Facility equipment cooperation system

Abstract

To provide a facility equipment cooperation system that enables the timing of inspection notification to be performed at an appropriate time according to the installation environment of the facility equipment.SOLUTION: The facility equipment cooperation system is provided with an external server and a facility equipment. The facility equipment is provided with an equipment information acquisition unit for acquiring equipment information including installation place information about the installation place of the facility equipment, and an information transmission unit for transmitting the equipment information to the external server. The external server transmits external server information including information corresponding to the installation environment of the facility equipment to the facility equipment based on the equipment information transmitted from the facility equipment. The facility equipment is provided with an information receiving unit for receiving external server information transmitted from the external server, and an information processing unit for updating the inspection information stored in an inspection information storage unit based on the external server information received by the information receiving unit. After the inspection information is updated, a facility equipment comparison determination unit compares the updated inspection information with the use state information stored in a use state storage unit and determines whether the inspection time has come or not.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a facility equipment cooperation system having a function of performing inspection notification for prompting inspection of parts of facility equipment installed in a house, a facility, or the like.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing a water heater from becoming unable to supply hot water due to a failure caused by the end of the part life by providing a warning means for warning a user that the time for replacing a part has come when the cumulative time of the use time of each part in an electric water heater, which is a facility equipment, exceeds a predetermined life time.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, the degree of deterioration of parts of facility equipment installed in a house or the like, such as an electric water heater, varies depending on the installation environment of the facility equipment. That is, in an installation environment such as a high-temperature and high-humidity area, near the coast, a highland area, or an area with high-hardness water, the deterioration of parts of the facility equipment may be accelerated. However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since it is a warning method based on a predetermined fixed life time, there is a risk that the part life will end and the facility equipment will fail before the warning of part replacement in an environment where the part life is shortened. In addition, when the installation environment of the facility equipment is an environment that is gentle to the parts, the part life may be extended.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a facility equipment cooperation system that enables the timing of inspection notification to be set at an appropriate time according to the installation environment of the facility equipment.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A facility equipment cooperation system according to an aspect of the present invention is a facility equipment cooperation system including an external server and facility equipment capable of communicating with the external server, the external server is configured to transmit external server information including information corresponding to the installation environment of the facility equipment to the facility equipment based on the equipment information transmitted from the facility equipment, the facility equipment includes an inspection information storage unit that corresponds to at least one of a plurality of components constituting the facility equipment and stores inspection information regarding the implementation of predetermined inspections, a usage status storage unit that stores usage status information regarding the usage status of the one component or the facility equipment, a comparison determination unit that compares the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit with the usage status information stored in the usage status storage unit to determine whether the inspection notification timing has arrived, a notification instruction unit that, when the comparison determination unit determines that the inspection notification timing has arrived, gives a notification instruction to a notification unit that performs an inspection notification to prompt the user, a device information acquisition unit that acquires the device information including installation location information regarding the installation location of the facility equipment, an information transmission unit that transmits the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit to the external server, an information reception unit that receives the external server information transmitted from the external server, and an information processing unit that updates the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit based on the external server information received by the information reception unit. After the inspection information in the inspection information storage unit is updated, the comparison determination unit is configured to compare the updated inspection information with the usage status information to determine whether the inspection timing has arrived.

[0007] According to this configuration, the external server transmits external server information including information corresponding to the installation environment of the equipment device to the equipment device based on the device information transmitted from the equipment device. The equipment device updates the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit based on the external server information transmitted from the external server, so that the inspection notification timing can be changed according to the installation environment of the equipment device. Furthermore, since the equipment device can update the inspection information regularly and review the inspection criteria by communicating with the external server, it is possible to perform the inspection notification at a timing that reflects the actual situation of the installation environment of the equipment device. Therefore, even when the equipment device is installed in an installation environment where the life time of the parts is advanced, it is possible to notify the user of the inspection at an appropriate timing according to the installation environment of the equipment device. Thus, it is possible to perform maintenance such as replacement, repair, and maintenance of the parts at an appropriate time before the parts life expires in consideration of the installation environment of the equipment device, and prevent the failure of the equipment device due to the arrival of the parts life.

[0008] In the equipment device cooperation system of the above aspect, The external server is, a load information collection unit that collects load-related information regarding the environment at the installation location of the equipment device based on the installation location information included in the device information transmitted from the equipment device; an environmental load information generation unit that generates environmental load degree information regarding the evaluation of the predetermined inspection information based on the load-related information collected by the load information collection unit, and is provided with, The external server transmits information including the environmental load degree information to the equipment device as the external server information, The equipment device is, equipped with an updated inspection information generation unit that generates updated inspection information in which the predetermined inspection information is information corresponding to the installation environment of the equipment device based on the environmental load degree information included in the external server information received by the information reception unit, The information processing unit can be configured to update the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit to the updated inspection information.

[0009] According to this configuration, in the external server, the load information collection unit collects load-related information regarding the environment at the installation location of the equipment from a huge amount of data, and the environmental load information generation unit generates environmental load degree information. Therefore, the processing load for inspection notification on the equipment side can be reduced, and accordingly, the capacity of the microcomputer on the equipment side can be made relatively small, and the cost of the equipment can be suppressed.

