Home appliance system and program

Abstract

To provide a home electronics system and a program capable of improving convenience.SOLUTION: A home electronics system includes a registration receiving unit and an information management unit. The registration receiving unit receives registration for associating identification information set for a user or a terminal device with one or more home electronics appliances used by the user. When registration for associating a new home electronics appliance with the identification information is received by the registration receiving unit, the information management unit associates setting information or use history information related to the home electronics appliance included in the one or more home electronics appliances with the new home electronics appliance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a home appliance system and a program.

Background Art

[0002] There has been proposed an air conditioning system that transfers data of individual information related to a first identifier as individual information of a second air conditioner when the first identifier of the received first air conditioner is already an identifier managed by a server. By the way, further improvement in convenience is expected for the home appliance system.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a home appliance system and a program capable of improving convenience.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The home appliance system according to the embodiment includes a registration reception unit and an information management unit. The registration reception unit receives a registration that associates identification information set for a user or a terminal device with one or more home appliances used by the user. When the registration reception unit receives a registration that associates a new home appliance with the identification information, the information management unit associates setting information or usage history information related to the home appliance included in the one or more home appliances with the new home appliance. When the identification information is associated with a plurality of household electrical appliances, and registration for associating two new household electrical appliances with the identification information is received, the information management unit collectively receives processing for associating setting information or usage history information regarding the two household electrical appliances included in the plurality of household electrical appliances with the two new household electrical appliances.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0007] Hereinafter, the home appliance system and program according to the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are assigned to configurations having the same or similar functions. And the redundant description of those configurations may be omitted. "Based on XX" means "based at least on XX", and may include cases based on another element in addition to XX. "XX or YY" is not limited to either XX or YY, and may include both XX and YY. This is the same when there are three or more selectable elements. "XX" and "YY" are arbitrary elements (for example, arbitrary information).

[0008] (First Embodiment) <1. Overall Configuration of Home Appliance System> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the home appliance system 1 according to the first embodiment. The home appliance system 1 includes, for example, one or more home appliances 100, a management server 200, and a terminal device 300. Note that one or more of the home appliances 100, the management server 200, and the terminal device 300 may be provided as components external to the home appliance system 1. The network NW described later may be, for example, the Internet, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, LPWA (Low Power Wide Area), WAN (Wide Area Network), LAN (Local Area Network), or other public or dedicated lines, depending on the situation.

[0009] The home appliance 100 is arranged inside the residence of the user U. The home appliance 100 is, for example, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner, an air conditioner, a range, a rice cooker, or an iron, but is not limited thereto. The home appliance 100 is connected to the network NW via a wireless router R and a modem M installed inside the residence of the user U. The home appliance 100 can communicate with the management server 200 or the terminal device 300 via the network NW.

[0010] The management server 200 is composed of one or more server devices (for example, a cloud server). The management server 200 may be referred to as a "server system". The management server 200 can communicate with the home appliance 100 or the terminal device 300 via the network NW. The management server 200 is a management server that manages the home appliance 100. The management server 200 may include an information processing unit that performs edge computing or fog computing, such as an information processing unit included in a router in the network NW. The management server 200 is not limited to a cloud server, and may be a computer in the residence of the user U, or a home router (for example, the wireless router R), etc. The same applies to the foodstuff management server 400 and the power saving control server 500 described later.

[0011] The terminal device 300 is a terminal device used by the user U of the household appliance 100. The terminal device 300 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal device. However, the terminal device 300 is not limited to a portable terminal device and may be a personal computer or the like. The terminal device 300 includes a display device 301 having a display screen capable of displaying various information, and an input reception unit 302 capable of receiving an input from the user U. The input reception unit 302 is, for example, a touch panel provided overlapping the display screen of the display device 301. The input reception unit 302 may include a camera, a microphone, etc. provided in the terminal device 300.

[0012] An application program P is installed in the terminal device 300, and the functions described below are supported. The application program P is an application program for managing the household appliance 100, and is used, for example, to utilize functions such as status confirmation, remote operation, and monitoring of the household appliance 100.

[0013] In the present embodiment, when replacing the household appliance 100 or adding and installing the household appliance 100 (when the number of household appliances 100 to be used increases), the home appliance system 1 performs a process of taking over the setting information or usage history information regarding the previously used household appliance 100 as the setting information or usage history information regarding the household appliance 100 to be used later. Thereby, the household appliance 100 to be used later can perform various controls using the setting information or usage history information regarding the previously used household appliance 100. Hereinafter, such a data takeover function will be described in detail.

[0014] Note that in the present application, the expressions "migrate" and "take over" are used substantially with the same meaning. Therefore, these expressions may be read interchangeably. Also, the following description is based on the premise that user registration (such as obtaining a user ID) has been completed using the application program P installed in the terminal device 300. Various known methods can be used for user registration.

[0015] <2. Configuration of Home Appliance First, the home appliance 100 will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the home appliance 100. The home appliance 100 includes, for example, an actuator 110, an operation unit 120, a control unit 130, and a storage unit 140.

[0016] The actuator 110 is a drive unit for operating the main function of the home appliance 100. For example, when the home appliance 100 is a refrigerator, the actuator 110 is a compressor that compresses refrigerant, a blower that circulates cold air inside the refrigerator, etc. When the home appliance 100 is a washing machine, the actuator 110 is a motor that rotates the washing tub, etc.

[0017] The operation unit 120 is an operation button or a touch panel provided on the home appliance 100. The operation unit 120 receives an operation of the user U for specifying or changing the setting content of the home appliance 100. The setting content of the home appliance 100 includes one or more of a control amount related to various controls, a target value, a threshold value, a timer setting, an operation mode, etc. The setting content of the home appliance 100 may include the content of a custom course set by the user U. Information indicating the setting content of the home appliance 100 is stored in the storage unit 140 as setting information D1.

