Electrical equipment management system

Abstract

To provide an electric apparatus management system capable of preventing an electric apparatus installed in a rental property from being operated by a portable terminal owned by an old lessee who has lost a contractual relation of a rental contract of the rental property.SOLUTION: An electric apparatus management system 1A includes an information deletion part 4A for deleting a part of information stored according to the use of an air conditioner 12A previously installed in a rental property RT whose rental contract is invalidated on the basis of the invalidation of the rental contract.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical equipment management system for managing electrical equipment installed in rental properties. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a known technology for remotely controlling electrical appliances using a personal smartphone instead of a remote controller for operating the appliances. The electrical appliances are connected to a server via a communication network, and the smartphone controls the electrical appliances by connecting to the communication network and the server mainly using a mobile communication line (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-50752 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Some rental properties allow tenants to control the electrical equipment (such as air conditioners) installed in the property using a mobile terminal device such as a smartphone. Such rental properties pose a problem in that even after the tenant has moved out, the tenant's mobile terminal device may remain in a state where the electrical equipment in the rental property can be controlled.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide an electrical equipment management system that can prevent electrical equipment installed in a rental property from being operated by a mobile terminal device owned by a former tenant who has no longer been under the rental contract for the rental property. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an electrical equipment management system according to one aspect of the present invention is characterized by having a deletion unit that deletes part of the information stored in accordance with the use of electrical equipment that has been pre-installed in a rental property whose rental contract has been invalidated, based on the invalidation of the rental contract. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent electrical equipment installed in a rental property from being operated by a mobile terminal device owned by a former tenant who has no longer been under a rental contract for the rental property. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an electrical equipment management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an electrical equipment management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the electrical equipment management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the operation for deleting part of the information about the electrical equipment after the rental contract is invalidated. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an electrical equipment management system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the electrical equipment management system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the operation of deleting part of the information on electrical equipment assignment after the rental contract is invalidated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The embodiments of the present invention are merely examples of devices and methods for embodying the technical idea of ​​the present invention, and the technical idea of ​​the present invention does not limit the materials, shapes, structures, arrangements, etc. of the components to those described below. The technical idea of ​​the present invention can be modified in various ways within the technical scope defined by the claims.

[0010] [First embodiment] An electrical equipment management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

[0011] 1-1. Electrical equipment management system configuration: A schematic configuration of an electrical equipment management system 1A according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the physical configuration of the electrical equipment management system 1A.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the electrical equipment management system 1A includes a management device 2, a cloud server 3A, an air conditioner 4A, and a mobile terminal device 5.

[0013] The management device 2 (an example of a management unit) is connected to the communication network 6 and manages the rental property RT. The management device 2 is a device (for example, a personal computer) used by the management company MC to manage the rental property RT.

[0014] The cloud server 3A is connected to the management device 2 and an air conditioner 4A (an example of an electrical device) via a communication network 6, and manages the air conditioner 4A. Details of the cloud server 3A will be described later.

[0015] Air conditioner 4A is an electrical device that was pre-installed in rental property RT and is owned by management company MC, not the tenant of rental property RT. Air conditioner 4A is installed by management company MC. Furthermore, "pre-installed" means that it was installed in the rental property by the management company (i.e., the lessor of the rental property). Air conditioner 4A was either installed when rental property RT was first constructed, or, even if it was not installed when rental property RT was first constructed, was installed in rental property RT before the rental contract between management company MC and the tenant was signed.

[0016] The rental property RT is equipped with a wireless LAN, which is an in-house communication network, and a wireless LAN relay station (not shown) is connected to a communication network 6 including the Internet. The relay station is a communication device such as a WiFi (registered trademark) router or a WiFi (registered trademark) access point. In this embodiment, the wireless LAN uses IEEE802.11 (IEEE802.11a, IEEE802.11b, IEEE802.11g, or IEEE802.11n), which is one of the wireless LAN standards, but may also comply with a wireless LAN standard other than IEEE802.11.

[0017] Although not shown, the air conditioner 4A has an outdoor unit, an indoor unit, and a wireless local area network (LAN) adapter. The wireless LAN adapter may be an external type attached to the indoor unit, or may be an internal type built into the indoor unit. The wireless LAN adapter is connected to a relay station via a wireless LAN installed in the rental property RT.

[0018] The electrical equipment installed in the rental property RT includes an air conditioner 4A. In addition to the air conditioner 4A, the electrical equipment installed in the rental property RT may also include other equipment such as an air purifier, a bathroom dryer, and a refrigerator.

[0019] The mobile terminal device 5 is a device connected to the air conditioner 4A via a communication network 6. The mobile terminal device 5 is, for example, a mobile communication terminal device such as a smartphone. The mobile terminal device 5 is configured to be connectable to the cloud server 3A via the communication network 6. The mobile terminal device 5 is owned by the tenant of the rental property RT. The tenant of the rental property RT uses the mobile terminal device 5 to register a combination of user identification information and device information of the air conditioner 4A in the cloud server 3A, thereby becoming authorized to use the cloud server 3A and the air conditioner 4A. The tenant of the rental property RT can use the air conditioner 4A by operating the mobile terminal device 5 to access the cloud server 3A. The mobile terminal device 5 is connected to the Internet via the communication network 6 using 4G (4th Generation), 5G (5th Generation), LTE (Long Term Evolution), or a public Wi-Fi (registered trademark) access point in the rental property RT.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the electrical equipment management system 1A. As shown in FIG. 2, the electrical equipment management system 1A includes a contract invalidation unit 11, an information deletion unit 12A, and a storage unit 13A.

