Household electrical appliance control system, server device, recording medium, and household electrical appliance control method

Abstract

The invention relates to a household electrical appliance control system, a server device, a recording medium, and a household electrical appliance control method. The purpose of the present invention is to improve convenience for a user when a home appliance whose network has been disconnected is reconnected. A recording medium records an application program that causes a computer to execute a step for transmitting, to a server device, a connection instruction relating to a connection to a household electrical appliance indicated by a user, device information relating to the household electrical appliance, and user identification information. Receiving device information, user identification information and a connection indication from the application program; a new registration unit that, if the connection instruction is a new registration instruction, performs initialization processing of past information relating to the home appliance to be newly registered in the appliance management information, and performs new registration of the home appliance; and a reconnection unit that, if the connection instruction is a reconnection instruction, executes a process for reconnecting to the household electrical appliance without executing an initialization process of past information relating to the household electrical appliance to be reconnected in the appliance management information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present invention relate to a home appliance control system, a server device, a recording medium, and a home appliance control method. Background Technology

[0002] Previously, it was known that in a home appliance control system, which includes multiple home appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators connected to networks such as the Internet, a server device connected to the network and controlling the home appliances, and an application program connected to the server device via the network and executed by a terminal device such as a smartphone, techniques were used to remotely operate the home appliances via an application program. In such techniques, the home appliances are registered on the server device side, and remote operation of the home appliances is performed on the application side.

[0003] In traditional home appliance control systems, the network connection to the appliances may sometimes be lost for various reasons. In such cases, reconnection to the network is required to use the appliances.

[0004] Existing technical documents

[0005] Patent documents

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-071092

[0007] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-85886

[0008] In existing technologies, applications, serving as user interfaces for connecting home appliances, only offer a single method: new registration. Furthermore, conventional home appliance control systems store information related to registered appliances and applications using those appliances in a linked manner on a server device. However, in the case of newly registered appliances, the assumption is that different users will use them. Therefore, in existing technologies, to ensure security, the server device performs an initialization process that resets the association between the information related to the appliance and the information related to the application, even if the information related to the registered appliance has already been registered.

[0009] Therefore, in the existing technology, when reconnecting home appliances that have been disconnected from the network, if a newly registered user interface is used, an initialization process is performed. This results in cumbersome operations such as re-establishing the association between the application and the home appliance, and deteriorates user convenience. Summary of the Invention

[0010] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a home appliance control system, server device, application program, and home appliance control method that can improve user convenience when reconnecting home appliances that have been disconnected from the network.

[0011] Methods for solving problems

[0012] The home appliance control system of the embodiment includes: a server device connected to a home appliance via a network and controlling the home appliance; and an application program executed by a computer of a terminal device connected to the server device via a network, wherein the application program causes the computer to perform: sending to the server device a connection instruction related to the connection of the home appliance, device information related to the home appliance, and user identification information for identifying the user using the home appliance, as instructed by a user; the server device includes: a storage unit storing device management information that establishes a correspondence between the device information and the user identification information; a communication unit receiving the device information, the user identification information, and the connection instruction from the application program; a new registration unit that, when the connection instruction is an instruction to register the home appliance anew, performs initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance in the device management information for the newly registered object, and performs new registration of the home appliance for the newly registered object; and a reconnection unit that, when the connection instruction is an instruction to reconnect the home appliance, does not perform the initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance in the device management information for the reconnected object, but performs reconnection processing to the home appliance.

[0013] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, the communication unit sends a confirmation signal to the home appliance at a constant time interval to confirm whether it is connected, and is able to receive a response signal from the home appliance in response to the confirmation signal. The server device includes a determination unit that, when the communication unit receives the response signal in response to the confirmation signal, determines that the home appliance is online; and when no response signal is received after a predetermined number of confirmation signals have been sent, determines that the home appliance is offline. When the home appliance attempts to reconnect, it sends an offline notification to the server device indicating that the home appliance is offline. If the communication unit receives the offline notification from the home appliance, the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline even before the predetermined number of confirmation signals has been sent.

[0014] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, when the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline, the communication unit sends an instruction to the terminal device indicating that the status of the home appliance should be changed to offline. The application program causes the computer to further execute the step of changing the status of the home appliance to offline upon receiving the instruction to change the status of the home appliance to offline.

[0015] In addition, in the home appliance control system, the application program causes the computer to perform a display step, in which, when the home appliance is offline, a reconnection button for the user to instruct to reconnect is displayed on the display device of the terminal device together with the display of the home appliance.

[0016] Additionally, in the home appliance control system, within the application, the display step is for home appliances that are only connected to the network when in use and powered on, and the reconnection button is not displayed.

[0017] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, in the application, the computer executes: a display step, in the case of reconnecting the home appliance, displaying a list of offline home appliances on the display device of the terminal device; and an input step, accepting the user's selection of the home appliance to be reconnected from the list of offline home appliances.

[0018] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, within the application, the computer executes: a display step, in the case of reconnecting the home appliance, displaying a list of all home appliances, including online and offline home appliances, on the display device of the terminal device, wherein the list of all home appliances displays the offline home appliances together with the offline indication; and an input step, accepting the user's selection of the home appliance to be reconnected from the list of offline home appliances.

[0019] Furthermore, the server device involved in the embodiment is a server device that connects to and controls home appliances via a network. It includes: a storage unit that stores device management information corresponding to device information related to the home appliances and user identification information used to identify users utilizing the home appliances; a communication unit that receives the device information, the user identification information, and a connection instruction related to the connection of the home appliances from an application program executed by a computer connected to a terminal device via the network; a new registration unit that, when the connection instruction is an instruction to register the home appliances new, performs initialization processing of past information related to the home appliances in the device management information for the newly registered object, and performs new registration of the home appliances for the newly registered object; and a reconnection unit that, when the connection instruction is an instruction to reconnect the home appliances, performs reconnection processing to the home appliances without performing the initialization processing of past information related to the home appliances in the device management information for the reconnected object.

[0020] Furthermore, in the server device, the communication unit sends a confirmation signal to the home appliance at a constant time interval to confirm whether it is connected, and is able to receive a response signal from the home appliance in response to the confirmation signal. The server device includes a determination unit that determines that the home appliance is online when the communication unit receives the response signal in response to the confirmation signal, determines that the home appliance is offline when no response signal is received after a predetermined number of confirmation signals have been sent, and determines that the home appliance is offline even before the predetermined number of confirmation signals has been sent when the communication unit receives an offline notification indicating that the home appliance is offline from the home appliance when its connection with the application is cut off.

[0021] In addition, in the server device, the communication unit sends the status of the home appliance determined by the judgment unit to the terminal device.

[0022] Furthermore, in the server device, when the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline, the communication unit sends an instruction to the terminal device to change the status of the home appliance to offline.

[0023] Furthermore, the recording medium involved in the embodiment records an application program executed by a computer of a terminal device, the terminal device being connected via a network to a server device for controlling home appliances. The application program causes the computer to execute: a display step, displaying a first screen on the terminal device's display device, the first screen allowing a user to input a new registration instruction for re-registering the home appliance and a reconnection instruction for reconnecting the home appliance that has become offline due to being disconnected from the network; an input step, whereby the user accepts either the input of the new registration instruction or the input of the reconnection instruction from the first screen; and a sending step, whereby, if the user inputs the new registration instruction, the new registration instruction is sent to the server device, causing the server device to perform the new registration process for the home appliance after performing initialization processing of information related to the home appliance; and if the user inputs the reconnection instruction, the reconnection instruction is sent to the server device, causing the server device to perform the reconnection process for the home appliance without performing initialization processing of information related to the home appliance.

