JP5374574B2 - Consulting home appliance system, server device, home server device, and method for providing consulting information for home appliance - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a consulting home appliance system that provides home appliances with consulting information indicating how to use home appliances, and a method for providing consulting information to home appliances.

  Household appliances have spread widely in ordinary households and have greatly changed the lives of people. For example, white goods such as refrigerators and washing machines have greatly improved the efficiency of housework, and audiovisual equipment such as televisions and stereos have provided new entertainment. Personal / household information communication devices such as personal computers and mobile phones have also played a major role in home computerization.

  In conventional home appliances, the method of using a device after sales is entirely left to the user who purchased the device. That is, the user learns how to use the home appliance based on an instruction manual or explanation at the store, and uses the home appliance based on that knowledge. If it is a simple household appliance, even if it is such a usage form, a problem will not arise. For example, if it is a rice cooker which has only the function to start rice cooking if a button is pushed, a user can learn the usage method immediately without seeing an instruction manual or not seeing.

  However, functions of recent home appliances are significantly more complicated than before. For example, in the case of a rice cooker, many rice cookers are provided with a timer function, a heat retaining function, a porridge cooking function, and the like in addition to a normal rice cooking function. With the complexity of such home appliances, the following problems have arisen on the user side and the manufacturer side, respectively.

  On the user side, the operability of home appliances is reduced, and there is a problem that the home appliances cannot be used easily. A user operates home appliances using buttons, switches, and the like, and confirms the state of the device by lighting a lamp or displaying on a liquid crystal display. As the functions of home appliances become complex, it becomes necessary to provide a large number of buttons and switches on the main unit and remote control of the device, and even if the device status is displayed as an icon on the liquid crystal display, it is difficult for the user to recognize the device status. Become. In addition, the user needs to perform an appropriate operation in accordance with the state of the device, but such device design restrictions reduce the operability of the device.

  As an example, rice cookers are generally designed so that they cannot start cooking in a warm state. However, when cooking rice is not started even if the rice cooking button is pressed, the user who overlooks the lighting of the lamp indicating the heat retaining state determines that the rice cooker has failed. Moreover, even if the user recognizes the lighting of the lamp, if the user does not know the restriction on the design that the rice cooking cannot be started in the heat retaining state, the user will also determine that the rice cooker has failed.

  Thus, when the operability of the device is lowered, a situation occurs in which only a part of the functions of the home appliance is used. That is, after the user learns only the minimum usage method, the user uses the home appliance only by the usage method, and does not use the rich functions prepared by the manufacturer at all. For example, in the case of a rice cooker, many users use only a normal rice cooking function and do not use a rice-cooking function at all. In such a situation, it can be said that even if the functions of home appliances become more sophisticated, the user does not receive any benefit.

  On the other hand, on the manufacturer side, there is a problem that the cost of responding to an inquiry about how to use home appliances increases. Many home appliance manufacturers have set up “customer consultation centers” to handle inquiries from users by telephone. When a trouble occurs while using the home appliance, the user needs to explain the trouble state to the center operator. However, there are very few users who can accurately explain the trouble situation, and many users can only explain that “the device does not operate normally”. For example, in the example of the rice cooker described above, even if many users recognize the lighting of the lamp, they can only explain the situation that they cannot cook rice. For this reason, in the center, there is a situation in which troubles that cannot be dealt with only by a manufacturer, such as a failure, cannot be easily distinguished from troubles that can be easily solved by pressing a button once. Since the response to a simple inquiry requires the same effort and cost as a complicated inquiry, the management operation cost of the entire center increases.

  This problem is caused by the fact that the manufacturer does not have a mechanism for ascertaining the usage status of home appliances and suggesting how to use the home appliances after sales, despite the complexity of the functions of home appliances.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a consulting home appliance system that provides home appliances with consulting information indicating how to use the home appliances, and a method for providing consulting information for home appliances even after the sale of home appliances. The purpose is to do.