[0021] The contract invalidation unit 11 is provided in the management device 2. The contract invalidation unit 11 invalidates the rental contract of the lessee for the rental property RT. For example, the contract invalidation unit 11 may invalidate the rental contract of the lessee for the rental property RT by deleting the information of the lessee stored as the "contractor" in a database stored in a memory unit (not shown) of the management device 2. Furthermore, the contract invalidation unit 11 may invalidate the rental contract of the lessee for the rental property RT by other methods.

[0022] The information deletion unit 12A (an example of a deletion unit) deletes part of the information stored in response to the use of the air conditioner 4A that was pre-installed in the rental property RT for which the rental contract between the management company MC and the tenant has been invalidated, based on the invalidation of the rental contract. In order to delete the part of the information, the information deletion unit 12A has a request unit 121, a request reception unit 122, an authorized state cancellation unit 123, an instruction signal transmission unit 124, a notification unit 125, a unique information deletion unit 126, an authentication unit 127, and a device information deletion unit 128.

[0023] The request unit 121 requests the cancellation of the permitted state in which the tenant of the rental property RT is permitted to use the air conditioner 4A. Hereinafter, the "permitted state in which use is permitted" of an electrical device (the air conditioner 4A in this embodiment) may be referred to as the "permitted use state." The request unit 121 is a functional unit that sends a cancellation request signal to the cloud server 3A to request the cancellation of the permitted use state of the air conditioner 4A of a tenant whose rental contract for the rental property RT has been invalidated. The request unit 121 sends the cancellation request signal to the cloud server 3A in conjunction with the invalidation of the rental contract between the management company MC and the tenant. The request unit 121 can remotely cancel the permitted use state of the air conditioner 4A installed in the rental property RT of a tenant whose rental contract has been invalidated. As a result, the tenant whose rental contract has been invalidated will no longer be able to remotely control the electrical device from the mobile terminal device 5.

[0024] In this way, the information deletion unit 12A sends a request to cancel the permitted use status of the air conditioner 4A to the cloud server 3A based on the fact that the rental contract has been invalidated from the management device 2. In other words, in order to cancel the permitted use status of the air conditioner 4A of the tenant whose rental contract for the rental property RT has been invalidated, the management device 2 can send a request to cancel the permitted use status of the air conditioner 4A to the cloud server 3A when the rental contract is invalidated. This allows the management device 2 to cancel the permitted use status of the air conditioner 4A. Hereinafter, the tenant whose rental contract has been invalidated may be referred to as the "old tenant."

[0025] The request unit 121 and the contract invalidation unit 11 are executed as one of the functions of a processor, for example (not shown) provided in the management device 2, by the processor executing a predetermined program stored in a memory unit (not shown) provided in the management device 2 as one of the computer programs.

[0026] The request receiving unit 122 is a functional unit that receives a cancellation request signal transmitted from the request unit 121 via the communication network 6. The cancellation request signal includes information about the lessee whose permission to use is to be cancelled and the air conditioner 4A. Therefore, the cloud server 3A can receive information about the electrical appliance whose permission to use is to be cancelled (the air conditioner 4A in this embodiment) and information about the previous lessee from the management device 2. The request receiving unit 122 analyzes the cancellation request signal and acquires information about the lessee whose permission to use is to be cancelled (e.g., user identification information) and information about the electrical appliance whose permission to use is to be cancelled (e.g., device information), which are included in the signal. The request receiving unit 122 outputs at least one of the acquired user identification information and device information to the permission status canceling unit 123, the instruction signal transmitting unit 124, and the notification unit 125.

[0027] The permitted status cancellation unit 123 cancels the permitted use status by receiving information about the air conditioner 4A for which the previous tenant's permitted use status is to be cancelled. Information (device information) about the air conditioner 4A for which the previous tenant's permitted use status is to be cancelled is input to the permitted status cancellation unit 123 from the request unit 121. The permitted status cancellation unit 123 (an example of a cancellation unit) cancels the permitted use status by deleting from the memory unit 13A the user identification information that identifies the tenant of the rental property RT whose rental contract has been invalidated. In other words, the permitted status cancellation unit 123 deletes the user identification information that was associated with the device information input from the request unit 121 and stored in the first memory unit 131 of the memory unit 13A. As a result, the previous tenant whose user identification information was deleted from the memory unit 13A when the permitted use status was cancelled will no longer be able to operate the air conditioner 4A using the remote control application installed on the mobile terminal device 5.

[0028] The instruction signal transmitting unit 124 (an example of a transmitting unit) transmits an instruction signal to the air conditioner 4A instructing it to delete the unique information. The unique information corresponds to information set by the lessee using the mobile terminal device 5 in order to operate the air conditioner 4A. The instruction signal transmitting unit 124 includes in the instruction signal the user identification information input from the request receiving unit 122 as information about the lessee who set the unique information to be deleted. Details of the unique information will be described later.

