JP7740982B2 - Control device and control system - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a control device and a control system .

Conventionally, systems have been known that improve the living environment within a building by ventilating the building based on values measured by sensors (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-228518 A

Conventional systems do not take into account the state of the electrical equipment in a building or weather information when controlling the electrical equipment in the building. As a result, control of electrical equipment using conventional systems may not always be appropriate.

The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a control device that can appropriately control electrically powered devices within a building in order to improve the living environment within the building.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a control device that includes an acquisition unit that acquires living environment information, which is information that indicates the living environment inside a room, and a control unit that, when it determines that the living environment needs to be improved based on the living environment information, controls one or more of the multiple types of electric devices based on at least one of the status of multiple types of electric devices that can perform operations to improve the living environment and meteorological information regarding the weather in a specified area, wherein the living environment information includes at least one of odor and carbon dioxide concentration .

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a first operation according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a second operation according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a third operation according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a fourth operation according to the present embodiment.

The control system 1 according to this embodiment controls multiple types of electrically powered devices 200-1 to 200-n installed in a user's building 100 via a communication network NW. The control system 1 acquires information about the multiple types of electrically powered devices 200-1 to 200-n installed in the building 100 and information about the multiple sensors 210-1 to 210-m installed in the building 100. n and m are integers of 2 or greater. The symbol following the hyphen distinguishes between multiple components of the same type. When multiple components of the same type are not distinguished from one another, the symbol following the hyphen may be omitted. The building 100 may be a residence such as an apartment building or a detached house, a hospital, or a facility. In this embodiment, the building 100 is described as a user's residence. In the following description, the multiple types of electrically powered devices 200-1 to 200-n may be referred to as multiple types of electrically powered devices 200.

Multiple types of electrically powered devices 200 are installed in the building 100. The multiple types of electrically powered devices 200 are capable of performing operations to improve the living environment within the building 100 (hereinafter referred to as "improvement operations"). The living environment may be, for example, at least one of temperature, humidity, heat index, air quality, and odor. For example, the multiple types of electrically powered devices 200 may include electrically operated windows, electrically operated shutters, electrically operated ventilation shutters, air conditioners, ventilation fans, humidifiers, etc.

An electric ventilation shutter is a shutter equipped with movable blades that can open and close an opening in an exterior wall. The electric ventilation shutter can control the opening in the exterior wall to an open state by rotating the movable blades. The state in which the opening in the exterior wall is controlled to an open state by rotating the movable blades is sometimes referred to as the ventilation state. When the electric ventilation shutter is in the ventilation state, light and ventilation can be let in through the opening in the exterior wall. The structure of the electric ventilation shutter may use publicly known technology, such as that disclosed in JP 2020-193530.

Sensor 210 is installed in building 100. Examples of sensor 210 include a temperature sensor, humidity sensor, open/close sensor, illuminance sensor, and human detection sensor. The open/close sensor detects whether an open/close mechanism of the building is open or closed. Examples of open/close mechanisms of building 100 include doors, windows, and entrance doors.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control system 1 includes a communication interface 10 and a control device 20. The communication interface 10 includes a router 11 and a gateway 12. The communication interface 10 is installed, for example, in a building 100.

The router 11 is connected to the control device 20 via a communication network NW. The router 11 is connected to the gateway 12 via a wired or wireless connection (e.g., a wired LAN). The router 11 relays information between the control device 20 and the gateway 12. One or more electrically powered devices 200 are connected to the gateway 12 via a wired or wireless connection. In this embodiment, the gateway 12 is connected to multiple electrically powered devices 200 via a wired or wireless connection.

The communication network NW may be a wireless communication transmission path (e.g., a wireless LAN), or a combination of a wireless communication transmission path and a wired communication transmission path. The communication network NW may be a mobile communication network such as a mobile phone network, a wireless packet communication network, the Internet, or a dedicated line, or a combination thereof. For example, the communication network NW may use a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN), or may use short-range wireless communication standards such as ZigBee (registered trademark), Wi-Fi (registered trademark), or BLE.

The control device 20 is connected to a communication network NW. The control device 20 may be a computer. The control device 20 may be a server device. The control device 20 may be located on the Internet or on a cloud. The control device 20 may include at least one physical server. Multiple physical servers configured as the control device 20 are connected to each other via a communication network and can communicate with each other. The physical server may include at least one virtual server. The virtual server may be a server on a cloud system (cloud server).

