JP6718299B2 - Incentive distribution system and method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system introduced in connection with an incentive type demand response, and particularly to an incentive distribution system for distributing an incentive paid to a customer as a consideration for the demand response to residents of a building where the demand response is implemented, and It is about the method.

There is a strong demand for energy consumption management due to the revision of laws resulting from the global warming issue.In recent years, electric power companies have been remunerating electricity tariffs for customers who set electricity rates by time of day and cooperated in power reduction. Attempts have been made to introduce demand response (hereinafter referred to as DR) that suppresses power consumption during peak hours by providing services such as paying (hereinafter referred to as incentive).

Regarding such DR of electric power, distribution of coffee tickets (see Non-Patent Document 1) and giving points according to power saving (see Non-Patent Document 2) have been tried as incentives to implement DR, and the importance of incentives. Is recognized.
Further, for the purpose of optimizing incentives, a method of calculating incentives corresponding to a power reduction target has been proposed from the standpoint of a power supplier (see Patent Document 1).

JP, 2016-012273, A

Takanori Yoda et al., “On the demonstration of the effects of the Automated Demand Response of the Building Energy Management System for office buildings”, The 58th Joint Conference on Automatic Control, 2015-11 "Enet, NTT Facility's common power saving service "Rakuten Check" is a trial operation", Ennet Co., Ltd. <https://www.ennet.co.jp/assets/img/cms/20150928/20140526_192711.pdf >, 2014

Behind the necessity (importance) of the incentive is the purpose of alleviating the dissatisfaction of the building occupants by suppressing the facility power such as air conditioning accompanying the implementation of DR.
However, due to individual differences in the way residents feel their dissatisfaction (or their patience), incentive distribution may be inefficient, and improvements are required.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and improves the effectiveness of distribution of incentives to residents of a building where DR is implemented, and can reduce dissatisfaction of residents. It is intended to provide a system and method.

The incentive distribution system of the present invention is composed of an automatic vending machine in a building in which an air conditioner and a lighting device that are targets of demand response of electric power are installed, and an automatic vending machine management device that manages the automatic vending machine, The vending machine management device corresponds to an incentive determined as a consideration of demand response in a building in which the vending machine is installed, and in the vending machine to distribute the incentive to residents of the building. Price determining means for determining a discounted price of the product to be sold, and a first price operation signal for setting the price of the product to be sold by the vending machine to the discounted price during the demand response execution time period. The second price operation signal for transmitting to the vending machine and setting the price of the product sold at the vending machine to the normal price is transmitted to the vending machine when the demand response execution time period ends. A first receiving means for receiving first and second price operation signals transmitted from the vending machine management device, and the first receiving means. In accordance with the first and second price operation signals received by the change processing means for changing the price of the product sold by the own machine, and the price change processing of the change processing means, corresponding to the price change processing of the product sold by the own machine And a display unit for changing the price display.

Further, in one configuration example of the incentive distribution system of the present invention, the vending machine management device further includes second receiving means for receiving a price status signal indicating a product price setting status from the vending machine, And a presenting means for presenting a price setting state of the vending machine in response to the price state signal received by the second receiving means, wherein the vending machine corresponds to the price change processing of the change processing means. Then, a second transmitting means for transmitting the price status signal to the vending machine management device is provided.
Further, in one configuration example of the incentive distribution system of the present invention, the price determination means of the vending machine management device indicates the amount of the incentive and the proportion of the incentive distributed to the resident of the building. The discount price is determined based on an incentive return rate, the number of discount products expected to be sold by the vending machine during the demand response time slot, and a normal price of the products. It is a thing.
Further, in one configuration example of the incentive distribution system of the present invention, further, the vending machine management device is out of stock for a discounted product to be sold by the vending machine in accordance with the output of the first price operation signal. When it is determined that there is a possibility of being out of stock, it is characterized in that it is provided with a reporting means for reporting the out-of-stock forecast notification to the product sales business operator.
In one configuration example of the incentive distribution system of the present invention, the display means of the vending machine changes the price display method of the product when the product is sold at a discount.
In one configuration example of the incentive distribution system of the present invention, the vending machine is installed in a non-business area of the building.

