JP4377644B2 - Home appliance remote control system, service providing server, and home appliance remote control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention connects a home server to an application server in an external network, and connects a home appliance having a network communication function to the home server to construct a home network. The present invention relates to a home appliance remote control system, a service providing server, and a home appliance remote control method that enable remote control of home appliances.

  In recent years, the development of home appliance networks has been promoted, and various remote control techniques for users to operate home appliances from home have been proposed and put into practical use. In a system that remotely controls home appliances, PCs (computers), etc. from outside the home, the home network is accessed from a portable operation terminal such as a mobile phone or PDA via a home server equipped with a gateway function. In addition, there is a system for remotely controlling a desired home appliance. In this home appliance remote control system, in order to authenticate a normally available user, login authentication is performed on the home server, or a technology for constructing a VPN (Virtual Private Network) between the operation terminal and the home server is used. There are many cases to do.

  As another home appliance remote control system, a model in which an ASP (Application Service Provider) server is installed between an operation terminal and a home server has been proposed. In the case of such a system, in addition to the advantage that an ASP server can provide added value services and contents, there is an advantage that security can be enhanced by setting access control such that the home server only allows access from the ASP server. is there. In the case of such a home appliance remote control system, in order to authenticate the user, an authentication procedure such as login authentication is performed by the ASP server.

  However, in an environment where the above two models of home appliance remote control system coexist, the user performs a login authentication procedure from the operation terminal to the ASP server, and then performs a separate authentication procedure from the home server. Necessity comes out. Further, a case where the home appliance to be operated is equipped with a unique GUI (Graphic User Interface) and requires separate authentication is also assumed.

In such an environment, the user is required to perform an authentication procedure each time the user accesses each server and home appliance from the operation terminal, which may significantly impair usability.
“Feature Home Network Development”, Toshiba Review, 2002 VOL. 57 NO. 10, 1-36 pages.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional technical problems, and does not require a user to perform a plurality of authentication procedures, and enables remote control operation of home appliances securely. The purpose is to provide technology.

The invention of claim 1 is a home appliance having a network communication function, a home server connected to the home appliance via a home network, a service providing server connected to the home server through an external network, and the service provision In a home appliance remote control system including an operation terminal that accesses a server through the external network, the service providing server includes a login authentication unit that performs login authentication in response to access from the operation terminal, and an authentication that holds the authentication information. Information holding means, authentication information notifying means for notifying the home server of the held authentication information, and service providing screen transmitting means for receiving a notification of successful authentication from the home server and transmitting a service providing screen to the operation terminal Remote control instruction or service selection from the operation terminal Remote control signal relay means for receiving an instruction and transmitting it to the home server; and screen transfer means for receiving information on a remote control screen or service presentation screen from the home server and transferring the information to the operation terminal. Performs authentication processing in response to the notification of authentication information from the service providing server and notifies the service providing server of an authentication result, and a remote control screen or a service presentation screen on the service providing server. A service that transmits the information on the remote control , transmits the remote control instruction or service selection instruction to the corresponding home appliance upon receiving a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the service providing server, or executes the corresponding service on its own device And an execution means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the home appliance remote control system according to the first aspect, the service providing server includes logout accepting means for accepting a logout request from the operation terminal, and means for notifying the logout request to the home server. The home server includes logout execution means for executing logout processing in response to a logout request notification from the service providing server.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the home appliance remote control system according to the first or second aspect, the service providing server receives a notification of successful authentication from the home server, and this time between the operation terminal and the service providing server home server. Session information issuing means for issuing unique session information for identifying a series of sessions to the home server, the home server comprising session information holding means for holding session information issued by the service providing server, The remote control signal relay means of the service providing server transmits a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal together with session information identifying the communication to the home server in response to the remote control instruction or service selection instruction. The session information from the service providing server is added. The remote control instruction or service selection instruction is received and the session information is confirmed. After confirming the regular session information, the remote control instruction or service selection instruction is transferred to the corresponding home appliance, or the corresponding service is transmitted to the own device. It is characterized by executing.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a service providing server connected to an operation terminal and a home server via an external network, login authentication means for receiving login from an arbitrary operation terminal and performing login authentication, and authentication information thereof. Authentication information holding means to be held, authentication information notifying means for notifying the corresponding home server of the held authentication information, and a service for receiving a notification of successful authentication from the home server and transmitting a service providing screen to the operation terminal Provided screen transmission means, remote control signal relay means for receiving a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal and transmitting it to the home server, and receiving information on the remote control screen or service presentation screen from the home server And screen transfer means for transferring to the operation terminal.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the service providing server according to the fourth aspect, in response to the notification of the successful authentication from the home server, a unique series of identifying the current series of sessions between the operation terminal and the service providing server home server is identified. Session information issuing means for issuing session information to the home server is provided, and the remote control signal relay means receives the remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal and identifies the communication to the home server It is characterized by being transmitted together with session information.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the home appliance remote control method, wherein the service providing server receives the access from the operation terminal and performs login authentication, the authentication information is retained, and the retained authentication information is stored in the corresponding home server. Receiving a notification of successful authentication from the home server, transmitting a service providing screen to the operation terminal, receiving a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal to the home server A step of transmitting, a step of receiving information on a remote control screen or a service presentation screen from the home server and transferring the information to the operation terminal, and a notification of authentication information from the service providing server in the home server. run the authentication process, and notifying the authentication result to the service providing server, wherein Transfer transmitting the information of the remote control screen or service presentation screen-bis providing server, the remote control instruction or service selection instruction to the home appliance in question receiving the remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the service providing server Or a step of executing the corresponding service in its own device.

