JP2002297832A - Information processor, charge presenting program, and charge presenting method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize estimation of use charges for resources at the present point of time in the present period and to make alterable contract conditions for use of resources in the present period at the present point of time. SOLUTION: The processor of this information processor 100 supplies an estimated value of resources of a user of the present charge period to the plurality of contact conditions related to the supply of the resources calculated according to the user's consumption amount of supply resources at the present point of time in the present charge period.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the prediction of usage fees for resources during a current charging period, and more particularly, to the current electricity, gas, water, etc. in the current month in a home via a network such as the Internet. The present invention relates to a process of estimating a usage fee of a utility resource and changing a contract condition of the month.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, regarding the consumption of utility resources (consumption resources) such as electricity, gas and water in each household, a lifeline supplier such as an electric power company or a gas company, which is a supplier, jointly establishes a network. It is planned to use it for remote meter reading. Remote meter reading via the network itself is a known technique.

[0003] Consumers of each household can confirm past consumption and usage charges of household electricity, gas, water and the like up to the previous month from information provided by the supply business. There are also systems that advise consumers on how to improve the consumption of utility resources and usage fees on Web sites on the Internet.

[0004]

Consumers, however, have found that in their homes, the consumption environment of their utility resources, such as the installation of new equipment, fluctuations in weather, fluctuations in the number of residents, changes in life patterns due to work or study, etc. Even if the conditions change, it is not easy to predict the transition of the usage fee for the current month by checking the current consumption and the usage fee during the current month (this month). Furthermore, the consumer cannot easily predict and judge whether the usage plan and the contract category of the utility resource in the home in the current month are most suitable for the consumption mode in the current month.

[0005] In addition, even if a consumer considers a change in a utility resource use plan or a contract category, he or she does not know what specific change is possible, and if the change is made, the usage fee will be reduced. I do not know how much it will be improved.

[0006] The inventor has further advanced the network environment used for remote meter reading, predicts the transition of the usage fee of the utility resources of the consumer in the current month even during the middle of the current month, and is most suitable for the consumption form. It was recognized that if the usage plans and contract categories for the current month were presented and the usage plans and contract categories for the current month could be changed even during the current month, services to consumers could be improved. .

[0007] A main object of the present invention is to realize a prediction of a current resource usage fee during a current fee period. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that allows the contract terms for the use of resources during the current fee period to be changed at this time.

[0008]

According to one aspect of the present invention, the processor of the information processing apparatus of the present invention at a point in the current fee period of one resource within the current fee period. It provides an estimate of the user's charge for the resource for the current charge period for a plurality of terms and conditions for the supply of the resource, calculated based on the user's actual consumption of the resource.

According to still another feature of the present invention, the fee presentation program used in the information processing apparatus includes, at a point in the current fee period of one resource, the resource of a user in the current fee period. Providing the processor a predicted price of the resource for the user for the current billing period for the plurality of terms and conditions for the supply of the resource, calculated based on the actual consumption of the resource.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fee presenting program further comprises, in response to a user input at a point in the current fee period, a current contract term of the plurality of contract terms of the resource. To change to a different one of the multiple terms and conditions.
Cause the processor to execute.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the predicted value of the fee is calculated based on the predicted value of the resource consumption of the user in the current fee period.

According to still another feature of the present invention, a fee presentation method for presenting a fee according to a plurality of contract conditions of a resource in a fee presentation processing system is provided at a time within a current fee period of one resource. Providing a predicted value of the user's charge for the resource for the current charge period for a plurality of terms and conditions relating to the supply of the resource, calculated based on the user's actual consumption of the resource during the current charge period. Includes steps.

