Information providing system, server, and method for providing information regarding the operating state of a selected device

• US 10,158,499 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2014
• Issued: 12/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakata, Kotaro
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, VAN THU T
• Application Number:
  US14/908,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20160164697A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,631 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0428 Safety, monitoring G05B19/0423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2642 Domotique, domestic, home control, automation, smart house
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/34477 Fault prediction, analyzing signal trends
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0216 Human interface functionality, e.g. monitoring system providing help to the user in the selection of tests or in its configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2823 Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network device-related reporting H04L43/065; arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge

Abstract

An information provision apparatus whereby information regarding a malfunction or problem that occurred during the use of a prescribed model of a home appliance can be shared with users using the same model of the home appliance. A device (20) has the following: a presentation-information reception unit (21) that receives presentation information generated by a server (10) and stores the presentation information in a prescribed storage unit; and a presentation unit (22) that presents the presentation information to the user of the device (20), the presentation information having been read out from the aforementioned storage unit. The presentation information indicates malfunctions or problems that occurred in devices that are the same model as the above-mentioned device (20) and were being used by other users.

Claims

1. An information providing system that provides information to a user using a predetermined device, the information providing system comprising:

a device information server that includes a malfunction information collection section, a device remaining life calculation section, a presentation information generating section, and a presentation information transmitting section;

a device that includes a usage log transmitting section, a detection section, a presentation information receiving section, and a presentation section; and

a network connection that establishes a communication link between the device information server and the device,

in the device information server,

the malfunction information collection section collects malfunction information regarding malfunctions that have occurred during operation of the device as indicated in a usage log transmitted by the log transmitting section of the device, information in the usage log being based on data collected by the detection section that detects the malfunctions of the device at different operating times,

the device remaining life calculation section calculates a remaining life of the device based on a number of malfunctions for each operation time before failure of the device,

the presentation information generation section generates presentation information including the remaining life, malfunction rate, user ID, model ID, and malfunction state information based on the malfunction information collected, and

in the device,

the presentation information receiving section receives the presentation information associated with the device and generated by the device information server and stores the presentation information in a predetermined storage section; and

the presentation section presents the presentation information read from the storage section to the user,

wherein the presentation information is information that indicates a number of occurrences of malfunctions that have occurred in a model identical to that of the device used by another user in correspondence with a plurality of operating times, indicates that one of the plurality of operating times is a current operating time of the device and indicates that the plurality of operating times include a time after the current operating time of the device and before the remaining life of the device is reached, and

the presentation information includes information indicating that a total number of malfunctions that have occurred in the model identical to that of the device counted per operating time of the model identical to that of the device.

2. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation information includes information indicating a malfunction whose number of times of occurrence is equal to or greater than a threshold among malfunctions that have occurred in the model identical to that of the device.

3. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation information includes information indicating a malfunction that has occurred in a model similar to that of the device in addition to a malfunction that has occurred in the model identical to that of the device.

4. The information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation information includes information indicating at least one of the remaining life of the device and the malfunction rate within a predetermined period of the device.

5. A device information server comprising:

a malfunction information collection section that collects malfunction information indicating malfunctions that have occurred in devices used by a plurality of users, respectively, during operation of the devices as indicated in usage logs transmitted by the devices and stores the malfunction information in a predetermined storage section, information in the usage logs being based on data collected by respective detection sections in the devices that detect malfunctions at different operating times;

a device remaining life calculation section that calculates a remaining life of the devices based on a number of malfunctions of the devices at particular operating times before the failure of the devices;

a presentation information generation section that generates presentation information including the remaining life, malfunction rates, user IDs, model IDs, and malfunction state information indicating malfunctions that have occurred in the devices based on the malfunction information read from the storage section; and

a presentation information transmitting section that transmits the presentation information to an apparatus used by a user using a model identical to that of the device,

wherein the presentation information is information that indicates a number of occurrences of malfunctions that have occurred in a model identical to that of the devices used by the plurality of users in correspondence with a plurality of operating times, indicates that one of the plurality of operating times is a current operating time of the device used by a user to whom the presentation information is sent and indicates that the plurality of operating times include a time after the current operating time of the device used by the user and before the remaining life of the device is reached, and

the presentation information includes information indicating that a total number of malfunctions that have occurred in the model identical to that of the device counted per operating time of the model identical to that of the device.

6. The device information server apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the presentation information generation section sums up malfunctions indicated by the malfunction information by type and generates the presentation information so as to include information indicating a malfunction whose result of summing up is determined to be equal to or greater than a threshold.

7. The device information server apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

the malfunction information collection section collects malfunction information not only from the model identical to that of the device but also from models similar to that of the devices respectively used by the plurality of users, and

the presentation information generation section generates the presentation information so as to include information indicating a malfunction that has occurred in the model identical to that of the device and models similar to that of the device.

8. The device information server apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the usage log collection section collects a usage log of one of the devices;

and

the remaining life calculation section calculates at least one of the remaining life and a malfunction rate within a predetermined period of the device whose usage log has been collected, based on the malfunction information and the usage log,

the presentation information generation section generates information indicating at least one of the remaining life and the malfunction rate within the predetermined period so as to be included in the presentation information, and

the presentation information transmitting section transmits the presentation information to an apparatus used by the user of the device whose usage log has been collected.

9. The server apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

the malfunction information collection section collects malfunction information also from a model similar to that of the device used by another user in addition to the identical model,

the remaining life calculation section calculates at least one of the remaining life of the device and the malfunction rate within a predetermined period of the device calculated based on the malfunctions that have occurred in the identical model and the similar model and the usage log of the device, and

the presentation information generation section generates the presentation information so as to include information indicating at least one of the remaining life of the device and the malfunction rate within a predetermined period of the device.

10. An information providing method to be performed in a server apparatus disposed on a network, the method comprising:

collecting malfunction information indicating malfunctions that have occurred in devices used by a plurality of users, respectively, during operation of the devices as indicated in usage logs transmitted by the devices and storing the malfunction information in a predetermined storage section, information in the usage logs being based on data collected by respective detection sections in the devices that detect malfunctions at different operating times;

calculating a remaining life of the devices based on a number of malfunctions of the devices at particular operating times before the failure of the devices;

generating presentation information including the remaining life, malfunction rates, user IDs, model IDs, and malfunction state information indicating the malfunctions that have occurred in the devices based on the malfunction information read from the storage section; and

transmitting the presentation information to an apparatus used by a user using the model identical to that of the device, wherein

the presentation information is information that indicates a number of occurrences of malfunctions that have occurred in a model identical to that of the devices used by the plurality of users in correspondence with a plurality of operating times, indicates that one of the plurality of operating times is a current operating time of the device used by a user to whom the presentation information is sent and indicates that the plurality of operating times include a time after the current operating time of the device used by the user and before a remaining life of the device is reached, and

the presentation information includes information indicating that a total number of malfunctions that have occurred in the model identical to that of the device counted per operating time of the model identical to that of the device.