JP2003296207A - Center server used for operation system of home electric appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To operate a home appliance according to operation information sent from a communication terminal and to facilitate setting operation needed to set the home appliance. <P>SOLUTION: A DB server 27 selects one of a plurality of ASP servers 25 of the company which manufactured the home electric appliance 33 according to select information received from a mobile terminal 11 and sends the select information to the corresponding ASP server 25, receives a home electric appliance operation module including a protocol for communication and an operation select picture plane from the ASP server 25 and sends the home electric appliance operation module received from the ASP server 25 to a radio router 11 and the operation select picture plane received from the ASP server 25 to the mobile terminal 11, and further transmits the operation information received from the mobile terminal 11 to the radio router 31 to store the protocol received from the radio router 31 in a transmitting and receiving module 35 attached to the home electric appliance 33 and send the received operation information to the home electric appliance 33. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a center server used in an operation system for home electric appliances, which is capable of operating home electric appliances provided at home from a communication terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to operate a plurality of home electric appliances provided in a home, a home server is connected to manage the plurality of home electric appliances, and the home server is connected to a communication line so that it can be remotely located. It is configured to send a control command from a control device to operate.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
Since the home server centrally manages a plurality of home electric appliances, there is a problem that a capital investment for the home server is required in addition to the plurality of home electric appliances.

The present invention has been made in view of the above,
The purpose is to provide a center server used in an operation system for home electric appliances, which can operate the home electric appliances according to the operation information transmitted from the communication terminal and can simplify the setting work that occurs when the home electric appliances are installed. To do.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the center server is used for an operation system of a home electric appliance that transfers information transmitted from a communication terminal to a route setting device provided in a home and operates the electric home appliance. First communication means for selecting one of a plurality of trader servers of a manufacturer of an electric home appliance according to the selection information and transmitting the selection information to the corresponding trader server, and for communicating from the trader server to the home electric appliance The home appliance operating module including the protocol of the above and a receiving means for receiving the operation selecting screen, a second transmitting means for transmitting the home appliance operating module received from the vendor server to the route setting device, and the operation selecting screen received from the vendor server are communicated. The route setting is provided with a third transmitting unit for transmitting to the terminal, and a fourth transmitting unit for transmitting the operation information received from the communication terminal to the route setting device. Is stored in the protocol home appliances contained in the home appliance operating module received put et al, to increase the transmission of the received operation information to the home appliance.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 2 is provided with protocol conversion means for converting the Internet protocol included in the home appliance operation module received from the vendor server into a protocol for communicating with the home appliance. That is the summary.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 3 purchases the home electric appliance specific information specific to the home electric appliance purchased from an information communication terminal provided in a store selling the home electric appliance. The gist of the present invention is to provide a second receiving means for receiving the owner information unique to the owner, and a database for storing the received home appliance unique information and the owner information in association with each other.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an operating system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the portable terminal 11 has a PDA (Person) capable of transmitting and receiving screen information by a browser function.
al Digital Assistant) and a mobile phone capable of receiving screen information, and directly wirelessly communicates with the base station 13 to establish a telephone network 15, a relay network 17, and the Internet 2.
Local Internet home appliance center (hereinafter, IAP (Inte
It is possible to send and receive communication information to and from a database server (hereinafter referred to as a DB server) 27 provided in an rnet Address Provider (center).

The Internet 21 includes a computer 23 installed in a home electronics mass retailer and a plurality of companies (Company A, Company B).
Company server, company C, etc.), the DB server 27 provided in the above-mentioned IAP center, and the wireless router 31 provided in the home are connected.

The computer 23 constitutes an information communication terminal provided in a home electric appliance store that sells home electric appliances, and the home electric appliance specific information specific to the home electric appliance purchased by the user and the owner of the home electric appliance purchased. The owner information of is transmitted to the DB server 27 via the Internet 21.

The ASP server 25 is provided in a company (trader) that manufactures or sells home electric appliances, and the DB server 2
The home electric appliance operation module for operating the home electric appliance indicated by the URL information received from 7 and the instruction operation selection screen are read from the module DB (database), and the IAP is read.
It is transmitted to the DB server 27 provided in the center.

The DB server 27 is provided in the above-mentioned IAP center, and is a computer 23 provided in a home electronics mass retailer.
Receives the home appliance unique information unique to the home appliance purchased from and the owner information unique to the owner who purchased the home appliance,
The home appliance database DB 29 stores the received home appliance unique information and the owner information in association with each other. Also, D
The B server 27 constitutes a protocol conversion unit that converts the Internet protocol included in the home appliance operation module received from the ASP server into a protocol for communicating with the home appliance.

