KR20010102773A - Home-automation method and system thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a home automation method and apparatus, and to a home automation technology that automatically controls the operation of home appliances and digital products existing in a home. If you control various props remotely, you can control them through various communication networks, and it is economical because you use the existing internet network, and if you use home automation service, you do not use the DTMF signal of the terminal to divide the menu, but digitally. There is an advantage in that it can provide a variety of menus by combining the signals.

Description

Home automation method and apparatus thereof {Home-automation method and system approximately}

The present invention relates to a home automation method and an apparatus thereof, and to a home automation technology for automatically controlling the operation of home appliances and digital products existing in a home.

There are many home appliances and electronics in the home at present, and their operation can be manually operated by a person.

As a result, it does not matter if a person is always in the home, but there are many cases in which the home is empty due to the current nuclear family and dual income.

In very hot summers or very cold winters, if you leave your home for an extended period of time, your home may be hot or cold. Even if you enter your home and turn on air conditioning and heating, it will be cool or warm after some time.

And home appliances and electronics in the house, or if the house is left in a state of operating the cooling / heating, if you want to stop their operation there is an inconvenience to go back home.

Currently, there are the following ways for a person outside to control the operation of facilities, devices, and electronic devices inside a house.

First, it is a method of calling a person from the outside through the public telephone network (PSTN) and talking to someone in the house to convey the contents to be instructed.

At this time, there is a disadvantage that there must be a person who can receive a phone call in the house to inform the situation of the house and receive instructions accordingly.

Second, there is a method to record the user's voice using the answering machine to drive or stop the operation of the device in the house so that when someone later enters the house to listen to the recorded content and follow the instructions, this is also recorded. You need someone to listen to and follow the instructions.

Third, as a method of solving the inconvenience of all the above methods, there is a method of controlling a device in a home by assigning a schedule code to a phone number using a telephone or the like from the outside or by setting a function key. There is an inconvenience of having to set the key.

In addition, there is a limit to the menu provided because the menu is divided by using the dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal of the terminal.

Fourth, there is a method for controlling the operation of the device by voice using voice recognition technology as a way to solve the inconvenience of the third method, but because it is uneconomical in terms of installation cost, the market activation according to the user's exterior It's not happening.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a home automation method and apparatus for controlling the operation of devices in a home using a public communication network capable of accessing the Internet, including the IMT-2000 network, in view of the conventional problems as described above. For the purpose of

1 is a block diagram schematically showing an entire apparatus for providing home automation using an IMT-2000 network applied to the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a home automation service according to the present invention is applied to a home.

Figure 3a is a view showing a port connected to the user terminal in the set-top box according to the present invention.

Figure 3b is a view showing a port connected to each device in the home in the set-top box according to the present invention.

4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a terminal having a home automation function according to the present invention;

5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of providing a home automation function in a mobile terminal according to the present invention.

6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a home control apparatus having a home automation function according to the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation process of providing a home automation function in a home control device according to the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

10: IMT-2000 mobile terminal 20: IMT-2000 base station

30: IMT-2000 base station controller 40: IMT-2000 mobile communication switch

50: IMT-2000 Visitor Location Register 60: IMT-2000 Home Location Register

70: interworking communication network 80: home control device

90: set-top box 11: receiver

12: signal determination unit 13: general signal processing unit

14: alarm signal processing unit 15: display unit

16: menu providing unit 17: data processing unit

18: transmitting unit 81: sensor unit

82 sensor detection unit 83 alarm determination unit

84: data processing unit 85: transmitting unit

86: operation control unit 87: receiving unit

88: data judgment unit

The present invention for achieving the above object comprises a first step of determining whether there is a received signal first in the state that the power of the mobile terminal (On);

A second step of determining whether the received signal is a signal transmitted from a home control device if there is a received signal as a result of the determination and otherwise performing general signal processing;

In the second process, if it is a signal received from the home control device, it is determined whether it corresponds to an alarm signal, and if it is not an alarm signal, the home control device recognizes the current situation in the home and displays it on the terminal. A third process of switching to a standby state;

A fourth step of requesting a user to determine what kind of alarm is the current alarm and input a processing command according to the determination result in the third step;

And a fifth process of converting the process command into a control signal capable of transmitting the process command, transmitting the process command to the home control apparatus, and returning to the first process.