1st aspect of this invention is the consulting household appliance system comprised by connecting a household appliance and a server apparatus with a network, Comprising: A household appliance is a 1st communication means which communicates with a server apparatus, and a user's An input means for inputting an instruction, a processing means for performing device-specific processing, and a first control means for controlling the processing means based on the instruction input from the input means and transmitting its operating state to the server device The server device includes: a second communication unit that communicates with home appliances; a design information database that stores design information of home appliances; a user information database that stores user information of home appliances; and a second communication unit the user of the first home device identified based on the user information when it receives the operation state of the first home device as home appliances, design information de and operation states of the first home device Based on a database, as consulting information indicating the use which corresponds to the operating state of the first home device, consulting for the second home device included in the list information of the user of home appliances of the first home device in the user information Second control means for obtaining information.

  According to such a first aspect, the home appliance transmits its operation state to the server, and the server device obtains consulting information based on the received operation state, design information, and user information. Therefore, after sales of home appliances, consulting information corresponding to the usage status of the devices can be obtained.

A second aspect is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the second household electrical appliance has a communication unit that communicates with the server device, and receives consulting information for the second household electrical appliance via the communication unit. To do.

In a third aspect, in the first aspect, consulting information for the second household electrical appliance is presented to the user .

In a fourth aspect, in the third aspect, consulting information for the second home appliance is presented to the user by voice output .

In a third aspect, the fifth aspect uses the third home appliance in which consulting information for the second home appliance is included in the user home appliance list information of the user of the first home appliance in the user information. Presented to the user .

In a sixth aspect, in the first aspect, the second household electrical appliance receives consulting information for the second household electrical appliance and controls its own operation.

In a first aspect, a seventh aspect is information for performing energy-saving control on the second home electric appliance, in the first aspect, the consulting information for the second home electric appliance .

The eighth aspect is a server device connected to a home appliance by a network, and stores communication means for communicating with the home appliance, a design information database for storing design information of the home appliance, and user information of the home appliance. When the user information database and the communication means receive the operating state of the first home appliance as the home appliance, the user of the first home appliance is identified based on the user information, and the operating state of the first home appliance is Based on the design information database, as the consulting information indicating the usage method corresponding to the operating state of the first home appliance, the second home appliance included in the user home appliance list information of the user of the first home appliance in the user information and a control means for obtaining a consulting information for.

According to such an eighth aspect , the server device obtains consulting information based on the operating state, design information, and user information received from the home appliance. Therefore, it can be used as a server device in a consulting information system.

According to such an eighth aspect , the server device obtains consulting information about other home appliances in the same home based on the operating state of a certain home appliance. Accordingly, the user can use the home appliances in an optimum manner without being aware of how to use the home appliances.

A ninth aspect is a home server device for connecting a household electrical appliance and a server device via a network, the first communication means communicating with the household electrical appliance, and the second communicating with the server device via the network. A local database for storing data relating to home appliances connected to the home server device among the design information of the home appliances stored in the server device and the user information of the home appliances, and the first communication means Use corresponding to the operation state of the first home appliance based on the operation state of the first home appliance and the local database when the operation state of the first home appliance communicating with the home server device is received via As the consulting information indicating the method, for the second home appliance included in the user home appliance list information of the user of the first home appliance in the user information And a control means for determining a consulting information.

A tenth aspect is a consulting home appliance system configured by connecting a home appliance and a server device provided with a design information database for storing the design information of the home appliance via a network, and the use corresponding to the operation state of the home appliance A method of providing consulting information indicating a method to a user of a home appliance, wherein the first home appliance as a home appliance transmits its operating state to the server device, and the server device includes a first The step of receiving the operating state of the household electrical appliance and identifying the user of the first household electrical appliance based on the user information of the household electrical appliance accumulated in the server device, and the server device operating and designing the operational status of the first household electrical appliance Based on the information database, in the user information as consulting information indicating the usage method corresponding to the operating state of the first home appliance Performing a step of obtaining a consulting information for the second home device included in the list information of the user of home appliances of one home device.

