Application program, home appliance control system, and home appliance control method

Abstract

The application's home screen allows users to easily identify the icons of the home appliances they wish to use, improving usability. [Solution] The application program according to the embodiment is an application program to be executed by a computer in a terminal device equipped with a display device and connected via a network to a server device that manages home appliances, and causes the computer to execute an acquisition step of acquiring the operating status of the home appliances from the server device, and a display processing step of changing the display form of the icons and displaying the icons on the home screen that is first displayed when the application program is started, based on the acquired operating status of the home appliances.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an application program, a home appliance control system, and a home appliance control method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in a home appliance control system that manages a plurality of home appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators connected to a network, a technology for remotely operating home appliances with an application executed on a terminal device such as a smartphone is known. In such applications and systems, various types of home appliances registered by the user can be controlled. On the home screen that is first displayed when the application is launched, icons of each home appliance are arranged side by side, and it is a user interface that transitions to a control screen when the user selects an icon.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in such conventional technologies, when registering a plurality of home appliances in an application and operating the registered home appliances, if the number of registered home appliances increases, on the home screen of the application, it is difficult for the user to see the icon of the home appliance they want to use, and there is a problem of poor operability.

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an application program, a home appliance control management system, and a home appliance control method that enable a user to easily grasp the icon of a home appliance they want to use on the home screen of the application and improve the operability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The application program according to this embodiment is an application program to be executed by a computer in a terminal device equipped with a display device, which is connected via a network to a server device that manages home appliances, and which causes the computer to execute an acquisition step of acquiring the operating status of the home appliances from the server device, and a display processing step of changing the display form of the icons and displaying the icons on the home screen that is first displayed when the application program is started, based on the acquired operating status of the home appliances.

[0007] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step changes the display form of the icon and displays the icon on the home screen based on whether the operating state is in operation or not.

[0008] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step displays the icons of the home appliances that are operating at a larger size on the home appliances that are not operating on the home screen.

[0009] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step displays the icon of the home appliance whose operating status is "operating" by placing it in the upper area of ​​the home screen.

[0010] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step displays the icons of the home appliances whose operating status is "operating" on the home appliance icons that are not operating, superimposed on the home appliance icons.

[0011] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step changes the display form of the icon and displays the icon on the home screen according to the priority based on the operating state.

[0012] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step increases the size of the icon and displays it on the home screen, with the higher the priority of the step.

[0013] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step is performed such that the higher the priority, the more the icon is placed and displayed in the upper area of ​​the home screen.

[0014] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step displays the icons of multiple home appliances whose priority is lower than a predetermined threshold by superimposing them and placing them in the lower area of ​​the home screen.

[0015] Furthermore, in the application program, the priority is set such that the highest first priority is set when the home appliance is in a state requiring user action, and less than a predetermined time has passed since the state change; a second priority lower than the first priority is set when the home appliance is in a normal operating state; and a third priority lower than the second priority is set when the home appliance has stopped operating.

[0016] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step highlights and displays on the home screen the icon of the home appliance that is in a state requiring user action.

[0017] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step displays instruction information for giving operating instructions to the home appliance on the icon, which is displayed at an enlarged size.

[0018] Furthermore, in the application program, the display processing step arranges multiple icons on the home screen so that they can be scrolled.

[0019] Furthermore, the home appliance control system according to the embodiment comprises a home appliance, a server device connected to the home appliance via a network and managing the home appliance, and an application program to be executed by a computer in a terminal device connected to the server device via a network and equipped with a display device, wherein the home appliance transmits its operating state to the server device, the server device receives the operating state from the home appliance and transmits the received operating state to the application program, and the application program causes the computer to execute an acquisition step of obtaining the operating state of the home appliance from the server device, and a display processing step of changing the display form of the icon and displaying the icon on the home screen that is first displayed when the application program is started, based on the received operating state of the home appliance.

[0020] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, the display processing step changes the display form of the icon and displays the icon on the home screen based on whether the operating state is in operation or not.

[0021] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, the server device determines the priority of the home appliance based on the operating status of the home appliance, transmits the determined priority to the terminal device, and the display processing step changes the display form of the icon according to the priority and displays the icon on the home screen.

[0022] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, the server device determines the priority to be the highest first priority when the home appliance is in a state where user action is required, and less than a predetermined time has passed since the state change; to a second priority lower than the first priority when the home appliance is in a normal operating state; and to a third priority lower than the second priority when the home appliance has stopped operating.

[0023] In the home appliance control system, in the display processing step, an icon of the home appliance in a state where user action is required is emphasized and displayed on the home screen.

[0024] Further, a home appliance control method according to an embodiment includes a home appliance, a server device connected to the home appliance via a network and managing the home appliance, and an application program to be executed by a computer of a terminal device connected to the server device via a network and including a display device. The home appliance control method is executed in a home appliance control system including: a step in which the home appliance transmits an operation state to the server device; a step in which the server device receives the operation state from the home appliance; a step in which the server device transmits the received operation state to the terminal device; a step in which the computer of the terminal device that executes the application program acquires the operation state of the home appliance from the server device; and a display processing step in which the computer of the terminal device that executes the application program changes a display form of an icon and displays the icon on a home screen that is first displayed when the application program is started, based on the acquired operation state of the home appliance. It includes.

[0025] According to the above embodiment, on the home screen of the application, the user can easily grasp the icon of the home appliance that the user wants to use, and the operability can be improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a home appliance control management system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a management DB according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4]Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an example of the home screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of a detailed screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows another example of the home screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of the home appliance control process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for displaying the home screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows an example of the home screen according to Modification Example 1. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows an example of the data structure of the management DB according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows an example of a home screen according to the second embodiment. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of the home appliance control process according to the second embodiment. [Figure 15] Figure 15 shows an example of the procedure for priority determination processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 16] Figure 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for displaying the home screen according to the second embodiment. [Figure 17] Figure 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for displaying the home screen according to Modification Example 2. [Figure 18] Figure 18 shows an example of the home screen according to Modification 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0027] Embodiments of the application program, home appliance control system, and home appliance control method relating to this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this specification, components and descriptions of such components according to embodiments may be described using multiple expressions. The components and their descriptions are examples and are not limited by the expressions used herein. Components may also be identified by names different from those used herein. Furthermore, components may also be described using expressions different from those used herein.