Further, in the incentive distribution method of the present invention, a vending machine management device for managing a vending machine in a building in which an air conditioner and a lighting device, which are targets of power demand response, are installed, the vending machine is installed. In response to the incentive determined as the consideration of the demand response of electric power in the building, a price determining step of determining a discounted price of the product sold by the vending machine in order to distribute the incentive to the residents of the building, , The vending machine management device transmits a first price operation signal for setting the price of a product sold by the vending machine to the discount price to the vending machine during the demand response execution time period. A first transmitting step; a first receiving step in which the vending machine receives a first price operation signal transmitted from the vending machine management device; and a first receiving step in which the vending machine receives the first price operation signal. In response to the price operation signal, the first price change processing step of changing the price of the product sold by the machine from the normal price to the discount price, and the vending machine corresponding to the first price change processing step, A first display change processing step for changing the price display of the product sold by the vending machine; and a second display changing process for setting the price of the product sold by the vending machine to the normal price by the vending machine management device. A second transmitting step of transmitting a price operation signal to the vending machine when the demand response execution time period ends, and a second price transmitted from the vending machine management device to the vending machine. A second receiving step of receiving an operation signal, and a second price change in which the vending machine changes the price of a product sold by itself from a discount price to a normal price according to the received second price operation signal. It is characterized in that the automatic vending machine includes a processing step and a second display change processing step for changing the price display of the product sold by the vending machine, corresponding to the second price change processing step. It is a thing.

According to the present invention, in response to the incentive determined as the consideration of the demand response, by discounting the price of the product sold by the vending machine in the building during the implementation time of the demand response, the resident of the incentive is discounted. It can improve the effectiveness of distribution and reduce the dissatisfaction of the occupants of the building. Further, in the present invention, it can be expected that the implementation of demand response is promoted by reducing the dissatisfaction of the occupants of the building.

Further, in the present invention, the price condition signal is transmitted from the vending machine, and the vending machine management device presents the price setting state of the vending machine, so that the building manager or the like confirms the price setting state of the vending machine. It becomes possible to do.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently replenish the product by issuing the out-of-stock forecast notification to the product selling business.

Further, in the present invention, when a product is on sale for a discount, the resident of the building can be notified that the product is on sale for a discount by changing the price display method of the product on the vending machine. , Residents can be made aware that incentives associated with implementation of demand response are distributed.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the incentive distribution system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining operation|movement of the incentive distribution system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example in which the price of the goods displayed on the vending machine is changed from the normal price to the discount price in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the example in which the price of the goods displayed on the vending machine is changed from the discount price to the normal price in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the other example which changes the price of the goods displayed on the vending machine to the discount price from the normal price in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the specific structural example of the incentive distribution system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the incentive distribution system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining operation|movement of the incentive distribution system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

[Principle 1 of the Invention]
The inventor has noticed that vending machines for drinks and the like used by residents can be used for distributing incentives. For example, the price of a drink or the like sold by a vending machine in a specific time zone is discounted according to the amount of the incentive given to the customer as a result of the DR.

Residents actively use vending machines, so residents who are particularly dissatisfied with the deterioration of comfort caused by DR are more likely to actively take action to eliminate dissatisfaction through discounts. Therefore, the distribution of incentives naturally increases. On the other hand, residents who do not feel much dissatisfied with the implementation of the DR do not need much relief of dissatisfaction by discounting in a specific time period, so the distribution of incentives naturally decreases. That is, it can be expected that the vending machine functions as a weighting means for incentive distribution depending on individual differences in how to feel dissatisfaction.

[Principle 2 of the Invention]
As the implementation of DR becomes more detailed, it is necessary to take more detailed measures such as shortening the DR implementation time period and dividing the rotation into multiple implementation locations within the same building. Corresponding to such subdivision of DR, it is preferable that the building manager or the like can confirm the price status in addition to the operation of changing the discount price in the vending machine or returning to the normal price. That is, it is desired to realize fine dynamic pricing.
Therefore, the inventor has conceived that the vending machine is further provided with a function for checking the price status by an administrator or the like in addition to the operation function for changing the price setting and the price display in response to the remote operation.

