Device and method for setting smart home control authority

Abstract

Provided is a device for setting control authority of a smart home and a method thereof. The device includes: an information collector that collects driving information and registration information of each vehicle registered in an account from a car-to-home service system; and a controller that sets control authority for a smart home to a vehicle based on the driving information and registration information collected by the information collector.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0128059, filed on October 15, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a technology capable of providing car-to-home services of multiple smart homes for multiple vehicles registered for one account without control authority conflicts (multiple vehicles controlling one smart home). Background Art

[0004] The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

[0005] Generally, smart home refers to the technology of connecting all devices in various fields through a communication network, such as household appliances (e.g., televisions, air conditioners, refrigerators, etc.), energy-consuming devices (e.g., water supply, electricity, heating and cooling, etc.), security devices (e.g., door locks, surveillance cameras, etc.), etc., to monitor and control the devices.

[0006] In such a smart home, a smartphone or an artificial intelligence (AI) speaker can recognize the user's voice, connect all the Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the house, and automatically operate or be remotely controlled according to the user's characteristics. Starting from remote control, smart homes have developed in the direction of AI understanding the situation and user preferences and providing results accordingly.

[0007] Recently, car-to-home services have been commercialized that can control IoT devices in smart homes that are registered in advance by the driver in the vehicle (e.g., Hyundai Kona ).

[0008] According to this car-to-home service, since a user can only register one vehicle with one account and can also control only one smart home from the registered vehicle, a user who owns multiple vehicles cannot register all vehicles with one account and cannot register multiple smart homes (such as offices, studios, houses, etc.) as control targets.

[0009] Specifically, while a car-to-home service user can register multiple vehicles and register multiple smart homes, there is no discussion on how to set control permissions for multiple smart homes for multiple vehicles registered for one account. Summary of the invention

[0010] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a device and method for setting control permissions for a smart home, which can be applied to a system that provides car-to-home services for multiple smart homes to multiple vehicles, and can provide car-to-home services for multiple smart homes to multiple vehicles registered in one account (ID) by setting control permissions for the smart home to one vehicle based on driving information of each vehicle without causing conflicts in control permissions.

[0011] The technical problems to be solved by the present inventive concept are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and any other technical problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains from the following description.

[0012] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a device for setting control permissions for a smart home includes: an information collector configured to collect driving information and registration information of each vehicle registered in an account from a car-to-home service system; and a controller configured to set control permissions from a smart home to a vehicle based on the driving information and registration information collected by the information collector.

[0013] The driving information may include at least one of navigation destination information, estimated time to reach the destination, and current location information, and wherein the registration information includes vehicle information and smart home location information corresponding to one account.

[0014] The controller may assign control authority of the first smart home to a vehicle that sets the first smart home as a destination.

[0015] When there is no vehicle that sets the first smart home as a destination, the controller may assign control authority to a vehicle that is closest to the first smart home.

[0016] When multiple vehicles set the first smart home as a destination, the controller may allocate control authority for the first smart home to a vehicle having the shortest estimated time to reach the first smart home.

[0017] The information collector may collect driving information and registration information of each vehicle registered in one account from a service server in the car-to-home service system.

[0018] The information collector may collect driving information and registration information of each vehicle registered in one account from a content provider server in the car-to-home service system.

[0019] The device may also include a display that shows which vehicle registered by the user has control authority for each smart home registered by the user.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for setting control permissions for a smart home includes: collecting, by an information collector, driving information and registration information of each vehicle registered in an account from a car to a home service system; and setting, by a controller, control permissions for a smart home to a vehicle based on the driving information and registration information collected by the information collector.

[0021] The driving information may include at least one of navigation destination information, destination arrival estimated time, and current location information, and the registration information may include vehicle information and smart home location information corresponding to one account.

[0022] The setting of control authority may include: allocating control authority of the first smart home to a vehicle that has set the first smart home as the destination; when there is no vehicle that has set the first smart home as the destination, allocating control authority to the vehicle closest to the first smart home; and when multiple vehicles have set the first smart home as the destination, allocating control authority of the first smart home to the vehicle with the shortest estimated time to reach the first smart home.

[0023] Collecting the driving information and the registration information may include collecting, from a service server in the car-to-home service system, the driving information and the registration information of each vehicle registered in one account.

[0024] Collecting the driving information and the registration information may include collecting, from a content provider server in the car-to-home service system, the driving information and the registration information of each vehicle registered in one account.

[0025] The method may further include: displaying, by a display, which vehicle registered by the user has control authority over each smart home registered by the user.

