Communication system

Abstract

To provide a communication system with which it is possible for a user to easily update firmware of a wireless communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication of a range hood.SOLUTION: A communication system comprises a range hood 2 having a wireless communication unit 23, and a management device 5. The range hood 2 periodically transmits discrimination information of the wireless communication unit 23 and firmware identification information the management device 5, and the management device 5 transmits a message that data for update is available and the data for update to a portable terminal 7 when the data for update is stored in memory at the time an inquiry request is received from the portable terminal 7 with application is up and running, together with the discrimination information of the wireless communication unit 23 and the firmware identification information acquired from the management device 5. The range hood 2 places the wireless communication unit 23 into an update mode when having received an update request by way of the management device 5 from the portable terminal 7 to which an indication for update execution has been inputted, and the wireless communication unit 23 sends update waiting information, receives the data for update from the portable terminal 7 having received the update waiting information and updates the firmware.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system in a kitchen system having a cooking appliance such as a stove and a range hood. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a stove installed in a kitchen or the like and a mobile terminal such as a user's smartphone are configured to be able to communicate with each other via short-range wireless communication, and there is also a communication system configured to enable communication between the stove and a range hood via short-range wireless communication (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes that a cooking appliance such as a stove, a mobile terminal such as a user's smartphone, and a range hood are configured to be capable of wireless communication via Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0004] In such a communication system, the stove is paired with the mobile terminal in advance, and the stove is also paired with the range hood. The firmware of the wireless communication unit of the stove for short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be updated, for example, by downloading the new firmware from a server storing the new firmware to the mobile terminal via an external communication network such as the Internet, and then transferring the new firmware from the mobile terminal to the stove via short-range wireless communication. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-155414 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, when updating the firmware of the wireless communication unit of the range hood for short-distance wireless communication with the stove, it is conceivable that the user may pair the mobile terminal with the range hood in advance, download the new firmware from the server to the mobile terminal, and transfer it from the mobile terminal to the range hood via short-distance wireless communication. However, pairing the mobile terminal with the range hood in advance just to update the firmware of the wireless communication unit of the range hood reduces convenience for the user.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a communication system that allows a user to easily update the firmware of the wireless communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication for a range hood. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a range hood having a first wireless communication unit incorporating firmware for performing short-range wireless communication with a cooking appliance and a second wireless communication unit that communicates with a management device via an external communication network; and the management device having a predetermined application software pre-installed therein, capable of communicating via the external communication network with a mobile terminal having a third wireless communication unit that is capable of performing short-range wireless communication and is not paired with the first wireless communication unit, and capable of storing update data for the firmware of the first wireless communication unit. The range hood periodically transmits identification information of the first wireless communication unit and firmware specification information that specifies the firmware of the first wireless communication unit to the management device via the second wireless communication unit, and the management device transmits, to the management device, identification information of the first wireless communication unit and firmware specification information that specifies the firmware of the first wireless communication unit, the identification information of the first wireless communication unit and the firmware specification information acquired from the management device from the mobile terminal on which the application software has been started by a user's operation. When the range hood receives an inquiry request inquiring about the presence or absence of update data for the firmware of the wireless communication unit, it determines whether or not the firmware update data is stored based on the identification information of the first wireless communication unit and the firmware identification information, and if the firmware update data is stored, it transmits a notice that the update data is available and the update data to the mobile terminal. When the range hood receives a firmware update request via the second wireless communication unit from the mobile terminal to which an update execution instruction has been input by a user's operation, the range hood transitions the first wireless communication unit to a firmware update mode, and upon transitioning to the firmware update mode, the first wireless communication unit transmits update wait information including the identification information of the first wireless communication unit and information indicating that it is in the firmware update mode. The first wireless communication unit receives the update data transmitted from the third wireless communication unit of the mobile terminal that received the update wait information and updates the firmware.

[0009] According to this configuration, the user can update the firmware of the first wireless communication unit by simply starting the application software installed on the mobile device and then inputting an instruction to update the firmware of the first wireless communication unit of the range hood. In this way, the user can easily update the firmware of the first wireless communication unit of the range hood without pairing the first wireless communication unit of the range hood with the third wireless communication unit of the mobile device.

