Home appliance control system, server device, application program, and home appliance control method

Abstract

To improve user convenience when reconnecting home appliances that have lost their network connection. [Solution] In the home appliance control system according to the embodiment, the application program causes the computer to execute the steps of sending a connection instruction regarding the connection of a home appliance instructed by the user, device information regarding the home appliance, and user identification information to the server device, and the server device includes a communication unit that receives the device information, user identification information, and connection instruction from the application program, a new registration unit that, when the connection instruction is an instruction to register a new home appliance, executes an initialization process for past information regarding the home appliance to be newly registered in the device management information and registers the home appliance to be newly registered, and a reconnection unit that, when the connection instruction is an instruction to reconnect a home appliance, executes a process to reconnect to the home appliance without executing an initialization process for past information regarding the home appliance to be reconnected in the device management information.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in a home appliance control system including a plurality of home appliances such as an air conditioner and a refrigerator connected to a network such as the Internet, a server device connected to the network to control the home appliances, and an application executed on a terminal device such as a smartphone and connected to the server device via the network, a technology for remotely operating home appliances with an application is known. In such a technology, home appliances are registered on the server device side, and the home appliances are remotely operated on the application side.

[0003] In such a conventional home appliance control system, the network connection with the home appliances may be disconnected due to some factor. In such a case, it is necessary to reconnect to the network in order to use the home appliances.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in conventional technology, applications only provide a single user interface for connecting home appliances: new registration. Furthermore, conventional home appliance control systems store information about registered home appliances linked to information about the applications that use those appliances on a server device. However, when registering a new home appliance, it is assumed that it will be used by a different user. Therefore, in conventional technology, to ensure security, the server device performs an initialization process that resets the link between the information about the home appliance and the application information, even if the information about the registered home appliance is already registered.

[0006] Therefore, with conventional technology, when a home appliance that has been disconnected from the network is reconnected, using a newly registered user interface triggers an initialization process. This results in the user having to go through the cumbersome process of linking the application with the home appliance again, which worsens user convenience.

[0007] The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a home appliance control system, server device, application program, and home appliance control method that can improve user convenience when reconnecting home appliances that have been disconnected from the network. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The home appliance control system according to this embodiment comprises a server device connected to a home appliance via a network and controlling 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, wherein the application program causes the computer to execute a transmission step of sending a connection instruction regarding the connection of the home appliance instructed by a user, device information regarding the home appliance, and user identification information for identifying the user using the home appliance to the server device, and the server device associates the device information and the user identification information with each other. The system includes a storage unit for storing device management information, a communication unit for receiving the device information, user identification information, and connection instructions from the application program, a new registration unit which, when the connection instruction is an instruction to register a new home appliance, performs an initialization process for past information regarding the home appliance to be registered in the device management information and registers the home appliance to be registered, and a reconnection unit which, when the connection instruction is an instruction to reconnect the home appliance, performs a process to reconnect the home appliance without performing an initialization process for past information regarding the home appliance to be reconnected in the device management information.

[0009] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, the communication unit transmits confirmation signals to the home appliance at regular intervals to check whether it is connected or not, and is capable of receiving response signals from the home appliance in response to the confirmation signals. The server device includes a determination unit that determines the home appliance is online when the communication unit receives the response signal in response to the confirmation signals, and determines the home appliance is offline when it does not receive any response signals in response to the confirmation signals transmitted a predetermined number of times. When the home appliance performs the reconnection, it transmits an offline notification to the server device indicating that the home appliance is offline. The determination unit determines the home appliance is offline when the communication unit receives the offline notification from the home appliance, even if the transmission of the confirmation signals has not yet reached the predetermined number of times.

[0010] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, if the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline, the communication unit sends an instruction to the terminal device to change the status of the home appliance to offline, and when the application program receives the instruction to change the status of the home appliance to offline, it causes the computer to further execute the step of changing the status of the home appliance to offline.

[0011] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, the application program causes the computer to execute a display step in which, when the status of the home appliance is offline, a reconnect button for the user to instruct the user to reconnect is displayed on the display device of the terminal device, along with the display of the home appliance.

[0012] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, the application program does not display the reconnect button in the display step for home appliances that are powered on and connected to the network only when in use.

[0013] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, when the application program is to reconnect the home appliance, the computer is instructed to perform the following steps: a display step of displaying a list of offline home appliances on the display device of the terminal device, and an input step of accepting the user's selection of the home appliance to be reconnected from the list of offline home appliances.

[0014] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system, when the application program reconnects the home appliance, the computer is instructed to perform the following steps: display step, which displays a list of all home appliances, including online and offline home appliances, on the display device of the terminal device; display step, which displays the offline home appliances in the list of all home appliances along with a message indicating that they are offline; and input step, which accepts the user's selection of the home appliance to be reconnected from the list of offline home appliances.

[0015] Furthermore, the server device according to the embodiment is a server device that is connected to a home appliance via a network and controls the home appliance, and includes: a storage unit that stores device management information which associates device information relating to the home appliance with user identification information for identifying a user who uses the home appliance; a communication unit that receives the device information, the user identification information, and a connection instruction for connecting the home appliance instructed by the user from an application program to be executed on a computer of a terminal device connected to the network; a new registration unit which, when the connection instruction is an instruction to register the home appliance for the first time, performs an initialization process of past information relating to the home appliance to be newly registered in the device management information and registers the home appliance to be newly registered; and a reconnection unit which, when the connection instruction is an instruction to reconnect the home appliance, performs a process to reconnect to the home appliance without performing an initialization process of past information relating to the home appliance to be reconnected in the device management information.

[0016] Furthermore, in the server device, the communication unit transmits confirmation signals to the home appliance at regular intervals to check whether it is connected or not, and is capable of receiving response signals from the home appliance in response to the confirmation signals. The server device includes a determination unit that determines the home appliance is online when the communication unit receives the response signal in response to the confirmation signals, and determines the home appliance is offline when it does not receive any response signals in response to the confirmation signals transmitted a predetermined number of times. The determination unit determines the home appliance is offline when the communication unit receives an offline notification from the home appliance indicating that the home appliance is offline because the connection to the application program has been disconnected, even if the transmission of the confirmation signals has not yet reached the predetermined number of times.

[0017] Furthermore, in the server device, the communication unit transmits the status of the home appliance determined by the determination unit to the terminal device.

[0018] Furthermore, in the server device, if the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline, the communication unit sends an instruction to the terminal device to change the status of the home appliance to offline.

