KR100373095B1 - Home network system and method using refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a home network system and method. The home network system includes at least one home appliance having a control unit for driving control and an internal network interface for communication through a power line; A memory for storing various kinds of information for controlling the home appliance; A refrigerator interface which is connected to the internal network interface and electrically connects each of the home appliances, and receives an operation state from the home appliance through the internal network interface, and receives an operation command signal input from the outside to the refrigerator interface. It characterized in that it comprises a refrigerator having a home network control unit for transmitting to the home appliance. As a result, not only the home server of the refrigerator can be used to control the operation of each home appliance, but also the driving state can be grasped.

Description

Home network system and method using a refrigerator {HOME NETWORK SYSTEM AND METHOD USING REFRIGERATOR}

The present invention relates to a home network system and method using a refrigerator, and more particularly, to a home network system and method for enabling remote control in a place spaced by home appliances.

Conventional refrigerators only have a storage function for keeping food fresh, but recently, as real consumers have increased their desire to purchase high-performance home appliances and their purchasing ability has increased, the refrigerators with various functions have been increased. It is developed and released.

A representative one of them is a refrigerator equipped with a display device capable of performing various tasks. The display apparatus includes a display unit using an LCD and a display control unit for controlling contents displayed on the display unit, and includes a function to input and output various types of information from simple refrigerator function control. In addition, the display apparatus is connected to an external network to enable internet access.

On the other hand, as the time spent at home decreases due to the increase of social and leisure activities, there is a lack of time to perform household chores. Accordingly, there is an increasing need for remote control to reduce the time for allocating home appliances by operating home appliances from the outside. There are systems for controlling home appliances at remote locations according to this need. However, since conventional remote control systems use unidirectional communication devices such as telephones, it is necessary to check the current state of home appliances or whether they are operating properly according to user settings. There is a problem that can not be.

In addition, when controlling various types of home appliances, input of a selection key corresponding to each home appliance is very complicated. Therefore, in the case of a home appliance requiring complicated control, only the on / off control of the power supply can be performed. There is a problem that can be.

On the other hand, housewives who are in charge of household chores will spend most of their time in the kitchen during household chores, and if they need to perform other household chores while working in the kitchen, they should move the place. For example, when washing is to be carried out to move the place to the veranda or multi-purpose room where the washing machine is installed to operate the washing machine. In addition, when adjusting the operation of the air conditioner should be moved to each room or living room equipped with the air conditioner.

Accordingly, it would be convenient to be able to control the electronics used for household chores in one place so that they could perform various household chores without leaving the kitchen while doing household chores.

Accordingly, by establishing a network centering on a refrigerator having a display device and making it accessible to an external network, a method of controlling each home appliance by connecting to a home server in a home or a remote place should be sought. .

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a home network system and method using a refrigerator that allows a refrigerator to be built as a home server in a home or an outside, and connected to a home server to control each home appliance.

1 is a block diagram of a home network system according to the present invention;

2 is a configuration diagram of an internal network interface of FIG. 1;

3 is a perspective view of the refrigerator according to FIG. 1;

4 is a configuration diagram of a home network initial screen using the display device of FIG. 3;

5 is a configuration diagram of an air conditioner control screen displayed when an air conditioner is selected in the initial screen of FIG. 4.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: refrigerator 11: display unit

21: home network control unit 23: memory

25: Web page storage unit 27: refrigerator interface

29: network interface 30: internal network interface

31: input 33: PLC memory

35: CPU 37: output unit

60: home appliance 61: home appliance control unit

According to the present invention, there is provided a home network system, comprising: at least one home appliance having a control unit for driving control and an internal network interface for communication via a power line; A memory for storing various kinds of information for controlling the home appliance; A refrigerator interface which is connected to the internal network interface and electrically connects each of the home appliances, and receives an operation state from the home appliance through the internal network interface, and receives an operation command signal input from the outside to the refrigerator interface. It is achieved by a home network system using a refrigerator comprising a refrigerator having a home network control unit for transmitting to the home appliance.