[0018] The control unit 130 is realized by one or more hardware processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) mounted on the home appliance 100 executing a program. However, part or all of the control unit 130 may be realized by hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware.

[0019] The control unit 130 comprehensively controls the entire home appliance 100. For example, the control unit 130 operates the home appliance 100 by controlling the actuator 110 based on the detection results of sensors provided in the home appliance 100 and the setting information D1. In addition, the control unit 130 accumulates information indicating the usage history of the home appliance 100 in the storage unit 140 as usage history information D2. The control unit 130 adjusts the control amount according to the preferences of the user U and sets the time for executing power-saving control based on the usage history information D2. When the control unit 130 receives a request to acquire the setting information D1 and the usage history information D2 from the management server 200, the control unit 130 transmits the setting information D1 and the usage history information D2 stored in the storage unit 140 to the management server 200.

[0020] The storage unit 140 is realized by a combination of, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), or an SSD (Solid State Drove). The storage unit 140 stores the setting information D1 and the usage history information D2. As described above, the setting information D1 is one or more of the control amount related to various controls, the target value, the threshold value, the timer setting, the operation mode (including the content of the custom course set by the user U), and the like. The usage history information D2 is the opening and closing history of the door, the operation history, the operation history, the history of the power consumption, and the like. The usage history information D2 is information used, for example, in machine learning described later. Note that the setting information D1 and the usage history information D2 may be stored in the storage unit 250 of the management server 200 or the storage unit 330 of the terminal device 300 instead of the storage unit 140.

[0021] <3. Configuration of the Terminal Device> Next, the terminal device 300 will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the terminal device 300. The terminal device 300 includes, for example, a registration reception unit 310, a handover support unit 320, and a storage unit 330. The registration reception unit 310 and the handover support unit 320 are realized by one or more hardware processors such as a CPU mounted on the terminal device 300 executing an application program P. In the present embodiment, an example of an "information management unit MU" is configured by the handover support unit 320, the handover processing unit 230, and the information holding unit 240 of the management server 200 described later. Note that part or all of each of the registration reception unit 310 and the handover support unit 320 may be provided in the management server 200 or the home appliance 100 instead of the terminal device 300.

[0022] <3.1 Registration Reception Unit> The registration reception unit 310 receives a registration that associates the identification information set for the user U or the terminal device 300 with one or more home appliances 100 used by the user U. In the present embodiment, an example in which a user ID, which is an example of the identification information set for the user U, is associated with the home appliance 100 and registered will be described.

[0023] In the present embodiment, the registration reception unit 310 receives the registration of the home appliance 100 (hereinafter referred to as the "target home appliance 100") associated with the user ID in a state where the application program P is started and the user logs in using the user ID. For example, the registration reception unit 310 guides the user U to read a QR code (registered trademark) attached to the target home appliance 100. The QR code is an example of a "two-dimensional barcode".

[0024] User U reads the QR code attached to the target home appliance 100 using the camera of the terminal device 300. The registration reception unit 310 transmits the QR code information indicating the read QR code to the management server 200, and acquires the device ID (for example, the manufacturing number) of the target home appliance 100 specified by the management server 200 from the management server 200. The registration reception unit 310 displays the model name and device ID of the target home appliance 100 on the display device 301, and confirms with User U whether there is any mistake in the target home appliance 100 associated with the user ID. In addition, the registration reception unit 310 accepts the registration of the installation location (bedroom, living room,... etc.) of the home appliance 100.

[0025] When a positive response from User U is received by the input reception unit 302 for the confirmation of whether there is any mistake in the target home appliance 100, the registration reception unit 310 transmits a predetermined signal to the management server 200 to associate and register the user ID with the device ID of the target home appliance 100. Hereinafter, this registration may be referred to as "device registration". When the device registration is performed, various functions of the application program P (such as the status confirmation, remote operation, and monitoring function of the home appliance 100) become available for the target home appliance 100.

[0026] Note that in this application, "accepting the registration that associates the identification information with the home appliance" is not limited to the case where the registration process of associating the identification information with the home appliance is completed on the terminal device 300, and may also include the case where the operation of User U instructing the registration of associating the identification information with the home appliance is received on the terminal device 300 and the actual registration process is performed by the management server 200.

[0027] <3.2 Succession Support Section> When the registration acceptance unit 310 accepts a registration for associating a new home appliance device 100 with a user ID, the inheritance support unit 320 performs a process for associating, for example, setting information D1 or usage history information D2 related to one home appliance device 100 included in one or more (for example, a plurality of) previously registered home appliance devices 100 with the new home appliance device 100. Hereinafter, for the sake of distinction, the "previously registered home appliance device 100" is referred to as "home appliance device 100S". Also, the "home appliance device 100 that is included in one or more previously registered home appliance devices 100S and serves as the source of data inheritance" is referred to as "home appliance device 100A". Further, the new home appliance device 100 that is the destination of data inheritance is referred to as "home appliance device 100B".

[0028] In this application, the "process for associating the setting information D1 or usage history information D2 related to the home appliance device 100A with the home appliance device 100B" is not limited to the process of directly associating the setting information D1 or usage history information D2 itself related to the home appliance device 100A with the home appliance device 100B, and may also include, for example, transmitting information indicating the combination of the home appliance device 100A and the home appliance device 100B to be associated with each other to the management server 200. That is, the actual process of associating the setting information D1 or usage history information D2 related to the home appliance device 100A with the home appliance device 100B may be performed by the management server 200 instead of the terminal device 300.

[0029] In this embodiment, when a plurality of home appliance devices 100S of the same type are associated with a user ID and a registration for associating a new home appliance device 100B with the user ID is accepted, the inheritance support unit 320 notifies the user U of which home appliance device 100S among the plurality of home appliance devices 100S the setting information D1 or usage history information D2 related to should be associated with the new home appliance device 100B.

