JP7713293B2 - Computer program for heating system and external terminal - Google Patents

Description

The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a heating system including a heating device and an external terminal, and a computer program for the external terminal.

Patent document 1 discloses a system capable of remotely controlling a stove. The system issues instructions to control the stove (e.g., turn off the flame) based on a request from a mobile terminal of a user who is out.

JP 2005-341080 A

The above technology does not take into consideration the situation where a user other than the user who is away from home is operating the stove. As a result, even though a different user is operating the stove, if the away-home user instructs control of the stove, the above system may execute control that is different from the intention of the user operating the stove. If control that is different from the intention of the user operating the stove is executed, the user may feel uncomfortable.

This specification provides technology to reduce discomfort felt by users of heating devices.

The heating system disclosed in this specification includes a heating device installed in a predetermined area, an external terminal capable of receiving an input of a control instruction for controlling the heating device and having the heating device execute a predetermined process according to the control instruction, a control unit that controls the execution of the predetermined process according to the control instruction, and a judgment unit that judges whether a user of the heating device is present in the predetermined area. The control unit is configured to cause the heating device to execute the predetermined process according to the control instruction when the judgment unit judges that the user is not present in the predetermined area, and to restrict the execution of the predetermined process according to the control instruction when the judgment unit judges that the user is present in the predetermined area. Here, the "heating device" is, for example, a heating cooker that heats a cooking object, a heater, a dishwasher, a clothes dryer, etc. The heating cooker is, for example, a gas combustion stove, an induction stove, an electric oven, etc. The heater is, for example, a gas fan heater, etc. Note that the dishwasher also includes a dishwasher.

The determination that a user is present within a specified area in which a heating device is installed means that the user may be operating the heating device. According to the above configuration, when the determination unit determines that a user is present within the specified area, i.e., when it presumes that the user is operating the heating device, the control unit restricts the execution of a specified process according to a control instruction input to the external terminal. As a result, the execution of a specified process that is different from the intention of the user operating the heating device is restricted, and it is possible to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable.

The predetermined process may include a process for extinguishing the heating unit of the heating device when the heating unit is ignited.

This configuration makes it possible to prevent the heating section from being extinguished while igniting, against the intention of the user operating the heating device.

In one aspect, the judgment unit transmits a search signal to a local area network formed within the specified area to search for the external terminal or a mobile terminal other than the external terminal, and when a response signal to the search signal is received from the local area network , judges that the user is present within the specified area, and when the response signal is not received from the local area network, judges that the user is not present within the specified area.

When an external terminal or a mobile terminal is connected to the local area network, there is a possibility that a user carrying an external terminal or a user carrying a mobile terminal is present within the specified area, and either of these users is operating the heating device. With the above configuration, it is possible to determine whether an external terminal or a mobile terminal is connected to the local area network, and estimate whether a user of the heating device is present within the specified area.

In another aspect, the specified area is an area within a home, and the determination unit acquires a measurement value from a meter that measures the amount of resources supplied to the home, and uses the acquired measurement value to determine whether the user is present within the specified area.

For example, if the measurement value of the smart meter indicates a relatively high value, there is a possibility that a user is present within a specified area within the house. According to the above configuration, it is possible to estimate whether or not a user is present within the specified area by using the measurement value from the smart meter.

The heating device includes the determination unit and the control unit, and when the external terminal receives the control instruction, the external terminal transmits a control request according to the control instruction to the control unit of the heating device, and when the control unit receives the control request from the external terminal, the control unit may cause the determination unit to determine whether the user is present within the specified area.

With this configuration, the judgment by the judgment unit is triggered by the reception of a control request. Compared to the comparative example in which the judgment by the judgment unit is executed periodically, regardless of the reception of a control request, the processing load on the judgment unit can be reduced.

This specification discloses a computer program for an external terminal capable of receiving an input of a control instruction for controlling a heating device installed within a specified area and transmitting a control request according to the control instruction to the heating device. The computer program is configured to determine whether or not a user of the heating device is present within the specified area based on information acquired from the heating device, and if it is determined that the user is not present within the specified area, to transmit the control request according to the control instruction to the heating device, and if it is determined that the user is present within the specified area, to restrict transmission of the control request according to the control instruction to the heating device.

