Information processing apparatus

Abstract

To calculate the amount of electric power consumption for each electrical product with a simpler configuration.SOLUTION: In a server device 30, an acquisition unit 31 acquires historical data of electric power consumption notified by a notification unit 21. A determination unit 32 determines whether or not the historical data acquired by the acquisition section 31 satisfies a use start condition for determining that an electrical product has started to be used. When the determination unit 32 determines that the use start condition is satisfied, a request unit 33 communicates with a user terminal 10 via a network 2 to request a user to reply about an electrical product whose use has started. A calculation unit 34 calculates the amount of electricity consumed for each electrical product unit based on a reply result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for estimating power consumption by an electrical appliance. [Background technology]

[0002] There is an increasing need for energy conservation in homes, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a mechanism for detecting the on / off state of the power supply of each load device in a multi-tap connected to supply power to the load devices, and calculating the power consumption of each load device using the on / off information and the change pattern of the power consumption of the load device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-5671 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The mechanism described in Patent Document 1 requires the installation of a considerable number of multi-outlets corresponding to a plurality of load devices in a home, and is therefore considered to be of little practical use.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to calculate the power consumption of each electrical appliance with a simpler configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides an information processing device comprising an acquisition unit that acquires historical data on the amount of power consumed by a user's use of an electrical appliance, a determination unit that determines whether the acquired historical data satisfies a start-of-use condition for regarding the start of use of the electrical appliance as having begun, a request unit that, when it is determined that the start-of-use condition is satisfied, requests the user to respond with the electrical appliance that has begun to be used, and a calculation unit that calculates the amount of power consumed by each electrical appliance based on the results of the response. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to calculate the power consumption of each electrical appliance with a simpler configuration. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of an overall configuration of an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a server device 30 according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a server device 30 according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating history data in the embodiment. [Diagram 5] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the server device 30 according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of the server device 30 according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed on the user terminal 10 according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a server device 30 according to a modified example of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing conditions for estimating an electrical appliance used in a modified example. [Figure 10]13 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of the server device 30 according to a modified example. [Figure 11] 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image displayed on a user terminal 10 according to a modified example. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing conditions for inferring an electrical appliance in a modified example. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing conditions for inferring an electrical appliance in a modified example. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing conditions for inferring an electrical appliance in a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] [Present embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 1 is a system for estimating the power consumption of each electrical appliance. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 includes a user terminal 10 used by a user in a home H, a smart meter 20 installed in the home H, a server device 30 that performs processing for estimating the power consumption of each electrical appliance, and a network 2 including a wireless communication network or a wired communication network that communicably connects them. The user terminal 10 is a computer such as a smartphone, a wearable terminal, or a tablet. The smart meter 20 is an electricity meter that measures the power consumption consumed by all electrical appliances in the home H, and has a communication function, so that it can notify the server device 30 of the power consumption. The server device 30 is a computer that functions as an information processing device according to the present invention. Note that FIG. 1 shows one user terminal 10 and one smart meter 20, but these user terminals 10 and smart meter 20 are present in each home H.

[0010] In the information processing system 1 configured as described above, when the amount of power consumption notified from the smart meter 20 via the network 2 changes, the server device 30 queries the user as to which electrical appliances were used, associates the amount of power consumption with the electrical appliance, and stores the information, and calculates the amount of power consumption for each electrical appliance from the stored information.

[0011] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the server device 30. The server device 30 is physically configured as a computer including a processor 3001, a memory 3002, a storage 3003, and a bus connecting these. In the following description, the word "apparatus" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, and the like. The hardware configuration of the server device 30 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in the figure, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices.

[0012] Each function in the server device 30 is realized by loading a specific software (program) onto hardware such as a processor 3001 and a memory 3002, so that the processor 3001 performs calculations, controls communications via a communication device 3004, and controls at least one of reading and writing of data in the memory 3002 and the storage 3003.

[0013] The processor 3001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 3001 may be configured with a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, and the like.

[0014] The processor 3001 reads out a program (program code), a software module, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 3003 and the communication device 3004 into the memory 3002, and executes various processes according to the read out programs. The program used is a program that causes a computer to execute at least a part of the operations described below. The functional blocks of the server device 30 may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 3002 and operated in the processor 3001. The various processes may be executed by one processor 3001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 3001. The processor 3001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The program may be transmitted to the server device 30 from the network 2 via a telecommunication line.

[0015] The memory 3002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), etc. The memory 3002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 3002 can store a program (program code), a software module, etc. that can be executed to implement the method according to this embodiment.

