JP7482144B2 - Home appliance system, control method, and control program - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a home appliance system, etc. This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-174083, filed in Japan on September 25, 2019, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that enables a humidifier to sense the ambient illuminance and control the humidification operation based on the sensed illuminance.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-281504

In the humidifier described in Patent Document 1 above, when the illuminance detected by the sensor is lower than the reference illuminance, the humidifier operates in a sleep mode with a low amount of humidification.

One aspect of the present disclosure aims to realize a home appliance system or the like capable of controlling home appliances with efficient operation content based on, for example, measurement values from a sensor that correspond to the installation location of the home appliance and the operation time of the home appliance.

A home appliance system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires an installation location of a home appliance, a condition determination unit that determines usage conditions that use measurement values from at least one sensor provided in the home appliance depending on the installation location and the operating time at which the home appliance is operated, and a home appliance control unit that controls the home appliance with operation content based on the installation location and a judgment result obtained from the measurement values.

A control method for a home appliance system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition step of acquiring an installation location of a home appliance, a condition determination step of determining a usage condition using a measurement value from at least one sensor provided in the home appliance according to the installation location and an operation time at which the home appliance is operated, and a home appliance control step of controlling the home appliance with an operation content based on the installation location and a judgment result obtained from the measurement value.

A control program for a home appliance system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure provides the home appliance system with an acquisition function for acquiring the installation location of the home appliance, a condition determination function for determining usage conditions using measurement values from at least one sensor provided in the home appliance depending on the installation location and the operating time at which the home appliance is operated, and a home appliance control function for controlling the home appliance with operation content based on the installation location and the judgment result obtained from the measurement values.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing configurations of a home appliance system and an information processing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a main configuration of a server according to the first embodiment. 6 is an example of information indicating usage conditions based on the installation location and operation time of the air conditioner according to the first embodiment. 11 is an example of information indicating a type of operation mode based on the installation location and the operation time. 11 is an example of information indicating operation details of the air conditioner corresponding to the type of the operation mode. This is an example of the operation content when the air conditioner is installed in a "bedroom." This is an example of the operation content when the air conditioners are installed in the "living room" and the "entrance". 5 is an example of a screen displayed on a user terminal according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by the server. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a main part of an air conditioner according to a second embodiment.

[Embodiment 1]
A first embodiment (embodiment 1) will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. In the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

(Overview of Server 100)
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a home appliance system 120 and an example of the configuration of an information processing system 121. As shown in FIG.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the home appliance system 120 may be, for example, a system including a server 100 and an air conditioner (home appliance) 105, or may be a system consisting of only the server 100 (a system equipped with the server 100). In the latter case, the server 100 operates as the home appliance system 120 and controls the external air conditioner 105.

In addition, the information processing system 121 may be, for example, a system in which a smartphone (user terminal) 110a is added to the home appliance system 120. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the information processing system 121 may further include a notebook PC (user terminal) 110b. In other words, the number of user terminals included in the information processing system 121 may be one or more.

The air conditioner 105 is a home appliance having a humidity adjustment function for adjusting humidity, such as humidification and dehumidification. In this embodiment, the air conditioner 105 is described as an example of a home appliance, but the type of appliance is not important as long as it has the humidity adjustment function (for example, the home appliance may be a humidifier, air purifier, air conditioner, etc.).

Conventional air conditioners would determine whether or not a person was present based on measurements from a sensor equipped in the air conditioner, and would operate in a manner appropriate to the results of that determination. In this case, if the air conditioner is unable to determine whether or not a person is present based solely on measurements from the sensor, there is a risk that it will not be able to operate in an appropriate manner.

Therefore, the server 100 acquires the installation location of the air conditioner 105, and determines usage conditions that use measurement values from at least one sensor equipped in the air conditioner 105 according to the installation location and the operating time when the air conditioner 105 is operating, and operates the air conditioner 105 with operation contents based on the installation location and the judgment results obtained from the measurement values corresponding to the usage conditions.

As a result, the server 100 can determine, for example, based on the installation location and the operation time, which sensor's measurement value will be used to determine whether or not a person is present, and can determine appropriate operation content according to the installation location and the determination result of whether or not a person is present. In other words, the server 100 can determine an appropriate method of using the sensor equipped in the air conditioner 105 based on the installation location and the operation time, and can determine appropriate operation content according to the method of use.

In addition, the air conditioner 105 may determine usage conditions that use measurement values from at least one sensor depending on the installation location and operating time, determine operation contents based on the installation location and the judgment results obtained from the measurement values obtained based on the usage conditions, and operate according to the operation contents.

As a result, even when the air conditioner 105 is not connected to the server 100, it can determine an appropriate method of using the sensor based on the installation location and operating time, and can operate with appropriate operation content according to that usage method.

(Configuration of Server 100)
Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a main configuration of the server. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the server 100 may include, for example, a communication unit 201, a storage unit 202, and a control unit 210. The control unit 210 may include, for example, an installation location acquisition unit 211, an operation time acquisition unit 212, a measurement value acquisition unit 213, a condition determination unit 214, a measurement value selection unit 215, a reflection degree determination unit 216, a judgment unit 217, an operation determination unit 218, a home appliance control unit 219, an operation information acquisition unit 220, a learning unit 221, and a sound output control unit 222.