The present invention for achieving the above object includes a receiving means for receiving a signal when the power of the terminal (On);

Signal determination means for determining whether a signal input through the receiving means is a signal input from a home control apparatus;

General signal processing means for performing a corresponding process on a signal inputted by the signal determining means as a general signal;

Alarm signal processing means for performing a corresponding process on an input signal determined as an alarm signal by said signal determining means;

Display means for processing a display of a signal determined as a signal for notifying a current home situation during reception of the received signal by the alarm signal processing means;

Menu providing means for providing a menu necessary for using a home automation function;

Data processing means for converting data corresponding to a menu input by a user through the menu providing means into data in a form that can be transmitted;

And transmitting means for transmitting a signal input from said data processing means to a home control apparatus.

The present invention for achieving the above object is a first process for detecting a variety of sensors installed in the home;

A second step of determining whether the sensor is activated in the first step and determining whether the sensor is in an alarm state when the sensor is detected;

A third step of transmitting the state to a mobile terminal of the user if the determination result is an alarm state and waiting for a processing command corresponding to the transmitted alarm state to be input;

When the processing command is received in the standby state, the command is analyzed to control the operation of various electronic products, home appliances, and various props as instructed by the user, and then the processing state is transmitted to the user terminal, and the sensor sensing state is switched. It is characterized by comprising a fourth process.

The present invention for achieving the above object is installed in the home and the sensor means for detecting a situation in the home;

Sensor detecting means for detecting an operation of the sensor means;

Alarm determining means for determining whether the sensor detects an operation of the sensor by determining the detected signal when the sensor detecting means detects an operation of the sensor;

Data processing means for converting the signal into data in a form that can be transmitted to notify a user when the signal determined by the alarm determining means corresponds to an alarm;

Transmitting means for transmitting a signal input from said data processing means;

When the signal determined by the alarm determining means does not correspond to an alarm, the home control device recognizes the process as its own process and controls the operation of the home product corresponding to the input signal, or according to the control of the user input through the receiving unit. Device operation control means for controlling the operation of the product in the home;

Receiving means for receiving a signal when the power of the home control device is on;

And data determination means for controlling the operation of the device operation control means by determining the signal input through the receiving means.

The above objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing an entire apparatus for providing home automation using an IMT-2000 network applied to the present invention, and includes an IMT-2000 mobile terminal 10 used by a subscriber;

An IMT-2000 base station 20 for connecting wireless communication between the mobile terminal 10 and an IMT-2000 wireless communication network;

An IMT-2000 base station controller (30) for controlling the IMT-2000 base station (20);

An IMT-2000 mobile communication exchanger (40) connected to the IMT-2000 base station controller (30) to set or cancel voice and data communication with the IMT-2000 mobile terminal (10);

An IMT-2000 visitor location register (50) connected to the IMT-2000 mobile communication switch (40) to store a current moving location of users using the IMT-2000 mobile terminal (10);

An IMT-2000 home location register (60) for storing information and location information of the IMT-2000 mobile terminal (10) and subscribers, and performing various functions related to call processing and additional services;

An interworking communication network 70 for providing an interworking network between the IMT-2000 mobile communication switch 40 and the home control device 80;

It is provided with a home control device 80 to control each device in the home in conjunction with the IMT-2000 mobile terminal (10).

Here, the IMT-2000 base station 20 performs a wired / wireless communication conversion function of wirelessly communicating with the IMT-2000 mobile terminal 10 and communicating with the IMT-2000 base station controller 30 by wire, and the IMT-2000 The base station controller 30 controls the transmission of information between the IMT-2000 base station 20 and the IMT-2000 mobile communication switch 40, and supports a plurality of IMT-2000 base stations 20.

The IMT-2000 visitor location register 50 temporarily stores the IMT-2000 mobile terminal 10 and the subscriber information, which are registered in the area in charge thereof, from the IMT-2000 home location register 60.

In addition, the home control device 80 is mainly installed in a home and functions to control each electronic product, home appliance, and various accessories in the home, the form of which provides a home control function to a personal computer according to the needs of manufacturers and users. It can be built-in and integrated with a computer, or it can be integrated with a digital TV by integrating a home control function in a commercially available digital TV or as a separate device. In this case, when implemented as a separate device, it is mainly referred to as a set-top box.

In particular, when integrated with the digital TV, it is possible to provide a plurality of additional functions by applying the image function provided by the TV, wherein the home control device 80 is not only a conventional home control device but also in the present invention It also includes a home control device.

2 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a home automation service according to the present invention is applied to a home, and a home control apparatus is illustrated in a set-top box form.