[0016] Storage 3003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be constituted by at least one of, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 3003 may be referred to as an auxiliary storage device.

[0017] The communication device 3004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for performing communication between computers via the network 2, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module.

[0018] Each device, such as the processor 3001 and the memory 3002, is connected by a bus for communicating information. The bus may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

[0019] Furthermore, the server device 30 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc., and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 3001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0020] The user terminal 10 is physically configured as a computer device including a processor, memory, storage, communication device, input device, output device, and buses connecting these. Each function of the user terminal 10 is realized by loading a specific software (program) onto hardware such as the processor and memory, causing the processor to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device, and control at least one of reading and writing of data in the memory and storage. The input device is an input device (e.g., a key, microphone, switch, button, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device is an output device (e.g., a display, LED lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. The input device and the output device may be integrated (e.g., a touch panel).

[0021] 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the information processing system 1. In the smart meter 20, a notification unit 21 notifies the server device 30 via the network 2 of history data on the amount of power consumed by the use of various electrical appliances in the home H, either constantly or periodically (for example, every 30 minutes).

[0022] In the server device 30, the acquisition unit 31 acquires the history data of the power consumption notified by the notification unit 21.

[0023] In the server device 30, the determination unit 32 determines whether or not the history data acquired by the acquisition unit 31 satisfies a use start condition for determining that the use of the electrical appliance has started.

[0024] Here, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the contents of the history data. In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is power consumption, and it means the time series change of the power consumption in a certain household H. The power consumption increases and decreases when an electrical appliance is started to be used or stopped to be used, but by setting an appropriate threshold Th, the power consumption of the new electrical appliance should increase to above the threshold Th when the use of the new electrical appliance is started. In the example of FIG. 4, it can be considered that the use of the new electrical appliance has started at the time t1 or t4 when the power consumption of the new electrical appliance has increased to above the threshold Th. On the other hand, it cannot be considered that the use of the new electrical appliance has started at the time t2 when the increased power consumption is less than the threshold Th or at the time t3 when the power consumption has decreased. Thus, in this embodiment, the use start condition for considering that the use of the electrical appliance has started is that the power consumption increases to above a certain threshold Th.

[0025] In server device 30, when determination unit 32 determines that the use start condition is satisfied, request unit 33 communicates with user terminal 10 via network 2 and requests the user to reply about the electrical appliance that he or she has started using. When the user learns of this request via user terminal 10, the user inputs the reply, that is, the name or the like (identifier of the electrical appliance) of the electrical appliance that he or she has started using, to user terminal 10. In user terminal 10, input unit 11 accepts input of this reply, and transmission unit 12 transmits the input reply to server device 30 via network 2. Request unit 33 acquires this reply via network 2.

[0026] In the server device 30, the calculation unit 34 calculates the amount of power consumption consumed by each electrical appliance based on the obtained answer. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 5, the calculation unit 34 calculates, for each user ID of each user, the electrical appliance answered by the user, the usage start date and time when the usage of the electrical appliance started, the usage end date and time when the usage of the electrical appliance ended, and the amount of power consumption, which is the amount of power consumed by the electrical appliance, and stores these in association with each other in the storage unit 35. Here, the usage end date and time is the date and time when the amount of power consumption has decreased to approximately the same extent as the amount of power consumption that increased when it was determined to be the usage start date and time (i.e., the difference from the increased amount of power consumption is within a certain range).

[0027] For example, in the case of Fig. 4, the time when the use of an electrical appliance that started at time t1 ended is time t3, so it is determined that the use of the electrical appliance that started at t1 ended at time t3. The power consumption at this time corresponds to the shaded area E in Fig. 4. In other words, the power consumption of an electrical appliance is the integral value of the increase in power consumption from the time before the use of the electrical appliance started due to the start of use of the electrical appliance from the time when the use of the electrical appliance started to the time when the use of the electrical appliance ended.

[0028] Next, the operation of the information processing system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. In the server device 30, the acquisition unit 31 acquires history data (see Fig. 4) of the amount of power consumed by a user using an electrical appliance from the smart meter 20 (step S11).

[0029] Next, in the server device 30, the determination unit 32 determines whether or not the acquired history data satisfies a usage start condition for determining that the use of the electrical appliance has started (step S12).

