Home appliance control system, operation terminal and server

Abstract

This household electrical appliance control system comprises: a household electrical appliance; an operating terminal (20) including a display unit for displaying, in relation to a plurality of functions of the household electrical appliance, a plurality of operation icons that are associated with control instruction information for instructing execution of the functions and that correspond individually to the functions; and a server (30) which, on the basis of installation information of the household electrical appliance, comprising information relating to an environment at the location of the household electrical appliance and information relating to a usage status of the household electrical appliance, infers an operation frequency of each of the plurality of functions, and determines display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit on the basis of the inferred operation frequency of each function. The household electrical appliance control system exhibits the advantage that when a user views the display unit of the operating terminal (20), the functions of the household electrical appliance that are useful for the user and that can be controlled from the operating terminal (20) can be presented to the user in a manner that is visually easy to understand.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a home appliance control system for controlling home appliances, an operation terminal for realizing the home appliance control system, and a server for realizing the home appliance control system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in operation terminals for home appliances such as remote controllers and smartphones, the number of functions that can be used to control the operation of home appliances from the operation terminal has increased significantly. However, as the number of functions on the operation terminal increases, it becomes more difficult for users to grasp which functions are convenient for them.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 proposes an operation terminal that includes a display unit that displays multiple operation icons that individually correspond to functions, and a control unit that determines the display positions of the multiple operation icons on the display unit based on information on the relative number of times each of the multiple operation icons has been selected, and displays the multiple operation icons on the display unit, making the functions of an air conditioner that are convenient for users easy to visually understand. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2022 / 085184 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, according to the technology of Patent Document 1, the display positions of the multiple operation icons are determined based only on the information relating to the magnitude of the number of times each of the multiple operation icons has been selected. As a result, with the technology of Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that the display priority of the operation icons for new functions that can control the operation of the air conditioner from the operation terminal or functions that are potentially suitable for the user may be lowered among the multiple operation icons displayed on the operation terminal.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to enable a user to view, in a visually easy-to-understand manner, the functions of home appliances that can be controlled from an operating terminal, which are convenient for the user, when the user looks at the display unit of the operating terminal. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the home appliance control system of the present disclosure includes a home appliance; an operation terminal having a display unit that displays, for multiple functions of the home appliance, multiple operation icons that are associated with control instruction information that instructs the execution of the functions and that individually correspond to the functions; and a server that infers the operation frequency for each of the multiple functions based on installation information of the home appliance, which consists of information about the environment where the home appliance is located and information about the usage status of the home appliance, and determines the display position of the multiple operation icons on the display unit based on the inferred operation frequency for each function. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The home appliance control system according to the present disclosure has the advantage that, when a user looks at the display of an operating terminal, functions of home appliances that can be controlled from the operating terminal, which are convenient for the user, can be presented to the user in a visually easy-to-understand manner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an air conditioning system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an air conditioning device in an air conditioning system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an operation terminal in an air conditioning system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a server in an air conditioning system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a learning device according to a first embodiment; [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of learning data used when the learning device according to the first embodiment learns the operation frequency of a function 1 of an air conditioning device. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of learning data used when the learning device according to the first embodiment learns the operation frequency of the function 2 of the air conditioning equipment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of learning data used when the learning device according to the first embodiment learns the operation frequency of a function x of an air conditioning device. [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a learning process performed by the learning device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of learning data in a model generation unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of shaped learning data, which is learning data obtained by shaping the learning data shown in FIG. 10. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of shaped learning data, which is learning data obtained by shaping the learning data shown in FIG. 10. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an inference device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 14] 1 is a flowchart showing a procedure of an inference process performed by the inference device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an icon display area of ​​an operation screen displayed on a terminal display unit of the operation terminal according to the first embodiment; [Figure 16]FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of an icon display area of ​​the operation screen displayed on the terminal display unit shown in FIG. 15. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a function execution setting screen displayed on a terminal display unit of the operation terminal according to the first embodiment; [Figure 18] 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure for automatically rearranging the display of operation icons in the operation terminal of the air conditioning system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a device information and icon display position table stored in a terminal storage unit of the operation terminal according to the first embodiment; [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how operation icons displayed in the icon display area of ​​the terminal display unit are automatically rearranged by the automatic rearrangement function for displaying operation icons in the first embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a processing circuit according to a first embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration for realizing an operation terminal according to a first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, a home appliance control system, an operation terminal, and a server according to an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system 1 according to the first embodiment. The air conditioning system 1 according to the first embodiment is configured to include air conditioning equipment 10, an operation terminal 20, and a server 30. The air conditioning equipment 10, the operation terminal 20, and the server 30 are connected to the Internet 40, a global information and communication network, and are able to send and receive information among them. The air conditioning system 1 is capable of remotely controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10 using the operation terminal 20. In other words, the air conditioning system 1 is equipped with the air conditioning equipment 10, which is a home appliance to be controlled, the operation terminal 20 that remotely controls the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10, which is a home appliance, and the server 30, and can be said to be a home appliance control system capable of controlling home appliances.

[0012] The air conditioning apparatus 10 is an air conditioning apparatus that conditions the air of a room, which is a space to be air-conditioned, and is connected to the Internet 40 so that it can send and receive information to and from the operation terminal 20. This allows the air conditioning apparatus 10 to obtain various types of information, such as control instruction information for controlling the operation of the air conditioning apparatus 10, from the operation terminal 20 via the Internet 40. In other words, the operation terminal 20 can send various types of information, such as control instruction information for controlling the operation of the air conditioning apparatus 10, to the air conditioning apparatus 10 via the Internet 40.

[0013] Furthermore, the air conditioning equipment 10 is connected to the Internet 40 and is capable of sending and receiving information to and from the server 30. This allows the air conditioning equipment 10 to send various types of information, such as information on the operating status of the air conditioning equipment 10 and model information, which will be described later, to the server 30 via the Internet 40.

[0014] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning apparatus 10 in an air conditioning system 1 according to the first embodiment. The air conditioning apparatus 10 basically has the functions of a general air conditioning apparatus, and performs air conditioning of a room, which is a space to be air-conditioned by the air conditioning apparatus 10. The air conditioning apparatus 10 comprises an air conditioning unit 11, an air conditioning storage unit 12, an air conditioning communication unit 13, and an air conditioning control unit 14. Information can be exchanged between the above-mentioned components of the air conditioning apparatus 10.

[0015] The air conditioning unit 11 has the air conditioning functions and configuration of a general air conditioner. The air conditioning unit 11 includes a refrigerant circuit through which a refrigerant flows, a compressor that compresses the refrigerant in the refrigerant circuit, a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the indoor air and the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant circuit, a blower fan that sends the conditioned air that has been heat exchanged in the heat exchanger into the room, an air direction adjustment unit that adjusts the direction in which the conditioned air is sent out, and an outdoor heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the outdoor air and the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant circuit.

[0016] The air conditioning unit 11 also includes an indoor temperature sensor (not shown) and an outdoor temperature sensor (not shown). The indoor temperature sensor measures the indoor temperature, which is the temperature inside the room that is the space to be air-conditioned, at a predetermined cycle. The indoor temperature sensor transmits information about the measured indoor temperature to the air conditioning control unit 14. The outdoor temperature sensor is installed outside the room, and measures the outdoor air temperature, which is the temperature of the air outside the room, at a predetermined cycle. The outdoor temperature sensor transmits information about the measured outdoor air temperature to the air conditioning control unit 14.

[0017] The air conditioning memory unit 12 is a memory unit that stores various types of information inside the air conditioning equipment 10. The air conditioning memory unit 12 stores various types of information used to operate the air conditioning equipment 10, including control instruction information for controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10, transmitted from the operation terminal 20. In other words, the air conditioning memory unit 12 stores various types of information, such as control instruction information transmitted from the operation terminal 20 to the air conditioning equipment 10 when the user operates an operation icon, described below, on the operation terminal 20. The air conditioning memory unit 12 also stores a control program used to control the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10.

[0018] The air conditioning communication unit 13 is connected to the Internet 40 and communicates with the operation terminal 20. The air conditioning communication unit 13 is also connected to the Internet 40 and communicates with the server 30.

[0019] The air conditioning control unit 14 controls the overall processing of the air conditioning appliance 10. The air conditioning control unit 14 controls the operation of the air conditioning appliance 10 by controlling the operation of the air conditioning unit 11. The air conditioning control unit 14 then controls the operation of the air conditioning appliance 10 in accordance with control instruction information transmitted from the operation terminal 20. The air conditioning control unit 14 also stores various information, such as control instruction information transmitted from the operation terminal 20 to the air conditioning appliance 10 when the user operates an operation icon, described below, on the operation terminal 20, in the air conditioning storage unit 12. The air conditioning control unit 14 also transmits the appliance information of the air conditioning appliance 10 to the operation terminal 20 when it receives appliance information request information requesting appliance information of the air conditioning appliance 10 from the operation terminal 20.

[0020] The device information is information that includes name information of the functions that the air conditioning device 10 has and function status information of the air conditioning device 10.

[0021] The function name information is information indicating the name of a function that the air conditioning equipment 10 has and that controls the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10.

[0022] The function status information is information about the current status of each function that controls the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10.

[0023] The air conditioner 10 may be a separate type air conditioner having an indoor unit placed indoors and an outdoor unit placed outdoors, or may be an integrated type air conditioner.

[0024] The operation terminal 20 is a communication device capable of communicating with the air conditioning apparatus 10 and the server 30. The operation terminal 20 can transmit various types of information, including control instruction information for controlling the operation of the air conditioning apparatus 10, to the air conditioning apparatus 10 via the Internet 40. The operation terminal 20 can also connect to the Internet 40 and receive information such as information on the operating status and model information of the air conditioning apparatus 10 from the air conditioning apparatus 10 via the server 30. The operation terminal 20 may also connect to the Internet 40 and receive information such as information on the operating status and model information of the air conditioning apparatus 10 directly from the air conditioning apparatus 10.

[0025] Furthermore, the operation terminal 20 is connected to the Internet 40 and is capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from the server 30. This allows the operation terminal 20 to obtain various information, such as inference results of an inference unit 352 (described later), from the server 30 via the Internet 40.

