Control method used in a remote control system

• US 9,621,433 B2
• Filed: 12/25/2013
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• 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, Yamada, Kazushige, Shimizu, Kenji, Takahashi, Masaki, Nishikawa, Yuri, Kozuka, Masayuki, Nakano, Toshihisa, Sekibe, Tsutomu, Ohmori, Motoji, Takemura, Hiroyuki, Yamaguchi, Jun, Hosaka, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Belousov, Andrey
• Application Number:
  US14/381,416
• Publication Number:
  US 20150095790A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,203 Days
• Field of Search: 715734, 715736
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/30 User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/50 Receiving or transmitting feedback, e.g. replies, status updates, acknowledgements, from the controlled devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/91 Remote control based on location and proximity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]

Abstract

A control method used in a remote control system according to the present disclosure includes: a step of displaying candidates for a target apparatus to be controlled among apparatuses on a user interface region of a display unit of an information terminal; a step of obtaining, via a network, control indexes used to determine a display mode for the user interface region; a step of displaying, on the user interface region, one or more control menus in a display mode determined based on a selected target apparatus and the control indexes; a step of generating a control signal for causing the target apparatus to perform an operation according to control corresponding to a control menu, when the control menu is selected from the one or more displayed control menus; and a step of 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 as a target apparatus via a network, the control method comprising:

displaying target apparatus candidates or action type candidates on a user interface region of a display unit of the information terminal, the target apparatus candidates being candidates for the target apparatus among the apparatuses, and the action type candidates being candidates for a target action type which a user wishes to take and being associated with respective operations on the target apparatus;

obtaining, via the network, a plurality of control indexes used to determine a display mode for the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal;

displaying, on the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal, one or more control menus in the display mode determined based on (i) the target apparatus or the target action type and (ii) the control indexes, the target apparatus being selected from the target apparatus candidates, and the target action type being selected from the action type candidates;

generating a control signal for causing the target apparatus to perform an operation according to control corresponding to a control menu, when the control menu is selected from the one or more control menus displayed on the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal; and

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

wherein the control indexes include an attribute of an operator of the information terminal and a state of the target apparatus,

in the displaying of the one or more control menus, when (i) the target apparatus has a heating function and (ii) the operator of the information terminal is a child, the one or more control menus displayed on the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal include a predetermined control menu that is not selectable, the predetermined control menu being selectable when the operator of the information terminal is an adult,

the predetermined control menu is for powering the target apparatus ON, and

in the displaying of the one or more control menus, only a control menu for powering the target apparatus OFF is displayed on the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal as the one or more control menus, and the control menu for powering the target apparatus ON is not displayed on the user interface region.

3. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein the control indexes further include a current position of an operator of the information terminal, and

in the displaying of the one or more control menus, when the target apparatus has a heating function, the display mode is determined according to whether the current position is outside or inside of a home in which the target apparatus is located.

5. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein the control indexes further include a current position of an operator of the information terminal, and

in the displaying of the one or more control menus, when (i) the target apparatus has a heating function, (ii) the operator of the information terminal is a child, and (iii) the current position is in a home in which the target apparatus is located, the one or more control menus displayed on the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal are identical to the one or more control menus displayed when the operator of the information terminal is an adult.

6. The control method according to claim 1,

wherein when the action type candidates are displayed and the target action type is selected by an operator of the information terminal from the action type candidates, the displaying of the target apparatus candidates or the action type candidates includes determining whether or not an operation on the target apparatus which is associated with the target action type satisfies a warning condition for issuing a warning to the operator of the information terminal, and

in the displaying of the one or more control menus, when it is determined in the determining that the operation satisfies the warning condition, the warning is displayed together with or superimposing on the one or more control menus on the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal.

7. The control method according to claim 6,

wherein in the determining of whether or not the operation satisfies the warning condition, when the target action type is selected by the operator of the information terminal from the action type candidates, it is determined whether or not the operation on the target apparatus which is associated with the target action type satisfies a warning condition that the operation invades privacy of a person who is not the operator of the information terminal.

