JP2002238081A - Control system and method for electrical appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control system and a control method for electrical appliances with which the user of the electrical appliances can perform appropriate operation control, without having to frequently perform setting change of operation conditions with a simple configuration. SOLUTION: This system is provided with a terminal device 6 connected to the electrical appliances via with wiring 7 and a server 2 connected to the terminal device 6 via a network 4, the terminal device 6 is provided with a first input-output means for receiving operation condition information on the electric appliance and also transmitting control condition information on the electrical appliances to the electrical appliances, and a second input-output means for transmitting the operation condition information on the electrical appliances to the server 2 via the network and receiving the control condition information of the electrical appliances from the server 2, and the server 2 is provided with a third input-output means for receiving the control condition information of the electrical appliances and weather information and transmitting the control condition information of the electrical appliances, and a control- setting means for setting the control condition information of the electrical appliances, on the basis of the weather information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control system and a control method for an electric appliance, and more particularly to an electric appliance which receives control condition information set by a server of an intermediary company based on weather information via a communication medium. The present invention relates to an electric appliance control system and a control method for controlling products.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Household appliances are operated independently such as a refrigerator, an air conditioner, an air purifier, a humidifier, a dehumidifier, a ventilation fan, and the like. It is done by. In general, a user checks the indoor conditions with a bodily sensation, a thermometer, a hygrometer, or the like installed in each home, and manually operates and controls each device. Some products perform an automatic operation using a mounted sensor or the like. For example, an air purifier detects an indoor odor or dust with a sensor mounted on the product and operates automatically. Humidifiers and dehumidifiers sense the indoor humidity with an installed sensor, humidify and dehumidify the installed humidity, and air conditioners sense the indoor temperature with an installed sensor and reach the set temperature. Perform air conditioning.

However, individually operating and setting these products is very troublesome and time-consuming. Also, the set temperature, humidity, and the like greatly vary depending on the surrounding weather, so that it is necessary to frequently change the settings manually. Furthermore, for example, in the case of an air purifier, even if automatic operation is performed,
If dust or smell is not detected by the sensor, driving will not be performed, so for people with hay fever that reacts even with a little pollen,
There was a request to start operation when the pollen concentration was low.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, in the case of an air conditioner, an “air conditioner” disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-178389
Has been proposed. FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of this conventional air conditioner. 8, 101 is an indoor unit of an air conditioner, 102 is an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, 103 is a receiving / display unit for receiving and displaying data transmitted from a remote controller, 104 is a remote controller, 105 is a telecontroller (communication means), 106 Is a telephone line. Remote control 104
Is electrically connected by being in contact with the terminal of the telecontroller 105 and is held at this position. This telecontroller 105 is connected to a telephone line 106 via a modular jack.

This telecontroller 105 can be connected to a telephone line terminal set at a preset time via the telephone line 106. For example, dial "117" and NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) Connected to the terminal for "weather forecast" provided by the company), it can recognize various weather information such as weather forecast, maximum / minimum temperature, and probability of precipitation sent by voice. The telecontroller 105 converts the weather information into a preset code code,
Output. The remote controller 104 transfers the code code sent from the telecontroller 105 to the indoor unit 101. In the indoor unit 101, the remote controller 104
The apparatus is configured to correct preset operation modes, preset temperatures, and other setting conditions from the code-encoded weather information transferred from the company, and to operate based on the corrected operation conditions.

[0006]

As described above, the conventional apparatus can maintain a desired air-conditioning state in a room without frequently changing the operating conditions of the air conditioner.
However, since only one telephone line terminal can be connected via the telephone line, for example, a “weather forecast” service or the like provides certain information such as a weather forecast,
Only the minimum temperature, the probability of precipitation, and the like can be obtained, and there is a shortage of information in determining the control conditions, and it is difficult to perform appropriate operation control. Also, since it is impossible to control the operation from outside, such as when going out,
There is a problem that control can be performed only when staying indoors, and it takes time to obtain a comfortable air-conditioning state when returning home from an outing. Further, since the conventional device controls only the air conditioner, it can perform air conditioning and dehumidification operations, but cannot perform large-capacity dehumidification, humidification, air purification, ventilation, and control of the refrigerator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and a simple system configuration allows a user of an electric appliance to perform appropriate operation control without frequently changing operation conditions. It is another object of the present invention to provide a control system and a control method for an electric appliance, in which the control means of the electric appliance can have a simple configuration, and further, the operation can be controlled from outside.

[0008]

An electric appliance control system according to the present invention comprises: an electric appliance; a terminal device connected to the electric appliance via an internal communication medium; and a terminal device connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium. The terminal device receives the operating status information of the electric appliance via the internal communication medium and transmits control condition information of the electric appliance to the electric appliance. Means, and second input / output means for transmitting operating condition information of the electric appliance to the server via the external communication means, and receiving control condition information of the electric appliance from the server, the server comprising: A plurality of short-term information or long-term information obtained from the operating status information and the Meteorological Agency or a Meteorological Information Service Agency of the appliance via the external communication medium, and Receiving a specific weather forecast information, and third output means for transmitting control condition information of the electric appliance,
Control setting means for updating and setting the control condition information of the electric appliance based on the weather information.

