is required for the device connected to the network.

  A control method according to the present invention is a control method for controlling each of a plurality of devices via a network, wherein a plurality of waveform data of scheduled power consumption based on an operation schedule of each of the plurality of devices is obtained. The peak power of the waveform data obtained by adding and receiving the plurality of waveform data is compared with a predetermined value, the schedule change is determined based on the comparison result, and the plurality of waveform data is determined based on the schedule change determination. By controlling one of the waveform data of the plurality of devices and rescheduling the operation of the plurality of devices so that the total power consumption of the plurality of devices is less than the predetermined value. It is.

  The control device according to the present invention is a device that controls each of a plurality of devices via a network, and a plurality of waveform data of planned power consumption based on an operation schedule of each of the plurality of devices. Transmitting and receiving the data, comparing the peak power of the waveform data obtained by adding the plurality of waveform data with a predetermined value, and outputting a schedule change command based on the comparison result, the schedule And a schedule changing unit that changes any of the plurality of waveform data based on a change command.

  According to the control device and the device control method using the control device according to the present invention, based on the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption corresponding to each of the plurality of devices controlled through the network, The waveform data of the planned power consumption of the entire device is calculated. When the calculated peak power of the waveform data exceeds a predetermined value, the schedule changing unit adjusts the operation schedule of each device so that the total scheduled power consumption falls below the predetermined value. As a result, a system including a plurality of devices and a control device can operate all devices with sufficient performance while keeping the total power consumption below a predetermined value. In addition, even if the operating state is changed outside the schedule for a given device, the entire system can be operated optimally by resetting the schedule corresponding to the changed operating state for all devices. It is possible to be in a state.

  According to the control device and the device control method using the control device of the present invention, even when new power consumption is required for the device connected to the network, the total power consumption is less than the specified value. It can be kept low.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system 100 using the home appliance control apparatus according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a system 100 using the home appliance control device according to the first embodiment includes a breaker 1, a wattmeter 2, a plurality of devices (for example, home appliances 3A to 3C), and a plurality of control devices (for example, Home appliance control devices 4A to 4C) and a network 5. The home appliance control apparatus according to the first embodiment predicts the total consumption planned power after a predetermined time based on the waveform data and the priority of the planned consumption power possessed by the home appliances 3A to 3C. It is an apparatus that schedules and controls the operation of each household electrical appliance at predetermined intervals so as not to exceed the rated maximum power value.

  The breaker 1 is a device that is provided in a power source and shuts off the power supply when the power consumption exceeds a predetermined value. The wattmeter 2 is a device that measures the power consumed by the device connected to the power source and outputs the maximum usable power. The maximum usable power is, for example, a value obtained by subtracting the currently used power value from the rated maximum power value of the power source, and is a value indicating the remaining power consumption. The wattmeter 2 is connected to the home appliance control devices 4A to 4C via the network 5. The network 5 connects the home appliance control devices 4A to 4C and the wattmeter 2 to each other, and is used for data transmission / reception between the devices.

  The home appliances 3A to 3C are, for example, an air conditioner (self-contained air conditioner 3A) in which the user A resides in the home appliance 3A, and an air conditioner (another room air conditioner) in the room in which the user B resides. 3B), and the home appliance 3C is a home appliance such as a refrigerator or a washing machine in any room. In addition, home appliance control devices 4A to 4C for controlling the corresponding home appliances are connected to the home appliances 3A to 3C, respectively. Home appliance control devices 4A to 4C are devices that control the power of the corresponding home appliances or the functions of the appliances. In the description of the present invention, the home appliance control devices 4A to 4C are collectively referred to as a home appliance control device 4 according to circumstances.

  A block diagram of the home appliance control device 4 is shown in FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the home appliance control device 4 includes a communication unit 6, a home appliance control unit 7, and a storage unit 8.

  The communication unit 6 is a block that performs transmission and reception of data between the home appliance control device and the home appliance control device and between the home appliance control device and the wattmeter 2. The data to be transmitted / received includes, for example, device priority, waveform data of scheduled power consumption during a unit period (for example, a period from time t0 to t1), maximum usable power, and the like. Here, the priority is a value indicating the priority order of devices whose power should be suppressed when the power is suppressed by power control, for example. Further, the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption during the unit period indicates the schedule of the operation during the unit period of each home appliance. Each home appliance adjusts the power consumption and changes the output state based on the waveform data. The waveform data will be described later.