[Principle 3 of the Invention]
With the implementation of DR, incentive distribution by vending machines will lead residents to use vending machines, so the probability of products being sold at vending machines being out of stock is higher than usual. Get higher
The inventor has further focused on the above-mentioned problems, and has conceived a function of issuing a notice of an out-of-stock forecast of a product of an automatic vending machine to a supplier of beverages or the like in conjunction with DR implementation plan information.

[Principle 4 of the Invention]
It is preferable that the vending machine is installed in a non-business area (for example, a rest room) and a discount is provided during the DR implementation time. In this case, there is a high probability that the resident will move to the break room during the DR implementation time and spend a set time. In other words, the work can be temporarily stopped to put the computer to sleep, or the air conditioning and lighting in the work space can be saved, so that residents can save energy without accumulating dissatisfaction. Can be expected.

Further, as described above, as the implementation of DR becomes more detailed, it is necessary to take measures such as shortening the DR implementation time period. As described above, if the DR implementation time zone and the non-business time zone (such as a break) overlap with each other, it is more suitable for the DR promotion in a short time.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an incentive distribution system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is an example corresponding to principle 1 of the invention, principle 2 of the invention, and principle 4 of the invention.

The incentive distribution system includes a vending machine 1 used by a resident of a building in which DR target devices (for example, air conditioners and lighting devices) are installed, and an aggregator company or a vending machine 1 that manages a plurality of electric power consumers. And the vending machine management device 2 installed in the management center operated by the merchandise seller. In the present embodiment, for simplification of description, a case where both the vending machine management device 2 and the vending machine 1 are one-to-one will be described as an example, but the vending machine management device is described. 1 to 2 with one vending machine 1 and multiple vending machines 1, multiple vending machine management device 2 with one vending machine 1 and one vending machine management device 2 with vending machine management device 2 The present invention can be applied to a case where a plurality of units and a plurality of units are used together.

The vending machine management device 2 installed in the management center determines the discount price of the product sold by the vending machine 1 in response to the incentive determined as the consideration for the DR in the building in which the vending machine 1 is installed. The price determination unit 20 and the price operation signal for setting the price of the product sold by the vending machine 1 to the discounted price are output during the DR execution time, and the price of the product sold by the vending machine 1 is normally set. A signal output unit 21 that outputs a price operation signal for setting a price when the DR implementation time period ends, a signal input unit 22 that inputs a price state signal indicating a product price setting state, and a price state signal Corresponding to, the presenting section 23 for presenting (displaying) the price setting state of the vending machine 1, a communication function section 24 for communicating with the vending machine 1, and a storage section 25. The signal output unit 21 and the communication function unit 24 form a transmitting unit of the vending machine management device 2, and the signal input unit 22 and the communication function unit 24 form a receiving unit of the vending machine management device 2. ..

The vending machine 1 installed in a rest room, which is a non-business area of a building in which the equipment targeted for DR is installed, transmits a communication function unit 10 for communicating with the vending machine management device 2 and a price operation signal. A signal input unit 11 for inputting, a change processing unit 12 for changing the price of a product sold by the own machine according to the received price operation signal, and selling by the own machine corresponding to the price change processing of the change processing unit 12. The display unit 13 for changing the price display of the product, the signal output unit 14 for outputting the price condition signal indicating the price setting condition, the mechanism unit 15 for selling the product such as drink, and the mechanism unit 15 are controlled. A storage unit 17 is provided with a control unit 16 that collects a product fee and sells a product. The communication function unit 10 and the signal input unit 11 form a receiving unit of the vending machine 1, and the communication function unit 10 and the signal output unit 14 form a transmitting unit of the vending machine 1.

The communication function unit 24 of the vending machine management device 2 and the communication function unit 10 of the vending machine 1 are connected via a communication line (not shown). The communication may be wired communication or wireless communication.

The operation of the incentive distribution system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B). 2A is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the vending machine management device 2, and FIG. 2B is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the vending machine 1.

