TW202026576A - Refrigerator and system - Google Patents

Abstract

This refrigerator has a sensing unit for sensing that production of ice is complete, and a notification unit for notifying an external device that production of ice is complete on the basis of it having been sensed by the sensing unit that production of ice is complete. This makes it possible, even for a user who is not near the refrigerator, to ascertain that production of ice in the refrigerator is complete.

Description

Refrigerator, system

Invention field The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator and a system including the refrigerator.

Background of the invention Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigerator having an ice making function. The refrigerator of Patent Document 1 uses display or sound to notify the user that ice making is complete.

According to the refrigerator of Patent Document 1, a user near the refrigerator can grasp that ice making has ended. However, the user may not necessarily be near the refrigerator. Even if the refrigerator uses a display or a sound to notify that the ice making is over, users who are not near the refrigerator cannot know that the ice making is over. Prior art literature

Patent literature Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-263887

Summary of the invention The present disclosure provides a structure in which even a user who is not near the refrigerator can grasp that the ice making in the refrigerator has ended.

The refrigerator of the present disclosure has: a detection part, which detects that the ice making is finished; and a notification part, according to which the detection part detects that the ice making is finished, and informs the external device that the ice making is finished.

The system of the present disclosure has a refrigerator and a server. The refrigerator has: a detection part, which detects the end of ice making; and a first transmission part, based on the detection part that detects the end of ice making, and sends an ice making end event to the server indicating that the ice making has ended. The server has a second transmission unit that, when the server receives an ice-making end event from the refrigerator, transmits an ice-making end notification to the external device indicating that the ice-making has ended. When the external device receives the ice making end notification from the server, the external device displays a message indicating that the ice making has ended.

The form used to implement the invention The refrigerator in one aspect of the present disclosure has: a detection part, which detects that the ice making is finished; and a notification part, according to which the detection part detects that the ice making is finished, and informs the external device that the ice making is finished.

The notification unit may be configured to notify an external device that it is necessary to supply water to the water supply tank.

One aspect of the system of the present disclosure has a refrigerator and a server. The refrigerator has: a detection part, which detects the end of ice making; and a first transmission part, based on the detection part that detects the end of ice making, and sends an ice making end event to the server indicating that the ice making has ended. The server has a second transmission unit that, when the server receives an ice-making end event from the refrigerator, transmits an ice-making end notification to the external device indicating that the ice-making has ended. When the external device receives the ice making end notification from the server, the external device displays a message indicating that the ice making has ended.

You can also set the notification setting in the external device that indicates whether the notification of the end of ice making is required. It can also be configured that the server memorizes the setting result of the notification setting. When the setting result indicates that the notification of the end of ice making is not required, even if the server receives the end of ice making event from the refrigerator, the second transmission unit does not respond to the aforementioned external equipment. Send a notification of the end of ice making.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described using drawings. In addition, the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the patent application for the inventor, and all the combinations of the features described in the embodiments are not necessarily necessary for the solution of the invention. (Implementation form)

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating the outline of the system of the present embodiment. The system of this embodiment is composed of a refrigerator 100, a portable terminal 110, an access point 120, and a server 130. The refrigerator 100 establishes a wireless connection with the access point 120 through the connection sequence described later to communicate with the server 130 on the Internet. The access point 120 is, for example, a wireless LAN (Local Area Netwark) router. The portable terminal 110 is, for example, a smart phone or a tablet terminal. The portable terminal 110 establishes a wireless connection with the access point 120 to communicate with the server 130 on the Internet.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the refrigerator 100. The refrigerator 100 includes a plurality of storage compartments, specifically, a refrigerating compartment 201, an ice making compartment 202, an upper freezing compartment 203, a lower freezing compartment 204, and a vegetable compartment 205. In addition, a micro-freezing/low-temperature refrigeration switching chamber is provided inside the refrigerator compartment 201.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the refrigerator 100. The CPU (Central Processsing Unit) 301 is a processor that reads a control program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 302 to execute various processes for controlling the operation of the refrigerator 100. ROM302 is a non-volatile memory medium that stores various data such as control programs. RAM (Random Access Memory) 303 is a volatile memory medium used as a temporary memory area. In addition, instead of the CPU301, the ROM302, and the RAM303, a microcontroller can be replaced, and the microcontroller can control the operation of the refrigerator 100.