According to the present invention, it is possible to predict the usage fee of the resource at the present time during the current fee period. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a system that allows a contract condition for resource use in a current fee period to be changed at the present time via a network.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a fee prediction and improvement proposal system via a network according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, as a basic configuration (infrastructure), a power company server machine 121 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a server), a gas company server, which is a server that supplies utility resources such as electricity, gas, water, and the like. Machine 123 and Waterworks Bureau Server Machine 1
25 and a local control device 150 provided at a consumer's house to receive the supply of the utility resources.
0 are connected to each other. Local controller 1
50 is further connected to a power meter 171, a gas meter 173, and a water meter 175 at the consumer's home via a data line. The network 50 is typically configured by the Internet, a telephone network including a mobile communication network, a cable television network, a power line carrier network, and / or an optical fiber network.

The local controller 150 includes a server 153 for local information processing, a memory 155, a meter reading interface 157, a client interface 159, a utility device interface 161, other interfaces, and other modules. The device interface 161 may be connected to the device 177 or the like via a home LAN.

The server 153 provided in the local control device 150 reads the current indicated value of each meter from each of the meters 171, 173 and 175 via the meter reading interface 157, and locally controls the read meter reading data. The data is stored and accumulated in the memory 155 in the device 150, and the meter reading data is transmitted to the servers 121, 123, and 125 in response to a request from the server. Also,
The server 153 of the local control device 150
In response to the requests of 1, 123 and 125, the current reading of each meter is read and the meter reading data is transmitted to those servers.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that meter reading data such as electricity and gas is transmitted to the server of each resource supply source via the local controller 150. However, meter reading data such as electricity and gas is transmitted to the local controller. Directly through the respective servers 121, 123 and 125 without going through 150
May be transmitted.

The utility equipment interface 161 includes, for example, an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a water heater,
A utility device 177 such as a microwave oven or a gas range may be connected via a data line. Each such utility device 177 is a so-called Internet home appliance, includes a microcomputer, transmits and receives data to and from the local control device 150, and further controls by data received from outside via the network 50. Can be used and utility equipment 17
7 can be transmitted to an external information processing device or the like via the network 50. Note that the utility device 177 may be directly connected to the network 50 without going through the local control device 150 as shown in FIG.

The above-mentioned servers 121, 123 and 125
In the network 5, a charge prediction and improvement proposal server machine 100 related to the features of the present invention and a client machine 180 (hereinafter simply referred to as a client) of a user of the charge prediction and improvement proposal service are connected to the network 5.
0 are connected to each other. Client 180
Transmits / receives data to / from the local control device 150 and transmits / receives data to / from the network 5 via the local control device 150.
Connected to 0. The server 153 of the local control device 150 includes the client 180, the charge prediction and improvement proposal server 100, or the utility resource supply source server 1
Data processing can be performed according to the requests or instructions of 21 to 125. FIG. 1 shows a local control device 150,
Although only one set of the home system including the client 180, the meters 171 to 175, and the device 177 is shown, it is assumed that a plurality of similar home systems are connected to the network 50.

Charge prediction and improvement proposal server machine 1
00 is typically a processor 10 as an apparatus configuration.
1. It has a memory such as a magnetic disk, a network interface 105 connected to the network 50, a video monitor, a keyboard, and the like. Processor 10
1 is typically composed of a CPU, a ROM and a RAM. The server 100 further includes a charge prediction and improvement proposal server function 102 implemented in the form of an application program stored in a storage device, and a management database 104.
The server function 102 may be implemented as a dedicated processor in the form of hardware such as an integrated circuit.

The user's client machine 180
A typical personal computer (PC) connected to the network 50 via the local controller 150 and having, for example, a processor 181, a storage device, a network interface 183, an input device 185 such as a keyboard and mouse, and a video monitor 187. Or a dedicated information processing device having a similar configuration.

In this embodiment, the user client
Although the description will be made assuming that the machine 180 is connected to the local control device 150, the client machine 180 may be directly connected to the network 50 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a client 180 and a charge prediction and improvement proposal server 1 which is activated by the client 180 and executes processing of charge prediction and charge improvement proposal.
00 and the utility resource supply source servers 121 to 125
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the operations of FIG.

