JP2003140998A - Character data transfer system in household electrical appliance network - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system capable of reducing a labor for duplicated input of character data by transferring the character data such as the titles of music data and image data in a household electrical appliance network connecting a plurality of household electrical appliances through networks. SOLUTION: In this household electrical appliance network connecting the plurality of household electrical appliances K1 to Kn through the networks N2 and N3, at least one of the household electrical appliances comprises a character input means (keyboard N). The network comprises a character data storage means (character data storage device 1) for storing the character data inputted by the character input means. The household electrical appliances are connected so as to be accessible to the character data storage means through the network, and comprise a character data transfer control means (for example, microcomputer CPU) capable of selectively taking in specified character data stored in the character data storage means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for transferring character data in a home electric appliance network in which a plurality of home electric appliances are connected via a LAN or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an automation system for various electric appliances in a home, a network such as a LAN is provided in the home, and each home electric appliance is connected through this network, thereby enabling centralized control by a controller. A system to do this has been proposed. This system has the advantage that it is possible to remotely control various home appliances that are located in a remote place simply by operating the controller.

As a network for connecting the above-mentioned home appliances, there is Echonet whose standardization is promoted by Echonet Consortium. This Echonet aims to connect electrical appliances in homes and small buildings to networks via indoor wiring or wireless. Echonet's attempts to connect to home appliances include, for example, controlling air conditioners, microwave ovens, washing machines, lighting fixtures, etc. via a TV remote control, optimizing power consumption with intelligent power supplies, and Monitor gas meters, electricity meters, home medical equipment from
Applications such as controlling and collecting emergency information such as fires and gas leaks are also being considered. As a network for realizing these, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-2001
For example, there are those disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 202317.

[0004]

By the way, a home appliance network such as the above Echonet has an air conditioner,
In addition to so-called white goods such as washing machines and refrigerators, personal computers and PDAs (Personal Digital Assista)
information processing device such as nts), CD (CPUompaCPUt Dis)
CPU) player, MD (Mini DisCPU) player,
Audio system equipment such as MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer3) player, VCR, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk)
It is also possible to connect video equipment such as a deck.

When these audio system devices and image system devices are connected to a network, it is expected that music data and image data will be transmitted and received between the respective devices. It would be convenient if character data such as data titles could be transferred to each other. For example, an MP3 file or the like as music data accumulated in a storage device of a personal computer is attached with a title or song title by downloading the album title or song title from a database on the Internet or inputting it via a keyboard. However, it is convenient and convenient to transfer the same title and song title to an MD player or the like as they are for use. In particular, since MD players and the like often do not have a keyboard for inputting characters, it is efficient to be able to input a title, song title, etc. in advance via a keyboard such as a personal computer.

There is also a personal computer and an MD player which are connected by a cable so that a title, a song title, etc. can be input, but it is necessary to start the personal computer every time an input operation is performed, which is troublesome. It was troublesome and troublesome.

The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and transfers character data such as titles of music data and video data in an electric home appliance network in which a plurality of electric home appliances are connected via a network. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system capable of reducing the trouble of inputting duplicated character data.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a home electric appliance network in which a plurality of home electric appliances (K1 to Kn) are connected via networks (N2, N3). At least one of them is provided with character input means (keyboard N), and character data storage means (character data storage device 1) for storing the character data input by the character input means is provided, and each of the home electric appliances is The character data storage means is connected via the network in an accessible manner,
Character data transfer control means (for example, a microcomputer CPU) is provided so as to select and take in predetermined character data stored in the character data storage means.

[0009] With this, the character data can be transferred to and shared with each other among the home electric appliances connected via the network, and the trouble of duplicate input of the character data can be reduced. In addition, it is not necessary to activate a personal computer or the like every time the character data is input, and convenience can be improved.

The character data storage means can use a storage area provided in at least one of the control systems of the home electric appliances. Accordingly, the storage area provided in the control system of any home electric appliance connected via the network can be shared as the character data storage means, and the system can be configured inexpensively and easily.

