Home Network System

Abstract

To provide a home network system capable of improving the communication quality between a display device and a router under a situation where the communication quality between the display device and the router is not so good due to the house structure.SOLUTION: A home network system 100 comprises: a display device 10 that can perform wireless communication; a router 20 connected with the Internet; and a plurality of terminal devices 40 that configures a network 30 capable of connecting between the display device 10 and the router 20 by wireless communication. At least one of the plurality of terminal devices 40 includes a movable terminal device 41 that can move by a drive part 41e. The display device 10 includes a controller 11 that performs control to move the movable terminal device 41 to a position where a first communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 becomes high, on the basis of the first communication quality.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a home network system, and more particularly to a home network system including a display device, a router, and a plurality of terminal devices constituting a network capable of connecting the display device and the router via wireless communication. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A home network is known in which a plurality of devices and a router are networked in a house via wireless communication (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 discloses a home network in which a landline telephone, a personal computer in the bedroom, a video camera and a personal computer in the office are networked via Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, and the personal computer in the bedroom, an entertainment system in the living room, a laptop personal computer in the living room, the personal computer in the bedroom, a personal computer in the office and a router are networked via Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication, and the router is configured to communicate with the Internet via a Wimax (registered trademark) connection. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2009-545235 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] A display device capable of wireless communication installed in a house can connect to the Internet by wirelessly communicating with a router installed in the house. Generally, the router installed in the house is fixedly installed. In addition, the house structure is various. When a stationary display device connects to the Internet via a router by wireless communication in a house, a situation may occur in which the communication quality between the display device and the router is not good depending on the positions where the display device and the router are installed. Since the home network described in the above Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the house structure and the positions where the entertainment system and the router are installed, a situation may occur in which the communication quality between the entertainment system (display device) and the router is not good due to the house structure. Therefore, when a situation occurs in which the communication quality between the display device and the router is not good due to the house structure, it is desired to improve the communication quality between the display device and the router.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one object of the present invention is to provide a home network system that is capable of improving the quality of communication between a display device and a router when a situation arises in which the communication quality between the display device and the router is not good due to the structure of the house. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a home network system according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a router connected to the Internet and a plurality of terminal devices constituting a network capable of connecting a display device and the router via wireless communication, at least one of the plurality of terminal devices includes a movable terminal device movable by a drive unit, and the display device includes a control unit that controls the movable terminal device to move to a position where the first communication quality between the display device and the router is high based on a first communication quality.

[0008] In the home network system according to the first aspect of the present invention, as described above, the display device includes a control unit that controls the movable terminal device to move to a position where the first communication quality between the display device and the router is high based on the first communication quality. With this configuration, the display device and the router can be connected by wireless communication through a network composed of a plurality of terminal devices including the movable terminal device that has moved to a position where the first communication quality is high. Therefore, even if a situation arises in which the communication quality between the display device and the router is not good due to the structure of the house, the communication quality between the display device and the router can be improved.

[0009] In the home network system according to the first aspect of the present invention, the control unit is preferably configured to control the movable terminal device to move to a position where the communication speed is higher than the low-speed value when the communication speed as the first communication quality between the display device and the router is a low-speed value less than a threshold. With this configuration, the control unit can control not to move the movable terminal device when the communication speed between the display device and the router is equal to or higher than the threshold, and can control to move the movable terminal device when the communication speed between the display device and the router is a low-speed value less than the threshold. As a result, the control unit controls to move the movable terminal device only when the communication speed is a low-speed value, and therefore the movement of the movable terminal device can be controlled only when necessary.

[0010] In this case, the control unit is preferably configured to perform control to configure an optimal communication path between the display device and the router via the terminal device based on the terminal device information including at least information on the second communication quality regarding the terminal device, and to perform control to move the movable terminal device and connect the display device and the router via at least the moved movable terminal device when the communication speed between the display device and the router in the configured communication path is a low speed value less than a threshold value. With this configuration, when a situation occurs in which the communication speed between the display device and the router in the optimal communication path configured by the control unit is a low speed value less than a threshold value, the display device and the router can be connected by wireless communication via a network including at least the moved movable terminal device. Therefore, the communication quality between the display device and the router can be appropriately improved.

[0011] In the home network system according to the first aspect of the present invention, the display device preferably further includes a storage unit that stores map information related to the inside of the house, and the control unit is configured to control the movement of the mobile terminal device based on the map information. With this configuration, the control unit can move the mobile terminal device to a position inside the house where communication quality is high based on the map information. Therefore, the communication quality between the display device and the router can be easily and efficiently improved.

[0012] In this case, the map information preferably includes information associating the location information collected by the mobile terminal device with the communication speed for each location measured by the mobile terminal device as the first communication quality. With this configuration, the user does not need to obtain information associating the location information inside the house with the communication speed for each location in order to move the mobile terminal device to a location inside the house where the communication speed is higher. Therefore, it is easier to move the mobile terminal device to a location where the communication speed is higher.

[0013] In the configuration further including a storage unit that stores map information related to the interior of the house, the map information preferably includes floor plan information, and the control unit is configured to control the movement of the mobile terminal device based on the floor plan information. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the mobile terminal device from being moved to a location near a kitchen, bathroom, toilet, or wall containing concrete or metal, where radio waves may be attenuated or blocked inside the house. Therefore, it is possible to easily prevent the mobile terminal device from being moved to a location where the communication speed is low.

[0014] In the configuration further including a storage unit for storing map information regarding the interior of the house, the control unit is preferably configured to receive a user's position designation for the map information and control the mobile terminal device to move to the designated position. With this configuration, the user can more easily move the mobile terminal device to a position where the communication speed is high by designating a position inside the house where the radio wave strength is high.

[0015] In the configuration for controlling the connection between the display device and the router via the moved movable terminal device, the control unit is preferably configured to acquire terminal device information acquired in the multiple terminal devices after the movable terminal device is moved from the multiple terminal devices after the movable terminal device is moved, and determine whether the communication path is optimal based on the acquired terminal device information. With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether the communication path via the moved movable terminal device is optimal based on the terminal device information acquired after the movable terminal device is moved. Therefore, when the movable terminal device is moved, it is possible to confirm whether the communication path via the moved movable terminal device is the optimal communication path.

[0016] In the configuration for controlling the connection between the display device and the router via the moved movable terminal device, the terminal device information preferably includes information on the charge amount of the terminal device, the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device as information on the second communication quality, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device, and the control unit is configured to control the configuration of an optimal communication path between the display device and the router via the terminal device based on the terminal device information. With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the interruption of the communication path caused by the battery running out due to the use of the terminal device included in the communication path. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately configure an optimal communication path between the display device and the router via the terminal device.