[0030] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of processing by the terminal device 300. For example, the registration reception unit 310 receives a registration for associating a new home appliance 100B with a user ID (see (a) in FIG. 4). In this case, based on home appliance information D3, which will be described later and is stored in the storage unit 330, the transfer support unit 320 determines whether one or more home appliances 100S of the same type as the new home appliance 100B have already been associated and registered with the same user ID.

[0031] When a plurality of home appliances 100S of the same type as the new home appliance 100B have already been associated and registered, the transfer support unit 320 inquires of the user U which setting information D1 or usage history information D2 regarding which home appliance 100S included in the plurality of home appliances 100S should be associated with the new home appliance 100B (see (b) in FIG. 4). Then, based on the operation of the user U on the input reception unit 302, the transfer support unit 320 associates the home appliance 100A selected by the user U from among the plurality of home appliances 100S with the new home appliance 100B (see (c) in FIG. 4). Then, the transfer support unit 320 transmits information indicating the combination of the selected home appliance 100A and the new home appliance 100B to the management server 200.

[0032] Also, in the present embodiment, when a registration for associating two new home appliances 100B with a user ID is received while a plurality of home appliances 100S of different types are associated with the user ID, the transfer support unit 320 collectively accepts the process of associating the setting information D1 or usage history information D2 regarding two home appliances 100A included in the plurality of home appliances 100S with the two new home appliances 100B.

[0033] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the processing by the terminal device 300. For example, the registration reception unit 310 receives a registration for associating two new types of home appliances 100B (for example, a refrigerator and a washing machine) with a user ID (see FIG. 5(a)). In this case, the transfer support unit 320 determines, based on the home appliance information D3 stored in the storage unit 330, whether or not two types of home appliances 100A corresponding to the two new types of home appliances 100B have already been associated and registered with the same user ID.

[0034] Then, when two types of home appliances 100A corresponding to the two new types of home appliances 100B have already been associated and registered with the same user ID, the transfer support unit 320 causes the user U to be notified of a question asking whether to associate the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the two types of home appliances 100A with the two new types of home appliances 100B, respectively (see (b) in FIG. 5).

[0035] Then, when an affirmative user answer to the above question is received by the input reception unit 302, the transfer support unit 320 associates the two types of home appliances 100A and the two new types of home appliances 100B together (see (c) in FIG. 5). Then, the transfer support unit 320 transmits information indicating the combination of the two types of home appliances 100A and the two new types of home appliances 100B to the management server 200. In the present application, "associating together" means that, for example, in response to an operation of the user U that is possible on one screen (for example, one operation or consecutive operations of the user U), the combination of the two types of home appliances 100A and the two new types of home appliances 100B for which the association is to be made is determined.

[0036] <3.3 Storage Unit> The storage unit 330 is realized by a combination of a RAM, a ROM, an EEPROM, an SSD, or the like. The storage unit 330 stores the home appliance information D3.

[0037] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of home appliance information D3. In the home appliance information D3, various information (device ID, type of home appliance 100, installation location, etc.) of the home appliance 100 associated with the user ID is registered.

[0038] <4. Configuration of Server> Next, the management server 200 will be described in detail. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the management server 200. The management server 200 includes, for example, a home appliance management unit 210, a learning unit 220, a handover processing unit 230, an information holding unit 240, and a storage unit 250. The home appliance management unit 210, the learning unit 220, the handover processing unit 230, and the information holding unit 240 are realized by one or more hardware processors such as a CPU mounted on the management server 200 executing a program. As described above, in the present embodiment, an example of the "information management unit MU" is configured by the handover processing unit 230, the information holding unit 240, and the handover support unit 320 of the terminal device 300. Note that part or all of each of the handover processing unit 230 and the information holding unit 240 may be provided in the terminal device 300 or the home appliance 100 instead of the management server 200. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the home appliance 100A that is the source of data transfer is referred to as the "first home appliance 100A", and the home appliance 100B that is the destination of data transfer is referred to as the "second home appliance 100B".

[0039] <4.1 Home Appliance Management Unit> The home appliance management unit 210 manages the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed. For example, when the home appliance management unit 210 receives a confirmation request for checking the status of the home appliance 100 from the terminal device 300, it notifies the home appliance 100 of a request to transmit status information indicating the status of the home appliance 100. Then, the home appliance management unit 210 transmits information indicating the status of the home appliance 100 to the terminal device 300 based on the status information received from the home appliance 100. In addition, when the home appliance management unit 210 receives a remote operation request for remotely operating the home appliance 100 from the terminal device 300, it performs a remote operation of the home appliance 100 by notifying the home appliance 100 of a control command corresponding to the received remote operation request.

[0040] <4.2 Learning Unit> The learning unit 220 acquires the usage history information D2 of the home appliance 100 from the home appliance 100 at a predetermined cycle. Then, based on the usage history information D2 of the home appliance 100, the learning unit 220 learns the preferred operation of the home appliance 100. For example, based on the usage history information D2 of the home appliance 100, the learning unit 220 learns the ON / OFF timing of the home appliance 100 for each time zone and situation, or the control amount of the home appliance 100 for each time zone and situation. The learning is performed, for example, by clustering or other machine learning. The ON / OFF of the home appliance 100 or the control amount of the home appliance 100 learned by the learning unit 220 is transmitted from the management server 200 to the home appliance 100. These pieces of information transmitted to the home appliance 100 are used in the control by the control unit 130 of the home appliance 100 as part of the setting information D1 of the home appliance 100.

