JP2013238347A - Radio communication system and home-use electrical device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a radio communication system capable of performing an internet communication having high usability and security safety, and further having high convenience.SOLUTION: A communication system is configured by a mobile terminal and a refrigerator for performing an RFID radio communication with the mobile terminal, wherein a pattern 21b for evoking touch on a refrigerator side radio transmitting/receiving unit 21 is described, and also a pattern 22a similar to the above pattern is displayed in a display unit 39 of the mobile terminal 22 when the mobile terminal side radio transmitting/receiving unit 33 performs data communication with the refrigerator side radio transmitting/receiving unit 21. By this arrangement, a user can naturally recognize the position of the refrigerator side radio transmitting/receiving unit based on the pattern, so that the user never hesitates about the touch position of the mobile terminal, and thereby the system becomes convenient.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication system and a home appliance suitable for a home appliance service system using a communication network such as the Internet.

  In general, there is a system in which data is exchanged with home appliances via a communication network such as the Internet to improve convenience of the home appliances. For example, a refrigerator that connects a refrigerator to the Internet and transmits the content of the failure to a service provider to enable accurate failure repair has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  The devices used in such a system are not limited to refrigerators, and other home appliances are often the same. Such devices are called so-called Internet home appliances, and in recent years, with the development of communication infrastructure and the evolution of mobile terminals, they have become more and more widespread. Expected to be equipped.

JP 2002-295939 A

  As the above-mentioned home appliances are being converted into data, devices called white goods are generally used in daily life, regardless of age or gender, and so their ease of use is very important. That is, as long as a single refrigerator is only connected to the Internet, there is no problem in usability and the service can be fully enjoyed. However, when data conversion of home appliances spreads and multiple home appliances are connected to the Internet and become a service target, what kind of solid the target device shows in bidirectional exchange of device data, such as children and the elderly Is difficult to understand and difficult to use. In addition, for example, when two refrigerators are held in the home, a problem that the temperature inside the refrigerator is set incorrectly can be predicted.

  In addition, security measures are also a major issue. In other words, considering the reality that even a system such as an administrative organization protected by a very high level of security can suffer cyber damage, there is a good chance that home appliance data will cause damage to home equipment and data. . For example, there is a risk that device data will be leaked and a risk that the device will be controlled without permission. Although measures to protect by various security technologies are socially taken, there is a possibility that the basic function of the product may be impaired especially when the setting is changed without permission.

  Therefore, the present inventors, for example, provide an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag in the refrigerator main body, and by bringing the portable terminal closer to the RFID tag, the data is exchanged between the refrigerator main body and the portable terminal, via the portable terminal. We have already proposed a communication system and refrigerator for internet communication.

Since this communication system and the refrigerator communicate with each other using ultra-close proximity communication called an RFID tag, there is no problem of identifying individual devices such as a system that performs general wireless communication without erroneously identifying a target device. The usability is improved and the mobile terminal makes RF
Since the data of the ID tag is directly read, there is no security problem as in the case of reading the data via a communication network such as the Internet, and the safety is improved. In addition, a service can be provided by connecting to the Internet via a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone without adding an expensive configuration such as a communication function for Internet communication to the refrigerator itself.

  However, according to the verification experiment conducted by the inventors with the cooperation of the subjects, it was confirmed that the effects of safety and cost reduction as described above were obtained, but wireless transmission / reception composed of an RFID tag provided in the refrigerator was confirmed. The location of the parts was difficult to understand, and there was a need for improvement in terms of usability. In particular, when wireless communication is attempted for the first time or when a child or the like uses the mobile terminal, the location where the mobile terminal is brought into close contact with, that is, the position of the wireless transmission / reception unit cannot be specified.

  In addition, a remote control is generally permeated as a communication means in conventional home appliances such as air conditioners, etc., but this remote control usually transmits the front end of the remote control to the receiver of the home appliance main body such as an air conditioner. It has become. Therefore, when observing the behavior of the subject this time, the subject often tries to transmit / receive the tip of the mobile terminal toward the transmission / reception unit of the refrigerator main body, as in the case of the conventional remote control. There was a need to improve the stiffness. In particular, this improvement in operability is an indispensable requirement for users who are not strong against electronic devices such as white goods.

  The present invention has been made in view of such points, and can perform Internet communication with high usability and security safety without adding an expensive communication function, and the position of the wireless transmission / reception unit on the home appliance side is easy. It is possible to provide a wireless communication system and home appliances that can be specified easily and easily.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a communication system including a mobile terminal and a home appliance that performs RFID wireless communication with the mobile terminal, and the home appliance includes RFID wireless communication with a mobile terminal. A portable terminal that performs RFID wireless communication with the home appliance, and a wireless terminal that is provided in the wireless transmitter / receiver and a figure that is reminiscent of touching the wireless transmitter / receiver. A side wireless transmitter / receiver and a display for displaying the data of the mobile terminal, and when the mobile terminal wireless transmitter / receiver performs data communication with the home appliance wireless transmitter / receiver, the display It is configured to display a graphic that recalls a concept similar to the graphic of the device-side wireless transmission / reception unit.