[0010] The second wireless communication unit of the range hood may be configured to communicate with the management device via a wireless LAN router and the external communication network, and the inquiry request together with identification information of the first wireless communication unit and the firmware specific information is sent from the mobile terminal to the management device only when communication is via the wireless LAN router when the application software of the mobile terminal is launched and the mobile terminal begins communicating with the management device.

[0011] The firmware of the first wireless communication unit is updated by transmitting update data directly from the third wireless communication unit of the mobile terminal to the first wireless communication unit of the range hood by short-range wireless communication, so that the user who operates the mobile terminal needs to be in the house where the range hood is installed. With this configuration, only when communication between the mobile terminal and the management device is performed via a wireless LAN router installed in the user's house, the mobile terminal transmits an inquiry request or the like to inquire about the presence or absence of update data to the management device, so that if firmware update data is stored in the management device that receives the inquiry request, it is possible to reliably update the firmware. Effect of the Invention

[0012] The present invention has the above-described configuration and has the effect of providing a communication system that allows a user to easily update the firmware of a wireless communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication of a range hood. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outline of the appearance of a kitchen system to which the communication system of the present embodiment is applied. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a communication system according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure for updating firmware of a BLE communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication of a range hood in the communication system of this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the drawings, and duplicated descriptions thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0015] (Embodiment) Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of the appearance of a kitchen system to which the communication system of the present embodiment is applied, and Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the communication system of the present embodiment.

[0016] The kitchen system KS shown in Fig. 1 includes a cooking appliance 1 and a range hood 2. The cooking appliance 1 and the range hood 2 are installed indoors, i.e., in a kitchen or the like in a building 100 (Fig. 2). Here, the range hood 2 is installed above the cooking appliance 1.

[0017] The cooking appliance 1 is, for example, a battery-powered gas stove powered by dry batteries. In the cooking appliance 1, for example, two sets of burners 12a, 12b are arranged protruding from a top plate 17 as a heating section for heating a pan or the like. On the right side of the front of the cooking appliance 1, operation sections 11a, 11b are provided corresponding to the burners 12a, 12b, allowing the user to perform operations such as igniting, extinguishing, and adjusting the heat of the burners 12. In addition, a grill section 18 for cooking fish or the like is provided below the center of the top plate 17. On the left side of the front of the cooking appliance 1, an operation section 11c is provided for the user to perform operations such as igniting, extinguishing, and adjusting the heat of the burner 12c (FIG. 2) of the grill section 18. In addition, the control section 10 and the BLE communication section 13 shown in FIG. 2 are stored below the top plate 17.

[0018] When a user operates the operation unit 11, an operation signal corresponding to the operation is input to the control unit 10. The control unit 10 is configured to control the BLE communication unit 13 and to ignite, extinguish, and adjust the flame power of the burner 12 (12a, 12b, 12c) corresponding to the operation unit 11 based on the operation signal from the operation unit 11 (11a, 11b, 11c). The control unit 10 is configured, for example, with a controller such as a microcontroller having a CPU and memory, and the CPU executes a program stored in the memory to perform operations (processing).

[0019] The range hood 2 uses a 100V commercial AC power supply as a power source. The range hood 2 has an electric fan 22 (FIG. 2) for ventilation, such as a sirocco fan, built in above a rectifying plate 29, and is configured such that, by driving the electric fan 22, indoor air is sucked in through a gap between the periphery of the rectifying plate 29 and the frame 30 and is discharged to the outside through a duct (not shown). An operation unit 21 consisting of a plurality of switches is disposed in the front part of the frame 30. The control unit 20, a BLE communication unit 23 which is a first wireless communication unit, and a wireless LAN communication unit 24 which is a second wireless communication unit, etc., shown in FIG. 2, are housed inside the frame 30.

[0020] When a user operates the operation unit 21, an operation signal corresponding to the operation is input to the control unit 20. The control unit 20 controls the BLE communication unit 23 and the wireless LAN communication unit 24, and also controls the electric fan 22 based on the operation signal from the operation unit 21. For example, the control unit 20 is configured to start and stop the operation of the electric fan 22 and adjust the air volume based on the operation signal from the operation unit 21 when a switch on the operation unit 21 is operated. The control unit 20 is configured, for example, with a controller such as a microcontroller having a CPU and memory, and performs operations (processing) by the CPU executing a program stored in the memory.

