Server for home appliance network system

• US 9,615,211 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2012
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Waugh, Thorne E
• Application Number:
  US14/124,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20140095663A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,755 Days
• Field of Search: 709217
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters

Abstract

A server (3) includes a server communication unit (302) for communicating with a portable terminal (1) and a home appliance (2), a position-determining unit (304) for acquiring information on a position of the terminal (1) during communication, an initial screen storage (305) for storing different position conditions and a collection of screen information defining respective content of initial screens corresponding to the conditions, and an activation unit (306). If position information obtained based on the information on the position acquired through the position-determining unit (304) corresponds to any position condition of the different position conditions, the unit (306) retrieves screen information defining content of an initial screen corresponding to the position condition from the storage (305) to provide the terminal (1) with the information.

Claims

1. A server equipment for a home appliance network system, the server equipment constituting the home appliance network system along with a portable terminal and a home appliance,

wherein the server equipment comprises:

a communicator configured to communicate with the portable terminal and the home appliance;

a locator configured to acquire information on a position of the portable terminal during communication through the communicator;

an initial screen storage configured to store different position conditions and a collection of screen information defining respective content of initial screens corresponding to the position conditions, per portable terminal; and

a retriever configured, if position information obtained based on the information on the position of the portable terminal acquired through the locator corresponds to any position condition of said different position conditions, to retrieve screen information defining content of an initial screen corresponding to the position condition from the initial screen storage, and to supply the screen information to the portable terminal.

2. The server equipment of claim 1, further comprising:

an appliance controller configured to control the home appliance in accordance with a control instruction supplied through the portable terminal, and

an identifier configured to specify the portable terminal during communication through the communicator.

3. The server equipment of claim 2, comprising an automatic control instruction storage configured to store one or more automatic control instructions, as a control instruction with respect to the home appliance, corresponding to one or more position conditions of said different position conditions, respectively, wherein:

the appliance controller is configured, if the position information obtained based on the information on the position acquired through the locator corresponds to any automatic control instruction of one or more automatic control instructions stored in the automatic control instruction storage, to retrieve the automatic control instruction from the automatic control instruction storage to control the home appliance in accordance with the automatic control instruction; and

the initial screen storage is configured so that one or more initial screens respectively corresponding to one or more automatic control instructions stored in the automatic control instruction storage previously contain control completion notices by the one or more automatic control instructions.

4. The server equipment of claim 1, further comprising a position information storage configured to store a position condition of a house in which the home appliance is installed,

wherein the locator is configured to obtain a distance of the portable terminal from the house as the position information based on the information on the position of the portable terminal and the position information of the house stored in the position information storage.

5. The server equipment of claim 4, comprising an automatic control instruction storage configured to store one or more automatic control instructions, as a control instruction with respect to the home appliance, corresponding to one or more position conditions of said different position conditions, respectively, wherein:

the appliance controller is configured, if the position information obtained based on the information on the position acquired through the locator corresponds to any automatic control instruction of one or more automatic control instructions stored in the automatic control instruction storage, to retrieve the automatic control instruction from the automatic control instruction storage to control the home appliance in accordance with the automatic control instruction; and

the initial screen storage is configured so that one or more initial screens respectively corresponding to one or more automatic control instructions stored in the automatic control instruction storage previously contain control completion notices by the one or more automatic control instructions.

6. The server equipment of claim 1, further comprising a map builder configured to acquire map information,

wherein the locator is configured to obtain a point of the portable terminal on a map as the position information based on the information on the position of the portable terminal and the map information acquired through the map builder.

7. The server equipment of claim 6, comprising an automatic control instruction storage configured to store one or more automatic control instructions, as a control instruction with respect to the home appliance, corresponding to one or more position conditions of said different position conditions, respectively, wherein:

the appliance controller is configured, if the position information obtained based on the information on the position acquired through the locator corresponds to any automatic control instruction of one or more automatic control instructions stored in the automatic control instruction storage, to retrieve the automatic control instruction from the automatic control instruction storage to control the home appliance in accordance with the automatic control instruction; and

the initial screen storage is configured so that one or more initial screens respectively corresponding to one or more automatic control instructions stored in the automatic control instruction storage previously contain control completion notices by the one or more automatic control instructions.

8. A server equipment for a home appliance network system, the server equipment constituting the home appliance network system along with a portable terminal and a home appliance,

wherein the server equipment comprises:

a communicator configured to communicate with the portable terminal and the home appliance;

a locator configured to acquire information on a position of the portable terminal during communication through the communicator;

an initial screen storage configured to store different position conditions and a collection of screen information defining respective content of initial screens corresponding to the position conditions, per portable terminal;

a retriever configured, if position information obtained based on the information on the position of the portable terminal acquired through the locator corresponds to any position condition of said different position conditions, to retrieve screen information defining content of an initial screen corresponding to the position condition from the initial screen storage, and to supply the screen information to the portable terminal; and

a position information storage configured to store position information of a house in which the home appliance is installed, a map builder configured to acquire map information, and a priority condition storage, wherein;

the locator is configured to obtain first position information and second position information as said position information, the locator being configured to obtain a distance of the portable terminal from the house based on the information on the position of the portable terminal and the position information of the house stored in the position information storage and to thereby obtain the first position information, the locator being configured to obtain a point of the portable terminal on a map based on the information on the position of the portable terminal and the map information acquired through the map builder and to thereby obtain the second position information; and

the initial screen storage is configured to store different first position conditions that are relevant to the first position information and a collection of screen information defining respective content of initial screens corresponding to the first position conditions, the initial screen storage being also configured to store different second position conditions that are relevant to the second position information and a collection of screen information defining respective content of initial screens corresponding to the second position conditions;

the priority condition storage is configured to store first conditions for priority respectively corresponding to the different first position conditions and second conditions for priority respectively corresponding to the different second position conditions;

the retriever is configured, if the first position information obtained through the locator corresponds to any first position condition of the different first position conditions and the second position information obtained through the locator corresponds to any second position condition of the different second position conditions, to read out a first condition for priority and a second condition for priority respectively corresponding to the first position condition and the second position condition from the priority condition storage, to select a position condition corresponding to a condition for priority higher between the first condition for priority and the second condition for priority from the first position condition and the second position condition, and to retrieve screen information defining content of an initial screen corresponding to the selected position condition from the initial screen storage to provide the portable terminal with the screen information.

9. The server equipment of claim 8, comprising an automatic control instruction storage configured to store one or more automatic control instructions, as a control instruction with respect to the home appliance, corresponding to one or more position conditions of said different position conditions, respectively, wherein:

the appliance controller is configured, if the position information obtained based on the information on the position acquired through the locator corresponds to any automatic control instruction of one or more automatic control instructions stored in the automatic control instruction storage, to retrieve the automatic control instruction from the automatic control instruction storage to control the home appliance in accordance with the automatic control instruction; and

the initial screen storage is configured so that one or more initial screens respectively corresponding to one or more automatic control instructions stored in the automatic control instruction storage previously contain control completion notices by the one or more automatic control instructions.