The operation panel 304 accepts the operation of the refrigerator 100 by the user. The operation panel 304 will be described in detail later using FIG. 5. Wireless LAN (Local Area Netwark) I/F (Interface) 305 is a wireless LAN communication that implements IEEE802.11a/b/g/n/ac and other standards. As shown in FIG. 4, the wireless LAN I/F 305 is housed in the hinge cover 401 of the door which closes the refrigerator compartment 201. The wireless LAN I/F 305 establishes a wireless connection with the access point 120 (refer to FIG. 1) to communicate with the server 130 (refer to FIG. 1) on the Internet.

The ice making unit 306 is composed of an ice maker 306A, a detection rod 306B, and a water supply tank 306C. The ice maker 306A is installed on the upper part of the ice making chamber 202 (refer to FIG. 2). The detection rod 306B detects The ice storage box of the ice making compartment 202 is full of ice, and the aforementioned water supply tank 306C is installed in the refrigerating compartment 201. Ice is produced by freezing the water supplied from the water supply tank 306C to the ice maker 306A. After the ice is made, the ice maker 306A will rotate under the control of the CPU301, and the ice will fall from the ice maker 306A to the ice storage box. Water is supplied again from the water supply tank 306C to the ice maker 306A where the ice has fallen to make ice. The production of ice is performed until the detection lever 306B detects that the ice storage box is full.

In addition, although not shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerator 100 includes a refrigeration cycle composed of a compressor, a condenser, a cooler, and the like. By the cold air generated by the cooler, the storage compartments such as the refrigerating compartment 201 are cooled to a predetermined temperature zone.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operation panel 304. The operation panel 304 is installed on the side wall of the refrigerator compartment 201 (refer to FIG. 2). The quick ice making button 501 is a button for instructing the refrigerator 100 to make ice quickly. The ice making stop button 502 is a button for instructing the refrigerator 100 to stop ice making. The refrigerating button 503 and the freezing button 504 are buttons for adjusting the temperature of the refrigerating compartment 201 and the temperature of the lower freezing compartment 204, respectively. The micro-freeze button 505 is a button used to adjust the temperature of the micro-freeze/low-temperature refrigeration switching chamber. The display unit 506 displays information such as error codes.

Next, the remote control operation button 507 will be described. In the state where the remote control operation of the refrigerator 100 is set to OFF, if the user presses the remote control operation button 507, the remote control operation setting becomes ON. When the remote control operation setting becomes ON, the setting of the refrigerator 100 can be changed by an instruction from the refrigerator application software 702 (refer to FIG. 7) described later. On the other hand, in the state where the remote control operation is set to ON, if the user presses the remote control operation button 507, the remote control operation setting becomes OFF. When the remote control operation setting becomes OFF, the setting of the refrigerator 100 cannot be changed by the instruction from the refrigerator application software 702 described later.

Also, when the remote control operation is set to ON, if the user presses the remote control operation button 507 for a predetermined period of time (for example, 3 seconds), not only the remote control setting is set to OFF, but the power supply to the wireless LAN I/F305 is also blocked. . By blocking the power supply to the wireless LAN I/F305, the power consumption of the refrigerator 100 can be reduced. When the remote control operation is set to OFF and the power supply to the wireless LAN I/F305 is blocked, if the user presses the remote control operation button 507, the remote control operation setting will become ON and the wireless LAN I/F305 Power supply.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the portable terminal 110. The CPU 601 is a processor that reads the control program stored in the flash memory 602 and executes various processes for controlling the actions of the portable terminal 110. The flash memory 602 is a non-volatile memory medium that stores various data such as control programs and application software programs installed in the portable terminal 110. RAM603 is a volatile memory medium used as a temporary memory area. The operation unit 604 is a key, and the portable terminal 110 is provided with a plurality of keys. The display portion 605 is a touch panel, which displays information such as images or animations, or receives instructions from the user through touch operations. Wireless LAN I/F606 is to implement wireless LAN communication such as IEEE802.11a/b/g/n/ac. The wireless LAN I/F 606 establishes a wireless connection with the access point 120 (refer to FIG. 1) to communicate with the server 130 (refer to FIG. 1) on the Internet. The camera 607 has a photographing function and a reading function of reading a two-dimensional barcode such as a QR code (registered trademark).

Next, using FIG. 7, the software structure of the portable terminal 110 will be explained. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of software implemented by the CPU 601 (refer to FIG. 6) reading the control programs and application programs stored in the flash memory 602.

The OS (Operating System) 701 is the basic software used to control the overall operation of the portable terminal 110, and is implemented by the CPU601 (refer to FIG. 6) reading the control program. In addition, various application software can be installed on the portable terminal 110. OS701 exchanges information with the application software, and controls the actions of the portable terminal 110 according to instructions received from the application software.

