Facility equipment system and facility equipment control method
By introducing self-managed wireless base stations and environmental sensors into the device system and using the near-range wireless network expansion function, the problem of device controllers requiring independent wireless communication interfaces in traditional device systems is solved, and the flexibility and efficiency of device control are achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2023138492
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-08-29
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-11
- Estimated Expiration
- 2039-08-15
AI Technical Summary
In traditional equipment systems, the device controller needs to have an independent wireless communication interface to communicate with the mobile terminal and environmental sensors, resulting in increased development costs.
Using self-managed wireless base stations, environmental sensors and device controllers, through the near-range wireless network expansion function, the device controller does not need an independent communication interface to communicate with the wireless terminal.
The device control does not require an independent wireless communication interface for the device controller, which reduces development costs and improves the flexibility and control efficiency of the system.
Smart Images

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Abstract
Description
[Technical field]
[0001] The present invention relates to an equipment system and an equipment control method. [Background technology]
[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in facility equipment systems in which a plurality of facility equipment such as air conditioners, lighting equipment, etc. are connected, a configuration using a dedicated wired network has been widely adopted.
[0003] In such facility equipment systems, for example, configurations such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1 that allow a user to operate one or more desired facility equipment via a mobile terminal are well known, and configurations in which information obtained from wireless sensors that detect temperature, humidity, illuminance, various gas concentrations, and the presence or absence of people is used to control each facility equipment are also well known. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]
[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2018 / 146724 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0005] As described above, when using a mobile terminal as a user interface or using the detection results of wireless sensors, etc. to control each piece of equipment, conventional equipment systems generally adopt a configuration in which an equipment controller that controls each piece of equipment communicates data with wireless terminals such as mobile terminals and wireless sensors.
[0006] For this reason, the facility equipment controller needs to be equipped with a wired communication interface corresponding to the wired network in the facility equipment system, as well as a separate wireless communication interface for wireless communication with wireless terminals. Furthermore, since complex processing such as timing adjustment between networks and control arbitration is required, there is a problem that development costs increase.
[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide an equipment system etc. that enables control of equipment using wireless terminals without the need for an equipment controller to be equipped with a separate communication interface for communicating with a wireless terminal. [Means for solving the problem]
[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the facility equipment system according to the present invention comprises: A privately-operated wireless base station that ensures low latency performance in at least a fifth generation mobile communication system; Equipment and An environmental sensor that detects an environmental condition related to an environment in which the facility equipment is installed; An equipment controller; A repeater for expanding a short-range wireless network conforming to a short-range wireless standard, The privately-operated wireless base station includes: a gateway means for connecting a private wireless network established based on the private wireless base station and the short-range wireless network; the environmental sensor transmits environmental information indicating the detected environmental state to the facility equipment controller via the short-range wireless network; The facility equipment controller includes: an environmental information receiving means for receiving the environmental information transmitted from the environmental sensor via the private wireless network; and a device control means for controlling the facility device based on the received environmental information. , a facility equipment system, A portable terminal carried by a user; A management server that manages the location of the facility equipment, The mobile terminal includes: an identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of the facility device from the facility device through communication with the facility device via the short-range wireless network and the private wireless network when an elapsed time since communication via the short-range wireless network has become possible exceeds a predetermined time; a location information acquisition means for receiving a GPS signal and acquiring location information when the identification information of the facility equipment is acquired by the identification information acquisition means; and a location information transmitting means for transmitting location information, in which the acquired identification information and the acquired position information are stored, to the management server via a wide area wireless network provided by a communication carrier. . Effect of the Invention
[0009] According to the present invention, an equipment controller does not need to be provided with a separate communication interface for communicating with wireless terminals such as mobile terminals and environmental sensors, and it becomes possible to control equipment using wireless terminals. [Brief description of the drawings]
[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an equipment system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an equipment controller according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a mobile terminal and an equipment controller in a first embodiment. [Diagram 5] A flowchart showing the procedure of information transmission processing executed by the mobile terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart showing a procedure of device control processing executed by the facility device controller according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an equipment system according to a second embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a management server according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal according to a second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a mobile terminal according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an equipment system according to a third embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 12]FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal according to a third embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a mobile terminal and an equipment controller in a third embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an equipment system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a mobile terminal according to a fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0012] (Embodiment 1) 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a facility equipment system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The facility equipment system 1 is a system for controlling and managing a plurality of facility equipment 3 installed in a building such as an office building, a commercial building, a factory, or the like.
[0013] The facility equipment system 1 includes a privately-operated wireless base station 2, a plurality of facility equipment 3, a mobile terminal 4, a facility equipment controller 5, an environmental sensor 6, and a biological sensor 7. The privately-operated wireless base station 2 is an example of a privately-operated wireless base station according to the present invention. The privately-operated wireless base station 2 is a privately-operated wireless base station intended for use within the building or within a site including the building (hereinafter referred to as a privately-operated wireless network area). In detail, the privately-operated wireless base station 2 is a wireless base station for enabling wireless communication under the specifications of 5G (fifth generation mobile communication system) within this privately-operated wireless network area, and is a wireless base station for so-called local 5G.
