Home appliance system, display control method, program, and server

Abstract

The transition patterns of the display screens related to the registration of home appliances will change according to the situation. [Solution] The home appliance system of the embodiment comprises a home appliance, a server that manages the home appliance, and a terminal device that can operate on the home appliance registered by an application, wherein the terminal device transmits home appliance information, which is information about a home appliance to be registered or has already been registered, to the server, the server compares the received home appliance information with device information held in the storage unit, transmits the comparison result information to the terminal device, and when an operation related to the registration of the home appliance is performed, the terminal device transitions the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the comparison result information.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is a technology that enables home appliances (such as refrigerators and air conditioners) to be operated not with a dedicated remote control but with a terminal device such as a smartphone. In that case, by downloading an app (application program) to the terminal device and registering the home appliances with that app, it becomes possible to operate and manage the home appliances.

[0003] And since the procedure for registering home appliances with the terminal device is often not simple, many display screens are sequentially transitioned according to user operations. In particular, this tendency becomes prominent in an integrated home appliance app (an app that can register and use multiple types of home appliances).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, it is not appropriate to uniformly show all display screens by transitioning them to all users, including users who are not used to operating home appliances on the terminal device and users who are used to it. For example, for users who are used to such operations, there are some of the multiple display screens that they do not need to view.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide a home appliance system, a display control method, a program, and a server that can change the transition pattern of the display screen related to the registration of home appliances according to the situation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The home appliance system of the embodiment comprises a home appliance, a server for managing the home appliance, and a terminal device capable of operating the home appliance registered by an application, wherein the terminal device transmits home appliance information, which is information about a home appliance to be registered or has already been registered, to the server, the server compares the received home appliance information with device information held in the storage unit, transmits the comparison result information to the terminal device, and the terminal device transitions the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the comparison result information when an operation related to the registration of the home appliance is performed.

[0008] The server compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit, and if there is device information corresponding to the home appliance information, it transmits the corresponding comparison result information to the terminal device, and the terminal device, when performing an operation related to the registration of the home appliance, displays a device sharing screen, which is a settings screen that enables operation of the home appliance from other terminal devices, according to the comparison result information.

[0009] The server compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit. If there is no device information corresponding to the home appliance information, the server transmits the corresponding comparison result information to the terminal device. The terminal device then displays a device registration screen, which is a settings screen that allows the user to operate the home appliance themselves, in accordance with the comparison result information, when performing an operation related to the registration of the home appliance.

[0010] The server compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit. If there is device information corresponding to the home appliance information, the server transmits the corresponding comparison result information to the terminal device. The terminal device, during the operation related to registering the home appliance, omits a portion of the display screen that would otherwise be displayed if there was no device information corresponding to the home appliance information, based on the comparison result information.

[0011] When the terminal device performs an operation related to registering the home appliance, if a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the previous appliance registration, it will not omit the display screen to which it will transition.

[0012] When the terminal device transmits the home appliance information, which is information about home appliances to be registered or already registered, to the server, it also transmits the analysis result information of a captured image of a two-dimensional barcode, which includes information about screen transitions, to the server.

[0013] The terminal device transitions the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the analysis result of the captured image of a two-dimensional barcode containing information about screen transitions.

[0014] When the terminal device performs an operation related to registering the home appliance, if it omits a part of the display screen to which it would transition, compared to the case where there is no device information corresponding to the home appliance information, it displays an operation unit to transition to the omitted display screen, based on the comparison result information.

[0015] The display control method of the embodiment is a display control method by a home appliance system comprising a home appliance, a server for managing the home appliance, and a terminal device capable of operating the home appliance registered by an application, and includes the steps of: the terminal device transmitting home appliance information, which is information about a home appliance to be registered or has already been registered, to the server; the server comparing the received home appliance information with device information held in a storage unit and transmitting comparison result information to the terminal device; and the terminal device transitioning the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the comparison result information when an operation related to the registration of the home appliance is performed.

[0016] The program of the embodiment causes the server and the terminal device in a home appliance system comprising a home appliance, a server that manages the home appliance, and a terminal device that can operate on the home appliance registered by an application to execute the following steps: the terminal device transmits home appliance information, which is information about a home appliance to be registered or has already been registered, to the server; the server compares the received home appliance information with device information held in the storage unit and transmits the comparison result information to the terminal device; and when the terminal device performs an operation related to the registration of the home appliance, it transitions the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the comparison result information.