The refrigerator application software 702 is one of the application software installed in the portable terminal 110. The refrigerator application software 702 is an application software for the refrigerator provided to the user. The refrigerator application software 702 changes the settings of the refrigerator 100 from the refrigerator application software 702, or displays a notification sent by the refrigerator 100 (for example, a notification indicating the end of ice making) on the portable terminal 110. A refrigerator application program for realizing the refrigerator application software 702 is stored in the flash memory 602 (refer to FIG. 6). The refrigerator application software 702 is realized by reading the refrigerator application program by the CPU 601 (refer to FIG. 6).

Next, the hardware configuration of the server 130 will be described using FIG. 8. The CPU 801 is a processor that reads a control program stored in the ROM 802 and executes various processes for controlling the operation of the server 130 (refer to FIG. 1). ROM802 is a non-volatile memory medium for storing control programs. RAM803 is a volatile memory medium used as a temporary memory area. HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 804 is a non-volatile storage medium for storing various data. The network I/F805 communicates with external devices on the network. The communication performed by the network I/F805 can be either wired LAN communication or wireless LAN communication.

Next, the management table memorized by the server 130 (refer to FIG. 1) will be described using FIGS. 9A and 9B. The notification management table 900 of FIG. 9A is information stored in the HDD 804 (refer to FIG. 8) of the server 130. The management table 900 is for each portable terminal to manage whether there is a notification to the portable terminal for a specific event in the event occurring in the refrigerator. The field 901 stores identification information (portable terminal identification ID) for identifying the portable terminal. The MAC (Media Access Control) address of the portable terminal can be stored in the field 901. The field 902 stores the identification information (refrigerator ID) of the refrigerator corresponding to the portable terminal. In the case of the notification management table 900, the portable terminal whose portable terminal ID is "AAAA" is managed as a refrigerator whose refrigerator ID is "RF001". Columns 903, 904, and 905 are for storage of events that occur to the refrigerator, respectively, for the completion of ice making, the water supply to the water supply tank 306C, and whether the portable terminal is notified of the occurrence of an error. In the case of the notification management table 900, the portable terminal whose portable terminal ID is "AAAA" is managed to notify the completion of ice making and the water supply to the water supply tank 306C without notifying the occurrence of an error.

The refrigerator management table 910 of FIG. 9B is the information stored in the HDD 804 (refer to FIG. 8) of the server 130 (refer to FIG. 1) and manages the information about the operation of the refrigerator. The field 911 stores the identification information (refrigerator ID) of the refrigerator. The field 912 stores the current operating state of the refrigerator. In addition, the operating states of the refrigerator in this embodiment are three types: normal operation, energy saving operation, and cooling operation. The normal operation is a state where the compressor of the refrigerator rotates at the normal number of revolutions. The energy-saving operation is a state in which the compressor of the refrigerator rotates at a number of revolutions less than the number of revolutions in the normal operation. The cooling operation is a state in which the compressor of the refrigerator rotates at a number of revolutions greater than the number of revolutions in the normal operation. The state in which the refrigerator is performing energy-saving operations is the state where the refrigerator has the lowest power consumption. The field 913 stores the date and time when the refrigerator has performed an energy-saving action. The field 914 stores the reason why the energy saving action of the refrigerator is cancelled.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displayed by the portable terminal 110. In this embodiment, the user can set whether to notify the portable terminal for the end of ice making, the water supply to the water supply tank 306C, and the occurrence of an error in the event of the refrigerator. The notification setting screen 1000 is a screen displayed on the display unit 605 (refer to FIG. 6) of the portable terminal 110 (refer to FIG. 1), and is provided by the refrigerator application 702. The user of the portable terminal 110 can use the notification setting screen 1000 to set whether to notify the end of ice making, the water supply to the water supply tank 306C, and the occurrence of an error, respectively. After the user touches the setting button 1001, the portable terminal 110 transmits the setting result of the setting screen 1000 to the server 130 (refer to FIG. 1). Specifically, the refrigerator application software 702 (refer to FIG. 7) will instruct OS701 (refer to FIG. 7) to send the setting result of the setting screen 1000 to the server 130, and under the control of OS701, the wireless LAN I/F606 (Refer to FIG. 6) The setting result is sent to the server 130. The server 130 that receives the setting result performed on the setting screen 1000 will update the notification management table 900 of FIG. 9A according to the received setting result.