  As a result, when the user activates application software (hereinafter referred to as an application) to perform wireless communication with the mobile terminal, a graphic with a concept similar to the graphic provided in the home appliance wireless transmitter / receiver is displayed on the display of the mobile terminal. Therefore, the user understands that the portable terminal should be brought close to the graphic display part of the household electrical appliance on which a graphic similar to this graphic is displayed, and the position of the wireless transmission / reception unit on the household electrical appliance side is naturally It can be recognized and is easy to use.

  The present invention can perform Internet communication with high usability and security safety without adding an expensive communication function, and can easily recognize the position of the wireless transmission / reception unit on the home appliance side for wireless communication with the mobile terminal. Will be good.

The front view which shows the use condition of the refrigerator used for the radio | wireless communications system in Embodiment 1 of this invention. Schematic sectional view of the refrigerator Schematic cross-sectional view of the refrigerator Front view showing the operation unit of the refrigerator Control block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system comprising the refrigerator and a portable terminal Flow chart for explaining the operation in the radio communication system The flowchart explaining operation | movement of the radio | wireless communications system in Embodiment 2 of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the refrigerator in Embodiment 3 of the refrigerator

  1st invention is a communication system comprised from the portable terminal and the household appliances which perform RFID wireless communication with the said portable terminal, Comprising: The said household appliances are the household appliances side which performs RFID wireless communication between portable terminals A wireless transmission / reception unit, and a figure provided in the wireless transmission / reception unit and reminiscent of a touch to the wireless transmission / reception unit, and the portable terminal is a portable terminal-side wireless transmission / reception unit that performs RFID wireless communication with a home appliance. A display unit that displays data of the portable terminal, and when the portable terminal side wireless transmission / reception unit performs data communication with the home appliance side wireless transmission / reception unit, the display unit has a concept similar to the figure. It is configured to display a recalled figure.

  As a result, when the user activates application software (hereinafter referred to as an application) to perform wireless communication with the mobile terminal, a graphic with a concept similar to the graphic provided in the home appliance wireless transmitter / receiver is displayed on the display of the mobile terminal. Therefore, the user understands that the portable terminal should be brought close to the graphic display part of the household electrical appliance on which a graphic similar to this graphic is displayed, and the position of the wireless transmission / reception unit on the household electrical appliance side is naturally It can be recognized and is easy to use.

  According to a second invention, in the first invention, the graphic displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminal is configured to be displayed on a part of the display unit on the back of the mobile terminal side transmitting / receiving unit. It is only necessary to superimpose the graphic part displayed on the display unit on the refrigerator side wireless transmission / reception unit, so there will be no feeling of mistakes or confusion in the transmission / reception operation, the operability will be improved and the position of the wireless transmission / reception unit of both will be eliminated As a result, good communication performance can be ensured.

  According to a third invention, in the first or second invention, the graphic displayed on the portable terminal side is larger than the graphic on the household electrical appliance side, whereby the user can view a small graphic on the household electrical appliance. Since the mobile terminal is touched so as to cover it, the wireless transmission / reception units of the two are not displaced to cause a communication failure, and good communication performance can always be maintained.

  According to a fourth invention, in the first to third inventions, the figure on the household electrical appliance side and the figure displayed on the portable terminal side are similar to each other, whereby the user can reliably make the household appliance side The position of the wireless transmission / reception unit can be recognized.

  A fifth invention includes a wireless transmission / reception unit that performs RFID wireless communication with a mobile terminal, and the wireless transmission / reception unit includes a graphic reminiscent of a concept displayed on the mobile terminal during data communication. It is a household electrical appliance, and the location of wireless communication with a mobile terminal can be easily recognized, making it an easy-to-use household electrical appliance.

  6th invention WHEREIN: In 5th household appliances, the information storage part which memorize | stores the usage condition of household appliances, the alerting | reporting part provided in the outer surface of the said household appliances, the said radio | wireless transmission / reception part, information storage part, and alerting | reporting part A control unit for controlling, and when the wireless transmission / reception unit receives a data request from the portable terminal, the control unit transmits the data stored in the information storage unit to the portable terminal from the wireless transmission / reception unit And it is set as the structure which drives the said alerting | reporting part and stops the alerting | reporting part after predetermined time progress.

