Shared Smart Home Appliance Control With Cloud Permission Groups
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Controlling smart home appliances through existing applications can be complicated due to the high number of functions and parameters, making it difficult for users to manage them effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a cloud server that allows users to create sharing groups for controlling smart home appliances, enabling multiple users to control appliances through a terminal device, with features like activity groups, trigger events, and geographical location-based controls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If smart home appliances are controlled through existing applications with multiple functions and parameters, then comprehensive control capability is achieved, but user operation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control system by creating distinct user groups (owner users and participant users) with different permission levels. The control application is divided into multiple pages including a group management page for creating/managing user groups and an appliance control page for actual device control. This segmentation allows comprehensive control functionality while simplifying the user interface by presenting only relevant controls to each user type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cloud server as an intermediary between the control application and smart home appliances. The cloud server receives control instructions from the application, manages user group permissions, and relays commands to the appropriate appliances. This intermediary layer handles the complexity of multiple functions and parameters behind the scenes, while the application itself maintains a simplified user interface that doesn't overwhelm users with technical details.
2Ease of operation
If multiple users are allowed to control the same smart home appliance, then collaboration and convenience are improved, but control authority management becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different control permissions to different user groups based on their specific needs and roles. Owner users have full control authority over all appliances, while participant users have restricted control limited to specific appliances or functions within their designated scope. This differentiated permission structure enables multiple users to control appliances conveniently while maintaining clear, manageable authority boundaries without requiring complex hierarchical management.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of creating a sharing users' group for sharing control of a registered smart home appliance, wherein a first registered user sends an invitation notification to a second terminal device of a second user to participate to the users group, the second user accepts the invitation notification, and a cloud server associates the second terminal device to the registered smart home appliance, whereupon the second user is able to select control instructions and associate the selected control instructions to the registered smart home appliance, and the cloud server is able to send the control instructions selected by the second user to the registered smart home appliance.