Housework support system

Abstract

To improve the efficiency of housework by using a plurality of home appliances in a coordinated manner.SOLUTION: A housework support system for supporting housework using a plurality of home appliances 2 such as a refrigerator 21 and an IH cooker 22, comprises: an environmental information collection unit 32 for collecting environmental information including the home appliance statuses of the plurality of home appliances 2 and attributes of people involved in the housework; a related information extraction unit 33 for extracting environmental information related to the housework from the environmental information; a housework scenario creation unit 34 for creating a housework scenario for the housework using the plurality of home appliances 2 in a coordinated manner based on the extracted environmental information; and an output unit 18 for outputting the created housework scenario.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to assistance with housework, and in particular to a technique for assisting with housework using a plurality of home appliances. [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, with the development of IT technology, various services using home appliances connected to a network have been realized. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that supports menu creation. Specifically, it describes that "The mobile phone 13 requests the network refrigerator 6 to check the stock of ingredients for the selected menu. The WEB server unit of the network refrigerator 6 commands the ingredient confirmation unit to check the ingredients that are lacking in the menu. The ingredient confirmation unit compares the data of ingredients required for the menu with the data of the current stock in the network refrigerator 6 to determine the ingredients that are lacking in the selected menu and creates the lacking ingredient data. The WEB server unit creates content for a lacking ingredient ordering screen based on the required ingredient data and the lacking ingredient data and sends it to the mobile phone 13. The user makes an order request for the lacking ingredients from the lacking ingredient ordering screen displayed by the mobile phone 13. The WEB server unit commands the ingredient ordering unit to place an order with the grocery store order receiving server 10."

[0003] Patent Document 2 also discloses a system for ordering ingredients according to family preferences, etc. Specifically, it discloses that "the server 1 of the ordering system is equipped with various databases (DB). The user information DB 12 contains recipe information arranged for each user. The menu DB 13 stores several types of menu as one set, as well as data on ingredients used in one portion of menu (dish) and taste preference data. Some of the ingredients used in the menu can be reused, and are set in a balanced manner to minimize ingredient waste. The ingredient unit price DB 17 is configured to include ingredient price information that is updated daily, and the daily changing prices of ingredients are reflected in the menu prices in real time." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-42640 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2002-123714 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 and 2, although recipes can be proposed, no consideration is given to how to perform housework, including cooking, efficiently. When cooking, multiple home appliances are used, such as a refrigerator for storing ingredients, a microwave oven, an induction cooker, and a dishwasher. For this reason, in order to cook efficiently, multiple home appliances need to be used while taking into consideration the environment, such as the attributes of the family. In addition, multiple home appliances may be used for housework other than cooking. For example, the cleaning effect can be improved by using an air conditioner and an air purifier in combination for ventilation.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of housework by using a plurality of home appliances in a coordinated manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention creates a housework scenario for housework to be performed by a plurality of home appliances, based on the attributes of those involved in the housework, such as family members, and the operating status of the home appliances.

[0008] More specifically, the housework support system for assisting with housework using multiple home appliances has an environmental information collection unit that collects environmental information including the appliance status of the multiple home appliances and the attributes of people involved in the housework, a related information extraction unit that extracts environmental information related to the housework from the environmental information, a housework scenario creation unit that creates a housework scenario for housework using the multiple home appliances based on the extracted environmental information, and an output unit that outputs the created housework scenario.

[0009] The present invention also includes each device and subcombination that constitutes the housekeeping support system, as well as a housekeeping support method using these devices, a program for causing each device to function as a computer, and a storage medium storing this program. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the efficiency of housework by using a plurality of home appliances in a coordinated manner. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a housework assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a user terminal 1 in one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 2 is a functional block diagram of a home appliance 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing user management information 361 used in one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing home appliance management information 362 used in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing housework scenario information 363 used in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a housework assistance device 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8A]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an initial screen 181 for collecting images of the inside of a fridge in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8B] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an interior image display screen 182 in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9A] 1 is a flowchart (part 1) showing a process for creating a housework scenario according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9B] 13 is a flowchart (part 2) showing the process of creating a housework scenario in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10A] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a home screen 183 in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10B] 1 is a recipe display screen 184 in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10C] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a recipe details display screen 185 in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an ingredient management screen 186 in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In this embodiment, a process for creating a housework scenario for housework is executed in order to cooperatively assist in housework using a plurality of home appliances. Cooking, ventilation, and cleaning are given as examples of housework. Furthermore, the housework in this embodiment also includes shopping (purchasing) ingredients and consumables associated with these. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the family is treated as a management unit, and housework assistance is executed with its members as related parties, but housework assistance may also be executed with cleaning staff in an office other than the home, co-residents in an apartment, etc. as related parties.

[0013] 1 is a system configuration diagram of a housework support system according to the present embodiment. The housework support system includes a user terminal 1 and a housework support device 3, which manage home appliances 2 and support housework using the home appliances 2.