  As a result, when the mobile terminal is brought into close proximity touch with the wireless transmission / reception unit of the home appliance and the mobile terminal starts to receive data, the notification unit provided on the outer surface of the home appliance operates, for example, turns on and data is transmitted from the home appliance side wireless transmission / reception unit. Can be informed to the user. Therefore, when reception is not started on the mobile terminal, the user has a sense of anxiety by knowing that the communication between the mobile terminal side wireless transmission / reception unit and the home appliance side wireless transmission / reception unit is not performed well. Disappears. In addition, when a predetermined time has elapsed after starting communication between the home appliance side wireless transmission / reception unit and the mobile terminal side wireless transmission / reception unit, for example, when all the data on the home appliance side has been transmitted, the notification unit stops operating, for example, turns off. The user can simply move the mobile terminal away from the home appliance wireless transmitter / receiver at this timing, and even a child or an elderly person can receive data without hesitation when speaking the mobile terminal. Can be completed.

  According to a seventh invention, in the fifth or sixth invention, the control unit sets the data amount stored in the information storage unit to a predetermined amount when there is no data request from the mobile terminal for a predetermined time or after the previous data transmission. When it is reached, the mobile terminal notifies the request for data request.

  As a result, after the previous data request operation, the user is informed that the data request operation has not been performed for a long time, for example, 24 hours, or that the data storage amount has reached a predetermined value or more. It is not necessary to perform a data request operation at present because the amount of data stored is small, or conversely, it is not necessary to perform a data request operation because the amount of data that can be acquired even if a data request operation is small You can be notified of this, and usability is further improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the embodiment described below, a refrigerator is described as an example of a home appliance, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and is not limited to this.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a front view showing a use state of a refrigerator used in a wireless communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the refrigerator, FIG. 3 is a schematic plan sectional view of the refrigerator, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a control block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system including the refrigerator and a portable terminal, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in the wireless communication system.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a refrigerator body, which is provided with a plurality of storage chambers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 as shown in FIG. These storage rooms are a refrigerator room 2, an ice making room 3, and a switching room 4 located on the side of the ice making room 3 from above (switchable from a freezing room temperature of about -18 ° C to a vegetable room temperature of about 6 ° C), a freezing room 5 、 Vegetable room 6 The layout is appropriately set as necessary.

  The refrigerator main body 1 is composed of an outer box 1a mainly using a steel plate, an inner box 1b formed of a resin such as ABS, and a hard foam filled and foamed in a space between the outer box 1a and the inner box 1b. It is comprised with the urethane foam 1c. Furthermore, the vacuum heat insulating material 1d is embedded in the hard urethane foam in order to partially enhance the heat insulating performance as necessary. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a vacuum heat insulating material 1d is attached in the space of the back surface corresponding to the ice making chamber 3, the switching chamber 4, and the freezing chamber 5 to form a composite with the hard urethane foam 1c.

Further, the top surface portion of the refrigerator body 1 has a stepped recess shape toward the back side of the refrigerator, and a machine room 7 is formed in the step-like recess, and the compressor room 8, moisture is formed in the machine room 7. A high-pressure side component of the refrigeration cycle such as a dryer (not shown) for removal and a refrigerator control unit (not shown) are accommodated to increase the storage capacity of the lowermost vegetable compartment.

  The cooler 9 constituting the low-pressure side of the refrigeration cycle is disposed behind the freezer compartment 5 so as to cool the storage chambers 2 to 6 by forcibly blowing the cool air generated by the cooler 9 by the cooling fan 10. It has become.

  Each of the storage chambers 2 to 6 is configured to be opened and closed by doors 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 provided corresponding to the storage chambers 2 to 6, respectively. Each of the doors 11 to 15 has a handle portion 16, Like the refrigerator main body 1, the hard urethane foam 1 c is filled and foamed. Each of these doors 11 to 15 is provided with a door opening / closing detection unit (not shown in the diagram explaining the structure) correspondingly, and the number of times of opening / closing and the accumulated opening time data are processed by the refrigerator control unit. It is like that.

  Here, in the refrigerator of this embodiment, the door of the refrigerator compartment 2 positioned at the top is a double door, and is composed of two doors 11a and 11b having different left and right areas. The right door 11b having a large area is configured to be opened simply by lightly pushing the door surface by the automatic door opening / closing mechanism 17, and the opening / closing is detected by a door opening / closing detection unit (not shown). An operation unit 18 is provided at the end of the right door 11b in the vertical direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the operation unit 18 includes an electrostatic touch switch type setting switch 19 for setting the temperature of each of the storage chambers 2 to 6, and a setting state display unit 20 disposed above the setting switch 19. In this refrigerator, a refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 made of an RFID tag or the like and an informing unit 31 for informing a communication state to be described later are provided. In this embodiment, the RFID tag used as the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is a passive tag type having a communication distance of 100 mm or less.