Next, the process of the refrigerator 100 (refer to FIG. 1) notifying the server 130 (refer to FIG. 1) of an event will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 11. The steps shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11 are implemented by the CPU301 (refer to FIG. 3) loading the control program stored in the ROM302 (refer to FIG. 3) to the RAM 303 (refer to FIG. 3) for execution.

The refrigerator 100 in operation determines in step 1101 whether an event that should be notified to the server 130 has occurred. The events that should be notified to the server 130 are the end of ice making, the water supply to the water supply tank 306C, the occurrence of an error, and the change of the operating state of the refrigerator 100. If the refrigerator 100 determines that an event that should be notified to the server 130 has occurred (Yes in step 1101), the process proceeds to step 1102. On the other hand, if the refrigerator 100 determines that an event that should be notified to the server 130 has not occurred (No in step 1101), the processing proceeds to step 1103.

The CPU 301 of the refrigerator 100 determines that "the end of ice making" has occurred in the event that the server 130 should be notified at the time when the ice maker 306A is rotated to drop the ice into the ice storage box. That is, the CPU 301 functions as a detection unit that detects the completion of ice making. In addition, the CPU 301 of the refrigerator 100 determines that "water supply to the water supply tank" has occurred in terms of an event that should be notified to the server 130 when it detects that the water supply tank 306C is cut off. In addition, the CPU 301 of the refrigerator 100 is at the point in time when any error occurs in the refrigerator 100, and determines that an "error occurred" has occurred in the event that the server 130 should be notified. In addition, the CPU 301 of the refrigerator 100 determines that the "change of the operation state of the refrigerator 100" has occurred in the event that the server 130 should be notified at the time when the operation state of the refrigerator 100 has been changed.

Next, in step 1102, the refrigerator 100 notifies the server 130 of the event that has occurred. Specifically, the wireless LAN I/F 305 of the refrigerator 100 transmits the events that have occurred in the refrigerator 100 to the server 130 through the access point 120. For example, if the event to be notified is "end of ice making", the refrigerator 100 will notify the server 130 that ice making in the refrigerator 100 has ended. That is, the wireless LAN I/F 305 functions as a notification unit (first transmission unit) that notifies an external device that ice making has been completed.

In addition, if the event to be notified is "change of the operation state of the refrigerator 100", the refrigerator 100 will notify the server 130 of the operation state before the change and the operation state after the change. At this time, the refrigerator 100 notifies the server 130 of the rotation number of the compressor, and the server 130 may specify the operating state of the refrigerator 100 according to the notified rotation number of the compressor. In addition, when the operation state of the refrigerator 100 is changed from the energy-saving operation to another operation state, the refrigerator 100 also notifies the server 130 of the reason why the energy-saving operation is cancelled.

Next, in step 1103, the refrigerator 100 determines whether to end the process. When the refrigerator 100 determines that the processing is ended by turning off the power supply (Yes in step 1103), the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 11 ends. On the other hand, when the refrigerator 100 determines not to end the processing (No in step 1103), the processing returns to step 1101.

Next, the processing performed by the server 130 (refer to FIG. 1) when a notification of an event is received from the refrigerator 100 (refer to FIG. 1) is explained using the flowchart of FIG. 12. The steps shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 are implemented by the CPU 801 (refer to FIG. 8) loading the control program stored in the ROM 802 (refer to FIG. 8) into the RAM 803 (refer to FIG. 8) for execution.

First, in step 1201, the server 130 will specify the type of event notified from the refrigerator 100. If the event notified from the refrigerator 100 is any of the end of ice making, the water supply to the water supply tank 306C, and the occurrence of an error, the process proceeds to step 1202. On the other hand, if the event notified from the refrigerator 100 is a change in the operating state of the refrigerator 100, the process proceeds to step 1204.

Next, step 1202 will be described. In step 1202, the server 130 determines whether there is a portable terminal that should notify the refrigerator 100 of the event that has occurred. If it is determined that there is a portable terminal that should notify the event that has occurred in the refrigerator 100 (Yes in step 1202), the process proceeds to step 1203. On the other hand, if it is determined that the mobile terminal that should notify the event that has occurred in the refrigerator 100 does not exist (No in step 1202), the mobile terminal will not be notified of the event, and the process of the flowchart of FIG. 12 ends.