[0010] In the equipment cooperation system of the above aspect, The external server includes a load information collection unit that collects load-related information regarding the environment at the installation location of the equipment based on the installation location information included in the equipment information transmitted from the equipment. The external server transmits information including the load-related information to the equipment as the external server information. The equipment includes an environmental load information generation unit that generates environmental load degree information regarding the evaluation of the predetermined inspection information based on the load-related information included in the external server information received by the information receiving unit, and an updated inspection information generation unit that generates updated inspection information by setting the predetermined inspection information as information corresponding to the installation environment of the equipment based on the environmental load degree information. The information processing unit may be configured to update the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit to the updated inspection information.

[0011] According to this configuration, in the external server, since the load information collection unit collects load-related information regarding the environment at the installation location of the equipment from a huge amount of data, the processing load for inspection notification on the equipment side can be reduced, and accordingly, the capacity of the microcomputer on the equipment side can be made relatively small, and the cost of the equipment can be suppressed.

[0012] Also, in the equipment cooperation system of the above aspect, The external server a load information collection unit that collects load-related information regarding the environment at the installation location of the facility equipment based on the installation location information included in the equipment information transmitted from the facility equipment; an environmental load information generation unit that generates environmental load degree information regarding the evaluation of the predetermined inspection information based on the load-related information collected by the load information collection unit; and an updated inspection information generation unit that generates updated inspection information by setting the predetermined inspection information as information corresponding to the installation environment of the facility equipment based on the environmental load degree information generated by the environmental load information generation unit. The external server transmits information including the updated inspection information to the facility equipment as the external server information. The information processing unit of the facility equipment may be configured to update the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit with the updated inspection information included in the external server information received by the information receiving unit.

[0013] According to this configuration, in the external server, the load information collection unit collects load-related information regarding the environment at the installation location of the facility equipment from a large amount of data, the environmental load information generation unit generates environmental load degree information, and the updated inspection information generation unit generates updated inspection information. Therefore, the processing load for inspection notification on the facility equipment side can be reduced, and accordingly, the capacity of the microcomputer on the facility equipment side can be made relatively small, and the cost of the facility equipment can be suppressed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. (Embodiment 1) As shown in FIG. 1, the facility equipment cooperation system 1A of Embodiment 1 includes an external server 3 and a water heater (facility equipment) 2 communicably connected to the external server 3 via a network 5 such as an Internet line. The external server 3 is a computer including a control unit (such as a processor), a storage device, a communication interface, etc., is connected to the water heater 2 via the network 5, and is also communicably connected to another server 4 via the network 5. This external server 3 is, for example, the server of the manufacturer of the water heater 2. The water heater 2 has a function of performing an inspection notification to prompt an inspection of parts at a predetermined time by judging from the usage status of the parts of the water heater 2 based on inspection information. Generally speaking, in this facility equipment cooperation system 1A, the water heater 2 transmits installation location information regarding the installation location of the water heater 2 to the external server 3, and the external server 3 collects load-related information regarding the environment of the installation location of the water heater 2 based on the installation location information, and transmits external server information including information corresponding to the installation environment of the water heater 2 to the water heater 2. The water heater 2 is configured to update inspection information based on the external server information.

[0016] In the first embodiment, an example of applying to a gas water heater 2 as facility equipment is shown. Here, the "facility equipment" of the present disclosure is facility equipment whose component life can be affected by the environment of the installation location, including residential equipment installed outdoors or indoors of a house, and facility equipment installed outdoors or indoors of various facilities such as elderly facilities. Note that the facility equipment includes, in addition to the gas water heater, a heat pump water heater, a hybrid water supply device, a storage tank type water supply device, an electric water heater, a warm water circulation type heater, a dishwasher, a cooking heater, a fan heater, a clothes dryer, and the like.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the water heater 2 in the first embodiment is composed of a water heater main body 7 and a remote control 6. Inside the water heater main body 7, it includes a combustion part 72 with a fan 71 connected to the bottom, and a heat exchange part 73 connected to the upper part of the combustion part 72. The combustion part 72 is provided with a burner 74 for burning the mixed gas of fuel gas and primary air from the fan 71, an ignition electrode 75 for igniting the burner 74, and a flame rod 76 for detecting the flame of the burner 74. The heat exchange part 73 is provided with a fin tube type heat exchanger 78 for recovering the heat in the combustion exhaust from the burner 74 and heating the water flowing in the heat transfer tube 77. An inlet water pipe 79 is connected to the water inlet side of the heat transfer tube 77, and an outlet water pipe 80 is connected to the water outlet side of the heat transfer tube 77. An exhaust port 81 for exhausting the combustion exhaust outside the water heater main body 7 is provided at the upper part of the heat exchange part 73. A main solenoid valve 83 and a gas proportional valve 84 are provided in the gas pipe 82 for supplying fuel gas to the burner 74. A water volume sensor 85 for detecting the water volume and an inlet water temperature sensor 86 for detecting the inlet water temperature are provided in the inlet water pipe 79, and an outlet water temperature sensor 87 for detecting the outlet water temperature is provided in the outlet water pipe 80. Thus, the water heater 2 is composed of many components. These components may deteriorate and malfunction after long-term use. For example, it is encouraged to inspect the household water heater 2 around 10 years after manufacture and the commercial water heater 2 around 3 years after manufacture.

