Display system for home appliance information and display method for home appliance information

Abstract

To provide a display system for home appliance information and a display method for home appliance information that can visualize power consumptions of respective home appliances in a house based upon data on home appliances of limited connected compatible types.SOLUTION: A display system 1 for home appliance information comprises: an information acquisition part 11 which acquires data generated as equipment operates and information on an object person; a storage part 14 which stores the information acquired by the information acquisition part 11; a determination part 12 which classifies devices into management-objective devices and management-nonobjective devices from which log data as the information by the information acquisition part 11 can be collected; a comparison part 13 which estimates information on the management-nonobjective devices based upon information on the management-objective devices; and a display part 15 which displays, based upon the estimation result of the comparison part 13, information related to at least one of management-objective devices of the target manufacturer to be provided with proposal type service, management-nonobjective devices of the target manufacturer, and management-nonobjective devices of other manufacturers.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a home appliance information display system and a home appliance information display method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the need to reduce power consumption in the home has increased against the backdrop of growing awareness of the SDGs and rising energy prices. In order to take effective energy-saving actions in the home, it is effective to visualize the power consumption of each home appliance. However, since the power consumption of home appliances is generally not visualized, a technique for estimating this is required.

[0003] Background of this technical field is Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 describes disaggregating power consumption at a residential or industrial site by continuously adding and training a model that predicts power as a function of sensor data according to a desired disaggregation accuracy. This method identifies the main factors that consume power in a home and allows measures such as maintenance or replacement to be considered. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2018-522520 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] According to Patent Document 1, the power consumption of each home appliance can be separated by utilizing a model that predicts power consumption from sensor data. However, it is not realistic to install additional sensors in an ordinary home in order to separate the power consumption of home appliances. On the other hand, connected home appliances can obtain device information via the Internet, so additional sensors are not necessary. However, it is difficult to standardize all home appliances in an ordinary home to connected models from the same manufacturer.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention provides a home appliance information display system and a home appliance information display method that can visualize the power consumption of each home appliance in the home based on data from a limited number of connected-compatible home appliances. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the home appliance information display system of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises an information acquisition unit that acquires data generated in conjunction with the operation of the appliance and information about the target user, a memory unit that stores the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, a judgment unit that classifies the log data acquired by the information acquisition unit into managed devices that can be collected and non-managed devices that are difficult to collect, a comparison unit that estimates information about the non-managed devices based on the information about the managed devices, and a display unit that displays information about at least one of the company's managed devices that provide a proposal-type service, the company's non-managed devices, and other companies' non-managed devices based on the estimation result of the comparison unit.

[0008] Furthermore, the method for displaying home appliance information of the present invention is characterized in that an information acquisition unit acquires data generated in conjunction with the operation of the device and information on the target person, a memory unit stores the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, a judgment unit classifies the log data, which is the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, into managed devices that can be collected and non-managed devices that are difficult to collect, a comparison unit estimates information about the non-managed devices based on the information about the managed devices, and a display unit displays information about at least one of the company's managed devices that provide a proposed service, the company's non-managed devices, and other companies' non-managed devices based on the estimation result of the comparison unit. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a home appliance information display system and a home appliance information display method that can visualize the power consumption of each home appliance in the home based on data from a limited number of connected-compatible home appliances. Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a functional block diagram of a home appliance information display system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a comparison unit shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a method for calculating a feature amount. [Figure 4] 2 is a functional block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a display unit shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the home appliance information display system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a functional block diagram of a home appliance information display system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] This is a display example of an external terminal owned by a user of a smart life service (a proposal-based service). [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a home appliance information display system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] This is a display example of an external terminal owned by a user of a smart life service (a proposal-based service). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications and application examples within the technical concept of the present invention are also included in its scope.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of a home appliance information display system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the home appliance information display system 1 includes an information acquisition unit 11, a determination unit 12, a comparison unit 13, a storage unit 14, and a display unit 15. Here, the information acquisition unit 11, the determination unit 12, and the comparison unit 13 are realized by, for example, a processor such as a CPU (not shown), a ROM for storing various programs, a RAM for temporarily storing data in the calculation process, and a storage device such as an external storage device, and the processor such as a CPU reads and executes various programs stored in the ROM, and stores the calculation results, which are the execution results, in the RAM or the external storage device.

[0013] The information acquisition unit 11 acquires data 21 generated in association with the operation of the appliance and information 31 of the subject, and transmits them to the judgment unit 12 and the storage unit 14. Here, the data 21 generated in association with the operation of the appliance includes sensor data 21a such as human presence, illuminance, temperature and humidity, atmospheric pressure, acceleration, door opening and closing, current, voltage, rotation speed, Duty, pressure, water level, image data 21b, voice data 21c, and date, day of the week, and time information thereof. In addition, the information 31 of the subject of analysis includes a symbol for identifying the person to be analyzed, the name of the place of residence, age, family structure, and a symbol for identifying the purchased appliance. The sensor data 21a may be data of a sensor previously provided in the connected home appliance acquired via the Internet, or data of a sensor externally attached to an existing home appliance may be acquired similarly via the Internet.