The control device 20 is connected to an external server (hereinafter referred to as the "external server") 110 via a communication network NW, and is capable of sending and receiving information from the external server 110. The control device 20 is connectable to an external device 120 via the communication network NW. The external server 110 is a server that provides weather information. The external server 110 is, for example, a server operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency and/or a company other than the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The external device 120 is, for example, a communication terminal that can be carried by the user. For example, the external device 120 is any of a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet terminal, and laptop computer. The communication terminal may also be a wearable terminal, etc. There is no particular limitation on whether the external device 120 is portable by the user. For example, the external device 120 may be a computer.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 20 includes an acquisition unit 30 and a control unit 31. These components are realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integrated circuit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device with a non-transitory storage medium) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device by inserting the storage medium into a drive device. The storage device may be composed of, for example, a HDD, flash memory, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), or RAM (Random Access Memory).

The acquisition unit 30 acquires living environment information, which is information indicating the indoor living environment in the building 100. The living environment information is not particularly limited as long as it is information indicating the indoor living environment. The acquisition unit 30 is connected to multiple sensors 210 via the communication network NW. The acquisition unit 30 acquires sensor information measured by the multiple sensors 210 via the communication network NW. Sensor information is an example of living environment information. In this embodiment, sensor information includes temperature, humidity, air quality information, odor concentration, etc. Air quality information is, for example, carbon dioxide concentration.

The acquisition unit 30 acquires weather information, which is information about the weather in the specified area in which the building 100 is located. For example, the acquisition unit 30 acquires the weather information by accessing an external server 110 that publishes weather information for the area including the building 100.

The weather information may be weather information for the current time t, weather information for a predicted time that is a time beyond the current time t, or both. Weather information is, for example, information on weather conditions such as sunny, cloudy, rainy, and snowy. Weather information may also include weather-related advisories such as heavy rain warnings and storm warnings.

The acquisition unit 30 is connected to each of the multiple types of electric devices 200 via the communication network NW. The acquisition unit 30 acquires information about the state of the electric device 200 (hereinafter referred to as "state information") for each electric device 200 via the communication network NW. The state information includes information on whether the electric device 200 is operating, and information on whether the opening/closing body is in the open or closed state.

The control unit 31 is capable of controlling multiple types of electrically powered devices 200 via the communication network NW. The control unit 31 determines whether or not the living environment within the building 100 needs to be improved based on the living environment information. If the control unit 31 determines that the living environment needs to be improved, it controls one or more electrically powered devices 200 from among the multiple types of electrically powered devices 200 based on at least one of the status information of the electrically powered devices 200 and meteorological information related to the weather in a specified area.

For example, when the control unit 31 determines that the living environment within the building 100 needs to be improved, it may determine whether the weather is bad based on meteorological information. If the control unit 31 determines that the weather is bad, it controls the power window among the multiple types of electric devices 200 to a closed state, and executes an improvement operation on one or more electric devices 200 other than the power window.

For example, when the control unit 31 causes the electric device 200 to perform improvement operations, it causes the electric device 200 to perform the improvement operations one by one in a predetermined order. When the living environment has improved, the control unit 31 stops the improvement operations of the electric device 200. The predetermined order may be, for example, in descending order of power consumption.

As an example, when improving both or either the temperature and humidity as a measure against heatstroke, the control unit 31 may control the electric device 200 in stages, in the order of control to open the electric windows, control to set the electric ventilation shutters to ventilation, and control to set the air conditioner to cooling. When performing cooling using the air conditioner, the control unit 31 may control the electric windows to close.

As an example, when improving the air quality inside the building 100, the control unit 31 may control the electric device 200 in stages, in the order of control to open the electric windows, control to put the electric ventilation shutters into the ventilation state, and control to operate the ventilation fan.

For example, if the living environment information is outside the range of the reference value, the control unit 31 may notify the external device, and if the living environment information does not fall within the range of the reference value even after a certain time has passed since the notification, it may determine that the living environment needs to be improved. This external device may be, for example, the mobile terminal owned by the user of the building 100.