Utility resource supply servers 121 to 1
The 25 fee management functions 135 periodically acquire and accumulate the user's resource consumption from the meter reading function 134, for example, monthly, weekly, daily, or by time zone. for that reason,
The meter reading function 134 can be connected to the power meter 171 or the gas meter 1 via the local controller 150 or directly according to the request of the charge management function 135 or the meter reading function 134 itself.
The current consumption data is acquired from 73 and the water meter 175 and passed to the charge management function 135.

The fee prediction and improvement proposal server 100
When accessed by the client 180, the inquiry management function 133 accesses the charge management function 135 to request required data such as current consumption and contract conditions during the current charge period (for example, this month) of the user. , The consumption data management function 132 is the charge management function 13
5 receives the data. However, the server 100
The data may be acquired by periodically accessing the charge management function 135 and accumulated in the database 104. Further, the server 100 acquires consumption data of the device 177 periodically or as needed via the local control device 150 and accumulates the data in the database 104.

Next, the consumption data management function 132 predicts the consumption amount in the current charge period based on the current consumption amount in the current charge period.
3 notifies the simulation function 136 of the estimated consumption amount of the current charge period, requests a charge simulation calculation for each selectable contract condition, receives the result, stores it in the database 104, and transmits it to the client 180. I do. The inquiry management function 133 accesses the simulation function 136 and passes necessary data to request a simulation calculation of a consumption forecast value for the current charge period and a charge for each selectable contract condition. The data may be received, stored in the database 104, and transmitted to the client 180.

As an alternative configuration, the inquiry management function 133 requests the charge management function 135 to simulate them, and the charge management function 135 passes required data to the simulation function 136 to execute the simulation, and the result is obtained. It may be received and transmitted to the inquiry management function 133.

The client 180 receives the user's current consumption amount during the current charge period and the predicted consumption amount of the user during the current charge period, and required data such as respective charges, and receives the video monitor 187. To be displayed. The user further operates the input device 185 to
The displayed estimated consumption amount for the current charge period is corrected and transmitted from the client 180 to the inquiry management function 133 to inquire about the usage charge. The inquiry management function 133 requests the simulation function 136 via the charge management function 135 or directly to perform a simulation calculation of the contract-based charge for the corrected consumption forecast value in the current charge period. Next, the client 180 receives the contract-based charge of the revised estimated consumption value from the inquiry management function 133 and presents it to the user. A request to change the contract conditions is made to the charge management function 135 through 133.

Next, the function and operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, for the sake of simplicity, only the energy resource of electric power will be described as a utility resource, but the present invention is similarly applicable to energy resources such as gas other than electric power and utility resources such as water. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for fee prediction and improvement proposal processing. 4 to 8 exemplify screens displayed on the video monitor 187 of the client 180 in the flowchart of FIG.

The user management function 131 of the server 100
The environment of the power consumption of the user of the charge prediction and improvement proposal service, which is also the power consumer, is collected in advance from the client 180 by a user operation, and the
To accumulate. Alternatively, when the fee prediction and improvement proposal service is a membership service, data relating to environmental conditions included in pre-registered member information may be extracted and stored in the database 104. If possible, the consumption data management function 132 collects in advance the power consumption amount of the user for each past month and for each device and for each device and accumulates it in the database 104.

The contents of the consumption environment conditions are: household composition (sequence, gender, age, etc.), dwelling condition (housing structure (rebar, wooden, prefabricated, number of floors, etc.), layout, age of building or year of construction, etc.). , Used equipment data (manufacturer name, model and other specifications,
, Etc.), and home time data of each household member by time zone. If the device to be used is connected to the network 50 via the local control device 150 like the device 177 in FIG. 1, the user management function 13 of the server 100
1 can collect the device data from the device via the local controller 150. The operator of the fee prediction and improvement proposal server 100 recruits monitor consumers in advance, collects the above-mentioned consumption environment condition data of the monitor consumers, and stores the data in the database 104. The server 100 uses various data related to the power consumption of the monitor consumer as standard data or reference data for a charge prediction and improvement proposal service.

