WO2015193978A1

WO2015193978A1 - System, method, and program

Info

Publication number: WO2015193978A1
Application number: PCT/JP2014/066073
Authority: WO
Inventors: 直紀江坂
Original assignee: 株式会社東芝
Priority date: 2014-06-17
Filing date: 2014-06-17
Publication date: 2015-12-23

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided with a reception unit, detection unit, processing unit, and transmission unit. The reception unit receives a command for changing the state of a first apparatus. The detection unit detects a change of the state of the first apparatus. The processing unit acquires state information on the state of the first apparatus when the change of the state of the first apparatus is detected. The transmission unit transmits the state information thus acquired to a second apparatus that is different from the first apparatus.

Description

System, method, and program

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a system, a method, and a program.

As a device such as a television receiver (hereinafter referred to as a television), for example, a device that communicates with another device such as a smartphone by the Internet or wireless communication is known. As an example, a television that is operated via the Internet or wireless communication by an application installed in a smartphone is known.

JP 2013-167984 A

For example, when a user is watching a television at home, another user may operate the television from a smartphone from outside the home. If a user outside the home unexpectedly operates the television without recognizing the state in the home, the user inside the home who watches the television may be surprised.

A system according to one embodiment includes a reception unit, a detection unit, a processing unit, and a transmission unit. The receiving unit receives a command for changing the state of the first device. The detection unit detects a change in the state of the first device. When the change of the state of the first device is detected, the processing unit acquires state information about the state of the first device. The transmission unit transmits the acquired state information to a second device different from the first device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a control system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the television according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the control unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data structure example of operation information transmitted from the mobile terminal to the television according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state DB table structure according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a type DB table structure example according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a data structure example of notification information generated by the message generation unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a part of the procedure of the television state notification process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another part of the procedure of the television state notification process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a control system according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. Note that a plurality of expressions may be written together for the constituent elements according to the embodiment and the description of the elements. It is not precluded that other expressions not described in the component and description are made. Furthermore, it is not prevented that other expressions are given for the components and descriptions in which a plurality of expressions are not described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a control system 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the control system 10 has a configuration in which, for example, a television receiver (television) 11 and a portable terminal 12 are connected. The television 11 and the portable terminal 12 are connected to each other via a wireless network such as a wireless LAN directly or via a router, or are connected to each other via a public network 15 such as the Internet.

The television 11 and the mobile terminal 12 are connected to a service provider on the Internet or a server 17 of a broadcasting station via a public network 15. Further, the television 11 receives a broadcast wave from the broadcast station 18.

The television 11 is an example of a first device, and may be referred to as an electronic device, for example. The television 11 of the present embodiment has a digital broadcast reception and display function and a broadcast program recording / playback function. In addition, the television 11 according to the present embodiment has a Web browser function that can search and display various sites on the Internet.

Furthermore, the television 11 of this embodiment corresponds to Hybridcast (registered trademark). The television 11 can receive the broadcast wave received from the broadcast station 18 and the content and application related to the broadcast program from the server 17, start the application, etc., and display the content linked to the broadcast program on the broadcast program. .

Note that the first device is not limited to the television 11. The first device may be another device such as a personal computer, a game machine, a hard disk recorder, and a set top box.

The portable terminal 12 is an example of a second device, and may be referred to as an electronic device and an external device, for example. The mobile terminal 12 is an electronic device that can communicate with the TV 11 and can function as a remote controller that performs operations on the TV 11. For example, the mobile terminal 12 is a mobile phone such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, and various devices such as a slate terminal. Realized.

The portable terminal 12 can operate the television 11 by executing a predetermined application program. For example, the mobile terminal 12 can change the channel of the television 11, change the volume of the television 11, or make a recording reservation for the television 11.

The mobile terminal 12 operates the television 11 by transmitting operation information (command) to the television 11 connected via the wireless network or the public network 15. For this reason, the mobile terminal 12 can operate the television 11 from a location far away from the television 11.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the television 11 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the television 11 includes an antenna 21, an input terminal 22, a tuner 23, and a demodulator 24. The antenna 21 captures a broadcast wave from the broadcast station 18 of FIG. 1 and supplies a broadcast signal of the broadcast wave to the tuner 23 via the input terminal 22.

The tuner 23 selects a broadcast signal of a desired channel from the input digital broadcast broadcast signal. The broadcast signal output from the tuner 23 is supplied to the demodulator 24. The demodulator 24 demodulates the broadcast signal, demodulates the digital video signal and the audio signal, and supplies the demodulated signal to the selector 27 described later.