According to such a tenth aspect , the home appliance transmits its operating state to the server, and the server device obtains consulting information based on the received operating state, design information, and user information. Therefore, after sales of home appliances, consulting information corresponding to the usage status of the devices can be obtained.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the reference form of this invention, and the 1st thru | or 3rd embodiment. The block diagram which shows in more detail the structure of the household appliances in the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the reference form of this invention The figure which shows the usage type of the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the reference form of this invention The figure which shows the other usage pattern of the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the reference form of this invention The figure which shows the usage type of the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows in more detail the structure of the home server in the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the usage type of the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the display screen of the home server in the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the usage type of the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the reference form of this invention, and the modification of 1st thru | or 3rd embodiment.

( Reference form)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a consulting home appliance system according to a reference embodiment of the present invention. The consulting home appliance system shown in FIG. 1 includes a server 10, a plurality of home appliances 20-1 to 20-n, a home server 30, and a communication network 1. The server 10 is installed in a consulting center that replaces the conventional customer consultation center, and the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n and the home server 30 are installed in each home. Server 10 and household electrical appliances 20-1 to 20-n are connected to each other by communication network 1 and home server 30 so that they can communicate with each other. Although FIG. 1 shows only one household electrical appliance for simplification of the drawing, an actual consulting household appliance system includes a large number of household electrical appliances.

  The consulting home appliance system connects the server 10 installed in the consulting center and the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n in the home using the communication network 1, and the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n have their own operating states as servers. 10, the server 10 remotely controls the operations of the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n. Below, the information which shows the usage method of household appliances 20-1 to 20-n is called consulting information. The consulting information is created by the server 10 and provided from the server 10 to the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n.

  The communication network 1 is an arbitrary communication network capable of bidirectional communication. The communication network 1 may be, for example, the Internet, a wired communication network, or a satellite communication network. In addition, different communication networks may be used for uplink communication and downlink communication as necessary.

  The home appliances 20-1 to 20-n are white goods such as washing machines and refrigerators, audiovisual equipment such as televisions and stereos, and information communication devices such as personal computers and mobile phones. Each household electrical appliance 20-1 to n performs processing predetermined for each device. For example, a rice cooker performs a rice cooking process, and a washing machine performs a laundry process. Details of the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n will be described later.

  Home server 30 functions as a gateway that connects household electrical appliances 20-1 to 20-n to communication network 1. Home server 30 may be a dedicated machine for a consulting home appliance system, and may be realized by a television connected to a wired communication network and / or a wireless communication network, a personal computer connected to the Internet, or the like. The home appliances 20-1 to 20-n communicate with the home server 30 in a wired or wireless manner. Further, the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n may communicate with each other directly or via the home server 30.

  The server 10 includes a CPU 11, an input unit 12, a display unit 13, a communication unit 14, a design information database 15, and a user information database 16. The server 10 functions as a host computer for the consulting home appliance system.

  As will be described later, the CPU 11 performs processing such as updating the user information database 16 and creating consulting information. The input unit 12 receives an instruction from the operator of the server 10. The display unit 13 displays various data on the display according to the control of the CPU 11. The communication unit 14 has a function of communicating with the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n via the communication network 1.

  In the design information database 15, design information of the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n is stored in advance for each model. The design information stored in the design information database 15 includes, for example, state transitions of home appliances, display contents in each state, processing to be taken in each state, design constraints, usage know-how, etc. It includes arbitrary data that is referenced when creating consulting information. This design information may be expressed as data that can be processed by a computer, or may be expressed in a natural language. This design information is provided from the department that designed the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n. For example, a design department database (not shown) may be connected to the server 10 via the communication network 1 and the contents of the design department database may be copied to the design information database.

  In the user information database 16, user information of the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n is accumulated. Here, the user information refers to information obtained by converting the operating state of the home appliances received from the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n into any format useful for creating consulting information. This user information includes, for example, a list of home appliances owned by each household, a past inquiry history from the user, and the like. The user information database 16 is updated as needed to reflect the operating state received from the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n, and is constructed through the operation of the consulting center.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the home appliance 20 in more detail. In FIG. 2, the home appliance 20 includes a control unit 21, an input unit 22, a display unit 23, a communication unit 24, and a processing unit 25. The input unit 22 is, for example, a button or switch provided on the main body of the home appliance 20 or a remote controller. The display unit 23 is a lamp or a liquid crystal display provided in the main body of the home appliance 20. The user of the home appliance 20 operates the home appliance 20 using the input unit 22 and checks the state of the home appliance 20 using the display unit 23. The communication unit 24 has a function of communicating with the home server 30. The home appliance 20 communicates with the server 10 by the function of the communication unit 24.