[0026] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein.It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] In order that the present disclosure may be readily understood, various forms thereof will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0028] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a car-to-home service system in one form of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 is a diagram showing a device for setting control authority of a smart home according to one form of the present disclosure;

[0030] Figure 3is a diagram showing a scheme in which a controller provided in a device for setting control authority of a smart home in one form of the present invention sets control authority of each smart home for each vehicle registered in one account;

[0031] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a scheme in which a controller provided in a device for setting control authority of a smart home in one form of the present disclosure sets control authority of each smart home for each vehicle registered in one account; and

[0032] Figure 5 The present invention is a flowchart showing a method for setting control authority of a smart home according to one form of the present invention.

[0033] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts and features.

[0035] Hereinafter, some forms of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary drawings. When adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that even if the same or equivalent components are shown on other drawings, they are represented by the same reference numerals. In addition, when describing some forms of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of well-known features or functions will be excluded so as not to unnecessarily make the subject matter of the present disclosure unclear.

[0036] When describing some forms according to the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, "A", "B", (a), (b), etc. may be used. These terms are intended only to distinguish one component from another, and these terms do not limit the nature, sequence, or order of the constituent components. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. Terms defined in general dictionaries should be interpreted as having the same meaning as the contextual meaning associated with the relevant field, and should not be interpreted as having an ideal or overly formal meaning unless explicitly defined as having such a meaning in this application.

[0037] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a car-to-home service system in some forms of the present disclosure.

[0038] like Figure 1As shown, the car-to-home service system in some forms of the present disclosure may include a first account 200, a service server 300, a content provider (CP) server 400, a first smart home 500, and an IoT manufacturer server 600. In this case, for the sake of understanding, the first account 200 and the first smart home 500 are described as an example, but the number of accounts and the number of smart homes can be implemented in multiples.

[0039] With respect to each component, the first account 200 may include a plurality of vehicles 210 and 220. That is, the user may register a plurality of vehicles 210 and 220 with the first account 200. In this manner, each user may register unique numbers, MAC addresses, etc. for a plurality of vehicles with one account.

[0040] The service server 300 is a server connected to a host provided in a vehicle through a mobile communication network to receive a car-to-home service, and performs a function of controlling IoT devices and hub devices in a smart home, and the IoT devices and hub devices are pre-registered in cooperation with each CP server 400 in response to a request from the host. In some forms of the present disclosure, the device 100 for setting control authority of a smart home is connected to the service server 300 to collect driving information (navigation destination information, estimated time to reach the destination, current location information, etc.) and registration information of each vehicle 210 and 220 registered in the first account 200 (vehicle information by account, smart home location information by account, etc.). In this case, the destination information and the location information may be, for example, GPS location information.

[0041] The CP server 400 may be provided in plural numbers and may be used to communicate with the plurality of hub devices 510 and the IoT manufacturer server 600 in the first smart home 500. In some forms of the present disclosure, the device 100 for setting the control authority of the smart home may be connected to the CP server 400 to collect driving information (navigation destination information, estimated time to reach the destination, current location information, etc.) and registration information of each vehicle 210 and 220 registered in the first account 200 (vehicle information by account, smart home location information by account, etc.). In this case, the destination information and the location information may be, for example, GPS location information.

[0042] The first smart home 500 refers to a home, an office, a studio, etc. including a plurality of hub devices 510 and a plurality of IoT devices 520 .

[0043] The IoT manufacturer server 600 is a server operated by a manufacturer that manufactures the IoT device 520, and performs a function of communicating with the IoT device 520. In this case, a plurality of IoT manufacturer servers may be provided for each manufacturer. In addition, the CP server 400 may perform the function of the IoT manufacturer server 600.

[0044] Figure 2 is a diagram showing a device for setting control authority of a smart home according to some forms of the present disclosure.

[0045] like Figure 2 As shown, the apparatus 100 for setting the control authority of a smart home in some forms of the present disclosure may include a storage device 10, a display 20, an information collector 30, and a controller 40. In this case, according to a scheme of implementing the apparatus 100 for setting the control authority of a smart home in some forms of the present disclosure, each component may be combined with each other to be implemented as one component, and some components may be omitted.

[0046] Regarding each component, first, the storage device 10 may store various logics, algorithms, and programs required in a process of setting control authority of a smart home to a vehicle based on driving information of each vehicle applied to the car-to-home system registered with an account.

[0047] The storage device 10 may store various types of information collected by the information collector 30 .

[0048] The storage device 10 may store a threshold distance, which is one of the criteria for allocating the control authority of the first smart home 500 .