The consumption data of the general consumer and the monitor consumer in the home for each use device for each month in the home can be stored in the network 50 via the local control device 150 as in the device 177 of FIG. Can be stored in the local control device 150, and the consumption data management function 132 of the server 100 accesses the local control device 150 to collect the consumption data and Can be accumulated. Alternatively, the consumption data management function 132
May directly collect consumption data from the device 177 and store it in the database 104.

Charge management function 13 of power company server 121
5 is the rate table data for each contract condition and the regular power consumption by each user collected by remote meter reading (monthly,
Weekly, daily, and time zones), user contract conditions, monthly usage fees, and the like are stored in a database. Server 1
The consumption data management function 132 of the power company server 1 periodically and as needed via the network 50.
From 21, it is possible to acquire data on the periodic power consumption (by month, week, day, and time zone) by each user, the user's contract conditions, and the monthly usage fee. Simulation function 136 of server 121
In accordance with a request from the server 100 or the charge management function 135 or the like, a charge calculation for the power consumption is executed for each contract condition, and the calculation result is supplied.

In this embodiment, the explanation will be given on the assumption that the data collection such as the power consumption and the charge for each contract condition plan is executed mainly by the server 100, but the processing is executed mainly by the server 121. Alternatively, the local control device 150 or the client 180 may execute at least a part of the processing program by loading such a processing program from the server 100. Further, the simulation of the consumption amount and the charge will be described as being executed by the server 121, but the processing may be at least partly performed by the server 100. By loading, the local controller 150 or client 180 may process at least a portion thereof.

Next, the server 100 and the client 1
The procedure of the process 80 will be described. In order to receive the processing service of the server 100, the user of the fee prediction and improvement proposal service first needs to use the video monitor 1 of the client 180.
The user inputs and transmits a user ID and a password on the screen 87, and logs on to the server 100. Then, the user management function 131 of the server 100 operates and the user I
After confirming D and the password, the processing is started, and the screen 1 of FIG. 4 is displayed on the video monitor 187 until the next display screen is obtained.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for the fee prediction and improvement proposal processing. In step 301, while the screen 1 is being displayed, the inquiry function 133 of the server 100 checks the number of days (for example, January 16) of the current month (for example, January) of the user at the current time (for example, January 16). ), The same month of the previous year, and the previous month's consumption are retrieved from the database 104 or acquired from the charge management function 135 of the server 121, and are displayed on the video monitor 187 in the consumption graph. Is displayed on the screen 2 of FIG. At this time, the power consumption of the user for the number of days that have passed in the current month is also stored in the charge management function 135 of the server 121 from the database 104.
If it is not possible to obtain the consumption amount from the power meter 171, the inquiry function 133 requests the local control device 150 to obtain the consumption amount stored in the memory 155 or directly from the power meter 171. On screen 2, the current month (for example, up to January 15 of the previous day)
The integrated power value for the entire time zone (24 hours) is indicated by underlined numerical values (60 KWh, 205 KWh, 310 KWh), and the transition is indicated by a solid line. In addition, the consumption in the same month last year (480 KWh) and the consumption in the previous month (410 KWh)
Wh) is also displayed.

Next, the inquiry function 1 of the server 100
33, when power consumption data by time zone is necessary for calculating a charge for each contract, in step 303, the user management function 131 refers to the data of the user in the database 104 to collect the consumption data by time zone. Determine if it is possible. However, if the time-zone-based consumption data is not required for the contract-based fee calculation, that is, if a time-zone-based fee is not set for a certain utility resource, the process proceeds from step 307 to step 311.

When it is determined in step 303 that the consumption data by time zone can be collected, in step 305, the inquiry management function 133 executes the usage charge management function 135, the local control device 150, and the device 17 directly.
7, or access to the server 121 to 125 of each resource supplier, and the current consumption amount by time zone (up to the previous day) of the current month, and by month for the past year, same month last year and previous month Consumption data management function 13
2 and calculate the ratio (distribution) of the consumption amount for each time period, and store the consumption amount and the ratio for each time period in the database 104.

