Home appliances and communication systems for home appliances

Abstract

We provide home appliances and communication systems for home appliances that enable data collection from a wider range of devices. [Solution] The home appliance comprises a first communication unit that can communicate with other home appliances but cannot communicate with an external server device, electrical components, and a control device that controls the first communication unit and the electrical components. The control device transmits a first signal that can be received by other home appliances via the first communication unit, and when the first communication unit receives a second signal indicating permission to transmit to a second home appliance, which is another home appliance equipped with a second communication unit that can communicate with the server device, the first communication unit transmits status information indicating the operating status of the home appliance or the status of the electrical components to the second home appliance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to home appliances and a communication system for home appliances.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, home appliances having a function of communicating with a server on the Internet via a wireless router or the like and a function of communicating with a user's mobile terminal using a short-range wireless communication function such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) have been developed.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator including a refrigerator main body, a wireless communication unit, a control unit, and a long-distance communication unit, wherein the wireless communication unit can directly communicate with a user's mobile terminal device, the control unit includes a control unit for controlling the refrigerator main body and a storage unit, the long-distance communication unit can communicate with an external server device via a network, and when the control unit receives the predetermined signal from the mobile terminal device via the wireless communication unit, at least a part of the information stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the server device via the long-distance communication unit before initializing the storage unit.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In conventional home appliances, since it is impossible to achieve a situation where the home appliance can communicate with a server device on the Internet, when there is no function of communicating with the server device via a wireless router or the like, or when the wireless router cannot be used, etc., collection of some functions and operation data of the home appliance is hindered.

[0006] We provide home appliances and communication systems for home appliances that enable data collection from a wider range of devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The home appliance of the embodiment is a home appliance comprising a first communication unit that can communicate with other home appliances but cannot communicate with an external server device, an electrical component, and a control device that controls the first communication unit and the electrical component. The control device transmits a first signal that can be received by other home appliances via the first communication unit, and when the first communication unit receives a second signal indicating permission to transmit to a second home appliance, which is another home appliance equipped with a second communication unit that can communicate with the server device, the first communication unit transmits status information indicating the operating status of the home appliance or the status of the electrical component to the second home appliance.

[0008] The home appliance of the embodiment is a home appliance comprising: a first communication unit that can communicate with other home appliances but cannot communicate with an external server device; a second communication unit that can communicate with the server device; and a control device that controls the first and second communication units. The control device receives a first signal transmitted by another home appliance, and if the second communication unit can transfer status information indicating the operating status of the other home appliance or the status of the electrical components of the home appliance to the server device, the first communication unit transmits a second signal to the other home appliance indicating that the transmission of the status information is permitted.

[0009] The communication system for home appliances of the embodiment includes a server device, a first home appliance equipped with a first communication unit capable of communicating with other home appliances but not with the server device, a second home appliance equipped with a first communication unit capable of communicating with other home appliances but not with the server device, and a second communication unit capable of communicating with the server device. The first home appliance transmits a first signal that the second home appliance can receive via the first communication unit. When the second home appliance receives the first signal from the first home appliance, it transmits a second signal to the first home appliance via the first communication unit. When the first home appliance receives the second signal from the second home appliance, it transmits status information indicating the operating status of the first home appliance or the status of its electrical components to the second home appliance via the first communication unit. The second home appliance transmits the status information received from the first home appliance to the server device via the second communication unit. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the first home appliance according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] Block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the second home appliance according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] Block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of a server device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] A flowchart showing an example of the processing of a communication system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] A schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] Block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the third home appliance according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] A flowchart showing an example of the processing of a communication system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] A schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 10]Block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the fourth home appliance according to the third embodiment. [Figure 11] A flowchart showing an example of the processing of a communication system according to the third embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Hereinafter, several embodiments of home appliances and communication systems for home appliances will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, substantially identical components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0012] (First Embodiment) First, the home appliance and communication system for the home appliance according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 is composed of a plurality of home appliances, in this case a first home appliance 1, a second home appliance 2, and a server device 3. The first home appliance 1 does not have the function of connecting to the server device 3. The second home appliance 2 has the function of connecting to the server device 3 via a network 4. The network 4 is, for example, the Internet, Ethernet, WAN (Wide Area Network), telephone line, or other public or dedicated lines.