[0014] A human presence sensor is installed in lighting and can be used to detect the presence / absence of humans and automatically control devices. This sensor outputs presence / absence as a numerical value of 1 / 0, so the output result may be converted back into a word indicating presence / absence and recorded. Alternatively, the output may be converted into an action name linked to the location where the human presence sensor reacted. For example, the reaction of the human presence sensor in the living room may be considered as relaxation, the reaction of the human presence sensor in the bedroom as sleeping, the reaction of the human presence sensor in the kitchen as cooking, and no reaction of the human presence sensor as going out.

[0015] Environmental sensors such as illuminance sensors, temperature and humidity sensors, and air pressure sensors, as well as acceleration sensors, are provided in lighting, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and the like, and can be used to automatically control the devices according to the environment in which they are used. The output of these sensors is an analog value, so they may be converted into words at a certain interval and recorded. For example, in the case of a temperature sensor, 0°C to 10°C may be converted into words as low temperature, 10°C to 30°C as moderate temperature, and 30°C to 40°C as high temperature. Alternatively, in the case of a humidity sensor, 20% or less may be converted into words as dry, 20% to 60% as comfortable, and 60% to 100% as wet. Similarly, in the case of an air pressure sensor, low pressure, normal pressure, and high pressure can be converted into words at any threshold. Similarly, the acceleration sensor may be converted into words into words into active, normal, and resting at any threshold using its magnitude, or it may be converted into words into walking, running, and falling using the acceleration in the three axes and the amount of change therein. As described above, by converting the output value of the sensor data into words under any condition, the user of this system can easily understand the physical meaning indicated by the data. It is also possible to categorize data by word during data analysis and analyze trends.

[0016] Door opening / closing sensors are installed in refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines, etc., and by detecting the open / closed state of the door, it is possible to infer whether the appliance is being used and how many times it is being used. Since the output of the door opening / closing sensor is 1 / 0, just like the human sensor, the output result may be converted back into the words closed / open and recorded. Alternatively, the door opening / closing sensor may be converted into the action name associated with the appliance it reacted to. For example, the reaction of the door opening / closing sensor of the refrigerator and microwave oven may be cooking and eating, and the reaction of the washing machine may be laundry.

[0017] The operating status of the appliance can be detected from the sensor data such as current, voltage, RPM, Duty, pressure, water level, etc. that are pre-installed in the connected appliance. By analyzing this data, the power consumption, water usage, fault status, etc. can be estimated and recorded.

[0018] The image data 21b can be acquired, for example, by a camera installed in the refrigerator. The image data 21b may include information such as the date and time of shooting, the location, the type of contents in the refrigerator, and whether or not there is any content. Based on the information, values ​​such as the expiration date and the filling rate may be estimated and recorded. Here, in this specification, the filling rate is defined as the volume ratio of the contents to the space in the refrigerator.

[0019] The voice data 21c can be acquired by a voice device built into a home appliance or a voice-operable smart device. The voice data 21c may be converted into a sentence by a natural language processing technique such as voice recognition and recorded. Alternatively, the sentence may be further divided into words and recorded.

[0020] There are several ways to obtain the information 31 of the subject, such as by a system administrator referring to the document filled out when purchasing a connected home appliance, or by the purchaser of the connected home appliance himself / herself entering the information via a network. The information 31 of the subject includes information on the gender, age, family structure, place of residence, working situation, type of home appliance owned, manufacturer name and model, etc. of the subject, and may be encoded and recorded so that the individual cannot be identified. Here, encoding refers to consolidating information such as numerical values ​​into a certain range and verbalizing it, and operations such as replacing the age of 10 to 20 years old with "teenager", the family structure with 2 to 5 people with nuclear family, and the name of the city, town, or village with the name of the prefecture or region for the place of residence may be performed. In addition, information such as height, weight, and lifestyle preferences may be obtained and recorded with the consent of the purchaser of the connected home appliance himself / herself.

[0021] Data 21 generated with the operation of these appliances and information 31 (information) of the subject are transmitted to the determination unit 12, and first, the appliances are classified into managed appliances and non-managed appliances. In this specification, a managed appliance is defined as a connected home appliance capable of acquiring appliance information via the Internet, and an appliance from which the information acquisition unit 11 can acquire data 21 generated with the operation of the appliance and information 31 (information) of the subject. Here, the data 21 generated by the information acquisition unit 11 with the operation of the appliance is also referred to as log data. Similarly, a non-managed appliance is defined as an appliance that does not fall under a managed appliance, but can be confirmed to be owned by a resident based on information 31 of the subject, or an appliance that can be reasonably assumed to be owned in general based on gender, age, family structure, and the like.

[0022] Furthermore, the non-management devices may be classified into non-management devices of the same company and non-management devices of other companies based on the information 31 of the target person. Here, the "company" refers to a company that provides or uses the home appliance information display system. In other words, the company provides a proposal-type service. The non-management devices of the same company that provide a proposal-type service may be identified by referring to the information 31 of the target person, or may refer to past user registration information stored in the memory unit 14.