  The refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 transmits / receives data to / from a portable terminal 22 such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, or a PDA. For example, the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 outputs and transmits data such as the number of door opening / closing times or the total opening time of the door to the portable terminal 22. In addition, the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 receives data such as a set temperature sent to the portable terminal 22 via the Internet communication from the portable terminal 22 to constitute a simple wireless communication system.

  That is, when the user touches the portable terminal 22 as shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 transmits / receives data between the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 and the portable terminal 22, and the refrigerator-side wireless Data from the transmission / reception unit 21 is configured to be displayed on a display unit (not shown in FIG. 1) of the portable terminal 22.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the wireless communication system will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a control block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the wireless communication system, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

  In FIG. 5, reference numeral 23 denotes the door opening / closing detection unit, 24 denotes a number counting unit for counting the number of times the door is opened / closed detected by the door opening / closing detection unit 23, and 25 denotes a number storage for storing the number of times counted by the number counting unit 24. , 26 is a time measuring unit that measures a door opening time (time during which the door is opened) detected by the door opening / closing detection unit 23, and 27 is a cumulative time measured by the time measuring unit 26. The time storage unit 28 for storing is an information storage unit having the number storage unit 25 and the time storage unit 27.

Reference numeral 21 denotes the above-described refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit, which transmits refrigerator data such as door opening / closing frequency data and door opening cumulative time to the portable terminal 22 or receives control data from the portable terminal 22. In the embodiment, the antenna 21a is integrated with an RFID tag. Reference numeral 29 denotes a proximity communication detection unit that detects when the mobile terminal 22 approaches and transmits a data request / control signal, and is provided in the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 itself. When the data request / control signal is detected, the refrigerator side The wireless transmission / reception unit 21 operates in a dielectric manner.

  Accordingly, when the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 touches the portable terminal 22 and requests data, for example, the proximity communication detection unit 29 enters an operating state, and the latest door opening / closing stored in the number storage unit 25 and the time storage unit 27 is performed. The refrigerator data such as the number of times and the total opening time of the door are transmitted to the outside from the antenna 21a.

  Here, the portion corresponding to the transmission / reception position of the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 on the refrigerator side is reminded to touch the figure 21b on the surface, and in this embodiment, the portable terminal 22 as shown in FIG. A figure like this is shown.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a previous day information storage unit which updates and stores refrigerator data such as the number of times of opening and closing the door on the previous day and the cumulative door opening time stored in the information storage unit 28. Reference numeral 30A denotes an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality in the refrigerator, for example, an abnormality such as the compressor being operated for an abnormally long time. As a reason why the compressor continues to operate for an abnormally long time, for example, the door packing may be damaged, and the set temperature may not be reached no matter what time the internal temperature passes.

  31 is a notification unit that notifies the communication state between the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 and the portable terminal 22 described above, and in this embodiment, is configured by an LED or the like, and data is transmitted from the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 to the portable terminal 22. Is turned on during transmission, and after a certain time, for example, in this embodiment, when data transmission is completed, the light is turned off and this is notified.

  32 is a control unit that controls the operation of the refrigerator. When the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 receives a data request signal, the door opening / closing frequency and door opening / closing cumulative time data from the information storage unit 28, and the previous day data from the previous day information storage unit 30. When the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 receives control data from the portable terminal 22, the control content of the refrigerator, for example, the set temperature of cooling, is transmitted to the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21. Is controlled to change.

  Further, the control unit 32 operates the notification unit 31 to light up when transmitting data to the portable terminal 22, and turns off the light when data transmission is completed. In addition, when the control data from the portable terminal 22 is received by the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21, the notification unit 31 is turned on and is turned off when reception is completed.

  On the other hand, the portable terminal 22 uses a general smartphone in this embodiment, and as is well known, the portable terminal side wireless transmission / reception unit 33 including the first communication unit 33a and the antenna 33b for performing near field communication and the communication and Internet communication. Second communication unit 34 and its antenna 34a, first and second communication control units 35 and 36 that control these communication units, a portable control unit 38 including a display control unit 37, and a display unit 39 such as a liquid crystal display. , An operation unit 40 such as a touch switch, a storage unit 41, and the like.

And if this portable terminal 22 starts an application to perform radio | wireless communication with the refrigerator side radio | wireless transmission / reception part 21 by operation of the operation part 40, it will be similar to the figure 21b formed in the said refrigerator side radio | wireless transmission / reception part 21 on the display part 39 The figure 22a which recalls the concept, in this embodiment, the figure 22a having a similar shape larger than the figure 21b of the refrigerator-side wireless transceiver 21 can be displayed, and a data request signal can be transmitted to the other party to receive data from the other party To. The figure 22a is a back portion facing the mobile terminal side wireless transmission / reception unit 33 provided in the mobile terminal 22, that is,
The information is displayed on a part of the back surface of the mobile terminal side wireless transmitting / receiving unit 33 of the display unit 39.

