JP2008269110A - Control device and control method for electric appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system which can reliably control existing electric appliances by a portable terminal from outdoor. <P>SOLUTION: This system comprises a terminal communication section 1 which is connected to external networks and communicates with terminal units via a network, a control signal transmission section 5 which outputs the same control signal as one output by a device's remote controller originally equipped with the device, a control signal selection section 4 which outputs a control signal to the device using the control signal transmission section 5 in response to instructions received by the terminal communication section 1 from the terminal unit, a device operation state detection section 6 which detects the operation state of the device, and a device state notification section 8 which transmits the information corresponding to the operation state of the device detected by the device operation state detection section 6 to the terminal unit which has transmitted the instructions. For example, the control signal transmission section 5 outputs the control signal using at least any one of infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, or electric waves. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an appliance control apparatus and control method. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling an electrical appliance in a house or the like via a public communication network.

  There has been proposed a home network system in which home appliances such as televisions, lighting devices, and air conditioners are remotely controlled from outside the home via an information communication network such as the Internet. In a home network system, a home server is generally installed in a house, and the home server controls appliances based on data received from an information communication network such as the Internet.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a home server is used in order to operate / control various types of home electronic devices from a mobile device in a unified operation by linking a mobile device with a home information system. There has been disclosed an information system in which communication means for communicating with a portable device is provided, and home electronic devices are operated / controlled from the portable device by a unified operation.

  Moreover, in order to control an electrical appliance remotely, it is an apparatus which communicates a control signal between remote, Comprising: In order to control an electrical appliance according to a remote communication part which communicates a control signal between remote, and a control signal There is a remote control system that relays a control signal between a control unit and a remote communication unit in the electrical appliance and includes a device communication unit provided integrally with the electrical appliance (see Patent Document 2).

  In a conventional method of controlling a home electronic device from a home server by a wireless signal, in order to control the home electronic device to be controlled, a home electronic device having a wireless signal receiver that receives a control signal is used. It is necessary to install. However, existing home electronic devices include only an infrared signal receiver that receives a control signal from an infrared remote controller attached to the device, and cannot be controlled by a wireless signal from a home server.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 2, the remote communication unit is detachably connected to the device-side communication unit. However, a network function is added to the home appliance in advance, for example, when using an infrared remote controller The remote communication unit is removed, and at the time of remote control, a device-side communication unit that has a standard common to the types of home appliances is attached and communicated, and the home appliances have a special structure to unify the signals input to the home appliance control unit There was a need to do.

  Therefore, the technology described in Patent Document 3 converts a wireless signal from a home server into an infrared signal by a wireless infrared converter, and the existing home electronic device controlled by the infrared remote control function by the converted infrared signal. A method for controlling equipment is proposed. By this method, an existing home electronic device having only a remote control function by an infrared remote controller is controlled from a home server and can be remotely controlled via the Internet.

JP 2001-346270 A JP 2002-44745 A JP 2005-277485 A

  In the conventional technology, when using a home network and a home server to remotely control an electrical appliance from outside the house, it is necessary that the electrical appliance is compatible with the home network. Existing appliances cannot be used on home networks as they are.

  Moreover, since the patent document 3 uses the remote control of electrical appliances, if a wireless infrared conversion apparatus is installed, it can also be used with existing electrical appliances. However, it is not known on the terminal side that is remotely controlled via the Internet or the like whether or not the electrical appliance has responded and, as a result, whether it is turned on or off.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a system that can reliably control existing electrical appliances from outside the house with a mobile terminal or the like.

An electrical appliance control apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention provides:
A communication means for connecting to an external communication network and communicating with the terminal device via the communication network;
A transmitting means for outputting the same control signal as the remote controller of the device originally provided in the device;
In response to a command received from the terminal device by the communication unit, a control unit that outputs a control signal to the device using the transmission unit;
Detecting means for detecting an operating state of the device;
Transmitting means for transmitting information corresponding to the operating state of the device detected by the detecting means to the terminal device that has transmitted the command;
It is characterized by providing.

  In particular, the transmission means outputs the control signal using at least one of infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, and radio waves.

  Preferably, the detection means includes imaging means for imaging the device, and detects lighting / extinction of a light emitting unit and / or emission color indicating the operation of the device.

  Alternatively, the detection unit may detect noise of a power line to which the device is connected, and determine an operation state of the device based on the noise.

  Alternatively, the detection unit may include a sound collection unit, and may detect an operation sound of the device and determine an operation state thereof.