If the charge management function 135 stores daily (or monthly) hourly consumption data of the power of the user, the inquiry management function 133 sends the power consumption by the time zone from the charge management function 135. What is necessary is to collect quantity data. If daily (monthly) hourly consumption data of the power of the user is stored in the memory 155 of the local control device 150, the inquiry management function 133
The data can also be collected from the local controller 150. Also, a device 177 such as an Internet home appliance is connected to the local control device 150,
If the local power consumption data for each device is stored in the local control device 150, the inquiry management function 1
33 may collect the data from the local control device 150 and sum the data for each time zone to obtain the consumption amount for each time zone.
The device 177 and the servers 121 to 121 of the resource suppliers
The data may be collected from the data 125 and the consumption amount for each time zone may be obtained.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step 303 that the consumption data by the time zone of the user cannot be collected,
In step 307, the inquiry management function 133
Extracts from the database 104 standard data that matches the user's consumption environment conditions. As its standard data,
Use the average data of a group of monitor consumers whose consumer and environmental conditions are most similar (or matched) to that user. Next, the inquiry management function 133, based on the consumption environment conditions of the user, the monthly consumption of the standard data corresponding to the consumption of the same month last year, the previous month and the current month according to the user's consumption environment condition by month. By multiplying the volume distribution or ratio, the user's current hourly consumption of the current month and the hourly consumption of the same month in the previous year and the previous month are analogized.

The consumption environment condition of the user is
Is registered in the database 104 in advance by the user management function 131 of the client, but may be changed after that.
May be displayed on the video monitor 187 as shown in the screen 3 of FIG. 6 so that the user can confirm and correct or add the data of the consumption environment condition.

Next, in step 311, the inquiry management function 133 displays the time-zone-specific display on the screen 2 of FIG. 5 displayed on the video monitor 187 based on the time-zone consumption determined in step 305 or 307. Display additional consumption. On the screen 2, the numerical value (42 KWh, 144 KWh, 217 KWh) of the power integrated value in the contract target time zone 7:00 to 23:00 in the current month is shown below the integrated value of all the time zones described above, and the transition is one point. It is indicated by the dashed line and its proportion to the total consumption (70%) is also indicated. At the same time, the amount of consumption for the same month last year (336 KWh) and the amount of consumption for the previous month (287 KW
h) is similarly displayed. In this step 311, basic data necessary for calculating the fee for each contract condition is obtained and displayed on the video monitor 187.

In step 313, the inquiry management function 133 executes the simulation function 1 of the server 121.
36 is caused to execute a simulation calculation of the predicted value of the consumption amount for all time periods and time periods in the current month, and the predicted value is additionally displayed on the screen 2 on the video monitor 187. On the screen 2, the predicted value of the consumption amount (integrated value) for all time zones and time zones of the current month is shown at the position of the last day of the current month (all time zones: 430 KWh, 7 to 23:
301 KWh), and the transition of the predicted value is indicated by a broken line.

In order to execute the simulation, the query management function 133 is applied to the simulation function 136 by the user for the same month in the previous year, the previous month, the current consumption in the current month, and The consumption rate by time zone, and request simulation. The forecast method is to simply multiply the daily consumption at the current time in the current month by the remaining days of the current month and add it to the current consumption, or to calculate the current consumption in the current month during the current month. The prediction value may be determined by applying the average increase rate of the daily consumption of the previous month and / or the average increase rate of the daily consumption of the same month of the previous year to the integrated value. Further, the average consumption ratio (distribution) for each day of the week in the last four weeks may be applied to the remaining days of the week to determine the predicted value. Alternatively, the predicted value may be determined by applying the consumption ratio of the week of the same month in the previous year and each day of the week closest to the week of the remaining day of the month and each day of the week to the remaining days of the week of the month.

