Method for controlling home automation system

• US 7,251,533 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2002
• Issued: 07/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Choi, Hwan Jong, Lee, Koon Seok, Baek, Seung Myun, Yoon, Hong Shik
• Primary Examiner(s): Hartman, Jr.; Ronald D
• Application Number:
  US10/506,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20050177254A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,938 Days
• Field of Search: 700/17, 700/83, 700/9, 340/3.1, 340/3.71, 340/3.9, 715/740, 715/760, 715/771, 715/840, 715/970, 715/700, 715733-734, 702/188
• US Class Current: 700/17
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/97 Instrumentation and component modelling, e.g. interactive control panel

Abstract

A method for controlling a home automation system is disclosed, in which a PC for controlling web sites, electric home appliances, and communication between the web sites and the electric home appliances is provided. The method includes a step for trying to communicate with web sites or electric home appliances by using a predetermined program, a step for displaying a web page or a local page according to the communication try result; a step for displaying a corresponding web page or a local page according to the number of connected electric home appliances; and a step for controlling a corresponding appliance by inputting a controlling button of the displayed page.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a home automation system, the home automation system being provided with a website and a PC for controlling communication with the website and/or at least one home appliance, comprising steps of:

attempting communication with the website and/or the at least one home appliance using a predetermined program;

displaying a web page or a local page of a corresponding home appliance according to a communication attempt result;

displaying a web page or a local page of the corresponding home appliance based on the number of the home appliances that are connected; and

controlling the corresponding home appliance according to a command input via an appliance control button on a linked screen associated with the corresponding appliance;

wherein when displaying the web or local pages corresponding to the communication attempt, the corresponding web page is displayed if Internet Operation Program (IOP) built in the PC is connected to both the website and home appliance and the local page stored in the PC is displayed if the IOP is connected only to the home appliance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein if the number of home appliances connected to the IOP is a predetermined value, the web page or the local page of the corresponding home appliance being displayed according to the communication attempt.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein if the number of the home appliances connected to the IOP is greater than the predetermined value, then a web page or a local page of a selected home appliance is displayed.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined number is one.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said controlling the corresponding home appliance includes:

extracting a control code of the corresponding home appliance when the appliance control button is input; and

transmitting the control code to the corresponding home appliance through a communication port upon extracting the control code.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the communication port is an RS-232C-based port.

7. The method of claim 1, the method for controlling a home automation system further comprises displaying the linked screen if the appliance control button is not activated.