Application program, terminal, home electric apparatus management system, and home electric apparatus management method

Abstract

To provide an application program which makes it easy to intuitively understand which household electrical appliance a displayed electricity bill or power consumption belongs to or whether the displayed electricity bill or power consumption is a total value of a plurality of household electrical appliances.SOLUTION: Displaying a first screen including a selection unit and a total display icon, displaying a second screen on which a state of a selected electric home appliance is displayed, displaying a unit-body information screen including display of at least one of a used electricity bill of one electric home appliance and a power consumption amount of the one electric home appliance, and displaying a total information screen including display of at least one of a total of used electricity bills of a plurality of electric home appliances and a total of power consumption amounts of the plurality of electric home appliances, the stand-alone information screen transitions via the second screen, and the total information screen transitions from the first screen when the total display icon is operated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD Embodiments of the present invention relate to an application program, a terminal device, a home appliance management system, and a home appliance management method. [Background technology]

[0002] Applications that run on terminal devices such as smartphones have been developed for home appliance management systems that manage multiple home appliances, such as air conditioners and refrigerators, connected to a network. For example, an application has been developed that transitions from a home appliance selection screen, which is the home screen of the application, to a screen that displays the electricity usage charges for the home appliances. This application allows the user to switch between displaying the electricity usage charge for a single home appliance and the combined electricity usage charge for multiple home appliances on the screen that displays the electricity usage charge (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7421682 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] With the above technology, if there are multiple home appliances that can display electricity usage charges, when you switch from the home screen to the electricity usage charge display screen that displays the electricity usage charges, it is difficult to intuitively understand which home appliance the electricity usage charge is for.

[0005] The problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide an application program, a terminal device, a home appliance management system, and a home appliance management method that make it easy to intuitively understand which home appliance the displayed electricity usage charge or power consumption amount belongs to, or whether it is the combined value of multiple home appliances. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An application program of an embodiment is an application program to be executed by a computer of a terminal device connected to home appliances via a network and equipped with a display device, and causes the computer to execute the following steps: a first screen display step of causing the display device to display a first screen including a selection unit for selecting the home appliance and a total display icon for displaying at least one of the total electricity charges for a plurality of the home appliances and the total amount of power consumption of the plurality of the home appliances; a second screen display step of causing the display device to display a second screen on which the status of the home appliance selected by operation on the selection unit is displayed; an individual information screen display step of causing the display device to display an individual information screen including a display of at least one of the electricity charges for one of the home appliances and the power consumption of the one of the home appliances; and a total information screen display step of causing the display device to display a total information screen including a display of at least one of the total electricity charges for the plurality of the home appliances and the total amount of power consumption of the plurality of the home appliances, wherein the individual information screen transitions via the second screen, and the total information screen transitions from the first screen when the total display icon is operated.

[0007] The application program further causes the computer to execute, for example, a registration step for registering the home appliance, and a display form change step for changing the display form of the total display icon to a state where the total display icon can be operated when multiple home appliances capable of displaying at least one of the electricity usage charge and the power consumption amount are registered.

[0008] The terminal device is, for example, connected via a network to a server device that manages the home appliances, and the application program further causes the computer to execute a transmission / reception step of sending a request for total information to the server device, the request including at least one of the total electricity charges of the plurality of home appliances and the total power consumption of the plurality of home appliances, and receiving the total information from the server device.

[0009] In the application program, for example, the target of the total electricity usage charges of the plurality of home appliances and the total power consumption of the plurality of home appliances is the home appliances that are registered at the time the request is sent to the server device in the transmission / reception step.

[0010] A terminal device of an embodiment is a terminal device connected to home appliances via a network and equipped with a display device, and executes the following operations: displaying on the display device a first screen including a selection unit for selecting the home appliance and a total display icon for displaying at least one of the total electricity charges for a plurality of the home appliances and the total amount of power consumption of the plurality of the home appliances; displaying on the display device a second screen displaying the status of the home appliance selected by operating the selection unit; displaying on the display device an individual information screen including a display of at least one of the electricity charges for one of the home appliances and the power consumption of the one of the home appliances; and displaying on the display device a total information screen including a display of at least one of the total electricity charges for the plurality of the home appliances and the total amount of power consumption of the plurality of the home appliances; the individual information screen transitions via the second screen, and the total information screen transitions from the first screen when the total display icon is operated.

[0011] A home appliance management system according to an embodiment includes an application program to be executed by a computer of a terminal device connected to home appliances via a network and equipped with a display device, the application program including: a first screen display step of displaying, on the display device, a first screen including a selection unit for selecting the home appliance and a total display icon for displaying at least one of a total of electricity charges for a plurality of the home appliances and a total of power consumption amounts of the plurality of the home appliances; and a second screen display step of displaying, on the display device, a second screen including a status of the home appliance selected by an operation on the selection unit. a second screen display step of causing the display device to display an individual information screen including a display of at least one of the electricity usage charge of one of the home appliances and the power consumption amount of the one of the home appliances; and a total information screen display step of causing the display device to display a total information screen including a display of at least one of the sum of the electricity usage charge of the plurality of home appliances and the sum of the power consumption amounts of the plurality of home appliances, wherein the individual information screen transitions via the second screen, and the total information screen transitions from the first screen when the total display icon is operated.

[0012] An embodiment of the home appliance management system is, for example, a home appliance management system that includes a server device connected to home appliances and a terminal device via a network, and when the server device receives a request for total information from the terminal device, the server device includes a processing unit that calculates at least one of the total electricity usage charges of the plurality of home appliances and the total power consumption of the plurality of home appliances, and transmits the total information to the terminal device.

[0013] In the home appliance management system, for example, the total electricity charges of the plurality of home appliances and the total power consumption of the plurality of home appliances are based on the home appliances registered by the terminal device at the time the terminal device sends the request to the server device.

[0014] A home appliance management method according to an embodiment is a home appliance management method executed by a home appliance management system including an application program to be executed by a computer of a terminal device connected to home appliances via a network and equipped with a display device, the method including a first screen display step of displaying on the display device a first screen including a selection unit for selecting the home appliance and a total display icon for displaying at least one of a total of electricity charges for a plurality of the home appliances and a total of power consumption amounts of the plurality of the home appliances; and a second screen displaying on the display device a second screen displaying a status of the home appliance selected by an operation on the selection unit. the computer executes a second screen display step of displaying an individual information screen on the display device, the individual information screen including a display of at least one of the electricity usage charge of one of the home appliances and the power consumption amount of the one of the home appliances, and a total information screen display step of displaying a total information screen on the display device, the individual information screen including a display of at least one of the sum of the electricity usage charge of the plurality of home appliances and the sum of the power consumption amounts of the plurality of home appliances, wherein the individual information screen transitions via the second screen, and the total information screen transitions from the first screen when the total display icon is operated.

[0015] According to the above-described application program, terminal device, home appliance management system, and home appliance management method, it is easy to intuitively understand which home appliance the displayed electricity usage charge or power consumption amount belongs to, or whether it is the combined value of multiple home appliances. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a home electric appliance management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the server device according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a terminal device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an application home screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of the home appliance control process according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the usage information screen according to the embodiment, in which the display format is a one-year display format. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the usage information screen according to the embodiment, in which the display format is a one-month display format. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of transition of the usage information screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of transition of the usage information screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of transition of the usage information screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of transition of the usage information screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example in which selection items are displayed in a home appliance selection section on the usage amount information screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the usage amount information screen according to the embodiment, in which all air conditioners are selected and the display format is the one-month display format. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the usage amount information screen according to the embodiment, in which all air conditioners are selected and the display format is the one-year display format. [Figure 16]FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of transition of the setting screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of transition of the setting screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the flow of the usage amount display process according to the embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a sequence diagram illustrating another example of the flow of the usage amount display process according to the embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of transition of the application home screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a graph display section for displaying a breakdown according to a first modified example of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of an application program, a terminal device, a home appliance management system, a home appliance management method, and a server device according to the present disclosure will be described. In this specification, components according to the embodiments and descriptions of the components may be described using multiple expressions. The components and their descriptions are merely examples and are not limited by the expressions in this specification. The components may also be identified by names different from those in this specification. Furthermore, the components may also be described using expressions different from those in this specification.