When the user clicks “execute charge prediction” on the screen 2 of the same step 313, the inquiry management function 133 displays the predicted value of the usage charge for the current month for each contract condition provided by the power company on the server 121. Is calculated. For this purpose, the inquiry management function 133 accesses the charge management function 135 and the simulation function 136 of the server 121 and executes the simulation function 136.
To calculate the estimated value of the usage fee for each contract condition. In this example, the fee for one contract condition (contract plan) is the sum of a minimum monthly basic fee for basic consumption up to a certain predetermined amount in one month and a usage-based fee for exceeding the basic consumption. expressed. In addition, under certain contract conditions, a daytime pay rate with a high charge rate and a late-night pay rate with a low charge rate are separately set.

In the same step 313, the inquiry management function 133 receives the predicted value of the usage fee for each contract condition as the calculation result from the server 121, creates a fee graph, and creates a video graph 187 of the client 180.
At the top, a screen 4 of FIG. 7 is displayed in which the consumption graph of the screen 2 and the charge graph below the consumption graph are added.

In the charge graph at the bottom of the screen 4, the change of the current amount of the usage fee of the current user's contract conditions in the current month is shown by a solid line graph, and the estimated change of the subsequent amount is shown by a broken line graph. At the same time, the transition of the amount of the usage fee under the other presented contract conditions up to the present is shown by a solid line graph, and the subsequent estimated change of the amount is shown by a broken line graph. Further, at the bottom of the screen 4, the predicted value of the current month's consumption on the horizontal axis representing the power consumption is indicated by a vertical thick solid line, and the intersection on the vertical solid solid line indicates the usage fee according to the contract condition of the current month. Predicted values are shown. Also, the contract terms for which the monthly fee is expected to be the most advantageous and cheapest are displayed as recommended contract terms. Similarly, the current consumption is indicated by a vertical thin solid line, the intersection on the vertical solid line indicates the usage fee for each contract condition, and the consumption for the previous month and the same month last year is indicated by a vertical broken line. The usage fee for each contract condition is shown at the intersection on the vertical broken line.

On the right side of the charge graph on the screen 4, a predicted consumption value for the current month and a predicted consumption value for each time zone are further displayed. When the user corrects each predicted value from the schedule of consumption behavior at home (for example, travel, etc.) and clicks “execute charge prediction” on screen 4, the inquiry management function 133 causes the corrected consumption The simulation calculation of the usage fee for each contract condition based on the estimated amount is executed again in the same manner as described above. The result is displayed again in the same form as the screen 4. The user may perform the correction of the predicted value of the consumption and the execution of the price prediction any number of times.

In step 131, the user can change the contract conditions of the current month to more advantageous contract conditions after comparing and examining the charges for each contract condition on the screen 4. In order to make the change, the user clicks on the screen 4 a contract name different from the currently applied contract name “Electricity dependent amount A”, for example, “Recommended light by time zone”. When the user clicks on the different contract name, in step 315, the inquiry management function 133 notifies the charge management function 135 of the power company server 121 of the user's contract condition change. Next, the inquiry function 133
Receives the screen data for confirming the acceptance of the contract condition change from the server 121 and transmits the screen data to the client 180,
The screen 5 of FIG. 8 for confirming the acceptance of the contract condition change is displayed on the video monitor 187. When the user clicks "OK" (confirmation) on the screen 5, the confirmation of the change of the contract condition by the user is notified to the fee management function 135, and the processing in FIG. 3 ends.

In the embodiment described above, the contract conditions can be changed at any present time within the current month. However, such a change in the contract conditions is accepted several days before the last day of the current month ( For example, five days before), the contract change of the next month may be received during the period from several days before to the last day.

In FIG. 1 of the above-described embodiment and FIG. 9 of a modification thereof, the power meter 171, gas meter 173 and water meter 175 and equipment 177 are connected to the network 50 via the local controller 150 (interfaces 157 and 161). Is connected to the meter 171
175 and the device 177 are connected to the local controller 150.
, And may be directly connected to the network 50 via a network interface (not shown) provided in each of them. The local control device 150 may not include the server 153, the memory 155, and the interfaces 157 and 161. In that case, the meters 171 to 175 and the devices 177
May be connected to the network 50 via one common network interface 151 of the local controller 150.

