KR20120072445A - Remote control system and method for controlling home device connected to home hub - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A remote control system of home appliances connected to a home hub and method thereof are provided to execute functions of a home gateway by remotely controlling a personal computer through the home hub according to the needs of a service server. CONSTITUTION: A web server controls a home hub. The web server provides various additional services. A database stores service information, log information, home hub information, and user information. An application server executes a registration procedure through the client information of a client management server based on the home hub information. The application server remotely controls home appliances connected with the home hub. The application server provides a resource management function.

Description

Remote control system and method for controlling home device connected to home hub

The present invention relates to a remote control system and method for remotely controlling home appliances connected to a home hub, and more particularly, to easily control a home appliance connected to a home hub provided by a network operator in real time and outside the home. The present invention relates to a remote control system and a method thereof.

In general, a home network system refers to a network system that enables intelligent communication by performing network matching between a home network installed in a home and an external network.

Various home appliances are connected to the home network through wired or wireless, and home appliances may be classified into information appliances, audio / video devices, control system devices, and dummy devices. Here, the informational equipment is a personal computer, a fax, a scanner, a printer, and the like, and the audio / video equipment is a television (TV), a set-top box, a DVD, a VCR, an audio, a camcorder, a home game machine, and the like. The control system equipment is a coffee maker, an electric rice cooker, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a microwave oven, a camera, and the like, and the dummy equipment is a remote controller, an interphone, a sensor, a light, and the like.

Each home appliance typically forms one network, and users of the home network can share and use all home appliances. In addition, a home gateway is provided to control home appliances connected to the home network.

In order to remotely control home appliances connected to the home network as described above, the DDNS is set, and the home gateway is accessed by accessing a website prepared by each appliance manufacturer for control by each appliance as well as port mapping for control to the home gateway. The program for controlling each household appliance should be installed in the

However, such a conventional method is not only inconvenient for the user to visit a website of each manufacturer in order to control each home appliance in the home from a remote location, but also to set up a user's home gateway accordingly. Many inconveniences exist for real users.

Recently, with the development of high-speed Internet technology, Internet (IP) -based home appliances such as Internet TVs and Internet telephones are growing in homes, and home hubs are being installed in each home to provide high-speed Internet.

Therefore, there is a need for a new method for remotely controlling home appliances using a home hub provided by a network operator.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above problems of the prior art, and remotely controls a personal computer connected to a home hub to use as a home gateway, and easily access information of a customer using home hub information in a service server. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a remote control system and a method for remotely controlling home appliances by automatically determining a type of home appliances and automatically installing a necessary program.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote control system and method for enabling remote control by setting the use rights of home appliances for each family member or residents living in the house.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects and advantages of the present invention, which are not mentioned above, can be understood by the following description, and more clearly by the embodiments of the present invention. Also, it will be readily appreciated that the objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized by the means and combinations thereof indicated in the claims.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a remote control system for remotely controlling home appliances connected to a home hub, comprising: a web server for controlling the home hub and providing various additional services; A database for storing service information, log information, the home hub information, and user information; And providing a remote control service by interworking with the web server, the database, and the customer management server, and proceeds with a subscription procedure using the customer information received from the customer management server based on the home hub information. Remote control the connected home appliances, and includes an application server that provides a resource management function.

Preferably, the application server, a server interworking function for interworking with the web server, the database and the customer management server, a parsing function for the XML document, a control command transmission function for remotely controlling the home appliances, data It provides I / O functions and functions to monitor and schedule processes.

Preferably, the application server, the user management means for managing the connection status, authentication and session of the user; Service management means for managing a life cycle of unit modules operating in a service form and controlling a function for providing each service module; Log management means for managing log information; Resource management means for managing resources; And data management means for storing information in the database and for querying data from the database.

Preferably, the web server manages an additional service and an application program for controlling the home appliance, and provides a function of recommending an optimum application program according to the additional service or the type of the home appliance.

Preferably, the user information stored in the database includes first user information having all rights and second user information corresponding to the first user information and having limited usage rights.

In addition, the present invention for achieving the above object, in a method for remotely controlling home appliances connected to a home hub, (a) from the customer management server based on the information of the home hub transmitted according to the user's request to join Receiving the user information and performing authentication on the user; (b) if the authentication is successful, determining the type and manufacturer of the home appliances by receiving information of the home appliances through a home gateway connected to the home hub; (c) providing information of an optimal program for setting command and control to the home gateway according to the type and manufacturer of the home appliances; (d) authenticating the user according to a remote control request for the home appliance of the user, and providing a list of the home appliance that can be controlled according to the authority of the user; And (e) if any one of the provided list of home appliances is selected, transmitting a control command for controlling the selected home appliances to the home gateway.

