JP7379139B2 - Information processing systems, home appliances, and programs - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an information processing system, a home appliance, and a program.

Information processing systems are provided that allow home appliances to be remotely controlled from a terminal device via a server device. In order to use such an information processing system, it is necessary to associate and register a terminal device or a user of the terminal device and a home appliance.

As one method for registration operations, there is a method in which a terminal device and a home appliance are connected to the same wireless router (subnetwork) and a predetermined registration operation is performed. However, in such a registration operation, if the terminal device is connected to another network, the connection to the current network is temporarily disconnected, and the terminal device and the home appliance are connected to the same subnetwork. There is a need to. Furthermore, after the registration operation is completed, it is also necessary to reconnect the terminal device to the network to which it is normally connected. Therefore, there was room for improvement in convenience regarding registration.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-015544

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an information processing system, a home appliance, and a program that can improve convenience.

The information processing system of the embodiment includes a server device, a home appliance, and a terminal device. The terminal device displays or sounds based on first information held or generated by the home appliance, the terminal device, the server device, or another device, or second information obtained based on the first information. Output. The home appliance acquires the third information based on the user's registration operation corresponding to the display or sound. One of the home appliance, the terminal device, and the server device communicates with the terminal device or the user of the terminal device and the home appliance based on the first information or the second information and the third information. Performs processing related to association with devices. The home appliance includes a drive section that executes a predetermined function, and an operation section that accepts an operation regarding at least one of a drive state and a setting state of the drive section, and uses the operation section to perform the registration operation. Accept operations. When the home appliance performs a predetermined operation to switch to a state in which the registration operation is accepted, the home appliance switches to a state in which the user's operation on the operation unit does not affect the drive state and setting state of the drive unit.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a home appliance according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configurations of a home appliance, a terminal device, and a server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of operation pattern information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of screen transitions of the terminal device according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the operation procedure accepted in the registration operation of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow at the time of registration according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process when registering a home appliance according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process when registering a terminal device according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing at the time of registration of the server device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configurations of a home appliance, a terminal device, and a server device according to a second embodiment.

Hereinafter, an information processing system, a home appliance, and a program according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, components having the same or similar functions are denoted by the same reference numerals. Further, redundant explanations of these configurations may be omitted. As used herein, "based on XX" means "based on at least XX" and includes cases where it is based on another element in addition to XX. Moreover, "based on XX" is not limited to the case where XX is used directly, but also includes the case where it is based on calculations and processing performed on XX. "XX" is an arbitrary element (for example, arbitrary information). Furthermore, in this specification, "memory" and "retention" are used interchangeably.

(First embodiment)
In the first embodiment, information equivalent to the identification information of the home appliance acquired via the server device is displayed (notified) on the display screen of the terminal device, and the user's registration operation corresponding to the display is performed on the home appliance. The home appliance acquires verification information, and the verification information acquired by the home appliance and the identification information (or equivalent information) of the home appliance are verified, allowing the user of the terminal device to This is an example in which a home appliance and a home appliance are registered in association with each other. Note that this embodiment can be implemented in various modifications. These modifications will be described together at the end of the first embodiment. Further, an example in which random numbers are used instead of identification information will be described in a second embodiment.

(First embodiment)
<1. Overall configuration of information processing system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system 1 according to the first embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes, for example, a home appliance 100, a terminal device 200, and a server device 300. The home appliance 100, the terminal device 200, and the server device 300 can communicate with each other via the network N. The network N is, for example, a network such as the Internet, a WAN (Wide Area Network), a LAN (Local Area Network), or a cellular network.

<1.1 Home appliances>
The home appliance 100 is, for example, an electronic device used in a house. The home appliance 100 has a communication function that allows connection to the network N. Home appliance 100 is connected to network N via repeater R. The repeater R is, for example, a wireless router installed in the same house as the home appliance 100. Relay R constructs a subnetwork. The subnetwork is a network with a narrower communication area than network N. For example, the subnetwork is a Wi-Fi network. The sub-network may be a network such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near field communication), or infrared communication.

Home appliance 100 is, for example, a refrigerator. However, the home appliance 100 is not limited to a refrigerator, and may be other home appliances such as an air conditioner, a vacuum cleaner, a washing machine, a lighting device, an oven range, a rice cooker, a dishwasher, a television, a radio, etc. In the following, an example in which the home appliance 100 is a refrigerator will be described.

The home appliance 100 has a display/operation unit 110 at an easily visible position on the surface or inside of the home appliance 100 (for example, in front of a door). The display/operation section 110 is an example of an "operation section" and an "input section." The display/operation unit 110 is, for example, a display unit that does not have a numerical display function. The display/operation unit 110 is not a display unit that has a display screen, and furthermore, it is a display unit that does not have a 7-segment display. In this embodiment, the display/operation section 110 includes a display lamp section 111 and an operation button section 112.

The indicator lamp section 111 includes one or more indicator lamps 111a. The display lamp 111a is a display device that displays information that is meaningful to humans by switching between display (for example, on) and non-display (for example, off) (i.e., one-dot display switching). For example, the display lamp unit 111 displays (notifies) the state of the home appliance 100 to the outside by turning on or turning off the display lamp 111a. In the present embodiment, the display lamp section 111 externally displays information (hereinafter referred to as "state information") regarding at least one of the driving state and setting state of the driving section 120 (see FIG. 3) of the home appliance 100. . For example, the display lamp section 111 includes a plurality of display lamps 111a corresponding to a plurality of items of the drive state and/or setting state of the drive section 120. Each indicator lamp 111a includes a light source such as an LED, and printing such as transparent cut-out characters corresponding to the item to be notified. The setting state is a state in which the driving state of the driving unit 120 is set by the user.

When the home appliance 100 is a refrigerator, the drive unit 120 is a compressor that circulates refrigerant, a blower that circulates cold air cooled by a cooler in a storage room, or the like. In the present embodiment, the display lamp 111a indicates that the driving state of the drive unit 120 is "all-in-one freezing (specific quick freezing mode)" or "quick fresh chilled (specific chilled mode)". do. Further, the display lamp 111a displays, as the setting state of the drive unit 120, a key lock state in which no operation is accepted, a drive start/stop reservation state, and the like. However, the drive unit 120 is not limited to a specific component as long as it is a component that performs a predetermined function required by the various home appliances 100. Another example of the drive unit 120 is a motor for a rotating tub in a washing machine.

In this embodiment, the display lamp section 111 notifies whether the state (mode) of the display/operation section 110 is a first input mode (normal mode) or a second input mode (registration mode), which will be described later. It includes a mode notification section 111b. The mode notification unit 111b is realized by, for example, one display lamp 111a, and is in a first state (for example, off state) during the first input mode, and in a second state (for example, on or blinking state) during the second input mode. )become.

The operation button section 112 includes one or more operation buttons 112a. The operation button 112a may be a touch panel type soft key or a hard key having a physical mechanism. A user of the home appliance 100 can perform various input operations on the home appliance 100 by operating the operation button unit 112, for example. In this embodiment, the operation button section 112 includes a plurality of operation buttons 112a. The multiple operation buttons 112a are an example of "multiple input units."

In the present embodiment, the operation button section 112 is controlled by a control section 180 to be described later, and has a first input mode in which the operation button section 112 accepts input of state information (type 1 information) and a first input mode in which the operation button section 112 receives state information (type 1 information). It is possible to switch between the second input mode and the second input mode in which input of information different from the above (second type information) is accepted. The second type information is, for example, information different from information regarding the original function of the home appliance 100. An example of the second type information is identification information of the home appliance 100 (or information equivalent thereto). This function will be described in detail later.

<1.2 Terminal device>
The terminal device 200 is, for example, a portable information processing device such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a notebook computer. The terminal device 200 implements various functional units described below by installing a predetermined application program (hereinafter referred to as "app") for remotely controlling the home appliance 100.