[0019] Furthermore, the application program according to the embodiment is an application program to be executed by a computer in a terminal device connected via a network to a server device that controls home appliances, and causes the computer to execute the following steps: a display step of displaying a first screen on the display device of the terminal device for the user to input a new registration instruction for newly registering the home appliance and a reconnection instruction for reconnecting the home appliance that has been disconnected from the network and gone offline; an input step of receiving either the input of the new registration instruction or the input of the reconnection instruction from the user from the first screen; and, if the user has input the new registration instruction, sending the new registration instruction to the server device to cause the server device to perform an initialization process for information regarding the home appliance and then perform the new registration process for the home appliance, and if the user has input the reconnection instruction, sending the reconnection instruction to the server device to cause the server device to perform the reconnection process for the home appliance without performing an initialization process for information regarding the home appliance.

[0020] Furthermore, if the application program receives an instruction from the server device to change the status of the home appliance to offline, it will cause the computer to perform the step of changing the status of the home appliance to offline.

[0021] Furthermore, in the application program, the display step, when the home appliance is offline, displays a reconnect button on the display device of the terminal device, along with the display of the home appliance, for the user to instruct the user to reconnect.

[0022] Furthermore, in the application program, the display step does not display the reconnect button for the home appliance that is powered on and connected to the network only when in use.

[0023] Also, in the application program, in the case of reconnecting the home appliance, the display step further displays a list of the offline home appliances on the display device of the terminal device, and the input step further accepts selection of the home appliance to be reconnected by the user from the list of the offline home appliances.

[0024] Also, in the application program, in the case of reconnecting the home appliance, the display step displays a list of all home appliances including the online home appliances and the offline home appliances on the display device of the terminal device, and in the list of all home appliances, the offline home appliances are displayed together with a display indicating that they are offline. The input step further accepts selection of the home appliance to be reconnected by the user from the list of the offline home appliances.

[0025] Further, the home appliance control method according to the embodiment is a home appliance control method executed in a home appliance control system including a server device connected to a home appliance via a network and controlling the home appliance, and an application program for causing a computer of a terminal device connected to the server device via the network to execute. The application program causes the computer to execute a transmission step of transmitting, to the server device, a connection instruction regarding the connection of the home appliance instructed by a user, device information regarding the home appliance, and user identification information for identifying a user who uses the home appliance. The server device includes a storage unit that stores device management information in which the device information, the user identification information, and user identification information for identifying a user who uses the application program are associated. The server device receives, from the application program, the device information, the user identification information, and the connection instruction. When the connection instruction is an instruction to newly register the home appliance, the server device executes an initialization process of past information regarding the home appliance to be newly registered in the device management information, and performs a step of newly registering the home appliance to be newly registered. When the connection instruction is an instruction to reconnect the home appliance, the server device executes a process of reconnecting to the home appliance without executing an initialization process of past information regarding the home appliance to be reconnected in the device management information.

[0026] According to the above embodiment, when reconnecting a home appliance whose network has been disconnected, the convenience of the user can be improved.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0027] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a home appliance control management system according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a home appliance according to the embodiment. [Figure 3]Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an example of the data structure of the management database according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of data from the device database according to this embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an example of a menu screen according to this embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example of a connection screen according to the present invention. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows an example of a list screen according to this embodiment. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows an example of a warning screen according to an embodiment. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows an example of a confirmation screen according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows an example of a completion notification screen according to an embodiment. [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of the home appliance control process according to the embodiment. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow (continued) of the home appliance control process according to the embodiment. [Figure 15] Figure 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for checking the status of a home appliance according to this embodiment. [Figure 16] Figure 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the state changes of a home appliance and the decision made on the server side in the conventional technology and according to this embodiment. [Figure 17] Figure 17 is a diagram illustrating other examples of state changes in home appliances and decisions made on the server side, as well as in the prior art and according to this embodiment. [Figure 18] Figure 18 shows an example of a list screen related to Modification Example 1. [Figure 19]Figure 19 shows an example of a list screen related to Modification Example 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0028] Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this specification, components and descriptions of components according to embodiments may be described using multiple expressions. 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.

[0029] (Embodiment) (Configuration of a home appliance control system) Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a home appliance control system according to an 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 router 50, 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, microwave oven 10E, and router 50 are installed in one household.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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. Details of home appliance 10 will be described later.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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 terminal device 10 and the application will be described later.

[0034] The router 50 is a relay device for connecting each of the home appliances 10 and the terminal devices 10 (i.e., applications) within the home network.

[0035] 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. Details of the server device 40 will be described later.

[0036] (Composition of 10 home appliances) First, we will describe the details of the home appliance 10 according to this embodiment. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the home appliance 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the home appliance 10 according to this embodiment mainly comprises a communication unit 101, a control unit 102, and a storage unit 110.

[0037] The communication unit 101 is a processing unit that performs communication using a predetermined protocol. In this embodiment, when in connection mode, it communicates with the application 301 of the terminal device 30 via the router 50. Here, connection mode is the mode used when connecting the home appliance 10 to the network, and there are two modes: new registration mode and reconnection mode.

[0038] The new registration mode is a mode for newly registering a home appliance 10 with the server device 40. Reconnection mode is a mode in which a home appliance 10 that has already been registered with the server device 40 and application 301 is reconnected to the server device 40 if the network is disconnected for any reason. "Any reason for network disconnection" includes cases where a communication error occurs and the home appliance 10 is disconnected from the network, as well as cases where the router 40 is replaced and the device is disconnected from the network.

[0039] Furthermore, the communication unit 101 sends an online notification to the server device 40 when the home appliance 10 is connected to the network. Also, when the communication unit 101 receives a confirmation signal from the server device 10, it sends a response signal to the server device 40 in response to the confirmation signal.

[0040] In this embodiment, the communication unit 101 further sends an offline notification to the server device 10 when the home appliance 10 enters reconnection mode. Furthermore, when the communication unit 101 enters new registration mode, it receives an instruction from the application 301 to link the device ID and user ID. Upon receiving this instruction, the communication unit 101 registers its own device ID and user ID in the storage unit 110.

[0041] The storage unit 110 is a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solitary State Drive). As shown in Figure 2, when a new device is registered, the storage unit 110 is registered by the communication unit 101, which associates its own device ID with the user ID.

[0042] The control unit 102 controls the entire home appliance 10. The control performed by the control unit 102 varies depending on the type of home appliance 10.

[0043] (Configuration of server device 40) Next, we will describe the details of the server device 40. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server device 40 according to an embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the server device 40 of this embodiment mainly comprises a communication unit 401, a control unit 402, a new registration unit 403, a reconnection unit 404, a determination unit 405, and a storage unit 410.

[0044] The storage unit 410 is a storage medium such as an HDD or SSD. In this embodiment, the storage unit 410 stores a management database 411 (hereinafter referred to as "management DB 411").

[0045] Management DB411 is a database for managing home appliances 10. Figure 4 shows an example of the data structure of the management DB 411 according to the embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the management DB 411 associates user ID, device ID, and status.