The apparatus may further include a network interface for communicating with an external network, wherein the home network controller transmits a command signal transmitted through the network interface to the respective household appliances through the refrigerator interface and operates from the household appliances. By providing the state to the outside, it is possible to control the operation state of the home appliance even in a remote place.

Preferably, the memory stores the operation state of the home appliance.

The home network controller may provide an operation state of each home appliance stored in the memory according to a request from the outside through the network interface.

Each of the home appliances and the refrigerator interface are connected by a power line, and the internal network interface is a PLC that converts the operation command signal into a signal transmittable through a power line.

The internal network interface includes a PLC memory in which information about a command signal to be transmitted from the home network controller is stored, a CPU for reading the command signal transmitted to the home network controller in comparison with the information stored in the PLC memory, and It is preferable to include an input unit connected to the refrigerator interface for receiving a command signal, and an output unit for transmitting the command signal read from the CPU to the control unit of the home appliance.

On the other hand, the object is, according to another field of the present invention, at least one home appliance having an internal network interface for communication via a power line, and a home using a refrigerator connected to the internal network interface and controlling the respective home appliances A network method, comprising: transmitting a command signal from the outside through the power line to the home appliance through the internal network interface; Changing and controlling an operation state of the home appliance according to the command signal; It can also be achieved by a home network method using a refrigerator comprising the step of transmitting the changed operating state of the home appliance to the refrigerator through the internal network interface.

Here, having a network interface for communication with an external network, and transmitting a command signal transmitted from the outside through the network interface to the home appliance via the refrigerator; The method may further include transmitting the changed operating state of the home appliance to the outside via the refrigerator through the network interface, thereby controlling the home appliance even at a remote location.

The apparatus may further include a memory in which the driving state of the household electrical appliance is stored, and further comprising providing an operating state of each of the household electrical appliances stored in the memory in response to a request from the outside through the network interface.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The home network system uses a refrigerator as a home server to which home appliances are connected, and controls a home appliance by accessing a home server from the outside using a network.

This home network system, as shown in Figure 1, a refrigerator (1) having a plurality of home appliances 60 installed in the home, and a home server that controls the operation of each home appliance 60 and connected to an external network ), And a user PC 5 connected to the refrigerator 1 via an external network.

As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerator 1 is provided with a pair of refrigerator compartments and a freezer compartment partitioned left and right in a rectangular cylindrical cabinet having a front opening, and a refrigerator compartment door 3 in front of the refrigerator compartment and the freezer compartment, respectively. And a freezer door 2.

The freezer door 2 is provided with a dispenser 7 having a water dispenser and an ice dispenser so that ice or water stored in the freezer compartment can be supplied from the outside. In addition, the refrigerator compartment door 3 is provided with a display apparatus 10 that can communicate with the outside, and the display apparatus 10 has a display unit 11 formed of an LCD.

The home server installed in the refrigerator 1 includes a home network controller 21 for controlling the operation of each home appliance 60 and a screen related to the home network displayed on the display unit 11, and the home appliance 60. A memory 23 for storing various information for controlling the information and control variables or state variables of the home appliance 60, a web page storage unit 25 for storing web pages provided through a network, and an external network And a network interface 29 for connecting to the refrigerator, and a refrigerator interface 27 installed at the output terminal of the home network controller 21 and electrically connecting the home appliances 60 to each other.

The memory 23 stores information on an operation state of each home appliance 60 input from each home appliance 60, and the command signal stored in the PLC memory 33 of the internal network interface 30 to be described later. Command signals formed in the same system are stored. In addition, the memory 23 stores an ID and a password of the refrigerator 1 set by the user, so as to determine whether to allow access by checking the user when accessing from the outside through the network.

The network interface 29 transmits and receives data from the outside to the home network control unit 21 of the refrigerator 1 through the Internet. The network interface 29 operates the home appliances 60 stored in the memory 23. The status is displayed on the user PC 5 through the Internet, and a command signal from the user is transmitted to the home network controller 21. The network interface 29 needs an interpreter for converting a signal transmitted from the network into a signal recognizable by the home network controller 21 according to the type of the network. For example, when the communication between the home network control unit 21 of the refrigerator and the user is made of JABA, the Java language prevents the Java language from directly accessing the hardware for system security. You will use an interpreter that calls the dynamic library.