The embodiments described above are given only as typical examples, and modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and those skilled in the art will appreciate the principles of the present invention and the scope of the invention described in the claims. Obviously, various modifications of the above-described embodiment can be made without departing from the invention.

(Supplementary Note 1) An information processing apparatus including a memory and a processor, wherein the processor, at a time within a current charge period, actually consumes resources of a user during the current charge period. Providing a predicted value of the resource charge of the user for the current charge period for a plurality of contract terms relating to the supply of the resource, calculated based on the amount. . (Supplementary Note 2) The processor is further responsive to the user's input at a point in the current fee period to determine a current contract term of the plurality of contract terms of the resource within the plurality of contract terms. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus performs processing to change to another contract condition. (Supplementary note 3) The program according to supplementary note 1, wherein the predicted value of the fee is calculated based on a predicted value of the resource consumption of the user during the current fee period. (Supplementary Note 4) The information processing device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein a predicted value of the resource consumption of the user during the current fee period is received from another information processing device via a network. (Supplementary Note 5) receiving the predicted value of the fee from another information processing device via a network,
The information processing device according to supplementary note 1. (Supplementary note 6) The information processing device according to supplementary note 1, further comprising a display device, wherein the processor supplies the predicted value of the fee to the display device. (Supplementary Note 7) A fee presenting program used for an information processing device, wherein the information processing device includes a processor and a memory, and at a time within a current fee period,
Providing an estimate of the user's charge for the resource for the current charge period for a plurality of contract terms relating to the supply of the resource, calculated based on the user's actual consumption of the resource during the current charge period. Causing the processor to execute the step of: (Supplementary Note 8) Further, in response to the user's input at a point in the current fee period, a current contract term of the plurality of contract terms of the resource is changed to another contract term of the plurality of contract terms. The step of processing to change to a condition,
Supplementary note 7 characterized by being executed by the processor.
The program described in. (Supplementary Note 9) The program according to supplementary note 7, wherein the predicted value of the fee is calculated based on a predicted value of the resource consumption of the user during the current fee period. (Supplementary Note 10) The step of supplying the predicted value of the fee includes a step of receiving the predicted value of the resource consumption of the user during the current fee period from another information processing device via a network. 8. The program according to supplementary note 7, wherein: (Supplementary Note 11) The program according to supplementary note 7, wherein the step of supplying the predicted value of the fee includes a step of receiving the predicted value of the fee from another information processing device via a network. . (Supplementary Note 12) The step of supplying the predicted value of the fee includes supplying a predicted value of the resource consumption of the user in the current fee period calculated based on the actual consumption amount; Supplying the predicted value of the fee calculated based on the predicted value of the consumption amount. (Supplementary Note 13) The step of providing the predicted value of the fee includes the step of calculating the resource of the user for the current fee period, calculated based on the actual consumption at the time in the current fee period. Providing a predicted value of consumption, modifying the predicted value of consumption in response to the user input, and predicting the fee calculated based on the corrected predicted value of consumption. 8. The program according to claim 7, further comprising: supplying a value. (Supplementary Note 14) The supplementary note 7, wherein the predicted value of the fee is further calculated based on the consumption amount of the resource in another past fee period different from the current fee period. Program. (Supplementary note 15) The program according to Supplementary note 7, wherein one of the predicted values of the fee is further calculated based on the time-consuming amount of the resource of the user. . (Supplementary Note 16) The step of supplying the predicted price is further one of providing the predicted price based on standard data corresponding to a current consumption condition of the resource of the user. 8. The program according to supplementary note 7, wherein (Supplementary Note 17) The program according to Supplementary Note 7, wherein the program further causes the processor to execute a step of receiving, from a different information processing apparatus, the resource consumption condition in the user's residence via a network. (Supplementary note 18) The program according to supplementary note 7, wherein the program causes the processor to execute a step of transmitting the predicted value of the fee to another information processing device via a network. (Supplementary Note 19) A fee presentation method for presenting a fee according to a plurality of contract conditions of a resource in a fee presentation processing system, wherein at a point in a current fee period, an actual resource of a user in the current fee period is actually used. Providing a predicted price of the resource for the user for the current fee period for a plurality of contract terms for the supply of the resource, calculated based on consumption. . (Supplementary note 20) Further, in response to the user's input at a point in the current fee period, a current contract term of the plurality of contract terms of the resource is replaced with another contract term of the plurality of contract terms. 20. The data processing method according to claim 19, further comprising a step of performing processing to change the condition. (Supplementary Note 21) Supplementary note 1, wherein the predicted value of the fee is calculated based on a predicted value of the resource consumption of the user in the current fee period.
9. The program according to 9. (Supplementary note 22) The method according to Supplementary note 19, wherein the step of supplying the predicted value of the fee includes a step of receiving the predicted value of the fee from another information processing device via a network. . (Supplementary note 23) The step of providing the predicted value of the fee includes the step of calculating the resource of the user for the current fee period, which is calculated based on the actual consumption at the point in the current fee period. Providing a predicted value of consumption, modifying the predicted value of consumption in response to the user input, and predicting the fee calculated based on the corrected predicted value of consumption. The method of claim 19, comprising providing a value. (Supplementary note 24) The method according to Supplementary note 19, further comprising transmitting a predicted value of the resource consumption of the user during the current fee period to another information processing device via a network. Method. (Supplementary note 25) The data processing method according to supplementary note 19, further comprising transmitting the predicted value of the fee to another information processing device via a network.

