JP6305883B2 - Notification device, output device, information notification system, control method of notification device, and control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a notification device or the like for notifying a message related to an electronic device when a matter to be notified to a user occurs.

  As described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 below, home appliances having a communication function in addition to the original function are becoming widespread. For example, Patent Document 4 describes that a home appliance has a function of communicating with other devices via a communication network. And the technique of making a household appliance speak by control of a server, posting the message regarding a household appliance on an electronic bulletin board, and enabling it to confirm this message with a portable terminal is disclosed.

JP 2003-303278 A (published October 24, 2003) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-321925 (released on November 17, 2005) JP 2003-085316 A (published March 20, 2003) JP 2014-072869 A (released on April 21, 2014)

  By using the technique disclosed in Patent Document 4, it is possible to cause a message regarding a home appliance to be uttered by the home appliance and to notify the portable terminal of the message. However, if the utterance content of the home appliance is the same as the content of the information that can be confirmed by the mobile terminal, the user may feel annoyed with the duplicate information.

  This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the problems of the prior art. The illustrated information notification system 500 includes a server 501, an air conditioner 502, a mobile terminal 503 of a user of the air conditioner 502, and a mobile terminal 504 of the user's family.

  In this information notification system 500, the server 501 that has received a notification indicating that the filter needs to be replaced from the air conditioner 502 notifies the air conditioner 502 and the portable terminals 503 and 504 of a message for requesting replacement of the filter. . As a result, the air conditioner 502 outputs a voice to the effect that the filter replacement of the air conditioner of model AC201404 is requested and the model number of the filter that needs to be purchased. In addition, portable terminals 503 and 504 are each notified of a message having the same content as the audio output content.

  In this configuration, the user who has heard the sound emitted from the air conditioner 502 can recognize that the filter of the air conditioner 502 needs to be replaced. However, detailed information such as the model number and model number of the filter is likely to be missed. In addition, since the user's mobile terminal 503 is notified of a message having the same content as the audio output content, the user may feel annoyed with the duplicate information.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a notification device or the like that can prevent the inconvenience of a message having the same content being output from a plurality of devices. There is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a notification device according to an aspect of the present invention is a notification device that notifies a message related to an item when an item to be notified to the user regarding the electronic device occurs. A message determination means for determining a message for a notification destination of each classification when the notification destination of the message is plural and the notification destinations including different classifications are included in the plurality of notification destinations; Notification means for notifying the message determined by the message determination means.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an output device according to an aspect of the present invention is configured to notify the above-described notification device that notifies a message regarding an electronic device when a matter to be notified to a user occurs. An output device for outputting a message, which is a message according to a classification set for the own apparatus or a user of the own apparatus, and a message notified to another notification destination having a different classification is at least one of the contents The message acquisition means which acquires the message notified from the said notification apparatus from which a part differs is provided, and the message output means which outputs the message which the said message acquisition means acquired.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an information notification system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a notification device that notifies a message related to an electronic device when the item to be notified to the user occurs, and the message A notification device including the output device, wherein the notification device determines that there is another notification destination in addition to the output device, and the classification of the other notification destination is different from that of the output device. In this case, the message for the notification destination of each classification is determined, the message for the output device among the determined messages is notified to the output device, and the output device outputs the message notified by the notification device. To do.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a notification device control method according to an aspect of the present invention provides a control method for a notification device that notifies a user of a message related to an electronic device when a matter to be notified to the user occurs. In the method, when there are a plurality of notification destinations of the message and the plurality of notification destinations include notification destinations having different preset categories, the message for the notification destination of each classification is determined. A message determining step, and a notifying step for notifying the message determined in the message determining step.

  According to each aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent the troublesomeness that a message having the same content is output from a plurality of devices.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the principal part structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the principal part structure of the household appliances which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the principal part structure of the portable terminal which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of the information notification system containing the said information processing apparatus, the said household appliances, and the said portable terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the table which prescribed | regulated the control information which the said information processing apparatus transmits to the said household appliances. It is a figure which shows an example of the message determination information used in order to determine the message which the said information processing apparatus notifies, and its notification destination. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the information notification process which the said information processing apparatus performs. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of the information notification system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the information notification process which the information processing apparatus contained in the said information notification system performs. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of the information notification system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the role information which shows the role allocated to the portable terminal. It is a figure which shows the other example of the said message determination information. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of the information notification system which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the request response process which the portable terminal contained in the said information notification system performs. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the progress management process which the information processing apparatus contained in the said information notification system performs. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of the information notification system which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the request object determination process which the information processing apparatus contained in the said information notification system performs. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information notification system to which a configuration for notifying other users of execution of processing when a message requesting processing is transmitted to a plurality of destinations. It is the block diagram which illustrated the composition of the computer which can be used as the above-mentioned information processor, the above-mentioned household appliances, or the above-mentioned portable terminal. It is a figure explaining the problem of a prior art.

Embodiment 1
The embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 as follows. First, the outline of the information notification system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the information notification system 5.

[Outline of information notification system]
The information notification system 5 is a system for notifying a user of information related to home appliances. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, an information processing device (notification device) 1 and an air conditioner (output device, An electronic device) 2 and a portable terminal (output device) 3 are included.

  The information processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that performs various processes for notifying a user of information related to home appliances. More specifically, the information processing device 1 receives operating state information indicating the operating state from a household electrical appliance that can communicate with the own device, and determines whether or not a message notification is necessary according to the operating state information. And when it determines with notification required, a message is notified and output to each of household appliances and a portable terminal.

  The air conditioner 2 is a home electric appliance (home electronic device) that outputs information according to the control of the information processing apparatus 1. In addition to functions as a general air conditioner such as air conditioning and dehumidification, the air conditioner 2 has a function of communicating with the information processing apparatus 1, a function of transmitting operating state information to the information processing apparatus 1, and A function for outputting the notified message by voice is provided.

  The mobile terminal 3 is a mobile terminal of the user of the air conditioner 2. As described above, the information processing apparatus 1 notifies the portable terminal 3 of a message corresponding to the operating state information of the home appliance (in this example, the air conditioner 2), and thus the portable terminal 3 displays and outputs this message. The trigger for displaying and outputting the message may be the reception of the message or a predetermined input operation.

  In the illustrated example, operating state information indicating that the filter needs to be replaced from the air conditioner 2 to the information processing apparatus 1 (for example, information indicating that the cumulative operating time of the air conditioner 2 has reached a predetermined time). ) Is sent. The information processing apparatus 1 that has received the operating state information determines that notification of a message is necessary. Then, the message M1 requesting the filter replacement is output to the air conditioner 2 by voice, and the portable terminal 3 is notified that the model of the air conditioner 2 is “AC201404” and the model number of the filter is “FT1404”. M2 is displayed and output.

  Thereby, the user using the air conditioner 2 can recognize that the filter needs to be replaced by the sound output from the air conditioner 2. Since the portable terminal 3 is notified of a message indicating the model number of the filter to be replaced, the user can purchase a necessary filter by referring to the message. Note that the message M1 includes a message including information indicating a notification destination of detailed information (in this example, the mobile terminal 3) such as “Please confirm the details have been notified to the mobile terminal”. May be.

  As described above, the information processing apparatus 1 causes the household electrical appliance to output a message indicating the content of the problem that has occurred in the household electrical appliance (requirements for the user). Further, a message including detailed information necessary for solving the problem is transmitted to the mobile terminal 3 so that the user can refer to it as text at any time. As described above, one of the main characteristics of the information processing apparatus 1 is that the convenience of the user is improved by changing the message according to the notification destination.

  Here, in the example of FIG. 4, there is no user around the air conditioner 2 when operating state information indicating that the filter needs to be replaced is transmitted from the air conditioner 2 to the information processing apparatus 1. It is also possible. In such a case, if the notification as shown in FIG. 5A is performed, the audio output is useless and the content of the message M1 is not transmitted to the user, but only the content of the message M2 is transmitted. , May confuse users.