At this time, users use the terminal for remote home control. The communication network used is IMT-2000 network, public telephone network, integrated information communication network (ISDN), asymmetric digital network (ADSL), and optical subscriber network (FTTH). ) And cable TV networks, and if you can use the Internet through them.

When a control signal is input from the user's terminal through each network as described above, the signal is input to the set-top box 90, and the set-top-box 90 analyzes the input digital signal to determine which device (eg : Electronics (remote control, answering machines, video, refrigerators, washing machines, TVs, stands, etc.), devices or facilities (heating appliances, water supplies, air conditioners, etc.), PCs and peripherals (PCs, fax machines, scanners, digital cameras) Determining whether or not to stop the operation or to execute the user's command.

3A and 3B illustrate an input / output part of the set-top box 90 as an example of the home control device. FIG. 3A illustrates a port connected to a user terminal, and FIG. 3B illustrates a home. The figure shows the ports connected to each device.

As mentioned above, FIG. 3A includes PSTN, ISDN, ADSL, FTTH, CATV, and satellite ports to accommodate various networks, and FIG. 3B includes USB, parallel port, SCSI, IrDA, and IEEE1394 ports. Control the operation of various home appliances and electronic products.

At this time, all products to be controlled correspond to products controlled by digital signals.

4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a terminal having a home automation function according to the present invention. In the present invention, an IMT-2000 mobile terminal 10 will be described as an example.

A receiving unit 11 for receiving a signal when the power of the terminal is on;

A signal determination unit 12 that determines whether a signal input through the receiver 11 is a signal input from a home control device 80;

A general signal processor 13 for performing a corresponding process on the input signal determined as a general signal by the signal determiner 12;

An alarm signal processor 14 for performing a corresponding process on the input signal determined as an alarm signal by the signal determiner 12;

A display unit 15 for processing a display of a signal determined as a signal for notifying a current home situation among the received signal processing by the alarm signal processor 14;

A menu providing unit 16 providing a menu necessary for using a home automation function;

A data processor 17 for converting data corresponding to a menu input by the user through the menu providing unit 16 into data in a form that can be transmitted;

And a transmitter 18 for transmitting a signal input from the data processor 17 to a home control device.

The signal determining unit 12 recognizes the input signal as a general signal if it is not a signal input from a home control device. The general signal processing unit 13 performs the current terminal when the input general signal corresponds to a call signal. Performs a call function through the call setting, and if the text message or voice message is received, performs the function at this time.

Through the IMT-2000 mobile terminal 10 as described above, there are various types of home automation functions, and all electronic products, home appliances, and various accessories in the home can be controlled.

An operation process of providing a home automation function in a mobile terminal having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. As an example of the present invention, an IMT-2000 mobile terminal 10 is taken as an example. Explain.

In a state where the power of the IMT-2000 mobile terminal 10 is turned on, it is first determined whether there is a reception signal (A1).

As a result of the determination, if there is a received signal, it is determined whether the received signal is a signal transmitted from the home control device, and otherwise general signal processing is performed (A2).

In this case, the general signal processing may include a general call signal, a voice message signal, a text message signal, and the like, and the processing thereof is the same as that of the current mobile terminal.

Subsequently, if it is a signal received from the home control device as a result of the determination in step A2, it is determined whether it corresponds to an alarm signal, and if it is not an alarm signal, the home control device recognizes the current situation in the home and displays it on the terminal. Switch to standby (A3).

When the determination result corresponds to the alarm signal in step A3, the user determines what kind of alarm the current alarm is and inputs a processing command according to the alarm (A4).

Here, the type of alarm is an alarm such as a gas leak, a fire, or the like, and the alarm may be transmitted as an image or as a text message.

The user may report according to the state of the accident or, if the accident is minor, control to open the window, lock the gas valve, and transmit a signal to control the sprinkler to operate in case of fire.

The appropriate control signal may also be transmitted to other alarms.

Subsequently, the control signal corresponding to the input processing command is converted into a control signal of a form that can be transmitted and transmitted to the home control device. When the transmission is completed, the control unit repeatedly repeats step A4 if the current operation is performed. Otherwise, switch to step A1 (A7).

On the other hand, if there is no received signal in the step A1, the user drives the menu in order to use the home automation function in the IMT-2000 mobile terminal 10 (A5).

When the menu is displayed, a menu for controlling operations of home appliances, electronic products, and various props to be finally controlled is selected (A6).

