Status notification methods for smart devices

Abstract

A method for notifying the status of a smart device includes the following steps: (A) A server outputs multiple setting signals related to a setting rule information to multiple smart devices according to the setting rule information, wherein the setting rule information is at least related to information about another smart device that each smart device needs to notify when its status changes, and information about a predetermined action that the other smart device needs to perform. (B) When any smart device changes its status, it outputs a notification signal to the corresponding other smart device according to the setting rule information. (C) When any smart device receives the notification signal, it executes the predetermined action according to the setting rule information. This allows users to be aware of the real-time status changes of the smart device and take appropriate action, significantly improving convenience.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a status notification method, and more particularly to a status notification method for a smart device. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Various home appliances have become indispensable basic equipment in people's lives. In the past, when the status of home appliances changed, such as completing the washing program or the dehumidifier being full of water, the user was informed by the light or sound emitted by the built-in light or buzzer of the washing machine or dehumidifier.

[0003] Referring to Figure 1, with the maturity of network technology, connecting a smart home appliance 11 to a smartphone 12 via the network and then monitoring it through the smartphone 12 has become an increasingly popular way of setting up home appliances in recent years. Therefore, in recent years, the smart home appliance 11 can also send its status changes to the smartphone 12 to notify the user through preset settings.

[0004] However, if the user is in a room far from the smart appliance 11 and the smartphone 12 is not nearby, there may still be situations where the user misses status change messages and cannot process them in a timely manner. For example, if the dehumidifier stops working when it is full of water, and the water cannot be emptied in time to allow the dehumidifier to continue operating, it may result in the dehumidifier not being able to complete the dehumidification work within the expected time. [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a status notification method for a smart device that can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0006] Therefore, the status notification method of the smart device of the present invention is applied to a server and a plurality of smart devices, and the status notification method of the smart device includes the following steps:

[0007] (A) The server outputs multiple setting signals related to the setting rule information to the smart devices according to a setting rule information. The setting rule information is at least related to information about another smart device that each smart device needs to notify when its state changes, and a predetermined action that the other smart device needs to perform.

[0008] (B) When any of the smart devices changes state, it outputs a notification signal to the corresponding other smart device according to the setting rule information.

[0009] (C) When any of the smart devices receives the notification signal, it performs the predetermined action according to the setting rule information.

[0010] The advantage of this invention is that, through the above-mentioned settings, even if the user is in a room far away from the smart device, he or she can know the status changes of the smart device and respond and deal with them in real time, thus greatly improving the convenience of life.

Implementation Method

[0011] Referring to Figures 2 and 3, one embodiment of the status notification method for a smart device according to the present invention is applied to a server 2, a plurality of smart devices 3 connected to the server 2, and a setting electronic device 4 connected to the server 2. In this embodiment, the smart devices 3 are described using smart home appliances, namely a washing machine 31, an air conditioner 32, and a dehumidifier 33. The setting electronic device 4 is, for example, a smartphone, tablet, computer, or other device. It is worth noting that in this embodiment, the smart devices 3 and the server 2 are connected using Wi-Fi technology. Therefore, the architecture used in this embodiment also includes a wireless network device 5, such as a router. However, other connection technologies, such as Bluetooth or Zigbee, can also be used between the smart devices 3 and the server 2. In this case, the wireless network device 5 is, for example, a gateway.

[0012] The status notification method of this smart device includes the following steps:

[0013] (A) The server 2 outputs multiple setting signals related to the setting rule information to the smart devices 3 according to a setting rule information. The setting rule information is at least related to information about another smart device 3 that each smart device 3 needs to notify when its state changes, and a predetermined action that the other smart device 3 needs to perform.

[0014] The user can pre-operate the setting electronic device 4 to set the setting rule information. For example, the user can set the setting rule information through an application (APP) on the setting electronic device 4. The setting rule information is related to a notification rule and a notification recipient, or may be further related to a display mode, and selectively related to a duration, a display content, or a prompt sound. The notification rule is related to one of the state changes of the smart device 3, and the notification recipient is related to another smart device 3 that the smart device 3 wants to notify when the state changes. For example, the washing machine 31 is set to notify the air conditioner 32 after completing the washing program (state change). At this time, the information of the notification recipient is, for example, the communication address of the air conditioner 32 in the local area network. The display mode is related to the information of the predetermined action performed by the smart device 3 after receiving a notification from another smart device 3, such as emitting light or sound. The duration is related to the duration of the predetermined action. The display content is related to the text, voice, or light information output by the predetermined action. The prompt tone relates to whether or not a prompt sound is output. For example, the air conditioner 32 is set to output different colored light changes and a prompt sound in a predetermined sequence after receiving a notification from the washing machine 31 after the washing cycle is completed, and this continues for 3 seconds. Or, for example, the air conditioner 32 is set to output the voice message "Dehumidifier 33 is full" after receiving a notification from the dehumidifier 33 when it is full of water.

[0015] After the user completes the settings, they can operate the settings electronic device 4 to transmit the settings rule information to the server 2. The server 2 then outputs the settings signals related to the settings rule information to the smart devices 3 according to the settings rule information. This allows each smart device 3 to know the notification recipients after a corresponding state change occurs, as well as the predetermined actions to be taken when receiving notifications from other smart devices 3.