[0014] Each facility device 3 is an example of facility device according to the present invention, and is, for example, a lighting device, an air conditioner, etc. Each facility device 3 has a communication interface for wirelessly communicating with other devices (specifically, the facility device controller 5) via a private wireless network (in other words, a local 5G network) constructed based on the private wireless base station 2. Each facility device 3 may be connected to the private wireless network by an external communication adapter to wirelessly communicate with the facility device controller 5.
[0015] The mobile terminal 4 is an example of a mobile terminal according to the present invention. The mobile terminal 4 is an electronic device carried by a user, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 4 includes a user interface 40, a first communication interface 41, a second communication interface 42, a central processing unit (CPU) 43, a read only memory (ROM) 44, a random access memory (RAM) 45, and a secondary storage device 46. These components are connected to each other via a bus 47.
[0016] The user interface 40 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, etc., and an input device such as a push button, a touch panel, a touch pad, etc. Under the control of the CPU 43, the user interface 40 displays various screens and the like in response to user operations, and also receives operation inputs from the user and sends signals related to the received operations to the CPU 43.
[0017] The first communication interface 41 is hardware for wirelessly communicating with other devices via the above-mentioned private wireless network. The second communication interface 42 is hardware for wirelessly communicating with other devices via a short-range wireless network conforming to a predetermined short-range wireless standard, such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy).
[0018] The CPU 43 performs overall control of the mobile terminal 4. The ROM 44 stores a plurality of pieces of firmware and data used when these pieces of firmware are executed. The RAM 45 is used as a working area for the CPU 43.
[0019] The secondary storage device 46 includes a readable / writable non-volatile semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) or a flash memory. Various programs including application programs (hereinafter, referred to as operation apps) for operating each facility device 3 and data used when these programs are executed are stored in the secondary storage device 46. The functions of the mobile terminal 4 will be described in detail later.
[0020] The facility equipment controller 5 is an example of the facility equipment controller according to the present invention. The facility equipment controller 5 is communicably connected to each facility equipment 3 and the mobile terminal 4 via a private wireless network, and is a device that controls each facility equipment 3 based on each piece of information received from the mobile terminal 4, which will be described later.
[0021] 3, the facility device controller 5 includes a communication interface 50, a CPU 51, a ROM 52, a RAM 53, and a secondary storage device 54. These components are connected to each other via a bus 55.
[0022] The communication interface 50 is hardware for wireless communication with other devices via a private wireless network. The CPU 51 controls the facility equipment controller 5 in an integrated manner. The ROM 52 stores multiple pieces of firmware and data used when these pieces of firmware are executed. The RAM 53 is used as a working area for the CPU 51.
[0023] The secondary storage device 54 is composed of a readable / writable non-volatile semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc. Various programs including programs for controlling each facility device 3 (hereinafter, referred to as device control programs) and data used when these programs are executed are stored in the secondary storage device 54. The functions of the facility device controller 5 will be described in detail later.
[0024] The environmental sensor 6 is an example of an environmental sensor according to the present invention. The environmental sensor 6 is a sensor that detects an environmental condition related to the environment in which the facility device 3 is installed. The environmental condition includes, for example, air temperature, humidity, illuminance, various gas concentrations, the presence or absence of people, etc. The environmental sensor 6 includes a sensor circuit, a communication interface, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a readable and writable non-volatile semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, and a primary battery or a secondary battery, all of which are not shown.
[0025] The environmental sensor 6 detects the environmental state at regular time intervals, and transmits environmental information indicating the detected environmental state to the mobile terminal 4 via the short-range wireless network.
[0026] The biosensor 7 is an example of a biosensor according to the present invention. The biosensor 7 is a body-worn (for example, wristband-type) device that detects biodata of a user carrying the mobile terminal 4. The biodata includes body temperature, heart rate, sweat rate, and the like. Although none of these are shown, the biosensor 7 includes a sensor circuit, a communication interface, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a readable / writable non-volatile semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, and a primary or secondary battery.
[0027] The biosensor 7 detects biometric data at regular time intervals, and transmits biometric information indicating the detected biometric data to the mobile terminal 4 via the short-distance wireless network.
[0028] Next, each function of the mobile terminal 4 and the facility equipment controller 5 will be described in detail. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the mobile terminal 4 and the facility equipment controller 5. As shown in Fig. 4, the mobile terminal 4 includes an operation reception unit 400, an operation information transmission unit 401, an environmental information acquisition unit 402, an environmental information transmission unit 403, a biometric information acquisition unit 404, and a biometric information transmission unit 405. These functional units of the mobile terminal 4 are realized by the CPU 43 of the mobile terminal 4 executing the above-mentioned operation application stored in the secondary storage device 46.