[0028] (First Embodiment) Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a home appliance control system according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment mainly comprises a server device 40, a terminal device 30, a refrigerator 10A, a washing machine 10B, an air conditioner 10C, an air conditioner 10D, and a microwave oven 10E. The refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, and microwave oven 10E are installed in one household.

[0029] The refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, microwave oven 10E, and terminal device 30 are connected to a network via a router or similar device installed in the home. Furthermore, the refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, microwave oven 10E, and terminal device 30 are connected to a server device 40 on the same network. The network consists of the internet, a regular telephone line, and a mobile phone line, etc.

[0030] Here, the refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, and microwave oven 10E are examples of home appliances. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, any one of the refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, and microwave oven 10E will be referred to as home appliance 10. However, home appliance 10 is not limited to these.

[0031] The terminal device 30 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or tablet device, which displays information about the refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, and microwave oven 10E via the server device 40, and also allows for remote operation.

[0032] The terminal device 30 has an application program (hereinafter referred to as "the application") installed for remotely controlling the home appliance 10. The user (also referred to as the user) launches the application on 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.

[0033] The server device 40 is a device that manages the home appliance 10 and relays communication between the terminal device 30 and the home appliance 10 in order to remotely control the home appliance 10.

[0034] First, the details of the server device 40 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server device 40 according to the first embodiment. The server device 40 of this embodiment mainly comprises a communication unit 401, a control unit 402, and a storage unit 410.

[0035] The storage unit 410 is a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solitary State Drive). In this embodiment, the storage unit 410 stores a management database 411 (hereinafter referred to as "management DB 411").

[0036] Management DB411 is a database for managing home appliances 10. Figure 3 shows an example of the data structure of the management DB 411 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the management DB 411 associates user IDs, device IDs, and status.

[0037] The User ID is information used to identify a user. The Device ID is information used to identify the home appliance 10 managed by the user with the specified User ID. The Status indicates the current operating state of the home appliance. In the example in Figure 3, a user with User ID User A has registered the Device IDs of the home appliances 10 shown in Figure 1—refrigerator 10A, washing machine 10B, air conditioner 10C, air conditioner 10D, and microwave oven 10E—associated with User A's User ID. In addition, the Status for each home appliance 10 is registered as "operating" or "stopped."

[0038] Returning to Figure 2, the control unit 402 performs various controls on the home appliance 10. Specifically, the control unit 402 registers the user ID of the user who manages the home appliance 10 in the management DB 411 based on instructions from the application on the terminal device 30.

[0039] Furthermore, the control unit 402 receives status notifications from each of the multiple home appliances 10 via the communication unit 401, which include the current operating state (also simply referred to as "state") and the device ID, along with the device ID. The control unit 402 then registers the current operating state from the received status notification in association with the device ID of the corresponding home appliance 10 in the management DB 411. The control unit 402 also receives status requests from the application of the terminal device 30 via the communication unit 401, which include the user ID and indicate a request for the current state of the home appliance 10 registered in association with the user ID. Upon receiving such a status request, the control unit 402 transmits the current operating state of the home appliance 10 associated with the user ID registered in the management DB 411 to the application of the terminal device 30. Furthermore, the control unit 402 receives control instructions for the home appliance 10 from the application on the terminal device 30 and performs control on the home appliance 10.

[0040] The communication unit 401 controls communication with the home appliance 10 and the terminal device 30. Specifically, when the control unit 402 sends requests or instructions from the terminal device 30 or sends information to the terminal device 30, it does so via the communication unit 401. Similarly, when the control unit 402 receives information from the home appliance 10 or issues control instructions to the home appliance 10, it does so via the communication unit 401.

[0041] Next, the details of the terminal device 30 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a terminal device 30 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the terminal device 30 according to this embodiment mainly comprises 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 (not shown). The hardware of the terminal device 30 consists of the CPU (not shown), the display device 302, the input device 303, the communication device 304, and the storage device 305.

[0042] The display device 302 is, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal or an organic EL display. The input device 303 is an input device such as a touch panel or hard keys superimposed on the display device 302. The communication device 304 is an interface that performs wireless communication according to the standards of Wi-Fi, 4G (e.g., LTE (Long Term Evolution)), and 5G.

[0043] The storage device 305 is a storage medium such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory).

[0044] As shown in Figure 4, application 301 mainly comprises a communication processing unit 3011, an input processing unit 3012, a display processing unit 3013, a control unit 3014, and an acquisition unit 3016. Application 301 is stored in a storage device 305 such as ROM, RAM, or flash memory. Here, the application is sometimes referred to as an "app."

[0045] Application 301 is an example of an application program. Application 301 is a modular configuration that includes each of the functional units described above (communication processing unit 3011, input processing unit 3012, display processing unit 3013, control unit 3014, and acquisition unit 3016). In actual hardware, Application 301 is started when the CPU reads and executes Application 301 from a storage device 305 such as flash memory. Then, each of the above units is loaded onto the storage device 305 such as RAM, and the communication processing unit 3011, input processing unit 3012, display processing unit 3013, control unit 3014, and acquisition unit 3016 are generated on the storage device 305 such as RAM.

[0046] The control unit 3014 performs various controls on application 301. The communication processing unit 3011 controls communication by the communication device 304. Furthermore, when the communication processing unit 3011 receives a control instruction from the user to the home appliance 10 via the input processing unit 3012, it transmits the received control instruction to the server device 40.

[0047] The acquisition unit 3016 acquires the current operating status of the home appliance 10 from the server device 40. The display processing unit 3013 controls the display of various information on the display device 302. When application 301 is launched, the display processing unit 3013 displays the home screen on the display device 302. Here, the home screen is the basic screen that is displayed first when application 301 is launched. The display processing unit 3013 then displays various icons on the home screen. In addition, application 301 can display app screens on the display device 302. Here, app screens are screens that are displayed on the display device 302 by operating icons.

[0048] Furthermore, icons are image information used by users to issue control or operation instructions to the home appliance 10 through touch operations or other contact, or to transition to various operation screens of the home appliance, and include buttons and shortcuts.