  In addition, when the mobile terminal receives data by the first communication unit 33a of the mobile terminal side wireless transmission / reception unit 33, the display control unit 37 switches the display of the display unit 39 and displays the data received by the first communication unit 33a. 39 is displayed. That is, when the portable terminal side wireless transmission / reception unit 33 of the portable terminal is touched close to the refrigerator side wireless transmission / reception unit 21, data such as the door opening / closing frequency from the refrigerator side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is received, and the display unit of the portable terminal 22 is received. 39 can be displayed.

  Further, the mobile terminal 22 can take various data via the Internet line (not shown) by the second communication unit 34 as in the case of an ordinary smartphone, and one of them is a refrigerator related to the present invention. Control data, for example, set temperature data, can be captured and transmitted to the refrigerator-side wireless transceiver 21 of the refrigerator.

  In the above configuration, the operation will be described below using the control flow of FIG. First, when a user opens a refrigerator door, for example, the right door 11b of the refrigerator compartment 2 for taking in and out food, in step 1, the door opening / closing detection unit 23 detects the door opening / closing, and in step 2, the frequency counting unit 24 The number of times is counted and stored in the number-of-times storage unit 25, and the time storage unit 27 accumulates and stores the door opening time.

  In step 3, the proximity communication detection unit 29 confirms whether data is requested. If there is no request, one day (24h) in step 4 passes through a confirmation step for the presence / absence of control data and the presence / absence of abnormality, which will be described later. If it has not elapsed, the process returns to step 1. If it has elapsed, the door opening / closing count data and the door opening accumulated time data are stored in the previous day information storage unit 30 and then stored in step 5 so far. Reset the door opening / closing frequency, and return to Step 1.

  In this state, the user activates the wireless communication application of the mobile terminal 22 and touches the refrigerator-side wireless transceiver 21 on the refrigerator side on which a graphic similar to the graphic 22a displayed on the display unit 39 is displayed. When the data request signal is transmitted (step 6), the proximity communication detection unit 29 detects this in step 3, the refrigerator side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 starts operating, and the refrigerator side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 operates in step 7. The door opening / closing times and door opening accumulated time data stored in the number storage unit 25 and the time storage unit 27 are acquired, and the data is transmitted in step 8. In step 9, the notification unit 31 starts operating and lights during data transmission to notify this.

  On the other hand, the portable terminal 22 receives the data at step 10 and displays the data on the display unit 39 of the portable terminal 22 at step 11.

  As described above, the wireless communication system according to this embodiment acquires data by bringing the portable terminal 22 directly close to the refrigerator itself serving as a target device. Therefore, even when there are a plurality of target refrigerators, the wireless communication system is always a target when performing communication. Because you will bring your mobile device by touching the refrigerator, you can understand it intuitively without misunderstanding the target even if you are a child, etc. Since the data is directly received by the target refrigerator and the portable terminal without using the Internet, the security problem does not occur and the safety is improved.

Further, as described above, in this wireless communication system, when the wireless communication application of the portable terminal 22 is activated to wirelessly communicate with the refrigerator, a graphic similar to the graphic 21b written on the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is displayed on the display unit 39. Since 22a is displayed, the user can naturally move the portable terminal side wireless transmission / reception unit 33 of the portable terminal 22 to the portion where the similar figure to the figure 22a is displayed, that is, the refrigerator side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 based on the figure 22a. It is possible to recognize the place where the mobile terminal 22 is touched without hesitation even when it is used for the first time or a child or the like, and the usability is improved. In particular, since the graphic 21b on the refrigerator side and the graphic 22a displayed on the portable terminal side are similar, the user can surely recognize the position of the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit.

  In addition, since the graphic 22a displayed on the display unit 39 of the portable terminal 22 is displayed on a part of the display unit 39 on the back of the portable terminal-side wireless transmission / reception unit 33, the user places the graphic part on the refrigerator side. It is only necessary to superimpose on the wireless transmission / reception unit 21, so that there is no feeling of error or confusion in the transmission / reception operation, and the operability is improved. Is possible.

  Furthermore, since the figure 22a described in the portable terminal side wireless transmission / reception unit 33 is configured to be displayed larger than the shape of the refrigerator side wireless transmission / reception part 21 in FIG. Since the portable terminal 22 is touched so as to be covered, the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception units 21 and 33 are not displaced to cause communication failure, and always maintain good communication performance. Can do.

