Indoor Position-Gated Remote Control for Household Appliances
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing remote control systems for household appliances lack safety and convenience, as they do not ensure that the user is in proximity to the appliance during operation, potentially leading to unsafe or unintended control scenarios.
Innovation Solution
A device and method utilizing an indoor positioning system, such as Bluetooth Low Energy, Ultra-Wideband, or RFID, to determine the position of a mobile control device relative to the appliance, allowing or preventing remote control instructions based on proximity, ensuring the user is in line of sight and can monitor the appliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If remote control is enabled without position verification, then ease of operation is improved, but safety and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary position verification using indoor positioning data before allowing remote control operations. The control device checks whether the user is at the correct location (e.g., in front of the appliance) before executing the remote control command, preventing unsafe operations while maintaining convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the user's position through the indoor positioning system and provides feedback by enabling or disabling remote control functionality based on location. This feedback mechanism ensures that remote control is only available when the user is in the appropriate position, balancing ease of operation with safety.
2Reliability
If indoor positioning system is implemented, then safety and reliability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages existing indoor positioning infrastructure (which may already be present for other smart home functions) and repurposes it for remote control safety verification. By making the positioning system multi-functional, the patent avoids adding dedicated positioning hardware solely for this purpose, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a control device (such as a smartphone or remote control unit) that acts as an intermediary between the user and the household appliance. This intermediary handles the complex positioning verification logic and communication, shielding the user from complexity while enabling safe remote control operations.
3Reliability
If position-based control is implemented, then unauthorized operations are prevented, but loss of time increases due to position verification
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs position verification in advance and caches the authorization status. Once the user's position is confirmed as valid, the authorization is stored and can be quickly referenced for subsequent operations, avoiding repeated verification delays while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The indoor positioning system operates continuously in the background, constantly tracking the user's position without requiring active user initiation. This continuous monitoring allows the system to immediately determine authorization status when remote control commands are issued, eliminating verification delays and maintaining uninterrupted control flow.
Data Source
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AI summary
A device (104) for remotely controlling a household appliance (110) is described. The device (104) is configured to receive a remote control instruction (131) for remotely controlling a household appliance (110) from a mobile control unit (120). Furthermore, the device (104) is configured to determine the position of the control unit (120) relative to the household appliance (110) using an indoor positioning system. The device (104) is also configured to implement or not implement the remote control instruction (131) depending on the determined position of the control unit (120).