CONTROL METHOD

• US 20150039100A1
• Filed: 12/25/2013
• Published: 02/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2012
• 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: Yoshida, Chikara, Kozuka, Masayuki, Nakano, Toshihisa, Sekibe, Tsutomu, Yamaguchi, Jun, Yamada, Kazushige, Shimizu, Kenji, Takahashi, Masaki, Nishikawa, Yuri, Ohmori, Motoji, Takemura, Hiroyuki, Hosaka, Takeshi
• Granted Patent: US 9,778,634 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/19
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/40 Remote control systems using repeaters, converters, gateways
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/42 Transmitting or receiving remote control signals via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators

Abstract

A control method includes: displaying candidate information on a user interface region of a display unit in an information terminal; obtaining, via a network, an operation history of each of apparatuses which indicates an operation performed on the corresponding apparatus; displaying, on the user interface region, a dialog for prompting a user to confirm whether or not to perform predetermined control on a target apparatus which is extracted according to at least one of (a) selected apparatus information (b) selected place information and (c) selected operator information, and has an operation history that satisfies a predetermined condition; generating a control signal for performing the predetermined control on the target apparatus, when the user confirms in the dialog that the predetermined control is to be performed on the target apparatus; and transmitting the control signal to the target apparatus via the network.

Claims

1. A control method used in a remote control system including a plurality of apparatuses and an information terminal that controls at least one of the apparatuses via a network, the control method comprising:

displaying, on a user interface region of a display unit in the information terminal, at least one of (a) pieces of apparatus information indicating apparatus candidates from which an apparatus is to be selected from the apparatuses, (b) pieces of place information indicating place candidates from which a place of at least one of the apparatuses is to be selected, and (c) pieces of operator information indicating operator candidates from which an operator who has operated at least one of the apparatuses is to be selected;

obtaining an operation history of each of the apparatuses via the network, the operation history indicating an operation performed on the each of the apparatuses;

displaying, on the user interface region, a dialog for prompting a user to confirm whether or not to perform predetermined control on a target apparatus, the target apparatus being extracted from the apparatuses according to at least one of (a) apparatus information selected from the pieces of the apparatus information, (b) place information selected from the pieces of the place information, and (c) operator information selected from the pieces of the operator information, and the target apparatus corresponding to the operation history that satisfies a predetermined condition;

generating a control signal for performing the predetermined control on the target apparatus, when the user confirms in the dialog that the predetermined control is to be performed on the target apparatus; and

transmitting the control signal to the target apparatus via the network.

2. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein, in the operation history, the operation performed on the each of the apparatuses is associated in a time of performing the operation,

the predetermined condition is a condition that (a) a latest operation history of the target apparatus among operation histories including the operation history indicates that the target apparatus has been operated to be powered ON, and (b) a predetermined time period has passed since a time of performing the operation indicated in the latest operation history, and

in the displaying of the dialog, the dialog prompts the user to confirm whether or not to perform control as the predetermined control on an apparatus that is the target apparatus satisfying the condition, the control being control for powering OFF the apparatus.

3. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein, in the operation history, the operation performed on the each of the apparatuses is associated with a time of performing the operation,

the predetermined condition is a condition that (a) a latest operation history of the target apparatus among operation histories including the operation history indicates that the target apparatus has been operated to be powered ON, (b) a predetermined time period has passed since a time of performing the operation indicated in the latest operation history, and (c) the user is not in a place where the target apparatus is set, and

in the displaying of the dialog, the dialog prompts the user to confirm whether or not to perform control as the predetermined control on an apparatus that is the target apparatus satisfying the condition, the control being control for powering OFF the apparatus.

4. The control method according to claim 3,

wherein, in the operation history, the each of the apparatuses is further associated with an operator who has performed the operation,

the condition further includes a condition that the target apparatus to be extracted is in a place different from a place where an operator who has performed a latest operation indicated in the operation history on the target apparatus is present, and

the control method further comprises

determining whether or not the operator who has performed the latest operation on the target apparatus is in the place where the target apparatus is set,

wherein in the displaying of the dialog, the dialog prompts the user to confirm whether or not to perform the control on the apparatus as the target apparatus, the apparatus being extracted from the apparatuses according to at least one of (a) apparatus information selected from the pieces of the apparatus information, (b) place information selected from the pieces of the place information, and (c) operator information selected from the pieces of the operator information, and the apparatus corresponding to the operation history and a result of the determining both of which satisfy the condition.

5. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein in the displaying of the dialog, information indicating the target apparatus that satisfies the predetermined condition is displayed with the dialog in a display mode indicating that the target apparatus satisfies the condition.

6. The control method according claim 1,

wherein the displaying of the dialog further includes

displaying, on the user interface region of the display unit in the information terminal, a dialog for prompting the user to confirm whether or not to extract the operation history indicating the operation performed on the target apparatus, the target apparatus being extracted from the apparatuses according to at least one of (a) apparatus information selected from the pieces of the apparatus information, (b) place information selected from the pieces of the place information, and (c) operator information selected from the pieces of the operator information, and

the control method further comprises

when the user confirms in the dialog that the operation history indicating the operation performed on the target apparatus is to be extracted, (i) extracting the operation history, and (ii) displaying the extracted operation history on the user interface region.