Apparatus and method for remotely controlling household appliances
First Claim
1. An apparatus for remotely controlling household appliances, comprising:
- a first network processor for performing remote communication with an external Internet network to receive external remote control information therefrom, said first network processor being connected to a home network to transmit the received remote control information to an associated one of said household appliances and receive information regarding a current state of each of said household appliances to transmit the received state information to said external Internet network; and
a plurality of second network processors each connected between the output of said first network processor and the input of an associated one of said household appliances via a power line for receiving said remote control information from said first network processor and transmitting the state information of the associated household appliance to said first network processor.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for remotely controlling household appliances, wherein the household appliances are connected to a home network based on a power line and a network processor is installed in each of the household appliances, thereby enabling a household appliance user to remotely control the appliances from a place outside of his or her home as well as inside thereof. Further, information about all conditions of the household appliances can be displayed on a screen displayable one of the household appliances so that the user can recognize the operations of the appliances even during spare moments. Moreover, a low-price built-in server is installed in each of the household appliances such that the corresponding appliance is assigned a unique IP address simply over the Internet and controlled according to an external control command from the user. Furthermore, a home server is connected to each of the household appliances such that the corresponding appliance receives a control command, sent from the user using a mobile terminal. Therefore, the user can control the household appliances even while in transit.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. An apparatus for remotely controlling household appliances, comprising:
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a first network processor for performing remote communication with an external Internet network to receive external remote control information therefrom, said first network processor being connected to a home network to transmit the received remote control information to an associated one of said household appliances and receive information regarding a current state of each of said household appliances to transmit the received state information to said external Internet network; and
a plurality of second network processors each connected between the output of said first network processor and the input of an associated one of said household appliances via a power line for receiving said remote control information from said first network processor and transmitting the state information of the associated household appliance to said first network processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for remotely controlling at least one household appliance, comprising:
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a built-in Web server installed in said household appliance for assigning an Internet protocol (IP) address to said household appliance and extracting control information associated with the assigned IP address from a control signal sent through an external communication network; and
a household appliance control unit for controlling the entire operation of said household appliance according to the control information extracted by said built-in Web server. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20)
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19. A method for remotely controlling at least one household appliance, comprising the steps of:
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a) allowing a user to call an IP address of said household appliance over an Internet network to control said appliance;
b) running a program for control of said household appliance in a personal computer of said user;
c) allowing said user to enter a control command for said household appliance according to said program run at said step b);
d) controlling said household appliance in response to said control command entered at said step c); and
e) transmitting information about the entire operation of said household appliance controlled at said step d) to said user so that he or she can recognize it.
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21. A method for remotely controlling at least one household appliance, comprising the steps of:
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a) constructing a service provider for storing a MAC address, assigned to said household appliance upon being manufactured and sold, and assigning an IP address to said appliance on the basis of the stored MAC address;
b) allowing said service provider constructed at said step a) to, when said household appliance is connected to an external communication network, sense a MAC address of said appliance and determine whether said appliance requests an IP address assignment;
c) allowing said service provider to compare said MAC address sensed at said step b) with said MAC address stored at said step a) if it is determined at said step b) that said appliance requests the IP address assignment; and
d) allowing said service provider to assign an IP address to said household appliance if said sensed MAC address is determined to be the same as said stored MAC address from the result compared at said step c), and to return to said step b) if said sensed MAC address is determined not to be the same as said stored MAC address.
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22. An apparatus for remotely controlling at least one household appliance, comprising:
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a household appliance microcomputer for controlling the operations of various components in said household appliance, checking operating states of said components and generating fault/repair information in accordance with the checked results;
a network processor for communicating with said household appliance microcomputer and calling a repair service over an Internet network upon receiving said fault/repair information from said microcomputer; and
a communication controller connected between said household appliance microcomputer and said network processor for performing a communication processing function and signal coupling function therebetween. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method for remotely controlling at least one household appliance, comprising the steps of:
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a) controlling the operations of various components in said household appliance, checking operating states of said components and generating fault/repair information upon occurrence of a fault in said appliance;
b) performing a communication processing function and a signal coupling function to generate an automatic service call according to said fault/repair information generated at said step a);
c) gaining access to a service center over an Internet network using a unique identification code and transmitting fault/repair records to said service center; and
d) allowing said service center to receive the transmitted fault/repair records if said unique identification code is valid and then to display a reception acknowledgement message containing information about a visit time of a repairman and the degree of said fault.
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Specification