[0018] Inside the water heater main body 7, a controller 70 for controlling each operation of the water heater 2 is provided. The controller 70 is composed of a microcomputer (electronic unit) having a control unit (such as a processor), a storage device, etc., and valves, sensors, etc. (76, 83 to 88, etc.) in the water heater 2 are electrically connected thereto. A remote controller 6 for remotely operating the water heater 2, etc. is connected to the controller 70. The remote controller 6 has an external communication function that is communicably connected to the external server 3 via the network 5. Note that the remote controller 6 or the controller 70 may be configured to communicate with a communication device (such as a repeater, smartphone, tablet, etc.) and connect to the network 5 to be communicably connected to the external server 3.

[0019] As an example of the operation of this water heater 2, when a water supply faucet such as a faucet provided on the downstream side of the hot water outlet pipe 80 is opened, the controller 70 detects the operating water volume based on the detection signal of the water volume sensor 85 and starts the operation of the water heater 2. When the operation of the water heater 2 starts, the fan 71 is operated, the main solenoid valve 83 and the gas proportional valve 84 are opened to supply fuel gas to the burner 74, the igniter 88 is operated to generate a spark discharge at the ignition electrode 75 to ignite the burner 74. After the burner 74 is ignited, the controller 70 adjusts the gas amount by the gas proportional valve 84 based on the hot water outlet temperature detected by the hot water outlet temperature sensor 87, the inlet water temperature detected by the inlet water temperature sensor 86, and the set temperature set by the remote controller 6, and also changes the rotation speed of the fan 71 according to the gas amount to control the hot water outlet temperature to be the set temperature. Then, when the water supply faucet is closed, the controller 70 detects the operation stop water volume based on the detection signal of the water volume sensor 85, closes the main solenoid valve 83 and the gas proportional valve 84 to extinguish the burner 74, and also stops the fan 71 after performing a purge operation for a certain period of time, and ends the operation of the water heater 2.

[0020] Next, the inspection notification function in the water heater 2 will be described. Referring again to FIG. 1, the controller 70 of the water heater 2 includes an inspection information storage unit 21 that stores inspection information regarding the implementation of inspections of parts to be inspected among a plurality of parts constituting the water heater 2, a usage status storage unit 22 that stores usage status information regarding the usage status of the parts to be inspected, a comparison and determination unit 23 that compares the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit 21 and the usage status information stored in the usage status storage unit 22 to determine whether the inspection notification timing has arrived, and a notification instruction unit 24 that, when the comparison and determination unit 23 determines that the inspection notification timing has arrived, gives a notification instruction to the notification unit 25 to perform an inspection notification to the user to the effect of prompting an inspection.

[0021] The inspection information storage unit 21 and the usage status storage unit 22 are configured as functional units in the storage device of the controller 70, and the comparison and determination unit 23 and the notification instruction unit 24 are configured as functional units in the control unit of the controller 70. The notification unit 25 is constituted by the display unit 63 of the remote controller 6 having a display function for displaying the effect of prompting an inspection. Note that, in addition to the display unit 63 of the remote controller 6, the notification unit 25 may be constituted by a speaker, a lamp, or the like of the remote controller 6.

[0022] The inspection information is the information serving as the standard for the inspection timing, and is information regarding the inspection usage time of parts, the inspection usage frequency of parts, etc. Regarding the implementation of inspection, for parts managed by usage time, the inspection usage time is used as the inspection information, for parts managed by usage frequency, the inspection usage frequency is used as the inspection information, and for parts managed by both usage time and usage frequency, the inspection usage time and the inspection usage frequency are used as the inspection information. For example, in the case of the water heater 2, the fan motor of the fan 71, the burner 74, the sensors 85, 86, 87, etc. are managed for inspection implementation by usage time, and the igniter 88, the ignition electrode 75, the valves 83, 84, etc. are managed for inspection implementation by usage frequency. The inspection usage time and the inspection usage frequency are determined in advance based on the standard usage conditions of the water heater 2. For example, the service life or service frequency in the design of the parts can be applied, or it can be determined as about 90% of the service life or the service frequency. The inspection information storage unit 21 stores the inspection information of at least one part as the inspection target part. The inspection information is stored in the inspection information storage unit 21 during the manufacture of the water heater 2. However, at the time of installation of the water heater 2, the installer may use a portable information terminal (personal computer, tablet, etc.) to read it from the storage medium or the installer-exclusive homepage of the manufacturer of the water heater 2 and store it in the inspection information storage unit 21.

[0023] The usage information is information regarding the actual usage time of the parts to be inspected, the actual number of times the parts to be inspected are used, and the like. The controller 70 has a timer (not shown) that measures the usage time for each part to be inspected. The timer obtains the usage time of the part to be inspected, for example, by measuring the time from when the controller 70 outputs an operation start signal to the part to be inspected until it outputs an operation stop signal. Further, the timer measures the operation time from the start to the end of the operation of the water heater 2. Among the parts to be inspected, for parts that can be regarded as constantly operating during the operation of the water heater 2, such as a fan motor, a sensor, a burner, etc., the operation time of the water heater 2 may be used as the usage time of the part to be inspected. Further, the controller 70 has a counter (not shown) that measures the number of times of use for each part to be inspected. The counter obtains the number of times of use of the part to be inspected, for example, by counting the number of times the controller 70 outputs an operation start signal to the part to be inspected.

