JP2009271917A - Power supply control system for domestic electric appliance, communication device, programmable controller, and system using them - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain on/off control of power supply from a power supply outlet to a domestic electric appliance from a remote position to cut down power consumption, and to control to turn on the power supply from the remote position to operate the domestic electric appliance with a remote control signal such as an infrared signal even when power supply is turned off from the power supply outlet. <P>SOLUTION: Power supply control ladder program data for controlling power supply to the domestic electric appliances 1 connected to the power supply outlets 21-25 is downloaded by radiocommunication to a PLC (programmable controller) 7 from a mobile communication device 5, and the PLC 7 carries out the downloaded power supply control ladder program to perform on/off control of power supply to the power supply outlets 21-25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for controlling the supply of power to household electric appliances mainly using a programmable controller. This programmable controller is also called a programmable logic controller, PLC, sequencer, etc., and will be referred to as PLC hereinafter.

  Conventionally, a PLC has been used as a control device for factory automation (FA) installed in a production factory or the like. This PLC has a CPU, an input / output memory, a program memory, an input / output unit, a communication interface, etc., and these are integrated into a single housing or a building block modularized for each function. There are types. In the PLC, the signal input at the input / output unit is fetched into the input / output memory, the signal fetched into the input / output memory is used to execute the calculation based on the ladder program in the program memory, and the calculation execution result is written into the input / output memory. A series of processing such as output is cyclically repeated (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  By the way, in various household electric appliances such as TVs, personal computers, video equipment, air conditioners, etc., the AC plug is inserted into the power outlet of the power strip, and the power switch of the household electric appliance is turned on to turn on the household electric appliance. While the power is supplied to the power supply, the power switch is turned off to stop the power supply. It would be very convenient if the power supply control for such home electric appliances could be automatically performed wirelessly from a remote location, and some techniques have been proposed (see Patent Document 2). .

  However, the remote control signal used for such remote control is, for example, an infrared signal, and the home electric appliance itself is supplied with auxiliary power in order to activate various circuits in response to reception of the remote control signal. It is in the state. Therefore, power is always consumed. In addition, when the user forgets to turn off the power switch of the household electric appliance and goes outside, the household electric appliance cannot be remotely controlled from the outside with an infrared remote control signal, and power is consumed. Furthermore, in the state where the power source for the household electrical appliance is turned off from the power outlet when returning home, the household electrical appliance cannot be operated even if a remote control signal is transmitted.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-259079 JP 2005-117539 A

  Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to control the power supply from a power outlet to a home electrical device from a remote location, and to suppress power consumption, while the power is turned off from the power outlet. Even if it is, the power supply is controlled to be turned on from a remote location, and the home electric appliance can be operated by a remote control signal such as an infrared signal.

  It is a further object of the present invention to eliminate forgetting to turn off and forget to turn off each household electric appliance.

  According to the present invention, the power control method for home electrical equipment wirelessly communicates power control ladder program data for controlling power supply from a portable communication equipment to a home electrical equipment connected to a power outlet for a programmable controller. And the programmable controller executes the downloaded power control ladder program to control ON / OFF the power supply to the power outlet.

  In the present invention, when the user goes out and carries the communication device and downloads the ladder program data to the PLC, the PLC executes the ladder program and controls the power supply to the power outlet to be turned on / off. Is never consumed. In addition, even when the user forgets to turn off the power switch of the household electrical device and goes outside, the power control ladder program can be downloaded from the communication device to the PLC from the outside, so that even in this case, the power is not consumed. . Furthermore, when you return to your home, you can turn on the power to household electrical equipment by downloading the power control ladder program to the PLC, and then you can use the remote control function that is usually installed in the general remote control or communication equipment. The remote control signal can be transmitted to operate the household electric appliance.

  Preferably, after the power supply to the power outlet is turned on, a wireless remote control signal is transmitted from the communication device or other communication device to the home electric device to operate the home electric device. .

  The wireless function of the communication device preferably includes a communication function based on Bluetooth (trademark), which is a short-range wireless communication standard, for example. In this case, the wireless unit is not limited to Bluetooth, and for example, a wireless unit such as ZigBee wireless or UWB (UltraWideBand) wireless can also be used. In these short-range radio, the communication distance is about 10 m to several tens m. The ZigBee radio using the 2.4 GHz band is preferable for low power consumption, and UWB is preferable for high speed. UWB is a wide frequency band of 1 G to several GHz and can suppress mutual influence with other communications. Alternatively, a wireless USB (Universal Serial Band) can also be used as a communication function. Furthermore, as a communication function, it is also possible to use a short-range wireless communication technique that realizes a data transfer rate of 1 Mbps within a range of about 10 m, called “Wibre”. In this case, a wireless unit can be configured by mounting a Wibre stand-alone chip on each module. A specific low-power radio or a wireless LAN may be used as the communication function.