[0013] The first home appliance 1 and the second home appliance 2 are, for example, refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, rice cookers, air conditioners, etc. The first home appliance 1 and the second home appliance 2 may be of the same type or of different types. In this embodiment, the first home appliance 1 and the second home appliance 2 are refrigerators. The first home appliance 1 and the second home appliance 2 may be installed in the same house or in different houses. The owners of the first home appliance 1 and the second home appliance 2 do not have to be the same user.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, the first household electrical appliance 1 includes a control device 10, one or more electrical components 11, one or more sensors 12, an operation panel 13, and a first communication unit 14. The control device 10 is a microcomputer having a CPU 101 and a storage area 102 such as a ROM, a RAM, and a nonvolatile memory. The control device 10 manages the operation of the entire first household electrical appliance 1. The control device 10 controls the driving of the electrical component 11, the sensor 12, the operation panel 13, and the first communication unit 14. The electrical component 11, the sensor 12, and the operation panel 13 are collectively referred to as electrical equipment.

[0015] The electrical component 11 realizes various functions of the first household electrical appliance 1. In the present embodiment, the electrical component 11 realizes the cooling function of the refrigerator, and examples include, but are not limited to, a compressor for a heat pump, a blower for blowing cooling air, a damper for cooling air, a heater for defrosting or preventing condensation, and an in-cabinet lighting.

[0016] The sensor 12 has a function of detecting the operating state of the first household electrical appliance 1 and the states of various electrical components. In the present embodiment, examples of the sensor 12 include, but are not limited to, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature inside the cabinet, a temperature sensor for detecting the humidity inside the cabinet, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the cooler, an open / close sensor for detecting the open / closed state of the door, and a current sensor for detecting the current value flowing through various electrical components.

[0017] The operation panel 13 has a function of receiving an operation from the user and, under the control from the control device 10, changing and displaying various settings such as the operation content of the first household electrical appliance 1. The operation panel 13 may be, for example, an electrostatic touch type or may have a configuration with physical buttons.

[0018] The first communication unit 14 is a communication module capable of short-range communication. In this specification, short range refers to a distance within, for example, several tens of meters. Examples of the first communication unit 14 include, but are not limited to, Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared communication, etc. The first communication unit 14 is a communication module that can communicate with other household electrical appliances but cannot communicate with the server device 3.

[0019] As shown in Figure 3, the second home appliance 2 comprises a control device 20, one or more electrical components 21, one or more sensors 22, an operation panel 23, a first communication unit 24, and a second communication unit 25. The control device 20 is a microcomputer having a CPU 201 and a storage area 202 such as ROM, RAM, or non-volatile memory. The control device 20 manages the operation of the entire second home appliance 2. The control device 20 controls the operation of the electrical components 21, sensors 22, operation panel 23, first communication unit 24, and second communication unit 25. The electrical components 21 and sensors 22 are collectively referred to as electrical components. For example, the electrical state of the electrical components 21, including the current value and voltage value flowing through the electrical components 21, and the detection results of the sensors 22 are collectively referred to as the state of the electrical components.

[0020] The electrical component 21 realizes various functions of the second home appliance 2. The sensor 22 has the function of detecting the operating status of the second home appliance 2 and the status of various electrical components. The operation panel 23 accepts operations from the user and, under control from the control device 20, has the function of changing and displaying various settings such as the operating content of the first home appliance 1. The first communication unit 24 is a communication module capable of short-range communication, similar to the first communication unit 14. The first communication unit 24 is a communication module that can communicate with other home appliances but cannot communicate with the server device 3. The first communication unit 14 and the first communication unit 24 are wireless communication modules.