[0049] The storage device 10 may include a memory of a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a micro type, a card type (for example, a secure digital (SD) card or an extreme digital (XD) card), etc., and at least one type of storage medium among a random access memory (RAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a magnetic memory (MRAM), a magnetic disk, and an optical disk type memory.

[0050] The display 20 may be implemented with a cluster, a head-up display (HUD), an audio video navigation (AVN) system, etc., and may provide various information generated during a car-to-home service or during a process of setting control permissions for a smart home for a user.

[0051] Specifically, the display 20 may display which vehicles registered by the user are assigned the control authority of each smart home registered by the user.

[0052] The information collector 30 can collect driving information (navigation destination information, estimated time to reach the destination, current location information, etc.) and registration information of each vehicle 210 or 220 registered in the first account 200 (vehicle information by account, smart home location information by account, etc.) from the service server 300.

[0053] The information collector 30 may collect driving information (navigation destination information, estimated time to destination, current location information, etc.) and registration information of each vehicle 210 or 220 registered in the first account 200 (vehicle information by account, smart home location information by account, etc.) from the CP server 400.

[0054] The information collector 30 may be implemented as a module providing a connection interface with the service server 300 or the CP server 400. In this case, the function of the information collector 30 may be implemented to be performed by the controller 40. Hereinafter, as an example, the information collector 30 that collects various information from the service server 300 will be described.

[0055] The controller 40 performs overall control so that each component can perform its function. The controller 40 can be implemented in the form of hardware or software, or can be implemented in the form of a combination of hardware and software. Preferably, the controller 40 can be implemented with a microprocessor, but is not limited thereto.

[0056] Specifically, the controller 40 may perform various controls required in an operation of setting control authority for one smart home based on driving information and registration information applied to each vehicle of the car-to-home system to be registered with one account.

[0057] When each vehicle 210 or 220 registered in the first account 200 is connected to the service server 300, the controller 40 may activate the information collector 30 to allow the information collector 30 to collect driving information (navigation destination information, estimated time to reach the destination, current location information, etc.) and registration information of each vehicle 210 or 220 (vehicle information by account, smart home location information by account, etc.) from the service server 300.

[0058] The controller 40 may set control authority of a smart home to a vehicle based on the driving information and registration information of each vehicle 210 or 220 collected by the information collector 30 .

[0059] The controller 40 may preferentially assign the control authority to the vehicle that sets the first smart home 500 as the destination. When there is no vehicle that sets the first smart home 500 as the destination, the controller 40 may assign the control authority to the vehicle closest to the first smart home 500. In this case, the vehicle refers to a vehicle registered with one account.

[0060] When there are a plurality of vehicles that set the first smart home 500 as a destination, the controller 40 may allocate the control authority of the first smart home 500 to the vehicle 500 having the shortest estimated time to reach the first smart home.

[0061] In the following, reference will be made to Figure 3 to Figure 4 A scheme for setting the control authority by the controller 40 is described in detail.

[0062] Figure 3 1 is a diagram showing a scheme in which a controller provided in an apparatus for setting control authority of a smart home in one form of the present invention sets control authority of each smart home for each vehicle registered in one account.

[0063] exist Figure 3 In the example, a user registers multiple vehicles V1, V2 and V3 and multiple smart homes L1, L2 and L3) in one account.

[0064] For example, when the first vehicle V1 is traveling after the second smart home L2 is set as the destination, the second vehicle V2 is traveling without setting the destination, and the third vehicle V3 is traveling after the first smart home L1 is set as the destination, the controller 40 assigns the control authority of the first smart home L1 to the third vehicle V3, assigns the control authority of the second smart home L2 to the first vehicle V1, and assigns the control authority of the third smart home L3 to the second vehicle V2.

[0065] That is, because the controller 40 regards the destination setting information as the highest priority, the controller 40 assigns the control authority of the second smart home L2 to the first vehicle V1 that sets the second smart home L2 as the destination, assigns the control authority of the first smart home L1 to the third vehicle V3 that sets the first smart home L1 as the destination, and assigns the control authority of the third smart home L3 to the second vehicle V2 that is closest to the third smart home L3 because no vehicle sets the third smart home L3 as the destination. In this case, although the third vehicle V3 is also located near the third smart home L3, the third vehicle V3 is excluded because the first smart home L1 has been set as the destination.

[0066] Figure 4 1 is a schematic diagram showing a scheme in which a controller provided in a device for setting control authority of a smart home in one form of the present disclosure sets control authority of each smart home for each vehicle registered in one account.

[0067] exist Figure 4 In the example, a user registers multiple vehicles V1, V2, V3 and V4 and multiple smart homes L1, L2 and L3 in one account.