  Therefore, when there is no user around the air conditioner 2, the information processing apparatus 1 does not output a message to the air conditioner 2 and sends a message only to the mobile terminal 3 as shown in FIG. Notify M3. The message M3 includes the contents of both the messages M1 and M2, that is, all the items to be notified to the user. Therefore, the user can recognize that the filter of the home air conditioner 2 needs to be replaced and the model number of the filter necessary for the replacement by causing the portable terminal 3 to output the message M3.

  Even if there are users around the air conditioner 2, if the predetermined condition is satisfied, the message is not output to the air conditioner 2 and the message M3 is notified only to the portable terminal 3. Good. The predetermined conditions include, for example, a time zone in which utterances by home appliances are not desired, such as early morning or late at night, or that the TV is operating (that is, the user is watching TV). Etc. Note that it is possible to specify that the television is in operation by acquiring operating state information from the television.

  Further, the home electric appliance 2 determines whether or not the predetermined condition as described above is satisfied, and when this condition is not satisfied, the utterance may be waited until the condition is satisfied. According to these configurations, it is possible to prevent an utterance from being performed at a timing at which the user does not want the utterance.

[Main components of information processing equipment]
Next, the configuration of the information processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a main configuration of the information processing apparatus 1. As illustrated, the information processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 10 that controls each unit of the information processing apparatus 1, a storage unit 11 that stores various data used in the information processing apparatus 1, and the information processing apparatus 1. A communication unit 12 for communicating with other devices is provided. In addition, in the same figure, although the example which communicates with household appliances 2A-2C and portable terminal 3A-3C via one communication part 12 is shown, as a structure which uses a different communication part according to the communication system of a communication other party Also good.

  The control unit 10 includes a message creation unit 101, a device information collection unit 102, an information provision method determination unit (message determination unit, presence / absence determination unit) 103, a home appliance control unit (notification unit) 104A to 104C, and an information provision unit (notification). Means, execution notification means) 105, and position information acquisition unit 106. The storage unit 11 stores role information 111 and portable terminal user information 112.

  The message creation unit 101 selects a predetermined message group corresponding to the matter detected by the device information collection unit 102 from the message groups stored in advance, and sends the message group to the information provision method determination unit 103.

  The device information collection unit 102 receives the operating state information of each home appliance 2 and refers to the operating state information to detect that a predetermined matter to be notified of a message has occurred. The predetermined matter is not particularly limited as long as it is a matter relating to the home appliance 2, but may be, for example, the arrival of maintenance time, the occurrence of a failure or an error.

  The information providing method determination unit 103 has a plurality of notification destinations of messages related to matters detected by the device information collection unit 102, and the plurality of notification destinations include notification destinations having different preset classifications. In this case, a message for each category notification destination is determined. Specifically, the information provision method determination unit 103 determines which message is notified to which device among messages included in the message group selected by the message creation unit 101.

  That is, different types of notification destination devices (specifically, the home appliance 2 and the mobile terminal 3) are determined to be notification destinations with different classifications. Also, since the home appliance 2 and the mobile terminal 3 have different message output methods (the former is audio output and the latter is display output), notification destinations with different message output methods are classified into notification destinations with different classifications. It can be said that it is judged that there is.

  In this way, by sending different messages to different notification destinations, necessary information can be transmitted to the user without causing the user to feel bothered. Moreover, the information provision method determination part 103 determines a notification destination and the content of the message to notify according to a user's condition (for example, whether a user is near the household appliances 2).

  It is desirable that the message for each notification destination corresponds to the classification (characteristic) of the notification destination. For example, if the notification destination is a device that outputs audio, the person around the device can immediately recognize the content of the message (almost in real time when a predetermined item occurs in the home appliance 2). . However, the information output by voice is transient information, and it is difficult for the user to recognize it even if it includes too much detailed information. For this reason, it is preferable that the message for the device that outputs the voice indicates the outline of the generated item.

  On the other hand, if the notification destination is a device that displays and outputs, it is necessary to display the message on the device for browsing, and therefore the browsing timing may be delayed from the timing at which predetermined items occur in the home appliance 2. . However, since the displayed message has value as recorded information that can be reconfirmed later, the generated item such as the model number of the home appliance 2 or the contact information of the service center, or the elimination of the item It is preferable to include details of matters necessary for this purpose.

  The home appliance control units 104 </ b> A to 104 </ b> C are provided for each of the home appliances 2 to be controlled by the information processing apparatus 1 and perform operation control of the home appliance 2. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between individual home appliance control units, they are simply referred to as home appliance control unit 104. The same applies to the home appliances 2A to 2C to be controlled by the home appliance control unit 104. When there is no need to distinguish each home appliance, it is simply referred to as the home appliance 2.

  The home appliance control unit 104 converts the message determined by the information providing method determination unit 103 to notify the home appliance 2 into voice data and transmits the message to the home appliance, thereby causing the home appliance 2 to utter the message. . Note that the voice data conversion of the message may be performed by the home appliance 2, and in this case, the home appliance control unit 104 may notify the home appliance 2 of the content of the message. Further, the home appliance control unit 104 can also operate the home appliance 2 by transmitting control information to the home appliance 2. Details of the control information will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The information providing unit 105 notifies the portable terminal 3 of the message that the information providing method determination unit 103 has decided to notify the portable terminal 3. The information providing unit 105 notifies the user of the portable terminal 3 together with information for displaying a response reply key together with the message so that the user can easily reply to the notified message. May be. Further, the notification of the message may be performed in such a manner that the portable terminal 3 can output the message, and in addition to transmitting the message to the portable terminal 3, for example, the message may be transmitted by web mail. Then, a message may be posted on an electronic bulletin board or SNS. In the example of FIG. 1, the mobile terminals 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> C are shown as objects to which the information providing unit 105 notifies the message, but the number of messages to be notified is not particularly limited. In addition, a device other than the mobile terminal (for example, a personal computer or a game machine) may be a message notification target.

  The position information acquisition unit 106 acquires position information indicating the position of the mobile terminal 3. The method for acquiring the position information is not particularly limited. For example, when the mobile terminal 3 has a function of acquiring the position information of its own terminal using GPS (Ground Positioning System), the mobile terminal 3 stores the position information. The position information may be acquired by sending a transmission request. Note that the use of the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 106 will be described in a later-described fifth embodiment.

  The role information 111 is information indicating a role assigned to each mobile terminal 3 (user). By referring to the role information 111, a message corresponding to the role can be notified to each portable terminal 3. An example in which the role information 111 is used will be described in a third embodiment described later.

  The mobile terminal user information 112 is information indicating the mobile terminal 3 registered as a message notification destination and its user. The mobile terminal user information 112 also includes a message notification method and contact information (email address and telephone number) to the mobile terminal 3.

[Main components of home appliances]
Next, the structure of the household appliance 2 is demonstrated based on FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a main configuration of the home appliance 2. As shown in the figure, the home appliance 2 includes a control unit 20 that controls and controls each unit of the home appliance 2, a storage unit 21 that stores various data used in the home appliance 2, and the home appliance 2 communicates with other devices. The communication part 22 for performing is provided. Moreover, the audio | voice output part 23 which outputs an audio | voice according to control of the control part 20 and the person detection part 24 which detects the person who exists in the vicinity of the household appliances 2 are provided. The person detection unit 24 may detect a person by infrared radiation, or may detect a person by photographing the surroundings of the home appliance 2. That is, an infrared human sensor or a camera can be applied as the human detection unit 24.

  The control unit 20 includes a network state monitoring unit 201, a device information transmission unit 202, a home appliance function realization unit 203, a voice / control separation unit (message acquisition unit) 204, an operating state detection unit (detection unit) 205, and a human presence determination unit. 206, a switching unit (output target switching unit) 207, and an output control unit (message output unit) 208 are included.