[0014] For this purpose, the user terminal 1, the home appliances 2, and the housework support device 3 are connected to each other. For this purpose, they may be connected via a router 5 or a network 6, or may be connected directly using a short-range communication function. The user terminal 1 and the housework support device 3 work together to create a housework scenario that indicates housework using multiple home appliances 2. In this embodiment, the multiple related home appliances 2 are operated based on the housework scenario. For this operation, the home appliances 2 may be operated automatically according to a control command, or may be operated by the user operating the user terminal 1 and the home appliances 2 according to the displayed housework scenario.

[0015] As described above, the housework in this embodiment also includes purchasing ingredients. For this reason, the housework support system is connected to an EC site such as an online supermarket site 4 via a network 6. The function of the EC site may be provided in the housework support device 3.

[0016] Each device will be described below. First, the user terminal 1 is an information processing device used by a user of the home appliance 2. Therefore, the user terminal 1 can be realized by various computers such as a smartphone, a tablet, a mobile phone, or a PC. As shown in Fig. 1, the user terminal 1 has a communication unit 11, an environmental information collection unit 12, a related information extraction unit 13, a housework scenario creation unit 14, an operation command unit 15, a purchase support unit 16, an input unit 17, an output unit 18, and a memory unit 19.

[0017] First, the communication unit 11 has a function of communication via the router 5 and the network 6 and a function of short-distance wireless communication. Also, the environmental information collection unit 12 collects environmental information, which is the status of the home appliances and the attributes of the family (related parties) including the user. The home appliance status is collected from each home appliance 2, and the attributes are collected by the user's operation on the input unit 17, etc.

[0018] The related information extraction unit 13 extracts environmental information related to the target housework and used to create a housework scenario. The housework scenario creation unit 14 creates a housework scenario based on the extracted environmental information, i.e., the appliance status and attributes. The operation command unit 15 creates operation commands for controlling the operation of the appliances 2 according to the housework scenario and user operations on the input unit 17.

[0019] Furthermore, the input unit 17 accepts various operations from the user. Furthermore, the output unit 18 outputs the created housework scenario and the like. The input unit 17 and the output unit 18 may be integrated into one unit, such as a touch panel. Furthermore, the storage unit 19 stores user management information 111, home appliance management information 112, and housework scenario information 113. These pieces of information will be described later.

[0020] Next, an implementation example of the user terminal 1 will be described. As described above, the user terminal 1 can be realized by various computers such as a smartphone, a tablet, a mobile phone, or a PC. Fig. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the user terminal 1 in this embodiment. In Fig. 2, the user terminal 1 has a touch panel 101, a processing device 102, a communication device 103, and a storage device 104, which are connected to each other via a communication path.

[0021] 1, and receives operations from a user and displays various information such as housework scenarios. Note that the touch panel 101 may be configured as an input device and an output device.

[0022] The processing device 102 can be realized by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and executes calculations according to a housekeeping support program 105 stored in a storage device 104, which will be described later.

[0023] The housework support program 105 is composed of an environmental information collection module 106, a related information extraction module 107, a housework scenario creation module 108, and an operation command module 109 for each function. Each of these modules may be realized as an individual program or a partial combination. The purchase support program 110 may be realized as a so-called shopping application, and can be used to purchase ingredients and consumables for the home appliances 2. The housework support program 105 and the purchase support program 110 may be composed of a single program, or may be realized as one function of an integrated management application that manages the home appliances 2.

[0024] The configuration of the user terminal 1 shown in FIG. 1, which executes the same functions as each module and the purchase support program 110, is as follows. Environmental information collection unit 12: Environmental information collection module 106 Related information extraction unit 13: Related information extraction module 107 Housework scenario creation part 14: Housework scenario creation module 108 Operation command unit 15: Operation command module 109 Purchasing Support Department 16: Purchasing Support Program 110 Therefore, the processing device 102 executes the processes of the environmental information collection unit 12, the related information extraction unit 13, the housework scenario creation unit 14, the operation command unit 15, and the purchase support unit 16 in accordance with the housework support program 105 and the purchase support program 110. The housework support program 105 and the purchase support program 110 can be stored in the storage device 104 described below or other storage media.

[0025] 1, and has a function of communicating via the router 5 and the network 6 and a function of short-distance wireless communication. The storage device 104 corresponds to the storage device 19 in FIG. 1, and stores the above-mentioned housekeeping assistance program 105, purchase assistance program 110, user management information 111, home appliance management information 112, and housekeeping scenario information 113. For this reason, the storage device 104 may be realized by a main storage device such as a memory and a secondary storage device (storage medium) that is a so-called storage. The secondary storage device may be realized by an external HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), memory card, or the like.

[0026] This concludes the description of the user terminal 1. Returning to FIG. 1, the home appliances 2 will now be described. The home appliances 2 are used by users in houses and the like for housework. In FIG. 1, a refrigerator 21, an induction cooker 22, a microwave oven 23, an air conditioner 24, an air purifier 25, and a vacuum cleaner 26 are shown as home appliances, but the home appliances 2 are not limited to these. Here, the information processing configuration of each of these home appliances 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the home appliances 2 in this embodiment. Since each home appliance 2 executes common information processing, their functions will be described collectively.