The television 11 further includes

input terminals

31 and 32, an A / D converter 33, a signal processor 34, a speaker 35, and a video display panel (hereinafter referred to as a panel) 36. The input terminal 31 receives an analog video signal and an audio signal from the outside, and the input terminal 32 receives a digital video signal and an audio signal from the outside. The A / D converter 33 converts the analog video signal and audio signal supplied from the input terminal 31 into a digital signal and supplies the digital signal to the selector 27.

The selector 27 selects one signal from digital video signals and audio signals supplied from the demodulator 24, the A / D converter 33, and the input terminal 32. The selector 27 supplies the selected signal to the signal processing unit 34.

The signal processing unit 34 includes an acoustic processing unit 34a and a video processing unit 34b. The sound processing unit 34 a performs predetermined signal processing on the digital sound signal input from the selector 27, converts the digital sound signal into an analog sound signal, and outputs the analog sound signal to the speaker 35. The speaker 35 receives the acoustic signal supplied from the signal processing unit 34 and outputs sound using the acoustic signal.

The video processing unit 34 b performs predetermined signal processing, scaling processing, and the like on the input video signal, and supplies the processed video signal to the panel 36. Furthermore, the video processing unit 34b also generates an OSD (On Screen display) signal to be displayed on the panel 36. Furthermore, the television 11 has at least a TS demultiplexer and an MPEG decoder. The signal decoded by the MPEG decoder is input to the signal processing unit 34.

The panel 36 is, for example, a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display or a plasma display. The panel 36 displays an image using the image signal supplied from the signal processing unit 34.

The television 11 further includes a control unit 41, an operation unit 42, a light receiving unit 43, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 44, a memory 45, and a communication interface (hereinafter referred to as a communication I / F) 46. .

The control unit 41 comprehensively controls various operations in the television 11. The control unit 41 is a microprocessor incorporating a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like. The control unit 41 inputs operation information from the operation unit 42 and inputs operation information transmitted from a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) 49 via the light receiving unit 43. The control unit 41 controls each unit according to the input operation information.

The light receiving unit 43 of the present embodiment receives infrared rays output from the remote controller 49. Note that the remote controller 49 may transmit the operation information by wireless communication. In this case, for example, the communication I / F 46 receives the operation information and inputs it to the control unit 41.

The control unit 41 uses the memory 45. The memory 45 mainly includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) storing a control program executed by the CPU built in the control unit 41, a RAM (Random Access Memory) for providing a work area to the CPU, and various types. A non-volatile memory in which setting information, control information, and the like are stored.

The HDD 44 records the digital video signal, audio signal, and various information selected by the selector 27. Note that the television 11 may have another recording device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) instead of the HDD 44.

The television 11 can record the digital video signal and audio signal selected by the selector 27 by the HDD 44 as recorded data. Further, the television 11 can reproduce video and audio using digital video signals and audio signals recorded in the HDD 44.

The communication I / F 46 is connected to various communication devices such as the mobile terminal 12 and the server 17 via the public network 15 and the wireless network. The communication I / F 46 can receive, for example, operation information and transmit various information to and from the mobile terminal 12. Further, the communication I / F 46 can receive programs and services available on the television 11 via the public network 15 and can transmit various information.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the control unit 41 according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the control unit 41 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 41 of the present embodiment includes a connection management unit 61, a plurality of functional units 62, a user activity detection unit 63, and a status notification interface (hereinafter referred to as status notification I / F). 64 and a state providing interface (hereinafter referred to as a state providing I / F) 65.

The connection management unit 61 manages information input and output by the communication I / F 46 of FIG. For example, the connection management unit 61 provides information input to the communication I / F 46 from an external communication device such as the mobile terminal 12 or the server 17 to the appropriate function unit 62 and the user activity detection unit 63. The function unit 62 will be described later.

Furthermore, the connection management unit 61 manages communication between the television 11 and an external communication device. For example, the connection management unit 61 establishes communication between the mobile terminal 12 and the television 11 or cancels establishment of communication.

The television 11 can establish communication with a plurality of portable terminals 12 at the same time. As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the television 11 is connected to two portable terminals 12 (12A, 12B). Note that the television 11 may be connected to three or more portable terminals 12.

Hereinafter, the two mobile terminals 12 connected to the television 11 are individually referred to as

mobile terminals

12A and 12B. Note that the description common to the two

mobile terminals

12A and 12B will be described as the description of the mobile terminal 12.