The determination of step 1202 is based on the identification information of the refrigerator in which the event has occurred, the type of event that has occurred in the refrigerator 100, and the information managed by the notification management table 900 of FIG. 9A. For example, suppose that "ice making ends" has occurred in a refrigerator whose identification information is "RF001". In this case, as a portable terminal that should notify the event that has occurred in the refrigerator 100, a portable terminal with a portable terminal ID of "AAAA" will be identified, and it is determined that the portable terminal that should notify the event that has occurred in the refrigerator 100 is exist. On the other hand, suppose that "water supply to the water supply tank" has occurred in the refrigerator whose identification information is "RF003". In this case, the portable terminal that should notify the event that has occurred in the refrigerator 100 is not specified, and it is determined that the portable terminal that should notify the event that has occurred in the refrigerator 100 does not exist.

Next, in step 1203, the server 130 notifies the portable terminal specified as the notification target in the processing of step 1202 of the event that has occurred in the refrigerator 100. For example, in the process of step 1202, the mobile terminal identified as the notification target is the mobile terminal 110. Furthermore, if the "ice making end" has occurred in the refrigerator 100, the server 130 will notify the mobile terminal 110 of "making The ice is over." The notification of the event of the mobile terminal 110 from the server 130 is performed through the network I/F (second transmission unit) 805 of the server 130.

Next, step 1204 will be described. In step 1204, the server 130 updates the field 912 of the refrigerator management table 910 in FIG. 9B according to the received event. In addition, when the received event indicates that the operation state of the refrigerator 100 has changed from an energy-saving operation to another operation state, the server 130 will also update the fields 913 and 914.

Next, when the portable terminal 110 (refer to FIG. 1) receives a notification of an event occurring in the refrigerator 100 (refer to FIG. 1) from the server 130 (refer to FIG. 1), the processing performed by the portable terminal 110 will be described. 13A, 13B, and 13C are diagrams showing screens displayed by the portable terminal 110.

The portable terminal 110 that has received the notification of the event displays a message corresponding to the notified event. The TOP screen 1300 in FIG. 13A shows that when the refrigerator application 702 (see FIG. 7) in the portable terminal 110 is operating in the foreground, the display unit 605 of the portable terminal 110 receives the "ice making The screen displayed at the time of the notification of "End". The TOP screen 1300 is a screen provided by the refrigerator application software 702. In the message 1301 on the TOP screen 1300, the user of the portable terminal 110 can grasp that the ice making in the refrigerator 100 has ended.

In addition, the TOP screen 1310 in FIG. 13B is when the refrigerator application 702 in the portable terminal 110 is operating in the foreground, and the display unit 605 of the portable terminal 110 is displayed at the time when the portable terminal 110 receives the notification of "water supply to the water supply tank" The picture. The TOP screen 1310 is a screen provided by the refrigerator application software 702. In the message 1311 on the TOP screen 1310, the user of the portable terminal 110 can grasp that the water supply tank 306C of the refrigerator 100 needs to be supplied with water. In addition, when the user touches the button ("the maintenance method of the water supply tank") 1312 on the TOP screen 1310, the refrigerator application software 702 will display an explanation screen for the user indicating the cleaning method of the water supply tank 306C or the ice maker 306A.

At the point in time when the portable terminal 110 receives the notification of an event occurring in the refrigerator 100, there may be cases in which the refrigerator application software 702 in the portable terminal 110 is not operating or the refrigerator application software 702 is operating in the background. In this case, the refrigerator 100 will display the notification 1321 of the standby screen 1320 in FIG. 13C. When the refrigerator application software 702 in the portable terminal 110 is not in operation, the user touches the notification 1321, and the refrigerator application software 702 starts to operate. Then, the display unit 605 (refer to FIG. 6) of the portable terminal 110 displays the TOP screen 1300 (refer to FIG. 13A) containing the message 1301. Moreover, when the refrigerator application 702 in the portable terminal 110 is operating in the background, by the user touching the notification 1321, the refrigerator application 702 will operate in the foreground. Then, the display unit 605 of the portable terminal 110 will display the TOP screen 1300 containing the message 1301.

As described above, the refrigerator 100 notifies the portable terminal 110 of the completion of ice making in the refrigerator 100 through the server 130. In addition, even if the user of the portable terminal 110 is not near the refrigerator 100, he can know that the ice making in the refrigerator 100 is completed through the message 1301 of FIG. 13A or the notification 1321 of FIG. 13C. In addition, the refrigerator 100 notifies the portable terminal 110 through the server 130 that the refrigerator 100 needs to supply water to the water supply tank 306C and that an error has occurred in the refrigerator 100. In addition, even if the user of the portable terminal 110 is not in the vicinity of the refrigerator 100, he can understand that the refrigerator 100 needs to supply water to the water supply tank 306C and that an error has occurred in the refrigerator 100.

