System for controlling electrical appliances and method and computer program for same

Abstract

[Problem] Until now, electrical machines have been controlled without considering how long users stay or are scheduled to stay in rooms or at indoor or other facilities. [Solution] A system according to the embodiments of the present invention comprises one or more electrical machines that are installed in prescribed areas, a management device that manages at least one of periods of stay and scheduled periods of stay for users for the prescribed areas, and control devices that are connected to the management device and control the one or more electrical machines. On the basis of the periods of stay and the scheduled periods of stay, the management device can specify the control devices associated with areas in which users are staying or are scheduled to stay and transmit instructions for controlling the one or more electrical machines to the control devices.

Description

System for controlling home appliances, method thereof, and computer program

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for controlling home appliances, a method thereof, and a computer program.

[0002] There is a known technology that allows a user to control indoor home appliances from outdoors. Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that checks a vehicle's license plate at the entrance / exit of a parking lot, confirms that the vehicle is registered in advance, and then allows the user to control the home appliances from an operation unit installed in the vehicle. As a result, the technology of Patent Document 1 can improve the efficiency of home appliance control by allowing only those using appropriate vehicles to control the home appliances (abstract, etc.).

[0003] Patent application publication number: JP-A-8-106579

[0004] In the prior art, electrical machines were controlled without regard to the length of time a user was or will be staying in a room, indoor facility, or other facility.

[0005] A system according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises one or more electric machines installed in a specified area, a management device that manages at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in the specified area, and a control device connected to the management device and controls the one or more electric machines, and the management device can identify the control device associated with the area in which the user is staying or planned to stay based on the stay period and the planned stay period, and send instructions to the control device to control the one or more electric machines.

[0006] The management device of the system according to the embodiment of the present invention can identify the zone where the user is staying or plans to stay, based on the stay zone information.

[0007] The stay section information of the system according to the embodiment of the present invention may be a room number associated with a stay period.

[0008] The management device of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention may obtain electric machine related information from the control device, the electric machine related information being information related to the one or more electric machines and the operation of the one or more electric machines.

[0009] The management device of the system according to an embodiment of the present invention may send electric machine control instructions to the control device for controlling the one or more electric machines based on the electric machine-related information.

[0010] The controller of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention may be associated with more than one partition.

[0011] A method performed by a system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a step in which a management device manages at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area; a step in which the management device identifies one or more electric machines installed in the specified area related to the area in which the user is staying or planned to stay based on the stay period and the planned stay period, and sends instructions to a control device connected to the management device to control the one or more electric machines; and a step in which the control device controls the one or more electric machines installed in the specified area.

[0012] A computer program executed by a system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a step in which a management device manages at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area; a step in which the management device identifies one or more electric machines installed in the specified area related to the area in which the user is staying or planned to stay based on the stay period and the planned stay period, and sends instructions to a control device connected to the management device to control the one or more electric machines; and a step in which the control device controls the one or more electric machines installed in the specified area.

[0013] A management device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a control device that manages at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area and controls one or more electric machines installed in the specified area, and can be configured to identify the control device associated with the area in which the user is staying or planned to stay based on the stay period and planned stay period, and send instructions to the control device to control the one or more electric machines.

[0014] A method performed by a management device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of managing at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area, and identifying a control device that controls one or more electric machines installed in the specified area, the control device being associated with the area in which the user is staying or planned to stay, based on the stay period and the planned stay period, and sending instructions to the control device to control the one or more electric machines.

[0015] A computer program executed by a management device according to an embodiment of the present invention may include steps of managing at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area, and identifying a control device that controls one or more electric machines installed in the specified area, the control device being associated with the area in which the user is staying or planned to stay, based on the stay period and the planned stay period, and sending instructions to the control device to control the one or more electric machines.

[0016] A user's terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention can be configured to transmit stay-related information relating to at least one of the user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area to a management device, and to receive electrical machine-related information from the management device that associates information indicating one or more electrical machines installed in the specified area with information regarding the operations available for each of the one or more electrical machines.

[0017] A method executed by a user's terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention may include the steps of sending stay-related information related to at least one of the user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area to a management device, and receiving electric machine-related information from the management device that associates information indicating one or more electric machines installed in the specified area with information regarding the operations available for each of the one or more electric machines.