[0021] The BLE communication unit 13 of the cooking appliance 1 and the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2 are capable of short-distance wireless communication conforming to a predetermined short-distance wireless communication method, for example, the BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) standard, and include a communication module in which firmware for BLE communication is built in. In this example, the BLE communication unit 13 and the BLE communication unit 23 are paired in advance.

[0022] Furthermore, the wireless LAN communication unit 24 of the range hood 2 is capable of wireless communication via wireless LAN with the wireless LAN router 3. The range hood 2 can communicate with the first server 5a via the wireless LAN router 3 and an external communication network 4 such as the Internet using the wireless LAN communication unit 24. The wireless LAN router 3 is connected to the external communication network 4 such as the Internet, is owned by the user of the kitchen system KS, and is installed in the same house (building 100) in which the range hood 2 and cooking appliance 1 are installed.

[0023] The cooking appliance 1 is battery-powered and thus includes a low-power BLE communication unit 13, but does not include a wireless LAN communication unit like the range hood 2.

[0024] In this kitchen system KS, the control unit 10 of the cooking appliance 1, for example, periodically transmits operation status information indicating the operation status of the cooking appliance 1 from the BLE communication unit 13 to the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2. The operation status information of the cooking appliance 1 is, for example, information indicating the combustion state of each burner 12, etc.

[0025] The control unit 20 of the range hood 2 transmits the operation status information of the cooking appliance 1 received via the BLE communication unit 23 from the wireless LAN communication unit 24 to the first server 5a via the wireless LAN router 3 and the external communication network 4. The control unit 20 of the range hood 2 also transmits operation status information indicating the operation status of the range hood 2 (operation status of the electric fan 22) at a predetermined timing from the wireless LAN communication unit 24 to the first server 5a via the wireless LAN router 3 and the external communication network 4. Here, the control unit 20 of the range hood 2 may be configured to transmit operation status information indicating the changed operation status from the wireless LAN communication unit 24 to the first server 5a when a change occurs in the operation status of the range hood 2, for example.

[0026] The first server 5a receives and stores the operation status information of the cooking appliance 1 transmitted from the wireless LAN communication unit 24 of the range hood 2, and also receives and stores the operation status information of the range hood 2. Here, the first server 5a stores the received operation status information of the cooking appliance 1 and the operation status information of the range hood 2, for example, as user individual information stored for each user of the kitchen system. The user individual information is stored, for example, in association with information such as the identification information (SSID, etc.) of the user's wireless LAN router 3, the user account of the mobile terminal 7, the operation status information of the cooking appliance 1, and the operation status information of the range hood 2. The first server 5a also stores information on recipes that can be cooked with the cooking appliance 1.

[0027] The communication system of this embodiment includes a kitchen system KS and a management device 5, and uses a mobile terminal 7. The management device 5 includes a first server 5a and a second server 5b. In the second server 5b, firmware update data incorporated in the BLE communication unit is stored in a memory unit 5m. The latest firmware data is stored in the memory unit 5m by an administrator's operation. In this embodiment, the update data is the latest firmware data itself, but may be difference data between the latest firmware and the firmware before the update.

[0028] The mobile terminal 7 is a mobile communication terminal such as a smartphone or tablet owned by a user of the kitchen system KS. The mobile terminal 7 includes a long-distance communication unit 71, a BLE communication unit 72 which is a third wireless communication unit, a display unit 73 consisting of a display with a touch panel, an operation unit 74 consisting of the touch panel, an audio output unit 75 having a speaker, and a control unit 70 which controls the entire mobile terminal 7 including these units 71 to 75.

[0029] The long-distance communication unit 71 of the mobile terminal 7 has a wireless LAN communication function for communicating with devices connected to the external communication network 4 via the wireless LAN router 3, and a mobile data communication function for communicating with devices connected to the external communication network 4 via a mobile phone line, and can automatically switch between these functions to communicate with devices connected to the external communication network 4. For example, when the owner (user) of the mobile terminal 7 is in the building 100 and the mobile terminal 7 is within the communication range of the wireless LAN router 3, the mobile terminal 7 can communicate with the management device 5 (the first and second servers 5a and 5b) via the wireless LAN router 3 and the external communication network 4 by using the wireless LAN communication function. On the other hand, when the owner of the mobile terminal 7 is out and the mobile terminal 7 is outside the communication range of the wireless LAN router 3, the mobile terminal 7 can communicate with the management device 5 by using the mobile data communication function by using the mobile phone line and the external communication network 4.