The control unit 31 may output an alert if the living environment does not improve even after improvement operations are performed by multiple types of electrically powered devices 200. For example, the control unit 31 may output the alert to the user's mobile device via the communication network NW. The alert may include information about the unimproved living environment.

The following describes the operational flow of the control device 20 according to this embodiment. The control device 20 is capable of executing at least one of the first to fourth operations as an operation to improve the living environment. The flow of each of the first to fourth operations is described below.

(First Operation)
The first operation is, for example, an operation for improving the living environment inside the building 100 in order to prevent heatstroke. The living environment in the first operation is at least one of temperature and humidity, or a heat index. In explaining the first operation, a case where the living environment is a heat index (WBGT) will be explained. The living environment illustrated in FIG. 4 is a heat index, but is not limited to this, and may be temperature and humidity.

The acquisition unit 30 acquires temperature and humidity information measured by one or more sensors 210 via the communication network NW. The control unit 31 calculates a heat index as living environment information based on the sensor information acquired by the acquisition unit 30. The control unit 31 determines whether the heat index is outside the range of reference values (step S101). As an example, in step S101, when the heat index reaches the alert level, the control unit 31 determines that the heat index (WBGT) is outside the range of reference values.

When the heat index reaches the alert level, the control unit 31 notifies the mobile device of a user (e.g., a resident) of the building 100 that the heat index has reached the alert level (step S102). If the heat index has not reached the alert level, the control unit 31 returns to step S101.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain period of time has elapsed since executing the process of step S102 (step S103). After waiting for the certain period of time in step S103, the control unit 31 again determines whether the newly calculated heat index is outside the range of reference values (step S104). The process of step S104 is the same as the process of step S101.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S104 that the heat index remains at the alert level, it determines whether the current weather or the weather a predetermined time from now is bad weather based on the weather information (step S105). Bad weather is, for example, rain or snow. If the heat index drops below the alert level in step S104, the control unit 31 returns to step S101.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S105 that the current weather or the weather a predetermined time from now is not bad, it determines whether the power window, which is one of the electric devices 200, is in the closed or open state based on the state information of the power window (step S106). If the control unit 31 determines in step S105 that the current weather or the weather a predetermined time from now is bad, it proceeds to processing in step S112.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S106 that the power window is closed, it controls the power window to an open state (step S107). If the control unit 31 determines in step S106 that the power window is open, it proceeds to step S112.

After controlling the electrically operated window to the open state in step S107, the control unit 31 determines whether an electrically operated ventilation shutter is installed on the outside of the building 100 (step S108). The control unit 31 pre-stores information on whether an electrically operated ventilation shutter is installed on the outside of the building 100. If the control unit 31 determines that an electrically operated ventilation shutter is installed on the outside of the building 100, it controls the electrically operated ventilation shutter to the ventilation state (step S109). If the control unit 31 determines in step S108 that an electrically operated ventilation shutter is not installed on the outside of the building 100, it proceeds to step S110.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain time has elapsed since executing the processing of step S108 or step S109 (step S110). After waiting for the certain time, the control unit 31 calculates a new heat index. The control unit 31 determines whether the newly calculated heat index is outside the range of reference values. As an example of step S111, the control unit 31 determines whether the newly calculated heat index has reached a high alert level, which is higher than the alert level (step S111). If the control unit 31 determines that the newly calculated heat index has reached the high alert level, it determines that the heat index is outside the range of reference values.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S111 that the newly calculated heat index has reached the high alert level, it controls the power windows to close (step S112). After closing the power windows, the control unit 31 causes the air conditioner to perform cooling operation (step S113). If the newly calculated heat index in step S111 is below the high alert level, the control unit 31 returns to the processing of step S101.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain time has elapsed since the air conditioner was put into cooling operation in step S113 (step S114). After the certain time has elapsed in step S114, the control unit 31 calculates a new heat index. The control unit 31 determines whether the newly calculated heat index has reached the high alert level (step S115).

If the control unit 31 determines in step S115 that the newly calculated heat index remains at the high alert level, it outputs an alert to an external device pre-registered in the control device 20 (step S116). This alert may include information notifying the user that the heat index has exceeded the reference value. After outputting the alert, the control unit 31 returns to the processing of step S113. The control unit 31 continues cooling operation of the air conditioner until the heat index drops below the high alert level.