[0029] The notification unit 125 notifies the mobile terminal device 5 of device information identifying the air conditioner 4A that has been released from the tenant's use permission and that is installed in the rental property RT via the communication network 6. The notification unit 125 includes the device information input from the request reception unit 122 in a notification signal and transmits it to the mobile terminal device 5 as information about the air conditioner 4A that has been released from the tenant's use permission and that is installed in the rental property RT.

[0030] The request receiving unit 122, the permission status canceling unit 123, the instruction signal transmitting unit 124 and the notification unit 125 are executed as one of the functions of a processor, for example, a processor (not shown) provided in the cloud server 3A, by the processor executing a predetermined program stored in the memory unit 13A as one of the computer programs.

[0031] The unique information deletion unit 126 deletes the unique information. The unique information deletion unit 126 deletes the unique information set by the lessee that corresponds to the user identification information included in the instruction signal transmitted from the instruction signal transmission unit 124 from the second storage unit 132 provided in the storage unit 13A.

[0032] As a result, the permission to use the air conditioner 4A is cancelled when the rental contract for the rental property RT is invalidated, so the electrical equipment management system 1A can prevent the air conditioner 4A from being remotely operated by the previous tenant while the rental property RT is vacant or when a new tenant is present.

[0033] When a lock screen displayed on a display unit (not shown) provided in the mobile terminal device 5 is to be unlocked, the authentication unit 127 checks, for example, by fingerprint authentication or PIN code input, whether the operation is made by the owner of the mobile terminal device 5. The authentication unit 127 stores fingerprint information and PIN codes of the owner of the mobile terminal device 5, and when the input fingerprint information and PIN code match the stored fingerprint information and PIN code, it confirms that the operation is made by the owner of the mobile terminal device 5, and for example unlocks the lock screen.

[0034] The authentication unit 127 also verifies whether the user is a licensed user who is permitted to use the air conditioner 4A. The authentication unit 127 registers a tenant who is different from the owner of the air conditioner 4A as a licensed user. The authentication unit 127 stores, for example, the user identification information of the registered tenant, linked to the above-mentioned fingerprint information and PIN code. When the fingerprint information or PIN code linked to the user identification information of the registered tenant is entered, the authentication unit 127 verifies that the mobile terminal device 5 is operated by a licensed user who is permitted to use the air conditioner 4A. Furthermore, when an authentication operation is requested from, for example, the cloud server 3A, the authentication unit 127 transmits, for example, user identification information registered as the licensed user to the cloud server 3A via the communication network 6. When the transmitted user identification information is registered in the first memory unit 131 provided in the memory unit 13A as a licensed user of the air conditioner 4A, the cloud server 3A sets the air conditioner 4A to a permitted state for use by the tenant corresponding to the user identification information.

[0035] The device information deletion unit 128 deletes the device information included in the notification signal sent from the notification unit 125. The device information is saved in a remote control application that is installed on the mobile terminal device 5 and that can remotely control the air conditioner 4A. As a result, even if the previous tenant tries to operate the air conditioner 4A using the remote control application installed on the mobile terminal device 5, he or she will no longer be able to operate the air conditioner 4A.

[0036] The memory unit 13A stores user identification information that identifies the tenant of the rental property RT, unique information based on information set by the tenant using the mobile terminal device 5 to operate the air conditioner 4A, and associated information related to the operation of the air conditioner 4A. The memory unit 13A has a first memory unit 131 that stores the user identification information and the associated information, and a second memory unit 132 that stores the unique information. The first memory unit 131 stores the user identification information in association with the air conditioner 4A.

[0037] The information stored in the memory unit 13A in response to the use of the air conditioner 4A includes information that is deleted from the memory unit 13A when the rental contract for the rental property RT is invalidated, and information that is not deleted from the memory unit 13A. The information that is deleted from the memory unit 13A is user identification information and unique information, and the information that is not deleted from the memory unit 13A is related information. In other words, in this embodiment, the information deletion unit 12A deletes the user identification information and unique information from the memory unit 13A as part of the information stored in response to the use of the air conditioner 4A that was previously installed in the rental property RT whose rental contract has been invalidated.

[0038] Information that is deleted when a rental contract is invalidated corresponds to, for example, user identification information and unique information. User identification information includes account information (e.g., user ID) that is linked to an electrical device as a lessee who can use the electrical device stored in the cloud server. As the account information, for example, a user ID (e.g., email address) of a remote control application is linked to device information of a communication adapter provided in the electrical device and stored in the cloud server. The device information corresponds to, for example, a device ID (e.g., MAC address).

[0039] The unique information is information and data set by the tenant using a mobile terminal device to operate the electrical appliance. Examples of the information set as unique information include timer setting information, operation setting information, and volume setting information set by the tenant to operate the electrical appliance. Examples of the data set as unique information include a driving learning model to provide an AI (artificial intelligence) automatic driving function tailored to the tenant's preferences.