[0029] The facility equipment controller 5 includes an operation information receiving unit 500, an environmental information receiving unit 501, a biological information receiving unit 502, and an equipment control unit 503. These functional units of the facility equipment controller 5 are realized by the CPU 51 of the facility equipment controller 5 executing the above-mentioned equipment control program stored in the secondary storage device 54.
[0030] In the mobile terminal 4, the operation receiving unit 400 is an example of the operation receiving means according to the present invention, and receives operations related to the facility equipment 3 from the user. In detail, the operation receiving unit 400 displays an equipment operation screen (not shown), and receives inputs from the user via the equipment operation screen, such as designation of the facility equipment 3 to be operated and content of operation instructions for the designated facility equipment 3. The operation information transmitting unit 401 is an example of the operation information transmitting means according to the present invention, and transmits operation information indicating the operation received from the user to the facility equipment controller 5 via the private wireless network.
[0031] The environmental information acquisition unit 402 is an example of an environmental information acquisition means according to the present invention, and communicates with the environmental sensor 6 via a short-range wireless network to acquire environmental information indicating the environmental state detected by the environmental sensor 6. The environmental information transmission unit 403 is an example of an environmental information transmission means according to the present invention, and transmits the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 402 to the facility equipment controller 5 via a private wireless network.
[0032] The biometric information acquiring unit 404 is an example of a biometric information acquiring means according to the present invention, and communicates with the biometric sensor 7 via a short-range wireless network to acquire biometric information indicating biometric data detected by the biometric sensor 7. The biometric information transmitting unit 405 is an example of a biometric information transmitting means according to the present invention, and transmits the biometric information acquired by the biometric information acquiring unit 404 to the facility equipment controller 5 via a private wireless network.
[0033] In the facility equipment controller 5, the operation information receiving unit 500 is an example of an operation information receiving means according to the present invention, and receives operation information transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 via a private wireless network. The environmental information receiving unit 501 is an example of an environmental information receiving means according to the present invention, and receives environmental information transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 via a private wireless network. The biometric information receiving unit 502 is an example of a biometric information receiving means according to the present invention, and receives biometric information transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 via a private wireless network.
[0034] The device control unit 503 is an example of a device control unit according to the present invention. The device control unit 503 controls the facility device 3 based on the operation information received by the operation information receiving unit 500.
[0035] In detail, the equipment control unit 503 generates a control command for controlling the designated equipment 3 individually based on the operation information, and transmits each generated control command to each equipment 3 via the private wireless network. For example, when the equipment 3 is a lighting device and the operation information received by the operation information receiving unit 500 is to turn on all equipment 3 simultaneously, the equipment control unit 503 generates a control command for instructing each equipment 3 to turn on, individually, and transmits each generated control command to each equipment 3 via the private wireless network.
[0036] Furthermore, the device control unit 503 controls the facility device 3 based on the environmental information received by the environmental information receiving unit 501 .
[0037] In detail, the equipment control unit 503 generates control commands for controlling all the equipment devices 3 individually based on the environmental information, and transmits each generated control command to each equipment device 3 via the private wireless network. For example, when the equipment devices 3 are air conditioners and the environmental information received by the environmental information receiving unit 501 includes the air temperature in the building, the equipment control unit 503 generates control commands for each equipment device 3 individually based on the air temperature, and transmits each generated control command to each equipment device 3 via the private wireless network. Alternatively, when the equipment devices 3 are lighting devices and the environmental information received by the environmental information receiving unit 501 includes the illuminance in the building, the equipment control unit 503 generates control commands for each equipment device 3 individually based on the illuminance, and transmits each generated control command to each equipment device 3 via the private wireless network.
[0038] Furthermore, the device control unit 503 controls the facility device 3 based on the biological information received by the biological information receiving unit 502 .
[0039] In detail, the equipment control unit 503 generates control commands for controlling all the equipment devices 3 individually based on the biometric information, and transmits each generated control command to each equipment device 3 via the private wireless network. For example, if the equipment device 3 is an air conditioner and the biometric information received by the biometric information receiving unit 502 includes the user's body temperature, the equipment control unit 503 generates control commands for each equipment device 3 individually based on the body temperature, and transmits each generated control command to each equipment device 3 via the private wireless network.
[0040] 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the information transmission process executed by the mobile terminal 4. The information transmission process is started when the CPU 43 of the mobile terminal 4 starts an operation application stored in the secondary storage device 46.
[0041] When the mobile terminal 4 acquires the environmental information transmitted from the environmental sensor 6 by communication via the short-range wireless network (step S101; YES), the mobile terminal 4 transmits the acquired environmental information to the facility equipment controller 5 via the private wireless network (step S102). Then, the process returns to step S101.