[0023] Next, data 21 generated in association with the operation of the appliance and / or information 31 (information) of the subject is transmitted to comparison unit 13 and storage unit 14. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the comparison unit shown in FIG. 1. Comparison unit 13 has analysis unit 13a and similar condition search unit 13b, and searches storage unit 14 for information similar to the acquired information and extracts it. Furthermore, storage unit 14 is, for example, a server of a connected home appliance manufacturer, and stores information 31 of the subject and data 21 generated in association with the operation of the appliance. This will be explained in detail below.

[0024] The analysis unit 13a analyzes the data 21 generated in association with the operation of the device determined by the determination unit 12 as a managed device and the information 31 of the subject, and calculates a feature amount. Here, in this specification, a feature amount is defined as a scalar value or vector value that characterizes the information, and is used to extract information having similar features from the storage unit 14. There are multiple methods for calculating the feature amount. For example, the gender, age, family structure, and place of residence included in the information 31 of the subject may be converted into numerical values ​​and arranged as a vector. Specifically, the gender is converted to male=1 and female=2, and the age is converted to teens=1, twenties=2, thirties=3, forties=4, fifties=5, sixties=6, seventies=7, eighties=8, and nineties=9. The family structure is converted to single person=1, married couple only=2, married couple with one child=3, married couple with two or more children=4, married couple with parents=5, and married couple with children and parents=6. The place of residence is converted as follows: Hokkaido = 1, Tohoku region = 2, Kanto region = 3, Chubu region = 4, Kinki region = 5, Chugoku region = 6, Shikoku region = 7, and Kyushu region = 8. A four-dimensional vector, such as [gender, age, family structure, place of residence] = [2, 4, 3, 6], with these as the elements, can be created and treated as a feature. In other words, features = [gender, age, family structure, place of residence] = [2, 4, 3, 6].

[0025] Alternatively, as shown in the upper diagram of FIG. 3, feature quantities may be extracted from operation information (data 21 generated by the operation of the device) of the managed device. For example, if the managed device is a device with a door such as a refrigerator, washing machine, or microwave oven, the horizontal axis may be recorded as the time and the vertical axis may be recorded as the number of times the door is opened and closed, and these may be used as feature quantities. Furthermore, the number of times the device is operated at each time for a certain period such as a day or a week may be normalized so that the total number of times is 1, with a maximum of 1, and may be converted into a probability density function and treated as a feature quantity. In addition, as shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 3, if the managed device has multiple functions and data related to them can be obtained, the number of times each function is used, the duration of use, and the frequency of use may be recorded for a certain period such as a day or a week, and these may be used as feature quantities.

[0026] The similar condition search unit 13b searches the storage unit 14 using the feature extracted by the analysis unit 13a, and extracts other users who have similar environments or conditions for using connected home appliances and data on those users. The method of searching for similar users may be changed depending on the feature used. For example, if the feature is a vector, the cosine similarity with the vector of other users may be calculated, and users who are equal to or greater than a certain threshold, such as 0.7 or more, may be extracted. Alternatively, if the feature is a probability density function, the similarity with the probability density function of other users may be quantified using an index such as KL divergence or JS divergence, and users who are equal to or greater than a certain threshold, such as 0.8 or more, may be extracted in the same way. In addition, if the feature is a scalar value, the difference with the scalar value of other users may be calculated, and users who are equal to or less than a certain threshold may be extracted in the same way. Note that a plurality of these feature values ​​may be used simultaneously, and other users who are common to at least two or more feature values ​​and extracted may be the final extraction result.

[0027] The similar condition search unit 13b compares the extracted data of other users with the user who uses this system, and classifies them into common data and non-common data. Here, the common data is, for example, the feature used when searching the storage unit 14. In addition, if there is data that is common in a single item such as gender or age, even if the feature has a low similarity, it may be included. On the other hand, the non-common data is, for example, data that is not common even in a single item, a feature used in a search that has a low similarity, and a device that one user owns but the other user does not own. The similar condition search unit 13b may search the storage unit 14 to extract a plurality of other users. Also, the similar condition search unit 13b may calculate statistics such as the average, variance, standard deviation, maximum value, and minimum value for the data of the plurality of other users.

[0028] Finally, these data are transmitted from the comparison unit 13 to the display unit 15 (FIG. 2). Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the display unit shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 4, the display unit 15 has a display content determination unit 15a and a display execution unit 15b. Here, the display content determination unit 15a and the display execution unit 15b are realized by, for example, a processor such as a CPU (not shown), a ROM for storing various programs, a RAM for temporarily storing data in the calculation process, and a storage device such as an external storage device, and the processor such as a CPU reads and executes various programs stored in the ROM, and stores the calculation results, which are the execution results, in the RAM or the external storage device.

[0029] The display content determination unit 15a determines the display content based on the data received from the comparison unit 13, and the display execution unit 15b displays it. This will be described in detail below. The display content determination unit 15a determines the display content of the data received from the comparison unit 13 according to a predetermined policy. The policy may be set in advance by an administrator of the home appliance information display system 1 according to the present embodiment, or may be set later by a user who uses the home appliance information display system 1 according to the present embodiment.