[0040] Information that is not deleted even if the rental contract is invalidated corresponds to, for example, related information. Related information includes, for example, information related to the electrical device itself, and connection information to a communication network stored in the cloud server and the electrical device (e.g., a communication adapter). Connection information to a communication network corresponds to, for example, information necessary for communication between the cloud server and the electrical device (e.g., the IP address of the connection destination).

[0041] The related information also includes, for example, data held for maintaining electrical equipment, such as data used in time-planned maintenance, which performs maintenance on electrical equipment based on a pre-planned time, data used in condition monitoring maintenance, which monitors electrical equipment and performs maintenance based on its condition, and data used in predictive maintenance, which predicts future failures or deterioration of electrical equipment and performs appropriate maintenance in advance.

[0042] The data used in time-planned maintenance is, for example, data recording the cumulative operation time and / or power supply time of a component or electrical equipment, in order to replace the component before it fails. If the electrical equipment is an air conditioner, the recorded cumulative time is, for example, data such as the cumulative operation time and power supply time of the indoor unit fan motor.

[0043] The data used in condition monitoring maintenance is, for example, data that is stored by constantly monitoring and detecting abnormalities in each part so that only parts in which abnormalities are detected can be replaced. If the electrical equipment is an air conditioner, the data is data that stores the detected values ​​of a refrigerant leak detection sensor and a compressor temperature sensor.

[0044] The data used in predictive maintenance is, for example, data from diagnostic learning models that have been trained from collected operational data, sensor values, and anomaly history of electrical equipment in order to perform predictive diagnosis of failures using artificial intelligence.

[0045] The related information also includes, for example, data used for at least one of the maintenance and repair of the electrical equipment. This data is information used to identify the fault location and diagnose the cause of the fault when the electrical equipment breaks down. For example, this information includes the model name of the electrical equipment, an error history including an error code indicating the nature of the fault, a connection history, or an operation history.

[0046] Furthermore, the related information includes, for example, collected big data. Big data is, for example, a collection of data collected from many electrical devices via a communication network for use in the above-mentioned driving learning model and diagnostic learning model. The data collected from the electrical devices includes, for example, driving data, various sensor values, and anomaly history.

[0047] The electrical equipment management system 1A includes, as functional blocks, a contract invalidation unit 11, an information deletion unit 12A, and a storage unit 13A. The components of the information deletion unit 12A and the storage unit 13A are distributed among a management device 2, a cloud server 3A, an air conditioner 4A, and a mobile terminal device 5, which are physically configured in the electrical equipment management system 1A.

[0048] The management device 2 has a request unit 121. The cloud server 3A (an example of a server) has a request receiving unit 122. The cloud server 3A has a first memory unit 131, an allowed state canceling unit 123 (an example of a canceling unit), and an instruction signal transmitting unit 124 (an example of a transmitting unit). The cloud server 3A further has a notification unit 125. The air conditioner 4A has a second memory unit 132 and a unique information deletion unit 126. The mobile terminal device 5 has an authentication unit 127 and a device information deletion unit 128.

[0049] 1-2. Operation of the Electrical Equipment Management System: The operation of the electrical equipment management system according to this embodiment will be described using Fig. 3 with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the operation of the electrical equipment management system 1A, in which a portion of information relating to an air conditioner 4A, which is an example of an electrical equipment, is deleted after a rental contract is invalidated.

[0050] In the operation of deleting part of the information regarding the air conditioner 4A in the electrical equipment management system 1A, first, in step S11, the contract invalidation unit 11 (see Figure 2) provided in the management device 2 invalidates the rental contract between the rental property RT (see Figure 1) and the tenant, and then proceeds to processing in step S12.

[0051] In step S12, the information deletion unit 12A controls the request unit 121 (see FIG. 2) provided in the management device 2 to execute a request to cancel the permitted use state of the air conditioner 4A, and proceeds to processing in step S13. Specifically, the request unit 121 transmits a cancellation request signal to the cloud server 3A via the communication network 6 (see FIG. 1), the cancellation request signal including the request to cancel the permitted use state, device information of the air conditioner 4A installed in the rental property RT whose rental contract has been invalidated, and user identification information of the previous tenant.

[0052] In step S13, the information deletion unit 12A controls the request reception unit 122 (see FIG. 2) to search for and identify device information included in the received release request signal. The request reception unit 122 also searches for and identifies user identification information included in the received release request signal. When the request reception unit 122 confirms that the release request signal includes information requesting release of the permission state, it outputs the identified device information to the permission state release unit 123 (see FIG. 2), outputs the identified device information and user identification information to the instruction signal transmission unit 124, and outputs the device information to the notification unit 125 (see FIG. 2), and proceeds to the processing of step S14.

[0053] In step S14, the information deletion unit 12A controls the permission status cancellation unit 123 to cancel the permission status of use of the air conditioner 4A of the previous tenant, and proceeds to processing in step S15. Specifically, the permission status cancellation unit 123 deletes the user identification information stored in association with the device information input from the request reception unit 122 in the database stored in the first storage unit 131 (see FIG. 2). This cancels the permission status of use of the air conditioner 4A of the previous tenant.