The

mobile terminals

12A and 12B have a uniquely assigned ID for identifying each. For example, the mobile terminal 12A has an ID “ID1”, and the mobile terminal 12B has an ID “ID2”. The connection management unit 61 manages communication between the television 11 and the mobile terminal 12 using such an ID. Similarly, the television 11 has an ID of “ID100”.

The plurality of functional units 62 realize various functions of the television 11 to which the functional unit 62 corresponds. For example, one function unit 62 sets a channel of the television 11, and the other function unit 62 executes recording reservation of the television 11. The connection management unit 61 provides a corresponding function unit 62 with a command (operation information) for changing the state of the television 11 input from an external communication device, so that the function unit 62 has a corresponding function. Realize.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data structure example of operation information transmitted from the mobile terminal 12A to the television 11 according to the first embodiment. The operation information is an example of a command for changing the state of the first device. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the operation information transmitted from the mobile terminal 12 </ b> A to the television 11 includes, for example, information about a destination ID, a transmission source ID, a message type, and a message.

“Destination ID” indicates the ID of the communication device that is the transmission destination of the information. “Destination ID” in the example of FIG. 4 is “ID100” indicating the television 11. “Sender ID” indicates the ID of the communication device that has transmitted the information. The “source ID” in the example of FIG. 4 is “ID1” indicating the mobile terminal 12A.

“Message type” indicates the type of information. The “message type” in the example of FIG. 4 is a “channel” indicating that the operation information is a channel change command. Other examples of “message type” include “volume” indicating a volume change command and “image quality mode” indicating an image quality mode change command.

For example, the specific content of the information is shown as “message”. The “message” in the example of FIG. 4 includes “channel = 1” indicating a command for changing the channel to “No. 1”. The “message” includes other information as necessary.

The connection management unit 61 provides the operation information of FIG. 4 input to the communication I / F 46 to the function unit 62 that realizes the channel change function of the television 11. The function unit 62 changes the channel of the television 11 to “No. 1” in accordance with the input operation information of FIG.

The connection management unit 61 provides the input operation information to the function unit 62 corresponding to the “message type” of the operation information. Further, the connection management unit 61 provides the input operation information to the user activity detection unit 63.

Returning to FIG. 3, the user activity detection unit 63 monitors the state of the television 11. Furthermore, the user activity detection unit 63 performs state notification processing for transmitting information (state information) about the state of the television 11 to the mobile terminal 12. The user activity detection unit 63 will be described later.

The status information of the television 11 includes, for example, the on / off state of the panel 36, the channel, volume, brightness, contrast, brightness, and color temperature of the television 11, the operation status of the tuner 23, the reproduction of the recorded broadcast program, and the like. Various information such as the contents operation status of the program and the operation status of recording reservation of the broadcast program. The state information is not limited to this.

The state notification I / F 64 notifies the user activity detection unit 63 of the occurrence of an event when the state of the television 11 is changed (event). In other words, the state notification I / F 64 detects a change in the state of the television 11. In FIG. 3, the status notification I / F 64 is connected to the function unit 62 by a dashed arrow, which indicates that the event is mainly generated by the function unit 62. The event may be generated by a function other than the function unit 62.

The state providing I / F 65 acquires information on the state of the part from various parts such as the connection management part 61 and the function part 62 based on a command from the user activity detection part 63. The state providing I / F 65 provides the acquired information on the state of each part to the user activity detecting unit 63 as the state information of the television 11.

Hereinafter, the user activity detection unit 63 will be described in detail. When the state of the television 11 is changed, the user activity detection unit 63 acquires the state information of the television 11 and transmits the state information to the

mobile terminals

12A and 12B connected to the television 11. That is, the user activity detection unit 63 notifies the

mobile terminals

12A and 12B of the change in the state of the television 11 and the changed state of the television 11.

Furthermore, the user activity detection unit 63 determines the transmission source of the operation information that caused the change in the state of the television 11. If it is possible to determine the transmission source, the user activity detection unit 63 transmits information about the transmission source together with the state information of the television 11. That is, the user activity detection unit 63 notifies the

mobile terminals

12A and 12B of the communication device whose state of the television 11 has been changed.

The user activity detection unit 63 includes a communication message confirmation unit 71, an internal notification reception unit 72, a state acquisition unit 73, a notification determination unit 74, a message generation unit 75, and a state database (hereinafter referred to as state DB) 81. And a type database (hereinafter referred to as type DB) 82. The state acquisition unit 73 is an example of a processing unit.