When the home electric appliance includes an audio system device and a video system device, the title name of the content handled by the audio system device or the video system device can be transferred as the character data. To do. This allows
Character data such as a title of music data or video data input by a personal computer or the like can be transferred to an audio system device or a video system device, and the trouble of duplicate input of character data such as a title can be reduced.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a character data transfer system in a home electric appliance network according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, a character data storage device 1 as a character data storage means is connected to a main line N1 of a home electric appliance network. The character data storage device 1 includes a nonvolatile memory M such as a flash memory capable of storing character data in text format in a predetermined storage area.
And the home appliances K1 to Kn and the personal computer P
It is composed of an interface device (not shown) which is connected to C via the networks N2 and N3. In addition,
The trunk line N1 is configured to be connectable to another indoor network or the Internet.

In the character data storage device 1, home electric appliances K1 to Kn are supplied via an indoor power distribution network (for example, a power line) N2.
Are connected. As the home electric appliances K1 to Kn, in addition to so-called white home appliances such as air conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators,
It is possible to connect an audio system device such as a CD player, an MD player, and an MP3 player, and a video system device such as a video deck and a DVD deck. The connection method or the like between the character data storage device 1 and each of the home electric appliances K1 to Kn is not particularly limited, but may be based on Echonet proposed by the Echonet Consortium.

Further, each of the home electric appliances K1 to Kn is provided with an interface device conforming to the standard such as Echonet, a communication control device (for example, a one-chip microcomputer CPU), operation buttons and the like. Further, a personal computer PC is connected to the character data storage device 1 via a network line N3. The network line N3 is not particularly limited, but may be connected by an existing Ethernet (registered trademark) LAN or the above Echonet.

A general computer is sufficient for the personal computer PC and includes at least a keyboard A for inputting character data. An information processing device such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) may be connected instead of the personal computer PC.

The configuration of the character data transfer system in the home electric appliance network according to the first embodiment is as outlined above, and its operation will be described below. First, desired character data (for example, a title or song name of music data such as an MP3 file, a title name of video data, etc.) is input from the keyboard A of the personal computer PC. Then, when a predetermined key operation is performed, the input character data is transferred to the character data storage device 1 via the network N3 under the control of the microcomputer CPU and written in a predetermined storage area of the nonvolatile memory M such as a flash memory. Be done. Naturally, the character data stored in the character data storage device 1 does not disappear even when the power of the personal computer PC is turned off. Therefore, regardless of whether or not the personal computer PC is activated, each home electric appliance The character data can be referred to from K1 to Kn at any time.

Then, if necessary, each home electric appliance K1.
When the character data storage device 1 is accessed from Kn via the network N2, it is confirmed that the desired character data exists, and the data is requested, the character data is accessed via the network N2 under the control of the microcomputer CPU. It is transferred to the home electric appliance side and stored in a predetermined storage area. As a result, the networks N2 and N3
Character data storage device 1 connected via a home appliance K
1-Kn and personal computer PC,
Character data can be transferred and shared with each other,
It is possible to reduce the trouble of inputting duplicate character data. Further, since the character data storage device 1 can be accessed at any time as necessary, it is not necessary to activate the personal computer PC or the like every time the character data is input, and the convenience can be improved.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a character data transfer system in a home electric appliance network according to the second embodiment. The system of the second embodiment differs from the system of the first embodiment in that a dedicated character data storage device 1 is not required for sharing character data. That is, in the character data transfer system according to the second embodiment, the shared memory 1 is provided in, for example, the air conditioner K10 as a home electric appliance.
00 for each home electric appliance (for example, air conditioner K10, M
D player K11 etc.) and personal computer PC
Are connected by an Ethernet (registered trademark) standard LAN or the above Echonet or the like. In addition, shared memory 1
The home electric appliance provided with 00 is not limited to the air conditioner K10, and may be any electric home appliance that can be connected to the network N4, such as a washing machine and a microwave oven.