  On the other hand, when the portable terminal 22 starts to receive data by touching the refrigerator-side wireless transceiver unit 21 with the refrigerator-side wireless transceiver unit 21 as described above, the notification unit 31 provided on the outer surface of the refrigerator operates and lights up. Lights during transmission of data from the side wireless transceiver 21 to inform the user. Therefore, when the reception is not started by the mobile terminal 22, the user does not feel uneasy because, for example, it is understood that the communication between the mobile terminal 22 and the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is not performed well. . In addition, when a predetermined time has elapsed after the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 and the portable terminal 22 have started communication, for example, when all the data on the refrigerator side has been transmitted, the notification unit 31 stops its operation, for example, turns off. It is possible to know that the communication has been completed, and at this timing, it can be understood that the portable terminal 22 should be separated from the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21, and even the child or the elderly can complete the data reception without hesitation. it can.

  In addition, since the door opening / closing count and the door opening accumulated time are displayed on the display unit 39 of the mobile terminal 22, the user can know the door opening / closing frequency by looking at the display unit 39 of the mobile terminal 22, for example, When the number of times is large, power saving is promoted by taking care to reduce the number of times the door is opened and closed thereafter. In addition, the refrigerator does not require display power for notifying the user of the number of times the door is opened and closed, so that power can be further saved, and energy saving of the refrigerator is improved. That is, since the refrigerator can know the number of times of opening and closing the door via the display unit 39 of the portable terminal 22, the refrigerator itself does not consume any power for displaying the number of times of opening and closing the door. Energy saving will be promoted.

  Further, in this embodiment, the refrigerator side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is inducted only when the proximity communication detection unit 29 is provided on the refrigerator side and the proximity communication detection unit 29 detects that the data request / control signal is transmitted. Since the data is transmitted, the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 does not consume power, and further energy saving can be achieved.

  On the other hand, the number of times the door is opened and closed and the accumulated door opening time data acquired by the mobile terminal 22 as described above are the same as those used for mobile phones by the user through a predetermined location such as an energy-saving service center or a person who is on duty. Can be sent to a parent.

Therefore, for example, a company such as an energy saving service center looks at the door opening / closing frequency and door opening accumulated time data transmitted from the mobile terminal 22 and stores control data of the refrigerator, for example, set temperature data of the internal cooling temperature, in the mobile terminal 22. Can be sent.

  When the user who has received the set temperature data again brings the portable terminal 22 close to the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 of the refrigerator and transmits a transmission signal in step 12, the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 operates in the same manner as described above. In step 13, it is confirmed whether or not there is a control signal. As a result of the confirmation, if it is present, it is confirmed in the next step 14 whether the abnormality detection unit 30A has detected an abnormality. If there is an abnormality, the process proceeds to step 4 without doing anything. In step 15, the set temperature of the refrigerator is updated to set temperature data that is control data transmitted from the portable terminal 22.

  The update of the set temperature is as follows according to the status of the door opening / closing frequency and the door opening accumulated time data.

  That is, as one example, the control data when the door opening / closing frequency and the door opening cumulative time are large is data for setting the set temperature high. As a result, when the number of times the door is opened and closed, the internal temperature tends to rise and the compressor starts to operate each time, and the power consumption tends to increase. Even if it rises a little by opening and closing, it can suppress that a compressor operates, and can suppress power consumption.

  Further, the control data when the door opening / closing frequency and the door opening cumulative time are short are data for setting the set temperature low. As a result, when the number of doors open / closed is small, the internal temperature rise is small and the temperature is kept low when the doors are open / closed. In contrast, when the temperature of the food is kept low during this period, and the number of times the door is opened and closed increases, the food temperature can be kept low even if the temperature inside the chamber rises somewhat, and it is consumed. Good food cooling can be maintained without increasing power.

  As described above, this refrigerator can transmit control data from the portable terminal 22 according to the number of times the door is opened and closed and the total opening and closing time, and the conditions can be changed so that the operation of the refrigerator itself is a low power consumption operation. A large energy saving effect can be expected together with the power saving by reducing the number of times the door is opened and closed by the user who has displayed the number of times the door is opened and closed and the accumulated opening and closing time on the display unit 39 of the portable terminal 22.

  Further, the refrigerator of this embodiment includes a previous day information storage unit 30 for storing the previous day data of the door opening / closing number or opening time from the door opening / closing detection unit 23, and the door is based on the data from the previous day information storage unit 30. Control data for increasing the set temperature is output to the control unit 32 a predetermined time before the time period during which opening and closing increases. As a result, the control unit 32 changes the set temperature to a low level a predetermined time before.

  In this way, by lowering the set temperature and lowering the internal temperature before the time period when the door open / close increases and the internal temperature tends to rise, the number of door opening / closing increases and the internal temperature decreases slightly. Even if it rises, the effect on food can be made minute, and good food cost cooling can be maintained without increasing power consumption.

  The refrigerator further includes an abnormality detection unit 30A for the refrigerator. When the abnormality detection unit 30A detects an abnormality, the control unit 32 can change the control contents as described above even if control data is received from the portable terminal. The configuration is not performed.