[0027] The home appliance 2 includes a control unit 201, a communication unit 204, a display operation unit 205, an operation unit 206, and a detection unit 207. These are connected to each other via a communication path. Each component will be described below.

[0028] First, the control unit 201 creates control signals for implementing the functions of each home appliance 2, such as cooking and air conditioning, to control the operation of the home appliance 2, and executes other information processing. For this purpose, the control unit 201 has a control signal creation unit 202 and a log data collection unit 203.

[0029] The control signal creation unit 202 creates a control signal for executing a function such as cooking in accordance with an operation from a user to the display operation unit 205 or a control command from the user terminal 1. In addition, the log data collection unit 203 collects log data including the operation status of the home appliance 2 from the operation unit 206, the detection unit 207, etc. For example, an image of the interior of the refrigerator 21 is also included in the operation status.

[0030] The control unit 201 can be realized by an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). Therefore, each of the control unit 201, the control signal generating unit 202, and the log data collecting unit 203 can be realized by dedicated hardware or software such as a program.

[0031] The communication unit 204 also has a function of communicating via the router 5 and the network 6 and a function of short-range wireless communication. The communication unit 204 notifies the user terminal 1 and the housework assistance device 3 of log data and receives operation commands from the user terminal 1.

[0032] Furthermore, the display operation unit 205 receives operations for the home appliance 2 from the user, and outputs tasks included in the housework scenario and to be performed by the home appliance 2. The operation unit 206 operates according to the control signal created by the control signal creation unit 202. Furthermore, the detection unit 207 measures the status of the home appliance 2, including the operation time (date and time) of the operation unit 206, and the temperature, humidity, and images at the time of operation. For this reason, it is desirable to prepare multiple detection units 207 for each measurement target. For example, a camera that captures images of the interior of the refrigerator 21 can be used as the detection unit 207. This concludes the description of the home appliance 2. Next, the housework assistance device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

[0033] In FIG. 1, the housework assistance device 3 includes a communication unit 31, an environmental information collection unit 32, a related information extraction unit 33, a housework scenario creation unit , an operation command unit 35, and a memory unit .

[0034] First, the communication unit 31 connects to the home appliances 2 and the user terminal 1 via the network 6. The environmental information collection unit 32, the related information extraction unit 33, the housework scenario creation unit 34, and the operation command unit 35 have the same functions as the environmental information collection unit 12, the related information extraction unit 13, the housework scenario creation unit 14, and the operation command unit 15, respectively. For this reason, a description of these functions will also be omitted. Furthermore, at least one of the environmental information collection unit 32 to the operation command unit 35 and the environmental information collection unit 12 to the operation command unit 15 may be provided, and the others may be omitted.

[0035] The storage unit 36 ​​also stores user management information 361, home appliance management information 362, and housework scenario information 363. These pieces of information will be described below together with the user management information 111, home appliance management information 112, and housework scenario information 113. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing user management information 361 used in this embodiment. The user management information 361 is information about the user and related family members, and includes their attributes. For this reason, the user management information 361 has the following items for each user: address, contact information, owned home appliances, family, relationship, and attributes.

[0036] The address and contact information indicate the address and contact information of the user. The owned home appliances indicate the home appliances used by the user, which corresponds to the home appliance 2 in FIG. 1 in this embodiment. The family members are an example of people involved in housework, and indicate the family members of the user. The family members also include the user himself.

[0037] Relationship indicates the relationship between the family member and the user. Attributes indicate the attributes of the family member. In the example of FIG. 4, gender, age, allergies, preferences, and schedule are used as attributes. Gender and age indicate the gender and age of the family member. Allergies indicate whether the family member has any allergies or allergy-causing foods. Preferences indicate preferences for food, such as taste and quantity. Schedule indicates the plans of the family member.

[0038] In addition to the above, other attributes can also be used, such as temperature preference, air conditioning, and cleaning frequency. These attributes relate to housework and are used when creating a housework scenario. The user management information 111 is information that has the same items as the user management information 361, but is limited to the information of the relevant user AA.

[0039] Next, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing home appliance management information 362 used in this embodiment. The home appliance management information 362 is information about home appliances and is managed for each user. For this reason, the home appliance management information 362 has items of home appliance, home appliance ID, log data, and function for each user. First, the home appliance and the home appliance ID are information for identifying each of the home appliances 2 used by the user. In addition, the log data is information data indicating the operation status of the home appliance, and includes images such as operation contents and interior photos. In addition, the log data can include stored food that can be estimated from the image. In addition, the log data can also include the contents of the set scheduled operation (timer). Furthermore, the function indicates the function, specifications, etc. of the corresponding home appliance. In addition, the home appliance management information 112 is information having the same items as the home appliance management information 362, but is limited to information for the corresponding user AA.