[0018] <Home appliance management system> Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a home appliance management system according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the home appliance management system 1 according to this embodiment mainly includes a server device 40, a terminal device 30, and a plurality of air conditioners (hereinafter also referred to as air conditioners) 10-1 to 10-N (N is a natural number). Hereinafter, the air conditioners 10-1 to 10-N will be collectively referred to as home appliance 10.

[0019] The air conditioners 10-1 to 10-N and the terminal device 30 are connected to a network via a router or the like installed in the home. The air conditioners 10-1 to 10-N and the terminal device 30 are also connected to a server device 40 via the network. The network is made up of the Internet, regular telephone lines, mobile phone lines, etc.

[0020] Here, the air conditioners 10-1 to 10-N are examples of home appliances 10, and the types and number of appliances are not limited to these. Note that the home appliances 10 are not limited to the air conditioners 10-1 to 10-N. The home appliances 10 may be refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, electric fans, etc. In other words, the home appliances 10 include electrical machinery and appliances that are mainly used in ordinary households.

[0021] The terminal device 30 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet device, or a personal computer, and displays information about the home appliance 10 and remotely controls the home appliance 10 via the server device 40. The home appliance 10 may also be controlled by another dedicated controller (a so-called remote control). This dedicated controller may also function as the terminal device 30. For example, the home appliance may be directly controlled by the dedicated controller, or may be remotely controlled via a network as described below.

[0022] An application program (hereinafter also referred to as "application") for remotely controlling the home appliance 10 is installed in the terminal device 30. A user (also referred to as a patron) starts the application in the terminal device 30 to remotely control the home appliance 10. The application communicates with the home appliance 10 via the server device 40 over the network. Details of the application will be described later.

[0023] Server device 40 is a device that manages home appliance 10, and relays communication between terminal device 30 and home appliance 10 in order to remotely control home appliance 10. Server device 40 is placed outside the home in which home appliance 10 is installed.

[0024] <Server equipment details> First, the server device 40 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server device 40 according to the present embodiment.

[0025] 2, the server device 40 of this embodiment mainly includes a communication unit 401, a control unit 402, and a storage unit 410. The control unit 402 is an example of a processing unit.

[0026] The storage unit 410 is a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage unit 410 of this embodiment stores a management database 411 (hereinafter also referred to as "management DB 411").

[0027] The management DB 411 is a database that manages the home electric appliance 10. In the management DB 411, a device ID and home electric appliance information related to the home electric appliance 10 are registered in association with each other.

[0028] The device ID is information for identifying the home electric appliance 10.

[0029] The home appliance information includes usage information, unit price information, and a target upper limit value of usage. The usage information is usage information that indicates the usage of the home appliance 10. The usage of the home appliance 10 includes at least one of the amount of power consumed by the home appliance 10 and the electricity usage fee. In the present embodiment, the usage includes both the amount of power consumed by the home appliance 10 and the electricity usage fee. Note that the usage may be only one of the amount of power consumed by the home appliance 10 and the electricity usage fee. The electricity usage fee is a fee for the power used (consumed) by the home appliance 10 (i.e., the amount of power consumed). The unit price information indicates the unit price of electricity per unit time. More specifically, the unit price information includes unit prices corresponding to one or more time periods when a day is divided into one or more time periods. The electricity usage fee is calculated based on the amount of power consumed and the unit price. Furthermore, usage information for one home appliance 10 is referred to as first information, and usage information for multiple home appliances 10 is referred to as second information. The usage information is an example of total information.

[0030] The control unit 402 performs various controls of the home appliance 10. Specifically, the control unit 402 receives a control instruction for the home appliance 10 from an application of the terminal device 30 and controls the home appliance 10.

[0031] Furthermore, the control unit 402 acquires home appliance status information (hereinafter also referred to as status information) from the home appliance 10 and transmits it to the terminal device 30. The home appliance status information includes the operating state of the home appliance 10, setting information related to the home appliance 10, and environmental information around the home appliance 10. When the home appliance 10 is an air conditioner 10-1 to 10-N, the home appliance status information includes, for example, the operation type (cooling operation, heating operation, etc.), the set temperature, air volume, air direction, etc., the indoor temperature and humidity where the indoor unit of the air conditioner 10-1 to 10-N is set, the outdoor temperature and humidity where the outdoor unit of the air conditioner 10-1 to 10-N is set, etc.

[0032] Furthermore, the control unit 402 acquires usage history information from the home appliance 10. The usage history information includes the amount of power consumed by the home appliance 10. The control unit 402 registers the amount of power consumed by the home appliance 10 included in the usage history information in the management DB 411, and also calculates the electricity usage fee for the home appliance 10 from the amount of power consumed and the unit price stored in the management DB 411, and stores the calculated fee in the management DB 411. In response to a request from an application of the terminal device 30, the control unit 402 transmits usage information (amount of power consumed, electricity usage fee) of the home appliance 10 to the terminal device 30.

[0033] The communication unit 401 controls communication with the home appliance 10 and the terminal device 30. That is, when the control unit 402 receives a request or instruction from the terminal device 30 or transmits information to the terminal device 30, it does so via the communication unit 401. When the control unit 402 receives information from the home appliance 10 or issues a control instruction to the home appliance 10, it does so via the communication unit 401.

[0034] <Terminal device details> Next, a detailed description will be given of the terminal device 30 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 30 according to the present embodiment.

[0035] 3, the terminal device 30 according to this embodiment mainly includes a display device 302, an input device 303, a communication device 304, a storage device 305, and an application 301. The terminal device 30 also includes a CPU 300 (Central Processing Unit). The hardware of the terminal device 30 is configured by the CPU 300, the display device 302, the input device 303, the communication device 304, and the storage device 305.

[0036] CPU 300 constitutes computer 310. CPU 300 realizes various functions by reading and executing programs stored in storage device 305. That is, the programs cause computer 310, i.e., CPU 300, to execute various functions. The programs stored in storage device 305 include application 301. That is, application 301 causes computer 310, i.e., CPU 300, to execute various functions. Application 301 is an example of an application program.

[0037] The display device 302 is, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display. The input device 303 is an input device such as a touch panel (including a non-contact type) or hard keys superimposed on the display device 302. The display device 302 displays various screens. An operation on an icon or the like on the screen is, for example, a touch operation by the user on the input device 303 (touch panel). The input device 303 is also called an operation device.

[0038] The communication device 304 is an interface that performs wireless communication in accordance with the standards of wireless LAN, 4G (for example, LTE (Long Term Evolution)), and 5G.

[0039] The storage device 305 is a storage medium such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory).

[0040] 3, the application 301 mainly includes a communication processing unit 3011, an input processing unit 3012, a display processing unit 3013, a control unit 3014, a device registration processing unit 3015, a device selection processing unit 3016, and a unit price setting processing unit 3017. The application 301 is stored in a storage device 305 such as a ROM, a RAM, or a flash memory.

[0041] Application 301 is an example of an application program. Application 301 has a modular configuration including each of the above-mentioned functional units (communication processing unit 3011, input processing unit 3012, display processing unit 3013, control unit 3014, device registration processing unit 3015, device selection processing unit 3016, and unit price setting processing unit 3017). In actual hardware, application 301 is started by a CPU reading and executing application 301 from storage device 305 such as a flash memory. Each of the above units is then loaded onto storage device 305 such as RAM, and communication processing unit 3011, input processing unit 3012, display processing unit 3013, control unit 3014, device registration processing unit 3015, device selection processing unit 3016, and unit price setting processing unit 3017 are generated on storage device 305 such as RAM.

[0042] The control unit 3014 performs various controls and calculations for the application 301 .

[0043] The communication processing unit 3011 controls communication by the communication device 304. When the input processing unit 3012 receives a control instruction for the home appliance 10 from the user, the communication processing unit 3011 transmits the received control instruction to the server device 40. The communication processing unit 3011 also receives various information (data) from the server device 40.