[0026] 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the operation terminal 20 in the air conditioning system 1 according to the first embodiment. The operation terminal 20 transmits various types of information to the air conditioning apparatus 10, such as control instruction information for controlling the operation of the air conditioning apparatus 10, based on operation of the operation terminal 20 by a user, and remotely controls the operation of the air conditioning apparatus 10. That is, the operation terminal 20 transmits various types of information, such as control instruction information for controlling the operation of the air conditioning apparatus 10, input by the user to the operation terminal 20 to the air conditioning apparatus 10, and controls the operation of the air conditioning apparatus 10. The operation terminal 20 can be a portable operation terminal that can be carried by the user, such as a smartphone.

[0027] The operation terminal 20 includes a terminal input unit 21, a terminal display unit 22, a terminal communication unit 23, a terminal storage unit 24, and a terminal control unit 25. Information can be exchanged between the components of the operation terminal 20.

[0028] The terminal input unit 21 is an operation reception unit that receives user operations, i.e., setting operations from the user. Setting operations from the user include operations to control the operation terminal 20 and setting operations to control the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10. The terminal input unit 21 receives input of user operations and transmits information corresponding to the user operations to the terminal control unit 25. The terminal input unit 21 is made up of input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel display with a touch panel function, and operations on the operation terminal 20 are performed by the user. In the first embodiment, the terminal input unit 21 is made up of a touch panel display.

[0029] The terminal display unit 22 is a display unit that displays various types of information inside the operation terminal 20. The terminal display unit 22 displays an operation screen on which setting operations for controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10 are performed, and also displays information for controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10. In other words, the terminal display unit 22 displays an operation screen on which setting operations for controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10 are selected. The operation screen can be said to be a control screen for controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10. The information for controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10 is, for example, information on the operating status of the air conditioning equipment 10.

[0030] In the present embodiment 1, the terminal display unit 22 is configured with a touch panel display. The touch panel display of the terminal display unit 22 allows general operations on a touch panel display, such as a touch operation in which a finger touches the screen, a tap operation in which a finger taps the screen once, a double tap operation in which a finger taps the screen twice, and a drag operation in which a finger moves an icon or the like to a desired location.

[0031] Furthermore, the terminal display unit 22, which is configured from a touch panel display, displays operation icons in an operable manner. The operation icons are icons corresponding to functions that can control the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10 using the operation terminal 20. Therefore, the operation icons can be said to be icons that identify functions that the operation terminal 20 can control on the control target equipment. Furthermore, the operation icons correspond individually to the multiple functions possessed by the air conditioning equipment 10, and are associated with control instruction information that instructs the execution of the functions. Furthermore, the operation icons can be said to be icons that identify functions that the operation terminal 20 can control on the home appliances.

[0032] The terminal communication unit 23 connects to the Internet 40 and communicates with the air conditioning equipment 10. The terminal communication unit 23 also connects to the Internet 40 and communicates with the server 30. The terminal communication unit 23 transmits various information transmitted from the air conditioning equipment 10 and the server 30 to the terminal control unit 25. The terminal communication unit 23 receives various information transmitted from the air conditioning equipment 10 and the server 30 from the terminal control unit 25. equipment 10 The control instruction information is transmitted to the air conditioning equipment 10.

[0033] The terminal storage unit 24 is a storage unit that stores various types of information in the operation terminal 20. The terminal storage unit 24 stores various types of information transmitted from the air conditioning equipment 10 and the server 30. The terminal storage unit 24 stores device information and an icon display position table 50, which will be described later. Hereinafter, the device information and icon display position table 50 may be referred to as the table 50.

[0034] The operation terminal 20 has air conditioning control application software for the operation terminal 20, which is application software for executing an equipment control function for controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10. Specifically, the equipment control function is a function used in the operation terminal 20 to set the operating conditions of the air conditioning equipment 10 and send them to the air conditioning equipment 10. The air conditioning control application software is stored in the terminal storage unit 24. Note that the air conditioning control application software for the operation terminal 20 can be said to be home appliance control application software for executing an equipment control function, which is a function used to set the operating conditions of home appliances and send them to the home appliances. Below, the air conditioning control application software may be simply referred to as an application.

[0035] The terminal control unit 25 is a control unit that controls the overall processing of the operation terminal 20. The terminal control unit 25 stores various pieces of information transmitted from the terminal communication unit 23 in the terminal storage unit 24. The terminal control unit 25 also displays the various pieces of information transmitted from the terminal communication unit 23 on the terminal display unit 22.

[0036] The terminal control unit 25 executes an application stored in the terminal storage unit 24 to display information for controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10 on the touch panel display, which is the terminal display unit 22, allowing the user to operate it. Specifically, the terminal control unit 25 executes an application stored in the terminal storage unit 24 to display an operation screen, which displays operation icons indicating functions for controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10, on the touch panel display, which is the terminal display unit 22, allowing the user to operate it.

[0037] The terminal control unit 25 connects to the homepage of the manufacturer of the air conditioning equipment 10 or the like via the terminal communication unit 23, and controls the downloading of an application for controlling the operation of the air conditioning equipment 10. The terminal control unit 25 stores the downloaded application in the terminal storage unit 24.

[0038] When a normal operation, which is an operation for controlling the operation of the air conditioning appliance 10, is performed on the touch panel display, the terminal control unit 25 recognizes the operation content based on information corresponding to the user operation transmitted from the terminal input unit 21. The terminal control unit 25 then generates control instruction information corresponding to the operation content and transmits the control instruction information to the air conditioning appliance 10 via the terminal communication unit 23. The air conditioning appliance 10 receives the control instruction information transmitted from the terminal control unit 25, and the air conditioning control unit 14 controls the operation of the air conditioning appliance 10 based on the control instruction information.

[0039] The terminal control unit 25 also has an icon control unit 251. The icon control unit 251 is a control unit that controls the display of operation icons on the terminal display unit 22. The icon control unit 251 has an icon arrangement control unit 252 and an icon display area control unit 253. The icon arrangement control unit 252 is a control unit that controls the arrangement of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22, i.e., the display positions of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22, to control the display of the operation icons.

[0040] Furthermore, when an automatic rearrangement function for displaying operation icons is implemented as described below, the terminal control unit 25 performs control to display a plurality of operation icons in the icon display area 221 of the terminal display unit 22 in an order based on the inference result of the server 30. That is, the icon arrangement control unit 252 acquires information on the arrangement of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22, i.e., the display positions of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22, from the server 30, and performs control to display a plurality of operation icons in the icon display area 221 of the terminal display unit 22 in an order based on the information.

[0041] The icon display area control unit 253 is a control unit that controls the display area of ​​the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22.

[0042] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 30 in the air conditioning system 1 according to the first embodiment. Information about the operating status of the air conditioning appliance 10 and model information are transmitted to the server 30 from the air conditioning appliance 10 which is communicatively connected via the Internet 40. That is, the server 30 can acquire information about the operating status of the air conditioning appliance 10 from the air conditioning appliance 10 via the Internet 40. In this way, the server 30 shares information about the operating status of the air conditioning appliance 10 with the air conditioning appliance 10. The server 30 can then transmit the information about the operating status of the air conditioning appliance 10 acquired from the air conditioning appliance 10 to the operation terminal 20 via the Internet 40. A cloud server or a physical server can be used as the server 30.

[0043] The server 30 can infer the operation frequency for each of the multiple functions of the air conditioning equipment 10 based on the installation information of the air conditioning equipment 10, which consists of information about the environment where the air conditioning equipment 10 is located and information about the usage status of the air conditioning equipment 10, and determine the display positions of multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 based on the inferred operation frequency for each function.

[0044] The server 30 includes a server communication unit 31, a server storage unit 32, a server control unit 33, a learning device 34, an inference device 35, and a trained model storage unit 36. The components of the server 30 can exchange information with each other.

[0045] The server communication unit 31 is connected to the Internet 40 and communicates with the air conditioning equipment 10. The server communication unit 31 is also connected to the Internet 40 and communicates with the operation terminal 20.

[0046] The server storage unit 32 stores various types of information acquired from the air conditioning apparatus 10 and the operation terminal 20. The information stored by the server storage unit 32 includes information acquired from the air conditioning apparatus 10, such as information on the operation frequency of each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning apparatus 10, model information of the air conditioning apparatus 10, installation information of the air conditioning apparatus 10, and information on the operating status of the air conditioning apparatus 10. The information stored by the server storage unit 32 also includes information on the display positions of operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 acquired from the operation terminal 20, and information on the display positions of operation icons inferred and determined by the server control unit 33. Therefore, the information stored by the server storage unit 32 includes learning data, which will be described later. Details of each piece of information will be described later.

[0047] The server storage unit 32 also stores a control program used to control the server 30. Of the various types of information stored in the server storage unit 32, information necessary for processing in the learning device is transmitted to the learning device .

[0048] The server control unit 33 controls the overall processing of the server 30. The server control unit 33 also acquires various information from the air conditioning apparatus 10, such as information on the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning apparatus 10, model information for the air conditioning apparatus 10, installation information for the air conditioning apparatus 10, and information on the operating status of the air conditioning apparatus 10, and controls the storage of this information in the server storage unit 32. The server control unit 33 also controls the transmission to the operating terminal 20 via the Internet 40 of information such as information on the operating status of the air conditioning apparatus 10 and information on the display position of the operation icon of the operating terminal 20 that controls the air conditioning apparatus 10, which is inferred by a method described below.

[0049] The learning device 34 learns, based on the learning data, trends in the operation frequency of each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10. The learning device 34 learns, based on learning data for multiple users that is input to the learning device 34, trends in the operation frequency of each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10. In this way, the learning device 34 can learn trends in the operation frequency of each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10, taking into account the learning data for multiple users.

[0050] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a learning device 34 according to the first embodiment. The learning device 34 includes a data acquisition unit 341 and a model generation unit 342. The data acquisition unit 341 is a first data acquisition unit in the air conditioning system 1. A trained model storage unit 36 ​​is provided outside the learning device 34. Although the trained model storage unit 36 ​​is provided outside the learning device 34 in FIGS. 4 and 5, the trained model storage unit 36 ​​may be provided inside the learning device 34 or in the server storage unit 32.