[0017] In this case, preferably, in the configuration of the optimal communication path, information on the charge amount of the terminal device is configured to have a higher priority than the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device. With this configuration, it is possible to configure an optimal communication path between the display device and the router by prioritizing the charge amount of the terminal device over the communication quality between the terminal devices, etc., and therefore it is possible to appropriately suppress interruption of the communication path due to battery exhaustion caused by use of the terminal device included in the communication path.

[0018] In the configuration in which control is performed to configure an optimal communication path between the display device and the router based on the terminal device information, preferably , regulation The 、The display device is configured to control the configuration of an optimal communication path between the display device and the router via the terminal device based on terminal device information including information on the charge amount of the terminal device, the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device as information on the second communication quality, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device. With this configuration, in the configuration of the optimal communication path, the information on the charging of the terminal device can include information on whether the terminal device is in a state where it can be charged, in addition to information on the charge amount of the terminal device. Therefore, it is possible to more appropriately suppress the interruption of the communication path due to the battery running out due to the use of the terminal device included in the communication path, and as a result, it is possible to stably maintain the optimal communication path.

[0019] A home network system according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a display device capable of wireless communication, a router connected to the Internet, and a network that can connect the display device and the router by wireless communication and includes a plurality of battery-powered terminal devices, 、 A control unit that performs control to configure an optimal communication path between the display device and the router via the terminal device based on information about the charge amount of the terminal device, the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device. The terminal device includes a movable terminal that is moved by a drive unit and a terminal other than the movable terminal, and the control unit is configured to perform control to select an optimal communication path from a communication path via the movable terminal and a communication path via a terminal other than the movable terminal. .

[0020] In the home network system according to the second aspect of the present invention, as described above, the display device includes a control unit that performs control to configure an optimal communication path between the display device and the router via the terminal device based on information on whether the terminal device is in a chargeable state, information on the charge amount of the terminal device, the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device. By configuring in this way, the optimal communication path between the display device and the router can be configured based not only on communication quality information such as the received signal strength and the signal-to-noise ratio, but also on information on the charging of the terminal device, such as information on the charge amount of the terminal device and information on whether the terminal device is in a chargeable state. As a result, when a situation occurs in which the communication quality between the display device and the router is not good due to the structure of the house, the configuration of the optimal communication path between the display device and the router can be based on both the communication quality information and the information on the charging of the terminal device, thereby improving the communication quality between the display device and the router, and suppressing the interruption of the communication path due to the battery running out due to the use of the terminal device included in the communication path. As a result, the optimal communication path can be stably maintained.

[0021] A display device according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a display unit, a router connected to the Internet, and a communication unit that forms a network connectable to the router via wireless communication and is capable of wireless communication with a plurality of terminal devices including at least one movable terminal device movable by a drive unit and connects to the router via the network, and a control unit that performs control to move the movable terminal device to a position where the first communication quality between the communication unit and the router is improved based on the first communication quality.

[0022] As described above, the display device according to the third aspect of the present invention includes a communication unit that connects to a router via a network, and a control unit that controls the mobile terminal device to move to a position where the first communication quality between the communication unit and the router is high based on the first communication quality. By configuring in this way, as in the first aspect, the display device can be connected to the router by wireless communication via a network configured of multiple terminal devices including the mobile terminal device that has moved to a position where the first communication quality is high. Therefore, even if a situation occurs in which the communication quality between the display device and the router is not good due to the structure of the house, the communication quality between the display device and the router can be improved. Effect of the Invention

[0023] According to the present invention, as described above, it is possible to provide a home network system capable of improving the communication quality between a display device and a router when a situation arises in which the communication quality between the display device and the router is not good due to the housing structure. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a home network system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of a display device, a router, and a terminal device inside a house according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram showing configurations of a display device, a router, and a terminal device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing Example 1 of map information according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing Example 2 of map information according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing Example 3 of map information according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 4 is a schematic diagram showing metric values ​​in a route available for wireless communication according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a first example of movement of a movable terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a second example of movement of the movable terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an optimal communication route including a moved movable terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] 5 is a flowchart for explaining a process of configuring an optimal communication route and a process of moving a movable terminal device by a control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] 4 is a comparative schematic diagram showing metric values ​​and an optimal communication route in routes available for wireless communication according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 13] 13 is a schematic diagram showing example 1 of metric values ​​and an optimal communication path in a path available for wireless communication according to the second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 14] 13 is a schematic diagram showing example 2 of metric values ​​and optimal communication paths in paths available for wireless communication according to the second embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] [First embodiment] (Home network system configuration) The configuration of a home network system 100 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 3, the home network system 100 according to the first embodiment includes, in a house 90 (see Fig. 2), a display device 10, a router 20 connected to the Internet, and a plurality of terminal devices 40 constituting a network 30 (see Fig. 1) capable of connecting the display device 10 and the router 20 via wireless communication. Note that the structure of the house 90 and the arrangement of the display device 10, the router 20, and the terminal devices 40 shown in Fig. 2 are one example of the "house 90" in this specification. Also, the hatched portion in Fig. 2 indicates a wall made of concrete.

[0028] A plurality of terminal devices 40 are arranged in a house 90. The plurality of terminal devices 40 are configured to be able to communicate with other terminal devices 40. The plurality of terminal devices 40 perform wireless communication with the other terminal devices 40 to construct a network 30. The plurality of terminal devices 40, for example, construct a mesh-shaped network 30 capable of wireless communication with the other terminal devices 40. The plurality of terminal devices 40 perform wireless communication with the other terminal devices by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication to construct a mesh-shaped network 30. The plurality of terminal devices 40 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via the other terminal devices 40 in good radio wave conditions in the mesh-shaped network 30. The plurality of terminal devices 40 are configured to be able to automatically switch channels to avoid radio wave interference. The mesh-shaped network 30 consisting of multiple terminal devices 40 may be constructed by adopting IEEE 802.11s, or may be constructed by adopting a proprietary standard that is not compatible with IEEE 802.11s, or may be constructed by connecting to a higher layer of a network constructed by adopting a proprietary standard that is not compatible with IEEE 802.11s, or may be constructed by other well-known methods, and the method of constructing the mesh-shaped network 30 is not particularly limited.

[0029] The terminal device 40 is driven by a built-in rechargeable battery. The terminal device 40 may be charged by a wired connection or may be charged wirelessly. The terminal device 40 has a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication function. The terminal device 40 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a notebook personal computer, a wearable terminal, a wireless controller for a game machine, a portable game machine, or an electric vehicle parked within the premises of the house 90. The terminal device 40 may not have a rechargeable battery and may be driven by wired power supply, except for the movable terminal device 41 described later.