[0021] The second communication unit 25 is a communication module capable of long-distance communication. In this specification, "long distance" refers to a distance of, for example, 100m or more. That is, the second communication unit 25 is capable of communication between locations further away than the first communication units 14 and 24. The connection method of the second communication unit 25 includes, but is not limited to, Wi-Fi®, LAN (Local Area Network), wireless LAN, WAN, etc. When the second communication unit 25 performs wireless communication, it is not necessarily required that the wireless communication radio waves etc. be transmitted and received between locations more than this distance apart. For example, when communicating with a communication target located outdoors via an indoor wireless router, it is not a problem even if the distance from the second communication unit 25 to the wireless router is less than 100m. Furthermore, if the communication function of the second communication unit 25 enables transmission and reception with a communication target located more than 100m away, the actual communication target does not need to be 100m away. In this embodiment, the second communication unit 25 is connected to the network 4 via a wireless router and modem (not shown) using the Wi-Fi method. In another embodiment, the communication between the second communication unit 25 and the router may be conducted via a wired communication method. The second communication unit 25 is a communication module capable of communicating with the server device 3.

[0022] As shown in Figure 4, the server device 3 comprises a control device 30, a third communication unit 31, and an information collection unit 32. The control device 30 is a microcomputer having a CPU 301 and a storage area 302 such as ROM, RAM, and non-volatile memory. The control device 30 manages the operation of the entire server device 3. The control device 30 controls the operation of the third communication unit 31. The third communication unit 31 can communicate with the second home appliance 2 via the network 4. The information collection unit 32 has the function of collecting information from each home appliance 1 and 2 received by the third communication unit 31 via the network 4 and storing it in the storage area 302.

[0023] The control device 10 of the first home appliance 1 acquires state information including information indicating the operating state of home appliance 1 and at least one piece of information selected from the state of its electrical components, and stores it in the memory area 102. The control device 20 of the second home appliance 2 acquires state information including information indicating the operating state of home appliance 2 and at least one piece of information selected from the state of its electrical components, and stores it in the memory area 202.

[0024] The control device 20 causes the second communication unit 25 to transmit status information to the server device 3 via the network 4. The transmission to the server device 3 can be configured to occur at predetermined intervals, for example, once every 30 minutes. The third communication unit 31 of the server device 3 receives the status information via the network 4. The information collection unit 32 stores the status information received by the third communication unit 31 in the storage area 302.

[0025] Since the first home appliance 1 does not have a second communication unit capable of communicating with the server device 3, it cannot send status information to the server device 3 itself. Instead, the first home appliance 1 attempts to find a second home appliance 2 that can communicate with the server device 3. Once the second home appliance 2 is identified, the first home appliance 1 sends status information to the second home appliance 2. The second home appliance 2 then transmits, or transfers, the status information of the first home appliance 1 to the server device 3.

[0026] Referring to Figure 5, the process by which the status information of the first home appliance 1 is stored by the server device 3 will be explained. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the control device 10 causes the first communication unit 14 to transmit a first signal a (step S11). In this specification, "transmit" means to communicate without specifying the recipient of the signal. On the other hand, in this specification, "send" means to communicate after specifying the recipient of the signal. The first signal a is transmitted in a manner that can be received by the first communication unit of other home appliances. The first signal a is a signal related to searching for a second home appliance 2 that can communicate with the server device 3. The first signal a also includes information that identifies the first home appliance 1, which is the source of the first signal a.

[0027] If the second home appliance 2 is located within a predetermined distance from the first home appliance 1 via the first communication unit 14, the first communication unit 24 receives the first signal a transmitted by the first home appliance 1 (step S12). Upon receiving the first signal a, the control device 20 determines whether it is possible to transmit the status information of the first home appliance 1 to the server device 3 on behalf of the first home appliance 1 (step S13). For example, if the second home appliance 2 is currently transmitting its own status information to the server device 3, the second home appliance 2 cannot transmit the status information of the first home appliance 1 as a substitute. If it is determined that transmission is impossible (No in step S13), the configuration may be such that step S13 is repeated a predetermined number of times. If it is determined that the second communication unit 25 is available for substitute transmission (Yes in step S13), the control device 20 causes the first communication unit 24 to transmit the second signal b to the first home appliance 1 (step S14). The second signal b is a signal that permits the transmission of the status information of the first home appliance 1. The second signal b includes information identifying the first home appliance 1 that transmitted the first signal a. The second signal b may also include information identifying the second home appliance 2 that transmits the signal as an alternative.