[0054] In step S15, the information deletion unit 12A controls the instruction signal transmission unit 124 to request the air conditioner 4A to delete the unique information set by the previous tenant, and proceeds to processing in step S16. Specifically, the instruction signal transmission unit 124 transmits an instruction signal including information instructing the air conditioner 4A corresponding to the device information input from the request reception unit 122 to delete the unique information and the user identification information input from the request reception unit 122.

[0055] In step S16, the information deletion unit 12A controls the unique information deletion unit 126 (see FIG. 2) to delete the unique information stored in the second storage unit 132 (see FIG. 2), and proceeds to processing in step S17. Specifically, the unique information deletion unit 126 deletes the unique information that was stored in the database stored in the second storage unit 132 in association with the user identification information included in the instruction signal transmitted from the instruction signal transmission unit 124. The unique information deletion unit 126 may also delete the user identification information from the second storage unit 132 along with the unique information. When the unique information has been deleted by the unique information deletion unit 126, the air conditioner 4A may transmit a signal indicating that deletion of the unique information has been completed to the cloud server 3A.

[0056] In step S17, the information deletion unit 12A controls the notification unit 125 to notify the mobile terminal device 5 of the device information whose status has been changed, and the process proceeds to step S18. Here, "status change" means that the unique information installed in the rental property RT whose rental contract has been invalidated has been deleted and the usage permission status of the air conditioner 4A has been changed. The notification unit 125 transmits a notification signal including the device information of the air conditioner 4A installed in the rental property RT whose rental contract has been invalidated to the mobile terminal device 5.

[0057] In step S18, the information deletion unit 12A controls the unique information deletion unit 126 (see FIG. 2) to delete the device information included in the notification signal transmitted from the notification unit 125. Specifically, the unique information deletion unit 126 deletes the device information included in the notification signal from the remote control application that was installed in the mobile terminal device 5 by the previous lessee and that can remotely control the air conditioner 4A. This completes the operation of deleting part of the information related to the air conditioner 4A in the electrical equipment management system 1A.

[0058] After the processing of step S18 is executed, even if the former tenant attempts to operate the remote control application to use the air conditioner 4A, the remote control application does not display device information corresponding to the air conditioner 4A. As a result, the former tenant is unable to send a signal to the cloud server 3A to operate the air conditioner 4A, and is therefore unable to remotely operate and use the air conditioner 4A after invalidating the rental contract for the rental property RT.

[0059] Here, for example, the operation instruction from the mobile terminal device 5 may be transmitted to the air conditioner 4A via the cloud server 3A after the operation of deleting part of the information about the air conditioner 4A based on the invalidation of the rental contract is completed (not shown). That is, in the operation shown in FIG. 3, the processes of steps S17 and S18 may not be executed. In this case, the processes of steps S17 and S18 are not executed. Therefore, even if a signal to operate the air conditioner 4A is transmitted to the cloud server 3A, the previous tenant's permission to use the air conditioner 4A has been revoked in step S14. Therefore, the signal to operate the air conditioner 4A is not transmitted from the cloud server 3A to the air conditioner 4A. As a result, even if the previous tenant operates the remote control application after the rental contract for the rental property RT is invalidated, the air conditioner 4A cannot be remotely controlled or used.

[0060] 3, even if the previous tenant operates the remote control application after the processing of step S16 is completed but before the processing of step S18 is completed, the previous tenant's permission to use the air conditioner 4A is revoked in step S14. Therefore, a signal to operate the air conditioner 4A is not transmitted from the cloud server 3A. As a result, even if the previous tenant operates the remote control application after the rental contract for the rental property RT is invalidated, the air conditioner 4A cannot be remotely controlled or used. Therefore, the electrical equipment management system 1A may be able to prevent the previous tenant from remotely controlling the air conditioner 4A even in the middle of an operation to delete some of the information related to the air conditioner 4A based on the invalidation of the rental contract.

[0061] In this way, based on the fact that the rental contract for the rental property RT has been invalidated (step S11), the information deletion unit 12A can automatically delete the user identification information of the previous tenant and the unique information based on the information set by the previous tenant from the memory unit 13A through processing from steps S13 to S18 or steps S13 to S16.

[0062] 1-3.Effects of the Electrical Equipment Management System: When a rental property contract is invalidated, if the user identification information and unique information of the previous tenant of the rental property are not deleted from electrical equipment owned by the landlord of the rental property and installed in the rental property, the previous tenant may be able to remotely operate the electrical equipment while the rental property is vacant or when a new tenant is present.

[0063] Since the lessee purchases the electrical equipment that the lessee installs in the rental property, the owner and user of the electrical equipment are the same, and that person is the lessee. However, while the owner of electrical equipment that is installed in the rental property (i.e., pre-installed) is the lessor of the rental property (i.e., the owner of the rental property), the user of the electrical equipment is the lessee, so the users are not always the same person and may change.

[0064] In conventional rental properties, there is no mechanism for deleting user identification information or unique information related to electrical equipment installed in the rental property when the rental contract is invalidated. Therefore, in conventional technology, in order to delete user identification information or unique information related to electrical equipment installed in the rental property, the information must be manually deleted directly from the electrical equipment. As a result, in conventional technology, there is no guarantee that user identification information or unique information related to electrical equipment installed in the rental property will be deleted after the rental contract is invalidated and the previous tenant moves out of the rental property. If the user identification information or unique information is not deleted, the previous tenant may be able to remotely control the electrical equipment installed in the rental property even after the rental contract is invalidated.