[0030] Moreover, the multiple terminal devices 40 are configured to include at least one movable terminal device 41 that is movable by a built-in drive unit 41e (see FIG. 3). The movable terminal device 41 is configured to be movable according to the functions and purposes of the movable terminal device 41. The movable terminal device 41 may be, for example, a cleaning robot that cleans while moving around the floor of the house 90, or a movable pet-type robot or humanoid robot. Furthermore, the robot exemplified above as the movable terminal device 41 may be configured to be capable of moving between rooms or between floors within the house 90.

[0031] The number of the multiple terminal devices 40 may be two including one movable terminal device 41, or may be two or more including two or more movable terminal devices 41. At least one of the multiple terminal devices 40 that construct the network 30 communicates wirelessly with the display device 10, and at least one of the terminal devices 40 communicates wirelessly with the router 20, so that the display device 10 and the router 20 can be connected by wireless communication via the network 30. As shown in FIG. 1, in the first embodiment, the multiple terminal devices 40 include five devices, namely, a wearable terminal 42, a wireless controller 43 for a game machine, an electric car 44, and a cleaning robot 45 and a pet-type robot 46 as movable terminal devices 41, and a mesh-shaped network 30 is constructed by these terminal devices 40.

[0032] In the situation shown in FIG. 1, the wearable terminal 42 can perform wireless communication by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) among the display device 10, the electric vehicle 44, and the cleaning robot 45. The wireless controller 43 of the game machine can perform wireless communication by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) among the display device 10 and the pet-type robot 46. The electric vehicle 44 can perform wireless communication by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) among the wearable terminal 42, the cleaning robot 45, and the router 20. The cleaning robot 45 can perform wireless communication by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) among the display device 10 and the router 20. The pet-type robot 46 can perform wireless communication by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) among the wireless controller 43 of the game machine, the electric vehicle 44, and the router 20.

[0033] 3, the terminal devices 40 except for the movable terminal device 41 include a transmitter 40a and a receiver 40b for performing wireless communication between the display device 10, the router 20, and the other terminal devices 40, a controller 40c for controlling the wireless communication, and a functional unit 40d corresponding to the function of each terminal device 40. The movable terminal device 41 also includes a transmitter 41a and a receiver 41b for performing wireless communication between the display device 10, the router 20, and the other terminal devices 40, a controller 41c for controlling the wireless communication, a functional unit 41d corresponding to the function of each movable terminal device 41, and a driver 41e.

[0034] (Terminal device information) The control unit 11 of the display device 10, which will be described later, transmits a request signal to each of the multiple terminal devices 40, requesting them to transmit terminal device information, when the network 30 is constructed. The terminal device information includes information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40, and information on communication quality, such as the received signal strength (RSSI) of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 from the other terminal devices 40, and the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio) of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 from the other terminal devices 40. The information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40 itself is, for example, information on the SOC (State Of Charge) of the rechargeable battery held by the terminal device 40. When each of the multiple terminal devices 40 receives a request signal from the display device 10, requesting them to transmit terminal device information, the terminal device 40 acquires the terminal device information. Each of the multiple terminal devices 40 transmits the acquired terminal device information to the display device 10. The terminal device 40 transmits the acquired terminal device information to the display device 10 by wireless communication via the mesh-shaped network 30. The timing of the transmission of the request signal by the control unit 11 to the terminal device 40 will be described later.

[0035] The router 20 connects the local area network, which is the mesh-shaped network 30 described above, to the Internet via a modem (not shown). The router 20 is configured to perform wireless communication with a plurality of terminal devices 40 constituting the network 30, for example, by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication. The router 20 performs wireless communication with the terminal devices 40 according to the positions of the plurality of terminal devices 40 constituting the network 30. In the situation shown in FIG. 1, the router 20 performs wireless communication with three of the five terminal devices 40 constituting the network 30 described above, that is, an electric car 44, a cleaning robot 45, and a pet-type robot 46. As shown in FIG. 3, the router 20 includes a transmitting unit 21 and a receiving unit 22 for performing wireless communication with the terminal devices 40, and a control unit 23 for controlling the wireless communication.

[0036] The display device 10 can perform wireless communication with the router 20 via a network 30 configured with a plurality of terminal devices 40, and can also connect to the Internet via the router 20. The display device 10 is, for example, a television receiver. The display device 10 is fixedly installed within a house 90. The display device 10 is connected to a power source within the house 90 by wire.

[0037] The display device 10 is configured to perform wireless communication with a plurality of terminal devices 40 constituting the network 30, for example, by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication. The display device 10 performs wireless communication with the terminal devices 40 according to the positions of the plurality of terminal devices 40 constituting the network 30. In the situation shown in Fig. 1, the display device 10 performs wireless communication with three of the five terminal devices 40 constituting the above-mentioned network 30, namely, a wearable terminal 42, a wireless controller 43 for a game machine, and a cleaning robot 45.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the display device 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a transmission unit 13, a reception unit 14, and a display unit 15.

[0039] The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The control unit 11 is configured to control the configuration of an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 via the terminal device 40 that constructs the network 30 in a predetermined case. The control unit 11 is also configured to control the movement of the movable terminal device 41 in a predetermined case. The control of the configuration of the optimal communication path and the control of the movement of the movable terminal device 41 by the control unit 11 will be described later.

[0040] The storage unit 12 includes, for example, a non-volatile memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage unit 12 is configured to store map information T (see FIGS. 4 to 6) related to the interior of the house 90. The storage unit 12 is also configured to store terminal device information transmitted from the terminal device 40 and received by the receiving unit 14.

[0041] The transmitting unit 13 is configured to transmit a request signal to the terminal device 40, requesting the terminal device 40 to transmit terminal device information. The receiving unit 14 is configured to receive terminal device information transmitted from the terminal device 40 in response to the request signal requesting the terminal device 40 to transmit the terminal device information. The transmitting unit 13 and the receiving unit 14 are an example of a "communication unit" in the claims. The display unit 15 is configured, for example, by a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

[0042] (Map information) An explanation will be given of the map information T relating to the interior of the house 90. The control unit 11 is configured to perform control for moving the mobile terminal device 41 based on the map information T stored in the storage unit 12, which will be described in detail later.

