Network control method and apparatus for home appliance

• US 6,850,149 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2001
• Issued: 02/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Park, Joon Hyung
• Primary Examiner(s): Horabik, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, NAM V
• Application Number:
  US09/929,101
• Publication Number:
  US 20020063633A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• Field of Search: 340/7.1, 340/7.21, 340/7.24, 340/7.29, 340/7.3, 340/7.31, 340/825.69, 340/825.72, 455/420, 455/557, 455/573, 345/326, 345/327, 379/102.1
• US Class Current: 340/7.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1418 Removal detected by failure in electrical connection between the appliance and a control centre, home control panel or a power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72415 for remote control of appliances

Abstract

An apparatus and method for controlling a home appliance network is disclosed, in which a home server is established at low cost so that an external user can easily control the operation of home appliances within home. The apparatus for controlling a home appliance network having at least one or more home appliances includes an external communication means for inputting a predetermined operation control command to control the operation of the home appliances by externally accessing a home page of a corresponding communication service provider through an Internet, a radio communication network for transmitting the operation control command input to the home page through the external communication means in a radio type, and an internal communication means located within home, for controlling the operation of the corresponding home appliance of the home appliance network to correspond to the operation control command transmitted in a radio type through the radio communication network.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling a home appliance network having at least one or more home appliances comprising:

an external communication means, physically separate from a home including the home appliance network, for accepting an input of an operation control command to control the operation of the home appliances, wherein the external communication means includes a home page of a corresponding communication service provider through an Internet, and the home page receives the operation control command from a user;

a radio communication network for transmitting the operation control command input to the home page by dialing a cellular phone number and transmitting data representing the operation control command over a cellular network; and

an internal communication means, located within the home including the home appliance network, the internal communication means answering the dialed cellular phone number, receiving the data representing the operation control command, and transmitting the operation control command to a home appliance of the home appliance network.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the home page of the external communication means receives the operation control command from at least one of a first external communication equipment accessing the home page through a cable communication network and a second external communication equipment accessing the home page through a radio communication network or the cable communication network.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the cable communication network includes a telephone communication network or an Internet private communication network.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the radio communication network is a portable radio communication network.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first external communication equipment includes at least one of a PC, a private terminal unit, and a server.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second external communication equipment is a portable personal communication terminal unit.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the internal communication means is a portable personal communication terminal unit.

8. A method for controlling a home appliance network having at least one or more home appliances comprising:

presenting a home page accessible over the Internet, the home page being provided by external communication equipment, physically separate from a home including the home appliance network;

accepting a user'"'"'s input of an operation control command to control the operation of one or more of the home appliances via the home page;

dialing a cellular telephone number and transmitting data representing the operation control command over a cellular network;

answering the dialed cellular phone number at internal communication equipment, located within the home including the home appliance network;

receiving the data representing the operation control command at the internal communication equipment; and

transmitting the operation control command from the internal communication equipment to a home appliance of the home appliance network.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

monitoring the operation state of the home appliance and providing the operation state to the internal communication equipment; and

transmitting the operation state from the internal communication equipment to the external communication equipment through the cellular network.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

detecting at the home appliance whether there is any error and outputting the detected result to the internal communication equipment; and

outputting at the internal communication equipment the detected result to the external communication equipment if the one accesses the other.