  The storage unit 8 is a block that stores data obtained from the communication unit 6 or the home appliance control unit 7. The data stored in the storage unit 8 is, for example, waveform data of planned power consumption corresponding to each of a plurality of home appliances, priority or priority at the time of factory shipment, maximum usable power, and the like.

  The waveform data of the scheduled power consumption will be described. To be precise, the waveform data is instantaneous power = instantaneous voltage × instantaneous current × cos φ, and the value of the instantaneous current cannot be determined only from the current value unless it is direct current, such as an electric heater. However, in a general household electric appliance, the value of cosφ can be assumed to some extent depending on the load of the appliance. Therefore, there is usually no practical problem if the waveform value of the instantaneous alternating current is set as the control target.

  Therefore, the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption to be controlled is data such as a temporal change in instantaneous current (crest value or effective value) from the start of operation in the case of an air conditioner, for example. Of course, in the case of an air conditioner, since the so-called power factor, cosφ, is not 1, it goes without saying that a certain value appropriate for each device is assumed.

  Further, a high instantaneous alternating current flows at the moment of starting the operation. Thereafter, the current value varies depending on the difference from the ambient temperature. Therefore, although it is not always determined as the same instantaneous alternating current, a certain value can be estimated depending on the type of equipment used. Therefore, by registering the data, it is possible to define the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption. Further, if necessary, the power consumption of the device may be measured and the average value or the worst level value considering the margin may be registered as waveform data.

  Furthermore, the waveform data of power consumption scheduled for an air conditioner or the like varies depending on settings such as rapid cooling / heating and weak air blowing operation. Therefore, if necessary, values corresponding to these settings may be registered by actual measurement or the like.

  Of course, some home appliances do not depend on the surrounding environmental conditions depending on whether they are ON or OFF, for example, electric heaters and incandescent light bulbs are relatively easy to register waveform data.

  Strictly speaking, as described above, waveform data is instantaneous AC current values, and some devices have factors that cannot be determined unless they are in use. By doing so, it has been confirmed that practically usable data can be obtained.

  Moreover, the household appliance control part 7 has the household appliance control part 7-1, the electric power calculation part 7-2, and the schedule change part 7-3, and is connected with each of the communication part 6 and the memory | storage part 8. FIG. The home appliance control unit 7-1 is a block that controls a corresponding home appliance based on data from the connected block. The power calculation unit 7-2 corresponds to the peak power of the waveform data obtained by adding the waveform data of the planned power consumption of the own device and the waveform data of the planned power consumption of the other device and a predetermined value (for example, corresponding to the maximum usable power). Current waveform value, which is of course an instantaneous current waveform). As a result of the comparison, if the peak power exceeds the maximum usable power, a schedule change command is output to the schedule change unit 7-3. The schedule changing unit 7-3 changes the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the own device or another device based on the schedule change command, and generates new waveform data of the scheduled power consumption.

  In addition, since the value of electric power changes also with voltages, it must strictly consider the operating voltage. However, the present invention is intended to be used from a single-phase AC power source having a predetermined voltage, such as 100 V (in the case of Japan), and therefore, generally, the peak current value may be considered.

  Of course, it is also possible to apply the present invention to a three-phase AC power source. In this case, it is needless to say that the current value corresponding to the power consumption should be confirmed by actual measurement or the like, unlike the case of the single-phase power supply.

  In addition, it goes without saying that for home appliances that vary the voltage, it is necessary to control the power value in addition to simply controlling the current value. Since control of such home appliances becomes more difficult than a home appliance crisis that operates at a predetermined voltage value, it is preferable not to increase the priority and make it a target for cooperative operation with other devices.

  “Waveform data” referred to in the present invention has a plurality of meanings depending on each situation, but in the following description, simply referred to as “waveform data” to avoid duplication.

  In the household appliance control apparatus 4 concerning Embodiment 1, the flowchart of the process which 4A of household appliance control apparatuses perform before new waveform data of the consumption electric power of each household appliance is determined is shown. When an operation start request or an output change request is made by the user, the home appliance control device 4A notifies the home appliance control devices 4B and 4C connected to the network of the waveform data of the power consumption schedule of the own device (step S1). .

