JP2023108961A - Program, display method, control method, and terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a program, a display method, a control method, and a terminal device capable of improving convenience.SOLUTION: A program according to an embodiment causes a computer to function as a display control unit. In response to registration of a plurality of home appliances that are permitted to be operated collectively, the display control unit controls the display state on a display device in a state in which a user can input an instruction regarding collective operation of the plurality of registered home appliances.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present invention relate to programs, display methods, control methods, and terminal devices.

Terminal devices are known that display icons for operating home appliances. By the way, further improvements in convenience are expected for terminal devices that operate home electric appliances.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-036276

A problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a program, a display method, a control method, and a terminal device capable of improving convenience.

A program according to an embodiment causes a computer to function as a display control unit. In response to registration of a plurality of home appliances that are permitted to be operated collectively, the display control unit displays a state in which the user can input an instruction regarding collective operation of the plurality of registered home appliances. Controls the display on the device.

The figure which shows the whole structure of the household appliance system of 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the functional structure of the household appliances of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server of the first embodiment; FIG. The figure which shows an example of the content of apparatus registration DB of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the content of stock list DB of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the content of recipe DB of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the content of reference information DB of 1st Embodiment. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the terminal device of the first embodiment; FIG. The figure which shows an example of the display content displayed on the terminal device of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the individual operation screen which can operate the household appliances of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of part of the display content displayed on the terminal device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of part of the display content displayed on the terminal device according to the first embodiment; The figure which shows an example of the individual operation screen corresponding to the foodstuff management service of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 11 is a view showing another example of an individual operation screen corresponding to the ingredient management service of the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an individual operation screen corresponding to the recipe service of the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an individual operation screen corresponding to the collective operation service of the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of part of the display content displayed on the terminal device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example of a second operation unit B2d, which is a specific example of the second operation unit B2 of the first embodiment; The figure which shows an example of the individual operation screen corresponding to the household appliance related service of 1st Embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of home screen display processing according to the first embodiment; 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of home screen display processing according to the first embodiment; FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of reference information display processing according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a first specific example of the flow of processing when home appliances 100 are collectively operated using the “collective operation service”; FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a second specific example of the flow of processing when home appliances 100 are collectively operated using the "collective operation service"; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of display control by a display control unit 320; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of display control by a display control unit 320; The block diagram which shows the functional structure of the terminal device of 2nd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, programs, display methods, control methods, and terminal devices according to embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to components having the same or similar functions. Duplicate descriptions of these configurations may be omitted. In this application, "based on XX" means "based on at least XX", and may include cases based on other elements in addition to XX. Also, "based on XX" is not limited to the case of using XX directly, but may also include the case of being based on what has been calculated or processed with respect to XX. In this application, "XX or YY" is not limited to either one of XX and YY, but may include both XX and YY. This is also the case when there are three or more selective elements. XX and YY are arbitrary elements (for example, arbitrary information).

In this application, "remote control" is not limited to operating a home appliance from the outside of the home where the home appliance is located, but is operating the home appliance using a terminal device inside the home where the home appliance is located. It can also include manipulating. In this application, "manipulating" broadly means changing the state of a home appliance. Also, hereinafter, "database" is written as "DB".

(First embodiment)
<1. Overall Configuration of Home Appliance System>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a home appliance system 1 according to the first embodiment. The home appliance system 1 includes one or more home appliances 100, a server 200, and a terminal device 300, for example. One or more of home appliance 100 , server 200 , and terminal device 300 may be provided as an external configuration of home appliance system 1 . The network NW described later is, for example, the Internet, cellular network, Wi-Fi network, LPWA (Low Power Wide Area), WAN (Wide Area Network), LAN (Local Area Network), or other public lines or dedicated lines. You can use it depending on the situation.

Home appliance 100 is an electrical appliance that is mainly used at home. The home appliance 100 is arranged in the user's U residence. Home appliances 100 include air conditioners 100A, refrigerators 100B, cookers 100C, washing machines 100D, vacuum cleaners, rice cookers, air conditioners such as fans and air cleaners, lighting, televisions, irons, and the like. , but not limited to. Home appliance 100 is connected to network NW via wireless router WR and modem M installed in user U's residence. Home appliance 100 can communicate with server 200 or terminal device 300 via network NW. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the air conditioner 100A may be referred to as the "air conditioner 100A" and the heating cooker 100C may be referred to as the "microwave oven 100C".

The server 200 is a management server that manages the household electrical appliances 100 . The server 200 is composed of one or more server devices (for example, cloud servers). Server 200 may also be referred to as a "server system." Server 200 can communicate with home appliance 100 or terminal device 300 via network NW. The server 200 may include an information processing unit that performs edge computing and fog computing, such as an information processing unit included in a router in the network NW. The server 200 is not limited to a cloud server, and may be a computer at the residence of the user U, a home router (for example, a wireless router WR), or the like.

Terminal device 300 is a terminal device used by user U of home appliance 100 . The terminal device 300 is, for example, a mobile terminal device such as a smart phone or a tablet terminal device. However, the terminal device 300 is not limited to a mobile terminal device, and may be a personal computer or the like. The terminal device 300 has a display device 301 including a display screen 301a capable of displaying various kinds of information, and an input device 302 capable of accepting user U's input. The input device 302 is, for example, a touch panel that overlaps the display screen 301a of the display device 301 . The input device 302 may include a camera, microphone, etc. provided in the terminal device 300 .

An application program P is installed in the terminal device 300, and functions described below are supported. Application program P is an application program for managing home appliance 100 . The application program P is used, for example, for remote control or status confirmation of the home appliance 100 or use of services related to the home appliance 100 . Below, the application software started by executing the application program P is called "home appliance management application APP."

<2. Home appliances>
First, the home appliance 100 will be described in detail.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the home appliance 100. As shown in FIG. Home appliance 100 has actuator 110, operation part 120, control part 130, and storage part 180, for example.

Actuator 110 is a driving unit that operates the main functions of home appliance 100 . For example, if the home appliance 100 is a refrigerator, the actuator 110 may be a compressor that compresses refrigerant or a blower that circulates cold air in the refrigerator. When home appliance 100 is a washing machine, actuator 110 is a motor or the like that rotates a washing tub.

The operation unit 120 is an operation button, a touch panel, or the like provided on the home appliance 100 . The operation unit 120 receives user U's operation regarding the home appliance 100 . The operation unit 120 receives, for example, an operation by the user U to specify or change the setting contents of the home appliance 100 . The setting contents of the home appliance 100 include one or more of control amounts, target values, threshold values, timer settings, operation modes, and the like regarding various controls. Information indicating the setting contents of home appliance 100 is stored in storage unit 180 as setting information 181 .

Control unit 130 is implemented by one or more hardware processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) installed in home appliance 100 executing a program. However, part or all of the control unit 130 may be realized by hardware such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be implemented by software and hardware. It may be realized by cooperation with wear.

The control unit 130 controls the home appliance 100 as a whole. For example, the control unit 130 operates the home appliance 100 by controlling the actuator 110 based on the detection result of the sensor provided in the home appliance 100 and the setting information 181 . The control unit 130 also executes various controls in response to requests from the server 200 and responses to the server 200 .

The storage unit 180 is a functional unit that stores various information. Storage unit 180 is realized by a combination of RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), SSD (Solid State Drive), or the like. The storage unit 180 stores setting information 181 .

<3. Server>
Next, the server 200 will be described in detail.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server 200. As shown in FIG. The server 200 has, for example, a device registration unit 210, a home appliance management unit 220, a service provision unit 230, and a storage unit 280.

Device registration unit 210 , home appliance management unit 220 , and service provision unit 230 are implemented by one or more hardware processors such as the CPU installed in server 200 executing programs. However, some or all of these functional units may be implemented by hardware such as ASIC, PLD, or FPGA, or may be implemented by cooperation between software and hardware. Note that these functional units may be separately provided in a plurality of server devices. Also, one or more of these functional units may be provided in the terminal device 300 or the home appliance 100 instead of the server 200 .

<3.1 Device Registration Section>
The device registration unit 210 performs device registration of the home appliance 100 in response to a request from the terminal device 300 (that is, an application from the user U). Device registration means associating a specific user U with the home appliance 100 used by the user U (that is, the home appliance 100 to be remotely controlled). Device registration is performed, for example, by registering a correspondence relationship between user information (for example, a user ID) that can identify the user U and device information (for example, a device ID) that can identify an individual home appliance 100 . In this embodiment, the correspondence relationship is registered in the device registration DB 281 stored in the storage unit 280 . The device ID is, for example, the manufacturing number of the home appliance 100 . The device registration may be performed by associating the specific terminal device 300 used by the user U with the specific home appliance 100 instead of associating the specific user U with the specific home appliance 100. good.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the device registration DB 281. As shown in FIG. In the device registration DB 281, for example, a user ID, a device ID, a type (household appliance type) of the home appliance 100, a model of the home appliance 100, and a display name on the home appliance management application APP are registered in association with each other. be.

When the device registration unit 210 registers the home appliance 100 in response to a request from the terminal device 300 , the device registration unit 210 transmits to the terminal device 300 information indicating the home appliance 100 that has undergone the device registration. Information indicating the home appliance 100 that has undergone device registration is stored in the storage unit 380 of the terminal device 300 as device registration information 381, which will be described later.

<3.2 Home appliance management section>
The home appliance management unit 220 manages the home appliances 100 for which device registration has been performed. For example, when the home appliance management unit 220 receives a remote operation request for remotely operating the home appliance 100 from the terminal device 300, the home appliance management unit 220 notifies the home appliance 100 of a control command corresponding to the received remote operation request. The device 100 is remotely operated. Further, when the terminal device 300 receives a confirmation request for confirming the state of the home appliance 100, the home appliance management unit 220 notifies the home appliance 100 of a request to transmit state information indicating the state of the home appliance 100. do. The home appliance management unit 220 transmits information indicating the state of the home appliance 100 to the terminal device 300 based on the state information received from the home appliance 100 .

