JP2003275493A - Laundry system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten communication time required in transmitting operation control data to a laundry apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: This laundry system 1 is provided with the laundry apparatus 4 comprising a communication means, and a home terminal 2 comprising a function of specifying washing items by a user, and a communication means. The laundry system 1 is constituted to acquire operation control data corresponding to the washing items specified by the user on the home terminal 2, from an external data providing means 10 and to transmit the operation control data to the laundry apparatus 4. In this constitution, the operation control data is composed of codes showing a combination of various operation control items such as washing courses and washing water levels carried beforehand on the laundry apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laundry system including a laundry machine such as a fully automatic washer / dryer and a home terminal capable of communicating with the laundry machine.

[0002]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In laundry machines such as fully automatic washing and drying machines, fully automatic washing machines, and dryers,
It is provided with operation control means composed of a microcomputer or the like, and is configured to automatically execute washing or drying according to an operation control program stored in the memory of the microcomputer. In this case, multiple courses are provided as automatic driving courses for washing and drying,
The user is configured to be able to select the desired one. In addition, the operating conditions of each washing or drying process can be manually selected and set. When selecting the above-mentioned driving course or manually setting, the user goes to the laundry machine and operates various switches on the operation panel.

By the way, recently, in the laundry machine, the variety of types of laundry, the variety of detergents, the diversification of washing methods, and the diversification of practical knowledge on washing and drying have been advanced. . In order to cope with such diversification, it is necessary to prepare a large number of driving courses and facilitate a large number of manually washable operating conditions.

However, since the data of a large number of driving courses and the data of a large number of driving conditions are large in size, it is necessary to increase the capacity of the memory of the microcomputer mounted on the laundry machine. Also,
A large display device is required to select one from a number of driving courses or to manually select from a number of driving conditions. For this reason, there has been a drawback that the product cost of the laundry machine increases.

Further, the various washing conditions and practical knowledge described above are changing day by day, but if the data of the driving course and the data of the driving conditions are stored in the memory of the microcomputer of the laundry machine, the Data cannot be changed in response to the above changes.
In other words, the reality is that it cannot respond to changes in washing conditions and the like.

As a structure for solving such a problem,
The present applicant has filed a Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-13384 in advance (note that this application is not known at this time). In the laundry system of this application, the home terminal and the laundry device are configured to communicate with each other, and the home terminal and the external data providing means are communicable with each other. The operation control data corresponding to the laundry item is acquired from the external data providing means and transmitted to the laundry machine. In this configuration, the external data providing means can store a large number of driving course data and a large number of driving condition data, that is, driving control data, and the laundry item selection operation can be performed on the home terminal. Since it can be performed, it is not necessary to increase the memory mounted on the laundry machine so much, and it is not necessary to upsize the display device. Further, since it becomes possible to easily store the operation control data corresponding to the latest washing conditions and practical knowledge in the external data providing means, it is possible to deal with changes in washing conditions and the like.

In the case of the above configuration, the operation control data acquired from the external data providing means and transmitted to the laundry machine is the operation course corresponding to the laundry item selected by the user.
Since it is detailed data representing (or a combination of operating conditions), its data size is quite large.
For this reason, when such operation control data having a large data size is acquired from the external data providing means and transmitted to the laundry machine, there is a problem that the communication takes a considerably long time, which is solved. It was a task to be done.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a laundry system capable of shortening the communication time required for transmitting operation control data to a laundry machine.

[0009]

A laundry system of the present invention has a function of executing washing or drying according to operation control data, and a laundry machine provided with communication means for communicating with other machines, and a desired laundry machine. The home terminal is provided with a function of allowing the user to specify laundry items such as courses and laundry, and a home terminal having a communication means for communicating with other devices. When the user specifies a laundry item on the home terminal, this designation In the one configured to acquire the operation control data corresponding to the selected laundry item from the external data providing means and transmit the operation control data to the laundry machine, the operation control data is pre-installed in the laundry machine. Therefore, it is configured with a code that shows a combination of various operation control items such as washing course, drying course, wash water level, etc. Furnace has a feature.