[0030] The display method may, for example, be a policy of displaying the common data described above. Specifically, when a user using the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment has a connected washing machine, and similar other users also have connected washing machines, the result of comparing the usage status of a refrigerator with that of other users may be displayed to the user using the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment. In addition to the usage status, power consumption and water usage may also be estimated and displayed based on the data. This meets the needs of a user (a user using the home appliance information display system 1) who is using a connected home appliance and wants to check the usage status of other users to see whether the usage status is ECO or not.

[0031] Here, the information on the managed devices owned by the user using the home appliance information display system 1 according to the present embodiment and from which data can be obtained, and the information inferred from the data of similar other users may be displayed with a different color, shape, pattern, and the like. In other words, the information on the managed devices owned by the user and from which data can be obtained, and the information inferred from the data of similar other users are displayed in a distinguishable manner. This allows the user using the home appliance information display system 1 according to the present embodiment to easily distinguish information on his / her own device from information on similar other users. However, this is not limited to this, and the information on the managed devices owned by the user and from which data can be obtained, and the non-managed devices from which data is difficult to obtain may be displayed in a distinguishable manner. In other words, the configuration may be such that information on at least one of the company's managed devices that provide a proposal-type service, the company's non-managed devices, and other companies' non-managed devices are displayed in a distinguishable manner.

[0032] In addition, there may be multiple similar users, in which case the statistics of the above data may be displayed. This allows a user who uses the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment to understand the average washing machine usage of users similar to the user, and therefore to more objectively understand the points in the usage of the appliance that are being effectively utilized and the points that need improvement.

[0033] Another example of the display policy is a policy to display the above-mentioned non-common data. Specifically, when a user using the home appliance information display system 1 according to the present embodiment has only a connected refrigerator, while another similar user has a connected washing machine, data of the connected washing machine of the similar user may be displayed to the user using the home appliance information display system 1 according to the present embodiment as an estimated value of the usage status of the washing machine. In addition to the usage status, power consumption and water usage may be estimated based on the data of another similar user. Furthermore, when another similar user has a connected microwave oven, the usage status of the microwave oven of the user using the home appliance information display system 1 according to the present embodiment may be estimated and displayed from the data of that user. Similarly, even if an air conditioner, a vacuum cleaner, a water heater, and an IH cooking heater are not owned as managed devices by the user using the home appliance information display system 1 according to the present embodiment, if the other similar user owns them as managed devices, the usage status may be estimated and displayed from the data. In addition, information regarding devices other than the managed devices owned by a user who uses the home appliance information display system 1 in this embodiment may be inferred as common sense from the gender, age, family composition, etc., or may be obtained as information 31 of the target person.

[0034] Here, in this display policy, the information of the managed device owned by the user who uses the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment and from which data can be obtained, and the information inferred from the data of similar other users can be displayed with different colors, shapes, patterns, etc., so that they can be visually distinguished. This allows the user who uses the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment to easily distinguish between highly accurate information and inferred values ​​that can be used as a reference. Furthermore, the statistical value of the data of the above multiple other users may be used as the inferred value, and the value may be understood as the average value of users in a similar environment. This allows the user who uses the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment to more objectively compare the usage method of his / her own device with other users, and to obtain more effective behavior, usage method of the device, etc. Note that the above comparison is not limited to comparison between the same devices, but includes comparison between different devices. Specifically, the ratio of the power consumption of the connected refrigerator owned by the user who uses the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment to the power consumption of the entire home appliances may be calculated using the power consumption inferred value of the appliances other than the refrigerator owned by the above similar other users.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment. The home appliance information display system 1 starts processing in response to an operation by an operator of the system (step S1). First, in step S2, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires data 21 generated by the operation of the appliance and information 31 of the target person. In step S3, the information acquisition unit 11 transmits the acquired information to the determination unit 12 and the storage unit 14. In step S4, the determination unit 12 distinguishes between information of the managed device and information of the non-managed device. In step S5, the comparison unit 13 searches the storage unit 14 for information similar to the acquired information and extracts it. In step S6, the display unit 15 determines and displays the display contents based on the information received from the comparison unit 13. In step S7, the home appliance information display system 1 may end as it is, or may implement a loop process that returns to immediately after the start of processing (step S1) by setting it in advance. Furthermore, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and for example, in step S2, the information acquiring unit 11 may acquire data 21 generated in association with the operation of the device and / or information 31 of the subject. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. EXAMPLES

[0036] In the following, the operation of the system will be specifically described with reference to Fig. 6, on the assumption that a smart life service is provided in a general home where connected home appliances and various sensors are installed, using the home appliance information display system 1. Fig. 6 is a functional block diagram of the home appliance information display system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] First, the business prepares a smart life service (an example of a proposal-type service) and a product that cooperates with the home appliance information display system 1 according to the present embodiment. This product may include a connected home appliance that has a built-in sensor and can acquire device information via the Internet. When a subscription application for the smart life service and product is made, the business sends the connected home appliance and various sensors to the user's home as necessary. Here, if the user's home already has connected home appliances, sensors, etc. that have been purchased, the business may collect the data of those appliances to acquire information required for the smart life service.