[0017] The server in the embodiment is a server in a home appliance system comprising a home appliance, a server for managing the home appliance, and a terminal device capable of operating the home appliance registered by an application. The server receives home appliance information, which is information about a home appliance scheduled for registration or already registered, from the terminal device, compares the received home appliance information with device information held in the storage unit, creates control information including a transition pattern of the display screen during operation related to the registration of the home appliance on the terminal device according to the comparison result, and transmits the control information to the terminal device.

[0018] According to the above-mentioned home appliance system, display control method, program, and server, the transition pattern of the display screen related to the registration of home appliances can be changed according to the situation.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the home appliance system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is a diagram showing the conventional home appliance system X. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the conventional home appliance system X. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a diagram showing the home appliance system Y according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the home appliance system Y according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow of the home appliance system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7A] FIG. 7A is a diagram showing the home appliance system Z according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7B] FIG. 7B is a diagram showing the home appliance system Z according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow of the home appliance system according to the second embodiment.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments (first and second embodiments) of the home appliance system, display control method, program, and server of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the components of an embodiment and the description of such components may be described in multiple ways. The components and their descriptions are examples and are not limited by the expressions of this specification. Components may also be identified by names different from those used in this specification. Components may also be described by expressions different from those used in this specification. In addition, in the following, home appliances will also be simply referred to as "home appliances." In addition, in the following, Figures 4A and 4B will be collectively referred to as "Figure 4," Figures 5A and 5B will be collectively referred to as "Figure 5," and Figures 7A and 7B will be collectively referred to as "Figure 7."

[0021] (First Embodiment) The first embodiment will now be described. To facilitate understanding of the embodiment, the background technology will be explained again. In recent years, the spread of IoT (Internet of Things) home appliances has progressed, and user convenience has improved by linking home appliances with smartphone applications.

[0022] For example, with air conditioners, smartphones can be used as remote controls. Also, with cooking appliances (microwave ovens, oven ranges, etc.), settings information for recipes viewed on a smartphone can be sent to the appliance for easier setup.

[0023] There are various ways to enable control of home appliances from a smartphone, but here we will focus on the method of connecting home appliances to a server via a communication network (Figure 1).

[0024] Figure 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the home appliance system S of the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the home appliance system S comprises home appliances 10 (10A to 10F), a terminal device 100, a server 200, a modem M, and a wireless router R.

[0025] The home appliance 10 and the terminal device 100 are each connected to the server 200 in a communicative manner via, for example, a wireless router R, a modem M, or a communication network NW (for example, the Internet). Alternatively, the home appliance 10 and the terminal device 100 may be configured to be connected to each other wirelessly via a communication adapter (not shown). Alternatively, the home appliance 10 and the terminal device 100 may be configured to be connected to each other via wired communication via a communication cable, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable.

[0026] The living room is equipped with a refrigerator (10A), a microwave oven (10B), and an air conditioner (10C). The bathroom is equipped with a washing machine (10D). The bedroom is equipped with an air conditioner (10E). The study is equipped with an air conditioner (10F).

[0027] The terminal device 100 is a means of operating the home appliance 10 registered in the app. The terminal device 100 is composed of, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, etc.

[0028] Server 200 is comprised of a well-known computer system and manages the home appliance 10. Server 200 stores various information such as information for accessing the home appliance 10 and terminal devices 100 (e.g., IP (Internet Protocol) addresses), and various computer programs including application software.

[0029] Next, the server 200 will be described. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server 200 in the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the server 200 includes a control unit 201, a communication unit 202, a storage unit 203, and a timing unit 204.

[0030] The control unit 201 is implemented using a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. The CPU performs various controls and calculations on the server 200 by, for example, executing a program stored in the ROM.

[0031] The communication unit 202 is an element that realizes communication functions for communicating with external devices. The communication unit 202 performs communication with the home appliance 10 and the terminal device 100.

[0032] The storage unit 203 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), etc. The storage unit 203 stores various kinds of information and data.

[0033] The timekeeping unit 204 measures the time (date and time).

[0034] Next, the terminal device 100 will be described. Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the terminal device 100 of the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the terminal device 100 includes a processing unit 301, a display unit 302, an operation unit 303, a communication unit 304, and a storage unit 305. The display unit 302, the operation unit 303, the communication unit 304, and the storage unit 305 are connected to the processing unit 301.