[0042] When the mobile terminal 4 acquires the biometric information transmitted from the biometric sensor 7 by communication via a short-range wireless network (step S103; YES) instead of acquiring the environmental information (step S101; NO), the mobile terminal 4 transmits the acquired biometric information to the facility equipment controller 5 via the private wireless network (step S104). After that, the process returns to step S101.
[0043] If neither environmental information nor biological information is acquired (step S101; NO and step S103; NO) but an operation related to the facility equipment 3 is accepted from the user (step S105; YES), the mobile terminal 4 transmits operation information indicating the operation accepted from the user to the facility equipment controller 5 via the private wireless network (step S106). After NO in step S105 or step S106, the process returns to step S101.
[0044] 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the equipment control process executed by the facility equipment controller 5. The equipment control process is started when the CPU 51 of the facility equipment controller 5 starts an equipment control program stored in the secondary storage device 54.
[0045] When the facility equipment controller 5 receives the environmental information transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 via the private wireless network (step S201; YES), the facility equipment controller 5 generates control commands for controlling all the facility equipment 3 individually based on the received environmental information, and transmits each generated control command to each facility equipment 3 via the private wireless network (step S202). After that, the process returns to step S201.
[0046] When receiving biometric information transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 via the private wireless network (step S203; YES) instead of receiving environmental information (step S201; NO), the facility equipment controller 5 generates control commands for controlling all the facility equipment 3 individually based on the received biometric information, and transmits each generated control command to each facility equipment 3 via the private wireless network (step S204). After that, the process returns to step S201.
[0047] If neither environmental information nor biological information is received (step S201; NO and step S203; NO) but operation information transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 is received via the private wireless network (step S205; YES), the facility equipment controller 5 generates control commands for controlling the designated facility equipment 3 individually based on the received operation information, and transmits each generated control command to each designated facility equipment 3 via the private wireless network (step S206). After NO in step S205 or step S206, the process returns to step S201.
[0048] As described above, according to the facility equipment system 1 of the first embodiment, a private wireless network that is a local 5G network is established by the private wireless base station 2, and the facility equipment controller 5 communicates with each facility equipment 3 and the mobile terminal 4 via the private wireless network. The facility equipment controller 5 receives operation information based on a user operation, environmental information based on a detection result of the environmental sensor 6, and biological information based on a detection result of the biological sensor 7 from the mobile terminal 4 via the private wireless network, and controls the facility equipment 3 based on each piece of received information.
[0049] In this way, information from wireless terminals can be utilized, enabling control of highly functional facility equipment 3. Furthermore, the facility equipment controller 5 does not need to be equipped with a separate communication interface for communicating with wireless terminals such as the environmental sensor 6 and the biosensor 7, and complicated processes such as timing adjustment between networks and control arbitration are not required, which helps reduce development costs.
[0050] In the facility equipment system 1, the facility equipment controller 5 communicates with each facility equipment 3 individually. However, with 5G, the end-to-end delay time is low, at 1 ms or less. Therefore, even if a user simultaneously operates 100 lighting devices via a mobile terminal 4, for example, control is completed in 0.1 seconds, and the user does not feel uncomfortable.
[0051] (Embodiment 2) Next, a description will be given of a second embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.
[0052] 7 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an facility equipment system 1A according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. The facility equipment system 1A includes a private wireless base station 2, a plurality of facility equipment 3, a mobile terminal 4A, a facility equipment controller 5, an environmental sensor 6, a biosensor 7, a wide-area wireless base station 8, and a management server 9.
[0053] The wide-area wireless base station 8 is a wireless base station installed by a communication business operator called a carrier, and enables wide-area wireless communication covering the area of the self-operated wireless network. For example, the wide-area wireless base station 8 enables wireless communication according to specifications such as 3G (third generation mobile communication system), LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (fourth generation mobile communication system), and 5G. Hereinafter, a wireless network built based on the wide-area wireless base station 8 is referred to as a wide-area wireless network.
[0054] The management server 9 is an example of a management server according to the present invention. The management server 9 is a server computer installed and operated by a manufacturer, a sales company, an affiliated company, etc. of the facility equipment 3, and is connected to the wide area wireless network. As shown in Fig. 8, the management server 9 includes a communication interface 90, a CPU 91, a ROM 92, a RAM 93, and a secondary storage device 94. These components are connected to each other via a bus 95.
[0055] The communication interface 90 is hardware for wireless communication with other devices via the wide area wireless network. The CPU 91 performs overall control of the management server 9. The ROM 92 stores multiple pieces of firmware and data used when these firmware are executed. The RAM 93 is used as a working area for the CPU 91.
[0056] The secondary storage device 94 is composed of a readable / writable non-volatile semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, a HDD, etc. The secondary storage device 94 stores various programs including a program for managing the location of each piece of equipment 3, and data used when these programs are executed.
