WO2019069596A1

WO2019069596A1 - Household appliance system

Info

Publication number: WO2019069596A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/032234
Authority: WO
Inventors: 幸雄町田; 裕樹丸谷; 弘暁川口; 慶彦氏田; 翼鷲崎; 健吾松永
Original assignee: 東芝ライフスタイル株式会社
Priority date: 2017-10-03
Filing date: 2018-08-30
Publication date: 2019-04-11
Also published as: CN111183478B; JP6976126B2; JP2019068320A; CN111183478A

Abstract

Provided is a household appliance system comprising at least one household appliance and a speaker device connected to the at least one household appliance via a communication network. The speaker device comprises a microphone coupled with a speaker, a communication module for communicating with the household appliance via the communication network, and a control device connected to those. The control device acquires information from the household appliance via the communication network, and when the presence of a person has been detected, outputs a message based on said information in the form of an audio from the speaker.

Description

Home appliance system

The technology disclosed herein relates to a home appliance system.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-78719 describes a home appliance. The home electric appliance is configured to obtain information from the outside using a communication function, and when the approach or operation of the user is detected, notify the user of the information.

According to the above-described home appliance, the user can acquire useful information from the home appliance. However, in order to obtain such information, the user needs to at least approach the home appliance, which is cumbersome. Therefore, the present specification discloses a technology that can provide information related to a home appliance even to a user located apart from the home appliance.

The technology disclosed herein is embodied in a consumer electronics system. The home appliance system includes at least one home appliance and a speaker device connected to the at least one home appliance via a communication network. The speaker device includes a microphone (also referred to simply as a microphone in the present specification) and a speaker, a communication module that communicates with a home appliance via a communication network, and a control device connected to the microphone, the speaker, and the communication module. The control device can execute processing of acquiring information from a home electric appliance through the communication module, and notification processing of outputting a message based on the information as sound from a speaker when the presence of a person is detected. Here, the process of acquiring information from the home appliance may be performed either before or after the presence of a person is detected.

In the above-described home appliance system, a speaker device is prepared separately from the home appliance. The speaker device is connected to a home appliance via a communication network, and can obtain information from, for example, a home appliance in another room. Then, when the speaker device detects the presence of a person, the speaker device outputs a message based on the information acquired from the home appliance by voice from the speaker. As a result, it is possible to reliably provide information on the home appliance even to the user located away from the home appliance. The position where the speaker device is disposed can be freely determined based on, for example, the user's live activity line, whereby the user can obtain information on the home appliance at an appropriate timing.

It is a figure showing typically household appliance system 10 of an example.

It is a figure showing typically the principal part of household appliance system 10 of an example.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the speaker device 12;

It is a sequence diagram which shows the process performed with the household appliance system 10 of an Example.

A table exemplifying messages notified to the user and their selection conditions.

It is a figure which illustrates the data transmitted to the speaker apparatus 12 from the household appliances 14, (A) shows the example to which the data which describes a message as it is transmitted is shown, (B) describes the key code allocated to the message. An example is shown in which the data to be sent is sent.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a speaker device 112 of a modified example.

In one embodiment of the present technology, the control device may execute the notification process described above when a new presence of a person is detected from a state where the presence of a person is not detected.

In an embodiment of the present technology, the control device may be further capable of performing a process of detecting the presence of a person based on voice data of the person acquired by the microphone. In this case, as an example, the control device may determine that there is a person when the audio data includes a predetermined trigger word or phrase.

Additionally or alternatively, the speaker device may further include a human sensor connected to the control device. In this case, the control device may be further capable of performing a process of detecting the presence of a person based on a detection signal output from the human sensor. Such a configuration also allows the control device to detect the presence of a person. Although not particularly limited, the human sensor can be, for example, a sensor using infrared light, ultrasonic waves or visible light.

For example, home appliances such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners are often used at similar times or time zones. Therefore, as one embodiment of the present technology, the control device is further capable of executing the process of specifying a home appliance from which information is to be acquired according to the time or time zone when the presence of a person is detected. Good. According to such a configuration, although it is an example, for a home appliance (for example, a washing machine) that is frequently used in the morning, the time or time such as notifying the user of information related thereto only in the morning, Notification can be performed according to the band. In addition, the process which specifies a household appliance may be performed only inside the control apparatus, and a control apparatus may carry out, for example using an external server etc.

In an embodiment of the present technology, the content of the message output as sound from the speaker may be changed according to the surrounding environment information. The environmental information referred to here may be, by way of example only, information on weather such as temperature, humidity, weather or prediction thereof.