  As a more preferred embodiment, the power control ladder program sets a time for supplying power to household electrical equipment connected to the power outlet, and the programmable controller supplies power to the power outlet. After turning on, control to turn off the power supply may be performed after the time set by the power control ladder program.

  In the above embodiment, the PLC that has downloaded the power supply control ladder program that sets the power supply time operates as a timer, and the household electric appliance that is supplied with power by the control operation of the PLC automatically operates after the set time. Thus, the power supply is turned off, so that the power supply to the household electric appliance does not remain, and it is possible to eliminate forgetting to turn off or forget to turn off the power.

  In the present invention, power consumption can be suppressed by controlling ON / OFF of power supply from a power outlet from a remote location to a household electrical device. In the present invention, even when the power is turned off from the power outlet, the power can be turned on from a remote location, and the home electric device can be operated by a remote control signal such as an infrared signal.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a household electrical device, a power strip, a communication device, and a PLC that execute a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the communication device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the PLC. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a power supply control ladder program. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, a power control method for a household electrical device, a communication device, a PLC, and a system using these will be described according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an electric home device 1, a power strip 3, a portable communication device 5, and a PLC 7 according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 shows an internal configuration of the communication device 5, and FIG. 3 shows an internal configuration of the PLC 7. FIG. 4 shows an example of a power control ladder program. The household electrical device 1 is, for example, a television 9, a video device 11, and an air conditioner 13. The power tap 3 includes power outlets 21, 23, 25 into which the AC plugs 15, 17, 19 of the television 9, the video equipment 11, and the air conditioner 13 are inserted. The power outlets 21, 23, 25 are connected to the commercial AC power source 6 through the PLC 7. The communication device 5 is configured to create a power control ladder program and transmit the created power control ladder program to the PLC 7 by wireless to download.

  The communication device 5 is a remote control device that can remotely control the television 9, the video device 11, the air conditioner 13 and the like by using, for example, an infrared signal as a remote control signal. As shown in FIG. Although the CPU 27 and other various electronic circuits are incorporated, in the embodiment, in particular, a creation unit (including a screen, an operation unit, etc.) 29 for creating a power control ladder program, a memory 31 for storing the power control ladder program, A transmission unit 33 for transmitting power control ladder program data is provided. The creating unit 29 can create a power control ladder program based on the ladder circuit diagram. The creation unit 29 may be configured by a CPU 27 built in the communication device 5 and a power control ladder program editing program. In addition, since each of these units functions in conjunction with each operation of the communication device 5, it is preferable to include various operation units provided in the communication device 5. The memory 31 may be configured by various storage media such as a RAM, an EEPROM, an external storage device, for example, a mini disk, a memory stick, and the like.

  A ladder diagram created by the power control ladder program is shown in FIG. 4, for example. A program element 45 comprising a TV control contact 41 and a power ON / OFF timer 43 between two vertical buses 37 and 39 at both left and right ends, a program element 51 comprising a video equipment control contact 47 and a power ON / OFF timer 49, A program element 57 including an air conditioner control contact 53 and a power ON / OFF timer 55 is drawn in a vertical ladder shape.

  The timers 43, 49, and 55 in the ladder diagram 35 respectively indicate the power supply time to each household electrical device 1 (TV 9, video device 11, air conditioner 13, etc.) mainly connected to the power outlet 21-25. The timers 43, 49, and 55 are not particularly required when only controlling to turn on / off the power supply to each household electrical device 1 immediately is to be defined and set.

  Each of the contact points 41, 47, 53 is associated with an address in each of the power outlets 21, 23, 25 provided in the power tap 3 shown in FIG. The communication device 5 can transmit the power control ladder program data created by the creating unit 29 and stored in the memory 31 from the transmitting unit 33.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the PLC 7 includes a CPU 59, an input / output memory 61, a program memory 63, an input / output unit 65, a communication interface 67 with other PLCs and personal computers (not shown), and the like. The signal input from the input device is fetched into the input / output memory 61 at 65, and calculation is executed based on the ladder program in the program memory 63 with the signal fetched into the input / output memory 61, and the calculation execution result is written into the input / output memory 61. Then, a process of outputting from the input / output unit 65 to an external device is executed. Such a configuration of the PLC 7 is usually a configuration included in a general PLC.