[0038] The above sensors include, for example, retrofit sensors, radio wave sensors, image sensors, and audio sensors that can measure human presence, illuminance, temperature and humidity, air pressure, acceleration, door opening and closing, current, voltage, rotation speed, Duty, pressure, and water level. Body composition scales, weight scales, and wearable devices with pre-installed sensors may also be treated as sensors, and the data, date, day of the week, and time information may be collected by businesses via the Internet (collection of log data). Connected home appliances include refrigerators, washing machines, oven ranges, vacuum cleaners, robot cleaners, induction cooking heaters, and eco-cutes, and businesses can collect information on operation modes in addition to the indications of pre-installed sensors. After installation, the sensors are connected to a power source, secured by batteries, or environmental power generation such as sunlight or vibration, and start measurement.

[0039] The information acquisition unit 11 of the home appliance information display system 1 according to the present embodiment acquires data 21 generated with the operation of the appliance and information 31 of the target person. Methods of acquiring the target person information 31 include allowing the information to be inputted into the connected home appliance main body or an application associated therewith, entering the information on a subscription form for a service or product, allowing the information to be additionally inputted from a personal page on the business website, and acquiring the information in cooperation with a third party such as another business, a local government to which the user belongs, or a non-profit organization. The information acquisition unit 11 transmits the data and the target person information 31 to the determination unit 12 and the storage unit 14. The target person information 31 may be later modified or deleted by the user via an interface 52 of an external terminal 51.

[0040] Furthermore, the information acquiring unit 11 may transmit the acquired information to the behavior recognizing unit 16 provided in the external server 61 and convert it into the name of a human behavior. Here, the behavior recognizing unit 16 is realized by, for example, a processor such as a CPU (not shown), a ROM for storing various programs, a RAM for temporarily storing data in the calculation process, and a storage device such as an external storage device, and the processor such as a CPU reads and executes the various programs stored in the ROM and stores the calculation results, which are the execution results, in the RAM or the external storage device.

[0041] The behavior recognition unit 16 is a classifier configured by machine learning (logistic regression, decision tree, support vector machine, random forest, k-nearest neighbor method, etc.) and deep learning (combination of fully connected layer, CNN, RNN, etc.), and can associate data 21 generated by the operation of the device with the name of a human behavior based on past information of the user of the smart life service of this embodiment or other users. This makes it possible to make inferences (estimations) that are difficult for humans to understand because they are not obvious at first glance, such as "the human sensor in the kitchen is reacting, so cooking is in progress", in addition to obvious inferences such as "the human sensor in the living room, the human sensor in the kitchen, and the temperature and humidity sensor in the kitchen indicate a high possibility of cooking".

[0042] Next, the determination unit 12 classifies devices owned by users of the smart life service into managed devices and non-managed devices using data 21 generated by the operation of the devices and information 31 of the target person received from the information acquisition unit 11. First, connected home appliances whose information can be acquired via the Internet are classified as managed devices, and other devices are classified as non-managed devices. Next, the non-managed devices are classified into non-managed devices of the company that provide a proposal-type service and non-managed devices of other companies. Here, the company is a business that provides a smart life service in this embodiment. A non-managed device of the company that provides a proposal-type service is, for example, a product of the company that is not a connected-compatible model but is clearly owned by the user through user registration at the time of purchase, self-declaration by the user, etc. (information 31 of the target person). On the other hand, a non-managed device of another company is a device that is appropriate to assume ownership from self-declaration by the user, common sense, etc., but is difficult to confirm as being a product of the company.

[0043] The comparison unit 13 searches and extracts information similar to the information acquired from the determination unit 12 from the storage unit 14 constituting the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment. Note that, without being limited to this, the storage unit 14 may be stored in an external server 61 different from the server in which the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment is stored. This makes it possible to strike a balance between convenience and safety, such as the server in which the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment is stored giving priority to processing speed and convenience, and the external server 61 in which the storage unit 14 is stored giving priority to high security.

[0044] The comparison unit 13 first transmits the received information to the analysis unit 13a (FIG. 2), analyzes the information of the device determined to be a managed device by the determination unit 12 and the target person information 31, and calculates a feature amount. Here, the information to be analyzed may include the behavior recognition result of the behavior recognition unit 16 in addition to the gender, age, place of residence, and model of the purchased device of the user of the smart life service, for example. Specifically, if the user's gender is male, age is 32, place of residence is Saitama prefecture, the device is a model of a product for single people, and weekday actions can be classified into sleep, going out, relaxation, and others based on the action recognition results, the feature may be a vector indicating the user's attributes [gender, age, place of residence, model of device owned] = [1, 3, 3, 1], as well as a vector indicating the occurrence probability of each action by hour [sleeping, going out, relaxation, others] = [[0:00] [0.98, 0, 0.02, 0], [0:01] [0.98, 0, 0.02, 0], [0:02] [0.97, 0, 0.03, 0], ...].

[0045] Next, the similar condition search unit 13b (FIG. 2) searches the storage unit 14 using the feature extracted by the analysis unit 13a, and extracts other users who have similar usage environments or usage conditions of connected home appliances and the data of those users. In this embodiment, since the feature includes a vector indicating the user's attributes and a vector indicating the occurrence probability of each behavior per hour, the cosine similarity with each vector of other users may be calculated, and users who have similar usage environments or usage conditions of connected home appliances may be extracted on the basis that at least one type of similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. In addition, the occurrence probability of each behavior per hour may be indexed by KL divergence, JS divergence, or the like, which quantifies the similarity of probability density functions. In addition, if the information stored in the memory unit 14 does not include the name of a human action, the information acquired from the memory unit 14 may first be transmitted to the action recognition unit 16, where action recognition is performed, and the result may then be transmitted to the comparison unit 13 and used to calculate the similarity.