[0046] A user ID is information used to identify a user. A user ID is an example of user identification information. Note that multiple user IDs may be registered. In this case, multiple users can use a single home appliance 10.

[0047] The device ID is information used to identify the home appliance 10 managed by the user with the user ID. The device ID is an example of device information. The status indicates the current network connection status of the home appliance 10. The status can be either online, which indicates that the home appliance 10 is connected to the network, or offline, which indicates that the home appliance 10 is not connected to the network.

[0048] In the example shown in Figure 4, a user with user ID User A has registered each of the appliance IDs for 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 ID User A. Furthermore, the status of each appliance 10 is registered as either online or offline.

[0049] Returning to Figure 3, the control unit 402 receives control instructions for the home appliance 10 from the application 301 of the terminal device 30 and performs control on the home appliance 10.

[0050] The communication unit 401 controls communication between 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.

[0051] In this embodiment, the communication unit 401 receives from the application 301 an instruction for the connection mode, the device ID of the home appliance 10 to be connected in that mode, and the user ID of the user of the home appliance 10. Here, the instruction for the connection mode is an example of a connection instruction.

[0052] Furthermore, the communication unit 401 sends a confirmation signal to the home appliance 10 at regular intervals to check whether it is connected or not, and receives a response signal from the home appliance 10 in response to the confirmation signal. The communication unit 401 transmits the status of the home appliance 10, as determined by the determination unit 405 (described later), to the terminal device 30. If the determination unit 405 determines that the home appliance 10 is offline, the communication unit 401 sends an instruction to the terminal device 30 to change the status of the home appliance 10 to offline.

[0053] If the connection mode instruction received by the communication unit 401 is a new registration mode instruction, the new registration unit 403 performs an initialization process for past information regarding the home appliance 10 with the received device ID as the target of new registration in the device management DB 411 of the storage unit 410, and then performs the new registration process for the home appliance 10 that is the target of new registration.

[0054] Specifically, the new registration unit 403 performs an initialization process by resetting the information in the device management DB 411, even if past information regarding the home appliance 10 with the target device ID for new registration is already registered there. Then, the new registration unit 403 performs the new registration by linking (associating) the device ID of the home appliance 10 to be registered (i.e., the device ID received along with the instruction for new registration mode) with the received user ID and registering it in the device management DB 411.

[0055] If the connection mode instruction received by the communication unit 401 is a reconnection mode instruction, the reconnection unit 404 executes a process to reconnect with the home appliance 10 without performing an initialization process for past information regarding the home appliance 10 of the device ID received as a target for reconnection in the device management DB 411 of the storage unit 410.

[0056] The determination unit 405 determines that the home appliance 10 is online when it receives a response signal to the confirmation signal transmitted by the communication unit 401 to the home appliance 10, and determines that the home appliance 10 is offline if it does not receive a response signal to any of the confirmation signals transmitted a predetermined number of times. Here, the predetermined number of times can be arbitrarily determined, for example, three times, but is not limited to this.

[0057] Furthermore, when the communication unit 401 receives an offline notification from the home appliance 10, the determination unit 405 determines that the home appliance 10 is offline, even before the transmission of a confirmation signal reaches a predetermined number of times.

[0058] (Configuration of terminal device 30) Next, the details of the terminal device 30 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a terminal device 30 according to an embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, 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.

[0059] 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.

[0060] The storage device 305 is a storage medium such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory). The storage device 305 stores the device database 3051 (hereinafter referred to as "device DB3051").

[0061] Device DB3051 is a database used by application 301 to manage home appliances 10.

[0062] Figure 6 shows an example of data in the device DB 3051 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 6, the device DB 3051 associates the user ID with the device ID of the home appliance 10 and its status, similar to the device management DB 411 on the server device 40 side. However, in the device DB 3051 shown in Figure 6, there is only one user ID. Note that multiple user IDs may be registered.

[0063] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6, the equipment DB3051 also associates various types of information with the equipment ID. This information includes the connection date, the model name of the home appliance 10, the serial number, and the installation location. However, the information is not limited to these.

[0064] (Configuration of Application 301) Returning to Figure 5, application 301 mainly comprises a communication processing unit 3011, an input processing unit 3012, a display processing unit 3013, and a control unit 3014. 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."

[0065] 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, and control unit 3014). 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.

[0066] 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 for the home appliance 10 via the input processing unit 3012, it transmits the received control instruction to the server device 40.

[0067] In this embodiment, the communication processing unit 3011 transmits to the server device 40 the connection mode instruction for the home appliance 10 instructed by the user on the connection screen described later, the device ID of the target home appliance 10, and the user ID.

[0068] Specifically, if the user inputs a new registration mode as an instruction for the connection mode on the connection screen, the communication processing unit 3011 sends a new registration mode instruction to the server device 40. Also, if the user inputs a reconnection mode instruction on the connection screen, the communication processing unit 3011 sends a reconnection mode instruction to the server device 40. Furthermore, the communication processing unit 3011 receives the status of the home appliance 10 from the server device 40.

[0069] 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 (not shown) 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.

[0070] 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.

[0071] In this embodiment, the display processing unit 3013 displays a menu screen based on a predetermined operation input by the user from the home screen. The menu screen is a screen for instructing various operations on the application 301.

[0072] Figure 7 shows an example of a menu screen according to the embodiment. As shown in Figure 7, the menu screen displays multiple operable (i.e., touch-operable or pressable) menu items. As shown in Figure 7, the menu screen displays the menu item 701 "Reconnect Registration Screen". When the user touches or otherwise selects "Reconnect Registration Screen" on the menu screen, the display processing unit 3013 displays the connection screen on the display device 302.

[0073] The connection screen is a screen that allows the user to input instructions for new registration mode to register a new home appliance 10, and instructions for reconnection mode to reconnect a home appliance 10 that has become offline due to being disconnected from the network. The connection screen is an example of the first screen.

[0074] Figure 8 shows an example of a connection screen according to the present invention. As shown in Figure 8, the connection screen displays a menu item 801, "Register a new home appliance," for instructing the user to enter new registration mode, and a menu item 802, "Reconnect with a registered home appliance here," for instructing the user to enter reconnection mode.

[0075] Returning to Figure 5, the display processing unit 3013 displays the status of the home appliance 10, as received by the communication processing unit 3011 from the server device 40, on the display device 302. In particular, when the display processing unit 3013 receives an instruction from the server device 40 to change the status of the home appliance 10 to offline, it changes the status of the home appliance 10 to offline and displays it on the display device 302.

[0076] When the home appliance 10 is to be reconnected, that is, when the user touches the menu item 802 "Click here to reconnect with registered home appliances" on the connection screen, the display processing unit 3013 displays a list screen on the display device 302 showing a list of offline home appliances 10.