[0024] Additionally, in the recording medium, the application causes the computer to perform the step of changing the state of the home appliance to offline upon receiving an instruction from the server device that the state of the home appliance is to be changed to offline.

[0025] In addition, in the recording medium, when the home appliance is offline, the display step displays a reconnection button for the user to instruct to reconnect, along with the display of the home appliance, on the display device of the terminal device.

[0026] Additionally, in the recording medium, the display step for home appliances used only when powered on and connected to the network does not display the reconnection button.

[0027] In addition, in the recording medium, the display step also displays a list of offline home appliances on the display device of the terminal device when the home appliances are reconnected, and the input step also accepts the user's selection of the home appliances to be reconnected from the list of offline home appliances.

[0028] Furthermore, in the recording medium, when the home appliance is reconnected, the display step displays a list of all home appliances, including online and offline home appliances, on the display device of the terminal device. In the list of all home appliances, the offline home appliances are displayed together with the offline meaning. The input step also accepts the user's selection of the home appliance to be reconnected from the list of offline home appliances.

[0029] Furthermore, the home appliance control method involved in the implementation is a home appliance control method executed by a home appliance control system. The home appliance control system includes: a server device connected to the home appliance via a network and controlling the home appliance; and an application program executed by a computer on a terminal device connected to the server device via a network. The application program causes the computer to perform the following steps: sending to the server device a connection instruction related to the connection of the home appliance, device information related to the home appliance, and user identification information for identifying the user using the home appliance. The server device includes: a storage unit that stores the device information, the user identification information, and the user identification information for identifying the user using the application program. The corresponding device management information, the home appliance control method includes the following steps: the server device receiving the device information, the user identification information, and the connection indication from the application; when the connection indication is an indication to register the home appliance anew, the server device performs initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance in the device management information for the newly registered object, and performs a new registration of the home appliance for the newly registered object; and when the connection indication is an indication to reconnect the home appliance, the server device does not perform initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance in the device management information for the reconnected object, but performs a reconnection process for the home appliance.

[0030] Invention Effects

[0031] According to the above implementation method, user convenience can be improved when reconnecting home appliances that have been disconnected from the network. Attached Figure Description

[0032] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a home appliance control and management system according to an implementation method.

[0033] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a home appliance involved in the implementation method.

[0034] Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a server device involved in an implementation.

[0035] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the data construction of the management DB involved in the implementation method.

[0036] Figure 5 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of a terminal device involved in an implementation.

[0037] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the data in the device database involved in the implementation method.

[0038] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a menu screen involved in the implementation method.

[0039] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection screen involved in an implementation method.

[0040] Figure 9 This is an example of an overview screen related to the implementation method.

[0041] Figure 10 This is an example of a warning screen related to the implementation method.

[0042] Figure 11 This is an example of a confirmation screen related to the implementation method.

[0043] Figure 12 This is an example of a completion notification screen related to the implementation method.

[0044] Figure 13 This is a timing diagram illustrating an example of the overall flow of the control process for home appliances involved in the implementation method.

[0045] Figure 14 This describes the overall flow of home appliance control processing involved in the implementation method (continued). Figure 13 A timing diagram of an example.

[0046] Figure 15 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the status verification process for a home appliance involved in the implementation method.

[0047] Figure 16 This diagram illustrates an example of the state changes of home appliances and the judgments made on the server device side in the context of prior art and this embodiment.

[0048] Figure 17 This is a diagram used to illustrate other examples of state changes of home appliances and judgments on the server device side in the prior art and this embodiment.

[0049] Figure 18 This is an example of a view diagram involving variation 1.

[0050] Figure 19 This is an example of a view diagram involving variation 2.

[0051] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0052] 1. Home appliance control system; 10. Home appliances; 30. Terminal device; 40. Server device; 101. Communication department; 102. Control department; 110. Storage department; 401. Communication department; 402. Control department; 403. New registration department; 404. Reconnection department; 405. Judgment department; 410. Storage department; 411. Device management database; 301. Application program; 302. Display device; 303. Input device; 304. Communication device; 305. Storage device; 3011. Communication processing department; 3012. Input processing department; 3013. Display processing department; 3014. Control department; 3051. Device database. Detailed Implementation

[0053] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification, the constituent elements involved in the embodiments and their descriptions are sometimes described using multiple expressions. The constituent elements and their descriptions are merely examples and are not limited to the representation in this specification. Constituent elements may also be identified by names different from those used in this specification. Furthermore, constituent elements may also be described using representations different from those shown in this specification.

[0054] (Implementation Method)

[0055] (The composition of a home appliance control system)

[0056] Figure 1 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a home appliance control system according to an implementation method. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the home appliance control system 1 involved in this embodiment mainly includes a server device 40, a terminal device 30, a router 50, a refrigerator 10A, a washing machine 10B, an air conditioner 10C, an air conditioner 10D, and a microwave oven 10E. The refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, microwave oven 10E, and router 50 are installed in a home.

[0057] Refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, microwave oven 10E, and terminal device 30 are connected to the network via a router installed in the home. Furthermore, refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, microwave oven 10E, and terminal device 30 are connected to server device 40 through this network. The network consists of the Internet, general telephone lines, and mobile phone lines.

[0058] Here, refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, and microwave oven 10E are examples of household appliances. In the following description, without specifically distinguishing between refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, and microwave oven 10E, any one of them will be referred to as household appliance 10. Furthermore, household appliance 10 is not limited to these. Details regarding household appliance 10 will be described later.

[0059] Terminal device 30, such as a smartphone or tablet, displays information related to refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D and microwave oven 10E via server device 40 and performs remote operation.

[0060] A terminal device 30 is equipped with an application (hereinafter referred to as the "application") for remotely operating the home appliance 10. The user (also referred to as the user) launches the application on the terminal device 30 to remotely operate the home appliance 10. The application communicates with the home appliance 10 via a network and through a server device 40. Further details regarding the terminal device 10 and the application will be described later.

[0061] Router 50 is a relay device used to connect various home appliances 10 to terminal devices 10 (i.e., applications) via a home network.

[0062] Server device 40 is a device for managing home appliance 10, and relays communication between terminal device 30 and home appliance 10 for remote operation of home appliance 10. Details regarding server device 40 will be provided later.

[0063] (Composition of home appliances 10)

[0064] First, the details of the household appliance 10 in this embodiment will be explained.

[0065] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the home appliance 10 involved in the implementation method.

[0066] like Figure 2 As shown, the home appliance 10 of this embodiment mainly includes a communication unit 101, a control unit 102, and a storage unit 110.

[0067] The communication unit 101 is a processing unit that communicates using a prescribed protocol. In this embodiment, in connection mode, it relays data to the router 50 and communicates with the application program 301 of the terminal device 30. Here, connection mode refers to the mode in which the home appliance 10 is connected to the network, and includes a new registration mode and a reconnection mode.

[0068] The new registration mode is a mode in which the home appliance 10 is newly registered to the server device 40.

[0069] The reconnection mode is a mode in which the home appliance 10, which has been registered in the server device 40 and application 301, is reconnected to the server device 40 if the network is disconnected for some reason. The reasons for the network being disconnected include, in addition to situations where the home appliance 10 is disconnected due to a communication error, situations where the network is disconnected for the purpose of replacing the router 40.

