KR20070060961A - Method and system for controlling electric home appliances of infrared ray in home network system - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and a system for remotely controlling infrared ray-based home appliances in a home network system are provided to remotely control and collectively manage home appliances at home and outside by networking the home appliances through a device that performs ZigBee communication and generates an infrared signal. A converter(100) converts a command signal for controlling a function selected by a user into an infrared signal and transmits it to an infrared ray-based home appliance. A home server(400) receives and manages information on the converter(100), searches the converter(100) for controlling the function selected by the user when the control command is requested by the user, and transmits the command signal to the converter(100). A ZigBee coordinator(200) receives the command signal from the home server(400), wirelessly processes it, and transmits it to the selected converter(100).

Description

Infrared-based home appliance remote control method and system in home network system {METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING ELECTRIC HOME APPLIANCES OF INFRARED RAY IN HOME NETWORK SYSTEM}

1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a system for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance in a home network system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a block diagram showing a specific structure of a system for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a block diagram illustrating an XML protocol structure for generating and managing infrared signals according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance in a home network system according to the present invention;

5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a converter for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a flowchart illustrating a jig coordinator operation for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a flowchart illustrating a control server operation for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a home network system, and more particularly, to a method and system for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance by applying it to a home network system.

Generally, a home network system is a network home appliance connected to a home server (TV, washing machine, microwave oven, gas range, audio, air conditioner, boiler, etc.), a lighting, gas valve, a front door, etc. Outside the home is a system that allows remote control via the Internet and mobile communication terminals.

If you want to control such a home network system in a house, a remote control pad is used. Most home network systems in the related art are limited to one or two remote control pads. Therefore, when a user wants to control an operation of a home appliance or the like, there is a problem that a user finds a remote controller pad and wanders.

On the other hand, there are various wireless network standards used for the home network system, for example, wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11x) standard, Bluetooth (BLUETOOTH, IEEE 802.15.1) standard, Zigbee (Zigbee, IEEE 802.15.4) Specifications.

First of all, WLAN has excellent security, but the protocol specification is complicated, radio interference for unnecessary signals is severe, and the power consumption is large, which causes inconvenience of frequent battery replacement.

Bluetooth is a communication standard suitable for transmitting and receiving voice signals, which is useful for communication devices requiring multifunction, but has a relatively high cost and also has a problem in that power consumption is high.

In contrast, Zigbee consumes lower power than the wireless LAN and Bluetooth. In other words, ZigBee remains in 'sleep' mode until it sends an external signal, so the power consumption is very low, so the battery can last for months or years, much simpler than Bluetooth or WLAN protocol, which is advantageous for miniaturization. The cost of implementing ZigBee in the system is also low.

In addition, although the Zigbee communication mode is based on master-slave mode, point-to-point networking called 'Mesh Mode' is possible, so that many devices accommodated in one band communicate with each other at the same level.

Many remote control home appliances released in the related art cannot participate in a home network based on a home server, which causes a great obstacle in activating the home network. Accordingly, there is a demand for a technology for controlling home appliances from a TV and a remote by participating in remote home appliances using infrared rays.

 Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance (remote control home appliance) by participating in a home network based on a home server.

Another object of the present invention is to connect to a home server through a ZigBee wireless communication device provided in the infrared receiver portion of the home appliance, and convert the control command received from the home server into an infrared signal and transmit it to the home appliance at home and outdoors The present invention provides a method and system for remotely controlling home appliances.

Still another object of the present invention is a method for constructing a function manual for a home appliance in XML in a conversion device (converter) in a home network system and assigning a unique number to each function to smoothly control communication between devices. And providing a system.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method including: at least one converter communicating with an infrared based home appliance, a Zigbee coordinator wirelessly communicating with the at least one converter, and a home connected with the Zigbee coordinator and a control terminal. A home network system comprising a server, comprising: a method for remotely controlling the infrared based home appliance; Receiving and managing converter information from the at least one converter; searching for a converter to control the home appliance according to a request from the control terminal; transmitting information of the found converter to the control terminal; Receiving a command signal from the control terminal and transmitting the command signal to the Zigbee coordinator; And receiving and analyzing the command signal from the Zigbee coordinator, and converting the analyzed command signal into an infrared signal and transmitting the converted command signal to the home appliance.

And another method of the present invention for achieving the above object, at least one converter in communication with the infrared-based home appliance, a Zigbee coordinator in wireless communication with the at least one converter, the Zigbee coordinator and the control terminal interlocked with In a home network system including a home server, the method for the at least one converter to remotely control the infrared based home appliance comprises: receiving a command signal from the home server according to a control command of the control terminal; And analyzing the received command signal, converting the analyzed command signal into an infrared signal, and transmitting the infrared signal to the home appliance.