In the storage unit 25 of the vending machine management device 2, for example, information on the building in which the vending machine 1 to be managed is installed (building address, name, place where the vending machine 1 is installed, owner's name, etc.). , The DR implementation schedule information of the building in which the managed vending machine 1 is installed, the ID (identification information) unique to the managed vending machine 1, and the product to be sold by the managed vending machine 1 Unique ID, unique ID of the discount target product among the products sold by the managed vending machine 1, normal price of the product sold by the managed vending machine 1, and managed vending machine The name of the product to be sold at 1, the number of products for which the managed vending machine 1 is expected to sell during the discount period (DR implementation time period), and the payment from the power company or aggregator company The amount of incentives to be paid and the information of the incentive return rate showing the ratio of the incentives to the residents of the building among the incentives are stored.

In addition, in the storage unit 17 of the vending machine 1, an ID unique to the own machine, an ID unique to a product sold by the own machine, information on a normal price of the product sold by the own machine, and the sale by the own machine. The stock information of the products to be stored is stored.

The price determination unit 20 of the vending machine management device 2 sells the product in the vending machine 1 according to the incentive determined by the DR of the electric power in the building in which the managed vending machine 1 is installed. Price (discount price) is determined (step S100 in FIG. 2A).

Hereinafter, a specific calculation example will be described. The incentives paid by electric power companies or aggregator companies as consideration for DR are large for basic remuneration (per kW) paid according to contracted capacity and pay-per-use remuneration (per kWh) actually paid according to the amount of electricity reduced. Be separated. In a building with a contracted capacity of 30 kW, if the DR is performed twice per month, if the DR is executed for one hour, the basic remuneration for one DR is 7,000 yen.

On the other hand, the pay-as-you-go reward is 20 yen per kWh. In a building with a contracted capacity of 30 kW, if DR is carried out for 1 hour, 30 kWh will be reduced, so the amount-based reward for one DR is 600 yen. In other words, the incentive, which is the sum of the basic reward and the pay-as-you-go reward, is 7600 yen per time. Since the incentive is paid to the owner of the building, the amount distributed to the resident of the building is the amount obtained by multiplying the incentive by a predetermined incentive return rate. Here, if the incentive return rate is 50%, 3800 yen will be distributed.

Next, the total number of inhabitants of the building where the DR is implemented is 400. Among them, 1/4 of all residents feel dissatisfaction with the deterioration of comfort due to the implementation of DR, and actively use vending machine 1 during the discount period (DR implementation period) If another 1/4 is to be triggered by their actions, then the products (for example, beverages) for 200 people will be discounted. In other words, the discount amount per product is 3800/200=19 yen. Since I don't want the vending machine 1 to handle the change of 1-yen coin, the discount amount is rounded to 20 yen. If the regular price of the product is 100 yen, the discount price is determined to be 100-20=80 yen.

Summarizing the above calculation, the total incentive amount decided according to the implementation of DR is TM [yen], the predetermined incentive return rate is R [%], and the vending machine 1 is expected to sell in the discount period Assuming that the predetermined number of N is N [pieces] and the regular price of the product is P [yen], the price determination unit 20 calculates the discounted price M [yen] of the product by the following formula.
M=P-ROUND(TM×(R/100)÷N) (1)

ROUND() means rounding off. The method of determining the discount price is not limited to the above example. For example, in the above example, the calculation is made in the case where the total power consumption of the building is temporarily set to 0. However, in reality, the reduction amount due to the DR is reduced to a part of the total power consumption of 30 kWh for one hour. It goes without saying that it will be.

Further, the number of products that the vending machine 1 is expected to sell in the discount time period may be set in advance based on the result of the resident's attitude survey or the like accompanying the past DR. If there are multiple types of products to be discounted, for example, the total number of products that the vending machine 1 is expected to sell during the discount time period is N [pieces], and the formula (1) can be calculated for each type of product. Good.

Next, the signal output unit 21 of the vending machine management device 2 determines that the DR start time of the building in which the vending machine 1 is installed is based on the DR implementation schedule information stored in the storage unit 25. Then (YES in step S101 of FIG. 2A), the price determination unit 20 outputs a price operation signal for setting the price of the product sold by the vending machine 1 to the discount price determined in step S100 (FIG. 2A). 2(A) step S102). The signal output unit 21 may output the price operation signal according to a manual operation of the sales manager of the vending machine management device 2.