  The invention of claim 7 is the home appliance remote control method according to claim 6, wherein the service providing server accepts a logout request from the operation terminal, notifies the logout request to the home server, and the home The server includes a step of executing logout processing in response to a logout request notification from the service providing server.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the home appliance remote control method of the sixth or seventh aspect, the service providing server receives a notification of successful authentication from the home server, and this time between the operation terminal and the service providing server home server. Issuing unique session information for identifying a series of sessions to the home server, retaining the session information, and receiving a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal. Transmitting the session information identifying the communication to the home server, and receiving the remote control instruction or the service selection instruction to which the session information is added from the service providing server in the home server, and confirming the session information; After confirming the session information of the The transfers remote control instruction or service selection instruction, or the appropriate service is characterized in that a step of performing in its own device.

  In the home appliance remote control system according to the first aspect of the invention, the service providing server performs login authentication upon receiving access from the operation terminal, holds the authentication information, and notifies the home server of the held authentication information. In response to this, the home server executes authentication processing and notifies the service providing server of the authentication result. Therefore, when the service providing server receives a notification of successful authentication from the home server, the service providing server transmits a service providing screen to the operation terminal and displays it on the operation terminal. On the other hand, if the user operates the service provision screen of the operation terminal and transmits a remote control instruction or a service selection instruction, the service provision server transmits this instruction to the home server, and the remote control screen from the home server. Alternatively, the service presentation screen information is received and transferred to the operation terminal for display. When the user operates the remote control screen or the service presentation screen of the operation terminal and transmits a remote control instruction or a service selection instruction, the service providing server transfers this to the home server, and the home server transmits the remote control instruction from the service providing server. In response to the control instruction or the service selection instruction, the control instruction or the service selection instruction is transferred to the corresponding home appliance or the corresponding service is executed in the own device. Accordingly, if the user performs an authentication procedure from the operation terminal to the service providing server, the user can perform authentication synchronously with the service providing server and the home server. Various services are provided by the service providing server according to the procedure, and a service selection instruction and a remote control instruction can be given to the home server.

  In the home appliance remote control system according to the second aspect of the invention, when the service providing server receives a logout request from the operation terminal, the service providing server notifies the home server of this, and the home server logs out in response to the logout request notification from the service providing server. By executing the processing, the user can synchronously execute logout procedures for the service providing server and the home server with a single logout request operation from the operation terminal.

  In the home appliance remote control system according to the third aspect of the invention, the service providing server receives a notification of successful authentication from the home server and identifies a unique session for identifying the current series of sessions between the operation terminal and the service providing server home server. Information is issued to the home server, and upon receiving a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal, the information is transmitted to the home server together with session information identifying the communication. On the other hand, the home server receives the remote control instruction or service selection instruction to which the session information is added from the service providing server, confirms the session information, confirms the regular session information, and then sends the remote control instruction to the corresponding home appliance. Alternatively, a service selection instruction is transferred, or the corresponding service is executed in the own apparatus. As a result, it is possible to reduce the need for an authentication procedure each time the service providing server accesses the home server, and to easily perform a secure home appliance remote control operation from the operation terminal.