[0040] Next, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing housework scenario information 363 used in this embodiment. The housework scenario information 363 is information showing the contents of housework using the home appliance 2. For this reason, the housework scenario information 363 has the items of home appliance, task, schedule, and completion for each housework scenario item. The housework scenario item is an item that specifies the housework scenario. For example, in addition to housework items such as cooking and ventilation, it is also possible to include an overview of the housework such as the contents of cooking. For this reason, a housework scenario is configured for each housework scenario. In the example of FIG. 6, the name of the dish (curry or salad) is recorded as the cooking of dinner. Note that the overview of the housework may include information showing the whole housework such as a cooking recipe. Furthermore, housework information such as a template recipe may be provided separately from the housework scenario information 363.

[0041] Furthermore, the home appliance indicates the home appliance used in the housework scenario indicated by the corresponding housework scenario item. Note that the home appliance is not limited to the home appliance 2, and it is possible to specify any appliance that is the subject of a task, which will be described later. For example, the user terminal 1 or the user himself / herself can be specified as a home appliance. Furthermore, housework scenarios can be classified into cooperative housework scenarios in which multiple home appliances 2 cooperate to execute multiple tasks, and independent housework scenarios in which one home appliance 2 executes the tasks. In the example of FIG. 6, cooking dinner and ventilation are cooperative housework scenarios, and cleaning is an independent housework scenario performed by the vacuum cleaner 26.

[0042] Moreover, a task indicates the function and specifications to be executed by a corresponding home appliance in a corresponding housework scenario. Note that the item of the home appliance may include a task performed by the user terminal 1 or a user. A collection of these tasks may constitute housework information such as a recipe.

[0043] Furthermore, the schedule indicates the time when the corresponding home appliance operates in the corresponding housework scenario. Furthermore, the completion is an item indicating whether the corresponding task has been performed. In the example of FIG. 6, for the housework scenario of cooking dinner, the ingredients in the refrigerator 21 have been checked, but the missing carrots have not been purchased. The ingredients can be checked using a photo of the interior of the refrigerator included in the log data of the home appliance management information 362. The housework scenario information 113 has the same items as the housework scenario information 363, but is limited to the information for the corresponding user AA. This concludes the explanation of the information used in this embodiment, and the configuration of the housework support device 3 will be explained.

[0044] The following describes a hardware configuration as an implementation example for executing the functions of the housework supporting device 3 shown in Fig. 1. The housework supporting device 3 can be realized by a computer such as a server or a cloud system. Fig. 7 is a hardware configuration diagram of the housework supporting device 3 in this embodiment. In Fig. 7, the housework supporting device 3 has a processing device 301, a communication device 302, a memory 303, and a secondary storage device 304, which are connected to each other via a communication path.

[0045] First, the processing device 301 can be realized by a processor such as a CPU, and executes calculations according to a housekeeping support program 305 stored in a secondary storage device 304 described later. The communication device 302 corresponds to the communication unit 31 in FIG. 1, connects to the network 6, and communicates with other devices such as the user terminal 1 and the home appliance 2.

[0046] 1. The memory 303 and the secondary storage device 304 expand the housekeeping support program 305 stored in the secondary storage device 304 and information used for processing by the processing device 301. The secondary storage device 304 can be realized by a so-called storage device. The secondary storage device 304 stores the housekeeping support program 305, user management information 361, home appliance management information 362, and housekeeping scenario information 363. The secondary storage device 304 may be realized by various storage media such as an external hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drive (SSD), or memory card, or may be realized by a device separate from the housekeeping support device 3, such as a file server.

[0047] Here, the housework assistance program 305 is composed of an environmental information collection module 306, a related information extraction module 307, a housework scenario creation module 308, and an operation command module 309, for each function. Each of these modules may be realized as an individual program or a partial combination.

[0048] The housekeeping assistance device 3 shown in FIG. 1, which executes the same functions as each module, has the following configuration. Environmental information collection unit 32: Environmental information collection module 306 Related information extraction unit 33: Related information extraction module 307 Housework scenario creation unit 34: Housework scenario creation module 308 Operation command unit 35: Operation command module 309 Therefore, the processing device 301 executes the processes of the environmental information collection unit 32, related information extraction unit 33, housework scenario creation unit 34, and operation command unit 35 in accordance with the housework support program 305. Moreover, the housework support program 305 can execute the same processes as the housework support program 105 of the user terminal 1. The housework support program 305 can be stored in the secondary storage device 304 or other storage media.

[0049] The housekeeping support device 3 is used by manufacturers and retailers of the home appliances 2, and these manufacturers and retailers manage users as members using user management information 361, and also manage each home appliance 2 using home appliance management information 362. Therefore, the housekeeping support device 3 may be realized as a home appliance management device that comprehensively manages home appliances. This concludes the explanation of the housekeeping support device 3, and the other devices in FIG. 1 will now be explained.