<1.3 Server device>
Server device 300 manages home appliances 100 and terminal devices 200. For example, the server device 300 manages, for each terminal device 200, the identification information of the terminal device 200 (terminal ID), the identification information of the user of the terminal device 200 (user ID), and the user's password in association with each other. Hereinafter, the user ID and password will be collectively referred to as "login information." The server device 300 associates and registers the terminal device 200 or the user of the terminal device 200 and the home appliance 100. The terminal device 200 can remotely control the home appliance 100 registered in association with the terminal device 200 or the user of the terminal device 200 via the server device 300.

<2. Configuration of home appliances, terminal devices, and server devices>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the home appliance 100. Note that the terminal device 200 and the server device 300 also include the same configuration as the home appliance 100.

The home appliance 100 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an input device 14, an output device 15, and a communication I/F (Interface). ) 16. These parts are connected by a bus 17.

The CPU 11 executes programs stored in the ROM 12 or RAM 13 to implement each functional unit described below. Note that each functional unit uses hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) instead of a hardware processor such as a CPU executing the program. (including circuitry), or may be realized by collaboration between software and hardware.

The input device 14 is, for example, the operation button unit 112 described above. Note that the input device 14 of the terminal device 200 and the server device 300 may be realized by a keyboard, a pointing device, a touch panel, or the like. The output device 15 is, for example, the display lamp unit 111 described above. Note that the output device 15 of the terminal device 200 and the server device 300 may be realized by a display device including a display screen. Communication I/F 16 is connected to network N via wireless or wire.

<2.1 Configuration of home appliances>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configurations of the home appliance 100, the terminal device 200, and the server device 300. The home appliance 100 includes, for example, a display/operation section 110, a drive section 120, a storage section 130, an information conversion section 140, an information acquisition section 150, an information output section 160, a communication section 170, and a control section 180. The display/operation section 110 and the drive section 120 are as described above.

The storage unit 130 is realized by, for example, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory. The storage unit 130 stores state information I1 of the drive unit 120 of the home appliance 100, and also stores predetermined information in a non-rewritable manner. An example of the predetermined information that is stored in a non-rewritable manner is the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100. "Stored in an unrewritable manner" means, for example, that access for erasing and writing operations to an address where predetermined information is stored is prohibited. The identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 is, for example, unique identification information (for example, the serial number of the home appliance 100) set in advance for the home appliance 100. However, the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 is not limited to specific information as long as it is information that can identify the home appliance 100, and may be information of a certain number of digits with a low probability of coincidence. In this embodiment, the manufacturing number of the home appliance 100 is stored in the storage unit 130 as the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 when the home appliance 100 is shipped. The manufacturing number of the home appliance 100 is, for example, a string of around 10 digits consisting of a combination of numbers and alphabets. In this embodiment, the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 is an example of "first information".

The information conversion unit 140 acquires the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 from the storage unit 130. Based on the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100, the information conversion unit 140 generates information indicating an operation pattern (hereinafter referred to as "operation pattern information") indicating the content of the registration operation corresponding to the content of the identification information I2. The operation pattern information is, for example, information indicating an operation procedure including an operation button 112a to be operated among the plurality of operation buttons 112a included in the operation button section 112 and an operation mode for the operation button 112a. For example, when the operation pattern of the operation button section 112 changes over time, the operation pattern information includes, firstly, which operation button 112a is operated in which operation mode, and secondly, which operation button 112a is operated in which operation. Indicates how it is operated. Check data such as a checksum may be added to the operation pattern information.

The correspondence between each element (for example, each character) included in the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 and the operation pattern of the operation button section 112 is determined in advance and stored in the storage section 130 as a correspondence table T1. Specifically, in the correspondence table T1, each element included in the identification information I2 is associated with an operation pattern. For example, in the correspondence table T1, the number "1" as each element included in the identification information I2 is associated with "refrigeration button x 1 time".

The information conversion unit 140 generates operation pattern information based on the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 by referring to the correspondence table T1. For example, the information conversion unit 140 may generate operation pattern information by extracting each operation pattern corresponding to a specific digit (for example, the first three digits) from each element included in the identification information I2. . The information conversion unit 140 outputs the generated operation pattern information to the information output unit 160. The operation pattern information is an example of "second information". The operation pattern information is information equivalent to the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100. Note that instead of being stored in the storage unit 130, the correspondence table T1 may be referenced by communicating with the server device 300 or another device.

The information acquisition unit 150 obtains verification information for associating the terminal device 200 (or the user of the terminal device 200) and the home appliance 100 based on the user's registration operation (described later) received by the operation button unit 112. get. In this embodiment, the information acquisition unit 150 includes an information generation unit 151 that generates verification information based on the registration operation received by the operation button unit 112. The verification information is information corresponding to the above-mentioned operation pattern information, and is information indicating the operation targets and operation modes of the plurality of operation buttons 112a included in the operation button section 112, and the operation procedures including the operation modes. The verification information can be obtained by analyzing the operation result input to the operation button section 112. The information acquisition unit 150 outputs the acquired verification information to the information output unit 160. The verification information is an example of "third information." Note that the verification information may be the operation result itself input to the operation button section 112 instead of the above. In this case, the information generation unit 151 may be provided in the server device 300.

Information output unit 160 communicates with server device 300 via communication unit 170. In the present embodiment, the information output unit 160 transmits the identification information I2 stored in the storage unit 130, the operation pattern information generated by the information conversion unit 140, and the collation information generated by the information generation unit 151 to the server device 300. Output to.

The control unit 180 controls the operation of the home appliance 100. The control unit 180 centrally controls the operations of, for example, the display/operation unit 110, the drive unit 120, the storage unit 130, the information conversion unit 140, the information acquisition unit 150, the information output unit 160, and the communication unit 170. For example, the control unit 180 controls the information conversion unit 140 to generate operation pattern information. Note that an example of the operation pattern information will be described later.

<2.2 Terminal device configuration>
The terminal device 200 includes, for example, an information output section 210, an information acquisition section 220, a notification section 230, a communication section 240, and a control section 250.

The information output unit 210 transmits login information input to the terminal device 200 via the communication unit 240 when the terminal device 200 is connected to the server device 300 (for example, when an application on the terminal device 200 is started). and outputs it to the server device 300.

The information acquisition unit 220 acquires the above-mentioned operation pattern information generated by the home appliance 100 from the server device 300. The information acquisition unit 220 outputs the acquired operation pattern information to the notification unit 230.

The notification unit 230 notifies the user of the operation pattern information acquired by the information acquisition unit 220. For example, the notification unit 230 reports the operation pattern information through display or sound. In this embodiment, the notification unit 230 is a display device D such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, and includes a display screen D1 (see FIG. 5). The notification unit 230 can notify by displaying the operation pattern information on the display screen D1. Further, the notification unit 230 may include a speaker for outputting the operation pattern information as a sound (for example, voice). The notification unit 230 sequentially notifies a plurality of operation patterns included in the operation pattern information in a procedure according to the user's operation. Note that the notification unit 230 may display a list of multiple operation patterns included in the operation pattern information on one screen.

The communication unit 240 can communicate directly with the network N without going through the repeater R, for example. In the following, it is assumed that the terminal device 200 communicates with the server device 300 without going through the relay R (that is, without being connected to the subnetwork).

The control unit 250 controls the operation of the terminal device 200. The control unit 250 centrally controls the operations of the information output unit 210, the information acquisition unit 220, the notification unit 230, and the communication unit 240, for example.

<2.3 Configuration of server device>
The server device 300 includes, for example, a communication section 310, an information acquisition section 320, a collation section 330, a registration section 340, and a control section 350.

The information acquisition unit 320 communicates with the home appliance 100 and the terminal device 200 via the communication unit 310. The information acquisition unit 320 acquires identification information I2, operation pattern information, and verification information from the home appliance 100. The information acquisition unit 320 also acquires login information from the terminal device 200. The information acquisition unit 320 outputs the identification information I2 acquired from the home appliance 100 and the login information acquired from the terminal device 200 to the registration unit 340. Further, the information acquisition unit 320 outputs the operation pattern information acquired from the home appliance 100 and transmitted to the terminal device 200 and the verification information acquired from the home appliance 100 to the verification unit 330.