[0018] A computer program executed by a user's terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a step of sending stay-related information related to at least one of the user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area to a management device, and a step of receiving electric machine-related information from the management device that associates information indicating one or more electric machines installed in the specified area with information regarding the operations available for each of the one or more electric machines.

[0019] 1 shows a system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 shows a hardware configuration of a terminal device, a management device, a control device, and one or more electric machines included in the system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 3 shows a process flow according to a first embodiment of the present invention in which a terminal device controls an electric machine; and 4 shows a process flow according to a second embodiment of the present invention in which a management device controls an electric machine.

[0020] 1 discloses a system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 includes a terminal device 110, a management device 115, one or more control devices 120 (the figure shows three control devices as 120-1, 120-2, and 120-3), and one or more electric machines 125 (the figure shows nine electric machines as three electric machines 125-1, 125-2, and 125-3 controlled by the control device 120-1, three electric machines 125-4, 125-5, and 125-6 controlled by the control device 120-2, and three electric machines 125-7, 125-8, and 125-9 controlled by the control device 120-3). The terminal devices 110, the management device 115, and the control devices 120 are connected to each other via a communication path 130 such as the Internet. In one embodiment, one or more electric machines 125 are connected to and controlled by an associated controller 120. In other embodiments, at least one of one or more electric machines 125 may be connected to other devices via communication path 130.

[0021] The management device 115 manages at least the length of stay and / or planned length of stay of a user using a specific section among multiple sections (e.g., a hotel room, a parking lot, a bicycle parking lot, a space provided by a private lodging business, etc.). The management device 115 further has a function of relaying communication between the terminal device 110 and the control device 120. In other embodiments, the management device 115 may be composed of one or more devices. In this case, for example, a first management device 115 manages information related to the stay, such as the length of stay and / or planned length of stay, and a second management device 115 manages relaying of communication between the terminal device 110 and the control device 120. This allows the first and second management devices 115 to communicate with each other and share information. The terminal device 110 transmits instructions for controlling the electric machine 125 or information related to those instructions to the control device 120 via the management device 115. The terminal device 110 may include a terminal available to the user, such as a mobile phone such as a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, or a smartwatch. In one embodiment, instructions for controlling the electric machine 125 or information related to the instructions may be generated by the management device 115 rather than the terminal device 110. In this case, the management device 115 may transmit the generated information to the control device 120 without the intervention of the terminal device 110. In another embodiment, the terminal device 110 may transmit instructions for controlling the electric machine 125 or information related to the instructions directly to the control device 120 without the intervention of the management device 115. The control device 120 may receive instructions for controlling the electric machine 125 or information related to the instructions from the management device 115 without the intervention of the terminal device 110, which instructions were not generated by the terminal device 110. In one embodiment, the control device 120 is connected to the electric machine 125 via wires and / or wirelessly and is able to control the electric machine 125. In other embodiments, the terminal device 110 may be connected to the control device 120 via wire and / or wireless connection without using the management device 115, and the control device 120 may control the electric machine 125 by receiving instructions for controlling the electric machine 125 or information related to those instructions directly from the terminal device 110.In this example, controller 120-1 is connected to and controls electric machines 125-1, 125-2, and 125-3, controller 120-2 is connected to and controls electric machines 125-4, 125-5, and 125-6, and controller 120-3 is connected to and controls electric machines 125-7, 125-8, and 125-9. Each controller 120 is associated with a specific section and controls the electric machines 125 installed in or near the specific section. In other examples, controllers 120 are associated with two or more sections, and one controller 120 can be configured to control the electric machines 125 associated with each of the two or more sections.

[0022] In one embodiment, the system 100 may include one or more sensors 150 (not shown) installed in or near the area to be visited, or in or near the area in which the electric machine 125 is located.

[0023] The electric machine 125 may include home appliances and electromechanical devices. Examples of the electromechanical devices include electric curtains, electric blinds, electric doors, electric shutters, large electric shutters and doors used in garages, electric windows, electrically operated water faucet management devices, power outlet power control devices, internet access control devices, etc. Examples of the home appliances include air conditioners, lighting, televisions, refrigerators, water heaters, speakers, electric fans, ventilation fans, rice cookers, electric kettles, microwave ovens, coffee makers, washing machines, clocks, telephones, aroma diffusers, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, air purifiers, etc.