[0051] The data acquisition unit 341 acquires, as learning data, information on the operation frequency for each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning apparatus 10, model information for the air conditioning apparatus 10, and installation information for the air conditioning apparatus 10. Here, the learning data is data in which the information on the operation frequency for each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning apparatus 10, model information for the air conditioning apparatus 10, and installation information for the air conditioning apparatus 10 are associated with each other. The data acquisition unit 341 acquires the learning data from the server storage unit 32.

[0052] Information on the operation frequency for each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 is information indicating the frequency with which each function of the air conditioning appliance 10 was operated on the operation terminal 20 during a predetermined period. In other words, information on the operation frequency for each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 can be described as operation count information indicating the number of times each function of the air conditioning appliance 10 was operated during a predetermined period, or use count information indicating the number of times each function of the air conditioning appliance 10 was used during a predetermined period. Furthermore, information on the operation frequency for each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 can be described as use frequency information indicating the frequency with which each function of the air conditioning appliance 10 was used during a predetermined period. Hereinafter, the operation frequency for each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 may be referred to as the operation frequency of the function.

[0053] The model information of the air conditioning equipment 10 is information that indicates the model of the air conditioning equipment 10. The model information of the air conditioning equipment 10 can be said to be information that indicates the model of a home appliance.

[0054] The installation information of the air conditioning equipment 10 is information consisting of information relating to the environment of the location of the air conditioning equipment 10 and information relating to the usage status of the air conditioning equipment 10. The information relating to the environment of the location of the air conditioning equipment 10 can be said to be information relating to the environment of the location of the home appliance. The information relating to the usage status of the air conditioning equipment 10 can be said to be information relating to the usage status of the home appliance. The installation information of the air conditioning equipment 10 can be said to be installation information of the home appliance.

[0055] The information about the environment at the location of the air conditioning equipment 10 includes, for example, weather information, including the average amount of precipitation at the location of the air conditioning equipment 10 over a predetermined period of time and the average concentration of fine particulate matter at the location of the air conditioning equipment 10 over a predetermined period of time. Fine particulate matter is also called PM (Particulate Matter) 2.5.

[0056] The method for acquiring information on the average precipitation amount for the location of air conditioning appliance 10 over a predetermined period and information on the average PM2.5 concentration for the location of air conditioning appliance 10 over a predetermined period is not particularly limited. For example, in air conditioning appliance 10, information on the average precipitation amount for the location of air conditioning appliance 10 and information on the average PM2.5 concentration for the location of air conditioning appliance 10 are acquired from, for example, a weather information site via Internet 40 and air conditioning communication unit 13, and input to air conditioning control unit 14. Air conditioning control unit 14 stores the acquired information on the average precipitation amount for the location of air conditioning appliance 10 and information on the average PM2.5 concentration for the location of air conditioning appliance 10 in air conditioning memory unit 12. In addition, air conditioning control unit 14 transmits the information on the average precipitation amount for the location of air conditioning appliance 10 and information on the average PM2.5 concentration for the location of air conditioning appliance 10 stored in air conditioning memory unit 12 to server control unit 33 of server 30 via air conditioning communication unit 13.

[0057] The information relating to the usage status of the air conditioning equipment 10 includes the accumulated power consumption of the air conditioning equipment 10 over a predetermined period, the accumulated operating time of the air conditioning equipment 10 over a predetermined period, an average indoor temperature obtained by averaging the indoor temperatures over a predetermined period obtained from the air conditioning equipment 10 over a certain period, and an average outdoor temperature obtained by averaging the outdoor temperatures over a predetermined period obtained from the air conditioning equipment 10 over a certain period.

[0058] The method for acquiring information on the integrated power consumption of the air conditioning appliance 10 over a predetermined period is not particularly limited. For example, in the air conditioning appliance 10, information on the integrated power consumption of the air conditioning appliance 10 is acquired by a function possessed by the air conditioning control unit 14. The air conditioning control unit 14 has a power consumption integration function that counts and integrates the amount of power used by the air conditioning appliance 10 to acquire information on the integrated power consumption of the air conditioning appliance 10. The air conditioning control unit 14 stores the acquired information on the integrated power consumption of the air conditioning appliance 10 in the air conditioning storage unit 12. The air conditioning control unit 14 also transmits the information on the integrated power consumption of the air conditioning appliance 10 stored in the air conditioning storage unit 12 to the server control unit 33 of the server 30 via the air conditioning communication unit 13.

[0059] The method for acquiring information on the accumulated operating time of the air conditioning appliance 10 over a predetermined period is not particularly limited. For example, in the air conditioning appliance 10, information on the accumulated operating time of the air conditioning appliance 10 is acquired by a function possessed by the air conditioning control unit 14. The air conditioning control unit 14 has an operating time accumulation function that counts and accumulates the operating time of the air conditioning appliance 10 to acquire information on the accumulated operating time of the air conditioning appliance 10. The air conditioning control unit 14 stores the acquired information on the accumulated operating time of the air conditioning appliance 10 in the air conditioning storage unit 12. The air conditioning control unit 14 also transmits the information on the accumulated operating time of the air conditioning appliance 10 stored in the air conditioning storage unit 12 to the server control unit 33 of the server 30 via the air conditioning communication unit 13.

[0060] In the air conditioning device 10, the indoor temperature is measured at predetermined intervals by an indoor temperature sensor provided in the air conditioning unit 11 and transmitted to the air conditioning control unit 14. The air conditioning control unit 14 stores the acquired indoor temperature information in the air conditioning storage unit 12. The air conditioning control unit 14 also transmits the indoor temperature information stored in the air conditioning storage unit 12 to the server control unit 33 of the server 30 via the air conditioning communication unit 13.

[0061] In the air conditioning equipment 10, the outdoor temperature is measured at predetermined intervals by an outdoor temperature sensor provided in the air conditioning unit 11 and transmitted to the air conditioning control unit 14. The air conditioning control unit 14 stores the acquired outdoor temperature information in the air conditioning storage unit 12. The air conditioning control unit 14 also transmits the outdoor temperature information stored in the air conditioning storage unit 12 to the server control unit 33 of the server 30 via the air conditioning communication unit 13.

[0062] The predetermined period may be a specific period going back in time from the present, or may be a period from when control of the air conditioning equipment 10 was first started by the operation terminal 20 to the present, and is stored in the air conditioning storage unit 12 of the air conditioning equipment 10. The predetermined period can be set to any period by the user from the operation terminal 20.

[0063] The information on the display positions of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 is information on the arrangement of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22. When the terminal control unit 25 of the operation terminal 20 causes the terminal display unit 22 to display multiple operation icons, the terminal control unit 25 stores the information on the display positions of the operation icons in the terminal storage unit 24 of the operation terminal 20. Furthermore, the terminal control unit 25 of the operation terminal 20 transmits the information on the display positions of the operation icons stored in the terminal storage unit 24 to the server control unit 33 of the server 30 via the terminal communication unit 23. The terminal control unit 25 associates the information on the display positions of the operation icons with information on the time when the multiple operation icons are displayed on the terminal display unit 22 or information on the time when the information on the display positions of the operation icons is transmitted, and transmits the information on the display positions of the operation icons to the server control unit 33 of the server 30 via the terminal communication unit 23.

[0064] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of learning data used by the learning device 34 according to the first embodiment when learning the operation frequency of a function of the air conditioning appliance 10 for function 1 that the air conditioning appliance 10 has. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of learning data used by the learning device 34 according to the first embodiment when learning the operation frequency of a function of the air conditioning appliance 10 for function 2 that the air conditioning appliance 10 has. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of learning data used by the learning device 34 according to the first embodiment when learning the operation frequency of a function of the air conditioning appliance 10 for function x that the air conditioning appliance 10 has.

[0065] 6 to 8, "number of operations" indicates the total number of operations for the functions of the air conditioning appliance 10, which is information on the frequency of operations for the functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 over a predetermined period. The "number of operations" manages the number of operations, which is the number of times a user performs an operation on the operation screen of the operation terminal 20 to select a function that can control the control target appliance using the operation terminal 20. In other words, the number of operations is the number of times an operation icon is operated on the operation screen for a certain function over a predetermined period. In other words, the number of operations is the number of times control instruction information associated with an operation icon is transmitted from the operation terminal 20 to the air conditioning appliance 10 as a result of the operation of the operation icon.

[0066] In Figures 6 and 7, "precipitation amount" indicates the average precipitation amount at the location of the air conditioning apparatus 10 over a predetermined period. In Figures 6 and 7, "PM2.5 concentration" indicates the average PM2.5 concentration at the location of the air conditioning apparatus 10 over a predetermined period. In Figures 6 and 8, "accumulated power consumption" indicates the accumulated power consumption of the air conditioning apparatus 10 over a predetermined period. In Figures 6 and 8, "operating time" indicates the accumulated operating time of the air conditioning apparatus 10 over a predetermined period. In Figures 6 to 8, "indoor temperature" indicates the average indoor temperature over a predetermined period. In Figures 6 to 8, "outdoor temperature" indicates the average outdoor temperature over a predetermined period. In Figures 6 to 8, "model" indicates the model of the air conditioning apparatus 10.

[0067] The predetermined period in the learning data described above may be a specific period going back in time from the present, or may be a period from when control of the air conditioning equipment 10 was first started by the operation terminal 20 to the present, and is stored in the air conditioning storage unit 12 of the air conditioning equipment 10. The predetermined period can be set to any period by the user on the operation terminal 20.

[0068] When the learning device 34 learns the operation frequency of the functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 for the functions of the air conditioning appliance 10, the learning device 34 pre-processes the learning data acquired by the data acquisition unit 341. In pre-processing of the learning data, the learning data is classified into groups of the same model based on model information of the air conditioning appliance 10. The model generation unit 342 classifies the learning data acquired from the data acquisition unit 341 into groups of the same model based on the model information of the air conditioning appliance 10. This makes it possible to learn using information that matches the specifications of the functions of the air conditioning appliance 10.

