JPH078061B2 - Home controller device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a home controller device for remotely controlling a device connected to a power line using a power line wired in a home as a communication transmission path.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, transmission control for centrally controlling a plurality of devices and connecting each device with an electrical communication network for transmitting a control signal to each other for the purpose of monitoring the current state of the device on a monitor Various methods have been reported. As an example, there is a method of using a commercial 100V power line as a transmission communication path to control a load in a general household. This is because the signal voltage for communication with a frequency sufficiently higher than this is superimposed on the AC voltage of the power line to communicate between each device.Because special wiring for control is unnecessary, the labor and cost associated with installation are reduced. Has a characteristic that is small.

Here, the equipment refers to a combination of a load to be controlled and an adapter. Then, the adapter has a load state detection function that detects the load state, a load control function that controls the load to be energized (hereinafter referred to as ON) or non-energized (hereinafter referred to as OFF), and its own station address setting. It has a function and a simultaneous control setting function. Also, as another type of device, a communication function for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from each device, and a control signal generating function for generating an ON / OFF control signal to be transmitted to each device,
There is a controller having a monitor display function for displaying whether each device is in an ON state or an OFF state, a partner station address setting function corresponding to each device, and a self station address setting function.

A transmission control method using a power line will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional transmission control method using a power line. Reference numeral 1 is a commercial 100V power line, which is in a general household. Equipments 8 and 9 are load 4,5 and adapter 2,
3 are combined and each connected to power line 1. As described above, the adapters 2 and 3 have the load status detection function, load control function, communication function, own station address setting function, and simultaneous control setting function. To detect and control the power line 1
To communicate with other devices. At this time, the local station address setting means 6 and 7 set the local station address, and the simultaneous control setting means 6a and 7a set ON / OFF / ignore of the simultaneous control signal. On the other hand, the controller 10 is a kind of equipment and is connected to the power line 1 and has the communication function, the control signal generation function, the monitor display function, the own station address setting function, and the partner station address setting function as described above. 11 is a station address setting means. By pressing the load control switch 16-19 corresponding to the load to be controlled, the controller 10 turns ON / O the adapter set by the partner station address setting means 12-15 corresponding to the switch.
Send the FF control command with its own address.

In the case of simultaneous control, a simultaneous control command is transmitted on the power line. The adapter is set in advance to turn the load ON or OFF in response to the batch control command, or to not respond (ignore) to the batch control command. To control the load as set. Then, the state is attached to the own station address and sent to the controller 10. In response to this, the controller 10 displays 20 to 23 on the monitor corresponding to the transmitted local address.

Through the series of operations described above, the load condition can be controlled or monitored as desired.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention In such a conventional configuration, since the adapters are connected to the load, the adapters are distributed and installed in each room. Therefore, when the content of the simultaneous control command from the controller is changed, the setting content of each adapter that controls the load by the simultaneous control command must be visited and operated at each place, which is very difficult.

Therefore, the individual control command for the adapter set to each control button is stored in one control button, and by pressing this control button, the stored control commands are sequentially transmitted to the power line, and thereby, a plurality of It is possible to control the load of all at once.

However, this is fine if the number of control commands to be stored is small, but as the number of control commands to be stored becomes large, the operation to store becomes difficult, and the storage capacity of the storage unit increases,
There is a problem that it becomes cost effective.

A first object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide an inexpensive controller that simplifies the operation when a large number of control commands are stored in the simultaneous control button.

The second purpose is to efficiently control the device by using a part of the control command of the simultaneous control button A when the simultaneous control command is stored in the simultaneous control button B.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the first object, the present invention provides an individual control button for individually controlling individual adapters and a simultaneous control button A, B for collectively controlling a plurality of adapters. In the controller having the setting means for setting the control command of the plurality of individual control buttons or the collective control button A to one collective control button B, the storage means for storing the setting content, and the display means for displaying the stored content. With.

In order to achieve the second object, the present invention has, in addition to the means for achieving the first object, a determination means for determining the command of the individual control button and the command of the simultaneous control button A.