  The network state monitoring unit 201 monitors the state of the communication connection via the communication unit 22, and notifies the switching unit 207 when the communication connection is disconnected.

  The device information transmission unit 202 transmits the operation state information generated by the operation state detection unit 205 to the information processing apparatus 1.

  The home appliance function realization unit 203 performs control necessary for the home appliance 2 to function as a home appliance. For example, if the home appliance 2 is an air conditioner, the home appliance function realization unit 203 performs control such that cooling, heating, dehumidification, and the like are performed according to an input operation from the user. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the home appliance 2 includes hardware blocks necessary for functioning as a home appliance.

  The voice / control separation unit 204 receives control information transmitted from the home appliance control unit 104 of the information processing apparatus 1 and transmits the control information to the home appliance function realization unit 203. When the received control signal includes audio data, the audio data separated from the control signal is processed according to the content of the control signal. Specifically, the voice / control separation unit 204 transmits the voice data separated from the control signal instructing voice output to the output control unit 208. On the other hand, the audio data separated from the control signal instructing to store the audio data is stored in the storage unit 21.

  The operating state detection unit 205 detects a predetermined operating state of the home appliance 2 and generates operating state information indicating the detected operating state. As an operation state to be detected, for example, a state where an operation error has occurred can be cited. In addition, the operating state information may be generated by detecting a predetermined operating state for each type of home appliance 2. For example, in the case of home appliances 2 that require regular maintenance, operating state information indicating that the cumulative operating time has reached a predetermined time may be generated. For example, in the case of the home appliance 2 that is driven by a rechargeable battery, operating state information indicating that the cumulative number of charging times has reached a predetermined number may be generated.

  The presence / absence determination unit 206 determines whether a user (person) exists around the home appliance 2 (within a range in which the voice output from the home appliance 2 can be heard) according to the detection result of the person detection unit 24. Then, the presence / absence determination unit 206 notifies the operation state detection unit 205 of the determination result, and the device information transmission unit 202 transmits the determination result to the information processing apparatus 1 together with the operation state information. When an input operation is performed on home appliance 2, it is considered that there is a user around home appliance 2. For this reason, the person presence / absence determination unit 206 may determine that there is no user around if the period during which no input operation is performed on the home appliance 2 continues for a predetermined time or more. In this case, the person detection unit 24 can be omitted.

  If the switching unit 207 cannot communicate with the information processing apparatus 1 when occurrence of a predetermined item to be notified of the message is detected, the switching unit 207 outputs a message acquired in the past regarding the event. Specifically, when the switching unit 207 receives a notification from the network state monitoring unit 201 that the communication connection via the communication unit 22 has been disconnected, the switching unit 207 determines the output target message from the message received from the information processing device 1. The message is stored in the storage unit 21. In addition, the switching unit 207 receives the operation state information from the operation state detection unit 205, and determines whether the operation state indicated by the operation state information is an operation state that is a message output target. If it is determined that the operating state is the message output target, the switching unit 207 reads the message corresponding to the operating state indicated by the operating state information from the storage unit 21, transmits the message to the output control unit 208, and the voice. The output unit 23 outputs sound. Note that a message may be output on the condition that the determination result of the human presence determination unit 206 indicates that there is a user in the vicinity.

  The output control unit 208 transmits the audio data transmitted from the audio / control separation unit 204 or the switching unit 207 to the audio output unit 23 for audio output.

[Main components of mobile terminal]
Next, the configuration of the mobile terminal 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a main configuration of the mobile terminal 3. As shown in the figure, the mobile terminal 3 receives a control unit 30 that controls each part of the mobile terminal 3, a display unit 31 that displays an image according to the control of the control unit 30, and a user input operation to the mobile terminal 3. The input unit 32 and the mobile terminal 3 include a communication unit 33 for communicating with other devices.

  The control unit 30 includes a message reception unit (message acquisition unit) 301, an output control unit (message output unit) 302, and an underwriting notification transmission unit (execution notification unit) 303.

  The message receiving unit 301 receives a message notified to the mobile terminal 3. The message reception method may be any method according to the message notification method. For example, a message notified by electronic mail is received from the mail server. The received message may be stored in a non-illustrated non-volatile recording medium (storage unit).

  The output control unit 302 performs control to display and output a message on the display unit 31. The trigger for displaying the message may be the reception of the message or the input unit 32 receiving a predetermined input operation. When the output control unit 302 displays a request message for requesting execution of processing for solving the problem that has occurred in the home appliance 2, the output control unit 302 notifies the user that the processing has been executed or has been executed. Display objects for

  When the request message is acquired, the underwriting notification transmission unit 303 executes or executes the above process according to an input operation on the input unit 32 (specifically, an operation for selecting the object). A notification indicating this is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 1. Note that items related to the request message will be described in the third and subsequent embodiments.

[Example of control information]
The control information transmitted from the information processing apparatus 1 to the home appliance 2 may be as shown in FIG. 5, for example. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table defining control information transmitted from the information processing apparatus 1 to the home appliance 2. In addition, in FIG. 5, the example in case the household appliances 2 are air conditioners is shown. Such a table may be stored for each home appliance 2 included in the information notification system 5.

  In the illustrated table, for each control information code, incidental data transmitted together with the control information, the name of the control information, and the content of the control information are associated. By transmitting such control information, the information processing apparatus 1 can cause the home appliance 2 to execute a predetermined process.

  For example, by transmitting the code “A0” and the accompanying data “1”, the home appliance 2 can be turned on. Further, by transmitting the code of “V1” and voice data (accompanying data), the home appliance 2 can output (speak) the voice data.

  Further, by transmitting the code “V2”, the update target number n, and the audio data (accompanying data), the nth of the audio data stored in the home appliance 2 is stored in the home appliance 2. The voice data can be updated (overwritten) with the voice data. By using this code, the audio data stored in the home appliance 2 can be updated as needed during the period in which the home appliance 2 can communicate.

[Example of message determination information]
The message determination information for determining the message corresponding to the notification destination may be as shown in FIG. 6, for example. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of message determination information. In the illustrated message determination information, a basic message is defined for one problem related to the home appliance 2. In addition, a message is defined depending on whether or not there is a user in the vicinity of the home appliance 2 that utters (message is output by voice).

  The information processing apparatus 1 can determine what message is notified to each of the home appliance 2 and the portable terminal 3 by referring to such message determination information (see (a) in FIG. 4). ). Moreover, it can also determine not to notify a message to the household appliances 2 (refer FIG.4 (b)). The case where the user is in the vicinity of another device (a home appliance different from the home appliance 2 in which a problem has occurred and a device having a message voice output function) will be described in the second embodiment.

In FIG. 6, only a message related to one problem related to the home appliance 2 (a problem determined to be notified based on the operation state information) is shown, but a message is defined in a similar format for each problem. can do. For example, when the home appliance 2 is a refrigerator, when it is specified from the operating state information that the cooling capacity is reduced, the message to be notified may be determined by referring to the message determination information as described below. Good.
(Basic message): “(A) Please call for service because the cooling capacity of the refrigerator is low”, “(B) Phone number is 0120-000-000, inquiry number is 140712345”
(User is near the device) Utterance: (A), sent to mobile terminal 3: (B)
(User is not near the device) Sent to the mobile terminal 3: (A) + (B)
[Information notification process flow]
Next, the flow of information notification processing (notification device control method) executed by the information processing device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the information notification process. In the illustrated information notification process, the device information collection unit 102 determines that a problem to be notified to the user has occurred in the home appliance 2 and notifies the message creation unit 101 of the problem and the problem that has occurred. Be started by.

  First, the message creation unit 101 extracts message determination information including a message group corresponding to the problem notified from the device information collection unit 102 from a plurality of message determination information stored in advance (S1). Then, the information providing method determination unit 103 is notified of the extracted message determination information.