In this embodiment, the home appliance management section 220 has a collective operation management section 221 . The collective operation management unit 221 collectively controls a plurality of home appliances 100 (for example, a plurality of home appliances 100 of the same type) based on a predetermined signal received from the terminal device 300 . In this embodiment, the collective operation management unit 221 can collectively control the plurality of air conditioners 100A installed in the user U's residence. For example, the collective operation management unit 221 can collectively turn off the power of the plurality of air conditioners 100A.

<3.3 Service Provider>
The service providing unit 230 provides services related to the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed. The service provided by the service providing unit 230 is, for example, a service related to the home appliance 100 and different from the operation (control) of the home appliance 100 . In this embodiment, the service providing unit 230 includes a food material managing unit 231 , a recipe providing unit 232 , a reference information providing unit 233 and an advertisement information providing unit 234 .

(Ingredient Management Department)
The food management unit 231 provides a food management service. The food material management service is a service that manages the inventory of food materials present in user U's home (for example, refrigerator 100B). In this embodiment, the food management service is a service related to the refrigerator 100B (or the microwave oven 100C), and can be used by the user U by registering the refrigerator 100B (for example, it can be used without functional restrictions). )become. The food material management unit 231 receives input of food materials that exist in the home of the user U, and registers and manages the input food materials in the stock list DB 282 stored in the storage unit 280 .

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the inventory list DB 282. As shown in FIG. In the inventory list DB 282, the management ID, ingredient name, ingredient category, storage location, date of purchase, expiration date (or expiration date), quantity, unit, and history are associated and managed as inventory list information. The inventory list DB 282 is managed separately for each individual refrigerator 100B, for example.

In addition to the stock list information, the food ingredient management unit 231 may manage shopping list information, candidate list information, stock list information, and the like. The shopping list information is information that the user U can refer to when shopping in order to prevent forgetting to buy. In the shopping list information, ingredients for which the user U's purchase schedule (for example, explicit purchase intention) has been confirmed is registered. The candidate list information is information that the user U can refer to in order to prevent forgetting to buy. In the candidate list information, when the quantity of a specific ingredient (for example, a regular item) decreases and a predetermined condition is satisfied (for example, when the stock becomes zero), that ingredient is automatically registered. Ingredients managed as regular supplies are registered in the regular supplies list information.

The ingredients management unit 231 provides a registration function of registering, changing the quantity of, or deleting ingredients included in inventory list information, shopping list information, candidate list information, or regular supplies. For example, the ingredient management unit 231 registers, changes the quantity of, or deletes ingredients included in each list information based on the user's operation on the operation reception unit 330 of the terminal device 300, which will be described later. The above registration function is an example of "a registration function for registering information related to a service".

(recipe provider)
The recipe providing unit 232 provides a recipe service. A recipe service is a service related to recipe suggestion or search. In this embodiment, the recipe service is a service related to the refrigerator 100B or the microwave oven 100C, and can be used by the user U by performing device registration of either the refrigerator 100B or the microwave oven 100C (for example, a specific function restriction). available without receiving The recipe providing unit 232 proposes or searches for recipes based on the recipe DB 283 stored in the storage unit 280 . In this embodiment, the recipe service includes a first recipe service and a second recipe service.

The first recipe service is a service that becomes available when refrigerator 100B is registered as a device. The first recipe service is capable of suggesting or searching for recipes (hereinafter referred to as "general recipes") regardless of the electrical appliance 100 used for cooking. In this embodiment, the first recipe service cooperates with the ingredients management service, and can propose or search for recipes using ingredients contained in the stock list DB 282 .

The second recipe service is a service that becomes available when the oven range 100C is registered. The second recipe service is a service capable of suggesting or searching for recipes using the microwave oven 100C for cooking (hereinafter referred to as "microwave recipe"). In this embodiment, the second recipe service cooperates with the ingredients management service, and can propose or search for recipes using ingredients contained in the stock list DB 282 . In other words, in the present embodiment, the second recipe service related to the microwave oven 100C can propose or search for recipes using ingredients that are in stock in the refrigerator 100B beyond the types of home appliances 100.

Further, in the present embodiment, the second recipe service can propose or search for an oven range recipe corresponding to the model of the oven range 100C for which device registration has been performed, and for the oven range 100C for which device registration has been performed. Information indicating the heating time can be transmitted. This content will be described later. In addition, in this embodiment, the second recipe service can perform searches based on search items (for example, nutrients) that are not available in the first recipe service.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the recipe DB 283. As shown in FIG. The recipe DB 283 includes a first recipe DB 283a and a second recipe DB 283b. Management IDs, names, thumbnail images, recipe contents, and search words are associated with each other in the first recipe DB 283a. On the other hand, in the second recipe DB 283b, the management ID, name, thumbnail image, recipe content, search word, model of the corresponding microwave oven 100C, heating time in the corresponding microwave oven 100C, and nutrients (nutrient components) are associated. It is For example, the second recipe DB 283b is provided for each model of the microwave oven 100C.

As described above, the recipe provision unit 232 provides a viewing function of viewing recipes registered in the recipe DB 283 . For example, the recipe provision unit 232 identifies a recipe included in the recipe DB 283 based on the user U's operation on the operation reception unit 330 of the terminal device 300 and transmits information on the recipe to the terminal device 300 . The browsing function described above is an example of a "browsing function for browsing information related to a service." In this embodiment, the recipe providing unit 232 can view information corresponding to the model of the home appliance 100 used by the user U.

Also, in this embodiment, the recipe providing unit 232 provides a search function for searching recipes included in the recipe DB 283 . For example, the recipe provision unit 232 searches for and identifies a recipe included in the recipe DB 283 based on the operation of the user U on the operation reception unit 330 of the terminal device 300 , and transmits the recipe information to the terminal device 300 . The above search function is an example of "a search function for searching information related to a service". In this embodiment, the recipe providing unit 232 can search for information corresponding to the model of the home appliance 100 used by the user U.

In this embodiment, the recipe providing unit 232 provides a transmission function of transmitting information indicating the heating time to the microwave oven 100C for which device registration has been performed. For example, based on the device registration DB 281, the recipe provision unit 232 can acquire information indicating the model of the oven range 100C for which device registration has been performed. When a recipe included in the second recipe DB 283b is selected, the recipe provision unit 232 acquires information indicating the heating time of the microwave oven 100C included in the selected recipe based on the second recipe DB 283b. Then, through communication between server 200 and microwave oven 100C, recipe providing unit 232 transmits information indicating the heating time corresponding to the selected recipe to microwave oven 100C. The above transmission function is an example of "a transmission function for transmitting a control amount to a home appliance". The heating time is an example of the "control amount of the home appliance".

(Reference Information Department)
The reference information providing unit 233 provides a reference information service. The reference information service is information indicating reference information related to the home appliance 100 (for example, recommended usage of the home appliance 100). Recommended usage techniques include convenient usage of the home appliance 100, convenient usage of the home appliance management application APP, maintenance methods for extending the life of the home appliance 100, and the like. The recommended utilization technique is an example of "information indicating a proposal for a utilization method or a maintenance method for a home appliance". From another point of view, the recommended usage technique is an example of "information indicating recommended usage method or maintenance method for a home appliance". From another point of view, it is an example of "information indicating a method for improving the quality or efficiency of housework using a home appliance". In this embodiment, the reference information providing unit 233 registers and manages the reference information as described above in the reference information DB 284 stored in the storage unit 280 .

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the reference information DB 284. As shown in FIG. In the reference information DB 284, for example, management IDs, names, thumbnail images, contents of reference information (for example, contents of utilization techniques), and related home electric appliances 100 are associated with each other. The reference information providing unit 233 can acquire reference information corresponding to a specific type of home appliance 100 based on the reference information DB 284 .

The reference information providing unit 233 selects reference information to be displayed on the home screen DH of the home appliance management application APP, which will be described later, based on the selection rule information 285, which will be described later. This content will be described later in detail.

(Advertising Information Department)
The advertisement information providing unit 234 provides an advertisement information service. The advertisement information service is a service that provides advertisement information introducing the latest home appliance 100 . In this embodiment, the advertisement information providing unit 234 registers and manages the above-described advertisement information in the advertisement information DB 286 stored in the storage unit 280 . The advertisement information providing unit 234 can acquire advertisement information corresponding to the home appliance 100 targeted for advertisement based on the advertisement information DB 286 .

<3.5 Storage unit>
Storage unit 280 is realized by a combination of RAM, ROM, EEPROM, SSD, or the like. The storage unit 280 stores, for example, a device registration DB 281, an inventory list DB 282, a recipe DB 283, a reference information DB 284, selection rule information 285, and an advertisement information DB 286.

<4. Terminal device>
Next, the terminal device 300 will be described in detail.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the terminal device 300. As shown in FIG. The terminal device 300 has, for example, a registration reception unit 310, a display control unit 320, an operation reception unit 330, a notification unit 340, and a storage unit 380.

Registration reception unit 310, display control unit 320, operation reception unit 330, and notification unit 340 are realized by one or more hardware processors such as the CPU installed in terminal device 300 executing application program P. be. In other words, the registration reception unit 310, the display control unit 320, the operation reception unit 330, and the notification unit 340 are software function units included in the home appliance management application APP.

<4.1 Registration Reception Section>
The registration accepting unit 310 accepts an application for device registration of the home appliance 100 based on the user U's operation on the operation accepting unit 330 . In this application, "receiving an application for registration" or "receiving registration" is not limited to the case where the registration process is completed in the terminal device 300, and the operation of the user U instructing device registration (i.e., application for registration) is A case where the terminal device 300 accepts and the actual registration processing is performed by the server 200 may also be included.

In the present embodiment, the registration reception unit 310 associates the home appliance 100 (hereinafter referred to as “target home appliance 100”) with the user ID used for login in a state where the home appliance management application APP has been logged in using the user ID. ) will be accepted for registration. For example, the user U uses the camera of the terminal device 300 to read the QR code (registered trademark) attached to the target home appliance 100 . The registration reception unit 310 transmits QR code information indicating the QR code read using the camera of the terminal device 300 to the server 200 . Accordingly, the device registration unit 210 of the server 200 performs device registration by associating the device ID indicated by the QR code information received from the terminal device 300 with the user ID used for login. A QR code is an example of a "two-dimensional barcode."