[0043] As an example of the map information T, as shown in FIG. 4, there is map information T1 including information in which location information collected by the mobile terminal device 41 and communication quality for each location measured by the mobile terminal device 41 are associated with each other. The mobile terminal device 41 is equipped with various sensors such as an infrared sensor, a gyro sensor, and a distance sensor. When the mobile terminal device 41 moves according to its function and purpose, the mobile terminal device 41 collects location information inside the house 90 using the above sensors. For example, the location information may include (x, y) position coordinates indicating the position of the terminal device inside the house 90 (see FIG. 1) and distance information measured by TOF (Time Of Flight) using an infrared sensor. In addition, when the mobile terminal device 41 is equipped with an imaging device, the mobile terminal device 41 can collect location information inside the house 90 based on an image of the inside of the house 90 captured by the mounted imaging device. In addition, the mobile terminal device 41 is equipped with an application capable of measuring communication quality. The mobile terminal device 41 is configured to be able to measure, for example, a communication speed as communication quality for each moving position by the equipped application when moving according to its function and purpose. The communication speed may be any value that indicates the communication speed of Internet communication by wireless communication. The control unit 11 associates the location information collected by the mobile terminal device 41 with the communication speed measured by the mobile terminal device 41, and acquires this associated information as map information T1. When collecting location information inside the house 90 based on an image of the inside of the house 90 captured by the mounted imaging device, the control unit 11 may identify the home equipment and home structure, such as the kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and materials of walls separating rooms, from the captured image of the inside of the house 90, and acquire the map information T1 based on the location information including the identified home equipment and home structure.

[0044] Another example of the map information T is map information T2 including floor plan information inside a house 90, as shown in Fig. 5. The floor plan information included in the map information T2 may be floor plan information created by the user, or may be floor plan information created by a third party such as the architect who designed the house 90, a real estate sales company, or a real estate rental company. The floor plan information included in the map information T2 may include information on home facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom, and toilet, and information on the material of walls that separate rooms. Note that Fig. 5 illustrates a part of the floor plan information in the map information T2.

[0045] 6, the control unit 11 may accept a position designation by the user for the map information T acquired by the above-mentioned method so as to be able to control the mobile terminal device 41 to move to a position of high radio wave intensity inside the house 90 acquired in advance by the user. In this case, the storage unit 12 can store the position P designated by the user by superimposing it on the map information T acquired by the above-mentioned method.

[0046] (Optimal communication route configuration process) Next, a process for configuring an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 via the terminal device 40 that configures the network 30 according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0047] As described above, the control unit 11 acquires terminal device information from each of the multiple terminal devices 40, including information regarding the charged amount of the terminal device 40, the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the radio signal received by the terminal device 40 from the other terminal devices 40, and the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio) of the radio signal received by the terminal device 40 from the other terminal devices 40.

[0048] The control unit 11 transmits a request signal to each of the multiple terminal devices 40 requesting them to transmit terminal device information when, for example, a network 30 is constructed by multiple terminal devices 40 for wirelessly connecting the display device 10 and the router 20, when a change occurs in the network 30 such as a new terminal device 40 joining the network 30, when the display device 10 connects to the Internet via the router 20, when the movable terminal device 41 is moved by the control unit 11 described later, or at a preset timing. The timing of transmitting the request signal by the control unit 11 is not particularly limited. The control unit 11 acquires terminal device information from each of the multiple terminal devices 40 that responded to the request signal.

[0049] Based on the acquired terminal device information, the control unit 11 calculates a metric value M1 (hereinafter, referred to as "M1") between each terminal device performing wireless communication, between the terminal device 40 and the display device 10 performing wireless communication, and between the terminal device 40 and the router 20 performing wireless communication. The metric value M1 is calculated comprehensively not only based on the received signal strength (RSSI) of the wireless signal and the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio) of the wireless signal as information on communication quality, but also on information on the charge amount (charge amount) of the terminal device 40 in order to consider whether the charge amount of the terminal device 40 is sufficient for the amount of information transmitted and received between the display device 10 and the router 20. The metric value M1 is calculated by assigning a predetermined weight to each of a value corresponding to the received signal strength (RSSI) of the wireless signal, a value corresponding to the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio) of the wireless signal, and a value corresponding to the charge amount (charge amount) of the terminal device 40. The value corresponding to the received signal strength (RSSI) is set to be lower as the received signal strength (RSSI) is higher. The value corresponding to the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio) is set to a lower value as the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio) is higher. The value corresponding to the charge amount is set to a smaller value as the charge amount is larger. Specifically, the metric value M1 is calculated based on the following formula (1). α, β, and γ in the following formula (1) are predetermined weighting coefficients, and are 0<α<1, 0<β<1, and 0<γ<1. M1 = α × (value corresponding to RSSI) + β × (value corresponding to S / N ratio) + γ × (value corresponding to charge amount) (1) Since the smaller the metric value M1, the better the received signal strength (RSSI), signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio), and / or charge amount, the smaller the metric value M1, the better the communication path between terminal devices performing wireless communication. Note that terminal devices 40 other than the mobile terminal device 41 that do not have a rechargeable battery and are driven by wired power supply may transmit information about the charge amount, such as "full charge," to the display device 10 while being powered by wired power supply.

[0050] The control unit 11 accumulates the metric values ​​M1 calculated between each terminal device performing wireless communication, between the terminal device 40 performing wireless communication and the display device 10, and between the terminal device 40 performing wireless communication and the router 20, in the wireless communication-enabled path between the display device 10 and the router 20, and configures the communication path with the smallest accumulated metric value M2 as the optimal communication path. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing in parentheses the metric values ​​M1 calculated between each terminal device performing wireless communication, between the terminal device 40 performing wireless communication and the display device 10, and between the terminal device 40 performing wireless communication and the router 20, in the wireless communication-enabled path between the display device 10 and the router 20. In the situation of FIG. 7, in the wireless communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20, the communication path of "display device 10-(4)-wearable terminal 42-(1)-electric vehicle 44-(4)-router 20" is the wireless communication path with the smallest accumulated metric value M2, "9". The control unit 11 configures the communication path "display device 10-(4)-wearable terminal 42-(1)-electric vehicle 44-(4)-router 20" which has the smallest integrated metric value M2 as the optimal communication path. The control unit 11 performs wireless communication between the display device 10 and the router 20 based on the configured optimal communication path.

[0051] In configuring the optimal communication path, the information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40 is configured to have a higher priority than the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 and the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio) of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40. That is, the weighting coefficients α, β, and γ in the above formula (1) are configured to be set so that the weight of the coefficient γ is greater than the coefficients α and β.