[0065] However, if you perform an initialization that returns electrical equipment installed in a rental property to its factory settings, not only will the user identification information and unique information be initialized, but also the settings and information that you want to use for maintaining and servicing the electrical equipment even after the rental contract is invalidated.

[0066] Initialization also deletes the communication network connection information stored in the electrical device's communication adapter, for example, and necessary for communication between the electrical device and the cloud server. This causes a problem in that the management company will not be able to remotely monitor the electrical devices installed in the rental property during the vacant period after the rental contract is invalidated.

[0067] Furthermore, the accumulated operating time and power-on time stored in the electrical equipment, as well as the abnormality history and connection history of the electrical equipment stored in the cloud server, are initialized every time a new tenant is hired, which creates a problem in that accurate information about the electrical equipment cannot be obtained at least during maintenance and repair of the electrical equipment.

[0068] For regular electrical appliances that are not installed in rental properties, the owner and user are the same, so if the appliance is sold and no longer in use, the ownership of the appliance is also lost, and there is no problem in initializing the appliance. However, the owner of electrical appliances installed in rental properties is the property owner. Therefore, the owner remains the property owner even if the user, the tenant, changes. Furthermore, the request of the property management company to perform at least one of maintenance and repairs continues even if the user, the tenant, changes.

[0069] Therefore, the electrical equipment management system 1A according to this embodiment is equipped with an information deletion unit 12A that deletes part of the information stored in accordance with the use of an air conditioner 4A, which is an example of an electrical equipment, when the rental contract is invalidated.

[0070] This allows the electrical equipment management system 1A to prevent the previous tenant from remotely operating the air conditioner 4A after the rental contract has been invalidated, for example, during a vacant period, without having to perform initialization to return the air conditioner 4A to its factory default state. As a result, the electrical equipment management system 1A can improve the safety and security of rental properties.

[0071] When a rental contract is invalidated, the electrical equipment management system 1A deletes the user identification information and unique information of the previous tenant, but does not delete any related information relating to the operation of the air conditioner 4A. This allows the electrical equipment management system 1A to prevent remote operation by the previous tenant while maintaining the connection between the cloud server 3A and the air conditioner 4A.

[0072] Furthermore, the electrical equipment management system 1A does not delete data used for at least one of the maintenance and upkeep of the air conditioner 4A, such as related information related to the operation of the air conditioner 4A, so that even if the tenant changes, the information necessary for at least one of the maintenance and upkeep that you want to continue can be maintained.

[0073] In this way, the electrical equipment management system 1A can monitor the status of the air conditioner 4A as long as the air conditioner 4A is installed in the rental property, regardless of whether there is a change in the tenant, whether there is a change in the tenant, or whether the property is vacant. This allows the electrical equipment management system 1A to check for any malfunctions in the air conditioner 4A before a new tenant moves in, and to respond quickly to any malfunctions in the air conditioner 4A.

[0074] Furthermore, the electrical equipment management system 1A deletes the device information of the air conditioner 4A, which is an example of unique information, from the remote control application installed on the mobile terminal device 5 that has enabled the previous tenant to operate the air conditioner 4A. As a result, the electrical equipment management system 1A can prevent the previous tenant from specifying the device information for operating the air conditioner 4A in the remote control application installed on the mobile terminal device 5, and therefore can prevent the previous tenant from remotely operating the air conditioner 4A.

[0075] As described above, the electrical equipment management system 1A according to this embodiment is equipped with an information deletion unit 12A that, based on the invalidation of a rental contract, deletes part of the information stored in accordance with the use of an air conditioner 4A that was pre-installed in the rental property RT whose rental contract has been invalidated.

[0076] The electrical equipment management system 1A having such a configuration can prevent the air conditioner installed in the rental property RT from being operated by a mobile terminal device 5 owned by a former tenant who no longer has a contractual relationship with the rental property RT. This allows the electrical equipment management system 1A to improve the security of the rental property RT.

[0077] Second Embodiment An electrical equipment management system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1, as well as FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG.

[0078] 2-1. Electrical equipment management system configuration: The schematic configuration of the electrical equipment management system 1B according to this embodiment will be described using Fig. 4 while referring to Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the schematic configuration of the electrical equipment management system 1B. With regard to the components of the electrical equipment management system 1B according to this embodiment, components that perform the same actions and functions as the components of the electrical equipment management system 1A according to the first embodiment described above will be assigned the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 4, the electrical equipment management system 1B includes, as physical components, a management device 2, a cloud server 3B, an air conditioner 4B, and a mobile terminal device 5. The management device 2 is a device (e.g., a personal computer) used by a management company. The air conditioner 4B corresponds to an example of electrical equipment pre-installed in a rental property. For ease of explanation, the management company and rental property in this embodiment will be referred to as the "management company MC" and the "rental property RT" using the symbols shown in FIG. 1.