[0024] [Hardware Configuration] FIG. 2 shows the hardware configuration of the terminal device 110, management device 115, control device 120, and one or more electric machines 125 included in the system 100. The terminal device 110, management device 115, control device 120, and one or more electric machines 125 may include a processor 205, memory 210, storage 215, input / output device 220, and communication device 225. In the terminal device 110, management device 115, control device 120, and one or more electric machines 125, the processor 205 loads a computer program stored in the storage 215 into the memory 210 and executes it. The input / output device 220 includes a touch panel on a display, a keyboard, a mouse, a display device, and the like. A user can input information into the computer using a keyboard, touch panel, or the like and view the information output on the display device. Terminal device 110, management device 115, control device 120, and one or more electric machines 125 can communicate with at least one of the other devices and send and receive data therefrom via communication device 225. In other embodiments, terminal device 110, management device 115, control device 120, and one or more electric machines 125 may not include some of the hardware components shown in FIG. 2 and / or may include components other than the hardware components shown in FIG. 2.

[0025] [First Embodiment] Control of the Electric Machine 125 by the Terminal Device 110 FIG. 3 shows a process flow according to a first embodiment of the present invention in which the terminal device 110 controls the electric machine 125. The terminal device 110 transmits a stay-related information acquisition request for acquiring stay-related information related to at least one of the length of stay and the planned length of stay, or a stay-related information acquisition request for checking the stay-related information (step 302). The stay-related information acquisition request may include, for example, an identifier of the terminal device 110 that can identify the user, or an identifier that can identify the user in the system (such as a user ID in the system or the user's email address). The management device 115 receives the stay-related information acquisition request and queries and acquires stay-related information, such as the length of stay or the planned length of stay, based on the stay-related information acquisition request (step 304). The management device 115 associates the stay-related information with information that can identify the user and stores it in advance. In one embodiment, the stay-related information may be generated by the user's advance reservation process, via the accommodation facility's website, a telephone call from accommodation facility staff, or the like. The management device 115 may compare the stay period or planned stay period with the current date and time and determine that the current date and time matches the stay period or planned stay period. The management device 115 transmits stay-related information to the terminal device 110 (step 306). The stay-related information may include information identifying the area to be stayed (e.g., a hotel room number, an address, or a combination thereof), information indicating that the current date and time is included in the stay period or planned stay period, the stay period or planned stay period, etc.

[0026] If the stay-related information indicates whether the current date and time is included in the stay period or the planned stay period, the terminal device 110 may continue processing in response to the stay-related information indicating that the current date and time is included in the stay period or the planned stay period. If the stay-related information indicates that the current date and time is not included in the stay period or the planned stay period, the terminal device 110 may stop processing and notify the user that they cannot operate the electric machine 125.

[0027] In another embodiment, when the stay-related information is a stay period or a planned stay period, the terminal device 110 determines whether the current date and time is included in the stay period or the planned stay period, and if the current date and time is included in the stay period or the planned stay period, the terminal device 110 can continue to execute the process. If the current date and time is not included in the stay period or the planned stay period, the terminal device 110 can abort the process.

[0028] The terminal device 110 transmits an electromechanical information acquisition request to the management device 115 (step 308). The electromechanical information acquisition request includes at least staying zone information that identifies the zone of the target staying zone. The staying zone information may include, for example, a room number that identifies one of multiple rooms, or zone identification information that identifies a specific zone that is part of a space including multiple zones (e.g., an identification number for identifying a parking space for one vehicle in a parking lot that can accommodate two or more vehicles). The staying zone information identifies a specific zone in a space including multiple zones. In one embodiment, the staying zone information may be included in the stay-related information acquired by the terminal device 110 in step 306. The management device 115 identifies the control device 120 associated with the target staying zone based on the staying zone information and transmits an electromechanical information acquisition request to the control device 120 (step 310). Based on the electric machine information acquisition request, the control device 120 queries the storage 215 of the control device 120 for one or more electric machines controlled by the control device 120, and acquires electric machine-related information from the storage 215, which associates information indicating the one or more electric machines queried with information on available operations for each electric machine (step 312). The control device 120 transmits the electric machine-related information to the terminal device 110 via the management device 115 (steps 314 and 316). This allows the terminal device 110 to acquire the electric machine-related information. In another embodiment, the control device 120 may transmit the electric machine-related information directly to the terminal device 110 without going through the management device 115.