[0016] (B) When the state of any of the smart devices 3 changes, a notification signal is output to the corresponding other smart device 3 according to the setting rule information.

[0017] After the user completes the settings of the smart devices 3 through the setting electronic device 4 and the server 2, any of the smart devices 3 will notify the set notification object when the status changes, according to the settings. For example, after the washing machine 31 completes the washing program (status change), it outputs the notification signal to notify the air conditioner 32.

[0018] It is worth noting that the path from which the smart device 3 outputs the notification signal to the corresponding other smart device 3 does not pass through the server 2. In this embodiment, the smart devices 3 are connected using Wi-Fi technology. Therefore, as shown in FIG3, the smart devices 3 transmit the notification signal to the other smart device 3 through the wireless network device 5 (without passing through the server 2). Furthermore, each smart device 3 can also transmit messages to the setting electronic device 4 through the wireless network device 5 and the server 2, so as to notify the user of the status changes of the smart device 3 through the setting electronic device 4. The smart devices 3 can also communicate using other wireless network technologies, such as Bluetooth or Zigbee. When using Bluetooth technology, as shown in FIG4, the smart devices 3 can directly transmit the notification signal to the other smart device 3 without passing through the wireless network device 5. At the same time, they can still transmit relevant messages to the setting electronic device 4 through the wireless network device 5 and the server 2.

[0019] (C) When any of the smart devices 3 receives the notification signal, it performs the predetermined action according to the setting rule information.

[0020] For example, after the air conditioner 32 receives the notification signal transmitted by the dehumidifier 33 when it is full of water, it outputs the voice message "Dehumidifier 33 is full of water" according to the settings.

[0021] In this way, users do not need to be present while the smart device 3 is operating, nor do they need to carry the setting electronic device 4 at all times, yet they can still instantly know the status changes of the smart device 3. For example, users can use the setting electronic device 4 to set the washing machine 31 to notify the air conditioner 32 in the living room to output a voice message "Washing program completed" after the washing program is completed. Afterwards, users can operate the washing machine 31 to perform the washing and then go to the living room to rest. When the washing machine 31 completes the washing program, it will notify the air conditioner 32 to inform the user, allowing the user to immediately proceed with subsequent tasks such as drying clothes.

[0022] Based on the above explanation, the effects of this embodiment are as follows:

[0023] First, by setting the setting rule information, and setting any smart device 3 to notify another corresponding smart device 3 according to the setting rule information when its status changes, the other smart device 3 will then perform the predetermined action to notify the user. This allows the user to know the status change of the smart device 3 even if they are in a room far away from the smart device 3, and to respond and deal with it in time, thus greatly improving the convenience of life.

[0024] Furthermore, by setting up direct communication between these smart devices 3 without going through the server 2, signal delay can be reduced, thereby achieving a more immediate message notification effect.

[0025] Second, by setting the setting electronic device 4, users can set the setting rules information, which can be adjusted by users at any time according to their own needs, thus providing convenience and flexibility in use.

[0026] In summary, the status notification method of the smart device of the present invention can indeed achieve the purpose of the present invention.

[0027] However, the above description is only an embodiment of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application and the contents of the patent specification shall still fall within the scope of the patent of the present invention. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0028] Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional method for notifying the status of a home appliance; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the method for notifying the status of a smart device of the present invention, illustrating that a setting electronic device sets a plurality of smart devices through a server; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the embodiment, illustrating how the smart devices notify another smart device and the setting electronic device when the status changes; and Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the embodiment, illustrating another way in which the smart devices notify another smart device and the setting electronic device when the status changes.

Claims

1. A status notification method for a smart device, applied to a server and a plurality of smart devices, the status notification method comprising the following steps: (A) The server outputs a plurality of setting signals related to the setting rule information to the smart devices according to a setting rule information, the setting rule information being at least related to information about another smart device to be notified by each smart device when its status changes, and information about a predetermined action to be performed by the other smart device; (B) When any smart device changes its status, it outputs a notification signal to the corresponding other smart device according to the setting rule information; and (C) When any smart device receives the notification signal, it performs the predetermined action according to the setting rule information.

2. The status notification method for a smart device as described in claim 1, wherein, In step (B), the smart device outputs the notification signal to the corresponding other smart device via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or ZigBee technology.

3. The status notification method for a smart device as described in claim 1, wherein, In step (B), the path from which the smart device outputs the notification signal to the corresponding other smart device does not pass through the server.

4. The status notification method for a smart device as described in claim 1 further includes a setting electronic device connected to the server and used to output the setting rule information to the server.

5. The status notification method for a smart device as described in claim 1, wherein, The setting rule information also relates to a notification rule for each smart device, which relates to one of the state changes of the corresponding smart device.

6. The status notification method for a smart device as described in claim 1, wherein, The setting rule information also relates to a duration and a display content for each smart device. The duration is related to the duration of the predetermined action, and the display content is related to the text, voice, or light output by the predetermined action.

7. The status notification method for a smart device as described in claim 1, wherein, In step (C), the predetermined action is to emit light or sound.

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