Laundry system including home terminal device and laundry apparatus with communicating function

• US 20050109070A1
• Filed: 12/27/2002
• Published: 05/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Consumer Marketing Corporation (Midea Group Co., Ltd), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Ha Products Co., Ltd. (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Consumer Marketing Corporation (Midea Group Co., Ltd), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Ha Products Co., Ltd. (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Miho, Nishimura, Yoshimi, Haruna, Hiroyuki, Imamura, Fumihiro, Kobayashi, Midori
• Granted Patent: US 7,174,227 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 68/3.R
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2101/00 User input for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 25/00 Washing machines with receptacles, e.g. perforated, having a rotary movement, e.g. oscillatory movement, the receptacle serving both for washing and for centrifugally separating water from the laundry and having further drying means, e.g. using hot air control of washing or of washing and drying D06F33/00, D06F34/00; domestic laundry dryers D06F58/00
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 33/32 Control of operational steps, e.g. optimisation or improvement of operational steps depending on the condition of the laundry
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/05 for wireless communication between components, e.g. for remote monitoring or control
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/32 characterised by graphical features, e.g. touchscreens
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/085 on baking ovens
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/086 touch control

Abstract

A laundry system (1) includes a home terminal device (3) and laundry apparatus (4). The terminal device includes a first short-range communication device (8), a long-range communication device (7), and a terminal device controller (9) transmitting information about laundry and information about a laundry constraint to a server (2) connected to an Internet (5), thereby obtaining an operation control program for the laundry apparatus. The terminal device controller transfers the obtained operation control program via the first short-range communication device to the laundry apparatus and receives via the first short-range communication device information about an operating state of the laundry apparatus. The laundry apparatus includes a second short-range communication device (15), a laundry apparatus controller (17), and a laundry unit (16). The laundry apparatus controller receives the operation control program via the second short-range communication device from the terminal device to control the laundry unit and transfers the information about the operating state of the laundry apparatus via the second short-range communication device to the terminal device.

Claims

1. A laundry system comprising a terminal device and a laundry apparatus, the terminal device including:

a display panel;

an input panel;

a first short-range communication device;

a long-range communication device; and

a terminal device controller transmitting information about clothes as laundry and information about a laundry constraint both set on the input panel, to a server connected to a long-range communication network for providing laundry control information, using the long-range communication device, thereby obtaining an operation control program for the laundry apparatus on the basis of the two pieces of information, the terminal device controller transmitting the obtained operation control program via the first short-range communication device to the laundry apparatus, the terminal device controller receiving via the first short-range communication device information about an operating state of the laundry apparatus, displaying the information on the display panel; and

the laundry apparatus including;

an operation panel;

a laundry unit;

a second short-range communication device; and

a laundry apparatus controller receiving the operation control program via the second short-range communication device from the terminal device to control the laundry unit so that laundry is washed and/or dried, the laundry apparatus controller transmitting to the terminal device the information about the operating state of the laundry apparatus via the second short-range communication device.

2. A laundry system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device controller obtains from the server a plurality of major groups of clothes to be laundered to display the obtained major groups on the display panel, the terminal device controller obtaining from the server a plurality of minor groups of clothes belonging to a selected one of the main groups, displaying the obtained minor groups on the display panel.

3. A laundry system according to claim 2, wherein the terminal device controller obtains from the server a piece of guide information about laundry of clothes belonging to a selected one of the minor groups to display the obtained information on the display panel.

4. A laundry system according to claim 3, wherein when two or more minor groups are designated as laundry, the terminal device controller obtains from the server an operation control program for the laundry apparatus in consideration of the two or more selected minor groups thereby to transfer the obtained operation control program to the laundry apparatus.

5. A laundry system according to claim 3, wherein when two or more minor groups are designated as laundry, the terminal device controller obtains from the server a piece of information as to whether it is appropriate for laundry of clothes belonging to the two or more minor groups, together, thereby to display the obtained information on the display panel.

6. A laundry system according to claim 1, wherein when a “

noise-reduced”

course has been selected as the laundry constraint, the terminal device controller obtains from the server the operation control program taking the selected laundry constraint into account, transferring the obtained operation control program to the laundry apparatus.

7. A laundry system according to claim 1, wherein when an “

atopy care”

course has been selected as the laundry constraint, the terminal device controller obtains from the server the operation control program taking the selected laundry constraint into account, transferring the obtained operation control program to the laundry apparatus.

8. A laundry system according to claim 1, wherein when a “

detergent setting”

course has been selected so that a detergent to be used has been designated, the terminal device controller obtains from the server the operation control program taking the selected laundry constraint into account, transferring the obtained operation control program to the laundry apparatus.

9. A laundry system according to claim 1, wherein the laundry apparatus controller notifies the terminal device via the first short-range communication device that a power supply of the laundry apparatus has been turned on, the terminal device confirms the notification and subsequently transmits the obtained operation control program to the laundry apparatus controller.

10. A laundry system according to claim 1, wherein when receiving via the input panel an instruction regarding addition of clothing, the terminal device controller obtains from the server main and minor groups of clothes to be allowed to be added, displaying the obtained groups on the display panel, and when minor groups of clothes to be added are instructed via the input panel, the terminal device controller obtains from the server the operation control program taking addition of clothes into account, transmitting the obtained program to the laundry apparatus controller.

11. A laundry system according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device controller displays, on the display panel, a changeable item of the operation control program which has been transferred to the laundry apparatus controller, and when a change has been instructed via the input panel, the terminal device controller obtains from the server the operation control program taking instructed contents into account, transmitting the obtained operation control program to the laundry apparatus.

12. A laundry system according to claim 1, wherein when having received an instruction regarding a laundry finish time via the input panel, the terminal device controller transfers data of the laundry finish time to the laundry apparatus controller.

13. A laundry system according to claim 1, wherein when the operation panel of the laundry apparatus has been operated so that contents of the operation control program have been changed, the laundry apparatus controller transfers the changed contents of the operation control program to the terminal controller and displays the changed contents of the operation control program on the display panel.

14. A laundry system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, 10 and 11, wherein the laundry apparatus controller transmits data of a model name of the laundry apparatus via the first short-range communication device to the terminal device.

15. A laundry system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, 10 and 11, wherein the terminal controller transmits data of a type number of the laundry apparatus to the server to obtain an operation control program taking the transmitted data of the type number of the laundry apparatus into account, instead of the previous operation control program.