[0068] For example, when the first vehicle V1 is traveling after the first smart home L1 is set as the destination, the second vehicle V2 and the fourth vehicle V4 are traveling without setting the destination, and the third vehicle V3 is traveling after the first smart home L1 is set as the destination, the controller 40 assigns the control authority of the first smart home L1 to the first vehicle V1, assigns the control authority of the second smart home L2 to the fourth vehicle V4, and assigns the control authority of the third smart home L3 to the second vehicle V2.

[0069] That is, because the first vehicle V1 and the third vehicle V3 set the first smart home L1 as a destination, the controller 40 allocates the control authority of the first smart home L1 to the first vehicle V1 having a short estimated time to reach the first smart home L1 .

[0070] In addition, because there is no vehicle that sets the second smart home L2 and the third smart home L3 as the destination, the controller 40 assigns the control authority of the second smart home L2 to the fourth vehicle V4 closest to the second smart home L2, and assigns the control authority of the third smart home L3 to the second vehicle V2 closest to the third smart home L3.

[0071] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for setting control permissions for a smart home according to some forms of the present disclosure.

[0072] First, in operation 501 , the information collector 30 collects driving information and registration information of each vehicle registered in one account from the car-to-home service system.

[0073] Then, in operation 502, the controller 40 sets the control authority of a smart home to a vehicle based on the driving information and registration information collected by the information collector 30. That is, the controller 40 assigns the control authority of the first smart home to the vehicle that sets the first smart home as the destination, and when no vehicle sets the first smart home as the destination, assigns the control authority of the first smart home to the vehicle closest to the first smart home. When multiple vehicles set the first smart home as the destination, the controller 40 assigns the control authority of the first smart home to the vehicle with the shortest estimated time to reach the first smart home.

[0074] In some forms of the present disclosure, a device for setting control permissions for a smart home and a method thereof may be applied to a system that provides car-to-home services for multiple smart homes to multiple vehicles, and may provide car-to-home services for multiple smart homes to multiple vehicles registered in one account (ID) by setting control permissions for the smart home to one vehicle based on driving information of each vehicle without causing conflicts in control permissions.

[0075] The description of the present disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, therefore, variations that do not depart from the essence of the present disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Such variations should not be regarded as departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A device for setting control permissions for a smart home, the device comprising: an information collector configured to collect driving information and registration information of each vehicle registered in an account from a car-to-home service system; and A controller configured to set control authority for a smart home to a vehicle based on the collected driving information and the collected registration information, The controller is configured to assign control authority of the first smart home to a vehicle that sets the first smart home as the destination, and when there is no vehicle that sets the first smart home as the destination, assign control authority to a vehicle closest to the first smart home.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein The driving information includes at least one of navigation destination information, estimated time to reach a destination, and current location information, and wherein the registration information includes vehicle information and smart home location information corresponding to the one account.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The controller is configured to: when multiple vehicles set the first smart home as the destination, allocate control authority of the first smart home to a vehicle with the shortest estimated time to reach the first smart home.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The information collector is configured to collect the driving information and the registration information of each vehicle registered in the one account from a service server in the car-to-home service system.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The information collector is configured to collect the driving information and the registration information of each vehicle registered in the one account from a content provider server in the car-to-home service system.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The device also includes: A display is configured to display the registered vehicle when the registered vehicle has control authority for each smart home registered by the user.

7. A method for setting control permissions for a smart home, the method comprising: The driving information and registration information of each vehicle registered in an account is collected by the information collector from the car to the home service system; and The controller sets a control authority of a smart home to a vehicle based on the collected driving information and the collected registration information; Among them, the setting of the control authority includes: allocating the control authority of the first smart home to the vehicle that sets the first smart home as the destination, and when there is no vehicle that sets the first smart home as the destination, allocating the control authority to the vehicle closest to the first smart home.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The driving information includes at least one of navigation destination information, estimated time to reach a destination, and current location information, and wherein the registration information includes vehicle information and smart home location information corresponding to the one account.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The control authority setting also includes: When a plurality of vehicles sets the first smart home as the destination, the control authority of the first smart home is allocated to a vehicle having the shortest estimated time to reach the first smart home.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein: Collecting the driving information and the registration information includes collecting the driving information and the registration information of each vehicle registered in the one account from a service server in the car-to-home service system.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein: Collecting the driving information and the registration information includes collecting the driving information and the registration information of each vehicle registered in the one account from a content provider server in the car-to-home service system.

12. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The method further comprises: When the registered vehicle has control authority for each smart home registered by the user, the registered vehicle is displayed by the display.

Images