[0024] The usage time of the part to be inspected measured by the timer and the number of times of use of the part to be inspected counted by the counter are stored in the usage status storage unit 22 periodically or each time the operation of the water heater 2 ends. In the usage status storage unit 22, for each part, it is stored as the cumulative usage time obtained by accumulating the usage time measured by the timer, and the cumulative number of times of use obtained by accumulating the number of times of use measured by the counter. In the comparison and judgment unit 23, the cumulative usage time (usage information) of the part to be inspected is compared with the inspection usage time (inspection information), and the cumulative number of times of use (usage information) of the part to be inspected is compared with the inspection number of times of use (inspection information).

[0025] Next, an example of the operation of the inspection notification in the water heater 2 will be described. This operation of the inspection notification is executed by the controller 70. During the period from the start to the end of the operation of the water heater 2, the timer measures the usage time of the part to be inspected. For example, the timer starts measuring when the controller 70 outputs an operation start signal to the part to be inspected, and stops measuring when the operation stop signal is output, thereby measuring the usage time of the part to be inspected.

[0026] Next, the usage time of the component to be inspected measured by the timer is stored in the usage status storage unit 22. The timing for storing the usage time measured by the timer in the usage status storage unit 22 may be executed periodically, such as at a fixed time every week (such as 7:00 am on Monday), at a fixed time every month (such as 7:00 am on the 1st), etc., or may be executed each time the operation of the water heater 2 ends. In the usage status storage unit 22, the usage time of the component to be inspected measured by the timer is added to the already stored usage time and stored as the cumulative usage time. Then, the usage time of the component to be inspected measured by the timer is reset after being stored in the usage status storage unit 22. Note that the usage status storage unit 22 stores the cumulative usage time corresponding to each component to be inspected.

[0027] Next, when a new usage time is stored in the usage status storage unit 22, the comparison and determination unit 23 compares the inspection usage time (inspection information) of the component to be inspected stored in the inspection information storage unit 21 with the cumulative usage time (usage status information) of the component to be inspected stored in the usage status storage unit 22, and determines whether the inspection notification timing of this component to be inspected has arrived. Specifically, when the condition that the cumulative usage time of the component to be inspected is equal to or greater than the inspection usage time of the component to be inspected (usage status information ≥ inspection information) is satisfied, it is determined that the inspection notification timing of the component to be inspected has arrived. When it is determined that the inspection notification timing has arrived, the notification instruction unit 24 gives a notification instruction to the display unit 63 (notification unit 25) of the remote controller 6 to perform an inspection notification for the component to be inspected. As a result, a display indicating that an inspection for the component to be inspected is to be prompted is made on the display unit 63 of the remote controller 6. As an example of the display for prompting the inspection, a display such as a title "Notification", a notification content "It's time for component inspection.", and a target component "Fan motor" is made. Note that the inspection notification may be a voice message by the speaker (notification unit 25) of the remote controller 6, a buzzer, or a blinking of the lamp (notification unit 25) of the remote controller 6. Then, when the user recognizes the inspection notification and contacts the repairer, and after the repairer replaces, maintains, and conserves the component to be inspected and finishes the inspection work, the cumulative usage time stored in the usage status storage unit 22 for the component for which the inspection has been performed is reset, and the inspection notification on the display unit 63 of the remote controller 6 is cancelled.

[0028] Note that the operation example of the inspection notification shows an example of determining the inspection notification timing from the usage time of the component to be inspected. However, depending on the type of the component to be inspected, the inspection notification timing may be determined based on the number of uses of the component to be inspected, or the usage time and the number of uses. In this case as well, the operation shall be performed in accordance with the procedure of the operation example.

[0029] Next, the configuration related to the inspection notification of the facility equipment cooperation system 1A will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, in the water heater 2, the controller 70 includes a device information acquisition unit 11 that acquires device information including installation location information regarding the installation location of the water heater 2, and an update inspection information generation unit 14 that generates update inspection information for setting predetermined inspection information as information corresponding to the installation environment of the water heater 2 based on the external server information transmitted from the external server 3. The controller 70 also includes an information processing unit 15 that updates the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit 21 with the update inspection information generated by the update inspection information generation unit 14. The device information acquisition unit 11, the update inspection information generation unit 14, and the information processing unit 15 are configured as functional units in the control unit and the storage device of the controller 70.

[0030] Further, the remote controller 6 includes, as a communication interface, an information transmission unit 61 that transmits the device information acquired by the device information acquisition unit 11 to the external server 3, and an information reception unit 62 that receives the external server information transmitted from the external server 3.

[0031] The equipment information includes the product information of the water heater 2 and its components in addition to the installation location information of the water heater 2. The product information is unique identification information about the water heater 2 and its components, such as information regarding the manufacturing number, model, etc. The product information is obtained by the equipment information acquisition unit 11 by reading it from the storage device of the controller 70 if it is stored in the storage device of the controller 70, or it can also be obtained by the user or the installer of the water heater 2 manually inputting the manufacturing number, model, etc. described in the water heater 2 or the instruction manual through the remote control 6 or a communication device (such as a smartphone, tablet, etc.) capable of communicating with the controller 70, or it can also be obtained by downloading the manufacturing number, model, etc. from the user homepage of the water heater 2 manufacturer or the homepage dedicated to installers.