Based on the operation pattern information transmitted to the terminal device 200 and the comparison information acquired from the home appliance 100, the comparison unit 330 determines whether the operation pattern information and the comparison information have a corresponding relationship with each other. For example, the matching unit 330 determines whether the degree of matching (similarity) between the operation pattern information and the matching information is greater than or equal to a preset threshold. This determination (verification) is an example of "processing related to association between the user of the terminal device and the home appliance."

When the matching unit 330 determines that the operation pattern information and the matching information have a correspondence relationship with each other (for example, it is determined that the degree of matching between the operating pattern information and the matching information is greater than or equal to a threshold value), the registration unit 340 registers In this case, the user of the terminal device 200 and the home appliance 100 are associated and registered in a database (not shown). In the present embodiment, the registration unit 340 associates the user ID of the user of the terminal device 200 (user ID included in the login information) with the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100, and registers them in the database. This registration allows the user of the terminal device 200 to remotely control the home appliance 100 using the terminal device 200. This registration is another example of "processing related to association of a user of a terminal device and a home appliance."

The control unit 350 controls the operation of the server device 300. For example, the operation of the communication section 310, information acquisition section 320, collation section 330, and registration section 340 is controlled in an integrated manner.

<3. Example of operation pattern information>
Next, an example of operation pattern information generated by the home appliance 100 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents of the operation pattern information generated by the information conversion unit 140 of the home appliance 100. For example, the operation pattern information includes a plurality of operation patterns L1, L2, and L3 that are sequentially switched based on a user's operation on the terminal device 200 (or as time passes). For example, the operation pattern L1 is an operation mode that indicates that the "refrigeration button" of the operation button section 112 is operated once. Further, the operation pattern L2 is an operation mode that indicates that the "freeze button" of the operation button section 112 is pressed and held for 5 seconds. Further, the operation pattern L3 is an operation mode that indicates that the "ice making button" of the operation button section 112 is operated twice. Note that for convenience of explanation, the illustration shows three operation patterns L1, L2, and L3, but the number of operation patterns is not limited to three. For example, from the viewpoint of lowering the probability that the operation pattern information coincides by chance, the number may be 4 or more.

After accepting each operation, the home appliance 100 may accept an operation indicating confirmation of the operation (for example, pressing the home key 521 (see FIG. 6) included in the operation button section 112 once). Furthermore, when receiving each operation pattern, the home appliance 100 may set a valid period for each operation pattern. If there is no operation within the validity period, the home appliance 100 may be deemed to have not been operated. Note that the operation pattern may include a "no operation" operation pattern that does not require operation of the operation button unit 112.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the transition of screens displayed on the terminal device 200. An operation pattern L1 is displayed on the screen D1 of the display device D of the terminal device under the control of the information acquisition unit 220. Further, on the screen D1, characters "STEP1", which is a guide G11 indicating that the step is the first step, are displayed. The guides G11, G12, and G13 are examples of information that can identify the order of switching (order of appearance) of the plurality of operation patterns L1, L2, and L3. Further, on the screen D1, the text "Please press the refrigeration button once" is displayed as a guide G12 prompting an operation corresponding to the operation pattern L1. Further, a guide G13 indicating "Next" is displayed on the screen D1. When the user touches the guide G13 indicating "Next" on the screen D1, the information acquisition unit 220 of the terminal device 200 transitions the screen of the terminal device 200 to the screen D2.

An operation pattern L2 is displayed on the screen D2 under the control of the information acquisition unit 220. In addition, on the screen D2, the text "STEP2" is a guide G21 indicating that the second step is performed, and the text "Please press the freezing button for 5 seconds or more" is a guide G22 prompting the operation corresponding to the operation pattern L2. Displayed. Further, a guide G23 indicating "Next" is displayed on the screen D2. When the user touches guidance G23 indicating "Next" on screen D2, information acquisition unit 220 of terminal device 200 transitions the screen of terminal device 200 to screen D3.

An operation pattern L3 is displayed on the screen D3 under the control of the information acquisition unit 220. In addition, on the screen D3, the text "STEP2" which is the guide G31 indicating that the third step is performed, and the text "Please press the ice making button twice" which is the guide G32 prompting the operation corresponding to the operation pattern L3 are displayed. has been done. Further, a guide G33 indicating "Next" is displayed on the screen D3. On the screen D3, when the user touches the guide G33 indicating "Next" and the operation pattern information and the verification information match in the comparison by the server device 300, the terminal device 200, based on the notification from the server device 300, A registration completion notification is displayed on the screen of the terminal device 200 (see screen D4). Note that the operation patterns L1, L2, and L3 may be automatically switched over, for example, over time.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation procedure accepted by the operation button section 112 in a registration operation. In FIG. 6A, the home appliance 100 is in the normal mode (first input mode), the status information of the drive unit 120 is displayed by the display lamp unit 111, and the status information of the drive unit 120 is displayed by the operation button unit 112. This is an example in which an operation to input (for example, an operation to change at least one of the drive state and setting state of the drive unit 120) is accepted. The normal mode is a state in which registration operations are not possible. 6(B), (C), and (D), the home appliance 100 is in the registration mode (second input mode), and the registration operation is accepted by the operation button unit 112 (for example, the operation patterns L1, L2, This is an example in which L3 is operated. The registration mode is a state in which registration operations are possible.

In the normal mode, input of status information is accepted in response to a predetermined type of operation. The predetermined mode of operation is an operation that causes the home appliance 100 to perform its original function, and is an operation that changes the drive state and/or setting state of the drive unit 120. The predetermined mode of operation is an operation that differs depending on the driving state desired by the user. For example, when the predetermined mode of operation is to set the driving state to "blow freezing (specific quick freezing mode)", the operation button 112a is set so that the lamp corresponding to "blow freezing" among the display lamps 111a lights up. Of these, the button corresponding to "freeze" is operated a predetermined number of times (for example, once).

In FIG. 6A, when the user performs a predetermined operation in a mode different from the above-described predetermined mode (for example, presses and holds the home key 521 and the operation mode key 522 at the same time), the home appliance 100 A transition is made from the input mode (normal mode) to a second input mode (registration mode) for registering the user of the terminal device 200 and the home appliance 100 in association with each other. In the embodiment, the home key 521 and the driving mode key 522 implement an example of a "batch switching operation unit". That is, by pressing and holding the home key 521 and the driving mode key 522 at the same time, the first input mode and the second input mode of the plurality of buttons 112a are switched at once. Note that switching of the home appliance 100 from the normal mode to the registration mode may be performed by operating a dedicated operation unit. This dedicated operation section is a button provided separately from the plurality of operation buttons 112a. For example, by pressing this dedicated operation unit once, the normal mode and the registration mode may be switched all at once.

The registration mode is a state in which the user's operation on the operation button section 112 does not affect the driving state and setting state of the driving section 120. In other words, the registration mode is a mode in which input of status information using the operation button unit 112 is not accepted. Specifically, in the registration mode, for example, even if the user operates the refrigeration button 601 to change the setting to the "blast freezing" drive state, the change in the drive state setting is not accepted.

FIG. 6(B) shows a state in which the first step operation (operation pattern L1) in the registration mode has been performed. During the registration mode, a registration lamp 511 blinks to indicate the registration mode. FIG. 6(B) shows that the refrigeration button 601 has been pressed once. Further, in FIG. 6B, for example, among the display lamps 512 indicating the set temperature range, the lower left lamp 512a indicating the first step of the registration mode is lit. Note that the display lamp 512 is a lamp that indicates the set temperature range of the refrigerator in the normal mode.

After the user completes the operation in the first step, the user refers to "Please press the freeze button for 5 seconds or more" indicated by the guide G22 (see FIG. 5) on the terminal device 200. FIG. 6C shows that the freeze button 602 has been pressed for 5 seconds or more. Furthermore, in FIG. 6C, among the display lamps 512, the upper left lamp 512b indicating the second step of the registration mode is lit.