[0049] The display processing unit 3013 displays multiple icons on the home screen of the display device 302 for instructing the operation of the home appliance 10. The display processing unit 3013 displays icons on the home screen by changing the display format of the icons of the home appliance 10 based on the operating status of the home appliance 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 3016. In this embodiment, the display processing unit 3013 changes the display format of the icons and displays them on the home screen based on whether the operating status is active or not. More specifically, the display processing unit 3013 displays the icons of home appliance 10 that are active on the home screen at a larger size than the icons of home appliance 10 that are not active. In addition, the display processing unit 3013 places and displays the icons of home appliance 10 that are active in the upper area of ​​the home screen.

[0050] Figure 5 shows an example of the home screen according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, the home screen 501 displays multiple icons 502 and 503 for controlling the home appliances 10, one for each appliance 10. In the example in Figure 5, icon 502 is the icon for a home appliance 10 that is in operation (in the example in Figure 5, it is an air conditioner), and the multiple icons 503 are the icons for home appliances 10 that are not in operation (for example, stopped).

[0051] As shown in Figure 5, the display processing unit 3013 places the icon 502 of the home appliance 10 (air conditioner) that is in operation in the upper area of ​​the home screen 501, and places the multiple icons 503 of the home appliance 10 that are not in operation in the area below the icon 502 of the home appliance 10 that is in operation. In addition, as shown in Figure 5, the display processing unit 3013 displays the icons 503 of the home appliance 10 that are not in operation on the home screen 501 with the size of the icon 502 of the home appliance 10 that is in operation enlarged.

[0052] Furthermore, the display processing unit 3013 displays instruction information for giving operating instructions to the home appliance 10 on the icon of the operating home appliance 10, which is displayed at a larger size. For example, the display processing unit 3013 can display instruction information for displaying a detailed screen. Here, the detailed screen is a screen for giving detailed instructions to the home appliance 10. Then, when the input processing unit 3012, which will be described later, receives an operation request for instruction information on the icon, the display processing unit 3013 displays the detailed screen on the home screen.

[0053] Here, as shown in Figure 5, a detail change button 504 is displayed in the upper left corner of the icon 502 of the operating home appliance 10. This detail change button 504 corresponds to instruction information. Therefore, when a user touches the detail change button 504, the input processing unit 3012 receives the touch operation, and the display processing unit 3013 displays the detail screen on the display device 302.

[0054] Figure 6 shows an example of a detail screen according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 6, this detail screen 601 is a screen for instructing the user to switch between operations such as cooling, dehumidification, and heating. In addition, various settings can be made on the detail screen 601. For example, when the user touches the arrow (←) button at the top of the detail screen 601, the display processing unit 3013 displays a message to return from the detail screen 601 to the home screen 501 shown in Figure 5.

[0055] Figure 7 shows another example of the home screen according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 7, the home screen 501 displays multiple icons 502 and 503 for controlling the home appliances 10, one for each appliance 10. In the example in Figure 7, icon 502 is the icon for a home appliance 10 that is in operation (in the example in Figure 7, it is an air conditioner), and the multiple icons 502 are icons for home appliances 10 that are not in operation (for example, stopped).

[0056] As shown in Figure 7, the display processing unit 3013 places the icon 502 of the home appliance 10 (air conditioner) that is in operation in the upper area of ​​the home screen 501, and places the multiple icons 503 of the home appliance 10 that are not in operation in the area below the icon 502 of the home appliance 10 that is in operation. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5, the display processing unit 3013 displays the icons 503 of the home appliance 10 that are not in operation on the home screen 501 with the size of the icon 502 of the home appliance 10 that is in operation enlarged. Here, in the example in Figure 7, the arrangement of the icons 503 of the home appliance 10 that are not in operation differs from the example in Figure 5, and is arranged in the same way as the icons on a conventional home screen.

[0057] Furthermore, if multiple icons cannot fit on a single screen on the home screen, the display processing unit 3013 arranges the multiple icons in a scrollable format.

[0058] For example, if there are many icons 503 for non-operating home appliances 10 that cannot be displayed on a single home screen 501 as shown in Figure 7, the display processing unit 3013 can scroll through and display multiple icons 503 on the home screen 501.

[0059] Returning to Figure 4, the input processing unit 3012 receives user input from the input device 303. The input processing unit 3012 receives operation input from the user from the home screen or application screen (i.e., the input device 303 such as a touch panel). In this embodiment, the input processing unit 3012 receives operation input from the user to the home appliance 10 from icons such as operation buttons and shortcuts displayed on the home screen or application screen.

[0060] Next, the home appliance control process by the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, configured as described above, will be explained. Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of the home appliance control process according to the first embodiment. Each of the multiple home appliances 10 (1 to n) sends a status notification including its operating status and device ID to the server device 40 along with the device ID when its operating status changes (S101a to S101n).

[0061] When the server device 40 receives status notifications from each home appliance 10 via the communication unit 401, the control unit 402 registers the current operating status indicated in the status notification in the management DB 411 for the home appliance 10 corresponding to the device ID indicated in the status notification (S102a~102n).

[0062] Here, when application 301 is launched on terminal device 30 (S103), the communication processing unit 3011 of application 301 sends a status request to server device 40 to request the current operating status of home appliance 10 (S104). This status request includes the user ID of the user using application 301.

[0063] The server device 40 receives a status request from the application 301 via the communication unit 401. The control unit 402 then reads the operating status of all home appliances 10 registered for the user of the user ID included in the status request from the management DB 411. Next, the control unit 402 transmits the operating status of all the home appliances 10 that it has read to the application 301 (S105).

[0064] In application 301, when the communication processing unit 3011 receives the operating status of the home appliance 10 from the server device 40, the display processing unit 3013 executes the home screen display process (S106).

[0065] Here, we will explain the details of the home screen display process. Figure 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for displaying the home screen according to the first embodiment.

[0066] First, the display processing unit 3013 generates the home screen (S201). Next, the display processing unit 3013 enlarges the size of the icons for the home appliances 10 whose operating status is "operating" and places them at the top of the home screen (S202).

[0067] Next, the display processing unit 3013 reduces the size of the icons for home appliances 10 whose operating status is not "operating" and places them at the bottom of the home screen (i.e., below the "operating" icons) (S203).

[0068] As a result, the icons for home appliances 10 whose operating status is "operating" will be larger than the icons for home appliances 10 whose operating status is not "operating," and will be placed at the top of the home screen.

[0069] Next, the display processing unit 3013 displays the home screen with the icons arranged in S201 and S202 on the display device 302 (S204). Then, the process returns to the caller.