[0041] <4.3 Transfer Processing Unit> The transfer processing unit 230 acquires information (hereinafter referred to as "combination information") indicating a combination of the first home appliance 100A and the second home appliance 100B to be associated with each other from the transfer support unit 320 of the terminal device 300. Based on the combination information, the transfer processing unit 230 associates the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 related to the first home appliance 100A with the second home appliance 100B. That is, the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 related to the first home appliance 100A is made available for use as the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 related to the second home appliance 100B.

[0042] In this embodiment, the transfer processing unit 230 classifies each piece of information (hereinafter referred to as "individual transfer information") included in the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 related to the first home appliance 100A into information that can be directly transferred as it is, information that cannot be transferred, and information that can be transferred by performing a predetermined conversion process as information related to the second home appliance 100B, and associates it with the second home appliance 100B. For example, based on the differences in the specifications of the first home appliance 100A and the second home appliance 100B, the transfer processing unit 230 classifies the above individual transfer information into information that can be directly transferred as it is, information that cannot be transferred, and information that can be transferred by performing a predetermined conversion process. Information indicating the models and specifications of the first home appliance 100A and the second home appliance 100B is stored in the storage unit 250 as product information D4.

[0043] For example, when the models of the first home appliance 100A and the second home appliance 100B are different, the transfer processing unit 230 determines whether the above individual transfer information can be transferred as information related to the second home appliance 100B based on the differences in the functions of the first home appliance 100A and the second home appliance 100B.

[0044] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the classification of individual transfer information. FIG. 8 shows an example in which the first home appliance 100A is an "air conditioner A" and the second home appliance 100B is an "air conditioner B". The individual transfer information includes, for example, information related to the operation mode (such as the types of executable operation modes), information related to cooling (such as the presence or absence of cooling operation), information related to heating (such as the presence or absence of heating operation), information related to dehumidification (such as the presence or absence of dehumidification operation), information related to air purification (such as the presence or absence of air purification operation), information related to automatic operation (such as the presence or absence of automatic operation), information related to AI operation (such as the presence or absence of AI operation), information related to the set temperature (such as the upper limit value, lower limit value, and step width for changing the set temperature), information related to the silent operation (such as the presence or absence of silent operation), and information related to the air volume (such as the control amount defining the air volume).

[0045] In the example shown in FIG. 8, for the operation mode, cooling, heating, dehumidification, air purification, automatic operation, and set temperature, since the functions of the first home appliance 100A and the second home appliance 100B are the same, the relay processing unit 230 determines that the individual relay information regarding the first home appliance 100A can be directly transferred as the individual relay information regarding the second home appliance 100B. On the other hand, for AI operation and draft-free operation, since the second home appliance 100B does not have such functions, the relay processing unit 230 determines that the individual relay information regarding the first home appliance 100A cannot be transferred as the individual relay information regarding the second home appliance 100B. For the individual relay information that cannot be transferred, the relay processing unit 230 substitutes it with default information that can be set for the second home appliance 100B.

[0046] Further, the relay processing unit 230 determines the content of a predetermined conversion process based on the correspondence information D5 indicating the correspondence between the control amount of the first home appliance 100A and the control amount of the second home appliance 100B. In the example shown in FIG. 8, in the correspondence information D5, there is a difference in the power of the blower function between the first home appliance 100A and the second home appliance 100B, and it is shown that the control amount "50" regarding the air volume of the first home appliance 100A and the control amount "60" regarding the air volume of the second home appliance 100B are control amounts corresponding to the same air volume. In this case, the relay processing unit 230 converts the control amount "50" of the air volume included in the setting information D1 regarding the first home appliance 100A to the control amount "60" of the air volume. Then, the relay processing unit 230 relays the converted control amount "60" of the air volume as the information included in the setting information D1 regarding the second home appliance 100B.

[0047] In this embodiment, the transfer processing unit 230 outputs, as information regarding the second home appliance 100B, the information classified as being directly transferable among the individual transfer information included in the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the first home appliance 100A, to the second home appliance 100B. Further, regarding the information classified as being transferable by performing a predetermined conversion process among the individual transfer information included in the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the first home appliance 100A, as information regarding the second home appliance 100B, the transfer processing unit 230 outputs the information after the predetermined conversion process to the second home appliance 100B. The control unit 130 of the home appliance 100 stores the individual transfer information received from the management server 200 in the storage unit 140 of the second home appliance 100B as the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 of the second home appliance 100B.

[0048] Also in this embodiment, the transfer processing unit 230 notifies, on the terminal device 300, whether each of the individual transfer information has been transferable or non-transferable as information regarding the second home appliance 100B. For example, the transfer processing unit 230 outputs a predetermined control command to the terminal device 300, and causes the display device 301 to display, as "transferable information", the individual transfer information that has been directly transferable and the individual transfer information that has been transferable by performing a predetermined conversion process, among the individual transfer information. On the other hand, the transfer processing unit 230 outputs a predetermined control command to the terminal device 300, and causes the display device 301 to display, as "non-transferable information", the individual transfer information that has been non-transferable, among the individual transfer information.

[0049] Note that the transfer processing unit 230 may determine the content of the above-described predetermined conversion processing based on the difference between the installation environment where the first home electric appliance 100A is installed and the installation environment where the second home electric appliance 100B is installed. The installation environment is, for example, the size of the room, the direction of the room (such as south-facing / north-facing), the material of the floor surface, etc., but is not limited thereto. The installation environment is obtained, for example, based on the input of the user U to the input reception unit 302 of the terminal device 300. For example, when the size of the room where the first home electric appliance 100A (air conditioner A) is installed is 6 tatami mats and the size of the room where the second home electric appliance 100B (air conditioner B) is installed is 10 tatami mats, the control amount of the air volume "50" included in the setting information D1 regarding the first home electric appliance 100A may be converted to a control amount of a larger air volume "70" and transferred as information regarding the second home electric appliance 100B.