<4.2 Display control unit>
The display control unit 320 controls the content displayed on the display screen 301 a of the display device 301 by controlling the display device 301 of the terminal device 300 . For example, the display control unit 320 includes one or more first operation units B1 for operating the home appliance 100, one or more second operation units B2 for using services related to the home appliance 100, the home appliance One or more third operation units B3 for browsing reference information related to 100, one or more fourth operation units B4 for browsing recommended recipes, and one or more for browsing advertising information The fifth operation section B5 is displayed on the display screen 301a in a predetermined manner (see FIG. 9). As a specific example of the second operation part B2, there is a second operation part B2c for using the "collective operation service" described later. The display control unit 320 allows the user U to input an instruction regarding collectively operating a plurality of registered home appliances 100 in response to registration of a plurality of home appliances 100 that are permitted to be operated collectively. The display on the display screen 301a may be controlled in such a state. For example, the display control unit 320 may display the second operation unit B2c (batch operation unit) on the display screen 301a in response to registration of a plurality of home appliances 100 that are permitted to be operated collectively. . In addition, the display control unit 320 registers a plurality of household electrical appliances 100 that are allowed to be operated collectively, and operates the registered household electrical appliances 100 in response to the operation of the registered household electrical appliances 100. The display on the display screen 301a may be controlled so that the user U can input an instruction regarding collectively operating the . For example, the display control unit 320 displays a display screen in response to a plurality of household electrical appliances 100 that are allowed to be operated collectively being registered and the user U actually inputting an instruction regarding operating the household electrical appliances 100 . A second operation section B2c (collective operation section) may be displayed on 301a. Hereinafter, the first to fifth operation units B1, B2, B3, B4, and B5 are simply referred to as "operation unit B" when not distinguished from each other. The display control unit 320 will be described later in detail.

<4.3 Operation reception unit>
The operation accepting unit 330 accepts an operation performed by the user U on the input device 302 in relation to the home appliance management application APP. For example, the operation accepting unit 330 accepts an operation by the user U on the operating unit B (first to fifth operating units B1, B2, B3, B4, B5) displayed on the display screen 301a. The operation reception unit 330 transmits a signal corresponding to the operation unit B operated by the user U to the server 200 . As a result, the server 200 performs processing corresponding to the operation unit B operated by the user U. FIG.

<4.4 Notification Unit>
The notification unit 340 notifies the user U of predetermined content through the display device 301 . For example, the notification unit 340 notifies the user U of how to use the home appliance management application APP.

<4.5 Storage unit>
Storage unit 380 is realized by a combination of RAM, ROM, EEPROM, SSD, or the like. The storage unit 380 stores an application program P and device registration information 381 . In the device registration information 381, a list of home electric appliances 100 registered in association with the user ID of the user U who uses the terminal device 300 is registered.

<5. Contents displayed on the display screen>
Next, the display contents of the terminal device 300 will be described. The display contents described below are realized by the processing of the display control unit 320 unless otherwise specified. In the following description, the "operation unit B" is an operation unit displayed on the display screen 301a, and is a function key assigned to call a specific function. The operation unit B is, for example, an icon displayed on the display screen 301a.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of display contents displayed on the display screen 301a of the terminal device 300. As shown in FIG. The screen shown in FIG. 9 is, for example, the home screen (top screen) DH of the home appliance management application APP. A "home screen" is a screen that is displayed first as an operation screen of the home appliance management application APP. A black frame indicated by reference numeral 301a shown in FIG. 9 indicates the content displayed on the display screen 301a of the display device 301 at one time.

In this embodiment, the display control unit 320 displays the first functional area R1, the second functional area R2, the third functional area R3, the fourth functional area R4, and the fifth functional area R5 on the home screen DH. That is, the display control unit 320 displays the first to fifth functional regions R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 on one screen. In this application, "display on one screen" means "display on a continuous screen". In other words, "to be displayed on one screen" is not limited to the case of being displayed within a screen that can be viewed at once (for example, within the display screen 301a). It may also include the case where it is displayed in order by scrolling from the state where it is displayed.

In this embodiment, the lateral widths of the first to fifth functional regions R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 are the same. For example, the widths of the first to fifth functional regions R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 match the width of the display screen 301a. The first to fifth functional regions R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction with respect to the screen. Hereinafter, the first to fifth functional regions R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 are simply referred to as "functional regions R" when not distinguished from each other.

<5.1 First functional area>
The first functional area R1 is a functional area corresponding to "household appliance control (household appliance operation)". The first functional area R1 includes one or more first operation parts B1 for operating the home appliance 100. FIG. In the present embodiment, a plurality of first operation parts B1 for operating different electrical home appliances 100 are displayed in the first function area R1.

In the present application, the “operation unit for operating the home appliance 100” is not limited to an operation unit that directly operates the home appliance 100, but may be an operation unit for transitioning to an operation screen that allows the home appliance 100 to be operated. good. In the present embodiment, when the first operation unit B1 is operated (for example, tapped) by the user U, the individual operation screen of the electric home appliance 100 corresponding to the operated first operation unit B1 (operation divided for each electric home appliance 100) is displayed. screen).

In this embodiment, when the home appliance 100 is registered, the first operation unit B1 corresponding to the home appliance 100 for which the device registration is performed is added to the first function area R1. In other words, the number of first operation units B1 corresponds to the number of home appliances 100 for which device registration has been performed.

In this embodiment, the size (for example, vertical width) of the first functional region R1 is changed according to the number of the first operation portions B1. That is, the larger the number of registered home appliances 100, the larger the size (for example, the vertical width) of the first functional region R1. On the other hand, the smaller the number of registered home appliances 100, the smaller the size (for example, the vertical width) of the first functional region R1.

For example, the display control unit 320 does not display (hide) the first functional region R1 when the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed does not exist. In this application, "do not display the functional area" is not limited to the case where the functional area is not completely displayed, but is a state hidden in a manner that can be switched to the display state (only the operation unit that can be transitioned to the display state is displayed and other areas are hidden). This also applies to the second functional region R2. Note that, instead of the above example, the display control unit 320, when there is no home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed, compares the first functional region R1 in the case where the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed exists. The first functional region R1 may be formed in a small form (for example, a form with a small vertical width).

FIG. 9 shows that "air conditioner 1", "air conditioner 2", "refrigerator", "oven range", and "washing machine" are registered as a plurality of home appliances 100, and as a result, a plurality of first operation units As B1, a first operation unit B1a for operating "air conditioner 1", a first operation unit B1b for operating "air conditioner 2", a first operation unit B1c for operating "refrigerator", "microwave oven , and a first operation unit B1e for operating "washing machine" are displayed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an individual operation screen 410 on which home appliance 100 can be operated. On the individual operation screen 410, one or more operation units 411 that can operate the home appliance 100 are displayed. For example, FIG. 10 shows individual operation screen 410 corresponding to air conditioner 1 . The individual operation screen 410 corresponding to the air conditioner 1 is displayed after transition from the home screen DH by, for example, operating (for example, tapping) the first operation unit B1a corresponding to "air conditioner 1" on the home screen DH. .

On the individual operation screen 410 corresponding to the air conditioner 1, an operation unit 411a for switching the ON/OFF state of the operation of the air conditioner 1, an operation unit 411b for changing the room temperature setting, and the like are displayed as the operation units 411 capable of operating the air conditioner 1. be done. In addition, individual operation screen 410 includes display section 412 on which the state of home appliance 100 is displayed. Although FIG. 10 illustrates the individual operation screen 410 corresponding to the air conditioner 1 , the individual operation screen 410 corresponding to other types of household electrical appliances 100 includes an operation unit 411 and a display unit 412 corresponding to the type of the household electrical appliance 100 . is displayed.

User U's operation on operation unit 411 displayed on individual operation screen 410 is accepted by operation reception unit 330 , and a signal corresponding to operated operation unit 411 is transmitted to home appliance management unit 220 of server 200 . As a result, the home appliance 100 can be remotely operated and the status can be checked.

<5.2 Second Functional Area>
Returning to FIG. 9, the second functional region R2 will be described. The second functional area R2 is a functional area corresponding to services related to the home appliance 100 (hereinafter referred to as "household appliance related services"). The second functional area R2 includes one or more second operation parts B2 for using home appliance-related services. In this embodiment, the second function area R2 displays a plurality of second operation parts B2 corresponding to different home appliance-related services.

In the present application, "an operation unit for using a service" is not limited to an operation unit for directly using a service, and may be an operation unit for transitioning to an operation screen for using a service. In the present embodiment, when the second operation unit B2 is operated (for example, tapped) by the user U, the individual operation screen of the home appliance-related service corresponding to the operated second operation unit B2 (operation divided for each home appliance-related service) is displayed. screen).

In this embodiment, the home appliance related service includes a first home appliance related service and a second home appliance related service. The first home appliance related service is a service related to the home appliance 100 and different from the operation of the home appliance 100 . The first home appliance-related service is a "food material management service" or a "recipe service", which will be described later. On the other hand, the second home appliance related service is a service related to the home appliance 100 and a service related to the operation of the home appliance 100 . The second home appliance-related service is a "collective operation service" to be described later.

In the present embodiment, when the home appliance 100 is registered and there is a home appliance-related service related to the home appliance 100 for which the device registration has been performed, a second operation unit corresponding to the home appliance-related service exists. B2 is added to the second functional region R2. On the other hand, if the home appliance 100 has been registered and there is no home appliance-related service associated with the home appliance 100 for which the device registration has been performed, the second operation unit B2 is not added. That is, the number of second operation units B2 corresponds to the number of home appliance-related services that can be used by the user U by performing the device registration of the home appliance 100 .