  The processing unit 25 performs processing unique to each home appliance 20. For example, when the home appliance 20 is a rice cooker, the processing unit 25 heats a rice cooking heater or performs timer control. When the consulting information is not provided from the server 10, the home appliance 20 operates in the same manner as a conventional home appliance. At this time, the control unit 21 controls the processing unit 25 in accordance with the instruction input from the input unit 22 and causes the display unit 23 to display the state of the device.

  A unique identifier (hereinafter referred to as a user ID) is assigned to each user of the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n in advance. The user ID 26 is recorded in the control unit 21 by an offline or online operation at an appropriate timing such as when the home appliance 20 is sold. In addition, a unique identifier (hereinafter, referred to as a device ID) is assigned to each home appliance 20-1 to 20-n in advance. The device ID 27 is recorded in the control unit 21 when the home appliance 20 is manufactured. In addition to this, the control unit 21 manages a device state 28 representing an operation state of the home appliance 20. The device state 28 changes when, for example, a new operation is instructed at the input unit 22 or when the state of the processing unit 25 changes. The device ID 27 is recorded in the control unit 21 at the time of manufacturing the home appliance 20, but may be recorded in the control unit 21 not only at the time of manufacture but also by offline or online operation at an appropriate timing.

  The home appliances 20-1 to 20-n transmit usage status information indicating the operation state of the home appliance to the server 10 at a predetermined timing. Specifically, the control unit 21 creates usage status information based on the user ID 26, the device ID 27, and the device status 28, and the communication unit 24 sends the created usage status information to the home server 30 and the communication network 1. To the server 10.

  The timing and frequency at which the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n transmit the usage status information may be arbitrary. For example, the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n may periodically transmit usage status information at a frequency of about once every 3 minutes while the power is supplied, and the device status 28 becomes abnormal. Only when the usage status information may be transmitted. Here, the abnormal state refers to, for example, a state in which a device failure is detected or a state in which the user keeps pressing the same button.

  The communication unit 14 of the server 10 outputs the received usage status information to the CPU 11. The CPU 11 automatically creates consulting information indicating how to use the home appliance based on the received usage information, the design information stored in the design information database 15, and the user information stored in the user information database 16. To do. For example, it is assumed that the design information includes processing to be performed in each state of the home appliance, and the user information includes list information of home appliances owned by each home. In this case, the CPU 11 that has received the usage status information first searches the user information database 16 using the user ID and the device ID as search keys, and confirms that the home appliance is installed in the home. Next, the CPU 11 searches the design information database 15 using the device ID and the device state as search keys, and obtains a process to be taken in that state. As processing to be taken at this time, for example, there are processing for returning the device state 28 of the home appliance 20 to a predetermined normal state, processing for calling an operator of the server 10, and the like. The CPU 11 can create consulting information through such a database search process. Further, the CPU 11 may create consulting information using an artificial intelligence method such as an inference system.

  The communication unit 14 transmits the created consulting information to the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n. The transmitted consulting information reaches the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n via the communication network 1 and the home server 30.

  The communication units 24 of the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n output the received consulting information to the control unit 21. The control unit 21 controls the operation of the home appliance 20 using the received consulting information. Thereby, household appliances 20-1 to 20-n operate according to the consulting information provided from the server 10.

  On the other hand, the CPU 11 updates the user information database 16 using the received usage status information. The CPU 11 classifies and organizes the received usage status information, and updates the user information database 16 based on this. For example, in a consulting information system that transmits usage status information when the device state 28 becomes an abnormal state, the CPU 11 obtains an abnormal state that is likely to occur in each device and stores this in the user information database 16 as user information. . Better consulting information can be obtained by updating the user information database 16 at any time based on the usage status information received in this manner and obtaining consulting information using this.