[0050] <4.4 Information holding unit> The information holding unit 240 causes the storage unit 250 to hold at least temporarily the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the home electric appliance 100A which is the source of data transfer. At this time, the information holding unit 240 associates the user ID of the user U who uses the home electric appliance 100A with the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the home electric appliance 100A and stores them in the storage unit 250. In other words, even when the device registration of the home electric appliance 100A is deleted (when the registration of the device ID is lost), the information holding unit 240 stores the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the home electric appliance 100A in the storage unit 250 in a manner that can be acquired based on the user ID. From another perspective, the information holding unit 240 stores the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding a plurality of home electric appliances 100A in the storage unit 250 in a manner that can be acquired based on the user ID.

[0051] In this embodiment, the input receiving unit 302 of the terminal device 300 receives an instruction from the user U to delete the device registration of the home appliance 100. When the device registration of the home appliance 100 associated with the user ID is deleted, the information holding unit 240 acquires setting information D1 or usage history information D2 related to the home appliance 100 whose device registration is to be deleted from the home appliance 100 whose device registration is to be deleted, and stores the acquired setting information D1 or usage history information D2 in the storage unit 250 for at least a certain period (for example, 180 days).

[0052] Then, when the registration acceptance unit 310 accepts a registration to associate a new home appliance 100 of the same type as the home appliance 100 whose device registration has been deleted with a user ID, the handover processing unit 230 acquires from the storage unit 250 the setting information D1 or usage history information D2 related to the home appliance 100 whose device registration has been deleted, and associates it with the new home appliance 100 of the same type.

[0053] On the other hand, when the owner registration of a home appliance 100 associated with a user ID is deleted, the information holding unit 240 deletes the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 related to the home appliance 100 whose owner registration has been deleted from the storage unit 250. An example of "when owner registration is deleted" is when one user U is registered as the owner (manager) of one home appliance 100 (target home appliance 100), and the association between the user ID of the one user U and the target home appliance 100 is deleted (cancelled). Another example of "when owner registration is deleted" is when multiple family users U are registered as owners (managers) of one home appliance 100 (target home appliance 100), and the association between the user IDs of all of the multiple users U and the target home appliance 100 is deleted (cancelled).

[0054] <4.5 Storage section> The storage unit 250 is implemented by a combination of, for example, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, or SSD. The storage unit 250 stores product information D4 and correspondence information D5. Further, the storage unit 250 at least temporarily stores the setting information D1 and usage history information D2 of one or more home appliances 100 that are the data transfer sources. In the present embodiment, the setting information D1 and usage history information D2 of one or more home appliances 100 that are the data transfer sources and the user ID are stored in association as related information D6.

[0055] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the related information D6. In the related information D6, various information, setting information D1, and usage history information D2 of one or more home appliances 100 that are the data transfer sources are registered in association with the user ID.

[0056] <5. Flow of Data Transfer Process> FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the data transfer process. The example shown in FIG. 9 shows a case where the data of the first home appliance 100A is transferred to the second home appliance 100B.

[0057] First, the transfer support unit 320 of the terminal device 300 notifies the management server 200 of a request for data transfer of the first home appliance 100A (S101). When the transfer processing unit 230 of the management server 200 receives a request for data transfer of the first home appliance 100A from the terminal device 300, the transfer processing unit 230 notifies the first home appliance 100A of a request to acquire transfer data (setting information D1 and usage history information D2) (S102). When the control unit 130 of the first home appliance 100A receives a request to acquire transfer data from the management server 200, the control unit 130 uploads the transfer data of the first home appliance 100A to the management server 200 (S103). The information holding unit 240 of the management server 200 generates related information D6 based on the transfer data received from the first home appliance 100A, and stores the generated related information D6 in the storage unit 250 (S104).

[0058] Next, the handover processing unit 230 of the management server 200 notifies the terminal device 300 of a confirmation request for specifying the second home electric appliance 100B that is the data handover destination (S111). In this case, the handover support unit 320 of the terminal device 300 notifies the user U of a guidance prompting the designation of the second home electric appliance 100B, for example, through the display device 301 (S112). Next, the handover support unit 320 of the terminal device 300 transmits a notification indicating the second home electric appliance 100B designated by the user U to the management server 200 (S113).

[0059] Next, the handover processing unit 230 of the management server 200 classifies the individual handover information, the information that can be transferred as it is, the information that cannot be transferred, and the information that can be transferred by performing a predetermined conversion process, included in the handover data (setting information D1 and usage history information D2) acquired from the first home electric appliance 100A, based on the differences in the specifications between the first home electric appliance 100A and the second home electric appliance 100B (S114). Then, the handover processing unit 230 of the management server 200 transmits the information that can be transferred as it is to the second home electric appliance 100B without conversion, performs a predetermined conversion on the information that can be transferred by performing a predetermined conversion process, and transmits the converted information to the second home electric appliance 100B (S115).

[0060] The control unit 130 of the second home electric appliance 100B stores the information received from the management server 200 in the storage unit 140 of the second home electric appliance 100B so that it can be used as the setting information D1 or usage history information D2 of the second home electric appliance 100B (S116).

[0061] The handover processing unit 230 of the management server 200 transmits a notification informing the terminal device 300 of the information that has been transferred and the information that has not been transferred. The handover support unit 320 of the terminal device 300 displays the information that has been transferred and the information that has not been transferred on the display device 301 to inform the user U (S122). Thereby, a series of processes is completed.

[0062] <6. Advantages> When replacing the home appliance 100, if the setting information D1 regarding the home appliance 100 cannot be carried over, the user U needs to reconfigure the home appliance 100. Also, when replacing the home appliance 100, if the usage history information D2 regarding the home appliance 100 cannot be carried over, the data on the usage status of the user U used for machine learning is lost, and it becomes necessary to start the learning from the beginning.