In this embodiment, the size (for example, vertical width) of the second functional region R2 is changed according to the number of the second operation portions B2. That is, the larger the number of home appliance-related services related to the registered home appliance 100, the larger the size (for example, vertical width) of the second functional region R2. On the other hand, the smaller the number of home appliance-related services associated with the registered home appliance 100, the smaller the size (for example, vertical width) of the second functional region R2. For example, in this embodiment, there is no home appliance-related service related to the washing machine 100D. In this case, if the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed is only the washing machine 100D, a first operation unit B1 for operating the washing machine 100D is added to the first function area R1, but the second function The second operation portion B2 is not added to the region R2.

In the present embodiment, the display control unit 320 determines that one or more home appliances 100 among all the home appliances 100 for which device registration has been performed does not have any home appliance-related service. In this case, the second functional region R2 is not displayed (hidden). Note that, instead of the above example, when there is no home appliance-related service, the display control unit 320 has a mode smaller than the second functional region R2 when there is a home appliance-related service (for example, a mode with a small vertical width). to display the second functional region R2.

FIG. 9 shows that “ingredient management service”, “recipe service”, and “collective operation service” are home appliance-related services related to the registered home appliances 100 (air conditioner 1, air conditioner 2, refrigerator, and microwave oven). As a result, a second operation part B2a for using the "ingredient management service", a second operation part B2b for using the "recipe service", and a "batch operation" as the plurality of second operation parts B2. In this example, the second operation portion B2c for using "service" is displayed.

The “ingredients management service” is a service related to the refrigerator 100B (or the microwave oven 100C) and provided by the foodstuff management unit 231 of the server 200 . A second operation unit B2a corresponding to "ingredients management service" is added when refrigerator 100B or microwave oven 100C is registered as a device. The "ingredients management service" is an example of the "first home appliance related service". The details of the "ingredients management service" will be described later.

A “recipe service” is a service related to refrigerator 100B or microwave oven 100C and provided by recipe providing unit 232 of server 200 . A second operation unit B2b corresponding to "recipe service" is added when refrigerator 100B or microwave oven 100C is registered as a device. A “recipe service” is another example of a “first home appliance-related service”. The details of the “recipe service” will be described later.

The “batch operation service” is, for example, a service related to the air conditioner 100</b>A and provided by the batch operation management unit 221 of the server 200 . In the present embodiment, the air conditioner 100A is a household electrical appliance 100 that allows collective operation. It should be noted that the home appliance 100 for which collective operation is permitted in this way need not be limited to the air conditioner 100A. For example, appliances such as a refrigerator 100B, a microwave oven 100C, a washing machine 100D, an electric fan, an air purifier, an electric stove, and a lighting fixture may be used as the home appliances 100 that are allowed to be operated collectively. The second operation unit B2c corresponding to the "collective operation service" is displayed so that the user U can operate it when a plurality of air conditioners 100A are registered. The "collective operation service" is an example of the "second home appliance related service". The second operation part B2c is an example of a "special operation part". The details of the "batch operation service" will be described later.

11 and 12 are diagrams showing display examples of part of the display content displayed on the terminal device according to the first embodiment. In the display example shown in FIG. 9, the second operation section B2c corresponding to "collective operation service" is displayed, whereas in FIG. 11, the second operation section B2c corresponding to "collective operation service" is displayed. do not have. In FIG. 12, the second operation section B2c corresponding to "collective operation service" is displayed in a manner different from the display in FIG. For example, in FIG. 12, the second operation section B2c is displayed in a so-called grayed-out state. The display control unit 320 controls the display screen 301a so that the user U cannot input an instruction to the second operation unit B2c when a plurality of home appliances 100 that are allowed to be operated collectively are not registered. display may be controlled. For example, the display control unit 320 may display a state in which input is impossible by not displaying the second operation unit B2c on the display screen 301a as shown in FIG. By displaying the second operation section B2c on the display screen 301a in a manner different from that shown in FIG. 9, a state in which input is not possible may be displayed. As a specific example of a mode different from FIG. 9, for example, a mode in which the second operation part B2c is grayed out, a mode in which another image (for example, an image of "x") is superimposed on the second operation part B2c, and the like. , by changing the mode of displaying another image (for example, an image of "x") near the second operation part B2c, or by changing the display shape (for example, size, color, line type, etc.) of the second operation part B2c itself. There is a mode of displaying.

The display of the second operation unit B2c corresponding to the "batch operation service" is based on a further different condition in addition to the condition of whether or not a plurality of household appliances 100 are registered for which batch operation is permitted as described above. may be controlled by The predetermined state may be, for example, a state in which the power is ON, or may be a state in which the power is OFF. For example, under the condition that the power of the plurality of air conditioners 100A is ON (ON), the second operation unit B2c is operably displayed as shown in FIG. 9 and the power of the plurality of air conditioners 100A is ON ( ON), the second operation unit B2c may be displayed as inoperable as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 .

In the present embodiment, each of the second operation part B2a corresponding to the "ingredients management service" and the second operation part B2b corresponding to the "recipe service" registers or searches information related to the home appliance 100 (for example, inventory list It is an operation unit for registering ingredients for information and searching for recipes). In this application, the "operation unit for registering or searching for information" is not limited to the operation unit for directly registering or searching for information. operation part may be used.

(Ingredient management service)
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an individual operation screen 510 on which home appliance-related services can be used. The individual operation screen 510 displays an operation unit for using home appliance-related services. For example, FIG. 13 shows an individual operation screen 510 on which the "ingredients management service" can be used. The individual operation screen 510 is displayed after transition from the home screen DH by, for example, operating (for example, tapping) the second operation unit B2a corresponding to the "ingredient management service" on the home screen DH.

On the individual operation screen 510, an operation unit 511 for browsing stock list information and shopping list information of ingredients is displayed as an operation unit for using home appliance-related services. In addition, on the individual operation screen 510, a display section 512 is displayed that indicates the state of ingredient management (for example, the state of inventory).

In this embodiment, an operation unit 515 for transitioning from the individual operation screen 510 corresponding to the "ingredient management service" to the individual operation screen 610 (see FIG. 15) corresponding to the "recipe service", which is another home appliance-related service, is displayed. is displayed. An operation unit 515 is an operation unit that can switch between a plurality of independent home appliance-related services without returning to the home screen DH.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of another individual operation screen 520 on which the "ingredients management service" can be used. The individual operation screen 520 is displayed by transitioning from the individual operation screen 510 by, for example, operating (for example, tapping) the operation unit 511 for browsing the stock list information on the individual operation screen 510 described above. On the individual operation screen 520, an operation unit 521 for viewing details of each ingredient registered in the stock list information is displayed as an operation unit for using home appliance-related services.

(recipe service)
FIG. 15 shows an individual operation screen 610 on which the "recipe service" can be used. The individual operation screen 610 is displayed after transition from the home screen DH by, for example, operating (for example, tapping) the second operation unit B2b corresponding to "recipe service" on the home screen DH.

In the individual operation screen 610, as operation units for using home appliance-related services, an operation unit 611 for browsing individual recipes, an operation unit 612 for searching for recipes, and an operation unit for switching recipe types are provided. 613 is displayed.

In this embodiment, when the refrigerator 100B and the oven range 100C are registered, the individual operation screen 610 displays recipes registered in the first recipe DB 283a (that is, "general recipes") and second recipe DB 283b. Both registered recipes (that is, "oven range recipes") are displayed. Each recipe has a first indication M1 indicating that the recipe is a "general recipe" or a second indication M2 indicating that the recipe is an "oven range recipe".

In this embodiment, when the operation unit 613 corresponding to "all" is operated, both "general recipe" and "oven range recipe" are displayed. When the operation unit 613 corresponding to "general" is operated, only "general recipe" is displayed. When the operation unit 613 corresponding to "oven range" is operated, only "oven range recipe" is displayed.

In this embodiment, the individual operation screen 610 displays an operation unit 614 for viewing a collection of recipes set as "feature recipes." A "feature recipe" is a collection of recipes for each theme such as season, event, or cooking method. The "feature recipe" is registered in the recipe DB 283 of the server 200 by being updated at a predetermined frequency by the operator.

In this embodiment, the display of the operation unit 614 changes according to the device registration status of the home appliance 100 . For example, when the refrigerator 100B is registered, an operation unit 614 corresponding to a plurality of (for example, two) "special recipes" that are "general recipes" is displayed. When the device registration of the oven range 100C is performed, an operation unit 614 corresponding to a plurality of (for example, two) "feature recipes" that are "oven range recipes" is displayed.

In this embodiment, an operation unit 615 for transitioning from the individual operation screen 610 corresponding to the "recipe service" to the individual operation screen 510 (see FIG. 13) corresponding to the "ingredient management service", which is another home appliance-related service, is displayed. is displayed. An operation unit 615 is an operation unit that can switch between a plurality of home appliance-related services that are independent of each other without returning to the home screen DH.

(Bulk operation service)
FIG. 16 shows an individual operation screen 710 on which the "collective operation service" can be used. The individual operation screen 710 is displayed after transition from the home screen DH by, for example, operating (for example, tapping) the second operation unit B2c corresponding to the "collective operation service" on the home screen DH.

The individual operation screen 710 displays an operation unit 711 for collectively operating a plurality of home appliances 100 (for example, a plurality of air conditioners 100A) as an operation unit for using home appliance-related services. The operation unit 711 is an operation unit (batch change operation unit) for receiving an instruction regarding changing the operating state of the plurality of home appliances 100 . The operation unit 711 may receive an instruction from the user U, for example, to collectively turn off the power of the plurality of air conditioners 100A. The operation unit 711 may receive an instruction from the user U, for example, to collectively turn the power of the plurality of air conditioners 100A from OFF to ON. The operation unit 711 may receive an instruction from the user U, for example, to collectively change the set temperatures of the plurality of air conditioners 100A and the operation types (cooling, heating, dehumidification, etc.).

