Server, information terminal, system, and nonvolatile storage medium

Abstract

Provided are a server, an information terminal, a system, and a non-transitory storage medium that can grasp the overall state of a specific space in which home electric appliances are installed. The system has a server and a device, the server includes: a home appliance database that stores a user ID and a plurality of home appliance information for respectively specifying a plurality of home electric appliances of the user; a request processing section that receives a first request signal including the user ID and outputs a second request signal including the plurality of home appliance information corresponding to the user ID; an action status storage section that stores action logs of the plurality of home electric appliances corresponding to the user ID transmitted according to the second request signal; and a provision information generation section that generates provision information including the action logs of the plurality of home electric appliances corresponding to the user ID, and the device includes: a transmission section that outputs the first request signal; an action status storage section that stores the provision information transmitted according to the first request signal; and a display information generation section that generates display information using the action logs of the plurality of home electric appliances corresponding to the user ID.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-032008, filed on February 27, 2020, entitled "Server, Information Terminal, System", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to servers, information terminals, systems, and non-volatile storage media for exchanging information with home appliances connected to a network. Background Technology

[0003] To efficiently manage household chores, appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines are widely used. Additionally, for daily entertainment, appliances such as televisions and video recording devices are common. In recent years, these appliances have been connected to the internet based on the concept of IoT (Internet of Things), enabling remote monitoring of their usage or, conversely, remote operation.

[0004] However, for networked home appliances, the solution stops at eliminating geographical constraints, such as the ability to remotely monitor or operate the appliances. In other words, the full utilization of networked home appliance systems is not yet achieved.

[0005] Prior art literature

[0006] Patent documents

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-160060 Summary of the Invention

[0008] Thus, in existing servers, information terminals, and systems that exchange information with home appliances connected to the network, there is a problem that the networked system is not fully utilized. The embodiments of this application are made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and their purpose is to enable the understanding of the overall state of a specific space in which the home appliances are located by comprehensively providing information indicating the usage status of multiple home appliances.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the home appliance network system according to embodiments of this application includes a server, the server comprising: a home appliance database, which stores a user ID used to identify a user and a plurality of home appliance information used to specify a plurality of home appliances under the management of the user; a request processing unit, which receives a first request signal including the user ID and outputs a second request signal, wherein the second request signal includes a plurality of home appliance information corresponding to the user ID read from the home appliance database using the user ID; an operation status storage unit, which stores the operation logs of each of the plurality of home appliances represented by the plurality of home appliance information corresponding to the user ID sent according to the second request signal; and an information generation unit, which generates information, wherein the information includes the operation logs of each of the plurality of home appliances represented by the plurality of home appliance information corresponding to the user ID read from the operation status storage unit based on the user ID. Additionally, the home appliance network system of the embodiment also includes a device comprising: a transmitting unit that outputs the first request signal; an operation status storage unit that stores the provided information sent according to the first request signal; and a display information generation unit that reads the operation logs of each of the plurality of home appliances represented by the plurality of home appliance information corresponding to the user ID from the provided information, and uses the operation logs of each of the plurality of home appliances to generate display information capable of displaying images. Attached Figure Description

[0010] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a home appliance network system according to the first embodiment;

[0011] Figure 2 This is a block diagram of the system according to the first embodiment;

[0012] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the summary actions of the operation log of the home appliance in the first embodiment;

[0013] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the data provisioning actions of the data storage server in the first embodiment;

[0014] Figure 5A This is a diagram representing an example of an action log item generated by networked home appliances;

[0015] Figure 5B This is a diagram representing an example of an action log item generated by networked home appliances;

[0016] Figure 5C This is a diagram representing an example of an action log item generated by networked home appliances;

[0017] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the action of the device control server providing response information in the first embodiment;

[0018] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the device according to the first embodiment;

[0019] Figure 8A This is an example of a display showing the usage information of home appliances throughout the day;

[0020] Figure 8B This is an example of a diagram showing display information indicating the usage status of home appliances over a specified period;

[0021] Figure 9A This is an example of a diagram showing display information indicating the usage status of home appliances over a specified period;

[0022] Figure 9B This is an example of a diagram showing display information indicating the usage status of home appliances over a specified period;

[0023] Figure 10A This is an example of a display showing the usage information of home appliances throughout the day;

[0024] Figure 10B This is an example of a diagram showing display information indicating the usage status of home appliances over a specified period;

[0025] Figure 11A This is an example of a diagram that displays information about the user's status by showing how home appliances are used throughout the day;

[0026] Figure 11B This is an example of a diagram that displays information about the user's status by showing how home appliances are used throughout the day;

[0027] Figure 12 This is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the device according to the second embodiment;

[0028] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the device according to the second embodiment;

[0029] Figure 14A This is a diagram illustrating an example of the display information in the second embodiment;

[0030] Figure 14B This is a diagram illustrating an example of the display information in the second embodiment.

[0031] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0032] 1… Home appliance network system, 5… Network, 10… Home appliances, 11… Washing machine, 12… Air conditioner, 13… Refrigerator, 14… Television, 20… Home appliance registration server, 30… Data storage server, 40… Device control server, 50… Display device, 51… Television, 52… Portable terminal, 100… Status detection unit, 110… Action log generation unit, 120… Action log storage unit, 130… Data output unit, 300… Transceiver unit, 310… ID management unit, 320… Home appliance database, 330…Motion Status Storage Unit, 340…Request Processing Unit, 350…Information Generation Unit, 400…Transmitting and Receiving Unit, 410…ID Management Unit, 420…Device Database, 430…Motion Status Storage Unit, 440…Request Processing Unit, 450…Response Information Generation Unit, 500…Transmitting and Receiving Unit, 510…Input I / F, 520…Motion Status Storage Unit, 530…Display Information Database, 540…Display Information Generation Unit, 550…Display Unit, 560…Motion Monitoring Unit, 570…Warning Judgment Unit. Detailed Implementation

[0033] (First Implementation)

[0034] Hereinafter, the implementation of the home appliance network system will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 This is a diagram showing the overall structure of the home appliance network system 1. (For example...) Figure 1 As shown, the home appliance network system 1 includes home appliances 10, a home appliance registration server 20, a data storage server 30, a device control server 40, and a display device 50, which are connected to each other via a network 5. The home appliances 10, home appliance registration server 20, data storage server 30, device control server 40, and display device 50 can also implement all or part of their functions through a computer and computer programs.

