Assistant Home Appliance Grouping for Remote Monitoring and Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing home appliances require users to physically move to their location for control and monitoring, and poor wireless environments complicate remote control and monitoring via smartphones.
Innovation Solution
A system where a first home appliance acts as an assistant device, grouping with a second home appliance, allowing it to monitor and control the second appliance's operations through established communication channels, outputting relevant information via its interfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a user controls or monitors a general electric home appliance, then the user can operate the appliance, but the user needs to personally move to the location of the electric home appliance which causes inconvenience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a display device as an intermediary between the user and the home appliance. The display device receives control commands and monitoring data from/to the appliance, allowing users to operate and monitor appliances remotely without physically moving to their locations. This mediator eliminates the need for direct user-appliance interaction at the appliance site.
2Ease of operation
If a user controls an electric home appliance through a smartphone, then remote control is possible, but the smartphone and the electric home appliance need to access a Wi-Fi router which requires good wireless environment and may require the user to always carry the smartphone
Solution Approach 1:
The display device is designed to perform multiple functions: it serves as both a control interface for home appliances and a monitoring display. By consolidating these functions in a single device that can operate independently of continuous smartphone connection, the system reduces dependency on external devices and network infrastructure, making the control system more self-sufficient and versatile.
3Ease of manufacture
If home appliances are fixed to installation places and arranged at corners, then installation is simplified, but user access for control and monitoring becomes inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The display device acts as a remote intermediary that bridges the gap between the user and the fixed home appliance. Users can interact with the appliance through the display device located at a convenient position, eliminating the need to physically access the appliance at its fixed installation location while maintaining full control and monitoring capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, for outputting information related to a second home appliance. The method includes: obtaining group information for grouping the first home appliance and the second home appliance by assigning the first home appliance as an assistant device and assigning the second home appliance as an actually used device; activating a group mode for operating the first home appliance as an assistant device of the second home appliance, based on the group information; controlling a communication interface to receive information related to operations of the second home appliance from the second home appliance assigned as the actually used device, through a communication channel established based on communication connection information of the second home appliance, the communication channel to connect to the second home appliance; and outputting the information related to the operations of the second home appliance through a first user interface, while the group mode is activated.