[0028] The first communication unit 14 of the first home appliance 1 receives the second signal b from the second home appliance 2 (step S15). The control device 10 causes the first communication unit 14 to transmit status information to the second home appliance 2 (step S16).

[0029] The first communication unit 24 of the second home appliance 2 receives status information of the first home appliance 1 (step S17). The control device 20, having acquired the status information of the first home appliance 1, causes the second communication unit 25 to transmit the status information to the server device 3 (step S18).

[0030] The third communication unit 31 of the server device 3 receives status information of the first home appliance 1 from the second communication unit 25 via the network 4 (step S19). The information collection unit 32 stores the status information of the first home appliance 1 received by the third communication unit 31 in the storage area 302 (step S20). In this way, even if the first home appliance 1 cannot directly transmit status information to the server device 3, the server device 3 can collect the status information of the first home appliance 1.

[0031] Furthermore, the control devices 10 and 20 may be configured to enable or disable the status information transmission function. For example, the user may be able to enable or disable the status information transmission function by operating the operation panel 15 or an external terminal (not shown).

[0032] The first home appliance 1 of this embodiment, as described above, is a home appliance comprising a first communication unit that can communicate with other home appliances but cannot communicate with an external server device 3, electrical components 11 and a sensor 12 as electrical components, and a control device 10 that controls the first communication unit 14 and the electrical components. The control device 10 transmits a first signal a, which can be received by other home appliances, via the first communication unit 14. When the first communication unit 14 receives a second signal b indicating permission to transmit to a second home appliance 2, which is another home appliance equipped with a second communication unit 25 that can communicate with the server device 3, the first communication unit 14 transmits status information indicating the operating state of the first home appliance 1 or the state of the electrical components 11 and 12 to the second home appliance 2.

[0033] According to this, even if the first home appliance 1 cannot communicate directly with the server device 3, it can transmit status information to the server device 3 via the second home appliance 2. As a result, the server device 3 can collect data from a large number of home appliances, and consequently, it becomes easier to detect malfunctions and failures in home appliances.

[0034] The second home appliance 2 is a home appliance comprising a first communication unit 24 that can communicate with other home appliances but cannot communicate with an external server device 3, a second communication unit 25 that can communicate with the server device 3, and a control device 20 that controls the first communication unit 24 and the second communication unit 25. The control device 20 receives a first signal a transmitted by the first home appliance 1, which is another home appliance, and if the second communication unit 25 can transfer status information indicating the operating status of the other home appliance or the status of the electrical components 11 and 12 of the home appliance to the server device 3, the first communication unit 24 transmits a second signal b to the other home appliance indicating that the transmission of status information is permitted.

[0035] According to this, a first home appliance 1, which is unable to communicate with the server device 3, can identify a second home appliance 2 that transfers status information to the server device 3. Therefore, even if the first home appliance 1 cannot communicate directly with the server device 3, it can transmit status information to the server device 3 via the second home appliance 2.

[0036] The home appliance communication system 100 includes a server device 3, a first home appliance 1, and a second home appliance 2. The first home appliance 1 is equipped with a first communication unit 14 that can communicate with other home appliances but cannot communicate with the server device 3. The second home appliance 2 is equipped with a first communication unit 24 that can communicate with other home appliances but cannot communicate with the server device 3, and a second communication unit 25 that can communicate with the server device 3. The first home appliance 1 transmits a first signal a, which can be received by the second home appliance 2, via the first communication unit 14. When the second home appliance 2 receives the first signal a from the first home appliance 1, it transmits a second signal b to the first home appliance 1 via the first communication unit 24. When the first home appliance 1 receives the second signal b from the second home appliance 2, it transmits status information to the second home appliance 2 via the first communication unit 14, indicating the operating status of the first home appliance 1, the status of electrical components 11, or the detection result of a sensor 12. The second home appliance 2 transmits the status information received from the first home appliance 1 to the server device 3 via the second communication unit 25.