[0080] The management device 2 (an example of a management unit) is connected to a communication network 6 and manages the rental property RT. The cloud server 3B is connected to the management device 2 and the air conditioner 4B via the communication network 6 and manages the air conditioner 4B.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 4, the electrical equipment management system 1B includes, as functional blocks, a contract invalidation unit 11, an information deletion unit 12B, and a storage unit 13B.

[0082] Based on the invalidation of the rental contract, the information deletion unit 12B (an example of a deletion unit) deletes part of the information stored in accordance with the use of the air conditioner 4B (an example of an electrical device) that was installed in advance in the rental property RT whose rental contract has been invalidated. In order to delete the part of the information, the information deletion unit 12B has a request unit 121, a request reception unit 122, an authorized state cancellation unit 123, a notification unit 125, a unique information deletion unit 126, an authentication unit 127, a device information deletion unit 128, and a unique information deletion unit 129.

[0083] The request unit 121, request receiving unit 122, permission status release unit 123, notification unit 125, authentication unit 127, and device information deletion unit 128 in this embodiment have the same configurations and perform the same functions as the request unit 121, request receiving unit 122, permission status release unit 123, notification unit 125, authentication unit 127, and device information deletion unit 128 in the first embodiment, and therefore their explanations are omitted.

[0084] The information deletion unit 12B differs from the information deletion unit 12A in the first embodiment in that the unique information deletion unit 129 is provided in the cloud server 3B rather than in the air conditioner 4B. The unique information deletion unit 129 deletes the unique information. The unique information deletion unit 126 deletes the unique information set by the lessee corresponding to the user identification information input from the request receiving unit 122 from the storage unit 13B.

[0085] Unlike memory unit 13A in the first embodiment, memory unit 13B is not provided in both cloud server 3B and air conditioner 4A, but is provided only in cloud server 3B. Therefore, memory unit 13B stores, in cloud server 3B, user identification information that identifies the tenant of rental property RT, unique information based on information set by the tenant using a mobile terminal device 5 to operate the air conditioner 4B, and related information related to the operation of the air conditioner 4B. Specific examples of user identification information, unique information, and related information in this embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, so description thereof will be omitted.

[0086] In this embodiment, the unique information is stored in a storage unit 13B provided in the cloud server 3B. Therefore, the information deletion unit 12B does not have an instruction signal transmission unit, since there is no need for the cloud server 3B to instruct the air conditioner 4B to delete the unique information.

[0087] As described above, the electrical equipment management system 1B includes, as functional blocks, a contract invalidation unit 11, an information deletion unit 12B, and a storage unit 13B. The information deletion unit 12B (an example of a deletion unit) deletes part of the information stored in response to the use of the air conditioner 4B pre-installed in the rental property RT whose rental contract has been invalidated, based on the invalidation of the rental contract. Furthermore, the information deletion unit 12B deletes the user identification information and unique information as part of the information from the storage unit 13B. To fulfill these functions, the information deletion unit 12B has components such as a request unit 121 distributed among the management device 2, cloud server 3B, and mobile terminal device 5, which are physically configured in the electrical equipment management system 1B.

[0088] The management device 2 has a request unit 121. The cloud server 3B (an example of a server) has a memory unit 13B, an authorized state canceling unit 123, and a unique information deleting unit 129. Furthermore, the cloud server 3B has a request receiving unit 122 and a notifying unit 125. The mobile terminal device 5 has an authentication unit 127 and a device information deleting unit 128.

[0089] In this embodiment, the electrical equipment installed in the rental property RT includes an air conditioner 4B. As in the first embodiment, the electrical equipment installed in the rental property RT may include other equipment such as an air purifier, a bathroom dryer, and a refrigerator in addition to the air conditioner 4B.

[0090] 2-2. Operation of the Electrical Equipment Management System: The operation of the electrical equipment management system according to this embodiment will be described using Fig. 5 with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 4. Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the operation of the electrical equipment management system 1B in which part of the information about an air conditioner 4B, which is an example of an electrical equipment, is deleted after the rental contract is invalidated.

[0091] As shown in Figure 5, in the operation of deleting part of the information about the air conditioner 4B in the electrical equipment management system 1B, the processing from step S11 to step S14 is the same as the processing from step S11 to step S14 in the first embodiment described above, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0092] In step S16a, which follows step S14, information deletion unit 12B (see FIG. 4) controls unique information deletion unit 129 (see FIG. 4) to delete the unique information stored in storage unit 13B (see FIG. 4), and proceeds to processing in step S17. Specifically, unique information deletion unit 129 deletes the unique information stored in the database stored in storage unit 13B in association with the user identification information input from request reception unit 122. Unique information deletion unit 129 may also delete the user identification information from storage unit 13B along with the unique information.

[0093] The processing in steps S17 and S18 is similar to the processing in steps S17 and S18 in the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. After the processing of step S18 is executed, even if the former tenant attempts to operate the remote control application to use the air conditioner 4B, the remote control application does not display device information corresponding to the air conditioner 4B. As a result, the former tenant cannot send a signal to the cloud server 3B to operate the air conditioner 4B, and therefore cannot remotely operate or use the air conditioner 4B after invalidating the rental contract for the rental property RT.