(Second Operation)
The second operation is, for example, an operation for improving the indoor living environment by ventilating the room as a countermeasure against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. The living environment in the second operation illustrated in FIG. 4 is the concentration of carbon dioxide.

The acquisition unit 30 acquires the carbon dioxide concentration measured by one or more sensors 210 ( _CO2 sensors) via the communication network NW. The control unit 31 determines whether the carbon dioxide concentration, which is the sensor information acquired by the acquisition unit 30, is outside the range of reference values (step S201). As an example, in step S201, the control unit 31 determines whether the carbon dioxide concentration exceeds a first threshold. If the control unit 31 determines that the carbon dioxide concentration exceeds the first threshold, it determines that the carbon dioxide concentration is outside the range of reference values.

If the control unit 31 determines that the carbon dioxide concentration has exceeded the first threshold, it notifies a mobile device of a user (e.g., a resident) of the building 100 that the carbon dioxide concentration has exceeded the first threshold (step S202). If the carbon dioxide concentration is equal to or lower than the first threshold, the control unit 31 returns to step S201.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain period of time has elapsed since executing the process of step S202 (step S203). After waiting for the certain period of time in step S203, the control unit 31 again determines whether the newly calculated carbon dioxide concentration exceeds the first threshold value (step S204). The process of step S204 is the same as the process of step S201.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S204 that the carbon dioxide concentration remains above the first threshold, it determines whether the current weather or the weather a predetermined time from now is bad weather based on the weather information (step S205). If the carbon dioxide concentration is equal to or less than the first threshold in step S204, the control unit 31 returns to step S201.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S205 that the current weather or the weather a predetermined time from now is not bad, it determines whether the power window, which is one of the electric devices 200, is in the closed or open state based on the state information of the power window (step S206). If the control unit 31 determines in step S205 that the current weather or the weather a predetermined time from now is bad, it proceeds to processing in step S212.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S206 that the power window is closed, it controls the power window to an open state (step S207). If the control unit 31 determines in step S206 that the power window is open, it proceeds to step S212.

After controlling the electrically operated window to the open state in step S207, the control unit 31 determines whether an electrically operated ventilation shutter is installed on the outside of the building 100 (step S208). If the control unit 31 determines that an electrically operated ventilation shutter is installed on the outside of the building 100, it controls the electrically operated ventilation shutter to the ventilation state (step S209). If the control unit 31 determines in step S208 that an electrically operated ventilation shutter is not installed on the outside of the building 100, the control unit 31 proceeds to step S210.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain time has elapsed since executing the processing of step S208 or step S209 (step S210). After waiting for the certain time, the control unit 31 acquires a new carbon dioxide concentration and determines whether the acquired carbon dioxide concentration is outside the range of reference values. As an example of step S211, the control unit 31 determines whether the newly acquired carbon dioxide concentration exceeds a second threshold value that is higher than the first threshold value (step S211). If the control unit 31 determines that the carbon dioxide concentration has exceeded the second threshold value, it determines that the carbon dioxide concentration is outside the range of reference values.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S211 that the carbon dioxide concentration exceeds the second threshold, it controls the electrically operated window to close (step S212). After closing the electrically operated window, the control unit 31 drives the ventilation fan (step S213). If the carbon dioxide concentration is equal to or lower than the second threshold in step S211, the control unit 31 returns to the processing of step S201.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain time has elapsed since driving the ventilation fan in step S213 (step S214). After the certain time has elapsed in step S214, the control unit 31 acquires a new carbon dioxide concentration. The control unit 31 determines whether the newly acquired carbon dioxide concentration exceeds the second threshold value (step S215).

If the control unit 31 determines that the carbon dioxide concentration remains above the second threshold, it outputs an alert to an external device pre-registered in the control device 20 (step S216). This alert may include information notifying the user that the carbon dioxide concentration exceeds the reference value. After outputting the alert, the control unit 31 returns to the processing of step S213. The control unit 31 continues to drive the ventilation fan until the carbon dioxide concentration falls below the second threshold.

(Third Operation)
The third operation is, for example, an operation for improving odors in the rooms of the building 100. The living environment in the third operation illustrated in Fig. 5 is the concentration of odors.