  Next, the information provision method determination unit 103 determines whether there is a user around the home appliance 2 where the problem has occurred (S2). This determination is performed by referring to the operating state information acquired by the device information collection unit 102.

  Here, when it is determined that there is a user around the home appliance 2 where the problem has occurred (YES in S2), the information providing method determination unit 103 refers to the message determination information notified from the message creation unit 101 Then, a message to be output to the home appliance 2 is determined (S3, message determination step). This message is a message when “the user is near the device” in FIG. Similarly, the information provision method determination unit 103 determines a message to be notified to the mobile terminal 3 (S4, message determination step). Then, the information provision method determination unit 103 notifies the message to be output to the home appliance 2 to the home appliance control unit 104 corresponding to the home appliance 2, and notifies the information provision unit 105 of the message to be notified to the mobile terminal 3. To do. In addition, the information providing unit 105 is also notified of a message notification method and a contact address read from the mobile terminal user information 112 to the mobile terminal 3.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no user around the home appliance 2 where the problem has occurred (NO in S2), the information providing method determination unit 103 refers to the message determination information notified from the message creation unit 101, A message to be notified to the portable terminal 3 is determined (S6). This message is a message in the case of “the user is not near the device that speaks” in FIG. Then, the information providing method determination unit 103 notifies the information providing unit 105 of a message to be notified to the mobile terminal 3, and also notifies the notification method and the contact information.

  Finally, a message is notified to the user (S5, notification step), thereby completing the information notification process. Specifically, when the message is determined in S3 and S4, the home appliance control unit 104 generates control information including the message determined as described above as incidental data, and this is generated as the home appliance. 2 to send. In addition, the information providing unit 105 transmits the message determined as described above to the mobile terminal 3.

  On the other hand, when the message is determined in S6, the home appliance control unit 104 does not notify the message, and the information providing unit 105 only transmits the message to the portable terminal 3. If a plurality of mobile terminals 3 are registered in the mobile terminal user information 112, a message is transmitted to each mobile terminal 3.

  In S5, when notifying the home appliance 2 of the message, control information such as the code “V2” in FIG. 5 is transmitted, and the message is stored in the home appliance 2 or stored in the home appliance 2. The message may be updated with the message.

[Embodiment 2]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  In the present embodiment, even if there is no user near the home appliance in which the problem has occurred, if there is a user near another home appliance having a message voice output function, the other An example in which a device outputs a message by voice will be described. The configuration of each device included in the information notification system 5 of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 3).

  The information notification system 5 of FIG. 8 includes the mobile terminal 3 and also includes an air conditioner 2A and a washing machine 2B as the home appliance 2. Each of these home appliances has a function of receiving a message from the information processing apparatus 1 and outputting it as a voice.

  Here, it is assumed that the operating state information indicating that the filter needs to be replaced is transmitted from the air conditioner 2A to the information processing apparatus 1. Thereby, the information processing apparatus 1 determines that notification of a message to the user is necessary. On the other hand, the information processing apparatus 1 determines that there is no user near the air conditioner 2A, but there is a user near the washing machine 2B.

  Then, based on the above determination result, the information processing apparatus 1 causes the washing machine 2B to output a message M4 indicating that the air conditioner 2 in the living room needs to be replaced. Further, the portable terminal 3 displays and outputs a message M5 for notifying that the model of the air conditioner 2 is “AC201404” and the model number of the filter is “FT1404”. The fact that the air conditioner 2 is installed in the living room is registered in the information processing apparatus 1 in advance.

  As described above, according to the information notification system 5 of the present embodiment, even when the user is not near the home appliance 2 in which the problem has occurred, the user is close to another home appliance 2 having a voice output function. In this case, the occurrence of a problem can be recognized by voice notification. Further, the problem can be easily solved by referring to the message notified to the portable terminal 3.

[Information notification process flow]
Next, the flow of information notification processing (notification device control method) executed by the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the information notification process. In the illustrated information notification process, the device information collection unit 102 determines that a problem to be notified to the user has occurred in the home appliance 2 and notifies the message creation unit 101 of the problem and the problem that has occurred. Be started by. Also, the processing from S11 to S15 in FIG. 9 is the same as the processing from S1 to S5 in FIG.

  In S12, when it is determined that there is no user around the home appliance 2 in which the problem has occurred (NO in S12), the information providing method determination unit 103 determines whether there is a user around the other home appliance 2 ( S16). This determination is performed by referring to the operation state information of each home appliance 2 acquired by the device information collection unit 102.

  Here, when it is determined that there is a user around the other home appliance 2 (YES in S16), the information providing method determination unit 103 refers to the message determination information notified from the message creation unit 101, and A message to be output by voice to the other home appliance 2 is determined (S17, message determination step). This message is a message when “the user is near another device” in FIG. 6. Similarly, the information provision method determination unit 103 determines a message to be notified to the mobile terminal 3 (S18, message determination step). Then, the information provision method determination unit 103 notifies the home appliance control unit 104 corresponding to the home appliance 2 of a message to be output to the home appliance 2 by voice. In addition, a message to be notified to the mobile terminal 3 is notified to the information providing unit 105, and the notification method and contact information are also notified.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there are no users around other home appliances 2 (NO in S16), the information providing method determination unit 103 refers to the message determination information notified from the message creation unit 101, and A message to be notified to the terminal 3 is determined (S19). This message is a message in the case of “the user is not near the device that speaks” in FIG. Then, the information providing method determination unit 103 notifies the information providing unit 105 of a message to be notified to the mobile terminal 3, and also notifies the notification method and the contact information. With the above processing, the message notification as shown in FIG. 8 can be performed.

[Embodiment 3]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which a role is assigned to each of a plurality of mobile terminals 3 (users) and a different message is notified for each assigned role. The configuration of each device included in the information notification system 5 of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 3).

  The information notification system 5 of FIG. 10 includes the air conditioner 2 as the home appliance 2 and also includes a user's mobile terminal 3A and a user's family mobile terminal 3B. The configurations of the mobile terminals 3A and 3B are the same as those of the mobile terminal 3 shown in FIG.

  Here, the operating state information indicating that the filter needs to be replaced is transmitted from the air conditioner 2 to the information processing apparatus 1, and the information processing apparatus 1 determines that notification of a message to the user is necessary. And

  In this case, the information processing apparatus 1 applies the filter (model number “FT1404”) of the air conditioner 2 (model “AC201404”) to the mobile terminal 3B of the user's family who is assigned the role of purchasing the filter. A message M6 indicating that it is requested is notified. In addition, the information processing apparatus 1 causes the air conditioner 2 to output a voice that the filter needs to be replaced and that the user's family has been requested to purchase the filter. Then, the information processing apparatus 1 notifies the user's mobile terminal 3A of a message that the user's family has been requested to replace the filter of the air conditioning apparatus 2 in the living room.

  Thus, in this embodiment, a role (classification) is set in advance for the mobile terminal 3 or its user, and a message corresponding to the role is notified. Thereby, the matter which should be performed in order to eliminate the problem which generate | occur | produced in the household appliances 2 can be appropriately shared to each user, and the problem which generate | occur | produced in the household appliances 2 can be eliminated smoothly. As shown in the illustrated example, it is preferable that the message M7 includes information indicating the notification destination (user's family) of the request message. Thereby, it is possible to make a person around the home appliance 2 recognize who is the request destination.

[Example of role information]
The role assigned to each portable terminal 3 (user) may be stored in the storage unit 11 as role information 111, and the role information 111 may be data as shown in FIG. 11, for example. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the role information 111.

  In the illustrated role information 111, the name of the user, a method of providing information to the user, the contact information of the user, and the role assigned to the user are associated with each other, and numbers (No.) are assigned in ascending order. It is the attached information.