After the user completes the operation in the second step, the user refers to "Please press the ice-making button twice" indicated by the guide G32 (see FIG. 5) on the terminal device 200. FIG. 6(D) shows that the ice making button 603 has been pressed twice. Furthermore, in FIG. 6(D), among the display lamps 512, the upper left lamp 512c indicating the third step of the registration mode is lit.

Thereafter, the information acquisition unit 150 of the home appliance 100 generates verification information based on the results of these registration operations, and the generated verification information is transmitted from the home appliance 100 to the server device 300.

<4. Control flow>
FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow at the time of registration performed by the information processing system 1. Note that the following description assumes that initial user registration (registration of login information) has already been performed in the server device 300.

First, the home appliance 100 establishes a WPS connection with the repeater R by, for example, operating a WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) button on the repeater R by the user (step S701). When the WPS connection is completed, the home appliance 100 transmits the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 (hereinafter referred to as "home appliance ID" for convenience of explanation) to the server device 300 via the repeater R (step S702).

The server device 300 receives the home appliance ID from the home appliance 100 (step S703). The terminal device 200 starts a predetermined application installed on the terminal device 200 and receives input of login information from the user (step S704). Upon receiving the input of login information, the terminal device 200 transmits the input login information to the server device 300 (step S705). The server device 300 receives login information from the terminal device 200 (step S706). Thereby, the terminal device 200 and the server device 300 are connected.

When the above-mentioned predetermined operation (for example, simultaneous long press of the home key 521 and operation mode key 522) is performed on the operation button unit 112, the home appliance 100 sets the home appliance 100 to the registration mode (step S707). ). Furthermore, the home appliance 100 generates operation pattern information based on the home appliance ID (step S708). Then, the home appliance 100 transmits the generated operation pattern information to the server device 300 (step S709).

The server device 300 receives operation pattern information from the home appliance 100 (step S710). Note that in the processing of the server device 300, for convenience of explanation, the login information is received from the terminal device 200 in step S706 before the operation pattern information is received from the home appliance 100 in step S710. The process may be reversed. That is, the process in step S710 may be performed before the process in step S706.

Then, the server device 300 transmits the received operation pattern information to the terminal device 200 (step S711), and stores the transmitted operation pattern information in association with the user ID of the user of the destination terminal device 200. (Step S712). The terminal device 200 receives operation pattern information from the server device 300 (step S713). Then, the terminal device 200 displays each operation pattern included in the received operation pattern information (step S714).

After transmitting the operation pattern information, the home appliance 100 receives a registration operation from the user, as described with reference to FIG. 6 (step S715). Then, the home appliance 100 generates verification information based on the registration operation received from the user, and transmits the generated verification information to the server device 300 (step S716). The server device 300 receives the verification information from the home appliance 100 (step S717). The server device 300 associates and stores the received verification information and the home appliance ID of the home appliance 100 of the transmission source (step S718).

The server device 300 compares the verification information received from the home appliance 100 and the operation pattern information transmitted to the terminal device 200 (step S719). As a result of the matching, if the degree of matching between the two pieces of information is equal to or higher than the threshold, the home appliance ID of the home appliance 100 is associated with the user ID used to log in to the terminal device 200 to which the operation pattern information is transmitted. Register (step S720). The server device 300 transmits a registration completion notification indicating that registration is completed to the terminal device 200 (step S721), and ends the series of processing.

When the terminal device 200 receives the registration completion notification from the server device 300, it outputs the registration completion notification (step S722), and ends the series of processing. When the home appliance 100 completes sending the verification information in step S716, it ends the registration mode (step S723) and ends the series of processes.

Hereinafter, detailed processing of each device in the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 7 will be described using FIGS. 8 to 10. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed by the home appliance 100 at the time of registration. In FIG. 8, the control unit 180 of the home appliance 100 determines whether there is an operation for WPS connection (step S801). If there is no WPS connection operation (step S801: NO), the information output unit 160 of the home appliance 100 waits until there is a WPS connection operation. When there is an operation for WPS connection (step S801: YES), the information output unit 160 of the home appliance 100 transmits the home appliance ID to the server device 300 via the relay R (step S802).

Next, the control unit 180 of the home appliance 100 determines whether or not there is a predetermined operation (a first predetermined operation, for example, a long-press operation of a specific button) on the home appliance 100 (step S803). If the first predetermined operation is not performed (step S803: NO), the control unit 180 of the home appliance 100 waits until the first predetermined operation is performed. When the first predetermined operation is performed (step S803: YES), the control unit 180 of the home appliance 100 shifts the home appliance 100 to registration mode (step S804).

The information conversion unit 140 of the home appliance 100 generates operation pattern information based on the home appliance ID (step S805). The information output unit 160 of the home appliance 100 transmits the generated operation pattern information to the server device 300 (step S806). Furthermore, the display/operation unit 110 (operation button unit 112) of the home appliance 100 receives multiple registration operations from the user (step S807).

The control unit 180 of the home appliance 100 determines whether the reception of the registration operation from the user has been completed (step S808). Completion of acceptance of the registration operation means completion of acceptance of the registration operation according to the last operation pattern among the plurality of operation patterns.

If the reception of the registration operation is not completed (step S808: NO), the information generation unit 151 of the home appliance 100 waits until the reception of the registration operation is completed. When the reception of the registration operation is completed (step S808: YES), the information generation unit 151 of the home appliance 100 generates collation information based on the result of the registration operation. The information output unit 210 of the terminal device 200 transmits the generated verification information to the server device 300 (step S809). Then, the control unit 180 of the home appliance 100 ends the registration mode (step S810) and ends the series of processes.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process when registering the terminal device 200. Note that the following flow assumes that a predetermined application is activated on the terminal device 200. The control unit 250 of the terminal device 200 determines whether login information has been input (step S901). If no login information is input (step S901: NO), the information output unit 210 of the terminal device 200 waits until login information is input. When the information output unit 210 of the terminal device 200 receives login information (step S901: YES) and, for example, touches a send button displayed on the display device of the terminal device 200, the information output unit 210 of the terminal device 200 transmits the login information to the server device 300. (Step S902). Note that the illustration assumes that the login is successful. If the login is not successful, the terminal device 200 displays an error screen and repeats the process of step S901.

Next, the information acquisition unit 220 of the terminal device 200 determines whether or not operation pattern information has been received from the server device 300 (step S903). If the information acquisition unit 220 of the terminal device 200 does not receive the operation pattern information from the server device 300 (step S903: NO), it waits until the operation pattern information is received. When the information acquisition unit 220 of the terminal device 200 receives the operation pattern information from the server device 300 (step S903: YES), the information acquisition unit 220 displays the first operation pattern on the display screen of the notification unit 230 (step S904).

Next, the control unit 250 of the terminal device 200 determines whether there is an operation to switch to the next operation pattern (step S905). The operation for switching the operation pattern is, for example, touching the guide G13 shown on the screen D1 in FIG. If there is no operation to switch to the next operation pattern (step S905: NO), the control unit 250 of the terminal device 200 waits until there is an operation to switch to the next operation pattern. When there is an operation to switch to the next operation pattern (step S905: YES), the control unit 250 of the terminal device 200 switches to the display of the next operation pattern (step S906).

Then, the control unit 250 of the terminal device 200 determines whether the series of operations has been completed (step S907). Completion of a series of operations is, for example, when guide G33 is touched on screen D3 (see FIG. 5) indicating the last operation pattern. If the series of operations is not completed (step S907: NO), the terminal device 200 returns to step S905. When the series of operations is completed (step S907: YES), the control unit 250 of the terminal device 200 determines whether an error notification has been received from the server device 300 (step S908). An error notification is sent to the server device when the verification information received by the server device 300 from the terminal device 200 and the operation pattern information sent from the server device 300 to the terminal device 200 do not match (if the degree of matching is below a threshold). 300 to the terminal device 200.

If the control unit 250 of the terminal device 200 does not receive an error notification from the server device 300 (step S908: NO), it determines whether a registration completion notification has been received from the server device 300 (step S909). If the terminal device 200 does not receive the registration completion notification from the server device 300 (step S909: NO), the process returns to step S908.