[0009] Further, there are provided an electric appliance having a sensor for detecting a weather condition, a terminal device connected to the electric appliance by an internal communication medium, and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium, The terminal device receives, via the internal communication means, operation control state information of the appliance and sensor information of a weather state detected by the sensor of the appliance, and the control condition information of the appliance. First input / output means for transmitting to the appliance, and the operation control state information and the sensor information of the appliance transmitted to the server via the external communication means, and control condition information of the appliance from the server And a second input / output means for receiving the operating status information of the appliance, the Meteorological Agency or a weather information service via the external communication medium. Third input / output means for receiving information on the local weather condition obtained from the short-term weather forecast information obtained from the institution, the long-term weather forecast information and the sensor information, and transmitting the control condition information of the electric appliance; A control setting unit configured to set the control condition information of the electric appliance based on the operation status information, the weather information, and the sensor information.

The control condition setting means determines the control condition information by predicting the indoor condition within a predetermined time.

A transmission / reception terminal connected to an external communication medium for receiving operation status information of the electric appliance, setting and transmitting operation condition command information of the electric appliance, and a server via the external communication means. A fourth input / output means for transmitting the operation status information of the electric appliance to the portable terminal and receiving the operation condition information, wherein the control setting means of the server operates the electric appliance received from the fourth input / output means. The control condition information of the electric appliance is set based on the condition.

The transmitting / receiving terminal is a portable information terminal or a portable telephone.

The external communication medium is a telephone line such as the Internet or personal computer communication, or a communication form using an ISDN network.

[0014] The internal communication medium is in a communication form using a power line for supplying electric power to electric appliances.

The terminal device and the server are each one unit.

A control method of an electric appliance control system according to the present invention includes an electric appliance, a terminal device connected to the electric appliance via an internal communication medium, and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium. In the control method of the provided electronic appliance control system, the electronic appliance and the user are respectively provided with identification numbers, and the operating status and position information of the electronic appliance are transmitted from the terminal device to the server including the identification number. The server predicts the weather from the position information and the weather information received from the external communication means, sets control condition information of the appliance based on the weather prediction and the driving condition, and sets the identification number. The terminal device transmits the control condition information transmitted from the server to an appliance having the identification number. And controls operation based on the control condition information.

An electric appliance having a sensor for detecting a weather condition, a terminal device connected to the electric appliance via an internal communication medium, and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium In the control method of the control system, the identification number is assigned to each of the electric appliance and the user, and the operation status of the electric appliance from the terminal device,
The position information and the sensor information of the weather condition detected by the sensor are transmitted to the server including the identification number, and the server performs the weather prediction from the position information, the weather information received from the external communication unit, and the sensor information. Then, based on the weather forecast and the driving condition, sets control condition information of the electric appliance, transmits the control condition information to the terminal device having the identification number, and the terminal device transmits the control condition information transmitted from the server. The information is transmitted to the appliance having the identification number, and the operation of the appliance is controlled based on the control condition information.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of an electric appliance control system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing transmission and reception of information of the electric appliance control system, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electric appliance control system. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a server managed by an intermediary, which is connected to a route control device 3 via a local communication network LAN 2, which is connected to an external communication medium such as the Internet, personal computer communication, ISDN, or the like. Is connected to the network 4 of the computer communication network system. Reference numeral 5 denotes an appliance user of a general home, office, office, store, or the like. In the first embodiment, description will be given for a general household. The electric appliance user 5 is connected to the network 4 by terminal devices 6 and 6a that are electric appliance user terminals such as a computer possessed, like the other electric appliance users 5a.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a wiring which is an internal communication medium which is always connected to the terminal device 6, and the terminal device 6 and the household electric appliance are connected by the wiring 7. The wiring 7 is configured by a power line or a telephone line for supplying power to household appliances, and the wiring 7 configures a home LAN. Alternatively, a wireless modem may be used to make a configuration without wiring. In that case, each household appliance has a communication unit that can wirelessly communicate with a wireless modem. The terminal device 6 and the home appliance transmit and receive information via the wiring 7. 8 is an air conditioner, 9 is an air purifier, 10 is a refrigerator, and 11 is a ventilation fan. The home appliances 8 to 11 are connected to the terminal device 6 via the wiring 7. In the first embodiment, the electric appliance is described as a representative, but a humidifier, a dehumidifier, an electric water heater, and the like are also connected. Reference numeral 12 denotes an organization that transmits public weather information such as the Meteorological Agency. In the first embodiment, 12 will be described with reference to the Meteorological Agency, but the present invention is not limited to the Meteorological Agency, but may be an organization such as a meteorological service that transmits weather information via a network.

Next, prior to a detailed description of the configuration, an outline of the operation will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows transmission and reception of information of the terminal device 6 of the electric appliance user 5, the server 1 of the intermediary, and the Meteorological Agency 12 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. First,
The server 1 managed by the mediator receives and accumulates weather information from the Meteorological Agency 12. The terminal device 6 transmits the operating status and location information of home appliances to the server 1 managed by the mediator. The server 1 managed by the mediator is a terminal device 6
From the operating status and location information of the home appliances obtained from the above, the region where the terminal device 6 is installed and the operating status of each electronic device are recognized, and the future of the region is determined based on the weather information obtained from the Meteorological Agency 12. Perform weather forecast. Thereafter, the server 1 managed by the intermediary transmits the control condition information of the home appliance based on the future weather forecast of the area to the terminal device 6. The terminal device 6 transmits the control condition information transmitted from the server 1 managed by the mediator to each household appliance, and operates the household appliance.