  In the service providing server according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, login authentication is performed in response to access from an arbitrary operation terminal, and authentication processing is performed by notifying the corresponding home server of authentication information. When a notification of successful authentication is received from the home server, a service providing screen is transmitted to the operation terminal and displayed. On the other hand, when a remote control instruction or service selection instruction is received from the operation terminal, it is transmitted to the home server, the corresponding remote control screen or service presentation screen information is returned from the home server, and this is transferred to the operation terminal. To display. As a result, if the authentication procedure is performed on the service providing server from the operation terminal for the user, the authentication is performed synchronously on the home server together with the service providing server. According to the procedure, various services are provided by the service providing server, and a service selection instruction and a remote control instruction to the home server can be performed.

  In the service providing server according to the fifth aspect of the invention, when a notification of successful authentication is received from the home server, unique session information for identifying the current series of sessions between the operating terminal and the service providing server home server is sent to the home server. If the remote control instruction or service selection instruction is received from the operation terminal, it is sent to the home server together with session information for identifying the communication, so that the authentication procedure is performed each time the home server is accessed until logout processing is performed thereafter. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform secure home appliance remote control operation from the operation terminal.

  In the home appliance remote control method according to the sixth aspect of the invention, the service providing server receives the access from the operation terminal, performs login authentication, holds the authentication information, notifies the home server of the held authentication information, The home server executes the authentication process, notifies the service providing server of the authentication result to execute the authentication process, and if the service providing server receives a notification of successful authentication from the home server, the service providing screen is transmitted to the operation terminal. In response to this, if the user sends a remote control instruction or service selection instruction by operating the service provision screen of the operation terminal, the service provision server sends this instruction to the home server, The remote control screen or service presentation screen information from the home server is received and transferred to the operation terminal for display so that the user can remotely control the operation terminal. If the remote control instruction or the service selection instruction is transmitted by operating the screen or the service presentation screen, the service providing server transfers this to the home server, and the home server receives the remote control instruction or the service selecting instruction from the service providing server. Since the user performs the authentication procedure on the service providing server from the operation terminal, the user authenticates the home server together with the service providing server. The user can receive various services from the service providing server with a few procedures from the operation terminal, and can issue a service selection instruction and a remote control instruction to the home server.

  In the home appliance remote control method according to the seventh aspect of the invention, the service providing server accepts a logout request from the operation terminal and notifies the home server, and the home server performs logout processing in response to the logout request notification from the service providing server. As a result, the user can synchronously execute logout procedures for the service providing server and the home server with a single logout request operation from the operation terminal.

  In the home appliance remote control method according to the eighth aspect of the invention, the service providing server receives a notification of successful authentication from the home server and identifies a unique session for identifying the current series of sessions between the operation terminal and the service providing server home server. The information is issued to the home server, transmitted to the home server together with session information for identifying the communication upon receiving a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal, and the home server adds the session information from the service providing server. The remote control instruction or service selection instruction is received and the session information is confirmed. After confirming the regular session information, the remote control instruction or service selection instruction is transferred to the corresponding home appliance, or the corresponding service is Since it is executed on the device, access from the service providing server to the home server It reduces the need for the authentication procedure every time, can be made to easily identify secure home appliance remote control operation from the operation terminal.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a home electric appliance remote control system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The home appliance remote control system of this embodiment includes a home server 100 having a gateway function installed at a user's home, an ASP server 200 installed at an ASP site, a user's mobile phone, a PDA, and a PC on the go It includes an operation terminal 300 such as a (computer), a communication device that can communicate with the home server 100, and home appliances (1), (2), (3), and the like that incorporate a controller that controls various functions. The home server 100 and the ASP server 200 are always connected via an external network 500 including a public network and the Internet, and the ASP server 200 and the operation terminal 300 are connected via the external network 500 when necessary. The home server 100 and each home appliance (1), (2), etc. are connected by a wired or wireless home network 600.

