In-home-presence probability calculation method, server apparatus, and in-home-presence probability calculation system

• US 10,438,127 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2018
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamaguchi, Takahiro, Kusukame, Koichi, Shikii, Shinichi, Ohmori, Motoji, Hirose, Takako
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao, Thuy
• Application Number:
  US16/173,362
• Publication Number:
  US 20190065980A1
• Time in Patent Office: 344 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport

Abstract

A management method manages devices in a home includes, receiving operation information on one of the devices when an operation is performed for the one of the devices, specifying times at which the operation was performed, in accordance with the information, and receiving, whenever a state is entered when no one is expected to be home, time information when the state has been entered. Specifying in-home-absence times at which a state has been entered when no one is expected to be home, according to the time information, for each of the devices, calculating time differences for the specified operation times, and for each of the devices, specifying the performed operation as a first behavior of the person correlated to a behavior before the person leaves home, when variation of the calculated time differences of the corresponding one of the devices is equal to or lower than a threshold.

Claims

1. A device management method used in a server apparatus that manages, via a network, a plurality of devices provided in a home, the method comprising:

receiving operation information on one of a plurality of devices in the home, via the network, every time a certain operation is performed for the one of the plurality of devices;

for each of the plurality of devices, specifying operation times at which the certain operation has been performed, in accordance with the received operation information;

receiving, every time a state is entered in which it is expected that no one is at home, time information of a time at which the state has been entered;

specifying in-home-absence times at which a state has been entered in which it is expected that no one is at home, in accordance with the received time information;

for each of the plurality of devices, calculating time differences for the specified operation times, each of the time differences being a difference between a corresponding one of the specified operation times and an in-home-absence time that is first specified within a predetermined period from the corresponding one of the specified operation times; and

for each of the plurality of devices, specifying the performed certain operation as a behavior pattern of the person correlated to a behavior when the person continues being at the home when a ratio of a frequency of the calculated time differences regarding the corresponding one of the plurality of devices, each of which is lower than a particular threshold value, is equal to or lower than an other threshold value.

2. The device management method according to claim 1, wherein the certain operation, performed with respect to one of the plurality of devices, is an operation for turning off a main power switch of the one of the plurality of devices provided in the home.

3. The device management method according to claim 1,

wherein the home is a house, a room in an apartment, an office or a store.

4. The device management method according to claim 1, further comprising:

for each of the plurality of devices, specifying the performed certain operation, performed with respect to one of the plurality of devices, as a defined behavior pattern of the person correlated to a behavior before the person leaves the home, when a variation of the calculated time differences of the corresponding one of the plurality of devices is equal to or lower than a defined threshold value.

5. The device management method according to claim 4, further comprising:

receiving specification of a time from a device that a user uses;

calculating a probability that a person is at home at the specified time on the basis of the defined behavior pattern when a specified operation time is a time within a period of a certain time ending at the time at which the specification has been received,

wherein the specified operation time is one of the specified operation times of the one of the plurality of devices for which the certain operation is specified as the first defined behavior pattern.

6. A server apparatus that manages, via a network, a plurality of devices arranged in a home, the server apparatus comprising:

one or more memories; and

circuitry which, in operation,

receives operation information on one of a plurality of devices in the home via the network every time a certain operation is performed for the one of the plurality of devices;

for each of the plurality of devices, specifies operation times at which the certain operation has been performed, in accordance with the received operation information;

receives, every time a state is entered in which it is expected that no one is at home, time information of a time at which the state has been entered;

specifies in-home-absence times at which a state has been entered in which it is expected that no one is at home, in accordance with the received time information;

for each of the plurality of devices, calculates time differences for the specified operation times, each of the time differences being a difference between a corresponding one of the specified operation times and an in-home-absence time that is first specified within a predetermined period from the corresponding one of the specified operation times; and

for each of the plurality of devices, specifying the performed certain operation as a behavior pattern of the person correlated to a behavior when the person continues being at the home when a ratio of a frequency of the calculated time differences regarding the corresponding one of the plurality of devices, each of which is lower than a particular threshold value, is equal to or lower than an other threshold value.

7. The server apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

for each of the plurality of devices, specifies the performed certain operation, performed with respect to one of the plurality of devices, as a defined behavior pattern of the person correlated to a behavior before the person leaves the home, when a variation of the calculated time differences of the corresponding one of the plurality of devices is equal to or lower than a defined threshold value.

8. The server apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

receiving specification of a time from a device that a user uses;

calculating a probability that a person is at home at the specified time on the basis of the defined behavior pattern when a specified operation time is a time within a period of a certain time ending at the time at which the specification has been received,

wherein the specified operation time is one of the specified operation times of the one of the plurality of devices for which the certain operation is specified as the defined behavior pattern.

9. The server apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the certain operation, performed with respect to one of the plurality of devices, is an operation for turning off a main power switch of the one of the plurality of devices provided in the home.

10. The server apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the home is a house, a room in an apartment, an office or a store.