  And especially in embodiment, PLC7 is provided with the receiving part 69 which receives the power supply control ladder program data transmitted from the communication apparatus 5. FIG. The power control ladder program received by the receiving unit 69 is downloaded to the program memory 63 by the CPU 59. The CPU 59 executes the power control ladder program downloaded to the program memory 63, thereby turning on / off the power of the television 9, the video equipment 11, and the air conditioner 13 connected to the power outlets 21, 23, 25 of the power tap 3. Can be controlled. In this case, the PLC 7 includes internal contacts 65a, 65b, 65c (shown in FIG. 1) in the input / output unit 65, and the power outlets 21, 23, 23 are turned on / off by turning on the internal contacts 65a, 65b, 65c. The power lines 6a, 6b, 6c between the power supply 25 and the AC power supply 6 can be turned on and off.

  The transmitter 33 of the communication device 5 and the receiver 69 of the PLC 7 can transmit and receive power control ladder program data by Bluetooth (trademark) communication. Bluetooth is communication based on Bluetooth (standard name) which is a short-range wireless communication standard, and the transmission unit 33 of the communication device 5 searches for the reception unit 69 of the PLC 7 which is a Bluetooth-compatible device permitted to operate as a connection partner. (Inquiry). These transmitting unit 33 and receiving unit 69 have their own address (Bluetooth Device address), own device identification information, identification name, other data, etc., and in response to a search from the other device, their own address etc. Send back. In Bluetooth communication, when the Bluetooth device address included in the search signal matches the own device, the power control ladder program is executed. Such a search is necessary for specifying a communication partner when there are a plurality of power strips in the house and there are a plurality of PLCs for controlling the power strips.

  In the present embodiment described above, when the user goes out and carries the communication device 5 and downloads the ladder program data to the PLC 7, the PLC 7 executes the ladder program and turns on the power supply to the power outlet 21-25. Since / OFF control is performed, power is not consumed. Further, even when the user forgets to turn off the power switch of the household electrical appliance 1 and goes outside, the power control ladder program can be downloaded to the PLC 7 by the communication device 5 from outside, so that even in this case, power is not consumed. It will end. Further, when the user returns to the home, the power supply ladder program can be downloaded to the PLC 7 by the communication device 5 so that the home electric device 1 can be turned on. The home electric appliance 1 can be operated by transmitting a remote control signal by the remote control function installed in the apparatus 5.

  FIG. 5 shows another embodiment. In this embodiment, a time table 70 for setting a power supply time, a power supply time, and the like to each household electrical device 1 by operating an operation part (not shown) of the creation unit 29 in the communication device 5 is provided. A power supply control ladder program can be created.

  In the time table 70, for example, for the television 9, the power supply is started immediately at the present time, that is, with the execution of the power supply control ladder program in the PLC 7, and the power supply is turned off after 4 hours, which is the set time. It is set. Further, with respect to other household electric appliances 1, for example, electric heaters, it is set to start power supply at 7:00 am and turn off the power supply one hour later.

  On the other hand, the PLC 7 downloads the power control ladder program including the time table 70 from the communication device 5 and executes the downloaded power control ladder program, so that the home connected to the power outlet 21-25 is connected. The electric appliance 1 operates as a timer, starts supplying power to each of the power outlets 21-25 immediately or at a set time, and turns off the power supply after the set time has elapsed.

  Thus, even if the user forgets to cut off the power supply, the power is not supplied to the household electric appliance 1.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Household electrical equipment 3 Power supply tap 5 Communication equipment 7 PLC

Claims (6)

Download the power control ladder program data for controlling the power supply from the portable communication device to the household electrical device connected to the power outlet for the programmable controller via wireless communication,
The programmable controller executes the downloaded power control ladder program to control ON / OFF the power supply to the power outlet.
A power control method for household electric appliances.   The method according to claim 1, wherein after the power supply to the power outlet is turned on in the second step by the communication device, a remote control signal is transmitted to the home electrical device to operate the home electrical device. . The power control ladder program is for setting the time for supplying power to household electrical equipment connected to the power outlet.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the programmable controller performs control to turn off the power supply after a time set by the power supply control ladder program after turning on the power supply to the power outlet. .   A communication device for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   A programmable controller for implementing the method according to claim 1.   The system containing the communication apparatus of Claim 4, and the programmable controller of Claim 5.

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