The acquisition unit 30 acquires the odor concentration measured by one or more sensors 210 via the communication network NW. The control unit 31 determines whether the odor concentration, which is the sensor information acquired by the acquisition unit 30, is outside the range of reference values (step S301). As an example, in step S301, the control unit 31 determines whether the odor concentration exceeds a third threshold. If the control unit 31 determines that the odor concentration exceeds the third threshold, it determines that the odor concentration is outside the range of reference values.

If the control unit 31 determines that the odor concentration has exceeded the third threshold, it notifies a mobile device of a user (e.g., a resident) of the building 100 that the odor concentration has exceeded the third threshold (step S302). If the odor concentration is equal to or lower than the third threshold, the control unit 31 returns to step S301.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain period of time has elapsed since executing the process of step S302 (step S303). After waiting for the certain period of time in step S303, the control unit 31 again determines whether the newly calculated odor concentration exceeds the third threshold value (step S304). The process of step S304 is the same as the process of step S301.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S304 that the odor concentration remains above the third threshold, it determines whether the current weather or the weather a predetermined time from now is bad weather based on the weather information (step S305). If the odor concentration is equal to or less than the third threshold in step S304, the control unit 31 returns to step S301.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S305 that the current weather or the weather a predetermined time from now is not bad, it determines whether the power window, which is one of the electric devices 200, is in the closed or open state based on the state information of the power window (step S306). If the control unit 31 determines in step S305 that the current weather or the weather a predetermined time from now is bad, it proceeds to processing in step S312.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S306 that the power window is closed, it controls the power window to an open state (step S307). If the control unit 31 determines in step S306 that the power window is open, it proceeds to step S312.

After controlling the electrically operated window to the open state in step S307, the control unit 31 determines whether an electrically operated ventilation shutter is installed on the outside of the building 100 (step S308). If the control unit 31 determines that an electrically operated ventilation shutter is installed on the outside of the building 100, it controls the electrically operated ventilation shutter to the ventilation state (step S309). If the control unit 31 determines in step S308 that an electrically operated ventilation shutter is not installed on the outside of the building 100, the control unit 31 proceeds to step S310.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain amount of time has passed since executing the process of step S309 (step S310). After waiting for the certain amount of time, the control unit 31 acquires a new odor concentration and determines whether the acquired odor concentration is outside the range of reference values. As an example of step S311, the control unit 31 determines whether the newly acquired odor concentration exceeds a fourth threshold value that is higher than the third threshold value (step S311). If the control unit 31 determines that the odor concentration exceeds the fourth threshold value, it determines that the odor concentration is outside the range of reference values.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S311 that the odor concentration exceeds the fourth threshold, it controls the power window to close (step S312). After closing the power window, the control unit 31 drives the ventilation fan (step S313). If the odor concentration is equal to or less than the fourth threshold in step S311, the control unit 31 returns to the processing of step S301.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain time has elapsed since driving the ventilation fan in step S313 (step S314). The control unit 31 acquires a new odor concentration after the certain time has elapsed in step S314. The control unit 31 determines whether the newly acquired odor concentration exceeds the fourth threshold (step S315).

If the control unit 31 determines that the odor concentration remains above the fourth threshold, it outputs an alert to an external device pre-registered in the control device 20 (step S316). This alert may include information notifying the user that the odor concentration exceeds the reference value. After outputting the alert, the control unit 31 returns to the processing of step S313. The control unit 31 continues to drive the ventilation fan until the odor concentration falls below the fourth threshold.

(Fourth Operation)
The fourth operation is, for example, an operation for improving the humidity inside the building 100 in order to prevent viral infection such as influenza. The living environment in the fourth operation illustrated in Fig. 6 is humidity.

The acquisition unit 30 acquires humidity measured by one or more sensors 210 (humidity sensors) via the communication network NW. The control unit 31 determines whether the humidity, which is sensor information acquired by the acquisition unit 30, is outside the range of reference values (step S401). As an example, in step S401, the control unit 31 determines whether the humidity is equal to or greater than a fifth threshold (e.g., 50%). If the control unit 31 determines that the humidity is equal to or greater than the fifth threshold, it determines that the humidity is within the range of reference values.