When the information acquisition unit 220 of the terminal device 200 receives the registration completion notification from the server device 300 (step S909: YES), the information acquisition unit 220 causes the notification unit 230 to output the registration completion notification (step S910), and ends the series of processing. In step S908, when the information acquisition unit 220 of the terminal device 200 receives an error notification from the server device 300 (step S908: YES), the information acquisition unit 220 of the terminal device 200 causes the notification unit 230 to output the error notification (step S911), and ends the series of processing. do.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing when the server device 300 is registered. The information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 receives the home appliance ID from the home appliance 100 (step S1001). Next, the information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 receives operation pattern information from the home appliance 100 (step S1002).

Next, the information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 receives login information from the terminal device 200 (step S1003). Next, the control unit 350 of the server device 300 controls the communication unit 310 to transmit the operation pattern information to the terminal device 200 (step S1004).

Here, we will supplement about step S1004. At a predetermined timing when the terminal device 200 starts a predetermined application and proceeds to a screen for starting registration operations, the terminal device 200 sends information (hereinafter referred to as "registration start information") to the server device 300 indicating that processing related to registration is to be started. ). The server device 300 associates and stores the reception time when the registration start information was received and the user ID of the user of the terminal device 200 that sent the registration start notification. Further, the server device 300 stores the reception time when the operation pattern information was received from the home appliance 100 in association with the home appliance ID of the home appliance 100 that transmitted the operation pattern information. The server device 300 receives the registration start information if there is a reception time when the registration start information is received within a predetermined time range (for example, within 15 minutes) before or after the reception time when the operation pattern information is received from the home appliance 100. The operation pattern information is transmitted to the terminal device 200 that sent it. Note that the reception time when the registration start information is received and the reception time when the operation pattern information is received may be either earlier or later.

Next, the information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 acquires the operation pattern information transmitted in step S1004, the user ID of the user of the destination terminal device 200 in step S1004, and the transmission time at which the operation pattern information was transmitted in step S1004. are stored in association with each other (step S1005).

Next, the information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 receives verification information from the home appliance 100 (step S1006). For example, the information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 associates the home appliance ID of the source home appliance 100 in step S1006, the verification information received in step S1006, and the reception time at which the verification information was received in step S1006. and stored (step S1007).

Next, based on the transmission time of the operation pattern information and the reception time of the verification information, the collation unit 330 of the server device 300 determines whether the operation pattern information is transmitted within a predetermined time range (for example, 15 minutes) before or after the transmission time of the operation pattern information. Determine whether or not there is verification information received at (from another perspective, whether there is operation pattern information transmitted within a predetermined time range before and after the reception time of verification information) (step S1008). Note that the process of step 1008 may not be performed. This is transmitted from the home appliance 100 to the server device 300 by linking the home appliance ID and operation pattern information (for example, included in one notification), and then linking the home appliance ID and the verification information. Because the server device 300 does not have to manage these times, the server device 300 can process the operation pattern information and the operation pattern information based on the home appliance ID, without having to manage these times. This is because it is possible to perform comparison with the comparison information (see step S1009).

If there is no matching information received within a predetermined time range before and after the transmission time of the operation pattern information (step S1008: NO), the server device 300 proceeds to step S1012. On the other hand, if there is verification information received within a predetermined time range before and after the transmission time of the operation pattern information (step S1008: YES), the verification unit 330 of the server device 300 compares the operation pattern information with the verification information. The degree of matching between the operation pattern information and the verification information is calculated. Then, the matching unit 330 of the server device 300 determines whether the degree of matching between the operation pattern information and the matching information is equal to or greater than a threshold value (step S1009).

If the degree of matching between the operation pattern information and the verification information is not equal to or greater than the threshold (step S1009: NO), the server device 300 proceeds to step S1012. On the other hand, if the degree of matching between the operation pattern information and the verification information is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S1009: YES), the registration unit 340 of the server device 300 registers the terminal to which the operation pattern information transmitted in step S1004 is to be transmitted. The user ID of the user of the device 200 and the home appliance ID of the home appliance 100 that is the source of the verification information received in step S1006 are registered in association with each other (step S1010). Then, the control unit 350 of the server device 300 transmits a registration completion notification to the terminal device 200 (step S1011), and ends the series of processing.

On the other hand, in step S1008, the control unit 350 of the server device 300 sends an error notification if there is no collation information received within a predetermined time range before and after the transmission time of the operation pattern information (step S1008: NO). The information is transmitted to the terminal device 200 (step S1012), and the series of processing ends. Further, if the degree of matching between the operation pattern information and the verification information is not equal to or greater than the threshold value (step S1009: NO), the control unit 350 of the server device 300 moves to step S1012 and ends the series of processing.

<5. Advantages>
As described above, one method for performing registration operations is to connect a terminal device and a home appliance to the same wireless router (subnetwork) and perform a predetermined registration operation. However, in such a registration operation, if the terminal device is connected to another network, the connection to the current network is temporarily disconnected, and the terminal device and the home appliance are connected to the same subnetwork. There is a need to. In order to connect a terminal device and a home appliance to the same subnetwork, it is necessary to find a repeater in the same subnetwork as the home appliance from among the multiple connectable repeaters displayed on the terminal device. . You will also need to enter the password for that repeater. Furthermore, after the registration operation is completed, it is also necessary to reconnect the terminal device to the network to which it is normally connected. These tasks place a heavy burden on the average user, and an even greater burden on users who are not good at operating electronic devices.

Furthermore, as a method for registering a terminal device without connecting it to the same subnetwork as the home appliance, for example, a method of inputting identification information such as the serial number of the home appliance to the terminal device can be considered. Specifically, methods include adding two-dimensional codes that indicate the identification information of home appliances to home appliances, and using the two-dimensional code reading function of the terminal device to input unique information; One possible method is to attach a sticker or nameplate with information on it to the home appliance, and have the user input the information manually into a terminal device.

However, adding two-dimensional barcodes, stickers, nameplates, etc. to home appliances requires managing the corresponding two-dimensional barcodes, stickers, nameplates, etc. for each device during manufacturing, which increases manufacturing man-hours and This may place a burden on the staff and may not be efficient. Furthermore, the visibility of identification information on two-dimensional barcodes, stickers, and nameplates may decrease due to deterioration or dirt, which may make it difficult to input identification information.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the terminal device 200 outputs a display based on operation pattern information equivalent to the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 held by the home appliance 100. The home appliance 100 receives the user's registration operation corresponding to the above display on the terminal device 200. The server device 300 determines the association between the user of the terminal device 200 and the home appliance 100 based on the operation pattern information notified to the terminal device 200 and the verification information based on the registration operation received by the home appliance 100. Perform processing. For example, according to the above configuration, the user of the terminal device 200 and the home appliance can be associated with each other without connecting the terminal device 200 and the home appliance 100 to the same wireless router (subnetwork). Thereby, user convenience can be improved. Further, according to the above configuration, there is no need to write identification information on a two-dimensional barcode, sticker, or nameplate and present it to the user. Therefore, manufacturing efficiency can be improved.

In this embodiment, the home appliance 100 includes an operation button unit 112 that accepts various input operations on the home appliance 100, and uses the operation button unit 112 to accept a registration operation. According to such a configuration, information equivalent to the identification information I2 can be accepted using the existing operation button section 112 without separately providing an operation section for accepting the user's registration operation. Thereby, an increase in the number of parts and an increase in cost of the home appliance 100 can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, when the operation button section 112 receives a predetermined operation (for example, pressing and holding the home key 521 and the driving mode key 522 at the same time), the home appliance 100 is in a state where the registration operation is not possible (usually mode) to a state where registration operations are possible (registration mode). According to such a configuration, information equivalent to the identification information I2 can be accepted using the existing operation button section 112 without separately providing an operation section for switching to the registration mode. Thereby, an increase in the number of parts and an increase in cost of the home appliance 100 can be suppressed.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 200 sequentially switches between a plurality of operation patterns based on the user's operation. Further, the user can operate the operation button section 112 at a pace suitable for him/her according to the operation procedure displayed on the terminal device 200. This allows even users who are not good at operating electronic products to work calmly. Note that the terminal device 200 may sequentially switch between a plurality of operation patterns over time.