[0035] The processing unit 301 is implemented by a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. The CPU performs various controls and calculations on the terminal device 100 by executing programs stored in ROM, for example.

[0036] The display unit 302 is composed of a display device such as a liquid crystal panel.

[0037] The operation unit 303 consists of a touch panel switch formed on the display screen of the display unit 302, mechanical switches provided around the display unit 302, and the like.

[0038] The communication unit 304 is an element that implements communication functions for communicating with external devices. The communication unit 304 performs communication with the server 200.

[0039] The storage unit 305 is composed of an SSD (Solid State Drive) or the like. The storage unit 305 stores various kinds of information and data.

[0040] The processing unit 301 has a functional configuration that includes an acquisition unit 311 and a control unit 312.

[0041] The acquisition unit 311 acquires various types of information. For example, the acquisition unit 311 acquires information about the home appliance 10 from the home appliance 10 via the server 200.

[0042] The control unit 312 performs various controls. For example, the control unit 312 displays various information on the display unit 302. The control unit 312 also instructs the home appliance 10 via the server 200 to operate according to the contents of the operation timer information.

[0043] In the following explanation, for the sake of brevity, when describing the operation of the control unit 201 of server 200, the operating entity may be referred to as "server 200." Similarly, when describing the operation of the processing unit 301 (acquisition unit 311, control unit 312) of terminal device 100, the operating entity may be referred to as "terminal device 100."

[0044] This document describes a technology for changing the transition pattern of the display screen related to the registration of a home appliance 10 in such a home appliance system S, depending on the situation.

[0045] Here, we will explain "device registration," "device sharing," etc. Traditionally, in the home appliance system S, a procedure called "device registration" is used to connect the server 200 and the home appliance 10 via a communication network NW and link them to a registered user ID. The user logs into the application using that user ID on the terminal device 100, performs operations on the home appliance 10 from the application, and the requests reach the home appliance 10 via the communication network NW and server 200. With this method, as long as the terminal device 100 is in an environment where it can communicate on the communication network NW, the home appliance 10 can be operated even when away from home.

[0046] Now, let's consider the case where the home appliance 10 is transferred to another user. We will consider how the original user should behave when they operate the home appliance 10 using the terminal device 100 after the new user has registered the home appliance 10.

[0047] It is anticipated that various problems could arise if the original user were allowed to operate the home appliance 10. It is desirable that the original user's device registration be canceled when a new user registers the device. This concept is implemented in the form of "owner" and "ownership" of the home appliance. When a new user registers the device, the ownership of home appliance 10 is transferred from the original user to the new user, and this is managed on server 200. At this point, the transferred home appliance 10 is removed from the original user's application.

[0048] However, if registering a device automatically changes ownership, it can compromise convenience. For example, while it would be convenient if all family members could operate a single air conditioner, if registering a device automatically changes ownership, only one user could operate it. Therefore, this issue is resolved by introducing the concept of the owner of a home appliance sharing ownership with a specific user.

[0049] This is achieved through an operation called "device sharing." The user sharing the device only borrows ownership; they do not become the owner. This information is managed on server 200, and both the owner and the user borrowing ownership can operate the home appliance 10. If a new user registers the device, the owner changes, and the ownership is also changed. At this point, the user who was borrowing ownership can no longer operate the home appliance 10.

[0050] In other words, the operations of "device registration" and "device sharing" are necessary to improve user convenience. However, this presents the challenge of increasing the number of screen transitions required within the app.

[0051] Therefore, in the home appliance system S, in order to change the transition pattern of the display screen related to the registration of the home appliance 10 according to the situation, for example, the following (1) to (3) are executed in order.

[0052] (1) The terminal device 100 transmits home appliance information, which is information about home appliances 10 that are scheduled to be registered or have already been registered, to the server 200. (2) The server 200 compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit 203 and transmits the comparison result information to the terminal device 100. (3) When an operation related to registering the home appliance 10 is performed, the terminal device 100 transitions the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the received comparison result information.

[0053] (1) For example, the terminal device 100 transmits to the server 200 information read from a two-dimensional barcode (e.g., QR code®) attached to the home appliance 10, and information about the home appliance 10 entered by the user. Generally, the two-dimensional barcode attached to the home appliance 10 contains only the model name and serial number information of the home appliance 10, but by adding various other information, it can be used as information for screen transitions.

