Terminal and terminal control program

Abstract

To provide a terminal and a terminal control program that allow electrical appliances to be remotely controlled from outside home via a communication line and improve the operability of electrical appliances located within a short distance inside the home.SOLUTION: A smartphone 10 as a terminal includes a display unit 11 and a control unit 13. The control unit 13 includes a display control unit 13a that controls the display unit 11, and a determination unit 13b that determines whether or not a control target appliance 20 is present within a controllable range. When the determination unit 13b determines that the control target appliance 20 is present within the controllable range, the display control unit 13a controls the display unit 11 to display a first operation screen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a terminal and a terminal control program capable of remotely controlling electrical appliances such as air conditioners, and in particular to a terminal and a terminal control program that improves operability for electrical appliances located within a short distance. [Background technology]

[0002] The air conditioner operation system described in Patent Document 1 includes an air conditioner, a management device that operates the air conditioner, and a communication device connected to the air conditioner. The management device receives information about the communication device to which the air conditioner is connected from the air conditioner, and outputs the received information about the communication device and information about the air conditioner to a terminal device. This makes it possible to operate the air conditioner from the terminal device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2015 / 111178 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Appropriate measures to prevent erroneous operation are required for operation terminals that remotely operate electrical appliances such as air conditioners from outside the home via communication lines. For operation terminals with an operation screen (such as smartphones), in addition to a screen lock function to prevent erroneous operation, measures to confirm the operator's intention (double action) are required.

[0005] Furthermore, in a configuration such as the air conditioner operation system described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to identify in advance the device to be controlled by selecting one of the electrical devices from an equipment selection screen that lists multiple electrical devices that can be controlled.

[0006] When using the same control terminal for remotely controlling electrical appliances inside the home, it is extremely cumbersome to have to select from a device selection screen or perform a double action just to operate an electrical appliance that is right next to you, and operability is considerably inferior to that of a dedicated infrared remote control.

[0007] The present disclosure aims to provide a terminal and a terminal control program that enable remote control of electrical appliances from outside the home via a communication line, while improving operability of electrical appliances located within a short distance inside the home. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The terminal of the present disclosure includes a display unit and a control unit, the control unit having a display control unit that controls the display unit and a discrimination unit that discriminates whether or not a controllable device is present within a controllable range, and the display control unit controls the display unit to display a first operation screen when the discrimination unit determines that the controllable device is present within the controllable range.

[0009] The terminal control program of the present disclosure is a terminal control program for controlling a terminal, and includes a display control step and a determination step for determining whether or not a controllable device is present within a controllable range, and the display control step displays a first operation screen when it is determined in the determination step that the controllable device is present within the controllable range. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present disclosure, electric appliances can be remotely controlled from outside the home via a communication line, and operability of electric appliances located within a short distance inside the home can be improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of a remote control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart showing main processing by a control unit 13 of the smartphone 10. [Figure 3A] 1 is an explanatory diagram of a case where an operator U operates an air conditioner 20-1 within a controllable range R of his or her home H. FIG. [Figure 3B] 3B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen of the smartphone 10 in the case of FIG. 3A. FIG. [Figure 3C] 3B is a flowchart showing an outline of the process in the case of FIG. 3A. [Figure 4A] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a case where an operator U remotely controls an air conditioner 20-3 in his / her home H from outside the home. [Figure 4B] 4B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen of the smartphone 10 in the case of FIG. 4A. FIG. [Figure 4C] 4B is a flowchart showing an outline of the process in the case of FIG. 4A. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the remote operation screen. [Figure 6] 13 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the short distance operation screen. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference characters and will not be described repeatedly.

[0013] (1) Configuration of remote control system 100 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of a remote control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the remote control system 100 includes a smartphone 10 held by an operator U, a number of control target devices 20, a Wi-Fi (registered trademark; notes omitted in the following text) wireless router 30, and a server 40.

[0015] The smartphone 10 includes a display unit 11 that displays images, characters, etc., a communication unit 12 that communicates with the outside, and a control unit 13 that controls the entire device including these. The smartphone 10 is an example of a "terminal" in the present disclosure.

[0016] The display unit 11 may be a touch panel that uses liquid crystal or organic electro-luminescence (EL) and enables the operator U to input characters or perform touch operations, but is not limited to this.