The web page storage unit 25 stores a web page having the same screen as the display unit 11. When the web page storage unit 25 accesses a home server through an external network, the web page storage unit 25 stores the web page in an external network. By providing through, it is possible to receive the same screen as the screen displayed through the display unit 11 from the outside.

Each home server owns its own IP address, so that the user can directly access the home server of the refrigerator 1 through the network.

On the other hand, each home appliance 60 is connected to the home appliance control unit 61 for controlling the operation, the internal network interface 30 connected to the refrigerator interface 27 receives the command signal from the home network control unit 21 Have By the refrigerator interface 27 and the internal network interface 30, the status information from the home appliance 60 and the command signal from the home network controller 21 are mutually transmitted.

Here, the internal network interface 30 is formed of a programmable logic controller (PLC), and the home server, the home appliance 60, and each home appliance 60 are connected to each other by a power line. As shown in FIG. 2, the internal network interface 30 is transferred to the PLC memory 33 and the home network controller 21 in which information about a command signal to be transmitted from the home network controller 21 is stored. CPU 35 for comparing the command signal with information stored in the PLC memory 33, reading the input unit connected to the refrigerator interface 27 to receive the command signal, and the command signal read from the CPU 35. It includes an output unit for transmitting to the control unit 61. Accordingly, the command signal from the home network control unit 21 is input to the input unit and compared with the information stored in the PLC memory 33 in the CPU 35, and the read command signal is read by the home appliance control unit 61 by the output unit. To be performed). The refrigerator interface 27 may also be formed of a PLC having the same configuration as the internal network interface 30.

On the other hand, the memory 23 stores information on the operation state of each home appliance 60 input from each home appliance 60, and the command signal stored in the PLC memory 33 of the internal network interface 30 and Command signals formed in the same system are stored. The command signal is formed of 7 bytes as shown in Table 1 below, and the first byte indicates the SA (Start Address) and DA (Destination Address), that is, the unique number of the transmitter and the unique number of the receiver. The second to sixth bytes indicate the transmission data encoding the command signal, and the last byte indicates the verification code for verifying the transmission data.

SA / DA DATA0 DATA1 DATA2 DATA3 DATA4 VERIFY

<Table 1>

Here, the transmitter-side unique number and the receiver-side unique number indicated by SA and DA are coded for the refrigerator 1 and each home appliance 60, and are set by 4 bits so that up to 16 home appliances 60 can be coded. have. In the case of the air conditioner among the home appliances 60, the living room and each room in the home may be installed separately. In this case, a unique number should be set for each air conditioner to control each separately.

In the initial screen displayed on the display unit 11 to perform the home network by the home server, as shown in FIG. 4, the home appliance 60 connected to the home network, for example, a washing machine, a microwave oven, The air conditioner is displayed. When the dual air conditioner is selected, the air conditioner control screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed.

The air conditioner control screen 40 includes an operation selection table 41 in which a plurality of buttons are formed to select respective functions and modes of the air conditioner, and an operation state table 46 so as to confirm the operation state and whether the operation is performed as selected. Is formed. The driving selection table 41 includes a plurality of driving mode selection buttons 42 for selecting a driving mode, a plurality of wind direction selection buttons 43 for selecting the blowing direction according to the swing direction of the blade, and the speed of the blowing fan. A plurality of air volume selection button 44 for adjusting the, and a plurality of convenient function selection button 45 for selecting a separate function is formed. The operation mode selection button 42 includes an automatic operation button, an cooling operation button, a dehumidification operation button, a blowing operation button, and the wind direction selection button 43 includes a left and right swing button and an up and down swing button. In addition, the air volume selection button 44 includes a plurality of buttons for automatic, breeze, weak wind, and strong wind selection, and the convenient function selection button 45 includes a plurality of buttons for selecting sleep operation, turbo, air cleaning, and power saving cooling. A button is included.

The operation state table 46 displays the desired temperature and the indoor temperature, and icons corresponding to the operation mode, the wind direction, the air volume, and the convenient function displayed on the operation selection table 41 are formed. Accordingly, the icons formed in the driving state table 46 are turned on when the operation mode, the wind direction, the air volume, and the convenient function are selected, so that the driving state can be grasped.