[0035] (Home appliance network system)

[0036] Home appliance 10 is an electronic or electrical device installed in a specific space such as a house. Home appliance 10 includes various types of devices such as washing machine 11, air conditioner 12, refrigerator 13, television 14, and lighting fixtures (not shown), and is connected to network 5 via wired or wireless means. Home appliance 10 has the function of being remotely controlled via network 5 and outputting an operation log indicating the operating status of home appliance 10 via network 5.

[0037] The home appliance registration server 20 has the function of remotely controlling the home appliance 10 and receiving action logs sent from the home appliance 10. When the home appliance registration server 20 receives the action log from the home appliance 10, it registers the action log in its own database. The action log contains at least the identification information of the home appliance 10 and information indicating the operation status of the home appliance 10 (action information).

[0038] The data storage server 30 has the function of establishing a correspondence between the user's identification information (user ID), the identification information (appliance ID) of the home appliance 10 under the user's management, and the information indicating the operation status of the home appliance 10 under the user's management (the home appliance 10 associated with the user) for management purposes. In addition, the data storage server 30 has the function of returning to the user the associated home appliance 10 and its operation information based on a request from the user.

[0039] The appliance registration server 20 manages the appliance IDs of appliance 10 and the action logs obtained from those appliances. Conversely, the data storage server 30 manages user IDs, the appliance 10s associated with that user, and the action logs of those appliance 10s. Appliances 10 may not be manufactured by the same manufacturer, and multiple appliances 10 may be managed by multiple appliance registration servers 20. When appliance 10 is managed by multiple different appliance registration servers 20, the data storage server 30 can retrieve the action information of all appliances 10 associated with that user from these different registration servers 20 based on the user ID and the appliance IDs of the appliances 10 owned by that user. In other words, the data storage server 30 has the function of converting the association between appliance IDs and action logs into an association between user IDs and action logs.

[0040] Device 50 is a terminal device for remotely controlling a user's home appliance 10 and displaying information related to the operation log of the home appliance 10. Device 50 may be, for example, a television 51, a portable terminal 52, etc., and may not be located in the space where the home appliance 10 is installed. The user of the home appliance 10 and the user of device 50 may be the same or different.

[0041] The device control server 40 has the function of converting the information provided from the data storage server 30 into a form that the device 50 can display and sending the converted information to the device 50. For example, if the device 50 is a television 51, the device control server 40 digitizes the information provided from the data storage server 30 into image data and sends it to the television 51. If the device 50 is a portable terminal 52, the portable terminal 52 can also directly convert and display the information provided from the data storage server 30 without going through the device control server 40. That is, the function of the device control server 40 can also be possessed by the device 50.

[0042] At a predetermined time, home appliance 10 sends its action logs via network 5 to home appliance registration server 20. Home appliance registration server 20 manages the sent action logs by associating them with home appliance IDs. Data storage server 30 manages user IDs and home appliance IDs in advance, and at a predetermined time, retrieves the action logs of home appliance IDs associated with user IDs from home appliance registration server 20. Based on a request signal from device control server 40 or device 50, data storage server 30 extracts the action logs associated with the user ID of the user who issued the request signal from the action logs retrieved from home appliance registration server 20, generates provision information, and sends it to the source of the request signal.

[0043] When device 50 is a passive device such as television 51, the request signal issued by device 50 is sent to device control server 40. Upon receiving the request signal from device 50, device control server 40 forwards the request signal to data storage server 30 to retrieve the operation log of the home appliance corresponding to the user ID contained in the request signal as provision information. Based on the operation log contained in the obtained provision information, device control server 40 generates response information including image information suitable for device 50 that issued the request signal and sends it to device 50. Device 50 retrieves the display image from the received response information and displays it on the display unit.

[0044] When device 50 is a portable terminal 52 capable of running applications, the request signal issued by device 50 is sent directly to data storage server 30. As a result, device 50 directly receives the operation logs of the home appliance corresponding to the user ID contained in the request signal from data storage server 30 as the provided information. Based on the received provided information, device 50 generates a display image and displays it on the display unit.

[0045] In this embodiment, the data storage server 30 establishes a correspondence between the user's user ID and the appliance IDs of the appliances under the user's management. Therefore, even if the action logs of multiple appliances 10 are managed by different appliance registration servers 20, the action logs of all appliances 10 under the user's management can be obtained. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the information related to the action logs of multiple appliances 10 under the user's management can be uniformly provided to the user's device 50. Therefore, it is not limited to understanding the individual operation status of each appliance, but can also understand the status of the user of the appliances in the space (e.g., a house) where the appliances are located (e.g., whether they are unconscious).

[0046] (Home appliances)

[0047] Next, refer to Figure 2 The configuration of the home appliance network system 1 according to the embodiment will be explained. The home appliance 10 includes a status detection unit 100, an operation log generation unit 110, an operation log storage unit 120, and a data output unit 130.