The control unit 210 has the function of comprehensively controlling various functions of the server 100, and is realized, for example, by a controller (processor) such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

The communication unit 201 transmits and receives various data from, for example, the air conditioner 105 and a user terminal (for example, a smartphone 110a or a notebook PC 110b) via a network. The communication unit 201 may be, for example, hardware capable of communicating with the outside via a network according to a predetermined communication method. It is sufficient for the communication unit 201 to have the essential function of realizing communication with an external device, and there are no limitations on the communication line, communication method, communication medium, etc.

The receiving unit 201a may, for example, receive various information from the air conditioner 105 or the smartphone 110a (or the notebook PC 110b) and output the information to each unit included in the control unit 210.

The transmission unit 201b may, for example, transmit various information input from each unit included in the control unit 210 to the air conditioner 105 or the smartphone 110a (or the notebook PC 110b).

The installation location acquisition unit (acquisition unit) 211 acquires the installation location of the air conditioner 105. Here, the installation location indicates, for example, the location in the user's home where the air conditioner 105 is installed, specifically, a bedroom, living room, entrance, child's room, etc.

In addition, the installation location acquisition unit 211 may, for example, acquire an equipment ID (e.g., a user ID, serial number, manufacturing number, etc.) capable of identifying the air conditioner 105 in association with the installation location.

The operation time acquisition unit 212 acquires, for example, an operation time indicating the time at which the air conditioner 105 is operated.

The measurement value acquisition unit 213 acquires, for example, a measurement value measured by at least one sensor provided in the air conditioner 105. The measurement value acquisition unit 213 may also acquire, for example, multiple measurement values from multiple sensors provided in the air conditioner 105.

In addition, the installation location acquisition unit 211, the operation time acquisition unit 212, and the measurement value acquisition unit 213 may acquire various information (e.g., the installation location, operation time, and measurement value) directly from the air conditioner 105 that is communicatively connected to the server 100, or may acquire the information via the smartphone 110a (or the notebook PC 110b).

The condition determination unit 214 determines the usage conditions using the measurement values from at least one sensor provided in the air conditioner 105, depending on the installation location and the operating time at which the air conditioner 105 is operated (hereinafter referred to as the "operating time").

In addition, the condition determination unit 214 may determine, for example, conditions for using multiple measurement values from multiple sensors provided in the air conditioner 105 as usage conditions.

In addition, the condition determination unit 214 may determine, for example, when the installation location is the entrance, that the usage condition is to use the measurement value from the odor and dust sensor provided in the air conditioner 105.

The measurement value selection unit 215, for example, selects and acquires a measurement value corresponding to the usage conditions determined by the condition determination unit 214 from among multiple measurement values acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit 213.

The reflection degree determination unit 216, for example, determines a reflection degree indicating the degree to which the measurement value is reflected in the process of obtaining a judgment result from the measurement value, according to the relationship between the installation location and the operation time. In addition, the reflection degree determination unit 216 may, for example, set a use condition of not using the measurement value of a certain sensor in the use conditions determined by the condition determination unit 214 according to the relationship between the installation location and the operation time as a use condition of lowering the reflection degree of the measurement value of the sensor, and may output the sensor type and the reflection degree to the judgment unit 217.

The determination unit 217 obtains, as a determination result, for example, a result of judging whether or not a person is present at the installation location from the measurement value. Specifically, the determination unit 217 obtains, as a determination result, a result of judging whether or not a person is present based on, for example, whether the measurement value from the sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. In addition, the determination unit 217 may determine whether or not a person is present based on, for example, a measurement value corrected by the reflection degree.

The operation decision unit 218 determines the operation content, for example, the amount of humidification or airflow based on a combination of the judgment result obtained from the measurement value, the installation location, and the operation time.

The home appliance control unit 219 controls the air conditioner 105 with operation content based on the installation location and the judgment result obtained from the measurement values. The home appliance control unit 219 may also control the air conditioner 105 with operation content based on the judgment result obtained from a combination of multiple measurement values, for example. The home appliance control unit 219 may also control the air conditioner 105 with operation content of humidifying at a humidification amount smaller than the reference humidification amount or blowing air at a volume smaller than the reference air volume, for example, when the installation location is a bedroom and the operation time is nighttime.

The operation information acquisition unit 220 acquires, for example, information regarding a user operation on the air conditioner 105. For example, after starting to operate the air conditioner 105 with the operation content determined by the operation determination unit 218, the operation information acquisition unit 220 acquires information regarding a user operation to adjust the operation content.

For example, after starting to operate the air conditioner 105 with the operation content determined by the operation determination unit 218, the learning unit 221 feeds back user operations that adjust the operation content, and changes the correspondence between the judgment result obtained from the measurement value and the operation content.

The sound output control unit 222, for example, starts operating the air conditioner 105 with the determined operation content, and then causes the air conditioner 105 to output a predetermined sound depending on the judgment result obtained from the measurement value and the operation time.