As a result, there is little opening and closing of the door when there is an abnormality in the refrigerator, for example, when the temperature does not reach the set temperature regardless of how long the internal temperature has passed due to damage to the door packing, and the compressor continues to operate It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a failure that wastes electric power by continuously changing the temperature to a low level and keeping the compressor operating at a higher capacity.

  In the refrigerator of this embodiment, the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is provided at the top door of the storage room 2, which is the top of the refrigerator, that is, the uppermost door among the plurality of storage rooms, and therefore is positioned at the lower part. Obstacles such as when it is provided on the door, that is, cold air that leaks down when the door above the door provided with the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is opened touches the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 and condensation forms on its surface. Does not cause troubles such as deterioration of communication state and deterioration of component reliability. Therefore, the door opening / closing frequency and time can be exchanged accurately and reliably with the portable terminal 22, and a high-quality refrigerator can be obtained and the user can use it with peace of mind.

  The refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is provided on a door corresponding to the refrigerator compartment 2 among the plurality of storage rooms, and the refrigerator compartment 2 has a higher internal temperature than the ice making compartment 3 and the freezer compartment 5, so It is possible to reduce the influence of internal cold air. Therefore, the temperature difference between the surface and the inside of the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is suppressed to be small, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of dew condensation, and to reduce obstacles such as deterioration of communication state and deterioration of component reliability. it can.

  Further, the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is incorporated in the operation unit 18 provided at the end of the right door 11b, and even if a user sticks a posting to the door on a daily basis, the sticking is performed at the center of the door. It often becomes a part, and it rarely covers the surface of the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 located at the door end. Therefore, the user can directly face and approach the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 of the portable terminal 22, and data transmission errors caused by bringing the portable terminal 22 close to the posting are reduced, and the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit Thus, it is not necessary to dispose of the bulletin board covering the surface 21 and bring the portable terminal closer, and it is possible to ensure reliable communication performance and improve usability.

  In addition, the right door 11b of the storage room 2 provided with the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21 is provided with an automatic door opening / closing mechanism 17 corresponding thereto, so that the user's hand working in the kitchen is wet with water. However, it is possible to reduce the trouble of the wireless transmission / reception unit due to this water. That is, since the user only needs to touch the door lightly, a very small amount of water droplets adhere to the door surface when the door is opened and closed, and the portable terminal 22 such as a mobile phone is brought close to the refrigerator-side wireless transmission / reception unit 21. Sometimes, water droplets adhering to the door surface adhere to the refrigerator-side wireless transmitter / receiver 21 itself or the portable terminal 22 that is brought close to the refrigerator-side wireless transmitter / receiver 21 to prevent the problem of soiling or getting wet. It is possible to reduce failures such as deterioration of communication state and deterioration of component reliability.

(Embodiment 2)
The second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, but differs from the first embodiment in that steps 4 and 5 of the control flow of the control unit 32 operate as follows.

  That is, in step 4 of FIG. 7 showing the second embodiment, after the previous data transmission performed in step 8, it is confirmed whether the predetermined time has elapsed or the data accumulation amount has reached a predetermined amount or more, and the predetermined time has elapsed or data If the accumulated amount is equal to or larger than the predetermined amount, the notification unit 31 is blinked in step 5 so that the mobile terminal 22 is requested to perform the data request operation.

As a result, in this embodiment, after the previous data request operation, the user is informed that the data request operation has not been performed for a long time, for example, 24 hours, or the data storage amount has reached a predetermined value or more. The data request operation is urged to the user, and conversely, since the data storage amount is small, there is no need to perform the data request operation at present, or the data amount that can be acquired even if the data request operation is performed, the data request operation You can be informed that you don't have to. Therefore, the user can accurately know when to acquire data by the portable terminal 22, and does not hesitate when to acquire data, improving usability.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment. In the third embodiment, a display unit 43 for displaying the number of times the door is opened and closed is provided on the door 11b of the refrigerator body 1, and the number of times the door is opened and closed from the information storage unit 28. Refrigerator data such as the cumulative total opening time is displayed directly on the refrigerator.

  Accordingly, also in this third embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the user can know the number of times the door is opened and closed and the total opening time of the door by looking at this display unit 43. Power saving will be promoted by taking care to reduce the number of times the door is opened and closed. Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  As described above, the communication system and the refrigerator described in this embodiment can perform Internet communication with high usability and security safety without adding an expensive communication function, and on the refrigerator side that wirelessly communicates with the mobile terminal. Although the position of the wireless transmission / reception unit can be recognized naturally and is easy to use, what has been described in the above embodiment is a form for realizing the present invention, and various modifications can be made within the scope of achieving the object of the present invention. Is possible.