[0077] Figure 9 shows an example of a list screen according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 9, the list screen displays a list of home appliances 10 that are currently offline, allowing the user to select which one they want to reconnect. In the example in Figure 9, the list of offline home appliances 10 includes both a refrigerator and an air conditioner, which are available for selection. The user will select the home appliance 10 they wish to reconnect from this list screen using touch or other means.

[0078] Furthermore, if a home appliance 10 is selected on the list screen, and the user ID of the user who performed the operation is not registered in the device DB 3051 in association with the selected device ID, i.e., if user authentication fails (in the case of a user who is not authorized to operate the home appliance 10), the display processing unit 3013 displays a warning screen on the display device 302 and interrupts the process.

[0079] Figure 10 shows an example of a warning screen according to the embodiment. As shown in Figure 10, the warning screen displays a message indicating that the appliance 10 is not one registered by the user, and that the user should either register a new appliance 10 or operate it using the user ID that registered the appliance 10.

[0080] Furthermore, when a home appliance 10 is selected on the list screen, the display processing unit 3013 displays a confirmation screen for the home appliance 10 to be reconnected on the display device 302 if the user ID of the user who performed the operation is registered in the device DB 3051 and associated with the selected device ID, i.e., if user authentication is successful.

[0081] Figure 11 shows an example of a confirmation screen according to the embodiment. As shown in Figure 11, the confirmation screen displays detailed information of the home appliance 10 selected by the user. This detailed information is the information registered as various types of information in the device DB 3051 when the home appliance 10 is newly registered. When the user touches the "Next" button 1101 on this confirmation screen, the selection is confirmed, and the device ID of the selected home appliance 10 is transmitted to the server device 40 by the communication processing unit 3011 described above, along with an instruction for reconnection mode.

[0082] Furthermore, when the reconnection process for the home appliance 10 is completed, the display processing unit 3013 displays a completion notification screen on the display device 302. Figure 12 shows an example of a completion notification screen according to an embodiment. As shown in Figure 12, the completion notification screen displays a message indicating that the reconnection of the home appliance 10 selected by the user has been completed.

[0083] Returning to Figure 5, 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).

[0084] In this embodiment, the input processing unit 3012 receives either a new registration mode instruction or a reconnection mode instruction from the user via the connection screen displayed on the display device 302. The input processing unit 3012 also receives a selection of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected from the user via the list screen displayed on the display device 302.

[0085] (Control processing for home appliances) Next, the home appliance control process by the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, configured as described above, will be explained. Figures 13 and 14 are sequence diagrams showing an example of the overall flow of the home appliance control process according to this embodiment.

[0086] First, in application 301, the display processing unit 3013 displays various screens on the display device 302 (S101). Specifically, the display processing unit 3013 displays the menu screen mentioned above, followed by the connection screen, etc. Then, the input processing unit 3012 receives user input from the screen (S102).

[0087] Here, the user can either select to register a new home appliance 10 on the connection screen, or select to reconnect the home appliance 10 on the connection screen. If reconnection is selected, as described above, the display processing unit 313 displays a list screen on the display device 302, and if home appliance 10 is selected here, the display processing unit 313 displays a confirmation screen on the display device 302, and the reconnection and the target home appliance 10 are confirmed by pressing the "Next" button.

[0088] Next, the communication processing unit 3011 sends the connection mode instruction, the device ID of the target home appliance 10, and the user ID to the server device 40 according to the user's input (S103).

[0089] When the server device 40 receives the connection mode instruction, the ID of the target home appliance 10, and the application ID, the communication unit 401 sends a transition instruction to the home appliance 10 with the received device ID (S104). Upon receiving the transition instruction, the home appliance 10 switches to connection mode (S105).

[0090] When the server device 40 transmits a migration instruction, the control unit 402 determines whether the received connection mode instruction is an instruction for new registration or an instruction for reconnection (S107). If the received connection mode instruction is an instruction for new registration, the new registration unit 403 executes the initialization process described above (S108).

[0091] In application 301, after sending S106, the user is prompted to select a connection method for the home appliance 10 (S109). Examples of connection methods include Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth®. Next, in application 301, the communication processing unit 3011 establishes a communication connection with the home appliance 10 (S110).

[0092] Next, in application 301, the communication processing unit 3011 obtains the SSID from router 50 (S111). Then, the communication processing unit 3011 transmits the obtained SSID information from router 50 to the home appliance 10 (S112).

[0093] In the home appliance 10, the communication unit 101 receives the SSID of the router 50 from the application 301 and completes the network connection (S113).

[0094] In application 301, the communication processing unit 3011 sends instructions to both the home appliance 10 and the server device 40 to link the user ID with the device ID of the newly registered home appliance 10 (S114, S115).

[0095] In the home appliance 10, when the communication unit 101 receives a linking instruction, it performs a linking process (S116). Specifically, the communication unit 101 links the device ID (i.e., its own device ID) received along with the linking instruction and the user ID received along with the linking instruction and stores them in the storage unit 110. Next, the communication unit 101 sends a linking completion notification to the server device 40.

[0096] In the server device 40, the communication unit 401 receives a linking instruction from the application 301. The communication unit 401 also receives a linking completion notification from the home appliance 10. Next, the control unit 402 authenticates the device ID and user ID received along with the linking instruction, registers the device ID and user ID in the device management DB of the storage unit 410, and completes the linking process (S118).

[0097] In S107, if the instruction for connection mode is an instruction for reconnection mode (S107: reconnection), the server device 40 does not perform the initialization process that was performed in new registration mode.

[0098] In reconnection mode, when the home appliance 10 goes offline, the communication unit 101 sends an offline notification to the server device 40 (S120).

[0099] In the server device 40, when the communication unit 401 receives an offline notification from the home appliance 10, the determination unit 405 determines that the home appliance 10 is offline and changes the status of the already registered home appliance 10 to offline in the device management DB 411 of the storage unit 410 (S121). Next, the communication unit 401 sends an instruction to the terminal device 30 to change the status of the home appliance 10 to offline (S122). In the terminal device 30, the application 301 receives this instruction.

[0100] In application 301, when the communication processing unit 3011 receives the instruction, the display processing unit 3013 changes the status of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected in the device DB 3051 to offline (S123). As a result, the display processing unit 3013 recognizes the status of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected as offline and becomes able to display the home appliance 10.

[0101] Next, application 301 prompts the user to select a connection method for the home appliance 10 (S124). Connection methods include, for example, Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth®. Subsequently, application 301's communication processing unit 3011 establishes a communication connection with the home appliance 10 (S125).

[0102] Next, in application 301, the communication processing unit 3011 obtains the SSID from router 50 (S126). Then, the communication processing unit 3011 transmits the obtained SSID information from router 50 to the home appliance 10 (S127).