The memory unit 202 is a memory device capable of storing any information, and may be composed of, for example, a hard disk, an SSD (Silicon State Drive), a semiconductor memory, a DVD, etc.

(Method of determining the conditions of use for obtaining measurements from a sensor)
Figures 3A to 3C are examples of information indicating the usage conditions using measured values from the sensors and the operation details of the air conditioner 105. Figure 3A is an example of information indicating the above-mentioned usage conditions based on the installation location and operation time. Figure 3B is an example of information indicating the type of operation mode based on the installation location and operation time. Figure 3C is an example of information indicating the operation details of the air conditioner 105 corresponding to the type of operation mode.

The condition determination unit 214 determines the usage conditions using measurement values from multiple sensors (e.g., a human presence sensor, an illuminance sensor, an odor and dust sensor, etc.) depending on the installation location (e.g., a bedroom, a living room, an entrance hall, etc.) and the operating time (e.g., morning, afternoon, night, etc.).

3A, for example, when the installation location is a "bedroom" and the operation time is "night", the condition determination unit 214 determines a usage condition that does not use the measurement values from the human presence sensor, illuminance sensor, and odor and dust sensor. Also, when the installation location is a "entrance", for example, the condition determination unit 214 determines a usage condition that does not use the measurement values from the human presence sensor and illuminance sensor, but uses the measurement values from the odor and dust sensor, regardless of the operation time. Also, when the installation location is a "living room", for example, the condition determination unit 214 determines a usage condition that uses the measurement values from all sensors, regardless of the operation time.

Note that the condition determination unit 214 may, for example, instead of the above-mentioned use conditions, be a selection condition indicating which measurement value to select from the measurement values acquired from the sensors, or an acquisition condition indicating which sensor to acquire a measurement value from. That is, the measurement value acquisition unit 213 may, for example, acquire measurement values from all sensors equipped in the air conditioner 105, and the measurement value selection unit 215 may select only measurement values from sensors that correspond to selection conditions based on the installation location and operation time from among the measurement values of all sensors. Also, the measurement value acquisition unit 213 may, for example, acquire measurement values only from sensors that correspond to the above-mentioned acquisition conditions, and the measurement value selection unit 215 may select the acquired measurement values.

In addition, the server 100 may transmit the type of sensor that uses the measurement value corresponding to the above-mentioned usage conditions to the air conditioner 105 via the communication unit 201, and the air conditioner 105 may acquire the measurement value from the sensor that corresponds to the received usage conditions and transmit the measurement value to the server 100, and the measurement value acquisition unit 213 may acquire the received measurement value.

This allows the server 100 to acquire and use measurement values from an appropriate sensor among multiple sensors according to the installation location and operation time. Furthermore, the server 100 can appropriately determine whether or not a person is present based on the measurement values from the appropriate sensor.

(Method of determining operation mode based on installation location and operation time)
The operation determination unit 218 determines whether or not a person is present based on the measurement values of the sensors corresponding to the above-mentioned usage conditions, and determines the operation mode based on the result of the determination, the installation location, and the operation time.

Specifically, when the server 100 acquires, for example, the installation location "bedroom" and the operating time "night", the measurement value selection unit 215 does not use the measurement values from the human presence sensor, illuminance sensor, and odor and dust sensor based on the above-mentioned usage conditions (see FIG. 3A). Next, the judgment unit 217 may, for example, not use the measurement values to judge whether or not a person is present, but obtain a judgment result of "a person is present" that assumes that a person is present.

3B, the operation determination unit 218 then determines "mode 3" as the operation mode based on the judgment result "person present", the installation location "bedroom", and the operation time "night". Here, in the case of the installation location "bedroom" and the operation time "night", the operation determination unit 218 may always determine the operation mode "mode 3" without using the judgment result of whether or not a person is present,.

Furthermore, when the server 100 acquires, for example, that the installation location is "Entrance" and the operation time is "Daytime", the measurement value selection unit 215 uses the measurement value from the odor and dust sensor, rather than the measurement values from the human presence sensor and illuminance sensor, based on the above-mentioned usage conditions (see FIG. 3A). Next, the judgment unit 217 judges whether the measurement value from the odor and dust sensor is higher than a predetermined value, and if the measurement value is higher than the predetermined value, it judges that a person is present, and obtains the judgment result "person present". For example, the judgment unit 217 may judge that a person is present if the odor measurement value is higher than the predetermined value or if the dust measurement value is higher than the predetermined value.

Next, the operation decision unit 218 decides on "mode 2" as the operation mode if the installation location is "entrance", the operation time is "daytime", and the judgment result is "people are present", and decides on "mode 4" as the operation mode if the judgment result is "people are not present" (see Figure 3B).

This allows the server 100 to determine an appropriate operating mode based on the installation location, operation time, and the judgment results based on the measurement values of appropriate sensors.

(Method of determining operation contents corresponding to operation mode)
The operation determination unit 218 determines the operation details (e.g., humidity and air volume) of the air conditioner 105 corresponding to the determined operation mode.