Next, the functions of the refrigerator application software 702 will be described using FIGS. 14A to 14D. The refrigerator application software 702 is displayed on the TOP screen initially displayed when the refrigerator application software 702 is started, and is displayed for the user to recognize the operating state of the refrigerator 100. When the refrigerator application 702 displays the TOP screen, the refrigerator application 702 obtains the information of the refrigerator (refrigerator 100 in this embodiment) corresponding to the portable terminal 110 on which the refrigerator application 702 is installed from the server 130.

The TOP screen 1400 in FIG. 14A is the TOP screen displayed by the refrigerator application software 702 when the current operating state of the refrigerator 100 is normal operation. The area 1401 indicates that the current operating state of the refrigerator 100 is normal. In addition, the TOP screen 1410 in FIG. 14B is the TOP screen displayed by the refrigerator application software 702 when the current operating state of the refrigerator 100 is an energy-saving operation. The area 1411 indicates that the current operating state of the refrigerator 100 is an energy-saving operation. Furthermore, the TOP screen 1420 in FIG. 14C is the TOP screen displayed by the refrigerator application software 702 when the current operating state of the refrigerator 100 is the cooling operation. The area 1421 indicates that the current operating state of the refrigerator 100 is the cooling operation. In addition, by displaying the area 1401, the area 1411, and the area 1421 using colors or animations corresponding to the respective operation states, it becomes easy for the user to intuitively understand the current operation state of the refrigerator 100.

When the user touches the button ("change notification setting") 1402 on the TOP screen 1400 of FIG. 14A, the refrigerator application software 702 will display the notification setting screen 1000 of FIG. In addition, when the user touches the button ("change refrigerator setting") 1403 on the TOP screen 1400, the refrigerator application software 702 will display the refrigerator setting screen 1600 of FIG. 16A described later.

When the user touches the button ("Achievement of Energy-saving Action") 1404 in the TOP screen 1400, the refrigerator application 702 will display the energy-saving performance screen 1430 of FIG. 14D. The energy-saving performance screen 1430 is based on the information of the refrigerator 100 obtained from the server 130 to prompt the user of the actual performance of the refrigerator 100 having performed energy-saving actions. The circumference of the area 1431 is divided into 24 minutes and displayed as the time for the user to recognize that the refrigerator 100 has performed the energy-saving action. In the case of the energy-saving performance screen 1430, it can be seen that the refrigerator 100 performed the energy-saving operation during the period from 0 o'clock to 6 o'clock, 11 o'clock to 17:00, and 21 o'clock to 22:00. Also, in the center of the area 1431, the ratio of the time during which the refrigerator 100 has performed the energy-saving operation in 24 hours is displayed.

In the area 1432 of the energy-saving performance screen 1430, the reason why the energy-saving operation was canceled and the time when it was canceled are displayed. By confirming the reason why the energy-saving action is cancelled, the user can review the usage method of the refrigerator 100 to increase the time for the refrigerator 100 to perform the energy-saving action. In addition, when the user touches the icon 1433 or the icon 1434 of the energy-saving performance screen 1430, the actual performance of the energy-saving action displayed on the energy-saving performance screen 1430 is changed to the actual performance of the day before and after each.

Next, the process executed by the refrigerator application 702 when the refrigerator application 702 (refer to FIG. 7) is used to change the setting of the refrigerator 100 using the flowchart of FIG. 15 will be described. The steps shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15 are executed by loading the control program and refrigerator application stored in the flash memory 602 (refer to FIG. 6) into the RAM 603 (refer to FIG. 6) by the CPU601 (refer to FIG. 6) achieve. In addition, the screen displayed on the display unit 605 (refer to FIG. 6) of the portable terminal 110 (refer to FIG. 1) will be described using FIGS. 16A to 16D.

The refrigerator setting screen 1600 of FIG. 16A is a screen for the user to change the setting of the refrigerator 100, and is provided by the refrigerator application software 702. When the refrigerator setting screen 1600 is displayed, the refrigerator application software 702 obtains the latest setting information from the refrigerator 100, and displays the refrigerator setting screen 1600 after reflecting the obtained setting information. The user selects the desired setting in the refrigerator setting screen 1600 and touches the setting button 1601.

After the user touches the setting button 1601, in step 1501 of FIG. 15, the refrigerator application software 702 will transmit the setting change instruction corresponding to the setting result of the refrigerator setting screen 1600 to the refrigerator 100. The instruction for setting change is transmitted from the portable terminal 110 to the refrigerator 100 via the server 130 (refer to FIG. 1).