The communication message confirmation unit 71 acquires the operation information input from the connection confirmation unit 61 to the user activity detection unit 63. That is, the communication message confirmation unit 71 is an example of a reception unit. The communication message confirmation unit 71 holds operation information and the time when the operation information is acquired in association with each other.

The internal notification receiving unit 72 receives a notification of event occurrence from the status notification I / F 64. In other words, the internal notification receiving unit 72 detects a change in the state of the television 11 by the state notification I / F 64. That is, the internal notification receiving unit 72 is an example of a detection unit.

When the notification of the occurrence of the event is received, the internal notification receiving unit 72 provides information about the content of the event and the time when the event is detected to the notification determining unit 74, and the television 11 related to the event. Request acquisition of status information. For example, when an event that the channel of the television 11 is changed occurs, the internal notification receiving unit 72 notifies the notification determining unit 74 of the change of the channel of the television 11 and the time when the event is detected. Request acquisition of channel status information.

The notification determination unit 74 that has received the request for acquisition of the state information causes the state acquisition unit 73 to acquire the state information of the television 11 related to the event that has occurred. The state acquisition unit 73 acquires state information of the television 11 through the state providing I / F 65. For example, the state acquisition unit 73 acquires information on the state of the channel of the television 11 that “the channel is number 1”. The state acquisition unit 73 provides the acquired state information of the television 11 to the notification determination unit 74.

The notification determination unit 74 updates the state DB 81 using the state information of the television 11 acquired by the state acquisition unit 73. The state DB 81 stores state information of the television 11. The notification determination unit 74 updates the state information of the television 11 stored in the state DB 81 corresponding to the acquired state information of the television 11.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a table structure of the state DB 81 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the state DB 81 includes, for example, a communication device that establishes communication with the television 11, the panel 36 being turned on or off, the channel of the television 11, volume, brightness, contrast, brightness, Various information such as the color temperature, the operation status of the tuner 23, the content operation status such as reproduction of the recorded broadcast program, and the recording reservation operation status of the broadcast program are stored. The notification determination unit 74 updates the state information of the television 11 stored in the state DB 81 based on the latest state information of the television 11 acquired by the state acquisition unit 73. For example, the state of “Channel” stored in the state DB 81 is updated to “No. 1”.

3, the notification determination unit 74 acquires the operation information held by the communication message confirmation unit 71 and the time when the operation information is received from the communication message confirmation unit 71. The notification determination unit 74 compares the operation information and the reception time thereof with the changed state of the television 11 related to the event and the time when the event is detected. When the operation information and its reception time correspond to the changed state of the television 11 related to the event and the time when the event is detected, the notification determination unit 74 changes the state of the television 11 depending on the transmission source of the operation information. It is determined that (event) has occurred.

The notification determination unit 74 uses the type DB 82 to compare the operation information with the changed state of the television 11 related to the event. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a table structure example of the type DB 82 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the type DB 82 stores “message type” and “changed state” of at least one television 11 in association with each other.

For example, it is stored in the type DB 82 that the “channel” of the television 11 is changed by the operation information whose “message type” is “channel”. Furthermore, it is stored in the type DB 82 that “brightness”, “contrast”, “brightness”, and “color temperature” of the television 11 are changed by operation information whose “message type” is “image quality mode”. .

3, the notification determination unit 74 provides the message generation unit 75 with the state information of the television 11 and information about the transmission source of the operation information that caused the change of the state of the television 11. Note that the notification determination unit 74 provides only the state information of the television 11 to the message generation unit 75 when the transmission source of the operation information that caused the change in the state of the television 11 cannot be determined.

The message generator 75 generates notification information for notifying the mobile terminal 12 of the status information of the television 11. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a data structure example of the notification information generated by the message generation unit 75 according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the notification information includes, for example, information about a destination ID, a transmission source ID, a message type, and a message.

“Destination ID” in the example of FIG. 7 is “ID1, ID2” indicating the

mobile terminals

12A and 12B connected to the television 11, respectively. The “transmission source ID” is “ID100” indicating the television 11.

“Message type” in the example of FIG. 7 is “status notification” indicating notification information for notifying the status information of the television 11. “Message” is status information of the television 11. The content of “message” in the example of FIG. 7 will be described later.

The user activity detection unit 63 transmits notification information including the state information of the television 11 to the

mobile terminals

12A and 12B that have established communication with the television 11. That is, the user activity detection unit 63 is an example of a transmission unit.