[0063] On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the home appliance system 1 includes a registration reception unit 310 and an information management unit MU. The registration reception unit 310 receives a registration that associates the identification information set for the user U or the terminal device 300 with one or more home appliances 100 used by the user U. When a registration for associating a new home appliance 100 with the above identification information is received, the information management unit MU associates the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the home appliance 100 included in the above one or more home appliances 100 with the new home appliance 100.

[0064] According to such a configuration, the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 of the used home appliance 100 can also be shared by the new home appliance 100, and it becomes possible to use it immediately with the content suitable for the user U. Thereby, the convenience of the user U can be improved. Also, according to this configuration, the user U can share the data of various home appliances 100 using the identification information set for himself / herself or the terminal device 300 used by himself / herself, instead of the device ID set for each home appliance 100. Thereby, the convenience of the user U can be further improved.

[0065] In this embodiment, the home appliance system 1 includes a storage unit 250 that stores at least temporarily the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2. The information management unit MU stores in the storage unit 250 by associating the identification information set for the user U or the terminal device 300 with the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2. According to such a configuration, even when the device registration is deleted in response to the home appliance 100 being discarded (when the registration of the device ID is lost), the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 can be acquired without relying on the device ID.

[0066] In this embodiment, when a plurality of home appliances 100 of the same type are associated with the above identification information and a registration for associating a new home appliance 100 with the above identification information is received, the information management unit MU performs a notification to inquire of the user U which of the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding which home appliance 100 included in the plurality of home appliances 100 is to be associated with the new home appliance 100. According to such a configuration, the user U can share the data of the home appliance 100 specified by the user U among the plurality of home appliances 100 with the new home appliance 100. Thereby, the convenience of the user U can be further improved.

[0067] In this embodiment, when a registration for associating two new home appliances 100 with the above identification information is received in the case where the above identification information is associated with a plurality of home appliances 100, the information management unit MU collectively accepts the process of associating the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the two home appliances 100 included in the plurality of home appliances 100 with the two new home appliances 100. According to such a configuration, compared with the case where separate inheritance operations are required for each of the plurality of home appliances 100, the user U can share the data of the plurality of home appliances 100 with less work. Thereby, the convenience of the user U can be further improved.

[0068] In this embodiment, when the information management unit MU associates the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the first home appliance 100A included in one or more home appliances 100 with the second home appliance 100B which is a new home appliance 100, each piece of information included in the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the first home appliance 100A is classified into information that can be directly transferred as information regarding the second home appliance 100B, information that cannot be transferred, and information that can be transferred by performing a predetermined conversion process, and then associated with the second home appliance 100B. According to such a configuration, since the necessary conversion process is performed for each piece of information, data can be shared in a content corresponding to the specifications of the second home appliance 100B.

[0069] In this embodiment, when the models of the first home appliance 100A and the second home appliance 100B are different, the information management unit MU determines whether each piece of the above information can be transferred as information regarding the second home appliance 100B based on the difference in functions between the first home appliance 100A and the second home appliance 100B. According to such a configuration, it is possible to more appropriately determine whether each piece of information can be transferred as information regarding the second home appliance 100B.

[0070] In this embodiment, the information management unit MU determines the content of the above predetermined conversion process based on the correspondence relationship information D5 indicating the correspondence relationship between the control amount of the first home appliance 100A and the control amount of the second home appliance 100B. According to such a configuration, the control amount of the first home appliance 100A can be converted into the control amount of the second home appliance 100B with high accuracy. Thereby, the convenience of the user U can be further improved.

[0071] In this embodiment, the information management unit MU notifies on the terminal device 300 whether each piece of the above information has been transferred or not as information regarding the second home appliance 100B. According to such a configuration, it becomes easier for the user U to predict the subsequent operation of the second home appliance 100B, and in some cases, a more comfortable operation can be realized by performing necessary additional settings. Thereby, the convenience of the user U can be further improved.

[0072] In this embodiment, when the device registration of the home appliance 100 associated with the above identification information is deleted, the management server 200 includes a storage unit 250 that holds the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the home appliance 100 for which the device registration has been deleted for at least a certain period. When a registration for associating a new home appliance 100 of the same type as the home appliance 100 for which the device registration has been deleted with the above identification information is received, the information management unit MU associates the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the home appliance 100 for which the device registration has been deleted with the new home appliance 100 of the same type.

[0073] According to such a configuration, even if there is a period when there is no home appliance 100 from the time when the old home appliance 100 is disposed of until the new home appliance 100 is installed, the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 can be associated with the new home appliance 100. Thereby, the convenience of the user U can be further improved.

[0074] In this embodiment, the management server 200 further includes a storage unit 250 that holds the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding one or more home appliances 100 for at least a certain period. When the owner registration of the home appliance 100 included in one or more home appliances 100 is deleted, the information management unit MU deletes the setting information D1 or the usage history information D2 regarding the home appliance 100 for which the owner registration has been deleted from the storage unit 250. According to such a configuration, when the home appliance 100 is transferred, it is possible to suppress passing the usage history information D2 having a nature close to personal information to another user U.

[0075] (Second Embodiment) Next, the second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the information regarding foodstuff management is also a target of data transfer. The configuration other than that described below is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0076] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the home appliance system 1A according to the second embodiment. In the present embodiment, the home appliance system 1A includes, in addition to the management server 200 (hereinafter referred to as the "device management server 200"), a food management server 400 and a power saving control server 500. The device management server 200 is a management server that manages the home appliances 100, similar to the first embodiment.