An electrical appliance control method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes:
A remote control method for controlling a device via an external communication network,
Receiving a command for the device from a terminal device via the external communication network;
A control step for converting the command into a signal that is the same as a control signal transmitted by a remote controller of the device originally provided in the device;
A detecting step for detecting an operating state of the device;
A confirmation step of transmitting information corresponding to the operation state of the device detected in the detection step to the terminal device that has transmitted the command via the external communication network;
It is characterized by providing.

  According to the appliance control apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reliably control the existing apparatus via a public line without remodeling / changing / updating the existing apparatus. The operation of the apparatus can be confirmed via a public line.

  Hereinafter, a control device and a control method for an electrical appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a control device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a terminal communication unit 1, a control command receiving unit 2, a device control signal storage unit 3, a control signal selection unit 4, and a control signal transmission unit. 5, a device operation state detection unit 6, a device operation state determination unit 7, and a device state notification unit 8. In addition, the device operation state detection unit 6 connects a camera 21, a power line signal detection 22, a microphone 23, and the like as device state detection means.

  The control device 10 communicates with the terminal device via the network, and receives an electrical appliance control command from the terminal device via the network. In response to the received command, the same control signal as the remote controller originally provided in the electrical appliance transmits is transmitted to the electrical appliance. Further, the operation of the electric appliance is detected by the image of the camera 21, the power line signal detection 22, and the like, and the operation state is determined. And the state of the detected electrical appliance is transmitted to a terminal device.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a system that controls an electrical appliance from outside the home via a network using the control device of FIG. In the example of FIG. 2, a mobile telephone network (or telephone network) and a broadband Internet are assumed as the network 30.

  A terminal device 31 such as a mobile phone is connected to the network 30. The network termination device 32 terminates an ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) or optical fiber communication line connected to the network 30. A VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) router 33 is connected to the network termination device 32. The VoIP router 33 performs voice calls over IP, and communicates with the telephone network by virtually using a part of the broadband band for line connection. The telephone 34 and the control device 10 are connected to the VoIP router 33. In the example of FIG. 2, the control device 10 is connected to the VoIP router 33 as a telephone. The terminal device 31 and the control device 10 communicate with each other in a voice band using a telephone network.

  For example, when the VoIP router 33 has two or more telephone ports and connects the telephone 34 and the control apparatus 10 simultaneously, if individual telephone numbers are set for the telephone 34 and the control apparatus 10, the terminal apparatus 31 can call the telephone. 34 and the control device 10 can be individually called.

  For example, there are an air conditioner 41 and a television 42 as appliances to be controlled by the control device 10. Each of the air conditioner 41 and the television 42 has a remote controller (not shown) included in the product. In addition, there is a lighting apparatus including a remote controller as a target electric appliance. As long as the remote controller is provided, the electrical appliances that are the targets of the control device 10 are not limited to these.

  The air conditioner 41 and the television 42 are connected to a power line 50 such as a household AC100V, and are operated by being supplied with power therefrom. The control device 10 is also connected to the power line 50. The control device 10 is also supplied with power from the power line 50, and has the purpose of detecting noise in the power line 50 as described above.

  On the other hand, a LAN 35 is connected to the VoIP router 33. A computer 36 is connected to the LAN 35. The computer 36 can communicate with the Internet via the VoIP router 33 and the network termination device 32. The network termination device 32, the VoIP router 33, the telephone 34, the computer 36, and the like are also connected to the power line 50, but are omitted in FIG.

  The control device 10 may be connected to the LAN 35. In that case, the control device 10 can communicate with the terminal device 31 via the LAN 35. Data communication may be performed with the terminal device 31 via the LAN 35. In addition, various settings of the control device 10 and history reference can be performed from the computer 36 via the LAN 35.

  Returning to FIG. 1, a configuration example and a function of the control device 10 will be described. The terminal communication unit 1 is connected to an external network 30 such as a public communication network or the Internet, and communicates with the terminal device 31. For example, the terminal device 31 is a telephone, a mobile phone, a portable information terminal, a computer, or the like. The network 30 includes a broadband network such as a public telephone network, ADSL, cable TV (coaxial cable), and optical fiber communication. For communication with the terminal device, communication using voice and tone, data communication using a modem or the like, data communication on a broadband network using an Internet protocol, or the like can be used.

  The control command receiving unit 2 receives a command for controlling an electrical appliance from the terminal device 31. For example, when the communication with the terminal is based on voice and tone, the tone signal generated by the key operation of the terminal device 31 (telephone) is converted into a control command. In that case, it is preferable to transmit a voice guide so that the terminal device 31 can easily perform an operation. In the case of data communication, a predetermined code is extracted from a communication packet received via the network, and the control command is decoded.