On the individual operation screen 710, a display section 712 showing the state of each home appliance 100 (for example, each air conditioner 100A) and a selection display section 713 for selecting each home appliance 100 are displayed. The selection display portion 713 may be displayed as check boxes, for example. The selection display portion 713 is displayed in different modes depending on whether it is selected by the user U or not. At the initial time when the individual operation screen 710 is displayed, the selection display section 713 may be displayed in a state in which all the displayed home appliances 100 are selected. After that, the user U can individually cancel the selection of the electrical home appliances 100 by operating (for example, tapping) the selection display portion 713 . The display mode of the selection display portion 713 changes according to the cancellation. Such display of the selection display section 713 is controlled by the display control section 320 . An instruction from the user U corresponding to the operation unit 711 is accepted only for the home appliance 100 whose selection display unit 713 is in a selected state when the operation unit 711 is operated.

Any combination of a plurality of home appliances 100 that are targets of the "collective operation service" may be defined. For example, one or more air conditioners and one or more electric fans may be defined as home appliances 100 to be collectively operated in the "collective operation service". In this case, for example, on the second operation unit B2c and the individual operation screen 710, it may be displayed as "air conditioning collective operation". For example, a plurality of lighting fixtures may be defined as home appliances 100 to be collectively operated in the "collective operation service". In this case, for example, on the second operation unit B2c and the individual operation screen 710, it may be displayed as "batch lighting operation". For example, a combination of home appliances 100 installed in each room may be defined as home appliances 100 to be operated collectively. For example, when an air conditioner a, a humidifier a, and a lighting a are installed in the living room, these three electric appliances 100 may be operated collectively. When such an operation is performed, for example, a second operation part B2 with a name such as "per-room collective operation" may be defined as the second operation part B2. Further, when such a second operation section B2 is provided and operated, the electric device 100 defined for each room may be described and the selection display section 713 may be displayed for each room. When the user U selects the selection display section 713, the electric devices 100 installed in the selected room are collectively operated. The user U may define a combination of a plurality of household electrical appliances 100 that are the targets of the "collective operation service" and the details of the operation.

Instead of the above example, the second operation unit B2c displayed on the home screen DH directly collectively operates a plurality of home appliances 100 (for example, a plurality of air conditioners 100A) (for example, collectively turns them off). ) may be an operation unit. That is, by operating the second operation unit B2c, the plurality of home electric appliances 100 may be directly operated without transitioning to the individual operation screen 710. FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a display example of part of the display content displayed on the terminal device of the first embodiment when configured in this way. In FIG. 17, information indicating the operating state of each home appliance 100 is displayed on each first operation unit B1 of each home appliance 100 corresponding to the "collective operation service". In the example of FIG. 17, information indicating that each air conditioner is in operation is displayed in the first operation portion B1a of the air conditioner 1 and the first operation portion B1b of the air conditioner 2. In FIG. In addition, the information of the driving state to be displayed may be not only the information indicating whether the vehicle is in operation, but also other information (for example, driving type, set temperature, etc.).

First, each first operation unit B1 is displayed without displaying the information on the operating state as shown in FIG. 9, and the information on the operating state is displayed as shown in FIG. A screen including the first operation unit B1 may be displayed. In this case, the home appliances 100 may be directly operated without transitioning to the individual operation screen 710 in response to further operation of the second operation unit B2c in the display of FIG.

Further, as the second operation part B2, an operation part for collectively displaying the information on the operating states of the plurality of electric home appliances 100 on the first operation part B1 may be displayed. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a display example of the second operating section B2d, which is a specific example of such a second operating section B2. In FIG. 18, the second operation section B2d is displayed as a button "all air conditioner display". First, as shown in FIG. 18, each first operation unit B1 is displayed without displaying information on the operating state, and when the second operation unit B2d (air conditioner collective display) is operated, the operating state is changed as shown in FIG. A screen including the first operation unit B1 having information on . In this case, the home appliances 100 may be operated directly without transitioning to the individual operation screen 710 in response to the operation of the second operation unit B2c in the display of FIG.

An example in which the second operation section B2 corresponding to the "ingredient management service", the "recipe service", and the "batch operation service" as home appliance-related services is displayed in the second function area R2 has been described above. However, home appliance-related services are not limited to the above examples. For example, the second functional area R2 includes second operations corresponding to "monitoring service", "after-sales service", "automatic ordering of consumables", "web shopping", "health management", or "video content distribution". Part B2 may be displayed.

<5.3 Third Functional Area>
Returning to FIG. 9, the third functional region R3 will be described. The third functional area R3 is a functional area corresponding to "reference information service". “Reference information service” is a service provided by the reference information providing unit 233 of the server 200 . The third functional area R3 includes one or more third operation parts B3 for browsing reference information related to the home appliance 100. FIG. In this embodiment, a plurality of third operation sections B3 corresponding to different reference information are displayed in the third function area R3.

In this application, the "operation unit for browsing reference information" is not limited to the operation unit for directly browsing reference information, but also the operation unit for transitioning to the operation screen where reference information can be browsed. good. From one point of view, it can be said that viewing reference information related to the home appliance 100 is one of the home appliance related services.

In this embodiment, the reference information associated with the third operation unit B3 changes according to the device registration status of the home appliance 100. FIG. For example, among the reference information associated with the plurality of third operation units B3, priority is given to the reference information corresponding to the type of home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the number of third operation sections B3 displayed in the third function area R3 is not changed according to the number and types of home appliances 100 for which device registration has been performed. That is, even if there is no home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed, or even if there is no reference information related to the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed, a predetermined number (for example, four) of the third operation units B3 is displayed. In this case, the predetermined number of third operation parts B3 are associated with reference information related to home electric appliances 100 for which device registration has not been performed.

On the other hand, if there is a home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed, and there is reference information related to the home appliance 100, some or all of the predetermined number of third operation units B3 have the device registration information. Reference information related to the electrical home appliance 100 on which the is performed is associated. For example, when only the device registration of the refrigerator 100B is performed, four third operation portions B3 are displayed for viewing reference information related to the refrigerator 100B. For example, when the device registration of the air conditioner 100A and the refrigerator 100B is performed, the two third operation units B3 for browsing the reference information related to the air conditioner 100A and the reference information related to the refrigerator 100B are displayed. are displayed.

The reference information associated with the third operation unit B3 is selected from a plurality of reference information registered in the reference information DB 284 stored in the storage unit 280 of the server 200 and displayed in the third function area R3. . The selection of this reference information is determined by the reference information providing unit 233 of the server 200 based on the type of the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed and the selection rule information 285 stored in the storage unit 280 of the server 200. .

<5.4 Fourth Functional Area>
The fourth functional area R4 is a functional area corresponding to "recommended recipe (pickup recipe)". “Recommended recipe” is a service provided by the recipe provider 232 of the server 200 . The fourth functional area R4 includes one or more fourth operation parts B4 for viewing recommended recipes. In this embodiment, a plurality of fourth operation sections B4 corresponding to different recommended recipes are displayed in the fourth function area R4.

In this embodiment, the recommended recipe associated with the fourth operation unit B4 changes according to the device registration status of the home appliance 100 . For example, the recommended recipes associated with the plurality of fourth operation units B4 are selected from recipes corresponding to the home appliances 100 for which device registration has been performed. For example, when the refrigerator 100B is registered as a device, recommended recipes selected from a plurality of recipes (that is, "general recipes") included in the first recipe DB 283a are display candidates. In addition, when the device registration of the oven range 100C is performed, recommended recipes selected from a plurality of recipes (that is, "oven range recipes") included in the second recipe DB 283b become display candidates. In the fourth function area R4, a fourth operation portion B4 corresponding to a predetermined number (for example, four) of recommended recipes randomly selected from the plurality of display candidates is displayed.

The recommended recipe associated with the fourth operation portion B4 is randomly selected from, for example, the "feature recipes" described in the description of the second functional area R2. As a specific example, recipes 1, 2, and 3 are included in "special feature A" of oven range recipes, recipes 4, 5, and 6 are included in "feature B" of microwave oven recipes, and general recipes are included. recipe 7, recipe 8, recipe 9, and recipe 10 are included in "special feature C", and recipe 11, recipe 12, and recipe 13 are included in general recipe "special feature D", from these recipes 1 to 13 A fourth operation section B4 corresponding to a predetermined number (for example, four) of randomly selected recommended recipes is displayed in the fourth function area R4.

<5.5 Fifth Functional Area>
Next, the fifth functional region R5 will be explained. The fifth functional area R5 is a functional area corresponding to "advertisement information service". “Advertisement information service” is a service provided by the advertisement information providing unit 234 of the server 200 . The fifth functional area R5 includes one or more fifth operation parts B5 for viewing advertisement information. In this embodiment, a plurality of fifth operation sections B5 corresponding to different advertisement information are displayed in the fifth function area R5. In this embodiment, the number of fifth operation units B5 is a fixed number regardless of the type and number of home appliances 100 that are registered.

<6. Display order of functional areas>
Next, the display order of the first to fifth functional regions R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 will be explained. In this embodiment, when the first to fifth functional regions R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 are displayed on one screen, the display control unit 320 displays the first functional region R1, the second The functional area R2, the third functional area R3, the fourth functional area R4, and the fifth functional area R5 are displayed in this order.

According to one point of view, the operation unit B having a higher degree of association with the home appliance 100 whose device registration has been performed (the home appliance 100 used by the user U) is displayed in the upper part of the screen, and the operation part B is displayed in the lower part of the screen. As a matter of fact, the operation unit B having a low degree of association with the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed is displayed.

From another point of view, the upper part of the screen displays the operation part B that is operated more frequently by the user U, and the lower part of the screen displays the operation part B that is operated less frequently by the user U. . From another point of view, the operation unit B (the operation unit actively operated by the user U) having a higher degree of relevance to the operation of the home appliance 100 and the registration of information is displayed in the upper part of the screen. Operation units B (operation units passively operated by the user U) having a lower degree of relevance to the operation of the home appliance 100 and the registration of information are displayed toward the bottom.