[0069] The learning device 34 also learns the operation frequency trends for each of the multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10. Therefore, in preprocessing of the learning data, the learning data acquired from the data acquisition unit 341 is selected for each function to be learned based on the characteristics of the function to be learned, so that only learning data related to the characteristics of the function to be learned is used for learning. That is, the model generation unit 342 selects information for each function to be learned from the multiple types of information acquired as learning data based on the characteristics of the function, so that only learning data related to the function to be learned is used for learning. The model generation unit 342 pre-stores relationship information indicating the correspondence between the characteristics of the function to be learned and the items of learning data related to the characteristics of the function to be learned. Based on the relationship information, the model generation unit 342 selects information for each function to be learned from the multiple types of information acquired as learning data based on the characteristics of the function.

[0070] As described above, the process of classifying the learning data acquired from the data acquisition unit 341 into groups of the same model based on model information about the air conditioning appliances 10, and the process of selecting learning data related to the characteristics of the function to be learned from the multiple types of learning data acquired from the data acquisition unit 341 for each function to be learned based on the characteristics of the function, are called shaping of learning data. The shaped learning data is called shaped learning data. Shaping of the learning data is performed in the model generation unit 342.

[0071] For example, if the learning device 34 is learning the operation frequency of a function of the air conditioning apparatus 10 that promotes indoor ventilation, information related to indoor ventilation, such as "precipitation amount," "PM2.5 concentration," "indoor temperature," and "outdoor temperature," is selected and used as learning data. Also, if the learning device 34 is learning the operation frequency of a function of the air conditioning apparatus 10 that monitors the electricity bill for the air conditioning apparatus 10, information related to the electricity bill for the air conditioning apparatus 10, such as "cumulative power consumption" and "operating time," is selected and used as learning data.

[0072] For example, when the learning device 34 learns the operation frequency of function 2 of the air conditioning equipment 10, information on "cumulative power consumption" and "operating time" is not selected as learning data, and information on "cumulative power consumption" and "operating time" is not shown in Fig. 7. Function 2 is, for example, a function that encourages indoor ventilation.

[0073] Furthermore, when the learning device 34 learns the operation frequency of a function x of the air conditioning equipment 10, information on "precipitation amount" and "PM2.5 concentration" is not selected as learning data, and information on "precipitation amount" and "PM2.5 concentration" is not shown in Figure 8. Function x is, for example, a function to monitor the electricity bill of the air conditioning equipment 10.

[0074] The model generation unit 342 learns the operation frequency of the functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 based on learning data output from the data acquisition unit 341, which is created based on the characteristics of the functions of the air conditioning appliance 10. That is, the model generation unit 342 learns the operation frequency of the functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 based on the shaped learning data. The model generation unit 342 learns the operation frequency trends of the functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 in order to infer the display position of an operation icon appropriate for the user from the operation frequency trends for each function of the air conditioning appliance 10 of the air conditioning system 1, that is, to infer the display positions of operation icons for multiple functions that are convenient for the user. The icon display position on the terminal display unit 22 is determined based on the correspondence between the operation frequency of the function, the model information of the air conditioning appliance 10, and the function restrictions.

[0075] The model generation unit 342 generates a trained model 361 for inferring the operation frequency of the functions of the air conditioning equipment 10 on the operation terminal 20, in order to infer the display position of the operation icon that is appropriate for the user, based on the shaped learning data. That is, the model generation unit 342 generates a trained model 361 for inferring the display position of the operation icon that is preferable for the user, from the tendency of the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning equipment 10 of the air conditioning system 1.

[0076] The learning algorithm used by the model generation unit 342 can be a known algorithm such as supervised learning, unsupervised learning, or reinforcement learning. As an example, a case where multiple regression analysis is applied will be described. For example, the model generation unit 342 uses installation information of the air conditioning equipment 10 as an explanatory variable to calculate a regression equation representing the operation frequency of each function of the air conditioning equipment 10, which is the objective variable, as a trained model. Here, supervised learning refers to a method in which input and result data are provided to a learning device, which learns the features of the learning data and infers the result from the input.

[0077] Next, a processing procedure of the learning process performed by the learning device 34 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the learning process performed by the learning device 34 according to the first embodiment.

[0078] In step S110, the data acquisition unit 341 acquires learning data. That is, the data acquisition unit 341 acquires information on the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning apparatus 10, model information for the air conditioning apparatus 10, and installation information for the air conditioning apparatus 10 as learning data. The data acquisition unit 341 acquires the learning data from the server storage unit 32. The server control unit 33 acquires the above information from the air conditioning apparatus 10 and the operation terminal 20 and stores it in the server storage unit 32. The data acquisition unit 341 transmits the acquired learning data to the model generation unit 342. The model generation unit 342 receives the learning data transmitted from the data acquisition unit 341.

[0079] The data acquisition unit 341 may acquire the information on the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning apparatus 10, the model information of the air conditioning apparatus 10, and the installation information of the air conditioning apparatus 10 at the same time, or at different times. In other words, the data acquisition unit 341 may acquire each piece of information at any time, as long as the information on the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning apparatus 10, the model information of the air conditioning apparatus 10, and the installation information of the air conditioning apparatus 10 can be appropriately associated as learning data.

[0080] In step S120, the training data is shaped, which is pre-processing of the training data. In the pre-processing of the training data, the training data acquired from the data acquisition unit 341 is classified into groups of the same model based on the model information of the air conditioning appliance 10. In other words, the model generation unit 342 classifies the training data acquired from the data acquisition unit 341 into groups of the same model based on the model information of the air conditioning appliance 10.

[0081] In the preprocessing of the learning data, the learning data acquired from the data acquisition unit 341 is selected for each function to be learned. That is, the model generation unit 342 selects the learning data acquired from the data acquisition unit 341 for each function to be learned.

[0082] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of training data in the model generation unit 342 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 shows shaped training data, which is training data obtained by shaping the training data acquired from the data acquisition unit 341 based on information about “function 2,” which is a function of the air conditioning appliance 10. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of shaped training data, which is training data obtained by shaping the training data shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 11 shows shaped training data, which is training data obtained by shaping the training data shown in FIG. 10 based on information about “model a,” which is the model of the air conditioning appliance 10, and “function 2,” which is a function of the air conditioning appliance 10. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of shaped training data, which is training data obtained by shaping the training data shown in FIG. 10 based on information about “model b,” which is the model of the air conditioning appliance 10, and “function 2,” which is a function of the air conditioning appliance 10.

[0083] In step S130, the model generation unit 342 executes a learning process in accordance with the shaped learning data. The model generation unit 342 learns the tendency of operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning apparatus 10 by so-called supervised learning in accordance with the shaped learning data, for example, and generates a learned model 361.

[0084] In step S140, the trained model storage unit 36 ​​stores the trained model 361. That is, the model generation unit 342 stores the generated trained model 361 in the trained model storage unit 36.

[0085] 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of the inference device 35 according to the first embodiment. The inference device 35 includes a data acquisition unit 351 and an inference unit 352. The data acquisition unit 351 is a second data acquisition unit in the air conditioning system 1. The inference unit 352 is connected to the trained model storage unit 36. The inference unit 352 uses a trained model 361 obtained by the learning device 34 to output the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning appliance 10.

[0086] The data acquisition unit 351 acquires model information of the air conditioning equipment 10 and installation information of the air conditioning equipment 10 as inference data. The inference data can be said to be user data related to the target user. The target user is a user for whom an appropriate display position of an operation icon on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 is to be determined. The inference data is input to the data acquisition unit 351 from outside the server 30.

[0087] The inference unit 352 uses the trained model 361 to output the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning appliance 10 for the operation icon on the operation terminal 20. That is, by inputting the inference data acquired by the data acquisition unit 351 into the trained model 361, the inference unit 352 can infer and output the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning appliance 10 for the operation icon on the operation terminal 20 of the target user.

[0088] Next, the process by which the inference device 35 infers the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of the inference process by the inference device 35 according to the first embodiment.

[0089] In step S210, the data acquisition unit 351 acquires data for inference. That is, the data acquisition unit 351 acquires model information of the air conditioning equipment 10 and installation information of the air conditioning equipment 10 as data for inference.

[0090] In step S220, the inference unit 352 inputs the inference data acquired by the data acquisition unit 351, that is, the model information of the air conditioning equipment 10 and the installation information of the air conditioning equipment 10, into the learned model 361 stored in the learned model memory unit 36, and obtains the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning equipment 10 corresponding to the input information as the inference result obtained by the learned model 361.

[0091] In step S230, the inference result obtained by the trained model 361 is output to the server control unit 33. Specifically, the inference unit 352 transmits the inference result obtained by the trained model 361 to the server control unit 33.

[0092] The inference result obtained by the trained model 361 is information on the operation frequency for each of the multiple functions of the air conditioning apparatus 10, which corresponds to the inference data acquired by the data acquisition unit 351.

[0093] In step S240, the display positions of multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 are inferred. Specifically, the server control unit 33 infers the display positions of multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20. That is, the server control unit 33 infers the display positions of multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 using information on the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning appliance 10 output from the inference unit 352. The server control unit 33 compares the operation frequency information of the multiple functions, determines that the operation icon of a function with a higher operation frequency has a higher display position ranking, and infers the display positions of the multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20. That is, the server control unit 33 infers and determines the display positions of the multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 using the inference result obtained from the trained model 361. As a result, the server control unit 33 can determine the display positions of operation icons for multiple functions that are convenient for the user on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 in an appropriate order that is convenient for the user.

[0094] In step S250, an inference result inferred using the inference result obtained by the trained model 361 is output to the operation terminal 20. Specifically, the server control unit 33 transmits to the operation terminal 20 display position information, which is information on the display positions of multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20, which is an inference result inferred using information on the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning appliance 10 output from the inference unit 352.

[0095] In step S260, the operation terminal 20 displays the multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 at a display position according to the display position information, i.e., at a display position according to the information on the display positions of the multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20, which is the inference result in the server control unit 33.

[0096] In this way, the inference unit 352 uses the trained model 361 that has learned the tendency of operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning appliance 10, and therefore can easily infer the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning appliance 10 for the target user. Then, based on the inference results of the inference unit 352 obtained by the trained model 361, the server control unit 33 generates operation icons for a plurality of convenient functions for the target user. N The display positions of the operation icons can be easily determined so as to be displayed in an appropriate order that is convenient for the user.