[0054] Furthermore, regarding (2), for example, the server 200 compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit 203, and if there is device information corresponding to the home appliance information, it transmits the corresponding comparison result information to the terminal device 100.

[0055] In that case, regarding (3), when the terminal device 100 performs an operation related to the registration of the home appliance 10, it displays a device sharing screen, which is a settings screen that enables operation of the home appliance 10 on other terminal devices 100, according to the comparison result information. In other words, if the home appliance 10 that is to be registered has already been registered, the device sharing screen is displayed.

[0056] Furthermore, regarding (2), for example, the server 200 compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit 203, and if there is no device information corresponding to the home appliance information, it transmits the corresponding comparison result information to the terminal device 100.

[0057] In that case, with respect to (3), when the terminal device 100 performs an operation related to the registration of the home appliance 10, it displays a device registration screen, which is a settings screen that enables the user to operate the home appliance 10 themselves, according to the comparison result information.

[0058] Furthermore, regarding (2), for example, the server 200 compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit 203, and if there is device information corresponding to the home appliance information, it transmits the corresponding comparison result information to the terminal device 100.

[0059] In that case, with respect to (3), when the terminal device 100 performs an operation related to the registration of the home appliance 10, it omits a part of the display screen to which it would transition if there is no device information corresponding to the home appliance information, depending on the comparison result information (details will be described later using Figures 4 to 6).

[0060] For example, generally, it is necessary to explain to the user where to attach information (such as a QR code) to the home appliance 10. The attachment location differs depending on the home appliance 10, and in systems that can register multiple types of home appliances 10, the system allows the user to select which home appliance 10 to register and displays an explanation screen corresponding to that appliance 10. Furthermore, for users who have registered before, the explanation screen for the attachment location and the selection screen for that location are unnecessary, so it is desirable to omit those screens.

[0061] However, in that case, the terminal device 100 may not omit the display screen to be transitioned to when performing an operation related to the registration of the home appliance 10, if a predetermined amount of time (for example, three months or six months) has passed since the previous device registration.

[0062] This is because, if a certain amount of time has passed since the last device registration, the user may have forgotten where to attach the QR code to the home appliance 10. In such cases, it is more convenient for the user if the screen transition is not skipped.

[0063] Furthermore, regarding (3), for example, when the terminal device 100 transmits home appliance information, which is information about a home appliance 10 that is scheduled to be registered or has already been registered, to the server 200, it also transmits to the server 200 the analysis result information of the captured image of the two-dimensional barcode which contains information about screen transitions. Specifically, for example, the two-dimensional barcode may contain information such as the screen ID (Identifier) ​​being A as the screen transition destination. This makes it easy to control the screen transition destination based on the read two-dimensional barcode.

[0064] In addition to the above, the terminal device 100 may also transition the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the analysis result of the captured image of the two-dimensional barcode containing information about screen transitions. In recent years, the spread of two-dimensional barcodes has progressed, and the number of users who take a picture of the two-dimensional barcode of the home appliance 10 with the camera of the terminal device 100 before installing the app is increasing. Therefore, information such as a deep link (a type of URL (Uniform Resource Locator)) is included in the two-dimensional barcode. This makes it possible for the terminal device 100 to display a screen for the app installation procedure, or, if the app is already installed, to display a screen for the app's device registration procedure.

[0065] Next, Figure 4 shows a conventional home appliance system X. Home appliance system X represents a method in which, when registering a home appliance 10 in a terminal device 100, all display screens are shown without being omitted. The example in Figure 4 shows the transition from the app's top screen to the screen for reading a QR code.

[0066] First, on the top screen (A), pressing the "Add Home Appliance" button in the lower right corner of area R11 will take you to screen (B).

[0067] Screen (B) allows the user to choose between "Device Registration" (Register a new home appliance in area R21) or "Device Sharing" (Share a home appliance in area R22). If "Device Registration" is selected, the user will proceed to screen (C).

[0068] Screen (C) is a screen that allows the user to check the wireless connection status (wireless LAN icon) of home appliance 10, and guides them to select "Device Sharing" ("Share home appliances with family" in area R32) depending on the status (if the wireless LAN icon is lit). This is because if "Device Registration" ("Register home appliance" in area R31) is selected by mistake, ownership will be lost from the original user. If "Device Registration" is selected, the screen will transition to screen (D).