[0070] Returning to Figure 8, after the home screen display process is completed, if the operating state of the home appliance 10 changes, the home appliance 10 sends a status notification to the server device 40, including the changed operating state and the device ID (S107).

[0071] When the server device 40 receives a status notification from each home appliance 10 via the communication unit 401, the control unit 402 registers the current operating status after the change indicated in the status notification in the management DB 411, corresponding to the status of the home appliance 10 with the device ID indicated in the status notification (S108). Next, the control unit 402 of the server device 40 transmits the current operating status after the change via the communication unit 401 to the application 301 of the user ID that has registered the home appliance 10 in the management DB 411 (S109).

[0072] In application 301, when the communication processing unit 3011 receives the updated operating status of the home appliance 10 from the server device 40, the display processing unit 3013 updates the icon display on the home screen (S110). Specifically, if the operating status of the home appliance 10 changes from stopped to running, the size of the icon for the home appliance 10 is increased and it is placed at the top of the home screen. On the other hand, if the operating status of the home appliance 10 changes from running to stopped, the size of the icon for the home appliance 10 is decreased and it is placed at the bottom of the home screen.

[0073] In the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the home appliance 10 transmits its current operating state to the server device 40, the server device 40 receives the operating state from the home appliance 10 and transmits the received operating state to the application 301 of the terminal device 30, the application 301 obtains the operating state of the home appliance 10 from the server device 40 and displays an icon on the home screen that is initially displayed when the application 301 is launched, changing the display format of the icon for instructing operations on the home appliance 10 based on the received operating state of the home appliance 10.

[0074] Therefore, in this embodiment, the operating status of the home appliance 10 is clearly indicated by an icon on the home screen of the application 301. As a result, the user can easily identify the icon of the home appliance 10 they wish to use on the home screen of the application 301, thereby improving usability.

[0075] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the application 301 changes the display format of the icon and displays the icon on the home screen based on whether or not the operating status is in operation.

[0076] Therefore, in this embodiment, the operating status of the home appliance 10 is made clear on the home screen of the application 301 by displaying an icon, so that the user can more easily identify the icon of the home appliance 10 they want to use on the home screen of the application 301, thereby improving usability.

[0077] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the application 301 displays the icons of home appliances 10 that are operating at a larger size on the home screen than the icons of home appliances 10 that are not operating.

[0078] Therefore, in this embodiment, the operating status of the home appliance 10 is displayed on the home screen of application 301 with an icon of a home appliance 10 that is in operation, which is larger than the icon of a home appliance 10 that is not in operation. This makes it easier for the user to understand, and on the home screen of application 301, the user can more easily identify the icon of the home appliance 10 that they want to use, thereby improving usability.

[0079] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the application 301 displays an icon of the home appliance 10 that is in operation by placing it in the upper area of ​​the home screen.

[0080] Therefore, in this embodiment, the operating status of the home appliance 10 is displayed in an area above the icons of home appliances 10 that are not operating on the home screen of the application 301. This makes it easier for the user to understand, and on the home screen of the application 301, the user can more easily identify the icon of the home appliance 10 they want to use, thereby improving usability.

[0081] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the display processing unit 3013 displays instruction information for issuing operation instructions to the home appliance on an icon of the operating home appliance 10, which is displayed at a larger size.

[0082] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the larger icons display instruction information for operation, making it easy to operate the home appliance 10 while remaining on the home screen.

[0083] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the icons that are displayed after the display mode has been changed display instruction information for displaying a detailed screen for giving detailed instructions to the home appliance 10, and the application 301 displays the detailed screen on the display device 302 when the instruction information is manipulated on the icons that are displayed after the display mode has been changed.

[0084] Therefore, in this embodiment, the operating status of the home appliance 10 can be easily displayed on the home screen of the application 301, and the detailed screen of the home appliance 10 in operation can be easily displayed, thereby further improving operability.

[0085] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the display processing unit 3013 arranges multiple icons on the home screen in a scrollable manner if multiple icons cannot be accommodated on a single screen.

[0086] Therefore, according to this embodiment, since screen space is limited on the home screen, it is possible to prevent a cumbersome user interface from being created by scrolling through multiple icons of non-operating home appliances 10.

[0087] (Variation 1) The display configuration of icons on the home screen is not limited to the examples given in the first embodiment. For example, the display processing unit 3013 can be configured to display the icon of a home appliance 10 that is in operation on the home screen by superimposing it on the icons of multiple home appliances 10 that are not in operation.

[0088] Figure 10 shows an example of the home screen according to Modification Example 1. In the example shown in Figure 10(a), the display processing unit 3013 displays on the home screen 1001 an icon 1002 of an appliance 10 that is in operation (an air conditioner in the example of Figure 10) and icons 1003 of multiple appliances 10 that are not in operation. Here, the icons 1003 of the multiple appliances 10 that are not in operation are arranged in a tile format, as shown in Figure 10(a), similar to a conventional home screen. The display processing unit 3013 then superimposes the icon 1002 of the appliance 10 that is in operation onto the icons 1003 of the multiple appliances 10 that are not in operation.

[0089] Here, a down arrow button 1004 is displayed in the lower right corner of the icon 1002 of the home appliance 10 whose operating status is "operating". When the user touches this down arrow button, as shown in Figure 10(b), the display processing unit 3013 erases the superimposed display of the icon 1002 of the home appliance 10 whose operating status is "operating" and displays a home screen in which the icons are arranged in a tile format similar to the conventional technology. This makes it easy for the user to operate the icon 1003 of the home appliance 10 that is not operating.

[0090] (Second embodiment) In the first embodiment, the display format of the icon for an operating home appliance 10 was changed and displayed on the home screen. In this embodiment, priorities are set for home appliances that require user action, for icons of home appliances 10 that are normally operating, and for icons of home appliances 10 that are not operating. The display format is changed according to the priority and displayed on the home screen accordingly.

[0091] The overall configuration of the home appliance control system 1, the configuration of the home appliance 10, and the configuration of the terminal device 30 according to the second embodiment are the same as in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the configuration of the server device differs from that of the first embodiment.

[0092] Figure 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server device 140 according to the second embodiment. The server device 140 according to this embodiment mainly comprises a communication unit 401, a control unit 1402, a priority determination unit 1403, and a storage unit 410. The functions and configurations of the communication unit 401 and the storage unit 410 are the same as in the first embodiment.