[0032] The installation location information of the water heater 2 includes address information indicating the address or region of the property (such as a house) where the water heater 2 is installed, and sensor information such as temperature, humidity, altitude, illuminance, etc. detected by various sensors installed in the water heater 2. Note that the "region" is an arbitrary range such as a block, neighborhood, school district, city, town, village, etc. at the address of the property. The address information is automatically obtained by the equipment information acquisition unit 11 using GPS if the controller 70 of the water heater 2 has a GPS function, or it can be obtained by the user or the installer of the water heater 2 manually inputting it through the remote control 6 or the communication device, or it can also be obtained by the user or the installer of the water heater 2 inputting the address information using the GPS function of the communication device.

[0033] The sensor information is obtained by the equipment information acquisition unit 11 from the output of each sensor of the water heater 2. Note that for information that varies daily, such as temperature, humidity, and illuminance among the sensor information, it may be aggregated and obtained by the equipment information acquisition unit 11 as average values, maximum values, minimum values, etc. over a certain period such as a year, month, week, day, etc.

[0034] In addition, the equipment information may include the installation date (year, month, and day of installation) and the manufacturing date (year, month, and day of manufacture) of the water heater 2. That is, even if the water heater 2 is not in use, if the installation area of the water heater 2 is, for example, near the coast, the water heater 2 may be exposed to an air environment containing salt, which may accelerate the deterioration of components. Therefore, it is preferable to include the installation date and manufacturing date of the water heater 2 in the equipment information in order to know the installation period and the elapsed period after manufacture of the water heater 2. The installation date of the water heater 2 can be obtained by the equipment information acquisition unit 11 when the installer or user of the water heater 2 manually inputs it from the remote controller 6 or the communication device, or automatically obtained during the trial operation at the time of installation of the water heater 2. If the manufacturing date of the water heater 2 is stored in the storage device of the controller 70, it can be read from the storage device of the controller 70 and obtained, or the manufacturing date described in the water heater 2 or the instruction manual can be manually input by the user or the installer of the water heater 2 from the remote controller 6 or the communication device to cause the equipment information acquisition unit 11 to obtain it.

[0035] Note that in the equipment information acquisition unit 11, regarding the product information, address information, installation date of the water heater 2, and manufacturing date of the water heater 2, in order to be determined at the time of installation of the water heater 2, these information are obtained at the time of installation of the water heater 2, and the sensor information is obtained constantly or at a certain timing.

[0036] The updated inspection information is the inspection information obtained by reviewing the predetermined inspection information according to the environmental load degree information included in the external server information described later. The updated inspection information is calculated, for example, by multiplying the predetermined inspection information by a constant that is the environmental load degree information when the environmental load degree information is indicated by a predetermined constant. The updated inspection information generation unit 14 performs the above calculation to generate the updated inspection information when obtaining the environmental load degree information from the external server 3. Then, when the updated inspection information generation unit 14 generates the updated inspection information, the information processing unit 15 performs a process of updating the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit 21 with the updated inspection information.

[0037] The external server 3 includes a load information collection unit 12 that collects load-related information regarding the environment at the installation location of the water heater 2 based on the installation location information included in the device information transmitted from the water heater 2, and an environmental load information generation unit 13 that generates environmental load degree information regarding the evaluation of predetermined inspection information based on the load-related information collected by the load information collection unit 12. Note that the environmental load information generation unit 13 can generate the environmental load degree information in consideration of the sensor information included in the installation location information transmitted from the water heater 2, the installation date and the manufacturing date of the water heater 2 included in the device information. The load information collection unit 12 and the environmental load information generation unit 13 are configured by the functional units of the control unit and the storage device of the external server 3.

[0038] Further, the external server 3 includes, as a communication interface, a reception unit 32 that receives the device information transmitted from the water heater 2, and a transmission unit 31 that transmits information including the environmental load degree information generated by the environmental load information generation unit 13 to the water heater 2 as external server information. Note that the external server 3 is communicably connected to another server 4 via the network 5 by a communication interface (transmission unit 31, reception unit 32).

[0039] The load-related information is information that can be an environmental factor that accelerates or delays the deterioration of the parts of the water heater 2 earlier or later than the designed service life or the number of service times, and is environmental data such as meteorological data and geographical data at the installation location of the water heater 2.

[0040] The meteorological data is, for example, meteorological information such as the temperature, humidity, sunshine duration, precipitation, etc. of the region where the water heater 2 is installed, and is the average value, maximum value, minimum value, etc. of a certain period such as year, month, week, day, etc. of this meteorological information. Further, the meteorological data may include the number of extremely hot days, the number of typhoon landings, the number of tornado occurrences, etc. in a year in the region where the water heater 2 is installed. When the water heater 2 is installed in a region where such meteorological data is above a certain level or is large, it is considered that the component life of the water heater 2 is accelerated.

[0041] The geographical data is, for example, geographical information on whether the domicile of the property at the installation location of the water heater 2 corresponds to an area near the coast (for example, an area within 1000 m from the coastline), a highland with an altitude of 1000 m or more, an area with high-hardness water, an area where a large amount of volcanic ash falls, etc. When the water heater 2 is installed in an area corresponding to such geographical data, it is considered that the part life of the parts of the water heater 2 will be shortened.