In one embodiment of the present technology, the content of the message may be changed based on at least one of the current state of the home appliance and the usage history. According to such a configuration, for example, when a home appliance (for example, a vacuum cleaner) is not used for a certain period, it is possible to notify the user of a message prompting use of the home appliance.

In one embodiment of the present technology, the content of the message may be determined by the home appliance and transmitted from the home appliance to the speaker device via the communication network. According to such a configuration, since it is not necessary to determine the content of the message in the speaker device, the configuration of the speaker device (particularly, its control device) can be simplified. In addition, since the versatility of the speaker device is increased, addition, replacement, and removal of home appliances to the home system can be easily performed.

In one embodiment of the present technology, voice data of a person acquired by a microphone may be transmitted to the home appliance via the communication module, for example, by the control device. Then, the home appliance may determine its own operation based on the transmitted voice data. According to such a configuration, the user can remotely control the home appliance by voice.

In one embodiment of the present technology, the control device identifies at least one home appliance based on voice data of a person acquired by the microphone, and indicates when two or more home appliances are identified. It is good to output the message by voice from the speaker. As a result, it is possible to prompt the user to give a further instruction (occurrence), and it is possible to avoid a malfunction such as outputting a message about a home appliance that the user does not intend.

In the following, representative and non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to show the person skilled in the art the details for practicing the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Also, the additional features and invention disclosed below can be used separately or together with other features and inventions to provide a further improved consumer electronics system as well as its use and manufacturing method. .

Also, the combination of features and processes disclosed in the following detailed description is not essential to the practice of the present invention in its broadest sense, and in particular, to illustrate representative examples of the present invention. It is described. Furthermore, various features of the above and below described representative embodiments, as well as various features of what is set forth in the independent and dependent claims, are set forth herein to provide additional and useful embodiments of the present invention. It does not have to be combined as per the example given or in the order listed.

All features described in the present specification and / or claims are separate from the configuration of the features described in the examples and / or claims, as limitations on the initial disclosure of the application and the specific matters claimed. And intended to be disclosed independently of one another. In addition, the descriptions of all numerical ranges and groups or groups are intended to disclose intermediate constructions as limitations on the initial disclosure and the specific matters claimed.

The household appliance system 10 of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the home appliance system 10 includes a speaker device 12 and a plurality of home appliances 14. The speaker device 12 is connected to the plurality of home appliances 14 via the communication network 16. Although it is an example, the communication network 16 in the present embodiment includes a wireless local area network, and the speaker device 12 is communicably connected to a plurality of home appliances 14 via the wireless router 2. The wireless router 2 is connected to the Internet 6 through the modem 4 and is configured to be able to communicate with the server 18 through the Internet 6. The server 18 can also be accessed by, for example, the portable terminal 8, and the portable terminal 8 can communicate with the speaker device 12 and the plurality of home appliances 14 via the server 18. Here, the form and method of the communication network 16 are not particularly limited, and some or all of them may be configured by wire.

The speaker device 12 is a device independent of the home appliance 14, and can be freely arranged regardless of the position of the home appliance 14. The speaker device 12 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, a smart speaker. Alternatively, the speaker device 12 may be mounted on an autonomous mobile robot. As described in detail later, the speaker device 12 can notify the user of a message regarding the home appliance 14 by voice. In addition, the speaker device 12 can recognize the user's voice, and can output a message and control the home appliance 14 according to the voice.

The home appliance system 10 includes, for example, a washing machine 14 a, a vacuum cleaner 14 b, and a refrigerator 14 c as the plurality of home appliances 14. The vacuum cleaner 14 b is a robot vacuum cleaner that can travel autonomously. However, these home appliances 14 are an example, and the home appliance system 10 includes various home appliances 14 such as an air conditioner, a microwave, a rice cooker, an iron, an air cleaner, a fan, a ventilation fan, a television, a video recorder, and a video media player. Can be provided. Moreover, the household appliance system 10 does not necessarily need to be equipped with the several household appliances 14, and should just be equipped with at least one household appliance 14. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the speaker device 12 includes a microphone 22 and a speaker 24, a communication module 26 communicating with the home appliance 14 via the communication network 16, and a control device 28. The control device 28 is connected to the microphone 22, the speaker 24, and the communication module 26, and can use them to execute various operations. The control device 28 functionally includes an audio receiving unit 32, an audio output unit 34, a data transmitting / receiving unit 36, and a device control unit 38. These configurations are realized by the memory and processor of the control unit 28. The specific structure of the control device 28 (that is, the program and data stored in the memory) is not particularly limited.