  Based on the waveform data notified in step S1, the home appliance control devices 4B and 4C transmit the waveform data and the priority data of the scheduled power consumption during the unit time of each device, The control device 4A acquires the transmitted data (step S2). Thereafter, the home appliance control device 4A obtains the waveform data of the planned power consumption for all the devices from the sum of the power consumed by all the devices from the data acquired in step S2 and the planned power consumption data of the own device. (Step S3). In the waveform data obtained in step S3, the peak power with the largest power consumption is compared with the maximum usable power (step S4).

  When the peak power exceeds the maximum usable power in step S4, the power calculation unit 7-2 outputs a schedule change command, and the schedule change unit 7-3 based on the command outputs a device whose power can be adjusted. The priority order of the own device is determined (step S5). In step S5, when it is determined that there is a device having a lower priority than the own device, the waveform data of the power consumption scheduled power of the device with the lowest priority among the home appliance control devices 4B and 4C is adjusted to have the lowest priority. The schedule changing unit 7-3 generates waveform data of a new scheduled power consumption corresponding to another device (step S6). Then, it returns to step S3 and performs calculation again. If it is determined in step S5 that the priority of the own device is the lowest, the schedule changing unit 7 sets the waveform data of the new scheduled power consumption corresponding to the own device that has adjusted the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the own device. -3 is generated. (Step S7). Thereafter, the operation of each device is started based on the determined waveform data of the scheduled power consumption. (Step S9)

  If the peak power is lower than the maximum usable power in step S4, the set waveform data is held without changing the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of each device (step S8). Thereafter, the operation of each device is started based on the set waveform data (step S9).

  The operation start request or the output change request in the flowchart is monitored by the home appliance control device at intervals of several seconds, and if there is a request, the above flow is executed. Alternatively, the home appliance control device may repeatedly execute the above flow at a predetermined interval. These requests may be executed based on a user instruction.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of an operation sequence of the home appliance control device 4 when another device having a lower priority than the own device exists in step S5 of the above-described flowchart (flow from step S5 to step S6). FIG. 4 shows an operation sequence when the other-room air conditioner 3B and the home appliance 3C are activated while the other-room air conditioner 3B has a lower priority than the own-room air conditioner 3A. An example of the operation sequence of the home appliance control device 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the user instructs activation of the room air conditioner 3A that is stopped. Based on this activation instruction, the home appliance control device 4A connected to the own room air conditioner 3A converts the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption during the unit period of the own device into the other room air conditioner 3B and the home appliance 3C, respectively. Notify the devices 4B and 4C. Thereafter, the home appliance control device 4A acquires the waveform data and the priority of the scheduled power consumption during the unit period of each device from the home appliance control devices 4B and 4C. Subsequently, the home appliance control device 4A analyzes the acquired data and the waveform data of the planned power consumption during the unit time of the own device, and determines the waveform data of the planned power consumption of each home appliance. The determined waveform data of the scheduled power consumption is notified from the home appliance control device 4A to the home appliance control devices 4B and 4C.

  In the operation sequence shown in FIG. 4, since the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the other room air conditioner 3B is changed by the home appliance control device 4A, the other room air conditioner 3B performs a cooperative operation so as to match the operation of the own room air conditioner 3A. When the timing of the operation of the own room air conditioner is reached by the cooperative operation, the home appliance control device 4B notifies the home appliance control device 4A of the start of operation, and the own room air conditioner 3A starts operating.

  Details of the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption handled in the operation sequence of FIG. 4 described above will be described. 5 and 6 show waveform data of the self-contained air conditioners 3A and 3B and the planned power consumption. Here, it is assumed that the home appliance 3C performs a steady operation with little power consumption. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the home appliance 3C will be described without considering it. FIG. 5 (a) shows the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the room air conditioner 3A, and FIG. 5 (b) shows the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the other room air conditioner 3B. As shown to Fig.5 (a), the self-room air conditioner 3A consumes especially much electric power at the time of starting. Moreover, as shown in FIG.5 (b), the other room air conditioner 3B is maintaining predetermined power consumption during a unit period. Further, the maximum usable power obtained by adding the usable power of the own room air conditioner 3A and the other room air conditioner 3B is indicated by a broken line.