According to this configuration, when the computer program for the external terminal determines that a user of the heating device is present within a specified area, i.e., when it presumes that the user is operating the heating device, it restricts the transmission of a control request to the heating device. As a result, the execution of a specified process that is different from the intention of the user operating the heating device is restricted, and discomfort to the user can be suppressed.

In addition, for example, a comparative example can be envisaged in which an external terminal sends a control request to a heating device, and if a user of the heating device is present within a specified area, the heating device rejects the control request and restricts the execution of a specified process. In this comparative example, the control request is unnecessarily sent despite being rejected. In contrast, with the above configuration, if a user of the heating device is present within the specified area, the sending of a control request to the heating device is restricted, thereby preventing unnecessary control requests from being sent to the heating device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a heating system according to a first and second embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a cooking appliance and an external terminal. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a specific process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a specific process according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a heating system according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing a specific process according to the third embodiment.

(First embodiment)
(Configuration of heating system 2; FIG. 1)
A heating system 2 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The heating system 2 includes a cooking device 10, a router 60, an external terminal 100, and a server 500. The cooking device 10 and the router 60 are installed in a predetermined area 3 (for example, a living room) in a house. For example, the cooking device 10 may be installed in a kitchen, and the router 60 may be installed in another room in the house other than the kitchen. In this case, the predetermined area 3 is the area of the entire house. The cooking device 10 is connected to a local area network 4 (hereinafter, described as "LAN 4") formed by the router 60 in the predetermined area 3. The router 60 is connected to the Internet 8. The cooking device 10 can communicate with a server 500 installed in the Internet 8 via the LAN 4 and the router 60. The LAN 4 is a wireless LAN. In a modified example, the LAN 4 may be a wired LAN.

The server 500 is a server that provides a service to remotely monitor and control the cooking appliance 10. The server 500 relays communication between a terminal (e.g., the external terminal 100) and the cooking appliance 10. For example, the server 500 receives information about the cooking appliance 10 from the cooking appliance 10 and transmits the information to the terminal. This allows the user to use the terminal to view the information about the cooking appliance 10. The information about the cooking appliance 10 is, for example, information indicating the current state of the cooking appliance 10 (e.g., ignition in progress, extinguishing). The server 500 also receives a control request according to the control instruction from a terminal that has received an input of a control instruction to control the cooking appliance 10, and transmits the control request to the cooking appliance 10. The cooking appliance 10 executes processing according to the control request received from the server 500. The control request is, for example, a request following a fire-extinguishing instruction to extinguish the cooking appliance 10 that is ignited, a request following a change instruction to change the settings of the cooking appliance 10 (for example, the time of a timer), etc. The server 500 is installed by the vendor of the cooking appliance 10. Note that, in a modified example, the server 500 may be installed by a business entity other than the vendor of the cooking appliance 10.

The external terminal 100 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. In a modified example, the external terminal 100 may be a notebook PC or a desktop PC. The external terminal 100 is assigned a terminal ID "t01" for identifying the external terminal 100.

In addition, a mobile terminal 200 different from the external terminal 100 may be connected to the LAN 4. The mobile terminal 200 is carried by a user different from the user of the external terminal 100. The mobile terminal 200 is assigned a terminal ID "t02" for identifying the mobile terminal 200.

(Configuration of cooking device 10; FIG. 2)
The cooking device 10 is a gas-burning stove. The cooking device 10 includes a stove burner 12, a stove operation unit 14, a LAN interface 20, and a control unit 30. In the following description, the interface will be referred to as "I/F."

The stove burner 12 is a burner for heating the cooking target (e.g., cooking vessel). A gas supply passage (not shown) is connected to the stove burner 12. The gas supply passage is provided with a stove adjustment valve (not shown) for adjusting the amount of gas supplied to the stove burner 12. The stove burner 12 is ignited by operating an igniter (not shown) while gas is being supplied to the stove burner 12. For example, the cooking appliance 10 has three stove burners 12.

The stove operation unit 14 is an operation unit that allows the user to turn on and off the stove burner 12 and adjust the amount of heat. The LAN I/F 20 is an I/F for performing communication via the LAN 4 and is connected to the LAN 4.

The control unit 30 includes a CPU 32 and a memory 34 that is composed of a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, etc. The CPU 32 controls the operation of each part (e.g., 12 to 20) of the cooking device 10 according to a program 40 stored in the memory 34.

