JP6320569B2 - Home control device and home control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a home control device and a home control system for controlling home appliances in a home via a home network.

  Advances in network technology have made it possible to implement communication devices at low cost and in small size, and accordingly, various types of devices are now connected to the network and operate. Many household appliances installed in the home have a communication function for operating in cooperation with other devices instead of a single device.

  In response to the trend of networking home appliances in this way, home control systems called smart houses that control energy consumption while providing a comfortable living environment for users by controlling home appliances at home Research and development for building Increasing awareness of environmental issues and concerns about power shortages are accelerating R & D on smart houses aimed at reducing energy consumption.

  In a smart house, home appliances in a house are connected to a home network called a home network in order to cooperate with other devices.

  In a system that realizes a smart house, a method for collecting information from devices connected to a home network, placing a dedicated controller for controlling home appliances in the house, and the dedicated controller centrally controlling each home appliance Is common.

  On the other hand, high-performance home appliances aimed at comfort rather than energy saving have begun, and products such as air conditioners that can be controlled via the Internet have been released. Along with this, companies that have recently developed basic software for smartphones, tablet devices, etc., are controllers that can control smartphones and other home appliances by defining an interface for controlling home appliances in the basic software. We are expanding the functions that can be used as

  In response to this background, not only conventional smart house controllers aimed at reducing energy consumption, but also smartphones, etc., can play the role of controllers for specific home appliances. A multi-controller environment is emerging.

  In a multi-controller environment, home appliances are accommodated in one of the controllers, and are generally configured to accept information collection requests and control only from the accommodated controller. That is, each controller can directly control home appliances housed in its own controller, but cannot directly control home appliances housed in other controllers. In such a system configuration, in order to realize an application in which home appliances housed in different controllers are linked, a function for exchanging information necessary for control of the household appliances with another controller and linking, It is necessary to mount on each controller.

  As a technique in a multi-controller environment in a conventional home network, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. The home network system described in Patent Document 1 includes a client and a server, and shortens the startup time until the device can be used by synchronizing the startup sequence of the client and the server.

Japanese Patent No. 4835511

  In an environment where a plurality of controllers are present on a home network, in a system in which the controllers cooperate with each other, the plurality of controllers are often connected via a network using a wireless LAN. The network for the connection between the controllers is not a dedicated network for connecting the controller and the home appliance, but is the same as a network for connecting a PC or the like for accessing the Internet. Since the same network is used, the network for users to access the Internet is shared. Therefore, when the user is accessing the Internet via a PC, the communication between controllers depends on the traffic status of the home network. Is affected, causing a delay in communication between controllers. When a delay occurs in communication between controllers, there is a problem that a delay time occurs in a cooperative operation of a plurality of home appliances in a system that links home appliances across controllers.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a home control device capable of controlling home appliances connected to a home network with low delay.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a first network and a second network to which household electrical appliances are connected, a household electrical appliance connected to the first network, and the second network. Home control operating as the main controller in a home control system comprising a main controller capable of controlling home appliances connected to the network and a sub-controller capable of controlling home appliances connected to the second network A rule management database for managing a control rule in which conditions for starting automatic control of home electrical appliances connected to the second network and the contents of the automatic control are registered; and a device connected to the first network. Home appliances connected to the second network based on the sensing results of the sensors. It is determined whether or not it is necessary to cause the sub-controller to start an operation for control. If it is necessary to start the operation, one of the information registered in the control rule managed in the rule management database is determined. the part was sent to the sub-controller, characterized in that it comprises a controller coordination unit whether or not to perform the automatic control is determined on the sub-controller of the connected home appliance to the second network.

  The in-home control device according to the present invention has an effect that home appliances can be controlled with low delay.

The figure which shows the structural example of the subscriber | terminal control system concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the structural example of the main controller concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a sub-controller according to the first embodiment. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example for realizing a main controller and a sub controller according to a first embodiment; The figure which shows the structural example of the rule management database concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the structural example of the sensor information database concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the structural example of the household appliance information database concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the structural example of the simple rule management database concerning Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the example of a setting of the rule management database concerning Embodiment 1. The figure which shows an example of the whole operation | movement of the in-home control system concerning Embodiment 1. The figure which shows the state of the simple rule management database concerning Embodiment 1. The flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement which the main controller concerning Embodiment 1 sets a simple rule to a sub controller. The figure which shows the structural example of the rule management database concerning Embodiment 2. FIG.

  Hereinafter, a home control apparatus and a home control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a home control system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The home control system according to the present embodiment is configured to include a plurality of controllers that control various home appliances in the home, specifically, the main controller 1 and the sub-controller 2. In the following description, home appliances may be simply referred to as “home appliances”. Further, the sub controller 2 may be referred to as another controller when viewed from the main controller 1, and similarly, the main controller 1 may be referred to as another controller when viewed from the sub controller 2.