Next, the state notification process of the television 11 of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a part of the procedure of the state notification process of the television 11 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another part of the procedure of the state notification process of the television 11 according to the first embodiment.

The user activity detection unit 63 determines whether or not the connection management unit 61 has established communication with the mobile terminal 12A (step S11). The user activity detection unit 63 waits until communication between the connection management unit 61 and the portable terminal 12A is established (step S11: NO).

For example, when the connection between the portable terminal 12A and the television 11 is established via the public network 15 or the wireless network (step S11: YES), the user activity detection unit 63 displays the status information of the television 11 on the portable terminal 12A. (Step S12). In other words, when the television 11 and the portable terminal 12A start communication, the user activity detection unit 63 transmits the state information of the television 11 to the portable terminal 12A.

For example, the notification determination unit 74 acquires the state information of the television 11 from the state DB 81. As described above, the state information of the television 11 stored in the state DB 81 is updated by the notification determination unit 74 every time an event occurs. For this reason, the state information of the television 11 stored in the state DB 81 indicates the latest state information of the television 11.

The determination notification unit 74 provides the acquired state information of the television 11 to the message generation unit 75. The message generation unit 75 generates notification information from the provided state information of the television 11. The user activity detection unit 63 transmits the generated notification information to the mobile terminal 12A.

Next, the user activity detection unit 63 determines whether or not the establishment of communication between the connection management unit 61 and the portable terminal 12A has been canceled (step S13). When communication between the connection management unit 61 and the mobile terminal 12A remains established (step S13: NO), the user activity detection unit 63 determines whether the internal notification reception unit 72 has detected the occurrence of an event. (Step S14).

If the internal notification receiving unit 72 has not detected the occurrence of an event (step S14: NO), it is determined again whether or not the establishment of communication between the connection management unit 61 and the portable terminal 12A has been released. (Step S13).

When the internal notification receiving unit 72 detects the occurrence of an event (step S14: YES), the internal notification receiving unit 72 provides the notification determination unit 74 with information about the content of the event and the detection time, and relates to the event. The acquisition of the status information of the television 11 to be requested is requested (step S15). The notification determination unit 74 that has received the request for acquiring the state information causes the state acquisition unit 73 to acquire the state information of the television 11 related to the event that has occurred (step S16).

Next, the notification determination unit 74 updates the state DB 81 using the state information of the television 11 acquired by the state acquisition unit 73 (step S17). Then, the notification determination unit 74 determines whether or not the communication message confirmation unit 71 holds operation information (step S18). As described above, when the television 11 receives the operation information transmitted from the mobile terminal 12 </ b> A, the communication message confirmation unit 71 holds the operation information acquired from the connection management unit 61.

When the communication message confirmation unit 71 holds the operation information (step S18: YES), the notification determination unit 74 acquires the operation information and the time when the operation information is acquired from the communication message confirmation unit 71. The notification determination unit 74 acquires “message type” from the operation information acquired from the communication message confirmation unit 71 (step S19). For example, the notification determination unit 74 acquires “channel” which is “message type” from the operation information of FIG.

Next, the notification determination unit 74 acquires the “changed state” of the television 11 corresponding to the “message type” of the operation information using the type DB 82 (step S20). For example, the notification determination unit 74 uses the type DB 82 to acquire “channel” that is “changed” of the television 11 corresponding to “channel” that is “message type” of the operation information in FIG. .

Next, the notification determination unit 74 determines whether or not the “changed state” of the television 11 based on the operation information corresponds to the changed state related to the event acquired by the internal notification reception unit 72 ( Step S21). For example, the notification determination unit 74 determines whether or not “channel” that is “changed” by the operation information corresponds to “channel” that is changed related to the event.

As shown in FIG. 6, there may be a plurality of “changed states” for the “message type” of the operation information. For example, the “changed state” by the operation information whose “message type” is “image quality mode” is “luminance”, “contrast”, “brightness”, and “color temperature”. In this case, the notification determination unit 74 includes “brightness”, “contrast”, “brightness”, and “color temperature”, which are “changed states” based on the operation information, and changed states (for example, “ Brightness ”,“ contrast ”,“ brightness ”, and“ color temperature ”).

When the “changed state” of the television 11 based on the operation information corresponds to the changed state related to the event acquired by the internal notification reception unit 72 (step S21: YES), the notification determination unit 74 displays the operation information It is determined whether the time when the event is acquired and the time when the event is detected are within a predetermined range (step S22). The time when the operation information is acquired is approximately equal to the time when the television 11 receives the operation information. Furthermore, the time when the event is detected is approximately equal to the time when the change in the state of the television 11 detected as the event occurs.