[0029] In one embodiment, the electric machine information acquisition request may include the visited section information. In this case, the control device 120 may identify one or more electric machines 125 located in a section associated with the visited section information based on the visited section information. The control device 120 may transmit electric machine-related information including the identified electric machines 125 and information regarding available operations for each electric machine to the management device 115 and / or the terminal device 110. In one embodiment, the section and the one or more electric machines 125 associated with the section may be pre-stored in the storage 215 of the management device 115 and / or the control device 120. Furthermore, information regarding operations related to the one or more electric machines 125 may be pre-stored in the storage 215 of the management device 115 and / or the control device 120.

[0030] The terminal device 110 can generate a user interface used to control the electric machine 125 based on the received electric machine-related information. The user interface includes images suitable for controlling the temperature and humidity settings of an air conditioner, turning lights on and off, and dimming the lights, allowing the user to easily control the electric machine 125. When the user operates the user interface, the terminal device 110 transmits information regarding the operation of the electric machine to the management device 115 (step 318). The management device 115 transmits an electric machine control instruction to the control device 120 (step 320). The control device 120 controls the electric machine 125 based on the electric machine control instruction (step 322). The electric machine 125 transmits control completion information indicating that control of the electric machine 125 has been completed to the management device 115 via the control device 120 (steps 324 and 326). The management device 115 saves an electric machine operation log based on the control completion information (step 328). The management device 115 transmits the control completion information to the terminal device 110 (step 330). Based on the control completion information, the terminal device 110 can present to the user a user interface indicating that the operation of the electric machine has been completed. The electric machine operation log can include information indicating what operation was performed on a specific electric machine 125, information on the date and time the operation was performed, information indicating the section, etc. The electric machine operation log allows the management device 115 and other devices to observe past operations of the electric machine.

[0031] Second Embodiment Control of the Electric Machine 125 by the Management Device 115 FIG. 4 shows a process flow according to a second embodiment of the present invention in which the management device 115 controls the electric machine 125. In this embodiment, the management device 115 may include two management devices, i.e., a first management device and a second management device. The second management device manages information related to the user's stay, such as the user's stay period and planned stay. In another embodiment, the management device 115 may be implemented as a single device. In this case, the transmission and reception of information between the first and second management devices described below may be omitted.

[0032] The first management device 115-1 transmits a user information acquisition request to the second management device 115-2 (step 402). In response to receiving the user information acquisition request, the second management device 115-1 queries the storage 215 of the second management device 115-1 for user information (step 404). The storage 215 of the management device 115 pre-stores the user information in association with information that can identify the user. In one embodiment, the storage 215 of the management device 115 can be a database. In one embodiment, the user information may be generated through the user's advance reservation process, the accommodation facility's website, or telephone responses from accommodation facility staff. The user information may include at least one of the user's stay information, planned stay information, past stay information, electrical appliance usage history information, and preference information. The electrical appliance usage history information may include lighting setting information and seasonal air conditioner temperature setting information based on the user's past usage history, etc. The preference information may include the user's favorite scent, favorite music, etc. based on the user's past usage history, etc. The second management device 115-2 transmits the acquired user information to the first management device 115-1 (step 406), thereby enabling the first management device 115-1 to acquire the user information.

[0033] The first management device 115-1 transmits a sensor information acquisition request to one or more sensors 150 installed in or near the space where the user is staying (step 408). The one or more sensors 150 can detect and acquire information about the surroundings in response to the sensor information acquisition request or periodically, and store the information. The one or more sensors 150 transmit the detected information about the surroundings to the first management device 115-1 in response to the sensor information acquisition request or periodically (step 410). This allows the first management device 115-1 to acquire the information about the surroundings detected by the sensors. In one embodiment, the one or more sensors 150 may include a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a carbon dioxide concentration sensor, an oxygen concentration sensor, a presence detection sensor, or the like. The presence detection sensor may detect the presence of a person in the space using infrared human detection, microwave human detection, carbon dioxide concentration human detection, or the like. In other embodiments, one or more sensors 150 may be omitted. In this case, steps 408 and 410 can be omitted.