  The main controller 1 which is a home control device is connected to the home networks 100 and 300 and controls home appliances connected to the home network 100. The sub-controller 2 is connected to the home networks 200 and 300 and controls home appliances connected to the home network 200. Home networks 100 and 200 are networks for controlling home appliances. In addition to the main controller 1, a home network 100 and a sensor 4-1 are connected to a home network 100 that is a first network. In addition to the sub-controller 2, a home network 200 and a sensor 4-2 are connected to the home network 200 that is the second network. Although not shown, the home network 300 is also connected to a personal computer (PC) for normal Internet access, a gateway for connecting to the Internet, and the like. The main controller 1 and the sub controller 2 can collect state information from each home appliance, and can change the operating state by controlling each home appliance individually. Further, the main controller 1 and the sub controller 2 can collect information detected by the sensors 4-1, 4-2 and the like. The sensors 4-1 and 4-2 are, for example, sensors that detect temperature, humidity, illuminance, vibration, and the like, and sensors that detect the location of a person. It is not limited. In FIG. 1, the home appliance and the sensor are independent individual devices, but may be an integrated device, that is, a home appliance provided with a sensor.

  Home networks 100 and 200 are home network for home appliances for main controller 1 and sub-controller 2 to control home appliances. On the other hand, the home network 300 is a controller home network for communication between the main controller 1 and the sub-controller 2.

  The main controller 1 can directly control the home appliance 3-1 via the home network 100. The main controller 1 can indirectly control the home appliance 3-2 connected to the home network 200 via the sub controller 2. The sub-controller 2 controls the home appliance 3-2 according to the instruction content from the main controller 1.

  In the home control system according to the present embodiment, the main controller 1 is configured to automatically control the home appliances under its own device, that is, the home appliances 3-1 housed in the own device, and the home appliances under the sub-controller 2. The conditions for automatically controlling 3-2 are held. The main controller 1 periodically collects sensor information as a sensing result from the sensors 4-1 and 4-2 in the system, and the collected sensor information automatically controls the home appliance 3-1 under its own device. If the condition for satisfying the condition is satisfied, the home appliance 3-1 is controlled. Similarly, if the collected sensor information satisfies a condition for automatically controlling the home appliance 3-2 under the sub-controller 2, the home appliance 3-2 is controlled. However, when the main controller 1 controls the home appliance 3-2 under the sub-controller 2, only the sensor information obtained from the sensor 4-1 under its own device is used to automatically control the home appliance 3-2. Determine whether or not The sub-controller 2 determines whether the sensor information obtained from the sensor 4-2 under the sub-controller 2 satisfies a condition for automatically controlling the home appliance 3-2. When both the sensor information obtained from the sensor 4-1 and the sensor information obtained from the sensor 4-2 satisfy the conditions for automatically controlling the home appliance 3-2, the sub controller 2 replaces the main controller 1. The home appliance 3-2 is controlled. At this time, the sub-controller 2 determines whether or not the condition for automatically controlling the home appliance 3-2 is satisfied only for the sensor information obtained from the sensor 4-2 under its control.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the main controller 1. The main controller 1 includes a rule management database (DB) 11 that manages control rules in which identification information of home appliances, conditions for starting automatic control of home appliances, and details of automatic control are registered, and a home appliance automatic control unit 12 that controls home appliances. A home appliance information DB 13 that stores home appliance information indicating the type and operating state of each home appliance that is subject to automatic control; a home appliance information collection unit 14 that collects home appliance information and stores it in the home appliance information DB 13; The controller cooperation unit 15 that performs information exchange with other controllers such as the sub-controller 2 and cooperates to indirectly control home appliances connected to the other controllers, and the sensor information DB 16 that stores sensor information. A sensor information collecting unit 17 that collects sensor information and stores it in the sensor information DB 16, and a controller home network. Next, a home network connection I / F (interface) unit for controller 18 for communicating with other controllers, and a home network connection I / F for home appliance for connecting to the home network for home appliances and communicating with home appliances, sensors, etc. F part 19 is provided.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the sub-controller 2. The sub-controller 2 manages a control rule acquired from another controller, specifically, a control rule in which conditions for starting automatic control of home appliances accommodated in the sub-controller 2 are registered. And the home appliance proxy control unit 22 that controls home appliances on behalf of other controllers, the home appliance information collection unit 23 that collects home appliance information, and other controllers such as the main controller 1 to exchange information and cooperate, Connects to the controller home network and communicates with another controller by connecting to the controller home network, the controller cooperation unit 24 that controls home appliances housed in its own device according to instructions from the other controller, the sensor information collecting unit 25 Controller home network connection I / F unit 26 and home appliance home network It includes home appliances, a home appliance for home network connection I / F unit 27 for communicating such a sensor, the Te. In the present embodiment, since the system configuration shown in FIG. 1 is assumed, the simple rule management DB 21 manages a control rule in which conditions for starting automatic control of the home appliance 3-2 are registered.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example for realizing the main controller 1 and the sub-controller 2. The main controller 1 and the sub-controller 2 are realized by a processor 51, a memory 52 composed of a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like, and an input / output interface 53 for connecting to a network. Is possible. The processor 51, the memory 52, and the input / output interface 53 are connected to the bus 50, and can exchange data and control information with each other via the bus 50.