[0093] In the server device 140 of this embodiment, the priority determination unit 1403 determines the priority for icon display based on the operating status of the home appliance 10 received via the communication unit 401.

[0094] Here, the home appliances 10 include home appliances 10 performing special operations, home appliances 10 performing normal operations, home appliances 10 that are online (stopped), and home appliances 10 that are offline. Examples of normal operation of home appliances 10 include the normal operation of a refrigerator, the passage of a predetermined time (e.g., 10 minutes) or more after a change in state in an air conditioner, and the passage of a predetermined time (e.g., 10 minutes) or more after a change in state in a washing machine.

[0095] Furthermore, special operations of the home appliance 10 include, for example, situations where user action is required, after a change in state, or within a predetermined time (e.g., 10 minutes). Examples of situations where user action is required include removing laundry, removing items from the microwave oven, the occurrence of an error, leaving the refrigerator door open, ending the defrost mode of the refrigerator, or ending the cooking process of the rice cooker. The predetermined time is not limited to 10 minutes.

[0096] In this embodiment, the priority determination unit 1403 sets the priority of a home appliance 10 in special operation to the highest priority 1, the priority of a home appliance 10 in normal operation to a medium priority 2, and the priority of other home appliances 10 that are online (i.e., stopped) or offline to the lowest priority 3. However, the management DB 1411 counts changes in operating status, and the priority determination unit 1403 refers to the management DB 1411 and sets the priority to a higher level, such as priority 2, if the average number of operations per day is a certain number (for example, 1) or more, even if the appliance is online (i.e., stopped).

[0097] More specifically, the priority determination unit 1403 sets the priority to the highest priority, 1, when user action is required for the home appliance 10, and less than a predetermined time has passed since the state change. The priority determination unit 1403 also sets the priority to priority 2, which is lower than priority 1, when the home appliance 10 is in a normal operating state, or when the average number of daily operations of the online (stopped) home appliance 10 is greater than or equal to a predetermined number (e.g., 1 time). Furthermore, the priority determination unit 1403 sets the priority to priority 3, which is lower than priority 2, when the operation of the home appliance 10 is stopped (i.e., online or offline).

[0098] Here, priority 1 is an example of the first priority, priority 2 is an example of the second priority, and priority 3 is an example of the third priority.

[0099] Furthermore, the control unit 1402 registers the priority determined by the priority determination unit 1403, along with the operating status, in the management DB 1411 of the storage unit 410. The control unit 1402 also transmits the determined priority and operating status to the application 301 via the communication unit 401.

[0100] Figure 12 shows an example of the data structure of the management DB 411 according to the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 12, the management DB 1411 associates user ID, device ID, status, and priority.

[0101] The user ID and device ID are the same as in the first embodiment. The status, as in the first embodiment, represents the current operating state of the home appliance 10, but in this embodiment, the operating state is shown in more detail than in the first embodiment. Specifically, in the example in Figure 12, the operating states include normal operation, processing complete (for example, washing complete, drying complete, etc.), within 10 minutes after a state change, stopped, and error, each of which is registered for each home appliance 10. However, the operating states in Figure 12 are just examples and are not limited to these.

[0102] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 12, the management DB1411 has priority levels (1, 2, 3) registered that correspond to each operating state.

[0103] In the application 301 of the terminal device 30 according to this embodiment, the communication processing unit 3011 receives the operating status of the home appliance 10 and the priority based on the operating status from the server device 140. Furthermore, the display processing unit 3013 in this embodiment changes the display format of icons and displays them on the home screen according to the priority based on the operating state. Specifically, the display processing unit 3013 increases the size of icons and displays them on the home screen as their priority increases. Also, the display processing unit 3013 places icons in the upper area of ​​the home screen as their priority increases.

[0104] Furthermore, the display processing unit 3013 displays icons of multiple home appliances 100 with a priority lower than a predetermined threshold by superimposing them in the lower area of ​​the home screen. In this embodiment, the predetermined threshold is a priority of 2, and therefore, multiple icons with a priority of 1 are displayed superimposed. However, the predetermined threshold is not limited to this.

[0105] Figure 13 shows an example of a home screen according to the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 13, the home screen 1301 displays multiple icons 1302a, 1302b, 1303, and 1304 for controlling the home appliances 10, one for each home appliance 10.

[0106] In the example in Figure 13, icons 1302a and 1302b are icons for home appliances 10 with priority 1. Specifically, icon 1302a is the icon for an air conditioner whose operating state has been in operation for less than 10 minutes since the state change, and icon 1302b is the icon for a washing machine whose operating state is drying complete, meaning that user action such as removing the laundry is required. Icon 1302b displays a message indicating that drying is complete, prompting user action. Since these two home appliances 10 have priority 1, the display processing unit 3013 places icons 1302a and 1302b in the upper area of ​​the home screen and displays them in a larger size than the other icons with priority 2 and 3.

[0107] Furthermore, the display processing unit 3013 displays instruction information for issuing operation instructions to the home appliance 10 on the icon of the home appliance 10 with priority 1, which is displayed in a larger size. For example, as shown in Figure 13, the largest icon with priority 1, 1302a, displays a detail change button 504 for instructing the display of the detail screen, similar to the first embodiment.

[0108] Furthermore, icon 1303 is the icon for appliance 10 with priority 2. Specifically, icon 1303 is the icon for a refrigerator in normal operation. As shown in Figure 13, the display processing unit 3013 displays icon 1303 at a size smaller than the priority 1 icons 1302a and 1302b, and positioned in the area below the priority 1 icons 1302a and 1302b.

[0109] Furthermore, the multiple icons 1304 are icons for home appliances 10 with priority 3. Specifically, icon 1304 is an icon for home appliances 10 whose operating state is stopped. As shown in Figure 13, the display processing unit 3013 displays the multiple icons 1304 at a size smaller than the size of the priority 2 icon 1303, and superimposed in the area below the priority 2 icon 1303.

[0110] Furthermore, if multiple icons of low-priority home appliances 10, such as priority 3, cannot fit on a single screen of the home screen, the display processing unit 3013 arranges the multiple icons of low-priority home appliances 10 in a scrollable format. Here, as shown in Figure 13, the scrollable display can be configured to scroll the multiple superimposed icons 1304 in the left-right direction in Figure 13, or to scroll the home screen 1301 in the up-down direction in Figure 13.