The memory 34 further stores a terminal table 50. The terminal table 50 is a table that stores the terminal IDs of terminals that can communicate with the cooking appliance 10. For example, in order to start communication between the cooking appliance 10 and a terminal (e.g., a mobile terminal 200), a user inputs an instruction to store the terminal ID to a terminal connected to the LAN 4. This causes the terminal to transmit the terminal ID to the cooking appliance 10 via the LAN 4. When the cooking appliance 10 receives the terminal ID from the terminal, it stores the received terminal ID in the terminal table 50. In a modified example, the terminal ID may be stored in the cooking appliance 10 by manual input. In another modified example, the terminal ID may be transmitted using another communication method (e.g., Bluetooth (registered trademark)) without being limited to the LAN 4.

(Configuration of external terminal 100; FIG. 2)
The external terminal 100 includes an operation unit 114, a display unit 116, a network I/F 120, and a control unit 130. The operation unit 114 includes buttons for receiving various instruction inputs. The display unit 116 is a display for displaying various information. The display unit 116 may function as a so-called touch panel (i.e., the operation unit). The network I/F 120 is an I/F for performing communication via the Internet 8, and is connected to the Internet 8.

The control unit 130 includes a CPU 132 and a memory 134 configured from a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, etc. The CPU 132 controls the operation of the external terminal 100 in accordance with programs 140, 142 stored in the memory 134. The OS program 140 is a program for controlling the basic operation of the external terminal 100. The application program 142 (hereinafter, referred to as "app 142") is a program for receiving services provided by the server 500. The app 142 is provided by the vendor of the cooking appliance 10. In a modified example, the app 142 may be provided by a business entity other than the vendor of the cooking appliance 10.

(Specific processing; Figure 3)
3, a specific process of remotely controlling the cooking appliance 10 using the external terminal 100 will be described. For example, a user may forget that the burner 12 of the cooking appliance 10 is on and go out. In this case, the user can turn off the burner 12 outside the house by operating the external terminal 100. In the following, unless otherwise specified, the processes executed by the control units 30 and 130 of each device will be described as being mainly each device (e.g., the cooking appliance 10) rather than being mainly the control units 30 and 130, from the viewpoint of ease of understanding. In the following, the cooking appliance 10 communicates with the server 500 via the LAN I/F 20, the LAN 4, the router 60, and the Internet 8. In addition, the external terminal 100 communicates with the server 500 via the network I/F 120 and the Internet 8. In the following, unless otherwise specified, descriptions of the I/F, LAN 4, Internet 8, and router 60 that mediate communication will be omitted.

At T10, the user operates the operation unit 114 of the external terminal 100 to input a screen display instruction. When the external terminal 100 receives the screen display instruction at T10, the external terminal 100 displays a control screen SC1 for remotely controlling the cooking appliance 10 on the display unit 116 in accordance with the app 142. The control screen SC1 includes a button BT for inputting an extinguishing instruction to extinguish the stove burner 12 of the cooking appliance 10.

When the external terminal 100 receives selection of the button BT in the control screen SC1 at T12, at T14 it transmits a fire extinguishing request according to the fire extinguishing instruction input by the user to the cooking appliance 10 via the server 500.

When the cooking appliance 10 receives an extinguishing request from the external terminal 100 at T14, it transmits a search signal to the LAN 4 at T20 to search for a mobile terminal connected to the LAN 4. The search signal is transmitted to each of the one or more mobile terminals connected to the LAN 4, and each of the one or more mobile terminals transmits a response signal including a terminal ID that identifies the mobile terminal to the cooking appliance 10. That is, the cooking appliance 10 receives one or more response signals corresponding to the one or more mobile terminals connected to the LAN 4. Note that if no mobile terminals are connected to the LAN 4, the cooking appliance 10 does not receive any response signals.

At T22, the cooking appliance 10 determines whether or not one or more of the received response signals includes a response signal that includes a terminal ID stored in the terminal table 50.

Cases A1 and A2 are cases where it is determined that none of the one or more received response signals includes a terminal ID stored in the terminal table 50, or no response signal is received (NO at T22). If the cooking appliance 10 determines NO at T22, it determines at T24 whether the stove burner 12 is ignited.