[0042] In the load information collection unit 12, the weather data can be collected by the external server 3 accessing the homepage of the Japan Meteorological Agency, which is another server 4, etc., and the geographical data can be collected by the external server 3 accessing the homepage of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, the waterworks bureau, etc., which are other servers 4.

[0043] The environmental load degree information is evaluation information that evaluates predetermined inspection information based on load-related information and also considering the sensor information included in the installation location information, the installation date and manufacturing date of the water heater 2 included in the equipment information. For example, it is indicated by a constant. The constant that becomes the environmental load degree information is determined for each environmental factor of the meteorological data and geographical data, which are load-related information, for each component, and can be determined based on experimental results, calculations, results of AI (artificial intelligence), etc. And this constant that becomes the environmental load degree information can be summarized as tabular data such as the table shown in FIG. 3. The environmental load information generation unit 13 has, for example, the table shown in FIG. 3, and collates each environmental factor of the load-related information at the installation location of the water heater 2 with each component of this water heater 2 with the table shown in FIG. 3 to determine the constant that becomes the environmental load degree information for each component. As an example, for a specific fan motor, if the installation location of the water heater 2 is near the coast (environmental factor of load-related information), the constant that becomes the environmental load degree information is determined to be "0.8". Also, when the installation environment of the water heater 2 corresponds to a plurality of environmental factors of the load-related information, the constant that becomes the environmental load degree information is assigned the lowest constant. For example, when the installation location of the water heater 2 in the environmental factor of the load-related information is near the coast and corresponds to a region with an annual average temperature of 20°C or more, for a predetermined fan motor, if the constant of the environmental load degree information as near the coast is "0.8" and the constant of the environmental load degree information as a region with an annual average temperature of 20°C or more is "0.9", the constant of the environmental load degree information for the fan motor is assigned the lowest constant, "0.8".

[0044] Next, the operation of the facility equipment cooperation system 1A will be described. This operation is an operation in which the water heater 2 and the external server 3 cooperate to update the inspection information according to the installation environment of the water heater 2. Note that the operation of the water heater 2 described below is executed by the controller 70 and the remote control 6 of the water heater 2. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the relationship between the water heater 2, the external server 3, and another server 4 (such as a weather data providing website), and the operation of the facility equipment cooperation system 1A will be described with reference to this FIG. 4.

[0045] In step S1, the water heater 2 is communicably connected to the external server 3 via the network 5 periodically, for example, once a day. In step S2, when communicably connected to the water heater 2, the external server 3 recognizes that it is the timing to acquire device information from the water heater 2. In step S3, the external server 3 transmits a request signal to the water heater 2 requesting the transmission of device information. In step S4, in response to the request signal from the external server 3, the water heater 2 transmits device information including the installation location information of the water heater 2 acquired by the device information acquisition unit 11 to the external server 3. In steps S5 and S6, based on the installation location information included in the device information received from the water heater 2, the external server 3 accesses another server 4, and the load information collection unit 12 collects load-related information such as meteorological data such as the temperature in the installation area of the water heater 2 and geographical data such as whether it is a coastal area. In step S7, based on the load-related information collected by the load information collection unit 12 by the environmental load information generation unit 13 of the external server 3, and also considering the sensor information included in the installation location information received from the water heater 2 and the installation date and manufacturing date of the water heater 2 included in the device information, environmental load degree information regarding the evaluation of the predetermined inspection information for each part of the water heater 2 is generated. In step S8, the external server 3 transmits external server information including the environmental load degree information generated by the environmental load information generation unit 13 to the water heater 2. In step S9, based on the environmental load degree information included in the external server information transmitted from the external server 3, the update inspection information generation unit 14 of the water heater 2 generates update inspection information according to the installation environment of the water heater 2. In step S10, the information processing unit 15 of the water heater 2 updates the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit 21 with the update inspection information generated by the update inspection information generation unit 14. Note that the device information transmitted by the water heater 2 to the external server 3 and the external server information transmitted by the external server 3 to the water heater 2 include an identifier (ID) for identifying the water heater 2.

[0046] By the above operation, the inspection information is updated to the updated inspection information, and thus the standard for the inspection notification timing is changed to a new standard considering the installation environment of the water heater 2. For example, for a specific fan motor that is a component to be inspected, when the constant that is the environmental load degree information is "0.8", the inspection usage time (predetermined inspection information) of the fan motor is 1000 hours, which is changed to 800 hours (updated inspection information) that is 0.8 times (environmental load degree information).

[0047] In this way, after the inspection information is updated to the updated inspection information, the comparison determination unit 23 compares the updated inspection information with the usage status information to determine whether the inspection notification timing has arrived. When the comparison determination unit 23 determines that the inspection notification timing has arrived, the notification instruction unit 24 gives a notification instruction to the notification unit 25, and the notification unit 25 performs an inspection notification to prompt the user to perform an inspection. That is, by updating the inspection information to the updated inspection information considering the installation environment of the water heater 2, the inspection notification timing is changed to a timing corresponding to the installation environment of the water heater 2. In addition, the water heater 2 can periodically communicate with the external server 3 to update the inspection information, so that it can also review the inspection standard in response to changes in the installation environment of the water heater 2, and thus can perform an inspection notification at a timing reflecting the actual situation of the installation environment of the water heater 2. Therefore, according to the equipment cooperation system 1A of the first embodiment, even if the water heater 2 is installed in an installation environment where the life time of the component is advanced, an appropriate inspection notification can be given to the user according to the installation environment of the water heater 2. Also, even when the water heater 2 is installed in an installation environment where the life time of the component is extended, the inspection notification will not be given at a time earlier than necessary. Therefore, measures such as replacement, maintenance, and repair of the component can be taken at an appropriate time before the component life expires considering the installation environment of the water heater 2, and the situation where the water heater 2 becomes unable to supply hot water due to the arrival of the component life can be prevented.