[0044] For example, the communication processing unit 3011 receives first information including at least one of the electricity usage charge of one home appliance 10 and the amount of power consumption of one home appliance 10 from the server device 40. The communication processing unit 3011 also receives second information including at least one of the electricity usage charge of multiple home appliances 10 and the amount of power consumption of multiple home appliances 10 from the server device 40. That is, in this embodiment, the first information and second information used in the terminal device 30 are information stored in the server device 40. The first information is also referred to as individual information, and the second information is also referred to as multiple information or total information.

[0045] The display processing unit 3013 controls the display of various information on the display device 302. When the application 301 is launched, the display processing unit 3013 first displays an application home screen on the display device 302. Here, the application home screen is an example of a basic screen of the application.

[0046] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an application home screen in the embodiment. In the example of Fig. 4, a plurality of operation screen icons 503, a total display icon 504, a collective operation icon 505, and an add home appliance icon 506 are displayed on an application home screen 501. The application home screen 501 is an example of a first screen. The operation screen icon 503 is an example of a selection section for selecting a home appliance 10. The total display icon is also referred to as a total usage amount information screen icon.

[0047] An operation screen icon 503 is provided for each home appliance 10 and is associated with the device ID of the corresponding home appliance 10. The operation screen icon 503 is used to display an operation screen 1701 (see FIG. 5) for issuing control instructions to the home appliance 10. The operation screen 1701 also displays the status of the home appliance 10 (operating status and monitor status). In the example of FIG. 4, the operation screen icon 503 also displays the installation location of the home appliance 10 ("living room" or "children's room"). The operation screen 1701 is an example of a second screen.

[0048] The total display icon 504 is for displaying a usage information screen 1801 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) that displays usage information indicating the usage of the home appliance 10, including at least one of the electricity usage charge of the home appliance 10 and the amount of power consumed by the home appliance 10. In detail, the total display icon 504 is for displaying usage information screens 1801C and 1801D (total information screens) that include a display of at least one of the total electricity usage charge of the plurality of home appliances 10 and the total amount of power consumed by the plurality of home appliances 10. In the example of FIG. 4, the total display icon 504 displays "total electricity charge."

[0049] The collective operation icon 505 is for collectively issuing a control instruction (for example, power off) to a plurality of home electric appliances 10. In the example of Fig. 4, the collective operation icon 505 displays "Turn off all air conditioners."

[0050] The home appliance addition icon 506 is used to additionally register the home appliance 10. In the example of Fig. 4, the home appliance addition icon 506 displays a + sign and "Add home appliance".

[0051] In this way, the display processing unit 3013 causes the display device 302 to display the application home screen 501, which displays the operation screen icon 503, the total display icon 504, the collective operation icon 505, and the home appliance addition icon 506. Details of the processing when each of these icons is operated will be described later.

[0052] The input processing unit 3012 accepts user input from the input device 303. The input processing unit 3012 accepts operation input by the user from various screens such as the application home screen 501 (that is, the input device 303 such as a touch panel).

[0053] The device registration processing unit 3015 registers a plurality of home electric appliances 10. For example, when the home electric appliance addition icon 506 is operated, the device registration processing unit 3015 displays a device registration screen (not shown) on the display device 302 and accepts the registration of the home electric appliance 10 on the device registration screen. The information to be registered includes the identification information, name, group, etc. of the home electric appliance 10. This information is input by the user's operation using the input device 303, for example. The device registration processing unit 3015 transmits the input information to the server device 40 and registers the input information in the management DB via the server device 40. Furthermore, if the input information includes a group, the device registration processing unit 3015 includes the home electric appliance 10 in the group. The device registration processing unit 3015 also registers the information of this group in the management DB via the server device 40.

[0054] The device selection processing unit 3016 causes the display device 302 to display a home appliance selection unit for selecting a home appliance 10 or a group for which information is to be displayed on the screen. Note that, when only one home appliance 10 is registered in the management DB, the device selection processing unit 3016 does not display an option for selecting another electronic device in the home appliance selection unit.

[0055] The unit price setting processing unit 3017 divides a day into multiple time slots and accepts an operation to set an electricity unit price for each of the time slots, and sets the unit price based on the operation. The unit price setting processing unit 3017 transmits the set unit price to the server device 40. The unit price setting processing unit 3017 accepts, from the setting screen, an electricity unit price setting for each time slot for each of the registered multiple home electric appliances 10. The unit price setting processing unit 3017 also accepts, from the setting screen, an electricity unit price setting for each time slot for each registered group. If the start time for which the operation was accepted has already been set, the unit price setting processing unit 3017 displays an error on the setting screen 1901. The error is, for example, information such as "The start time has already been set. Please try again."

[0056] <Various processing> Next, various processes executed by the home appliance management system will be described in detail.

[0057] First, a description will be given of the home appliance control process which is a process performed when the operation screen icon 503 on the application home screen 501 in Fig. 4 is operated. Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen according to the embodiment.

[0058] When operation screen icon 503 is operated, display processing unit 3013 acquires home appliance status information indicating the status of home appliance 10 from server device 40, and causes operation screen 1701 ( FIG. 5 ) displaying the home appliance status information to be displayed on display device 302. That is, display processing unit 3013 acquires home appliance status information from home appliance 10 via server device 40. Note that display processing unit 3013 may also acquire home appliance status information from home appliance 10 without via server device 40.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 5 , operation screen 1701 displays a plurality of control buttons 1703, a single unit display icon 1704, and a single unit usage information display section 1705. Control button 1703 is a button for issuing a control instruction to home electric appliance 10. The control instruction of control button 1703 is, for example, "temperature setting," "air volume / air direction," or "stop." When control button 1703 is operated, the control instruction of control button 1703 is transmitted to server device 40 by communication processing unit 3011. Server device 40 transmits the received control instruction to the corresponding home electric appliance 10. As a result, home electric appliance 10 operates in accordance with the control instruction. Operation screen 1701 also displays the set operation type (cooling, for example) and the set temperature (26.0°C, for example). This set item indicates the setting state as the state of home electric appliance 10.

[0060] The individual display icon 1704 is used to display usage information screens 1801A and 1801B (individual information screens) that include a display of at least one of the electricity usage fee of one home electric appliance 10 associated with the individual display icon 1704 and the amount of power consumed by the one home electric appliance 10. The usage information screens 1801A and 1801B are examples of individual information screens.

[0061] The individual usage information display section 1705 displays at least one of the electricity usage charge of one home electric appliance 10 associated with the individual usage information display section 1705 and the amount of power consumed by the one home electric appliance 10. This display is at least a part of the information included in the usage information screens 1801A and 1801B. Note that the individual usage information display section 1705 does not have to be displayed.

[0062] Next, details of the home appliance control process will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the home appliance control process according to the embodiment.

[0063] When the application 301 is started (S1301), the input processing unit 3012 displays the application home screen 501 on the display device 302 and accepts the selection of a home appliance 10 by operating one of the operation screen icons 503. When the application 301 accepts the selection of a home appliance 10 by operating any of the operation screen icons 503 (S1302), the control unit 3014 requests the server device 40 for state information of the home appliance 10 whose selection has been accepted (S1303).

[0064] When the server device 40 receives a request for state information from the application 301 of the terminal device 30, the server device 40 requests the state information from the home electric appliance 10 (S1201).

[0065] When the home appliance 10 receives a request for state information from the server device 40, the home appliance 10 transmits the current state information of the home appliance 10 to the server device 40 (S1101).

[0066] When the server device 40 receives the state information from the home electric appliance 10, the server device 40 transmits the state information to the application 301 of the terminal device 30 (S1202).

[0067] When the application 301 receives the state information from the server device 40, the display processing unit 3013 causes the display device 302 to display the operation screen 1701 based on the state information (S1304).

[0068] When the application 301 receives an operation of the control button 1703 on the operation screen 1701 (S1305), it transmits a control signal associated with the control button 1703 to the server device 40 (S1306).

[0069] When the server device 40 receives the control signal from the application 301 of the terminal device 30, the server device 40 transmits the control signal to the home electric appliance 10 (S1203).

[0070] When the home appliance 10 receives the control signal from the server device 40, the home appliance 10 controls each part of the home appliance 10 so that the home appliance 10 operates in accordance with the control signal, and transmits state information of the home appliance 10 after the control to the server device 40 (S1102).