[0057] The mobile terminal 4A is an example of a mobile terminal according to the present invention. Like the mobile terminal 4 of the first embodiment, the mobile terminal 4A is an electronic device carried by a user, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. As shown in FIG. 9, the mobile terminal 4A includes a user interface 40, a first communication interface 41, a second communication interface 42, a CPU 43, a ROM 44, a RAM 45, a secondary storage device 46, a third communication interface 48, and a GPS signal receiving circuit 49. These components are connected to each other via a bus 47.
[0058] The third communication interface 48 is hardware for wireless communication with other devices via the wide area wireless network. The GPS signal receiving circuit 49 is a circuit for receiving a GPS signal from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, calculating the latitude and longitude based on the received GPS signal, and outputting the calculated latitude and longitude to the CPU 43.
[0059] Next, the functions of the mobile terminal 4A will be described in detail. Fig. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the mobile terminal 4A. As shown in Fig. 10, the mobile terminal 4A includes an operation reception unit 400, an operation information transmission unit 401, an environmental information acquisition unit 402, an environmental information transmission unit 403, a biometric information acquisition unit 404, a biometric information transmission unit 405, a communication switching unit 406, an identification information acquisition unit 407, a position information acquisition unit 408, and a location information transmission unit 409. These functional units of the mobile terminal 4A are realized by the CPU 43 of the mobile terminal 4A executing an operation application, which is an application program for operating each facility device 3 and is stored in the secondary storage device 46.
[0060] The communication switching unit 406 is an example of a communication switching means according to the present invention. The communication switching unit 406 selectively switches between communication via a wide area wireless network (i.e., communication by the third communication interface 48) and communication via a private wireless network (i.e., communication by the first communication interface 41). In detail, when the mobile terminal 4A moves from outside the private wireless network area to inside the private wireless network area, the communication switching unit 406 switches from communication via the wide area wireless network to communication via the private wireless network. Also, when the mobile terminal 4A moves from inside the private wireless network area to outside the private wireless network area, the communication switching unit 406 switches from communication via the private wireless network to communication via the wide area wireless network.
[0061] The identification information acquisition unit 407 is an example of an identification information acquisition means according to the present invention. The identification information acquisition unit 407 acquires the identification information of each equipment 3 from the equipment 3. In detail, when the time elapsed since communication via the wide area wireless network is switched to communication via the private wireless network exceeds a predetermined time, the identification information acquisition unit 407 acquires the identification information of each equipment 3 from the equipment 3 by communicating with the equipment 3 via the private wireless network. The identification information of the equipment 3 includes, for example, the model name, the type name, the serial number, and the like.
[0062] The location information acquisition unit 408 is an example of a location information acquisition means according to the present invention. When the identification information acquisition unit 407 acquires the identification information of each facility device 3, the location information acquisition unit 408 acquires the latitude and longitude output by the GPS signal receiving circuit 49 as the location information of each facility device 3.
[0063] The location information transmitting unit 409 is an example of a location information transmitting means according to the present invention. When the communication switching unit 406 switches from communication via the private wireless network to communication via the wide area wireless network, the location information transmitting unit 409 transmits location information, which includes the identification information of each facility device acquired by the identification information acquiring unit 407 and the location information acquired by the location information acquiring unit 408, to the management server 9 via the wide area wireless network.
[0064] When the management server 9 receives the location information transmitted from the mobile terminal 4A via the wide area wireless network, the management server 9 stores the received location information in a device management DB (not shown) stored in the secondary storage device 94. The device management DB is a database for managing the locations of the sold equipment 3. In the device management DB, device management data in which identification information and location information are associated with each other for each equipment 3 is registered for each piece of equipment 3 that has been sold.
[0065] Such device management data can be used, for example, in a business that provides customers with services related to the traceability of facility devices 3. Services related to traceability include, for example, notifications of recall information, suggestions for replacing the main body or parts, notifications of new product information, and the like.
[0066] As described above, according to the facility equipment system 1A of the second embodiment, the same effects as those of the facility equipment system 1 of the first embodiment can be achieved, and further, the location of the facility equipment 3 can be managed.
[0067] In addition, in the case where the facility device controller 5 holds the identification information of each facility device 3, the mobile terminal 4A may obtain the identification information of each facility device 3 from the facility device controller 5.
[0068] (Embodiment 3) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.
[0069] 11 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an facility equipment system 1B according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The facility equipment system 1B includes a private wireless base station 2A, a plurality of facility equipment 3, a mobile terminal 4B, an facility equipment controller 5A, an environmental sensor 6, a biosensor 7, and a plurality of repeaters 10.
[0070] The private wireless base station 2A is an example of a private wireless base station according to the present invention. Like the private wireless base station 2 of the first embodiment, the private wireless base station 2A is a wireless base station for enabling wireless communication under 5G specifications within the private wireless network area, which is a building in which the equipment 3 is installed or a site including the building.
[0071] Furthermore, the private wireless base station 2A includes a gateway device (not shown) that connects the private wireless network with the short-distance wireless network. The gateway device is an example of a gateway means according to the present invention.