[0017] The communication unit 12 performs wireless communication with the outside world by short-distance wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark; note omitted below), wireless communication by Wi-Fi, and mobile data communication. The smartphone 10 may use mobile data communication or may use a wireless router 30 to perform wireless communication with the server 40. The smartphone 10 may use a wireless router 30 or use short-distance wireless communication to perform wireless communication with the control target device 20. When operating a control target device 20 that is within a short distance, short-distance wireless communication is used.

[0018] The control unit 13 controls each unit of the smartphone 10, and includes a display control unit 13a and a discrimination unit 13b to realize the contents of the present disclosure. The control unit 13 may be, but is not limited to, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The display control unit 13a and the discrimination unit 13b are realized by the CPU or the like executing software for the corresponding functions.

[0019] The display control unit 13a controls the display unit 11 to display various operation screens and the like as a user interface of the smartphone 10 in the remote control system 100.

[0020] The determination unit 13b determines whether or not there is a control target device 20 within the controllable range R of the short-range wireless communication by the communication unit 12. When multiple control target devices 20 exist within the controllable range R, the determination unit 13b identifies the control target device 20 that is estimated to be the closest based on, for example, the radio wave intensity of the short-range wireless communication.

[0021] Here, the controllable range R is, for example, a range in which communication is possible by short-distance wireless communication such as Bluetooth. However, it is not limited to Bluetooth, and other short-distance wireless communication may be used, or means other than wireless communication may be used. If Bluetooth is used, the controllable range R in the home H is assumed to be the whole or a part of the range including the place (room, etc.) where the operator U is present.

[0022] The control target devices 20 perform wireless communication with the server 40 via a wireless router 30, and perform short-range wireless communication with the smartphone 10 using Bluetooth or wireless communication via the wireless router 30. When it is necessary to identify the control target devices 20, they will be distinguished by using reference characters such as 20-1, 20-2, 20-3, ..., 20-N.

[0023] 1 illustrates an air conditioner 20-1, an air purifier 20-2, and an air conditioner 20-3, but is not limited to these electrical appliances. It is also assumed that the air conditioner 20-1 and the air purifier 20-2 are within a controllable range R from the smartphone 10, and the other control target devices 20 are outside the controllable range R.

[0024] The wireless router 30 is placed in the home H of the operator U and is connected to the Internet 50 by wire or wirelessly, and is also connected to the smartphone 10 and each of the control target devices 20 in the home H wirelessly via Wi-Fi. This enables the smartphone 10 and each of the control target devices 20 to communicate wirelessly with the server 40.

[0025] The server 40 registers and manages the accounts of the operators U and the control target devices 20 for each operator U. The server 40 provides various services according to the control target devices 20 registered for each operator U, but detailed explanations of the services and the like other than those disclosed herein will be omitted. When the operator U uses the remote control system 100, he or she needs to log in in advance using his or her own account information (user ID and password) registered in the server 40. However, the server 40 is not essential for realizing the terminal and terminal control program of the present disclosure. For example, the smartphone 10 may directly perform wireless communication with each control target device 20.

[0026] (2) Main processing by the control unit 13 of the smartphone 10 FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing main processing by the control unit 13 of the smartphone 10.

[0027] 2, in step S1, the operator U starts an application including functions corresponding to the display control unit 13a and the discrimination unit 13b on the smartphone 10, and accesses the server 40 to attempt to log in. If the input account information is correct, the server 40 allows the operator U to log in. If the login is allowed, the smartphone 10 communicates with the server 40 to inquire about the ownership table and the user ID, and obtains operation authority. At the same time, the smartphone 10 starts transmitting a search signal to search for the control target device 20 within the controllable range R.

[0028] In step S2, the smartphone 10 determines whether or not there is a control target device 20 within the controllable range R of short-distance wireless communication by the communication unit 12. Specifically, the presence or absence of the control target device 20 is confirmed by a response to the search signal that began to be transmitted in step S1. If there is a corresponding control target device 20, the process proceeds to step S3, and if there is no such device, the process proceeds to step S7. This step S2 corresponds to the "determination step" of the present disclosure.