When the difference between the time when the operation information is acquired and the time when the event is detected is within a predetermined range (step S22: YES), the notification determination unit 74 indicates that the operation information is a change (event) in the state of the television 11. Judged as an opportunity. That is, the notification determination unit 74 determines that the state of the television 11 has been changed based on the operation information transmitted by the mobile terminal 12A.

The notification determination unit 74 includes state information about the television 11, information about the “message type” of the operation information that caused the change in the state of the television 11, information about the transmission source of the operation information (mobile terminal 12A), Is provided to the message generator 75. The message generation unit 75 generates notification information including information about the “message type” of the operation information and information about the transmission source (step S23).

“Destination ID” of the notification information is set based on “terminal in communication” stored in the state DB 81. That is, “ID1, ID2” indicating the

mobile terminals

12A, 12B that have established communication with the television 11 is set as the “destination ID” of the notification information in FIG.

When the portable terminal 12 that has established communication with the television 11 is changed, the change of the “terminal in communication” that is the state of the television 11 is detected by the state notification I / F 64 as an event. Therefore, the latest state is reflected in the “destination ID”.

7 includes “TV setting = changed” indicating that the state of the television 11 has changed. Further, the “message” includes “trigger ID = ID1” indicating the transmission source of the operation information that is a trigger for changing the state of the television 11, “trigger type = channel” indicating the “message type” of the operation information, including. “Trigger ID = ID1” is an example of information about the transmission source. “Trigger type = channel” is an example of information about a command. The “message” in FIG. 7 further includes state information of various televisions 11, but may include only changed state information.

On the other hand, the operation information transmitted from the remote controller 49 may cause a change (event) of the state of the television 11. Further, for example, the timer may change the state of the television 11 without being based on the operation information transmitted from the mobile terminal 12 or the remote controller 49. In these cases, the operation information is not held in the communication message confirmation unit 71.

When the communication message confirmation unit 71 does not hold the operation information (step S18: NO), the notification determination unit 74 provides only the state information of the television 11 to the message generation unit 75. The message generator 75 generates notification information that does not include information about the transmission source (step S24). As described above, even when the state of the television 11 is changed by the remote controller 49 or the like, the message generator 75 generates notification information.

In this case, the “message” of the notification information includes “TV setting = changed” indicating that the state of the television 11 has changed. However, the “message” does not include “trigger ID = ID1” and “trigger type = channel” as shown in FIG.

Similarly, when the “changed state” of the television 11 by the operation information does not correspond to the changed state related to the event acquired by the internal notification receiving unit 72 (step S21: NO), the message generating unit 75 Notification information not including information about the transmission source is generated (step S24). Even when the time at which the operation information is acquired does not correspond to the time at which the event is detected (step S22: NO), the message generator 75 generates notification information that does not include information about the transmission source (step S24).

When the message generation unit 75 generates the notification information, the user activity detection unit 63 transmits the generated notification information to the

mobile terminals

12A and 12B set in the “destination ID” of the notification information (step S25). The notification information is transmitted from the communication I / F 46 to the

mobile terminals

12A and 12B via the wireless network or the public network 15. In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 12A is an example of a second device, and the mobile terminal 12B is an example of a third device.

The

mobile terminals

12A and 12B, for example, display the received notification information on the screen. The operation of the

mobile terminals

12A and 12B that have received the notification information is not limited to this, and the notification information may be used for a predetermined function or the received notification information may not be displayed on the screen.

Note that the user activity detection unit 63 may provide notification information to a predetermined function unit 62. For example, the function unit 62 displays the received notification information on the screen of the television 11 by a pop-up window. The television 11 is not limited to this, and the notification information may be used for a predetermined function or the notification information may not be displayed.

The user activity detection unit 63 repeats the above processing (steps S13 to S25) every time the state of the television 11 is changed. Then, when the establishment of communication between the connection management unit 61 and the mobile terminal 12A is canceled (step S13: YES), the state notification process of the television 11 ends.

Furthermore, the user activity detection unit 63 transmits notification information to the

mobile terminals

12A and 12B at regular intervals. For example, the notification determination unit 74 acquires the state information of the television 11 from the state DB 81 at regular time intervals. As described above, the state information of the television 11 stored in the state DB 81 is updated by the notification determination unit 74 every time an event occurs. For this reason, the state information of the television 11 stored in the state DB 81 indicates the latest state information of the television 11.