[0071] When the server device 40 receives the post-control state information from the home electric appliance 10, the server device 40 transmits the post-control state information to the application 301 of the terminal device 30 (S1204).

[0072] When the application 301 receives the post-control state information from the server device 40, the display processing unit 3013 updates the operation screen 1701 so that it becomes the operation screen 1701 based on the post-control state information (S1307).

[0073] Next, a description will be given of a usage amount display process which is a process performed when the single unit display icon 1704 on the operation screen 1701 in Fig. 5 is operated. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a usage amount information screen according to an embodiment, in which the display format is a one-year display format. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a usage amount information screen according to an embodiment, in which the display format is a one-month display format.

[0074] When the individual display icon 1704 is operated, the display processing unit 3013 displays the usage information screen 1801 (FIGS. 7 and 8) on the display device 302 without acquiring the home appliance status information. In other words, when the individual display icon 1704 is operated, the application 301 and the server device 40 do not communicate with the home appliance 10 to request the home appliance status information. The usage information screen 1801 includes a usage information screen 1801A (FIG. 7) in which the display format of the usage information is a one-year display format, and a usage information screen 1801B (FIG. 8) in which the display format of the usage information is a one-month display format.

[0075] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a usage information screen 1801 displays a home appliance selection section 1802, a period selection section 1803, a date selection section 1804, a usage display section 1805, and an electricity bill setting button 1807.

[0076] The home appliance selection unit 1802 is for accepting the selection (change) of the home appliance 10 for which the usage amount is to be displayed. The selection is made by a user operation. The home appliance selection unit 1802 accepts an operation to select either the usage amount information screens 1801A and 1801B or the usage amount information screens 1801C and 1801D (FIGS. 13 and 14). If only one home appliance 10 is registered, the appliance selection processing unit 3016 does not display an option to select the usage amount information screens 1801C and 1801D in the home appliance selection unit. The usage amount information screens 1801C and 1801D are examples of total information screens.

[0077] The period selection section 1803 is for accepting a selection of whether the display format of the usage amount to be displayed is a one-year display format or a one-month display format. The selection is made by a user operation. Fig. 7 shows a case where the one-year display format is selected, and Fig. 8 shows a case where the one-month display format is selected.

[0078] In the one-year display mode, the usage for the past one year from the present is displayed in a graph in the entire period display section 1805b of the usage amount display section 1805, and in the one-month display mode, the usage for the past one month from the present is displayed in a graph in the entire period display section 1805b. Furthermore, the usage for the month or day selected by the date selection section 1804 is displayed in the unit period display section 1805a above the entire period display section 1805b in the usage amount display section 1805. The graph in the entire period display section 1805b corresponding to the month or day selected by the date selection section 1804 is displayed in an emphasized manner (highlighted). For example, the highlighting may be achieved by changing the color of only the bar in the graph corresponding to the month or day selected by the date selection section 1804. Note that the display mode is not limited to the above. For example, the display mode may be the usage for the past 30 days, etc.

[0079] The date selection section 1804 is for accepting the selection of the date of the usage amount to be displayed in the unit period display section 1805a. The selection is made by a user operation. Fig. 7 shows a case where May 2023 is selected as the date, and Fig. 8 shows a case where May 1, 2023 is selected as the date.

[0080] The usage display unit 1805 displays the usage of the home appliance 10 selected by the home appliance selection unit 1802 for the period selected by the period selection unit 1803. The final date of the period is the current date. It is also possible to provide a date input unit that the user can input, and set any date input into the date input unit as the final date of the period. In Figs. 7 and 8, "usage" indicates the amount of power consumed, and "electricity charge" indicates the charge for electricity used.

[0081] The usage amount display section 1805 includes a unit period display section 1805a and an entire period display section 1805b. The unit period display section 1805a displays the usage amount for the unit period. For example, if the period selected by the period selection section 1803 is one year, the unit period is one month, and if the period selected by the period selection section 1803 is one month, the unit period is one day. The unit period display section 1805a displays the usage amount and past usage fees for the date selected by the date selection section 1804. For example, if the period selected by the period selection section 1803 is one year, the past usage fees are the usage fees for the same period last year (the previous year), and if the period selected by the period selection section 1803 is one month, the past usage fees are the usage fees for the previous day. The entire period display section 1805b displays the usage amount for the entire period selected by the period selection section 1803. The entire period display section 1805b also displays the electricity usage fees in a graph. The graph is, for example, a bar graph, but is not limited to this. The bar graph is displayed in monthly intervals if the selected period is one year, and in daily intervals if the selected period is one month. Furthermore, when the selected period is one year, the bar graph corresponding to the last month, if that day is in the middle of the month, will display the accumulated data up to the previous day, or the accumulated data up to a time in the middle of that day. Therefore, the rightmost bar in the bar graph will have fewer accumulated days. Furthermore, when the selected period is one month, the bar graph corresponding to the last day will display the accumulated data up to the previous day (i.e., the data for that day is not included), or the accumulated data up to a time in the middle of that day. Furthermore, the entire period display section 1805b displays the electricity usage rate for the entire period, superimposed on a graph of the electricity usage rate for the same period last year. In this embodiment, when the period selected by the period selection section 1803 is one month, the entire period display section 1805b does not display a graph of past electricity usage rates superimposed on it. However, this is not limited to this. Even when the period selected by the period selection unit 1803 is one month, for example, a graph of the electricity usage charge for the same period of the previous month may be displayed in an overlapping manner. Also, it may be possible to select whether or not to display a graph of past electricity usage charges in an overlapping manner.

[0082] Furthermore, of the multiple bars that make up the bar graph, one bar that corresponds to the date selected in the date selection section 1804 can be highlighted, for example, by displaying it in a color different from the other bars or by adding an arrow or the like to the top of the bar. Furthermore, the user can select one of the multiple bars that make up the bar graph. In this case, the bar selected by the user is highlighted, and the corresponding date is displayed as the selected date in the date selection section 1804. The unit period display section 1805a then displays the usage amount and past usage fees for the selected date.

[0083] Furthermore, the usage information screen 1801 allows the user to switch the units of usage (power consumption, electricity charges).

[0084] 9 is a diagram showing an example of transition of the usage information screen according to the embodiment. When a bar of the graph is selected by a touch operation in the entire period display section 1805b, the usage information up to the selected bar may be displayed as shown in FIG.

[0085] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a transition of the usage information screen according to the embodiment. Fig. 10 shows how the date displayed on the usage information screen 1801 is changed by operating the date selection section 1804.

[0086] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a transition of the usage information screen according to the embodiment. Fig. 11 shows how the date displayed on the usage information screen 1801 is changed by operating the date selection section 1804.

[0087] 12 is a diagram showing an example of transition of the usage information screen according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, when a bar of the bar graph in the entire period display section 1805b is selected by a touch operation, usage information for the selected month may be displayed in the unit period display section 1805a.

[0088] 13 is a diagram showing an example in which selection items are displayed in the home appliance selection section on the usage information screen according to the embodiment. When the home appliance selection section 1802 is touched, the display processing unit 3013 displays a selection section 1802a on the usage information screen 1801 as shown in FIG. 13. This processing may be performed by the device selection processing unit 3016. The selection section 1802a displays an item 1802aa in which names of multiple home appliances 10 are displayed. When the item 1802aa is touched, the device selection processing unit 3016 selects the home appliance 10 corresponding to the touched item 1802aa. Then, the display processing unit 3013 displays the usage information screen 1801 of the selected home appliance 10 on the display device 302.

[0089] Next, a case will be described in which the items 1802aa for all home appliances 10 (air conditioners 10-1 to 10-N) are touched in the home appliance selection unit 1802, and the appliance selection processing unit 3016 selects all home appliances 10. Note that if only one home appliance is registered, the items 1802aa for all air conditioners are not displayed. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a usage information screen 1801C according to an embodiment, in which all air conditioners are selected and the display format is the one-month display format. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a usage information screen 1801D according to an embodiment, in which all air conditioners are selected and the display format is the one-year display format.