[0046] Next, the similar condition search unit 13b (FIG. 2) compares the extracted data of other users with users of the smart life service and classifies the data into common data and non-common data. The common data may include, for example, the feature amount used when searching the storage unit 14, as well as user attributes that are common in a single item such as gender, age, and place of residence, and commonly owned devices. The non-common data may include user attributes that are not common in a single item, devices that are not commonly owned, and non-common daily actions. The number of other users to be extracted may be one or more. When multiple users are extracted, statistics such as the average, variance, standard deviation, maximum value, or minimum value may be calculated for the data of the multiple users.

[0047] Finally, the display unit 15 receives the information from the comparison unit 13, and determines and displays the display contents. The display unit 15 may be stored in an external server 61 or an external terminal 51 different from the server in which the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment is stored. The information received by the display unit 15 is first transmitted to the display content determination unit 15a (FIG. 4). The display content determination unit 15a determines the display content of the data received from the comparison unit 13 according to a predetermined policy. The policy may be set in advance by an administrator of the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment, or may be set from an interface 52 of the present system provided in an external terminal 51 owned by a user of the smart life service. The display policy may be selected from a plurality of lifestyle options provided in advance, and the options may include an energy-saving lifestyle, a time-saving lifestyle, an efficiency-oriented lifestyle, and a relaxation-oriented lifestyle.

[0048] Below we will explain some specific examples of what would happen if you chose to live an energy-saving lifestyle. For example, the display method may compare and display the usage status of a commonly owned device for a plurality of other users with similar feature amounts. Specifically, when a user of a smart life service owns a refrigerator, a plurality of other users who have similar feature amounts and the same type of refrigerator can be extracted and the usage status of the refrigerator can be compared. An example of this display method is shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a display example of an external terminal owned by a user of a smart life service (a proposal-type service), and based on information received by the display unit 15 about the usage status of the refrigerator, the door open time, the number of times the door is opened and closed, the freezer operation time, the refrigeration operation time, the power consumption, the average freezer temperature, and the average refrigerator temperature are shown in a chart. The information of the user of the smart life service and the information of other users with similar feature amounts may be displayed in a visually distinct (identifiable) manner by changing the color, shape, etc. Here, the information of other users with similar feature amounts may be an average value of at least two or more users, and thus the user of the smart life service may objectively grasp the advantages and corrections of the usage method of his / her refrigerator. Furthermore, based on the display result, energy saving advice may be displayed on the display unit 15. For example, from the chart in Figure 7, we can see that users of the Smart Life service open and close the door more frequently and consume more power than other users with similar features. Based on this information, advice such as "Compared to the average user in a similar environment, you tend to open and close the refrigerator more frequently. By imagining what you will take out in advance and reducing the number of times you open and close the refrigerator, you can expect to save energy," can be displayed, allowing users of the Smart Life service to gain insight into how to live a more energy-efficient life.

[0049] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a home appliance information display system and a home appliance information display method that can visualize the power consumption of each home appliance in the home based on data from a limited number of connected-compatible home appliances. It is also possible to provide users with insight into how to achieve an energy-saving lifestyle. EXAMPLES

[0050] Fig. 8 is a functional block diagram of a home appliance information display system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the following, the operation of the system will be specifically described for another example of a smart life service that utilizes the home appliance information display system, with reference to Fig. 8. In the following description, the contents that overlap with the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the different parts will be described.

[0051] First, the business operator prepares a smart life service (an example of a proposal-based service) and a product, and when a user applies for subscription to the smart life service and the product, the business operator delivers connected home appliances and various sensors to the user's home as necessary. Here, the sensors include wearable sensors such as smart watches, and the business operator may obtain information necessary for the smart life service by collecting data that can be measured by the sensors, such as acceleration, heart rate, sleep state, and number of steps.

[0052] The information acquisition unit 11 of the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment may acquire information on the daily life of a user of a smart life service from an external server 61a of a company that manages a traffic infrastructure, an external server 61b of a building / facility management company, and an external server 61c of an event company, in addition to data 21 generated by the operation of the appliance and information 31 of the target person. Note that this information may also be later modified or deleted by the user through an interface 52 of the external terminal 51.

[0053] Next, the determination unit 12 uses the data received from the information acquisition unit 11 and the target person information 31 to distinguish between devices owned by users of the smart life service and devices to be managed and devices not to be managed, and transmits the information to the comparison unit 13. Here, in this embodiment, in accordance with Matter 1.0, even if a certain amount of device information is available, the device may be included in the devices to be managed.