Next, a detailed configuration of an electric appliance control system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the terminal device 6 includes input / output units 13 and 14 as first and second input / output units and a storage unit 15. The first input / output unit 13 receives an operation status information of the home appliance and monitors an operation status.
And a control condition distribution unit 17 for transmitting control condition information for operation to home appliances. Second input / output unit 14
An operation status distribution unit 18 that transmits the operation status of home appliances stored in the terminal device 6 to the server 1,
A control condition receiving unit 19 that receives control condition information for driving home appliances from the Internet, and a position information distributing unit 20 that transmits regional information stored in the terminal device 6 to the server 1.
The storage unit 15 includes an operation status storage unit 21 that stores the operation status of home appliances, and a location information storage unit 22 that stores regional information where the terminal device 6 is installed.

The server 1 managed by the mediator comprises input / output units 23 and 24 constituting a third input / output unit, a storage unit 25, and a processing unit 26 serving as a control setting unit. The input / output unit 23 includes a driving status receiving unit 27 that receives the driving status transmitted from the terminal device 6, a position information receiving unit 28 that receives the position information transmitted from the terminal device 6, and a home And a control condition distribution unit 29 for transmitting control condition information of the electric appliance. The input / output unit 24 includes a weather information receiving unit 30 that receives weather information from the Meteorological Agency 12. Storage unit 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes an operation status storage unit 31 that stores the operation status of home appliances, a position information storage unit 32 that stores the position information of the terminal device 6, and a weather information storage unit that stores the weather information obtained from the Meteorological Agency 12. 33. The processing unit 26 predicts the weather in the area from the weather information obtained from the Meteorological Agency 12 and the location information of the terminal device 6, and converts the predicted weather information into control condition information of household appliances. And an information conversion unit 35. The server 1 and the terminal device 6
Were each one unit.

Next, an operation example of the control system for electric appliances according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the first embodiment, an example in which an air purifier is used as a household appliance will be described. The terminal device 6 stores in advance the location information of the home and the identification number for specifying the home in the location information storage unit 22. The position information is given in a format such as a coordinate value (x, y) of the position, and the area can be determined based on the coordinate value. The specific number is given by a numerical value at the head of the position coordinates.

When the operation of the air purifier installed in the home is performed, the terminal device 6 monitors the operation status and stores it in the operation status storage unit 21. The operation status at that time is, for example, the rotation speed of the fan in the case of a fan type using a filter, and is the numerical data such as the rotation speed of the fan and the applied voltage in the case of the electric dust collection type. At this time, since the terminal device 6 is connected to a plurality of home appliances, a specific number is given to each of the home appliances so that the home appliances can be identified. The terminal device 6 periodically sends the position information and the driving condition to the server 1 managed by an intermediary at predetermined time intervals.
The information is transmitted via the position information distribution unit 20. At this time, the location information includes a specific number for specifying a home, and the driving status includes a specific number for specifying an electric appliance.

The server 1 managed by the mediator is the Meteorological Agency 12
From the current day, in this case, pollen scattering status, wind direction, wind speed, weather, humidity, temperature, etc. are received via the weather information receiving unit 30 at, for example, one hour intervals. The received weather information is stored in the weather information storage unit 33, and the information of the day is updated as soon as the latest information is received. In addition, apart from the information on the day,
The forecast for several months is also received and stored in the weather information storage unit 33. At the same time, the server 1 managed by the intermediary
The driving status and the position information transmitted from are received by the driving status receiving unit 27 and the position information receiving unit 28, respectively, and are stored in the driving status storage unit 31 and the position information storage unit, respectively. The weather prediction unit 34 predicts, for example, weather several hours later at the position (region) from the stored position information and weather information,
The information is sent to the weather information converter 35.

The weather forecast predicts, for example, pollen arrival time, pollen concentration, dust concentration, etc. from the pollen scattering state, wind direction, wind speed, weather, humidity, temperature, and the like. The weather information conversion unit 35, based on the weather prediction at that position several hours later sent from the weather prediction unit 34 and the operation status of the air purifier stored in the operation status storage unit 31, Determine the operating conditions of the air purifier for hours. At this time,
The operating condition is, for example, the rotation speed of the fan in the case of a fan type using a filter, and is the numerical data such as the rotation speed of the fan and the applied voltage in the case of the electric dust collection type. The control condition information is transmitted from the control condition distribution unit 29 to the terminal device 6. As an example of the control condition information at this time, for example, when it is predicted that the pollen will largely fly to the area about one hour later, the operation of the air purifier is set to the strong operation several minutes before, and the indoor Clean the air.

The terminal device 6 is a server 1 managed by an intermediary.
Is received by the control condition receiving unit 19, and is transmitted from the control condition distribution unit 17 to the air purifier.
Thereby, the air purifier starts operating with the control condition information.

Although the first embodiment has been described with respect to an air purifier, the present invention is also applicable to household appliances such as an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a humidifier, and a dehumidifier. In this case, for example, in an air conditioner, operating conditions are determined by predicting temperature, humidity, weather, and the like. In a refrigerator, operating conditions are determined by predicting indoor temperature. In a humidifier, a dehumidifier, humidity, weather, and the like are used. , Determine operating conditions. In addition, one terminal device 6 is installed in each home and connected to each household appliance, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the function of the terminal device 6 may be given to each household appliance.