[0070] Furthermore, when the home appliance 10 is connected to the network, the communication unit 101 sends an online notification to the server device 40. Additionally, upon receiving an acknowledgment signal from the server device 10, the communication unit 101 sends a response signal to the server device 40 in response to the acknowledgment signal.

[0071] In this embodiment, the communication unit 101 also sends an offline notification to the server device 10 when the home appliance 10 enters reconnection mode. Additionally, when entering new registration mode, the communication unit 101 receives an association establishment instruction between the device ID and the user ID from the application 301. Upon receiving this association establishment instruction, the communication unit 101 registers its own device ID and user ID in association with the storage unit 110.

[0072] Storage unit 110 contains storage media such as HDD (Hard Disc Drive) and SSD (Solitary State Drive). For example... Figure 2 As shown, during new registration, the device ID and user ID are associated and registered to the storage unit 110 through the communication unit 101.

[0073] The control unit 102 controls the entire home appliance 10. The control method of the control unit 102 varies depending on the type of home appliance 10.

[0074] (Configuration of server device 40)

[0075] Next, the details of server device 40 will be explained.

[0076] Figure 3 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the server device 40 according to an implementation method. For example... Figure 3 As shown, the server device 40 of this embodiment mainly includes a communication unit 401, a control unit 402, a new registration unit 403, a reconnection unit 404, a judgment unit 405, and a storage unit 410.

[0077] Storage unit 410 is a storage medium such as HDD or SSD. In the storage unit 410 of this embodiment, a management database 411 (hereinafter referred to as "management DB411") is stored.

[0078] DB411 is the database for managing home appliances 10.

[0079] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the data construction of the DB411 management system in an implementation. For example... Figure 4 As shown, the user ID, device ID, and status are established in the management DB411.

[0080] A user ID is information used to identify a user. A user ID is one example of user identification information. Alternatively, multiple user IDs can be registered. In this case, multiple users can utilize a single home appliance 10.

[0081] The device ID is information used to identify the home appliance 10 managed by the user with the user ID. The device ID is an example of device information.

[0082] The status refers to the current network connection status of the home appliance 10. The status includes online, indicating that the home appliance 10 is connected to the network, and offline, indicating that the home appliance 10 is not connected to the network.

[0083] exist Figure 4 In the example, the user with user ID A will Figure 1 The device IDs of the refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, and microwave oven 10E shown as home appliances 10 are registered in correspondence with the user ID of user A. Furthermore, each home appliance 10 is registered as either online or offline, indicating its status.

[0084] return Figure 3 The control unit 402 receives control instructions for the home appliance 10 from the application program 301 of the terminal device 30 and performs control of the home appliance 10.

[0085] The communication unit 401 controls communication with the home appliance 10 and the terminal device 30. That is, when the control unit 402 sends requests or instructions from the terminal device 30 or sends information to the terminal device 30, it does so via the communication unit 401. In addition, when the control unit 402 receives information from the home appliance 10 or gives control instructions to the home appliance 10, it does so via the communication unit 401.

[0086] In this embodiment, the communication unit 401 receives from the application 301 a connection mode indication, the device ID of the home appliance 10 that is the object in the connection mode, and the user ID of the user of the home appliance 10. The connection mode indication is an example of a connection indication.

[0087] In addition, the communication unit 401 sends a confirmation signal to the home appliance 10 at constant time intervals to confirm whether it is connected, and receives a response signal from the home appliance 10 in response to the confirmation signal. The communication unit 401 sends the status of the home appliance 10 determined by the judgment unit 405 (described later) to the terminal device 30. If the judgment unit 405 determines that the home appliance 10 is offline, the communication unit 401 sends an instruction to the terminal device 30 to change the status of the home appliance 10 to offline.

[0088] When the connection mode instruction received by the communication unit 401 is a new registration mode instruction, the new registration unit 403 performs initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance 10 with the device ID received as a new registration object in the device management DB411 of the storage unit 410, and then performs new registration processing of the home appliance 10 as a new registration object.

[0089] Specifically, even if past information related to the appliance 10 with the device ID of the newly registered object is registered in the device management DB411, the new registration unit 403 performs an initialization process by resetting that information. Then, the new registration unit 403 registers the device ID of the newly registered object appliance 10 (i.e., the device ID received along with the new registration mode instruction) and the received user ID in the device management DB411, thereby performing a new registration.

[0090] When the connection mode instruction received by the communication unit 401 is a reconnection mode instruction, the reconnection unit 404 does not perform initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance 10 that was received as the object of reconnection in the device management DB411 of the storage unit 410, but performs reconnection processing with the home appliance 10.

[0091] When the communication unit 401 receives a response signal for the acknowledgment signal sent to the home appliance 10, the judgment unit 405 determines that the home appliance 10 is online; if no response signal is received after sending a predetermined number of acknowledgment signals, the judgment unit 405 determines that the home appliance 10 is offline. Here, the predetermined number of times can be arbitrarily determined, such as 3 times, but is not limited to this.

[0092] Furthermore, if the communication unit 401 receives an offline notification from the home appliance 10, the judgment unit 405 will determine that the home appliance 10 is offline even before the confirmation signal has been sent a predetermined number of times.

[0093] (Composition of terminal device 30)

[0094] Next, the details of the terminal device 30 in this embodiment will be described.

[0095] Figure 5 This is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 30 in an embodiment. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the terminal device 30 according to this embodiment mainly includes a display device 302, an input device 303, a communication device 304, a storage device 305, and an application program 301. Additionally, the terminal device 30 includes a CPU (not shown). The terminal device 30 comprises the CPU (not shown), display device 302, input device 303, communication device 304, and storage device 305 in its hardware.

[0096] The display device 302 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organic EL display. The input device 303 is an input device such as a touch panel or hard keys that overlaps with the display device 302.

[0097] The communication device 304 is an interface for wireless communication according to various standards such as wireless LAN, 4G (e.g., LTE (Long Term Evolution)), and 5G.

[0098] Storage device 305 is a storage medium such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory). Device database 3051 (hereinafter referred to as "device DB3051") is stored in storage device 305.

[0099] Device DB3051 is the database that manages home appliances 10 on the application 301 side.

[0100] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of data from the device DB3051 involved in the implementation method. For example... Figure 6 As shown, in device DB3051, similarly to device management DB411 on the server device 40 side, user ID, device ID of home appliance 10, and status are established in a corresponding manner. However, in Figure 6 In the DB3051 device shown, the user ID is single. However, multiple user IDs can also be registered.

[0101] Additionally, in device DB3051, such as Figure 6As shown, the device ID is also associated with various pieces of information. These include the date of connection, the model name of the home appliance 10, its manufacturing number, and its installation location. However, the information is not limited to these.

[0102] (The structure of application 301)

[0103] return Figure 5 The application program 301 mainly includes a communication processing unit 3011, an input processing unit 3012, a display processing unit 3013, and a control unit 3014. The application program 301 is stored in a storage device 305 such as ROM, RAM, or flash memory. Here, the application program is sometimes referred to as "APP".

[0104] Application 301 is an example of an application. Application 301 is a module comprising the aforementioned functional units (communication processing unit 3011, input processing unit 3012, display processing unit 3013, and control unit 3014). As actual hardware, the CPU reads application 301 from a storage device 305 such as flash memory and executes it, thereby launching application 301. Furthermore, the aforementioned units are loaded onto a storage device 305 such as RAM, and the communication processing unit 3011, input processing unit 3012, display processing unit 3013, control unit 3014, and acquisition unit 3016 are generated on the RAM or other storage device 305.