In this embodiment, the home appliance 100 sequentially receives a plurality of operation patterns (for example, a plurality of operation patterns L1, L2, L3) based on a user's operation. According to such a configuration, even if the operation button section 112 is limited in the amount of information that can be accepted at one time, it is possible to receive information equivalent to the identification information I2 from the user. Thereby, an increase in the number of parts and an increase in cost of the home appliance 100 can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, the home appliance 100 has a display/operation section 110 that accepts an operation related to the status information of the drive section 120, a first input mode in which the display/operation section 110 accepts an operation related to the status information, and a display/operation section 110 has a control unit 180 that can switch between a second input mode that accepts operations related to information different from the state information. According to such a configuration, the home appliance 100 can use the operation button unit 112 that accepts an operation regarding the status information of the drive unit 120 to accept an operation regarding other information. That is, it is possible to accept an operation different from the operation related to the original function of the display/operation unit 110. Therefore, information can be received without equipping the home appliance 100 with new devices or functions. Thereby, user convenience can be improved.

This embodiment further includes a mode notification unit (for example, a registration lamp 511) that reports whether the display/operation unit 110 is displaying in either the first input mode or the second input mode. According to such a configuration, the user can be made aware that the second input mode is in progress. That is, when accepting an operation related to information other than the status information of the drive unit 120, it is possible to avoid being misunderstood by the user as a failure.

Some modified examples will be described below. These modified examples may be applied in combination with each other, or may be applied in combination with the second and third embodiments described below. In each modification, the configurations other than those described below are the same as those in the first embodiment.

(First modification of the first embodiment: Verification using home appliance ID)
In the first embodiment described above, the collation unit 330 of the server device 300 uses the operation pattern information (second information) transmitted from the server device 300 to the terminal device 200 and the collation information received by the server device 300 from the home appliance 100. Verification is performed based on the information (third information). Instead, the information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 receives the identification information I2 (first information) of the home appliance 100 from the home appliance 100, and sends the received identification information I2 to the terminal device 200. In addition, by receiving verification information corresponding to the operation pattern information received from the home appliance 100 and performing additional analysis processing (reverse analysis) on the received verification information, the identification information I2 is handled. Verification information (for example, verification information corresponding to the serial number) may be acquired. In this case, the terminal device 200 includes a correspondence table T1 and an information converter 140, and generates operation pattern information based on the identification information I2 received from the server device 300. A correspondence table T1 is also stored in the server device 300, and the inverse analysis is performed by referring to the correspondence table T1. In this modification, the verification unit 330 of the server device 300 performs verification based on the identification information I2 transmitted to the terminal device 200 and the verification information corresponding to the identification information I2. Such processing corresponds to an example of "processing related to associating the terminal device or the user of the terminal device with the home appliance based on the first information and the third information" in the present application.

(Second modification of the first embodiment: operation pattern information is generated by the server device)
In the first embodiment described above, the identification information I2 (first information) is stored in the storage unit 130 of the home appliance 100, and the operation pattern information (second information) is generated by the information conversion unit 140 of the home appliance 100. . Alternatively, the operation pattern information (second information) may be generated by the server device 300. That is, the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 is transmitted from the home appliance 100 to the server device 300, operation pattern information is generated by the information conversion unit 140 provided in the server device 300, and the generated operation pattern information is transmitted to the terminal device 200. may be sent to. In this case, the terminal device 200 displays the operation pattern information generated by the server device 300.

(Third modification of the first embodiment: identification information of home appliances is set by the server device)
In the first embodiment described above, the identification information I2 (first information) is stored in the storage unit 130 of the home appliance 100. Alternatively, arbitrary identification information may be assigned to the home appliance 100 by the server device 300 when the home appliance 100 and the server device 300 are connected for the first time. For example, the information acquisition unit 150 of the home appliance 100 may request the server device 300 to allocate identification information. In this modification, the identification information is assigned completely independently of information unique to the home appliance 100 (eg, serial number, etc.). In this modification, the information converter 140 of the home appliance 100 generates operation pattern information based on the identification information I2 assigned by the server device 300. In this case, the work of storing the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 in the storage unit 130 of the home appliance 100 can be omitted, and the efficiency of manufacturing the home appliance 100 can be improved. Note that in this modification, as in the second modification, the server device 300 generates operation pattern information based on arbitrary identification information assigned to the home appliance 100, and transmits the generated operation pattern information to the terminal device 200. You may also send it to

In addition, in the first to third variations described above, all or all of the processing performed by the server device 300 (for example, generation of identification information, generation of operation pattern, and analysis processing of acquiring verification information corresponding to identification information I2) Part of the process may be performed by the home appliance 100, the terminal device 200, or another device connected to the network N.

(Fourth modification of the first embodiment: storing operation pattern information in advance)
In the first embodiment described above, the identification information I2 (first information) is stored in the storage unit 130 of the home appliance 100, and the operation pattern information (second information) is generated by the information conversion unit 140 of the home appliance 100. . Alternatively, the storage unit 130 of the home appliance 100 may store operation pattern information in advance instead of the serial number or the like. Alternatively, the server device 300 or another device may store operation pattern information in advance. In this case, the information acquisition unit 220 of the terminal device 200 may acquire operation pattern information stored in advance in the home appliance 100, the server device 300, or another device from the server device 300 or another device. In this case, the operation pattern information is an example of "first information". In this case, the notification unit 230 of the terminal device 200 displays the first information.

(Fifth modification of the first embodiment: Acquisition of verification information based on imaging results, etc.)
In the first embodiment described above, the information acquisition unit 150 of the home appliance 100 acquires the verification information based on the operation result of the operation pattern received by the operation button unit 112. Alternatively, the information acquisition section 150 of the home appliance 100 may acquire the verification information based on input results other than the operation button section 112 (imaging results, sound collection results, etc.).

For example, when the home appliance 100 includes an imaging unit, the first information or the second information is displayed on the display screen of the terminal device 200 as a code (bar code or two-dimensional code) or the like. The imaging unit of the home appliance 100 captures an image of the code displayed on the terminal device 200. Then, the information acquisition unit 150 of the home appliance 100 acquires verification information based on the above imaging results.

In addition to the imaging unit, when the home appliance 100 includes a sound collection unit (for example, a microphone), the first information or the second information is output as sound from the speaker of the terminal device 200, or when the user emits sound. . Then, the sound collection unit of the home appliance 100 inputs audio. Further, the information acquisition unit 150 of the home appliance 100 acquires verification information based on the voice input result.

When the home appliance 100 includes a sound collection section, the first information or the second information may be output as sound from the speaker of the terminal device 200. The sound output by the terminal device 200 is, for example, a sound pattern that is a combination of tone signals. The tone signal is, for example, DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency). Specifically, the tone signal contains a total of 16 types of codes, including numbers from 0 to 9 and symbols *, #, A, B, C, and D, in two sound frequency bands, low group and high group. This is a signal sent as a synthesized signal tone. The sound collection unit of the home appliance 100 receives the sound output from the terminal device 200. Further, the information acquisition unit 150 of the home appliance 100 acquires verification information based on the sound input result.

In addition, if the home appliance 100 includes a touch panel or the like, the home appliance 100 causes the touch panel to display an image (a numeric image, a character image, etc.) or an illustration corresponding to the operation pattern. The numeric image or character image may be the identification information I2 or may be a random number described later. The terminal device 200 displays guidance for touching in the image or illustration displayed on the touch panel of the home appliance 100. The user inputs information indicating an operation pattern into the home appliance 100 by touching a position corresponding to the guidance in the image or illustration displayed on the display screen of the home appliance 100. The information acquisition unit 150 of the home appliance 100 acquires verification information based on the user's input operation as described above. Furthermore, the home appliance 100 may be equipped with a camera, for example, and may take an image of the identification information I2 displayed on the display screen of the home appliance 100 or a random number described later, and obtain verification information based on the imaging result.