Preferably, in the step (a), the control authority of the home appliance is differently set for each user living in the same home.

Preferably, the type and manufacturer of the home appliances in step (b) is determined using OUI information among MAC addresses of the home appliances received from the home gateway.

As described above, the present invention provides a service server to remotely control a personal computer connected to a home hub through a home hub to execute a home gateway function, and by easily installing a program required for home appliances connected to the home hub. The user can easily control the home appliances connected to the home network without any additional setting.

1 is a network diagram for remote control of home appliances to which the present invention is applied;
2 is a detailed block diagram of a service server according to the present invention;
3 is a view for explaining a service subscription procedure according to the present invention;
4 is a view for explaining a remote control procedure according to the present invention.

The above objects, features, and advantages will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, whereby those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may easily implement the technical idea of the present invention. In describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar components.

Figure 1 shows a network configuration for remote control of home appliances to which the present invention is applied.

A home hub 12 is provided in the home, and home appliances 11 such as a personal computer, an IP TV, a refrigerator, and a washing machine are connected to the home hub. Here, the personal computer connected to the home hub 12 may be remotely controlled and have a gateway function for controlling home appliances.

The home hub 12 is connected to the service server 13 via an IP network. The service server 13 has a control function for the home hub 12 and a remote control function for a personal computer connected to the home hub. In addition, the service server 13 performs a user authentication and subscription procedure according to a user's subscription request, and when information about home appliances is delivered through a home gateway, identifies a home appliance, and controls and control items for each home appliance. It sends a list of recommended application software and the necessary settings for running to the home gateway.

In addition, the service server 13 is connected to the network operator's customer management server 15 through the back-end network 14 of the network operator to receive user information, and acquire necessary data by interworking with a database management system (DBMS) 16. do.

The service server 13 may be connected to the remote user 17 via an IP network, authenticate the remote user's authority, and if the remote control requested by the remote user is justified, the home hub 12 may issue a control command requested by the remote user. Forward to a personal computer (home gateway) connected to the

Referring to FIG. 1, the home hub 12 has a WAN port connected to a wide area network (WAN) and a LAM port for a local area network (LAN). The home appliances 11 are connected to a LAN port.

When the user's information is input according to the initial subscription procedure, the home hub 12 transmits the user information input to the service server 13 and the information (IP address and / or MAC address) of the home hub 12.

In addition, when the home appliance is connected to the LAN port of the home hub 12, the personal computer serving as a home gateway transmits information such as an IP address and a MAC address of the home appliance to the service server 13.

The service server 13 checks the type of the home appliance by using a specific field of the MAC address of the home appliance, and checks and operates the recommended application software list on the operating system (OS) for the identified control item and control item for each home appliance. Deliver the necessary settings to your home gateway. Here, the service server 13 determines the type and manufacturer of the home appliance using OUI (Organization Unification Identifier) information of the MAC address or an option field of DHCP.

The service server 13 transmits the information according to the identified type and manufacturer of the home appliance to the home gateway, searches for a home gateway setting command for controlling the home appliance, and transmits a related command to the home gateway when setting is necessary.

In addition, the service server 13 transmits a list of recommended application software to the home gateway when the application software necessary for controlling the home appliance is not present in the home gateway. Accordingly, the user can easily install the application software in the home gateway, and can easily set a setting value for controlling the home appliance.

The remote user 17 connected to the IP network accesses the service server 13 by inputting his or her ID and password, and the service server 13 can control the home appliance according to the user's authority if the user is a legitimate user through user authentication. Provide a list of

If any home appliance from the list of home appliances provided from the remote user 17 is selected and a control function for the selected home appliance is selected, the service server 13 searches for a home gateway setting command necessary to perform the selected function, Is sent to the home gateway.

Figure 2 shows a detailed block diagram of a service server according to the present invention.

The service server according to the present invention largely comprises a web server, an application server, a database (DB) server, and a core framework.

The web server is built on an open API. In other words, all functions provided by the web server are provided in the form of an open API based on web services granted to each user authority such as customer, program developer, and operator. The Open API uses a web-based SOAP protocol to make the web server safe and easy to use anywhere, anytime, regardless of platform and development environment.

The web server includes a hub control function, an additional service provision function, a recommended app management function, and a management function.

The hub control is a basic function of a web server, providing the ability to remotely control a home hub connected to the Internet remotely. Home hub control supports consistent information inquiry and information setting screen by interworking with the control interface provided by the network management customer management server through the application server.