[0052] (Mobile terminal device movement processing) Next, the process of movement of the movable terminal device 41 according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0053] As described above, the control unit 11 configures, as an optimal communication path, a communication path in which the integrated metric value M2 is the smallest among paths capable of wireless communication between the display device 10 and the router 20. The control unit 11 performs wireless communication between the display device 10 and the router 20 based on the configured optimal communication path. However, even with the optimal communication path, a situation may occur in which the communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 is not good due to the house structure. In detail, in the optimal communication path configured by the control unit 11, the communication speed as the communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 may be a low speed value that is less than a predetermined threshold. In this case, the control unit 11 is configured to perform control to move the movable terminal device 41 to a position where the communication speed between the display device 10 (or the transmission unit 13 and the reception unit 14) and the router is high. For example, the threshold for the communication speed between the display device 10 and the router 20 may be set to 10 Mbps, and a value with a communication speed less than 10 Mbps may be the low speed value. The threshold for the communication speed may be set to 10 Mbps.

[0054] As shown in Fig. 8, when the communication speed between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low speed value that is less than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 11 moves the mobile terminal device 41 from the current position D1 to a predetermined position D2 based on the map information T acquired from the storage unit 12. For example, when the map information T is map information T1 that is information in which the location information collected by the mobile terminal device 41 and the communication speed for each position measured by the mobile terminal device 41 are associated with each other, the control unit 11 moves the mobile terminal device 41 from the current position D1 to a position D2 where the communication speed measured in advance by the mobile terminal device 41 is higher than that of the current position D1. For example, when the map information T is map information T2 that is floor plan information, the control unit 11 moves the mobile terminal device 41 from the current position D1 to a position D2 that avoids positions where the communication speed is estimated to be low, such as a kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet, etc. included in the floor plan information, and near a concrete wall. In addition, when the position P designated by the user is superimposed on the map information T, the control unit 11 moves the mobile terminal device 41 from the current position D1 to the position D2 (P (see FIG. 6)) designated by the user based on the position P designated by the user. In addition, when there are multiple mobile terminal devices 41, the control unit 11 may be configured to refer to information on the charge amount of each of the mobile terminal devices 41 and control the mobile terminal device with the larger charge amount to be moved preferentially, or may be configured to refer to the map information T and control the mobile terminal device with the higher communication speed to be moved preferentially within the movable range of each of the mobile terminal devices 41, or may be configured to control the mobile terminal device 41 with the higher priority set in advance to be moved. There is no particular limitation as to which of the multiple mobile terminal devices 41 is to be moved. In addition, the movement of the mobile terminal device 41 is not limited to movement within the same room in the house 90 (see FIG. 1), but may be configured to include movement across rooms and across floors in the house 90.

[0055] As an example, as shown in Fig. 8, a movement process of the movable terminal device 41 in a case where a communication path of "display device 10-attachable wearable terminal 42-electric vehicle 44-router 20" is configured as an optimal communication path will be described. The pet-type robot 46, which is the movable terminal device 41, is located at a position D1 and is not included in the terminal device 40 that configures the optimal communication path. In this case, when the communication speed between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low speed value that is less than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 11 is configured to perform control to move the pet-type robot 46, which is the movable terminal device 41, from the position D1 to the position D2 that is a position based on the above-mentioned map information T.

[0056] As another example, as shown in Fig. 9, a movement process of the movable terminal device 41 in a case where a communication path of "display device 10-wireless controller 43 of the game machine-pet type robot 46-router 20" is configured as an optimal communication path will be described. The pet type robot 46, which is the movable terminal device 41, is located at position D1 and is included in the terminal device 40 that configures the optimal communication path. In this case, when the communication speed between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low speed value that is less than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 11 is configured to perform control to move the pet type robot 46, which is the movable terminal device 41, from position D1 to position D2, which is a position based on the above-mentioned map information T.

[0057] The control unit 11 is configured to connect the display device 10 and the router 20 at least via the pet-type robot 46, which is the movable terminal device 41, after moving the pet-type robot 46, which is the movable terminal device 41, to a position where the communication speed is higher than the low speed value. After moving the pet-type robot 46, which is the movable terminal device 41, the control unit 11 transmits a request signal to the multiple terminal devices 40, requesting them to transmit terminal device information acquired in the multiple terminal devices 40 after moving the pet-type robot 46, which is the movable terminal device 41. The multiple terminal devices 40 acquire the terminal device information and transmit the acquired terminal device information to the display device 10. The control unit 11 configures an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 based on the terminal device information acquired by the receiving unit 14. At this time, the control unit 11 determines whether the configured optimal communication path is a communication path via at least the pet-type robot 46, which is the movable terminal device 41, which has been moved. 10, when the configured optimal communication path is a communication path via at least the pet-type robot 46 which is the moved movable terminal device 41, the control unit 11 performs wireless communication via the configured optimal communication path. When the configured optimal communication path is not a communication path via at least the pet-type robot 46 which is the moved movable terminal device 41, the control unit 11 further moves the pet-type robot 46 which is the movable terminal device 41 to a position different from the position D2 where the communication speed is higher than the low speed value. Note that the control unit 11 may connect the display device 10 and the router 20 only via at least the pet-type robot 46 which is the moved movable terminal device 41.

[0058] (Flow of optimal communication route configuration process and mobile terminal device movement process) Next, with reference to FIG. 11, a flow of processing for configuring an optimal communication route and for moving the mobile terminal device 41 by the control unit 11 will be described.

[0059] In step S101, the control unit 11 transmits a request signal requesting each of the multiple terminal devices 40 to transmit terminal device information. After that, the process proceeds to step S102.

[0060] In step S102, the control unit 11 configures an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 via the multiple terminal devices 40, based on the terminal device information received from each of the multiple terminal devices 40. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S103.

[0061] In step S103, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the communication speed as the communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low-speed value that is less than a predetermined threshold value. If the communication speed is not less than the predetermined threshold value (No in step S103), the process proceeds to step S104, and if the communication speed is a low-speed value that is less than the predetermined threshold value (Yes in step S103), the process proceeds to step S105.

[0062] In step S104, the control unit 11 performs wireless communication between the display device 10 and the router 20 via the optimal communication path. This completes the process of configuring the optimal communication path and the process of moving the movable terminal device 41 by the control unit 11.

[0063] In step S105, the control unit 11 transmits a request signal to the movable terminal device 41, requesting it to move to a position D2 based on the map information T. After that, the process proceeds to step S106.

[0064] In step S106, the control unit 11 transmits a request signal to the multiple terminal devices 40 to request them to transmit the terminal device information acquired in the multiple terminal devices 40 after moving the movable terminal device 41. Then, the process proceeds to step S107.