[0097] By applying the above-mentioned learning device 34 and inference device 35 to the air conditioning system 1, the inference device 35 can infer the operation frequency of functions of multiple air conditioning devices 10, including functions that are convenient for the user, and the server control unit 33 can determine the display positions of operation icons for multiple functions of multiple air conditioning devices 10, including functions that are convenient for the user, in an appropriate order that is convenient for the user and present them to the user.

[0098] In this embodiment 1, it has been described that the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning equipment 10 is output using the trained model 361 trained by the model generation unit 342 of the air conditioning system 1, but it is also possible to obtain the trained model 361 from outside, such as from another system, and output the operation frequency for each function of the air conditioning equipment 10 based on this trained model 361.

[0099] In addition, in the first embodiment, a case where supervised learning is applied to the learning algorithm used by the model generation unit 342 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. As for the learning algorithm used by the model generation unit 342, reinforcement learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or the like can also be applied in addition to supervised learning.

[0100] Deep learning, which learns to extract features themselves, can also be used as the learning algorithm used in the model generation unit 342. The model generation unit 342 may also perform machine learning according to other known methods, such as neural networks, genetic programming, functional logic programming, and support vector machines.

[0101] The model generation unit 342 may also use learning data acquired from multiple air conditioning systems 1 to learn the operation frequency of the operation icons for the functions of the air conditioning equipment 10 in an input state. The model generation unit 342 may acquire learning data from multiple air conditioning systems 1 used in the same area, or may use learning data collected from multiple air conditioning systems 1 operating independently in different areas to learn the operation frequency of the operation icons for the functions of the air conditioning equipment 10 in an input state. Air conditioning systems 1 that collect learning data may be added to or removed from the targets midway. Furthermore, a learning device 34 that has learned the operation frequency of the operation icons for the functions of the air conditioning equipment 10 in an input state for a certain air conditioning system 1 may be applied to another air conditioning system 1, and the operation frequency of the operation icons for the functions of the air conditioning equipment 10 in an input state for that other air conditioning system 1 may be re-learned and updated.

[0102] Furthermore, the learning device 34 and the inference device 35 may be devices separate from the server 30, connected to the server 30 via a network such as the Internet.

[0103] Next, the operation of the air conditioning system 1 will be described. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an icon display area 221 of the operation screen displayed on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an enlarged view of the icon display area 221 of the operation screen displayed on the terminal display unit 22 shown in Fig. 15. Fig. 17 is a diagram showing a function implementation setting screen 61 displayed on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 according to the first embodiment.

[0104] When a user remotely controls the air conditioning equipment 10 using the operation terminal 20, the user operates the terminal input unit 21 of the operation terminal 20 to start an application. When the application starts, the terminal control unit 25 of the operation terminal 20 displays a notification icon 70, which is an icon for a function to automatically rearrange the display of operation icons, on the terminal display unit 22, as shown in Fig. 16 .

[0105] The automatic rearrangement function for displaying operation icons is a function for automatically rearranging the display of a plurality of operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20.

[0106] The notification icon 70 corresponds to the automatic rearrangement function for the display of operation icons and is a notification icon that notifies the user of the automatic rearrangement function for the display of operation icons. Hereinafter, the "automatic rearrangement function for the display of operation icons" may be referred to as the "automatic rearrangement function."

[0107] The user can decide in advance whether or not to set the automatic sorting function. The server control unit 33 periodically determines whether or not the automatic sorting function is enabled, and the determination of whether or not the function is enabled is transmitted to the operation terminal 20 via the server communication unit 31. When the user selects a notification icon 70 displayed on the terminal display unit 22 using the terminal input unit 21, the order of the function icons in the icon display area 221, which will be described later, can be rearranged and updated. The user can select the notification icon 70, for example, by touching the notification icon 70 displayed on the terminal display unit 22.

[0108] Furthermore, when the user selects a function setting icon 60 displayed on the terminal display unit 22 using the terminal input unit 21 as shown in Fig. 16, the display screen of the terminal display unit 22 transitions to a function implementation setting screen 61 as shown in Fig. 17. That is, when the function setting icon 60 displayed on the terminal display unit 22 is selected, the display screen of the terminal display unit 22 transitions to the function implementation setting screen 61.

[0109] The function setting icon 60 is an icon for transitioning to a function implementation setting screen 61. The function implementation setting screen 61 is a screen for the user to set whether or not to implement the automatic sorting function. A function enable setting button 62 and a function disable setting button 63 are displayed on the function implementation setting screen 61.

[0110] The function enable setting button 62 is a setting button for setting the automatic sorting function to be enabled, and the function disable setting button 63 is a setting button for setting the automatic sorting function to be disabled.

[0111] The user determines and sets whether the automatic sorting function is enabled or disabled by selecting the function enable setting button 62 or the function disable setting button 63 on the function implementation setting screen 61. That is, by selecting the function enable setting button 62 on the function implementation setting screen 61, the automatic sorting function is enabled in the server 30 and the operation terminal 20. By selecting the function disable setting button 63 on the function implementation setting screen 61, the automatic sorting function is disabled in the server 30 and the operation terminal 20.

[0112] When the user selects the function enable setting button 62 or the function disable setting button 63 on the function implementation setting screen 61, function setting information corresponding to the function enable setting button 62 or the function disable setting button 63 is transmitted from the terminal input unit 21 to the terminal control unit 25. When the terminal control unit 25 receives the function setting information transmitted from the terminal input unit 21, it transmits the function setting information to the server 30 via the terminal communication unit 23. The function setting information corresponding to the function enable setting button 62 is function enable setting information that sets the automatic sorting function to be enabled. The function setting information corresponding to the function disable setting button 63 is function disable setting information that sets the automatic sorting function to be disabled. Therefore, the function setting information is information that sets whether the automatic sorting function is enabled or disabled.

[0113] The server communication unit 31 of the server 30 receives the function setting information transmitted from the operation terminal 20 and transmits the function setting information to the server control unit 33. Upon receiving the function setting information transmitted from the server communication unit 31, the server control unit 33 stores the function setting information in the server storage unit 32. Furthermore, if the function setting information has already been stored in the server storage unit 32, the server control unit 33 updates and stores the function setting information stored in the server storage unit 32. In other words, the server control unit 33 overwrites and stores the function setting information stored in the server storage unit 32 with the latest information it has acquired. In this way, the server 30 sets whether or not the automatic sorting function is enabled.

[0114] Then, based on the function setting information stored in the server memory unit 32, the server control unit 33 transmits display instruction information for the notification icon 70, which is information instructing the display of the notification icon 70 on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20, to the terminal control unit 25 of the operating terminal 20.

[0115] When the function setting information stored in the server storage unit 32 is function enable setting information, the server control unit 33 transmits display instruction information for the notification icon 70, which is information instructing the display of the notification icon 70 on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20, to the terminal control unit 25 of the operation terminal 20. The display instruction information for the notification icon 70 is information on whether or not to display the notification icon 70. When the terminal control unit 25 receives the display instruction information for the notification icon 70 from the server control unit 33, it stores the display instruction information for the notification icon 70 in the device storage unit 24. When the information on whether or not to display the notification icon 70 is already stored in the device storage unit 24, the terminal control unit 25 updates and stores the information on whether or not to display the notification icon 70 stored in the terminal storage unit 24. In other words, the terminal control unit 25 overwrites the information on whether or not to display the notification icon 70 stored in the terminal storage unit 24 with the display instruction information, which is the latest information acquired, and stores the information. When the display instruction information for the notification icon 70 is stored in the terminal storage unit 24, the terminal control unit 25 causes the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 to display the notification icon 70.

[0116] When the function setting information stored in the server storage unit 32 is function disable setting information, the server control unit 33 transmits, to the terminal control unit 25 of the operation terminal 20, hide instruction information for the notification icon 70, which is information instructing not to display the notification icon 70 on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20. The hide instruction information for the notification icon 70 is information on whether or not to display the notification icon 70. When the terminal control unit 25 receives the hide instruction information for the notification icon 70 from the server control unit 33, it stores the hide instruction information for the notification icon 70 in the device storage unit 24. When the information on whether or not to display the notification icon 70 is already stored in the device storage unit 24, the terminal control unit 25 updates and stores the information on whether or not to display the notification icon 70 stored in the terminal storage unit 24. In other words, the terminal control unit 25 overwrites the information on whether or not to display the notification icon 70 stored in the terminal storage unit 24 with the hide instruction information, which is the latest information acquired, and stores the information. When non-display instruction information for the notification icon 70 is stored in the terminal storage unit 24, the terminal control unit 25 does not display the notification icon 70 on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20.

[0117] FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the operation of automatically rearranging the display of operation icons on the operation terminal 20 of the air conditioning system 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0118] In step S310, device information of the air conditioning equipment 10 that is the target of operation control by the operation terminal 20 is acquired by the operation terminal 20. Specifically, in the operation terminal 20, the icon arrangement control unit 252 of the icon control unit 251 in the terminal control unit 25 acquires the device information of the air conditioning equipment 10 that is the target of operation control by the operation terminal 20 from the air conditioning equipment 10.

[0119] The icon placement control unit 252 sends device information request information requesting device information of the air conditioning appliance 10 to the air conditioning control unit 14 of the air conditioning appliance 10 via the Internet 40. In other words, the icon placement control unit 252 sends device information request information requesting device information of the air conditioning appliance 10 to the terminal communication unit 23 of the operation terminal 20. When the terminal communication unit 23 receives the device information request information sent from the icon placement control unit 252, it sends the device information request information to the air conditioning communication unit 13 of the air conditioning appliance 10 via the Internet 40.

[0120] When the air conditioning communication unit 13 receives device information request information sent from the terminal communication unit 23, it sends the device information request information to the air conditioning control unit 14 of the air conditioning appliance 10. When the air conditioning control unit 14 receives the device information request information sent from the air conditioning communication unit 13, it sends device information including name information of the functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 and function status information of the air conditioning appliance 10 to the air conditioning communication unit 13. The device information of the air conditioning appliance 10 is stored in the air conditioning memory unit 12 of the air conditioning appliance 10. The air conditioning control unit 14 acquires the device information from the air conditioning memory unit 12 and sends the acquired device information to the air conditioning communication unit 13.