The audio receiving unit 32 is connected to the microphone 22 and receives audio data output from the microphone 22. For example, when the user 1 speaks to the speaker device 12, the voice of the user 1 is converted into voice data by the microphone 22, and the voice data is input to the voice reception unit 32. The audio output unit 34 is connected to the speaker 24 and outputs audio data to the speaker 24. Although described in detail later, the audio data output from the audio output unit 34 is audio data of a message related to the home appliance 14. When audio data is output from the audio output unit 34 to the speaker 24, a message regarding the home appliance 14 is output as audio from the speaker 24. The data transmission / reception unit 36 is connected to the communication module 26, and transmits / receives data to / from the plurality of home appliances 14 and the server 18 via the communication module 26. For the data to be transmitted and received, in addition to the voice data described above, for example, the information request to the server 18 and the response of the server 18 to it, the information request to the home appliance 14 and the response of the home appliance 14 to that The control request to the home appliance 14 and the response of the home appliance 14 to the request are included. The control command to the home appliance 14 is generated by the device control unit 38 based on the voice of the user received by the microphone 22.

Next, a basic flow of processing executed by the home appliance system 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, first, the speaker device 12 receives the voice of the user 1 (step S2). The voice of the user 1 is received by the microphone 22, and the voice data is input to the control device 28. The control device 28 detects the presence of the user 1 based on the voice data from the microphone 22, and the series of processing shown in FIG. 4 is started accordingly. The voice of the user 1 at this time may include, for example, a predetermined specific trigger word or phrase. In addition, the voice of the user 1 may include an information request or instruction for a specific home appliance 14. Note that, as another embodiment, the control device 28 replaces the voice of the user 1 with the living noise emitted by the user 1 (for example, the noise caused by the opening or closing of the door or the key thereof). The presence may be detected.

The control device 28 that has detected the presence of the user 1 transmits the voice data received from the microphone 22 to the server 18 (step S4). At this time, the control device 28 also transmits the time or time zone when the presence of the user 1 is detected. The server 18 analyzes the data transmitted from the control device 28 (step S6), and specifies at least one of the plurality of home appliances 14 (step S14). In the present embodiment, one or more home appliances 14 are identified according to the time or time zone when the presence of the user 1 is detected. For example, if the time or period when the presence of the user 1 is detected is in the morning, the washing machine 14a frequently used in the morning is identified.

The relationship between the time or time zone in which the presence of the user 1 was detected and the corresponding home appliance 14 is stored in the database of the server 18. Here, when the server 18 can not identify the home electric appliance 14 only with its own database (YES in S8), the server 18 requests data from the external device 30 (step S10), and necessary data from the external device 30 (for example, Customer data on the user 1 may be acquired (step S12). When the server 18 identifies the home appliance 14, device information describing the identified home appliance 14 is transmitted from the server 18 to the speaker device 12.

In addition, the server 18 can also identify the home appliance 14 based on the transmitted voice data. In addition, it is also possible to extract the command or request of the user 1 included in the transmitted voice data, and to determine the content of control on the home appliance 14 (step S18). The contents of the determined control are taught from the server 18 to the speaker device 12. For example, when the user 1 utters "the room is dirty", the vacuum cleaner 14b is specified from the keywords "room" and "dirt", and the operation command with high power is determined as the content of control. Good to be done. At this time, the server 18 may request data from not only its own database but also the external device 30 (step S10), and acquire necessary data (for example, weather data) from the external device 30 (step S12). ). When the server 18 determines the content of control on the home appliance 14, control information describing the content of the control is transmitted from the server 18 to the speaker device 12 (step S20). In addition, two or more household appliances 14 may be specified by the utterance content of the user 1. In this case, the speaker device 12 notifies the user 1 of a message indicating that two or more home appliances 14 have been identified, such as a message such as “Are you a vacuum cleaner? Is this a washing machine?” It is good.

When receiving the device information from the server 18, the control device 28 of the speaker device 12 transmits an information acquisition request to the home appliance 14 (for example, the washing machine 14a) described in the device information (step S22). The home appliance 14 having received the information acquisition request transmits data describing a message for the user 1 to the speaker device 12 as a response (information acquisition response) thereto. Although this message will be described later, the contents of the message include a report or a proposal regarding the home appliance 14, and the time or time zone at that time, the current situation or use history of the home appliance 14, surrounding environment information ( For example, according to weather information, such as temperature, humidity, weather, or those predictions, it changes suitably. In the speaker device 12 that has received the data from the server 18, the control device 28 outputs the message described in the data from the speaker 24 as voice. Thereby, useful information regarding the home appliance 14 is provided to the user 1.