If the control unit 31 determines that the humidity is less than the fifth threshold, it notifies a mobile device of a user (e.g., a resident) of the building 100 that the humidity is outside the range of reference values (step S402). If the humidity is greater than or equal to the fifth threshold, the control unit 31 returns to step S401.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain period of time has elapsed since executing the process of step S402 (step S403). After waiting for the certain period of time in step S403, the control unit 31 again determines whether the newly acquired humidity is equal to or greater than the fifth threshold value (step S404). The process of step S404 is the same as the process of step S401.

If the control unit 31 determines in step S404 that the humidity remains below the fifth threshold, it activates the humidifier (step S405). If the humidity is equal to or greater than the fifth threshold in step S404, the control unit 31 returns to the processing of step S401.

The control unit 31 waits until a certain time has elapsed since driving the humidifier, which is one of the electrically driven devices 200, in step S405 (step S406). After the certain time has elapsed in step S4405, the control unit 31 acquires a new humidity level. The control unit 31 determines whether the newly acquired humidity level is equal to or greater than the fifth threshold value (step S407).

If the control unit 31 determines that the humidity remains below the fifth threshold, it returns to the processing of step S405. The control unit 31 continues to operate the humidifier until the humidity becomes equal to or greater than the fifth threshold. If the control unit 31 determines in step S407 that the humidity is equal to or greater than the fifth threshold, it returns to the processing of step S401. Note that after the processing of step S404 described in FIG. 6 is completed, the control unit 31 may execute a process similar to step S106. In this case, if the power window is closed, the control unit 31 may execute step S405. If the power window is open, the control unit 31 may execute step S405 after controlling the power window to the closed state.

Conventional systems do not take into account the state of the electrical devices inside the building or weather information when controlling the electrical devices inside the building. Conventional systems may control electrically operated windows to the open position when it is raining or snowing, which can result in rain or snow entering the home. Because conventional systems do not take into account the state of the electrical devices inside the building, there is room for improvement in terms of crime prevention and energy conservation. Conventional systems may encounter situations where they are unable to properly control the electrical devices inside the building.

When the control device 20 determines that the living environment needs to be improved based on the indoor living environment information, it controls one or more of the multiple types of electric devices 200 based on at least one of the status information of multiple types of electric devices 200 that can perform operations to improve the living environment and meteorological information about the weather in a specified area. This configuration allows appropriate control of the electric devices within the building.

When the control device 20 determines that the living environment needs to be improved, it determines whether the weather is bad based on meteorological information, and if it determines that the weather is bad, it may control the power window among the multiple types of electric devices 200 to a closed state. After controlling the power window to a closed state, the control device 20 may then cause one or more electric devices 200 other than the power window to perform the above-mentioned operation. With this configuration, the control device 20 can prevent rain or snow from entering the home in bad weather.

When the control device 20 causes the electric device 200 to perform improvement operations, it may perform the improvement operations of the electric device 200 one by one in a predetermined order, and may stop the improvement operations of the electric device 200 when the living environment has improved. This configuration makes it possible to control the electric device 200 with consideration for energy conservation and crime prevention.

If the living environment information is outside the range of the reference values, the control device 20 notifies the external device 120, and if the living environment information does not fall within the range of the reference values even after a certain amount of time has passed since the notification, it may determine that improvements to the living environment are necessary. With this configuration, the control device 20 can quickly notify the resident of an abnormality in the living environment.

When the control device 20 determines that the living environment needs to be improved and that the weather is not bad, it may rotate the movable blades of the electric ventilation shutter, which is one of the electric devices 200, to control it to a ventilation state. With this configuration, the control device 20 can ventilate the room while taking security into consideration.

If the living environment does not improve even when the electric ventilation shutter is controlled to the ventilation state, the control device 20 may perform ventilation using a ventilation fan or cooling using an air conditioner.

The control device 20 may activate the humidifier if it determines that humidity needs to be improved. This configuration allows the control device 20 to maintain a constant humidity level in the room, contributing to the prevention of influenza infection.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 31 closes the electrically operated windows and then causes the air conditioner to perform cooling operation, but this is not limited to this. For example, if the indoor temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature based on the living environment information, the control unit 31 may control the electrically operated windows to the closed state and then cause the air conditioner to perform heating operation.