[0069] If the refrigerator is selected in area R41 on screen (D), the screen will transition to screen (E).

[0070] On screen (E), the location of the QR code on the refrigerator is displayed in area R51. The user can see this and recognize the location of the QR code on the refrigerator. Then, when the "Scan QR code" button is pressed in area R52, the screen transitions to screen (F) for scanning the QR code.

[0071] Furthermore, after scanning the QR code on screen (F), the server 200 checks the scanned information. Server 200 checks for things like scanning an incorrect QR code or scanning a newly released home appliance 10 with an outdated app. The reason for checking on server 200 rather than the app on terminal device 100 is to allow checking for information that is not available at the time of app release, such as new home appliances 10. If the scanned information is deemed appropriate, the system returns to screen (E), displays the scanned information (model name, serial number, etc.) in area R53 of the screen, and enables the "Next" button.

[0072] In this example, five steps are required to transition from the app's top screen to the screen for scanning the QR code. However, in some cases (for example, for users who want to register a device rather than share one), screens (B) and (C) are unnecessary. Therefore, we will consider omitting screens (B) and (C). We will refer to this home appliance system in this embodiment, with screens (B) and (C) omitted, as home appliance system Y.

[0073] Figure 5 shows the home appliance system Y of the first embodiment. In home appliance system Y, when the "Add Home Appliance" button in the lower right of area R11 is operated on the top screen (A), screens (B) and (C) are skipped and the system transitions to screen (D). (E) and (F) are the same as in the case of home appliance system X.

[0074] In addition, in home appliance system Y, as with home appliance system X, after reading the QR code on screen (F), the system transitions to screen (E1) and checks the information of the QR code on server 200. In addition to this, home appliance system Y also checks whether the home appliance 10 associated with that information is already registered on server 200.

[0075] Server 200 responds to the app with not only the check result but also whether or not the item is registered. The app uses this "registration status" information to control screen transitions. Specifically, when the "Next" button is pressed on screen (E1), if the model name and serial number are not registered with server 200, the app transitions to screen (E2); if the model name and serial number are registered with server 200, the app transitions to screen (G1).

[0076] On screen (E2), the user enters the specified information (refrigerator name, installation location) and then presses the "Next" button to proceed to another screen.

[0077] Additionally, screen (G1) displays a dialog box asking, "Do you want to share your home appliances?", and then transitions to screens (G2) through (G5) depending on the user's actions.

[0078] Figure 6 is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow of the home appliance system S of the first embodiment. Here, we will explain the processing after the terminal device 100 scans the QR code of the home appliance 10.

[0079] In step S1, user U scans the QR code on the home appliance 10 (refrigerator 10A, etc.) using the terminal device 100 (Figure 5(F)).

[0080] Next, in step S2, the terminal device 100 decodes the scanned QR code.

[0081] Next, in step S3, the terminal device 100 requests the server 200 to verify the decoded information.

[0082] Next, in step S4, the server 200 returns (replies to) the terminal device 100 with the verification results (correctness of the information, whether the device is registered or not).

[0083] Next, if the verification result is correct, in step S5, the terminal device 100 displays the model name and serial number (Figure 5(E1)).

[0084] Next, in step S6, the terminal device 100 enables the "Next" button (Figure 5(E1)).

[0085] Next, in step S7, user U presses the "Next" button using the terminal device 100 (Figure 5(E1)).

[0086] Subsequently, if the home appliance 10 is already registered, in step S8, the terminal device 100 proceeds to the device sharing procedure (displaying the screen shown in Figure 5(G1)).

[0087] Furthermore, if the home appliance 10 is not registered, in step S9, the terminal device 100 proceeds to the device registration procedure (displaying the screen shown in Figure 5(E2)).

[0088] Furthermore, if the verification result is incorrect, in step S10, the terminal device 100 displays an error message.

[0089] Thus, according to the home appliance system S of the first embodiment, the terminal device 100 transmits home appliance information to the server 200, and the server 200 transitions the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the comparison result information. This makes it possible to change the transition pattern of the display screen related to the registration of the home appliance 10 according to the situation.

[0090] For example, when a user attempts to register a home appliance 10 on terminal device 100, if the appliance is not yet registered with server 200, the appliance registration screen is displayed; if it is already registered with server 200, the appliance sharing screen is displayed. This screen distribution can be performed automatically, improving user convenience.