Case A1 is a case in which it is determined that the stove burner 12 is ignited (YES in T24). In this case, the cooking appliance 10 extinguishes the stove burner 12 in T26 in accordance with the extinguishing request in T14. Specifically, the cooking appliance 10 closes the stove adjustment valve in the gas supply line. Then, in T30, the cooking appliance 10 transmits an extinguishing notification to the external terminal 100 via the server 500 notifying that the stove burner 12 has been extinguished.

When the external terminal 100 receives an extinguishing notification from the cooking appliance 10 at T30, at T32, it displays an extinguishing completion screen on the display unit 116 to notify the user that the extinguishing of the burner 12 has been completed. This allows the user to know that the extinguishing of the burner 12 has been completed.

Case A2 is a case where it is determined that the stove burner 12 is not ignited (NO in T24). In this case, the cooking appliance 10 transmits a no-extinguishing notification to the external terminal 100 via the server 500 in T34, notifying the external terminal 100 that the stove burner 12 did not need to be extinguished.

When the external terminal 100 receives a notice of no need to extinguish the burner from the cooking appliance 10 at T34, at T36 it displays a screen indicating that extinguishing is not necessary on the display unit 116, notifying the user that the burner 12 was not ignited and therefore no need to extinguish the burner 12.

Case A3 is a case where it is determined that one or more received response signals include a response signal that includes a terminal ID stored in the terminal table 50 (YES in T22). When the cooking appliance 10 determines YES in T22, in T40 it transmits a refusal notification to the external terminal 100 via the server 500 notifying that the extinguishing request in T14 has been rejected and the process of extinguishing the stove burner 12 has not been executed.

When the external terminal 100 receives a rejection notification from the cooking appliance 10 at T40, it displays a rejection screen on the display unit 116 at T42 notifying the user that the extinguishing request at T14 has been rejected. This allows the user to know that the extinguishing command issued by selecting button BT at T12 has been rejected.

As described above, in case A1 where T22 is judged as NO, the ignited stove burner 12 is extinguished. A NO judgment at T22 means that the mobile terminal identified by the terminal ID stored in the terminal table 50 of the cooking appliance 10 (hereinafter referred to as the "stored terminal") is not currently connected to the LAN 4, or that no mobile terminal is connected to the LAN 4. In either case, a NO judgment at T22 means that a user carrying a stored terminal (i.e., a user residing in the specified area 3) is not present in the specified area 3. In this case, it is highly likely that the user of the external terminal 100 has forgotten to turn it off, and the ignited stove burner 12 can be extinguished, reflecting the intention of the user.

In addition, in case A3 where T22 is judged as YES, the burner 12 is not extinguished even if it is ignited. A judgement of YES in T22 means that the stored terminal is currently connected to the LAN 4, that is, that a user carrying the stored terminal (i.e., a user living in the specified area 3) is present in the specified area 3. In this case, it is highly likely that the burner 12 was ignited not by the user of the external terminal 100 but by a user present in the specified area 3. By rejecting the extinguishing request in T14, it is possible to prevent the burner 12 from being extinguished against the will of the user present in the specified area 3. By not extinguishing the burner against the will of the user present in the specified area 3, it is possible to prevent the user present in the specified area 3 from feeling uncomfortable. For example, in this case, if the mobile terminal 200 is connected to the LAN 4, the mobile terminal 200 is judged to be a stored terminal. In addition, when the external terminal 100 is connected to the LAN 4, the external terminal 100 is determined to be a stored terminal. In other words, even if the user who input the extinguishing command (i.e., the user of the external terminal 100) is present within the specified area 3, the extinguishing of the stove burner 12 is suppressed.

In case A3, the user present within the specified area 3 operates the stove operation unit 14 to input an extinguishing command to the cooking appliance 10 at T44. This causes the cooking appliance 10 to extinguish the stove burner 12 at T46. In case A3, the extinguishing command input to the external terminal 100 is rejected, but the extinguishing command input to the cooking appliance 10 is not rejected.