  When the main controller 1 is realized, a program for the main controller is stored in the memory 52, and the processor 51 executes the program so that the home appliance automatic control unit 12, the home appliance information collection unit 14 shown in FIG. The controller cooperation unit 15 and the sensor information collection unit 17 are realized. The rule management DB 11, home appliance information DB 13, and sensor information DB 16 of the main controller 1 are realized by storing necessary information in the memory 52. The controller home network connection I / F unit 18 and the home appliance home network connection I / F unit 19 are realized by the input / output interface 53. Further, when the sub controller 2 is realized, a program for the sub controller is stored in the memory 52, and the processor 51 executes the program so that the home appliance proxy control unit 22, the home appliance information collection unit shown in FIG. 23, the controller cooperation part 24 and the sensor information collection part 25 are implement | achieved. The simple rule management DB 21 of the sub-controller 2 is realized by storing necessary information in the memory 52. The controller home network connection I / F unit 26 and the home appliance home network connection I / F unit 27 are realized by an input / output interface 53.

  Note that a plurality of processors and a plurality of memories may cooperate to implement each unit of the main controller 1 and each unit of the sub-controller 2.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the rule management DB 11 provided in the main controller 1. The control management DB 11 is composed of one or more control rule entries. Each control rule entry includes a rule number 111 that is identification information of the control rule, a plurality of conditions 112 that represent the control conditions of the rule, and a control 115 that defines an operation to be performed when the control condition represented by the condition 112 is satisfied. It consists of. Each of the plurality of conditions 112 includes a sensor ID 113 indicating one of the sensors connected to the home network for home appliances and a state 114 indicating the state of the sensor indicated by the sensor ID 113. The control 115 is performed when all the conditions set in the condition 112 and the household appliance ID 116 indicating the household appliance to be controlled when all the conditions set in the condition 112 are satisfied are satisfied. And a control 117 representing the control to be performed. When the sensor indicated by the sensor ID 113 is a temperature sensor, a temperature condition is set in the state 114. For example, conditions such as “XX ° C. or higher”, “YY ° C. or lower”, “XX ° C. or higher and YY ° C. or lower” are set.

  The control rule entry of the rule management DB 11 is generated by the user inputting one or more conditions 112 and inputting the control 115 using an input unit not shown in FIG. Specifically, the user inputs one or more sets of sensor ID 113 and state 114, and inputs home appliance ID 116 and control 117.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the sensor information DB 16 provided in the main controller 1. The sensor information DB 16 includes one or more sensor information entries. Each sensor information entry includes a sensor ID 161 that is the same information as the sensor ID 113 described above, a sensor type 162 indicating the sensor type, and a sensor state. The state 163 shown and the accommodation destination 164 showing the controller containing the sensor. The sensor state is the temperature detected by the sensor if the sensor is for detecting temperature. That is, the state of the sensor indicates a detection result by the sensor. The accommodation destination 164 stores identification information of the main controller or identification information of the sub-controller.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the home appliance information DB 13 provided in the main controller 1. The home appliance information DB 13 includes one or more home appliance information entries, and each home appliance information entry indicates a home appliance ID 131 indicating one of the home appliances connected to the home appliance home network and a type of the home appliance indicated by the home appliance ID 131. It includes a household appliance type 132, a state 133 that represents the state of the household appliance indicated by the household appliance ID 131, and a storage location 134 that indicates a controller that stores the household appliance. In the accommodation destination 134, identification information of the main controller or identification information of the sub-controller is stored.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the simple rule management DB 21 provided in the sub-controller 2. The simple rule management DB 21 is composed of one or more simple control rule entries. Each simple control rule entry defines a simple rule number 211 that is identification information of the simple control rule, a condition 212 that represents the control condition of the simple rule, and an operation to be performed when the control condition represented by the condition 212 is satisfied. And control 215. The condition 212 includes a sensor ID 213 indicating one of the sensors connected to the home network for home appliances, and a state 214 indicating the state of the sensor indicated by the sensor ID 213. The control 215 performs the control performed when the condition set in the condition 212 is satisfied, and the household appliance ID 216 indicating the household appliance to be controlled when the condition set in the condition 212 is satisfied. And a control 217 for representing.

  Hereinafter, the cooperative operation of the main controller 1 and the sub-controller 2 constituting the home control system according to the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a setting example of the rule management DB 11 of the main controller 1. In this setting example, when condition # 1 = “sensor information of sensor 4-1 is 20 ° C. or higher” and condition # 2 = “sensor information of sensor 4-2 is 18 ° C. or higher” is satisfied In this example, a control rule of “operating the home appliance 3-2 in the energy saving operation mode” is defined and registered in the control rule entry having the rule number “1”. Here, it is assumed that both the sensor 4-1 and the sensor 4-2 are temperature sensors, and the home appliance 3-2 is an air conditioner that can support the energy saving mode operation.

  The operation of the main controller 1 will be briefly described. The main controller 1 periodically collects sensor information from each sensor in the home control system, and based on the collected sensor information and the setting contents of the rule management DB 11, the home controller 1 Control each home appliance in the system. However, when collecting the sensor information from the sensor 4-2 connected to the home network 200 different from the home network 100 to which the main controller 1 is connected, the main controller 1 collects the sensor information via the sub-controller 2. . That is, the main controller 1 collects sensor information from the sensor 4-2 via the home network 300, the sub controller 2, and the home network 200.