3C, the operation determination unit 218 may determine "strong" humidification and "strong" airflow as the operation contents when the determined operation mode is "mode 1". Similarly, the operation determination unit 218 may determine "medium" humidification and "medium" airflow when the operation mode is "mode 2", "weak" humidification and "weak" airflow when the operation mode is "mode 3", and "stop" humidification and "medium" airflow when the operation mode is "mode 4".

Here, the operation determination unit 218 determines the operation content of "weak" humidification when operating at a humidification amount smaller than the reference humidification amount (e.g., a medium humidification amount in the humidification capacity of the air conditioner 105), for example. Similarly, the operation determination unit 218 determines the operation content of "strong" humidification when operating at a humidification amount larger than the reference humidification amount, and determines the operation content of "medium" humidification when operating at a humidification amount equal to the reference humidification amount.

Furthermore, the operation determination unit 218 determines the operation content for the air volume "weak" when operating at an air volume smaller than the reference air volume (e.g., a medium air volume in the air-blowing capacity of the air conditioner 105). Similarly, the operation determination unit 218 determines the operation content for the air volume "strong" when operating at an air volume larger than the reference air volume, and determines the operation content for the air volume "medium" when operating at an air volume similar to the reference air volume.

This allows the server 100 to determine appropriate operation content according to the installation location, operation time, and the judgment results based on the measurement values of appropriate sensors, and allows the air conditioner 105 to operate efficiently with the determined operation content.

(Specific examples of operations to be determined)
4A and 4B are examples of specific operation contents determined when the server 100 acquires the device ID, installation location, and operation time of the home appliance. Fig. 4A is an example of operation contents when the air conditioner 105 is installed in a "bedroom". Fig. 4B is an example of operation contents when the air conditioner 105 is installed in a "living room" and a "entrance".

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, when the installation location acquisition unit 211 acquires the device ID "K1" of the air conditioner 105 and the installation location "bedroom" and the operation time acquisition unit 212 acquires the operation time "23:00", the condition determination unit 214 determines the operation time "23:00" as "night" and determines the use conditions that do not use the measured values from the human presence sensor, the illuminance sensor, and the odor and dust sensor in correspondence with the installation location "bedroom" and the operation time "night" (see FIG. 3A). Here, the condition determination unit 214 may, for example, determine the operation time from 4:00 to 11:00 as "morning", from 11:00 to 17:00 as "daytime", and from 17:00 to 4:00 as "night".

Then, based on the above-mentioned conditions of use, the measurement value selection unit 215 does not use the measurement values from the human presence sensor, illuminance sensor, or odor and dust sensor, and the judgment unit 217 may, for example, not use the measurement values to judge whether or not a person is present, but obtain a judgment result of "a person is present" assuming that a person is present. Next, the operation decision unit 218 acquires the operation mode "mode 3" corresponding to the judgment result "a person is present", the installation location "bedroom", and the operation time "night" (see FIG. 3B), and acquires the humidification "weak" and airflow "weak" corresponding to "mode 3" (see FIG. 3C).

As a result, in the bedroom at night, the server 100 can always operate the air conditioner 105 quietly with "low" humidification and "low" airflow, regardless of the sensor measurement values, and can prevent the operating noise of the air conditioner 105 from disturbing the user's sleep. That is, in a conventional air conditioner, for example, if a human presence sensor determines that a person is present, the air conditioner operates according to the environment (e.g., humidity and temperature) of the installation location, but the server 100 can operate the air conditioner 105 quietly if the installation location is a "bedroom" and the operating time is "night", even if a person is actually present.

In addition, conventional air conditioners operate in the sleep humidification mode when the measurement value from the illuminance sensor is below a predetermined value. For example, if a user does not turn off the lights completely but sleeps with the lights slightly dimmed, the measurement value from the illuminance sensor does not fall below the predetermined value and the air conditioner does not operate in the sleep humidification mode. However, if the server 100 is installed in a "bedroom" and the operating time is "night," it can make the air conditioner 105 operate quietly at any time, regardless of the brightness of the bedroom.

As illustrated in FIG. 4B, when the installation location acquisition unit 211 acquires the device ID "K2" and the installation location "entrance" of the air conditioner 105, and the operation time acquisition unit 212 acquires the operation time "8:00", the condition determination unit 214 determines that the operation time "8:00" is "morning" and determines the usage conditions that use the measurement values only from the odor and dust sensor in correspondence with the installation location "entrance" and the operation time "morning" (see FIG. 3A).

If the determination result by the determination unit 217 is "people present", the operation determination unit 218 determines the operation mode "mode 1" based on the determination result by the determination unit 217 of "people present", the installation location "entrance", and the operation time "morning" (see FIG. 3B), and determines the humidification "strong" and the airflow "strong" corresponding to "mode 1" (see FIG. 3C). If the determination result by the determination unit 217 is "people absent", the operation determination unit 218 similarly determines "mode 4" (see FIG. 3B), and determines the humidification "stopped" and the airflow "medium" (see FIG. 3C).