[0037] According to this, even if the first home appliance 1 cannot communicate with the server device 3 and it is impossible to collect status information directly from the first home appliance 1, the server device 3 can still collect the status information via the nearby second home appliance 2. Therefore, it becomes easier to collect status information even from home appliances that do not have the ability to communicate with the server device 3. As a result, it becomes possible to obtain status information from a large number of home appliances, making it easier to detect malfunctions and defects in home appliances and to identify areas for improvement. Furthermore, by obtaining status information from a large number of home appliances, the reliability of the statistical data on status information can be increased.

[0038] (Second Embodiment) A second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 8. As shown in Figure 6, the communication system 100 of this embodiment is composed of a first home appliance 1, a second home appliance 2, a third home appliance 5, and a server device 3. The third home appliance 5 is a home appliance that cannot communicate with the server device 3 via the network 4.

[0039] Even if the third home appliance 5 receives the first signal a from another home appliance, such as the first home appliance 1, it cannot transmit the status information of the first home appliance 1 to the server device 3 on its own. When the third home appliance 5 receives the first signal a from another home appliance, it searches for a home appliance that can transmit the status information on behalf of the first home appliance 1. As a result, even if there is no second home appliance 2 that can communicate with the server device 3 within the transmission range of the first home appliance 1, if the second home appliance 2 is within the transmission range of the third home appliance 5, the third home appliance 5 can identify the second home appliance 2 and then transfer the status information to the second home appliance 2.

[0040] As shown in Figure 7, the third home appliance 5 comprises a control device 50, one or more electrical components 51, one or more sensors 52, an operation panel 53, and a first communication unit 54. The control device 50 is a microcomputer having a CPU 501 and a storage area 502 such as ROM, RAM, or non-volatile memory. The control device 50, electrical components 51, sensors 52, operation panel 53, and first communication unit 54 correspond to the control device 10, electrical components 11, sensors 12, operation panel 13, and first communication unit 14 of the first home appliance 1, respectively, and have similar configurations and functions.

[0041] Referring to Figure 8, the process from when the status information of the first home appliance 1 is transmitted to the server device 3 via the third home appliance 5 and the second home appliance 2, until it is stored by the server device 3, will be explained. Note that the same processes as in the first embodiment described above will be given the same step numbers and their explanations will be omitted.

[0042] A third home appliance 5 located within a predetermined distance from the first home appliance 1 via the first communication unit 14 receives the first signal a transmitted by the first home appliance 1 via the first communication unit 34 (step S21). Upon receiving the first signal a, the control device 50 causes the first communication unit 54 to transmit a third signal c (step S22). The third signal c is transmitted in a manner that can be received by the first communication units of other home appliances. The third signal c is a signal related to searching for a second home appliance 2 that can communicate with the server device 3. The third signal c may also include information identifying the first home appliance 1 that transmitted the first signal a.

[0043] If the second home appliance 2 is located within a predetermined distance from the third home appliance 5 via the first communication unit 54, the first communication unit 24 receives the third signal c transmitted by the third home appliance 5 (step S23). Upon receiving the third signal c, the control device 20 determines whether it is possible to transmit status information of the first home appliance 1 to the server device 3 on behalf of the first home appliance 1 (step S24). If it is determined that transmission is not possible (No in step S24), the configuration may be such that step S24 is repeated a predetermined number of times. If it is determined that the second communication unit 25 can be used for alternative transmission (Yes in step S24), the control device 20 causes the first communication unit 24 to transmit the second signal b to the third home appliance 5 (step S25).

[0044] The first communication unit 54 of the third home appliance 5 receives the second signal b from the second home appliance 2 (step S26). The second signal b includes information identifying the first home appliance 1, which is the source of the first signal a. The control device 50 of the third home appliance 5 causes the first communication unit 54 to transmit the fourth signal d to the first home appliance 1 (step S27). The fourth signal d is a signal that permits the transmission of status information of the first home appliance 1. The fourth signal d may also include information identifying the second home appliance 2 to transmit as an alternative.

[0045] The first communication unit 14 of the first home appliance 1 receives the fourth signal d from the third home appliance 5 (step S28). The control device 10 of the first home appliance 1 causes the first communication unit 14 to transmit status information to the third home appliance 5 (step S29).