  For example, in the said embodiment, although the figure 21b of the refrigerator side radio | wireless transmission / reception part 21 and the portable terminal 22 figure 22a were made into the similar shape, the figure 22a displayed on the portable terminal 22 is the figure 21b of the refrigerator side radio | wireless transmission / reception part 21. As long as the figure recalls a similar concept, it does not necessarily have to be a similar figure.

  Moreover, although the figure 21b of the refrigerator side radio | wireless transmission / reception part 21 and the alerting | reporting part 31 were comprised separately, this is integrated, for example by arrange | positioning LED etc. around the figure 21b and making the figure 21b itself light or blink. May be. Moreover, although the alerting | reporting part 31 was set as the structure which alert | reports communication and communication completion by lighting, this may be made to alert | report by an audio | voice. In the case of lighting display, a plurality of LEDs are provided, and the number of lighting may be changed in accordance with the progress degree of data communication, and the convenience for the user can be further improved.

  Moreover, although the data transmitted to the portable terminal 22 from the refrigerator side radio | wireless transmission / reception part 21 were made into both the door opening / closing frequency | count for a power-saving enlightenment, and door opening total time, this may be either or may contain other data further It may be a thing.

  And lastly, in each of the above-described embodiments, the refrigerator has been described as an example of the home appliance, but this may be any home appliance such as a washing machine or a TV, and instead of the refrigerator information if it is a washing machine. As an example, transmission and reception of data such as the amount of washing clothes, the amount of water, and the washing time can be considered.

  As described above, the present invention can perform Internet communication with high usability and security safety without adding an expensive communication function, and the position of the wireless transmission / reception unit on the home appliance side for wireless communication with the mobile terminal is naturally It can be recognized and is easy to use.

1 Refrigerator body (home appliances)
2 Refrigerated room (storage room)
3 Ice making room (storage room)
4 switching room (storage room)
5 Freezing room (storage room)
6 Vegetable room (storage room)
7 Machine room 8 Compressor 9 Cooler 10 Cooling fan 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 Door 16 Handle part 17 Automatic door opening / closing mechanism 18 Operation unit 19 Setting switch 20 Setting state display part 21 Refrigerator side wireless transmission / reception part (home appliance) Device side wireless transceiver)
21b figure (figure of wireless transmission / reception part on home appliance side)
22 Mobile terminal 22a Figure (Figure on the mobile terminal side)
23 Door Open / Close Detection Unit 24 Count Count Unit 25 Count Storage Unit 26 Time Measurement Unit 27 Time Storage Unit 28 Information Storage Unit 29 Proximity Communication Detection Unit 30 Previous Day Information Storage Unit 30A Abnormality Detection Unit 31 Notification Unit 32 Control Unit 33 Mobile Terminal Side Wireless Transmission / reception unit 33a First communication unit 34 Second communication unit 35 First communication control unit 36 Second communication control unit 37 Display control unit 38 Portable control unit 39 Display unit 40 Operation unit 41 Storage unit 43 Display unit

Claims (7)

A communication system comprising a portable terminal and a household electrical appliance that performs RFID wireless communication with the portable terminal, wherein the household electrical appliance is a household electrical appliance side wireless transceiver that performs RFID wireless communication with the portable terminal, A figure that is provided corresponding to a transmission / reception position of the wireless transmission / reception unit and that reminds the wireless transmission / reception unit to touch, and the portable terminal is a portable terminal-side wireless transmission / reception unit that performs RFID wireless communication with a home appliance. A display unit that displays data of the portable terminal, and when the portable terminal side wireless transmission / reception unit performs data communication with the home appliance side wireless transmission / reception unit, the display unit has a concept similar to the figure. A wireless communication system characterized by displaying a recalled figure. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the graphic displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminal is displayed on a part of the display unit on the back of the mobile terminal side transmitting / receiving unit. The wireless communication system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a figure displayed on the portable terminal side is larger than a figure on the home appliance side. The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the figure on the home appliance side and the figure displayed on the portable terminal side are similar. A wireless transmission / reception unit that performs RFID wireless communication with a mobile terminal is provided, and the wireless transmission / reception unit displays a graphic reminiscent of a concept displayed on the display unit of the mobile terminal displayed on the mobile terminal during data communication. Displayed household appliances. An information storage unit that stores a usage status of the household electrical appliance; a notification unit provided on an outer surface of the household electrical appliance; and a control unit that controls the wireless transmission / reception unit, the information storage unit, and the notification unit, When the wireless transmission / reception unit receives a data request from a portable terminal, the data stored in the information storage unit is transmitted from the wireless transmission / reception unit to the portable terminal, and the notification unit is driven to pass the predetermined time. The household electrical appliance according to claim 5, wherein the driving of the notification unit is stopped. The control unit performs a request notification of a data request by the mobile terminal when there is no data request from the mobile terminal for a predetermined time, or when the amount of data stored in the information storage unit after the previous data transmission reaches a predetermined amount. Item 5 or 6.