8. The control method according to claim 6,

wherein in the determining of whether or not the operation satisfies the warning condition, when the target action type is selected by the operator of the information terminal from the action type candidates, it is determined whether or not the operation on the target apparatus which is associated with the target action type satisfies a warning condition that the operation is an irreversible operation.

9. The control method according to claim 8,

wherein in the determining of whether or not the operation satisfies the warning condition, when (i) the target apparatus associated with the target action type is a video recorder and (ii) the operation on the target apparatus which is associated with the target action type is deletion of recorded content, it is determined that the operation on the target apparatus is the irreversible operation and satisfies the warning condition.

10. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising

displaying a dialogue for inducing an operator of the information terminal to determine whether or not the target apparatus is to operate according to control corresponding to a control menu, when the control menu is selected from the one or more control menus displayed on the information terminal,

wherein the generating of the control signal is performed when the operator of the information terminal determines, in the displaying of the dialogue, that the target apparatus is to perform the operation according to the control corresponding to the control menu.

11. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising

displaying a dialogue for inducing an operator of the information terminal to confirm control information related to control corresponding to a control menu, when the control menu is selected from the one or more control menus displayed on the information terminal,

wherein the generating of the control signal is performed when the operator of the information terminal confirms the control information in the displaying of the dialogue.

12. The control method according to claim 1, further comprising

displaying a message for inquiring a person whether or not the person agrees with control corresponding to a control menu, when the control menu is selected from the one or more control menus displayed on the information terminal, the person being to be influenced by the control,

wherein the generating of the control signal is performed after the person agrees with the control in the displaying of the message.

13. The control method according to claim 12,

wherein the person is using the target apparatus to perform the operation according to the control corresponding to the control menu.

14. The control method according to claim 13,

wherein the person using the target apparatus is one of (a) a person who is near the target apparatus and (b) a person who has controlled on the target apparatus, and

the control corresponding to the control menu is one of (a) control for changing a state of the target apparatus and (b) control for causing the target apparatus to obtain information regarding privacy of the person.

15. The control method according to claim 12,

wherein in the displaying of the message, the message is displayed on a display apparatus different from the target apparatus.

16. The control method according to claim 12,

wherein in the generating of the control signal, the control signal for causing the target apparatus to perform an operation according to control corresponding to the control menu is not generated when the person disagrees with the control in the displaying of the message.

17. The control method according to claim 12,

wherein in the generating of the control signal, the control signal for causing the target apparatus to perform an operation according to control corresponding to the control menu is generated when the person has not replied to the inquiring over a predetermined time period in the displaying of the message.

2. 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 as a target apparatus via a network, the control method comprising:

displaying target apparatus candidates or action type candidates on a user interface region of a display unit of the information terminal, the target apparatus candidates being candidates for the target apparatus among the apparatuses, and the action type candidates being candidates for a target action type which a user wishes to take and being associated with respective operations on the target apparatus;

obtaining, via the network, a plurality of control indexes used to determine a display mode for the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal;

displaying, on the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal, one or more control menus in the display mode determined based on (i) the target apparatus or the target action type and (ii) the control indexes, the target apparatus being selected from the target apparatus candidates, and the target action type being selected from the action type candidates;

generating a control signal for causing the target apparatus to perform an operation according to control corresponding to a control menu, when the control menu is selected from the one or more control menus displayed on the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal; and

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

wherein the control indexes include;

an attribute of an operator of the information terminal;

a current position of the operator of the information terminal;

an attribute of a different operator of an information terminal different from the information terminal; and

a current position of the different operator, and

in the displaying of the one or more control menus, when (i) the target apparatus has a heating function, (ii) the operator of the information terminal is a child, (iii) the different operator of the different information terminal is near the current position of the operator of the information terminal, and (iv) the different operator of the different information terminal is an adult, the one or more control menus displayed on the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal are same as the one or more control menus displayed when the operator of the information terminal is an adult.

4. The control method according to claim 2,

wherein the control indexes further include a state of the target apparatus,

in the displaying of the one or more control menus, when (i) the target apparatus has a heating function and (ii) the operator of the information terminal is a child, the one or more control menus displayed on the user interface region of the display unit of the information terminal include a predetermined control menu that is not selectable, the predetermined control menu being selectable when the operator of the information terminal is an adult.