[0030] If it is determined that the use start condition is satisfied (step S12; YES), the request unit 33 requests the user to reply about the electrical appliance that has started to be used (step S13). Specifically, the request unit 33 instructs the user terminal 10 to display an image as shown in FIG. 7. This image includes, for example, a message M prompting the user to input the name of the electrical appliance that has started to be used, an input field A for the user to input the name of the electrical appliance, and a soft button S for instructing the server device 30 to transmit the inputted name of the electrical appliance. When the user inputs the name of the electrical appliance that has started to be used and instructs the transmission, the transmission unit 12 in the user terminal 10 transmits the contents of the inputted reply to the server device 30 via the network 2.

[0031] In the server device 30, the calculation unit 34 calculates the amount of power consumed by each electrical appliance based on the response (step S14), and stores the calculated amount in the storage unit 35 (step S15).

[0032] According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to calculate the power consumption of each electrical appliance with a simpler configuration.

[0033] [Variations] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. In addition, two or more of the following modifications may be combined and implemented.

[0034] [Variation 1] The server device 30 may estimate which electrical appliance has started to be used when it is determined that the use start condition is satisfied. In this case, the server device 30 includes an estimation unit 36 ​​that estimates which electrical appliance has started to be used when it is determined that the use start condition is satisfied, as shown in FIG. 8. The estimation unit 36 ​​estimates which electrical appliance has started to be used, for example, based on a time condition related to when the electrical appliance is used. The time condition here means, for example, estimating an electrical appliance that is likely to be used in each time period, such as season, month, week, weekday / holiday, day of the week, time period, early morning / morning / daytime / afternoon / evening / late night. For example, it is possible to think of an example in which an air conditioner is likely to be used during the day in summer, or a washing machine is likely to be used in the morning on a holiday.

[0035] 9, the correspondence between the time data, which is a time division as described above, and the electrical appliances that are likely to be used in the division indicated by the time data is determined in advance based on a survey such as a questionnaire, and is stored in the estimation unit 36. This correspondence may be learned by so-called machine learning with teacher data. The teacher data for machine learning can be prepared by collecting a large number of pairs of the time when the use of the electrical appliance was considered to have started and the electrical appliance answered by the user in the above embodiment.

[0036] Then, as shown in Fig. 10, after step S12, when the estimation unit 36 ​​estimates an electrical appliance that has started to be used (step S21), the request unit 33 requests the user to respond as to whether or not the use of the electrical appliance estimated by the estimation unit 36 ​​has started (step S13). Specifically, the request unit 33 causes the user terminal 10 to display an image as shown in Fig. 11. This image includes, for example, a message M1 prompting the user to respond as to whether or not the estimated electrical appliance has been used, a soft button S1 for responding affirmatively to the message, a soft button S2 for responding negatively to the message, and a soft button S3 for transitioning to an image for responding to other electrical appliances.

[0037] In the user terminal 10, the transmission unit 12 transmits the input answer content to the server device 30 via the network 2. In this way, the electrical appliance that has started to be used is estimated, and the user is requested to answer whether or not the estimated electrical appliance has started to be used, so that it is possible to save the user the trouble of inputting the name of the electrical appliance himself.

[0038] It is preferable that the estimation unit 36 ​​also performs the estimation using the magnitude of the increased power consumption when it is determined that the use start condition is satisfied. Specifically, by specifying in advance a guideline for the increased power consumption at the start of use for each electrical appliance, it is possible to improve the accuracy of this estimation.

[0039] [Variation 2] There are various other methods of estimation by the estimation unit 36 ​​besides the above. The estimation unit 36 ​​may estimate the electrical appliance that has started to be used based on the environmental conditions related to the environment in which the electrical appliance is used. The environmental conditions referred to here are, for example, weather, temperature, humidity, and illuminance, and estimate the electrical appliance that is likely to be used in each environmental category surrounding the user. For example, when the temperature is high, the air conditioner is likely to be used, and when it is sunny, the washing machine is likely to be used. As for the correspondence between the category indicated by such environmental data and the electrical appliance that is likely to be used in that category, as shown in FIG. 12, a predetermined one based on a survey such as a questionnaire is stored by the estimation unit 36. In addition, this correspondence may be learned by so-called machine learning with teacher data. In the case of machine learning, the teacher data can be prepared based on a combination of the environment at the time when the use of the electrical appliance is considered to have started in the embodiment and the electrical appliance that the user answered. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of the user inputting the name of the electrical appliance himself.