[0034] The first management device 115-1 transmits an electromechanical information request to the control device 120 (step 412). The electromechanical information request includes at least staying section information that identifies the section to be stayed. In one embodiment, the first management device 115-1 can identify the control device 120 associated with the section to be stayed based on the staying section information and transmit the electromechanical information request to the control device 120. Based on the electromechanical information request, the control device 120 queries the storage 215 of the control device 120 for one or more electric machines controlled by the control device 120, and obtains electromechanical information that associates information indicating the one or more electric machines with information regarding available operations for each electric machine (step 414). The storage 215 of the control device 120 pre-stores information indicating the electric machines associated with a specific section and information regarding available operations for each electric machine, in association with each other. In one embodiment, the storage 215 of the control device 120 can be a database. The control device 120 transmits the electric machine related information to the first management device 115-1 (step 416), so that the first management device 115-1 can acquire the electric machine related information.

[0035] In this embodiment, the processing of steps 402 to 416 can be classified into a first processing group of steps 402 to 406, a second processing group of steps 408 to 410, and a third processing group of steps 412 to 416. In Fig. 4, the first processing group, the second processing group, and the third processing group are described as being executed in this order, but as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the processing order of the first processing group, the second processing group, and the third processing group can be interchanged.

[0036] The first management device 115-1 generates an electric machine control instruction and transmits it to the control device 115 (step 418). The electric machine control instruction may be generated based on historical usage information and / or preference information of the electric machine. This allows the first management device 115-1 to generate an electric machine control instruction based on the user's preferences. The control device 120 controls the electric machine 125 based on the electric machine control instruction (step 420). The electric machine 125 transmits control completion information indicating that control of the electric machine 125 has been completed to the first management device 115-1 via the control device 120 (steps 422, 424). The first management device 115-1 saves an electric machine operation log based on the control completion information (step 426). The electric machine operation log allows the management device 115 and other devices to observe past operations of the electric machine.

[0037] With regard to generating the electro-machine control instruction in step 418, the first management device 115-1 determines that the user is staying in a predetermined zone based on at least one of the user's stay information and planned stay information in the user information acquired in step 406 and / or the presence information indicating whether the user is present or not acquired by the presence detection sensor in step 410. For example, the user may be determined to be staying in a predetermined zone based on whether the current date and time is within the range of at least one of the user's stay information and planned stay information, whether the presence information indicates that the user is present, or both. The first management device 115-1 identifies the stay zone information based on the determined zone. The first management device 115-1 can identify the user (or planned user) of the predetermined zone by identifying the person staying or the planned stay in the stay zone based on the stay zone information indicating the zone in which it was determined that the user is staying in the predetermined space. The first management device 115-1 acquires the usage history information and preference information of the electric machine in the user information corresponding to the identified user based on the information of the identified user, and determines the user's preference settings for the electric machine based on at least one of the usage history information and the preference information of the electric machine. For example, the first management device 115-1 can determine lighting settings, air conditioning settings, etc. according to the user's preferences.

[0038] In another embodiment, the first management device 115-1 can operate the electric machine 125 in advance before the user enters a specified space or area based on the user's planned stay information in the user information. For example, in a hotel, the first management device 115-1 can use the planned stay information to operate the air conditioner in advance based on the user's past usage history before the user checks in, so as to provide a room with a temperature and humidity that the user finds comfortable. Furthermore, the first management device 115-1 can control the lighting, temperature, humidity, etc. of the room to suit the user's preferences before the user enters the room by receiving check-in information indicating that the user has checked in from a device that manages the user's check-in, or by using passage detection information indicating that the user has passed through a specified space (e.g., a hotel entrance or elevator hall) (e.g., the first management device 115-1 or another device compares a previously acquired facial photograph of the user with a facial photograph acquired by a camera placed in the specified space, and if the two facial photographs match, passage detection information is generated).

[0039] In another embodiment, the first management device 115-1 can determine whether a user is present in the room based on the presence information indicating whether a user is present or not obtained by the presence detection sensor in step 410. When the first management device 115-1 determines that a user is not present in the room, the first management device 115-1 can turn off the power of the electric machine 125 or set the electric machine 125 to a power-saving mode. When the first management device 115-1 determines that a user is present in the room, the first management device 115-1 can decide to continue controlling the electric machine.