[0048] The status detection unit 100 is a sensor that detects the operating status of the home appliance 10. The status detection unit 100 detects the operating status of the home appliance 10, faults in the home appliance 10, operational errors, events occurring in the home appliance 10, and commands used to control the home appliance 10.

[0049] The action log generation unit 110 is a calculation module that generates action logs for the home appliance 10 based on information detected by the status detection unit 100. The action logs generated by the action log generation unit 110 include device information of the home appliance 10, status information indicating the operating status of the home appliance 10, error information indicating faults and operational errors in the home appliance 10, notification information sent from the home appliance 10, and instruction information for controlling the home appliance 10.

[0050] Device information includes, for example, model name and device ID. Status information includes, for example, functional operation status indicating the actions of the home appliance 10, and maintenance information indicating maintenance status, where maintenance status indicates the status of consumable parts and maintenance components in the home appliance 10. Error information includes fault information and operation error information of the home appliance 10. Notification information includes, for example, information that should be notified to the user, such as the open / closed status of the doors provided by the home appliance 10. Instruction information includes, for example, information indicating remote operation functions, date and time setting functions, etc.

[0051] The action log storage unit 120 is a memory for storing action logs. The action log generation unit 110 generates action logs based on the action states detected by the state detection unit 100 at any given time and stores them in the action log storage unit 120.

[0052] The data output unit 130 is the interface that connects the home appliance 10 to the network 5. The data output unit 130 reads the action log from the action log storage unit 120 at predetermined times and sends it to the home appliance registration server 20.

[0053] The home appliance registration server 20 is a database that registers the action logs sent by the home appliances 10. The home appliance registration server 20 stores the home appliance ID of each home appliance 10 and the corresponding action logs. That is, the home appliance registration server 20 can obtain the logs of each home appliance 10 and perform remote control.

[0054] (Data storage server)

[0055] The data storage server 30 includes a transceiver unit 300, an ID management unit 310, an appliance database (DB) 320, an operation status storage unit 330, a request processing unit 340, and an information generation unit 350.

[0056] The transceiver unit 300 is the interface that connects the data storage server 30 to the network 5. The transceiver unit 300 can be wired or wireless, depending on the type of network 5.

[0057] The ID management unit 310 manages user IDs used to identify users of the home appliance network system 10. User IDs can be pre-stored in the ID management unit 310 or registered upon request from users. Furthermore, the functions of the ID management unit 310 can be configured on a different server than the data storage server 30.

[0058] The Home Appliance DB320 is a database for managing users managed by the ID Management Department 310 and the home appliance IDs of the home appliances 10 associated with those users. In other words, the ID Management Department 310 can manage users and the home appliances 10 associated with those users based on the Home Appliance DB320.

[0059] The action status storage unit 330 is a database that manages the home appliances 10 managed by the home appliance DB320 and the action logs corresponding to the home appliances 10.

[0060] The request processing unit 340 is a computing module that processes request signals sent from the device control server 40 or the device 50. The request processing unit 340 has the function of establishing an association between the user ID contained in the request signal, the appliance ID associated with the user ID, and the action log associated with the appliance ID based on the received request signal.

[0061] The information generation unit 350 generates provisioning information based on the information associated with the request processing unit 340. The provisioning information includes the appliance ID associated with the user ID and the operation log of the appliance 10 with that appliance ID.

[0062] (Device Control Server 40)

[0063] The information generated by the data storage server 30 includes the action logs of each of the home appliances 10 associated with a user ID. The device control server 40 generates response information based on a request signal from the device 50, including action log information corresponding to the user ID contained in the request signal and image information suitable for display on the device 50. The device control server 40 includes a transceiver unit 400, an ID management unit 410, a device database (DB) 420, an action status storage unit 430, a request processing unit 440, and a response information generation unit 450.

[0064] The transceiver unit 400 is the interface connecting the device control server 40 to the network 5, and corresponds to the transceiver unit 400 of the data storage server 30. The transceiver unit 300 can be wired or wireless depending on the type of network 5. The transceiver unit 400 has the functions of receiving requests from the device 50, sending requests to the data storage server 30, and returning the response information generated by the device control server 40 to the device 50.

[0065] ID Management Unit 410 is a computing module that manages user IDs used to identify users of the home appliance network system 10, and corresponds to ID Management Unit 310. User IDs can be pre-stored in ID Management Unit 410, or they can be registered upon request from users. Similarly to ID Management Unit 310, the functions of ID Management Unit 310 can also be configured on a different server than the data storage server 30.

[0066] Device DB420 is a database used to manage devices 50 associated with users managed by ID Management Department 410. That is, ID Management Department 410 can manage user IDs and the corresponding devices 50 based on Device DB420.

[0067] The operation status storage unit 430 is a database that establishes a correspondence between the operation logs of the device 50 managed by the device DB420 and the home appliances 10 that are to be displayed by the device 50.

[0068] The request processing unit 440 is a computation module that processes requests sent from the slave device 50. The request processing unit 440 has the function of establishing an association between the user ID contained in the request signal, the appliance ID of the appliance 10 associated with the user ID, and the action log associated with the appliance based on the received request signal.

[0069] The response information generation unit 450 generates response information based on the associated information established by the request processing unit 440. The response information is information that converts the provision information generated by the data storage server 30 into a form that the device 50 can display, and the content of the information is the same as the provision information. That is, it includes the home appliance 10 associated with the user ID and the respective action logs of the home appliance 10.

[0070] (Equipment 50)

[0071] The device 50 includes a transceiver unit 500, an input interface (I / F) 510, an operation status storage unit 520, a display information database (DB) 530, a display information generation unit 540, and a display unit 550.