  The control signal storage unit 3 stores the format, encoding, code content, and the like of the control signal transmitted by the remote controller (remote controller) originally provided in the electrical appliance in response to the control command. For example, when an infrared remote controller is used as a remote controller, a control signal transmitted from the infrared remote controller can be received and decoded, and stored corresponding to the control command.

  The control signal selection unit 4 selects a control signal corresponding to the control command received by the control command receiving unit 2 from the control signal storage unit 3. Then, the control signal is transmitted from the control signal transmitter 5.

  The control signal transmission part 5 transmits the same control signal as the remote controller (remote control) originally provided in the electric appliance transmits. For example, when the remote controller is an infrared remote controller, the same infrared signal is transmitted. Examples of the signal transmitted by the remote controller include infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, and weak radio waves. The control signal transmission unit 5 is configured to include a transmitter that is suitable for the appliance to be controlled.

  If the control device 10 is arranged so that the control signal transmitted by the control signal transmission unit 5 is received by the target electrical appliance and the electrical appliance is in a standby state in which the control signal can be received, the control signal is the electrical appliance. The target appliance will operate in response to the control signal.

  The apparatus operating state detection unit 6 detects the state of the target appliance. For example, the camera 21 is used to capture an image of an electrical appliance and detect the light emission state of a pilot lamp or LED (Light Emitting Diode) indicating the operation. The light emission state of the LED includes, for example, lighting, extinguishing, blinking, and change in emission color. The control device 10 stores in advance the correspondence between the light emission state of the LED or the like and the operation state of the electrical appliance. The device operation state determination unit 7 determines the operation state of the electrical appliance from the information detected by the device operation state detection unit 6. For example, the operation state corresponding to the light emission state of the LED is obtained.

  Noise that is superimposed on the power line 50 may be detected as means for detecting the operating state of the appliance. In general, noise is generated by the load impedance when an appliance is turned on or off, or when power consumption changes rapidly. At that time, noise generated by the appliance propagates to the power line 50. Since this noise varies depending on the characteristics of the electrical appliance and on or off, the noise can be analyzed to know the change in the state of the target electrical appliance. For example, the noise when the appliance operates is detected in advance, and the frequency characteristic and generation time of the noise component are analyzed and stored. When noise is detected, it is possible to know the operation of the corresponding appliance by searching for a pattern that matches the detected pattern from the stored patterns.

  FIG. 3 schematically shows how noise is superimposed on the power line 50. In many cases, the power line 50 that supplies electric power to the electric appliance is an AC 100V power supply having a frequency of 50 or 60 Hz, and the waveform of the power supply voltage is a sine wave. Since the noise generated by the appliance is usually higher than the frequency of the supplied power, only the noise can be extracted by the bandpass filter. The extracted noise is converted into a digital signal by A / D conversion, and frequency analysis is performed by FFT to obtain a power spectrum. The power spectrum is compared with that obtained and stored in advance, and it is determined whether or not it matches the operation of the target appliance. For simplicity, the determination may be made based on the level of the frequency component peculiar to noise.

  When the electric appliance generates sound, for example, in the case of a television receiver or a stereo device, the operation can be determined by detecting the sound with the microphone 23. In the case of a device that generates a considerable amount of light, such as a lighting fixture or a television receiver, the operation state can be easily detected using an illuminometer or an illuminance switch. These detection means are used selectively or in combination according to the target appliance.

  The device state notification unit 8 transmits information representing the state of the device determined by the device operation state determination unit 7 to the terminal device 31 through the terminal communication unit 1. As information representing the state of the device, for example, when the terminal device 31 is a telephone, voice is used. When the communication with the terminal device 31 is data communication, it is a character string or the like, and when it is Internet communication, an image or the like may be included in an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) format that can be displayed by a browser.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a physical configuration of the control device 10 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 10 of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes a control unit 11, a main storage unit 12, an external storage unit 13, a signal transmission unit 14, an operation unit 15, a display unit 16, a transmission / reception unit 17, and The input unit 18 is configured. The main storage unit 12, the external storage unit 13, the signal transmission unit 14, the operation unit 15, the display unit 16, the transmission / reception unit 17 and the input unit 18 are all connected to the control unit 11 via the internal bus 19.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and in accordance with a program stored in the external storage unit 13, a control command reception unit 2, a device control signal storage unit 3, a control signal selection unit 4, and a control The process of the signal transmission part 5, the apparatus operation state detection part 6, the apparatus operation state determination part 7, and the apparatus state notification part 8 is performed. The control command reception unit 2, the control signal selection unit 4, the device operation state determination unit 7, and the device state notification unit 8 are realized by a control unit 11 and a program executed thereon.