  In the role information 111 shown in FIG. The record 3 is a record of an electrical store that repairs the home appliance 2. Thereby, when the home appliance 2 needs to be repaired, a message to that effect can be sent to this electric store. Thus, it is possible to assign a role to a person other than the user of the home appliance 2.

  In the role information 111 shown in the figure, three methods of mail (e-mail), SMS (Short Messaging Service), and SNS (Social Networking Service) are listed as information providing methods. However, the information providing method is not limited to these examples. Further, the contact address only needs to indicate the message transmission destination according to the information providing method. For example, when providing information (message notification) by SMS, it may be a telephone number, and when providing information by e-mail, it may be an e-mail address. Further, when information is provided by SNS, it may be a combination of identification information (homepage address) of SNS to be used and an account name to which information is notified.

  Further, in the role information 111 shown in the figure, as a role, a purchase person who purchases an article necessary for solving the problem of the home appliance 2 and a repair of the home appliance 2 (filter replacement or other processing performed on the home appliance 2). The person in charge of repair is set up. The check box is filled with the role assigned to the user of the record. No. A plurality of roles may be assigned as in the case of record 2.

[Example of message determination information]
Since the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment notifies a message corresponding to a role, the message determination information to be used is different from those in the above embodiments. Here, the message determination information used by the information processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of message determination information for determining a message for each role.

  The message determination information shown in the figure is different from the message determination information in FIG. 6 in that a message for a purchaser and a message for a repairer are added. Another difference is that a message indicating that the purchaser has requested purchase is added to each message (except for purchasers and repairers) included in the message determination information.

  Therefore, the message for each role can be determined by referring to the message determination information shown in FIG. 12, and the person who is not assigned a role has been requested to the person who is assigned the role. Can be notified.

[Information notification process flow]
Since the information notification process of this embodiment is substantially the same as that of the second embodiment, the difference will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, a role is assigned to the portable terminal 3 (user). For this reason, in the information notification process of this embodiment, in each step (S14, S18, S19) for determining a message to be notified to the mobile terminal 3, the message for each role is referred to with reference to the message determination information as shown in FIG. To decide. Thereby, like the example of FIG. 10, each portable terminal 3 can be made to output the message according to the role.

[Embodiment 4]
The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  Here, when a plurality of users can execute the process for solving the problem that has occurred in the home appliance 2, the other user recognizes who executed (or executed) the process. Can not do it. For this reason, there is a possibility that a situation occurs in which no one executes the process, or there is a waste that a plurality of users purchase the same filter.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, an example will be described in which another user is notified that a process for solving a problem that has occurred in the home appliance 2 is executed (or has been executed). The configuration of each device included in the information notification system 5 of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 3).

  The information notification system 5 in FIG. 13 includes the air conditioner 2 as the home appliance 2 and also includes a user's mobile terminal 3A and a user's family mobile terminal 3B. Here, the operating state information indicating that the filter needs to be replaced is transmitted from the air conditioner 2 to the information processing apparatus 1, and the information processing apparatus 1 determines that notification of a message to the user is necessary. And

  In this case, the information processing apparatus 1 applies the filter (model number “FT1404”) of the air conditioner 2 (model “AC201404”) to the mobile terminal 3B of the user's family who is assigned the role of purchasing the filter. A message M9 indicating that it is requested is notified. Further, the message M9 includes a request acceptance key K (a key displayed as “OK”), and when accepting a request (purchase of a filter), a message requesting to operate this object. include.

  On the other hand, the air conditioner 2 outputs a message M10 requesting replacement of the filter. Also, a message M11 indicating that the user's mobile terminal 3A to which the role is not assigned has requested the user's family to purchase the filter (model number “FT1404”) of the air conditioner 2 (model “AC201404”). Is sent.

  Here, when the request acceptance key K is operated in the mobile terminal 3 </ b> B, a notification to that effect is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 1. Then, the information processing apparatus 1 causes the air conditioner 2 to output a message M12 indicating that the user's family purchases the filter. If the user is not near the air conditioner 2, a similar message may be transmitted to the user's portable terminal 3A.

  As described above, in the information notification system 5 according to the present embodiment, the user of the portable terminal 3 that has received the message requesting the processing accepts (or executes) the request by operating the request acceptance key K. Notification is possible with extremely simple operations. Then, the information processing apparatus 1 that has received this notification notifies other users that the process of purchasing the filter has been accepted (or has been executed), so that the process is repeated. Can be prevented.

[Flow of request response processing]
The request response process executed by the mobile terminal 3 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a request response process. This process is performed when a message requesting a process for solving a problem that occurs in the home appliance 2 is received.

  When the message received by the message receiving unit 301 is a message requesting processing, the output control unit 302 causes the display unit 31 to display a request acceptance key included in the message together with the received message (S21). The display timing of the message and the request acceptance key may be the timing when the operation for displaying the message is performed.

  Further, the output control unit 302 notifies the underwriting notification transmission unit 303 that the request underwriting key has been displayed, whereby the underwriting notification transmission unit 303 enters a standby state for a request underwriting key selection operation (S22). .

  Here, when the message display is ended without selecting the request acceptance key (NO in S22), the request handling process ends. In this case, the information processing apparatus 1 may be notified that the request is not accepted. Then, the information processing apparatus 1 that has received this notification may notify the other mobile terminal 3 or the home appliance 2 of a message indicating that the request has not been accepted or a message requesting to accept the request.

  On the other hand, when the request acceptance key is selected (YES in S22), the acceptance notification transmission unit 303 transmits a request acceptance notification indicating that the request has been accepted to the information processing apparatus 1 (S23), and ends the request handling process. To do. If the contact information of another mobile terminal 3 is registered, a request acceptance notification may be transmitted to the other mobile terminal 3.

[Flow of progress management processing]
Next, a progress management process executed by the information processing apparatus 1 after transmission of a message requesting a process for solving a problem occurring in the home appliance 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the progress management process.

  The information providing method determination unit 103 that has transmitted the message requesting processing to the information providing unit 105 waits for reception of a request acceptance notification (S31). If the reception of the request acceptance notification cannot be confirmed within the predetermined time (NO in S31), the progress management process ends. In this case, a message requesting to accept the request again may be transmitted. In addition, a message indicating that the request has not been accepted or a message requesting to accept the request is sent to the other mobile terminal 3 (the mobile terminal 3 that has not notified the message requesting processing) or the home appliance 2. Also good.

  On the other hand, when the reception of the request acceptance notification has been confirmed (YES in S31), the information provision method determination unit 103 instructs the home appliance control unit 104 so that the user of the received request acceptance notification responds to the request. Is notified to the home appliance 2 (S32).

  Next, the information provision method determination part 103 determines whether there exists a next process in the process for eliminating the problem which generate | occur | produced in the household appliances 2 (S33). For example, in the example of filter replacement, the process of purchasing a filter is the first process, and the process of replacing an old filter with a purchased filter is the second process. Therefore, in this example, if a request acceptance notification is received for a message requesting the purchase of a filter, it is determined in S33 that there is a next step (step of replacing the filter).

  In S33, when it is determined that there is no next process (NO in S33), the information providing method determination unit 103 ends the progress management process. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a next process (YES in S33), the information providing method determination unit 103 notifies the home appliance 2 and the portable terminal 3 of a message requesting the next process (S34), and the process of S31 Return to. In addition, what is necessary is just to include the message in each process in message determination information previously.

[Embodiment 5]
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which when there are a plurality of message transmission destinations for requesting processing for solving a problem that has occurred in the home appliance 2, an optimum transmission destination is selected and the message is transmitted. The configuration of each device included in the information notification system 5 of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 3).