The wireless router 31 is provided in a home and can communicate with a plurality of home appliances provided in the home via a wireless LAN using a protocol included in a home appliance operating module. The wireless router 31 is connected to the Internet 21 and constitutes a route setting device that routes data by referring to an IP address.

The home electric appliance 33 is, for example, a washing machine,
A transmission / reception module 35 is attached for transmitting / receiving operation information for operating the washing machine and operating conditions.

The transmission / reception module 35 is an EEPROM for storing the protocol included in the home appliance operation module.
M is provided and communicates with the wireless router 31 using this protocol. The transmission / reception module 35
Is attached when the home appliance 33 is purchased at a home electronics mass retailer. In addition, the transmission / reception module 35 is
The IP address is given in advance by "6". This "IPv6" is characterized by a dramatic address space (128
It is possible to assign an IP address to a device having a communication function.

Next, the operation of the operation system for home electric appliances will be described with reference to the sequence diagram shown in FIG.

(1) When purchasing a home electric appliance Now, the user purchases the home electric appliance 33 at a home electric appliance mass retailer, and the name, address, telephone number, family composition, personal ID, password, etc. of the user are recorded on the registration information of the owner information. And handed it to the clerk. The clerk who receives this registration form from the user uses the computer 23 installed in the home electronics mass retailer.
Enter owner information and home appliance specific information from the keyboard.

Here, in step S10, the owner information and the home electric appliance unique information input from the keyboard are registered in the database of the computer 23 provided in the home electric appliance retail store as the sales information of the home electric appliance. In order to input the unique information of the home electric appliance, the transmitting / receiving module 35 attached to the home electric appliance is connected to the computer, and the manufacturer, model, IP address, serial number, and IAP center prestored in the transmitting / receiving module 35 are set. The home appliance unique information such as the URL information of the provided DB server 27 may be read and registered in the database of the computer 23.

Next, in step S20, the registration data registered in the database of the computer 23 is transferred to the I
It is transmitted to the DB server 27 provided in the AP center.

Next, in step S30, the DB server 27 of the IAP center which has received the registration data from the computer 23 provided in the home electronics mass retailer stores the received registration data in the home appliance DB 29.

As a result, the home electric appliance DB 29 provided in the IAP center stores (1) the home electric appliance unique information such as the manufacturer, model, IP address, serial number, and operation flag = 0, and (2) As owner information, name,
Addresses, telephone numbers, family members, individual IDs, passwords, etc. are organized and stored for each individual ID.

(2) At the time of installation of home electric appliances A user who purchased the home electric appliances 33 at a home electric appliance mass retailer,
Install the purchased home appliance 33 at a desired position in the home,
The attached transmission / reception module is connected to the household electrical appliance 33, and the power cord of the household electrical appliance 33 is connected to an outlet for commercial power.

When the user turns on the electric home appliance 33, the electric home appliance 33 and the transmission / reception module 35 are set to the initial state in step S110.
Unique IP pre-stored in the transceiver module 35
For example, the address or URL information of the IAP center is 2.4G.
It transmits to the wireless router via the radio wave of Hz.

Next, in step S120, the wireless router 31 which has received the URL information from the transmission / reception module 35 connected to the home electric appliance 33 sends the URL information and the connection status to the Internet service provider (ISP) not shown via the Internet 21. The data is transmitted and further connected to the DB server 27 provided in the IAP center indicated by the URL information.

As a result, information communication becomes possible between the home electric appliance 33 provided in the user's home and the DB server 27 of the IAP center, and the transmission / reception module 35 sends a unique I
The P address is transmitted to the DB server 27.

Next, in step S130, the DB server 27 of the IAP center, which has received the unique IP address from the transmission / reception module 35 of the home electric appliance 33, receives the received I
The IP address that matches the P address is searched in advance in the home appliance DB 29, and the matching IP address is searched.
For the home electric appliance unique information having the address, an operation flag = 1 indicating that the home electric appliance 33 is in an operating state.
Is added to complete the registration in the home appliance DB 29.

As a result, the home electric appliance DB 29 of the IAP center has (1) information specific to the home electric appliance, such as maker, model and I
In addition to the P address, serial number, etc., the operation flag = 1 is stored.

(3) At the time of operating the home electric appliance, the user turns on the power switch of the mobile terminal 11 and activates the browser software while he is out. And U displayed by the browser software
It is assumed that the URL information of the DB server 27 provided in the IAP center is input to the RL information input area.

In step S200, the portable terminal 11
When the URL information and the connection status are transmitted to the Internet service provider (ISP) via the Internet and further connected to the DB server 27 of the EAP center indicated by the URL information, the display screen shown in FIG. The login screen is transmitted from the DB server 27 to the mobile terminal 11. Therefore, on this login screen, enter your personal ID and password and click "NEX
When the “T” icon is pressed, the password and the personal ID are transmitted from the mobile terminal 11 to the DB server 27 of the IAP center.