[0046] The first communication unit 54 of the third home appliance 5 receives status information of the first home appliance 1 from the first home appliance 1 (step S30). The control device 50, having acquired the status information of the first home appliance 1, causes the first communication unit 54 to transmit the status information to the second home appliance 2 (step S31).

[0047] The first communication unit 24 of the second home appliance 2 receives status information of the first home appliance 1 from the third home appliance 5 (step S32).

[0048] In this way, even if the first home appliance 1 cannot directly transmit status information to the server device 3, the server device 3 can collect status information from the first home appliance 1 via the third home appliance 5 and the second home appliance 2.

[0049] Although only one third home appliance 5 is shown in Figures 6 and 8, multiple third home appliances 5 may be involved before the second home appliance 2 is identified. In this case, other third home appliances 5 that receive the third signal c transmitted by one third home appliance 5 will transmit the third signal c again. Then, other third home appliances 5 that receive the second signal b from the second home appliance 2 based on having transmitted the third signal c will transmit the fourth signal d to the third home appliance 5 that was the source of the third signal c they received. In this way, the search range for the second home appliance 2 can be further expanded.

[0050] According to this embodiment, when the control device 50 of the third home appliance 5 receives a first signal a from another home appliance, the first home appliance 1, it transmits a third signal c, which can be received by yet another home appliance, the second home appliance 2, via the first communication unit 54.

[0051] Even if the second home appliance 2 receives a first signal a transmitted by another home appliance but is unable to transmit a substitute signal itself, it can extend its search range by transmitting a third signal c to other home appliances. Therefore, it becomes possible to collect status information from more home appliances.

[0052] The first signal a and the third signal c are signals related to searching for the second home appliance 2. The second signal b is a signal transmitted by the second home appliance 2 after receiving either the first signal a or the third signal c.

[0053] When the second home appliance 2 receives a first signal a or a third signal c from the server device 3 to search for a home appliance that can communicate, it transmits a second signal b indicating that it is capable of alternative transmission, that is, permission to transmit status information. As a result, the first home appliance 1 can identify the second home appliance 2 that is capable of alternative transmission, and can also recognize that permission to transmit status information has been granted.

[0054] When the control device 50 of the third home appliance 5 receives the first signal a or the third signal c, it transmits the third signal c, which can be received by other home appliances, using the first communication unit 54. When the control device 50 receives the second signal b transmitted from the second home appliance 2 in response to the third signal c, it transmits the fourth signal d related to the second signal b to the other home appliance that is the source of the first signal a or the third signal c, using the first communication unit 54.

[0055] As a result, the first home appliance 1 can recognize that a second home appliance 2 capable of transmitting status information on its behalf has been identified. Therefore, it can stop transmitting the first signal a.

[0056] When the control device 50 of the third home appliance 5 receives the second signal b or the fourth signal transmitted in response to the third signal c, it receives status information from the first home appliance 1, which is another home appliance that transmitted the first signal a, and transmits the status information to yet another home appliance that transmitted the second signal b or the fourth signal d via the first communication unit 54.

[0057] This allows status information of the first home appliance 1, which cannot communicate directly with the server device 3, to be transmitted to the server device 3 via one or more home appliances.

[0058] (Third embodiment) A third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 9 to 11. The communication system 100 of this embodiment comprises a first home appliance 1, a second home appliance 2, a fourth home appliance 6, and a server device 3. The fourth home appliance 6 is configured to communicate with the server device 3 via the network 4, similar to the second home appliance 2.

[0059] As shown in Figure 9, the fourth home appliance 6 comprises a control device 60, one or more electrical components 61, one or more sensors 62, an operation panel 63, a first communication unit 64, and a second communication unit 65. The control device 60 is a microcomputer having a CPU 601 and a storage area 602 such as ROM, RAM, or non-volatile memory. The control device 60 manages the operation of the entire fourth home appliance 6. The control device 60 controls the operation of the electrical components 61, sensors 62, operation panel 63, first communication unit 64, and second communication unit 65.