Subsequently, the control signal corresponding to the selected menu is converted into a control signal of a form that can be transmitted and transmitted to the home control device. When the transmission is completed, the control signal is repeatedly performed from step A6 when asked whether to continue the current work. If not, switch to step A1 (A7).

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a home control apparatus having a home automation function according to the present invention. The sensor unit 81 is installed in a home and detects a home situation;

A sensor detecting unit 82 detecting the operation of the sensor unit 81;

An alarm determination unit (83) for determining whether the sensor detection unit (82) detects an operation of the sensor to determine whether the detected signal corresponds to an alarm situation;

A data processor 84 for converting the signal into data in a form that can be transmitted to notify a user when the signal determined by the alarm determination unit 83 corresponds to an alarm;

A transmitter 85 for transmitting a signal input from the data processor 84;

When the signal determined by the alarm determining unit 83 does not correspond to an alarm, the home control device recognizes the signal as being processed by the home control device and controls the operation of the product in the home corresponding to the input signal, or the user input through the receiving unit. An apparatus operation control unit 86 for controlling the operation of the product in the home under control;

A receiving unit 87 for receiving a signal when the power of the home control device is on;

It is provided with a data determination unit 88 for controlling the operation of the device operation control unit 86 by determining the signal input through the receiving unit 87.

The sensor provided by the sensor unit 81 includes a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature in the home, an illumination sensor for detecting a brightness in the home, a sensor for detecting a gas leak, a sensor for detecting a fire, and the like according to a user's request. It can be provided in the inside.

In addition, the alarm determination unit 83 determines whether the signal sensed by the sensor corresponds to an alarm or a state in which self processing is possible, and notifies the user terminal if the alarm corresponds. To control.

An operation process of providing a home automation function in the home control device having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7.

In the state of detecting various sensors installed in the home, it is determined whether the sensor is operated, and if the sensor is detected, it is determined whether it is an alarm state. In this case, as mentioned above, there are a temperature sensor, an illumination sensor, and the like (B1).

If the determination result is not an alarm state, the home control device itself controls various devices to process itself. The self-processing, for example, if the sensor of the digital thermometer detects that the guide temperature falls below a certain temperature to close the curtain, and if the sensor of the electronic light meter detects that the guide guide illuminance falls below a certain illuminance, the illumination is turned off. Control to turn on (B2).

On the other hand, if the determination result is an alarm state, the home control device transmits the state to the user's mobile terminal, and waits for a processing command corresponding to the transmitted alarm state to be input (B3).

Subsequently, it is determined whether a processing instruction is received from the mobile terminal, and if not input for a predetermined number of times and a predetermined time, a notification is made to another contact point, and when the situation termination data is received (B4).

When the processing instruction is received, the instruction is analyzed to control the operation of various electronic products, home appliances, and various props as instructed by the user, and then the processing status is pruned to the user terminal, and the sensor sensing state is switched (B5). .

As described above with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the present invention operated as described above does not require any kind of communication network because there are many types of communication networks that can be used by the user. Because of this, you can use the data network you are using.

Accordingly, there is an advantage of low installation cost, and there is an advantage of low cost because there is no need to use a dedicated line for home automation.

As described in detail above, the present invention enables remote home appliances, electronic appliances, and various accessories to be controlled through various communication networks, and is economical since the existing Internet network is used, and when home automation services are used. Menus are not classified using DTMF signals of the terminal, but digital signals are combined by software to provide a variety of menus.

In addition, preferred embodiments of the present invention are disclosed for the purpose of illustration, those skilled in the art will be able to various modifications, changes, additions, etc. within the spirit and scope of the present invention, such modifications and modifications belong to the following claims You will have to look.

Claims (20)