(Correspondence)
The heating system 2, the cooking appliance 10, the external terminal 100, and the mobile terminal 200 are examples of a "heating system,""heatingdevice,""externalterminal," and "mobile terminal," respectively. The stove burner 12 is an example of a "heating unit." The specified area 3 and the LAN 4 are examples of a "specified area" and a "local area network," respectively. Selecting the button BT in FIG. 3 is an example of a "control instruction." The extinguishing request of T14 in FIG. 3 is an example of a "control request." The process for extinguishing the stove burner 12 is an example of a "specified process." The control unit 30 that executes the process in FIG. 3 is an example of a "control unit." The control unit 30 that executes the judgment of T22 in FIG. 3 is an example of a "judgment unit."

Second Example
The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, except that the content of the process for remotely controlling the cooking appliance 10 is different.

(Specific process: Figure 4)
With reference to FIG. 4, a specific process of remotely controlling the cooking appliance 10 using the external terminal 100 will be described. In this embodiment, the cooking appliance 10 periodically (for example, every 30 minutes) searches for a mobile terminal connected to the LAN 4. T50 and T52 are the same as T20 and T22 in FIG. 3. In T54, the cooking appliance 10 transmits result information indicating the result of the determination in T52 to the external terminal 100 via the server 500. In T52, when it is determined that the stored terminal is not currently connected to the LAN 4 or that no mobile terminal is connected to the LAN 4, the result information includes "terminal not present" indicating the result of the determination. On the other hand, in T52, when it is determined that the stored terminal is currently connected to the LAN 4, the result information includes "terminal present" indicating the result of the determination. In a modified example, the cooking appliance 10 may periodically acquire information from a human sensor, a camera, or the like installed in the predetermined area 3. Then, when the cooking appliance 10 determines that no user is present in the predetermined area 3 using information from a human presence sensor, a camera, or the like, it may transmit result information indicating "no user" to the external terminal 100, and when it determines that a user is present in the predetermined area 3, it may transmit result information indicating "user present" to the external terminal 100. Also, in this case, similar to case A3 of the first embodiment, even if the external terminal 100 is connected to the LAN 4, the external terminal 100 is determined to be a stored terminal.

When the external terminal 100 receives the result information from the cooking appliance 10 at T54, it stores the received result information in the memory 134 at T56.

T60 is the same as T10 in FIG. 3. In T62, the external terminal 100 judges whether the result information stored in the memory 134 indicates "terminal present." If the external terminal 100 judges that the result information stored in the memory 134 indicates "terminal not present" (NO in T62), it displays the control screen SC1 on the display unit 116. T72 and T74 are the same as T12 and T14 in FIG. 3.

T84 is the same as T24 in Figure 3. Case B1 is the same as case A1 in Figure 3, and T86 to T92 are the same as T26 to T32 in Figure 3. On the other hand, case B2 is the same as case A2 in Figure 3, and T94 and T96 are the same as T34 and T36 in Figure 3.

Case B3 is a case in which it is determined that the result information stored in memory 134 indicates "terminal present" (YES in T62). In this case, the external terminal 100 displays a screen SC2, which is different from the control screen SC1, on the display unit 116. The screen SC2 does not include a button BT for inputting an extinguishing command. As a result, the user cannot input an extinguishing command, and the transmission of an extinguishing request to the cooking appliance 10 is restricted. The screen SC2 also includes a message indicating that the cooking appliance 10 cannot be controlled remotely. The user can see the message and know that the cooking appliance 10 cannot be controlled remotely.

According to this configuration, when the external terminal 100 estimates that a user present in the specified area 3 is operating the cooking appliance 10, it displays the screen SC2 and restricts the transmission of a request to extinguish the fire to the cooking appliance 10. As a result, it is possible to prevent the stove burner 12 from being extinguished against the intention of the user operating the cooking appliance 10.

In addition, in the first embodiment, even if a user is present within the specified area 3, the external terminal 100 transmits an extinguishing request to the cooking appliance 10, and the extinguishing request is rejected by the cooking appliance 10. In the first embodiment, the extinguishing request is transmitted unnecessarily despite being rejected. In contrast, according to the above configuration, when a user is present within the specified area 3, the transmission of an extinguishing request to the cooking appliance 10 is restricted, so that it is possible to prevent unnecessary extinguishing requests from being transmitted to the cooking appliance 10.