  The home appliance group includes a television 401, a computer 402, an air conditioner 403, a home terminal 404, a refrigerator 405, a microwave oven 406, and a washing machine 407. The home network 600 that connects the home server 100 and the home appliance group includes, for example, wireless communication using IEEE 802.11 communication rules, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, infrared communication, Ethernet ( Those using wired communication such as registered trademarks are included.

  The home server 100 is a small computer having both a large-capacity storage device and a broadband router. The home server 100 executes necessary arithmetic processing by a software program. If the functions related to the present embodiment are shown as blocks, FIG. It is the structure shown in FIG. That is, the home server 100 is connected to an external network 100 such as the Internet from each home and has an external network having various functions (for example, a home gateway (HGW) function, a DHCP function, etc.) necessary for executing data communication. The communication unit 101, a command data generation unit 102 that generates command data using an XML language, which will be described later, and the command data received from the external network 100 through the external network communication unit 101 are interpreted, and necessary processing is executed in the own apparatus. The command data interpreting unit 103 that works or transfers to the corresponding home appliances among the home appliances connected to its own device via the home network 600, and the command data interpreter 103 receives and interprets the home appliances. The resulting control command is sent to the home network Home appliance control unit 104 that converts data for communication, home network communication unit 105 that converts a control command output from the home appliance control unit 104 into a signal for home network communication and transmits the signal to the home appliance group, command data and control Data storage unit 106 that stores information necessary for execution of control commands such as a conversion table with commands, names of home appliances 401, 402,..., Unique identification numbers (for example, MAC addresses), types, control function information, and the like. It has.

  The detailed functional configuration of the home appliance control unit 104 in the home server 100 is as shown in FIG. 3. Authentication processing is executed in response to notification of authentication information from the ASP server 200, and the authentication result is sent to the ASP server 200. Home server-side authentication unit 111 to be notified and remote control instruction or service selection instruction to which session information is added from the ASP server 200 are received to confirm the session information and confirm the legitimate session information. The remote control instruction or the service selection instruction, or the service execution unit 112 that executes the corresponding service on its own device, and the logout execution unit that executes logout processing in response to a logout request notification from the ASP server 200 113 and a session for holding session information issued by the ASP server 200 And a data holding unit 114.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ASP server 200 is connected to an external network 500 and performs a necessary data communication with the remote control terminal 300 and the home server 100, for example, a user name, address, Member management server 200-2 holding telephone number and other customer information, IP address of user's home server, MAC address of each home appliance owned by each user, model of various home appliances of each manufacturer, function information, remote The server group includes a database server 200-3 that holds control commands, job information, and the like.

  The member management server 200-2 manages a large number of member registration data, and registers and manages membership procedures, ID issuance, password registration, and member information. The database server 200-3 has a unique identification number for each home server 100 or household electrical appliance installed in the house for each registered member, for example, a MAC address, a global IP address, etc., for each manufacturer, for each product model. It manages model information, control function information, and provided service information. Here, the product model information is a product type such as an air conditioner, a washing machine, a refrigerator, and a microwave oven, a manufacturer name, a model name, a model, a product number, and the like, and the control function information is air conditioning / heating / dehumidification for an air conditioner. Necessary to specify and operate the target home appliance remotely, such as recording reservation procedure for video decks, such as presence / absence of function and switching control procedure, temperature setting procedure, presence / absence of room temperature measurement function and room temperature measurement procedure, etc. Information. The provided service information includes recipe information that can be cooked in the microwave oven. These pieces of information are designed as GUI screen information that allows the user to perform an interactive setting operation from the operation terminal 300 by presenting the information, as will be described later.