(Sixth modification of the first embodiment: Outputting the received operation result itself as verification information)
In the first embodiment described above, the information acquisition section 150 of the home appliance 100 acquires the verification information by analyzing the operation result received by the operation button section 112. Alternatively, the verification information may be the operation result itself received by the operation button unit 112. In this case, the information output unit 160 of the home appliance 100 outputs the operation result itself received by the operation button unit 112 to the server device 300 as verification information (third information). Then, the information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 analyzes the verification information (operation result) received from the home appliance 100 and acquires the analysis result. Then, the matching unit 330 of the server device 300 compares the operation pattern information (second information) transmitted to the terminal device 200 with the above analysis result, and determines the degree of coincidence (similarity) between the operation pattern information and the above analysis result. If the threshold value is greater than or equal to the threshold, a process of associating the user of the terminal device 200 with the home appliance 100 is performed. Such processing also corresponds to an example of "processing related to associating the terminal device or the user of the terminal device with the home appliance based on the second information and the third information" in the present application.

(Seventh modification of the first embodiment: verification using home appliances or terminal devices)
In the first embodiment described above, the matching unit 330 of the server device 300 matches the operation pattern information transmitted to the terminal device 200 and the matching information received from the home appliance 100. Alternatively, the above verification may be performed by the home appliance 100 or the terminal device 200. This verification is an example of "processing related to association between a terminal device or a user of the terminal device and a home appliance." Furthermore, only the verification may be performed by the home appliance 100 or the terminal device 200, and the registration based on the verification result may be performed by the server device 300.

(Eighth modification of the first embodiment: linking a terminal device and a home appliance)
In the first embodiment described above, the registration unit 340 of the server device 300 associates the user of the terminal device 200 with the home appliance 100 (for example, associates the user ID of the user of the terminal device 200 with the home appliance ID). )register. Instead, the server device 300 registers the terminal device 200 and the home appliance 100 in association with each other (for example, by associating the identification information (terminal ID) of the terminal device 200 with the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100). Good too.

(Ninth modification of the first embodiment: receiving a predetermined instruction from the server device 10 and switching to registration mode)
In the first embodiment described above, the switching of the home appliance 100 from the normal mode to the registration mode is performed by the operation button unit 112 accepting a predetermined operation (for example, pressing and holding the home key 521 and the driving mode key 522 at the same time). It is done by Alternatively, switching from normal mode to registration mode may be performed by receiving a predetermined instruction from server device 10.

For example, upon receiving the home appliance ID from the home appliance 100, the control unit 350 of the server device 300 transmits a predetermined instruction to the home appliance 100 that is the source of the home appliance ID. The predetermined instruction is an instruction for switching from normal mode to registration mode. Upon receiving a predetermined instruction from the server device 300, the control unit 180 of the home appliance 100 switches from the normal mode to the registration mode. Thereby, the user can switch the home appliance 100 from the normal mode to the registration mode without performing a predetermined operation. Therefore, the user's operation when registering the terminal device 200 and the home appliance 100 in association with each other can be simplified.

Note that the switching of the home appliance 100 from the normal mode to the registration mode may be performed when both of receiving a predetermined operation from the user and receiving a predetermined instruction from the server device 300 are satisfied. Alternatively, it may be performed when either one of the conditions is satisfied.

(Tenth modification of the first embodiment: Generating operation pattern information based on identification information of the terminal device 200)
In the first embodiment described above, the operation pattern information (second information) is generated based on the identification information I2 (first information) of the home appliance 100. Alternatively, the operation pattern information may be generated based on the identification information of the terminal device 200. In this case, the information output unit 210 of the terminal device 200 transmits identification information to the server device 300. Server device 300 transmits the identification information received from terminal device 200 to home appliance 100. The information conversion unit 140 of the home appliance 100 generates operation pattern information based on the identification information (first information) of the terminal device 200 received from the server device 300. The information output unit 160 of the home appliance 100 outputs the operation pattern information generated by the information conversion unit 140 to the server device 300.

The server device 300 receives operation pattern information generated based on the identification information (first information) of the terminal device 200 from the home appliance 100 . Then, the server device 300 transmits the operation pattern information received from the home appliance 100 to the terminal device 200. The information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 then retrieves the operation pattern information transmitted to the terminal device 200, the user ID of the user of the destination terminal device 200, and the information obtained by the server device 300 transmitting the operation pattern information to the terminal device 200. It is stored in association with the transmission time.

Thereby, the work of storing the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 in the storage unit 130 of the home appliance 100 can be omitted, and the manufacturability of the home appliance 100 can be improved.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a temporarily generated random number is used instead of the preset identification information I2.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configurations of the home appliance 100, the terminal device 200, and the server device 300 according to the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the storage unit 130 of the home appliance 100 does not store the identification information I2. Instead, the home appliance 100 includes a random number generator 190.

The random number generation unit 190 temporarily generates a random number when the home appliance 100 is shifted to the registration mode. The random number may be information of a certain number of digits with a low probability of coincidence. The generated random number is an example of "first information". Random number generation section 190 outputs the generated random number to information conversion section 140.

The information converter 140 generates operation pattern information based on the random numbers generated by the random number generator 190. The information output unit 160 outputs the operation pattern information generated by the information conversion unit 140 to the server device 300.

The server device 300 receives a random number (first information) generated by the home appliance 100 from the home appliance 100, and transmits operation pattern information generated based on the random number and received from the home appliance 100 to the terminal device 200. The information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 then retrieves the operation pattern information transmitted to the terminal device 200, the user ID of the user of the destination terminal device 200, and the information obtained by the server device 300 transmitting the operation pattern information to the terminal device 200. It is stored in association with the transmission time.

For configurations other than those described above, "identification information I2" in the description of the first embodiment (or each modification of the first embodiment) may be read as "random number". With such a configuration as well, user convenience can be improved as in the first embodiment. Further, in this embodiment, the work of storing the identification information I2 of the home appliance 100 in the storage unit 130 of the home appliance 100 can be omitted, and the manufacturability of the home appliance 100 can be improved.

(First modification of the second embodiment: Verification using random numbers)
In the second embodiment described above, the collation unit 330 of the server device 300 matches the operation pattern information (second information) transmitted to the terminal device 200 and the collation information (third information) received from the home appliance 100. Verification is performed based on Instead, the information acquisition unit 320 of the server device 300 transmits a random number (first information) to the terminal device 200, and also receives verification information corresponding to the operation pattern information received from the home appliance 100. The verification information corresponding to the random number may be acquired by performing additional analysis processing (inverse analysis) on the received verification information. In this case, the terminal device 200 includes a correspondence table between random numbers and operation pattern information and an information converter 140, and generates operation pattern information based on the random numbers received from the server device 300. Further, a correspondence table between random numbers and operation pattern information is also stored in the server device 300, and inverse analysis is performed by referring to the correspondence table. In this modification, the matching unit 330 of the server device 300 matches the random number transmitted to the terminal device 200 with matching information corresponding to the random number obtained in the analysis process. Such processing corresponds to an example of "processing related to associating the terminal device or the user of the terminal device with the home appliance based on the first information and the third information" in the present application.

(Second modification of the second embodiment: operation pattern information is generated by the server device)
In the second embodiment described above, the home appliance 100 generates a random number (first information), and the information converter 140 of the home appliance 100 generates operation pattern information (second information). Alternatively, the operation pattern information (second information) may be generated by the server device 300. That is, a random number generated by the home appliance 100 is transmitted from the home appliance 100 to the server device 300, operation pattern information is generated by the information conversion unit 140 provided in the server device 300, and the generated operation pattern information is transmitted to the terminal device. 200 may be sent. In this case, the terminal device 200 displays the operation pattern information generated by the server device 300.