[0090] 14 and 15, the usage information screens 1801C and 1801D display a breakdown display 1806 in addition to a home appliance selection section 1802, a period selection section 1803, a date selection section 1804, and a usage display section 1805. The usage display section 1805 displays at least one of (for example, both) the total electricity usage charges of all (multiple) home appliances 10 and the total power consumption of the multiple home appliances 10 based on the second information.

[0091] The breakdown display 1806 displays the percentage of the multiple home appliances 10 relative to the total electricity usage charges of all (multiple) home appliances 10 and the total amount of power consumption of the multiple home appliances 10, which are displayed in the unit period display section 1805a of the usage display section 1805 on the usage information screens 1801C and 1801D (second screens). The "unit" switch button, which switches the pie chart 2001 between displaying the amount of power consumption and the amount of power consumption charges, also switches the breakdown display 1806 between displaying the percentage of the total amount of power consumption and the percentage of the total amount of power consumption charges. The unit of the breakdown display 1806 may be switched separately from the pie chart 2001. Alternatively, the unit display may be fixed to either the amount of power consumption or the amount of power consumption charges without switching the unit. The breakdown display 1806 includes a pie chart 2001 and a table 2002. The pie chart 2001 lists the multiple home appliances 10 in descending order of percentage. The arrangement of the home appliances 10 in the pie chart 2001 may be rearranged in order of registration number or by location such as first floor, second floor, etc. The display processing unit 3013 also displays the names of the registered home appliances 10 in the breakdown display 1806 of the usage amount information screen 1801D. The names of the registered home appliances 10 (air conditioners 10-1 to 10-N) are, for example, living room, dining room, work room, bedroom, child's room 1, child's room 2, etc.

[0092] 14 and 15 on the display device 302 even when the total display icon 504 on the application home screen 501 shown in Fig. 4 is operated. That is, in this embodiment, the usage information screens 1801A and 1801B (Figs. 7 and 8) are transitioned to via the operation screen 1701 (Fig. 5) (for example, directly from the operation screen 1701), and the usage information screens 1801C and 1801D (Figs. 14 and 15) are transitioned to from the application home screen 501 when at least the total display icon 504 is operated.

[0093] Returning to FIGS. 7 and 8, the electricity charge setting button 1807 is a button (icon) for displaying a setting screen for making various settings related to electricity charges.

[0094] A home appliance control process that is a process performed when the electricity charge setting button 1807 is operated will be described. Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen according to an embodiment. Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a transition of the setting screen according to an embodiment. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen according to an embodiment. Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a transition of the setting screen according to an embodiment.

[0095] When the electricity fee setting button 1807 on the usage information screen 1801 (FIGS. 7 and 8) is operated, the application 301 causes the display device 302 to display a setting screen 1901 shown in FIG.

[0096] As shown in FIG. 16, a setting screen 1901 displays a target upper limit display section 1902, a unit price information display section 1903, an add button 1908, and a delete button 1909.

[0097] The target upper limit display section 1902 displays the target upper limit of the amount of electricity used by the home appliance 10 for a predetermined period. For example, the target upper limit is the target upper limit of the electricity usage fee for the home appliance 10 for the predetermined period. A numerical value can be input into the target upper limit display section 1902 by a user operation.

[0098] The unit price information display section 1903 divides a day into a plurality of time periods and displays the unit price of electricity set for each time period. The unit price information display section 1903 includes a display section 1904 and a graph display section 1905. The display section 1904 displays the unit price of electricity for each set time period in a table 1906. The graph display section 1905 displays the unit price of electricity for each set time period in a graph 1907. The display section 1904 and the graph display section 1905 are displayed on the same screen. Note that "displaying the display section 1904 and the graph display section 1905 on the same screen" does not necessarily mean that the display section 1904 and the graph display section 1905 are displayed on the screen at the same time, but also means that the screen is scrolled to display them.

[0099] The display section 1904 includes a time period display section 1904a and a unit price display section 1904b. If the unit price is not divided by time period (i.e., the unit price is the same all day), one unit price is entered for 0 to 24 hours. Furthermore, the unit price is not limited to being set by time period, but may be set by season or month.

[0100] The time period display section 1904a displays the time period. The unit price display section 1904b is provided for each time period and displays the unit price of electricity for the corresponding time period.

[0101] As shown in FIG. 17, when the unit price display section 1904b is touched, a unit price setting area 1904c is displayed, and the unit price entered in the unit price setting area 1904c is set. When the time period display section 1904a is touched, a time period setting area 1904d is displayed, and the time period entered in the time period setting area 1904d is set. The unit price and time period may be set by selection or by direct input of numbers. The unit price may be changed by tapping the unit price display (numbers 1907a) displayed on the graph 1907. The time period may be changed by long pressing and swiping the time period divisions on the graph 1907.

[0102] Furthermore, when the add button 1908 is touched, an add field 1908a shown in FIG. 18 is displayed, and the time period and unit price input in the add field 1908a are additionally set.

[0103] Furthermore, when the delete button 1909 is touched and then the time period display section 1904a is touched, the confirmation area 1909a shown in FIG. 19 is displayed, and when the delete button 1909b is touched, the setting of the time period display section 1904a and the corresponding unit price is deleted.

[0104] As shown in FIG. 16 , the graph 1907 is a pie chart. The graph 1907 may be a bar chart or other type of graph. The display processor 3013 displays a number 1907a representing the set electricity unit price on the graph 1907 in the graph display section 1905 of the setting screen 1901. The display processor 3013 displays a design 1907b corresponding to the time period on the graph 1907 in the graph display section 1905. The design 1907b may include a pattern, a color, a figure, or a combination thereof. In this embodiment, a star-shaped figure is displayed in cool colors during the nighttime period, and a sun-shaped figure is displayed in warm colors during the daytime period. The design 1907b may be displayed for more time periods than just the two patterns corresponding to the daytime period and the nighttime period. The design 1907b may be displayed differently depending on the weather during the time period. Furthermore, the display processing unit 3013 updates the graph 1907 every time at least one of the time period and the electricity unit price is changed.

[0105] The unit price setting processing unit 3017 of the application 301 accepts an operation to divide a day into multiple time periods and set a unit price for electricity for each time period via the setting screen 1901. The unit price setting processing unit 3017 sets a unit price based on the operation, and transmits the set time periods and the corresponding unit prices to the server device 40.

[0106] Next, details of the usage amount display process will be described with reference to Fig. 20 and Fig. 21. Fig. 20 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of the usage amount display process according to an embodiment. Fig. 21 is a sequence diagram showing another example of the flow of the usage amount display process according to an embodiment.

[0107] First, the usage amount display process when the individual unit display icon 1704 is operated will be described with reference to Fig. 20. As shown in Fig. 20, the home appliance 10 reports usage to the server device 40 at predetermined time intervals (S101a to S101c). The usage report is performed by transmitting information including the amount of power consumption of the home appliance 10 at predetermined time intervals to the server device 40.

[0108] The server device 40 accumulates (stores) the reported power consumption amount in the management DB 411 (S201a to S201c).

[0109] The server device 40 adds up the amount of power consumption reported and accumulated within a predetermined period, and stores the added up amount of power consumption in the management DB 411 (S202). The predetermined period is, for example, one day, and the addition is performed at midnight. Another example of the predetermined period is, for example, one month, and the addition is performed at the end of the month. The server device 40 also calculates the electricity usage fee from the reported amount of power consumption and the unit price stored in the management DB 411. The calculated electricity usage fee includes the electricity usage fee for each predetermined time period and the electricity usage fee for each predetermined period. The server device 40 stores usage information including the reported amount of power consumption and the calculated electricity usage fee in the management DB 411.

[0110] On the other hand, when the application 301 of the terminal device 30 is started (S301), the input processing unit 3012 displays the application home screen 501 on the display device 302 and accepts various icon operations. The following is an example in which the operation screen icon 503 is operated, causing the application 301 to display the operation screen 1701.

[0111] When the application 301 receives an operation on the single display icon 1704 on the operation screen 1701 (S302), it requests the server device 40 for usage information (S303).

[0112] When the server device 40 receives the request for the usage information from the application 301 of the terminal device 30, the server device 40 transmits the usage information of the home electric appliance 10 stored in the management DB 411 to the application 301 of the terminal device 30 (S205).