[0030] The BLE communication unit 72 of the mobile terminal 7 is capable of short-distance wireless communication conforming to a predetermined short-distance wireless communication method, for example, the BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) standard, like the above-mentioned BLE communication units 13 and 23. The BLE communication unit 72 of the mobile terminal 7 is paired in advance with the BLE communication unit 13 of the cooking appliance 1, but is not paired with the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2.

[0031] In addition, application software dedicated to the kitchen system KS (hereinafter referred to as the "dedicated app") is installed on the mobile terminal 7, and the user can operate the mobile terminal 7 to launch the dedicated app and remotely control the range hood 2 via the external communication network 4 and the first server 5a, etc., as well as check the operating status information of the range hood 2 stored in the first server 5a.

[0032] In addition, the user can operate the mobile terminal 7 to start a dedicated application, check the operating status information of the cooking appliance 1 stored in the first server 5a, and view the recipes stored in the first server 5a. Furthermore, when the user operates the mobile terminal 7 (dedicated application) at home, the user can view the above recipes and select a desired recipe, and cooking setting information such as the heat level of the burner 12 of the cooking appliance 1 and the cooking time corresponding to the recipe is transmitted from the BLE communication unit 72 of the mobile terminal 7 to the BLE communication unit 13 of the cooking appliance 1. After that, the user refers to the recipe and sets ingredients, a pot, etc., and then operates the operation unit 11 of the cooking appliance 1 to ignite the burner 12. The control unit 10 adjusts the heat level of the burner 12 based on the above cooking setting information, and turns off the burner 12 after the cooking time has elapsed. In this way, cooking is automatically performed after the user performs the ignition operation.

[0033] Next, an update of the firmware incorporated in the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2 will be described. Regarding the update of the firmware of the BLE communication unit 13 of the cooking appliance 1, since the BLE communication unit 13 of the cooking appliance 1 and the BLE communication unit 72 of the mobile terminal 7 are paired in advance, the latest firmware downloaded from the second server 5b to the mobile terminal 7 can be transmitted from the BLE communication unit 72 of the mobile terminal 7 to the BLE communication unit 13 to update the firmware of the BLE communication unit 13. On the other hand, the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2 and the BLE communication unit 72 of the mobile terminal 7 are not paired.

[0034] 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a procedure for updating firmware of the BLE communication unit 23, which is a first wireless communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication of the range hood 2 in the communication system of this embodiment. Hereinafter, "firmware" may be abbreviated as "FW."

[0035] In this embodiment, the range hood 2 periodically transmits FW-related information to the first server 5a via the wireless LAN communication unit 24, and the first server 5a stores the most recently received FW-related information by including it in the above-mentioned user individual information. Here, the FW-related information is made up of identification information (e.g., a BD (Bluetooth Device) address) of the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2, and firmware identification information (e.g., the creation date of the firmware) that is information for identifying the firmware built into the BLE communication unit 23. The firmware data includes the firmware identification information.

[0036] Here, it is assumed that the user is inside the house (inside the building 100). That is, when the mobile terminal 7 communicates with the first and second servers 5a and 5b, it does so from the long-distance communication unit 71 via the wireless LAN router 3 and the external communication network 4. The control unit 70 of the mobile terminal 7 includes a storage unit, and programs (such as an OS and a dedicated application) and data required for the operation of the mobile terminal 7 are stored in the storage unit, and it is assumed here that all information stored during the operation of the mobile terminal 7 is also stored in the storage unit.

[0037] In step S1, the user operates the mobile terminal 7 to start the dedicated application. Subsequent operations of the mobile terminal 7 are realized by the functions of the dedicated application. When the dedicated application is started, the mobile terminal 7 transmits a request for FW-related information together with the user account from the long-distance communication unit 71 to the first server 5a (step S2). The first server 5a transmits the FW-related information included in the received user individual information including the user account to the mobile terminal 7 (step S3).