On the other hand, the system of the present invention for achieving the above object, at least one converter for converting a command signal for controlling a function selected by the user into an infrared signal and transmitting to the infrared-based home appliance, and the at least one converter And a home server which receives and manages information about a user, searches for a converter for controlling a function selected by the user when a control command is requested from the user, and transmits the command signal to the found converter. And a Zigbee coordinator that receives the command signal from a server and wirelessly processes the command signal and transmits the command signal to the selected converter.

In addition, the converter in the system, a converter wireless signal processing unit for wirelessly processing the command signal received from the Zigbee coordinator, a command interpreter for analyzing the wireless processed command signal, and for the analyzed command signal And an infrared signal transmitter for converting the information into an infrared signal using the numerically stored infrared information for each function, and an infrared signal transmitter for transmitting the infrared signal to the home appliance.

In the system, the home server may further include a command interpreter configured to interpret a command signal requested from the control terminal, a command generator configured to generate a command signal to transmit the interpreted command signal to the at least one converter, and Receiving a converter information through a Zigbee coordinator to communicate with one converter, and a UBS data processing unit for transmitting the generated command signal, and a converter to control the home appliance using the converter information on request from the control terminal And a converter manager for searching and a converter manager for managing the converter information.

Hereinafter, a system and method for controlling the same remotely via a network by incorporating a remote control home appliance in a home network according to the present invention will be described in detail. First, a system for remotely controlling a remote control home appliance in a home network system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a system for remotely controlling an infrared based household appliance in a home network system according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an infrared based household appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention Is a block diagram showing a specific structure of a system for controlling the system remotely.

Referring to FIG. 1, a home network system includes converters 100: 100a and 100b, a Zigbee coordinator 200, a home server 400, and a control terminal 600.

The converter 100 has UI information and function information of a home appliance for a remote control based on infrared communication (IrDA) and uses a command received from the home server 400 or the control terminal 500 as an infrared signal. Convert and transmit to the remote control home appliance. In addition, the converter 100 digitizes the frequencies of the functions of the remote control home appliance, and configures the XML protocol as shown in FIG. Save in form. In addition, the converter 100 searches for the Zigbee coordinator 200 using the 802.15.4 sense network protocol.

The XML protocol for generating and managing the infrared signal shown in FIG. 3 operates independently of the device by the converter 100 changing the profile. In the XML profile, information of the UI (UI_URL), description of the device, and information on one or more functions are included. Here, the function means a function of a home appliance such as 'turn on the TV', 'turn off the TV', and 'change the channel'. The description of the function consists of a code (ID) that distinguishes the function from the converter 100, a name of the function, an infrared signal frequency Freq for the function, and a description.

 The Zigbee coordinator 200 searches for a converter 100 to control the remote control home appliance, and wirelessly transmits / receives data through the converter 100 and the 802.15.4 sensor network 10, and uses USB (USB). It is linked with the home server 400 through the (300).

The home server 400 registers and manages the converter information received from the converter 100, searches for the converter 100 for controlling a function selected by a user through the converter information being managed, and requests from a TV or remotely. It provides a user interface required for the control of the home appliances, and transmits the function selected by the use to the converter.

The control terminal 500 interoperates with the home server 400 via the internet network 20 and transmits control data for controlling the remote control home appliance to the home server 400.

2, a detailed structure of a home network system will be described.

The converter 100 includes a converter Zigbee radio signal (RF) processor 110, a command interpreter 120, a signal generator 130, and an infrared communication infrared communication (IrDA) signal transmitter 140. .

The converter Zigbee wireless signal processing unit 110 down-converts the command signal received through wireless communication from the home server 400 through the Zigbee coordinator 200, converts the command signal into a digital signal, and transmits the converted signal to the command interpreter 120. To interpret the converted command signal.

The signal generator 130 receives the command information interpreted from the command interpreter 120, converts the command information into an infrared signal to be transmitted to the home appliance, and generates an infrared signal to be transmitted to the home appliance.

The infrared communication signal transmitter 140 transmits the generated infrared communication signal to the corresponding home appliance. Accordingly, the home appliance receives the infrared communication signal through an infrared receiver and operates according to a command instructed by the control terminal 500.

The ZigBee coordinator 200 has a coordinator ZigBee wireless signal processing unit 210 therein to perform wireless communication with the converter ZigBee wireless signal processing unit 110 of the converter 100.