[0077] The food management server 400 is a food management server that provides services related to food management. The storage unit 410 of the food management server 400 stores food management information D11. The food management information D11 is information indicating the inventory of food stored in the home appliance 100 (refrigerator) (such as the type of food, the storage amount, the purchase date, the expiration date, etc.). The food management information D11 exists for each home appliance 100. The food management information D11 is an example of the usage history information D2 related to the home appliance 100.

[0078] The power saving control server 500 is a management server that executes power saving control of the home appliance 100. The storage unit 510 of the power saving control server 500 stores power saving control information D12. The power saving control information D12 is information indicating a power saving setting according to the living pattern of the user U learned based on, for example, the usage history information D2 related to the home appliance 100 (such as information on past door openings and closings). The power saving control information D12 is, for example, information generated by the learning unit 220 of the device management server 200 described above. The power saving control information D12 includes the ON / OFF timing of the home appliance 100 for each time zone or situation, or the control amount of the home appliance 100 for each time zone or situation. The power saving control information D12 is an example of the setting information D1 related to the home appliance 100.

[0079] FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the data transfer process according to the second embodiment. The example shown in FIG. 12 shows a case where the food management information D11 and the power saving control information D12 associated with and managed by the first home appliance 100A (hereinafter referred to as the "old refrigerator 100A") are taken over and associated with and managed by the second home appliance 100B (hereinafter referred to as the "new refrigerator 100B").

[0080] First, when the user U performs an operation to delete the device registration of the old refrigerator 100A on the input reception unit 302 of the terminal device 300, the registration reception unit 310 of the terminal device 300 notifies the device management server 200 of a request to delete the device registration of the old refrigerator 100A (S201). In this case, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 notifies the terminal device 300 of a confirmation request to confirm whether to hold data (food management information D11 and power saving control information D12) managed in relation to the old refrigerator 100A (S202).

[0081] In this case, the transfer support unit 320 of the terminal device 300 notifies the user U of a question asking whether to hold data managed in relation to the old refrigerator 100A, for example, through the display device 301 (S203). When an affirmative answer from the user U is input to the above question, the transfer support unit 320 of the terminal device 300 notifies the device management server 200 of a request to hold data managed in relation to the old refrigerator 100A (S204).

[0082] In this case, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 notifies the food management server 400 of a request to hold the food management information D11 managed in relation to the old refrigerator 100A (S205). At this time, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 includes information indicating the user ID in the above notification. The food management server 400 associates the user ID with the food management information D11 and stores them in the storage unit 410.

[0083] Also, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 notifies the power saving control server 500 of a request to hold the power saving control information D12 managed in relation to the old refrigerator 100A (S206). At this time, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 includes information indicating the user ID in the above notification. The power saving control server 500 associates the user ID with the power saving control information D12 and stores them in the storage unit 510.

[0084] Next, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 deletes the device registration of the old refrigerator 100A from the storage unit 250 of the device management server 200 (S211). Next, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 transmits a notification indicating that the device registration of the old refrigerator 100A has been deleted to the terminal device 300 (S212).

[0085] Next, the registration reception unit 310 of the terminal device 300 transmits a request to register the new refrigerator 100B to the device management server 200 based on the operation of the user U performed on the input reception unit 302 of the terminal device 300 (S221). In this case, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 notifies the terminal device 300 of a confirmation request for confirming whether to manage the data (food management information D11 and power saving control information D12) that was managed in relation to the old refrigerator 100A in association with the new refrigerator 100B (S222).

[0086] In this case, the transfer support unit 320 of the terminal device 300 notifies the user U of a question asking whether to manage the data that was managed in relation to the old refrigerator 100A in association with the new refrigerator 100B, for example, through the display device 301 (S223). When an affirmative answer from the user U is input to the above question, the transfer support unit 320 of the terminal device 300 notifies the device management server 200 of a request to manage the data that was managed in relation to the old refrigerator 100A in association with the new refrigerator 100B (S224).

[0087] In this case, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 notifies the food management server 400 of a request to use the food management information D11 that was managed in relation to the old refrigerator 100A as the food management information D11 of the new refrigerator 100B (S225). At this time, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 includes information indicating the user ID in the above notification. The food management server 400 takes over the food management information D11 stored in the storage unit 410 associated with the received user ID as the food management information D11 of the new refrigerator 100B.

[0088] In addition, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 notifies the power saving control server 500 of a request to use the power saving control information D12 that was managed in relation to the old refrigerator 100A as the power saving control information D12 for the new refrigerator 100B (S226). At this time, the transfer processing unit 230 of the device management server 200 includes information indicating the user ID in the above notification. The power saving control server 500 takes over the power saving control information D12 stored in the storage unit 510 in association with the received user ID as the power saving control information D12 for the new refrigerator 100B. Thereby, a series of processes is completed.

[0089] As described above, embodiments and several examples have been explained. However, the embodiments and examples are not limited to the examples described above. In the present application, the transfer (handover) of data is not limited to the case of replacing the home appliance 100, and also includes the case where a new home appliance of the same type is added while leaving the old home appliance 100 as it is. In this case, a copy of the setting information D1 and the usage history information D2 of the old home appliance 100 is transferred to the new home appliance 100.

[0090] According to at least one embodiment described above, the home appliance system includes an information management unit. When registration is received that associates a new home appliance with the identification information set for the user or the terminal device, the information management unit associates the setting information or usage history information related to the home appliance included in one or more home appliances associated with the identification information with the new home appliance. With such a configuration, convenience can be improved.

[0091] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, as well as in the invention described in the claims and its equivalent scope.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0092] 1, 1A… Home appliance system 1, 100… Home appliance device, 200… Device management server, 230… Transfer processing unit (information management unit), 240… Information holding unit (information management unit), 250… Memory unit, 300… Terminal device, 310… Registration reception unit, 320… Transfer support unit (information management unit), 400… Food ingredient management server, 410… Memory unit, 500… Power saving control server, 510… Memory unit, MU… Information management unit.