[0103] In the home appliance 10, the communication unit 101 receives the SSID of the router 50 from the application 301 and completes the network connection (S128). Then, in the home appliance 10, the communication unit 101 sends an online notification to the server device 40 (S129).

[0104] In the server device 40, when the communication unit 401 receives an online notification from the home appliance 10, the determination unit 405 determines that the home appliance 10 is online and changes the status of the already registered home appliance 10 to be reconnected in the device management DB 411 of the storage unit 410 to online (S130). Next, the communication unit 401 sends an instruction to the terminal device 30 to change the status of the home appliance 10 to online (S131). In the terminal device 30, the application 301 receives this instruction.

[0105] In application 301, when the communication processing unit 3011 receives the instruction, the display processing unit 3013 changes the status of the target home appliance 10 to be reconnected in the device DB 3051 to online (S132). As a result, the display processing unit 3013 recognizes the status of the target home appliance 10 to be reconnected as online and becomes able to display the home appliance 10. The process is then completed.

[0106] Here, the server device 40 performs a process to check the status of the home appliance 10 at regular intervals, in parallel with the processes shown in Figures 13 and 14. Figure 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for checking the status of the home appliance 10 according to this embodiment.

[0107] The communication unit 401 of the server device 40 transmits a status confirmation signal to the home appliance 10 (S201). The determination unit 405 then determines within a predetermined time whether the communication unit 401 has received a status response signal from the home appliance 10 in response to the confirmation signal (S202). If the communication unit 401 has received a response signal within the predetermined time (S202: Yes), the determination unit 405 determines that the home appliance 10 is online, and the process returns to S201, and the process from S201 is repeated.

[0108] On the other hand, if the communication unit 401 has not received a response signal within a predetermined time (S202: No), the determination unit 405 determines whether or not it has sent a confirmation signal three times in a row (an example of a predetermined number) (S203). If it has not yet sent three times (S203: No), the process returns to S201 and the process from S201 is repeated.

[0109] On the other hand, if the number of occurrences reaches three (S203: Yes), the determination unit 405 determines that the connection status of the home appliance 10 is offline (S204). Next, the determination unit 405 obtains the user ID associated with the device ID of the home appliance 10 in the device management DB 411 (S205).

[0110] Next, the communication unit 401 sends an instruction to change to offline mode to the terminal device 30 of the application used by the user with the acquired user ID (S206). The application 301 on the terminal device 30 receives this instruction.

[0111] Figure 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the state changes of the home appliance 10 and the decision made on the server device 40 side in the conventional technology and according to this embodiment. Figure 16 shows a case where the network is disconnected for some reason and the home appliance 10 goes offline. Figure 16(a) shows the state confirmation in the conventional technology, and Figure 16(b) shows the state confirmation in this embodiment. In both cases, we consider the case where the home appliance 10 goes from normal to the reconnection mode according to this embodiment, and then returns to normal.

[0112] In Figures 16(a) and (b), the horizontal axis represents the passage of time. The ranges indicated by the arrows at both ends of the graph represent the time range during which the appliance 10 remains in a particular state (ON, OFF). "ON" indicates that the appliance 10 is online, and "OFF" indicates that the appliance 10 is offline. The line segments representing online time periods are shown as solid lines, and the line segments representing offline time periods are shown as dashed lines.

[0113] More specifically, in the time progression of the home appliance 10, the range of the line segment labeled "ON" indicates the time period when the home appliance 10 is online, and the range of the line segment labeled "OFF" indicates the time period when the home appliance 10 is offline. On the other hand, in the time progression of the server device, the range of the line segment labeled "ON" indicates the time period when the server device 40 recognizes that the home appliance 10 is online, and the range of the line segment labeled "OFF" indicates the time period when the server device 40 recognizes that the home appliance 10 is offline.

[0114] Furthermore, in Figures 16(a) and 16(b), the downward arrow from the server device to the home appliance indicates that the server device 40 transmits a confirmation signal to the home appliance 10. On the other hand, the upward arrow from the home appliance to the server device indicates that the home appliance 10 transmits a status notification to the server device 40.

[0115] As shown in Figure 16(a), the server device 40 sends confirmation signals to the home appliance 10 at regular time intervals. Here, it is assumed that the home appliance 10 is initially online (ON), and after receiving the first confirmation signal, the home appliance 10 goes offline (OFF) and enters reconnection mode.

[0116] However, the server device 40 only determines that the home appliance 10 is offline if it does not receive a response signal three times in a row, which is a predetermined number of times. Therefore, even if there is no response signal to the second and third confirmation signals, the server device 40 continues to recognize that the home appliance 10 is online (ON). When the home appliance 10 comes online (ON), it sends an online notification 1602 to the server device 40.

[0117] The server device 40 receives the online notification 1602, but at this point (i.e., the point indicated by reference numeral 1601), it still determines that the home appliance 10 is online. Therefore, the server device 40 always determines that the home appliance 10 is online, and there is no timing to send an instruction to the terminal device 10 (application 301) to change to offline.

[0118] Therefore, even when the reconnection mode processing according to this embodiment is being performed, if the status confirmation process is performed using a conventional method, the user of application 301 will feel that something is wrong because, even though the reconnection process for the home appliance 10 has been started, the status of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected remains online in the display of application 301.

[0119] Therefore, in this embodiment, if the home appliance 10 goes offline during the status confirmation process described in Figure 15, the home appliance 10 sends an offline notification to the server device 40, allowing the server device 40 to recognize that the home appliance 10 is offline.

[0120] In other words, as shown in Figure 16(b), if the home appliance 10 goes offline (OFF) after receiving the first confirmation signal from the server device 40, the home appliance 10 then sends an offline notification 1603 to the server device 40 before receiving the second confirmation signal. Therefore, the server device 40 recognizes that the home appliance 10 is offline from the moment it receives the offline notification 1603, and sends an instruction to the terminal device 10 to change the status of the home appliance 10 to offline. The application 301 on the terminal device 10 then changes the status of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected to offline. As a result, the status of the home appliance 10 is displayed as offline, and the user does not experience the same sense of incongruity as with conventional technology.

[0121] Then, when the home appliance 10 goes online (ON), it sends an online notification 1604 to the server device 40. Upon receiving the online notification 1604, the server device 40 recognizes that the status of the home appliance 10 has changed to online.