[0040] In this embodiment, each of steps 402 to 426 may be performed periodically, thereby realizing automatic control of the electric machine 125 without requiring the user to perform any operation.

[0041] According to the first and second embodiments, the electric machine can be controlled as follows.

[0042] [Others] Each of the above embodiments may be realized by a method, and may further be implemented as a computer program for realizing the method. The computer program may be executed on each device or the entire device. Furthermore, the computer program may be distributed through a storage medium or a transmission medium. It will be understood that in the above embodiments, some or all of some elements described to be implemented in hardware may be implemented in software, and vice versa.

[0043] In the processes or processing sequences described above, the processes or processing sequences can be freely changed as long as no contradictions arise in the processes or processing sequences, such as when a certain process uses data that should not yet be available in that process.

[0044] With regard to each of the embodiments described above, a part or all of the embodiments may be combined to be realized as a single embodiment.

[0045] The above-described embodiments are merely examples for explaining the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. The present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0046] 100: System 110: Terminal device 115: Control device 120: Control device 125: Electric machine 150: Sensor 205: Processor 210: Memory 215: Storage 220: Input / output device 225: Communication device

Claims

1. A system comprising: one or more electric machines installed in a specified area; a management device that manages at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in the specified area; and a control device connected to the management device and controlling the one or more electric machines, wherein the management device identifies the control device associated with the area in which the user is staying or planned stay period based on the stay period and the planned stay period, and sends instructions to the control device to control the one or more electric machines.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the management device identifies the area where the user is staying or plans to stay based on the stay area information.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the stay area information is a room number associated with the length of stay.

4. A system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the management device acquires electric machine-related information, which is information relating to the one or more electric machines and the operation of the one or more electric machines, from the control device.

5. A system according to claim 4, wherein the management device transmits electric machine control instructions to the control device for controlling the one or more electric machines based on the electric machine-related information.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is associated with two or more partitions.

7. A method executed by a system, comprising: a step in which a management device manages at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area; a step in which the management device identifies one or more electric machines installed in the specified area related to the area in which the user is staying or planned to stay based on the stay period and the planned stay period, and sends instructions to a control device connected to the management device to control the one or more electric machines; and a step in which the control device controls the one or more electric machines installed in the specified area.

8. A computer program executed by a system, comprising: a step in which a management device manages at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area; a step in which the management device identifies one or more electric machines installed in the specified area related to the area where the user is staying or planned to stay based on the stay period and the planned stay period, and sends instructions to a control device connected to the management device to control the one or more electric machines; and a step in which the control device controls the one or more electric machines installed in the specified area.

9. A management device configured to manage at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area, and a control device that controls one or more electric machines installed in the specified area, identify the control device related to the area where the user is staying or planned to stay based on the stay period and planned stay period, and send instructions to the control device to control the one or more electric machines.

10. A method executed by a management device, comprising the steps of: managing at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area; and identifying a control device that controls one or more electric machines installed in the specified area, the control device being associated with the area where the user is staying or planned to stay, based on the stay period and the planned stay period, and sending instructions to the control device to control the one or more electric machines.

11. A computer program executed by a management device, comprising the steps of: managing at least one of a user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area; and identifying a control device that controls one or more electric machines installed in the specified area, the control device being associated with the area where the user is staying or planned to stay, based on the stay period and the planned stay period, and sending instructions to the control device to control the one or more electric machines.

12. A user terminal device configured to: transmit stay-related information relating to at least one of the user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area to a management device; and receive, from the management device, electric machine-related information that associates information indicating one or more electric machines installed in the specified area with information regarding the operations available for each of the one or more electric machines.

13. A method executed by a user's terminal device, comprising: a step of transmitting stay-related information relating to at least one of the user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area to a management device; and a step of receiving, from the management device, electric machine-related information that associates information indicating one or more electric machines installed in the specified area with information regarding available operations for each of the one or more electric machines.

14. A computer program executed by a user's terminal device, comprising the steps of: transmitting stay-related information relating to at least one of the user's stay period and planned stay period in a specified area to a management device; and receiving, from the management device, electric machine-related information that associates information indicating one or more electric machines installed in the specified area with information regarding the operations available for each of the one or more electric machines.

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