[0038] When the dedicated app is launched and a request for FW-related information is sent together with the user account, the mobile terminal 7 determines whether the mobile terminal 7 is in the user's home, and here it is determined that the mobile terminal 7 is in the home (step S4). The determination of whether the mobile terminal 7 is in the user's home is made if the identification information (SSID, etc.) of the access point to which the long-distance communication unit 71 is communicatively connected matches the identification information (SSID, etc.) of the wireless LAN router 3 to which the range hood 2 is communicatively connected, and otherwise it is determined that the mobile terminal 7 is not in the home. The mobile terminal 7 prestores the identification information of the wireless LAN router 3 to which the range hood 2 is communicatively connected.

[0039] When the mobile terminal 7 is located within the user's home and receives FW-related information from the first server 5a, the mobile terminal 7 transmits an inquiry request to the second server 5b along with the FW-related information to inquire as to whether or not there is data for updating the firmware of the BLE communication unit 23 (whether or not the latest firmware is available) (step S5).

[0040] The second server 5b, upon receiving the inquiry request, judges whether or not the update data for the firmware related to the BLE communication unit 23 is stored based on the received FW related information (the identification information and firmware specification information of the BLE communication unit 23). This judgment can be made by comparing the firmware specification information (for example, the creation date of the firmware) included in the FW related information with the firmware specification information of the update data stored in the storage unit 5m. For example, if the creation date of the firmware of the update data stored in the storage unit 5m is later than the creation date of the firmware, which is the firmware specification information included in the FW related information, it is judged that the update data is stored, and in other cases, it is judged that the update data is not stored. Then, if it is judged that the update data is not stored, the second server 5b transmits to the mobile terminal 7 a message that the update data is not present. On the other hand, if it is judged that the update data is stored, the second server 5b transmits to the mobile terminal 7 a message that the update data is present and the update data stored in the storage unit 5m (step S6).

[0041] When the mobile terminal 7 receives the update data and is informed that there is update data, the mobile terminal 7 temporarily stores the update data and displays a firmware update execution screen on the display unit 73 (step S7). On this update execution screen, for example, a message "New firmware is available. Please execute the update" and operation buttons "Execute now" and "Execute later" are displayed. If the user taps "Execute later", the firmware update is not executed. If the user taps "Execute now", a firmware update execution instruction is input to the control unit 70 (step S8), and the mobile terminal 7 transmits a FW update request to the first server 5a (step S9). The first server 5a transmits the received FW update request to the range hood 2 (step S10).

[0042] In the range hood 2, when the wireless LAN communication unit 24 receives the FW update request, the FW update request is transmitted to the BLE communication unit 23 via the control unit 20. When the BLE communication unit 23 receives the FW update request, it transitions from a normal mode in which communication is performed with the paired BLE communication unit 13 to a FW update mode (step S11). When the BLE communication unit 23 transitions to the FW update mode, it transmits (transmits by broadcast) update standby information including identification information (BD address) of the BLE communication unit 23 and information indicating that it is in the FW update mode (step S12).

[0043] When the mobile terminal 7 receives the update waiting information via the BLE communication unit 72 based on the fact that the identification information of the BLE communication unit 23 included in the update waiting information matches the identification information of the BLE communication unit 23 included in the FW-related information, the mobile terminal 7 transmits the temporarily stored update data directly from the BLE communication unit 72 to the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2 (step S13).

[0044] When the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2 receives the update data from the BLE communication unit 72, the BLE communication unit 23 updates the firmware built into the BLE communication unit 23 (step S14). That is, the firmware is rewritten with the update data (the latest firmware).

[0045] When the update of the firmware of the BLE communication unit 23 is completed, the range hood 2 transmits a FW update completion notification from the BLE communication unit 23 to the BLE communication unit 72 of the mobile terminal 7 (step S15).

[0046] When the mobile terminal 7 receives the FW update completion notification via the BLE communication unit 72, it displays a message on the screen of the display unit 73 indicating that the firmware update has been completed, and also transmits the FW update completion notification from the long-distance communication unit 71 to the first server 5a (step S16).