The above-described message is illustrated in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, in each of the home appliances 14 (the washing machine 14a, the vacuum cleaner 14b, the refrigerator 14c), a plurality of messages are stored together with their respective selection conditions. For example, in the refrigerator 14c, when the shelf life of the food in the refrigerator is approaching, the message "There is a shelf life expiration date" is selected. Here, about the shelf life of the food in the storage, when the user 1 stores the food in the refrigerator 14 c, the refrigerator 14 c is stored by, for example, a bar code, image processing, manual input or voice input of the user 1 be able to. Also, based on the weather information of the day, when a significant change in temperature is expected, the message "Do you want to change to the energy saving mode?" Is selected. This message is an example of a message selected based on weather information (an example of surrounding environment information). The weather information may be taught from the server 18 to the refrigerator 14 c via the speaker device 12 or may be acquired by the refrigerator 14 c via the Internet 6 itself.

Although various messages are stored in the washing machine 14a as well, for example, when washing of the washing tub has not been carried out for a certain period, "one month has passed, so washing the washing tub Message is selected. This message is an example of a message selected based on the usage history of the washing machine 14a. Similarly, in the vacuum cleaner 14b, various messages are selected based on the current state and use history of the vacuum cleaner 14b.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the data transmitted from each home appliance 14 to the speaker device 12 may be data that directly describes a message or is assigned to a message. It may be data describing a key code (for example, "001"). In the latter case, as shown in FIG. 6B, the speaker device 12 that has received the key code may acquire the message to which the key code is assigned from the server 18 by communicating with the server 18, for example. Good. As another embodiment, the correspondence between the key code and the message may be stored in the speaker device 12.

In the home appliance system 10 of the present embodiment, the speaker device 12 is prepared separately from the plurality of home appliances 14. The speaker device 12 is connected to the home appliance 14 via the communication network 16, and can obtain information from the home appliance 14 located at a remote position. And the speaker apparatus 12 can output the message based on the information acquired from the household appliances 14 by voice from the speaker 24, when a person's presence is detected. Thereby, the user 1 located away from the home appliance 14 can be reliably provided with the information on the home appliance 14. The position where the speaker device 12 is disposed can be freely determined based on, for example, the live activity line of the user 1, whereby the user 1 can acquire information on the home appliance 14 at an appropriate timing.

In the home-appliance system 10 of the present embodiment, when the control device 28 of the speaker device 12 newly detects the presence of the user 1 from the state in which the presence of the user 1 is not detected, the notification process of notifying the above message is performed. Run. Specifically, when the user 1 speaks to the speaker device 12, the presence of the user 1 is detected based on the voice, and a message regarding the home appliance 14 is notified. According to such a configuration, the message can be reliably transmitted to the user 1.

The control device 28 of the speaker device 12 can execute the process of detecting the presence of the user 1 based on the voice data of the user 1 acquired by the microphone 22. However, the control device 28 is not limited to the voice of the user 1 and may detect the presence of the user 1 based on, for example, the living sound generated by the user 1. Alternatively, the speaker device 12 may further include a human sensor. In this case, the control device 28 can detect the presence of the user 1 according to the detection result of the human sensor.

In the home appliance system 10 of the present embodiment, the control device 28 of the speaker device 12 executes a process of specifying the home appliance 14 from which information should be acquired, according to the time or time zone when the presence of the user 1 is detected. be able to. Thus, for example, when the presence of the user 1 is detected in the morning, it is possible to notify the user of a message regarding the washing machine 14a that is frequently used in the morning. Here, the time or time zone when the presence of the user 1 is detected may or may not be further distinguished by calendars such as month, day, and day of the week. When it is a form distinguished by a calendar, the timing and contents of notifying a message can be changed, for example, between weekdays and holidays, or according to the season.

Further, the content of the message output as sound from the speaker 24 is changed according to the weather information (an example of the surrounding environment information). As a result, it is possible to notify the user 1 of a message such as "Does it wash because the weather is fine today?" (See FIG. 5). Here, the weather information or other surrounding environment information may be acquired via, for example, the communication network 16 or the Internet 6, and the home appliance system 10 may use the surrounding environment information such as, for example, a temperature sensor or a humidity sensor. You may provide the sensor which can be acquired.