[0050] As described above, the online supermarket site 4 is a so-called EC site where household goods such as consumables and ingredients can be purchased or rented. It is also preferable that the online supermarket site 4 stores various recipe information about cooking. However, the recipe information may be stored in another device connected to the network 6, such as an information providing site. The router 5 is a device that mediates communications between the user terminal 1 and the home appliances 2, but may be omitted. The network 6 connects the above-mentioned devices and can be realized by a wide area network such as the Internet or a combination of the wide area network and a local network.

[0051] This concludes the explanation of the configuration and information of this embodiment. Below, the process of creating a housework scenario in this embodiment will be explained. When creating a housework scenario, environmental information such as the operating status of the home appliances 2 and the attributes of related parties such as family members is collected. For this reason, the collection of environmental information will first be explained using the collection of food ingredient information (images) in the refrigerator 21 as an example. For this purpose, in this embodiment, images of the interior of the refrigerator 21 (photos of the refrigerator) are used.

[0052] First, the environmental information collecting unit 12 of the user terminal 1 displays an initial screen 181 shown in Fig. 8A on the output unit 18 in response to an operation by the user. The initial screen 181 is composed of a menu display area 181-1, an input area 181-2, and tabs 181-3. In Fig. 8A, the menu display area 181-1 displays menus of a shopping memo and a photo of the refrigerator. In Fig. 8A, the shopping memo is selected, and in the input area 181-2, ingredients to be purchased are listed and can be selected.

[0053] Furthermore, tab 181-3 is a display area in which functions on user terminal 1 can be selected, and shopping memo is enabled in Fig. 8A. When the user selects "Refrigerator Photo" in menu display area 181-1, the screen changes to refrigerator interior image display screen 182 in Fig. 8B. Interior image display screen 182 is made up of menu display area 182-1, image input area 182-2, and tab 182-3.

[0054] In the menu display area 182-1 of FIG. 8B, an item for displaying an interior image with a photograph of the refrigerator is selected. In the image input area 182-2, an interior image of the refrigerator 21 is displayed. For this purpose, the operation command unit 15 notifies the refrigerator 21 of an instruction to take a photograph via the communication unit 11. In response to this, the control signal creation unit 202 creates a control signal according to the instruction to take a photograph, and causes a camera installed in the refrigerator, which is an example of the detection unit 207 of the refrigerator 21, to take a photograph. In addition, the control unit 201 notifies the user terminal 1 of the taken interior image using the communication unit 204. In response to this, the environmental information collection unit 12 displays the notified interior image on the output unit 18. Note that the interior image is periodically collected and recorded in the log data of the home appliance management information 112 or the home appliance management information 362, and the environmental information collection unit 12 may read and display this. Note that the environmental information may be collected by the environmental information collection unit 32 of the housekeeping support device 3 and registered in the user management information 361 or the home appliance management information 362. Tab 182-3 is a display area similar to that of tab 181-3.

[0055] The environmental information collection unit 12 then performs image processing on the interior image to recognize each ingredient and records this in the log data of the home appliance management information 112 or 362. This concludes the explanation of one example of environmental information collection, and next, the process of creating a housework scenario in this embodiment will be explained. Figures 9A and 9B are flowcharts showing the process of creating a housework scenario in this embodiment. The following explanation will be given with reference to the configurations of Figures 1 and 3 as the processing subject.

[0056] In step S1 of FIG. 9A, the display operation unit 205 of one of the home appliances 2 (hereinafter referred to as home appliance 2A) accepts a housekeeping support instruction from a user. In step S2, the communication unit 204 notifies the user terminal 1 of the accepted housekeeping support instruction. In step S3, the communication unit 11 of the user terminal 1 accepts the housekeeping support instruction. In step S4, the environmental information collection unit 12 transfers the accepted housekeeping support instruction to the housekeeping support device 3. However, the housekeeping support instruction may be accepted by the user terminal 1, steps S1 to S3 may be omitted, and the input unit 17 of the user terminal 1 may accept the instruction.

[0057] In step S5, the communication unit 31 of the housework support device 3 accepts the housework support instruction. In step S6, the related information extraction unit 33 extracts environmental information related to the housework support instruction from the user management information 361 and the home appliance management information 362. Here, the environmental information refers to the operating status of the home appliances 2 and the attributes of the family registered in the user management information 361 and the home appliance management information 362. For this purpose, as described above, the environmental information collection unit 32 appropriately collects these and registers them in the user management information 361 and the home appliance management information 362 in the storage unit 36.

[0058] In step S7, the housework scenario creation unit 34 creates a housework scenario corresponding to the housework assistance instructions using the extracted environmental information. In step S8, the housework scenario creation unit 34 notifies the user terminal 1 of a confirmation request including the created housework scenario via the communication unit 31. In step S9, the communication unit 11 of the user terminal 1 accepts the confirmation request, and the output unit 18 outputs the housework scenario and the confirmation request.