  The main storage unit 12 includes a RAM (Random-Access Memory) and the like, and is used as a work area for the control unit 11. The device control signal storage unit 3 is stored and held in a part of the main storage unit 12 as a storage area structure.

  The external storage unit 13 includes a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, a hard disk, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disc Random-Access Memory), a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disc ReWritable), and the like. A program for causing the control unit 11 to perform the above process is stored in advance, and data of the program is supplied to the control unit 11 according to an instruction from the control unit 11, and the data supplied from the control unit 11 is stored.

  The signal transmission part 14 transmits a control signal with respect to electrical appliances using infrared rays, an ultrasonic wave, or an electromagnetic wave, for example. The control signal transmission unit 5 is executed by the signal transmission unit 14 and the control unit 11.

  The operation unit 15 includes a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and an interface device that connects the keyboard and the pointing device to the internal bus 19. Commands such as start / stop of the control device 10, various settings such as device control signals, status display of the device, etc. are input via the operation unit 15 and supplied to the control unit 11. When operating the control apparatus 10 with the computer 36 etc. via LAN etc., the operation part 15 may be simple things, such as a switch.

  The display unit 16 includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode), an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), or the like, and the status of the control device 10 and the electrification of the target according to a command from the control unit 11 according to a command input from the operation unit 15. Displays the product status.

  The transmission / reception unit 17 includes a telephone line interface, a serial interface, a parallel interface, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface, or the like. Communication with the terminal device 31 is performed via the transmission / reception unit 17 via the network 30 (directly the VoIP router 33 in the example of FIG. 2). The terminal communication unit 1 is executed by the functions of the transmission / reception unit 17 and the control unit 11. Further, it communicates with the computer 36 and the like via the transmission / reception unit 17.

  The input unit 18 includes a serial interface, a parallel interface, an audio signal interface, or the like. A signal for detecting the device state is input by connecting to the camera 21, the power line signal detection 22, the microphone 23, and the like. The apparatus operating state detection unit 6 is executed by the functions of the input unit 18 and the control unit 11.

  Next, the operation of the control device 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the control unit 11 operates in cooperation with the main storage unit 12, the external storage unit 13, the signal transmission unit 14, the operation unit 15, the display unit 16, the transmission / reception unit 17, and the input unit 18. To work.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of controlling the apparatus (electric appliance). First, the control device 10 waits for an incoming call from the terminal device 31 (step S1, step S2; No). When an incoming call from the terminal device 31 is accepted (step S2; Yes), a device selection command is received (step S3). For example, a voice guide for device selection is transmitted, and a tone signal of the terminal device 31 is received.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of data corresponding to electrical appliances and selection commands. In the example of FIG. 6, when 1 is input, the air conditioner is selected, and when 2 is input, the television is selected. FIG. 6 also shows the types of control signals corresponding to the products.

  When the device to be controlled is commanded, a command for controlling the device is received (step S4). Also at this time, a voice guide for selecting a control command is transmitted and a tone signal or the like is received from the terminal device 31. FIG. 7 shows an example of correspondence between control commands and codes when a certain electrical product, for example, an air conditioner is selected. For example, when the tone signal is 1, the control command is power on of the electrical appliance, and when the tone signal is 2, the power is off. In addition, an identifier indicating a control signal is stored corresponding to each. A control signal to be transmitted is selected from the data in the table of FIG. 7 in accordance with the received control command code. For example, when the tone signal is 1, the control command is power-on, and the control signal to be transmitted is A1.

  The control unit 11 of the control device 10 selects a control signal from the received control command (step S5). And the control signal is transmitted from the signal transmission part 14 (step S6).

  Next, the control device 10 detects and determines the state of the target electrical appliance that has transmitted the control signal (step S7). As described above, the state of the light emitting unit or the like is detected from the image of the electrical appliance by the image signal input from the input unit 18, and the control unit 11 determines the corresponding operation state. Or the noise of the power line 50 is analyzed, the change of the state of an electrical appliance is detected, and the present operation state is determined. Alternatively, it may be determined using sound or the like.