In the lower part of the operation state table 46, the on / off button 47 for turning on and off the operation, the temperature control button 48 for adjusting the temperature, the abnormal operation indicator 49 which is turned on during abnormal operation, and The outdoor unit driving indicator 50 which is turned on during the operation of the outdoor unit is formed.

Referring to the operation of the home network performed in the home using the refrigerator 1 according to this configuration as follows. When the user selects the home network function on the display unit 11 of the refrigerator 1, as shown in FIG. 4, the home network initial screen 39 is displayed on the display unit 11. When the icon of the home appliance 60 to be controlled is selected on the initial screen 39, the control screen 40 of the selected home appliance 60 is displayed. If the air conditioner is to be controlled, when the air conditioner is selected, the air conditioner control screen 40 as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. The operation state table 46 of the air conditioner control screen 40 displays the operation state of the air conditioner input from the home appliance control unit 61 by communication between the refrigerator interface 27 and the internal network interface 30.

In order to recognize the driving state and reset the desired driving mode, the operation mode selection button 42, the wind direction selection button 43, the air volume selection button 44, the convenient function selection button ( When at least one of the selections 45 is made, the home network controller 21 retrieves a command signal for the selected content from the memory 23, and extracts the command signal from the internal network interface 30 of the air conditioner through the refrigerator interface 27. To pass). Then, the input unit 31 of the internal network interface 30 receives a command signal and transmits the command signal to the CPU 35, and the CPU 35 compares the command signal transmitted with the information stored in the PLC memory 33 to the command signal. Read it. When the command signal is read, the CPU 35 transmits the read signal to the output unit 37 and the output unit 37 transmits the signal to the home appliance control unit 61 to control the home appliance 60.

When the home appliance 60 converts the driving state according to the signal, information about the driving state of the home appliance 60 is transmitted to the home network controller 21 through the order in which the command signal is transmitted to the home network controller 21. 23, and displayed on the display unit 11. Accordingly, it is possible to determine whether the driving state is changed as operated by using the display unit 11.

As such, in the present invention, by displaying the home network function through the display unit 11 of the refrigerator 1, even if the home appliance 60 is not directly located, it is possible to grasp the operation state of each home appliance 60. In addition, it can control driving. Accordingly, by realizing a home network using the refrigerator 1 installed in the kitchen where the user stays in the home for the longest time, the user's convenience can be achieved.

On the other hand, using the home network system will be described for the user to control each home appliance 60 from a remote location as follows.

When the user accesses the refrigerator through the Internet from a remote location and inputs the user's ID and password, the home network controller 21 compares the user's ID and password stored in the memory 23 with the input and if the user's access Allow. When the user is allowed to access and the web page is provided to the user by the web page storage unit 25, and the user selects the home network function, the user PC 5 has a home network initial screen as shown in FIG. Is provided.

When the icon of the home appliance 60 to be controlled is selected on the initial screen 39, the control screen 40 of the selected home appliance 60 is displayed. If the air conditioner is to be controlled, when the air conditioner is selected, the air conditioner control screen 40 as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the user PC 5. In the operation state table 46 of the air conditioner control screen 40, the operation state of the air conditioner input from the home appliance control unit 61 by communication between the refrigerator interface 27 and the internal network interface 30 and stored in the memory 23. Is displayed.

In order to recognize the driving state and reset the desired driving mode, the operation mode selection button 42, the wind direction selection button 43, and the air volume selection button 44 are performed in the operation selection table 41 by using a mouse or a keyboard. When at least one of the convenient function selection buttons 45 is selected, the user's selection is transmitted to the refrigerator 1 through the Internet, and in the refrigerator 1, the user's selection is transmitted through the network interface 29. It is transmitted to the control unit 21. Then, the home network controller 21 draws out a command signal for the selected content from the memory 23, and transfers the command signal to the internal network interface 30 of the air conditioner through the refrigerator interface 27. The input unit 31 of the internal network interface 30 inputs a command signal and transmits the command signal to the CPU 35. The CPU 35 compares the transmitted command signal with information stored in the PLC memory 33 to read the command signal. do. When the command signal is read, the CPU 35 transmits the read signal to the output unit 37 and the output unit 37 transmits the signal to the home appliance control unit 61 to control the home appliance 60.