[0040] [Variation 3] The estimation unit 36 ​​may estimate the electrical appliance that has started to be used based on conditions related to the user in the space where the electrical appliance is used. The conditions related to the user in the space where the electrical appliance is used are, for example, the number of users in the home H, the body temperature of the user, the attributes of the user (gender, age, etc.), or the location of the user in the home H, and estimate the electrical appliance that is likely to be used when the user data corresponds to the user data. For example, when the user's body temperature is high, the air conditioner is likely to be used, when many users are in one living room, the television is likely to be used, and when there are children in the home H, the game console is likely to be used. As for the correspondence between such user data and the electrical appliance that is likely to be used in the category indicated by the user data, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the correspondence is predetermined based on a survey such as a questionnaire, and is stored by the estimation unit 36. The correspondence may be learned by so-called machine learning with teacher data. In the case of machine learning, the teacher data can be prepared by a set of the user data of the user at the time when the use of the electrical appliance is considered to have started in the embodiment and the electrical appliance to which the user responded. Acquisition of user data can be achieved by placing sensors for detecting the user data (for example, a human presence sensor, a heat sensor, an image sensor, an image recognition sensor, etc.) in the home H. This makes it possible to eliminate the need for the user to input the names of electrical appliances themselves.

[0041] [Variation 4] The estimation unit 36 ​​may estimate the electrical appliance that has started to be used based on conditions related to the voice of the user who gives instructions to the electrical appliance. The conditions related to the voice of the user who gives instructions to the electrical appliance here refer to, for example, when a user gives various instructions to an electrical appliance in the home H by voice, for each voice data representing a characteristic part of the voice for giving the instruction, an electrical appliance that is likely to be used when the voice data corresponds to the voice data. For example, when a user utters a voice saying "Turn on the TV", it is possible to consider an example in which the TV is likely to be used. As for the correspondence between such voice data and the electrical appliance that is likely to be used in the category indicated by the voice data, a predetermined one based on a survey such as a questionnaire is stored by the estimation unit 36, as illustrated in FIG. 14. In addition, this correspondence may be learned by so-called machine learning with teacher data. In the case of machine learning, the teacher data can be prepared by a set of voice data at the time when the use of the electrical appliance is considered to have started in the embodiment and the electrical appliance to which the user responded. Acquisition of the voice data can be realized by arranging a sensor (for example, a sound sensor, etc.) for detecting the voice data in the home H. This makes it possible to save the user the trouble of having to input the name of the electrical appliance himself.

[0042] [Variation 5] The estimation unit 36 ​​may estimate the electrical appliances that the user has started using based on conditions related to the order in which the electrical appliances are used. The conditions related to the order in which the electrical appliances are used here refer to, when there is a pattern in the order in which the electrical appliances are used in the home H, estimating the electrical appliances that are likely to be used based on the pattern. For example, it is possible that the user is likely to use the electric kettle after using the toaster oven, or that the user is likely to use the dryer after using the washing machine. Such conditions related to the order of use are predetermined based on a survey such as a questionnaire, and are stored by the estimation unit 36. In addition, the conditions may be learned by so-called machine learning with teacher data. The teacher data in the case of machine learning can be prepared by a combination of the time series of electrical appliances that are considered to have started to be used in the embodiment. As described above, it is possible to save the user the trouble of inputting the names of the electrical appliances themselves.

[0043] [Variation 6] Even if the determination unit 32 determines that the use start condition for regarding the start of use of the electrical appliance is satisfied, the request unit 33 may not make the request if an exceptional condition for not making the request to the user is satisfied. For example, this exceptional condition may be such that the request is not made in a specific time period such as late at night or early in the morning, when it is troublesome for the user to respond. In addition, another exceptional condition may be such that, in a case where the position of the user terminal 10 can be measured, a request is not made to the user terminal 10 if the user terminal 10 is not located in the home H.

[0044] Also, if the estimation unit 36 ​​estimates the electrical product with high accuracy, the request unit 33 may not make a request. In other words, even if it is determined that the use start condition is satisfied, if the accuracy of the estimation by the estimation unit 26 is equal to or higher than a threshold, the request unit 33 does not make a request to the user because the used electrical product can be identified without making a request to the user. Note that not making a request by the request unit 33 includes not only the meaning of not making a request at all, but also the meaning of reducing the frequency or number of requests. By reducing the requests to the user in this way, it is possible to reduce the effort required for the user to respond.

[0045] [Variation 7] The above-mentioned exception conditions may be different for each electrical appliance. For example, for an electrical appliance that consumes low power but is used frequently, an exception condition may be set to eliminate or reduce the requests to the user, whereas for an electrical appliance that is used infrequently but consumes high power, no exception condition may be set. In this way, it is possible to appropriately set the exception condition for each electrical appliance.

