KR20020037208A - Apparatus and method for state supervising and controlling of information household electrical appliances by using home server - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus and method for monitoring and controlling the information of home appliances are provided for a user to perform the integrated control management of the home appliances by monitoring and controlling the information home appliances through the external wire/wireless internet. CONSTITUTION: The user can control the information home appliances(50) by taking the user authentication procedures through a user authentication unit(41) connected to the external wire/wireless internet(30). A web processor(42) configures and manages the web page on which the user monitors and controls the state of the information home appliances. An HTML(Hyper Text Markup Language) tag converter(43) serves through the internet the HTML tag into which the web processor converts the virtual variables of the home server. A data binding unit(44) gets the variables for monitoring and controlling the information home appliances, creates and transfers the virtual variables to the HTML tag converter, and enables the user to monitor and control the state of the information home appliances on a web.

Description

Apparatus and method for state supervising and controlling of information household electrical appliances by using home server}

The present invention relates to an apparatus for monitoring and controlling the state of an information appliance using a home server and a method thereof. In particular, the home appliance is connected to a home server using an external wired / wireless internet network instead of using the Internet on a home appliance. The information of the controller reads the current values of the control variables on the network collected from the electrical appliances to monitor the current state of the home appliance, and by changing the control variable values on the network, the information controls the electrical appliances, and various peripheral controllers ( The present invention relates to an apparatus for monitoring and controlling the state of electric appliances using an in-home server, which is suitable for performing integrated control and management with surrounding environmental devices in conjunction with lighting, valves, air conditioners, and the like.

Conventional technologies are mainly Internet information appliances, which have PCs installed in home appliances, which have limitations in the use of the Internet using a touch screen on a surface of a washing machine or a refrigerator. In other words, the conventional technology is a form in which the Internet can be used in a home, and it is not a construction of a connection and control environment from the outside to the home.

As a conventional technology, there is no technology for monitoring and controlling the status of information home appliances in the home through a wired or wireless internet network. However, the technology that enables the use of the Internet by mounting a PC on the surface of a refrigerator or the function of a scheduler built in an electric rice cooker is similar.

1 is a block diagram of a remote home appliance control apparatus using a conventional Internet.

As shown therein, a program ROM (2) for storing an Internet program or a web browser, a reservation search / storage program, a text editor, and a remote home appliance control module and an initial transfer module for a host and a terminal; A main memory 3 used when a program stored in the program ROM 2 is actually executed, a flash memory 4 containing personal information such as Internet bookmarks, e-mails, received messages, and a phone book; ; A CPU 1 which is responsible for executing a program, performs an Internet connection, and enables communication with a remote place where a user is located; A VCR command interface unit 9 for interpreting the VCR command output from the CPU 1 and outputting the same through a corresponding mechanism; A VCR mechanism (10) for enabling recording and playback according to a command provided by the VCR command interface unit (9); A video unit 5 for processing an Internet communication screen and outputting the image to a TV or a VCR; A sound processor 6 for interpreting an audio signal generated during internet communication and outputting the audio signal to a TV or VCR; A timer (7) for managing the current time information so as to use the reserved search / storage function; A modem unit 8 which connects to the ISP company 20 via a telephone line to interface data; A video input converter 13 for receiving a video analog signal output from the VCR mechanism 10 and converting the video analog signal into a digital signal; It is composed of a modem unit 8 for interfacing data and voice by connecting to ISP 20 through a telephone line.

In addition, there are a keyboard port, a remote controller 11 and a remote controller receiver 12.

However, these conventional technologies are independent technologies installed in one home appliance, and are not only capable of interworking between home appliances, but also cannot add a concept of a separate control other than merely providing Internet services. That is, the conventional technology is to sell home appliances, but there is no technology using the sold home appliances.