(Correspondence)
The application 142 is an example of a "computer program". The selection of the button BT in FIG. 4 and the extinguishing request in T74 are examples of a "control instruction" and a "control request". In this embodiment, the control unit 130 that executes the process in FIG. 4 is an example of a "control unit". The control unit 130 that executes the judgment in T62 based on the result information of T54 (i.e., information indicating the result of the judgment in T52) and the result information indicating the result of the judgment of the cooking appliance 10 are examples of "information acquired from the heating device" and a "judgment unit", respectively. In a modified example, the cooking appliance 10 may not execute the processes of T52 and T54 in FIG. 4, but may transmit one or more response signals to the search signal in T50 to the external terminal 100. In this case, the external terminal 100 may store a terminal table 50 and judge whether or not a response signal including a terminal ID stored in the terminal table 50 is included in one or more response signals received from the cooking appliance 10. In this modified example, one or more response signals and a control unit (not shown) of the external terminal 100 that executes judgment using the terminal table 50 are examples of "information acquired from the heating device" and "judgment unit," respectively.

(Third Example)
The third embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, except that the heating system 2 includes a smart meter 70 and the content of the process for remotely controlling the cooking appliance 10 is different.

(Configuration of heating system 2; FIG. 5)
As shown in Fig. 5, the smart meter 70 is connected to the LAN 4. The smart meter 70 is a meter that measures the amount of resources supplied to a house including a predetermined area 3. Here, the "resources" are, for example, electricity, gas, water, etc. The smart meter 70 can output a measurement value (for example, the amount of electricity used) that indicates the amount of resources supplied to the house. In a modified example, the smart meter 70 may not be connected to the LAN 4, but may be connected to the Internet 8.

(Specific process: Figure 6)
6, a specific process for remotely controlling the cooking appliance 10 using the external terminal 100 will be described. T110 to T114 are the same as T10 to T14 in FIG.

When the cooking appliance 10 receives an extinguishing request from the external terminal 100 at T114, it transmits a measurement value request to the smart meter 70 requesting a measurement value at T120 and receives the measurement value from the smart meter 70.

At T122, the cooking appliance 10 determines whether the received measurement value satisfies a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition is, for example, a condition in which the received measurement value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold is, for example, set in advance based on a lower limit of the amount of resources estimated to be supplied when a user is present in the home. In other words, when the received measurement value is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, it means that there is a high possibility that a user is present in a predetermined area 3 in the home. Note that the predetermined condition is not limited to the above conditions, and may be, for example, a condition in which the amount of change in the measurement value of the smart meter 70 is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount.

Cases C1 to C3 in Figure 6 are similar to cases A1 to A3 in Figure 3, and T124 to T146 in Figure 6 are similar to T24 to T46 in Figure 3.

Even with this configuration, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent the stove burner 12 from being extinguished against the will of a user present in the specified area 3 (Case C3). The smart meter 70 is an example of a "meter". The control unit 30 that executes the determination of T122 in FIG. 6 is an example of a "determination unit".

Although each embodiment has been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and variations of the specific examples given above. Modifications of each of the above embodiments are listed below.

(Variation 1) The "control instruction" is not limited to an extinguishing instruction, and may be, for example, an instruction to reduce the amount of heat from the stove burner 12, a change instruction to change the settings of the cooking appliance 10, an OFF instruction to turn off the power to the cooking appliance 10, or a lock instruction to lock the operation of the cooking appliance 10.

(Variation 2) The processing realized by the "determination unit" is not limited to T22 in FIG. 3, T62 in FIG. 4, and T122 in FIG. 6. For example, in the first embodiment, the cooking appliance 10 may obtain information from a motion sensor, a camera, etc. installed in the specified area 3, and use the information to determine whether or not a user is present in the specified area 3. In addition, the cooking appliance 10 may determine that a user is present in the specified area 3 when a P2P connection (e.g., a connection according to Bluetooth) is established between the cooking appliance 10 and the mobile terminal 200.

(Variation 3) In the first embodiment, the judgment of T22 in FIG. 3 is executed by the cooking appliance 10. Alternatively, the judgment may be executed by the server 500. If the judgment determines that the stored terminal is not currently connected to the LAN 4, the server 500 may transmit the extinguishing request received from the external terminal 100 to the cooking appliance 10. Also, if the judgment determines that the stored terminal is currently connected to the LAN 4, the server 500 may reject the extinguishing request by not transmitting the extinguishing request to the cooking appliance 10. In this variation, the server 500 is an example of a "control unit" and a "determination unit".