[0065] In step S107, the control unit 11 configures an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 based on the acquired terminal device information, and determines whether the configured optimal communication path is a communication path that passes through at least the moved movable terminal device 41. If the configured optimal communication path is a communication path that passes through at least the moved movable terminal device 41 (Yes in step S107), the control unit proceeds to step S104, and if the configured optimal communication path is not a communication path that passes through at least the moved movable terminal device 41 (No in step S107), the control unit proceeds to step S105.

[0066] (Effects of the first embodiment) In the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0067] In the first embodiment, as described above, the display device 10 includes a control unit 11 that performs control to move the movable terminal device 41 to a position where the first communication quality between the display device 10 (or the transmission unit 13 and the reception unit 14) and the router 20 is high based on the first communication quality. With this configuration, the display device 10 and the router 20 can be connected by wireless communication via a network 30 that is configured by a plurality of terminal devices 40 including the movable terminal device 41 that has moved to a position where the first communication quality is high. Therefore, even if a situation arises in which the communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 is not good due to the house structure, the communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 can be improved.

[0068] In the first embodiment, as described above, the control unit 11 is configured to control the movable terminal device 41 to move to a position where the communication speed is higher than the low speed value when the communication speed as the first communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low speed value less than the threshold value. As a result, the control unit 11 does not move the movable terminal device 41 when the communication speed between the display device 10 and the router 20 is equal to or higher than the threshold value, and can control the movement of the movable terminal device 41 when the communication speed between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low speed value less than the threshold value. As a result, the control unit 11 controls the movement of the movable terminal device 41 only when the communication speed is a low speed value, and therefore the movement of the movable terminal device 41 can be controlled only when necessary.

[0069] Also, in the first embodiment, as described above, the control unit 11 is configured to perform control to configure an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 via the terminal device 40 based on the terminal device information including at least information on the second communication quality regarding the terminal device 40, and to perform control to move the movable terminal device 41 and connect the display device 10 and the router 20 via at least the moved movable terminal device 41 when the communication speed between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low speed value less than a threshold in the configured communication path. As a result, when a situation occurs in which the communication speed between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low speed value less than a threshold in the optimal communication path configured by the control unit 11, the display device 10 and the router 20 can be connected by wireless communication via the network 30 including at least the moved movable terminal device 41. Therefore, the communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 can be appropriately improved.

[0070] Also, in the first embodiment, as described above, the display device 10 further includes the storage unit 12 that stores map information T related to the inside of the house 90, and the control unit 11 is configured to perform control to move the movable terminal device 41 based on the map information T. In this way, the control unit 11 can move the movable terminal device 41 to a position inside the house 90 where the communication speed is high based on the map information T. Therefore, the communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 can be easily and efficiently improved.

[0071] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, as described above, the map information T1 includes information in which the location information collected by the mobile terminal device 41 is associated with the communication speed as the first communication quality for each location measured by the mobile terminal device 41. This eliminates the need for the user to obtain information in which the location information inside the house 90 is associated with the communication speed for each location in order to move the mobile terminal device 41 to a location in the house 90 where the communication speed is higher. This makes it easier to move the mobile terminal device 41 to a location where the communication speed is higher.

[0072] In the first embodiment, as described above, the map information T2 includes floor plan information, and the control unit 11 is configured to control the movement of the mobile terminal device 41 based on the floor plan information. This makes it possible to prevent the mobile terminal device 41 from being moved to a location near a kitchen, bathroom, toilet, or a wall containing concrete or metal, where radio waves may be attenuated or blocked inside the house 90. This makes it possible to easily prevent the mobile terminal device 41 from being moved to a location where the communication speed is low.

[0073] In the first embodiment, as described above, the control unit 11 is configured to receive a user's position designation on the map information T and perform control to move the mobile terminal device 41 to the designated position P. This makes it easier for the user to designate a position in the house 90 where the radio wave intensity is high, thereby moving the mobile terminal device 41 to a position where the communication speed is high.

[0074] In the first embodiment, as described above, the control unit 11 is configured to acquire terminal device information acquired in the multiple terminal devices 40 after moving the movable terminal device 41 from the multiple terminal devices 40, and to determine whether or not the communication path is optimal based on the acquired terminal device information. This makes it possible to determine whether or not the communication path via the moved movable terminal device 41 is optimal based on the terminal device information acquired after the movable terminal device 41 is moved. Therefore, when the movable terminal device 41 is moved, it is possible to confirm whether or not the communication path via the moved movable terminal device 41 is an optimal communication path.

[0075] Also, in the first embodiment, as described above, the terminal device information includes information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40, the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 as information on the second communication quality, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40, and the control unit 11 is configured to perform control to configure an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 via the terminal device 40 based on the terminal device information. This makes it possible to suppress interruption of the communication path due to battery exhaustion caused by use of the terminal device 40 included in the communication path. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately configure an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 via the terminal device 40.

[0076] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, as described above, in the configuration of the optimal communication path, information related to the charge amount of the terminal device 40 is configured to have a higher priority than the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40. This makes it possible to configure an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 by prioritizing the charge amount of the terminal device 40 over the communication quality between the terminal devices, etc., and therefore makes it possible to appropriately suppress interruption of the communication path due to battery exhaustion caused by use of the terminal device 40 included in the communication path.

[0077] [Second embodiment] Next, the configuration of the home network system 100 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the terminal device information further includes information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state, and the control unit 11 is configured to perform control to configure an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 via the terminal device 40 based on the terminal device information including information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state, information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40, and the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 as information on the second communication quality. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0078] (Optimal communication route configuration process) A process of configuring an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 via the terminal device 40 that configures the network 30 according to the second embodiment will be described.

[0079] The control unit 11 acquires terminal device information from each of the multiple terminal devices 40, including information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state, information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40, the received signal strength (RSSI) of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 from the other terminal devices 40, and the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio) of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 from the other terminal devices 40. Note that the "chargeable state" in the information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state means that the terminal device 40 is being charged or is in a chargeable state, regardless of whether the terminal device 40 is being powered by wire or wireless power. Note that the terminal device 40 other than the movable terminal device 41 and is driven by wired power supply without a rechargeable battery may transmit information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state to the display device 10 while being powered by wire.