[0091] Furthermore, by omitting display screens that are less likely to be necessary for the user, depending on the situation, user convenience can be improved.

[0092] Furthermore, even in that case, if a certain amount of time has passed since the last device registration, the display screen will not be omitted, allowing the system to handle situations where the user has forgotten the information displayed on the screen during the previous device registration.

[0093] Furthermore, by including information about screen transitions in the QR code attached to the home appliance 10, appropriate screen transitions can be easily achieved.

[0094] (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described. Matters similar to those in the first embodiment will be omitted from the explanation as appropriate.

[0095] The conventional home appliance system X described in the first embodiment is designed to be user-friendly, but this results in many redundant explanations, which also contributes to an increase in screen transitions. For example, in Figure 4, (D) displays the screen for selecting the home appliance 10 to be registered, and (E) displays the location of the QR code for the selected home appliance 10, which at first glance seems helpful.

[0096] However, for users who have registered devices several times before, screens that require them to perform actions can be cumbersome. Therefore, we will explain home appliance system Z, in which (D) and (E) are automatically omitted.

[0097] Figure 7 shows the home appliance system Z of the second embodiment. Note that when a user registers a device for the first time, the screen transitions via home appliance systems X or Y, rather than home appliance system Z. Once the user successfully registers the device, that information is stored in an app or similar application.

[0098] The next time the user attempts to register a device, if the system retains information indicating that they have successfully registered a device before, the home appliance system Z will skip screen transitions (D) and (E). In other words, if "Device Registration" (area R31) is selected on screen (C), the system will transition to screen (F). Note that, as with home appliance system Y, (B) and (C) may also be omitted.

[0099] Furthermore, for users who forget the location of the QR code on the home appliance 10 and are confused when screen (F) is suddenly displayed after screen (C), a link indicating "QR code location (here)" is displayed on screen (F). Tapping this link will transition to screen (D).

[0100] Specifically, regarding the operation of the terminal device 100, in relation to (3) above, when performing an operation related to the registration of the home appliance 10, if there is no device information corresponding to the home appliance information according to the comparison result information, and if a part of the display screen to which the user transitions is omitted, the terminal device 100 displays an operation unit (the link above) to transition to the omitted display screen.

[0101] Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing the processing flow of the home appliance system S of the second embodiment.

[0102] In step S11, user U operates the screen using terminal device 100.

[0103] Next, when registering a device for the first time, or after a certain period of time (a predetermined time), in step S12, the terminal device 100 will transition screens in the same way as the home appliance system X.

[0104] Next, if device registration is successful, in step S13, the terminal device 100 stores in the storage unit 305 whether the device registration was successful and the date and time. This information will be used for the next device registration. In addition to saving it in the app, it is also possible to save it on the server 200.

[0105] Next, when registering the device for the second time, in step S14, the terminal device 100 skips screens (D) and (E) and proceeds to the next screen (Figure 7).

[0106] Next, in step S15, the terminal device 100 displays a link regarding the placement of the QR code on screen (F) (Figure 7(F)).

[0107] Thus, according to the home appliance system S of the second embodiment, when a part of the display screen to be transitioned to is omitted in the terminal device 100, an operation unit for transitioning to the omitted display screen is displayed. This improves convenience for users who have forgotten the information from the previous device registration.

[0108] (modified version) Screen transition control may be performed by the server 200 instead of the terminal device 100. In other words, the server 200 may receive appliance information, which is information about appliances 10 that are scheduled to be registered or have already been registered, from the terminal device 100, compare the received appliance information with the device information held in the storage unit 203, and, according to the comparison result, create control information including the transition pattern of the display screen during the operation related to registering the appliance 10 on the terminal device 100, and send the control information to the terminal device 100. In this case, the terminal device 100 can perform the appropriate screen transition based on that control information.

[0109] In that case, the server 200 can create control information, for example, using HTML (HyperText Markup Language).

[0110] This makes it possible to implement this embodiment without updating the application on the terminal device 100. Furthermore, it reduces the processing load on the terminal device 100.

[0111] Furthermore, the programs executed by the terminal device 100, server 200, and home appliance 10 of this embodiment can be provided as installable or executable files recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM (Read Only Memory), flexible disk (FD), CD-R (Recordable), or DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). Alternatively, these programs may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0112] While 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 implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications are permitted without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as within the scope of the claims and their equivalents.