  The information notification system 5 of FIG. 16 includes the air conditioner 2 as the home appliance 2, and the user's mobile terminal 3A, the user's family 1 mobile terminal 3B, the family 2 mobile terminal 3C, and the family 3 portable terminals 3D are included. Note that the configurations of these portable terminals are the same as those of the portable terminal 3 (see FIG. 3) of the first embodiment.

  Here, the operating state information indicating that the filter needs to be replaced is transmitted from the air conditioner 2 to the information processing apparatus 1, and the information processing apparatus 1 determines that notification of a message to the user is necessary. And Note that all of the user families 1 to 3 are set as the person in charge of purchasing the filter.

  In this case, the information processing apparatus 1 causes the air conditioner 2 to output a message M13 indicating that filter replacement is necessary, as in each of the embodiments described above. Further, a message M14 indicating that the user's family has been requested to purchase the filter (model number “FT1404”) of the air conditioner 2 (model “AC201404”) is sent to the mobile terminal 3A of the user who is not the person in charge of purchase. Send.

  Here, as described above, since there are a plurality of persons in charge of purchasing the filter, the information processing apparatus 1 determines which of the plurality of persons in charge of purchasing should be notified of a message for requesting the purchase of the filter. Specifically, the information processing apparatus 1 acquires position information indicating the current position from the mobile terminals 3C to 3D of each purchaser. Then, by comparing the pre-registered location information of the store where the filter can be purchased with the acquired location information, the portable terminal 3 located closest to the store is requested to purchase the filter. Specify the destination of the message to be sent.

  In the illustrated example, the portable terminal 3B is specified as the transmission destination, and the information processing apparatus 1 uses the filter (model number “FT1404”) of the air conditioner 2 (model “AC201404”) for the portable terminal 3B by the user. Message M15 indicating that the user is requested.

  As described above, in the information notification system 5 of the present embodiment, when there are a plurality of message transmission destinations for requesting processing for solving the problem that has occurred in the home appliance 2, the message is selected by selecting an optimum transmission destination. Send. Therefore, it is possible to cause the optimum user according to the situation where the processing is required to be performed, and to prevent the processing from being performed repeatedly by a plurality of users.

  It is not necessary to narrow down the portable terminal 3 to which the message requesting the processing is sent to one. For example, when there are three portable terminals 3, the two selected from the store where the filter can be purchased in order from the store where the filter can be purchased. It may be a transmission destination. Further, all of the mobile terminals 3 whose distance from a store that can be purchased is equal to or less than a predetermined value may be set as the transmission destination.

  Furthermore, in the above description, an example in which there are a plurality of persons in charge of purchase has been described. However, even when there are a plurality of persons in charge of repair, it is possible to narrow down message transmission destinations by the same process. In this case, it is good also considering the portable terminal 3 with the short distance from the user's house (installation place of the household appliance 2) which is a place where repair is performed as a transmission destination.

  Further, the notification destination may be determined under conditions other than the position information. For example, a priority order may be set in advance for each mobile terminal 3 (or a user thereof), and a notification destination may be determined according to the priority order. Further, for example, the notification-destination mobile terminals 3 may be narrowed down under a predetermined condition such as “Do not use the minor mobile terminal 3 after 18:00”.

  That is, in this embodiment, when there are a plurality of notification destinations of a message requesting processing, the message is sent to the notification destination selected from the plurality of notification destinations according to a condition determined in advance according to the processing. Any configuration to notify is included.

[Flow of request decision processing]
The information notification process of this embodiment is substantially the same as that of the third embodiment. However, after determining a message for each role, if there are a plurality of mobile terminals 3 to which the role is assigned, the request target determination process is performed. The difference is that the message destination is narrowed down. Here, the request target determination process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the request target determination process.

  First, the information providing method determination unit 103 instructs the position information acquisition unit 106 to acquire the position information of each mobile terminal 3 (for example, the mobile terminal 3 of the person in charge of purchase) that is a candidate for the message transmission destination (S41). ).

  Subsequently, the information providing method determination unit 103 selects the portable terminal 3 that transmits the message from the portable terminals 3 that are candidates for the transmission destination of the message based on the acquired position information (S42). Specifically, position information registered in advance for the requested process (for example, position information indicating the position of a shop where the purchase can be made in the case of a purchase request) is compared with the acquired position information. And the portable terminal 3 which exists in the position nearest to the positional information registered beforehand is selected as a transmission destination of a message.

  Finally, the information provision method determination unit 103 instructs the information provision unit 105 to notify the selected mobile terminal of a message for requesting processing (S43), and ends the request target determination processing.

[Example that does not narrow down the request target]
In the above example, the request target is narrowed down and the message is notified, but the message may be notified to each of a plurality of request targets. However, when there are a plurality of transmission destinations, it is desirable to use the configuration described in the fourth embodiment for notifying other users of the execution of processing. This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of the information notification system 5 to which a configuration for notifying other users of execution of a process when a message requesting the process is transmitted to a plurality of transmission destinations.

  The information notification system 5 of FIG. 18 includes the air conditioner 2 as the home electric appliance 2, and the user's mobile terminal 3A, the user's family 1 mobile terminal 3B, the family 2 mobile terminal 3C, and the family 3 portable terminals 3D are included. Here, the operating state information indicating that the filter needs to be replaced is transmitted from the air conditioner 2 to the information processing apparatus 1, and the information processing apparatus 1 determines that notification of a message to the user is necessary. And Note that all of the user families 1 to 3 are set as the person in charge of purchasing the filter.

  In this case, the information processing apparatus 1 causes the air conditioner 2 to output a message M16 indicating that the filter needs to be replaced, as in the above-described embodiments. Further, a message M17 indicating that the user's family has been requested to purchase the filter (model number “FT1404”) of the air conditioner 2 (model “AC201404”) is sent to the mobile terminal 3A of the user who is not the person in charge of purchase. Send.

  Then, the information processing apparatus 1 indicates that the user is requesting the filter (model number “FT1404”) of the air conditioner 2 (model “AC201404”) for each of the portable terminals 3B to 3D of the person in charge of purchasing the filter. When accepting the request, a message M18 in which a message requesting key operation is written is transmitted. The message M18 also includes a request acceptance key K.

  Here, when the request acceptance key K is operated in the mobile terminal 3 </ b> B, a notification to that effect is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 1. Then, the information processing apparatus 1 causes the air conditioner 2 to output a message M19 indicating that the user's family 1 purchases the filter. If the user is not near the air conditioner 2, a similar message may be transmitted to the user's portable terminal 3A. In addition, the information processing apparatus 1 transmits a message M20 indicating that the user's family 1 has accepted the purchase to the mobile terminals 3C and 3D of the other purchasers (family 2 and 3), respectively.

  In this way, in the information notification system 5 of FIG. 18, while notifying a message requesting processing to a plurality of request targets, operating the request acceptance key K to accept the request (or execute the processing). The notification can be made with an extremely simple operation. Then, the information processing apparatus 1 that has received this notification notifies other users that the process of purchasing the filter has been accepted (or has been executed). Therefore, it is possible to cause a person who is convenient among the plurality of request targets to execute the process, and to prevent the process from being performed repeatedly.

[Modification]
In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which a message is notified based on the operating state information received from the home appliance 2 has been described. However, the message may be notified when a matter to be transmitted to the user regarding the home appliance 2 occurs. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, when an initial failure is found in the home appliance 2 or when the home appliance 2 is subject to a recall, a message indicating that may be notified. Also in this case, as in the above embodiments, the home appliance 2 utters a summary of the problem and notifies the mobile terminal 3 of a specific countermeasure, thereby allowing the user to recognize the occurrence of the problem smoothly, The problem can be dealt with while referring to the message displayed on the mobile terminal 3.