[0072] The mobile terminal 4B is an example of a mobile terminal according to the present invention. Like the mobile terminal 4 of the first embodiment, the mobile terminal 4B is an electronic device carried by a user, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. As shown in FIG. 12, the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 4B is different from that of the mobile terminal 4 (see FIG. 2) only in that the mobile terminal 4B does not include the first communication interface 41. The functional configuration of the mobile terminal 4B will be described later.
[0073] The facility equipment controller 5A is an example of a facility equipment controller according to the present invention. The facility equipment controller 5A is communicatively connected to each facility equipment 3 via a private wireless network, and communicatively connected to a mobile terminal 4B, an environmental sensor 6, and a biological sensor 7 via the private wireless network and a short-range wireless network. The facility equipment controller 5A controls each facility equipment 3 based on information received from each of the mobile terminal 4B, the environmental sensor 6, and the biological sensor 7. The hardware configuration of the facility equipment controller 5A is the same as that of the facility equipment controller 5 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 3). The functional configuration of the facility equipment controller 5A will be described later.
[0074] Repeater 10 is an example of a repeater according to the present invention. Repeaters 10 are arranged at multiple locations in a private wireless network area. Each repeater 10 extends the short-distance wireless network by relaying wireless communication conforming to the short-distance wireless standard similar to that of the first embodiment.
[0075] Next, each function of the mobile terminal 4B and the facility equipment controller 5A will be described in detail. Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the mobile terminal 4B and the facility equipment controller 5A. As shown in Fig. 13, the mobile terminal 4B includes an operation reception unit 400 and an operation information transmission unit 401A. These functional units of the mobile terminal 4B are realized by the CPU 43 of the mobile terminal 4B executing an operation app, which is an application program for operating each facility equipment 3 and is stored in the secondary storage device 46.
[0076] The facility equipment controller 5A also includes an operation information receiving unit 500, an environmental information receiving unit 501A, a biological information receiving unit 502A, and an equipment control unit 503. These functional units of the facility equipment controller 5A are realized by the CPU 51 of the facility equipment controller 5A executing an equipment control program for controlling each facility equipment 3, which is stored in the secondary storage device 54.
[0077] In the mobile terminal 4B, the operation receiving unit 400 receives, from the user, an operation related to the facility device 3. The operation information transmitting unit 401A transmits operation information indicating the operation received from the user to the facility device controller 5A via the short-range wireless network.
[0078] In the facility equipment controller 5A, the operation information receiving unit 500 receives the operation information transmitted from the mobile terminal 4B via a private wireless network. The environmental information receiving unit 501A is an example of an environmental information receiving means according to the present invention, and receives environmental information transmitted from the environmental sensor 6 to the facility equipment controller 5A via a short-range wireless network via the private wireless network. The biometric information receiving unit 502A is an example of a biometric information receiving means according to the present invention, and receives biometric information transmitted from the biometric sensor 7 to the facility equipment controller 5A via a short-range wireless network via the private wireless network.
[0079] The equipment control unit 503 generates control commands for controlling the designated equipment devices 3 individually based on the operation information, and transmits each generated control command to each designated equipment device 3 via the private wireless network. The equipment control unit 503 also generates control commands for controlling all equipment devices 3 individually based on the environmental information, and transmits each generated control command to each equipment device 3 via the private wireless network. The equipment control unit 503 also generates control commands for controlling all equipment devices 3 individually based on the biological information, and transmits each generated control command to each equipment device 3 via the private wireless network.
[0080] As described above, according to the facility equipment system 1B of the third embodiment, the private wireless base station 2A establishes a private wireless network that is a local 5G network, and connects the private wireless network to a short-range wireless network, and the facility equipment controller 5A communicates directly with each facility equipment 3 via the private wireless network and indirectly with wireless terminals such as the mobile terminal 4B, the environmental sensor 6, and the biological sensor 7 via the private wireless network. Then, the facility equipment controller 5A controls the facility equipment 3 based on information received from each wireless terminal.
[0081] In this way, information from the wireless terminal can be utilized, thereby enabling control of highly functional facility equipment 3. Furthermore, the facility equipment controller 5A does not need to be provided with a separate communication interface for communicating with the wireless terminal, and complicated processes such as timing adjustment between networks and control arbitration are not required, which reduces development costs.
[0082] Furthermore, since the mobile terminal 4B does not require a communication interface for communicating via a private wireless network, i.e., a communication interface compatible with 5G, it is possible to adopt a low-spec electronic device as the mobile terminal 4B.
[0083] (Embodiment 4) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the same components as those in the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.
[0084] 14 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an facility equipment system 1C according to embodiment 4 of the present invention. The facility equipment system 1C includes a private wireless base station 2A, a plurality of facility equipment 3, a mobile terminal 4C, an facility equipment controller 5A, an environmental sensor 6, a biosensor 7, a wide-area wireless base station 8, a management server 9, and a plurality of repeaters 10.