Next, in step 1502, the refrigerator application software 702 determines whether a response from the refrigerator 100 to the setting change instruction is received. If the refrigerator application 702 receives a response from the refrigerator 100 to the setting change instruction (Yes in step 1502), the process proceeds to step 1503. On the other hand, when there is still no response from the refrigerator 100 for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) after transmitting the instruction of setting change (No in step 1502), the processing proceeds to step 1506.

Next, in step 1503, the refrigerator application software 702 determines whether the change of the setting of the refrigerator 100 has been successful according to the response received from the refrigerator 100. If the change of the setting of the refrigerator 100 is successful (Yes in step 1503), the process proceeds to step 1504. On the other hand, if the change of the setting of the refrigerator 100 fails (No in step 1503), the process proceeds to step 1505.

Next, in step 1504, the refrigerator application software 702 notifies the user that the setting is complete. As shown in the refrigerator setting screen 1610 of FIG. 16B, the refrigerator application software 702 displays a message 1611 to notify the user that the change of the setting of the refrigerator 100 has ended.

Next, step 1505 will be described. In step 1505, the refrigerator application software 702 notifies the user of the first error information. The response from the refrigerator 100 indicates that the change of the setting of the refrigerator 100 has failed, which means that the remote control operation setting in the refrigerator 100 is set to OFF. Therefore, in the refrigerator setting screen 1620 of FIG. 16C, the refrigerator application 702 displays a message 1621 as the first error message. With the message 1621, the user can grasp that the remote control operation setting in the refrigerator 100 is set to OFF.

Next, step 1506 will be described. In step 1506, the refrigerator application software 702 notifies the user of the second error information. The fact that there is no response from the refrigerator 100 to the instruction to change the setting can be thought of as a problem on the Internet (for example, the refrigerator 100 is not connected to the access point 120). Therefore, in the refrigerator setting screen 1630 of FIG. 16D, the refrigerator application 702 displays a message 1631 as the second error message. With the message 1631, the user can review the network connection.

Next, using the flowchart of FIG. 17, the process executed by the refrigerator 100 when the instruction to change the setting transmitted in step 1501 of FIG. 15 is received will be described. The steps shown in the flowchart of FIG. 17 are implemented by the CPU301 (refer to FIG. 3) loading the control program stored in the ROM302 (refer to FIG. 3) into the RAM 303 (refer to FIG. 3) for execution.

The refrigerator 100 that has received the instruction to change the setting transmitted from the portable terminal 110 confirms the setting value of the remote control operation setting in step 1701. If the setting value of the remote control operation setting is ON, the process proceeds to step 1702. On the other hand, if the setting value of the remote control operation setting is OFF, the process proceeds to step 1704.

Next, in step 1702, the refrigerator 100 changes the setting of the refrigerator 100 in accordance with the received setting change instruction. Then, in step 1703, the refrigerator 100 notifies the portable terminal 110 that the setting change has been successful. In addition, the setting of "Quick ice making" and the setting of "Stop ice making" are the opposite settings. Therefore, when the received instruction to change the setting specifies both "quick ice making" and "stop ice making", the refrigerator 100 ignores these two items and changes the settings of the refrigerator 100 according to the remaining instructions.

Next, step 1704 will be described. In step 1704, the refrigerator 100 notifies the portable terminal 110 that the setting change has failed. At this time, since the setting value of the remote control operation setting of the refrigerator 100 is OFF, the change of the setting of the refrigerator 100 based on the received setting change instruction is not performed. In addition, the notifications of step 1702 and step 1704 are sent from the refrigerator 100 to the portable terminal 110 via the server 130.

The refrigerator 100 of the present embodiment is provided with a detection unit that detects that the ice making is over; and a notification unit that, based on the detection unit that detects that the ice making is over, informs the external device that the ice making is over.

In addition, the system of this embodiment includes a refrigerator 100 and a portable terminal 110. The refrigerator 100 has a detection unit that detects that the ice making in the refrigerator 100 has ended; and a notification unit that, based on the detection unit detecting that the ice making has ended, informs the portable terminal 110 that the ice making is over. The portable terminal 110 has a display unit that displays information indicating that the ice making has been completed in response to receiving a notification indicating that the ice making has been completed.