Claims

1. A registration reception unit that receives registration for associating identification information set for a user or a terminal device with one or more home electric appliances used by the user; An information management unit that, when the registration reception unit receives registration for associating a new home electric appliance with the identification information, associates setting information or usage history information regarding the home electric appliances included in the one or more home electric appliances with the new home electric appliance; comprising: When the identification information is associated with a plurality of home electric appliances, and when the registration reception unit receives registration for associating two new home electric appliances with the identification information, the information management unit collectively receives the process of associating the setting information or usage history information regarding the two home electric appliances included in the plurality of home electric appliances with the two new home electric appliances; A home electric appliance system.

2. A registration reception unit that receives registration for associating identification information set for a user or a terminal device with one or more home electric appliances used by the user; An information management unit that, when the registration reception unit receives registration for associating a new home electric appliance with the identification information, associates setting information or usage history information regarding the home electric appliances included in the one or more home electric appliances with the new home electric appliance; comprising: When the information management unit associates the setting information or usage history information regarding the first home electric appliance included in the one or more home electric appliances with the second home electric appliance that is the new home electric appliance, each piece of information included in the setting information or usage history information regarding the first home electric appliance is classified into information that can be directly transferred as information regarding the second home electric appliance, information that cannot be transferred, and information that can be transferred by performing a predetermined conversion process, and then the association is made with the second home electric appliance. A home electric appliance system.

3. When the models of the first home electric appliance and the second home electric appliance are different, the information management unit determines whether each piece of information can be transferred as information regarding the second home electric appliance based on the difference in functions between the first home electric appliance and the second home electric appliance. The home electric appliance system according to Claim 2.

4. The information management unit determines the content of the predetermined conversion process based on the correspondence relationship information indicating the correspondence relationship between the control amount of the first home electric appliance and the control amount of the second home electric appliance. The home electric appliance system according to Claim 2 or Claim 3.

5. The information management unit notifies on the terminal device whether each piece of the information can be transferred or cannot be transferred as information related to the second home appliance device. The home appliance system according to any one of claims 2 to 4.

6. A registration reception unit that receives registration for associating identification information set for a user or a terminal device with one or more home appliance devices used by the user, When the registration reception unit receives registration for associating a new home appliance device with the identification information, an information management unit that associates setting information or usage history information regarding the home appliance device included in the one or more home appliance devices with the new home appliance device, A storage unit that stores setting information or usage history information regarding the home appliance device whose device registration has been deleted for at least a certain period when the device registration of the home appliance device associated with the identification information is deleted, comprising When the information management unit receives registration for associating a new home appliance device of the same type as the home appliance device whose device registration has been deleted with the identification information, the information management unit associates the setting information or usage history information regarding the home appliance device whose device registration has been deleted with the new home appliance device of the same type. A home appliance system.

7. A registration reception unit that receives registration for associating identification information set for a user or a terminal device with one or more home appliance devices used by the user, When the registration reception unit receives registration for associating a new home appliance device with the identification information, an information management unit that associates setting information or usage history information regarding the home appliance device included in the one or more home appliance devices with the new home appliance device, A storage unit that stores the setting information or the usage history information at least temporarily, comprising When the owner registration of the home appliance device included in the one or more home appliance devices is deleted, the information management unit deletes the setting information or usage history information regarding the home appliance device whose owner registration has been deleted from the storage unit. A home appliance system.

8. Causing a computer to receive registration for associating identification information set for a user or a terminal device with one or more home appliance devices used by the user, perform a process for associating setting information or usage history information regarding the home appliance device included in the one or more home appliance devices with the new home appliance device when registration for associating a new home appliance device with the identification information is received. When the identification information is associated with a plurality of home appliances and a registration for associating two new home appliances with the identification information is received, a process of associating the setting information or usage history information regarding the two home appliances included in the plurality of home appliances with the two new home appliances is received in a batch. Program.

9. A computer is caused to receive a registration for associating identification information set for a user or a terminal device with one or more home appliances used by the user, when a registration for associating a new home appliance with the identification information is received, perform a process for associating the setting information or usage history information regarding the home appliances included in the one or more home appliances with the new home appliance, when associating the setting information or usage history information regarding the first home appliance included in the one or more home appliances with the second home appliance which is the new home appliance, classify each piece of information included in the setting information or usage history information regarding the first home appliance into information that can be directly transferred as it is as information regarding the second home appliance, information that cannot be transferred, and information that can be transferred by performing a predetermined conversion process, and cause the association with the second home appliance to be performed. Program.

10. A computer is caused to receive a registration for associating identification information set for a user or a terminal device with one or more home appliances used by the user, when a registration for associating a new home appliance with the identification information is received, perform a process for associating the setting information or usage history information regarding the home appliances included in the one or more home appliances with the new home appliance, when the device registration of the home appliance associated with the identification information is deleted, store the setting information or usage history information regarding the home appliance whose device registration has been deleted for at least a certain period, when a registration for associating a new home appliance of the same type as the home appliance whose device registration has been deleted with the identification information is received, associate the setting information or usage history information regarding the home appliance whose device registration has been deleted with the new home appliance of the same type. Program.

11. A computer is caused to receive a registration for associating identification information set for a user or a terminal device with one or more home appliances used by the user, When registration for associating a new household electrical appliance with the identification information is received, perform processing for associating setting information or usage history information regarding the household electrical appliances included in the one or more household electrical appliances with the new household electrical appliance, temporarily store at least the setting information or the usage history information in a storage unit, when the owner registration of the household electrical appliances included in the one or more household electrical appliances is deleted, delete the setting information or the usage history information regarding the household electrical appliances for which the owner registration has been deleted from the storage unit, Program.

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