[0072] The transceiver unit 500 is the interface connecting the device 50 to the network 5, and corresponds to the transceiver unit 300 of the data storage server 30 and the transceiver unit 400 of the device control server 40. The transceiver unit 500 can be wired or wireless depending on the type of network 5. The transceiver unit 500 has the function of sending requests to the data storage server 30 or the device control server 40 and receiving provision information generated by the data storage server 30 or response information generated by the device control server 40.

[0073] The input I / F510 is an interface for receiving instructions from the user, such as touch panels and keyboards.

[0074] The operation status storage unit 520 corresponds to the operation status storage unit 330 of the data storage server 30 and the operation status storage unit 430 of the device control server 40. The operation status storage unit 520 is a database that establishes a correspondence between the device 50 and the operation logs of the home appliance 10 that the device 50 is to display, and manages them accordingly.

[0075] The display information generation unit 540 is a calculation module that generates the display information to be displayed by the device 50 based on the response information sent from the device control server 40. The display information DB 530 is a database that manages the display information generated by the display information generation unit 540 and the response information sent from the device control server 40 as display information. The display unit 550 is an output interface such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) used to display the display information.

[0076] (Example of the operation of home appliance 10)

[0077] Next, refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 To explain the operation of home appliance 10.

[0078] The status detection unit 100 detects the operating status of the home appliance 10 (S600). The operating status includes, for example, status information indicating the operation of the home appliance 10, error information indicating a malfunction of the home appliance 10, notification information indicating a situation that notifies the home appliance, and instruction information related to the control of the home appliance 10. The operating status detected by the status detection unit 100 is sent to the operation log generation unit 110.

[0079] The action log generation unit 110 generates an action log based on device information such as the appliance ID and the action status detected by the status detection unit 100 (S602). The action log generated by the action log generation unit 110 is stored in the action log storage unit 120. The action log stored in the action log storage unit 120 is attached with the appliance ID corresponding to the action status detected by the status detection unit 100.

[0080] The data output unit 130 measures the timing of data output. The timing of data output can be at predetermined intervals or based on the amount of action log generated. If the timing for data output has not been reached (not in S604), the status detection unit 100 continues to detect the action status (S600). If the timing for data output has been reached, the data output unit 130 sends the action logs for the predetermined time or quantity to the appliance registration server 20 via the network 5 (S606).

[0081] The appliance registration server 20 stores the action logs sent from the appliance 10 in correspondence with the appliance ID of the appliance 10. The appliance registration server 20 records the action logs of the specified appliance 10. For example, the appliance registration server 20 can be set up according to the manufacturer of the appliance 10, or it can be set up according to each region where the appliance 10 is located. In this embodiment, the appliance registration server 20 manages the correspondence between the appliance ID of the appliance 10 and the action logs of the appliance 10 containing that appliance ID.

[0082] (Example of actions of data storage server 30)

[0083] Next, refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 The operation of the data storage server 30 will now be explained. The ID management unit 310 uses the user ID and manages the appliance IDs of the appliance devices 10 corresponding to that user ID through the appliance database 320 (S610). That is, the ID management unit 310 manages the appliance devices 10 that the user has identified as management objects by means of the appliance database 320.

[0084] In order to obtain the operation log of the home appliance 10 corresponding to the user, the request processing unit 340 generates a request signal for the home appliance registration server 20. The transceiver unit 300 sends the request signal generated by the request processing unit 340 to the home appliance registration server 20 (S611). When the home appliance 10 corresponding to the user is managed by multiple home appliance registration servers 20, the request processing unit 340 generates request signals for each of the multiple home appliance registration servers 20, and the transceiver unit 300 outputs the request signals to each of these multiple home appliance registration servers 20.

[0085] When the home appliance registration server 20 receives a request signal from the data storage server 30, it replies with the action log corresponding to the home appliance 10 under its management to the data storage server 30, and the transceiver unit 300 receives the action log (S612).

[0086] Upon receiving the action log, the request processing unit 340 registers the received action log in the action status storage unit 330 (S613).

[0087] The request processing unit 340 waits to receive a request signal from the device control server 40 or the device 50 (S614). If no request signal is received (no in S614), the process of requesting, receiving, and registering the action logs for the appliance registration server 20 continues (S611 to S613).

[0088] Upon receiving a request signal (yes in S614), the information generation unit 350 reads the action log matching the request from the action status storage unit 330 and generates provisioning information for the device control server 40 or device 50 that issued the request (S615). The provisioning information includes the user ID contained in the request signal sent from the device control server 40 or device 50 and the action log of the home appliance 10 corresponding to that user ID.

[0089] The request processing unit 340 sends the provision information generated by the provision information generation unit 350 to the device control server 40 or device 50, which is the source of the request (S616).

[0090] Here, refer to Figures 5A to 5C This will explain the information contained in the action log in this embodiment. Figure 5A This is an example of the action log information when home appliance 10 is a washing machine 11. Figure 5B This is an example of the action log information when home appliance 10 is air conditioner 12. Figure 5C This is an example of the action log information when the home appliance 10 is a refrigerator 13.

[0091] like Figure 5A As shown, the washing machine 11, which is a home appliance 10 in this embodiment, has equipment information, status information, and error information as items in its operation log. This information is shared in the operation status storage unit 330, etc., through the home appliance registration server 20. This information is ultimately stored in the operation status storage unit 520 and provided to the user as display information on the display unit 550. Figure 5A In the example shown, device information includes model name, device ID, and installation location. Additionally, status information includes mode information indicating washing / drying modes, washing information indicating rinsing / washing / drying cycles, and maintenance information indicating detergent and fabric softener levels. Furthermore, error information includes time information indicating actual running time and information indicating whether the automatic detergent dispensing function was used.