As described above, weather information is received via a communication medium, control condition information for controlling home appliances is set according to the received weather information, and the control condition information is transmitted via the communication medium. The home appliance is configured to operate based on the transmitted control condition information, so that the user of the appliance in each home can perform appropriate operation control without frequently changing the operating conditions. Can do
Further, by performing the driving based on the prediction several hours later, the indoor comfort is increased. In addition, power consumption can be reduced by executing the operation in advance. In addition, by using popular communication means such as the Internet,
It is possible to configure the control system relatively easily. Further, the control means of the electric appliance can be simplified. Further, since the server 1 and the terminal device 6 are each formed as one unit, the size can be reduced, the space can be saved, and the configuration can be made relatively easily and inexpensively.

Embodiment 2 FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing transmission and reception of information of the appliance control system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the appliance control system. Prior to a detailed description of the configuration and operation of the present embodiment, an outline will be described with reference to FIG. The server 1 managed by the intermediary receives and accumulates weather information from the Meteorological Agency 12.
The terminal device 6 transmits, to the server 1 managed by the mediator, the operating status of home appliances, positional information, and the value of a sensor mounted on each home appliance.

The server 1 managed by the mediator is a terminal device 6
The terminal device 6 and the operation status of each appliance are recognized from the operation status and position information of the home appliance obtained from, and the weather of the region is recognized from the sensor value.
Thereafter, based on the weather information obtained from the Meteorological Agency 12 and the sensor information transmitted from the terminal device 6, future weather prediction for the area is performed. Thereafter, the server 1 managed by the intermediary transmits the control condition information of the home appliance based on the future weather forecast of the area to the terminal device 6. The terminal device 6 transmits the control condition information transmitted from the server 1 managed by the mediator to each household appliance, and operates the household appliance.

Next, a detailed configuration of an electric appliance control system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the same or corresponding parts as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. The terminal device 6 includes:
It comprises second input / output units 13 and 14 and a storage unit 15,
The server 1 managed by the intermediary includes input / output units 23 and 24 that constitute a third input / output unit, a storage unit 25, and a processing unit 26. Although the configuration of each part is the same as that of the first embodiment,
In the second embodiment, the first input / output unit 13 of the terminal device 6 is provided with a sensor information monitoring unit 36 for receiving sensor information of home appliances and monitoring the sensor information, and the storage unit 15 is provided with a sensor information monitoring unit. A sensor information storage unit 37 for storing the sensor information obtained by the unit 36 is provided, and a sensor information distribution unit 38 for transmitting the sensor information to the second input / output unit 14 is provided. Further, a sensor information receiving unit 39 for receiving the sensor information transmitted from the terminal device 6 is provided to the input / output unit 23 of the server 1 managed by the mediator.

Next, an operation example of the control system for electric appliances according to Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment, an example in which an air conditioner is used as a household appliance will be described. The terminal device 6 stores in advance the location information of the home and the identification number for specifying the home in the location information storage unit 22. Location information is
The coordinates are given in a format such as (x, y) at the position, and the area can be determined from the coordinates. The specific number is given by a numerical value at the head of the position coordinates.

When the operation of the air conditioner installed in the home is performed, the terminal device 6 monitors the operation status and stores it in the operation status storage unit 21. The operation status at that time is, for example, a rotation speed of the fan, or an operation mode such as dehumidification, heating, cooling, or air blowing. At this time, since the terminal device 6 is connected to a plurality of home appliances, a specific number is given to each of the home appliances so that the home appliances can be identified. at the same time,
The values of sensors such as a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor mounted on the air conditioner indoor unit are monitored and stored in the sensor information storage unit 37. The terminal device 6 periodically sends the position information, the driving condition, and the sensor information to the server 1 managed by an intermediary at predetermined time intervals via the driving condition distribution unit 18, the position information distribution unit 20, and the sensor information distribution unit. Send. At this time, the location information includes a specific number for identifying a home, and the driving status includes
The specific number for specifying the electric appliance is included, and the sensor information includes the specific number for specifying the home and the electric appliance.

The server 1 managed by the mediator is the Meteorological Agency 12
From the weather information of the day, in this case, wind speed, weather, humidity, temperature, rainfall, etc.
Through to receive. The received weather information is stored in the weather information storage unit 33, and the information of the day is updated as soon as the latest information is received. In addition, separately from the information on the day, a forecast for several weeks or months is also received and stored in the weather information storage unit 33. At the same time, the server 1 managed by the intermediary transmits the driving status, position information, and sensor information transmitted from the terminal device 6 to the driving status receiving unit 2 respectively.
7, the position information receiving unit 28 and the sensor information receiving unit 39 receive the information, and the driving condition storage unit 31 and the position information storage unit 3 respectively.
2. Store in the weather information storage unit 33. Weather information storage unit 3
In step 3, short-term and long-term weather forecast information obtained from the Meteorological Agency and information on local weather conditions such as temperature and humidity obtained from sensors in each home are stored. The weather prediction unit 34 predicts the weather at the position (area) in the next several hours from the stored position information and the weather information, and sends it to the weather information conversion unit 35.