[0029] In step S3, the smartphone 10 sequentially communicates with one or more control-target devices 20 within the controllable range R to acquire various information about each of the control-target devices 20. Alternatively, if various information about the control-target devices 20 for each operator U is stored in the server 40, the smartphone 10 may inquire of the server 40 to acquire the information. The various information includes whether remote operation from the smartphone 10 is possible.

[0030] In step S4, the smartphone 10 determines whether or not any of the control target devices 20 from which it has obtained various information has been paired with Bluetooth (a device that can be remotely controlled), and if there is any such control target device 20, it proceeds to step S5, and if there is not even one, it proceeds to step S8.

[0031] In step S5, the smartphone 10 estimates that the control target device 20 that corresponds to the determination in step S4 has the strongest Bluetooth radio wave intensity as the closest control target device 20, and selects it as the device to be operated.

[0032] The method for selecting the closest control target device 20 is not limited to the radio wave strength of short-distance wireless communication such as Bluetooth. For example, location information from a satellite positioning system (GNSS: Global Navigation Satellite System) such as GPS (Global Positioning System) or indoor positioning technology may be used. In this case, the distance between each control target device 20 and the smartphone 10 is calculated, and the control target device 20 corresponding to the shortest distance is selected as the operation target.

[0033] In step S6, the smartphone 10 acquires an operation screen corresponding to the control target device 20 selected in step S5 from the control target device 20 or the server 40. If a selection is possible from a plurality of operation screen patterns, the short-distance operation screen is selected, and the process proceeds to step S7. An example of the plurality of operation screen patterns is an operation screen in the style of an infrared remote control dedicated to the control target device 20. These may be prepared in advance so that the operator U can select from them via the display unit 11. The short-distance operation screen corresponds to the "first operation screen" of the present disclosure.

[0034] In step S7, the short-distance operation screen selected in step S6 or the infrared remote control-style operation screen selected by the operator U is displayed on the display unit 11. This allows the controlled device 20 to be operated using the operation screen displayed on the display unit 11. In the case of these operation screens, it is possible to omit displaying an operation confirmation screen for reconfirming the intention of the operator U (double action) after accepting an input operation. Note that this step S7 corresponds to the "display control step" of the present disclosure.

[0035] On the other hand, step S8 is a case where it is determined in step S2 that there is no control target device 20 within the controllable range R, or where it is determined in step S4 that there is no Bluetooth paired device. In other words, there is no control target device 20 itself within the controllable range R, or even if there is a control target device 20, it cannot be operated via short-range wireless communication via Bluetooth. In such a case, the smartphone 10 queries the server 40 to acquire various information on all registered control target devices 20.

[0036] In step S9, a device selection screen is displayed on the display unit 11, which displays a list of all the control target devices 20 for which various information was obtained from the server 40 in step S8 and allows the operator U to select one of them. The control target devices 20 displayed in a list on the display unit 11 correspond to the "candidate devices" in the present disclosure.

[0037] In step S10, a remote operation screen of the control target device 20 selected by the operator U on the device selection screen displayed in step S9 is displayed on the display unit 11. This allows the control target device 20 to be operated using the operation screen displayed on the display unit 11. In the case of this operation screen, it is necessary to display an operation confirmation screen for reconfirming the intention of the operator U (double action) after accepting the input operation. The remote operation screen corresponds to the "second operation screen" of the present disclosure.

[0038] (3) When operating the controlled device 20 within the controllable range R Fig. 3A is an explanatory diagram in which an operator U operates an air conditioner 20-1 within a controllable range R of his / her home H. Fig. 3B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen of the smartphone 10 in the case of Fig. 3A. Fig. 3C is a flowchart showing an outline of the process in the case of Fig. 3A.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3A, if the air conditioner 20-1 is within the controllable range R of the smartphone 10 held by the operator U, in step S7 of FIG. 2, a short-distance operation screen as shown in FIG. 3B is displayed on the display unit 11 (step S31 of FIG. 3C). Even if there are multiple control-target devices 20 within the controllable range R, the control-target device 20 that is estimated to be the closest is identified, and the short-distance operation screen for that control-target device 20 is immediately displayed. This is because it is troublesome for the operator U if the device selection screen is displayed once and an operation to select one of the devices is required every time. However, it is preferable to provide a display of the selected control-target device 20 and an operation means (e.g., a drop-down list) for switching the control-target device 20.