  Based on the waveform data shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the home appliance control device 4A adds up the electric power used at each time, and adds up the own room air conditioner 3A and the other room air conditioner 3B at times t0 to t1. Find the waveform data of all planned power consumption. FIG. 5C shows the waveform data of the total power consumption planned by adding the own room air conditioner 3A and the other room air conditioner 3B. As shown in FIG. 5C, the total planned power consumption exceeds the maximum usable power at the peak X of power consumption.

  Here, the priority of the own room air conditioner 3A is higher than the priority of the other room air conditioner 3B based on the conditions of the operation sequence of FIG. Therefore, the process proceeds from step S5 to step S6 in the flowchart described above. The waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the other room air conditioner 3B changed in step S6 is shown in FIG. In this case, the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the room air conditioner 3A is not changed.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the other room air conditioner 3B has a waveform in which the power consumption is reduced during the period when the power consumption of the own room air conditioner 3A increases. FIG. 6C shows the waveform data of the total planned power consumption after the change by adding the waveform data of the planned power consumption of the own room air conditioner 3A and the waveform data of the planned power consumption of the other room air conditioner 3B after the change. As shown in FIG. 6C, the waveform data of the total planned power consumption after the change does not exceed the maximum usable power in the period from time t0 to time t1.

  As another example, FIG. 7 shows an operation sequence of the home appliance control device 4 when the priority of the own device is the lowest in step S5 of the above-described flowchart (flow from step S5 to step S7). FIG. 7 is an operation sequence when the own room air conditioner 3A is activated while the other room air conditioner 3B and the home electric appliance 3C are in operation when the priority of the own room air conditioner 3A is the lowest. An example of an operation sequence of the home appliance control device 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the user instructs activation of the room air conditioner 3A that is stopped. Based on this activation instruction, the home appliance control device 4A connected to the own room air conditioner 3A converts the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption during the unit period of the own device into the other room air conditioner 3B and the home appliance 3C, respectively. Notify the devices 4B and 4C. Thereafter, the home appliance control device 4A acquires the waveform data and the priority of the scheduled power consumption during the unit period of each device from the home appliance control devices 4B and 4C. Subsequently, the home appliance control device 4A analyzes the acquired data and the waveform data of the planned power consumption during the unit time of the own device, and determines the waveform data of the planned power consumption of each home appliance. The determined waveform data of the scheduled power consumption is notified from the home appliance control device 4A to the home appliance control devices 4B and 4C.

  In the operation sequence shown in FIG. 7, since the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the room air conditioner 3A is changed by the home appliance control device 4A, the room air conditioner 3A performs a cooperative operation so as to match the operation of other devices. In addition, since the waveform data of other devices are not changed, the operation set before that is continued.

  Details of the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption handled in the operation sequence of FIG. 7 described above will be described. Waveform data of the self-contained air conditioners 3A and 3B and the total power consumption is shown in FIGS. Here, it is assumed that the home appliance 3C performs a steady operation with little power consumption. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the home appliance 3C will be described without considering it. FIG. 8A shows waveform data of scheduled power consumption of the room air conditioner 3A, and FIG. 8B shows waveform data of scheduled power consumption of the other room air conditioner 3B. As shown to Fig.8 (a), the self-room air conditioner 3A consumes especially much electric power at the time of starting. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, the other-room air conditioner 3B maintains a predetermined power consumption during the unit period. Further, the maximum usable power obtained by adding the usable power of the own room air conditioner 3A and the other room air conditioner 3B is indicated by a broken line.

  Based on the waveform data shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the home appliance control device 4A adds up the electric power used at each time, and adds up the own room air conditioner 3A and the other room air conditioner 3B at times t0 to t1. Find the waveform data of all planned power consumption. FIG. 8C shows the waveform data of the total power consumption planned by adding the own room air conditioner 3A and the other room air conditioner 3B. As shown in FIG. 8C, the total planned power consumption exceeds the maximum usable power at the peak Y of power consumption.

  Here, the priority of the room air conditioner 3A is the lowest among the devices based on the conditions of the operation sequence of FIG. Accordingly, the process proceeds from step S5 to step S7 in the flowchart described above. FIG. 9A shows the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the room air conditioner 3A changed in step S7. In this case, the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the other room air conditioner 3B is not changed.