[0059] Here, the process from issuing a housework support instruction to displaying a housework scenario will be described using specific examples of housework support instructions and housework scenarios. First, a housework support instruction is information for performing housework support such as cooking and cleaning. More specifically, the housework includes cooking dinner, and the housework support includes cooking support such as identifying recipes. In this case, cooking appliances such as a refrigerator 21 and an IH cooker 22 are assumed as the home appliance 2A that accepts the housework support instruction. Details will be described below using an example in which the input unit 17 of the user terminal 1 accepts a housework support instruction.

[0060] First, the output unit 18 displays a home screen 183 of the housework support program 105 as an example of a screen for receiving housework support instructions. Fig. 10A is a diagram showing the home screen 183 in this embodiment. In Fig. 10A, the home screen 183 is configured with a user display area 183-1, a home appliance display area 183-2, an application function display area 183-3, a scheduled operation display area 183-4, and tabs 183-5.

[0061] The user display area 183-1 shows that the home appliances of the A family to which the user (AA) belongs can be managed. The home appliance display area 183-2 shows icons of home appliances 2 that the user can use. By designating these, it becomes possible to control and manage the relevant home appliances 2. The application function display area 183-3 shows shortcut keys in the application of the user terminal 1. By designating these, the relevant function is executed.

[0062] The scheduled operation display area 183-4 displays the details of the scheduled operation set in the home appliance 2. The details recorded in the log data of the home appliance management information 362 are read and displayed. The scheduled operation display area 183-4 also displays a proposal for housework assistance corresponding to the scheduled operation, that is, a proposal for a recipe. FIG. 10A shows that a recipe proposal is made on the condition that the recipe proposal (arrow portion) of the tab 183-5 is specified. The scheduled operation display area 183-4 may be displayed as a pop-up.

[0063] Furthermore, tab 183-5 is a display area where a housekeeping support function can be selected on the user terminal 1. When the user designates the recipe suggestion (arrow portion) of tab 183-5 via input unit 17, this means that a housekeeping support instruction has been accepted.

[0064] As a result, the housework assistance instruction is notified to the housework assistance device 3 (step S4). Then, the related information extraction unit 33 extracts environmental information for creating and proposing recipes for housework assistance from the storage unit 36 ​​(step S6). The following variations are assumed for this extraction. Note that a combination of at least a part of these may be extracted as the environmental information. (1) Food ingredients stored in the refrigerator 21, that is, food ingredients registered as log data of the home appliance management information 362 (2) The input unit 17 receives the ingredients from the user. (3) The input unit 17 inputs ingredients constituting the cooking menu received from the user. (4) Attributes of the user management information 361 (e.g., schedule for going out at the relevant time, allergies, and preferences) (5) The input unit 17 receives a schedule from a user. Then, the household chore scenario creation unit 34 creates recipe information as a household chore scenario using the extracted environmental information. For example, it creates recipe information showing a recipe showing the steps of cooking using the extracted ingredients. At this time, the household chore scenario creation unit 34 may create the recipe information, which is a household chore scenario, so that cooking is completed during a time period when the family is together according to a schedule. In addition, it is preferable that the household chore scenario creation unit 34 excludes allergenic ingredients included in the attributes from the extracted log. Furthermore, in (1), a corresponding recipe may be created even if there are ingredients missing from the stored ingredients. In this case, it is possible to cooperate with the purchase support unit 16 and make it possible to purchase the missing ingredients.

[0065] Then, the output unit 18 of the user terminal 1 displays a recipe display screen 184 that displays recipe information created as a housework scenario. Fig. 10B shows the recipe display screen 184 in this embodiment. The recipe display screen 184 is an example of a housework scenario display screen, and is composed of an item display area 184-1, a recipe image display area 184-2, a recipe name display area 184-3, a detail display button 184-4, and tabs 184-5.

[0066] The item display area 184-1 indicates that the recipe is recommended to the user. Furthermore, the recipe image display area 184-2 indicates an image of the dish created according to the created recipe information. Furthermore, the recipe name display area 184-3 indicates the name of the dish created according to the created recipe information. Furthermore, when the detail display button 184-4 is selected, the details of the created recipe information are displayed. The contents of this will be explained later. Furthermore, the tab 184-5 is similar to the tab 183-5.

[0067] Next, when the detail display button 184-4 is selected, a recipe detail display screen 185 showing detailed information about the recipe is displayed. Fig. 10C is a diagram showing the recipe detail display screen 185 in this embodiment. Note that the detailed information about the recipe is also a type of housework scenario. In Fig. 10C, the recipe detail display screen 185 is composed of an item display area 185-1, a recipe outline display area 185-2, a recipe detail display area 185-3, an approval button 185-4, and a tab 185-5.

[0068] First, the item display area 185-1 shows that the details of the created recipe are displayed on the recipe details display screen 185. Also, the recipe summary display area 185-2 shows a summary of the created recipe. This display area can include an image.

[0069] Furthermore, the recipe details display area 185-3 shows details of the created recipe. Specifically, the microwave oven 23, which is the home appliance 2 to be used, and the cooking start time and cooking steps, which are the schedule, are shown. In this manner, the recipe details display area 185-3 shows the home appliances (processing subjects), tasks, and schedules that constitute the housework scenario information 363. Furthermore, the recipe details display area 185-3 may show related information such as the calories and nutrients of the dish.