The weather forecast includes, for example, wind speed, weather, humidity,
From the temperature, rainfall, etc., the temperature, humidity, etc. at that position are predicted. The weather information conversion unit 35 performs the operation of the air conditioner for the next several hours based on the weather prediction at that position several hours later sent from the weather prediction unit 34 and the operation condition of the air conditioner stored in the operation condition storage unit 31 Decide the conditions. At this time, the operating conditions are, for example, the rotation speed of the fan, dehumidification, heating, cooling,
This is an operation mode such as air blowing. The control condition information is transmitted from the control condition distribution unit 29 to the terminal device 6. As an example of the control condition information at this time, for example, when it is predicted that the recovery time of the weather in the current cloudy area is about one hour and the temperature rises from 20 ° C. to 30 ° C. within one hour, A few minutes before that, the operation of the air conditioner was set to refrigerated operation,
Cool the room in advance.

The terminal device 6 is a server 1 managed by an intermediary.
Is received by the control condition receiving unit 19, and is transmitted from the control condition distribution unit 17 to the air conditioner. As a result, the air conditioner starts operating based on the control condition information.

Although the second embodiment has been described with respect to an air conditioner, the present invention is also applicable to household appliances such as an air purifier, a refrigerator, a humidifier, and a dehumidifier. In this case, for example, in an air purifier, the operating conditions are determined by pollen scattering status, wind direction, wind speed, weather, etc., and in the refrigerator, operating conditions are determined by indoor temperature prediction,
In a humidifier and a dehumidifier, operating conditions are determined based on humidity, weather, and the like. In addition, one terminal device 6 is installed in each home,
Connected to each household appliance, but not limited to this,
The function of the terminal device 6 may be given to each household appliance. The accuracy of the sensor can be further increased by installing the sensor alone or installing the sensor in the outdoor unit of the air conditioner, in addition to the sensor mounted on the indoor unit of the air conditioner or each household appliance.

As described above, weather information and sensor information are received via a communication medium, control condition information for controlling home appliances is set according to the received weather information, and the control condition information is transmitted. By transmitting via the medium, and driving the household appliance based on the transmitted control condition information, the user of the appliance in each home can appropriately operate without frequently changing the operating conditions. In addition, it is possible to control the operation of the vehicle, and, for example, to perform the operation based on the prediction after several hours, thereby increasing the indoor comfort. Further, the control means of the electric appliance can be simplified. In addition, power consumption can be reduced by executing the operation in advance. Also, by using a widely used communication means such as the Internet, the configuration can be made relatively easily. Furthermore, since the sensor information obtained from each home can obtain real-time local weather state information of the area, more accurate weather prediction can be performed.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing transmission and reception of information of the appliance control system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the appliance control system. Prior to a detailed description of the configuration and operation of the present embodiment, an outline will be described with reference to FIG. The server 1 managed by the mediator receives and accumulates weather information from the Meteorological Agency 12.
The terminal device 6 transmits, to the server 1 managed by the mediator, the operating status of home appliances, positional information, and the value of a sensor mounted on each home appliance. The server 1 managed by the intermediary recognizes the area where the terminal device 6 is installed and the operation status of each appliance from the operation status and position information of the home appliance obtained from the terminal device 6 and determines the value of the sensor. To recognize the local weather.

Thereafter, based on the meteorological information obtained from the Meteorological Agency 12 and the sensor information transmitted from the terminal device 6, the future weather of the area is predicted. Thereafter, the server 1 managed by the intermediary transmits the control condition information of the home appliance based on the future weather forecast of the area to the terminal device 6. Terminal device 6
Transmits the control condition information transmitted from the server 1 managed by the mediator to each household appliance, and drives the household appliance.

The operation status of the home appliance is transmitted to the server 1 managed by the mediator via the terminal device 6 and stored therein, and the information is stored in a portable terminal which is a transmission / reception terminal carried by the user of the appliance. Sent to phone 40. The user of the electric appliance knows the operating status of the household electric appliance at home using the mobile phone 40 and, at the same time, uses the mobile phone 40 to transmit operating conditions such as operation stop to a server managed by an intermediary. The server 1 managed by the intermediary is a mobile phone 4 of an electric appliance user.
The control condition information of the home appliance is transmitted to the terminal device 6 from the operation condition transmitted from 0. The terminal device 6 transmits the control condition information transmitted from the server 1 managed by the mediator to each household appliance, and operates the household appliance.

Next, a detailed configuration of an electric appliance control system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. The terminal device 6 includes first and second input / output units 13 and 14 and a storage unit 15, and the server 1 managed by the mediator includes input / output units 23 and 2
4 and 41, a storage unit 25, and a processing unit 26. In the third embodiment, an input / output unit 41 as a fourth input unit is newly added to the server 1 managed by the mediator. The input / output unit 41 includes an operation status transmission unit 42 that transmits the operation status of home appliances to the mobile phone 40 of the appliance user, and an operation that receives the operation conditions of home appliances transmitted from the mobile phone 40. The condition receiving unit 43 is provided.

Next, an operation example of the control system for electric appliances according to Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment, an example in which a humidifier and a dehumidifier are used as home appliances will be described. The terminal device 6 stores in advance the location information of the home and the identification number for specifying the home in the location information storage unit 22. The position information is given in a format such as a coordinate value (x, y) of the position, and the area can be determined based on the coordinate value. The specific number is given by a numerical value at the head of the position coordinates.