Value-added services provide services that can be performed by home appliances connected through a home hub in the user's home. Remote desktop connection, FTP server access, remote booting, remote file, which are currently available on a laptop or desktop computer Functions such as sharing can be provided, and the available programs for each service can be executed automatically using the ActiveX function.

The recommended app management function provides a function to manage a program that can be used when using an additional service in a web or smartphone application and to selectively execute a program from a user. An administrator or an operator may recommend an application program that works well in an additional service function, and the user may select and install a program to be used from a list of provided applications and run it when using the additional service.

The web server provides management functions such as bulletin boards, Q & A, announcements, and help.

The application server includes a service interworking function unit, a user authentication unit, a hub control unit, a short message service (SMS) provider, a statistics / monitoring unit, an XML parser, a control command transmitter, and a data input / output unit.

The service server performs most functions through interworking with other servers, and a server interworking function unit is provided to smoothly perform such interworking functions. The main interworking targets of the service server are a user authentication unit, a hub control unit, and an SMS sending function. Application servers interact with other servers through web services, FTP, and sockets.

In addition, the application server includes a control command transmitter for transmitting a control command for controlling a home appliance to a home gateway, a data input / output unit for data input / output, an XML parser for parsing an XML document, a user log management, Includes statistics / monitoring unit for home appliance usage monitoring.

The service server has a core framework, and the core framework includes a user manager, a service manager, a log manager, a plug-in manager, a resource manager, a data manager, a monitoring and scheduling unit.

The user management unit automatically manages the user's connection status, authentication, and sessions, and provides a function to facilitate service use. The service server makes it easy to interwork with the integrated authentication function of ABIOS using the user management function.

Each unit module of the service server is implemented in the form of a service, and the service management unit manages the life cycle of each module and provides a function for easily linking the function provided by each module. In addition, the service manager provides functions that facilitate temporary storage, configuration, and use of properties.

The log management unit manages all types of logs created at each execution stage of the service server. The log management unit allows users to selectively store logs in files, databases, remote locations, etc. It allows you to save logs. By default, logs are stored in units of days. You can change the log policy by modifying the log configuration file as needed.

The service server can add and delete new functions by plug-in method. Currently, the hub control function provided is implemented as a single plug-in type. When adding a new function, the function of the service server can be easily extended by creating a new plug-in separate from the existing plug-in. By providing plug-in management, the service server can be extended as a future service platform rather than a simple application server.

The resource management unit manages all types of resources such as display strings, images, and media used by the service server in a consistent manner, and provides localization to configure language packs, and provides various types of services in languages. To help.

The data management unit abstracts ADO.NET and provides basic functions to retrieve and store data from a database at high speed. By providing connection pool function by default, the data manager can process data stably when multiple users request SQL at the same time.

The service server provides a scheduler and a work queue function that support work execution, and are provided by the monitoring and scheduling unit. The monitoring and scheduling unit can manage the execution cycle according to the nature of the task when performing all tasks. The work queue function can control the integrity of the task and can manage the simultaneous processing task smoothly. In addition, the job monitoring function makes it easy to track the progress of each job.

The service server constructs a database server using MySQL, and consists of common reference information, hub and line information, service information, and various history and management information.

3 is a view for explaining a service subscription procedure according to the present invention.

When the user clicks on the service through a personal computer connected to the home hub for initial service subscription (301), the service server provides a basic service page (302).

Accordingly, the user inputs user information necessary for the basic service page (303), and the home hub transmits the user input information and identifier information (ID) of the home hub to the service server (304). The information input by the user may include an ID and password (PW), and the home hub identifier information may include a MAC address of the home hub.

The service server requests subscriber information from the customer management server based on the home hub information among the information transmitted from the home hub (305). The service server receives the subscriber information from the customer management server (306). The subscriber information may include information such as a subscriber's name, address, and phone number. In addition, the service server may receive the access terminal list information from the customer management server (307).

The service server transmits the SMS authentication number to the user's phone number when the user selects a remote connection (308), and requests input of the authentication number to the user's computer (309).

When the authentication number is input from the user computer (310), the service server checks whether the user is a legitimate user through the verification of the authentication number (311), and requests the customer management server to subscribe to the home appliance remote control additional service. The service server notifies the user service server of the additional service subscription request from the customer management server (313), and notifies the user computer of the additional service subscription status (314).

After that, the service server receives the information of the home appliance connected to the home hub through the home gateway, checks the type of the home appliance using a specific field of the home appliance's MAC address, and checks the corresponding control items and control items for each identified home appliance. It delivers a list of recommended application software on the OS and the settings required to run it through the home hub to the home gateway. Here, the service server determines the type and manufacturer of the home appliance using OUI (Organization Unification Identifier) information of the MAC address or an option field of DHCP.