[0092] like Figure 5B As shown, the air conditioner 12, which is a home appliance 10 in this embodiment, has device information and status information as items in its operation log. This information is shared in the operation status storage unit 330, etc., through the home appliance registration server 20. This information is ultimately stored in the operation status storage unit 520 and provided to the user as display information on the display unit 550. Figure 5B In the example shown, device information includes model name, device ID, and installation location. Additionally, status information includes operating modes such as hot air / cold air / automatic / drying / smart / fan, operating mode such as indoor or outdoor temperature, energy-saving information indicating unattended energy-saving operation, and maintenance information indicating filter replacement timing.

[0093] like Figure 5C As shown, the refrigerator 13, which is a home appliance 10 in this embodiment, has equipment information, status information, error information, notification information, and instruction information as items in its operation log. This information is shared in the operation status storage unit 330, etc., through the home appliance registration server 20. This information is ultimately stored in the operation status storage unit 520 and provided to the user as display information on the display unit 550. Figure 5CIn the example shown, device information includes model name, device ID, and installation location. Status information includes whether power-saving function is enabled, the temperature of the refrigerator or freezer compartment, the status of the keypad lock, the status of the refrigerator door, and power consumption. Error information includes the number of malfunctions and the date and time of the malfunction. Notification information includes the status of the refrigerator / vegetable compartment / ice maker's door and notifications of completion of quick-freezing, etc. Instruction information includes instructions to take photos and date / time settings. It should be noted that the operation log may also include the status of the ice-making water tank as maintenance information.

[0094] In this embodiment, the data storage server 30 manages user IDs by establishing a correspondence between them and the home appliances 10 managed by that user. Therefore, even when multiple home appliances generate action logs through IoT technology, the action logs of the home appliances managed by the user can still be provided to the user. In this case, the information provided by the data storage server 30 can be based solely on home appliance / action logs determined not only by whether the appliance is under the user's management but also according to specific rules. For example, such as... Figures 5A to 5C As shown, the data storage server 30 manages multiple aspects of the action status storage unit as an action log. In such cases, for example, information such as washing time (washing machine), power on / off time (air conditioner), and door status (refrigerator) in the status information can be combined to generate and provide comprehensive judgment data to determine whether it is simply a user of the appliance 10 who misoperated the appliance or whether the user of the appliance 10 has experienced some accident that renders the appliance inoperable.

[0095] Example of operation of device control server 40

[0096] In the home appliance network system 1 of the embodiment, examples of devices 50 include a television 51 and a portable terminal 52. Since the television 51 is primarily designated for displaying received image information, a device control server 40 is provided to display information related to the operation logs of the user's home appliances 10. When using the portable terminal 52 as the device 50, the portable terminal 52 itself can implement the functions of the device control server 40.

[0097] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 6 To illustrate the actions of the device control server 40, the ID management unit 410 uses the user ID and the device database 420 to manage the device 50 corresponding to that user ID. That is, the ID management unit 410 uses the device database 420 to manage the device 50 from which the user wants to display the action logs of the home appliance 10.

[0098] The request processing unit 440 awaits the receipt of a request signal for obtaining the operation log of the home appliance 10 corresponding to the user. When the device 50 sends a request signal via the network 5, the transceiver unit 300 receives the request signal from the device 50 (S620). The request signal contains the user ID of the user who is the user of the device 50.

[0099] ID management unit 410 extracts the user ID from the received request signal and reads the device 50 corresponding to the user ID from device DB420 (S622).

[0100] Next, the request processing unit 440 generates a request signal for the action log corresponding to the home appliance 10 associated with the user ID, based on the user ID contained in the request signal received from the device 50. The transceiver unit 400 sends the action log request signal to the data storage server 30. The data storage server 30 then... Figure 4 In steps S614 to S616, provision information containing the action log is sent according to the request signal. When the transceiver unit 400 receives the provision information containing the action log, the request processing unit 440 retrieves the action log from the received provision information and stores it in the action status storage unit 430 (S624).

[0101] The response information generation unit 450 generates response information (S626) based on the action log stored in the action status storage unit 430, which forms image information that can be displayed by the device 50. The response information can be any data representing information from the action log, such as image data or text data. When the response information is generated, the transceiver unit 400 sends the response information to the device 50 (S628).

[0102] In this embodiment, the device control server 40 manages users by establishing a correspondence between the user ID and the device 50 used by that user. Therefore, even if the device 50 is a passive device such as a television 51, the information provided by the data storage server 30 can be converted into information that the device can display. This allows for the diversification of devices within the home appliance network system using this embodiment.

[0103] Example of the operation of device 50

[0104] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 7 The following describes the actions of device 50. The example actions described below are of device 50 being a television 51, and how it obtains action logs, etc., via device control server 40.

[0105] When input I / F510 receives an instruction from the user to retrieve the action log (S630), transceiver 500 sends a request signal, including the user's identification ID and the home appliance 10 requesting the action log, to device control server 40 (S632). Device control server 40 then... Figure 4 The actions shown are used to obtain information from the data storage server 30, including the action logs of the home appliance 10 corresponding to the user's identification ID, and generate response information for the device 50 to respond.

[0106] When the transceiver unit 500 receives the response information (S634), the display information generation unit 540 generates display information to be displayed on the display unit 550 based on the response information (S636). The display unit 550 displays the generated display information.

[0107] In this embodiment, the device 50 acquires response information, including an action log indicated by the user, and displays the response information using the display unit 550. That is, the device 50 has the function of requesting, receiving, and displaying information to be displayed, thus enabling the suppression of computational processing to extend the operation time.