[0085] The mobile terminal 4C is an example of a mobile terminal according to the present invention. Like the mobile terminals 4, 4A, and 4B of the first to third embodiments, the mobile terminal 4C is an electronic device carried by a user, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. As shown in Fig. 15, the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 4C differs from the mobile terminal 4A (see Fig. 9) only in that the mobile terminal 4C does not include the first communication interface 41.
[0086] Fig. 16 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the mobile terminal 4C. As shown in Fig. 16, the mobile terminal 4C includes an operation reception unit 400, an operation information transmission unit 401A, an identification information acquisition unit 407A, a position information acquisition unit 408, and a location information transmission unit 409A. These functional units of the mobile terminal 4C are realized by the CPU 43 of the mobile terminal 4C executing an operation app, which is an application program for operating each facility device 3 and is stored in the secondary storage device 46.
[0087] The identification information acquisition unit 407A is an example of an identification information acquisition means according to the present invention. The identification information acquisition unit 407A acquires the identification information of each facility device 3 from the facility device 3. In detail, when the time that has elapsed since short-range wireless communication became possible exceeds a predetermined time, the identification information acquisition unit 407A acquires the identification information of the facility device 3 from each facility device 3 by communicating with the facility device 3 via the short-range wireless network and the private wireless network. The identification information of the facility device 3 includes, for example, the model name, the type name, the serial number, and the like.
[0088] When the identification information of each facility device 3 is acquired by the identification information acquisition unit 407A, the location information acquisition unit 408 acquires the latitude and longitude output by the GPS signal receiving circuit 49 as the location information of each facility device 3.
[0089] The location information transmitting unit 409A is an example of a location information transmitting means according to the present invention. The location information transmitting unit 409A transmits location information, which includes the identification information of each facility device acquired by the identification information acquiring unit 407A and the location information acquired by the location information acquiring unit 408, to the management server 9 via a wide area wireless network.
[0090] As described above, according to the facility equipment system 1C of the fourth embodiment, the same effects as those of the facility equipment system 1B of the third embodiment are achieved, and further, the location of the facility equipment 3 can be managed.
[0091] If the facility device controller 5A holds the identification information of each facility device 3, the mobile terminal 4C may obtain the identification information of each facility device 3 from the facility device controller 5A.
[0092] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
[0093] For example, the privately-operated wireless base station according to the present invention is not limited to a wireless base station for performing wireless communication according to 5G specifications, and may be a wireless base station that ensures at least low latency performance in 5G.
[0094] Furthermore, in the facility equipment systems 1, 1A, 1B, and 1C, a plurality of environmental sensors 6 may be installed so as to be scattered throughout a building in which a plurality of facility equipment 3 are installed. In this case, the facility equipment controllers 5 and 5A may control each facility equipment 3 based on environmental information from the environmental sensor 6 installed closest to the facility equipment 3.
[0095] In addition, the facility equipment controller 5, 5A may control one or more facility equipment 3 that are installed within a predetermined range (e.g., within 10 m) of a user wearing a biometric sensor 7 within the private wireless network area, based on biometric information from the biometric sensor 7.
[0096] The technical concept of the present invention can also be applied to a home appliance control system that controls home appliances installed in a home. For example, a home appliance control system can be envisioned in which a home controller, lighting equipment, and a mobile terminal carried by a user are connected to a 5G private wireless network, image information about surrounding images captured by the mobile terminal is transmitted to the home controller, and the home controller controls the lighting equipment based on the image information received from the mobile terminal.
[0097] In detail, the home controller analyzes the image information received from the mobile terminal, and switches the lighting devices on / off and adjusts the illuminance based on the presence or absence of people in the home, the number of people, etc. In this home appliance control system, the mobile terminal may be indirectly connected to a private wireless network via a short-range wireless network, and the image information from the mobile terminal may be transmitted to the home controller via the short-range wireless network and the private wireless network.
[0098] In addition, for example, a home appliance control system can be envisioned in which a home controller, an induction heating (IH) cooker, and a camera installed in the kitchen are connected to a private 5G wireless network, image information regarding images of the kitchen taken by the camera is transmitted to the home controller, and the home controller controls the IH cooker based on the image information received from the camera.
[0099] In detail, the home controller analyzes the image information received from the camera and estimates the age of the person in the kitchen. When a person of a specific age group, such as a small child or an elderly person, is in the kitchen, the home controller performs safety control such as locking the operation of the induction cooker. When a person of the specific age group is in the kitchen, the home controller may output an electronic sound or voice for warning from an alarm device, an AI speaker, or the like. In this home appliance control system, the camera may be indirectly connected to a private wireless network via a short-range wireless network, and image information from the camera may be transmitted to the home controller via the short-range wireless network and the private wireless network.
[0100] In addition, all or part of the functional units of the mobile terminals 4, 4A, 4B, 4C and all or part of the functional units of the facility device controllers 5, 5A may be realized by dedicated hardware, such as a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination of these.