According to the present invention, the operation control data to be transmitted to the laundry machine is stored in advance in the laundry machine, and a combination of various operation control items such as a washing course, a drying course and a washing water level can be obtained. Since it is configured by the code shown, the data size of the operation control data can be considerably reduced. As a result, the communication time required for transmitting the operation control data to the laundry machine can be shortened.

In the case of the above structure, it is preferable that the operation control data is composed of a combination of at least two kinds of different basic courses. Further, it is preferable that a display device indicating that the transmitted operation control data is set in the laundry machine is provided in the laundry machine.

Further, a selection means for selecting whether to set the operation control data acquired and transmitted from the external data providing means or another course to the laundry machine,
It is a preferable configuration to be provided in a laundry machine. Further, it is even better to provide the laundry machine with a non-volatile memory for storing the operation control data acquired and transmitted from the external data providing means.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to, for example, a home wireless LAN system will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 2 shows a home wireless LAN.
It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the system 1 roughly. In FIG. 2, a home wireless LAN system 1 includes a home terminal 2 and, for example, a drum-type fully automatic washer / dryer (which is connected to the home terminal 2 via a home LAN 3 for information exchange (data communication)). Laundry equipment) 4, refrigerator 5,
It is composed of a microwave oven 6, an air conditioner 7, and a cooking heater 8.

The home wireless LAN 3 is a home network composed of, for example, Bluetooth. The in-house network may be composed of infrared wireless communication means, wired communication means, or the like.

The home terminal 2 is for controlling the entire control, that is, for controlling the electric equipment in the home. The home terminal 2 is provided so as to be connectable to, for example, the Internet 9 serving as an external communication network, and also performs data communication with the external information providing means such as the laundry information providing server 10 (see FIG. 1) via the Internet 9. It is possible.

The home terminal 2 has a function as a personal computer, and as shown in FIG. 3, has a display panel 11 which is a display means, for example, a liquid crystal display. A touch panel is provided on the screen of the display panel 11, and a desired input operation can be performed by touching the touch panel. That is, the display panel 11 also serves as the input unit 11a serving as an input unit. In addition to the power switch 12, the home terminal 2
A switch 13 for calling the home screen and a switch 14 for calling the mail screen are provided.

Here, the electrical configuration of the home terminal 2 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the home terminal 2 includes a control circuit 15, a display panel 11 connected to the control circuit 15, an input unit 11a, and communication as a communication means for household electric devices (for example, laundry devices). It is configured to include an interface 16 and an external network communication unit 17 which is a communication unit for external communication. The control circuit 15 mainly includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and various circuits, and has a function of controlling the operation of the home terminal 2.

The control circuit 15 communicates with the control circuit 19 of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 via the communication interface 16 and the communication interface 18 which is a communication means for the terminal of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4. It is configured to be able to communicate. Further, the control circuit 15 is configured to be able to perform data communication with other domestic electric devices (each having a communication interface (not shown) built therein) such as the refrigerator 5 via the communication interface 16.

Further, the control circuit 15 is configured to be able to perform data communication with the laundry information providing server 10 via the external network communication unit 17 and the Internet 9. The washing information providing server 10 includes a database 20 of operation control data (this data will be described later) used for automatically executing washing or drying in the fully automatic washer / dryer 4.

On the other hand, the electrical construction of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the control circuit 19 of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 has a function as operation control means for automatically executing an operation of washing or drying laundry according to operation control data.
It has a CPU, a ROM, a RAM and various circuits. The control circuit 19 is supplied with various signals from various sensors 22 such as a water level sensor and a rotation sensor, and an operation panel 23 of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 (see FIG. 4).
Various switch signals are provided from an input unit 24 including various switches provided in the.

The control circuit 19 includes a drum motor 25, a water supply valve 26, a drain valve 27, and a fan motor 2.
8. The heater 29 for warm air is drive-controlled, and the display unit 30 provided on the operation panel 23 is drive-controlled. Further, the control circuit 19 includes the communication interface 18 and the communication interface 16 of the home terminal 2.
It is configured to perform data communication with the home terminal 2 via the.