[0121] When the air conditioning communication unit 13 receives the device information transmitted from the air conditioning control unit 14 , it transmits the device information to the terminal communication unit 23 of the operation terminal 20 via the Internet 40 .

[0122] When the terminal communication unit 23 receives the device information transmitted from the air conditioning communication unit 13, it transmits the device information to the icon placement control unit 252 of the operation terminal 20. The icon placement control unit 252 receives the device information transmitted from the terminal communication unit 23. As a result, the device information of the air conditioning device 10 is acquired in the icon placement control unit 252. Then, the process proceeds to step S320.

[0123] In step S320, the device information acquired from the air conditioning equipment 10 and information on the current display position of the operation icon are stored in the operation terminal 20. Specifically, the icon placement control unit 252 stores the device information acquired from the air conditioning equipment 10 and information on the current display position of the operation icon on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 in the device information and icon display position table 50 in the terminal storage unit 24 of the operation terminal 20. Information on the current display position of the operation icon on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 is stored in the terminal storage unit 24.

[0124] FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of the device information and icon display position table 50 stored in the terminal storage unit 24 of the operation terminal 20 according to the first embodiment.

[0125] The device information and icon display position table 50 is a table in which device information of the air conditioning devices 10 that are the targets of operation control by the operation terminal 20 and information on the current display position of the operation icon on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 are stored.

[0126] The device information and icon display position table 50 has a management number column 51 , a function column 52 , a function presence / absence column 53 , a function status column 54 , and an icon display position setting value column 55 .

[0127] In the management number column 51, a management number that is a management number in the device information and icon display position table 50 is set.

[0128] The function column 52 is set and managed by the names of functions that can control the control-target equipment by the operation terminal 20. Specifically, the function column 52 is set and managed by the names of functions that can control the operation of the control-target equipment by the equipment control function of the operation terminal 20. The names of functions set in the function column 52 are not necessarily limited to functions possessed by the air conditioning equipment 10 that is the control-target equipment whose operation is currently being controlled by the operation terminal 20. Therefore, functions that can control the operation of the control-target equipment by the equipment control function of the operation terminal 20 may be registered as functions that are not possessed by the air conditioning equipment 10 that is currently being controlled by the operation terminal 20.

[0129] In other words, the operation terminal 20 is not only able to control the operation of one type of air conditioning appliance 10 as the control target appliance, but is also able to control the operation of multiple types of air conditioning appliance 10 made by different manufacturers and with different specifications as the control target appliances individually. The operation terminal 20 downloads an application for controlling the operation of the air conditioning appliance 10 for each air conditioning appliance 10 that is to be the control target appliance. Then, by executing the application corresponding to the air conditioning appliance 10 that is to be the control target appliance, the operation terminal 20 can control the operation of each air conditioning appliance 10 that is to be the control target appliance.

[0130] The function presence / absence column 53 is used to set and manage the presence or absence of functions possessed by the control-target equipment currently targeted for operation control by the operating terminal 20. In Fig. 19, the presence or absence of functions possessed by the air conditioning equipment 10 is set and managed. In Fig. 19, "Present" in the function presence / absence column 53 indicates that the air conditioning equipment 10 currently targeted for operation control by the operating terminal 20 has the function possessed by the operating terminal 20 that enables control of the control-target equipment. In Fig. 19, "Absent" in the function presence / absence column 53 indicates that the air conditioning equipment 10 currently targeted for operation control by the operating terminal 20 does not have the function possessed by the operating terminal 20 that enables control of the control-target equipment. The function presence / absence column 53 is set based on the setting values ​​included in the equipment information of the air conditioning equipment 10 acquired from the air conditioning equipment 10.

[0131] The function status column 54 is set and managed with function status information, which is information on the current status of functions that can control the control-target equipment by the operation terminal 20. That is, the function status column 54 manages function status information on whether the functions that can control the control-target equipment by the operation terminal 20 are in an operating state or a stopped state. The function status column 54 is set based on the setting values ​​included in the equipment information of the air conditioning equipment 10 acquired from the air conditioning equipment 10.

[0132] The icon display position setting value field 55 is set and managed with an icon display position setting value that is a setting value indicating the display position of an operation icon on the current terminal display unit 22. More specifically, the icon display position setting value is a setting value that indicates the display position of an operation icon in the icon display area 221 of the operation screen currently displayed on the terminal display unit 22.

[0133] Therefore, it can be said that the table 50 includes a list of functions that can control the controlled equipment on the operation terminal 20, a list of functions possessed by the air conditioning equipment 10 that is the current controlled equipment on the operation terminal 20, and the current icon display position setting value.

[0134] The operation icons displayed on the terminal display unit 22 can be moved to any display position on the terminal display unit 22 by the user operating the touch panel display of the terminal display unit 22. That is, the user can rearrange the operation icons displayed on the terminal display unit 22 to any display position by performing an operation icon rearrangement operation on the touch panel display, which is an operation to instruct rearrangement of the operation icons displayed on the terminal display unit 22 to any display position. The user can rearrange the operation icons to any display position on the terminal display unit 22 by, for example, a drag operation. The rearrangement operation of the operation icons by the user can be said to be an icon display order change operation by the user, in which the user changes the display order, which is the order of the display positions of the operation icons in the icon display area 221.

[0135] Then, in response to the user's operation to rearrange the operation icons, i.e., the user's operation to change the icon display order, the icon arrangement control unit 252 determines the display positions of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22, changes the display order of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22, and rearranges the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 in the changed display order of the operation icons. When the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 are rearranged, the icon arrangement control unit 252 determines the display positions of the operation icons corresponding to the display positions at which the rearranged operation icons are displayed. icon The display position setting value is set in the icon display position setting value field 55 and stored in the table 50. icon If the display position setting value has been set, icon The display position setting value is updated. As a result, based on the rearrangement operation of the operation icons performed by the user on the operation terminal 20, the display position setting value is updated to correspond to the display position of the operation icons rearranged by the user. icon The display position setting value is automatically stored in the icon display position setting value field 55. Therefore, the icon display position setting value field 55 stores the latest display position corresponding to the display position where the operation icon is displayed. icon A display position setting value is stored.

[0136] Furthermore, the operation icons displayed on the terminal display unit 22 can be rearranged by changing the display order of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 using an automatic rearrangement function of the icon arrangement control unit 252. When the user selects a notification icon 70 using the terminal input unit 21, the icon arrangement control unit 252 rearranges the order of the operation icons in the icon display area 221 using the automatic rearrangement function, and updates the order of the operation icons. As will be described later, when the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 are rearranged using the automatic rearrangement function, the icon arrangement control unit 252 rearranges the order of the operation icons corresponding to the display position where the rearranged operation icon is displayed. icon The display position setting value is set in the icon display position setting value field 55 and stored in the table 50.

[0137] As described above, in the table 50 shown in Fig. 19, the setting values ​​included in the device information acquired from the controlled device are input into the function presence / absence column 53 and the function status column 54. Also, in the table 50 shown in Fig. 19, the icon display position setting value column 55 stores the setting values ​​in accordance with the user's operation to rearrange the operation icons, i.e., the icon display order change operation. icon The display position setting value is input. In addition, the icon display position setting value field 55 is used to input the following information in response to the execution of the automatic rearrangement function of the operation terminal 20: icon The display position setting value is input.

[0138] In the icon display area 221, the display position order in which the operation icons are displayed is determined. In FIG. 16, the display position where the operation icon 81 for function 1 is displayed is the first display position. In FIG. 16, the display position where the operation icon 82 for function 2 is displayed is the second display position. In FIG. 16, the display position where the operation icon 83 for function 3 is displayed is the third display position. In FIG. 16, the display position where the operation icon 84 for function 4 is displayed is the fourth display position. In FIG. 16, the display position where the operation icon 85 for function 5 is displayed is the fifth display position.

[0139] In the operation icon 82 for function 2 shown in FIG. 16, the fact that the function for controlling the air conditioning equipment 10 is restricted is indicated by diagonal lines. Restrictions on the function for controlling the air conditioning equipment 10 are restrictions that prevent the function in question from being executed. Specifically, whether or not the function for controlling the air conditioning equipment 10 can be restricted is set according to the information stored in the function status column 54 of the table 50. Restrictions on the function for controlling the air conditioning equipment 10 can be set on the air conditioning equipment 10 by the user from the terminal input unit 21 of the operation terminal 20.

[0140] That is, depending on the model of the air conditioning appliance 10, there are functions in the air conditioning appliance 10 that restrict the control of the air conditioning appliance 10 by the operating terminal 20. As shown in the function column 52 of the table 50, the restricted functions include functions that allow the operating terminal 20 to control the control-target appliance, but that are not possessed by the air conditioning appliance 10 that the operating terminal 20 is currently controlling. Furthermore, the restrictable functions include functions that are possessed by the control-target appliance that the operating terminal 20 is currently controlling, and that are indicated as "Yes" in the function presence / absence column 53 of the table 50. Furthermore, in the table 50, functions that are indicated as "Yes" in the function presence / absence column 53 and "Off" in the function status column 54 are restricted in the air conditioning appliance 10.

[0141] Icons for functions that are restricted in the air conditioning equipment 10 are grayed out, that is, inactivated and cannot be operated. In Fig. 16, icons for such functions that are restricted in the air conditioning equipment 10 are indicated by diagonal lines. Operation icons that are inactivated in this way have the lowest priority in terms of the display position in the icon display area 221 where the operation icons are displayed.

[0142] That is, the user can use the terminal input unit 21 of the operation terminal 20 to perform setting operations to enable functions possessed by the air conditioning appliance 10 currently targeted for operation control by the operation terminal 20. The air conditioning control unit 14 sets the function to be enabled in accordance with the user's setting operations, and stores the information in the air conditioning storage unit 12. Furthermore, the user can use the terminal input unit 21 of the operation terminal 20 to perform setting operations to disable functions possessed by the air conditioning appliance 10 currently targeted for operation control by the operation terminal 20. The air conditioning control unit 14 sets the function to be enabled in accordance with the user's setting operations. NothingThe icon placement control unit 252 then sets the function to "enabled" and stores the information in the air conditioning storage unit 12. Information on whether or not the functions that control the air conditioning equipment 10 can be restricted is stored as equipment information in the function status column 54 of the table 50. Then, the process proceeds to step S330.