[0101] In addition, the operation application and device control program in each of the above embodiments can also be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a Magneto-Optical Disc, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a memory card, or a HDD.
[0102] Also, each operation application may be stored in a storage device of a server (not shown) on the Internet, and the corresponding operation application may be downloaded from the server to the mobile terminals 4, 4A, 4B, and 4C. Similarly, each device control program may be stored in a storage device of a server (not shown) on the Internet, and the corresponding device control program may be downloaded from the server to the facility device controllers 5 and 5A. [Explanation of symbols]
[0103] 1, 1A, 1B, 1C equipment system, 2, 2A private wireless base station, 3 equipment equipment, 4, 4A, 4B, 4C mobile terminal, 5, 5A equipment controller, 6 environment sensor, 7 biosensor, 8 wide area wireless base station, 9 management server, 10 repeater, 40 user interface, 41 first communication interface, 42 second communication interface, 43, 51, 91 CPU, 44, 52, 92 ROM, 45, 53, 93 RAM, 46, 54, 94 secondary storage device, 47, 55, 95 bus, 48 third communication interface, 49 GPS signal receiving circuit, 50, 90 communication interface, 400 operation reception unit, 401, 401A operation information transmission unit, 402 environment information acquisition unit, 403 environment information transmission unit, 404 biometric information acquisition unit, 405 biometric information transmission unit, 406 Communication switching unit, 407, 407A identification information acquisition unit, 408 position information acquisition unit, 409, 409A location information transmission unit, 500 operation information reception unit, 501, 501A environmental information reception unit, 502, 502A biometric information reception unit, 503 device control unit
Claims
1. A privately-operated wireless base station that ensures low latency performance in at least a fifth generation mobile communication system; Equipment and An environmental sensor that detects an environmental condition related to an environment in which the facility equipment is installed; An equipment controller; A repeater for expanding a short-range wireless network conforming to a short-range wireless standard, The privately-operated wireless base station includes: a gateway means for connecting a private wireless network established based on the private wireless base station and the short-range wireless network; the environmental sensor transmits environmental information indicating the detected environmental state to the facility equipment controller via the short-range wireless network; The facility equipment controller includes: an environmental information receiving means for receiving the environmental information transmitted from the environmental sensor via the private wireless network; An equipment control means for controlling the equipment based on the received environmental information, A portable terminal carried by a user; A management server that manages the location of the facility equipment, The mobile terminal includes: an identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information of the facility device from the facility device through communication with the facility device via the short-range wireless network and the private wireless network when an elapsed time since communication via the short-range wireless network has become possible exceeds a predetermined time; a location information acquisition means for receiving a GPS signal and acquiring location information when the identification information of the facility equipment is acquired by the identification information acquisition means; a location information transmission means for transmitting location information, in which the acquired identification information and the acquired position information are stored, to the management server via a wide area wireless network provided by a telecommunications carrier.
2. a biosensor that is worn by a user, detects biometric data of the user, and transmits biometric information indicating the detected biometric data to the facility equipment controller via the short-range wireless network; The facility equipment controller further includes a biometric information receiving means for receiving the biometric information transmitted from the biometric sensor via the private wireless network, The facility equipment system according to claim 1 , wherein the equipment control means of the facility equipment controller controls the facility equipment based on the received environmental information and the received biological information.
3. The mobile terminal, an operation receiving means for receiving an operation related to the facility device from the user; and an operation information transmitting means for transmitting operation information indicating the accepted operation to the facility equipment controller via the short-range wireless network, The facility equipment controller further includes an operation information receiving means for receiving the operation information transmitted from the mobile terminal via the private wireless network, The facility equipment system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the equipment control means of the facility equipment controller controls the facility equipment by taking into account the received operation information.
4. A privately-operated wireless base station that ensures low latency performance at least in a fifth generation mobile communication system connects a privately-operated wireless network constructed based on the privately-operated wireless base station to a short-range wireless network conforming to a short-range wireless standard; A repeater extends the short-range wireless network; an environmental sensor that detects an environmental state related to an environment in which an equipment is installed transmits environmental information indicating the detected environmental state to an equipment controller via the short-range wireless network; The facility equipment controller, receiving the environmental information transmitted from the environmental sensor via the private wireless network; An equipment control method for controlling the equipment based on the received environmental information, A mobile terminal carried by a user, When the time that has elapsed since communication via the short-range wireless network has become possible exceeds a predetermined time, acquiring identification information of the facility device from the facility device through communication with the facility device via the short-range wireless network and the private wireless network, When the identification information of the facility equipment is acquired, a GPS signal is received to acquire location information, a management server that manages the location of the facility equipment, the management server managing the location of the facility equipment being configured to receive the location information from the facility equipment and transmit the location information to the management server, the management server managing the location of the facility equipment being configured to receive the location information from ... and the management server managing the location of the facility equipment being configured to receive the location information from the management server,
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