[0048] In addition, in the external server 3, the load information collection unit 12 collects load-related information as environmental data (such as weather data and geographical data) at the installation location of the water heater 2 from a huge amount of data, and the environmental load information generation unit 13 generates environmental load degree information. Therefore, the processing load for the inspection notification by the controller 70 of the water heater 2 can be reduced. Accordingly, the capacity of the microcomputer in the controller 70 of the water heater 2 can be made relatively small, and the cost of the water heater 2 can be suppressed.

[0049] In step S8, the external server 3 includes environmental load degree information (for example, a constant) in the external server information and transmits it to the water heater 2 to which the device information has been transmitted. However, for all the water heaters of the same type installed in the area where the water heater 2 is installed, other than the water heater 2, the same environmental load degree information may also be transmitted. Thereby, the inspection information can be updated all at once for all the water heaters in a specific area, and the inspection notification can be performed at an appropriate time according to the environment of the specific area.

[0050] (Embodiment 2) The facility equipment cooperation system 1B of Embodiment 2 has a different configuration from the facility equipment cooperation system 1A of Embodiment 1. As a configuration in which the environmental load information generation unit 13 is provided on the water heater 2 side, which is the facility equipment. As shown in FIG. 5, the facility equipment cooperation system 1B of Embodiment 2 includes, as a configuration related to the update of inspection information, the external server 3 is provided with a load information collection unit 12, and the controller 70 of the water heater 2 is provided with a device information acquisition unit 11, an environmental load information generation unit 13, an updated inspection information generation unit 14, and an information processing unit 15.

[0051] In the operation where the water heater 2 and the external server 3 are coordinated in the facility equipment coordination system 1B of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, when the load information collection unit 12 of the external server 3 collects load-related information including environmental data at the installation location of the water heater 2 (steps S5 and S6), the external server 3 transmits external server information including this load-related information to the water heater 2 (step S27). When the water heater 2 receives this external server information, the environmental load information generation unit 13 generates environmental load degree information regarding the evaluation of the inspection information predetermined for each component of the water heater 2 based on the load-related information included in the external server information (step S28). Then, in the water heater 2, the updated inspection information generation unit 14 generates updated inspection information according to the installation environment of the water heater 2 based on the environmental load degree information generated by the environmental load information generation unit 13 (step S9), and the information processing unit 15 updates the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit 21 with the updated inspection information generated by the updated inspection information generation unit 14 (step S10).

[0052] According to the facility equipment coordination system 1B of the second embodiment, in the external server 3, since the load information collection unit 12 collects load-related information including environmental data at the installation location of the water heater 2 from a large amount of data, the processing load for inspection notification by the controller 70 of the water heater 2 can be reduced. Accordingly, the capacity of the microcomputer in the controller 70 of the water heater 2 can be made relatively small, and the cost of the water heater 2 can be suppressed. Further, in the second embodiment, by providing the environmental load information generation unit 13 on the water heater 2 side, the storage capacity and the load of arithmetic processing corresponding to the environmental load information generation unit 13 in the external server 3 can be reduced. Note that the second embodiment is the same as or equivalent to the first embodiment except for the configurations, operations, and effects described above.

[0053] (Embodiment 3) The equipment cooperation system 1C of Embodiment 3 has a different configuration from the equipment cooperation system 1A of Embodiment 1. As a different configuration, the update inspection information generation unit 14 is provided on the external server 3 side. As shown in FIG. 7, the equipment cooperation system 1C of Embodiment 3 includes, as a configuration related to the update of inspection information, the external server 3 which includes a load information collection unit 12, an environmental load information generation unit 13, and an update inspection information generation unit 14, and the controller 70 of the water heater 2 includes an equipment information acquisition unit 11 and an information processing unit 15.

[0054] In the equipment cooperation system 1C of this Embodiment 3, the operation in which the water heater 2 and the external server 3 cooperate is as shown in FIG. 8. When the environmental load information generation unit 13 of the external server 3 generates environmental load degree information (step S7), the update inspection information generation unit 14 generates update inspection information corresponding to the installation environment of the water heater 2 based on the environmental load degree information generated by the environmental load information generation unit 13 (step S38). Subsequently, the external server 3 transmits external server information including the update inspection information generated by the update inspection information generation unit 14 to the water heater 2 (step S39). When receiving this external server information, the information processing unit 15 of the water heater 2 updates the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit 21 to the update inspection information included in the external server information (step S10).

[0055] According to the equipment cooperation system 1C of this Embodiment 3, in the external server 3, the load information collection unit 12 collects load-related information including environmental data at the installation location of the water heater 2 from a large amount of data, the environmental load information generation unit 13 generates environmental load degree information, and the update inspection information generation unit 14 generates update inspection information. Therefore, the processing load for inspection notification by the controller 70 of the water heater 2 can be reduced. Accordingly, the capacity of the microcomputer in the controller 70 of the water heater 2 can be made relatively small, and the cost of the water heater 2 can be suppressed. Note that Embodiment 3 is the same as or equivalent to Embodiment 1 except for the configurations, operations, and effects described above.