[0108] Another example of the operation of device 50

[0109] When device 50 is a portable terminal 52, device 50 can send a request signal directly to data storage server 30 without going through device control server 40. That is, transceiver 500 sends the request signal to data storage server 30 (S632) and receives provision information instead of response information. The provision information is stored in operation status storage unit 520.

[0110] Similar to the response information generation unit 450 of the device control server 40, the display information generation unit 540 generates display information (image information) that the display unit 550 can display based on the action log stored in the action status storage unit 520 (S636). The display information can be any data that can display information from the action log, such as image data or text data, and can be in any form. When the display information is generated, the display unit 550 displays the generated display information (S638).

[0111] The device 50 in this embodiment has its own information conversion function for the device control server 40. That is, it can reduce the number of servers in the overall home appliance network system. In addition, display information can be changed in the device 50 through software changes.

[0112] Here, an example of the display information displayed by the display unit of device 50 will be described. The response information generation unit 450 and the display information generation unit 540 combine the action log content included in the provided information to generate visually organized display information. The display unit 550 performs a display based on the display information, as shown in the screen composition diagram described below. In the following description, common display items (elements) are indicated by common symbols, and repeated explanations are omitted.

[0113] Example 1 of displaying information

[0114] Figure 8A Figure 70 shows a screen configuration where the usage status 700 of each household appliance 10 on a designated day in each household is displayed on the display unit of the device 50. In this example, as the usage status 700 of the household appliances (first display information), date and time information 701, information of the household appliances in use 702, and operation information 706 are displayed.

[0115] exist Figure 8A In the example shown, the list of household appliance information 702 in use includes television information 702a (second display information), refrigerator information 702b (third display information), washing machine information 702c, and air conditioner information 702d. Within the respective display boxes for these items, an icon is displayed: television 703a (designated for the first appliance), refrigerator 702b (designated for the second appliance), washing machine 702c, and air conditioner 702d. This demonstrates a situation where the aforementioned household appliances can obtain action logs.

[0116] The appliance information 702 includes the appliance name information 704a to 704d, which also includes the installation location information. That is, the refrigerator name information 704b shows the refrigerator's installation location as "kitchen", the washing machine name information 704c shows the washing machine's installation location as "bathroom", and the air conditioner name information 704d shows the air conditioner's installation location as "living room".

[0117] The information 702 regarding appliances in use may also include maintenance information for the appliances. For example... Figure 8A In the example shown, refrigerator information 702b includes an icon 705b indicating the remaining amount of water for ice making, washing machine information 702c includes an icon 705c indicating the remaining amount of detergent and fabric softener, and air conditioner information 702d includes an icon 705d indicating the replacement period of the filter.

[0118] Action information 706 is arranged in the position corresponding to the information of the home appliance in use. That is, for television information 702a, the action time (3 hours) of the day shown in date and time information 701 is displayed as television action information 706a (first action log display). Similarly, for refrigerator information 702b, the number of times the door was opened and closed (5 times) of the day shown in date and time information 701 is displayed as refrigerator action information 706b (second action log display). For washing machine information 702c, the number of actions (0 times) of the day shown in date and time information 701 is displayed as washing machine action information 706c. For air conditioner information 702d, the action time (2 hours) of the day shown in date and time information 701 is displayed as air conditioner action information 706d.

[0119] This action information is obtained by extracting information generated from the action logs generated by the home appliances 10. According to this embodiment, the device 50 can display the action information of multiple home appliances 10 at a glance. By displaying the action information of multiple home appliances at a glance, it is possible not only to indicate situations such as simply forgetting to turn off the home appliance 10 or a malfunction of the home appliance 10, but also to indicate the status of the user of the home appliance in the space where the home appliance 10 is located (emergency situations such as being unable to operate the home appliance).

[0120] Example 2 of displaying information

[0121] Figure 8B Show as Figure 8A The image composition shown in Figure 70 is a modified example of the image composition in Figure 71. Figure 8B In the example shown, period information 711 is included instead of date and time information 701, and cumulative action information 716 is included instead of action information 706. That is, by displaying the cumulative value of the action information of the home appliance 10, which represents the actions that occur during the period shown in period information 711, the state of the home appliance user can be represented more accurately.

[0122] Example 3 of displaying information

[0123] Figure 9A Show as Figure 8A The image composition shown in Figure 70 is a variation of the image composition in Figure 72. Figure 9A In the example shown, in addition to the appliance information 702 and the action information 706, there is also weekday action information 720, which is obtained by charting the action information from the date shown in the date and time information 701 up to one week ago.

[0124] exist Figure 9AThe example shown illustrates weekday action information 720, corresponding to the past week's action information displayed in television information 702a marked 702e. Weekday action information 720 displays the name 721 of the home appliance and the period information 722 during which it is targeted, along with a corresponding time 724 for the action chart 723 showing the period from the date shown in date and time information 701 to a week prior. It should be noted that, regarding the action chart 723, the week from Sunday to Saturday, including the date shown in date and time information 701, can also be displayed corresponding to time 724. In this case, the weekday display matches the calendar, making it easier for the user to understand. The action chart 723 displays weekday action charts 723a to 723g in a neat arrangement, and a marker 725 indicating the current date and time.

[0125] The screen configuration of this embodiment can show the operating status of each of the home appliances 10 in detail.

[0126] Example 4 of displaying information

[0127] Figure 9B Show as Figure 9A The image composition shown in Figure 73 is a variation of Figure 72. Figure 9B In the example shown, the date and time information 701 is replaced by the period information 731, and the action information 706 is replaced by the cumulative action information 736 (736a to 736d). That is, by displaying the cumulative value of the action information of the home appliance 10, which represents the actions that occur during the period shown in the period information 731, the state of the home appliance user can be represented more accurately.