[0122] Figure 17 is a diagram illustrating other examples of the state changes of the home appliance 10 and the decisions made by the server device 40 in the prior art and according to this embodiment. Figure 17 shows a case where the home appliance 10 goes offline due to the replacement of the router 50. Figure 17(a) shows the state confirmation in the prior art, and Figure 17(b) shows the state confirmation in this embodiment. In both cases, we consider the case where the home appliance 10 goes from normal to the reconnection mode according to this embodiment, and then returns to normal. In Figures 17(a) and (b), the horizontal axis shows the passage of time. Also, in Figures 17(a) and (b), the range indicated by the line segments with arrows at both ends, "ON" and "OFF", the downward arrow from the server device to the home appliance, and the upward arrow from the home appliance to the server device are the same as in Figures 16(a) and (b).

[0123] As shown in Figure 17(a), the server device 40 sends confirmation signals to the home appliance 10 at regular time intervals. Initially, the home appliance 10 is online (ON) by connecting to the router (1). After receiving the second confirmation signal, the home appliance 10 turns off the power to the router (1) and stops its operation in order to replace the router (1), which causes the home appliance 10 to go offline (OFF) and enter reconnection mode.

[0124] However, the server device 40 only determines that the home appliance 10 is offline if it does not receive a response signal three times in a row, which is a predetermined number of times. Therefore, even if there is no response signal to the third confirmation signal, the server device 40 continues to recognize that the home appliance 10 is online (ON). When router (1) is replaced with a new router (2) and router (2) is activated, the home appliance 10 goes online (ON) and sends an online notification 1702 to the server device 40.

[0125] The server device 40 receives the online notification 1702, but at this point (i.e., the point indicated by reference numeral 1701), it still determines that the home appliance 10 is online. Therefore, the server device 10 always determines that the home appliance 10 is online, and there is no timing for it to send an instruction to the terminal device 30 to change to offline.

[0126] Thus, even when replacing the router 50, the conventional status check method shown in Figure 17(a), as in Figure 16, cannot immediately detect that the home appliance 10 has gone offline on the server device 40 side, which can cause the user to feel uneasy.

[0127] However, in the status confirmation method according to this embodiment shown in Figure 17(b), similar to Figure 16(b), when the home appliance 10 goes offline in order to replace the router (1), an offline notification is sent to the server device 40.

[0128] In other words, as shown in Figure 17(b), if the home appliance 10 stops operating the router (1) in order to replace it after receiving a second confirmation signal from the server device 40, and as a result the home appliance 10 goes offline (OFF), the home appliance 10 then sends an offline notification 1703 to the server device 40 before receiving a third confirmation signal. Therefore, the server device 40 recognizes that the home appliance 10 is offline from the moment it receives the offline notification 1703, and sends an instruction to the terminal device 10 to change the status of the home appliance 10 to offline, and the application 301 on the terminal device 10 changes the status of the home appliance 10 to be reconnected to offline. As a result, the status of the home appliance 10 is displayed as offline, and the user does not experience any sense of incongruity as in conventional technology.

[0129] Then, once the exchange from router (1) to router (2) is complete and router (2) starts operating, the home appliance 10 goes online (ON), and sends an online notification 1704 from the home appliance 10 to the server device 40. Upon receiving the online notification 1704, the server device 40 recognizes that the status of the home appliance 10 has changed to online.

[0130] In the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, application 301 transmits to server device 40 an instruction for the connection mode related to the connection of home appliance 10 instructed by the user, an equipment ID related to the home appliance 10, and a user ID. Server device 40 has a storage unit 410 that stores an equipment management DB 411 that associates the equipment ID and user ID, and receives the equipment ID, user ID and connection mode instruction from application 301. If the connection mode instruction is an instruction for new registration mode to register a new home appliance 10, the server device 40 executes an initialization process for past information related to the home appliance to be newly registered in the equipment management DB 411 and registers the home appliance 10 to be newly registered. If the connection mode instruction is an instruction for reconnection mode to reconnect the home appliance 10, the server device 40 executes a process to reconnect to the home appliance 10 without executing an initialization process for past information related to the home appliance 10 to be reconnected in the equipment management DB 411.

[0131] Therefore, in this embodiment, when reconnecting a home appliance that has been disconnected from the network, the reconnection process can be performed without executing the initialization process, rather than performing a new registration which requires initialization, thereby improving user convenience.

[0132] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the server device 40 sends confirmation signals to the home appliance 10 at regular time intervals to check whether it is connected or not, and can receive a response signal from the home appliance 10 in response to the confirmation signal. When the server device 40 receives a response signal in response to the confirmation signal, it determines that the home appliance 10 is online. If the server device 40 does not receive a response signal to any of the confirmation signals sent a predetermined number of times, it determines that the home appliance 10 is offline. When the home appliance 10 goes offline and attempts to reconnect, it sends an offline notification to the server device 40 indicating that its status is offline. When the server device 40 receives an offline notification from the home appliance 10, it determines that the home appliance 10 is offline even if the number of confirmation signals sent has not yet reached a predetermined number.

[0133] In this embodiment, when the home appliance 10 goes offline, it sends an offline notification to the server device 10 at that time. As a result, the server device 40 can recognize that the home appliance 10 is offline as soon as it receives the offline notification. Therefore, in this embodiment, the server device 40 sends an instruction to the terminal device 30 to change the display of the home appliance 10 to offline, and the application 301 displays the home appliance 10 to be reconnected as offline. Consequently, according to this embodiment, when reconnecting the home appliance 10, the status of the target home appliance 10 is correctly displayed as offline, thus avoiding any sense of unease for the user.

[0134] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, the server device 40 transmits the determined state of the home appliance 10 to the terminal device 30. The application 301 receives the state of the home appliance 10 from the server device 40 and displays the received state of the home appliance 10 on the display device 302.

[0135] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the user can accurately understand the current state of the home appliance 10.

[0136] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, if the server device 40 determines that the home appliance 10 is offline, it sends an instruction to the terminal device 30 to change the status of the home appliance 10 to offline. When the application 301 receives this instruction, it changes the status of the home appliance 10 to offline.

[0137] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the user can quickly grasp the offline state of the home appliance 10 from the moment it goes offline, so that when reconnecting, the user can correctly understand the state of the home appliance 10 and avoid feeling any discomfort.

[0138] Furthermore, in the home appliance control system 1 according to this embodiment, when the application 301 reconnects a home appliance 10 (in reconnection mode), it displays a list of offline home appliances 10 on the display device 302 and accepts the user's selection of a home appliance 10 to be reconnected from the list of offline home appliances 10.

[0139] Therefore, according to this embodiment, only offline home appliances 10 are displayed in the list, making it possible to accurately select the offline home appliances 10 that are to be reconnected.

[0140] (Variation 1) Various modifications are possible to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, when the reconnection mode is instructed on the connection screen in application 301, a list screen (Figure 9) which is a list of offline home appliances 10 is displayed, but the embodiment is not limited to this.

[0141] For example, if the home appliance 10 is offline, the display unit 3013 can be configured to display icons for all home appliances 10 on the display device 302, and to display a reconnect button on the icon of the offline home appliance 10 so that the user can instruct it to reconnect.