When the home appliance 60 converts the driving state according to the signal, the information about the driving state of the home appliance 60 is transferred to the home network controller 21 and stored in the memory 23 in the reverse order that the command signal is transmitted. And is transmitted to the user PC 5 via the network interface 29. Accordingly, the user can directly determine whether the driving state is converted as he or she has operated.

As described above, in the present invention, the refrigerator 1 is constructed as a home server so that each home appliance 60 can be directly controlled by the refrigerator 1, and by providing a unique IP to the refrigerator 1, Not only is it possible to directly connect to the refrigerator 1 from the outside, but also to be connected to the refrigerator 1 so as to control the operation of each home appliance 60. In addition, by displaying the operation state of each home appliance 60 transmitted from each home appliance 60 through the user PC (5), the user can grasp the operation state of each home appliance 60 directly.

Accordingly, it is possible to grasp and adjust the driving state of each home appliance 60 even while not staying in the home, so that the user's convenience can be achieved.

In the above-described embodiment, the home server is directly built in the refrigerator 1, but a refrigerator management server managing the refrigerator 1 of each home may be separately provided in the outside, and in this case, the user may manage the refrigerator management server. It can be connected to the home network for the control of each home appliance (60). In addition, although the PC is used to access the home server in the above-described embodiment, any means capable of connecting to a network such as a mobile phone or a PDA that can use the network other than the PC can be used.

As described above, according to the present invention, not only the home server of the refrigerator can be used to control the operation of each home appliance, but also the operation state can be grasped.

Claims (9)

In a home network system, At least one home appliance having a control unit for operation control and an internal network interface for communication via a power line; A memory for storing various kinds of information for controlling the home appliance; A refrigerator interface which is connected to the internal network interface and electrically connects each of the home appliances, and receives an operation state from the home appliance through the internal network interface, and receives an operation command signal input from the outside to the refrigerator interface. Home network system using a refrigerator comprising a refrigerator having a home network control unit for transmitting to the home appliances through. The method of claim 1, And a network interface for communicating with an external network, wherein the home network controller transmits a command signal transmitted through the network interface to each of the household appliances through the refrigerator interface, and displays an operation state from each household appliance. Home network system, characterized in that provided to the outside. The method of claim 2, The home network system using a refrigerator, characterized in that the operation state of the home appliance is stored in the memory. The method of claim 3, wherein The home network control unit, the home network system using a refrigerator, characterized in that to provide an operating state of each of the home appliances stored in the memory in response to a request from the outside through the network interface. The method of claim 4, wherein Each of the home appliances and the refrigerator interface are connected by a power line, and the internal network interface is a PLC for converting the operation command signal into a signal that can be transmitted through a power line. The method of claim 5, The internal network interface, A PLC memory in which information about a command signal to be transmitted from the home network controller is stored; A CPU which reads the command signal transmitted to the home network controller in comparison with the information stored in the PLC memory; An input unit connected to the refrigerator interface to receive a command signal; The home network system using a refrigerator, characterized in that it comprises an output unit for transmitting a command signal read from the CPU to a control unit of a home appliance. A home network method using at least one home appliance having an internal network interface for communication through a power line, and a refrigerator connected to the internal network interface and controlling the respective home appliances, Transmitting a command signal from the outside through the power line to the home appliance through the internal network interface; Changing and controlling an operation state of the home appliance according to the command signal; And transmitting the changed operating state of the home appliance to the refrigerator through the internal network interface. The method of claim 7, wherein Has a network interface for communication with an external network, Transmitting a command signal transmitted from the outside through the network interface to the home appliance via the refrigerator; And transmitting the changed operating state of the home appliance to the outside via the refrigerator through the network interface. The method of claim 8, The refrigerator further comprises a memory for storing the operating state of the home appliances, and further comprising the step of providing an operating state of each of the home appliances stored in the memory in response to a request from the outside through the network interface Home network method used.