[0094] 5, the processes of steps S17 and S18 may not be executed. In this case, the processes of steps S17 and S18 are not executed, and therefore even if a signal to operate the air conditioner 4B is sent to the cloud server 3B, the previous tenant's permission to use the air conditioner 4B is canceled in step S14. Therefore, a signal to operate the air conditioner 4B is not sent from the cloud server 3B to the air conditioner 4B. As a result, even if the previous tenant operates the remote control application after the rental contract for the rental property RT is invalidated, the air conditioner 4B cannot be remotely controlled or used.

[0095] Meanwhile, the related information remains stored in the memory unit 13B. This allows the electrical equipment management system 1B to maintain the connection between the cloud server 3B and the air conditioner 4B. This allows the electrical equipment management system 1B to quickly respond to maintenance and breakdowns of the air conditioner 4B, and to prevent the air conditioner 4B from being operated by the previous tenant.

[0096] As described above, the electrical equipment management system 1B according to this embodiment is equipped with an information deletion unit 12B that, based on the invalidation of a rental contract, deletes part of the information stored in accordance with the use of an air conditioner 4B that was pre-installed in the rental property RT whose rental contract has been invalidated.

[0097] According to the electric equipment management system 1B having such a configuration, the same effects as those of the electric equipment management system 1A according to the first embodiment can be obtained.

[0098] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible. The management device 2 in the first and second embodiments may be a portable device such as a tablet terminal device. In this case, when a person present at the time of moving out of the rental property to invalidate the rental contract (e.g., an employee of the management company) operates the portable management device to request the cloud server to cancel the previous tenant's permission to use the electrical equipment installed in the rental property. In this case, the same effects as those of the electrical equipment management systems in the first and second embodiments can be obtained.

[0099] In the first embodiment described above, the instruction signal for deleting the unique information is transmitted from the cloud server 3A to the air conditioner 4A, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the instruction signal for deleting the unique information may be transmitted to the air conditioner 4A from a remote controller for directly operating the air conditioner 4A without going through the communications network 6. In this case, when presenting the move-out of the rental property to invalidate the rental contract, a witness (for example, an employee of the management company) may perform an operation on the remote controller that is different from the usual operation (for example, pressing and holding a specific operation button) and transmit an instruction signal to, for example, a wireless LAN adapter provided in the air conditioner 4A to instruct the deletion of the unique information. [Explanation of symbols]

[0100] 1A, 1B Electrical Equipment Management System 2 Management device 3A, 3B Cloud Server 4A, 4B Air conditioner 5. Mobile terminal devices 6. Communication Networks 11 Voidable Contracts 12A, 12B Information deletion section 13A,13B Storage section 121 Request part 122 Request Reception Unit 123 Permission status release unit 124 Indication signal transmitter 125 Notification Department 126 Unique information deletion section 127 Authentication Section 128 Device information deletion section 129 Unique information deletion section 131 First memory section 132 Second memory section MC management company RT Rental Property

Claims

1. a deletion unit that deletes part of the information stored in accordance with the use of the electrical equipment pre-installed in the rental property whose rental contract has been invalidated, based on the invalidation of the rental contract; An electrical equipment management system comprising:

2. a storage unit that stores user identification information that identifies a tenant of the rental property, unique information based on information set by the tenant using a mobile terminal device to operate the electrical appliance, and related information related to the operation of the electrical appliance; The deletion unit deletes the user identification information and the unique information as part of the information from the storage unit. The electrical equipment management system according to claim 1 .

3. The deletion unit a request unit for requesting cancellation of a permitted state in which the lessee is permitted to use the electrical equipment; a canceling unit that deletes the user identification information from the storage unit and cancels the permitted state; a unique information deletion unit that deletes the unique information; have The electrical equipment management system according to claim 2 .

4. a management unit connected to a communication network and managing the rental property; a server connected to the management unit and the electrical devices via the communication network and managing the electrical devices; Equipped with the management unit includes the request unit, The server includes the storage unit, the release unit, and the unique information deletion unit. The electrical equipment management system according to claim 3 .

5. a management unit connected to a communication network and managing the rental property; The electrical device; a server connected to the management unit and the electrical devices via the communication network and managing the electrical devices; Equipped with the deletion unit includes a transmission unit that transmits an instruction signal to the electrical device to instruct the electrical device to delete the unique information; the storage unit includes a first storage unit that stores the user identification information and the related information, and a second storage unit that stores the unique information; the management unit includes the request unit, the server includes the first storage unit, the release unit, and the transmission unit; The electrical device includes the second storage unit and the unique information deletion unit. The electrical equipment management system according to claim 3 .

6. The mobile terminal device has an authentication unit that verifies whether or not a user is authorized to use the electrical device. The electrical equipment management system according to any one of claims 2 to 5.

7. The authentication unit registers the lessee, who is different from the owner of the electrical equipment, as the authorized user. The electrical equipment management system according to claim 6 .

8. The electrical equipment includes an air conditioner. The electrical equipment management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

9. The electrical equipment includes an air conditioner. The electrical equipment management system according to claim 6,

10. The electrical equipment includes an air conditioner. The electrical equipment management system according to claim 7,

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