[0113] Here, the data on power consumption and electricity usage fees included in the usage information is, for example, at least for the past two years, broken down into 30-minute intervals. The data may be acquired from the server device 40 in accordance with the display mode. For example, in the case of a one-month display mode, the usage information includes data on the electricity usage fees for each 30-minute interval for one day. In addition, in the case of a one-month display mode, the energy consumption and electricity usage fees for the same month of the previous year (for the 30th or 31st) are also included. In addition, in the case of a one-year display mode, the usage information includes data on the electricity usage fees for each 30-minute interval for one month. The data is not limited to the above. In addition, in the case of a one-year display mode, the energy consumption and electricity usage fees for the same month of the previous year for 12 months are also included. These data may be acquired from the server device 40 when the display mode is switched. In addition, in the case of a one-month display mode, the data for the same month of the previous year does not need to be acquired from the server device 40. This is because overlaying this year's data and the previous year's data on a graph makes it difficult to view.

[0114] When application 301 receives usage information from server device 40, display processing unit 3013 causes display device 302 to display usage information screen 1801 based on the usage information (S304). In this way, when total display icon 504 is operated, display processing unit 3013 causes display device 302 to display usage information screen 1801 without acquiring home appliance status information. Note that once usage information, etc. is acquired from server device 40, the usage information, etc. is stored in storage device 305 of terminal device 30. Then, if application 301 is closed and restarted within a predetermined period (for example, the same date as the acquisition date), the usage information, etc. stored in storage device 305 of terminal device 30 may be called and displayed on display device 302 without acquiring usage information, etc. from server device 40 again. This makes it possible to eliminate unnecessary communication.

[0115] Next, a description will be given of the usage amount display process when there are multiple home electric appliances 10 and total display icon 504 is operated, with reference to Fig. 21. As shown in Fig. 21, each home electric appliance 10 reports usage to server device 40 at predetermined time intervals (S101A to S101C). The usage report is performed by transmitting information including the amount of power consumption of home electric appliance 10 at predetermined time intervals to server device 40.

[0116] The server device 40 accumulates (stores) the reported power consumption amount for each home electric appliance 10 in the management DB 411 (S201A to S201C).

[0117] The server device 40 adds up the power consumption amounts reported and accumulated within a predetermined period, and stores the added-up power consumption amounts in the management DB 411 for each home appliance 10 (S202A). The predetermined period is, for example, one day, and the addition is performed at midnight. Another example of the predetermined period is, for example, one month, and the addition is performed at the end of the month. The server device 40 also calculates the electricity usage fee from the reported power consumption amounts and the unit price information stored in the management DB 411. The calculated electricity usage fee includes the electricity usage fee for each predetermined time period and the electricity usage fee for each predetermined period. The server device 40 stores usage information including the reported power consumption amounts and the calculated electricity usage fee in the management DB 411 for each home appliance 10.

[0118] On the other hand, when the application 301 of the terminal device 30 is started (S301), the input processing unit 3012 displays the application home screen 501 on the display device 302 and accepts an operation on the total display icon 504.

[0119] When the application 301 receives an operation on the total display icon 504 (S302), it requests the server device 40 for usage amount information of a predetermined home electric appliance 10 (S303). The predetermined home electric appliance 10 may be, for example, one home electric appliance 10 selected in advance, or may be the home electric appliance 10 most recently selected by the home electric appliance selection unit 1802.

[0120] When the server device 40 receives the request for usage information from the application 301 of the terminal device 30, the server device 40 transmits the usage information of the requested home electric appliance 10 stored in the management DB 411 as status information to the application of the terminal device 30 (S205).

[0121] When application 301 receives the usage amount information from server device 40, display processing unit 3013 causes display device 302 to display usage amount information screen 1801 based on the usage amount information (S304). In this way, when total display icon 504 is operated, display processing unit 3013 causes display device 302 to display usage amount information screen 1801 without acquiring home appliance status information.

[0122] When an operation to change the selection of a home appliance 10 is performed on the home appliance selection section 1802 of the usage information screen 1801, and the selection of the home appliance 10 is changed, that is, when an operation to change the display of the usage information screen 1801 is received (S305), the application 301 requests the server device 40 for usage information of the newly selected home appliance 10 (S306).

[0123] When the server device 40 receives the request for usage information from the application 301 of the terminal device 30, the server device 40 transmits the usage information of the requested home electric appliance 10 stored in the management DB 411 as status information to the application of the terminal device 30 (S206).

[0124] When application 301 receives the usage amount information from server device 40, display processing unit 3013 causes display device 302 to display usage amount information screen 1801 based on the usage amount information (S307). As a result, the usage amount displayed on usage amount information screen 1801 is changed to the usage amount information of the home appliance 10 newly selected in S305. Note that in the above process, an example has been shown in which usage amount information is obtained from server device 40 for each selected home appliance 10, but this is not limiting. For example, usage amount information for all home appliances 10 may be obtained from server device 40 at the beginning of the process, etc. In this case, there is an advantage that communication is not required even when the selection of home appliance 10 is changed, resulting in a faster response.

[0125] As described above, in this embodiment, the display processing unit 3013 acquires the usage information from the server device 40. Specifically, the display processing unit 3013 acquires from the server device 40 the electricity usage fee calculated in the server device 40 based on the power consumption amount and unit price information, and displays the electricity usage fee on the usage information screen 1801. Note that the unit price may be stored in the terminal device 30, and the electricity fee may be calculated from the usage information acquired from the server device 40 and the unit price stored in the terminal device 30.

[0126] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when a request is made to display the usage information screens 1801C and 1801D, which include a display of at least one of the total electricity charges for a plurality of home appliances 10 and the total power consumption of a plurality of home appliances 10, by operating the total display icon 504 or the home appliance selection unit 1802, the server device 40 calculates the total value of the home appliances 10 registered at the time the request is sent from the terminal device 30. Therefore, if a home appliance 10 was previously registered and the registration has been deleted (erased), the electricity charges and power consumption of the home appliance 10 are not included in the total value. This makes it possible to know only the total value of the currently registered home appliances 10. In this case, the usage information of the home appliance 10 whose registration has been deleted is not deleted from the storage unit 410 of the server device 40 but is stored therein. Furthermore, even if the registration of a home appliance 10 has been deleted, if the user re-registers the same home appliance 10 (for example, if the home appliance 10 has the same user ID and unique ID), the usage amount of the re-registered home appliance 10 is included in the total value. This allows the usage amount information to be inherited even if the application 301 is re-installed in a new terminal device 30 due to replacement of the terminal device 30, etc.

[0127] Furthermore, in this embodiment, once the electricity usage rate is determined in the server device 40, the determined electricity usage rate does not change even if the unit price setting of the electricity rate is changed thereafter. In the case of a day, the electricity usage rate calculated by the server device 40 at a predetermined time (e.g., midnight) is the determined electricity usage rate for that day. In the case of a month, the electricity usage rate calculated by the server device 40 at a predetermined time (e.g., midnight) on a predetermined date (e.g., the last day of the month) is the determined electricity usage rate for that month. As described above, in this embodiment, the determined electricity usage rate in the past does not change. As a result, even if the unit price setting is changed due to an increase in the electricity usage rate from a certain month, for example, the determined electricity usage rate does not change, and therefore it becomes possible to compare the electricity usage rate with the past electricity usage rate (e.g., the same month of the previous year) including the change in the unit price of the electricity rate.

[0128] Next, a transition example of the registered application home screen 501 according to the number of registered home appliances 10 will be described. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a transition example of the setting screen according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 22, when only one home appliance 10 is registered, the total display icon 504 and the collective operation icon 505 on the application home screen 501 are displayed in an inoperable state (grayed out, for example) and do not accept any operations. When an additional home appliance 10 is registered, the total display icon 504 and the collective operation icon 505 on the application home screen 501 are displayed in an operable state (not grayed out, for example) and accept any operations. The above processing is executed by the display processing unit 3013. That is, when a plurality of home appliances 10 capable of displaying at least one of the electricity usage fee and the power consumption amount are registered, the display processing unit 3013 changes the display state of the total display icon 504 to a state in which the total display icon 504 can be operated. Note that the inoperable display state may be a form in which the collective operation icon 505 is not displayed.