The operation panel 23 of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 will be described with reference to FIG. Operation panel 2
3, the input unit 24 includes, for example, a washing time setting switch 31, a rinse number setting switch 32, a dehydration time setting switch 33, a drying time setting switch 34, a reserved course setting switch 35, a hot water setting switch 36, a course setting switch ( (Selection means) 37, drying changeover switch 38, bath water setting switch 39, start / stop switch 4
0, a power-on switch 41, and a power-off switch 42 are provided. When the power-on switch 41 is turned on, the control circuit 19 and the communication interface 18 are activated, and a power-on switch-on detection signal is transmitted to the home terminal 2.

The operation panel 23 has a display unit 3
0 indicates a washing time display section 43 and a rinsing frequency display section 4
4, dehydration time display unit 45, drying time display unit 46, washing process display unit 47, rinsing process display unit 48, dehydration process display unit 49, drying process display unit 50, display unit 51 for displaying remaining time / detergent amount, etc. A display unit 52 for individually displaying various courses, a net course display unit 53 for displaying that the driving is based on the Internet, and a reception operation display unit 54 for displaying when there is communication are provided.

Now, the control circuit 19 of the fully automatic washing and drying machine 4
The non-volatile memory (ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc.) in the table indicates the relationship between various operation control items (contents) such as a washing course, a drying course, and a wash water level, and (the data) of the transfer code. The data table 55 (see FIG. 5) is stored in advance.

In this case, the operation control items include, for example, "washing course", "drying course", "washing water level", "rinsing water level", "amount of applied clothes", "washing time", "rinsing frequency",
"Dehydration time", "Drying time", "Dehydration rotation speed", "Water flow" 11
Item (type) is defined. Then, the relationship between the content of each operation control item and the data of the transfer code (numerical value from 0 to 7) is associated as shown in the data table 55 of FIG. For example, in the case of the "washing course", eight courses from "standard" to "memory" correspond to the numerical values from the transfer code "0" to "7", respectively. Therefore, in the case of this configuration, the operation control data is specified by the 11-digit transfer code.

On the other hand, in the database 20 of the laundry information providing server 10, a data table 56 (FIG. 6) defining the relationship between a large number of laundry items that can be designated by the user and the operation control data corresponding to these laundry items. (See) is stored. Here, the laundry item is a type of laundry, laundry conditions, etc., and is an item that the user can specify on the home terminal 2. For example, in FIG. 6, the laundry items are called “fleece”, “two swimwear”, “three swimwear”, “wash gently”, “work clothes”, “lingerie”, and “wash the towelet gently”. The item is shown. It should be noted that these laundry items are examples, and many laundry items other than these are stored in the database 20 (that is, the data table 56).

In the data table 56, the operation control data corresponding to each of the above laundry items is a code indicating a combination of 11 kinds of operation control items stored (installed) in advance in the fully automatic washing and drying machine 4 described above. , That is, 1
It consists of a 1-digit transfer code. Specifically, when the laundry item is “fleece”, the 11-digit transfer code is “0
This code is "20000341100", the standard is "washing course", "drying course" reduces shrinkage, "washing water level" is automatic, "rinsing water level" is automatic, and "clothing amount" is automatic , "Washing time" is 10 minutes, "Rinsing frequency" is 3 times, "Dehydration time" is automatic, "Drying time" is automatic, "Dehydration rotation speed" is automatic, and "Water flow" is automatic. It indicates that there is.

In addition, other laundry items "two swimsuits", "swimsuit 3"
Fig. 6 also shows "sheets", "wash gently", "work clothes", "lingerie", and "wash towel towels" respectively.
As shown in, the 11-digit transfer code, that is, the operation control data is associated.

The user specifies one desired laundry item by operating the input section 11a while looking at the display panel 11 of the home terminal 2. Although an operation method of the home terminal 2 is not described here, for example, the operation method described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-13384 may be used, or another operation method may be used. .

If the laundry item designated by the user is "fleece", the control circuit 15 of the home terminal 2 downloads the operation control data suitable for this "fleece" from the laundry information providing server 10. A signal for doing so is transmitted to the laundry information providing server 10 via the external network communication unit 17 and the Internet 9. Then, the laundry information providing server 10 receives the above signal,
Operation control data corresponding to “fleece”, that is, an 11-digit transfer code, for example, “02000341100”
(See FIG. 6) is transmitted to the home terminal 2.