The price operation signal includes, for example, an ID unique to the vending machine 1, an ID unique to a product to be discounted, and information on a discount price to be set for the product to be discounted. When there are a plurality of types of products to be discounted, the price operation signal includes the IDs of a plurality of types of products and information on each discount price to be set for these products.
The communication function unit 24 of the vending machine management device 2 transmits the price operation signal output from the signal output unit 21 to the vending machine 1 (step S103 in FIG. 2A).

The signal input unit 11 of the vending machine 1 receives the price operation signal transmitted from the vending machine management device 2 via the communication function unit 10 (FIG. 2(B) step S200).
According to the price operation signal received by the signal input unit 11, the change processing unit 12 of the vending machine 1 changes the price of the product sold by the vending machine 1 to the discount price specified by the price operation signal (FIG. 2). (B) Step S201). The display unit 13, the signal output unit 14, and the control unit 16 are notified of the change to the discounted price. When there are a plurality of types of merchandise to be discounted, the process of changing to the discount price is performed for each type of merchandise.

The display unit 13 of the vending machine 1 changes the price display of the product from the normal price display to the discount price display according to the processing of the change processing unit 12 (step S202 in FIG. 2B). 3A and 3B are diagrams showing an example in which the price of the product displayed on the display unit 13 is changed from the normal price (FIG. 3A) to the discount price (FIG. 3B). Is.

The signal output unit 14 of the vending machine 1 outputs a price state signal indicating the setting state of the product price (step S203 in FIG. 2B). The price status signal includes, for example, an ID unique to the vending machine 1, an ID unique to a product for which a discount price has been set, a discount price that has been set, and information on the setting start time of the discount price. When there are a plurality of types of products to be discounted, the price status signal includes the IDs of a plurality of types of products and information on each discount price set for these products. In addition, when the products to be discounted and the products not to be discounted are mixed in the products sold by the vending machine 1, the price status signal indicates the IDs of all the products sold by the vending machine 1 and the respective products. The price information may be included.
The communication function unit 10 of the vending machine 1 transmits the price status signal output from the signal output unit 14 to the vending machine management device 2 (step S204 in FIG. 2B).

The signal input unit 22 of the vending machine management device 2 receives the price state signal transmitted from the vending machine 1 via the communication function unit 24 (step S104 in FIG. 2A).
The presentation unit 23 of the vending machine management device 2 indicates the price setting state of the vending machine 1 to the sales manager of the vending machine management device 2 in response to the price state signal received by the signal input unit 22. It is presented (displayed) (step S105 in FIG. 2A). The display contents at this time include, for example, the product name corresponding to the ID of the product to be discounted, the discount price of the table product, and the discount price setting start time. In the case where the products sold by the vending machine 1 include the discounted products and the non-discounted products, the price states of not only the discounted products but also the non-discounted products may be displayed at the same time. Good.

Next, the signal output unit 21 of the vending machine management device 2 determines that the DR end time of the building in which the vending machine 1 is installed is reached based on the DR implementation schedule information stored in the storage unit 25. Then (YES in step S106 of FIG. 2A), a price operation signal for setting the price of the product sold by the vending machine 1 to the normal price stored in the storage unit 25 is output (FIG. 2( A) Step S107). As in step S102, the signal output unit 21 may output the price operation signal in response to a manual operation by the sales manager of the vending machine management device 2.

The price operation signal at this time includes, for example, an ID unique to the vending machine 1, an ID unique to a product being sold at a discount, and information on a normal price to be set for the product being sold at a discount. When there are a plurality of types of products for discount sale, the price operation signal includes the IDs of the plurality of types of products and information on each normal price to be set. Since the information on the normal price of the product is also stored in the storage unit 17 of the vending machine 1, instead of the information on the normal price, information for instructing to return the discounted product to the normal price is sent. You may do it.
The communication function unit 24 of the vending machine management device 2 transmits the price operation signal output from the signal output unit 21 to the vending machine 1 (step S108 in FIG. 2A).

The signal input unit 11 of the vending machine 1 receives the price operation signal transmitted from the vending machine management device 2 via the communication function unit 10 (step S205 of FIG. 2B).
The change processing unit 12 of the vending machine 1 changes the price of the product sold by the vending machine 1 to the normal price in accordance with the price operation signal received by the signal input unit 11 (step S206 in FIG. 2(B)). The change processing unit 12 may change the price of the product according to the normal price information included in the price operation signal, or the price of the product is stored in the storage unit 17 according to the instruction included in the price operation signal. You may change to the regular price. The change to the normal price is notified to the display unit 13, the signal output unit 14, and the control unit 16. When there are a plurality of types of merchandise that have been sold at a discount, a change process to the normal price is performed for each type of merchandise.