(Third modification of the second embodiment: random numbers are generated by a server device, a terminal device, or another device)
In the second embodiment described above, the random numbers are generated by the home appliance 100. Alternatively, the random number may be generated by the server device 300, the terminal device 200, or another device. In this case, the generated random number is transmitted from the server device 300 (or via the server device 300) to the home appliance 100. For example, the information acquisition unit 150 of the home appliance 100 may request the server device 300 to transmit the random number generated by the server device 300 to the home appliance 100. In this case, the information conversion unit 140 of the home appliance 100 generates operation pattern information based on the random number transmitted from the server device 300 (or via the server device 300). Also in this modification, the server device 300 may generate operation pattern information based on random numbers generated by the server device 300 or the terminal device 200, and transmit the generated operation pattern information to the terminal device 200.

In addition, in the above-mentioned first to third modifications, all or part of the processing performed by the server device 300 (for example, generation of random numbers, generation of operation patterns, and analysis processing of acquiring collation information corresponding to random numbers) , may be performed in the home appliance 100, may be performed in the terminal device 200, or may be performed in another device connected to the network N.

Several embodiments and modifications have been described above. However, embodiments are not limited to the above example. For example, the first and second embodiments can be applied in combination with each other. Moreover, the "first information" is not limited to the identification information of the home appliance 100, but may be the identification information of the terminal device 200 or the identification information of the user. When the identification information of the terminal device 200 or the user's identification information is used as the "first information", for example, when the terminal device 200 is connected to the server device 300, the identification information of the terminal device 200 or the user's identification information is used. Information is transmitted from the terminal device 200 to the server device 300 and managed by the server device 300. Then, the server device 300 is connected within a predetermined time range from the time when information indicating that a predetermined registration operation (user operation) has been performed on the terminal device 200 is transmitted from the terminal device 200 to the server device 300. If there is a home appliance 100 that has been configured, the identification information of the terminal device 200 and the user identification information may be transmitted from the server device 300 to the home appliance 100 and used as the first information. In this case, the identification information of the terminal device 200 and the identification information of the user may be encrypted in advance.

Next, I will add some home appliances.
[1] A drive unit that performs a predetermined function;
an input unit into which state information regarding at least one of a driving state and a setting state of the driving unit is input;
a control unit capable of switching the mode of the input unit between a first input mode in which the status information can be input and a second input mode in which the status information cannot be input;
Home appliances equipped with

According to such a configuration, it is possible to input information different from information regarding the original function of the home appliance into the home appliance by using an input unit (for example, the operation button unit 112) provided in the home appliance. Thereby, user convenience can be improved.

[2] The input unit includes a plurality of input units into which the state information different from each other is input,
comprising a switching operation unit that collectively switches between the first input mode in which the status information can be input to the plurality of input units and the second input mode in which the status information cannot be input to the plurality of input units. The home appliance described in [1].

According to such a configuration, by providing a plurality of input sections (for example, a plurality of operation buttons 112a), the amount of information that can be input per operation can be increased compared to the case where only one input section is used. I can do it. In addition, by providing a switching operation section (for example, a dedicated operation section), it is possible to switch the input mode for multiple input sections at once, and it is possible to switch the input mode for multiple input sections at once. can improve sex.

[3] In the first input mode, the input unit receives input of the state information according to a predetermined operation;
The home appliance according to [1], wherein the control unit switches between the first input mode and the second input mode based on an operation of the input unit in a mode different from the predetermined mode.

According to such a home appliance, the input mode can be switched by using the operation button section of the home appliance. Therefore, since there is no need to provide a dedicated operation section, the input mode can be switched without increasing the number of parts or changing the structural design.

[4] Equipped with a communication unit that communicates with an external device,
The home appliance according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the communication unit is capable of transmitting information received by the input unit in the second input mode to an external device.

According to such a home appliance, information input in the second input mode can be transmitted to an external device. This makes it possible to use home appliances as communication terminals that can communicate. Therefore, user convenience can be improved.

According to at least one embodiment described above, the information processing system includes a server device, a home appliance, and a terminal device. The terminal device displays or sounds based on first information held or generated by the home appliance, the terminal device, the server device, or another device, or second information obtained based on the first information. Output. The home appliance acquires the third information based on the display or sound, or a user's registration operation corresponding to the display or sound. One of the home appliance, the terminal device, and the server device communicates with the terminal device or the user of the terminal device and the home appliance based on the first information or the second information and the third information. Performs processing related to association with devices. According to such a configuration, convenience can be improved.

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

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Information processing system, 100... Home appliance, 110... Display/operation part, 112... Operation button part, 120... Drive part, 130... Storage part, 200... Terminal device, 230... Notification part, 300... Server device, 320 ...information acquisition section, 330...verification section, 340...registration section.

Claims (10)

Equipped with home appliances, terminal devices, and server devices,
The terminal device displays or sounds based on first information held or generated by the home appliance, the terminal device, the server device, or another device, or second information obtained based on the first information. Outputs
The home appliance acquires third information based on a user's registration operation corresponding to the display or sound,
One of the home appliance, the terminal device, and the server device communicates with the terminal device or the user of the terminal device and the home appliance based on the first information or the second information and the third information. Performs processing related to association with devices,
The home appliance includes a drive section that executes a predetermined function, and an operation section that accepts an operation regarding at least one of a drive state and a setting state of the drive section, and uses the operation section to perform the registration operation. accept the operation,
When the home appliance performs a predetermined operation to switch to a state in which the registration operation is accepted, the home appliance switches to a state in which the user's operation on the operation unit does not affect the drive state and setting state of the drive unit.
Information processing system. Equipped with home appliances, terminal devices, and server devices,
The terminal device displays or sounds based on first information held or generated by the home appliance, the terminal device, the server device, or another device, or second information obtained based on the first information. Outputs
The home appliance acquires third information based on a user's registration operation corresponding to the display or sound,
One of the home appliance, the terminal device, and the server device communicates with the terminal device or the user of the terminal device and the home appliance based on the first information or the second information and the third information. Performs processing related to association with devices,
The terminal device outputs the first information or the second information by sequentially switching a plurality of operation patterns regarding the display or sound over time.
Information processing system. The first information is identification information preset for the home appliance or the terminal device,
The information processing system according to claim 1 or claim 2 . The first information is a random number generated by the home appliance, the terminal device, the server device, or another device,
The information processing system according to claim 1 or claim 2 . When the operation unit receives a predetermined operation, the home appliance switches from a state in which the registration operation is not possible to a state in which the registration operation is possible.
The information processing system according to claim 1 . When the home appliance receives a predetermined instruction from the server device, the home appliance switches from a state in which the registration operation is not possible to a state in which the registration operation is possible.
The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . The terminal device outputs the first information or the second information by sequentially switching a plurality of operation patterns regarding the display or sound based on a user's operation.
The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 . Each of the plurality of operation patterns includes information that allows identification of the switching order of each pattern.
The information processing system according to claim 2 or claim 7 . A home appliance,
a drive unit that performs a predetermined function;
an operation section that accepts an operation regarding at least one of a driving state and a setting state of the driving section;
A display or sound based on first information held or generated by the home appliance, terminal device, server device, or another device, or second information obtained based on the first information is output from the terminal device. an information acquisition unit that acquires third information based on a user's registration operation corresponding to the display or sound;
transmitting the third information acquired by the information acquisition unit to the server device, or communicating with the terminal device or the user of the terminal device based on the first information or the second information and the third information; , a control unit that performs processing related to association with the home appliance;
Equipped with
accepting the registration operation using the operation unit;
When a predetermined operation for switching to a state in which the registration operation is accepted is performed, the control unit switches to a state in which the user's operation on the operation unit does not affect the drive state and setting state of the drive unit.
Home appliances. outputting first information held or generated by a home appliance, a terminal device, a server device, or another device, or second information obtained based on the first information from the terminal device as a display or sound; Third information is acquired by the home appliance based on a user's registration operation corresponding to a display or sound, and one of the home appliance, the terminal device, and the server device acquires the first information or the third information. 2 information and the third information, when processing related to association of the terminal device or the user of the terminal device with the home appliance,
The computer of the terminal device,
outputting the first information or the second information from the terminal device by sequentially switching a plurality of operation patterns regarding the display or sound over time;
program.

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