The service server transmits the information according to the type and manufacturer of the identified home appliances to the home gateway, searches for a home gateway setting command for controlling the home appliance, and transmits a related command to the home gateway when setting is necessary.

In addition, the service server transmits a list of recommended application software to the home gateway when the application software necessary for controlling the home appliance does not exist in the home gateway. Then, the user selects any one of the recommended application software list and automatically executes the download. Accordingly, the user can easily install the application software in the home gateway, and can easily set a setting value for controlling the home appliance.

In the present invention, the control authority of the home appliance can be differently given to each resident in the home. For example, the father or mother may be given Administer authority, and the children may be given control authority of the home appliance differently.

To do this, family members individually access the service server and perform a subscription procedure. In the joining process, the service server identifies a user having Administer authority based on the home hub information for authentication of the subscription applicant, notifies the subscriber applicant information, and obtains the authentication.

4 is a view for explaining a procedure for remotely controlling home appliances connected to a home hub according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, when a remote user accesses a service server and selects a service menu (401), the remote user provides a service page to the remote user computer (402). When the remote user inputs an ID and password (PW) (403), the service server performs subscriber authentication based on the input information (404). At this time, if there are a plurality of residents in one home (home), and each of the residents have subscribed to the service, authentication is performed by receiving an ID and password corresponding to each of the residents.

After the service server authenticates the subscriber, the service server provides the control target home appliance information to which the subscriber has control authority (405).

When the control target home appliance is selected from the provided control target home appliance information (406), the control information corresponding to the selected home appliance is checked (507), and a response indicating whether control is possible is transmitted (508). When the power of the personal computer is turned off, the service server turns on the power by remotely controlling the personal computer through the home hub and drives the home gateway function.

Then, the service server transmits a control message for controlling the selected home appliance to the home gateway (409), receives the control result from the home gateway (410) and notifies the control result to the remote user (511).

When the control of the home appliance is completed, the service server changes the state of the home appliance and simultaneously records a control log (512).

The method of the present invention as described above may be embodied as a program and stored in a computer-readable recording medium (such as a CD-ROM, a RAM, a ROM, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magneto-optical disk). Since this process can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art will not be described in more detail.

The present invention described above is capable of various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the spirit of the present invention for those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is not limited by.

Claims (8)

A remote control system for remotely controlling home appliances connected to a home hub,
A web server for controlling the home hub and providing various additional services;
A database for storing service information, log information, the home hub information, and user information; And
Providing a remote control service in conjunction with the web server, the database and the customer management server, proceeds with the subscription process using the customer information received from the customer management server based on the home hub information, connected to the home hub Application server that provides remote resource control and resource management
Remote control system comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The application server,
A server interworking function for interworking with the web server, the database and the customer management server, a parsing function for an XML document, a control command transmission function for remotely controlling the home appliances, a data input / output function, a process monitoring and Remote control system that provides the ability to manage schedules. The method of claim 1,
The application server,
User management means for managing a user's connection status, authentication, and session;
Service management means for managing a life cycle of unit modules operating in a service form and controlling a function for providing each service module;
Log management means for managing log information;
Resource management means for managing resources; And
Data management means for storing information in the database and for querying data from the database
Remote control system comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The web server comprises:
A remote control system that manages an additional service and an application program for controlling the home appliance, and provides a function of recommending an optimum application program according to the additional service or the type of the home appliance.
The method of claim 1,
User information stored in the database,
And first user information having all rights and second user information corresponding to the first user information and having limited usage rights.
In the method for remotely controlling home appliances connected to a home hub,
(a) receiving the user information from a customer management server based on the information of the home hub transmitted according to a user's subscription request and performing authentication on the user;
(b) if the authentication is successful, determining the type and manufacturer of the home appliances by receiving information of the home appliances through a home gateway connected to the home hub;
(c) providing information of an optimal program for setting command and control to the home gateway according to the type and manufacturer of the home appliances;
(d) authenticating the user according to a remote control request for the home appliance of the user, and providing a list of the home appliance that can be controlled according to the authority of the user; And
(e) if any one of the provided list of home appliances is selected, transmitting a control command for controlling the selected home appliances to the home gateway;
Remote control method comprising a.
The method according to claim 6,
Remote control method characterized in that for setting the control authority of the home appliance for each user living in the same home in the step (a).
The method according to claim 6,
Determining the type and manufacturer of home appliances in step (b),
Remote control method comprising the OUI information of the MAC address of the home appliance received from the home gateway.

Images