The display unit 13 of the vending machine 1 changes the price display of the product from the display of the discount price to the display of the normal price according to the processing of the change processing unit 12 (step S207 in FIG. 2B). 4A and 4B are diagrams showing an example in which the price of the product displayed on the display unit 13 is changed from the discount price (FIG. 4A) to the normal price (FIG. 4B). Is.

The signal output unit 14 of the vending machine 1 outputs a price state signal indicating the setting state of the product price (step S208 in FIG. 2B). The price status signal at this time includes, for example, an ID unique to the vending machine 1, an ID unique to the product changed to the normal price, a set normal price, and information on the setting start time of the normal price. .. When there are a plurality of types of merchandise that have been sold at a discount, the price status signal includes the IDs of a plurality of types of merchandise and information on each of the set normal prices of these merchandise. In addition, when the products to be discounted and the products not to be discounted are mixed in the products sold by the vending machine 1, the price status signal indicates the IDs of all the products sold by the vending machine 1 and the respective products. You may make it include normal price information.
The communication function unit 10 of the vending machine 1 transmits the price status signal output from the signal output unit 14 to the vending machine management device 2 (step S209 in FIG. 2B).

The signal input unit 22 of the vending machine management device 2 receives the price state signal transmitted from the vending machine 1 via the communication function unit 24 (step S109 in FIG. 2A).
The presentation unit 23 of the vending machine management device 2 indicates the price setting state of the vending machine 1 to the sales manager of the vending machine management device 2 in response to the price state signal received by the signal input unit 22. It is presented (displayed) (step S110 in FIG. 2A). The display contents at this time include, for example, the product name corresponding to the ID of the product changed to the normal price, the normal price of this display item, and the setting start time of the normal price. When the products sold by the vending machine 1 include both discounted products and non-discounted products, the price status of not only the discounted products but also the discounted products is displayed at the same time. You may do so.

With the above configuration and operation, in the present embodiment, it is possible to discount the price of products such as beverages sold by the vending machine 1 in a specific time period (DR execution time period). At this time, if the discounted price is set to a price according to the incentive determined in accordance with the DR, it is possible to substantially distribute the incentive due to the DR to the residents of the building (Principle 1 of the invention).

In the present embodiment, the vending machine management device 2 is described as being installed in the management center. However, in the configuration of the vending machine management device 2, the presentation unit 23 is not limited to the management center and is automatically operated. If the vending machine 1 is installed in the management room of the building, not only the sales manager of the vending machine management apparatus 2 but also the building manager can confirm the price setting state of the vending machine 1. As a result, as the DR implementation becomes more detailed, even if the DR implementation time period becomes shorter, the sales manager or the building manager of the vending machine management device 2 may be confused and make a mistake in operating the device. Can be reduced (Principle 2 of the invention).

The display unit 13 of the vending machine 1 preferably changes the price display method during the discount of the product price. For example, in the example shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the price of the product displayed on the display unit 13 is changed from the normal price (FIG. 5A) to the discount price (FIG. 5B). When displaying, not only the displayed price but also the background color is displayed at the same time. This makes it easier for the user (resident) to recognize that the incentive is distributed.

Further, in the above calculation example, the incentive return rate to residents is set to 50%, and the number of residents who are particularly dissatisfied with the deterioration of comfort due to the implementation of DR is set to 1/4 of the total number of residents. It is preferable to appropriately adjust these values while observing the effect of the distribution of incentives.

[Realistic system configuration]
FIG. 6 shows a specific configuration example of the incentive distribution system. This incentive distribution system includes a vending machine 1, a merchandise selling business system 201 operated by a merchandise selling business 200 that sells products such as beverages with the vending machine 1, and a building 302 in which the vending machine 1 is installed. And a building management system 301 operated by the owner 300 or a person entrusted by the owner 300.