[0142] Figure 18 shows an example of a list screen related to Modification Example 1. In the list screen related to Modification Example 1, as shown in Figure 18, icons for all home appliances 10 are displayed, and a reconnect button 1801 indicating that reconnection is possible is superimposed on the icons of offline home appliances 10.

[0143] Therefore, according to this modified version, the display of the reconnect button allows the user to easily identify offline home appliances 10 and easily select the home appliance 10 to be reconnected, thereby further improving user convenience.

[0144] Furthermore, in this modified example 1, the display processing unit 3013 may be configured so that the reconnect button 1801 is not displayed for icons of home appliances 10 that are powered on and connected to the network when in use (in other words, home appliances 10 that are normally powered off and go offline when not in use), such as washing machines and rice cookers.

[0145] Therefore, according to this modified example, home appliances 10 that are powered on and connected to the network when in use do not need to be reconnected. By not displaying such home appliances 10 on the list screen, the user can recognize which home appliances 10 actually need to be reconnected. (Modification 2) Furthermore, for example, when reconnecting the home appliance 10 in application 301, the display processing unit 3013 may be configured to display a list of all home appliances 10, that is, a list of all online and offline home appliances 10, on the display device 302, and to display offline home appliances 10 in the list of home appliances 10 along with an icon or other indication that they are offline.

[0146] Figure 19 shows an example of a list screen according to Modification 2. In the list screen according to Modification 2, as shown in Figure 19, the user can specify in the list box 1902 in the upper right corner of the screen which state of home appliances 10 should be displayed on the list screen; in other words, whether to display online home appliances 10, offline home appliances 10, or all home appliances 10 on the list screen. Specifically, when "Online" is selected in list box 1902, the display processing unit 3013 extracts and displays online home appliances 10, and when "Offline" is selected in list box 1902, the display processing unit 3013 extracts and displays offline home appliances 10. Furthermore, when both "Online" and "Offline" are selected in list box 1902, the display processing unit 3013 displays all home appliances 10, that is, both online and offline home appliances 10.

[0147] In the example in Figure 19, both "Online" and "Offline" are selected in list box 1901, so all appliances 10, including online and offline appliances 10, are displayed on the list screen. The offline appliances 10 are marked with an icon 1901 indicating that their status is offline. Appliances 10 marked with this icon 1901 indicate that they are reconnectable. In the example in Figure 19, the air conditioner and refrigerator are marked with the offline icon 1901, indicating to the user that the air conditioner and refrigerator are reconnectable.

[0148] In this case, the input processing unit 3012 can be further configured to accept the user's selection of a home appliance 10 to be reconnected from a list of offline home appliances 10. Also, as described above, the input processing unit 3012 can be configured in the list box 1902 to accept the user's selection of the status of the home appliances 10 to be displayed on the list screen.

[0149] Therefore, according to this modified version, it is possible to check all home appliances 10 and select only the offline home appliances 10 to be reconnected, thereby further improving user convenience.

[0150] (Modification 4) Furthermore, the OS (Operating System) running on the terminal device 10 can be configured to notify the display device 302 that the home appliance 10 is offline, without launching application 301, if the status of the home appliance 10 received from the server device 40 is offline. This allows the user to know that the home appliance 10 is offline without launching application 301.

[0151] (Variation 5) In the above embodiment, the reconnection process is performed by the user operating a button on the connection screen that indicates the reconnection mode, but it is not limited to this. For example, the application 301 and server device 40 can be configured to determine that a reconnection instruction has been received by receiving any signal other than the button operation. Since reconnection is possible without the operation of a button, the user does not need to operate a button, which further improves user convenience.

[0152] (Experimental variation 6) Alternatively, the application 301 may be configured to not issue instructions for selecting new registration or reconnection, but only to select the target home appliance 10, and the server device 40 may be configured to access the device management DB and determine that a reconnection mode instruction has been given if information regarding the target home appliance 10 specified by the application 301 is already registered.

[0153] In this case, the user can be reconnected without having to decide whether to register a new account or reconnect, thus improving user convenience.

[0154] (Other variations) In the above embodiment, the server device 40 is configured as a single device, but this is not the only configuration. For example, the functional parts or functions of each part of the server device 40 may be distributed among multiple devices. In this case as well, users who utilize the application 301 of the terminal device 30 can enjoy all the effects and advantages described in the above embodiment and modifications.

[0155] Furthermore, while the server device 40 may be installed in Japan, it may also be configured to be installed overseas. In addition, if the server device 40 is configured to be distributed across multiple devices, it may be configured to be installed overseas as a device having some of the functions of the functional unit or some of the functions of each unit. Even in these cases, users who utilize the application 301 of the terminal device 30 can enjoy all the effects and advantages described in the above embodiments and modifications.

[0156] 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.

[0157] 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.

[0158] 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.

[0159] The server device 40 in the above embodiment and modified examples is 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 has a hardware configuration that uses a normal computer.

[0160] The home appliance control program executed by the server device 40 of the above embodiment and modified version is 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, or DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0161] Furthermore, the home appliance control program executed by the server device 40 of the above embodiment and its modified form 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 program executed by the server device 40 of the above embodiment and its modified form may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. Furthermore, the home appliance control program executed by the server device 40 of the above embodiment and its modified form may be provided pre-installed in ROM or the like.

[0162] The home appliance control program executed in the server device 40 of the above embodiment and modified example has a modular configuration including the above-described functional units. In actual hardware, the CPU (processor) reads the home appliance control program from the storage medium and executes it, thereby loading the above-described units onto the main memory and generating each functional unit on the main memory.

[0163] 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]

[0164] 1. Home appliance control system 10 Home appliances 30 Terminal devices 40 Server Devices 101 Communications Department 102 Control Unit 110 Storage section 401 Communications Department 402 Control Unit 403 New Registration Section 404 Reconnection 405 Judgment Department 410 Storage section 411 Device management DB 301 Application 302 Display device 303 Input device 304 Communication equipment 305 Storage device 3011 Communication Processing Unit 3012 Input Processing Unit 3013 Display Processing Unit 3014 Control Unit 3051 Equipment DB

Claims

1. A home appliance control system comprising a server device connected to a home appliance via a network and controlling 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, The aforementioned application program, The computer is instructed to perform a transmission step of sending connection instructions for connecting the home appliance as instructed by the user, device information for the home appliance, and user identification information for identifying the user who will use the home appliance to the server device. The server device is A storage unit that stores device management information that associates the aforementioned device information with the aforementioned user identification information, A communication unit that receives the device information, the user identification information, and the connection instruction from the application program, If the connection instruction is an instruction to register the home appliance, the new registration unit performs an initialization process of past information regarding the home appliance to be registered in the equipment management information and registers the home appliance to be registered. If the connection instruction is an instruction to reconnect the home appliance, the reconnection unit executes a process to reconnect to the home appliance without performing an initialization process of past information regarding the home appliance to be reconnected in the device management information, A home appliance control system equipped with the following features.