[0047] In addition, in the above step S4, if the mobile terminal 7 determines that the mobile terminal 7 is not in the user's house, the mobile terminal 7 does not perform the process of step S5, and therefore the subsequent processes are not performed either. That is, when the dedicated app is started and communication with the first server 5a is started, the mobile terminal 7 transmits the above inquiry request together with the FW related information to the second server 5b (step S5) only when communicating with the first server 5a via the wireless LAN router 3 that is communicatively connected to the range hood 2.

[0048] In the above, the management device 5 is configured with the first server 5a and the second server 5b, but the management device 5 may be configured with one server or three or more servers.

[0049] In this embodiment, the user can update the firmware of the BLE communication unit 23 by simply starting up a dedicated app installed on the mobile terminal 7 and then inputting an instruction to update the firmware of the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2. In this way, the user can easily update the firmware of the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2 without pairing the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2 with the BLE communication unit 72 of the mobile terminal 7.

[0050] The firmware update of the BLE communication unit 23 is performed by directly transmitting update data from the BLE communication unit 72 of the mobile terminal 7 to the BLE communication unit 23 of the range hood 2 by short-range wireless communication, so that the user who operates the mobile terminal 7 needs to be in the house where the range hood 2 is installed. In this embodiment, when a dedicated app of the mobile terminal 7 is started and the mobile terminal 7 starts communicating with the management device 5 (first server 5a), only when communication is performed via the wireless LAN router 3 installed in the user's house, an inquiry request or the like inquiring about the presence or absence of update data is transmitted from the mobile terminal 7 to the management device 5 (second server 5b). Therefore, if update data is stored in the management device 5 (second server 5b) that received the inquiry request, it is possible to reliably update the firmware.

[0051] From the above description, many improvements and other embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the above description should be construed as merely illustrative and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode for carrying out the present invention. Details of the structure and / or function thereof may be substantially changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0052] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful as a communication system or the like that enables a user to easily update firmware of a wireless communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication of a range hood. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1 cooking appliance, 2 range hood, 3 wireless LAN router, 4 external communication network, 5 management device, 7 mobile terminal, 23 BLE communication unit (first wireless communication unit), 24 wireless LAN communication unit (second wireless communication unit), 72 BLE communication unit (third wireless communication unit)

Claims

1. a range hood having a first wireless communication unit in which firmware for performing short-range wireless communication with a cooking appliance is installed and a second wireless communication unit for communicating with a management device via an external communication network; the management device is provided with a predetermined application software pre-installed, capable of communicating with a mobile terminal via the external communication network, the mobile terminal having a third wireless communication unit that is capable of short-distance wireless communication and is not paired with the first wireless communication unit, and capable of storing update data for the firmware of the first wireless communication unit; the range hood periodically transmits, by the second wireless communication unit, identification information of the first wireless communication unit and firmware identification information that identifies the firmware of the first wireless communication unit to the management device; when receiving, from the portable terminal on which the application software has been started by a user's operation, an inquiry request for inquiring about the presence or absence of update data for the firmware of the first wireless communication unit, together with the identification information and the firmware specification information of the first wireless communication unit acquired from the management device, the management device determines whether or not the update data for the firmware is stored based on the identification information and the firmware specification information of the first wireless communication unit, and if the update data for the firmware is stored, transmits a notice to the portable terminal that the update data is present and the update data, When the range hood receives, via the second wireless communication unit, a firmware update request transmitted from the mobile terminal into which an update execution instruction has been input by a user's operation via the management device, the range hood transitions the first wireless communication unit to a firmware update mode, When the first wireless communication unit transitions to the firmware update mode, the first wireless communication unit transmits update standby information including identification information of the first wireless communication unit and information indicating that the mode is the firmware update mode; the first wireless communication unit receives the update data transmitted from the third wireless communication unit of the portable terminal that has received the update waiting information, and updates the firmware. Communication systems.

2. the second wireless communication unit of the range hood communicates with the management device via a wireless LAN router and the external communication network; the inquiry request is transmitted from the mobile terminal to the management device together with the identification information of the first wireless communication unit and the firmware specification information only when the application software of the mobile terminal is activated and the mobile terminal starts communication with the management device and the communication is performed via the wireless LAN router; The communication system according to claim 1 .

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