[0040] This short distance operation screen has a status display section 11a that displays the status of the room in which the air conditioner 20-1 is installed, and operation buttons 11b to 11h for operating the air conditioner 20-1.

[0041] When the operator U selects and taps any of the operation buttons 11b to 11h (step S32 in FIG. 3C), the smartphone 10 recognizes the tap operation and displays an operation confirmation screen for confirming the operation (step S33 in FIG. 3C). This operation confirmation screen includes, for example, at least two buttons, "Yes" and "No," along with a message for confirming the operation content.

[0042] When the "Yes" button is tapped to confirm the intention of the operator U, the communication unit 12 transmits an operation instruction to the air conditioner 20-1 via short-range wireless communication using Bluetooth. Note that the operation buttons 11b to 11h are examples of a "first instruction means" in the present disclosure.

[0043] Here, a process is shown in which the intention of the operator U is confirmed each time the operation buttons 11b to 11h are tapped, even though the air conditioner 20-1 is located near the operator U holding the smartphone 10. However, compared to an infrared remote control dedicated to the control target device 20, the cumbersome tapping operation is required many times, and the operability is significantly inferior. Therefore, it is preferable to omit the input confirmation process shown in step S33 in FIG. 3C.

[0044] (4) When remotely operating the controlled device 20 from outside the home Fig. 4A is an explanatory diagram of a case where an operator U remotely controls an air conditioner 20-3 in a home H from a remote location. Fig. 4B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen of the smartphone 10 in the case of Fig. 4A. Fig. 4C is a flowchart showing an outline of the process in the case of Fig. 4A.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 4A, when an operator U is going to remotely operate the air conditioner 20-3 in his / her home H from outside, in step S9 of Fig. 2, a device selection screen as shown in Fig. 4B is displayed on the display unit 11. This device selection screen can be said to be a normal display of the operation screen of the smartphone 10 in the remote operation system 100.

[0046] This device selection screen has a status display area 11x that displays the status of the location (such as a room) currently selected, and a device list display area 11y that displays a list of the control target devices 20 installed in that location (here, the living room). In this device list display area 11y, there are a button 11y1 for operating the air conditioner 20-3 in the living room, a button 11y2 for operating the air purifier in the living room, and a collective stop button 11z for collectively stopping all the air conditioners.

[0047] For example, when the operator U taps and selects the button 11y1 to operate the air conditioner 20-3 in the living room (step S41 in FIG. 4C), the operations available for the air conditioner 20-3 are displayed on the display unit 11 as buttons or the like. Examples of such operations include, but are not limited to, starting / stopping operation, changing the operation mode or set temperature, changing the air volume or direction, etc. Note that the screen displayed on the display unit 11 at this time is an example of a "corresponding operation screen" of the present disclosure, and each button is an example of a "second instruction means" of the present disclosure.

[0048] The operator U selects a desired operation from among the operations displayed on the display unit 11 (step S42 in FIG. 4C) and taps the corresponding button. The smartphone 10 recognizes the tap operation and displays an operation confirmation screen for confirming the operation (step S43 in FIG. 4C). This operation confirmation screen includes, for example, at least two buttons, "Yes" and "No," along with a message for confirming the operation content. These buttons are examples of the "operation confirmation means" of the present disclosure.

[0049] Once the "Yes" button is tapped to confirm the operator U's intention, the communication unit 12 transmits an operation instruction to the air conditioner 20-3 via short-range wireless communication using Bluetooth.

[0050] (5) Other examples of remote control screens and short-distance control screens Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the remote operation screen. Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the short-distance operation screen. These operation screens are realized by partially modifying the application used in the smartphone 10 in the above-mentioned remote operation system 100. In the periphery of the display unit 11, much of the same information is displayed in the same position, so that the operator U can always easily recognize the information he or she needs.

[0051] The remote operation screen shown in FIG. 5 has a status display area 11X that displays the status of the location (such as a room) currently selected, and an operation area 11Y that displays the main operation buttons for the control target device 20 (here, an air conditioner) that is currently being operated.

[0052] In the status display area 11X, the specific location currently selected (here, the living room) is displayed in the upper left, and the temperature and humidity are displayed side by side in large letters in the center. In the upper right, an update button 11X1 is provided to update the remote control screen to the latest information. The background color is also changed according to the comfort level of the location.