When using the conventional technology, residents can use the Internet using a PC function installed in a refrigerator or a TV at home. This is no different from the ability to access the Internet using a web browser on a home PC. That is, the conventional technology has a problem in that the price of home appliances increases as the price of the PC is added to the existing price instead of the convenience of using the Internet in the home kitchen.

Another type of conventional technology, the scheduler operating independently in the home appliance has a reservation function of each home appliance using a time reservation function, etc., but this is impossible to modify from a remote location and interwork with other devices impossible.

In addition, the above functions are already equipped in the production of home appliances, and it is impossible to add new functions or create new business using them.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to access a server in a home using an external wired / wireless internet network instead of using the Internet on a home appliance. Monitors the current state of home appliances by reading the current values of the control variables on the network, from which information is collected from the electrical appliances, and controls the information appliances by changing the values of the control variables on the network. , A valve, an air conditioner, etc.) to provide an apparatus and method for monitoring and controlling the state of the information appliances using a home server that can perform integrated control and management with the surrounding environment.

1 is a block diagram of a remote home appliance control apparatus using a conventional Internet,

2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for monitoring and controlling a state of an information appliance using a home server according to the present invention;

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of monitoring and controlling information of an electric appliance using a home server according to the present invention;

4 is a detailed flow chart for monitoring / control in the fourth step in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a detailed flow diagram for use in the fourth step in FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

30: wired / wireless external internet 40: web server

41: user authentication section 42: Web processing section

43: HTML tag conversion unit 44: data binding unit

50: information appliances

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment according to the present invention, an apparatus for monitoring and controlling a state of an information appliance using a home server and a method thereof is as follows.

2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for monitoring and controlling a state of an information appliance using a home server according to the present invention.

As shown therein, the user authentication unit 41 is connected to the wired / wireless external internet 30 to perform user authentication so that the authenticated user can control the home electronic device 50; A web processor (42) for constructing and managing a web page for allowing a user connected through the user authentication unit (41) to monitor and control the state of the electric machine (50); An HTML tag conversion unit 43 for converting virtual variables on a home server into a tag on HTML so that the HTML tag converted by the web processing unit 42 can be serviced through the Internet; The information is input to the variable for the control and monitoring of the electric appliances 50, generates a virtual variable corresponding to the input variable on the server and transmits to the HTML tag conversion unit 43 to the information appliance 50 on the web It is configured to include a data binding unit 44 to enable the state monitoring and control of the).

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of monitoring and controlling a state of an information appliance using a home server according to the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, the first step in which a user accesses a web server that monitors and controls the state of the information appliance 50 by using a server in the home using a terminal to register and receive user authentication (ST11) (ST12); A second step (ST13) (ST14) of installing the remote function of the operator by purchasing the information appliance 50 after the first step and applying for service; A third step ST15 of connecting the electric home appliance 50 with the Internet after the second step to install in a home and to connect power; After the third step is performed, including the fourth step (ST16) (ST17) to perform the monitoring and control of the information appliance 50 through the Internet and pay the fee for use.

FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart for monitoring / control in a fourth step in FIG. 3.

As shown therein, step ST21 of accessing the home server of the user from the web server 40; Remotely connecting the information on the control network with the electric machine (50) after the connection (ST22); Converting the result of the binding into an HTML tag format (ST23); The step (ST24) (ST25) of locating the homepage of the web server in the web server portion on the home server using the binding result converted into the HTML tag format and performing the monitoring and control of the home appliance 50 Including to perform.

FIG. 5 is a detailed flow diagram for use in the fourth step in FIG. 3.

As shown therein, the information appliance 50 is installed to apply for service to the web server, charge a fee, and then determine whether a functional upgrade is applied (ST31 to ST34); If the upgrade is requested, transmitting the added function to the home server so that the information is monitored and controlled by the added function (ST35); If the upgrade is not applied for, the advertiser charges the advertising agency and then determines whether the additional advertising agency subscription (ST36 ~ ST38); If there is the additional advertising company, transmitting the added advertisement to the home server and charging the advertisement fee (ST39); If there is no additional advertiser, the home page server information (ST40) (ST41) to perform the monitoring and control service of the electric machine 50 is performed.