In the present embodiment, in the initial state (unscrolled state) in which the home screen DH is displayed on the display screen 301a, at least the first functional region R1 and the second functional region R2 are simultaneously visible on the display screen 301a. is displayed. By scrolling the display screen 301a, the third to fifth functional regions R3, R4 and R5 are displayed in order.

<7. Other Operation Units>
Next, other operation units will be described with reference to FIG. An operation unit B6 corresponding to "service list" is displayed on the home screen DH. In this embodiment, when the operation unit B6 is operated (for example, tapped) by the user U, the screen transitions to an individual operation screen corresponding to "service list".

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of an individual operation screen corresponding to home appliance-related services. (a) in FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of an individual operation screen 810 corresponding to "service list". The individual operation screen 810 displays a plurality of operation units 811 corresponding to different home appliance-related services.

Here, in the present embodiment, when a home appliance-related service related to the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed exists in the second function region R2 of the home screen DH, the second operation corresponding to the home appliance-related service is performed. Only part B2 is displayed. On the other hand, on the individual operation screen 810 corresponding to the "service list", operation units corresponding to all home appliance-related services provided by the service providing unit 230 of the server 200 are displayed regardless of whether or not the home appliance 100 is registered. 811 is displayed. In other words, even when refrigerator 100B and microwave oven 100C are not registered, operation unit 811 for using the "ingredients management service" and "recipe service" is displayed.

In this embodiment, as the plurality of operation units 811, an operation unit 811a for using the "ingredient management service" and an operation unit 811b for using the "recipe service" are displayed. The operating portion 811a is, for example, an operating portion having the same function as the second operating portion B2a displayed in the second function area R2. The operating portion 811b is, for example, an operating portion having the same function as the second operating portion B2b displayed in the second function area R2.

On the other hand, the operation unit corresponding to "collective operation service" is not displayed. In other words, the individual operation screen 810 displays an operation unit 811 for using a home appliance-related service that is different from the operation of the home appliance 100 . On the other hand, individual operation screen 810 does not display an operation unit for using home appliance-related services related to the operation of home appliance 100 .

In this embodiment, the individual operation screen 810 also displays an operation unit 811c as one of the operation units 811 for using the “reference information service”. When the operation unit 811 c is operated (eg, tapped), the individual operation screen 810 transitions to the individual operation screen 820 .

(b) in FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of an individual operation screen 820 for using the "reference information service". The individual operation screen 820 displays a plurality of operation sections 821 for viewing different reference information (for example, recommended techniques). Unlike the fourth function area R4, the individual operation screen 820 includes an operation unit 821 corresponding to all reference information registered in the reference information DB 284 regardless of whether or not it is related to the registered home appliance 100. is displayed. That is, when viewing reference information (for example, recommended usage techniques) related to the home appliance 100, the content and amount displayed on the home screen DH and the content displayed on the individual operation screen 820 transitioning from the "service list" are displayed. and amounts vary.

<8. Process Flow>
<8.1 Home Screen Display Processing>
20 and 21 are flowcharts showing the flow of display processing for the home screen DH. First, when the application program P is started and the home screen DH of the home appliance management application APP is displayed, the display control unit 320 determines whether device registration has been performed based on the device registration information 381 stored in the storage unit 380. The number and types of household electrical appliances 100 (hereinafter referred to as "registered household electrical appliances 100") are detected (S111).

Next, the display control unit 320 determines whether or not there is one or more registered home electric appliances 100 (S112). If there is no registered electric home appliance 100 (S112: NO), the display control unit 320 determines not to display the first functional region R1 and the second functional region R2 (S113). On the other hand, if there is one or more registered home electric appliances 100 (S112: YES), the display control unit 320 displays the first functional region R1 and supports the one or more registered home appliances 100. It is determined to display the first operation section B1 to be displayed (S114).

Next, if there is one or more registered home appliances 100, the display control unit 320 determines whether or not the registered home appliances 100 include at least one of the refrigerator 100B and the microwave oven 100C (S115).

When at least one of the refrigerator 100B and the microwave oven 100C is included in the registered home appliance 100 (S115: YES), the display control unit 320 selects the second operation unit B2a corresponding to the "ingredients management service" and the "recipe service". It is determined to display the corresponding second operation section B2b (S116). On the other hand, if neither the refrigerator 100B nor the microwave oven 100C are included in the registered home appliances 100 (S115: NO), the display control unit 320 displays the second operation unit B2a corresponding to the "ingredient management service" and the "recipe It is determined that display of the second operation unit B2b corresponding to "Service" is unnecessary (S117).

Next, the display control unit 320 determines whether or not the registered electric home appliances 100 include a plurality of air conditioners 100A (S118). When a plurality of air conditioners 100A are included in the registered home appliances 100 (S118: YES), the display control unit 320 determines to display the second operation unit B2c corresponding to the "collective operation service" (S119). On the other hand, if the registered home appliances 100 do not include a plurality of air conditioners 100A (S118: NO), the display control unit 320 determines that display of the second operation unit B2c corresponding to the "collective operation service" is unnecessary. (S120).

Next, the display control unit 320 determines whether or not it is determined that display of at least one second operation unit B2 is necessary (S121). When it is determined that at least one second operation portion B2 needs to be displayed (S121: YES), the display control portion 320 determines to display the second functional region R2 (S122). On the other hand, when it is determined that display of all the second operation parts B2 is unnecessary (S121: NO), the display control part 320 determines not to display the second function area R2 (S124).

Next, the display control unit 320 sends a transmission request for transmitting information (hereinafter referred to as a “reference information list”) used for displaying reference information (for example, techniques for use) and information used for displaying recommended recipes (hereinafter “ (referred to as a "recommended recipe") and information indicating a list of registered electric home appliances 100 (hereinafter referred to as a "device list") are transmitted to the server 200 (S131).

Based on the device list received from the terminal device 300 and the selection rule information 285, the reference information providing unit 233 of the server 200 selects reference information to be associated with the plurality of third operation units B3 from the reference information DB 284, and selects the selected reference information. Names of information, thumbnail images, and URLs for accessing reference information are listed to generate a reference information list (S132). Then, the reference information providing unit 233 of the server 200 transmits the generated reference information list to the terminal device 300 (S133).

Based on the device list received from the terminal device 300, the recipe provision unit 232 of the server 200 selects from the recipe DB 283 recommended recipes to be associated with the plurality of fourth operation units B4. URLs for access are listed to generate a recommended recipe list (S134). Then, the recipe provision unit 232 of the server 200 transmits the generated recommended recipe list to the terminal device 300 (S135).

In addition, the display control unit 320 notifies the server 200 of a transmission request for advertisement information (S141). The advertisement information providing unit 234 of the server 200 selects advertisement information associated with a plurality of fifth operation units B5 from the advertisement information DB 286, and lists the name of the selected advertisement information, the thumbnail image, and the URL for accessing the advertisement information. to generate an advertisement information list (S142). Then, the advertisement information providing unit 234 of the server 200 transmits the generated advertisement information list to the terminal device 300 (S143).

Then, the display control unit 320 causes the plurality of first operation portions B1 corresponding to the detected registered home electric appliances 100 to be displayed in the first function region R1, and the plurality of first operation portions B1 corresponding to the detected registered home appliances 100 to be displayed. The second operation part B2 is displayed in the second function area R2, the plurality of third operation parts B3 are displayed in the third function area R3 based on the reference information list received from the server 200, and the recommended recipe list received from the server 200 is displayed. Based on this, a plurality of fourth operation sections B4 are displayed in the fourth function area R4, and a plurality of fifth operation sections B5 are displayed in the fifth operation area R5 based on the advertisement information list received from the server 200 (S151). Thereby, the home screen DH is displayed.

<8.2 Reference Information Display Processing>
Next, reference information display processing will be described.
FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of reference information display processing. First, contents of reference information are uploaded from the external device DA1 used by the contents registration operator to the server 200 (S201). The content of the reference information includes the name of the reference information, the thumbnail image, the content body of the reference information (for example, the content body of the technique of utilization), and the type of the related home appliance 100 . Also, the external device DA1 used by the content registration operator notifies the external device DA2 used by the selection rule registration operator of the content update (S202). When the contents of the reference information are uploaded from the external device DA1, the server 200 stores the uploaded contents of the reference information in the reference information DB 284 (S203).

Also, the selection rule information 285 is uploaded to the server 200 from the external device DA2 used by the selection rule registration operator (S204). When the selection rule information 285 is uploaded from the external device DA2, the server 200 updates the selection rule information 285 stored in the storage unit 280 based on the uploaded selection rule information 285. FIG.

Next, when displaying the home screen DH, the home appliance management application APP of the terminal device 300 transmits a reference information list transmission request to the server 200 (S211). As described above, the device list is transmitted to the server 200 together with this reference information list transmission request.

When the reference information providing unit 233 of the server 200 receives the reference information list transmission request, the reference information providing unit 233 of the server 200, based on the device list received from the terminal device 300 and the selection rule information 285, provides reference information associated with the plurality of third operation units B3. is determined (S222). Then, the reference information providing unit 233 of the server 200 lists the determined reference information names, thumbnail images, and URLs for accessing the reference information to generate a reference information list (S223).

The reference information providing unit 233 of the server 200 transmits the generated reference information list to the terminal device 300 (S224). Then, the display control section 320 of the terminal device 300 displays the plurality of third operation sections B3 in the third operation region R3 based on the reference information list received from the server 200 (S225). This completes a series of processes.

The operation accepting unit 330 may transmit an instruction signal so that a plurality of home appliances 100 are controlled at different timings. There are two specific examples of such control. In the first specific example, control is performed by shifting the timing under the control of the server 200 . In a second specific example, the control is performed with the timing shifted by the control of the home appliance management application APP. Specific examples of these two controls will be described below with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24, respectively.

FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram showing a first specific example of the flow of processing when home appliances 100 are collectively operated using the "collective operation service". The home appliance management application APP of the terminal device 300 displays a screen including the second operation section B2c on the display screen 301a. When the user U operates the second operation unit B2c corresponding to the "collective operation service", the home appliance management application APP accepts the instruction (S301).