The control device 20 may determine whether or not a person is present in the building 100. For example, the control unit 31 may receive location information of a user of the building 100 from a communication terminal carried by the user (e.g., an external device 120) via the communication network NW. The control unit 31 may determine whether or not a person is present in the building 100 based on the user's location information. However, this is not limited to this, and the control device 20 may also determine whether or not a person is present in the building 100 based on information from a sensor or the like installed in the building 100. The control unit 31 may execute at least one of the first to fourth actions described above only when it determines that a person is present in the building 100.

1...Control system, 10...Communication interface, 11...Router, 12...Gateway, 20...Control device, 30...Acquisition unit, 31...Control unit, 200...Electric device

Claims (13)

an acquisition unit that acquires living environment information that is information indicating an indoor living environment;
a control unit that, when it is determined based on the living environment information that improvement of the living environment is necessary, controls one or more of the plurality of types of electrically-driven devices based on at least one of information on the state of a plurality of types of electrically-driven devices that can perform an operation to improve the living environment and information on weather in a predetermined area;
The living environment information includes at least one of odor and carbon dioxide concentration.
Control device. When the control unit determines that improvement of the living environment is necessary, the control unit causes ventilation by a ventilation fan to be performed as the operation by the electrically driven device.
The control device according to claim 1 . an acquisition unit that acquires living environment information that is information indicating an indoor living environment;
a control unit that, when it is determined based on the living environment information that improvement of the living environment is necessary, controls one or more of the plurality of types of electrically-driven devices based on at least one of information on the state of a plurality of types of electrically-driven devices that can perform an operation to improve the living environment and information on weather in a predetermined area;
The living environment information is an index indicating the living environment,
The control unit notifies an external device when the living environment information is outside a range of a reference value, and determines that the living environment needs to be improved when the living environment information does not fall within the range of the reference value even after a certain time has elapsed since the notification.
Control device. the living environment information is humidity,
When the control unit determines that the living environment needs to be improved, the control unit starts a humidifier as the operation by the electrically-powered device.
The control device according to claim 3 . an acquisition unit that acquires living environment information that is information indicating an indoor living environment;
a control unit that, when it is determined based on the living environment information that improvement of the living environment is necessary, controls one or more of the plurality of types of electrically-driven devices based on at least one of information on the state of a plurality of types of electrically-driven devices that can perform an operation to improve the living environment and information on weather in a predetermined area;
The living environment information is temperature, humidity, or heat index,
When the control unit determines that improvement of the living environment is necessary and that the weather is bad, the control unit causes ventilation by a ventilation fan to be performed as the operation by the electrically driven device.
Control device. When the control unit determines that the living environment needs to be improved and that the weather is bad, the control unit controls the electric window among the plurality of types of electric devices to a closed state, and causes one or more of the electric devices other than the electric window to perform the operation.
The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. When the control unit causes the electric device to perform the operation, the control unit causes the electric device to perform the operation one by one in a predetermined order, and when the living environment has improved, the control unit stops the operation of the electric device.
The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The predetermined order in which the control unit causes the electrically powered devices to perform the operations is set in ascending order of power consumption.
The control device according to claim 7 . The plurality of types of electric devices include an electric ventilation shutter having movable blades that can open and close an opening in the exterior wall,
When the control unit determines that the living environment needs to be improved and that the weather is not bad, the control unit rotates the movable blades to control the ventilation electric shutter to a ventilation state.
A control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. When the living environment is not improved even if the air intake electric shutter is controlled to the air intake state, the control unit executes ventilation using a ventilation fan or operation of an air conditioner as the operation by the electric device.
The control device according to claim 9. the living environment information includes at least one of temperature, humidity, and heat index;
When the control unit determines that the living environment needs to be improved and that the weather is bad, the control unit causes an air conditioner to be operated as the operation by the electrically powered device.
The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 10. the control unit outputs an alert to an external device when the living environment is not improved even after the operations of the plurality of types of electrically powered devices are executed.
A control device according to any one of claims 1 to 11. A control device according to any one of claims 1 to 12;
a sensor that measures the living environment information;
a plurality of types of electrically powered devices capable of performing operations to improve the living environment;
The control device
acquires, via a communication network, at least one of the living environment information measured by the sensor, the weather information, and the state of the electrically powered device;
controlling the electrically powered device via the communication network;
Control system.