[0128] exist Figure 9B In the example shown, the period from December 4th (Wed) to December 10th (Tue) is displayed as period information 731. In addition, the total usage time / number of times of each household appliance 10 during the period of this period information 731 is displayed.

[0129] Example 5 of displaying information

[0130] Figure 10A Show as Figure 8A The screen composition diagram shown is a variation of the screen composition diagram 70, specifically screen composition diagram 74. Screen composition diagram 74 shows the case where device 50 is a television 51, except... Figure 8A In addition to the screen composition shown, action information 746 formed by text and maintenance information 747 formed by text are also shown.

[0131] exist Figure 10AIn the example shown, December 9th (Mon) is displayed as date and time information 701, and information on appliances in use 702 and action information 706 are listed. At the positions corresponding to the information on appliances in use 702 and action information 706, action information 746, which is formed by text and corresponds to the information on appliances in use 702, is displayed, and maintenance information 747, which is formed by text, is also recorded.

[0132] Example 6 of displaying information

[0133] Figure 10B Show as Figure 8B The screen composition diagram shown is a variation of the screen composition diagram 71, specifically screen composition diagram 75. Screen composition diagram 75 shows the case where the device 50 is a television 51, except... Figure 8B In addition to the visual composition shown, cumulative motion information 756 formed by text is also displayed.

[0134] exist Figure 10B In the example shown, December 9 (Mon) to December 15 (Sun) is displayed as period information 701. At the positions corresponding to the appliance information 702 in use and the action information 706, cumulative action information 756 formed by text corresponding to the appliance information 702 in use is displayed.

[0135] The screen composition diagram 74 and screen composition diagram 75 are generated by the response information generation unit 450.

[0136] Example 7 of displaying information

[0137] Figure 11A and Figure 11B yes Figure 8A and Figure 8B The illustrated variation of the screen composition diagram has been modified to more easily show the user's status regarding the home appliance 10, by altering the display of the operating status. Figure 11A In the example shown, the latest action information 766, representing the current action status of the home appliance 10, is displayed as care service information 760.

[0138] For example, the system displays the latest TV action information 766a (on) corresponding to TV information 702a, the latest refrigerator action information 766b (door open) corresponding to refrigerator information 702b, the latest washing machine action information 766c (running) corresponding to washing machine information 702c, the latest air conditioner action information 766d (cooling: set temperature 26.0°C) corresponding to air conditioner information 702d, and room temperature information 765d (room temperature 30.0°C). In this embodiment, the latest action information indicating the action at the current moment is displayed as the action information, thus showing the latest movements of the user of the home appliance 10.

[0139] exist Figure 11B In the example shown, the cumulative action information 776 for the day, as indicated by date and time information 701, is displayed as care service information 760. Specifically, it displays the cumulative TV action information 776a (5 hours used in total that day) corresponding to TV information 702a, the cumulative refrigerator action information 776b (7 door openings and closings in total that day) corresponding to refrigerator information 702b, the cumulative washing machine action information 776c (1 use in total that day) corresponding to washing machine information 702c, and the cumulative air conditioner action information 776d (8 hours used in total that day) corresponding to air conditioner information 702d.

[0140] These action states are extracted from the action log of the home appliance 10 and generated as processed information in the information generation unit 350, the response information generation unit 450, or the display information generation unit 540.

[0141] Other implementation methods

[0142] Figure 2 The illustrated embodiment allows for monitoring of the user's status within the space where the home appliances 10 are located by displaying the operation logs of multiple home appliances 10 in a comprehensive overview. The embodiment described below has the function of issuing a warning to the user of the device 50 when multiple abnormal values ​​are found in the operation logs generated by the multiple home appliances 10. Hereinafter, refer to... Figure 12 The device 50A of this embodiment will be described here. The device 50A, through the... Figure 2 The device 50 shown in the embodiment is obtained by modification. In the following description, common reference numerals are used to indicate elements common to the first embodiment, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0143] like Figure 12 As shown, the device 50A of this embodiment is configured to... Figure 2 The device 50 shown also includes an action monitoring unit 560 and a warning determination unit 570. The action monitoring unit 560 is a computing module that monitors the state of the home appliance 10 and the user within the space where the home appliance 10 is located, based on the action status of the home appliance 10 obtained through the data storage server 30 and the device control server 40. The warning determination unit 570 is a computing module that determines whether the user within the space where the home appliance 10 is located is in a normal state based on the monitoring results of the action monitoring unit 560, and issues a warning signal if the state is abnormal.

[0144] Next, refer to Figure 12 and Figure 13 The operation of the device 50A in this embodiment will be explained. Device 50A, as... Figure 7 As shown, the request signal RQ is sent to the device control server 40 or the data storage server 30 and the response information or information provided, including the operation log of the home appliance 10, is received (S640).

[0145] The motion monitoring unit 560 monitors the motion logs of the home appliance 10 stored in the motion status storage unit 520 (S642). As a result, if multiple motion logs contain data indicating an anomaly (yes in S644), the warning determination unit 570 displays the anomaly in multiple motion logs as a first warning on the display unit 550 (S646). If the anomaly in the motion log is limited to only one home appliance 10 (no in S644), for example, if the anomaly in the motion log is simply that the power to the air conditioner has been continuously turned on for a specified time, there is also the possibility that the power was simply forgotten to be turned off, and no warning is displayed.

[0146] When the warning determination unit 570 issues a first warning, it starts an internal timer to determine whether the abnormal state of multiple action logs has been maintained for a predetermined time (S648). If the abnormality is eliminated within the predetermined time (no in S648), the monitoring operation performed by the action monitoring unit 560 is resumed. If the abnormality of multiple action logs has been maintained for a predetermined time since the first warning was issued (yes in S648), the warning determination unit 570 displays a second warning on the display unit 550, indicating that the space where the home appliance 10 is installed should be checked (S650).