A first step of determining whether there is a reception signal in a state where the power of the mobile terminal is on; A second step of determining whether the received signal is a signal transmitted from a home control device if there is a received signal as a result of the determination and otherwise performing general signal processing; In the second process, if it is a signal received from the home control device, it is determined whether it corresponds to an alarm signal, and if it is not an alarm signal, the home control device recognizes the current situation in the home and displays it on the terminal. A third process of switching to a standby state; A fourth step of requesting a user to determine what kind of alarm is the current alarm and input a processing command according to the determination result in the third step; And a fifth process of converting the process command into a control signal capable of transmitting the process command and transmitting the process command to the home control apparatus, and then returning to the first process. The method of claim 1, A first step of driving a menu according to whether a menu driving for using a home automation function is input by a user if there is no reception signal in the first step; A second step of receiving a menu for controlling operations of various products to be finally controlled by a user after displaying the menu; And a third step of converting the input menu into a control signal in a form that can be transmitted when the selected menu is input, transmitting the same to a home control device, and then repeating the process. The method of claim 1, In the second step, the general signal processing includes a general call signal, a voice message signal, and a text message signal processing. The method of claim 1, The home automation control method, characterized in that for transmitting the image to the liquid crystal of the terminal as a method for informing the user of the alert in the fourth step, or to display by text. The method of claim 1, And a communication network used as a data transmission means in the fifth step uses a communication network capable of transmitting digital signals. Receiving means for receiving a signal when the power of the terminal is on; Signal determination means for determining whether a signal input through the receiving means is a signal input from a home control apparatus; General signal processing means for performing a corresponding process on a signal inputted by the signal determining means as a general signal; Alarm signal processing means for performing a corresponding process on an input signal determined as an alarm signal by said signal determining means; Display means for processing a display of a signal determined as a signal for notifying a current home situation during reception of the received signal by the alarm signal processing means; Menu providing means for providing a menu necessary for using a home automation function; Data processing means for converting data corresponding to a menu input by a user through the menu providing means into data in a form that can be transmitted; And a transmission means for transmitting a signal input from said data processing means to a home control apparatus. The method of claim 6, The signal determining means is a terminal having a home automation function, so that the input signal is not a signal input from the home control device to perform a general signal processing by recognizing it as a general signal. The method of claim 6, The general signal processing means performs a call function by setting a call when the input general signal corresponds to a call signal, and performs a message receiving function when it corresponds to receiving a text message or a voice message. Terminal having. The method of claim 6, And a communication network used as the data transmission means by the transmitting means uses a communication network capable of transmitting digital signals. A first process of detecting various sensors installed in a home; A second step of determining whether the sensor is activated in the first step and determining whether the sensor is in an alarm state when the sensor is detected; A third step of transmitting the state to a mobile terminal of the user if the determination result is an alarm state and waiting for a processing command corresponding to the transmitted alarm state to be input; When the processing command is received in the standby state, the command is analyzed to control the operation of various electronic products, home appliances, and various props as instructed by the user, and then the processing state is transmitted to the user terminal, and the sensor sensing state is switched. And a fourth process. The method of claim 10, The home automation control method according to claim 2, wherein if it is determined that the alarm is not an alarm state, the home control device recognizes the processing as its own process and controls the driving of the corresponding device detected by the sensor. The method of claim 10, If the processing command is not received from the mobile terminal in the third process, repeat the transmission of a predetermined number of times, and if not input for a predetermined time, report to another contact point, and if the received command is the situation end data, switch to the sensor detection state. Home automation control method, characterized in that. The method of claim 10, The home automation control method for performing each process, characterized in that the home automation control, characterized in that integrated with the computer. The method of claim 10, A home automation control method for performing each process, characterized in that the digital T.V and integrally implemented. The method of claim 10, The home automation control method for performing each process, characterized in that implemented in a separate device. Sensor means installed in the home and detecting a situation in the home; Sensor detecting means for detecting an operation of the sensor means; Alarm determining means for determining whether the sensor detects an operation of the sensor by determining the detected signal when the sensor detecting means detects an operation of the sensor; Data processing means for converting the signal into data in a form that can be transmitted to notify a user when the signal determined by the alarm determining means corresponds to an alarm; Transmitting means for transmitting a signal input from said data processing means; When the signal determined by the alarm determining means does not correspond to an alarm, the home control device recognizes the process as its own process and controls the operation of the home product corresponding to the input signal, or according to the control of the user input through the receiving unit. Device operation control means for controlling the operation of the product in the home; Receiving means for receiving a signal when the power of the home control device is on; And a data determination means for controlling an operation of the device operation control means by determining a signal input through the receiving means. The method of claim 16, The alarm determining means determines whether the signal sensed by the sensor corresponds to an alarm or a state capable of self-processing, and notifies the user terminal if the alarm corresponds, and if the self-processing is possible, the home device corresponding to the sensor detection. Home control device having a home automation function, characterized in that for controlling the operation. The method of claim 16, The home control device having a home automation function, characterized in that integrated with a computer. The method of claim 16, The home control device having a home automation function, characterized in that integrated with the digital T.V. The method of claim 16, The home control device having a home automation function, characterized in that implemented as a separate device.