[0113] For example, the target home appliance 10 is not limited to a refrigerator, but may be other home appliances.

[0114] Furthermore, the predetermined time (for example, three months or six months) which is a condition for not omitting the transition screens, may be set separately for each of the 10 types of home appliances. For example, in the case of large home appliances where the area for attaching the QR code is wide, users are more likely to forget where the QR code is attached and it takes time to find it, so the predetermined time may be set shorter than for other home appliances. This would further improve convenience for the user. [Explanation of symbols]

[0115] 10...Home appliances, 100...Terminal devices, 200...Server, 201...Control unit, 202...Communication unit, 203...Storage unit, 204...Timekeeping unit, 301...Processing unit, 302...Display unit, 303...Operation unit, 304...Communication unit, 305...Storage unit, 311...Acquisition unit, 312...Control unit, M...Modem, NW...Communication network, R...Wireless router, S...Home appliance system

Claims

1. A home appliance system comprising a home appliance, a server for managing the home appliance, and a terminal device capable of operating the home appliance registered via an app, The terminal device transmits home appliance information, which is information about home appliances to be registered or already registered, to the server. The server compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit, and transmits the comparison result information to the terminal device. The terminal device is a home appliance system that, when an operation related to registering the home appliance is performed, transitions the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the comparison result information.

2. The server compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit, and if there is device information corresponding to the home appliance information, it transmits the corresponding comparison result information to the terminal device. The home appliance system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device, when performing an operation related to the registration of the home appliance, displays a device sharing screen, which is a settings screen for enabling operation of the home appliance by other terminal devices, in accordance with the comparison result information.

3. The server compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit, and if there is no device information corresponding to the home appliance information, it transmits the corresponding comparison result information to the terminal device. The home appliance system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device, when performing an operation related to the registration of the home appliance, displays a device registration screen, which is a settings screen for enabling the user to operate the home appliance according to the comparison result information.

4. The server compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit, and if there is device information corresponding to the home appliance information, it transmits the corresponding comparison result information to the terminal device. The home appliance system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device, when performing an operation related to the registration of the home appliance, omits a portion of the display screen to which it would transition if there were no device information corresponding to the home appliance information, in accordance with the comparison result information.

5. The home appliance system according to claim 4, wherein the terminal device does not omit the display screen to which the user transitions when an operation related to registering the home appliance has occurred and a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since the previous appliance registration.

6. The home appliance system according to claim 1, wherein when the terminal device transmits the home appliance information, which is information about home appliances to be registered or that have already been registered, to the server, it transmits to the server the analysis result information of a captured image of a two-dimensional barcode containing information about screen transitions.

7. The home appliance system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device transitions the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the analysis result of the captured image of a two-dimensional barcode containing information about screen transitions.

8. The home appliance system according to claim 4, wherein, when an operation related to the registration of the home appliance is performed, the terminal device displays an operation unit for transitioning to the omitted display screen if, in accordance with the comparison result information, a part of the display screen to be transitioned to is omitted compared to the case where there is no device information corresponding to the home appliance information.

9. A display control method using a home appliance system comprising a home appliance, a server for managing the home appliance, and a terminal device capable of operating the home appliance registered via an application, The terminal device transmits home appliance information, which is information about home appliances to be registered or already registered, to the server. The server compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit, and transmits the comparison result information to the terminal device. A display control method comprising the step of the terminal device transitioning the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the comparison result information when an operation related to the registration of the home appliance is performed.

10. In a home appliance system comprising a home appliance, a server that manages the home appliance, and a terminal device that can operate the home appliance registered via an app, each of the server and the terminal device has: The terminal device transmits home appliance information, which is information about home appliances to be registered or already registered, to the server. The server compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit, and transmits the comparison result information to the terminal device. A program for causing the terminal device to perform the steps of transitioning the display screen according to a transition pattern corresponding to the comparison result information when the terminal device performs an operation related to the registration of the home appliance.

11. The server in a home appliance system comprising home appliances, a server for managing the home appliances, and a terminal device capable of operating the home appliances registered via an application, The terminal device receives home appliance information, which is information about home appliances that are scheduled to be registered or have already been registered. A server that compares the received home appliance information with the device information stored in the storage unit, creates control information including the transition pattern of the display screen during the operation related to registering the home appliance on the terminal device according to the comparison result, and transmits the control information to the terminal device.

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