[0143] In step S330, it is determined whether the automatic sorting function is enabled. Specifically, the server control unit 33 of the server 30 determines whether the automatic sorting function is enabled in the server 30. The server control unit 33 determines that the automatic sorting function is disabled when function disable setting information is stored in the server storage unit 32. The server control unit 33 determines that the automatic sorting function is enabled when function enable setting information is stored in the server storage unit 32.

[0144] If it is determined that the automatic sorting function is disabled, the result in step S330 is No, and the process returns to step S310. If it is determined that the automatic sorting function is enabled, the result in step S330 is Yes, and the process proceeds to step S340.

[0145] In step S340, information on the inference results of the inference unit 352 is acquired. Specifically, the server control unit 33 acquires, from the inference unit 352, information on the operation frequency for each of the multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 on the operating terminal 20, which is the inference result obtained in the inference unit 352 using the trained model 361. Then, the process proceeds to step S350.

[0146] In step S350, the display positions of multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 are inferred. Specifically, the server control unit 33 infers the display positions of multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 using information on the operation frequency of each function on the operating terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 acquired from the inference unit 352. That is, the server control unit 33 infers the display positions of multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 using the inference results obtained from the trained model 361. This allows the server control unit 33 to determine the display positions of operation icons for multiple functions that are convenient for the user on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 in an appropriate order that is convenient for the user. Note that the server control unit 33 periodically performs the inference process for the display positions of multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 at predetermined intervals. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S360.

[0147] In step S360, information on the display positions of the operation icons is transmitted to the operation terminal 20. Specifically, the server control unit 33 transmits display position information, i.e., information on the display positions of the multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20, which is an inference result of the server control unit 33, to the terminal control unit 25 of the operation terminal 20. That is, when the automatic sorting function is enabled in the server 30, the server control unit 33 infers the display positions of the multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20, and transmits the inferred information to the terminal control unit 25 of the operation terminal 20. The terminal control unit 25 receives the display position information, i.e., the information on the display positions of the multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20, transmitted from the server control unit 33. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S370.

[0148] In step S370, information on the current display position of the operation icon is read from the table 50. Specifically, the icon placement control unit 252 of the terminal control unit 25 of the operation terminal 20 reads the icon display position setting value set in the icon display position setting value field 55 of the table 50 in the terminal storage unit 24 for each function provided in the air conditioning apparatus 10. iconThe display position setting value is read, and then the process proceeds to step S380.

[0149] In step S380, it is determined whether the current display position of the operation icon on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 differs from the display position of the operation icon received from the server control unit 33. Specifically, the icon placement control unit 252 of the terminal control unit 25 of the operation terminal 20 reads out the icon display position setting value field 55 of the table 50 in the terminal storage unit 24. icon It is determined whether the current display positions of the multiple operation icons indicated by the display position setting value differ from the display positions of the multiple operation icons indicated in the display position information, i.e., the display positions of the multiple operation icons inferred by the server control unit 33.

[0150] If the current display position of the operation icon on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 is the same as the display position of the operation icon received from the server control unit 33, the result in step S380 is No and the process returns to step S310. If the current display position of the operation icon on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 is different from the display position of the operation icon received from the server control unit 33, the result in step S380 is Yes and the process proceeds to step S390.

[0151] In step S390, the notification icon 70, which is an icon for the automatic rearrangement function for displaying operation icons, is displayed on the terminal display unit 22. Specifically, the terminal control unit 25 causes the notification icon 70 to be displayed on the terminal display unit 22.

[0152] Furthermore, if the result of step S380 is No and the display position of the current operation icon on the terminal display unit 22 of the operating terminal 20 is the same as the display position of the operation icon received from the server control unit 33, the terminal control unit 25 determines that the current display positions of the multiple operation icons are already the display positions of the operation icons of multiple functions that are convenient for the user, and does not display the notification icon 70 on the terminal display unit 22.

[0153] In step S400, the display positions of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 are determined. Specifically, when the user selects a notification icon 70 displayed on the terminal display unit 22, the icon placement control unit 252 of the icon control unit 251 of the terminal control unit 25 determines the display positions of the operation icons on the terminal display unit 22. of The display position is determined based on the content of the display position information, i.e., the content of the information on the display positions of the multiple operation icons transmitted from the server control unit 33, and serves as a trigger for the next step. The user can select the notification icon 70, for example, by touching the notification icon 70 displayed on the terminal display unit 22. Then, the process proceeds to step S410.

[0154] In step S410, the determined display positions of the operation icons are stored in the table 50 by the terminal control unit 25. Specifically, the icon arrangement control unit 252 of the icon control unit 251 of the terminal control unit 25 updates the setting value of the icon display position setting value field 55 of the table 50 with the icon display position setting value indicated in the information on the display positions of the multiple operation icons transmitted from the server control unit 33.

[0155] In step S420, the operation icons are displayed on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20. Specifically, the icon placement control unit 252 displays a plurality of operation icons in the icon display area 221 of the terminal display unit 22 in an order based on the setting in the icon display position setting value field 55 of the table 50. Furthermore, the icon placement control unit 252 displays the status of the functions provided in the air conditioning apparatus 10 in the icon display area 221 of the terminal display unit 22 based on the setting in the function status field 54 of the table 50. In other words, the icon placement control unit 252 displays operation icons corresponding to functions that are in a stopped state with a diagonal line added.

[0156] That is, the icon placement control unit 252 of the terminal control unit 25 receives display position information, which is information on the display positions of multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22, transmitted from the server 30, and when the current display positions of the multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 differ from the display positions of the multiple operation icons indicated in the display position information, causes the multiple operation icons to be displayed on the terminal display unit 22 at the display positions of the multiple operation icons indicated in the display position information.

[0157] 20 is a diagram showing that the operation icons displayed in the icon display area 221 of the terminal display unit 22 are automatically rearranged by the automatic rearrangement function of the display of the operation icons in embodiment 1. By performing the automatic rearrangement function, for example, the display state of the terminal display unit 22 shown in FIG. 16 changes to the display state of the terminal display unit 22 shown in FIG. 20.

[0158] The air conditioning control unit 14 of the air conditioning appliance 10 and the server control unit 33 of the server 30 are each realized, for example, as a processing circuit with the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 21 . FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a processing circuit according to the first embodiment. When the air conditioning control unit 14 of the air conditioning appliance 10 and the server control unit 33 of the server 30 are each realized by the processing circuit shown in FIG. 21 , the functions of the air conditioning control unit 14 of the air conditioning appliance 10 and the server control unit 33 of the server 30 are realized by the processor 101 executing a program stored in the memory 102. Alternatively, multiple processors and multiple memories may work together to realize the functions of the air conditioning control unit 14 of the air conditioning appliance 10 and the server control unit 33 of the server 30. Alternatively, some of the functions of the air conditioning control unit 14 of the air conditioning appliance 10 and the server control unit 33 of the server 30 may be implemented as electronic circuits, with the remaining functions being realized using the processor 101 and the memory 102.

[0159] 22 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration for realizing the operation terminal 20 according to the first embodiment. The operation terminal 20 according to the first embodiment includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, a microphone 204, a touch panel display 205, a sensor 206, a camera 207, an internal memory 208, and a communication device 209. The CPU 201, the ROM 202, the RAM 203, the microphone 204, the touch panel display 205, the sensor 206, the camera 207, the internal memory 208, and the communication device 209 are connected by a data bus 210.

[0160] The CPU 201 is a computing device that executes an operating system (OS) 2081 for controlling the operation of the operation terminal 20 and a program group 2082, which is a variety of programs. The ROM 202 stores, in a nonvolatile manner, the programs executed by the CPU 201 when the operation terminal 20 is in operation. The RAM 203 is a work area used by the CPU 201 when executing the programs. The microphone 204 detects sound, converts the detected sound into an electrical signal, and stores it in the built-in memory 208. The built-in memory 208 also stores various data used or acquired in the operation of the operation terminal 20. The touch panel display 205 displays various information and accepts various operations by the user. The sensor 206 is a sensor used to realize the functions of the operation terminal 20, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, an acceleration sensor, or an optical sensor. The camera 207 is an imaging device used to realize the functions of the operation terminal 20. The built-in memory 208 is a device that non-volatilely stores an OS 2081, a program group 2082, a file group 2083 which is various files for controlling the operation of the operation terminal 20, etc., and can be a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), etc. The communication device 209 is a communication device for communicating with the air conditioning equipment 10 and the server 30, which are external devices.

[0161] 22, the terminal control unit 25 is realized by the CPU 201 executing a program from the program group 2082 stored in the internal memory 208. Alternatively, a plurality of CPUs 201 and a plurality of internal memories 208 may cooperate to realize the functions of the terminal control unit 25. Alternatively, some of the functions of the terminal control unit 25 may be implemented as electronic circuits, and other parts may be realized using the CPU 201 and the internal memory 208.

[0162] The terminal input unit 21 and the terminal display unit 22 are realized by the touch panel display 205. The terminal communication unit 23 is realized by the communication device 209. The terminal storage unit 24 is realized by the ROM 202 and the built-in memory 208.

[0163] According to the air conditioning system 1 of the above-described first embodiment, a home appliance control system is realized which includes a home appliance, an operation terminal 20 having a display unit which displays, for a plurality of functions possessed by the home appliance, a plurality of operation icons which are associated with control instruction information which instructs the execution of the functions and which individually correspond to the functions, and a server 30 which determines the display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit based on installation information of the home appliance which consists of information on the environment where the home appliance is located and information on the usage status of the home appliance.