[0111] Next, the home appliance control process by the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, configured as described above, will be explained. Figure 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of the home appliance control process according to the second embodiment. Similar to the first embodiment, each of the multiple home appliances 10 (1 to n) sends a status notification including its operating state and device ID to the server device 140 along with the device ID when its operating state changes (S101a to S101n).

[0112] When the server device 140 receives status notifications from each home appliance 10 via the communication unit 401, the priority determination unit 1403 determines the priority of the home appliance 10 based on the received operating status (S301a to S1301n).

[0113] Here, we will explain the details of the priority determination process performed by the server device 140. Figure 15 shows an example of the procedure for priority determination processing according to the second embodiment. The priority determination unit 1403 determines whether the operating status received from the home appliance 10 is a process that requires user action (S401). If the operating status is a process that requires user action (S401: Yes), the priority determination unit 1403 sets the priority of the home appliance 10 to priority 1 (S406). Then, the process returns to the caller.

[0114] In S401, if the operating state does not require user action (S401: No), the priority determination unit 1403 determines whether the operating state received from the home appliance 10 has been in operation for less than 10 minutes since the state change (S402). If the operating state has been in operation for less than 10 minutes since the state change (S402: Yes), the priority determination unit 1403 sets the priority of the home appliance 10 to priority 1 (S406). Then, the process returns to the caller.

[0115] In S402, if 10 minutes have passed since the change in operating state (S402: No), the priority determination unit 1403 determines whether the operating state is in normal operation (i.e., not stopped) (S403). If the operating state is in normal operation (S403: Yes), the priority determination unit 1403 determines the priority of the home appliance 10 to priority 2 (S407). Then, the process returns to the caller.

[0116] In S403, if the operating state is not in normal operation (S403: No), the priority determination unit 1403 refers to the operation history, etc., to determine whether the average number of operations per day for the home appliance 10 is one or more (S404). If the average number of operations per day for the home appliance 10 is one or more (S404: Yes), the priority determination unit 1403 determines the priority of the home appliance 10 to priority 2 (S407). Then, the process returns to the caller.

[0117] In S404, if the average number of operations per day for the home appliance 10 is 0 (S404: No), the priority determination unit 1403 determines that the home appliance 10 is stopped and sets its priority to priority 3 (S405). Then, the process returns to the caller.

[0118] In addition, in S404, the priority determination unit 1403 may determine whether or not the received operating status is stopped.

[0119] Returning to Figure 14, once the priority is determined, the control unit 1402 registers in the management DB 1411 the current operating state indicated in the status notification and the priority determined by the priority determination unit 1403 for the status of the home appliance 10 corresponding to the device ID indicated in the status notification (S102a~102n).

[0120] When application 301 is launched in terminal device 30 (S103), similar to the first embodiment, the communication processing unit 3011 of application 301 sends a status request to server device 140 to request the current operating status of home appliance 10 (S104).

[0121] The server device 140 receives a status request from application 301 via the communication unit 401. The control unit 1402 then reads the operating status and priority registered in the management DB 1411 for all home appliances 10 registered for the user with the user ID included in the status request. Next, the control unit 1402 transmits the read operating status and priority of all home appliances 10 to application 301 (S302).

[0122] In application 301, when the communication processing unit 3011 receives the operating status and priority of the home appliance 10 from the server device 140, the display processing unit 3013 executes the home screen display process (S303).

[0123] Here, we will explain the details of the home screen display process. Figure 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for displaying the home screen according to the second embodiment.

[0124] First, the display processing unit 3013 generates the home screen (S501). Next, the display processing unit 3013 makes the icon for the home appliance 10 with priority 1 the largest size compared to the other icons and places it at the top of the home screen (S502).

[0125] Next, the display processing unit 3013 sets the size of the icons for the home appliances 10 with priority 2 to a medium size, that is, smaller than the icons for the home appliances 10 with priority 1, and larger than the icons for the home appliances 10 with priority 3, and places them in the center of the home screen (S503).

[0126] Next, the display processing unit 3013 reduces the size of the icons for the home appliances 10 with priority 3, that is, to be smaller than the size of the icons for the home appliances 10 with priority 2, and places them at the bottom of the home screen (S504).

[0127] Next, the display processing unit 3013 displays the home screen with the icons arranged in S201 and S202 on the display device 302 (S204). Then, the process returns to the caller.

[0128] Returning to Figure 14, after the home screen display process is completed, if the operating state of the home appliance 10 is changed, the home appliance 10 sends a status notification to the server device 140, including the changed operating state and the device ID, in the same manner as in the first embodiment (S107).

[0129] When the server device 140 receives status notifications from each home appliance 10 via the communication unit 401, the priority determination unit 1403 determines the priority of the home appliance 10 based on the received changed operating status (S304). Next, the control unit 1402 registers in the management DB 1411 the current changed operating status indicated in the status notification and the priority newly determined by the priority determination unit 1403 for the status of the home appliance 10 corresponding to the device ID indicated in the status notification (S108).

[0130] Next, in the server device 140, the control unit 1402 transmits the current operating status after the change and the newly determined priority to the application 301 of the user ID that has registered the home appliance 10 in the management DB 411 via the communication unit 401 (S305).

[0131] In application 301, when the communication processing unit 3011 receives the changed operating status and newly determined priority of the home appliance 10 from the server device 140, the display processing unit 3013 updates the display of icons on the home screen (S110). That is, if the priority of the home appliance 10 is changed, the size and placement of the icons for the home appliance 10 on the home screen are changed according to the newly determined priority.

[0132] In this embodiment of the home appliance control system 1, the server device 140 determines the priority for the home appliance 10 based on its operating status, transmits the determined priority to the application 301 on the terminal device 30, and the application 301 changes the display format of the icons according to the priority and displays the icons on the home screen.

[0133] Therefore, in this embodiment, the display format of the icons on the home screen of application 301 is changed and displayed according to the priority based on the operating status of the home appliance 10. As a result, on the home screen of application 301, the user can more easily identify the icons of the home appliance 10 that they wish to use according to priority, thereby improving usability.

[0134] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the higher the priority of the application 301, the larger the icon size will be and the more the icon will be displayed on the home screen.