[0060] The control device 60, electrical components 61, sensor 62, operation panel 63, first communication unit 64, and second communication unit 65 correspond to the control device 20, electrical components 21, sensor 22, operation panel 23, first communication unit 24, and second communication unit 25 of the second home appliance 2, respectively, and have the same configuration and functions.

[0061] The fourth home appliance 6 can normally receive the first signal a from another home appliance, such as the first home appliance 1, and transmit the status information of the first home appliance 1 to the server device 3. However, there are cases where the function of the second communication unit 65 is turned off, for example by an operation on the user's control panel 63, or where it is not possible to connect to the network 4 due to some external circumstances. In this case, when the fourth home appliance 6 receives the first signal a or the third signal c from another home appliance, it searches for a home appliance that can transmit the status information on behalf of the first home appliance 1. This allows it to identify a network-connectable second home appliance 2 even when it is not possible to connect to the network 4, and then transfer the status information to the second home appliance 2.

[0062] As shown in Figure 10, the third home appliance 5 comprises a control device 50, one or more electrical components 51, one or more sensors 52, an operation panel 53, and a first communication unit 54. The control device 50 is a microcomputer having a CPU 501 and a storage area 502 such as ROM, RAM, or non-volatile memory. The control device 50, electrical components 51, sensors 52, operation panel 53, and first communication unit 54 correspond to the control device 10, electrical components 11, sensors 12, operation panel 13, and first communication unit 14 of the first home appliance 1, respectively, and have similar configurations and functions.

[0063] Referring to Figure 11, the process from when the status information of the first home appliance 1 is transmitted to the server device 3 via the fourth home appliance 6 and the second home appliance 2, until it is stored by the server device 3, will be explained. Note that the same processes as in the first embodiment described above will be given the same step numbers and their explanations will be omitted.

[0064] A fourth home appliance 6 located within a predetermined distance from the first home appliance 1 via the first communication unit 14 receives the first signal a transmitted by the first home appliance 1 via the first communication unit 64 (step S31). Upon receiving the first signal a, the control device 60 determines whether or not it can be transmitted to the server device 3. The case where it can be transmitted to the server device 3 (Yes in step S32) is as shown in Figure 5 for the first embodiment described above and will be omitted here. If it is not possible to transmit to the server device 3 (No in step S32), the control device 60 causes the first communication unit 64 to transmit the third signal c (step S33).

[0065] The second home appliance 2, which is located within a predetermined distance from the fourth home appliance 6 via the first communication unit 64, receives the third signal c transmitted by the fourth home appliance 6 via the first communication unit 24 (step S34).

[0066] If it is determined that the second communication unit 25 is available for alternative transmission (Yes in step S24), the control device 20 causes the first communication unit 24 to transmit the second signal b to the fourth home appliance 6 (step S35).

[0067] The first communication unit 64 of the fourth home appliance 6 receives the second signal b from the second home appliance 2 (step S36). The control device 60 of the fourth home appliance 6 causes the first communication unit 64 to transmit the fourth signal d to the first home appliance 1 (step S37).

[0068] The first communication unit 14 of the first home appliance 1 receives the fourth signal d from the fourth home appliance 6 (step S38). The control device 10 of the first home appliance 1 causes the first communication unit 14 to transmit status information to the fourth home appliance 6 (step S39).

[0069] The first communication unit 64 of the fourth home appliance 6 receives status information of the first home appliance 1 from the first home appliance 1 (step S40). The control device 60, having acquired the status information of the first home appliance 1, causes the first communication unit 64 to transmit the status information to the second home appliance 2 (step S41).

[0070] The first communication unit 24 of the second home appliance 2 receives status information of the first home appliance 1 from the fourth home appliance 6 (step S42).

[0071] In this way, even if the fourth home appliance 6 is unable to transmit the status information of the first home appliance 1, the server device 3 can collect the status information of the first home appliance 1 via the second home appliance 2.

[0072] Although Figures 9 and 11 show only one fourth home appliance 6 between the first home appliance 1 and the second home appliance 2, multiple fourth home appliance 6s may be involved before the second home appliance 2 is identified, or one or more third home appliance 5s may be involved. In this way, the search range for the second home appliance 2 can be further expanded.