[0105] The control unit 3014 performs various controls on the application program 301.

[0106] The communication processing unit 3011 controls the communication of the communication device 304. In addition, when the input processing unit 3012 receives a control instruction for the home appliance 10 from the user, the communication processing unit 3011 sends the received control instruction to the server device 40.

[0107] In this embodiment, the communication processing unit 3011 sends the connection mode instruction of the home appliance 10 indicated by the user, the device ID of the target home appliance 10, and the user ID from the connection screen described later to the server device 40.

[0108] Specifically, when the communication processing unit 3011 inputs a new registration mode instruction from the user as the connection mode instruction in the connection screen, it sends the new registration mode instruction to the server device 40. Additionally, when the communication processing unit 3011 inputs a reconnection mode instruction from the user in the connection screen, it sends the reconnection mode instruction to the server device 40.

[0109] In addition, the communication processing unit 3011 receives the status of the home appliance 10 from the server device 40.

[0110] The display processing unit 3013 controls the display of various information for the display device 302.

[0111] When application 301 is launched, display processing unit 3013 displays a main screen (not shown) on display device 302. Here, the main screen is the basic screen that is first displayed when application 301 is launched. Then, display processing unit 3013 displays various icons on the main screen. In addition, application 301 can display an APP screen on display device 302. Here, the APP screen refers to the screen displayed on display device 302 through icon operation.

[0112] In addition, icons refer to image information used to provide control or operation instructions for home appliances 10 through user touch operations, or to migrate to various operation screens of home appliances. Buttons, shortcuts, etc. are icons.

[0113] In this embodiment, the display processing unit 3013 displays a menu screen based on predetermined operation inputs made by the user from the main screen. The menu screen is a screen used to indicate various operations for the application 301.

[0114] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a menu screen involved in the implementation method.

[0115] like Figure 7 As shown, the menu screen displays multiple menu items that can be operated (i.e., touched or pressed). For example... Figure 7 As shown, the menu item "Reconnect to Registration Screen" is displayed on the menu screen. When the user performs a touch operation on the "Reconnect to Registration Screen" option in the menu screen, the display processing unit 3013 displays the connection screen on the display device 302.

[0116] The connection screen is a screen for the user to input instructions for a new registration mode for newly registered home appliance 10, and for a reconnection mode for home appliance 10 that has been disconnected from the network and become offline. The connection screen is an example of the first screen.

[0117] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a connection screen involved in an implementation method.

[0118] In the connection screen, such as Figure 8 As shown, a menu item 801 with instructions for new registration mode, "New registered appliance", and a menu item 802 with instructions for reconnection mode, "Reconnection to registered appliances here".

[0119] return Figure 5The display processing unit 3013 displays the status of the home appliance 10 received by the communication processing unit 3011 from the server device 40 on the display device 302. In particular, when the display processing unit 3013 receives an instruction from the server device 40 to change the status display of the home appliance 10 to offline, it changes the status of the home appliance 10 to offline and displays it on the display device 302.

[0120] When reconnecting home appliances 10, i.e. when the user touches the menu item 802 of "Reconnection with registered home appliances here" in the connection screen and an instruction for reconnection mode is given, the display processing unit 3013 displays a list of offline home appliances 10 on the display device 302.

[0121] Figure 9 This is a diagram showing an example of a view of the implementation method.

[0122] In the overview image, such as Figure 9 As shown, a list of home appliances 10 that are offline is displayed in a way that allows the user to select them. Figure 9 In this example, as a list of offline home appliances 10, individual items such as refrigerators and air conditioners can be selectively displayed. Users can select the home appliances 10 they wish to reconnect from this list screen via touch operations or other means.

[0123] In addition, if the display processing unit 3013 selects home appliance 10 in the overview screen, and the user ID of the user who performed the operation is not registered in the device DB3051 with the selected device ID, that is, if the user authentication fails (in the case of the user who is not allowed to operate home appliance 10), a warning screen is displayed on the display device 302 and the processing is interrupted.

[0124] Figure 10 This is an example of a warning screen related to an implementation method. For example... Figure 10 As shown, the warning screen displays a message indicating that the appliance 10 is not registered by the user, that the appliance 10 should be newly registered, or that the appliance 10 should be operated with the registered user ID.

[0125] In addition, when the display processing unit 3013 selects home appliance 10 in the overview screen, and the user ID of the user who performed the operation is registered in the device DB3051 with the selected device ID, that is, the user authentication is successful, a confirmation screen for reconnecting home appliance 10 is displayed on the display device 302.

[0126] Figure 11 This is an example diagram illustrating a confirmation screen related to an implementation method. For example... Figure 11 As shown, the confirmation screen displays detailed information about the home appliance 10 selected by the user. This detailed information is registered as various types of information in the device DB3051 during the new registration of the home appliance 10. If the user touches the "Next" button 1101 on this confirmation screen, the selection is confirmed, and the device ID of the selected home appliance 10 is sent to the server device 40 along with the reconnection mode instruction via the aforementioned communication processing unit 3011.

[0127] Furthermore, when the reconnection process of the home appliance 10 is completed, the display processing unit 3013 will display a completion notification screen on the display device 302.

[0128] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a completion notification screen related to an implementation method.

[0129] like Figure 12 As shown, the completion notification screen indicates that the reconnection of the home appliance 10 selected by the user has been completed.

[0130] return Figure 5 The input processing unit 3012 accepts input from the user via the input device 303. The input processing unit 3012 accepts user input from the main screen or APP screen (i.e., input device 303 such as touch panel).

[0131] In this embodiment, the input processing unit 3012 receives either an input indicating a new registration mode or an input indicating a reconnection mode from the connection screen displayed on the display device 302, based on the user's selection of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected.

[0132] (Home appliance control processing)

[0133] Next, the home appliance control processing of the home appliance control system 1 of this embodiment, configured as described above, will be explained.

[0134] Figure 13 , Figure 14 This is a timing diagram illustrating an example of the overall flow of the control process for home appliances involved in the implementation method.

[0135] First, in application 301, display processing unit 3013 displays various screens on display device 302 (S101). Specifically, display processing unit 3013 displays the menu screen, the next connection screen, etc. Then, input processing unit 3012 accepts user input from the screen (S102).

[0136] Here, the user selects either new registration for home appliance 10 or reconnection of home appliance 10 on the connection screen. If reconnection is selected, the display processing unit 313 displays a list screen on the display device 302 as described above. If home appliance 10 is selected here, the display processing unit 313 displays a confirmation screen on the display device 302, and the user confirms the reconnection and the target home appliance 10 by pressing the next button.

[0137] Next, the communication processing unit 3011 sends the connection mode indication, the device ID of the target home appliance 10, and the user ID to the server device 40 according to the user's input (S103).

[0138] In the server device 40, if the communication unit 401 receives the connection mode instruction, the ID of the target home appliance 10, and the APPID, it sends a transfer instruction to the home appliance 10 with the received device ID (S104).

[0139] The home appliance 10 that received the transfer instruction is transferred to the connection mode (S105).

[0140] In server device 40, when a transfer instruction is sent, control unit 402 determines whether the received connection mode instruction is a new registration instruction or a reconnection instruction (S107). If the received connection mode instruction is a new registration instruction, new registration unit 403 performs the above-described initialization process (S108).

[0141] In application 301, after the transmission in S106, the user selects a connection method for the home appliance 10 (S109). Examples of connection methods include Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark). Next, in application 301, the communication processing unit 3011 establishes a communication connection with the home appliance 10 (S110).