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, although the example which contains the household appliances 2 provided with the speech function in the notification destination (notification destination candidate) was demonstrated, even if it is the household appliances 2 which are not provided with the speech function, Any device that can output a message by an output method such as display output can be used as a notification destination. For example, if the device includes a display unit such as a television receiver, a message may be displayed on the display unit. Moreover, even if the home appliance 2 is not included in the notification destination, the classification is different (for example, the mobile terminal 3 of the user and the mobile terminal 3 of the user's family or the mobile terminal 3 of the user and the repair) If a notification destination is included, the present invention can be applied.

  Here, when the home appliance 2 is uttered, the user may respond to the utterance by voice. For this reason, it is preferable that the household electrical appliance 2 is provided with a means for acquiring the voice uttered by the user as voice data and a means for transmitting the voice data to the information processing apparatus 1. The information processing apparatus 1 preferably includes means for analyzing the voice data and means for executing a predetermined process according to the analysis result. This makes it possible to notify a further message according to the user's response. For example, it is possible to cause the home appliance 2 to output a processing request message and receive a voice response indicating whether or not to receive this request.

[Embodiment 6]
In each of the above embodiments, an example in which one information processing apparatus 1 is used has been described. However, each function of the information processing apparatus 1 may be realized by an individual server. And when applying a some server, each server may be managed by the same provider, and may be managed by a different provider.

[Embodiment 7]
Each block of the information processing device 1, the home appliance 2, and the portable terminal 3 may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or a CPU (Central Processing Unit) And may be realized by software. In the latter case, each of the information processing apparatus 1, the home appliance 2, and the mobile terminal 3 can be configured using a computer (electronic computer) as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer 910 that can be used as the information processing apparatus 1, the home appliance 2, or the mobile terminal 3. The computer 910 includes an arithmetic device 912, a main storage device 913, an auxiliary storage device 914, an input / output interface 915, and a communication interface 916 that are connected to each other via a bus 911. The arithmetic device 912, the main storage device 913, and the auxiliary storage device 914 may be, for example, a CPU, a random access memory (RAM), and a hard disk drive, respectively. Connected to the input / output interface 915 are an input device 920 for the user to input various information to the computer 910 and an output device 930 for the computer 910 to output various information to the user. The input device 920 and the output device 930 may be incorporated in the computer 910 or may be connected (externally attached) to the computer 910. For example, the input device 920 may be a keyboard, a mouse, a touch sensor, or the like, and the output device 930 may be a display, a printer, a speaker, or the like. In addition, a device having both functions of the input device 920 and the output device 930, such as a touch panel in which a touch sensor and a display are integrated, may be applied. The communication interface 916 is an interface for the computer 910 to communicate with an external device.

  The auxiliary storage device 914 stores various programs for causing the computer 910 to operate as the information processing device 1, the home appliance 2, or the mobile terminal 3. Then, the arithmetic device 912 expands the program stored in the auxiliary storage device 914 on the main storage device 913 and executes instructions included in the program, whereby the computer 910 is changed to the information processing device 1 and the home appliance. 2 or functions as each unit included in the mobile terminal 3. Note that the recording medium used by the auxiliary storage device 914 for recording information such as a program may be a computer-readable “non-temporary tangible medium”. For example, a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit It may be.

  The program may be acquired from the outside of the computer 910, and in this case, may be acquired via an arbitrary transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave). The present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[Summary]
The notification device (information processing device 1) according to aspect 1 of the present invention is a notification device that notifies a message about an item when an item to be notified to the user regarding the electronic device (home appliance 2) occurs. When there are a plurality of notification destinations of the message and the plurality of notification destinations include notification destinations (home appliances 2 and portable terminals 3) having different preset classifications, the notification destinations for each classification Message determining means (information providing method determining section 103) for determining the message and notification means (home appliance control section 104 / information providing section 105) for notifying the message determined by the message determining means. .

  According to the above configuration, when a plurality of notification destinations include notification destinations with different classifications, messages for notification destinations of each classification are determined and notified. Therefore, it is possible to present a message according to the notification destination of each classification for one item, and avoid making the user feel bothersome. In addition, since the content of the message varies depending on the classification of the notification destination, the user will carefully check the content of each message, so that the message to be transmitted can be reliably transmitted to the user. .

  Note that the messages for notification destinations of each category are common in that they are messages related to the above items, but at least part of the contents included is different from the messages for notification destinations of other categories. . In addition, the “notification destination” to be classified may be a person who receives the notification or a device that outputs the notification. That is, the notification destination may be classified according to the person who receives the notification, or the notification destination may be classified according to the device that outputs the notification.

  The notification device according to aspect 2 of the present invention is the notification apparatus according to aspect 1, wherein the message determination unit is configured to classify the electronic device from another notification destination when the electronic device is included in the notification destination of the message. The message may be determined to be a different notification destination and a message for the electronic device may be determined, and the notification unit may cause the electronic device to notify and output the message for the electronic device.

  According to the above configuration, since the message is output to the electronic device in which the matter to be notified to the user is generated, the user around the electronic device can recognize the occurrence of the matter. In addition, since a message for the electronic device is notified to the electronic device and a message corresponding to the classification is notified to the other notification destination, the user refers to the message notified to the other notification destination. This makes it possible to obtain other information related to the above items.

  In the notification device according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the aspect 2, the message determination unit determines a message M1 indicating an outline of the item as a message for the electronic device, and as a message for another notification destination The message M2 indicating the details of the above items may be determined.

  According to said structure, the message which shows the outline | summary of the said item is notified and output to an electronic device, and the message which shows the detail of the said item is notified to another notification destination. Therefore, the occurrence of the matter can be recognized by the message output from the electronic device, and the user can be made aware of the details of the matter by the message notified to the other notification destination.

  The notification device according to aspect 4 of the present invention includes the presence / absence determination unit (information providing method determination unit 103) that determines whether or not there is a user around the electronic device in the above-described aspect 2 or 3. The message determination unit includes all of the above items as a message for a notification destination (portable terminal 3) other than the electronic device when the presence determination unit determines that there is no user around the electronic device. Message M3 may be determined.

  According to said structure, when it determines with a user not existing around an electronic device, the message containing all the said items is notified to notification destinations other than the said electronic device. Therefore, it is possible to avoid wastefully outputting a message to an electronic device that does not have a person who can confirm the message, and it is possible to prevent leakage of contents notified to the user regarding the above matters.

  The notification device according to aspect 5 of the present invention is the notification apparatus according to aspect 2 or 3, wherein whether or not there is a user around the electronic device (air conditioner 2A) and the surroundings of another electronic device (washing machine 2B). Presence / absence determination means (information providing method determination unit 103) for determining whether or not a user exists in the message, and the message determination means is configured such that the presence / absence determination means indicates that there is no user around the electronic device. If the determination is made and it is determined that there is a user around the other electronic device, the message for the other electronic device is determined, and the notification means sends the other electronic device to the other electronic device. The message for may be notified and output.

  According to the above configuration, when it is determined that there is no user around the electronic device and it is determined that there is a user around the other electronic device, a message is sent to the other electronic device and output. Let Therefore, even when there is no user around the electronic device in which the above item has occurred, the occurrence of the above item can be recognized by a message output by another electronic device existing around the user.

  In the notification device according to aspect 6 of the present invention, in any of the above aspects 1 to 5, the notification destination includes those classified as a notification destination of a request message for requesting execution of processing. The message determination means requests a request message for requesting execution of processing for solving the problem according to the solution method, when the above items are a problem occurring in the electronic device and a solution method thereof. The message may be determined to be a notification destination classified as a message notification destination.

  According to the above configuration, a request message for requesting execution of processing for solving the above problem according to a method for solving the problem that has occurred in the electronic device is sent to the notification destination classified as the notification destination of the request message. Be notified. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem occurring in the electronic device by causing the user of the notification destination classified as the notification destination of the request message to execute the process. In addition, when there are a plurality of processes necessary for solving the problem that has occurred in the electronic device, a request message may be notified for each process, and the notification destination of each request message may be different.