[0046] [Variation 8] The power consumption of electrical appliances that are constantly in use (such as refrigerators) may be specified, and when calculating the power consumption of other electrical appliances, the power consumption of these electrical appliances that are constantly in use may be excluded from the calculation. The power consumption of such electrical appliances that are constantly in use may be manually registered in advance, or the power consumption of electrical appliances that are constantly in use in other homes may be used as an initial value. The power consumption of electrical appliances that are constantly in use in other homes may be calculated based on the overall average value, or may be calculated based on the power consumption of homes that have similar family structures, electricity contract details, or home size.

[0047] The estimation unit 36 ​​may estimate the electrical appliance used based on the time series characteristics of the electrical appliance's power consumption (for example, an air conditioner's power consumption is high when it is started and decreases after a while).

[0048] The request to the user is not limited to an image as exemplified in the embodiment, but may be made by voice from a smart speaker in the home H, for example, and the user may respond by voice.

[0049] [Other variations] The block diagrams used to explain the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. The method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by using one device that is physically or logically combined, or may be realized by using two or more devices that are physically or logically separated and directly or indirectly connected (for example, by wire, wirelessly, etc.). The functional blocks may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

[0050] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs the function of transmission is called a transmitting unit or a transmitter. As described above, there is no particular limitation on the method of realization of either of these.

[0051] For example, the server device 30 in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs the processing of the present disclosure.

[0052] Each aspect / embodiment described in the present disclosure may be applied to at least one of systems using LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and other suitable systems, and next-generation systems extended based on these. In addition, a combination of multiple systems (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A and 5G, etc.) may be applied.

[0053] The order of the steps, sequences, flow charts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be changed unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0054] The input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. The output information may be deleted. The input information may be transmitted to another device.

[0055] The determination may be based on a value represented by a single bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0056] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

[0057] Software, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise, should be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc. Also, software, instructions, information, etc. may be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave, etc.), then such wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of a transmission medium.

[0058] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof. In addition, terms explained in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings.

[0059] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, may be expressed using relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be expressed using other corresponding information.

[0060] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0061] Any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc., used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0062] The "part" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "means," "circuit," "device," etc.

[0063] When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Further, when used in this disclosure, the term "or" is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0064] In this disclosure, where articles have been added due to translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

[0065] In the present disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "coupled" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different." [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1: information processing system, 2: network, 10: user terminal, 11: input unit, 12: transmission unit, 20: smart meter, 21: notification unit, 30: server device, 31: acquisition unit, 32: judgment unit, 33: request unit, 34: calculation unit, 35: memory unit, 36: estimation unit, 3001: processor, 3002: memory, 3003: storage, 3004: communication device, M, M1: message, A: input field, S1, S2, S3: soft buttons.

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires history data of power consumption consumed by a user using an electrical appliance; a determination unit that determines whether the acquired history data satisfies a usage start condition for determining that usage of the electrical appliance has started; a request unit that requests the user to respond to an inquiry about an electrical appliance that the user has started using when it is determined that the use start condition is satisfied; A calculation unit that calculates the amount of power consumed by each electrical appliance based on the answer result. An information processing device comprising:

2. an estimation unit that estimates which electric appliance has started to be used when it is determined that the use start condition is satisfied; The request unit requests the user to respond as to whether or not the user has started using the estimated electrical appliance.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

3. The estimation unit estimates an electrical appliance that has started to be used based on a condition related to when the electrical appliance is used.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The estimation unit estimates an electrical appliance that has started to be used based on a condition related to an environment in which the electrical appliance is used.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

5. The estimation unit estimates an electrical appliance that has started to be used based on a condition related to a user present in a space in which the electrical appliance is used.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

6. The estimation unit estimates an electrical appliance that has started to be used based on a condition related to a voice of a user giving an instruction to the electrical appliance.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

7. The estimation unit estimates an electrical appliance that the user has started using based on a condition regarding an order in which the electrical appliances are used.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

8. Even if it is determined that a use start condition for regarding the use of the electrical appliance as having been started is satisfied, the request unit does not issue the request to the user if an exception condition for not issuing the request to the user is satisfied.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

9. The exception conditions vary for each electrical appliance.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8,

10. Even if it is determined that the use start condition is satisfied, the request unit does not make the request if the accuracy of the estimation by the estimation unit is equal to or higher than a threshold.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

Images