The information using the home server according to the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the operation of the apparatus for monitoring and controlling the state of the electric machine and the method thereof.

First, the recent development of home appliances is surprising. The fact that the newly purchased product is already an old model after one month also represents the development model of home appliances. Now, at home, we can see and listen to various news by voice and video, and it is a natural reality to perform laundry or cooking with the help of a machine.

Here, the present invention is not to use the Internet in the home as in the prior art, it is to enable the information to control the electric appliances 50 and the state of the electric appliances 50 through the Internet from the outside. Thus, the present invention is to apply a server already installed in the home, the server in the home serves as a gateway that connects the home control network in the home with the outside Internet.

The control network, which will connect various home appliances, communicates using power lines. So, if the information only connects the power to the electrical devices (50) can use all the functions according to the present invention.

Therefore, the present invention can be connected to the server in the home using an external wired or wireless Internet network, and various information on the control network can check and control the current operation state of the electric devices 50 by using a power line already established in the home. do.

Residents of each family can only perform various in-home activities only when they return home from the outside. By using the present invention, various in-home activities can be performed outside or among them.

For example, when laundry is finished in a washing machine for a long time, various odors are generated. Therefore, in the past, when a person is in the home, they have to wash the laundry or take out the dried laundry immediately. So for one or two hours of washing, there had to be a resident in the home. However, if the present invention is used, the resident can immediately process the laundry after all the processes when the home is returned home by operating the washing machine 1-2 hours before arriving at home from the outside or on the move. In another example, the microwave oven, toaster and coffee maker are operated before the wake-up time by interworking with other functions of the server in the home, so that a simple breakfast can be made immediately after the wake-up and wash. In addition, the application field that can control the information electronic devices 50 on one control network can be said to be infinite.

As described above, the present invention does not use the Internet on the home appliance, but monitors and controls the home appliances by accessing the home appliances using an external wired / wireless internet network.

This is divided into two physical networks: an access network from the outside to the server in the home, and a control network using a power line from which each information is connected to the electric machine 50 in the server in the home. In a home server that connects two different physical networks and performs data interworking, a variable binding for connecting various variables for control on a control network using a power line with a virtual variable on a home server The unit 44 may be divided into an HTML tag conversion unit 43 for providing the service over the Internet, and a web processing unit 42 for accessing a home server using various web browsers.

By integrating such a web processing unit 42, HTML tag conversion unit 43, data binding unit 44, the user is connected to the server in the home through the wired / wireless Internet network, each information collected from the electric machine 50 By reading the current values of the control variables on the network, not only the current state of the home appliance 50 can be monitored, but also the information can control the electric devices 50 by changing the values of the control variables on the network. . In addition, the information appliances 50 may be integrated with various peripheral controllers (lights, valves, air conditioners, etc.) as well as communication between the home appliances 50 to enable integrated control management with the surrounding environment apparatuses. Integrated control means that various kinds of scheduling functions and coping with emergency situations can be extended to all parts that can be controlled.

2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for monitoring and controlling a state of an information appliance using a home server according to the present invention.

Thus, in the present invention, the data binding unit 44 of the control network and the bound data are connected to connect the access network of the external wired / wireless internet and the control network using a power line for controlling the home appliances 50. HTML tag conversion unit 43 for connecting to the tag, a web processing unit 42 for servicing this on the web, and a user authentication unit 41 for the user to access from the outside. It is organically interlocked with each other to provide a monitoring and control service of the information appliance 50 through the wired / wireless Internet.

The data binding unit 44 is a variable for controlling and monitoring the information appliances 50 on the control network using a power line, that is, variables such as ON / OFF, timer, control command, abnormal situation, and the like in the home server. Create virtual variables to link these variables together. The connection of these variables enables control over the Web, various schedulers, or other interlocking control.