As the shared memory 100, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory of about several hundred bytes is used. In addition, each home electric appliance K10, K11,
An interface device, a communication control device (for example, a 1-chip microcomputer CPU), an operation button, and the like, which comply with the standard such as Echonet, are provided.

In the system described above, first, desired character data (for example, title and song name of music data such as MP3 file, title name of video data, etc.) is input from the keyboard of the personal computer PC. Next, the character data that has been input by a predetermined key operation is transmitted via the network N4 to the air conditioner K10 as a home electric appliance.
Is transferred to the shared memory 100 and written in a predetermined storage area under the control of the microcomputer CPU. Note that the written character data does not disappear even when the power of the personal computer PC is turned off. Therefore, regardless of whether or not the personal computer PC is activated, M
The character data can be referred to at any time from a home electric appliance such as the D player K11. And, if necessary, M
From home appliances such as D player K11 to network N4
When the shared memory 100 of the air conditioner K10 is accessed through the, and the desired character data exists, the character data is transferred to the accessed home electric appliance through the network N4 under the control of the microcomputer CPU, and the predetermined character data is transferred. Stored in the storage area of.

As a result, one of the home appliances connected via the network N4 (in this embodiment, the air conditioner K
10) Storage area provided in the control system (shared memory 10
0) can be used as a character data storage means, and the system can be configured inexpensively and easily.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the present embodiment, each home electric appliance is connected via a wired network, but it is also applicable to the case where each equipment is provided with a wireless communication interface such as the Bluetooth standard and each home electric appliance is connected via a wireless network. It is possible.

[0023]

According to the present invention, in a home electric appliance network in which a plurality of home electric appliances are connected via a network, at least one of the home electric appliances has a character input means, and the character input means inputs the character. Character data storage means for storing character data is provided, each of the home electric appliances is connected to the character data storage means via the network in an accessible manner, and each of the home electric appliances is stored in the character data storage means. Since a character data transfer control means for selecting and fetching predetermined character data is provided, it is possible to transfer and share character data between home electric appliances connected via a network. This has the effect of reducing the trouble of inputting duplicate data. In addition, it is not necessary to start a personal computer or the like every time the character data is input, and the convenience can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a character data transfer system in a home electric appliance network according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a character data transfer system in a home electric appliance network according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

N1-N3, N4 network K1-Kn, K10, K11 Home appliances PC personal computer 1 character data storage M non-volatile memory 100 shared memory

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A home appliance network in which a plurality of home appliances are connected via a network, wherein the home appliances include an audio system device and a video system device, and at least one of the home appliances is the audio system. Device or character input means for inputting a title name of content handled by the video system device, and character data storage means for storing character data input by the character input device is provided in at least one of the control systems of the home electric appliances. A storage area, each of the home electric appliances is connected to the character data storage means via the network in an accessible manner, and each of the home electric appliances selects predetermined character data stored in the character data storage means. Character data in a home appliance network characterized by including character data transfer control means Transmission system. 2. A home appliance network in which a plurality of home appliances are connected via a network, wherein at least one of the home appliances includes a character input unit, and a character storing character data input by the character input unit. Data storage means is provided, each of the home electric appliances is connected to the character data storage means so as to be accessible via the network, and each of the home electric appliances has predetermined character data stored in the character data storage means. A character data transfer system in a home electric appliance network, comprising: a character data transfer control means for selecting and capturing. 3. The character data transfer system in a home appliance network according to claim 2, wherein the character data storage means is a storage area provided in at least one of the control systems of the home appliance. 4. The home electric appliance includes an audio system device and a video system device.
A character data transfer system for a home appliance network according to. 5. The character data transfer system in a home electric appliance network according to claim 4, wherein the character data is a title name of a content handled by the audio system device or the video system device.