[0135] Therefore, in this embodiment, the icons of home appliances 10 are displayed in a larger size on the home screen of application 301 based on their operating status, making it easier for the user to identify the icons of high-priority home appliances 10. This allows the user to more easily identify the icons of the home appliances 10 they wish to use on the home screen of application 301, thereby improving usability.

[0136] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the higher the priority of the application 301, the more its icon is placed and displayed in the upper area of ​​the home screen.

[0137] Therefore, in this embodiment, the higher the priority of the home appliance 10 based on its operating status, the higher the icon is displayed at the top of the home screen of the application 301. This makes it easier for the user to identify the icons of high-priority home appliances 10, allowing the user to more easily identify the icons of the home appliances 10 they wish to use on the home screen of the application 301, thereby improving usability.

[0138] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the application 301 displays instruction information for issuing operation instructions to the home appliance 10 on the icon of the home appliance 10 with priority 1, which is displayed in a larger size.

[0139] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the larger icon for the priority 1 home appliance 10 displays instruction information for operation, making it easy to operate the home appliance 10 while on the home screen.

[0140] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the application 301 displays icons of multiple home appliances 10 with a priority lower than a predetermined threshold, superimposed and placed in the lower area of ​​the home screen.

[0141] Therefore, in this embodiment, icons of home appliances 10 whose priority based on the operating status of the home appliances 10 is lower than a predetermined threshold are superimposed and displayed together at the bottom of the home screen of the application 301, thus avoiding a cluttered user interface. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, icons of home appliances 10 with high priority become easier for the user to understand, and on the home screen of the application 301, the user can more easily identify the icons of the home appliances 10 they want to use, thereby improving usability.

[0142] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, if the application 301 cannot accommodate multiple icons of low-priority home appliances 10, such as priority 3, on a single home screen, it arranges the multiple icons of low-priority home appliances 10 in a scrollable manner.

[0143] Therefore, according to this embodiment, since screen space is limited on the home screen, it is possible to prevent a cumbersome user interface by scrolling through multiple icons of low-priority home appliances 10.

[0144] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the server device 140 determines the priority to the highest priority 1 when user action is required for the home appliance 10, and less than a predetermined time has passed since the state change; to a priority 2 lower than priority 1 when the home appliance 10 is in a normal operating state; and to a priority 3 lower than priority 2 when the operation of the home appliance 10 has stopped.

[0145] Therefore, in this embodiment, when a user action is required, the priority is set highest for home appliances 10 that have been in a state for less than a predetermined time since the state change, followed by home appliances 10 in a normal operating state, and then home appliances 10 that have stopped operating. As a result, on the home screen of application 301, the user can more easily identify the icon of the home appliance 10 they want to use, thereby improving usability.

[0146] (Modification 2) In the second embodiment, the display processing unit 3013 may be configured to further highlight the icon of the home appliance 10 on the home screen when a user action with priority 1 is required.

[0147] Figure 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for displaying the home screen according to Modification Example 2.

[0148] S501 and S502 are executed in the same manner as in the second embodiment, determining the size and placement of the icons for priority 1 home appliances 10 on the home screen. Next, the display processing unit 3013 determines, based on the received operating status, whether or not user action is required for the priority 1 home appliances 10 (S601). If user action is required (S601: Yes), the display processing unit 3013 highlights the icon of the home appliance 10 (S602). If user action is not required (S601: No), the highlighting in S602 is not performed. Then, as in the second embodiment, the processing from S503 onwards is executed.

[0149] Figure 18 shows an example of the home screen according to Modification 2. In the example shown in Figure 18, multiple icons 1802a, 1802b, 1802c, and 1803 are displayed on the home screen 1801. Of these, the home appliances 10 represented by icons 1802a, 1802b, and 1802c have a priority of priority 1. Home appliances 10 represented by icons 1802a and 1802b are home appliances 1 that require user action.

[0150] Specifically, the home appliance 10 represented by icon 1802a is a refrigerator, and the user needs to take action to remove the defrosted food after the defrosting process is complete. For this reason, the display processing unit 3013 highlights the message "Defrosting Complete" for the refrigerator icon 1802a by flashing it.

[0151] Furthermore, the home appliance 10 represented by icon 1802b is a washing machine, and the user needs to take action to remove the laundry after the washing is complete. For this reason, the display processing unit 3013 highlights the washing machine by flashing the washing machine door in icon 1802b and displaying a video in GIF format showing the door being opened and the laundry being removed. This makes it possible to more clearly show users the need for action.

[0152] (Other variations) In the second embodiment described above, three priorities are set, but the number of priorities is not limited to this; there may be two, four or more. In this case, the types of icon sizes and the number of placement areas on the home screen can also be changed according to the number of priorities.

[0153] In the above embodiment, server devices 40 and 140 acquire the current status from the home appliance 10 and transmit it to application 301. However, the application 301 may be configured to acquire the current operating status directly from the home appliance 10 without going through server devices 40 and 140.

[0154] In the second embodiment described above, the server device 140 obtains the current status from the home appliance 10, determines the priority, and sends the priority to the application 301, but it is not limited to this. For example, the application 301 may be configured to obtain the current operating status directly from the home appliance 10 without going through the server device 140, and to determine the priority on the application 301 side.

[0155] In the above embodiment, the server devices 40 and 140 are configured as a single device, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, the functional units of the server devices 40 and 140 (communication unit 401, control units 402 and 1402, priority determination unit 1403, storage unit 410) or the functions of each unit may be distributed among multiple devices. In this case as well, users utilizing the application 301 of the terminal device 30 can enjoy all the effects and advantages described in the above embodiment and its modifications.

[0156] Furthermore, while server devices 40 and 140 may be installed in Japan, they may also be configured to be installed overseas. In addition, if server devices 40 and 140 are distributed across multiple devices, they may be configured to be installed overseas as devices having some or some of the functions of the functional units (communication unit 401, control units 402 and 1402, priority determination unit 1403, and storage unit 410). Even in these cases, users utilizing the application 301 of the terminal device 30 can enjoy all the effects and advantages described in the above embodiments and modifications.

[0157] The application 301 executed on the terminal device 30 of the above embodiment and its modified form is provided by storing it on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and allowing it to be downloaded via the network. Alternatively, the application 301 executed on the terminal device 30 of the above embodiment and its modified form may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0158] The application 301 executed by the terminal device 30 of the above embodiment and its modified form may be configured to be provided as a file in an installable or executable format, recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), USB memory, or SD card.