  However, while the user information stored in the user information database 16 is not sufficient, particularly during a state in which the type / typical information obtained mainly in other home appliances is stored in the initial stage, the CPU 11 Consulting information is created mainly referring to design information stored in the design information database 15. In this case, the CPU 11 may display the received usage status information and the obtained consulting information on the display unit 13, and correct the obtained consulting information according to the content instructed by the operator using the input unit 12. The user information database 16 is gradually built through the operation of the consulting center, and eventually has sufficient user information to create consulting information. Thereafter, the CPU 11 creates consulting information with reference to the design data stored in the design information database 15 and the user information stored in the user information database 16.

According to consulting home appliance system according to this preferred embodiment, with respect to appliances 20-1～N, can provide consulting information as follows. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a usage pattern when the consulting home appliance system is applied to inquiry processing for home appliances. In FIG. 3, the home appliance 20 transmits usage status information including the user ID 26, the device ID 27, and the device state 28 to the server 10 when the device state 28 becomes an abnormal state. The server 10 that has received the usage status information creates consulting information for canceling the abnormal status and transmits the consulting information to the home appliance 20. Thereby, the abnormal condition of household appliance 20 can be canceled automatically, and household appliance 20 can be restored to a normal state. In addition, when the home appliance 20 cannot be remotely controlled using the consulting information, the CPU 11 displays that fact on the display unit 13. The operator of the server 10 looks at the display content of the display unit 13 and takes measures such as dispatching a service person.

  For example, the example of the rice cooker mentioned above is demonstrated. The rice cooker (corresponding to the home appliance 20) determines that the rice cooking button has been repeatedly pressed as an abnormal state, and transmits usage information indicating that to the server 10. The server 10 that has received this usage status information determines that the heat retention state should be canceled if the rice cooking button is repeatedly pressed while in the heat retention state, and transmits consulting information for canceling the heat retention state to the rice cooker. . Based on the received consulting information, the control unit 21 of the rice cooker sets the device state 28 in the heat retaining state to a state in which rice can be cooked. Thereby, even if a user does not cancel | release a heat retention state himself, he can start cooking rice.

  Moreover, the server 10 judges that the rice cooker has failed when the rice cooking button is repeatedly pressed when it is not in the heat retaining state. In this case, the server 10 transmits consulting information indicating that it is a failure to the rice cooker, and causes the display unit 13 to display the information. The operator of the server 10 looks at the display contents of the display unit 13 and takes measures such as dispatching a service person.

  According to the usage mode shown in FIG. 3, there is an effect that the user can automatically solve the trouble of the home appliance 20 without making an inquiry to the manufacturer. In addition, the manufacturer can automatically solve simple troubles about home appliances by remote control, so the management cost of the consulting center can be greatly reduced compared to the conventional “customer consultation center”. There is an effect.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a usage pattern when the consulting home appliance system is applied to optimal control of home appliances. In FIG. 4, the home appliance 20 transmits usage status information including a user ID 26, a device ID 27, and a device state 28 to the server 10 at predetermined time intervals. The server 10 that has received the usage status information creates consulting information indicating an optimal usage method of the device and transmits it to the home appliance 20. Thereby, the user can use the household appliances 20 by the optimal method, without being conscious of the usage method of the household appliances 20. FIG.

  For example, optimal control of a refrigerator using consulting information will be described. The refrigerator (corresponding to the home appliance 20) transmits usage information including the set internal temperature and the measured internal temperature to the server 10 at predetermined time intervals. Thereby, the server 10 receives a lot of usage status information from the refrigerator of the same model. The server 10 compares the consulting information created in the past with the effect, acquires know-how for optimally controlling the refrigerator of this model, and accumulates it in the user information database 16 as user information. The server 10 creates consulting information based on the obtained user information and transmits it to each refrigerator. Each refrigerator operates according to the received consulting information and operates in an optimal manner known at that time. Thereby, the user can use a refrigerator by the optimal method known at that time, without being conscious of the usage method of a refrigerator.