With reference to FIG. 7, the speaker apparatus 112 of a modification is demonstrated. In the speaker device 112, a temperature sensor 102, a humidity sensor 104, and an infrared sensor 106 are added as compared with the above-described speaker device 12. The temperature sensor 102 and the humidity sensor 104 are an example of a sensor for detecting ambient environment information. The infrared sensor 106 is an example of a human sensor. By providing the temperature sensor 102 and the humidity sensor 104, the speaker device 112 can obtain surrounding environment information by itself without communicating with, for example, the server 18 or the like. Further, by providing the infrared sensor 106, the speaker device 112 can detect the presence of the user by itself without communicating with, for example, the server 18 or the like.

In the speaker device 112 of the modified example, the configuration of the control device 128 is also changed as compared with the above-described speaker device 12, and more specifically, the sensor receiving unit 108, the voice recognition unit 110, and the voice database 114 are added. . The sensor receiving unit 108 is connected to the temperature sensor 102, the humidity sensor 104, and the infrared sensor 106, and receives detection signals output from them. The voice recognition unit 110 receives voice data from the voice reception unit 32 and analyzes the voice data using the voice database 114 to recognize the content of the utterance of the user 1. Thereby, the same processing as that of the server 18 described above is configured to be executable inside the speaker device 112. In addition, about the specific process of speech recognition, a well-known method can be employ | adopted suitably. The control device 128 of the present modification can detect the presence of the user 1, identify the home appliance 14, or determine the content of control on the home appliance 14 without communicating with the server 18. That is, in the home appliance system 10 employing the speaker device 112, communication with the server 18 is not necessarily required.

1: User 2: Wireless router 4: Modem 6: Internet 8: Mobile terminal 10: Home appliance system 12, 112: Speaker device 14: Home appliance 14a: Washing machine 14b: Vacuum cleaner 14c: Refrigerator 16: Communication network 18: Communication network 18: Server 22 : Microphone 24: Speaker 26: Communication module 28, 128: Controller 102: Temperature sensor 104: Humidity sensor 106: Infrared sensor

Claims

At least one home appliance,
A home appliance system comprising: a speaker device connected to the at least one home appliance via a communication network,
The speaker device is
Microphone and speaker,
A communication module for communicating with the home appliance via the communication network;
A control device connected to the microphone, the speaker, and the communication module;
The controller is
A process of acquiring information from the home appliance via the communication module;
It is possible to execute an informing process of outputting a message based on the information as a voice from the speaker when the presence of a person is detected.
Home appliance system.
The home electric appliance system according to claim 1, wherein the control device executes the notification process when newly detecting the presence of a person from a state in which the presence of a person is not detected.
The home electric appliance system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control device can further execute a process of detecting the presence of a person based on voice data of the person acquired by the microphone.
The speaker device further includes a human sensor connected to the control device;
The home electric appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control device can further execute a process of detecting the presence of a person based on a detection signal output from the human sensor.
The said control apparatus can further perform the process which specifies the household appliances which should acquire the said information according to the time or time zone when a person's presence was detected. The home appliance system described in.
The household appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the content of the message is changed according to surrounding environment information.
The home appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the content of the message is changed based on at least one of the current status of the home appliance and the usage history.
The household appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the content of the message is determined by the household appliance and transmitted from the household appliance to the speaker device via the communication network.
The control device transmits voice data of a person acquired by the microphone to the home appliance via the communication module.
The home appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the home appliance determines its own operation based on the transmitted voice data.
The control apparatus identifies at least one of the at least one home electric appliances based on voice data of a person acquired by the microphone, and when two or more home electric appliances are identified, The household-appliances system as described in any one of Claim 1 to 9 which shows the message which shows as an audio | voice from the said speaker.
A speaker device connected to at least one home appliance via a communication network, comprising:
Microphone and speaker,
A communication module for communicating with the home appliance via the communication network;
A control device connected to the microphone, the speaker, and the communication module;
The controller is
A process of acquiring information from the home appliance via the communication module;
It is possible to execute an informing process of outputting a message based on the information as a voice from the speaker when the presence of a person is detected.
Speaker device.
A household electrical appliance connected to the speaker device according to claim 11 via a communication network, wherein the content of the message is determined in response to a request from the speaker device, and information indicating the content is used as the communication network. A home appliance that transmits to the speaker device via.