  FIG. 10 shows the overall operation of the home control system when the setting state of the rule management DB 11 of the main controller 1 is that shown in FIG. 9, that is, when there is only one control rule entry managed by the rule management DB 11. It is a figure which shows an example.

  In the in-home control system, the main controller 1 first collects sensor information from the directly accommodated sensors, that is, the sensors 4-1 connected to the home network 100 in the same manner as the own controller. Specifically, the main controller 1 transmits an information collection request to the sensor 4-1 (step S11). When the sensor 4-1 receives the information collection request, the sensor 4-1 measures the temperature and indicates the measurement result. An information collection response including information is returned (step S12). Here, it is assumed that the temperature measurement result is 20 ° C. In step S11, the sensor information collection unit 17 of the main controller 1 transmits an information collection request to the sensor 4-1 via the home network connection I / F unit 19 for home appliances. When receiving the information collection response, the sensor information collection unit 17 of the main controller 1 registers the sensor information included in the information collection response in the sensor information DB 16 and updates the sensor information DB 16. Specifically, the sensor information is registered in the state 163 of the sensor information DB 16 having the configuration shown in FIG. Here, “20 ° C.” is registered. A sensor ID “sensor 4-1” indicating the sensor 4-1 is registered in the sensor ID 161, and a “temperature sensor” is registered in the sensor type 162. If there is already a sensor information entry with a registered sensor ID indicating the sensor 4-1, the sensor information entry is updated by overwriting the sensor information.

  Next, the main controller 1 detects the coincidence of the simple rule setting conditions based on the contents of the sensor information DB 16 and the contents of the rule management DB 11 (step S13). A simple rule setting request is transmitted (step S14). “Simple rule setting” means processing for setting a simple rule in the simple rule management DB 21 of the sub-controller 2. Therefore, in step S13, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to set a simple rule in the simple rule management DB 21 of the sub-controller 2. Here, the rule management DB 11 is in the state shown in FIG. 9, that is, the control rule entry with the rule number “1” for controlling the home appliance 3-2 accommodated in the sub-controller 2 is managed, and is stored in the sensor information DB 16. Is a state in which sensor information collected from the sensor 4-1 is registered. Therefore, the main controller 1 checks whether or not the condition # 1 that is a condition corresponding to the sensor 4-1 is satisfied. If the condition # 1 is satisfied, the main controller 1 determines that the simple rule setting condition is met.

  Thus, the main controller 1 is a condition in which the sensor information acquired from the sensor 4-1 connected to the home network 100, which is the home network for home appliances to which the device is connected, is registered in the control rule entry. In the case where the condition corresponding to the sensor 4-1 is satisfied and the home appliance to be controlled is the home appliance 3-2 accommodated in the sub-controller 2, it is determined that the simple rule setting condition is met. When a plurality of conditions corresponding to the sensor 4-1 are registered in the control rule entry, the main controller 1 satisfies all of the conditions corresponding to the sensor 4-1, sensor information acquired from the sensor 4-1. And when a control object is the household appliance 3-2, it determines with having matched the simple rule setting conditions. When there are a plurality of sensors connected to the home network 100, the main controller 1 indicates that the sensor information acquired from each of the plurality of sensors satisfies a condition corresponding to each of the plurality of sensors, and the control target is the home appliance 3- In the case of 2, it is determined that the simple rule setting condition is met.

  Since the sensor information collected in step S12 indicates “20 ° C.”, the main controller 1 determines that the condition # 1 is satisfied. That is, the main controller 1 determines that a match of the simple rule setting conditions has been detected. In step S14, the main controller 1 indicates the condition # 2 indicating the condition of the sensor 4-2 housed in the sub-controller 2, that is, “sensor ID” indicating the sensor 4-2 and “state” indicating 18 ° C. or higher. And a simple rule setting request including information on the control operation. The information regarding the control operation is “home appliance ID” indicating the home appliance to be automatically controlled and “control” indicating the automatic control operation. Here, “home appliance ID” indicates home appliance 3-2, and “control” indicates energy-saving operation. The processing of steps S13 and S14 is performed by the controller cooperation unit 15.

  When receiving the simple rule setting request from the main controller 1, the sub-controller 2 sets a simple rule (step S15). Specifically, the sub-controller 2 extracts “sensor ID”, “state”, “home appliance ID”, and “control” from the received simple rule setting request, and stores them in the simple rule management DB 21 having the configuration shown in FIG. Set. In the sub-controller 2, the controller cooperation unit 24 executes the process of step S15. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the state of the simple rule management DB 21 after executing step S15. The simple control rule entry whose simple rule number is “1” shown in FIG. 11 has a control rule with the content “When the sensor information of the sensor 4-2 indicates 18 ° C. or higher, the home appliance 3-2 is operated in an energy saving manner” Show.

  When the main controller 1 sends a simple rule setting request to the sub-controller 2, it then sends an information proxy collection request including information specifying the sensor 4-2 to the sub-controller 2 to collect sensor information. A request is made (step S16). In the main controller 1, the sensor information collection unit 17 transmits an information proxy collection request.