As a result, when the installation location is the "entrance", the server 100 can determine the appropriate operation content based only on the judgment result of the measurement value from the odor and dust sensor. In other words, when the installation location is the entrance, a conventional air conditioner switches to an operation content based on the judgment result from the measurement value of the human presence sensor or illuminance sensor every time someone enters or leaves the room or the entrance light is turned on and off, but the server 100 can switch to the appropriate operation content only when the judgment result is that there has been a change in the air condition, such as an increase in odor or dust at the entrance, based on the measurement value from the odor and dust sensor. This allows the server 100 to operate the air conditioner 105 efficiently without operating it wastefully, thereby achieving the effect of reducing power consumption.

Furthermore, if the installation location acquisition unit 211 acquires the device ID "K3" of the air conditioner 105 and the installation location "living room", and the operation time acquisition unit 212 acquires the operation time "13:00", the condition determination unit 214 judges the operation time "13:00" to be "daytime", and determines the usage conditions that use the measured values from the human presence sensor, illuminance sensor, and odor and dust sensor in accordance with the installation location "living room" and the operation time "daytime" (see FIG. 3A). Then, the operation determination unit 218 similarly determines the humidity and air volume corresponding to the result of the judgment of whether or not a person is present, the installation location "living room", and the operation time "daytime".

This allows the server 100 to determine the appropriate operation at any installation location and any operating time based on measurements from the appropriate sensor based on the installation location and operating time.

(Method of determining the degree of reflection of measured values)
The reflection degree determination unit 216 determines a reflection degree, which indicates the degree to which the acquired measurement value is reflected, according to the installation location and the operation time, before the determination unit 217 obtains a determination result of whether or not a person is present based on the measurement value from the sensor. Then, the determination unit 217 determines whether or not a person is present based on the measurement value corrected by the reflection degree.

In other words, depending on the relationship between the installation location and the operation time, the reflection degree determination unit 216 may set the usage condition of not using the measurement value of a certain sensor in the usage conditions determined by the condition determination unit 214 as a usage condition of lowering the reflection degree of the measurement value of the sensor, and may output the correspondence between the type of sensor and the reflection degree to the judgment unit 217.

Specifically, when the usage condition is that the measurement value of the illuminance sensor is not used, the reflection degree determination unit 216 associates the illuminance sensor with a low reflection degree of "0.2" and outputs this to the judgment unit 217. The judgment unit 217 then corrects the measurement value from the illuminance sensor by multiplying it by the reflection degree of "0.2" as the measurement, and judges whether or not a person is present based on the corrected measurement value. In other words, the judgment unit 217 corrects the measurement value from the illuminance sensor to a lower measurement value and judges whether or not a person is present, reducing the degree to which the measurement value from the illuminance sensor is taken into consideration.

This allows the server 100 to appropriately determine whether or not a person is present at an appropriate measurement value level that corresponds to the usage conditions depending on the installation location and operating time.

(User Operation Feedback Processing)
After the air conditioner 105 has started operating with the operation content received from the server 100, when the user performs an operation on the air conditioner 105 to adjust the operation content, the air conditioner 105 transmits the user operation to the server 100. Then, the operation information acquisition unit 220 acquires the user operation from the air conditioner 105. Next, the learning unit 221 changes the correspondence between the determination result obtained from the measurement value and the operation content, for example, based on the user operation.

Then, after the learning unit 221 has changed the correspondence between the judgment result and the operation content, when the server 100 determines the operation content according to the acquired installation location and operation time, the operation determination unit 218 refers to the correspondence between the judgment result that feeds back the user's operation and the operation content, and determines the operation content according to the judgment result of the acquired measurement value, the installation location, and the operation time.

For example, if the server 100 starts the air conditioner 105 with the operation contents of humidification "weak" and air volume "weak" corresponding to the installation location "bedroom" and the operation time "night", and then the user operates to change the humidification to "strong", the operation information acquisition unit 220 acquires the operation contents. Next, the learning unit 221 changes the operation contents of humidification "weak" corresponding to the installation location "bedroom", the operation time "night", and the operation mode "mode 3" corresponding to the judgment result "people present" by the judgment unit 217 to humidification "strong". Then, the server 100 determines the humidification to be "strong" when determining the operation contents corresponding to the installation location "bedroom", the operation time "night", and the judgment result "people present" under the same conditions.

This allows the server 100 to provide feedback on user operations on the air conditioner 105 and determine the appropriate operation content for the user.

Here, when the learning unit 221 acquires the same user operation a predetermined number of times or more (e.g., two or more times) at the same installation location and the same operation time, the learning unit 221 may change the correspondence between the judgment result obtained from the measurement value and the operation content based on the user operation. In other words, the learning unit changes the correspondence according to the number of times the user operation is fed back.

As a result, the server 100 does not feed back user operations when the user operates the air conditioner 105 erroneously, but only reflects the user operation in the operation content to be determined if the user reliably performs the same operation a predetermined number of times or more (for example, the same operation three or more times in succession, or the same operation at the same time on different dates), and can determine appropriate operation content based on the user operation.