(Variation 4) The heating system 2 may not include a server 500. In this case, the external terminal 100 may transmit an extinguishing request to the cooking appliance 10, for example, using a communication method other than the Internet 8 (e.g., Bluetooth) (see T14 in FIG. 3).

(Modification 5) In T22 of FIG. 3, the cooking appliance 10 judges whether or not a response signal including a terminal ID stored in the terminal table 50 is received. Alternatively, the cooking appliance 10 may judge whether or not one or more response signals are received. Receiving one or more response signals means that one or more mobile terminals are connected to the LAN 4. When the cooking appliance 10 judges that one or more response signals have been received, it may judge that a user carrying a mobile terminal is present in the LAN 4, and may execute the process of T40. On the other hand, when the cooking appliance 10 judges that no response signal has been received, it may judge that a user carrying a mobile terminal is not present in the LAN 4, and may execute the process of transition to T24. That is, in this modification, the cooking appliance 10 does not need to store the terminal table 50.

The technical elements described in this specification or drawings have technical utility either alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technologies illustrated in this specification or drawings can achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of those objectives is itself technically useful.

2: Heating system 3: Predetermined area 4: Local area network (LAN)
8: Internet 10: Cooking device 12: Stove burner 14: Stove operation unit 20: LAN I/F
30: Control unit 32: CPU
34: Memory 40: Program 50: Terminal table 60: Router 70: Smart meter 100: External terminal 114: Operation unit 116: Display unit 120: Network I/F
130: Control unit 132: CPU
134: Memory 140: OS program 142: Application program (app)
200: Mobile terminal 500: Server SC1: Control screen SC2: Screen BT: Button

Claims (5)

A heating device installed within a predetermined area;
an external terminal capable of receiving an input of a control instruction for controlling the heating device and causing the heating device to execute a predetermined process in accordance with the control instruction;
a control unit that controls execution of the predetermined process in accordance with the control instruction;
a determination unit that determines whether a user of the heating device is present within the predetermined area;
A memory for storing one or more terminal IDs;
Equipped with
The control unit is
when the determination unit determines that the user is not present within the predetermined area, causing the heating device to execute the predetermined process in accordance with the control instruction;
when the determination unit determines that the user is present within the predetermined area, restricting the execution of the predetermined process in accordance with the control instruction;
It is structured as follows:
The determination unit is
transmit a search signal to a local area network formed within the specified area to search for the external terminal or a mobile terminal different from the external terminal, receive a response signal to the search signal from the local area network, and determine that the user is present within the specified area when one or more of the response signals received from the local area network include a response signal including a terminal ID stored in the memory;
A heating system that determines that the user is not present within the specified area if the response signal is not received from the local area network and if one or more of the response signals received from the local area network do not include a response signal including a terminal ID stored in the memory. The heating system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined process includes a process for extinguishing the heating unit of the heating device when the heating unit is ignited. The heating system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heating device is a cooking device that heats an object to be cooked. The heating device includes the determination unit and the control unit,
When the external terminal receives the input of the control instruction, the external terminal transmits a control request according to the control instruction to the control unit of the heating device;
The heating system according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit causes the determination unit to determine whether the user is present within the specified area when the control request is received from the external terminal. A computer program for an external terminal capable of receiving an input of a control instruction for controlling a heating device installed within a predetermined area and transmitting a control request to the heating device in accordance with the control instruction, the computer program comprising:
The heating device includes a memory that stores a terminal ID,
The computer program comprises:
determining that a user of the heating device is present within the predetermined area when the information acquired from the heating device indicates a first value ;
determining that the user is not present within the predetermined area when the information acquired from the heating device indicates a second value;
When it is determined that the user is not present within the predetermined area, the control request according to the control instruction is transmitted to the heating device;
restricting transmission of the control request to the heating device in accordance with the control instruction when it is determined that the user is present within the predetermined area;
It is structured as follows:
the information indicates the first value when one or more response signals to a search signal transmitted by the heating device to a local area network formed within the predetermined area include a response signal including the terminal ID stored in the memory ;
the information indicates the second value when a response signal including the terminal ID is not included in the one or more response signals;
A computer program for an external terminal, wherein the search signal is a signal for searching for the external terminal or a mobile terminal different from the external terminal.