[0054]

According to the present invention, it is possible to predict the current usage fee of the resource during the current charging period by the above-mentioned features, and to set the contract conditions for the resource usage during the current charging period via the network. This has the effect of realizing a system that can be changed at the present time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a fee prediction and improvement proposal system via a network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a relationship between operations between a client, a charge prediction and improvement proposal server that is activated by the client to execute a charge prediction and charge improvement proposal process, and a utility resource supplier server. FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for fee prediction and improvement proposal processing.

FIG. 4 shows a screen 1 displayed on a video monitor in the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 5 shows a screen 2 including a consumption graph displayed on the video monitor in the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a screen 3 displayed on a video monitor in the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a screen 4 including a consumption graph and a charge graph displayed on the video monitor in the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a screen 5 displayed on a video monitor in the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 9 shows a configuration of a fee prediction and improvement proposal system via a network according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100 Fee prediction and improvement proposal server machine 121 Power company server 123 Gas company server 125 Water department server 150 Local controller 180 Client machine 171 Power meter 172 Gas meter 173 Water meter 177 Utility equipment

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Satoru Yoneya 3-2-2, Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (72) Inventor Hirofumi Tayama 3-2-2, Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka No. Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An information processing device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to:
Providing an estimate of the user's charge for the resource for the current charge period for a plurality of contract terms relating to the supply of the resource, calculated based on the user's actual consumption of the resource during the current charge period. An information processing apparatus, characterized in that 2. A charge presenting program used in an information processing apparatus, wherein the information processing apparatus includes a processor and a memory, and at a time point within a current charge period, a user within the current charge period. Providing the processor with an estimate of the user's fee for the resource for the current fee period for a plurality of contract terms relating to the resource's supply, calculated based on the actual consumption of the resource. A program characterized by causing 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: responding to the user's input at a time within the current fee period to replace a current contract term of the plurality of contract terms of the resource with another of the plurality of contract terms. The program according to claim 2, wherein the program causes the processor to execute a step of changing to a contract condition. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the predicted value of the fee is calculated based on a predicted value of the resource consumption of the user during the current fee period. program. 5. A fee presenting method for presenting a fee according to a plurality of contract conditions of a resource in a fee presenting processing system, wherein at a point in a current fee period, an actual resource of a user in the current fee period is used. Providing a predicted price of the resource of the user for the current fee period for a plurality of contract terms for the supply of the resource, calculated based on the consumption of the resource. Method.