[0056] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, the load information collection unit 12 may be provided on the external server 3 side, the device information acquisition unit 11 and the information processing unit 15 may be provided on the facility device 2 side, and both or either one of the environmental load information generation unit 13 and the update inspection information generation unit 14 can be provided on the external server 3 side or the facility device 2 side. The information reception unit 61, the information transmission unit 62, and the display unit 63 (notification unit 25) provided in the remote controller 6 in each of the above embodiments may be provided on the device main body 7 of the facility device 2, and the facility device 2 may be configured not to have a remote controller. In addition, a communication device (such as a smartphone or a tablet) that is communicably connected to the external server 3 via the network 5 may be configured to include a part of the configuration (device information acquisition unit 11, information processing unit 15, and optionally, environmental load information generation unit 13, update inspection information generation unit 14) in a dedicated application program. In this case, the communication device is communicably connected directly or via a repeater or the like to the controller 70 or the remote controller of the facility device 2, and becomes a part of the configuration of the facility device 2 in the facility device cooperation system 1. Further, the display unit of a portable information terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet owned by the user may be configured to function as the notification unit 25 by a dedicated application program.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0057] 1A, 1B, 1C Facility device cooperation system 2 Water heater (facility device) 3 External server 4 Other server 5 Network 6 Remote controller 7 Water heater main body 11 Device information acquisition unit 12 Load information collection unit 13 Environmental load information generation unit 14 Update inspection information generation unit 15 Information processing unit 21 Inspection Information Memory Unit 22 Usage Status Memory Unit 23 Comparison and Judgment Unit 24 Notification Instruction Unit 25 Notification Unit 31 Transmitter 32 Receiver 61 Information Transmitter 62 Information Receiver 63 Display Unit 70 Controller

Claims

1. An equipment cooperation system comprising an external server and equipment that can communicate with the external server, wherein the external server is configured to transmit external server information including information corresponding to the installation environment of the equipment to the equipment based on the equipment information transmitted from the equipment, the equipment includes an inspection information storage unit that corresponds to at least one of a plurality of components constituting the equipment and stores inspection information regarding the implementation of predetermined inspections, a usage status storage unit that stores usage status information regarding the usage status of the one component or the equipment, a comparison and determination unit that compares the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit with the usage status information stored in the usage status storage unit and determines whether the inspection notification timing has arrived, a notification instruction unit that, when the comparison and determination unit determines that the inspection notification timing has arrived, gives a notification instruction to a notification unit that performs an inspection notification to prompt the user, an equipment information acquisition unit that acquires the equipment information including installation location information regarding the installation location of the equipment, an information transmission unit that transmits the equipment information acquired by the equipment information acquisition unit to the external server, an information reception unit that receives the external server information transmitted from the external server, and an information processing unit that updates the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit based on the external server information received by the information reception unit. The equipment cooperation system is characterized in that after the inspection information in the inspection information storage unit is updated, the comparison and determination unit is configured to compare the updated inspection information with the usage status information and determine whether the inspection timing has arrived.

2. In the equipment cooperation system according to Claim 1, the external server includes a load information collection unit that collects load-related information regarding the environment at the installation location of the equipment based on the installation location information included in the equipment information transmitted from the equipment, an environmental load information generation unit that generates environmental load degree information regarding the evaluation of the predetermined inspection information based on the load-related information collected by the load information collection unit, the external server transmits information including the environmental load degree information to the equipment as the external server information, the equipment includes An update inspection information generation unit that generates update inspection information by setting the predetermined inspection information as information corresponding to the installation environment of the equipment based on the environmental load level information included in the external server information received by the information reception unit. The information processing unit updates the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit to the update inspection information, for an equipment cooperation system.

3. In the equipment cooperation system according to claim 1, The external server, Comprises a load information collection unit that collects load-related information regarding the environment at the installation location of the equipment based on the installation location information included in the equipment information transmitted from the equipment. The external server transmits information including the load-related information to the equipment as the external server information. The equipment, An environmental load information generation unit that generates environmental load level information regarding the evaluation of the predetermined inspection information based on the load-related information included in the external server information received by the information reception unit, An update inspection information generation unit that generates update inspection information by setting the predetermined inspection information as information corresponding to the installation environment of the equipment based on the environmental load level information, and The information processing unit updates the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit to the update inspection information, for an equipment cooperation system.

4. In the equipment cooperation system according to claim 1, The external server, A load information collection unit that collects load-related information regarding the environment at the installation location of the equipment based on the installation location information included in the equipment information transmitted from the equipment, An environmental load information generation unit that generates environmental load level information regarding the evaluation of the predetermined inspection information based on the load-related information collected by the load information collection unit, An update inspection information generation unit that generates update inspection information by setting the predetermined inspection information as information corresponding to the installation environment of the equipment based on the environmental load level information generated by the environmental load information generation unit, and The external server transmits information including the update inspection information to the equipment as the external server information. The information processing unit of the equipment updates the inspection information stored in the inspection information storage unit to the update inspection information included in the external server information received by the information reception unit, for an equipment cooperation system.

Images