[0142] Next, in application 301, the communication processing unit 3011 obtains the SSID from the router 50 (S111). Then, the communication processing unit 3011 sends the obtained SSID information of the router 50 to the home appliance 10 (S112).

[0143] In the home appliance 10, the communication unit 101 receives the SSID of the router 50 from the application 301 and completes the network connection (S113).

[0144] In application 301, the communication processing unit 3011 sends an association establishment instruction between the user ID and the device ID of the newly registered home appliance 10 to both the home appliance 10 and the server device 40 (S114, S115).

[0145] In the home appliance 10, if the communication unit 101 receives an association establishment instruction, it performs an association establishment process (S116). Specifically, the communication unit 101 establishes an association between the device ID (i.e., its own device ID) received along with the association establishment instruction and the user ID received along with the association establishment instruction, and stores them in the storage unit 110. Next, the communication unit 101 sends an association establishment completion notification to the server device 40.

[0146] In server device 40, communication unit 401 receives association establishment instruction from application 301. Additionally, communication unit 401 receives association establishment completion notification from home appliance 10. Next, control unit 402 authenticates the device ID and user ID received along with the association establishment instruction, and registers the device ID and user ID in association in device management DB of storage unit 410, completing the association establishment process (S118).

[0147] In S107, if the connection mode indication is a reconnection mode indication (S107: reconnection), the server device 40 does not perform the initialization process executed in the new registration mode.

[0148] In reconnection mode, if home appliance 10 becomes offline, the communication unit 101 sends an offline notification to the server device 40 (S120).

[0149] In server device 40, if communication unit 401 receives an offline notification from home appliance 10, determination unit 405 determines that home appliance 10 is offline, and changes the status of home appliance 10, which is a registered reconnection target, to offline in device management DB 411 of storage unit 410 (S121). Next, communication unit 401 sends an instruction to terminal device 30 indicating that the status of home appliance 10 has been changed to offline (S122). In terminal device 30, application program 301 receives this instruction.

[0150] In application 301, if the communication processing unit 3011 receives the instruction, the display processing unit 3013 changes the status of the reconnected target home appliance 10 to offline in device DB3051 (S123). Thus, the display processing unit 3013 is able to identify the status of the reconnected target home appliance 10 as offline and display the home appliance 10.

[0151] Next, in application 301, the user selects a connection method for the home appliance 10 (S124). Connection methods include, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark). Next, in application 301, the communication processing unit 3011 establishes a communication connection with the home appliance 10 (S125).

[0152] Next, in application 301, the communication processing unit 3011 obtains the SSID from the router 50 (S126). Then, the communication processing unit 3011 sends the obtained SSID information of the router 50 to the home appliance 10 (S127).

[0153] In home appliance 10, the communication unit 101 receives the SSID of router 50 from application 301 and completes the network connection (S128). Then, in home appliance 10, the communication unit 101 sends an online notification to server device 40 (S129).

[0154] In server device 40, if communication unit 401 receives an online notification from home appliance 10, determination unit 405 determines that home appliance 10 is online, and changes the status of the registered reconnection target home appliance 10 to online in device management DB411 of storage unit 410 (S130). Next, communication unit 401 sends an instruction to terminal device 30 indicating that the status of home appliance 10 has been changed to online (S131). In terminal device 30, application program 301 receives the instruction.

[0155] In application 301, if the communication processing unit 3011 receives the instruction, the display processing unit 3013 changes the status of the reconnected target home appliance 10 to online in device DB3051 (S132). Thus, the display processing unit 3013 is able to identify the status of the reconnected target home appliance 10 as online and display the home appliance 10. The process then ends.

[0156] Here, in server device 40, with Figure 13 , 14 The processing is performed in parallel, and the status confirmation of the home appliance 10 is performed at constant intervals.

[0157] Figure 15 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the status confirmation process for the home appliance 10 in an embodiment.

[0158] The communication unit 401 of the server device 40 sends a status confirmation signal to the home appliance 10 (S201). Then, the determination unit 405 determines whether the communication unit 401 has received a status response signal from the home appliance 10 in response to the confirmation signal within a specified time (S202). If the communication unit 401 receives a response signal within the specified time (S202: Yes), the determination unit 405 determines that the home appliance 10 is online, returns to S201, and repeatedly executes the process starting from S201.

[0159] On the other hand, if the communication unit 401 does not receive a response signal within a specified time (S202: No), the judgment unit 405 determines whether an acknowledgment signal has been sent three times consecutively (one example of a specified number) (S203). If there are fewer than three consecutive sends (S203: No), the process returns to S201, and the process initiated in S201 is executed repeatedly.

[0160] On the other hand, if the condition is met three times (S203: Yes), the determination unit 405 determines that the connection status of the home appliance 10 is offline (S204). Next, the determination unit 405 obtains the user ID associated with the device ID of the home appliance 10 in the device management DB411 (S205).

[0161] Next, the communications unit 401 sends an offline change instruction to the terminal device 30 of the application used by the user with the obtained user ID (S206). In the terminal device 30, the application 301 receives the instruction.

[0162] Figure 16 This diagram illustrates an example of the state changes of the home appliance 10 and the judgment on the server device 40 side, in accordance with the prior art and this embodiment. Figure 16 The image shows a scenario where the network is cut off for some reason, and home appliance 10 becomes offline. Figure 16 (a) is the state confirmation situation in the prior art. Figure 16 (b) indicates the state confirmation situation of this embodiment. In both cases, consider the case where the home appliance 10 changes from the normal state to the reconnection mode of this embodiment, and then returns to the normal state.

[0163] exist Figure 16 In both (a) and (b), the horizontal axis represents the passage of time. Additionally, the range indicated by the arrows at both ends represents the duration of the state (ON, OFF) of appliance 10. "ON" indicates that appliance 10 is online, and "OFF" indicates that appliance 10 is offline. Solid lines represent online time segments, and dashed lines represent offline time segments.

[0164] More specifically, in the time elapsed for home appliance 10, the range marked "ON" indicates the time period when home appliance 10 was online, and the range marked "OFF" indicates the time period when home appliance 10 was offline. On the other hand, in the time elapsed for the server device, the range of the "ON" line segment indicates the time period when the server device 40 identifies home appliance 10 as being online, and the range of the "OFF" line segment indicates the time period when the server device 40 identifies home appliance 10 as being offline.

[0165] In addition, Figure 16 In (a) and (b), the downward arrow from the server device to the home appliance indicates that the server device 40 sends an acknowledgment signal to the home appliance 10. On the other hand, the upward arrow from the home appliance to the server device indicates that the home appliance 10 sends a status notification to the server device 40.

[0166] like Figure 16 As shown in (a), the server device 40 sends an acknowledgment signal to the home appliance 10 at constant time intervals. Here, the home appliance 10 is initially online (ON), and after receiving the first acknowledgment signal, the home appliance 10 becomes offline (OFF) and transitions to a reconnection mode.

[0167] However, in the server device 40, the appliance 10 is determined to be offline only if no response signal is received for three consecutive times as a predetermined number. Therefore, even if there is no response signal for the second and third confirmation signals, the appliance 10 is still identified as online (ON) on the server device 40 side. Then, when the appliance 10 becomes online (ON), an online notification 1602 is sent from the appliance 10 to the server device 40.