[0129] Also, in the present embodiment, as an example, when a home appliance 10 that supports the display of the electricity usage fee and the electricity usage fee is registered, the operation screen icon 503 is displayed, but when a home appliance 10 that does not support the display of the electricity usage fee and the electricity usage fee is registered, the operation screen icon 503 is not displayed. An example of a home appliance 10 that supports the display of the electricity usage fee and the electricity usage fee is an air conditioner, and an example of a home appliance 10 that does not support the display of the electricity usage fee and the electricity usage fee is a home appliance 10 other than an air conditioner (for example, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner, a microwave oven, an electric fan, etc.). Note that the home appliances 10 that support the above display and the home appliances 10 that do not support the above display are not limited to those described above.

[0130] <Summary> As described above, the application 301 (application program) of the embodiment is executed by the computer 310 of the terminal device 30, which is connected to the home appliance 10 via a network and includes the display device 302. The application 301 causes the computer 310 to execute a first screen display step, a second screen display step, a single appliance information screen display step, and a total information screen display step. The first screen display step causes the display device 302 to display an application home screen 501 (first screen) including an operation screen icon 503 (selection unit) for selecting the home appliance 10 and a total display icon 504 for displaying at least one of the total electricity charges of the multiple home appliances 10 and the total energy consumption of the multiple home appliances 10. The second screen display step causes the display device 302 to display an operation screen 1701 (second screen) on which the status of the home appliance 10 selected by an operation on the operation screen icon 503 is displayed. The individual information screen display step causes the display device 302 to display usage information screens 1801A and 1801B (individual information screens) including a display of at least one of the electricity usage fee for one home appliance 10 and the amount of power consumption for one home appliance 10. The total information screen display step causes the display device 302 to display usage information screens 1801C and 1801D (total information screens) including a display of at least one of the total electricity usage fee for multiple home appliances 10 and the total amount of power consumption for multiple home appliances 10. The usage information screens 1801A and 1801B are transitioned to via the operation screen 1701, and the usage information screens 1801C and 1801D are transitioned to from the application home screen 501 when the total display icon 504 is operated.

[0131] According to this configuration, the usage information screens 1801A and 1801B transition via the operation screen 1701, and the usage information screens 1801C and 1801D transition from the app home screen 501 when the total display icon 504 is operated, so that it is easy to intuitively understand which home appliance the displayed electricity usage charge or power consumption amount belongs to or whether it is the total value of multiple home appliances 10.

[0132] Furthermore, application 301 causes computer 310 to execute, for example, a registration step and a display form change step. In the registration step, home electric appliance 10 is registered. In the display form change step, when a plurality of home electric appliances 10 capable of displaying at least one of the electricity usage charge and the amount of power consumption are registered, application 301 changes the display form of total display icon 504 to a state in which total display icon 504 can be operated.

[0133] With this configuration, when the usage information screens 1801C and 1801D cannot be displayed, the display form of the total display icon 504 is changed to a state in which operation on the total display icon 504 is not possible, so that there is no risk of the user operating it erroneously.

[0134] Terminal device 30 is also connected via a network to server device 40 that manages home appliances 10. Application 301 causes computer 310 to execute a transmitting / receiving step. In the transmitting / receiving step, a request for usage information (total information) including at least one of a total of electricity usage charges of the plurality of home appliances 10 and a total of power consumption amounts of the plurality of home appliances 10 is transmitted to server device 40, and the total information is received from server device 40.

[0135] According to this configuration, the processing load of the terminal device 30 can be reduced compared to a configuration in which the terminal device 30 calculates at least one of the total electricity charges of the multiple home appliances 10 and the total power consumption of the multiple home appliances 10.

[0136] Furthermore, the total electricity charges for the plurality of home electric appliances 10 and the total power consumption amounts of the plurality of home electric appliances 10 are calculated for the home electric appliances 10 that are registered at the time when the request is transmitted to the server device 40 in the transmission step.

[0137] With this configuration, the electricity charges and power consumption of registered home appliances can be accurately known.

[0138] The server device 40 of the embodiment is connected to the home appliances 10 and the terminal device 30 via a network. The server device 40 includes a control unit 402 (processing unit). When the server device 40 receives a request for usage information (total information) including at least one of the total electricity usage charges of the plurality of home appliances 10 and the total amount of power consumption of the plurality of home appliances 10 from the terminal device 30, the control unit 402 calculates at least one of the total electricity usage charges of the plurality of home appliances 10 and the total amount of power consumption of the plurality of home appliances 10, and transmits the total information to the terminal device 30.

[0139] According to this configuration, the processing load of the terminal device 30 can be reduced compared to a configuration in which the terminal device 30 calculates at least one of the total electricity charges of the multiple home appliances 10 and the total power consumption of the multiple home appliances 10.

[0140] In addition, the total electricity charges for the multiple home appliances 10 and the total power consumption of the multiple home appliances 10 are calculated for the home appliances 10 that are registered by the terminal device 30 at the time the terminal device 30 sends a request to the server device 40.

[0141] With this configuration, the electricity charges and power consumption of registered home appliances can be accurately known.

[0142] Next, a modified example will be described.

[0143] Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a graph display unit displaying a breakdown according to a first modified example of the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 23, a pie chart 2001 has a different color for each home electric appliance 10. In Fig. 23, the different colors are represented by different hatching. In this embodiment, the home electric appliances 10 are, for example, an air conditioner in the living room, an air conditioner in the dining room, an air conditioner in the work room, a refrigerator, a rice cooker, and a microwave oven.

[0144] With this configuration, the color of each home electrical appliance 10 in the pie chart 2001 is different, making the breakdown display 1806 even easier to understand.

[0145] In the second modified example, when total display icon 504 is operated, application 301 acquires the amount of power consumption of home appliance 10 from server device 40, calculates the electricity usage fee for home appliance 10 based on the acquired amount of power consumption and unit price information, and displays the calculated electricity usage fee on usage information screen 1801. In this case, the unit price information may not be stored in terminal device 30, and server device 40 may transmit the unit price information together with the amount of power consumption to terminal device 30.

[0146] According to this configuration, the server device 40 does not need to calculate the electricity usage fee, and therefore the processing load on the server device 40 can be reduced.

[0147] In the third variant, when the application 301 is launched, the display processing unit 3013 acquires the power consumption amount and unit price information from the server device 40, and when the total display icon 504 is operated, calculates the electricity usage charge for the home appliance 10 based on the acquired power consumption amount and unit price information, and displays the calculated electricity usage charge on the usage information screen 1801.

[0148] In the above embodiment and modified example, when both the total electricity usage fee and the total power consumption are displayed, the breakdown display 1806 of the total electricity usage fee is displayed, but the breakdown display of the total power consumption is not displayed. However, this is not limiting. For example, the breakdown display 1806 of the total electricity usage fee may not be displayed, and the breakdown display of the total power consumption may be displayed. Furthermore, both the breakdown display 1806 of the total electricity usage fee and the breakdown display of the total power consumption may be displayed. Alternatively, of the total electricity usage fee and the total power consumption, only the total electricity usage fee may be displayed, and of the breakdown display 1806 of the total electricity usage fee and the breakdown display of the total power consumption, only the breakdown display of the total power consumption may be displayed. Alternatively, of the total electricity usage fee and the total power consumption, only the total power consumption may be displayed, and of the breakdown display 1806 of the total electricity usage fee and the breakdown display of the total power consumption, only the breakdown display 1806 of the total electricity usage fee may be displayed.

[0149] Furthermore, the usage information screens 1801A and 1801B (FIGS. 7 and 8) are transitioned from the application home screen 501 via the operation screen 1701 (FIG. 5), but transition may be made directly from the operation screen 1701 (FIG. 5), or transition (indirect transition) may be made from the operation screen 1701 via another screen (for example, a settings screen). For example, the usage information screens 1801A and 1801B may be transitioned to by tapping a settings button (not shown) on the operation screen 1701 to display the settings screen, and then tapping a standalone display icon displayed on the settings screen. In this case, the standalone display icon 1704 need not be provided on the operation screen 1701.