[0053] A power button 11A for starting / stopping the operation of the air conditioner is disposed near the left edge of the boundary between the status display area 11X and the operation area 11Y.

[0054] In the operation area 11Y, an operation mode button 11Y1 for changing the operation mode and the set temperature, and an air volume and air direction button 11Y2 for changing the air volume and air direction (up and down and left and right) are arranged vertically. In the upper right corner, an air conditioner status display 11Y3 is arranged horizontally, displaying icons indicating the status of the air conditioner.

[0055] Also, just above the status display area 11X on the left is a weather forecast display 11B that displays the address of the building in which the air conditioner is installed and the weather forecast, and above that on the right is an operation target display 11C that shows the name (here, "kyoshidanx") that is set as the operation target at that time. By tapping here, a drop-down list of control target devices 20 that can be the operation target at that time is displayed, and the operation target can be directly changed by selecting one of them.

[0056] At the bottom of operation area 11Y, an operation button 11D, a timer button 11E, and a menu button 11F are arranged in this order from the left.

[0057] On the other hand, in the short distance operation screen shown in FIG. 6, an operation area 11Z is arranged in an area combining the status display area 11X and the operation area 11Y in FIG.

[0058] In this operation area 11Z, three large round buttons (cool button 11Z1, automatic button 11Z2, and heating button 11Z3) are arranged in order from the left at the top. Below them is a slider 11Z4 for setting the temperature. Below them are arranged in order from the left an air volume setting section 11Z5, an up / down air direction setting section 11Z6, and a left / right air direction setting section 11Z7. Below them is a stop button 11Z8 for stopping operation.

[0059] Note that some information is displayed in the same positions on this short-distance operation screen as on the remote operation screen in Fig. 5. Specifically, the information is a weather forecast display 11B and an operation target display 11C at the top, and an operation button 11D, a timer button 11E, and a menu button 11F at the bottom. [Industrial Applicability]

[0060] The present disclosure is applicable to a terminal and a terminal control program capable of remotely controlling electrical equipment and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 100 Remote Control System 10. Smartphones 11 Display section 12 Communications Department 13 Control section 13a Display control unit 13b Discrimination part 20 Controlled Equipment 30 Wireless Router 40 Servers 50 Internet

Claims

1. A display unit and a control unit are provided, The control unit is A display control unit that controls the display unit; a determination unit that determines whether or not a control target device is present within a controllable range; having The display control unit controls the display unit to display a first operation screen when the determination unit determines that the control target device is within the controllable range.

2. A communication unit that communicates with the controlled device, the first operation screen includes a display of a first instruction means for instructing the control target device to perform an operation, The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein when the first instruction means is operated, the communication unit transmits an operation instruction to the controlled device.

3. The terminal according to claim 2 , wherein the first operation screen is an operation screen corresponding to the control target device within the controllable range.

4. The terminal according to claim 3 , wherein the first operation screen is selectable from a plurality of patterns corresponding to the control target devices within the controllable range.

5. The terminal according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the display control unit controls the display unit to display a second operation screen when the determination unit determines that the control target device is not within the controllable range.

6. The terminal according to claim 5 , wherein the second operation screen includes a device selection screen, and when an operation for selecting a candidate device displayed on the device selection screen is performed, a corresponding operation screen corresponding to the selected candidate device is displayed.

7. the second operation screen includes a display of a second instruction means for instructing an operation on the control target device, When the second instruction means is operated, the display control unit controls the display unit to display an operation confirmation screen including a display of an operation confirmation means for performing an operation confirmation; The terminal according to claim 5 , wherein when the operation confirmation means is operated, the communication unit transmits the operation instruction to the controlled device.

8. The terminal according to claim 7 , wherein when the first instruction means is operated, the communication unit transmits the operation instruction without the display control unit displaying the operation confirmation screen including the display of the operation confirmation means for confirming the operation.

9. The terminal according to claim 5 , wherein the display control unit displays the control target device at the same position on the display unit on both the first operation screen and the second operation screen.

10. A terminal control program for controlling a terminal, A display control step; a determination step of determining whether or not a control target device is present within a controllable range; Including, The display control step displays a first operation screen when it is determined in the determining step that the control target device is within the controllable range.

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