The HTML tag converting unit 43 converts virtual variables on the home server into tags on HTML so that monitoring and control can be performed on the web by variables on the control network connected by the data binding unit 44. On the actual internet web browser, the value of the tag converted by the HTML tag conversion unit 43 is read and monitored, and the value of the HTML tag is changed to allow control on the control network.

The web processing unit 42 services the HTML tag converted by the HTML tag conversion unit 43 to the Internet. The homepage of the information electronic device 50 is present in the web processing unit 42.

The user authentication unit 41 is for preventing the information in the home from using the electric appliances 50 by external users. Thus, the user authentication unit 41 inputs a user ID and a password, encrypts the user ID, and performs a task related to user authentication.

2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a connection from the server in the home to the information appliance 50 and the connection to the external wired / wireless Internet. As shown in FIG. 2, several home appliances 50 have variables for control and monitoring on a network designed by the manufacturer, and these variables are connected to a data binding unit 44 on a server in the home. . At this time, the virtual variable is one-to-one symmetrical information on the server in the home, one per variable of the electric appliance 50, which is integrated with a variety of control and monitoring equipment in addition to the electric appliance 50 in the home server Indicates that it can. In addition, when controlling and monitoring on the Internet, the information has a separate variable for each electric device (50) to prevent confusion in data conversion between each other.

Variables on the control network connected one-to-one with the home server are converted into HTML tag format by the HTML tag converting unit 43 and converted into one-to-one with HTML tags. This is a part for monitoring and controlling the state of the electric appliance 50 on the external wired / wireless Internet. In practice, the information is monitored and controlled by reading / writing the value on the HTML tag. can do.

At this time, the speed difference between the part connected to the Internet and the control network is large. Therefore, the time waiting time should be considered in this part.

The web processing unit 42 is a part for servicing the data converted into HTML tag format on the web, and the user authentication unit 41 performs a security function so that the control right of the home electronic appliance 50 is leaked to the outside. It prevents you from becoming.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of monitoring and controlling a state of an information appliance using a home server according to the present invention.

Thus, a user accesses a web server that performs information monitoring and control of the electric appliance 50 by using a server in the home using a terminal to register and receive user authentication. And the information purchases the electric machine 50 and apply for the service to install the remote function of the operator. The information appliance 50 is connected to the Internet, installed in the home, and connected to a power source. The information via the Internet performs the monitoring and control of the electric device 50 and pays the fee for use.

That is, the information appliance interworking system is not used by the general user as soon as the information purchase the electronic device, the user who purchased the information to apply to use the functions of the electric device. Then, the Internet service provider related to the home appliances is connected to the home server of the user and performs the binding work of the information home appliances and variables on the control network at the remote site, converts them into HTML TAG format, and converts the home page to the web server on the home server. To the part. All of this is done remotely. At this time, the information is posted on the homepage of the electric appliance to maximize the profits of the Internet operators and to see the big advertising effect. It also allows information to be billed on a monthly basis from customers who apply for control over the wired / wireless Internet of electrical equipment.

FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart for monitoring / control in a fourth step in FIG. 3. This is a schematic representation of the process from when a user purchases an electric appliance to receive service after installation in a home.

Thus, the web server 40 accesses the user's home server. After the connection, the information on the control network remotely performs the binding of the electric device 50 and the variables. Convert the result of binding to HTML tag format. The homepage of the web server is located in the web server portion on the home server using the binding result converted into the HTML tag format, and the home information appliances 50 are monitored and controlled.

In this case, the home server is a device designed to be interoperable with information appliances. This server could be a PC, set-top box, or embedded system. The server in the home allows the Internet operator to access the information remotely to add the software's functions related to the service of the electric equipment. To enable services over the Web. In this service, the advertising banner is received from a server of a pre-contracted advertising company and displayed on the corresponding portion to increase the profit through advertising.