The consulting home appliance system according to this preferred embodiment as shown above, to connect with a communication network and a home appliance in the server and home installed in consulting center, home device sends its own operating status to the server The server remotely controls the operation of the home appliance. By applying this system to query processing and optimal control of equipment, users can use home appliances in an optimal way without being aware of how to use the equipment. The user satisfaction can be expanded by making the highly functional household electrical appliance function according to the design intention while reducing significantly.

(First Embodiment)
The consulting home appliance system according to the first embodiment of the present invention is characterized by creating consulting information for another home appliance based on the operating state of a certain home appliance. In addition, since the block diagram of the consulting household appliance system which concerns on the 2nd thru | or 3rd embodiment shown below is the same as a reference form, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a usage pattern of the consulting home appliance system according to the present embodiment. As an example, a case where home appliances 20-1 and 20-2 are a microwave oven and a dishwasher will be described. When the microwave oven 20-1 has cooked according to an instruction from the user, the microwave oven 20-1 transmits usage status information including the user ID 26, the device ID 27, the device state 28, and the dish content to the server 10. For example, the microwave oven 20-1 transmits, to the server 10, usage status information indicating that an oil-related dish has been performed when an oil-related dish is performed.

  The server 10 accumulates the received usage information as user information in the user information database 16 and transmits consulting information indicating that the oil stains are well removed to the dishwasher 20-2. The dishwasher 20-2 that has received this consulting information uses a detergent that is resistant to oil stains from among a plurality of detergents that can be switched, or performs washing for a longer time than usual. Thereby, the dishwasher 20-2 can remove oil stains reliably.

  Since there are many home appliances in the home, there are countless cases where other devices should be controlled according to the operating state of a certain device. For example, when watching a movie on a television set, the indoor lighting may be controlled to be dark. In addition, when the cooling function of the air conditioner is set to “strong”, it may be controlled to increase the capacity of the ice making room of the refrigerator. Moreover, you may display the kind of cooking which can be performed using the foodstuff in a refrigerator on a microwave oven. In this case, the server 10 may create consulting information for a plurality of home appliances based on the operating state of one home appliance, and consulting for one or a plurality of home appliances based on the operating state of the plurality of home appliances. Information may be created.

  As described above, the consulting home appliance system according to the present embodiment creates consulting information for other home appliances based on the operating state of a certain home appliance. Thereby, the user can combine and use a plurality of home appliances in an optimum manner without being aware of how to use the devices.

(Second Embodiment)
The consulting home appliance system according to the second embodiment of the present invention is characterized by presenting consulting information to a user and performing control according to the consulting information after confirmation by the user. For example, when consulting information indicating that the stove is to be ignited is received and ignition control is performed unconditionally, a fire may occur. For this reason, in the consulting household appliance system which concerns on this embodiment, each household appliance operate | moves according to consulting information, only when a user confirms.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing in more detail the configuration of the home server 30 in the consulting home appliance system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 6, the home server 30 includes a CPU 31, an input unit 32, a display unit 33, a first communication unit 34, a second communication unit 35, and a storage unit 36. The home server 30 is typically realized by a personal computer. In addition, the function of the home server 30 can be provided in a television, a home phone, a mobile phone, or the like.

  The CPU 31 controls the entire home server 30. The input unit 32 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel, and the display unit 33 is a CRT, a liquid crystal display, or the like. The display unit 33 displays consulting information for the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n. The user uses the input unit 32 to select whether or not each home appliance 20-1 to n follows the consulting information. The first communication unit 34 has a function of communicating via the communication network 1, and the second communication unit 35 has a function of communicating with the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n. The storage unit 36 stores various data at home.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a usage pattern of the consulting home appliance system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, the home appliance 20 transmits usage status information of the home appliance 20 to the server 10 via the home server 30 and the communication network 1. Inside the home server 30, the CPU 31 outputs the usage status information received by the second communication unit 35 to the first communication unit 34. Similarly to the reference mode, the server 10 creates consulting information based on the received usage status information and transmits the consulting information via the communication network 1.