  As shown in FIG. 9 (a), the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of the room air conditioner 3A has a waveform that increases the power consumption for the engine in which the power consumption of the other room air conditioner 3B decreases. FIG. 9 (c) shows the waveform data of the total planned power consumption after the change by adding the waveform data of the planned power consumption of the own room air conditioner 3A after the change and the waveform data of the planned power consumption of the unchanged other room air conditioner 3B. Show. As shown in FIG. 9C, the waveform data of the total planned power consumption after the change does not exceed the maximum usable power during the period from time t0 to time t1.

  The waveform data transmitted and received by the home appliance control device 4 will be described in detail. An example of the waveform data (time designation method) is shown in FIG. The waveform data of the time designation method shown in FIG. 10 indicates the power consumption for each discrete time. For example, it is data in which power consumption p1 at time t1 and power consumption p2 at time t2 are associated. In addition, the power consumption during the period from time t1 to t2 is maintained at p1.

  FIG. 11 shows communication data when transmitting / receiving time-designated waveform data. The communication data of the time designation method is data arranged in a line and has an identifier I indicating the data format at the head, and after the identifier, time t and power consumption data p corresponding to the time t are described alternately. Is done. The time t becomes, for example, a later time as going backward.

  FIG. 12 shows another example of waveform data (formula designation method). The waveform data of the formula designation method shown in FIG. 12 shows the relationship of power consumption between time t5 and time t6 by a formula. For example, it has formula data indicating the relationship between time T and power consumption P at time T. Thereby, continuous power consumption data can be transmitted and received.

  FIG. 13 shows communication data when transmitting and receiving waveform data of the formula designation method. The communication data of the formula designation method is data arranged in a line, and has an identifier C indicating the data format at the head. After the identifier, time t5 and time t6 are described, and thereafter time T and power consumption are described. An expression relating the data P is described. The formula shown in FIG. 13 is P = aT, where a is a predetermined constant.

  From the above description, according to the home appliance control device according to the present embodiment, the estimated power consumption of each home appliance during a predetermined unit period is predicted based on the waveform data, and the expected power consumption for each home appliance. By appropriately scheduling, it is possible to keep the total power consumption below a predetermined value even when the usage state of the device is suddenly changed. Furthermore, even if the total peak power consumption of each home appliance exceeds the maximum usable power, the power consumption can be reduced by scheduling the operation of each home appliance based on the waveform data of the planned power consumption. It is possible to maximize the capacity of the system while maintaining it below the maximum usable power.

  In addition, since the planned power consumption is changed in consideration of the priority, the operation of a high-priority device is not easily affected by the operation of other devices. By setting the priority, it is possible to reduce user discomfort.

Embodiment 2
FIG. 14 shows a block diagram of a system 200 using the home appliance control apparatus according to the second embodiment. Here, the same blocks as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the system 100 according to the first embodiment is connected to the home appliance control devices 4A to 4C corresponding to the home appliances 3A to 3C, whereas the system according to the second embodiment. As for 200, the one household appliance control apparatus 10 and several household appliances (for example, 3A-3C) are connected via the network. That is, the home appliance control apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment is a system that centrally controls a plurality of home appliances.

  FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the home appliance control apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the home appliance control device 10 includes a communication unit 6, a home appliance control unit 11, and a storage unit 12. The communication unit 6 is a block that performs data transmission / reception with each of the plurality of home appliances 3A to 3C and the wattmeter 2.

  The storage unit 12 is a block that stores data acquired from each of the plurality of home appliances 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> C and the wattmeter 2. The data to be stored are, for example, waveform data and priority of planned power consumption of each home appliance, maximum usable power acquired from the wattmeter 2, and the like.

  Moreover, the household appliance control part 11 has the electric power calculation part 11-1 and the schedule change part 11-2, and is connected with each of the communication part 6 and the memory | storage part 12. FIG. The power calculation unit 11-2 calculates based on the data stored in the storage unit 12 in the same manner as the power calculation unit 7-2 of the first embodiment. That is, the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption of each home appliance is added, the peak power of the obtained waveform data is compared with the maximum usable power, and it is determined whether or not to output a schedule change command.

  In addition, the schedule changing unit 11-2 schedules the operation of each home appliance so that the total planned power consumption of each home appliance does not exceed the maximum usable power based on the schedule change command, and the new scheduled power consumption Waveform data is generated.