In response to the instruction, the home appliance management application APP transmits to the server 200 collective instruction information indicating that a plurality of home appliances 100 are to be operated by the "batch operation service" (S302). At this time, the home appliance management application APP may transmit collective instruction information so that the power of the plurality of home appliances 100 is controlled at different timings, or the power of the plurality of home appliances 100 is controlled at the same timing. You may transmit collective instruction information like this. Collective instruction information may include, for example, identification information indicating the operated second operation unit B2c. In this case, the home appliance 100 to be operated according to the identification information of the second operation unit B2c, the content of the operation (for example, turning on the power, turning off the power, etc.), and the execution timing of each operation. The information shown may be registered in the server 200 . The collective instruction information to be transmitted may include, for example, information indicating the home appliance 100 to be operated according to the operated second operation unit B2c, the content of the operation, and the execution timing of the operation.

When receiving the collective instruction information, the server 200 determines the control contents (operation target, operation contents, operation execution timing) according to the instruction indicated by the collective instruction information (S303). For example, the server 200 determines that the control content is to change the power state of the home appliance 1 and the home appliance 2 (for example, change from OFF to ON). At this time, the server 200 determines to transmit the control signal for changing the power supply state to each electric home appliance 100 at different timings. According to this determination, the server 200 transmits a control signal indicating to change the power supply state to the home appliance 1 (S304), waits for a predetermined period of time (S305), and A control signal indicating to change the power supply state is transmitted (S306).

In the case of control to change the power state of a plurality of home appliances 100 from OFF to ON, the server 200 sends a control signal for changing the power state to each home appliance 100 at different timings as described above. It may be determined that the In the case of control to change the power of a plurality of lights from ON to OFF, the server 200 finally transmits a control signal to turn OFF the power to the lights located at the entrance/exit of the facility where the lights are installed. Then you can judge. In the case of control to change the power of a plurality of lights from OFF to ON, the server 200 first transmits a control signal to turn ON the power to the lights located at the entrance/exit of the facility where the lights are installed. Then you can judge.

FIG. 24 is a sequence diagram showing a second specific example of the flow of processing when home appliances 100 are collectively operated using the "collective operation service". In the process shown in FIG. 23, the server 200 determines the control content, but in the process shown in FIG. 24, the home appliance management application APP of the terminal device 300 determines the control content. The home appliance management application APP displays a screen including the second operation section B2c on the display screen 301a. When the user U operates the second operation unit B2c corresponding to the "collective operation service", the home appliance management application APP accepts the instruction (S401).

The home appliance management application APP determines control details (operation target, operation details, operation execution timing) according to the instruction (S402). For example, the home appliance management application APP determines that the control content is to change the power state of the home appliance 1 and the home appliance 2 (for example, change from OFF to ON). At this time, the home appliance management application APP determines to transmit the control information for changing the power state of each home appliance 100 to the server 200 at different timings. According to this determination, the home appliance management application APP transmits control information for changing the power state of the home appliance 1 to the server 200 (S403), waits for a predetermined period of time (S404), and changes the power state of the home appliance 2. is transmitted (S405).

When the server 200 receives the control information about the home appliance 1, the server 200 determines the content of control corresponding to the instruction indicated by the control information (S406). In the example of FIG. 24, the server 200 determines that the control content is to change the power supply state of the home appliance 1 (for example, change from ON to OFF). According to this determination, the server 200 transmits a control signal indicating to change the power state to the electric home appliance 1 (S407).

When the server 200 receives the control information about the home appliance 2, the server 200 determines the content of control corresponding to the instruction indicated by the control information (S408). In the example of FIG. 24, the server 200 determines that the control content is to change the power supply state of the home appliance 2 (for example, change from ON to OFF). According to this determination, the server 200 transmits a control signal indicating to change the power state to the electric home appliance 2 (S409).

In the case of control to change the power state of a plurality of home appliances 100 from OFF to ON, the home appliance management application APP determines to transmit the control information regarding each home appliance 100 to the server 200 at different timings as described above. You may In the case of control to change the power of a plurality of lights from ON to OFF, the home appliance management application APP finally provides control information for turning OFF the power of the lights located at the entrance/exit of the facility where the lights are installed. may be determined to be transmitted to the server 200 at . In the case of control to change the power of a plurality of lights from OFF to ON, the home appliance management application APP first provides control information for turning ON the power of the lights located at the entrance/exit of the facility where the lights are installed. may be determined to be transmitted to the server 200 at .

25 and 26 are diagrams showing specific examples of display control by the display control unit 320. FIG. When the air conditioner 2 is newly registered, the first operation portion B1e corresponding to the air conditioner 2 is added to the first function area R1. At this time, the display control unit 320 may arrange and display the newly added first operation unit B1e at the rightmost position of the bottom row, as shown in FIG. Such control is carried out by moving the newly added first operation portion B1e to a predetermined position (the rightmost position of the bottom row, and if the bottom row is filled, a new row is provided next to the top row). left position).

As shown in FIG. 26, the display control unit 320 controls the newly added first operation unit B1e to be the first operation unit related to the home appliance 100 of the same type as the home appliance 100 to be operated by the added first operation unit B1e. It may be arranged and displayed at a position adjacent to the 1 operation portion B1. Such control may be performed by following the rule of arranging the newly added first operation part B1e at a position adjacent to the first operation part B1 of the home appliance 100 of the same type. Such control is performed by following the rule of arranging the newly added first operation unit B1e at a position adjacent to the first operation unit B1 related to the home appliance 100 that is the target of the collective operation service. may The position of the first operation part B1e may be determined according to a rule combining the two rules described above.

<9. Advantage>
In a conventional home appliance management application, even when the collective operation service cannot be used, an operation unit (second operation unit B2) for using the collective operation service is displayed on the display screen. The collective operation service cannot be used when, for example, only one household appliance is registered, or only household appliances that do not support collective operation are registered. In such a display state, the user U may misunderstand that the collective operation service is available.

In the present embodiment, the display control unit 320 displays the second operation unit B2c (batch operation unit) on the display screen 301a in response to registration of a plurality of household electrical appliances 100 that are permitted to be operated collectively. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user U from misunderstanding that the collective operation service can be used. Thereby, the improvement of the user's U convenience can be aimed at.

Further, in the present embodiment, the individual operation screen 710 is displayed after transition from the home screen DH by operating the second operation unit B2c. The individual operation screen 710 includes an operation unit (collective change operation unit) for accepting instructions regarding changing the operation state of a plurality of home appliances 100, and a display unit that indicates the state of each home appliance 100 (for example, each air conditioner 100A). 712 is displayed. Therefore, the user U can collectively operate while checking the state of each home appliance 100 .

Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to select the home appliance 100 to be actually operated from among the plurality of home appliances 100 displayed on the individual operation screen 710 . Therefore, it becomes possible for the user U to collectively reflect the operation only on the desired electric home appliance 100 out of the plurality of electric home appliances 100 that can be operated collectively.

Further, in the present embodiment, when controlling a plurality of home appliances 100 by the collective operation service, instruction signals are transmitted so that the plurality of home appliances are controlled at different timings. In general, when the power supply is switched from OFF to ON, more power is consumed than during normal operation, so there is a risk of failure such as tripping of the breaker. With respect to such a problem, in this embodiment, it is possible to suppress the possibility of failure by operating as described above. Further, when a plurality of lights are controlled from ON to OFF, the lights positioned at the entrance of the facility where the lights are installed may be controlled to be turned OFF last. By being controlled in this way, it is possible to prevent the user U from having difficulty in judging the situation due to the illumination being turned off at the entrance. Also, when a plurality of lights are controlled from OFF to ON, the lights located at the entrance/exit of the facility where the lights are installed may be controlled to be ON first. By being controlled in this way, it is possible to prevent the user U from having difficulty in judging the situation due to the illumination being turned off at the entrance.

In this embodiment, the display control unit 320 can display the first operation unit B1 for operating the home appliance 100 and the second operation unit B2 for using home appliance-related services on one screen. According to such a configuration, when using a home appliance-related service, without moving to the individual operation screen of each home appliance 100, from a certain screen (for example, the home screen DH of the home appliance management application APP), the You can use the service that Thereby, the improvement of the user's U convenience can be aimed at.

For example, in the present embodiment, the "ingredients management service" and "recipe service", which are services related to the refrigerator 100B or the microwave oven 100C, can be used without moving to the individual operation screens of the refrigerator 100B or the microwave oven 100C. .

In addition, in the present embodiment, services that can be commonly used by a plurality of home appliances 100 are made independent of individual home appliances 100, so that services can be linked beyond the types of home appliances 100, for example. can be improved. For example, even if only the oven range 100C is registered as a device, recipe retrieval can be performed using the ingredients management function and ingredients inventory information.

In this embodiment, the display control unit 320 displays the first operation unit B1 for operating the home appliance 100 and the second operation unit B2 for using home appliance-related services on one screen. , the first operation section B1 and the second operation section B2 are displayed in this order from the top of the screen. According to such a configuration, the first operation part B1 that is relatively likely to be frequently used by the user U is displayed on the upper side of the screen, and the second operation part B1 that is relatively likely to be frequently used by the user U is displayed on the upper side of the screen. Part B2 is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Therefore, the first operation unit B1 and the second operation unit B2 can be intuitively distinguished and visually recognized, and the operation unit that is highly likely to be used by the user U is arranged on the upper side of the screen, thereby improving operability. becomes higher. Thereby, the further improvement of the user's U convenience can be aimed at.

In this embodiment, the display control unit 320 includes a plurality of first operation units B1 for operating different types of home electric appliances 100, and a plurality of second operation units for using different types of home appliance-related services. B2 are displayed on one screen, the plurality of first operation sections B1 and the plurality of second operation sections B2 are displayed in this order from the upper side of the screen. According to such a configuration, the plurality of first operation units B1 used for operating the home appliance 100 and the plurality of second operation units B2 used for home appliance-related services are collectively displayed (each of them as a group). displayed), the respective groups of the first operation portion B1 and the second operation portion B2 can be visually recognized intuitively. Thereby, the further improvement of the user's U convenience can be aimed at.