  The home server 30 temporarily holds the consulting information received from the server 10 and causes the display unit 33 to display the contents. Inside the home server 30, the CPU 31 stores the consulting information received by the first communication unit 34 in the storage unit 36 and displays the content on the display unit 33.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of the home server 30 that displays consulting information. For example, when receiving consulting information indicating that the stove should be ignited, the CPU 31 causes the display unit 33 to display the screen illustrated in FIG. When viewing the screen shown in FIG. 8A, the user determines whether or not the stove can actually be lit, and inputs the determination result using the input unit 32.

  When the ignition is selected, the CPU 31 outputs the consulting information read from the storage unit 36 to the second communication unit 35. The second communication unit 35 transmits this consulting information to the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n. Thereby, the stove performs an ignition process according to the consulting information transmitted from the server 10. On the other hand, when it is selected that the ignition is not performed, the CPU 31 deletes the consulting information stored in the storage unit 36. In this case, the user operates each home appliance 20-1 to 20-n using the input unit 22.

  The same idea can also be applied when the consulting information has options. FIG. 8B is an example of a display screen when consulting information having options is displayed. For example, it is assumed that the consulting information provided when the room temperature is high has three options of “lower the temperature of the air conditioner”, “increase the air volume of the air conditioner”, and “turn the fan”. When receiving this consulting information, the CPU 31 displays all of these options on the display unit 33. The user uses the input unit 32 to input that one of the three options or none is selected. When the user selects any of the options, the home server 30 transmits the selected consulting information to the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n. When the user does not select any option, the home server 30 discards the received consulting information. In this case, the user operates each home appliance 20-1 to 20-n using the input unit 22.

  As described above, in the consulting home appliance system according to the present embodiment, the consulting information is displayed on the screen of the home server, and is transmitted to each home appliance after confirmation by the user. Accordingly, the user can use the home appliance in an optimum manner without being aware of how to use the device and confirming safety. Unlike a factory or the like, the semi-automatic control shown in this embodiment is indispensable for a home where the operating environment of the device cannot be completely grasped by the control source.

( Third embodiment)
The consulting home appliance system according to the third embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the home server shares part of the server function.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a usage pattern of the consulting home appliance system according to the present embodiment. As described above, the home server 30 includes the storage unit 36. The home server 30 downloads the contents of the database of the server 10 to the storage unit 36 using the communication network 1 at a frequency of once a day, for example. Specifically, the home server 30 relates to the home appliances 20-1 to n connected to the home server 30 among the design information stored in the design information database 15 and the user information stored in the user information database 16. Data is downloaded to the storage unit 36. Thereby, the home server 30 has a local database. When the CPU 31 receives the usage status information from the home appliance 20, the CPU 31 refers to the local database stored in the storage unit 36 and creates consulting information for the home appliance 20 in the same manner as the server 10. The home server 30 transmits the created consulting information to the home appliance 20.

  Thus, the home server 30 installed in each home shares and executes the functions of the server 10 installed in the consulting center, thereby reducing the processing load on the server 10.

In each of the reference form and the first to third embodiments, the server 10 and the home appliances 20-1 to 20-n communicate with each other via the home server 30, but instead of this, FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, both may communicate directly via the communication network 1. In this case, the communication function of the home server 30 and the consulting information display / selection function are implemented in each home appliance 20-1 to n as necessary.

  In addition, when the server receives the usage status information from the home appliance, the server creates the consulting information. Instead, the server instructs the home appliance to transmit the usage status information. Consulting information may be created when usage status information is received. As a result, the consulting center can take the lead in investigating the ownership status and usage status of home appliances in each home, and remotely control home appliances installed in each home using the consulting information.

  In addition, although the consulting information is displayed on the screen of the home server or home appliance, a peripheral device may be added and the consulting information may be presented to the user by other means. For example, a peripheral device having a voice synthesis function may be added and the consulting information may be presented by voice output, or voice output and screen display may be presented together. Further, the server may provide video image data obtained by photographing how to use the home appliance as consulting information, and may display the received video image data on a home server configured with a television or the like at home.

  In addition, although the consulting information indicates the usage method according to the individual usage situation, an instruction manual that has been conventionally included in the home appliance as a booklet may be transmitted from the server as consulting information.