[0054] The comparison unit 13 transmits data 21 generated by the operation of the device, information 31 of the subject, data from a wearable sensor such as a smart watch, usage of transportation infrastructure, usage of buildings and facilities, and event participation information to the analysis unit 13a (FIG. 2) and calculates feature values. Specifically, the feature values ​​are gender, age, place of residence, type of device owned, average sleep time, average number of steps, train usage time, library usage, and music event participation information, which are quantified. Specifically, if a woman in her 50s lives in Kagoshima Prefecture, has a product for her family, average sleep time is 6 hours, average number of steps is 3000 steps, train usage times are 7:00 and 18:00, she does not use libraries, and she participates in music events three times a year, these may be quantified to create feature values ​​such as [gender, age, place of residence, type of device owned, average sleep time, average number of steps, train usage time, library usage, music event participation information]=[2, 5, 8, 4, 6, 3, 3, 0, 3]. In this example, the average number of steps is quantified as follows: 1000 steps = 1, 2000 steps = 2, ...; train usage time is no use = 0, mornings only = 1, evenings only = 2, mornings and evenings = 3; library usage is no use = 0, average use once a month = 1, average use twice a month = 2, ...; music event participation information is quantified as follows: no participation = 0, average participation once a year = 1, average participation twice a year = 2, ...

[0055] Next, the similar condition search unit 13b (FIG. 2) searches the storage unit 14 using the feature extracted by the analysis unit 13a to extract other users and their data that have similar device usage, attributes, lifestyle information, etc. In this embodiment, the feature is expressed as a vector, so the distance between the vectors may be used as an index for evaluating the similarity. In addition to the above data, in this embodiment, information on the display content decision unit 15a (FIG. 4) selected by other similar users may be extracted from the storage unit 14 and transmitted to the display content decision unit 15a (FIG. 4) stored in the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment. Next, the similar condition search unit 13b (FIG. 2) compares the extracted data of at least one other user with the data of the user of the smart life service, and classifies the data into common data and non-common data.

[0056] Finally, the display unit 15 receives information from the comparison unit 13, determines the display contents, and displays them. In this embodiment, only the display execution unit 15b (FIG. 4) is stored in the external terminal 51 owned by the user of the smart life service. In this embodiment, the home appliance information display system 1 has a configuration including the storage unit 14, but this is not limited to this. For example, the storage unit 14 may be implemented in an external server 61 (not shown). The display method may be selected by the user from options via the interface 52, or may be automatically set based on information received from the display content decision unit 15a (FIG. 4) stored in the home appliance information display system 1 according to this embodiment. In the following, a specific description will be given assuming that a relaxation-oriented lifestyle is automatically set.

[0057] FIG. 9 is a display example of an external terminal owned by a user of a smart life service (a proposal-type service). As shown in FIG. 9, the display contents may be, for example, data of other users with similar features that are not common to the data. Specifically, when a user of the smart life service owns a family washing machine as a managed device, information on other similar users, such as a refrigerator, microwave oven, vacuum cleaner, IH cooking heater, water heater, and air conditioner, may be acquired. Furthermore, based on the above information, the power consumption of home appliances other than the washing machine that are assumed to be owned by the user of the smart life service and the percentage of the total power consumption in the home that they account for may be virtually calculated and displayed. With this process, even if the managed device owned by the user of the smart life service is only a washing machine, the expected power consumption of other appliances and the percentage of the total power consumption in the home that they account for can be estimated, and this can be used as a guideline for actions that balance relaxation and energy conservation. In addition, when there are multiple extracted other users, the above estimated value can be interpreted as an average value of other users with similar features to the user of the smart life service, and the characteristics of one's own lifestyle can be grasped more objectively. Here, by displaying the information of the smart life service user and the information of other users in a visually distinct (distinguishable) manner by changing the color, shape, etc., the user of the smart life service can understand the information more intuitively.

[0058] In addition, the data of other users with similar features may include control information of the managed devices owned by the extracted user. For example, the setting information and control information of the air conditioner of similar users may be obtained and fed back to the user of the smart life service. This allows a specific understanding of the air conditioner control method that balances relaxation and energy saving. Furthermore, advice such as "The data of similar users includes air conditioner control information that balances relaxation and energy saving. Do you want to automatically reflect this information?" may be given, and if YES is selected, the air conditioner control method of the other users may be automatically applied to the devices owned by the user of the smart life service through a method such as remote control hacking. This allows automatic control of air conditioners that balance relaxation and energy saving.

[0059] The advice and control may be changed depending on the target device. Specifically, if the device is a managed device of the company that provides a suggestion-type service, the advice and control may be proposed to be fine-tuned and executed to a control method that is more optimized for the user of the smart life service, taking into consideration data already acquired in the past and based on information of other similar users. If the device is a non-managed device of the company that provides a suggestion-type service, a more appropriate operating mode may be explained, and if the device is a non-managed device of another company, the advantage of updating to a managed device of the company that provides a suggestion-type service may also be explained.

[0060] In this embodiment, the power consumption and ratio of the company's managed device that provides the proposed service and the device owned by a similar user are displayed in a distinguishable manner, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the company's managed device and the company's non-managed device that provide the proposed service may be displayed in a distinguishable manner from other companies' non-managed devices. In other words, the information on at least one of the company's managed device and the company's non-managed device that provide the proposed service and other companies' non-managed devices may be displayed. Here, examples of distinguishable display include highlight display, color-coded display, and different hatching display.