Action The present invention has the above-mentioned configuration and the simultaneous control button B of the controller.
When setting a control command for another control button (individual control button, simultaneous control button A), the setting button constituting the setting means is operated to set the normal load control mode to the setting mode. Then, each control button (individual control button or simultaneous control button A) is operated to set the load to a desired state, and each control command is written in the storage means. The control command written in the storage means is sequentially sent out on the power line by operating the simultaneous control button B. Receiving this, each adapter decodes the content of the control command and controls the connected load.

In this way, the control command for the simultaneous control button A is also stored in the storage section of the simultaneous control button B, so that by pressing the simultaneous control button B, the same control as when a large number of control buttons are sequentially operated is performed. be able to.

Since the control command of the collective control button A can be stored in the collective control button B in the same manner as the control command of the individual control button, the number of operations is significantly reduced as compared with the case of storing the control command of the individual control,
Further, the control command for the simultaneous control button A is also stored as one control command for the individual control button, so that the storage capacity of the storage unit does not increase and the cost does not increase.

Further, by pressing the collective control button B, the collective control command of the collective control button A is transmitted first, and then the individual control commands are transmitted in order. Even if the user includes a control command contrary to the state in which he / she wants to control the load, the individual control command is sent later, so that the load is finally controlled to the state intended by the user. .

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows a control device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 24 is an electric power line that serves as a signal transmission communication path. Controllers 25 and 26 and adapters 48 to 50 are connected to the electric power line 24. Loads 51-53 are powered via adapters 48-50
Connected to 24. The controllers 25 and 26 are provided with storage units 33 to 38 corresponding to the connection buttons (control switches) 27 to 32, and the simultaneous control button B (simultaneous control switch B) 45 is provided with a storage unit 47 corresponding thereto. ing. Control buttons 27-32 are load 51
.About.53 can be set as individual control buttons for individually controlling, or can be set as simultaneous control buttons for collectively controlling the loads 51-53. The display lamps 39 to 44 constituting the display means are provided corresponding to the control buttons 27 to 32. When the control buttons 27 to 32 are operated, the controllers 25 and 26 are configured to transmit a control command signal to the adapter stored in the storage section corresponding to each control button.
The display lamps 39 to 44 display the state of the load controlled by the control button. Reference numeral 46 denotes a setting button (setting switch) constituting a setting means, which is a switch for switching the controllers 25 and 26 between a normal control mode and a setting mode.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the controller 25 of FIG.
54 is a communication means for communicating with the adapters 48 to 50 and the other controller 26, and 56 is a storage section for storing the contents of the control commands of the control buttons 27 to 32.
Reference numeral 57 is a writing means for writing to 47, and 57 is a reading means for reading the contents stored in the storage section 47 by operating the simultaneous control button B45. Reference numeral 56 is a control means for controlling the communication means 54, the writing means 56, the reading means 57, the display lamps 39 to 44, and the like.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the individual control and the simultaneous control by setting the adapter are the same as those in the conventional example, and are therefore omitted. Here, the controller 25, which is a means for solving the problem, is used. Set the content of simultaneous control,
A method of changing the setting contents will be described.

To set the contents of the simultaneous control to the collective control button B45, first press the setting button 46. This causes the controllers 25 and 26 to switch from the normal control mode to the setting mode. At this time, the control buttons 27 to 32 of the controllers 25 and 26 cannot control the adapters 48 to 50.

At this time, for example, when trying to set the individual control command for the adapter set to the individual control buttons 27, 29, 30 and the simultaneous control command set to the simultaneous control button A32 to the simultaneous control button B45, first, When the button 27 is pressed, the indicator lamp 39 lights up. Each time the control button 27 is pressed, it turns on / off / flashes repeatedly.
Select FF instruction or not set.