(Sound output processing from the air conditioner 105)
The sound output control unit 222 may, for example, transmit a predetermined sound to the air conditioner 105 after starting to operate the air conditioner 105 with the determined operation content. Furthermore, the sound output control unit 222 may, for example, acquire sound information corresponding to the operation content determined by the operation determination unit 218 from the storage unit 202, and transmit the sound information to the air conditioner 105 after starting to operate the air conditioner 105 with the operation content. The air conditioner 105 then outputs the received sound information from a sound output unit provided in the air conditioner 105.

Specifically, the sound output control unit 222 transmits sound information "Humidification has been set to weak and airflow has been set to weak" corresponding to the determined operation content of "weak" humidity and "weak" airflow to the air conditioner 105, and the air conditioner 105 outputs the sound information from the sound output unit.

This allows the server 100 to output the operation content as sound at the timing when the air conditioner 105 begins an operation based on the determined operation content, allowing the user to easily know the operation content.

(Processing Executed in Information Processing System 121)
Fig. 5 is an example of a screen displayed on a user terminal (for example, smartphone 110a). As illustrated in Fig. 5, when the air conditioner 105 is installed by a user and the smartphone 110a owned by the user is connected to the air conditioner 105, a screen for inputting setting information including the installation location of the air conditioner 105 and the like is displayed. Then, when "send" is input, the smartphone 110a transmits the information on the installation location input in the "installation location" input field to the server 100.

Here, the smartphone 110a may associate home appliance information (e.g., device ID, model name, serial number, etc.) capable of identifying the air conditioner 105 with the installation location and transmit the information to the server 100. The smartphone 110a may also receive the operation time of the air conditioner 105 and a user operation for adjusting the operation content of the air conditioner 105 from the air conditioner 105, and transmit the operation time and the user operation to the server 100.

This allows the server 100 to manage a plurality of home appliances by associating each home appliance with its installation location and its operation content. Furthermore, when a home appliance that was installed at a certain installation location is replaced with another home appliance, the server 100 can refer to the operation content of the home appliance that was installed at the installation location and set the same operation content as the operation content of the replaced home appliance.

(Processing Executed in Server 100)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a process executed by the server 100.

First, the installation location acquisition unit 211 receives and acquires the installation location of the air conditioner 105 from the air conditioner 105 or the smartphone 110a (or the notebook PC 110b) that is communicatively connected to the server 100 (S101). Next, the operation time acquisition unit 212 receives and acquires the operation time of the air conditioner 105 from the air conditioner 105 or the smartphone 110a (or the notebook PC 110b) that is communicatively connected to the server 100 (S102).

The condition determination unit 214 then determines the usage conditions for using the measurement values from the sensors provided in the air conditioner 105 according to the installation location and the operation time (S103). Next, the measurement value selection unit 215 selects measurement values from the sensor measurement values acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit 213 based on the usage conditions (S104).

The determination unit 217 then determines whether or not a person is present in the installation location based on the selected measurement values as a determination result (S105). Next, the operation determination unit 218 determines the operation content (e.g., humidification amount, air volume) based on the determination result (S106). The home appliance control unit 219 then controls the air conditioner 105 to operate with the determined operation content (S107).

(Effects of the Server 100)
The server 100 can acquire measurement values from appropriate sensors according to the installation location and operation time of the air conditioner 105, and can appropriately determine whether or not a person is present based on the measurement values. In other words, the server 100 can determine an appropriate method of using the sensors provided in the air conditioner 105 based on the installation location and operation time.

Therefore, the server 100 can determine appropriate operation contents according to the installation location, operation time, and the judgment result based on the measurement value of the appropriate sensor. This allows the server 100 to control the air conditioner 105 with efficient operation contents according to the installation location.

[Embodiment 2]
A second embodiment (embodiment 2) will be described with reference to Fig. 7. In embodiment 2, a configuration added to embodiment 1 and a configuration different from the configuration will be described. That is, when the contents of embodiment 1 and embodiment 2 overlap, the description of the contents will be omitted.

(Differences from the first embodiment)
The server 100 according to the first embodiment acquires measurement values from the air conditioner 105 using sensors corresponding to the installation location and operation time, transmits operation details based on the installation location and the determination result obtained from the measurement values to the air conditioner 105, and controls the air conditioner 105. In contrast, the air conditioner 105 according to the second embodiment may perform the processes up to the determination of the operation details by the server 100 in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the home appliance system may be the air conditioner 105.

(Configuration of the air conditioner 105)
Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a main configuration of the air conditioner 105. As illustrated in Fig. 7, the air conditioner 105 may include, for example, an input unit 701, a communication unit 702, a sensor unit 703, a storage unit 704, an output unit 705, and a control unit 710. The control unit 710 may include, for example, an installation location acquisition unit 711, an operation time acquisition unit 712, a measurement value acquisition unit 713, a condition determination unit 714, a measurement value selection unit 715, a reflection degree determination unit 716, a judgment unit 717, an operation determination unit 718, a home appliance control unit 719, an operation information acquisition unit 720, a learning unit 721, and a sound output control unit 722.

The control unit 710 has the function of comprehensively controlling various functions of the air conditioner 105, and is realized, for example, by a controller (processor) such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

The input unit 701 accepts operations performed by a user, for example, through keys installed on the exterior surface of the air conditioner 105, a display device with a touch panel, a remote control, etc.

