EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20110087377A1
• Filed: 10/12/2010
• Published: 04/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Junichi, Miyake, Toshiyuki, NABESHIMA, Hideo, Hyousu, Haruhiko
• Application Number:
  US12/902,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20110087377A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/276
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric

Abstract

An equipment management system includes: an equipment control device having a control unit connected to the equipment control server to transmit a control signal for controlling the load of the equipment in cooperation with the equipment control server; an identifiable medium; a reading device having an acquisition unit for acquiring identification information of the medium present in a management target area, a determination unit for determining presence/absence of a user carrying the medium in the management coverage depending on the acquired information, and an instruction unit for instructing the control unit to control the load of the equipment depending on the determination result; and an authentication server having an authentication unit for performing authentication based on the identification information. The transmitting operation from the instruction unit of the reading device to the control unit of the equipment control device is performed in a wireless manner.

Claims

1. An equipment management system coexisting with an equipment control system in which a load of an equipment is controlled by an equipment control server, comprising:

an equipment control device having a control unit connected to the equipment control server to transmit a control signal for controlling the load of the equipment in cooperation with the equipment control server;

an identifiable medium;

a reading device having an acquisition unit for acquiring identification information of the medium present in a management target area, a determination unit for determining presence/absence of a user carrying the medium in the management coverage depending on the acquisition situation of the identification information in the acquisition unit, and an instruction unit for instructing the control unit to control the load of the equipment depending on the determination result of the determination unit; and

an authentication server having an authentication unit for performing authentication based on the identification information acquired by the acquisition unit,

wherein the transmitting operation from the instruction unit of the reading device to the control unit of the equipment control device is performed in a wireless manner.

2. The equipment management system of claim 1, wherein the determination unit is designed to perform the determination based on the authentication result from the authentication unit.

3. The equipment management system of claim 2, wherein the instruction unit is adapted to perform the instruction by transmitting the determination result to the control unit, the control unit being adapted to control the load of the equipment by generating the control signal based on the determination result transmitted from the instruction unit and transmitting the control signal to the equipment.

4. The equipment management system of claim 2, wherein the instruction unit is adapted to perform the instruction by generating a command indicative of load control contents based on the determination result and transmitting the command to the control unit, the control unit being designed to control the load of the equipment by generating the control signal based on the command transmitted from the instruction unit and transmitting the control signal to the equipment.

5. The equipment management system of claim 1, wherein the medium is an integrated circuit (IC) card or a tag, and the reading device is a contactless IC card reader or an active tag reader.

6. The equipment management system of claim 2, wherein the medium is an integrated circuit (IC) card or a tag, and the reading device is a contactless IC card reader or an active tag reader.

7. The equipment management system of claim 3, wherein the medium is an integrated circuit (IC) card or a tag, and the reading device is a contactless IC card reader or an active tag reader.

8. The equipment management system of claim 4, wherein the medium is an integrated circuit (IC) card or a tag, and the reading device is a contactless IC card reader or an active tag reader.

9. The equipment management system of claim 1, wherein the equipment control device includes an operation switch for controlling the load of the equipment.

10. The equipment management system of claim 2, wherein the equipment control device includes an operation switch for controlling the load of the equipment.

11. The equipment management system of claim 3, wherein the equipment control device includes an operation switch for controlling the load of the equipment.

12. The equipment management system of claim 4, wherein the equipment control device includes an operation switch for controlling the load of the equipment.

13. The equipment management system of claim 9, wherein the operation switch is directly or remotely operated and is attached to a construction material.

14. The equipment management system of claim 10, wherein the operation switch is directly or remotely operated and is attached to a construction material.

15. The equipment management system of claim 11, wherein the operation switch is directly or remotely operated and is attached to a construction material.

16. The equipment management system of claim 12, wherein the operation switch is directly or remotely operated and is attached to a construction material.

17. The equipment management system of claim 1, wherein the equipment includes an illumination device and/or an conditioning device.

18. The equipment management system of claim 2, wherein the equipment includes an illumination device and/or an air conditioning device.

19. The equipment management system of claim 3, wherein the equipment includes an illumination device and/or an air conditioning device.

20. The equipment management system of claim 4, wherein the equipment includes an illumination device and/or an air conditioning device.