Next, in step S210, the DB server 27 of the IAP center that has received the password and the personal ID from the portable terminal 11 matches (2) the owner information stored in the home appliance DB 29 with the password and the personal ID. Personal authentication is performed by determining whether information is stored.

As a result of the personal authentication, if the person can be confirmed as the person himself / herself, in step S220, a registered home electric appliance selection screen is carried from the DB server 27 of the IAP center as shown in the display screen shown in FIG. 3 (b). It is transmitted to the terminal 11.

As a result, as a registered home electric appliance selection screen on the mobile terminal 11, (1) TV (company A), (2) TV (company B), (3) air conditioner (company A), (4) air conditioner ( C company), (5) washing machine (A company), (6) refrigerator,
(7) The microwave oven is displayed.

Then, in step S230, the portable terminal 11 that has received the registered home appliance selection screen from the DB server 27 of the IAP center is displayed on the registered home appliance selection screen as in the display screen shown in FIG. 3B. (5) Move the cursor over the washing machine (Company A) and press the "NEXT" icon to select the washing machine (A) selected from the mobile terminal 11.
Company) information is transmitted to the DB server 27 of the IAP center.

The DB server 27 of the IAP center which has received the washing machine (company A) information from the portable terminal 11 has a step S2.
In 40, the URL information corresponding to the ASP server of the ASP company that stores the home appliance operation module capable of operating the washing machine of Company A is read from the ASP company DB (database), and the ASP of the ASP company indicated by the URL information is read. Connect to the server 25.

In step S250, the ASP server 25 of the ASP company connected to the DB server 27 of the IAP center displays the home appliance operating module and the instruction operation selection screen for operating the washing machine of the company A indicated by the received URL information. The module is read from the module DB (database) and distributed. In step S260, the home appliance operation module and the instruction operation selection screen are transmitted to the DB server 27 of the IAP center.

The DB server 27 of the IAP center that has received the home appliance operation module and the instruction operation selection screen from the ASP server 25 of the ASP company transmits the instruction operation selection screen to the portable terminal 11 in step S270.

As a result, the portable terminal 11 displays the instruction operation selection screen as shown in the display screen of FIG.
(1) Power ON, (2) Power OFF, (3) Water injection,
(4) Laundry, (5) Dehydration, (6) Drying, (7) Softener are displayed.

At the same time, in step S270, the DB server 27 of the IAP center converts the Internet protocol that the home appliance operating module has in advance into a protocol for use between the wireless router 31 and the home appliance 33 provided in the home. After distribution, the process proceeds to step S280, and the converted home appliance operation module is transmitted to the wireless router 31 provided in the home.

The wireless router 31 which receives the converted home appliance operation module from the DB server 27 of the IAP center,
The home appliance operation module is set in the EEPROM incorporated in the transmission / reception module 35 as a protocol for use between the wireless router 31 and the home appliance.

As a result, the user at the destination is the mobile terminal 11
In response to the instruction operation selection screen displayed in FIG.
As shown in (c), for example, when (5) dehydration is selected, the portable terminal 11 transmits dehydration instruction information to the DB server 27 of the IAP center in step S290.

Next, the DB server 27 of the IAP center which receives the dehydration instruction information from the portable terminal 11 transmits the dehydration instruction information to the wireless router 31 provided in the home. Furthermore, the wireless router 31 that has received this dehydration instruction information from the DB server 27 of the IAP center operates the home appliance 33.
The dehydration instruction information is transmitted to the transmission / reception module 35 attached to the.

As a result, the home electric appliance 33 (washing machine) to which the transmission / reception module 35 is attached performs the dehydration work, for example, so that the user can operate the home electric appliance 33 using the portable terminal 11.

Further, since the DB server 27 provided in the IAP center is used to centralize and manage the owner information of the user and the unique information of the home electric appliance, it is not necessary to provide a home server at home as in the conventional case. Therefore, the home server becomes unnecessary and it is possible to contribute to the prevention of excessive capital investment.

The effect of the present embodiment is that the DB server 27 provided in the IAP center selects one of the plurality of ASP servers 25 of the manufacturer of the home electric appliance 33 according to the selection information received from the mobile terminal 11. The selected server transmits the selected information to the corresponding ASP server 25, and the ASP server 2
5 receives the home appliance operation module including the protocol for communicating with the home electric appliance 33 and the operation selection screen, transmits the home appliance operation module received from the ASP server 25 to the wireless router 31, and receives the operation selection screen from the ASP server 25. Is transmitted to the mobile terminal 11, and the operation information received from the mobile terminal 11 is transmitted to the wireless router 31, so that the protocol included in the home appliance operation module received from the wireless router 31 is transmitted to the transmission / reception module 35 attached to the home appliance 33. By storing the received operation information and transmitting the received operation information to the home electric appliance 33, the home electric appliance 33 can be operated according to the operation information transmitted from the mobile terminal 11.