The home server 400 includes a control data transceiver 410, a command interpreter 420, a converter manager 430, a command generator 440, a USB data processor 450, and a converter searcher. 460.

The control data transceiver 410 transmits and receives control data to and from the control terminal 500.

The command interpreter 420 interprets a command through the control data received from the control data transceiver 420 and transmits the command to the converter manager 430.

The command generator 440 receives command information interpreted from the converter manager 430, generates command information to be transmitted to the corresponding converter 100, and transmits the command information to the coordinator wireless processor 210 through the USB data processor 450. To send.

When the converter search unit 460 receives a command for searching for a converter from the control terminal 500, the converter search unit 430 receives a signal from the USB data processing unit 450, searches for a converter, and provides information about the found converter. ) To manage.

A method for controlling ZigBee communication data in an infrared signal in a home network system having the above-described structure and controlling the remote control home appliance remotely in a home and a home will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance in a home network system according to the present invention.

The converter 100 searches for a Zigbee coordinator in the 802.15.4 sensor network using the 802.15.4 sense network protocol. Thereafter, when the Zigbee coordinator is found, the converter 100 requests the ZigBee coordinator 200 to register the UI and the function profile in step 1011. Accordingly, in operation 1012, the Zigbee coordinator 300 requests the home server 400 to register the UI and the function profile according to the registration request of the converter 100. In step 1013, the home server 400 stores the corresponding converter 100 that has requested the registration in a management list.

In operation 1014, the control terminal 500 first accesses the home server 400 in order to operate the converter 100, which is a home appliance control device, and after the connection is completed, the corresponding converter from the home server 400. Get a list of 100 and select a particular converter 100. In operation 1015, the home server 400 transmits the UI and the function profile of the selected converter 100 to the control terminal 500.

In step 1016, the control terminal 500 configures the UI based on the received UI profile of the converter 100 and shows it to the user. Then, in step 1017, the control terminal 500 selects a specific function of the converter 100 and transmits control data for the control command, that is, a command signal, and in step 1018, the home server 400 analyzes the command and analyzes the command. In step 1019, the command signal for the corresponding converter 100 is transmitted to the Zigbee coordinator 300. Accordingly, in step 1020, the Zigbee coordinator 300 wirelessly transmits a command to the corresponding converter 100, and in step 1021, the converter 100 analyzes the received command and generates an infrared signal if the command is appropriate. Send to remote control electronics.

Next, the operation of each device of the home network system performing the operation will be described in detail.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a converter for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, in step 1111, the converter 100 checks whether the ZigBee coordinator 200 has been searched, and if not, the converter 100 returns to the standby state and re-searches after 1 minute to minimize battery consumption. On the other hand, when the Zigbee coordinator 200 is found, the converter 100 transmits the converter information to the searched Zigbee coordinator 200 in step 1112. That is, the converter 100 transmits basic information including the identification number of the converter 100 and the like to the Zigbee coordinator 200 and converter information including information for requesting a UI and a function profile registration. Accordingly, the Zigbee coordinator 300 checks the information for the registration request included in the converter information and transmits the converter information received for the registration request to the home server 400.

Then, in step 1113, the converter 100 checks whether the command signal is received while waiting for the command signal from the Zigbee coordinator 200. In this case, if the command signal is not received, the standby state is continuously maintained. Otherwise, in step 1114, the converter 100 analyzes the received command signal, that is, the XML command signal. In step 1115, the converter 100 checks whether the result of the analysis is an accurate command signal, and if it is not correct, the converter 100 proceeds to step 1113 again. On the other hand, if the analysis result is the correct command signal, in step 1116, the converter 100 converts the received command signal into an infrared signal and finds the signal frequency of the function based on the function code included in the command information to find the infrared signal. send. The converter then proceeds to step 1113 in preparation for receiving another command.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a jig coordinator operation for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, as the home server 400 operates, the Zigbee coordinator 200 operates, and executes a control server (not shown) for the control terminal 500. Then, in step 1121, the Zigbee coordinator 200 checks whether registration is requested from the converter 100, that is, whether a registration command has been received. As a result of the check, when the registration command is received, the Zigbee coordinator 200 receives the converter information in step 1122, updates the converter management list through the received converter information in step 1123, and then proceeds to step 1121.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 1121 that the registration command is not received in step 1124, the Zigbee coordinator 200 checks whether a command signal from a control server (not shown) of the control terminal 500 is received. In this case, if the command signal is not received, the process proceeds to step 1121. Otherwise, if the command signal is received, the Zigbee coordinator 200 receives the command signal of the converter 100 and proceeds to step 11121. Accordingly, the home server 400 receives the converter information and stores it in the management list.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a home server for remotely controlling an infrared based home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, in step 1131, the home server 400 checks whether a command is received from a control terminal 500 connected to a control server (not shown), and if not, maintains a standby state. In one case, in step 1132, the home server 400 analyzes the control data received in the form of XML, that is, a command signal.