  According to the home appliance control apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment, the scheduled power consumption of the entire home appliance connected to the network is collectively managed and controlled by the home appliance control apparatus 10. Therefore, each home appliance may transmit waveform data and operate according to a schedule based on the received waveform data. Therefore, since the configuration of each home appliance is simplified, the system can be easily constructed and added.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change suitably. The present invention considers data based on the operation schedule of each home appliance (waveform data of planned power consumption in this embodiment), and sets each home appliance so that the power consumption of the entire system is not more than a predetermined value. It is something to control. For example, although control of household electrical appliances has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to household electrical appliances and can be controlled as long as it is an electrical appliance. Further, the value that specifies the upper limit of the scheduled power consumption is not limited to the maximum usable power, but may be the maximum rated power. Furthermore, the operation schedule of each home appliance is not limited to that based on the waveform data of the scheduled power consumption, and the data to be controlled can be selected as appropriate.

It is a block diagram of the whole system using the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the process which a household appliance control apparatus performs until the waveform data of the consumption electric power of the household appliance concerning Embodiment 1 is determined. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement sequence of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform data of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform data of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement sequence of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform data of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform data of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the communication data of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the communication data of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform of the communication data of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the communication data of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram of the whole system using the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a block diagram of the household appliance control apparatus concerning Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a block diagram of the whole system using the conventional household appliance control apparatus. It is a block diagram of the conventional home controller. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of operation | movement of the control part of the conventional household appliance control apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Breaker 2 Electricity meter 3A-3C Home appliances 4, 4A-4C, 10 Home appliance control apparatus 5 Network 6 Communication part 7 Home appliance control part 7-1, 11-1 Home appliance control part 7-2, 11-2 Electric power calculation part 7 -3 Schedule change unit 8, 12 Storage unit 100, 200 System

Claims (13)

A control method for controlling each of a plurality of devices via a network,
Transmitting and receiving a plurality of waveform data of scheduled power consumption based on the operation schedule of each of the plurality of devices;
The peak power of the waveform data obtained by adding the plurality of waveform data is compared with a predetermined value, and a schedule change is determined based on the result of the comparison,
Change any of the plurality of waveform data based on the determination of the schedule change,
A control method for controlling the plurality of devices such that the total scheduled power consumption of the plurality of devices falls below the predetermined value by rescheduling the operations of the plurality of devices.   2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the determination of the schedule change specifies the schedule change when the peak power exceeds the predetermined value.   2. The schedule change includes changing waveform data of a device having the lowest priority in consideration of a priority indicating a control priority set for each of the plurality of devices. The control method described in 1.   2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein among the plurality of devices, a device that does not change corresponding waveform data operates based on a schedule based on conventional waveform data. A device for controlling each of a plurality of devices via a network,
A transmission unit that transmits and receives a plurality of waveform data of scheduled power consumption based on the operation schedule of each of the plurality of devices;
A power calculator that compares the peak power of the waveform data obtained by adding the plurality of waveform data with a predetermined value, and outputs a schedule change command based on the result of the comparison;
A home appliance control device comprising: a schedule change unit that changes any of the plurality of waveform data based on the schedule change command.   The home electric appliance control device according to claim 5, wherein the transmission unit further receives a maximum usable power value of a power source and a priority indicating a priority of control set in the plurality of devices. .   6. The home appliance control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the power calculation unit outputs a schedule change instruction when the peak power exceeds the predetermined value.   The schedule changing unit changes waveform data of a device having the lowest priority in consideration of a priority indicating a control priority set for each of the plurality of devices. 7. The control method according to 5 or 6.   The home appliance control apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a storage unit that stores the plurality of waveform data, the maximum usable power, and the priority. The household appliance control apparatus of any one.   The home appliance control device according to claim 5 is further characterized in that the plurality of home appliance control devices are connected to each other via a network, and are connected corresponding to each of the plurality of devices. Item 10. The home appliance control device according to any one of Items 5 to 9.   The home appliance control device according to claim 10, further, based on the waveform data corresponding to the device connected to the own device or the waveform data changed by the schedule changing unit, the device connected to the own device The home appliance control apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 10, further comprising a home appliance control unit that controls a device connected to the own device.   The home appliance control device according to claim 5, further comprising a plurality of devices connected to one home appliance control device via a network. The household appliance control apparatus of description.   The plurality of devices each operate according to a schedule based on the waveform data possessed by the own device or the waveform data changed by the schedule change unit transmitted from the home appliance control device according to claim 11. The home appliance control device according to any one of claims 5 to 9, characterized by the above.

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