Then, the control circuit 15 of the home terminal 2 is
When the transfer code is received (downloaded), this data is temporarily stored in the internal memory. Subsequently, the control circuit 15 of the home terminal 2 transmits the downloaded transfer code to the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 via the communication interface 16.

When the power of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 is not turned on, the control circuit 15 of the home terminal 2 prompts the user to turn on the power of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4. The control circuit 15 of the home terminal 2 is configured to transmit the downloaded transfer code to the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 when detecting that the power of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 is turned on.

Now, the control circuit 19 of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4
When the transfer code (operation control data) is received, the transfer code is stored in an internal non-volatile memory (EEPROM, flash memory, etc.), and the transfer code and the data table 55 stored therein (FIG. 5). reference)
Based on the above, operation control data (this is data obtained by decoding the transfer code) actually executed by the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 is generated and set in the internal memory (RAM).

Then, in this way, the laundry information providing server 1
In a state where the operation control data acquired from 0 and transmitted to the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 is set, the net course display unit 53 in the operation panel 23 shown in FIG. The section 54 is adapted to be turned on. In this case, the net course display unit 53 and the reception operation display unit 54 form the display device according to claim 3 of the present invention.

Subsequently, in this state, the fully automatic washer / dryer 4
When the start / pause switch 40 of the operation panel 23 is operated, the transmitted operation control data (that is,
Wash according to the operation control program suitable for "fleece"
(And drying) operation is performed.

Also, when the user designates another laundry item (such as "2 swimsuits" or "3 swimsuits") on the home terminal 2, it is similarly associated with the designated laundry item. The transfer code is acquired from the laundry information providing server 10 and transferred to the fully automatic washer / dryer 4.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the user operates the course setting switch 37 of the operation panel 23 so that the washing / drying course can be standard, easy, speedy, firm, keep, blanket, dry, memory,
It is structured so that you can select an online course. In this case, when the net course is selected, the net course display portion 53 is turned on. At this time, when the transfer code has already been transmitted to and stored in the fully automatic washer / dryer 4,
The transfer code is used and the reception operation display unit 5
4 is turned on.

On the other hand, when the online course is selected and the transfer code is not yet transmitted to the fully automatic washer / dryer 4, the reception operation display section 54 is turned off. As a result, the user knows that the transfer code has not been transmitted. In this case, the user
The home terminal 2 may be operated as described above to transmit the transfer code to the fully automatic washer / dryer 4.

According to this embodiment having such a configuration, the operation control data to be transmitted to the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 is preloaded in the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 and is used for the washing course and the drying course. The data size of the operation control data can be considerably reduced because it is composed of a code (specifically, an 11-digit transfer code) indicating a combination of various operation control items such as a wash water level and the like. by this,
The communication time required when transmitting the operation control data to the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 can be shortened.

Further, in the above embodiment, some of the operation control data are constituted by a combination of at least two kinds of different basic courses. For example, when "wash the towel rack gently" is specified as the laundry item, the 11-digit transfer code is "500" as shown in FIG.
00111110 ", and this code is blanket for" washing course "," drying course "is standard," washing water level "is automatic," rinsing water level "is automatic, and" clothing amount "is automatic,
"Washing time" is automatic, "Rinsing frequency" is automatic, "Dehydration time" is automatic, "Drying time" is automatic, and "Dehydration speed" is 8
At 00 rpm, the "water flow" is shown to be automatic.

This operation control data is a combination of a blanket basic course for the "washing course" and a basic course for which the "dewatering speed" is 800 rpm, and various operation panels 23 of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4 are used. This is an operation control program (that is, a special course) that cannot be set by manually operating the operation switch of. That is, according to this embodiment, the operation control data (special course) that cannot be manually set by the user is stored in the fully automatic washer / dryer 4.
Can be sent to and executed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the net course display section 53 and the reception operation display section 54 are fully automatic washing as a display device showing that the transmitted operation control data is set in the fully automatic washing and drying machine 4. Since it is provided on the operation panel 23 of the dryer 4, the user can easily recognize whether or not the operation control data has been transmitted and set.