Then, the home server 400 checks whether the command signal is correct according to the result of analyzing the command signal in step 1133. If the result is not correct, the process proceeds to step 1131. If correct, the home server 400 generates a command signal to be transmitted to the Zigbee coordinator 300 and transmits the generated command signal in step 1134. Accordingly, the Zigbee coordinator 200 transmits a command signal received from the home server 400 to the corresponding converter 100.

On the other hand, in the detailed description of the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, of course, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the scope of the following claims, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

According to the present invention, ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4 sensor network) communication is possible, and the existing remote control home appliances that do not participate in the network through the device that generates infrared signals to enable the network remotely at home / outdoor The devices can be controlled and integrated.

Claims (10)

In the home network system including at least one converter for communicating with an infrared-based home appliance, a Zigbee coordinator for wireless communication with the at least one converter, and a home server interoperating with the Zigbee coordinator and the control terminal, A method for remotely controlling home appliances; The home server; Receiving and managing converter information from the at least one converter; Searching for a converter to control the home appliance according to a request from the control terminal; Transmitting information of the found converter to the control terminal; Receiving a command signal from the control terminal and transmitting the command signal to the Zigbee coordinator, The at least one converter; Receiving and analyzing the command signal from the Zigbee coordinator; And converting the analyzed command signal into an infrared signal and transmitting the converted command signal to the home appliance. In the home network system comprising at least one converter for communicating with an infrared based home appliance, a Zigbee coordinator for wireless communication with the at least one converter, and a home server interoperating with the Zigbee coordinator and the control terminal, CLAIMS 1. A method for a remote control of an infrared based home appliance by a converter; Receiving a command signal from the home server according to a control command of the control terminal; Analyzing the received command signal and converting the analyzed command signal into an infrared signal; And transmitting the infrared signal to the home appliance. The remote control method of the home appliance based on the infrared ray in the home network system. The method of claim 2, And quantifying the frequencies of the respective functions of the home appliance, and storing the infrared information digitized relative to the respective functions in the form of an XML protocol. The method of claim 2, wherein the analyzing the received command signal and converting the analyzed command signal into an infrared ray signal comprises: Wireless processing the command signal received from the Zigbee coordinator; Analyzing the wirelessly processed command signal; And converting the information on the analyzed command signal into an infrared signal by using the infrared information digitized for each function stored in advance. At least one converter converting a command signal for controlling a function selected by a user into an infrared signal and transmitting the same to an infrared based home appliance; Receiving and managing information on the at least one converter, searching for a converter for controlling a function selected by the user when a control command is requested from the user, and a home server transmitting the command signal to the found converter; Infrared-based home appliance remote control system in the home network system, characterized in that. The method of claim 5, And a Zigbee coordinator for receiving the command signal from the home server and wirelessly transmitting the command signal to the selected converter. The method of claim 5, The at least one converter wirelessly processes the received command signal, analyzes the wireless processed command signal, and uses infrared information, which is numerically compared with each function, to store information on the analyzed command signal in advance. Infrared based home appliance remote control system in a home network system, characterized by converting into a signal. The method of claim 5, The at least one converter, the home-based remote control system for home appliances in the home network system, characterized in that to quantify the frequency for each of the functions of the home appliance to store the digitized infrared information for each function in the form of XML protocol. The method of claim 5, wherein the converter, A converter radio signal processor configured to wirelessly process the command signal received from the Zigbee coordinator; A command interpreter for analyzing the wirelessly processed command signal; A signal generator for converting the information on the analyzed command signal into an infrared signal by using digitized infrared information for each function stored in advance; Infrared-based home appliance remote control system in the home network system, characterized in that it comprises an infrared signal transmitter for transmitting the infrared signal to the home appliance. The method of claim 5, wherein the home server, A command interpreter for interpreting the command signal requested from the control terminal; A command generator for generating a command signal to transmit the interpreted command signal to the at least one converter; A USB data processing unit receiving converter information through a Zigbee coordinator communicating with the at least one converter and transmitting the generated command signal; A converter search unit for searching for a converter to control the home appliance using the converter information according to a request from the control terminal; Infrared-based home appliance remote control system in the home network system, characterized in that it comprises a converter management unit for managing the converter information.

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