HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE AND HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

• US 20150219352A1
• Filed: 08/01/2013
• Published: 08/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nitta, Takehiko, Kamoda, Hirokazu, Akiyama, Jun, Kobayashi, Takayuki
• Granted Patent: US 9,791,162 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/46 Improving electric energy efficiency or saving
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/62 characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/65 for selecting an operating mode
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/10 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/50 Load
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/60 Energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 3/065 with a plurality of evaporators or condensers
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 5/0096 combined with domestic apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/048 Monitoring; Safety
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2614 HVAC, heating, ventillation, climate control
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/14 The load or loads being home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/20 : End-user application control systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 : Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/242 : Home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/244 : the home appliances being or involving heating ventilating and air conditioning [HVAC] units

Abstract

A household electric appliance and a household electric system are provided which are capable of quickly responding to the electric power demand in which the peak cut of the power consumption is requested. The household electric appliance comprises: a receiving unit that receives a request for a peak cut of power consumption at a predetermined rate from a remote controller and a mobile terminal; a drive unit that drives a power-consuming object to be driven; and a control unit that controls an action of the drive unit. The control unit, in the case of reception of the peak cut request from the remote controller or the mobile terminal, controls the action of the drive unit so as to cut a maximum value of the power consumption within the appliance based on the requested rate.

Claims

1. A household electric appliance comprising:

a receiving unit that receives a request for a peak cut of power consumption at a predetermined rate from a remote controller and a mobile terminal;

a drive unit that drives a power-consuming object to be driven; and

a control unit that controls an action of the drive unit, wherein

the control unit, in the case of reception of the peak cut request from the remote controller or the mobile terminal, controls the action of the drive unit so as to cut a maximum value of the power consumption within the appliance based on the requested rate.

2. The household electric appliance of claim 1, further comprising:

a detecting unit that detects a current flowing through a predetermined current path within the appliance and transmits results of the detection to the control unit, wherein

the control unit compares a current value detected by the detecting unit and a current value set based on the predetermined rate requested by the remote controller or the mobile terminal and controls the drive unit to cut the maximum value of the power consumption within the appliance, based on result of the comparison.

3. The household electric appliance of claim 2, wherein

the control unit, in the case of reception of the peak cut request from the remote controller or the mobile terminal, causes the number of rotations of a compressor held by the drive unit to be decreased based on the requested rate.

4. The household electric appliance of claim 3, wherein

setting of the peak cut of the power consumption can be made in a plurality of steps in the remote controller and the mobile terminal.

5. The household electric appliance of claim 4, wherein

the receiving unit receives an operation signal from the remote controller and transmits the signal to the control unit, and wherein

the control unit in reception of the operation signal causes the number of rotations of the compressor held by the drive unit to be decreased based on the requested rate.

6. A household electric system to which the household electric appliance of claim 5 is applied, the system comprising:

a communication device that communicates with the mobile terminal; and

a server device that manages application programs installed in the mobile terminal by way of a communication line and intended for the operation of the household electric appliance, wherein

an instruction from the mobile terminal to perform the peak cut of the power consumption is executed by being transmitted by the started application program by way of the communication line and the communication device to the control unit, and by the control unit in reception thereof controlling the drive unit.

7. A household electric appliance comprising:

a receiving unit that receives a setting signal to set a predetermined air-conditioning operation with an upper-limit temperature and a lower-limit temperature of a room temperature set;

a drive unit that drives an object to be driven to regulate the room temperature; and

a control unit that controls an action of the drive unit, wherein

the control unit, in the case of reception of the setting signal to set the predetermined air-conditioning operation, controls the drive unit to perform the predetermined air-conditioning operation so that the room temperature will be the temperature within a temperature range that is lower by a predetermined temperature than the upper-limit temperature and that is higher by a predetermined temperature than the lower-limit temperature, in the predetermined air-conditioning operation.

8. The household electric appliance of claim 7, further comprising:

a detecting unit that detects the room temperature within a room in which the appliance is installed and transmits results of the detection to the control unit, wherein

the control unit, in the case of detection by the detecting unit, in the predetermined air-conditioning operation, that the room temperature is higher than the upper-limit temperature, causes the drive unit to perform a cooling operation so that the room temperature will be a first setting temperature that is lower by the predetermined temperature than the upper-limit temperature.

9. The household electric appliance of claim 8, wherein

the control unit, in the case of detection by the detecting unit, in the predetermined air-conditioning operation, that the room temperature is lower than the lower-limit temperature, causes the drive unit to perform a heating operation so that the room temperature will be a second setting temperature that is higher by the predetermined temperature than the lower-limit temperature.

10. The household electric appliance of claim 7, wherein

the control unit, in the predetermined air-conditioning operation, controls the drive unit so that the room temperature will be a first setting temperature that is lower by the predetermined temperature than the upper-limit temperature when an operation mode of the appliance based on the setting signal is a cooling operation, and controls the drive unit so that the room temperature will be a second setting temperature that is higher by the predetermined temperature than the lower-limit temperature when the operation mode of the appliance based on the setting signal is a heating operation.

11. The household electric appliance of claim 10, wherein

the control unit, in the case of the predetermined air-conditioning operation being set based on the setting signal during the operation of the appliance, controls so that the operation mode in which the appliance is operating will be continued and, as to the setting temperature, the operation will be performed according to the upper-limit temperature and the lower-limit temperature set with respect to the predetermined air-conditioning operation.

12. The household electric appliance of claim 11, wherein

the receiving unit receives the setting signal to set the predetermined air-conditioning operation from a mobile terminal.

13. A household electric system comprising:

the household electric appliance of claim 12; and

the mobile terminal that transmits the setting signal to set the predetermined air-conditioning operation.