When the humidifier / dehumidifier installed in the home is operated, the terminal device 6 monitors the operation status and stores it in the operation status storage unit 21. The driving situation at that time was
For example, the rotation speed of the fan, the operation / stop of the heater, and the like. At this time, since the terminal device 6 is connected to a plurality of home appliances, a specific number is given to each of the home appliances so that the home appliances can be identified. At the same time, the values of sensors such as a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor mounted on the humidifier / dehumidifier are monitored and stored in the sensor information storage unit 37. The terminal device 6 periodically transmits the position information, the driving condition, and the sensor information to the server 1 managed by an intermediary at predetermined time intervals via the driving condition distribution unit 18, the position information distribution unit 20, and the sensor information distribution unit 38. ,Send. At this time, the location information includes a specific number for specifying a home, the driving status includes a specific number for specifying an electric appliance, and the sensor information includes home and
Contains a specific number to identify the appliance.

The server 1 managed by the mediator is the Meteorological Agency 12
, The weather information of the day, in this case, the weather, humidity, temperature, rainfall, etc., is received via the weather information receiving unit 30 at, for example, one hour intervals. The received weather information is stored in the weather information storage unit 3
3 and the information of the day is updated as soon as the latest information is received. In addition, separately from the information on the day, a forecast for several weeks or months is also received and stored in the weather information storage unit 33. At the same time, the server 1 managed by the intermediary receives the driving status, the position information, and the sensor information transmitted from the terminal device 6 by the driving status receiving unit 27, the position information receiving unit 28, and the sensor information receiving unit 39, respectively. The information is stored in the driving condition storage unit 31, the position information storage unit 32, and the weather information storage unit 33. The weather information storage unit 33 stores the weather information obtained from the Meteorological Agency and, for example, temperature and humidity information obtained from sensors in each home. The weather prediction unit 34 predicts, for example, weather several hours later at the position (region) from the stored position information and the weather information, and sends it to the weather information conversion unit 35.

The weather forecast includes, for example, weather, humidity, temperature,
From the rainfall and the like, the temperature, humidity, and the like at that position are predicted. In the weather information conversion unit 35, based on the weather prediction at that position several hours later sent from the weather prediction unit 34 and the operation status of the humidifier / dehumidifier stored in the operation status storage unit 31, the next several hours Determine the operating conditions of the humidifier / dehumidifier. At this time, the operation status is, for example, a humidification amount setting or a dehumidification amount setting. The control condition information is transmitted from the control condition distribution unit 29 to the terminal device 6. As an example of the control condition information at this time, for example, if it is predicted that the weather in the currently cloudy area will rain after about one hour and the humidity rises from 30% to 70% within one hour, A few minutes before, the operation of the dehumidifier is set to a strong operation, and the room is dehumidified in advance.

The terminal device 6 is a server 1 managed by an intermediary.
Is received by the control condition receiving unit 19, and is transmitted from the control condition distribution unit 17 to the humidifier / dehumidifier. As a result, the humidifier / dehumidifier starts operating with the control condition information.

The operation status of the humidifier / dehumidifier is determined by the terminal device 6.
Is transmitted to the server 1 managed by the intermediary via the driving status monitoring unit 16, the driving status storage unit 21, and the driving status distribution unit 18. The server 1 managed by the intermediary receives the above-mentioned driving status by the driving status receiving unit 27 and stores it in the driving status storage unit 31. The stored driving status is transmitted to the mobile phone 40 of the appliance user via the driving status transmission unit 42.

The user of the electric appliance can grasp the operation status of the electric appliance at home using the portable telephone 40. Also,
When the operating conditions of home appliances, for example, operation stop, are transmitted from the mobile phone 40 to the server 1 managed by the mediator,
The server 1 managed by the mediator creates the operation condition control condition information in the weather information conversion unit 25 via the operation condition receiving unit 43 and transmits the control condition information from the control condition distribution unit 29 to the terminal device 6. . The terminal device 6 includes a control condition receiving unit 19
Then, the control condition information is received, and the control condition distribution unit 17 sends a control to stop operation of the appliance. The information of the operation stop is transmitted to the mobile phone 40 again by the above-described process, and the user of the electric appliance can know that the operation has stopped.

In the third embodiment, the humidifier / dehumidifier has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to household appliances such as an air purifier, a refrigerator, and an air conditioner. In this case, for example, in an air purifier, the operating conditions are determined by pollen scattering status, wind direction, wind speed, weather, etc., and in the refrigerator, operating conditions are determined by indoor temperature prediction,
In an air conditioner, operating conditions are determined based on temperature, humidity, weather, and the like. In addition, one terminal device 6 is installed in each home,
Connected to each household appliance, but not limited to this,
The function of the terminal device 6 may be given to each household appliance. The accuracy of the sensor can be further increased by installing the sensor alone or installing the sensor in the outdoor unit of the air conditioner, in addition to the sensor mounted on the indoor unit of the air conditioner or each household appliance. In addition, the mobile phone 40 is used as an example for the user of the home appliance to know the operation status of the home appliance. However, a mobile terminal, a personal computer of a company, or the like can be used.

As described above, weather information is received via a communication medium, control condition information for controlling home appliances is set according to the received weather information, and the control condition information is transmitted via the communication medium. The home appliance is configured to operate based on the transmitted control condition information, so that the user of the appliance in each home can perform appropriate operation control without frequently changing the operating conditions. Can do
Further, for example, by performing the driving based on the prediction several hours later, the indoor comfort is increased. Further, the control means of the electric appliance can be simplified. In addition, power consumption can be reduced by executing the operation in advance.
Also, by using a widely used communication means such as the Internet, the configuration can be made relatively easily.
Furthermore, since the sensor information obtained from each home can obtain real-time weather information of the area, more accurate weather prediction can be performed.