[0159] Furthermore, the application 301 to be executed by the terminal device 30 of the above embodiment and its modified form may be configured to be pre-installed in ROM or the like and provided accordingly.

[0160] The server devices 40 and 140 of the above embodiment and modified examples are equipped with a control device such as a CPU, a storage device such as ROM or RAM, an external storage device such as an HDD or CD drive, a display device such as a display device, and an input device such as a keyboard or mouse, and have a hardware configuration that uses a normal computer.

[0161] The home appliance control programs executed by the server devices 40 and 140 of the above embodiments and modified examples are provided as installable or executable files recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, or DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0162] Furthermore, the home appliance control programs executed by the server devices 40 and 140 of the above embodiments 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. Alternatively, the home appliance control programs executed by the server devices 40 and 140 of the above embodiments and modified examples may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. Furthermore, the home appliance control programs executed by the server devices 40 and 140 of the above embodiments and modified examples may be provided pre-loaded into ROM or the like.

[0163] The home appliance control program executed by the server devices 40 and 140 of the above embodiment and modified examples has a modular configuration including the above-described functional units (communication unit 401, control units 402 and 1402, and priority determination unit 1403). In actual hardware, the CPU (processor) reads the home appliance control program from the storage medium and executes it, loading the above-described units onto the main memory, and generating each functional unit (communication unit 401, control units 402 and 1402, and priority determination unit 1403) onto the main memory.

[0164] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0165] 1. Home appliance control system 10 Home appliances 30 Terminal devices 40, 140 Server Devices 401 Communications Department 402, 1402 Control Unit 410 Storage section 411, 1411 Management DB 301 Application 302 Display device 303 Input device 304 Communication equipment 305 Storage device 1403 Priority determination section 3011 Communication Processing Unit 3012 Input Processing Unit 3013 Display Processing Unit 3014 Control Unit

Claims

1. An application program to be executed on a computer in a terminal device equipped with a display device, which is connected to a server device that manages home appliances via a network, An acquisition step of acquiring the operating status of the home appliance from the server device, A display processing step that, when the application program is launched, displays the icons on the home screen, changing the display format of the icons based on the acquired operating status of the home appliances, An application program to cause the aforementioned computer to execute it.

2. The display processing step involves changing the display form of the icon and displaying the icon on the home screen based on whether the operating state is in operation or not. The application program according to claim 1.

3. The display processing step involves displaying on the home screen the icons of the home appliances whose operating status is "operating" at a larger size than the icons of the home appliances that are not operating. The application program according to claim 2.

4. The display processing step involves placing an icon of the home appliance whose operating status is "operating" in the upper area of ​​the home screen and displaying it. The application program according to claim 2.

5. The display processing step involves superimposing the icon of the home appliance whose operating status is "operating" onto the icon of the home appliance that is not operating, and displaying it on the home screen. The application program according to claim 2.

6. The display processing step involves changing the display format of the icon and displaying the icon on the home screen according to the priority based on the operating state. The application program according to claim 1.

7. The display processing step increases the size of the icon and displays the icon on the home screen, with the higher the priority. The application program according to claim 6.

8. The display processing step, the higher the priority, places and displays the icon in the upper area of ​​the home screen. The application program according to claim 6.

9. The display processing step involves superimposing the icons of a plurality of home appliances whose priority is lower than a predetermined threshold and arranging them in the lower area of ​​the home screen for display. The application program according to claim 8.

10. The aforementioned priority is, If the aforementioned home appliance requires user action, and less than a predetermined time has passed since the change in state, the highest first priority is set. When the aforementioned home appliance is in a normal operating state, a second priority lower than the first priority is set. If the operation of the aforementioned home appliance is stopped, a third priority lower than the second priority is set. An application program according to any one of claims 6 to 9.

11. The display processing step highlights and displays on the home screen the icon of the home appliance that is in a state requiring user action. The application program according to claim 10.

12. The display processing step involves displaying instruction information for giving operating instructions to the home appliance on the icon, which is displayed in a larger size. The application program according to claim 3 or 7.

13. The display processing step involves arranging multiple icons on the home screen in a scrollable manner. The application program according to claim 1.

14. A home appliance control system comprising: a home appliance; a server device connected to the home appliance via a network and managing the home appliance; and an application program to be executed on a computer of a terminal device connected to the server device via a network and equipped with a display device, The aforementioned home appliance transmits its operating status to the server device. The server device receives the operating status from the home appliance and transmits the received operating status to the application program. The aforementioned application program, A step of acquiring the operating status of the home appliance from the server device, The application program is launched, and the home screen is initially displayed, with a display processing step that changes the display format of the icons and displays them based on the received operating status of the home appliances, To cause the computer to execute the above, Home appliance control system.

15. The display processing step involves changing the display form of the icon and displaying the icon on the home screen based on whether the operating state is in operation or not. The home appliance control system according to claim 14.

16. The server device determines the priority of the home appliance based on the operating status of the home appliance, and transmits the determined priority to the terminal device. The display processing step involves changing the display format of the icon according to the priority and displaying the icon on the home screen. The home appliance control system according to claim 14.

17. The server device determines the priority as follows: If the aforementioned home appliance requires user action, and less than a predetermined time has passed since the change in state, it will be assigned the highest priority (first priority). When the aforementioned home appliance is in a normal operating state, a second priority lower than the first priority is determined. If the aforementioned home appliance is not operating, a third priority lower than the second priority is determined. The home appliance control system according to claim 16.

18. The display processing step highlights and displays on the home screen the icon of the home appliance that is in a state requiring user action. The home appliance control system according to claim 17.

19. A method for controlling a home appliance, which is performed in a home appliance control system comprising: a home appliance; a server device connected to the home appliance by a network and managing the home appliance; and an application program to be executed on a computer of a terminal device connected to the server device by a network and equipped with a display device, The steps include: the home appliance transmits its operating status to the server device; The server device receives the operating status from the home appliance, The server device transmits the received operating status to the terminal device. The computer of the terminal device that executes the application program obtains the operating status of the home appliance from the server device, The computer of the terminal device that executes the application program displays the icons on the home screen that is initially displayed when the application program is started, changing the display format of the icons based on the acquired operating status of the home appliances, in a display processing step, A method for controlling home appliances, including the control of such appliances.

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