[0168] In server device 40, online notification 1602 is received, but at that time (i.e., the time indicated by reference numeral 1601), home appliance 10 is judged to be online. Therefore, as a result, in server device 40, home appliance 10 is judged to be always online, and there is no timing for sending a change instruction to offline to terminal device 10 (application 301).

[0169] Therefore, even when performing the reconnection mode processing according to this embodiment, if the status confirmation processing is performed by conventional methods, although the user of application 301 starts the reconnection process of home appliance 10, the status of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected remains as online in the display of application 301, which is incongruous.

[0170] Therefore, in this embodiment, in Figure 15 In the status confirmation process described above, when the home appliance 10 becomes offline, an offline notification is sent from the home appliance 10 to the server device 40, so that the server device 40 can recognize that the home appliance 10 is offline.

[0171] That is, such as Figure 16As shown in (b), when home appliance 10 becomes offline after receiving the first confirmation signal from server device 40, home appliance 10 sends an offline notification 1603 to server device 40 before receiving the second confirmation signal. Therefore, from the time the server device 40 receives the offline notification 1603, it recognizes home appliance 10 as offline and sends an instruction to terminal device 10 to change the status of home appliance 10 to offline. In application 301 of terminal device 10, the status of the reconnected home appliance 10 is changed to offline. Therefore, the status of home appliance 10 is displayed as offline, so the user does not experience the same incongruity as in the prior art.

[0172] Then, when the home appliance 10 becomes online, an online notification 1604 is sent from the home appliance 10 to the server device 40. In the server device 40, the status change of the home appliance 10 to online is identified by receiving the online notification 1604.

[0173] Figure 17 This diagram illustrates other examples of state changes of the home appliance 10 and the judgments made on the server device 40 side, in accordance with the prior art and this embodiment. Figure 17 The image shows a scenario where home appliance 10 becomes offline due to the replacement of router 50. Figure 17 (a) is the state confirmation situation in the prior art. Figure 17 (b) indicates the status confirmation situation of this embodiment. In both cases, consider the case where the home appliance 10 changes from its normal state to the reconnection mode of this embodiment, and then returns to its normal state. Figure 17 In both (a) and (b), the horizontal axis represents the passage of time. Additionally, in... Figure 17 In (a) and (b) respectively, the meanings of the range indicated by the line segments marked with arrows at both ends, "ON", "OFF", the downward arrow from the server device to the home appliance, and the upward arrow from the home appliance to the server device are as follows: Figure 16 (a) and (b) are the same.

[0174] like Figure 17 As shown in (a), the server device 40 sends an acknowledgment signal to the home appliance 10 at constant time intervals. The home appliance 10 is initially connected to the router (1) and is online. After receiving the second acknowledgment signal, the power to the router (1) is disconnected to stop the operation, thereby making the home appliance 10 offline and transitioning to the reconnection mode.

[0175] However, in the server device 40, since the home appliance 10 is only determined to be offline after three consecutive failures to receive a response signal (a predetermined number of times), even without a response signal for the third confirmation signal, the home appliance 10 is still identified as online (ON) on the server device 40 side. Moreover, if the router (1) is replaced with a new router (2) and the router (2) is activated, the home appliance 10 becomes online (ON) and sends an online notification 1702 to the server device 40.

[0176] In server device 40, online notification 1702 is received, but at that time (i.e., the time indicated by reference numeral 1701), home appliance 10 is judged to be online. Therefore, as a result, in server device 10, home appliance 10 is judged to be always online, and there is no timing for sending a change instruction to offline to terminal device 30.

[0177] Thus, even when replacing the router (model 50), it is still compatible with... Figure 16 Similarly, in Figure 17 In the conventional status confirmation method shown in (a), the offline status of home appliance 10 cannot be detected immediately on the server device 40 side, which causes a sense of inconvenience to the user.

[0178] However, in Figure 17 In the state confirmation method of this embodiment shown in (b), with Figure 16 Similarly, at the point when the home appliance 10 goes offline due to the replacement of the router (1), an offline notification is sent to the server device 40.

[0179] That is, such as Figure 17 As shown in (b), after home appliance 10 receives the second confirmation signal from server device 40, and stops the operation of router (1) to replace router (1), thus making home appliance 10 offline, home appliance 10 sends an offline notification 1703 to server device 40 before receiving the third confirmation signal. Therefore, from the time the server device 40 receives the offline notification 1703, it recognizes home appliance 10 as offline and sends an instruction to terminal device 10 to change the status of home appliance 10 to offline. In application 301 of terminal device 10, the status of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected is changed to offline. Therefore, the status of home appliance 10 is displayed as offline, so the user will not feel the incongruity of the prior art.

[0180] Then, after the switch from router (1) to router (2) is completed, and router (2) starts operating, thereby making home appliance 10 online, home appliance 10 sends an online notification 1704 to server device 40. In server device 40, by receiving online notification 1704, the status change of home appliance 10 to online is identified.

[0181] Thus, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the application program 301 sends the connection mode instruction related to the connection of the home appliance 10, the device ID associated with the home appliance 10, and the user ID, as instructed by the user, to the server device 40. The server device 40 has a storage unit 410 that stores a device management DB 411 that establishes a correspondence between the device ID and the user ID. It receives the device ID, user ID, and connection mode instruction from the application program 301. If the connection mode instruction is a new registration mode instruction for new registration of the home appliance 10, it performs initialization processing of past information related to the newly registered home appliance in the device management DB 411 and performs new registration of the newly registered home appliance 10. If the connection mode instruction is a reconnection mode instruction for reconnection of the home appliance 10, it does not perform initialization processing of past information related to the reconnected home appliance 10 in the device management DB 411, but performs reconnection processing of the home appliance 10.

[0182] Therefore, in this embodiment, when reconnecting home appliances that have been disconnected from the network, no new registration requiring initialization is performed. Reconnection can be performed without initialization, which improves user convenience.

[0183] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to the embodiment, the server device 40 sends a confirmation signal to the home appliance 10 at constant time intervals to confirm whether it is connected. It can receive a response signal from the home appliance 10 in response to the confirmation signal. Upon receiving a response signal in response to the confirmation signal, the server device 40 determines that the home appliance 10 is online. If no response signal is received after sending a predetermined number of confirmation signals, the server device 40 determines that the home appliance 10 is offline. When the home appliance 10 becomes offline and reconnects, it sends an offline notification indicating its offline status to the server device 40. Upon receiving the offline notification from the home appliance 10, the server device 40 determines that the home appliance 10 is offline even before the predetermined number of confirmation signals has been sent.

[0184] Thus, in this embodiment, when the home appliance 10 becomes offline, an offline notification is sent from the home appliance 10 to the server device 10 at that time. Therefore, the server device 40 can identify the home appliance 10 as offline in advance when it receives the offline notification. Therefore, in this embodiment, the server device 40 sends an instruction to the terminal device 30 to change the display of the home appliance 10 to offline, and the application 301 displays the reconnected home appliance 10 as offline. Therefore, according to this embodiment, when reconnecting the home appliance 10, the status of the target home appliance 10 is correctly displayed as offline, thus avoiding any sense of inconvenience for the user.

[0185] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to the embodiment, the server device 40 sends the determined status of the home appliance 10 to the terminal device 30. The application 301 receives the status of the home appliance 10 from the server device 40 and displays the received status of the home appliance 10 on the display device 302.

[0186] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the user can accurately grasp the status of the home appliance 10 at the current point in time.

[0187] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to the embodiment, when the server device 40 determines that the home appliance 10 is offline, it sends an instruction to the terminal device 30 indicating that the status of the home appliance 10 should be changed to offline. Upon receiving the instruction, the application 301 changes the status of the home appliance 10 to offline.