  The functional configuration of the ASP server 200 is as shown in FIG. 4. The network communication unit 201 controls the data communication via the external network 500 with the operation terminal 300 and the home server 100 and executes the authentication process. The user request processing unit 202 that performs data communication with the user 100, performs user membership registration processing, information registration processing of owned home appliances, and processes control requests for the home appliances of the user from the operation terminal 300; A command data generation unit 203 that converts the control request received by the user request processing unit 202 into command data, a command data interpretation unit 204 that interprets command data sent from the home server 100 through the external network 500, and a home appliance Home appliance database management unit 205 for managing various data, user information A member database management unit 206 to manage, a command storage unit 207 to hold a conversion table between command data and control commands, a home appliance database 208 to hold model information of home appliances under the management of the home appliance database management unit 205, and a member database management unit Under the management of 205, a member database 209 that holds user information is provided. The home appliance database 208 is included in the database server 200-3 in FIG. 1, and the member database 209 is included in the member management server 200-2.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the user request processing unit 202 in the ASP server 200 includes a login authentication unit 211 that performs login authentication in response to access from the operation terminal 300, an authentication information holding unit 212 that holds the authentication information, An authentication information notification unit 213 that notifies the corresponding home server 100 of the stored authentication information, and a service provision screen that transmits a service provision screen to the requesting operation terminal 300 in response to a notification of successful authentication from the home server 100 The transmission unit 214, the remote control signal relay unit 215 that receives the remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal 300 and transmits it to the home server 100, and the remote control screen or service presentation screen information from the home server 100 And a screen transfer unit 216 that receives and transfers the request to the requesting operation terminal 300. The user request processing unit 202 further includes a logout accepting unit 217 that accepts a logout request from the connected operation terminal 300, a logout notification unit 218 that notifies the logout request to the connected home server, and authentication from the home server 100. In response to the notification of success, a session information issuing unit 219 that issues unique session information for identifying the current series of sessions between the operation terminal and the service providing server home server to the home server 100 is provided.

  Next, a home appliance remote control method using the home appliance remote control system configured as described above will be described. As shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 6, the home server 100 periodically communicates with the communication devices of the home appliance groups 401, 402,... Participating in the home network 600, and participates in the home network 600. The home appliance MAC address is held (step S51). If it is detected that a new home appliance has entered the home network 600 (step S2), the MAC address is acquired from the new home appliance (steps S3 and S4). At this time, a name by which the user can specify the MAC address of the new home appliance and the installation location of the appliance by the PC connected to the home server 100, for example, “the bedroom on the second floor”, “air conditioner in the living room”, etc. Such identification names are preferably registered and linked (step S5).

  If there is a new home appliance, the home server 100 automatically notifies the ASP server 200 of the MAC address and identification name (step S6).

  When the ASP server 200 receives the above information about the new home appliance from the home server 100, the number of MAC addresses connected to the home network 600 together with the identification number of the user and the address of the home server 100 is set. The location is registered as an air conditioner whose location is “bedroom on the second floor”, for example. Further, the home appliance database 208 is searched using the MAC address of the new home appliance, and for example, it is determined that the product name is XX air conditioner, the model is XX, and the product number is XX. Holds model information. In addition, if the new home appliance is an air conditioner, control information that can be applied to products of the same model registered in the home appliance database 208 includes operation on / off, cooling / heating / dehumidification switching, temperature setting, automatic air volume / high / medium / GUI screen information to be described later such as weak switching is determined and held (step S7).

  In this way, when a home appliance newly enters the home network 600 managed by the home server 100, the MAC server or address information that can uniquely identify the home appliance according to the MAC address may be obtained depending on circumstances. It is transmitted to the ASP server 200 together with the identification name named by the user, and the ASP server 200 searches its own database based on this, determines the control function information of the corresponding home appliance, generates a control operation GUI screen, and generates the relevant home appliance. The user information is registered in the database 208 in association with the URL address of the home server 100. As a result, the home appliance database 208 registers a GUI screen for remote control of a group of home appliances connected to the home server 100 via the home network 600 for each registered user.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, when the user starts the browser with the operation terminal 300 on the go and accesses the ASP server 200 registered in advance, the ASP server 200 searches the home appliance database 208 and operates On the device selection screen 350, the selection buttons of the home appliances A, B,... Registered as the network home appliances of the user are displayed on the browser screen of the operation terminal 300. When the user selects home appliance A in response to this (step S11), the ASP server 200 calls the GUI screen 352 of control information for the home appliance A from the home appliance database 208, and transmits it to the operation terminal 300 to display the browser. (Step S12). Here, for home appliance A, selection buttons of button A, button B, and button C are prepared. Therefore, when the user performs an operation of the button A on the home appliance A at the home from the GUI screen 352 of the operation terminal 300, the signal of the button A operation is applicable via the home server 100 at the user's home via the ASP server 200. The home appliance A can receive the operation command and execute control corresponding to the button A (step S13).