The DB server 27 provided in the IAP center converts the Internet protocol included in the home electric appliance operation module received from the ASP server 25 into a protocol for communicating with the home electric appliance 33. Since this protocol can be converted into a protocol that can be used by the home electric appliance 33, the installation of the protocol on the home electric appliance 33 side can be omitted, and the setting work that occurs when the home electric appliance 33 is installed can be simplified. .

Further, the DB server 27 provided in the IAP center purchases the home electric appliance unique information specific to the home electric appliance 33 purchased from the computer 23 provided in the store which sells the home electric appliance 33. The owner information unique to the owner is stored, and the received home appliance unique information and the owner information are stored in the database in association with each other. Therefore, the user can register the home appliance unique information and the owner information unique to the user. It can be simplified.

As a result, the owner information of the user and the home electric appliance unique information can be made into a database for centralized management, and there is no need to provide a home server at home as in the conventional case, so that the home server becomes unnecessary and excessive. It can contribute to the prevention of capital investment.

In this embodiment, a portable terminal is taken as an example of the communication terminal for explanation, but a personal computer provided at the IAP center as a communication terminal,
It may be a personal computer installed in the user's workplace.

In the present embodiment, the washing machine has been described as an example of the household electric appliance, but the household electric appliance may be an air conditioner, an indoor camera, a VTR, a system bath, a refrigerator, a personal computer, etc. A plurality of home appliances may be connected to the router via a hub for operation. Further, these home electric appliances may be provided by different manufacturers.

[0052]

According to the present invention, the home electric appliance can be operated according to the operation information transmitted from the communication terminal.
Further, it is possible to omit the installation of the protocol on the home electric appliance side, and it is possible to simplify the setting work that occurs when the home electric appliance is installed. Further, it is possible to simplify the registration operation of home appliance unique information and owner information unique to the user.

As a result, the owner information of the user and the unique information of the home electric appliance can be made into a database for centralized management, and there is no need to provide a home server at home as in the conventional case, so that the home server becomes unnecessary and excessive. It can contribute to the prevention of capital investment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an operating system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the operation system for home electric appliances.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a login screen (a), a registered home appliance selection screen (b), and an instruction operation selection screen (c) displayed on the mobile terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 mobile terminals 13 base stations 15 telephone network 17 Relay network 21 Internet 23 Computer 25 ASP server 27 Database Server 29 Home Appliance Database DB 31 wireless router 33 Home appliances 35 Transmitter / receiver module

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04Q 9/00 H04Q 9/00 321Z F term (reference) 5B089 GA11 GA25 JA35 JB07 JB10 KA11 KC23 KH01 LB15 5K048 AA03 BA12 DA07 DC01 DC07 EB02 FB10 FC01 HA03 5K101 KK11 LL12 MM07 NN02 NN18 NN21

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A selection server received from a communication terminal, which is a center server used in an operation system of an electric home appliance that transfers information transmitted from a communication terminal to a route setting device provided in a home to operate the electric home appliance. And a protocol for communicating with the home appliance from the vendor server, which selects one of the plurality of vendor servers of the vendor that manufactured the home electric appliance and transmits the selection information to the relevant vendor server. And a receiving means for receiving an operation selection screen containing an electric home appliance operation module, a second transmitting means for transmitting the electric home appliance operation module received from a vendor server to the route setting device, and an operation selection screen received from the vendor server for a communication terminal. The third transmission means for transmitting, and the fourth transmission means for transmitting the operation information received from the communication terminal to the route setting device, the route setting device A center server used in an operation system of a home electric appliance, characterized by storing the received protocol in the home electric appliance and transmitting the received operation information to the home electric appliance. 2. The home electric appliance according to claim 1, further comprising protocol conversion means for converting an Internet protocol included in the home electric appliance operation module received from the vendor server into a protocol for communicating with the home electric appliance. Center server used for operating system. 3. A home electric appliance peculiar information peculiar to the electric home appliance purchased from an information communication terminal provided in a store selling the electric home appliance and owner information peculiar to the owner who purchased the electric home appliance are received. The center server used in the operation system for home electric appliances according to claim 1, further comprising: a receiving unit (2); and a database that stores the received home electric appliance specific information and the owner information in association with each other.