[0164] Furthermore, according to the operation terminal 20 of the first embodiment described above, a home appliance control system for remotely controlling the home appliance is configured to include a home appliance, a server, and an operation terminal, and the operation terminal transmits control instruction information for controlling the home appliance to the home appliance, and includes a display unit that displays a plurality of operation icons associated with the control instruction information and individually corresponding to the functions for a plurality of functions possessed by the home appliance, and a terminal control unit that causes the plurality of operation icons to be displayed on the display unit, and the terminal control unit receives display position information that is information on the display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit transmitted from the server, and when the current display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit differ from the display positions of the plurality of operation icons indicated in the display position information, an operation terminal is realized that causes the display unit to display the plurality of operation icons at the display positions of the plurality of operation icons indicated in the display position information.

[0165] Furthermore, according to the server 30 of the above-described first embodiment, a server constituting a home appliance control system for remotely controlling the home appliance is realized, the server comprising: a home appliance; an operation terminal having a display unit that displays a plurality of operation icons that correspond individually to the functions and are associated with control instruction information that instructs the execution of the functions for the plurality of functions possessed by the home appliance; and a server, the server comprising: a server control unit that infers the operation frequency for each of the plurality of functions based on installation information of the home appliance, which consists of information about the environment where the home appliance is located and information about the usage status of the home appliance; and that determines the display position of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit based on the inferred operation frequency for each function.

[0166] As described above, the air conditioning system 1 according to the first embodiment can determine an appropriate display order on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 of functions that are convenient for the user. That is, the inference device 35 of the server 30 infers the operation frequency for each of the multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 based on the installation information of the air conditioning appliance 10, which is information collected in the air conditioning system 1 and is made up of information related to the environment where the air conditioning appliance 10 is located and information related to the usage status of the air conditioning appliance 10. Then, the server control unit 33 of the server 30 determines the display positions of the operation icons for the multiple functions on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 based on the inferred operation frequency for each function.

[0167] This allows the server 30 to automatically determine the display positions of operation icons for a plurality of functions that are convenient for the user in an appropriate order that is convenient for the user on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20. In other words, the server 30 infers and determines the display priority of functions that are appropriate for the user from the viewpoint of user convenience, and therefore can promote the discovery of functions that are potentially useful to the user.

[0168] When the automatic rearrangement function for rearranging the display of operation icons is enabled in the server 30 and the operation terminal 20, the operation terminal 20, which has acquired information on the display positions of the operation icons determined by the server 30, automatically rearranges and displays the multiple operation icons on the terminal display unit 22 according to the display positions of the operation icons determined by the server 30 when a notification icon 70 displayed on the terminal display unit 22 is selected.

[0169] As a result, by looking at the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20, the user can visually and easily understand the functions of the air conditioning equipment 10 that are convenient for the user and can be controlled from the operation terminal 20. This allows the user to use multiple functions comfortably, improving the operability of the operation terminal 20 for the user. In other words, when the user operates the operation terminal 20, the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20 displays the functions in an appropriate order that is convenient for the user, and in the order that the user wants to use them. The operation icon Since they are arranged side by side, the operability of the operation terminal 20 when the user controls the air conditioning equipment 10 is improved.

[0170] Furthermore, the model generation unit 342 of the server 30 selects information for each function to be learned based on the characteristics of the function from the multiple types of information acquired as learning data so that only learning data related to the function of the air conditioning appliance 10 that is the target of learning the operation frequency trends for each function on the operation terminal 20 for multiple functions of the air conditioning appliance 10 can be used for learning. This allows the server 30 to learn using information that matches the characteristics of each function, improving the accuracy of inferring the display priority of functions that are appropriate for the user from the perspective of user convenience, and making it possible to further promote the discovery of functions that are potentially useful to the user.

[0171] In addition, the server 30 learns using the installation information of the air conditioning equipment 10, which consists of information about the environment where the air conditioning equipment 10 is located and information about the usage status of the air conditioning equipment 10, as learning data, and infers the operation frequency of each of the multiple functions of the air conditioning equipment 10, thereby making it possible to promote the discovery of functions that are potentially useful to the user.

[0172] Therefore, the air conditioning system 1 according to the first embodiment can display operation icons for multiple functions that are convenient for the user in an appropriate order that is convenient for the user when the user controls the air conditioning equipment 10 by looking at the operation icons displayed on the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20. Therefore, the air conditioning system 1 has the effect that, when the user looks at the terminal display unit 22 of the operation terminal 20, the functions of the air conditioning equipment 10 that are convenient for the user and can be controlled from the operation terminal 20 are visually easy to understand.

[0173] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and may be combined with other known technologies, and parts of the configurations may be omitted or modified without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0174] 1 air conditioning system, 10 air conditioning equipment, 11 air conditioning unit, 12 air conditioning memory unit, 13 air conditioning communication unit, 14 air conditioning control unit, 20 operation terminal, 21 terminal input unit, 22 terminal display unit, 23 terminal communication unit, 24 terminal memory unit, 25 terminal control unit, 30 server, 31 server communication unit, 32 server memory unit, 33 server control unit, 34 learning device, 35 inference device, 36 trained model memory unit, 40 Internet, 50 equipment information and icon display position table, 51 management number column, 52 function column, 53 function presence / absence column, 54 function status column, 55 icon display position setting value column, 60 function setting icon, 61 function implementation setting screen, 62 function enable setting button, 63 function disable setting button, 70 notification icon, 81 to 85 operation icon, 101 processor, 102 memory, 201 CPU, 202 ROM, 203 RAM, 204 microphone, 205 touch panel display, 206 sensor, 207 camera, 208 built-in memory, 209 communication device, 210 data bus, 221 icon display area, 251 icon control unit, 252 icon placement control unit, 253 icon display area control unit, 341, 351 data acquisition unit, 342 model generation unit, 352 inference unit, 361 trained model, 2081 OS, 2082 program group, 2083 file group.

Claims

1. Home appliances and an operation terminal having a display unit that displays a plurality of operation icons associated with control instruction information instructing execution of a plurality of functions of the home appliance and corresponding to the functions; a server that infers an operation frequency for each of the plurality of functions based on installation information of the home appliance, the operation frequency being information relating to the environment of the location of the home appliance and information relating to the usage status of the home appliance, and determines display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit based on the inferred operation frequency for each of the functions; A home appliance control system comprising:

2. The server a first data acquisition unit that acquires learning data including information on operation frequencies for each of the plurality of functions, model information that is information on the model of the home appliance, and the installation information; a model generation unit that generates a trained model for determining display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit from the model information and the installation information using the training data; a learning device having The home appliance control system according to claim 1 .

3. the model generation unit classifies the plurality of pieces of training data acquired by the first data acquisition unit into groups of the same model based on the model information, and generates the trained model using the training data classified into groups of the same model. The home appliance control system according to claim 2 .

4. the model generation unit selects the plurality of pieces of training data acquired by the first data acquisition unit based on characteristics of the function, and generates the trained model using the training data selected based on the characteristics of the function. The home appliance control system according to claim 2 .

5. The trained model is a trained model for inferring the operation frequency of each of the plurality of functions for determining the display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit, The home appliance control system according to claim 2 .

6. The server a second data acquisition unit that acquires model information, which is information about the model of the home appliance, and installation information, which is information about the environment of the location of the home appliance or information about the usage status of the home appliance; an inference unit that outputs an operation frequency for each of the plurality of functions using a trained model for inferring an operation frequency for each of the plurality of functions from the model information and the installation information, in order to determine display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit; a reasoning device comprising: The home appliance control system according to claim 1 .

7. the server determines display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit based on the operation frequency of each of the plurality of functions output by the inference unit. The home appliance control system according to claim 6 .

8. The home appliance is an air conditioning appliance. The home appliance control system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A home appliance control system is configured to remotely control a home appliance, the home appliance being provided with a home appliance, a server, and an operation terminal, the operation terminal transmitting control instruction information for controlling the home appliance to the home appliance, a display unit that displays a plurality of operation icons associated with the control instruction information and individually corresponding to the functions of the home appliance; a terminal control unit that causes the display unit to display the plurality of operation icons; Equipped with The terminal control unit receiving display position information transmitted from the server, the display position information being information on the display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit; when the current display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit are different from the display positions of the plurality of operation icons indicated in the display position information, displaying the plurality of operation icons on the display unit at the display positions of the plurality of operation icons indicated in the display position information; Operation terminal.

10. The home appliance is an air conditioning appliance. The operation terminal according to claim 9.

11. a home appliance control system including a home appliance, an operation terminal having a display unit that displays a plurality of operation icons associated with control instruction information that instructs execution of a plurality of functions of the home appliance and that individually correspond to the functions, and a server, the home appliance control system remotely controlling the home appliance, a server control unit that infers an operation frequency for each of the plurality of functions based on installation information of the home appliance, the operation frequency being information relating to the environment of the location of the home appliance and information relating to the usage status of the home appliance, and determines display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit based on the inferred operation frequency for each of the functions; server.

12. a first data acquisition unit that acquires learning data including information on operation frequencies for each of the plurality of functions, model information that is information on the model of the home appliance, and the installation information; a model generation unit that generates a trained model for determining display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit from the model information and the installation information using the training data; a learning device having The server of claim 11.

13. the model generation unit classifies the plurality of pieces of training data acquired by the first data acquisition unit into groups of the same model based on the model information, and generates the trained model using the training data classified into groups of the same model. The server of claim 12.

14. the model generation unit selects the plurality of pieces of training data acquired by the first data acquisition unit based on characteristics of the function, and generates the trained model using the training data selected based on the characteristics of the function. The server of claim 12.

15. The trained model is a trained model for inferring the operation frequency of each of the plurality of functions for determining the display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit, The server of claim 12.

16. a second data acquisition unit that acquires model information, which is information about the model of the home appliance, and installation information, which is information about the environment of the location of the home appliance or information about the usage status of the home appliance; an inference unit that outputs an operation frequency for each of the plurality of functions using a trained model for inferring an operation frequency for each of the plurality of functions from the model information and the installation information, in order to determine display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit; a reasoning device comprising: The server of claim 11.

17. The server control unit determining display positions of the plurality of operation icons on the display unit based on the operation frequency of each of the plurality of functions output by the inference unit; The server of claim 16.

18. The home appliance is an air conditioning appliance.

18. A server according to any one of claims 11 to 17.

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