  Next, the home appliance remote control method by the home appliance remote control system of the present embodiment will be described in more detail. Command data using the XML language is transmitted and received between the home appliance 100 having a data communication function for the home server 100 or the external network 500 and the ASP server 200 at the application level.

  According to the procedure described later, a user remotely operates a mobile phone such as a mobile phone, a home computer from a remote terminal such as a computer, for example, “sets an air conditioner to a room temperature of 27 ° C. and starts a cooling operation”. When the execution request is made, the ASP server 200 once holds the job information in its own apparatus, and transmits the job information to the home server 100 of the user in order to execute the job information. The command data using the XML language described above is used to transfer job information between the home server 100 and the ASP server 200 via the external network 500. The format of this command data is as shown in FIG.

  The data format shown in FIG. 8 will be described. When job information (control command) is transferred between the home server 100 and the ASP server 200, each control is “COMMAND”, and control executed in one action as viewed from the user is “JOB”. For example, when the instruction from the operation terminal 300 is “to set the air conditioner (1) to“ air condition ”at“ set temperature 27 ° C. ”and“ high air flow ””, the user As shown in FIG. 9, a control command is created using the operation terminal 300 using a browser, and “transmitted” to the ASP server 200 in one action. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the air conditioner control is one job, and the commands included therein are “temperature setting: 27 ° C.”, “air volume setting: strong”, “mode: cooling”, “power supply: ON” 4 commands are included. That is, if the home network is ECHONET (registered trademark) communication, one ECHONET control corresponds to one COMMAND, and a plurality of them are combined into one JOB unit.

  When an execution result (return value) is generated, the execution result is returned from the home server 100 to the ASP server 200 with the same configuration, and the ASP server 200 transmits the execution result to the operation terminal 300. 10 is displayed on the browser screen.

  In such remote control, command data control items using the XML language are shown in Table 1 in FIG. That is, there are a JOB number for identifying a job (JOB) unit, a protocol for setting a code for identifying a protocol used for the home network 600, and a version for setting a language version. These are one setting for one job.

  The command data item further includes a type for identifying whether the command is control (set) or response (get), an address for uniquely specifying the control target device, a microwave oven as a type of the control target device, a washing machine, etc. An object that sets a code for identifying a code, a property that sets a code that identifies a control command, setting data, data for entering acquired data, a timeout for setting a timeout time, an execution result for setting a control execution result, and an execution result Each item of the execution result (message) for filling in the message is prepared.

  Note that the XML language can be expanded, and items can be added arbitrarily. Job communication between the home server 100 and the ASP server 200 is performed by an XML tag using the code in the “character string” column in Table 1. In Table 1 of FIG. 11, items marked with ○ in the “required” column are mandatory items as command data, items marked with △ are mandatory items depending on the type, and items marked with x This indicates that the item may be set as an option. However, it is not limited.

  As shown in the sequence of FIG. 12, the ASP server 200 generates XML language command data in accordance with a control command from the operation terminal 300 or a periodic control command registered in advance in its own device, and sends it to the corresponding home server 100. Transmit (step S21).

  The home server 100 receives and interprets the command data, and transmits a control command to the corresponding home appliance via the home network 600 for execution (step S22). The corresponding home electric appliance executes the received control command, and returns an execution result as to whether or not the instruction is successful to the home server 100 (step S23). The home server 100 determines whether or not the execution result needs to be transferred to the ASP server 200, and transfers the execution result to the ASP server 200 if necessary (step S24).

  For example, the command data D1 in step S22 is the communication protocol shown in FIG. 13, and the command data D2 in step S24 is the communication protocol shown in FIG. For example, in the command data D1, <job jid = “0000001” protocol = “ECHO” version = “1.0”> indicates that the job ID is 0000001, the communication protocol is ECHONET, and the version is 1.0. Is shown. Also, one command is from <command> to </ command>, and for example, <type> get </ type> indicates that the type is a get property. <Ba> 00: 03: 7a: 01: 56: 7b </ ba> indicates that the MAC address of the control target device is 00: 03: 7a: 01: 56: 7b. An IP address or an ECHONET address can also be used as this address. Furthermore, <eoj> 0x013001 </ eoj> indicates that the control target device (object) is 0x013001, which indicates that it is an air conditioner, and <epc> 0xb0 </ epc> indicates an operation mode. In the following command, <epc> 0xb3 </ epc> means the set temperature, and <data> 0x13 </ data> means the set temperature is 19 ° C. In the control execution result job shown in FIG. 14, <data> 0x42 </ data> means that the acquired operation mode is "cooling", and <result> 403 </ result> of command 2 is It means that the remote start of the air conditioner failed for some reason.