[0073] According to this embodiment, if the control device 60 of the fourth home appliance 6 is unable to transfer status information transmitted from the first home appliance 1, which is another home appliance, to the server device 3, it transmits a third signal c, which can be received by yet another home appliance, via the first communication unit 64.

[0074] According to this, even if a fourth home appliance 6 is normally able to communicate with the server device 3, if it determines that communication with the server device 3 is impossible, it can function as a relay device to search for other home appliances that can communicate with the server device 3. This further expands the search range for the second home appliance 2. In addition, the server device 3 can more reliably collect status information from a larger number of home appliances.

[0075] In each of the embodiments described above, the second home appliance is a refrigerator. Because a refrigerator has the function of cooling and storing its contents, it is kept powered on continuously. Therefore, compared to other home appliances, a refrigerator is more likely to be able to communicate with the server device at all times. In this case, the server device 3 can more reliably collect status information of the home appliance.

[0076] The embodiments described above are presented as examples 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 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 and their equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0077] 1...First home appliance (home appliance), 2...Second home appliance (home appliance), 3...Server equipment, 4...Network, 5...Third home appliance (home appliance), 6...Fourth home appliance (home appliance), 10, 20, 30, 40...Control devices, 14, 24, 54, 64...First communication unit, 25, 65...Second communication unit, 100...Communication system

Claims

1. A first communication unit that can communicate with other home appliances but cannot communicate with external server devices, Electrical components, A home appliance comprising a control device for controlling the first communication unit and the electrical components, The control device transmits a first signal that can be received by other home appliances via the first communication unit. When the first communication unit receives a second signal indicating permission to transmit to a second home appliance, which is another home appliance equipped with a second communication unit capable of communicating with the server device, the first communication unit transmits status information indicating the operating status of the home appliance or the status of its electrical components to the second home appliance. Home appliances.

2. When the control device receives the first signal from another home appliance, it transmits a third signal, which can be received by yet another home appliance, via the first communication unit. The home appliance according to claim 1.

3. The first signal and the third signal are signals related to searching for the second home appliance, The second signal is a signal transmitted by the second home appliance that received the first signal or the third signal. The home appliance according to claim 2.

4. The control device is When the first signal or the third signal is received, the first communication unit transmits a third signal that can be received by other home appliances. When the first communication unit receives the second signal transmitted from the second home appliance in response to the third signal, it transmits a fourth signal related to the second signal to another home appliance that is the source of the first signal or the third signal. The home appliance according to claim 2.

5. The control device is When the second signal or fourth signal transmitted in response to the third signal is received, the status information is received from the other home appliance that transmitted the first signal, and the status information is transmitted by the first communication unit to yet another home appliance that is the source of the second signal or the fourth signal. The home appliance according to claim 3.

6. A first communication unit that can communicate with other home appliances but cannot communicate with external server devices, A second communication unit capable of communicating with the aforementioned server device, A home appliance comprising a control device for controlling the first communication unit and the second communication unit, The control device receives a first signal transmitted by another home appliance, and if the second communication unit can transfer status information indicating the operating status of the other home appliance or the status of the electrical components of the home appliance to the server device, the first communication unit transmits a second signal to the other home appliance indicating that the transmission of the status information is permitted. Home appliances.

7. If the control device is unable to transfer the status information transmitted from the other home appliance to the server device, it transmits a third signal that can be received by yet another home appliance via the first communication unit. The home appliance according to claim 6.

8. Server device, A first home appliance equipped with a first communication unit that is capable of communicating with other home appliances but is not capable of communicating with the server device, A communication system comprising a second home appliance having a first communication unit capable of communicating with other home appliances but incapable of communicating with the server device, and a second communication unit capable of communicating with the server device, The first home appliance transmits a first signal that can be received by the second home appliance via the first communication unit. When the second home appliance receives the first signal from the first home appliance, it transmits the second signal to the first home appliance via the first communication unit. When the first home appliance receives the second signal from the second home appliance, the first communication unit transmits status information indicating the operating status of the first home appliance or the status of its electrical components to the second home appliance. The second home appliance transmits the status information received from the first home appliance to the server device via the second communication unit. Communication systems for home appliances.

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