  When receiving the information proxy collection request, the sub-controller 2 collects information according to the content of the information proxy collection request. Since the received information proxy collection request includes information specifying the sensor 4-2, the sub-controller 2 transmits an information collection request to the sensor 4-2 (step S17), and the sensor 4-2. Sensor information is collected by receiving an information collection response from (step S18). These steps S17 and S18 are the same as the processes of the above steps S11 and S12, that is, the process in which the main controller 1 collects sensor information from the sensor 4-1. In the sub-controller 2, the sensor information collection unit 25 transmits an information collection request and receives an information collection response.

  When the sensor 4-2 receives the information collection request, the sensor 4-2 measures the temperature and returns an information collection response including sensor information indicating the measurement result. Here, an information collection response including sensor information indicating 19 ° C. is returned (step S18).

  When the sub-controller 2 collects the sensor information, it checks whether the sensor information matches the conditions set in the simple rule management DB 21. The collected sensor information indicates 19 ° C., while “18 ° C. or higher” is set as the condition set in the simple rule management DB 21. Therefore, the sub-controller 2 detects a condition match (step S19), and further operates in accordance with the control content set in the simple rule management DB 21, specifically, the home appliance 3-2 indicated by the “home appliance ID”. On the other hand, an operation of transmitting a home appliance control request including information instructing energy saving operation is executed (step S20). Thus, the sub-controller 2 controls the home appliance 3-2 based on the collected sensor information and the conditions set in the simple rule management DB 21. In the sub-controller 2, the home appliance proxy control unit 22 executes the processes of steps S19 and S20.

  The sub-controller 2 further transmits an information proxy collection response including the sensor information collected in step S18 to the main controller 1 as a response to the information proxy collection request received from the main controller 1 in step S16 ( Step S21). This step S21 is executed regardless of whether or not the above steps S19 and S20 are performed. That is, even if the sensor information collected from the sensor 4-2 does not satisfy the conditions set in the simple rule management DB 21, the sub-controller 2 executes step S21 and transmits an information proxy collection response. In the sub-controller 2, the sensor information collection unit 25 transmits an information proxy collection response. When the main controller 1 receives the sensor information transmitted in the information proxy collection response, the main controller 1 confirms the received sensor information and determines whether it is necessary to automatically control the home appliance 3-1. Moreover, the main controller 1 can grasp | ascertain the operation state of the household appliance 3-2 by confirming the sensor information transmitted by the information proxy collection response. Therefore, the operation state of the home appliance 3-2 can be displayed on a display unit or the like not shown in FIG.

  The household appliance 3-2 will operate | move in an energy saving operation mode, if the household appliance control request | requirement transmitted by said step S20 is received. That is, the home appliance 3-2 switches to the energy saving operation mode when receiving the home appliance control request during operation in an operation mode different from the energy saving operation mode, and receives the home appliance control request during operation in the energy saving operation mode. Will continue to operate in energy saving mode.

  The sub-controller 2 that has collected the sensor information from the sensor 4-2 detects that the control rule conditions in the home appliance automatic control match before transferring the sensor information to the main controller 1 by the operations of the above steps S11 to S21. And it becomes possible to control with respect to the household appliance 3-2. Therefore, a process for transferring sensor information from the sub-controller 2 to the main controller 1, a process for the main controller 1 detecting the matching of the control rules based on the transferred sensor information, and the main controller 1 sending a home appliance control request to the sub-controller 2. Processing to send is no longer necessary. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time required from when the main controller 1 starts collecting sensor information until the home appliance 3-2 accommodated in the sub controller 2 is instructed to change the operation mode.

  The main controller 1 and the sub controller 2 periodically execute steps S11 to S21. As can be understood from the above description, among steps S11 to S21, steps S13 to S15, S19, and S20 may or may not be executed. Therefore, step S16 may be executed following step S12. Further, step S21 may be executed following step S18.

  Further, although the operation shown in FIG. 10 assumes a case where there is one sub-controller, there may be a case where there are a plurality of sub-controllers. 1 has a sub-controller 5 in addition to the main controller 1 and the sub-controller 2, and the sub-controller 5 is connected to the home network 300, and the subordinates are sensors 4-5 and home appliances. 3-5, the operation of the main controller 1 is as follows. The main controller 1 has the sensor information acquired from the sensor 4-1 and the sensor information acquired from the sensor 4-5 in the control rule entry managed by the rule management DB 11. 2 is detected, it is determined that the condition for setting the simple rule in the sub-controller 2 is met. In this case, the main controller 1 transmits a simple rule setting request to the sub-controller 2 and sets a simple rule in the sub-controller 2. Similarly, the main controller 1 has both the sensor information acquired from the sensor 4-1 and the sensor information acquired from the sensor 4-2 in the control rule entry managed by the rule management DB 11. When a condition that satisfies the condition registered in the control rule entry for the home appliance 3-5 is detected, it is determined that the condition for setting the simple rule in the sub-controller 5 is met. In this case, the main controller 1 transmits a simple rule setting request to the sub-controller 5 and sets a simple rule in the sub-controller 5.