[0080] Based on the acquired terminal device information, the control unit 11 calculates a metric value M3 (hereinafter referred to as "M3") between each terminal device performing wireless communication, between the terminal device 40 and the display device 10 performing wireless communication, and between the terminal device 40 and the router 20 performing wireless communication. The metric value M3 is calculated comprehensively not only based on the received signal strength (RSSI) of the wireless signal and the signal-to-noise ratio (S / N ratio) of the wireless signal as information on communication quality, but also on information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40 and whether or not it is in a chargeable state, in order to take into consideration whether or not the charge amount of the terminal device 40 is sufficient for the amount of information transmitted and received between the display device 10 and the router 20, and whether or not the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state.

[0081] The metric value M3 is calculated by multiplying the metric value M1, which is the same as the metric value M1 in the first embodiment, by a weighting coefficient δ that is assigned to whether or not the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state. Specifically, the metric value M3 is calculated based on the following formula (2). δ in the following formula (2) is a predetermined weighting coefficient, and 0<δ≦1. M3 = δ × M1 = δ {α × (value corresponding to RSSI) + β × (value corresponding to S / N ratio) + γ × (value corresponding to charge amount)} (2) Here, the coefficient δ takes a different value depending on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state or not, and when the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state, the coefficient δ is smaller than when the terminal device 40 is in an unchargeable state. That is, if the coefficient δ when the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state is coefficient δ1 and the coefficient δ when the terminal device 40 is in an unchargeable state is coefficient δ2, then δ1<δ2. Also, similar to the first embodiment, it can be said that the smaller the metric value M3 is, the better the communication path is for example between terminal devices performing wireless communication.

[0082] The control unit 11 accumulates metric values ​​M3 calculated between each terminal device performing wireless communication, between the terminal device 40 performing wireless communication and the display device 10, and between the terminal device 40 performing wireless communication and the router 20, on paths capable of wireless communication between the display device 10 and the router 20, and configures the communication path with the smallest accumulated metric value M4 as the optimal communication path. The control unit 11 performs wireless communication between the display device 10 and the router 20 based on the configured optimal communication path.

[0083] 12 to 14 and Table 1, the configuration of an optimal communication path by the control unit 11 in the second embodiment will be described. In Figs. 12 to 14, the cleaning robot 45 is in a chargeable state. The wearable terminal 42, the wireless controller 43 of the game machine, the electric car 44, and the pet-type robot 46 are not in a chargeable state. In parentheses in Fig. 12, the metric value M1 in the path between the display device 10 and the router 20 where wireless communication is possible is shown, and in parentheses in Figs. 13 and 14, the metric value M3 in the path between the display device 10 and the router 20 where wireless communication is possible is shown.

[0084] [Table 1]

[0085] For comparison, referring to FIG. 12, the configuration of the optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 in the first embodiment will be described when information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state is not used. In other words, in FIG. 12, δ1=δ2=1.0. The control unit 11 accumulates the calculated metric value M1, and configures the communication path in which the accumulated accumulated metric value M2 is the smallest as the optimal communication path. In FIG. 12, the communication path A, which is "display device 10-(4)-wearable terminal 42-(1)-electric vehicle 44-(4)-router 20" indicated by a solid thick arrow, is the communication path in which the accumulated accumulated metric value M2 is the smallest value "9". When the control unit 11 does not use information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state, the communication path A in which the accumulated metric value M2 is the smallest is configured as the optimal communication path.

[0086] In contrast, in the second embodiment, the control unit 11 configures an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 by using terminal device information including information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a state where charging is possible. The control unit 11 accumulates a metric value M3, which is a value obtained by multiplying the metric value M1 by a coefficient δ, and configures, as the optimal communication path, a communication path for which the accumulated metric value M4 is the smallest.

[0087] Here, the coefficient δ1 when the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state can be set appropriately on the premise that δ1<δ2, depending on the priority of the terminal device 40 being in a chargeable state. For example, when the coefficient δ2 is 1.0, the coefficient δ1 may be 0.6, and when it is desired to give a larger weight to the terminal device 40 being in a chargeable state, the coefficient δ1 may be 0.3.

[0088] 13, the configuration of an optimal communication path by the control unit 11 when the coefficient δ1 is 0.6 and the coefficient δ2 is 1.0 will be described. Here, since the cleaning robot 45 is in a chargeable state, the metric value M3 between the cleaning robot 45 and the display device 10, between the cleaning robot 45 and the wearable terminal 42, and between the cleaning robot 45 and the router 20 is calculated as "M3 = δ1 (0.6) × M1", and the metric value M3 in a communication path where one end is not the cleaning robot 45 is calculated as "M3 = δ2 (1.0) × M1".

[0089] The control unit 11 accumulates the calculated metric values ​​M3, and configures the communication path with the smallest accumulated accumulated metric value M4 as the optimal communication path. In Fig. 13, communication path B, which is "display device 10-(4)-wearable terminal 42-(1.8 (=3 x 0.6))-cleaning robot 45-(3 (=5 x 0.6))-router 20", indicated by a solid thick arrow, is the communication path with the smallest accumulated accumulated metric value M4, "8.8". The control unit 11 configures communication path B with the smallest accumulated metric value M4 as the optimal communication path.

[0090] 14, the configuration of an optimal communication path by the control unit 11 in the case where the coefficient δ1 is 0.3 and the coefficient δ2 is 1.0 will be described. In this case, a greater weight is assigned to the terminal device 40 being in a chargeable state than in the case shown in FIG. 13. The metric value M3 in a communication path where one end is the cleaning robot 45 is calculated as "M3 = δ1 (0.3) × M1", and the metric value M3 in a communication path where the other end is not the cleaning robot 45 is calculated as "M3 = δ2 (1.0) × M1".

[0091] The control unit 11 accumulates the calculated metric values ​​M3, and configures the communication path for which the accumulated accumulated metric value M4 is the smallest as the optimal communication path. In Fig. 14, communication path C, "display device 10-(3 (=10 x 0.3)-cleaning robot 45-(1.5 (=5 x 0.3))-router 20", indicated by a solid thick arrow, is the wireless communication path for which the accumulated accumulated metric value M4 is the smallest value, "4.5". The control unit 11 configures communication path C for which the accumulated metric value M4 is the smallest as the optimal communication path.

[0092] Other configurations of the second embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment.

[0093] (Effects of the second embodiment) In the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0094] In the second embodiment, as described above, the terminal device information further includes information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state, and the control unit 11 is configured to perform control to configure an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 via the terminal device 40 based on the terminal device information including information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state, information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40, and the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device 40 as information on the second communication quality. This makes it possible to configure an optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 based not only on communication quality information such as the received signal strength and the signal-to-noise ratio, but also on information on the charging of the terminal device 40, such as information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40 and information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state. Therefore, in the event that a situation arises in which the communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 is not good due to the structure of the house, the configuration of the optimal communication path between the display device 10 and the router 20 can be based on both communication quality information and information regarding the charging of the terminal device 40, thereby improving the communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 and preventing interruption of the communication path due to battery exhaustion caused by use of the terminal device 40 included in the communication path. As a result, the optimal communication path can be stably maintained.