Further, in the above embodiment, the course setting for selecting whether to set the operation control data acquired and transmitted from the laundry information providing server 10 or another course is set in the fully automatic washer / dryer 4. Since the switch 37 is provided on the operation panel 23 of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4, the usability for the user is further improved. Further, in the above embodiment,
Since the non-volatile memory for storing the operation control data acquired and transmitted from the laundry information providing server 10 is provided in the control circuit 19 of the fully automatic washer / dryer 4, the washing / drying of the same laundry item is performed twice or more. When doing so, it becomes possible to use the operation control data stored in the non-volatile memory, and it is possible to save the trouble of transmitting the operation control data.

In the above embodiment, the operation control data to be transmitted is composed of the 11-digit transfer code, but it is not limited to this, and it may be composed of a transfer code of 12 digits or more or 10 digits or less. Good.

Further, in the above embodiment, the home wireless LAN system 1 was constructed around the home terminal 2, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an access point (router) is provided at the center of the home wireless LAN system. Configured to perform data communication between the home terminal and the laundry information providing server via the access point, and to perform data communication between the home terminal and the fully automatic washer / dryer via the access point You may.

[0046]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a laundry system configured to acquire operation control data corresponding to a specified laundry item from external data providing means and transmit the data to a laundry machine. Since the operation control data is configured with a code that is installed in the laundry machine in advance and indicates a combination of various operation control items such as a washing course, a drying course, and a wash water level, the data size of the operation control data Is significantly reduced, and the communication time required for transmitting the operation control data to the laundry device can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a home terminal, a fully automatic washer / dryer, etc. according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an electrical configuration of a home wireless LAN system.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a home terminal

FIG. 4 is a top view of the operation panel of the fully automatic washer / dryer.

FIG. 5 is a data table showing the relationship between operation control items and transfer codes.

FIG. 6 is a data table showing the relationship between laundry items (transfer codes) and operation control data.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a home wireless LAN system (laundry system), 2 is a home terminal, 3 is a home LAN, 4 is a fully automatic washer / dryer (laundry device), 9 is the Internet,
10 is a laundry information providing server (external data providing means), 1
1 is a display panel, 11a is an input unit, 15 is a control circuit, 1
6 is a communication interface, 17 is an external network communication unit, 18 is a communication interface, 19 is a control circuit,
20 is a database, 21 is a control circuit, 22 is various sensors, 23 is an operation panel, 24 is an input section, 25 is a drum motor, 30 is a display section, 37 is a course setting switch (selecting means), and 40 is start / temporary. A stop switch, 53 is a net course display section, and 54 is a reception operation display section.

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Haruna             991, Anada-cho, Seto-shi, Aichi Higashi Co., Ltd.             Shiba Aichi Factory (72) Inventor Yoshimi Nishimura             991, Anada-cho, Seto-shi, Aichi Higashi Co., Ltd.             Shiba Aichi Factory (72) Inventor Miho Hayashi             991, Anada-cho, Seto-shi, Aichi Higashi Co., Ltd.             Shiba Aichi Factory F term (reference) 3B155 AA10 BB02 BB16 CB07 JB03                       JC10 JC18 LC30 LC42 LC48                       MA05 MA08 MA10                 5B089 GA21 JA35 JB10 KA04 KC15

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A laundry machine having a function of executing washing or drying in accordance with operation control data and a communication means for communicating with other equipment, and a user can select a desired laundry course or laundry item. A home terminal having a function of designating and having a communication means for communicating with other equipment is provided, and when a user designates a laundry item on the home terminal, operation control data corresponding to the designated laundry item is displayed. In a laundry system configured to be acquired from an external data providing unit and transmitted to the laundry machine, the operation control data is pre-loaded on the laundry machine, and the laundry course, the drying course, and the wash water level are stored. Laundry system characterized by being configured with a code indicating a combination of various operation control items such as . 2. The laundry system according to claim 1, wherein the operation control data acquired from the external data providing means and transmitted to the laundry machine is a combination of at least two types of different basic courses. . 3. The laundry machine is provided with a display device indicating that the operation control data acquired and transmitted from the external data providing means is set in the laundry machine. Or the laundry system described in 2. 4. The laundry machine is provided with a selection means for selecting whether to set the operation control data acquired and transmitted from the external data providing means or another course to the laundry machine. The laundry system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. The laundry machine according to claim 1, further comprising a nonvolatile memory for storing the operation control data acquired and transmitted from the external data providing means. Laundry system.