  Further, the sequence of steps S11 to S21 shown in FIG. 10 has one control rule entry managed by the rule management DB 11 in order to avoid complicating the description and to make the characteristic operation easy to understand. The case is assumed. However, in practice, there are many cases where there are a plurality of control rule entries managed by the rule management DB 11. When there are a plurality of control rule entries managed by the rule management DB 11, a process according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 is executed as a process corresponding to steps S13 to S15 shown in FIG. FIG. 12 shows an example of an operation in which the main controller 1 determines whether it is necessary to set a simple rule for the sub-controller 2 based on the rule management DB 11 and the sensor information DB 16 and sets the simple rule. It is a flowchart.

  When there are a plurality of control rule entries managed by the rule management DB 11, the main controller 1 collects sensor information from the sensor 4-1 and then performs the steps shown in FIG. 12 for each of the plurality of control rule entries. S31 to S35 are repeatedly executed. That is, the controller cooperation unit 15 of the main controller 1 selects one of a plurality of control rule entries, and selects the selected control rule entry and the sensor information DB 16 in which the sensor information collected from the sensor 4-1 has been registered. In comparison, it is determined whether or not simple rule setting is necessary (processing corresponding to steps S31 to S33). If it is determined that simple rule setting is necessary, a simple rule setting request is transmitted to the sub-controller 2 (step S31). Process corresponding to S34 and S35). Since the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is described here, the setting destination when it is determined that the simple rule setting is necessary is uniquely determined and becomes the sub-controller 2. However, since there may be a plurality of sub-controllers, in that case, the controller cooperation unit 15 also performs processing for specifying the sub-controller to which the simple rule is set. This process corresponds to step S34. The controller cooperation unit 15 can identify the sub-controller that is the setting destination of the simple rule by referring to the accommodation destination 134 of the home appliance information DB 13 shown in FIG. When the controller cooperation unit 15 determines that the simple rule setting is unnecessary or transmits a simple rule setting request to the sub-controller 2, the controller cooperation unit 15 reselects the control rule entry, and performs the same processing on the reselected control rule entry. . Hereinafter, the main controller 1 determines whether it is necessary to re-select control rule entries, set simple rules, or set simple rules until the same processing is executed for all control rule entries managed by the rule management DB 11. Repeat sending request. The control procedure shown in FIG. 12 is based on the assumption that, among the conditions set in each control rule entry in the rule management DB 11, there is one condition for the sensor information obtained from the sensor 4-2 under the sub controller 2. It is what. Below, operation | movement of step S31-S35 is demonstrated in detail.

  When the controller cooperation unit 15 selects one of the plurality of control rule entries, first, from each of the conditions set in the selected control rule entry (hereinafter referred to as the currently selected rule) and the sensor 4-1. The sensor information collected and registered in the sensor information DB 16 (hereinafter simply referred to as “sensor information of the sensor 4-1”) is compared, and the number of coincidence between the sensor information and the condition is obtained (step S31). That is, the number of conditions in which the sensor information of the sensor 4-1 is satisfied is confirmed. Next, the controller cooperation unit 15 checks whether or not the number obtained by subtracting 1 from the number of conditions set in the currently selected rule is equal to the number of matches obtained in step S31 (step S32). If they are not equal (step S32: No), the process for the currently selected rule is terminated, and if there is a control rule entry that has not been selected so far, the control rule entry is reselected and step is performed. The processes of S31 to S35 are repeated. If there is no control rule entry that has not been selected so far, the iterative process shown in steps S31 to S35 is terminated.

  Further, when the number obtained by subtracting 1 from the number of conditions set in the currently selected rule is equal to the number of matches obtained in step S31 (step S32: Yes), the controller cooperation unit 15 determines that the home appliance to be controlled is the sub controller. It is confirmed whether or not it is under control (step S33). Whether or not the home appliance to be controlled is under the control of the sub-controller can be determined by searching the home appliance information DB 13 using the home appliance ID 116 of the selected rule as a key and confirming the accommodation destination 134 of the found home appliance information entry. That is, if identification information other than the main controller 1 is stored in the accommodation destination 134, it is determined that the sub controller is under control. If the home appliance to be controlled is under the control of the sub-controller (step S33: Yes), the controller linkage unit 15 identifies the sub-controller that houses the home appliance to be controlled (step S34). The identification information stored in the accommodation destination 134 of the home appliance information entry is a sub-controller that accommodates the home appliance to be controlled. Here, since the sub-controller that accommodates the home appliance to be controlled is the sub-controller 2, the controller cooperation unit 15 sends a simple rule setting request to the sub-controller 2 after completing the process of step S34. A simple rule is set (step S35). If the home appliance to be controlled is not under the control of the sub-controller (step S33: No), the process for the selected control rule entry is terminated, and there is a control rule entry that has not been selected so far. Then, the control rule entry is selected again, and the processes of steps S31 to S35 are repeated.