[0061] As described above, according to this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the characteristics of one's own lifestyle can be grasped more objectively. For example, automatic control of air conditioners can be achieved to achieve both relaxation and energy conservation.

[0062] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, but includes various modified examples. For example, the above-mentioned embodiment has been described in detail to easily explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1. Home appliance information display system 11…Information acquisition department 12…Judgment department 13…Comparison section 13a…Analysis Department 13b...Similar condition search section 14...Storage section 15...Display section 15a...Display content determination section 15b...Display execution section 16…Behavior recognition unit 21...Data generated during the operation of the equipment 21a…Sensor data 21b…Image data 21c…Audio data 31. Information about the target 51...External terminal 52...Interface 53...User's home 61...External server 61a…External server of a company that manages transportation infrastructure 61b…External server of building / facility management company 61c…External server of event company

Claims

1. an information acquisition unit that acquires data generated in association with the operation of the device and information on the subject; A storage unit for storing the information acquired by the information acquisition unit; a determination unit that classifies log data, which is information acquired by the information acquisition unit, into managed devices that can be collected and non-managed devices that are difficult to collect; a comparison unit that estimates information on the non-managed device based on information on the managed device; and a display unit that displays information regarding at least one of the company's managed devices that provide a proposed service, the company's unmanaged devices, and other companies' unmanaged devices, based on the estimation result of the comparison unit.

2. The home appliance information display system according to claim 1, The comparison unit searches the memory unit for information of other parties that is similar to the information of the managed device, and based on the search results, the display unit displays information about at least one of the company's managed devices that provide the proposal-type service, the company's unmanaged devices, and other companies' unmanaged devices.

3. The home appliance information display system according to claim 2, The comparison unit is an analysis unit that analyzes data generated in association with the operation of the device and information on the subject and calculates a feature amount; and a similar condition search unit that searches the memory unit using the feature calculated by the analysis unit and extracts other person data having similar feature amounts.

4. The home appliance information display system according to claim 3, The home appliance information display system is characterized in that the display unit displays the company's managed devices that provide the proposal-type service and the company's non-managed devices in a distinguishable manner.

5. The home appliance information display system according to claim 3, The display unit displays the company's managed devices that provide the proposal-type service and other companies' unmanaged devices in a distinguishable manner.

6. The home appliance information display system according to claim 4 or 5, A home appliance information display system, characterized in that the information regarding at least one of the company's managed devices for which the proposal-type service is provided, the company's non-managed devices, and other companies' non-managed devices is a numerical value, and is the ratio of each device to the total value of all home appliances.

7. The home appliance information display system according to claim 4 or 5, A home appliance information display system characterized in that the information regarding at least one of the company's managed devices, the company's unmanaged devices, and other companies' unmanaged devices that provide the suggestion-type service and that is displayed on the display unit is a message recommending a specific action.

8. The home appliance information display system according to claim 6, A home appliance information display system characterized by searching the memory unit based on information about the managed device, extracting information about other people whose characteristics are similar to those of the current user, and controlling the appliance based on the extracted information.

9. The home appliance information display system according to claim 7, A home appliance information display system characterized by searching the memory unit based on information about the managed device, extracting information about other people whose characteristics are similar to those of the current user, and controlling the appliance based on the extracted information.

10. The home appliance information display system according to claim 8, The feature amount is information about the managed device expressed as a vector, and the memory unit is searched for users whose characteristics are similar to those of the current user based on an index calculated using at least one of the angle and distance between the vectors.

11. The home appliance information display system according to claim 9, The feature amount is information about the managed device expressed as a vector, and the memory unit is searched for users whose characteristics are similar to those of the current user based on an index calculated using at least one of the angle and distance between the vectors.

12. A method for displaying home appliance information, comprising: The information acquisition unit acquires data generated in association with the operation of the device and information about the subject, The storage unit stores the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, The determination unit classifies the log data, which is the information acquired by the information acquisition unit, into a manageable device that can be collected and a non-managed device that is difficult to collect, The comparison unit estimates information of the non-managed device based on information of the managed device; A method for displaying home appliance information, characterized in that a display unit displays information regarding at least one of the company's managed devices that provide a proposed service, the company's unmanaged devices, and other companies' unmanaged devices, based on the estimation result of the comparison unit.

13. The method for displaying home appliance information according to claim 12, The comparison unit searches the memory unit for information of other parties that is similar to the information of the managed device, and based on the search results, the display unit displays information about at least one of the company's managed devices that provide a proposal-type service, the company's unmanaged devices, and other companies' unmanaged devices.

14. The method for displaying home appliance information according to claim 13, the comparison unit has an analysis unit and a similar condition search unit, The analysis unit analyzes data generated in association with the operation of the device and information about the subject, and calculates a feature amount; The method for displaying home appliance information, wherein the similar condition search unit searches the memory unit using the feature calculated by the analysis unit and extracts other data having similar features.

15. The method for displaying home appliance information according to claim 14, The method for displaying home appliance information, wherein the display unit displays the company's managed devices that provide the proposal-type service and the company's non-managed devices in a distinguishable manner.

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