The vending machine management device 2 of FIG. 1 is installed in the merchandise sales business system 201. Further, as described above, the presentation unit 23 is installed not only in the product sales business system 201 but also in the building management system 301.

The aggregator company 100 makes a contract with the building owner 300 regarding the implementation of the DR, and informs the building owner 300 side of the determined DR implementation plan and the amount of the incentive in advance or immediately before the DR. Further, the DR implementation schedule information and the incentive information are also notified from the aggregator business operator 100 to the product sales business operator 200 side.

The building owner 300 determines the incentive return rate, and informs the product selling business 200 as the information necessary for determining the price of the product sold by the vending machine 1. The product seller 200 is in charge of replenishing the vending machine 1 with products.

The building management system 301 realizes power reduction by limiting the operation of the equipment 303 of the building 302 (for example, temporarily turning off the power) during the DR implementation time period defined by the contract with the aggregator company 100. To do.

The vending machine 1 transmits the price status signal to the product sales business operator system 201 as described above. Further, the control unit 16 of the vending machine 1 transmits the inventory information of the product to the product sales business operator system 201 through the communication function unit 10.
The merchandise sales business system 201 (vending machine management device 2) determines the price of the merchandise to be sold by the vending machine 1 as described above, and notifies the vending machine 1 of inventory information and price status of the merchandise. receive.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the incentive distribution system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and the same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. The present embodiment is an example corresponding to the above-described principle 1 of the invention, principle 3 of the invention, and principle 4 of the invention.

The incentive distribution system of the present embodiment includes an automatic vending machine 1 and an automatic vending machine management device 2a. The structure of the vending machine 1 is as described in the first embodiment. The vending machine management device 2a follows the output of the price determination unit 20, the signal output unit 21, the signal input unit 22, the presentation unit 23, the communication function unit 24, the storage unit 25, and the price operation signal. And a reporting unit 26 that reports a forecasted stock-out notification to the product sales business when it is determined that the discounted product sold by the vending machine 1 may be out of stock.

Next, the operation of the incentive distribution system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the vending machine management device 2a. As described above, the configuration and operation of the vending machine 1 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

The processing of steps S100 to S103 in FIG. 8 is as described in the first embodiment. The alerting unit 26 of the vending machine management device 2a, after the discount price of the product sold by the vending machine 1 is determined by the price determination unit 20, at the DR start time of the building in which the vending machine 1 is installed. Then, the storage unit 25 is referred to, and it is determined whether or not there is a possibility that the discounted product sold by the vending machine 1 is out of stock (step S111 in FIG. 8).

For example, the reporting unit 26 subtracts the number of discounted products which the vending machine 1 is expected to sell during the DR implementation time period from the current number of stocked discounted products indicated by the inventory information stored in the storage unit 25. If the subtraction result is less than the predetermined lower limit of inventory, it is determined that the discounted product sold by the vending machine 1 may be out of stock.

Then, when it is determined that the discounted product may be out of stock, the reporting unit 26 issues an out-of-stock forecast notification to the product sales business operator (step S112 in FIG. 8). This out-of-stock forecast notification includes, for example, the address and name of the building where the vending machine 1 that may be out of stock is installed, information on the place where the vending machine 1 is installed in the building, and the out-of-stock status. The information includes the name of a possible discounted product, the current number of stocks of this discounted product, and the expected remaining number of discounted products after the end of the DR implementation time period. As a specific method of issuing the alarm, there is a method of displaying an out-of-stock forecast notification message, for example. It should be noted that the timing of determination and reporting may be after the discount price of the product is determined by the price determination unit 20, and may be performed before the DR start time. In that case, the notification unit 26 performs a process of receiving the price operation signal in advance.
The processing of steps S104 to S110 in FIG. 8 is as described in the first embodiment.

In this way, in the present embodiment, it is possible to efficiently replenish products by issuing an out-of-stock forecast notification to the product sales business operator.