The determination notification unit 74 provides the acquired state information of the television 11 to the message generation unit 75. The message generation unit 75 generates notification information from the provided state information of the television 11. The user activity detection unit 63 transmits the generated notification information to the

mobile terminals

12A and 12B.

In the control system 10 according to the first embodiment, when a change in the state of the television 11 is detected, the state information of the television 11 is acquired and transmitted to the mobile terminal 12A. Thereby, 12 A of portable terminals can acquire the state of the television 11. FIG. For example, a user who changes the state of the television 11 using the mobile terminal 12 </ b> A can recognize the state of the television 11 and can decide how to change the state of the television 11 according to the state of the television 11.

The acquired state information is transmitted not only to the mobile terminal 12A but also to the mobile terminal 12B that communicates with the television 11. Thereby, the portable terminal 12B which is not the transmission source of operation information can also acquire the state of the television 11, for example. Therefore, for example, a user using the mobile terminal 12 </ b> B can recognize the state of the television 11.

• Information about the transmission source of the operation information is transmitted together with the acquired status information. Thereby,

portable terminal

12A, 12B can acquire the information about the transmission source of the operation information which changed the setting of the television 11. FIG. For example, the user using the mobile terminal 12B can recognize that the state of the television 11 has been changed by the user using the mobile terminal 12A.

∙ Information about operation information is sent together with the acquired status information. Thereby,

portable terminal

12A, 12B can acquire the information about the operation information which changed the setting of the television 11. FIG. For example, a user who uses the mobile terminal 12B can recognize how the state of the television 11 has been changed.

When the television 11 and the mobile terminal 12A start communication, status information is transmitted to the mobile terminal 12A. Thereby, 12 A of portable terminals can operate the television 11, after acquiring the state of the television 11. FIG.

The state of the television 11 whose operation information is to be changed is compared with the state of the changed television 11 related to the event, the time when the operation information is received, and the time when the state of the television 11 is changed. Are compared to determine the transmission source of the operation information. Thereby,

portable terminal

12A, 12B can acquire the information about the transmission source of more exact operation information.

Status information is transmitted to the mobile terminal 12A at regular intervals. Thereby, even if 12 A of portable terminals have not transmitted operation information to the television 11 for a fixed time, it can acquire the status information of the television 11.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description of the embodiment, components having the same functions as those already described are denoted by the same reference numerals as those described above, and further description may be omitted. In addition, a plurality of components to which the same reference numerals are attached do not necessarily have the same functions and properties, and may have different functions and properties according to each embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the control system 10 according to the second embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the server 17 includes a control unit 91. The control unit 91 comprehensively controls various operations in the server 17. The control unit 91 is a microprocessor with a built-in CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like.

In the second embodiment, the control unit 91 of the server 17 includes a user activity detection unit 63. Similarly to the first embodiment, the user activity detection unit 63 according to the second embodiment acquires the state information of the television 11 when the state of the television 11 is changed, and is connected to the mobile phone 11 connected to the television 11. The state information is transmitted to the

terminals

12A and 12B.

Furthermore, the user activity detection unit 63 determines the transmission source of the operation information that caused the change in the state of the television 11. When it is possible to determine the transmission source, the user activity detection unit 63 transmits the transmission source information about the transmission source together with the state information of the television 11.

The user activity detection unit 63 of the server 17 inputs and outputs information to and from the connection management unit 61, function unit 62, status notification I / F 64, and status request I / F 65 of the television 11 via the public network 15. I do. That is, the user activity detection unit 63 may be provided in the television 11 as in the first embodiment, or may be provided in the server 17 as in the second embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the user activity detection unit 63 sends notification information to the television 11 every time operation information is transmitted from the portable terminal 12A to the television 11. However, the user activity detection unit 63 transmits notification information only when predetermined operation information is received, or changes the state of the television 11 caused by the plurality of operation information after receiving the plurality of operation information. Notification information to be notified may be transmitted.

For example, when the change of the state of the television 11 occurs and the importance of the change of the state is low, the user activity detection unit 63 may omit the generation and transmission of the notification information. As an example, when the television 11 is used as a Web browser, the user activity detection unit 63 does not have to generate and transmit notification information even if a site displayed on the television 11 is changed or reloaded. Thereby, it is suppressed that the user activity detection part 63 sends notification information excessively.