In the present embodiment, the display control unit 320 includes a first functional region R1 including a plurality of first operation units B1 for operating home appliances 100 of different types, and one or more operating units for using home appliance-related services. When displaying the second function region R2 including the second operation portion B2 on one screen, the first function region R1 and the second function region R2 are displayed in this order from the top of the screen. According to such a configuration, the plurality of first operation units B1 used for operating the home appliance 100 and the second operation units B2 used for home appliance-related services are collectively displayed. Each of B1 and the second operation portion B2 can be visually recognized intuitively. Thereby, the further improvement of the user's U convenience can be aimed at.

In the present embodiment, the display control unit 320 causes the first operation unit B1 corresponding to the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed to be displayed in the first function region R1, and displays the first operation unit B1 corresponding to the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed. If there is a service to be used, the second operation section B2 corresponding to the service is displayed in the second function area R2. According to such a configuration, the first operation unit B1 corresponding to the operation of the home appliance 100 and the second operation unit B2 corresponding to the home appliance-related service are combined into one according to the registration status of the home appliance 100 of the user U. displayed on the screen. Thereby, it is possible to provide a service suitable for the usage situation of the user U. In addition, since the first operation part B1 or the second operation part B2 related to the home appliance 100 for which device registration has not been performed is not displayed on the screen, the screen can be given a clean appearance and the visibility can be improved. can be done.

In the present embodiment, the second operation unit B<b>2 is an operation unit for using a service related to the home appliance that is different from the operation of the home appliance 100 . In addition to the second operation portion B2, the display control portion 320 provides a special operation portion (second operation portion B2c) for using a home appliance-related service related to the operation of the home appliance 100 in the second functional region R2. to display. According to such a configuration, the plurality of first operation units B1 for operating the individual home appliances 100 are collectively arranged in the first functional region R1, and the first operation unit for performing special operations regarding the home appliances 100 is arranged. The second operation portion B2c can be arranged at a position distinct from the plurality of first operation portions B1. As a result, it is possible to erroneously operate the second operation part B2c when wishing to operate an individual home appliance 100, or erroneously operate the first operation part B1 when wishing to perform a special operation related to the home appliance 100. can be suppressed. Thereby, the further improvement of the user's U convenience can be aimed at.

In this embodiment, the display control section 320 includes a first functional area R1, a second functional area R2, and one or more third operation sections B3 for viewing reference information related to the home appliance 100. When the third functional region R3 is displayed on one screen, the first functional region R1, the second functional region R2, and the third functional region R3 are displayed in this order from the top of the screen. According to such a configuration, the operation units B that are likely to be frequently used by the user U are arranged on the upper side of the screen, and the operation units B that are less likely to be used by the user U are arranged on the lower side of the screen. be. As a result, the first to third operation units B1, B2, and B3 can be intuitively distinguished and visually recognized, and the operation unit B, which is likely to be frequently used by the user U, is arranged on the upper side of the screen. Therefore, operability is improved. Thereby, the further improvement of the user's U convenience can be aimed at.

In this embodiment, the display control unit 320 changes the content of the reference information associated with the third operation unit B3 according to the type of the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed. According to such a configuration, the user U has more opportunities to view reference information related to the home appliance 100 used by the user U. Thereby, the further improvement of the user's U convenience can be aimed at.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the information displayed on the terminal device 300 differs according to the type or specification of the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed. Configurations other than those described below are the same as those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the terminal device 300 of the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the device registration information 381 stored in the storage unit 380 of the terminal device 300 includes information that can identify the model of the registered home appliance 100 . The storage unit 380 of the terminal device 300 also stores product information 382 indicating specifications for each model of the home appliance 100 . “Specifications” means, for example, the presence or absence of specific parts or functions included in the home appliance 100 .

In this embodiment, the home appliance management application APP includes a determination unit 350 . Based on the device registration information 381, the determination unit 350 acquires information indicating the model of the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed. Next, the determination unit 350 determines the specifications of the registered home appliance 100 based on the information indicating the model of the home appliance 100 and the information indicating the specifications of each model of the home appliance 100 included in the product information 382. Identify. Alternatively, the device registration information 381 may directly include information indicating specifications of the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed.

The determining unit 350 compares the contents of various services provided by the service providing unit 230 of the server 200 with the specifications or model of the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed, and determines the various services provided by the service providing unit 230. to determine whether or not the home appliance 100 is compatible. For example, the determination unit 350 determines whether or not the oven range 100C for which device registration has been performed corresponds to the recipe provided by the recipe providing unit 232, based on the specifications or model of the oven range 100C for which device registration has been performed. judge. Further, the determining unit 350 determines whether or not the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed is compatible with the video distribution service, based on the specification or model of the home appliance 100 (for example, the refrigerator 100B) for which device registration has been performed. (For example, whether or not the home appliance 100 has a display screen capable of displaying moving images) is determined. Further, the determination unit 350 determines whether or not the home appliance 100 whose device registration has been performed is compatible with the health management service based on the specification or model of the home appliance 100 whose device registration has been performed. is a high-end model compatible with health management services).

Further, the determining unit 350 compares the contents of various reference information provided by the reference information providing unit 233 of the server 200 with the specifications or model of the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed, and the reference information providing unit 233 It is determined whether or not the electrical home appliance 100 is compatible with the provided various reference information.

In the present embodiment, the display control unit 320 provides the first service related to the service determined by the determining unit 350 to be compatible with the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed, among the various services provided by the service providing unit 230 . 2 The operation part B2 is displayed in the second function area R2. On the other hand, among the various services provided by the service providing unit 230, for a service that the determining unit 350 determines that the home appliance 100 for which device registration is performed does not support, the second operation corresponding to the service is performed. Part B2 is not displayed.

In addition, the display control unit 320 displays reference information determined by the determination unit 350 as being compatible with the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed, among various reference information provided by the reference information provision unit 233. is displayed in the third function area R3. In other words, the display control unit 320 changes the content of the reference information associated with the third operation unit B3 according to the specification or model of the home appliance 100 for which device registration has been performed.

According to such a configuration, the second operation part B2 corresponding to services available to the registered home appliance 100, or the third operation part B3 corresponding to reference information related to the registered home appliance 100. can be preferentially displayed on the screen. As a result, useful display can be performed while reducing unnecessary display.

According to at least one embodiment described above, the terminal device combines the first operation unit for operating the home appliance and the second operation unit for using services related to the home appliance on one screen. When displayed, the first operation section and the second operation section are displayed in this order from the top of the screen. According to such a configuration, it is possible to improve convenience.

While several embodiments of the invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

1 Home appliance system 100 Home appliance 200 Server 210 Device registration unit 220 Home appliance management unit 230 Service providing unit 300 Terminal device 310 Registration reception unit 320 Display control unit 330... operation reception part, 340... notification part, 350... judgment part.

Claims (15)

A display mode on a display device in which a user can input an instruction for collectively operating a plurality of registered home appliances in response to registration of a plurality of home appliances that are permitted to be operated collectively. A program that causes a computer to function as a display control unit that controls the The display control unit includes a batch operation unit for receiving an instruction to collectively operate a plurality of registered home appliances in response to registration of a plurality of home appliances that are permitted to be operated collectively. 2. The program according to claim 1, which is displayed on said display device. 3. The display control unit according to claim 2, wherein the display control unit displays, on the display device, information regarding operating states of target devices, which are home appliances corresponding to the collective operation unit, in accordance with a user's operation on the collective operation unit. program as described. The display control unit displays the collective change operation unit for receiving an instruction to change the operating state of all or part of the target devices while information about the operating state of the target devices is being displayed. 4. A program according to claim 3, for display on a device. The display control unit displays, on the display device, a selection unit for a user to select, from among the target devices, a device whose operating state is to be changed according to a user operation on the collective change operation unit. 5. The program according to claim 4. 6. The program according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the collective operation unit receives a user's instruction regarding collectively turning on or off power to a plurality of home appliances. 6. The program according to claim 4, wherein the batch change operation unit accepts a user's instruction to collectively change the operating state of a plurality of home appliances from on to off or from off to on. Claims 2 to 6 for further causing the computer to function as an operation reception unit that transmits an instruction signal to control a plurality of electrical appliances in response to the reception of an instruction by the collective operation unit. A program according to any one of paragraphs. Claims 4 and 5 for causing the computer to further function as an operation reception unit that transmits an instruction signal to control a plurality of electrical appliances in response to the reception of the instruction by the batch change operation unit. , or a program according to claim 7 . 10. The program according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the operation reception unit transmits an instruction signal so that a plurality of home appliances are controlled at different timings. The display control unit collectively displays a plurality of registered home appliances in response to registration of a plurality of home appliances that are permitted to be operated collectively and operation of the registered home appliances. 11. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 10, which controls a display mode on a display device so that a user can input an instruction regarding operation. The display control unit prevents the user from inputting an instruction regarding collectively operating a plurality of registered home appliances until a plurality of home appliances that are permitted to be operated collectively are registered. 12. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 11, which controls a display mode on a display device. a step of registering home appliances that are allowed to be operated collectively;
A step of controlling a display mode so that a user can input an instruction for collectively operating a plurality of registered home appliances in response to registration of a plurality of home appliances that are permitted to be operated collectively. and,
A display method for a display device, comprising: a step of registering home appliances that are allowed to be operated collectively;
A display mode on a display device in which a user can input an instruction for collectively operating a plurality of registered home appliances in response to registration of a plurality of home appliances that are permitted to be operated collectively. a step of controlling
transmitting an instruction signal to control the plurality of home appliances in response to a user's input of an instruction regarding collectively operating the plurality of registered home appliances;
control methods, including; a display device for displaying an image;
A display mode on a display device in which a user can input an instruction for collectively operating a plurality of registered home appliances in response to registration of a plurality of home appliances that are permitted to be operated collectively. a display control unit that controls
terminal device.

Images