The vending machine management devices 2 and 2a described in the first and second embodiments are realized by a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device, and an interface, and a program that controls these hardware resources. can do. Similarly, the communication function unit 10, the signal input unit 11, the change processing unit 12, the signal output unit 14, the control unit 16, and the storage unit 17 of the vending machine 1 described in the first and second embodiments are It can be realized by a computer and a program. The CPU of each device executes the processing described in the first and second embodiments according to the program stored in each storage device.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to a system that distributes incentives associated with implementation of demand response to residents of a building where demand response is implemented.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Vending machine, 2, 2a... Vending machine management device, 10... Communication function part 11,22... Signal input part, 12... Change processing part, 13... Display part, 14, 21... Signal output part, 15 ...Mechanism section, 16...Control section, 17,25...Storage section, 20...Price determination section, 23...Presentation section, 24...Communication function section, 25...Storage section, 26...Reporting section, 201...Merchandise seller System, 301... Building management system, 302... Building, 303... Equipment.

Claims (7)

It consists of a vending machine in the building where the air conditioning equipment and lighting equipment that are the target of the power demand response are installed, and a vending machine management device that manages this vending machine,
The vending machine management device,
Corresponding to the incentive determined as the consideration of the demand response in the building in which the vending machine is installed, the discount price of the product sold by the vending machine in order to distribute the incentive to the residents of the building is determined. Price determining means,
A product to be sold at the vending machine by transmitting a first price operation signal for setting the price of the product to be sold at the vending machine to the discounted price to the vending machine during the demand response execution time period A first transmitting means for transmitting a second price operation signal for setting the price of the normal price to the normal price to the vending machine at the end of the demand response execution time period,
The vending machine is
First receiving means for receiving first and second price operation signals transmitted from the vending machine management device,
Change processing means for changing the price of the product sold by the first receiving means according to the first and second price operation signals received by the first receiving means,
An incentive distribution system, comprising: a display unit for changing the price display of a product sold by itself, corresponding to the price change process of the change processing unit. The incentive distribution system according to claim 1,
Further, the vending machine management device,
Second receiving means for receiving from the vending machine a price status signal indicating a product price setting status;
Presentation means for presenting the price setting state of the vending machine in response to the price state signal received by the second receiving means,
The vending machine is
An incentive distribution system comprising: second transmission means for transmitting the price status signal to the vending machine management device in response to the price change processing of the change processing means. The incentive distribution system according to claim 1 or 2,
The price determination means of the vending machine management device, the amount of the incentive, an incentive return rate indicating the proportion of the incentive distributed to residents of the building among the incentives, and the vending machine of the demand response. An incentive distribution system, characterized in that the discount price is determined based on the number of discounted products expected to be sold during the implementation time period and the normal price of the products. The incentive distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Further, when the vending machine management device determines that the discounted product sold by the vending machine may be out of stock due to the output of the first price operation signal, the out-of-stock forecast notification is issued. An incentive distribution system characterized by comprising a reporting means for reporting to a product sales business. The incentive distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The incentive distribution system, wherein the display means of the vending machine changes the price display method of the product when the product is sold at a discount. The incentive distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An incentive distribution system, wherein the vending machine is installed in a non-business area of the building. The vending machine management device that manages the vending machine in the building where the air-conditioning equipment and lighting equipment that are subject to the power demand response are installed, is used as a consideration for the power demand response in the building where the vending machine is installed. Corresponding to the incentive to be determined, a price determining step of determining a discounted price of a product sold at the vending machine in order to distribute the incentive to residents of the building ;
The vending machine management device transmits a first price operation signal for setting the price of a product sold by the vending machine to the discount price to the vending machine during an implementation time period of the demand response. 1 transmission step,
A first receiving step in which the vending machine receives a first price operation signal transmitted from the vending machine management device;
A first price change processing step in which the vending machine changes the price of a product sold by itself from a normal price to a discount price in accordance with the received first price operation signal;
A first display change processing step in which the vending machine changes the price display of a product sold by itself, corresponding to the first price change processing step;
The vending machine management device notifies the vending machine of a second price operation signal for setting the price of a product sold by the vending machine to a normal price when the demand response execution time period ends. A second transmitting step of transmitting,
A second receiving step in which the vending machine receives a second price operation signal transmitted from the vending machine management device;
A second price change processing step in which the vending machine changes the price of a product sold by itself from a discount price to a normal price in accordance with the received second price operation signal;
The vending machine includes a second display change processing step of changing the price display of the product sold by the vending machine, corresponding to the second price change processing step.