In addition, since the user of the home appliance is notified of the operation status of the home appliance by using a mobile phone or the like, the user of the home appliance can know the operation status, and at the same time, can operate the home appliance freely. It is possible to control.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, an electric appliance, a terminal device connected to the electric appliance via an internal communication medium, and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium are provided. Comprising, the terminal device, while receiving the operation status information of the appliance via the internal communication medium, the first input / output means for transmitting control condition information of the appliance to the appliance, Second input / output means for transmitting operation status information of the electric appliance to the server via the external communication means, and receiving control condition information of the electric appliance from the server, the server comprising: Through the medium, the operation status information of the electric appliance and a plurality of short-term information or long-term information obtained from the Meteorological Agency or the Meteorological Information Service Agency and the local weather forecast information are received. And a third input / output means for transmitting the control condition information of the electric appliance, and a control setting means for updating and setting the control condition information of the electric appliance based on the weather information. With the configuration, the user of the appliance can perform appropriate operation control without frequently changing the operating conditions, and the control means of the appliance can be simplified, and the prediction after a predetermined time By driving the vehicle, the indoor comfort is increased. Furthermore, by performing driving in advance,
Power consumption can be reduced. Further, the control means of the electric appliance can be simplified. In addition, accurate weather forecasting can be performed, and control conditions for home appliances can be more accurately determined.

Also provided are an electric appliance having a sensor for detecting a weather condition, a terminal device connected to the electric appliance by an internal communication medium, and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium. The terminal device receives, via the internal communication means, operation control state information of the appliance and sensor information of a weather state detected by the sensor of the appliance, and the control condition information of the appliance. First input / output means for transmitting to the appliance, and the operation control state information and the sensor information of the appliance transmitted to the server via the external communication means, and control condition information of the appliance from the server And a second input / output means for receiving the operating status information of the appliance, the Meteorological Agency or a weather information service via the external communication medium. Third input / output means for receiving information on the local weather condition obtained from the short-term weather forecast information obtained from the institution, the long-term weather forecast information and the sensor information, and transmitting the control condition information of the electric appliance; Control condition setting means for setting the control condition information of the electric appliance based on the driving condition information, the weather information and the sensor information, so that it is possible to more accurately forecast the weather, and to control household electric appliances. Conditions can be determined more accurately.

Further, since the control condition setting means determines the control condition information by predicting the indoor condition within a predetermined time, the control condition of the household electric appliance can be more accurately determined, and the Operation is possible without using a large amount of power.

A transmission / reception terminal connected to an external communication medium for receiving operation status information of the electric appliance, setting and transmitting operation condition command information of the electric appliance, and a server via the external communication means. A fourth input / output means for transmitting the operation status information of the electric appliance to the portable terminal and receiving the operation condition information, wherein the control setting means of the server operates the electric appliance received from the fourth input / output means. Since the control condition information of the electric appliance is set based on the conditions, it is possible to inform the user of the electric appliance of the operation status of the electric appliance even outside the home, and it is possible to control the operation of the electric home appliance. Become.

Further, since the transmitting / receiving terminal is a portable information terminal or a portable telephone, it is possible to know the operation status of the home appliance even when away from home and to control the operation of the home appliance. Becomes

Further, since the external communication medium is a telephone line such as the Internet or personal computer communication, or a communication form using an ISDN network, it can be constructed relatively easily and inexpensively.

Further, since the internal communication medium is a communication mode using a power line for supplying electric power to an electric appliance, it can be configured relatively simply and at low cost.

Further, since the terminal device and the server are each provided as one unit, the size of the device can be reduced, and the device can be constructed relatively simply and inexpensively in a small space.

A control method for an electric appliance control system according to the present invention includes an electric appliance, a terminal device connected to the electric appliance via an internal communication medium, and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium. In the control method of the provided electronic appliance control system, the electronic appliance and the user are respectively provided with identification numbers, and the operating status and position information of the electronic appliance are transmitted from the terminal device to the server including the identification number. The server predicts the weather from the position information and the weather information received from the external communication means, sets control condition information of the appliance based on the weather prediction and the driving condition, and sets the identification number. The terminal device transmits the control condition information transmitted from the server to an appliance having the identification number. Since the control operation based on the control condition information, it is possible to perform appropriate driving control without the user of the appliance to change setting frequently operating conditions.