The communication unit 702, for example, obtains the installation location from a user terminal (e.g., smartphone 110a, notebook PC 110b).

The sensor unit 703 may include, for example, a human presence sensor 703a, an illuminance sensor 703b, and an odor/dust sensor 703c. The human presence sensor 703a is, for example, a sensor that detects whether or not a person is present. The illuminance sensor 703b is, for example, a sensor that detects the brightness of the surroundings. The odor/dust sensor 703c is, for example, a sensor that detects odors and dust in the surrounding air. Each sensor outputs a measurement value measured upon detection to the control unit 710. Here, the measurement value is, for example, a measurement value indicating the presence of a person, a measurement value measuring the brightness, a measurement value measuring the odor, and a measurement value measuring the amount of dust.

The installation location acquisition unit (acquisition unit) 711 acquires the installation location from a user terminal (e.g., smartphone 110a, notebook PC 110b). The installation location acquisition unit 711 may also acquire the installation location input from the input unit 701.

The operation time acquisition unit 712, for example, measures and acquires the operation time indicating the time when the air conditioner 105 is operating.

The measurement value acquisition unit 713 acquires, for example, measurement values measured when detected by the human presence sensor 703a, the illuminance sensor 703b, and the odor/dust sensor 703c from each sensor.

The condition determination unit 714, the measurement value selection unit 715, the reflection degree determination unit 716, the judgment unit 717, the operation determination unit 718, and the learning unit 721 are similar to the condition determination unit 214, the measurement value selection unit 215, the reflection degree determination unit 216, the judgment unit 217, the operation determination unit 218, and the learning unit 221 in the server 100, and so their explanations are omitted.

The home appliance control unit 719 controls the air conditioner 105 to output from the output unit 705 (e.g., the humidification unit 705a or the blower unit 705b) the operation content (e.g., the amount of humidification or the amount of airflow) based on the installation location and the judgment results obtained from the measurement values.

For example, after the sound output control unit 722 starts operating the air conditioner 105 with the determined operation content, it outputs a predetermined sound from the sound output unit 705c according to the judgment result obtained from the measurement value and the operation time.

The operation information acquisition unit 720 acquires information regarding user operations input from the input unit 701, for example, after starting to operate the air conditioner 105 with the operation content determined by the operation determination unit 718.

The output unit 705 includes, for example, a humidification unit 705a that performs humidification, an air blowing unit 705b that blows air, a sound output unit 705c that outputs sound, and a display unit 705d that performs display, and is controlled by the control unit 710.

The memory unit 704 is a memory device capable of storing any information and may be composed of, for example, a hard disk, an SSD (Silicon State Drive), a semiconductor memory, etc.

(Effects of the air conditioner 105)
The air conditioner 105 can acquire measurement values from appropriate sensors according to the installation location and operation time of the air conditioner 105, and can appropriately determine whether or not a person is present based on the measurement values. In other words, the air conditioner 105 can determine an appropriate method of using the sensors provided in the air conditioner 105 based on the installation location and operation time.

Therefore, the air conditioner 105 has the effect of being able to determine appropriate operation contents according to the installation location, operation time, and the judgment result based on the measurement value of the appropriate sensor. This has the effect of being able to operate the air conditioner 105 with efficient operation contents according to the installation location.

(Additional Notes)
The above-described embodiment may be described as, but is not limited to, the following forms.

A home appliance system according to a first aspect of the present disclosure may include, for example, an acquisition unit that acquires an installation location of a home appliance, a condition determination unit that determines usage conditions that use measurement values from at least one sensor provided in the home appliance depending on the installation location and an operation time at which the home appliance is operated, and a home appliance control unit that controls the home appliance with operation content based on the installation location and a judgment result obtained from the measurement values.

In the home appliance system according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, in the above-mentioned first aspect, for example, the condition determination unit may determine, as the usage conditions, conditions for using each of multiple measurement values from multiple sensors provided in the home appliance, and the home appliance control unit may control the home appliance with the operation content based on the judgment result obtained from a combination of the multiple measurement values.

The home appliance system according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, in the first or second aspect described above, may further include a judgment unit that obtains, as the judgment result, a result of judging whether or not a person is present at the installation location from the measurement values.

In the home appliance system according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, in the first to third aspects above, for example, the home appliance control unit may control the home appliance so that the operation content is to humidify at a humidification amount less than the standard humidification amount or to blow air at a volume less than the standard air volume when the installation location is a bedroom and the operation time is nighttime.

The home appliance system according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure may further include, in the first to fourth aspects above, an operation determination unit that determines, as the operation content, for example, an amount of humidification or an amount of airflow based on a combination of the judgment result, the installation location, and the operation time.

The home appliance system according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure, in the first to fifth aspects described above, may further include a reflection degree determination unit that determines, for example, a reflection degree indicating the degree to which the measurement value is reflected in the process of obtaining the judgment result from the measurement value, depending on the relationship between the installation location and the operation time.