[0188] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the user can grasp the offline status of the home appliance 10 at the current time point in time, at an earlier stage from the time it became offline. Thus, when reconnecting, the user can accurately grasp the status of the home appliance 10 and avoid any sense of incongruity.

[0189] In addition, in the home appliance control system 1 according to the embodiment, when the application 301 reconnects the home appliance 10 (in the reconnection mode), it displays a list of offline home appliances 10 on the display device 302 and accepts the user's selection of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected from the list of offline home appliances 10.

[0190] Therefore, according to this embodiment, only offline home appliances 10 are displayed in the overview, so it is possible to accurately select offline home appliances 10 that are to be reconnected.

[0191] (Variation Example 1)

[0192] Various modifications have been considered in the above embodiments.

[0193] In the above embodiment, when the reconnection mode is indicated on the connection screen in application 301, a list of offline home appliances 10 is displayed, i.e., a view screen. Figure 9 However, it is not limited to this.

[0194] For example, the display processing unit 3013 can be configured such that, when the home appliance 10 is offline, the display device 302 displays icons of all the home appliances 10, and the icons of the offline home appliances 10 display a reconnection button for the user to instruct to reconnect.

[0195] Figure 18 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the overview screen involved in Modification Example 1. In the overview screen of Modification Example 1, as shown... Figure 18 As shown, icons of all home appliances 10 are displayed, and a reconnect button 1801 indicating that they can be reconnected is overlaid on the icon of the offline home appliances 10.

[0196] Therefore, according to this variation, by displaying the reconnect button, the user can easily monitor the offline home appliance 10 and easily select the home appliance 10 to be reconnected, further improving user convenience.

[0197] Alternatively, in this modified example 1, the display processing unit 3013 may be configured such that the reconnection button 1801 is not displayed for the icons of home appliances 10 that are connected to the network when in use, such as washing machines and rice cookers (in other words, home appliances 10 that are disconnected from the power supply and are usually offline when not in use).

[0198] Therefore, according to this variation, the home appliance 10 that is connected to the network when powered on does not need to be reconnected. Thus, by not displaying such a home appliance 10 on the overview screen, the user can identify the home appliance 10 that actually needs to be reconnected.

[0199] (Variation Example 2)

[0200] Alternatively, the display processing unit 3013 may be configured such that, when the home appliances 10 are reconnected in the application 301, a list of all home appliances 10, that is, a list of all online home appliances 10 and offline home appliances 10, is displayed on the display device 302. In this list of home appliances 10, offline home appliances 10 are displayed together with icons indicating that they are offline.

[0201] Figure 19 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the overview screen involved in Modification Example 2. In the overview screen involved in Modification Example 2, as shown... Figure 19As shown, in the list box 1902 at the upper right of the screen, the user can specify which state of the home appliances 10 should be displayed in the overview screen. In other words, the user can choose to display which of the online home appliances 10, offline home appliances 10, or all home appliances 10. Specifically, if "Online" is selected in list box 1902, the display processing unit 3013 will retrieve and display the online home appliances 10. If "Offline" is selected in list box 1902, the display processing unit 3013 will retrieve and display the offline home appliances 10. In addition, if both "Online" and "Offline" are selected in list box 1902, the display processing unit 3013 will display all home appliances 10, that is, both online and offline home appliances 10.

[0202] exist Figure 19 In the example, both "Online" and "Offline" were selected in list box 1901, so both online and offline home appliances 10, i.e., all home appliances 10, are displayed in the overview screen. Furthermore, offline home appliances 10 are marked with an icon 1901 indicating their offline status. Thus, home appliances 10 marked with the offline icon 1901 are those that can be reconnected. Figure 19 In the example, the air conditioner and refrigerator are marked with an offline icon 1901, indicating to the user that the air conditioner and refrigerator can be reconnected.

[0203] In this case, the input processing unit 3012 can also be configured to accept the user's selection of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected from a list of offline home appliances 10. Furthermore, as described above, the input processing unit 3012 can be configured to accept the selection of the status of the home appliances 10 displayed on the list screen in the list box 1902.

[0204] Therefore, according to this modified example, it is possible to identify all home appliances 10 while accurately selecting only offline home appliances 10 as the objects to be reconnected, thereby further improving user convenience.

[0205] (Variation Example 4)

[0206] Furthermore, the OS (Operating System) executed by the terminal device 10 can be configured such that, when the home appliance 10 is found to be offline from the server device 40, the application 301 is not launched, but the display device 302 is notified of the offline status of the home appliance 10 through the functions of the OS. Thus, the user can be aware of the offline status of the home appliance 10 without launching the application 301.

[0207] (Variation Example 5)

[0208] In the above embodiment, reconnection is performed by the user's operation of a button indicating a reconnection mode on the connection screen, but it is not limited to this. For example, the application 301 and the server device 40 can also be configured to determine a reconnection instruction by receiving any signal other than button operation. Since reconnection can be performed without button operation, the user does not need to operate the button, further improving user convenience.

[0209] (Variation Example 6)

[0210] Alternatively, the application 301 may not instruct the user to select new registration or reconnection, but only select the home appliance 10 of the target. The server device 40 accesses the device management database and, if the information related to the home appliance 10 of the target specified by the application 301 has been registered, determines that there is an instruction for reconnection mode.

[0211] In this case, reconnection can be performed without requiring the user to determine whether it is a new registration or a reconnection, thus further improving user convenience.

[0212] (Other variations)

[0213] In the above embodiments, the server device 40 is configured as a single device, but it is not limited to this. For example, it may be configured such that the functional parts or functions of each part of the server device 40 are distributed among multiple devices. In this case, the user of the application 301 using the terminal device 30 can also fully enjoy the effects described in the above embodiments and variations.

[0214] Furthermore, the server device 40 can be located not only in Japan but also overseas. Moreover, if the server device 40 is distributed across multiple devices, it can be configured as a device with functions as part of or part of each of the functional units and located overseas. In such cases, the user of the application 301 using the terminal device 30 can fully enjoy the effects described in the above-described embodiments and variations.

[0215] The application program 301 executed in the terminal device 30 of the above embodiments and modifications is stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and is provided by downloading it via the network. Alternatively, the application program 301 executed by the terminal device 30 of the above embodiments and modifications may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0216] The application program 301 executed by the terminal device 30 of the above embodiments and variations can also be configured to be provided as an installable or executable file recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, floppy disk (FD), CD-R, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), USB memory, or SD card.

[0217] Alternatively, the application program 301 executed by the terminal device 30 of the above embodiments and variations can be pre-installed in a ROM or the like.

[0218] The server device 40 described in the above embodiments and variations includes a control device such as a CPU, a storage device such as a ROM and RAM, an external storage device such as an HDD and CD drive, a display device such as a display device, and an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and utilizes the hardware structure of a conventional computer.

[0219] The home appliance control program executed by the server device 40 of the above embodiments and modifications is provided in an installable or executable form on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, floppy disk (FD), CD-R, or DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0220] Alternatively, the home appliance control program executed by the server device 40 of the above embodiments and modifications can be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet, and provided by downloading it via the network. Alternatively, the home appliance control program executed by the server device 40 of the above embodiments and modifications can be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0221] Alternatively, it can be configured to pre-load the home appliance control program executed by the server device 40 of the above embodiments and variations into a ROM, etc.