[0147] In the device 50A of this embodiment, multiple operation logs of the home appliance 10 are monitored and warning signals are issued in two stages for the occurrence of abnormalities, thus enabling more accurate monitoring of the status of the user in the space where the home appliance 10 is placed.

[0148] Figure 14A This is a screen composition diagram 78 based on the device 50A of this embodiment. In the screen composition diagram of the device 50A of this embodiment, in order to display the operation status of the home appliance 10 for the care service 780, cumulative operation information 736 is displayed instead of operation information 706, except for this point. Figure 9A The composition of the image shown in Figure 72 is the same. Figure 14B yes Figure 14A The image shown is a variation of Figure 78, representing an example of a long period of inactivity. Figure 14BThe picture composition diagram 79 shows television information 702a and a periodic action chart 723 for the past week. Specifically, the periodic action charts 793d to 793g show situations where the television has not performed any action for an extended period. The first and second warnings can be displayed by flashing elements of the picture composition diagram, or by adjusting... Figure 14B The text describes how colors are used to display content during periods when no action is being performed.

[0149] The above describes the embodiments of this application, but these embodiments are provided as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the application. These new embodiments can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the application. These embodiments and their variations are included within the scope and spirit of the application, and are included within the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

Claims

1. A server, wherein, The server has the following features: The home appliance database stores user IDs used to identify users and multiple home appliance information used to specify multiple home appliances under the management of the user. The request processing unit receives a first request signal containing the user ID and outputs a second request signal, wherein the second request signal contains multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, which is read from the home appliance database using the user ID; An operation status storage unit stores the operation logs of each of the multiple home appliances represented by multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, sent according to the second request signal; and An information generation unit generates information, wherein the information includes the action logs of multiple home appliances represented by multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, read from the action status storage unit based on the user ID; The action logs of each of the multiple home appliance information are obtained from the home appliance registration server corresponding to each home appliance, based on the home appliance ID.

2. A server, wherein, The server has the following features: The device database stores user IDs used to identify users and device information used to specify display devices under the management of the user. The request processing unit receives a third request signal containing the user ID and generates a fourth request signal based on the user ID to generate an action log corresponding to the home appliance that is associated with the user ID. The operation status storage unit stores the operation logs of each of the multiple home appliances represented by multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID sent according to the fourth request signal. as well as The response information generation unit generates response information using the action logs of multiple home appliances represented by multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, which are read from the action status storage unit based on the user ID. The response information includes image information that the display device corresponding to the user ID can display, which is read from the device database using the user ID. The action logs of each of the multiple home appliance information are obtained from the home appliance registration server corresponding to each home appliance, based on the home appliance ID.

3. An information terminal, wherein, The information terminal has the following features: The transmitting unit outputs a fifth request signal, which includes a user ID for identifying the user. An action status storage unit stores response information, wherein the response information includes home appliance information sent according to the fifth request signal for specifying multiple home appliances under the management of the user, and the action logs of each of the multiple home appliances. The display information generation unit generates display information for displaying the operation information of multiple home appliances in a single overview, by utilizing the operation logs of each of the multiple home appliances represented by multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, read from the operation status storage unit using the user ID; and The motion monitoring unit monitors the state of the home appliances and the user in the space where the home appliances are located based on the acquired motion status of the home appliances. The action logs of each of the multiple home appliances in the action status storage unit are obtained from the home appliance registration server corresponding to each home appliance based on the home appliance ID.

4. A home appliance network system, comprising a server and devices, wherein, The server has the following features: The home appliance database stores user IDs used to identify users and multiple home appliance information used to specify multiple home appliances under the management of the user. The request processing unit receives a first request signal containing the user ID and outputs a second request signal, wherein the second request signal contains multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, which is read from the home appliance database using the user ID; An operation status storage unit stores the operation logs of each of the multiple home appliances represented by multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, sent according to the second request signal; and An information generation unit generates information, wherein the information includes the action logs of multiple home appliances represented by multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, read from the action status storage unit based on the user ID; The action logs of each of the multiple home appliance information are obtained from the home appliance registration server corresponding to each home appliance based on the home appliance ID; The device includes: The transmitting unit outputs the first request signal; An operation status storage unit stores the provided information sent according to the first request signal; and The display information generation unit reads the action logs of each of the multiple home appliances represented by the multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID from the provided information, and uses the action logs of each of the multiple home appliances to generate display information for displaying the action information of the multiple home appliances in one overview. The motion monitoring unit monitors the state of the home appliances and the user in the space where the home appliances are located based on the acquired motion status of the home appliances. The action logs in the action status storage unit are obtained from the appliance registration server corresponding to each appliance, based on the appliance ID.

5. A computer-readable non-volatile storage medium storing a program or computer instructions that, when executed on a processor, enable a computer to function as a server, wherein... The server has the following features: The home appliance database stores user IDs used to identify users and multiple home appliance information used to specify multiple home appliances under the management of the user. The request processing unit receives a first request signal containing the user ID and outputs a second request signal, wherein the second request signal contains multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, which is read from the home appliance database using the user ID; An operation status storage unit stores the operation logs of each of the multiple home appliances represented by multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, sent according to the second request signal; and An information generation unit generates information, wherein the information includes the action logs of multiple home appliances represented by multiple home appliance information corresponding to the user ID, read from the action status storage unit based on the user ID; The action logs of each of the multiple home appliance information are obtained from the home appliance registration server corresponding to each home appliance, based on the home appliance ID.

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