The home appliance system according to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure, in the first to sixth aspects described above, may further include a learning unit that, for example, after starting to operate the home appliance with the operation content, feeds back a user operation that adjusts the operation content, and changes the correspondence between the judgment result and the operation content.

The home appliance system according to the eighth aspect of the present disclosure, in the first to seventh aspects above, may further include a sound output control unit that, for example, after starting to operate the home appliance with the operation content, causes the home appliance to output a predetermined sound depending on the judgment result and the operation time.

In the home appliance system according to the ninth aspect of the present disclosure, in the first to eighth aspects above, for example, the condition determination unit may determine, as the usage condition, a condition for using measurement values from an odor and dust sensor provided in the home appliance when the installation location is an entranceway.

A control method for a home appliance system according to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure may include an acquisition step of acquiring an installation location of a home appliance, a condition determination step of determining a usage condition using a measurement value from at least one sensor provided in the home appliance according to the installation location and an operation time at which the home appliance is operated, and a home appliance control step of controlling the home appliance with an operation content based on the installation location and a judgment result obtained from the measurement value.

The control program relating to the eleventh aspect of the present disclosure may enable a home appliance system to realize an acquisition function for acquiring the installation location of a home appliance, a condition determination function for determining usage conditions using measurement values from at least one sensor provided in the home appliance depending on the installation location and the operating time at which the home appliance is operated, and a home appliance control function for controlling the home appliance with operation contents based on the installation location and the judgment result obtained from the measurement values.

(Example of software implementation)
The control blocks (each part included in the control unit 210) of the server 100 may be realized by software using a controller (processor) such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). That is, the server 100 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a control program, which is software that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a storage device (these are referred to as "recording medium") in which the control program and various data are recorded so as to be readable by a computer (or CPU), and a RAM (Random Access Memory) in which the control program is deployed. Then, an example of the object according to one aspect of the present disclosure is achieved by the computer (or CPU) reading and executing the control program from the recording medium. As the recording medium, a "non-transient tangible medium", for example, a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, etc. can be used. In addition, the control program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) capable of transmitting the control program. One aspect of the present disclosure may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the control program is embodied by electronic transmission. The control program can be implemented in any programming language. For example, the control program can be implemented using a script language such as ActionScript or JavaScript (registered trademark), an object-oriented programming language such as Objective-C or Java (registered trademark), or a markup language such as HTML5. In addition, the present disclosure also includes an information processing terminal (e.g., a smartphone or a personal computer) having units that realize the functions realized by the control program, and a server having units that realize the remaining functions different from the above functions.

Claims (11)

An acquisition unit that acquires an installation location of a home appliance having a humidity adjustment function ;
a condition determination unit that determines a use condition indicating whether or not to use a measurement value from at least one sensor provided in the home appliance, depending on the installation location and an operation time when the home appliance is operated;
a home appliance control unit that controls the home appliance with operation details based on a determination result obtained from the measurement values corresponding to the installation location and the usage conditions . The condition determination unit determines, as the usage conditions, conditions for using each of a plurality of measurement values from a plurality of sensors included in the home appliance;
The home appliance system according to claim 1 , wherein the home appliance control unit controls the home appliance with the operation content based on the determination result obtained from a combination of the plurality of measured values. The home appliance system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a determination unit that determines whether or not a person is present at the installation location from the measured values as the determination result. The home appliance control unit controls the home appliance to perform an operation of humidifying the air at a humidification amount less than a reference humidification amount or blowing air at a volume less than a reference air volume when the installation location is a bedroom and the operation time is nighttime. The home appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The home appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an operation determination unit that determines, as the operation content, an operation with a humidification amount or airflow amount based on a combination of the judgment result, the installation location, and the operation time. The home appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a reflection degree determination unit that determines a reflection degree indicating a degree to which the measured value is reflected in the process of obtaining the judgment result from the measured value, according to a relationship between the installation location and the operation time. The home appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a learning unit that, after starting to operate the home appliance with the operation content, feeds back a user operation that adjusts the operation content, and changes the correspondence between the judgment result and the operation content. The home appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a sound output control unit that outputs a predetermined sound to the home appliance according to the judgment result and the operation time after the home appliance starts to operate with the operation content. The home appliance system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the condition determination unit determines, when the installation location is an entranceway, a condition for using a measurement value from an odor and dust sensor provided in the home appliance as the usage condition. An acquisition step of acquiring an installation location of a home appliance having a humidity adjustment function ;
A condition determination step of determining a use condition indicating whether or not to use a measurement value from at least one sensor provided in the home appliance according to the installation location and an operation time when the home appliance is operated;
A control method for a home appliance system, comprising: a home appliance control step of controlling the home appliance with operation details based on the installation location and a judgment result obtained from the measurement values corresponding to the usage conditions. For home appliance systems,
An acquisition function for acquiring an installation location of a home appliance having a humidity control function ;
A condition determination function that determines a use condition indicating whether or not to use a measurement value from at least one sensor provided in the home appliance according to the installation location and an operation time when the home appliance is operated;
a control program that realizes a home appliance control function that controls the home appliance with operation content based on the installation location and a judgment result obtained from the measurement values corresponding to the usage conditions .

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