  Note that the determination process in step S33 may be executed before steps S31 and S32. By performing the determination process in step S33 first, the number of executions of steps S31 and S32 can be reduced, and the processing load can be prevented from increasing more than necessary. Moreover, in said step S31, although the controller cooperation part 15 calculated | required the coincidence number of sensor information and conditions, you may obtain | require a mismatch number. In addition, the controller cooperation unit 15 does not obtain the number of coincidence between the sensor information and the condition, but the sensor information of the sensor 4-1 under the main controller 1 is the sensor 4- It may be confirmed whether or not all the conditions for 1 are satisfied.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the main controller 1 and the sub controller 2 cooperate to control the home appliance 3-2 under the sub controller 2 and start the energy saving operation mode has been described with reference to FIG. The operation when the energy saving operation mode is ended is the same. That is, the rule management DB 11 of the main controller 1 holds an energy saving mode end rule that is a control rule entry in which conditions for switching the home appliance 3-2 to the normal operation mode are registered, and the controller cooperation unit 15 of the main controller 1 When the sensor information of the sensor 4-1 satisfies the condition registered in the energy saving mode end rule, the sensor obtained from the sensor 4-2 under the sub-controller 2 among the conditions registered in the energy saving mode end rule A simple rule setting request including a condition to be satisfied by the information, a household appliance ID indicating the household appliance 3-2, and information indicating that the energy saving mode is terminated when the sensor information of the sensor 4-2 satisfies the condition is A simple rule is set by transmitting to the controller 2, and an information proxy collection request is transmitted to the sub-controller 2.

  As described above, in the home control system according to the present embodiment, the main controller 1 registers information on home appliances to be automatically controlled, conditions for starting automatic control of each home appliance, contents of automatic control operations, and the like. When the sensor information is acquired from the sensors under its own device, the automatic control of the home appliance 3-2 under the sub controller 2 is performed based on the acquired sensor information and the information registered in the rule management DB 11. It is determined whether it is necessary to notify the sub-controller 2 of the conditions to start and the contents of the automatic control operation. If it is necessary to notify the sub-controller 2, the conditions for starting the automatic control of the home appliance 3-2 and the automatic control operation Notify the contents. When the sub controller 2 is notified from the main controller 1 of the conditions for starting automatic control of the home appliance 3-2 under its own device and the content of the automatic control operation, the sensor information acquired from the sensor 4-2 is the home appliance 3-2. Whether or not the condition for starting the automatic control 2 is satisfied is confirmed. If the condition is satisfied, the home appliance 3-2 is automatically controlled. Thereby, when the sub controller 2 collects sensor information from the sensor 4-2, it is necessary to instruct the home appliance 3-2 to change the operation mode before transferring the sensor information to the main controller 1. When the change is necessary, the change of the operation mode can be instructed. That is, the sensor information is transferred from the sub-controller 2 to the main controller 1, and the main controller 1 does not need to detect the matching of the control rule condition and transmit the home appliance control request via the sub-controller 2. It is possible to shorten the time required from the start of information collection until the home appliance 3-2 is instructed to change the operation mode. Therefore, the home appliance 3-2 under the sub controller 2 can be controlled with low delay.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
A home control system according to the second embodiment will be described. The overall system configuration is the same as in the first embodiment. The configurations of the main controller 1 and the sub controller 2 are the same as those in the first embodiment. However, the configuration of the rule management DB 11 provided in the main controller 1 is shown in FIG.

  The rule management DB 11 shown in FIG. 13 is obtained by adding a priority 118 to the rule management DB 11 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The priority 118 is information indicating the processing priority of the control rule entry. In the priority 118, a numerical value or the like is set as information indicating the processing priority. Simply, binary information indicating whether the priority is high or low may be set. The priority flag may be set when the priority is high.

  In the present embodiment, the main controller 1 performs the control operation described in the first embodiment for a control rule entry having a high priority. That is, when the main controller 1 performs the control operation shown in FIG. 12 for a control rule entry having a high priority and determines that the necessary condition is satisfied, it sends a simple rule setting request to the sub-controller 2. Send and set simple rules.

  As described above, in the home control system according to the present embodiment, when the main controller 1 controls the home appliance 3-2 under the sub-controller 2 based on the control rule entry having a high priority, the description is made in the first embodiment. When the home appliance 3-2 is controlled based on the control rule entry having a low priority in accordance with the control procedure, the sensor information is received from the sensor 4-2 via the home network 300 that is the controller home network and the sub-controller 2. It acquires and determines whether control of the household appliance 3-2 is required. Thereby, when controlling the household appliance 3-2 under the sub controller 2 based on the conditions set in the control rule entry having a high priority, the control can be performed with low delay. In addition, the frequency with which the sub-controller 2 determines whether or not the home appliance 3-2 needs to be controlled can be reduced, and the load on the sub-controller 2 can be reduced.

  The configuration described in the above embodiment shows an example of the contents of the present invention, and can be combined with another known technique, and can be combined with other configurations without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is also possible to omit or change the part.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main controller, 2 Sub controller, 3-1, 3-2 Home appliance, 4-1, 4-2 Sensor, 11 Rule management database, 12 Home appliance automatic control part, 13 Home appliance information database, 14, 23 Home appliance information collection part, 15, 24 Controller linkage unit, 16 Sensor information database, 17, 25 Sensor information collection unit, 18, 26 Controller home network connection I / F unit, 19, 27 Home appliance home network connection I / F unit, 21 Simple rule management Database, 22 Home appliance proxy control unit, 50 bus, 51 processor, 52 memory, 53 I / O interface, 100, 200, 300 Home network.