2. The communication unit transmits a confirmation signal to the home appliance at regular time intervals to check whether it is connected or not, and is capable of receiving a response signal from the home appliance in response to the confirmation signal. The server device is The communication unit determines that the home appliance is online when it receives the response signal to the confirmation signal, and determines that the home appliance is offline when it does not receive the response signal to the confirmation signal sent a predetermined number of times. When the aforementioned home appliance performs the reconnection, it sends an offline notification to the server device indicating that the home appliance is offline. The determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline when the communication unit receives the offline notification from the home appliance, even before the transmission of the confirmation signal reaches the predetermined number of times. The home appliance control system according to claim 1.

3. When the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline, the communication unit sends an instruction to the terminal device to change the status of the home appliance to offline. The aforementioned application program, When an instruction is received to change the status of the aforementioned home appliance to offline, the computer is further instructed to perform the step of changing the status of the aforementioned home appliance to offline. The home appliance control system according to claim 2.

4. The aforementioned application program, If the status of the home appliance is offline, the computer is further instructed to perform a display step in which the display device of the terminal device displays a reconnect button, along with the display of the home appliance, for the user to instruct the user to reconnect. The home appliance control system according to claim 3.

5. In the aforementioned application program, The aforementioned display step does not display the reconnect button for the home appliance that is powered on and connected to the network only when in use. The home appliance control system according to claim 4.

6. In the aforementioned application program, When reconnecting the aforementioned home appliances, a display step is performed in which a list of offline home appliances is displayed on the display device of the terminal device, An input step which accepts the user's selection of the home appliance to be reconnected from the aforementioned list of offline home appliances, To cause the computer to execute the above, The home appliance control system according to claim 3.

7. In the aforementioned application program, When reconnecting the aforementioned home appliance, a display step is performed in which a list of all home appliances, including online and offline home appliances, is displayed on the display device of the terminal device, and in the list of all home appliances, the display of offline home appliances is shown along with a display indicating that they are offline. An input step which accepts the user's selection of the home appliance to be reconnected from the aforementioned list of offline home appliances, To cause the computer to execute the above, The home appliance control system according to claim 3.

8. A server device that is connected to a home appliance via a network and controls the home appliance, A storage unit that stores device management information which associates device information relating to the aforementioned home appliance with user identification information for identifying the user who uses the aforementioned home appliance, A communication unit that receives the device information, the user identification information, and connection instructions regarding the connection of the home appliance instructed by the user from an application program to be executed on a computer of a terminal device connected to a network, If the connection instruction is an instruction to register the home appliance, the new registration unit performs an initialization process of past information regarding the home appliance to be registered in the equipment management information and registers the home appliance to be registered. If the connection instruction is an instruction to reconnect the home appliance, the reconnection unit executes a process to reconnect to the home appliance without performing an initialization process of past information regarding the home appliance to be reconnected in the device management information, A server device equipped with the following features.

9. The communication unit transmits a confirmation signal to the home appliance at regular time intervals to check whether it is connected or not, and is capable of receiving a response signal from the home appliance in response to the confirmation signal. The server device is The communication unit determines that the home appliance is online when it receives the response signal to the confirmation signal, and determines that the home appliance is offline when it does not receive the response signal to the confirmation signal sent a predetermined number of times. The determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline when the communication unit receives an offline notification from the home appliance indicating that the home appliance is offline due to a disconnection from the application program, even before the transmission of the confirmation signal reaches the predetermined number of times. The server device according to claim 8.

10. The communication unit transmits the status of the home appliance determined by the determination unit to the terminal device. The server device according to claim 9.

11. When the determination unit determines that the home appliance is offline, the communication unit transmits an instruction to the terminal device to change the status of the home appliance to offline. The server device according to claim 10.

12. An application program to be executed on a computer in a terminal device connected to a server device that controls home appliances via a network, A display step in which a first screen is displayed on the display device of the terminal device, prompting the user to input a new registration instruction to register the home appliance and a reconnection instruction to reconnect the home appliance that has become offline due to being disconnected from the network, From the first screen, an input step is taken in which the user inputs either the new registration instruction or the reconnection instruction, A transmission step in which, when the user inputs the new registration instruction, the new registration instruction is sent to the server device, causing the server device to perform an initialization process for the information regarding the home appliance and then perform the new registration process for the home appliance; and when the user inputs the reconnection instruction, the reconnection instruction is sent to the server device, causing the server device to perform a reconnection process for the home appliance without performing an initialization process for the information regarding the home appliance. An application program that causes the aforementioned computer to execute it.

13. When the server device receives an instruction to change the status of the home appliance to offline, the computer is further instructed to perform the step of changing the status of the home appliance to offline. The application program according to claim 12.

14. The display step, when the status of the home appliance is offline, displays a reconnect button on the display device of the terminal device, along with the display of the home appliance, for the user to instruct the user to reconnect. The application program according to claim 12.

15. The aforementioned display step does not display the reconnect button for the home appliance that is powered on and connected to the network only when in use. The application program according to claim 14.

16. The display step further includes, when reconnecting the home appliance, displaying a list of offline home appliances on the display device of the terminal device. The input step further allows the user to select the appliance to be reconnected from the list of offline appliances. The application program according to claim 13.

17. The display step, when reconnecting the home appliance, displays a list of all home appliances, including online and offline home appliances, on the display device of the terminal device, and in the list of all home appliances, displays the offline home appliances along with a message indicating that they are offline. The input step further allows the user to select the appliance to be reconnected from the list of offline appliances. The application program according to claim 13.

18. A method for controlling home appliances, which is executed in a home appliance control system comprising a server device connected to a home appliance via a network and controlling 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, The application program causes the computer to execute a transmission step in which it transmits to the server device a connection instruction regarding the connection of the home appliance instructed by the user, device information regarding the home appliance, and user identification information for identifying the user who will use the home appliance. The server device is The system includes a storage unit that stores device management information, which associates the aforementioned device information with the user identification information and user identification information for identifying the user who uses the application program. The server device receives the device information, the user identification information, and the connection instruction from the application program. If the connection instruction is an instruction to register the home appliance, the server device performs an initialization process for past information regarding the home appliance to be registered in the equipment management information, and performs the step of registering the home appliance to be registered. If the server device receives a connection instruction, it performs a process to reconnect to the home appliance without performing an initialization process for past information regarding the home appliance to be reconnected in the device management information. A method for controlling home appliances, including the control of such appliances.

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