  The control unit 11 transmits information corresponding to the determined operation state, for example, a message such as a preset voice guide or a character string, from the transmission / reception unit 17 to the terminal device 31 (step S8). FIG. 8 shows an example of the correspondence between the status of the appliance and the message to be transmitted. For example, when the operation of the air conditioner is on, a message with message ID M1 is selected and transmitted. When the operation of the television is turned off, a message with message ID N2 is selected and transmitted.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of correspondence between control commands and codes when a television is selected. In the example of FIG. 9, the control signal is the same for B1 regardless of whether the control is on or off. This is the case for appliances that represent on and off with the same signal. In that case, the intended control command and the state of the appliance may not match. In the control device 10 of the present invention, the state of the electrical appliance is detected and notified to the terminal device 31, so that it is possible to confirm that the intended control has been performed.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 5, after transmitting the device state information, the control unit 11 determines whether to end communication with the terminal device 31 (step S <b> 9). For example, the communication disconnection can be determined based on the code indicating the communication end shown in FIG. When the code indicating the end of communication is received (step S9; Yes), the control unit 11 instructs the transmission / reception unit 17 to disconnect communication (step S10), returns to the incoming call waiting state (step S1), and repeats the operation. If the communication is not disconnected (step S9; No), the process returns to step S3, and the operation is repeated from the reception of the device selection command.

  When the device selection command is received, the state of the target appliance may be detected, or the state of the control target appliance may be detected in advance, and the state at that time may be notified to the terminal device 31.

  Note that the communication means with the terminal device 31 can selectively use a plurality of networks such as telephone, data communication, and the Internet. A plurality of communication means may be used in combination. For example, the control command may be received via a telephone line, and the device status information may be transmitted by e-mail via the Internet.

  As described above, according to the control device 10 of the present invention, it is possible to control with the same signal as the signal of the remote controller of the electrical appliance and to check the operation state remotely, so that the existing electrical appliance is modified / changed / updated. Without having to do so, it can be reliably controlled via a public line. The operation of the apparatus can be confirmed via a public line.

  In addition, the hardware configuration and the flowchart described above are merely examples, and can be arbitrarily changed and modified.

  The control device 10 can be realized using a normal computer system, not a dedicated system. For example, a computer program for executing the above operation is stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium (flexible disk, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.), and the computer program is installed in the computer. Thus, an apparatus that performs the above-described processing may be configured. Alternatively, the computer program may be stored in a storage device included in a server device on a communication network such as the Internet, and the control device 10 of the present invention may be configured by being downloaded by a normal computer system.

  When each of the above functions is realized by sharing an OS (operating system) and an application program, or by cooperation between the OS and the application program, only the application program portion is stored in a recording medium or a storage device. Also good.

  It is also possible to superimpose the above computer program on a carrier wave and distribute it via a communication network.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the system which controls an electrical appliance from the outside via a network using the control apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows typically a mode that noise is superimposed on a power line. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the physical structure of the control apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the data which respond | corresponds to electrical appliances and selection instructions. It is a figure which shows the example of a response | compatibility with the control command of an electric appliance, and a code | cord | chord. It is a figure which shows the example of a response | compatibility with the state of an electrical appliance, and the message to transmit. It is a figure which shows the example of a response | compatibility with the control command of an electric appliance, and a code | cord | chord.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal communication part 2 Control command reception part 3 Apparatus control signal memory | storage part 4 Control signal selection part 5 Control signal transmission part 6 Apparatus operation state detection part 7 Apparatus operation state determination part 8 Apparatus state notification part 10 Control apparatus 11 Control part 12 Main Storage unit 13 External storage unit 14 Signal transmission unit 15 Operation unit 16 Display unit 17 Transmission / reception unit 18 Input unit 19 Internal bus 21 Camera 22 Power line signal detection 23 Microphone

Claims (6)

A communication means for connecting to an external communication network and communicating with the terminal device via the communication network;
A transmitting means for outputting the same control signal as the remote controller of the device originally provided in the device;
In response to a command received from the terminal device by the communication unit, a control unit that outputs a control signal to the device using the transmission unit;
Detecting means for detecting an operating state of the device;
Transmitting means for transmitting information corresponding to the operating state of the apparatus detected by the detecting means to the terminal apparatus that transmitted the command;
A control device comprising:   The control device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit outputs the control signal using at least one of infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, and radio waves.   The control device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit includes an image pickup unit that picks up an image of the device, and detects lighting / extinction of a light emitting unit and / or a light emission color indicating an operation of the device.   The control device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects noise of a power line to which the device is connected, and determines an operation state of the device based on the noise.   The control device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit includes a sound collection unit, detects an operation sound of the device, and determines an operation state thereof. A remote control method for controlling a device via an external communication network,
Receiving a command for the device from a terminal device via the external communication network;
A control step for converting the command into a signal that is the same as a control signal transmitted by a remote controller of the device originally provided in the device;
A detecting step for detecting an operating state of the device;
A confirmation step of transmitting information corresponding to the operation state of the device detected in the detection step to the terminal device that has transmitted the command via the external communication network;
A control method comprising:

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