[0222] The home appliance control program executed by the server device 40 of the above embodiments and variations is a module consisting of the above-mentioned functional units. As actual hardware, the CPU (processor) reads the home appliance control program from the above-mentioned storage medium and executes it, thereby loading the above-mentioned units onto the main storage device and generating the functional units on the main storage device.

[0223] Several embodiments of the present invention have been described, but these embodiments are given by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These new embodiments can be implemented in various other ways, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments or variations thereof are included in the scope or spirit of the invention, and are included within the scope of the invention as described in the claims and its equivalents.

Claims

1. A home appliance control system, comprising: a server device connected to the home appliance via a network for controlling the home appliance; and an application program executed by a computer of a terminal device connected to the server device via a network. The application causes the computer to perform: The steps include sending to the server device a connection instruction related to the connection of the home appliance, device information related to the home appliance, and user identification information for identifying the user using the home appliance. The server device has: The storage unit stores device management information that corresponds to the device information and the user identification information; The communication unit receives the device information, the user identification information, and the connection instruction from the application. When the connection instruction is to perform a new registration of the home appliance, the new registration department performs initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance in the device management information and performs a new registration of the home appliance. as well as The reconnection unit, when the connection instruction is an instruction to reconnect the home appliance, does not perform the initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance in the device management information, but performs the reconnection processing of the home appliance.

2. The home appliance control system according to claim 1, wherein, The communication unit sends a confirmation signal to the home appliance at constant time intervals to confirm whether it is connected, and is able to receive a response signal from the home appliance in response to the confirmation signal. The server device includes: The determination unit determines that the home appliance is online if the communication unit receives a response signal in response to the confirmation signal, and determines that the home appliance is offline if no response signal is received after sending the confirmation signal a predetermined number of times. When the home appliance reconnects, it sends an offline notification to the server device indicating that the home appliance is offline. When the communication unit receives the offline notification from the home appliance, the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline even before the confirmation signal has been sent a predetermined number of times.

3. The home appliance control system according to claim 2, wherein, If the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline, the communication unit sends an instruction to the terminal device to change the status of the home appliance to offline. The application also causes the computer to perform: Upon receiving an instruction to change the status of the home appliance to offline, the step of changing the status of the home appliance to offline is performed.

4. The home appliance control system according to claim 3, wherein, The application also causes the computer to perform: In the display step, when the home appliance is offline, a reconnection button for the user to instruct to reconnect is displayed on the terminal device's display device along with the home appliance's display.

5. The home appliance control system according to claim 4, wherein, In the application, The display step is for home appliances that are only connected to the network when in use and powered on, and the reconnection button is not displayed.

6. The home appliance control system according to claim 3, wherein, In the application, the computer is made to perform: In the display step, when the home appliances are reconnected, a list of the offline home appliances is displayed on the display device of the terminal device. as well as The input step involves accepting the user's selection of the home appliances to be reconnected from a list of offline home appliances.

7. The home appliance control system according to claim 3, wherein, In the application, the computer is made to perform: In the display step, when the home appliances are reconnected, a list of all home appliances, including online and offline home appliances, is displayed on the display device of the terminal device. In the list of all home appliances, the offline home appliances are displayed together with the offline meaning. as well as The input step involves accepting the user's selection of the home appliances to be reconnected from a list of offline home appliances.

8. A server device connected to a home appliance via a network to control the home appliance, comprising: The storage unit stores the device management information that is associated with the home appliance and the user identification information used to identify the user using the home appliance. The communications unit receives device information, user identification information, and connection instructions related to the connection of the home appliance from an application program executed by a computer for a terminal device connected via a network. When the connection instruction is to perform a new registration of the home appliance, the new registration department performs initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance in the device management information and performs a new registration of the home appliance. as well as The reconnection unit, when the connection instruction is an instruction to reconnect the home appliance, does not perform the initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance in the device management information, but performs the reconnection processing of the home appliance.

9. The server apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, The communication unit sends a confirmation signal to the home appliance at constant time intervals to confirm whether it is connected, and is able to receive a response signal from the home appliance in response to the confirmation signal. The server device includes: The determination unit determines that the home appliance is online if the communication unit receives a response signal in response to the confirmation signal, and determines that the home appliance is offline if no response signal is received after sending the confirmation signal a predetermined number of times. If the communication unit receives an offline notification indicating that the home appliance is offline when its connection with the application is severed, the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline even before the confirmation signal has been sent a predetermined number of times.

10. The server apparatus according to claim 9, wherein, The communication unit sends the status of the home appliance determined by the judgment unit to the terminal device.

11. The server apparatus according to claim 10, wherein, If the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline, the communication unit sends an instruction to the terminal device to change the status of the home appliance to offline.

12. A recording medium containing an application program executed by a computer of a terminal device, the terminal device being connected via a network to a server device for controlling home appliances. The application causes the computer to perform: The display step involves displaying a first screen on the display device of the terminal device. The first screen allows the user to input a new registration instruction for registering the home appliance and a reconnection instruction for reconnecting the home appliance that has been disconnected from the network and become offline. The input step is performed by the user accepting either the input of the new registration instruction or the input of the reconnection instruction from the first screen; as well as The sending step involves sending the new registration instruction to the server device when the user inputs the new registration instruction, causing the server device to perform the new registration process for the home appliance after performing the initialization process for the information related to the home appliance. When the user inputs the reconnection instruction, the server device sends the reconnection instruction to the server device, causing the server device to perform the reconnection process for the home appliance without performing the initialization process for the information related to the home appliance.

13. The recording medium according to claim 12, wherein, The application also causes the computer to perform: Upon receiving an instruction from the server device to change the status of the home appliance to offline, the step of changing the status of the home appliance to offline is performed.

14. The recording medium according to claim 12, wherein, When the home appliance is offline, the display step involves displaying a reconnect button for the user to instruct to reconnect, along with the display of the home appliance, on the display device of the terminal device.

15. The recording medium according to claim 14, wherein, The display step does not display the reconnect button for home appliances that are only connected to the network when in use and powered on.

16. The recording medium according to claim 13, wherein, While the home appliances are being reconnected, the display step also displays a list of the offline home appliances on the terminal device's display screen. The input step also accepts the user's selection of the home appliances to be reconnected from the list of offline home appliances.

17. The recording medium according to claim 13, wherein, In the case of reconnecting the home appliances, the display step involves displaying a complete list of all home appliances, including both online and offline appliances, on the terminal device's display device. Within this list, the offline appliances are displayed together with their offline status. The input step also accepts the user's selection of the home appliances to be reconnected from the list of offline home appliances.

18. A method for controlling home appliances, executed by a home appliance control system, the home appliance control system comprising: a server device connected to the home appliance via a network for controlling the home appliance; and an application program executed by a computer of a terminal device connected to the server device via a network. The application causes the computer to perform: The steps include sending to the server device a connection instruction related to the connection of the home appliance, device information related to the home appliance, and user identification information for identifying the user using the home appliance. The server device includes: The storage unit stores the device information, the user identification information, and the user identification information used to identify the user using the application to establish corresponding device management information. The home appliance control method includes: The step of the server device receiving the device information, the user identification information, and the connection indication from the application; When the connection indication is an indication to register the home appliance anew, the server device performs initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance in the device management information for the newly registered object, and performs the step of registering the home appliance anew for the newly registered object. as well as When the connection indication is an indication to reconnect the home appliance, the server device does not perform the initialization processing of past information related to the home appliance in the device management information, but instead performs the steps of reconnecting the home appliance.

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