Similarly, press the control buttons 29, 30 to select the necessary control command to be transmitted to the adapter stored in the storage sections 35, 38 of the respective control buttons.
Repeats blinking. This display allows simultaneous control buttons on the power line.
A32 simultaneous control command is sent. Select Do not send. Next, press the setting button 46 again, and the control buttons 27, 29, 30, 32
The control command selected by the operation is stored in the storage unit 47 in the set order by the control unit 55, the communication unit 54, and the writing unit 56, and then returns from the setting mode to the normal mode.

When the simultaneous control button B45 is operated in this normal mode,
The control command stored in the storage unit 47 is read by the reading unit 57.
The control means 55 controls so that the data is read by the communication means 54 and transmitted in the order set by the communication means 54 to the power line 24. The adapters 48 to 50 receive the signal on the power line 24 and control the loads 51 to 53 according to the control instruction of the signal.
Thus, by operating the simultaneous control button B45, the loads set in the controllers 25 and 26 can be arbitrarily combined to perform simultaneous control.

To change the contents set in the simultaneous control button B45, press the setting button 46 to enter the setting mode, operate the control buttons 27 to 32 according to the contents to be changed, and then press the setting button 46 again.
When is pressed, the contents stored in the storage unit 47 before the change are erased, and a new control command is stored in the storage unit 47.

This allows the controller 26 to freely change the simultaneous control command.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the discrimination means 58 is provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. In this case, the method of storing the individual control and control commands of the simultaneous control button A in the simultaneous control button B is the same as in the case of FIG. Only the case of operating the simultaneous control button B, which is a feature of this embodiment, will be described.

When the simultaneous control button B is operated, the control commands stored in the storage section 47 are read out by the reading means 57 in the set order. Then, it is determined whether the read control command is the individual control command or the batch control command for the batch control button A, and the batch control command is transmitted first to the power line 24, and after all the batch control commands are transmitted. , Individual control is transmitted sequentially. A plurality of simultaneous controls are transmitted or in the order in which they are stored in the storage section of the simultaneous control button B.

By doing so, if each adapter is set so that a large number of loads are controlled by the control command of the simultaneous control button A, and if the user wants to control a plurality of loads to the intended state, this simultaneous Control command for control button A
If you memorize it in, there may be some unintended loads. In such a case, use the individual control button to set the unintentional load to the intended state,
It is possible to easily set the load control to the user's desired state by using a part of the control command of the simultaneous control button A by storing it in the memory.

It should be noted that any number of controllers may be used here, and setting and confirmation at that time will be performed by exchanging signals via a power line.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when the loads are simultaneously controlled, the control command of the simultaneous control button A can be stored in the simultaneous control button B similarly to the control command of the individual control button. A large number of loads can be easily operated by operating the control button B, and the command of the simultaneous control button A is stored as the same as the command of the individual control button, so that the storage capacity of the storage unit is not significantly increased and the cost is increased. Preventable and cheaper controllers are possible. Further, by transmitting the general control command first, it is possible to effectively store the control command in the general control button B by utilizing a part of the control command of the general control button A.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of the device of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a controller, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a controller showing another example, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional example. 24 ... Electric line, 25, 26 ... Controller, 46 ... Setting button, 45 ... Simultaneous control button B, 47 ... Storage section, 56 ... Writing means, 57 ... Reading means, 55 ... Control means , 58 …… Distinction means.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An individual control button for individually transmitting a control signal corresponding to an adapter for controlling a load and a signal for controlling a plurality of adapters at once by a signal from a power line which is a bidirectional communication path. Set the control contents with the simultaneous control button A
A setting button for changing, a simultaneous control button B having a storage means for storing a plurality of control signals, and a display means for displaying the setting contents and the load status of the adapter are provided, and a plurality of individual control buttons are provided by the setting button. A home controller device capable of controlling a large number of loads at once by storing and erasing the control contents set in the buttons and the simultaneous control button A in the simultaneous control button B. 2. The simultaneous control button B has a determination means for determining whether the control content stored in the simultaneous control button B is a control command for the simultaneous control button A or an individual control command. The home controller device according to claim 1, wherein after transmitting the control command of A first, the control commands of the individual control buttons are sequentially transmitted.