[0070] The approval button 185-4 is a button for inputting whether the recipe is approved or not, that is, the confirmation result of the housework scenario. This is provided for replying to the confirmation request notified in step S8. Furthermore, the tab 185-5 is similar to the tab 184-5.

[0071] When a housework scenario includes a plurality of home appliances, for example, when cooking using a plurality of home appliances, the recipe detail display screen 185 displays a plurality of home appliances 2 and their details.

[0072] As described above, when the household chore scenario exemplified by the recipe shown in Fig. 10B and Fig. 10C is displayed (step S9), the user can confirm the contents. This concludes the explanation of one specific example of the process from issuing a household chore assistance instruction to displaying the household chore scenario.

[0073] Hereafter, the user can perform housework, for example, cooking, according to the created housework scenario. There are the following variations in the execution of this housework. (1) The user operates the home appliance 2 to perform housework. (2) The home appliance 2 operates in response to an operation command from the user terminal 1 (operation command unit 15) operated by the user. (3) The home appliances 2 operate in response to an operation command from the housework assistance device 3 (the operation command unit 35) (including notifying the operation command via the user terminal 1). Hereinafter, in this embodiment, (3) will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. In step S10 of FIG. 9A, the input unit 17 accepts a response (confirmation result) to the approval button 185-4 of FIG. 10C from the user. At this time, the input unit 17 can also accept a correction of the recipe from the user. Furthermore, if the ingredients in the refrigerator 21 are insufficient for the displayed recipe information, the missing ingredients may be displayed on the screens of FIG. 10B to FIG. 10C. Then, when the input unit 17 accepts a purchase request for the missing ingredients by the user's operation, the purchase support unit 16 is activated. Then, the purchase support unit 16 notifies the online supermarket site 4 of the purchase request for the missing ingredients using the communication unit 11, so that the missing ingredients can be purchased.

[0074] In step S11, the communication unit 11 notifies the confirmation result to the housekeeping supporting apparatus 3. In step S12, the communication unit 31 of the housekeeping supporting apparatus 3 receives the confirmation result.

[0075] In response, the household chore scenario creation unit 34 updates the household chore scenario information 363 based on the confirmation results. This updating includes registering, deleting, and modifying the household chore scenario created in step S7. Deleting means deleting the registered household chore scenario if the confirmation result is not approved. Modifying means modifying the registered household chore scenario in accordance with the modification instructions if the confirmation result includes modifications instructions.

[0076] Then, in step S14, the operation command unit 35 creates an operation command in accordance with the updated housework scenario information 363, and notifies the corresponding home appliance 2A using the communication unit 31. To this end, the operation command unit 35 identifies a housework scenario item in the housework scenario information 363 that has reached the time indicated in the schedule. The operation command unit 35 also identifies a task in the corresponding schedule, and creates an operation command corresponding to this task. The operation command unit 35 then notifies the created operation command via the communication unit 31 to the home appliance 2A that is executing the corresponding task.

[0077] In step S15, the communication unit 204 of the home appliance 2A receives an operation command. In response to this, in step S16, the control signal creation unit 202 of the home appliance 2A creates a control signal according to the operation command and causes the operation unit 206 to perform an operation according to the task. In step S17, when the operation of the operation unit 206, that is, the task, is completed, the control signal creation unit 202 notifies the housework assistance apparatus 3 of the completion of the operation using the communication unit 204.

[0078] In step S18, the communication unit 31 of the housework assistance device 3 accepts the completion of operation. In step S19, the operation command unit 35 determines whether there are any other tasks in the housework scenario item identified in step S14. This is equivalent to determining whether the housework scenario is a collaborative housework scenario involving multiple home appliances 2, and whether there are any tasks remaining that have not been commanded. If there are any other tasks (YES), the process proceeds to step S20. If there are no other tasks (NO), the process flow ends.

[0079] Furthermore, in step S21, the operation command unit 35 creates an operation command corresponding to the other task, and notifies the home appliance 2B that executes the other task using the communication unit 31. Then, similar to steps S15 to S17, steps S21 to S23 are executed in the home appliance 2B. Then, the processing from step S18 onwards is executed. As a result, a cooperative housework scenario among multiple home appliances 2 is executed.

[0080] Although the description of the processing flow of this embodiment has been completed, various modifications of this processing are possible. Representative modifications will be described below.

[0081] In steps S14 to S20 in Fig. 9B, operation commands are sent sequentially (serially), but operation commands may be sent in parallel to multiple home appliances 2. In this case, the operation command unit 35 may send an operation command to each home appliance 2 according to its own task, or may send an operation command to each home appliance 2 according to each task included in a housework scenario. In the latter case, the home appliance 2 determines whether the operation command is for itself, and controls its operation if it is for itself.