Since the information appliance is just one of the control devices on the home control network, the service provides the home server and allows it to be added as a supplementary service to the fee charged.

FIG. 5 is a detailed flow diagram for use in the fourth step in FIG. 3.

So the information appliance 50 is installed to apply for a service on the web server and charge. In addition, when the functional upgrade is applied, the added function is transmitted to the home server so that the information is monitored and controlled by the added function and the fee is charged.

If the upgrade is not applied, the advertiser will be charged for advertising.

If there are additional advertisers, the added advertisements are sent to the home server and the advertisement fee is charged.

If there is no additional advertising company, the information of the server in the home on the homepage to allow the monitoring and control service of the electric machine (50).

As described above, the present invention monitors the current state of home appliances, controls information appliances, and connects various peripheral controllers with integrated environmental controls to access a server in a home using an external wired / wireless Internet network. Management will be performed.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention may use various changes, modifications, and equivalents. It is clear that the present invention can be applied in the same manner by appropriately modifying the above embodiments. Accordingly, the above description does not limit the scope of the invention as defined by the limitations of the following claims.

As described above, the apparatus for monitoring and controlling the state of the information appliance using the in-home server according to the present invention and the method thereof do not use the Internet on the home appliance, but use an external wired / wireless Internet network to the in-home server. By connecting each information to the current value of the control variables on the network collected from the electrical devices to monitor the current state of the home appliances, change the value of the control variable on the network to control the information appliances, and various peripheral controllers By interlocking, it becomes effective to perform integrated control management with the surrounding environment devices.

In addition, the present invention can be avoided from the inconvenience of having to keep the home for washing or washing dishes, and the information in their own home can check and operate the current operating state of the electric machine while going out. This will give new time for not only housewives, but also the singles who live alone or most who have to go along with their family life.

Claims (4)

A user authentication unit connected to a wired / wireless external internet and performing user authentication to allow an authenticated user to control home electronic devices; A web processing unit for constructing and managing a web page for allowing the user connected through the user authentication unit to perform the state monitoring and control of the electric machine; An HTML tag conversion unit for converting virtual variables on a home server into a tag on HTML so as to service the converted HTML tag on the web; The information is input to the variable for the control and monitoring of the electric appliances, and generates a virtual variable corresponding to the input variable on the server and transmits to the HTML tag conversion unit to monitor and control the state of the information appliance on the web Apparatus for monitoring and controlling the state of the information appliances using a home server, characterized in that it comprises a data binding unit for enabling. A first step in which a user connects to a web server performing information monitoring and control of an electric appliance by using a server in a home and registers as a member and receives user authentication; A second step of installing a remote function of an operator by purchasing an information appliance after the first step and applying for a service; A third step of installing the information appliance in the home and connecting the power after the second step; And a fourth step of performing information monitoring and control of the electric appliance through the Internet after the third step, and paying a fee for using the home appliance. The method of claim 2, wherein the fourth step, Accessing a home server of a user from a web server; Remotely binding information on the control network with the parameters after the connection; Converting the result of the binding into an HTML tag format; And a home page of the web server in the web server portion of the home server using the binding result converted into the HTML tag format, and the home information is monitored and controlled. How to monitor and control the status of information appliances using my server. The method of claim 2, wherein the fourth step, Determining whether a functional upgrade is applied after the information is installed and the service is applied to the web server and a fee is charged; If the upgrade is requested, transmitting the added function to the home server so that the information is monitored and controlled by the added function; If the upgrade is not applied, determining whether an additional advertising agency is added after charging an advertisement fee by advertising the advertising company; If the additional advertising company is present, transmitting the added advertisement to the home server and charging the advertisement fee; If there is no additional advertising company, the home server information monitoring and control service for the home appliances, characterized in that performed including the step of performing the monitoring and control service of the home appliances.