[0150] Furthermore, the unit price of the electricity rate for the home appliance 10 may be set individually for each home appliance 10. This makes it possible to accommodate, for example, a two-generation home where each household has a different electricity rate plan.

[0151] In the above-described embodiment and modified example, the server device 40 is configured as a single device, but this is not limited thereto. For example, the functional units (communication unit 401, control unit 402, storage unit 410) of the server device 40 or the functions of each unit may be distributed among multiple devices. Even in this case, a user who uses the application 301 of the terminal device 30 can enjoy all of the effects described in the above-described embodiment and modified example.

[0152] Furthermore, the server device 40 may be installed in Japan, or may be configured to be installed overseas outside Japan. Furthermore, when the server device 40 is configured as being distributed across multiple devices, some of the functional units (communication unit 401, control unit 402, storage unit 410) or a device having some of the functions of each unit may be configured to be installed overseas. Even in these cases, a user who uses the application 301 of the terminal device 30 can enjoy all of the effects described in the above-mentioned embodiment and modified examples.

[0153] The application 301 executed by the terminal device 30 in the above embodiment and modified examples is stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and is provided by being downloaded via the network. Furthermore, the application 301 executed by the terminal device 30 in the above embodiment and modified examples may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0154] The application 301 executed by the terminal device 30 in the above embodiment and modified example may be configured to be provided by being recorded in an installable or executable format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a USB memory, or an SD card.

[0155] Furthermore, the application 301 executed by the terminal device 30 of the above embodiment and modified example may be provided by being pre-installed in a ROM or the like.

[0156] The server device 40 in the above embodiment and variant examples includes a control device such as a CPU, a storage device such as a ROM or RAM, an external storage device such as an HDD or a CD drive, a display device such as a display device, and input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, and has a hardware configuration that utilizes a normal computer.

[0157] The home appliance management program executed by server device 40 in the above-described embodiment and modified example is provided as a file in an installable or executable format recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0158] The home appliance management program executed by server device 40 of the above-described embodiment and modified examples may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. The home appliance management program executed by server device 40 of the above-described embodiment and modified examples may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0159] The home electric appliance management program executed by the server device 40 of the above embodiment and modified example may be configured to be provided by being pre-installed in a ROM or the like.

[0160] The home appliance management program executed by server device 40 in the above embodiment and variants has a modular structure including the above-mentioned units (communication unit 401, control unit 402), and in terms of actual hardware, the CPU (processor) reads and executes the home appliance management program from the above-mentioned storage medium, thereby loading the above-mentioned units onto the main memory device and generating communication unit 401 and control unit 402 on the main memory device.

[0161] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0162] 1. Home appliance management system 10 Home appliances 30 Terminal Equipment 40 Server device 301 Application (Application Program) 302 Display device 310 Computer 402 Control section (processing section) 501 App home screen (first screen) 503 Operation screen icon (selection section) 504 Total Display Icon 1701 Operation screen (second screen) 1801A, 1801B Usage Information Screen (Single Unit Information Screen) 1801C,1801D Usage information screen (total information screen)

Claims

1. An application program to be executed by a computer of a terminal device connected to a home appliance via a network and equipped with a display device, a first screen display step of displaying on the display device a first screen including a selection unit for selecting the home appliance and a total display icon for displaying at least one of a total of electricity charges for the plurality of home appliances and a total of power consumption amounts of the plurality of home appliances; a second screen display step of displaying, on the display device, a second screen on which a state of the home appliance selected by the operation on the selection unit is displayed; a unit information screen display step of displaying, on the display device, a unit information screen including a display of at least one of the electricity usage fee of one of the home electric appliances and the power consumption amount of the one of the home electric appliances; a total information screen display step of displaying on the display device a total information screen including a display of at least one of the total electricity charges of the plurality of the home appliances and the total amount of power consumption of the plurality of the home appliances; causing the computer to execute the unit information screen transitions via the second screen, the total information screen transitions from the first screen when the total display icon is operated; Application program.

2. a registration step of registering the home appliance; a display form changing step of changing the display form of the total display icon to a state where the total display icon can be operated when a plurality of the home electric appliances capable of displaying at least one of the electricity usage rate and the power consumption amount are registered; and further causing the computer to execute the steps of: The application program according to claim 1 .

3. the terminal device is connected via a network to a server device that manages the home appliances; The application program and causing the computer to further execute a transmitting / receiving step of transmitting a request for total information including at least one of a total of the electricity usage charges of the plurality of the home appliances and a total of the power consumption amounts of the plurality of the home appliances to the server device, and receiving the total information from the server device. The application program according to claim 1 .

4. the total electricity charges of the plurality of household electrical appliances and the total energy consumption of the plurality of household electrical appliances are calculated for the household electrical appliances that are registered at the time when the request is transmitted to the server device in the transmitting and receiving step; 4. The application program according to claim 3.

5. A terminal device connected to a home appliance via a network and equipped with a display device, displaying, on the display device, a first screen including a selection unit for selecting the home appliance and a total display icon for displaying at least one of a total of electricity charges for the plurality of home appliances and a total of power consumption amounts of the plurality of home appliances; displaying, on the display device, a second screen on which a state of the home appliance selected by the operation on the selection unit is displayed; displaying, on the display device, a unit information screen including a display of at least one of the electricity usage fee of one of the home electric appliances and the power consumption amount of the one of the home electric appliances; displaying on the display device a total information screen including a display of at least one of the total electricity charges of the plurality of the home appliances and the total amount of power consumption of the plurality of the home appliances; Run the unit information screen transitions via the second screen, the total information screen transitions from the first screen when the total display icon is operated; Terminal device.

6. A home appliance management system including an application program to be executed by a computer of a terminal device connected to home appliances via a network and equipped with a display device, The application program a first screen display step of displaying on the display device a first screen including a selection unit for selecting the home appliance and a total display icon for displaying at least one of a total of electricity charges for the plurality of home appliances and a total of power consumption amounts of the plurality of home appliances; a second screen display step of displaying, on the display device, a second screen on which a state of the home appliance selected by the operation on the selection unit is displayed; a unit information screen display step of displaying, on the display device, a unit information screen including a display of at least one of the electricity usage fee of one of the home electric appliances and the power consumption amount of the one of the home electric appliances; a total information screen display step of displaying on the display device a total information screen including a display of at least one of the total electricity charges of the plurality of the home appliances and the total amount of power consumption of the plurality of the home appliances; causing the computer to execute the unit information screen transitions via the second screen, the total information screen transitions from the first screen when the total display icon is operated; Home appliance management system.

7. A home appliance management system including a server device connected to home appliances and terminal devices via a network, The server device includes a processing unit that, when receiving a request for total information including at least one of a total of electricity usage charges for the plurality of home appliances and a total of power consumption amounts of the plurality of home appliances from the terminal device, calculates at least one of the total of the electricity usage charges for the plurality of home appliances and the total of power consumption amounts of the plurality of home appliances and transmits the total information to the terminal device. Home appliance management system.

8. The targets of the total electricity usage charges of the plurality of the home appliances and the total energy consumption amounts of the plurality of the home appliances are the home appliances registered by the terminal device at the time when the terminal device transmits the request to the server device. The home appliance management system according to claim 7 .

9. A home appliance management method executed by a home appliance management system including an application program to be executed by a computer of a terminal device connected to home appliances via a network and equipped with a display device, a first screen display step of displaying on the display device a first screen including a selection unit for selecting the home appliance and a total display icon for displaying at least one of a total of electricity charges for the plurality of home appliances and a total of power consumption amounts of the plurality of home appliances; a second screen display step of displaying, on the display device, a second screen on which a state of the home appliance selected by the operation on the selection unit is displayed; a unit information screen display step of displaying, on the display device, a unit information screen including a display of at least one of the electricity usage fee of one of the home electric appliances and the power consumption amount of the one of the home electric appliances; a total information screen display step of displaying on the display device a total information screen including a display of at least one of the total electricity charges of the plurality of the home appliances and the total amount of power consumption of the plurality of the home appliances; causing the computer to execute the unit information screen transitions via the second screen, the total information screen transitions from the first screen when the total display icon is operated; How to manage home appliances.

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