[0082] Furthermore, the notification of the operation command in step S20 may be executed without waiting for the notification of the operation completion. It is preferable that the notification of the operation command is accompanied by a time constraint (schedule).

[0083] Furthermore, the operation command may be notified in an ad-hoc manner. In this case, the operation command unit 35 notifies the home appliance 2A of each task included in the corresponding housework scenario. Then, the communication unit 204 of the home appliance 2A transfers the operation command to the other home appliance 2B when a predetermined condition is met, such as completion of its own operation, reception, or passage of a predetermined time. This transfer may be performed for each task, or may be performed collectively by the representative home appliance 2. Furthermore, the operation command may be distributed to each home appliance 2 via the user terminal 1.

[0084] This concludes the explanation of the modified operation command. Next, a modified example of transition from a screen other than the home screen 183 in FIG. 10A to the recipe display screen 184 displaying recipe information, which is a housework scenario, will be explained. As an example, a transition from food management of the refrigerator 21 to the recipe display screen 184, which is an example of a housework scenario, will be explained. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a food management screen 186 in this embodiment. The food management screen 186 is a screen displayed on the output unit 18 to manage food identified using an interior image of the refrigerator 21, and can be transitioned to from the initial screen 181 in FIG. 8A or the interior image display screen 182 in FIG. 8B. The transition is made by specifying the food management of these tabs 181-3 and 182-3.

[0085] The ingredient management screen 186 is composed of a menu display area 186-1, an ingredient display area 186-2, and tabs 186-3. The menu display area 186-1 displays each menu of ingredients being stored and ingredients that have expired. The ingredient display area 186-2 displays information on each ingredient identified based on an image of the interior of the refrigerator 21. The tab 186-3 is similar to the tab 181-3.

[0086] Here, when the recipe suggestion tab 186-3 (arrow portion) is selected, a recipe creation request including the stored ingredients is notified from the communication unit 11 to the housekeeping supporting device 3. Then, recipe information, which is an example of a housekeeping scenario created by the housekeeping scenario creation unit 34 of the housekeeping supporting device 3, is returned to the user terminal 1, and the recipe display screen 184 is displayed. Also, when the ingredient display area 186-2 is selected and the input unit 17 accepts a recipe creation request from the user, a recipe creation request including this is notified from the communication unit 11 to the housekeeping supporting device 3. Thereafter, the same process is carried out.

[0087] This concludes the description of this embodiment, including the modified examples, but the present invention can be applied to housework other than cooking. The processing entity is also not limited to the above, and at least a part of the processing of the housework support device 3 may be executed by the user terminal 1 or the home appliance 2, or conversely, the housework support device 3 may execute the processing of the user terminal 1 or the home appliance 2. Furthermore, the home appliance 2 may execute a part of the processing of the user terminal 1 or the housework support device 3. [Explanation of symbols]

[0088] 1...user terminal, 11...communication unit, 12...environmental information collection unit, 13...related information extraction unit, 14...household chore scenario creation unit, 15...operation command unit, 16...purchase support unit, 17...input unit, 18...output unit, 19...memory unit, 111...user management information, 112...home appliance management information, 113...household chore scenario information, 2...home appliance, 21...refrigerator, 22...induction cooker, 23...microwave oven, 24...air conditioner, 25...air purifier, 26...vacuum cleaner, 3...household chore support device, 31...communication unit, 32...environmental information collection unit, 33...related information extraction unit, 34...household chore scenario creation unit, 35...operation command unit, 36...memory unit, 361...user management information, 362...home appliance management information, 363...household chore scenario information, 4...online supermarket site, 5...router, 6...network

Claims

1. A housework assistance system for assisting housework using a plurality of home appliances, an environmental information collection unit that collects environmental information including the home appliance statuses of the plurality of home appliances and attributes of people involved in the housework; a related information extraction unit that extracts environmental information related to the housework from the environmental information; a housework scenario creation unit that creates a housework scenario for housework using the plurality of home appliances based on the extracted environmental information; A housework assistance system having an output unit that outputs the created housework scenario.

2. The housekeeping support system according to claim 1 , The housework is cooking, The housework scenario creation unit creates recipe information for the cooking as the housework scenario.

3. The housework assistance system according to claim 2, The related information extraction unit of the housework support system extracts at least one of ingredients stored in a refrigerator included in the home appliance or specified by a user, ingredients that make up a cooking menu specified by the user, the schedule of the person involved, and allergies of the person involved.

4. The housework assistance system according to claim 1 , The housework assistance system further includes an operation command unit that notifies any one of the plurality of home appliances of an operation command for performing an operation according to a task included in the housework scenario.

5. The housework assistance system according to claim 4, A user terminal of a user includes the output unit and the operation command unit, A housekeeping support system in which an operation command unit of the user terminal notifies one of the plurality of home appliances of the operation command.

6. The housework assistance system according to claim 4, The operation command unit is a housework support system that sequentially notifies each of a plurality of home appliances corresponding to each task included in the housework scenario of the operation command.

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