Claims (7)

A first network and a second network to which home appliances are connected; a home controller connected to the first network; a main controller capable of controlling the home appliances connected to the second network; 2 is a home control device that operates as the main controller in a home control system including a sub-controller that can control home appliances connected to the network of 2;
A rule management database for managing a control rule in which conditions for starting automatic control of home appliances connected to the second network and details of automatic control are registered;
Based on a sensing result by a sensor connected to the first network, it is determined whether or not the sub-controller needs to start an operation for automatically controlling a home appliance connected to the second network. If it is necessary to start, the home appliance connected to the second network by transmitting a part of the information registered in the control rule managed in the rule management database to the sub-controller a controller coordinating unit for determining whether to perform the automatic control in the sub-controller,
An in-home control device comprising: The control rule includes a first condition that is a condition that a sensing result by a sensor connected to the first network should be satisfied, and a condition that a sensing result by a sensor that is connected to the second network is to be satisfied. For the home appliance corresponding to the identification information when the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, the identification information of the home appliance to be subject to automatic control, and the second condition Control content information indicating the content of the control to be performed is registered,
The controller cooperation unit selects one of the control rules managed in the rule management database, and the sensing result by the sensor connected to the first network is registered in the selected control rule. If the condition 1 is satisfied, the second condition, the process of transmitting the identification information and the control content information registered in the control rule being selected to the sub-controller is stored in the rule management database. Implement for all control rules that are managed,
The in-home control apparatus according to claim 1. The control rule includes a first condition that is a condition that a sensing result by a sensor connected to the first network should be satisfied, and a condition that a sensing result by a sensor that is connected to the second network is to be satisfied. For the home appliance corresponding to the identification information when the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, the identification information of the home appliance to be subject to automatic control, and the second condition The control content information indicating the content of the control to be executed and the priority of the control rule are registered,
The controller cooperation unit selects one of the control rules managed in the rule management database, and the sensing result by the sensor connected to the first network is registered in the selected control rule. When the first condition is satisfied and the selected control rule is set to high priority, the second condition, the identification information, and the control content information registered in the selected control rule are The process of transmitting to the sub-controller is implemented for all control rules managed in the rule management database.
The in-home control apparatus according to claim 1. The control rule includes a first condition that is a condition that a sensing result by a sensor connected to the first network should be satisfied, and a condition that a sensing result by a sensor that is connected to the second network is to be satisfied. For the home appliance corresponding to the identification information when the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, the identification information of the home appliance to be subject to automatic control, and the second condition Control content information indicating the content of the control to be performed is registered,
When there are a plurality of the sub-controllers,
The main controller obtains a sensing result from a sensor connected to the second network from each of the plurality of sub-controllers, and a sensing result from the sensor connected to the first network satisfies the first condition. If the sensing result obtained from all the remaining sub-controllers excluding one of the plurality of sub-controllers satisfies the second condition, the first registered in the control rule. 2 conditions, the identification information and the control content information are transmitted to the sub-controller from which the sensing result that does not satisfy the second condition is acquired.
The in-home control apparatus according to claim 1. A first network and a second network to which home appliances are connected; a home controller connected to the first network; a main controller capable of controlling the home appliances connected to the second network; A home control system comprising a sub-controller capable of controlling home appliances connected to the network of 2;
The main controller is
A rule management database for managing a control rule in which conditions for starting automatic control of home appliances connected to the second network and details of automatic control are registered;
Based on a sensing result by a sensor connected to the first network, it is determined whether or not the sub-controller needs to start an operation for automatically controlling a home appliance connected to the second network. If it is necessary to start, the home appliance connected to the second network by transmitting a part of the information registered in the control rule managed in the rule management database to the sub-controller A controller linkage unit that starts an operation for automatically controlling
With
The sub-controller
A simple method for receiving a part of information registered in a control rule managed in the rule management database and transmitted as a control rule for a home appliance connected to the second network, transmitted from the controller cooperation unit A rules management database;
A home appliance proxy control unit that controls home appliances connected to the second network based on a sensing result by a sensor connected to the second network and a control rule managed by the simple rule management database When,
A home control system characterized by comprising: The main controller periodically requests the sub-controller to collect sensing results from sensors connected to the second network,
When the sub controller requests the main controller to collect sensing results from the sensors connected to the second network, the sub controller collects the requested sensing results and transmits the collected sensing results to the main controller. Controlling home appliances connected to the second network based on the sensing results and the control rules managed in the simple rule management database,
The in-home control system according to claim 5. A plurality of the sub-controllers;
The control rule includes a first condition that is a condition that a sensing result by a sensor connected to the first network should be satisfied, and a condition that a sensing result by a sensor that is connected to the second network is to be satisfied. For the home appliance corresponding to the identification information when the first condition and the second condition are satisfied, the identification information of the home appliance to be subject to automatic control, and the second condition Control content information indicating the content of the control to be performed is registered,
When each of the plurality of sub-controllers receives a sensing result collection request from the main controller, among the sensors connected to the second network, each of the sub-controllers outputs a sensing result in a sensor associated with its own controller. To the controller,
The main controller has received a sensing result from a sensor connected to the first network from all remaining sub-controllers except for one of the plurality of sub-controllers satisfying the first condition. When the sensing result satisfies the second condition, the second condition, the identification information, and the control content information registered in the control rule are the sensing results that do not satisfy the second condition. To the sending sub controller
The in-home control system according to claim 5.

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