According to this embodiment, even a user who is not near the refrigerator 100 can grasp that the ice making in the refrigerator 100 has ended. (Modification 1)

If the refrigerator application software 702, that is, the portable terminal 110, can be used to change the settings of the refrigerator 100 as in the above-mentioned embodiment, there will be almost no changes to the settings made by the operation panel 304 and those made by the portable terminal 110. At the same time. In this case, the change of the setting made by the operation panel 304 can be prioritized over the change of the setting made by the portable terminal 110. For example, the refrigerator 100 may reject the change of the setting of the refrigerator 100 performed by the portable terminal 110 until a predetermined time (for example, 2 seconds) has passed after the change of the setting performed by the operation panel 304 is performed. (Modification 2)

In the above-mentioned embodiment, although the server 130 is described as a single device, it may be a system in which a plurality of servers cooperate to realize the role of the server 130. For example, the following server constitutes a system, and the function of the server 130 can be realized by the system. The aforementioned server is a server that communicates with the refrigerator 100 or an external device such as the portable terminal 110, and manages notifications. The server that manages the table 900, the server that manages the refrigerator management table 910, and the server that integrates the entire system.

100: refrigerator 110: portable terminal (external equipment) 120: Access point 130: server 201: cold room 202: Ice Room 203: Upper freezer 204: Lower freezer 205: Vegetable Room 301, 601, 801: CPU 302, 802: ROM 303, 603, 803: RAM 304: Operation panel 305, 606: Wireless LAN I/F 306: ice making unit 306A: Ice maker 306B: Detection lever 306C: Water supply tank 401: hinge cover 501: Quick ice making button 502: Ice making stop button 503: cold storage button 504: Freeze button 505: Micro freeze button 506: Display 507: Remote control button 602: flash memory 604: Operation Department 605: Display 607: Camera 701: OS 702: refrigerator application software 804: HDD 805: Network I/F 900: Notification Management Form 901~905, 911~914: field 910: Refrigerator Management Form 1000: Notification setting screen 1001, 1601: Setting button 1101~1103, 1201~1204, 1501~1506, 1701~1704: steps 1300, 1310, 1400, 1410, 1420: TOP screen 1301, 1311, 1611, 1621, 1631: Message 1312, 1402~1404: button 1320: Standby screen 1321: notification 1401, 1411, 1421, 1431, 1432: area 1430: Energy-saving performance screen 1433, 1434: icon 1600, 1610, 1620, 1630: refrigerator setting screen

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the outline of the system.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the refrigerator 100.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the refrigerator 100.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the hinge cover 401 of the refrigerator 100.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operation panel 304.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the software configuration of the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 130.

FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a table managed by the server 130.

FIG. 9B is a diagram showing another table managed by the server 130.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a screen displayed by the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the refrigerator 100.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the server 130.

FIG. 13A is a diagram showing a screen displayed on the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 13B is a diagram showing another screen displayed on the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 13C is a diagram showing yet another screen displayed on the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 14A is a diagram showing a screen displayed by the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 14B is a diagram showing another screen displayed on the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 14C is a diagram showing yet another screen displayed on the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 14D is a diagram showing yet another screen displayed on the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 16A is a diagram showing a screen displayed on the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 16B is a diagram showing another screen displayed on the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 16C is a diagram showing yet another screen displayed on the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 16D is a diagram showing yet another screen displayed on the portable terminal 110.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the refrigerator 100.

1300: TOP screen

1301: Message

Claims (4)

A refrigerator with: The detection department detects that ice making has ended; and The notification unit, based on the detection unit detecting that the ice making has ended, informs the external device that the ice making has ended. For example, in the refrigerator of claim 1, in addition to the completion of ice making, the notification unit also notifies the external device that water needs to be supplied to the water supply tank. A system is a system with a refrigerator and a server, and the aforementioned refrigerator has: The detection department detects that ice making has ended; and The first transmission unit, based on the detection unit detecting that the ice making has ended, transmits to the server an ice making end event indicating that ice making has ended, The aforementioned server has: The second transmission unit, when the server receives the ice making end event from the refrigerator, transmits an ice making end notification to the external device indicating that ice making has ended, Furthermore, when the external device receives the ice making end notification from the server, the external device displays information indicating that ice making has ended. For example, in the system of claim 3, in the aforementioned external device, a notification setting indicating whether a notification of the end of ice making is required is set, The aforementioned server memorizes the results of the aforementioned notification settings, When the result of the aforementioned setting indicates that the ice making end notification is not required, even if the server receives the ice making end event from the refrigerator, the second transmission unit does not transmit the ice making end notification to the external device.

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