An electric appliance having a sensor for detecting a weather condition, a terminal device connected to the electric appliance via an internal communication medium, and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium In the control method of the control system, the identification number is assigned to each of the electric appliance and the user, and the operation status of the electric appliance from the terminal device,
The position information and the sensor information of the weather condition detected by the sensor are transmitted to the server including the identification number, and the server performs the weather prediction from the position information, the weather information received from the external communication unit, and the sensor information. Then, based on the weather forecast and the driving condition, sets control condition information of the electric appliance, transmits the control condition information to the terminal device having the identification number, and the terminal device transmits the control condition information transmitted from the server. Since the information is transmitted to the electric appliance having the identification number and the operation of the electric appliance is controlled based on the control condition information, the user of the electric appliance does not need to frequently change the operation condition, thereby performing more appropriate operation. Control can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of an electric appliance control system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing transmission and reception of information of the appliance control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electric appliance control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing transmission and reception of information of an electric appliance control system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electric appliance control system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing transmission and reception of information of an electric appliance control system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electric appliance control system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a conventional air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 server, 2 LANs, 4 networks, 5 electric appliance users, 6 terminal devices, 7 wiring, 12 JMA,
13, 14 input / output unit, 15 storage unit, 16 operation status monitoring unit, 17 control condition distribution unit, 18 operation status distribution unit,
19 control condition receiving unit, 20 position information distribution unit, 21
Operating condition storage unit, 22 position information storage unit, 23 input / output unit, 24 input / output unit, 25 storage unit, 6 processing unit, 27
Operation status receiving unit, 28 Position information receiving unit, 29 Control condition distribution unit, 30 Weather information receiving unit, 31 Operating status storage unit, 32 Position information storage unit 33 Weather information storage unit, 34 Weather forecasting unit, 35 Weather information conversion unit 36
Sensor information monitoring unit 37 Sensor information storage unit, 38 Sensor information distribution unit 39 Sensor information reception unit 40 Mobile phone, 41 Input / output unit, 42 Operation status transmission unit, 43 Operation condition reception unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B089 GA11 GA23 GA25 GB02 HA01 HA10 HA13 JA35 JB15 JB22 KA01 KA13 KC28 KC48 5K048 BA08 BA13 DC07 EB02 EB06 HA01 HA02 5K101 KK11 LL01

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An electric appliance, comprising: a terminal device connected to the electric appliance via an internal communication medium; and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium, the terminal device comprising: First input / output means for receiving operation status information of a product via the internal communication medium and transmitting control condition information of the electric appliance to the electric appliance; and transmitting the operation status information of the electric appliance to the external communication means. Second input / output means for transmitting the control condition information of the appliance from the server via the external communication medium, wherein the server transmits the operation condition of the appliance via the external communication medium. Receiving status information and a plurality of short-term information or long-term information obtained from the Meteorological Agency or the Meteorological Information Service Agency and regional weather forecast information, and controlling the electrical appliance control condition information. Third output means and the control system of the appliance, characterized in that a control setting means for updating setting the control condition information of the electric appliance based on the weather information to send. 2. An electric appliance having a sensor for detecting a weather condition, a terminal device connected to the electric appliance by an internal communication medium, and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium, The terminal device receives, via the internal communication means, operation control state information of the appliance and sensor information of a weather state detected by the sensor of the appliance, and the control condition information of the appliance. First input / output means for transmitting to the appliance, transmitting the operation control state information and the sensor information of the appliance to the server via the external communication means, and controlling condition information of the appliance from the server. Second to receive
The server, via the external communication medium, the operating status information of the electric appliance, short-term weather forecast information obtained from the Meteorological Agency or a weather information service organization, long-term weather forecast information and sensors A third input / output unit that receives information on a local weather condition obtained from the information, and transmits control condition information of the electric appliance; and the driving condition information, the weather information, and the sensor information. A control setting means for setting the control condition information of the appliance. 3. The appliance according to claim 1, wherein the control condition setting means determines the control condition information by predicting an indoor situation within a predetermined time. Control system. 4. A transmission / reception terminal connected to an external communication medium for receiving operation status information of the electric appliance, setting and transmitting operation condition command information of the electric appliance, and a server via the external communication means. A fourth input / output means for transmitting operating status information of the appliance to the portable terminal and receiving operating condition information, wherein the control setting means of the server receives the electric appliance received from the fourth input / output means. 4. The control system for an electric appliance according to claim 1, wherein the control condition information of the electric appliance is set based on the operating condition of the electric appliance. 5. The control system according to claim 4, wherein the transmitting / receiving terminal is a portable information terminal or a mobile phone. 6. The electric appliance according to claim 1, wherein the external communication medium is a telephone line such as the Internet, a personal computer communication, or a communication form using an ISDN network. Control system. 7. The appliance control system according to claim 1, wherein the internal communication medium is a communication mode using a power line for supplying electric power to the appliance. 8. The appliance control system according to claim 1, wherein each of the terminal device and the server is a single unit. 9. A control method for an electric appliance control system, comprising: an electric appliance, a terminal device connected to the electric appliance via an internal communication medium, and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium. The electronic device and the user are respectively provided with identification numbers, and the operating status and the position information of the electronic device are transmitted from the terminal device to a server including the identification number, and the server transmits the position information and the external communication. Means for predicting weather from the weather information received from the means, based on the weather forecast and the operating condition, setting control condition information of the appliance, transmitting the control condition information to the terminal device having the identification number, Transmitting the control condition information transmitted from the server to the appliance having the identification number, and controlling the operation of the appliance based on the control condition information. Control method of the control system of electric appliances to be. 10. An appliance having a sensor for detecting a weather condition, a terminal device connected to the appliance via an internal communication medium, and a server connected to the terminal device via an external communication medium. In the control method of the control system, the identification number is given to each of the electric appliance and the user, and the operation status of the electric appliance, the position information, and the sensor information of the weather state detected by the sensor from the terminal device are the identification numbers. And the server sends the location information,
Based on the weather information and the sensor information received from the external communication means to perform weather forecast, based on the weather forecast and the operating condition, set the control condition information of the electrical appliance, to the terminal device having the identification number Transmitting, the terminal device transmits the control condition information transmitted from the server to an appliance having the identification number, and controls the operation of the appliance based on the control condition information. Control method of product control system.