[0095] Other effects of the second embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment.

[0096] [Variations] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not by the description of the embodiments above, and further includes all modifications (variations) within the meaning and scope of the claims.

[0097] For example, in the above-described second embodiment, the terminal device information is similar to that of the first embodiment except for the configuration including information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state or not, but the present invention is not limited to this. The terminal device information may be configured to further include information on whether the terminal device 40 is in a chargeable state or not, and may be configured not to include a configuration in which the control unit 11 controls the movement of the movable terminal device 41.

[0098] In the above embodiment, the control unit 11 is configured to control the movable terminal device 41 to move to a position where the communication speed is higher than the low speed value when the communication speed as the first communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low speed value less than a threshold value, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 11 may be configured to control the movable terminal device 41 to move to a position where the communication speed is higher than the low speed value when the display device 10 is started, regardless of whether the communication speed as the first communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low speed value less than a threshold value.

[0099] In the above embodiment, the control unit 11 is configured to control the movable terminal device 41 to move to a position where the communication speed is higher than the low speed value when the communication speed as the first communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 is a low speed value less than a threshold value, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 11 may be configured to control the movable terminal device 41 to move to a position where the radio wave strength is higher than the low strength value when the radio wave strength is a low strength value less than a threshold value based on the radio wave strength as the first communication quality, or may be configured to control the first communication quality based on a parameter related to another communication quality.

[0100] In the above embodiment, the control unit 11 is configured to control one movable terminal device 41 to move to a position where the first communication quality between the display device 10 and the router 20 is high, but the present invention is not limited to this. The control unit 11 may be configured to control each of two or more movable terminal devices 41 to move to a position where the first communication quality is high within the movable range of each of the movable terminal devices 41.

[0101] In the above embodiment, the information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40 itself is information on the SOC of the rechargeable battery held by the terminal device 40, but the present invention is not limited to this. The information on the charge amount of the terminal device 40 itself may include, for example, history data on past charging and discharging of the terminal device 40. In this case, since a terminal device 40 that has been repeatedly charged and discharged is considered to be used frequently, the configuration of the optimal communication path may be configured to assign a weight that decreases as the frequency of charging and discharging increases.

[0102] In the above embodiment, the multiple terminal devices 40 wirelessly communicate with other terminal devices 40 by Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication to build the network 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. The multiple terminal devices 40 may wirelessly communicate with other terminal devices 40 by a communication method other than Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication to build the network 30.

[0103] In the above embodiment, the timing at which the control unit 11 transmits a request signal requesting the terminal device 40 to transmit terminal device information is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. The timing at which the control unit 11 transmits a request signal may be linked to a connection between the display device 10 and the router 20 via wireless communication, or may be based on a predetermined time interval. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 100 Home Network System 10 Display device 20 Router 30 Network 40 Terminal Equipment 41 Mobile terminal equipment 41e Drive unit T, T1, T2 Map Information P specified position

Claims

1. A display device capable of wireless communication; A router connected to the Internet; a plurality of terminal devices constituting a network capable of connecting the display device and the router via wireless communication; At least one of the plurality of terminal devices includes a movable terminal device that is movable by a drive unit; The display device includes a control unit that performs control to move the movable terminal device to a position where the first communication quality between the display device and the router becomes higher based on a first communication quality.

2. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to control the movable terminal device to move to a position where the communication speed as the first communication quality between the display device and the router is a low speed value below a threshold value.

3. The home network system of claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to control the configuration of an optimal communication path between the display device and the router via the terminal device based on terminal device information including at least information on a second communication quality regarding the terminal device, and when the communication speed between the display device and the router in the configured communication path is the low speed value that is less than the threshold value, to move the movable terminal device and to connect the display device and the router at least via the moved movable terminal device.

4. The display device further includes a storage unit that stores map information regarding the interior of the house, 4. The home network system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to perform control for moving the movable terminal device based on the map information.

5. The home network system of claim 4, wherein the map information includes information correlating location information collected by the movable terminal device with the communication speed as the first communication quality for each location measured by the movable terminal device.

6. The map information includes floor plan information, The home network system according to claim 4 , wherein the control unit is configured to perform control for moving the movable terminal device based on the floor plan information.

7. 5. The home network system according to claim 4, wherein the control unit is configured to receive a user's position designation for the map information and to perform control to move the mobile terminal device to the designated position.

8. The home network system of claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to, after moving the movable terminal device, acquire from the plurality of terminal devices the terminal device information acquired in the plurality of terminal devices after moving the movable terminal device, and determine whether the communication path is optimal based on the acquired terminal device information.

9. the terminal device information includes information on a charging amount of the terminal device, a received signal strength of a wireless signal received by the terminal device as information on the second communication quality, and a signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device; The home network system according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit is configured to perform control for configuring an optimal communication path between the display device and the router via the terminal device based on the terminal device information.

10. A home network system as described in claim 9, wherein in configuring the optimal communication path, information regarding the charging amount of the terminal device is configured to have a higher priority than the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device.

11. A home network system as described in claim 9 or 10, wherein the control unit is configured to perform control to configure an optimal communication path between the display device and the router via the terminal device based on the terminal device information including information regarding the charging amount of the terminal device, the received signal strength of the wireless signal received by the terminal device as information on the second communication quality, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device.

12. A display device capable of wireless communication; A router connected to the Internet; a network that can connect the display device and the router via wireless communication; and a plurality of battery-powered terminal devices; the display device includes a control unit that performs control to configure an optimal communication path between the display device and the router via the terminal device based on information regarding the charge amount of the terminal device, a received signal strength of a wireless signal received by the terminal device, and a signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless signal received by the terminal device; the terminal device includes a movable terminal that is moved by a drive unit and a terminal other than the movable terminal, A home network system, wherein the control unit is configured to perform control to select an optimal communication path from the communication path via the movable terminal and the communication path via a terminal other than the movable terminal.

13. A display unit; a communication unit that configures a network that can be connected to the router via wireless communication, the communication unit being capable of wireless communication with a plurality of terminal devices including at least one movable terminal device that is movable by a drive unit, and that is connected to the router via the network; A display device comprising: a control unit that performs control to move the movable terminal device to a position where the first communication quality between the communication unit and the router becomes high based on a first communication quality.

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