  The notification device according to aspect 7 of the present invention provides a notification other than a transmission source of the notification in the aspect 6, when a notification indicating that the process is executed or has been executed is received from the notification destination of the request message. At least one of the above may be provided with an execution notifying unit (information providing unit 105) for notifying that the above process has been executed or has been executed.

  According to the above configuration, when a notification indicating that the process is executed or has been executed is received from the notification destination of the request message, the process is executed at least at any one of the notification destinations other than the transmission source of the notification Notify that it was done or executed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the waste that the same processing is performed by a plurality of users.

  The notification device according to aspect 8 of the present invention is the notification apparatus according to aspect 6 or 7, wherein the notification unit is configured to request a request from a plurality of notification destinations when there are a plurality of notification destinations classified as notification destinations of the request message. The request message may be notified to a notification destination selected according to a predetermined condition corresponding to the processing to be performed.

  According to the above configuration, when there are a plurality of notification destinations classified as notification destinations of the request message, the notification destination selected according to a predetermined condition according to the requested process is selected from the plurality of notification destinations. Notify the request message. Therefore, it is possible to cause the user of an appropriate notification destination according to the requested process to execute the above process.

  The output device (home appliance 2 / portable terminal 3) according to aspect 9 of the present invention is a notification device that notifies a message about an item when an item to be notified to the user regarding the electronic device (home appliance 2) occurs. An output device that outputs the message notified from (the information processing device 1), and is a message according to the classification set for the own device or the user of the own device, and another notification destination having a different category Message acquisition means (speech / control separation section 204 / message reception section 301) for acquiring a message notified from the notification device, the content of which is at least partly different from the message notified to the message, and acquisition by the message acquisition means Message output means (output control unit 208/302) for outputting the received message.

  According to said structure, it is a message according to the classification | category set to the output device or its user, Comprising: At least one part of the content differs from the message notified to other notification destinations with different classification | category, The message notified from the notification device is acquired and output. Therefore, a message having the same content is not notified from another notification destination having a different classification for one item, thereby avoiding the user from feeling annoyed.

  The output device according to aspect 10 of the present invention is directed to the output device according to aspect 9, when the message acquisition unit acquires a request message for requesting execution of a process for solving a problem occurring in the electronic device. In response to an input operation, an execution notification means (underwriting notification transmission unit 303) may be provided that transmits a notification indicating that the user of the apparatus has executed or has executed the above processing.

  According to the above configuration, when a request message is acquired, a notification indicating that the user of the own device has performed or has performed the above process is transmitted in response to an input operation on the own device. Therefore, when the user who has confirmed the request message executes or executes the requested process, the user can be notified by the above input operation, whereby the same process can be performed by a plurality of users. It is possible to prevent the waste of being generated.

  Note that the notification indicating that the above process has been executed or has been executed may be transmitted to a notification device, or may be transmitted to another notification destination if it can be transmitted to another notification destination. When the notification is transmitted to the notification device, it is possible to notify the other notification destinations that the processing has been executed or has been performed via the notification device.

  The output device according to aspect 11 of the present invention is the above-described aspect 9 or 10, wherein the detection means (operating state detection unit) for detecting occurrence of the above-mentioned matter and the detection means detect occurrence of the above-mentioned matter. When communication with the notification device cannot be performed, the message output unit may include an output target switching unit (switching unit 207) that outputs a message acquired in the past by the message acquisition unit.

  According to said structure, when communication with a notification apparatus cannot be performed when generation | occurrence | production of the said matter is detected, the message acquired in the past is output. Therefore, even when communication with the notification device cannot be performed, messages of the same content are not notified from other notification destinations with different classifications, thereby making the user feel annoyed. It can be avoided.

  The information notification system 5 according to the aspect 12 of the present invention includes a notification device (information processing device 1) for notifying a user of a message related to an electronic device (home appliance 2) when a matter to be notified to the user occurs. , An information notification system including an output device (home appliance 2, portable terminal 3) that outputs the message, wherein the notification device has a notification destination other than the output device, and the other notification When it is determined that the previous classification is different from the output device, a message for a notification destination of each classification is determined, and a message for the output device among the determined messages is notified to the output device, and the output device Outputs the message notified by the notification device. Therefore, there exists an effect similar to the said aspect 1.

  A control method (information notification process) for a notification device according to aspect 13 of the present invention is a control method for a notification device that notifies a message related to an item when an item to be notified to an electronic device occurs. And a message determination step for determining a message for each category notification destination when there are a plurality of notification destinations of the message and the plurality of notification destinations include notification destinations with different preset classifications ( S3, S4 / S13, S14 / S17, S18) and a notification step (S5 / S15) for notifying the message determined in the message determination step. Therefore, there exists an effect similar to the said aspect 1.

  The notification device and the output device according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the notification device or the output device is operated by causing the computer to operate as each unit included in the notification device or the output device. A control program for the notification device that realizes the output device by a computer (control program for the output device) and a computer-readable recording medium on which the control program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, a new technical feature can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

  The present invention can be used in a system that notifies a user of information related to an electronic device.

1 Information processing device (notification device)
103 Information providing method determining unit (message determining means, existence determining means)
104 Home appliance control unit (notification means)
105 Information providing unit (notification means, execution notification means)
2 Home appliances (output devices, electronic devices)
204 Voice / Control Separation Unit (Message Acquisition Unit)
205 Operating state detection unit (detection means)
207 switching unit (output target switching means)
208 Output control unit (message output means)
3 Mobile devices (output devices)
301 Message receiver (message acquisition means)
302 Output control unit (message output means)
303 Underwriting notification transmitter (execution notification means)
5 Information notification system

Claims (10)

A notification device for notifying a user of a message related to an electronic device when a matter to be notified to the user occurs,
A message determination means for determining a message to be output to the other electronic device other than the electronic device, wherein the other electronic device is determined to have a user around the other electronic device ;
A notification device comprising: notification means for notifying the other electronic device of the message determined by the message determination means and outputting the voice . The message determining means is a further electronic device other than the electronic device, and determines a message to be displayed and output by the electronic device carried by the user,
The notification device according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies the other electronic device of a message for an electronic device carried by the user and displays the message . Upper SL message determination means, the matter, when it is its resolution method problems encountered the electronic device, Rume message to request according to the resolution method, the execution of a process for solving the problems notification device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it determines the. The notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the message includes information indicating an article to be purchased regarding the item to be notified. When a notification indicating that the process is executed or executed is received from a notification destination of the message requesting execution of the process, the process is executed at least at a notification destination other than the transmission source of the notification. The notification device according to claim 3 , further comprising execution notification means for notifying that the operation has been performed or executed. When an item to be notified to the user regarding the electronic device occurs, an output device that outputs the message notified from the notification device that notifies the message about the item,
Message acquisition means for acquiring a message to be output to the output device, which is another electronic device other than the electronic device, and is determined to be a user around the other electronic device. ,
An output device comprising: message output means for outputting the message acquired by the message acquisition means by voice . An information notification system including a notification device that notifies a message about an item when an item to be notified to the user regarding the electronic device occurs, and another electronic device that outputs the message,
The notification unit determines the message to be an audio output to the other electronic device is determined to exist by the user around, the message notifies the other electronic devices,
The other electronic device outputs a voice of the message notified by the notification device. A notification device control method for notifying a user of a message related to an electronic device when a matter to be notified to the user occurs.
A message determination step for determining a message to be output to the other electronic device other than the electronic device, the other electronic device determined to have a user around the other electronic device ;
A notification step of notifying the other electronic device of the message determined in the message determination step and outputting the voice as an audio signal. A control program for causing a computer to function as a notification device according to claim 1 in any one of 5, a control program for causing a computer to function as each means described above. A control program for causing a computer to function as the output device according to claim 6 , wherein the control program causes the computer to function as each of the means.

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