Furthermore, the channel of the television 11 may be changed a plurality of times in a very short time due to the operation information of the mobile terminal 12A. In this case, the user activity detection unit 63 may determine that the change in the state of the television 11 has been confirmed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the last reception of the operation information, and may generate and transmit notification information. . Thereby, it is suppressed that the user activity detection part 63 sends notification information excessively.

According to at least one embodiment described above, when a change in the state of the first device is detected, the state information of the first device is acquired and transmitted to the second device. Thereby, the second device can acquire the state of the first device.

It should be noted that the status notification processing program executed by the television 11 or the server 17 of the above embodiment is preliminarily incorporated in a ROM or the like of the memory 45 and provided as a computer program product.

The status notification processing program executed by the television 11 or the server 17 of the above embodiment is a file in an installable or executable format, and is a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). Or the like, and may be provided as a computer program product by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

Furthermore, the status notification processing program executed by the television 11 or the server 17 of the above embodiment is stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet, and is provided as a computer program product by being downloaded via the network. It may be configured. Further, the status notification processing program executed on the television 11 or the server 17 of the present embodiment may be provided or distributed as a computer program product via a network such as the Internet.

The status notification processing program executed by the television 11 or the server 17 of this embodiment includes the above-described units (connection management unit 61, function unit 62, user activity detection unit 63, status notification I / F 64, status provision I / F 65, It has a module configuration including a communication message confirmation unit 71, an internal notification reception unit 72, a state acquisition unit 73, a notification determination unit 74, a message generation unit 75, a state DB 81, and a type DB 82). When the (processor) reads out and executes the status notification processing program from the ROM, the above-described units are loaded on the main storage device, and the connection management unit 61, function unit 62, user activity detection unit 63, status notification I / F 64, Status providing I / F 65, communication message confirmation unit 71, internal notification reception unit 7 , The state acquisition section 73, the notification determining unit 74, the message generator 75, status DB 81, and the type DB82 is adapted to be generated on the main memory.

Further, the various modules of the system described herein can be implemented as software applications, hardware and / or software modules, or components on one or more computers such as servers. Although the various modules are described separately, they may share some or all of the same underlying logic or code.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

Claims

A receiving unit for receiving a command for changing the state of the first device;
A detection unit for detecting a change in the state of the first device;
When a change in the state of the first device is detected, a processing unit that acquires state information about the state of the first device;
A transmission unit that transmits the acquired state information to a second device different from the first device;
A system comprising:
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission unit transmits the acquired state information to the second device that is a transmission source of the command and a third device that can communicate with the first device. .
The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmission unit transmits information about a transmission source of the command together with the acquired state information.
The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission unit transmits information on the command together with the acquired state information.
The first device is a television receiver;
The transmission source device of the command is a remote controller or a terminal that can communicate with the first device.
The system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
Receiving a command to change the state of the first device;
Detecting a change in the state of the first device;
When a change in the state of the first device is detected, state information about the state of the first device is acquired,
Transmitting the acquired state information to a second device different from the first device;
A method involving that.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the acquired state information is transmitted to the second device that is a transmission source of the command and a third device that can communicate with the first device.
The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein information on a transmission source of the command is transmitted together with the acquired state information.
9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein information on the command is transmitted together with the acquired state information.
The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein when the first device and the second device start communication, the state information is transmitted to the second device.
While comparing the state of the first device to be changed by the command with the acquired state information, the time when the command is received, and the time when the state of the first device is changed To determine the source of the command,
9. The method of claim 8, wherein when the source of the instruction is determined, information about the source of the instruction is transmitted along with the acquired state information.
The method according to any one of claims 6 to 11, wherein the state information is transmitted to the second device at regular intervals.
The first device is a television receiver;
The transmission source device of the command is a remote controller or a terminal that can communicate with the first device.
The method according to any one of claims 6 to 12.
Receiving a command to change the state of the first device;
Detecting a change in the state of the first device;
When a change in the state of the first device is detected, state information about the state of the first device is acquired,
Transmitting the acquired state information to a second device different from the first device;
A program that causes a computer to execute.
Claim for causing the computer to further transmit the acquired state information to the second device that is a transmission source of the command and a third device that can communicate with the first device. Item 14. The program according to item 14.
16. The program according to claim 14 or 15 for causing the computer to further transmit information on a transmission source of the command together with the acquired state information.
The program according to any one of claims 14 to 16, further causing the computer to execute transmission of information about the command together with the acquired state information.
The first device is a television receiver;
The transmission source device of the command is a remote controller or a terminal that can communicate with the first device.
The program according to any one of claims 14 to 17.