  In addition, the home appliance may notify the server of power consumption and the like as an operating state, and the server may provide consulting information for operating the home appliance with low power consumption. According to such a usage pattern, optimal energy-saving control can be performed on a large number of home appliances arranged in the home.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applicable to a consulting home appliance system that provides home appliances with consulting information indicating how to use home appliances.

1 communication network 10 server 11, 31 CPU
12, 22, 32 Input unit 13, 23, 33 Display unit 14, 24, 34, 35 Communication unit 15 Design information database 16 User information database 20, 40 Home appliance 21 Control unit 25 Processing unit 26 User ID
27 Device ID
28 Device status 30 Home server 36 Storage unit

Claims (10)

A consulting home appliance system configured by connecting home appliances and server devices via a network,
The home appliance is
First communication means for communicating with the server device;
An input means for inputting an instruction from the user;
Processing means for performing device-specific processing;
A first control unit that controls the processing unit based on an instruction input from the input unit and transmits its operation state to the server device;
The server device
A second communication means for communicating with the home appliance;
A design information database for storing design information of the home appliance;
A user information database for storing user information of the home appliances;
When the second communication means receives the operating state of the first home appliance as the home appliance, the user of the first home appliance is identified based on the user information, and the first home appliance Based on the operating state and the design information database, as consulting information indicating a usage method corresponding to the operating state of the first home appliance, the user information includes a list of home appliances of the user of the first home appliance. The consulting household appliance system provided with the 2nd control means which calculates | requires the consulting information with respect to the 2nd household appliance contained . 2. The consulting home appliance system according to claim 1, wherein the second home appliance has a communication unit that communicates with the server device, and receives consulting information for the second home appliance via the communication unit. The consulting home appliance system according to claim 1, wherein consulting information for the second home appliance is presented to the user. The consulting home appliance system according to claim 3, wherein the consulting information for the second home appliance is presented to the user by voice output. The consulting information for the second home appliance is presented to the user using a third home appliance included in a list of home appliances of the user of the first home appliance in the user information. 3. The consulting home appliance system according to 3. The consulting home appliance system according to claim 1, wherein the second home appliance receives consulting information for the second home appliance and controls its own operation. The consulting home appliance system according to claim 1, wherein the consulting information for the second home appliance is information for energy-saving control of the second home appliance. A server device connected to a home appliance via a network,
A communication means for communicating with the home appliance;
A design information database for storing design information of the home appliance;
A user information database for storing user information of the home appliances;
When the communication means receives the operating state of the first home appliance as the home appliance, the user of the first home appliance is identified based on the user information, and the operating state of the first home appliance Based on the design information database, as consulting information indicating a usage method corresponding to the operating state of the first home appliance, the user information includes a first list of home appliances of the user of the first home appliance. The server apparatus characterized by including the control means which calculates | requires the consulting information with respect to 2 household appliances. A home server device for connecting a home appliance and a server device over a network,
First communication means for communicating with the home appliance;
Second communication means for communicating with the server device via the network;
Among the design information of the home appliances stored in the server device and the user information of the home appliances, a local database that stores data related to home appliances connected to the home server device,
When receiving the operating state of the first home appliance that communicates with the home server device via the first communication means, based on the operating state of the first home appliance and the local database, the first Control means for obtaining consulting information for a second home appliance included in a list of home appliances of the user of the first home appliance in the user information as consulting information indicating a usage method corresponding to an operating state of the home appliance And a home server device. In a consulting home appliance system configured by connecting a home appliance and a server device that stores user information of the home appliance and design information of the home appliance via a network, a usage method corresponding to an operating state of the home appliance is shown. A method of providing consulting information to a user of the home appliance,
The first home appliance as the home appliance transmits its operating state to the server device;
The server device receives an operating state of the first home appliance, and identifies a user of the first home appliance based on the user information;
Based on the operation state of the first home appliance and the design information, the server device uses the first information in the user information as consulting information indicating a usage method corresponding to the operation state of the first home appliance. A method for providing consulting information, comprising: executing consulting information for a second home appliance included in the list information of home appliances of a user of the home appliance.

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