  Next, a detailed sequence of the home appliance remote control method by the home appliance remote control system will be described with reference to FIGS. When the user wants to operate any home electrical appliance at home or check the driving state from the outside, the operation terminal 300 such as a mobile phone, a PDA, a portable computer, or a computer outside the office is used. The web browser is started up and the URL of the ASP server 200 is accessed (step S31 in FIG. 15). In response to this, the ASP server 200 transmits an ID / password input screen 310 to be displayed on the operation terminal 300 (step S32 in FIG. 15).

  If the user inputs and transmits the ID and password from the input screen of the operation terminal 300 (step S33 in FIG. 15 and step S301 in FIG. 17), it is stored in the member management server 200-2 on the ASP server 200 side. With reference to the member information, personal authentication is performed (step S34 in FIG. 15 and step S302 in FIG. 17). If the authentication is successful, the service information registered in advance by the user is acquired from the member management server 200-2, and a menu screen 311 for service selection is transmitted to the operation terminal 300 and displayed. (Step S35 in FIG. 15 and Steps S304 and S305 in FIG. 17). This menu screen displays available services registered in advance by the user and allows the user to select them.

  When the user selects a menu in cooperation with the home server 100 on the operation terminal 300, the ASP server 200 automatically transmits the ID and password described above to the home server 100 at the member's home (step S37 in FIG. 15). , Steps S401 and S402 in FIG. The home server 100 authenticates the received ID and password, and transmits the authentication result to the ASP server 200 (steps S38 and S39 in FIG. 15 and step S403 in FIG. 18).

  If the ASP server 200 receives a successful authentication from the home server 100, it issues session session information used for the current communication (step S40 in FIG. 15), and transmits it to the home server 100 to hold it (step S41 in FIG. 15). , S42). When the home server 100 confirms reception of the session information, it returns a confirmation response to the ASP server 200 (step S43 in FIG. 15).

  As a result, the operation terminal 300 and the home server 100 are virtually connected with the ASP server 200 in the background. Thereafter, the portion surrounded by the dotted-line rectangle in FIG. 15, step S404 in FIG. The operation procedure of S406 is repeated, so that the communication from the ASP server 200 to the home server 100 can be performed by providing service and remote control while confirming that it is legitimate communication by using this Session information. The ID and password authentication process is prevented from occurring every time.

  For example, a security confirmation service by a security camera is selected from the top page 312 of the home server displayed on the operation terminal 300 and subsequently sent from the home server 100 to the operation terminal 300 as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the crime prevention service screen 320 at the person's house is displayed and an operation instruction for confirming the entrance camera is input to the screen 320 (step S44 in FIG. 15). On the other hand, the ASP server 200 determines the MAC address of the security camera of the corresponding user, calls a command necessary for starting the camera, generates XML language command data (step S45 in FIG. 15), and has already established it. The session information and the operation instruction command data are transmitted to the home server 100 (step S46 in FIG. 15).

  The home server 100 confirms the session information, activates the corresponding home appliance, here a security camera, according to the protocol of the home network, and receives the captured image (step S47 in FIG. 15). The image from the security camera is converted into XML language command data and transmitted to the ASP server 200 (step S48 in FIG. 15). The ASP server 200 converts the received captured image into the protocol used for communication with the operation terminal 300 and transfers it to the inquiry source operation terminal 300, and the operation terminal 300 transmits the received information as shown in FIG. (Step S49 in FIG. 15).

  Also, as shown in FIG. 22, one of the two air conditioners on the second floor, “the second floor air conditioner (1)”, is inquired about the operating state, and when the room temperature is high, the power is turned on by remote control. It is also possible to have a function. In this case, if the power-on “Yes” button is selected on the status confirmation result screen of FIG. 22, the operation screen of FIG. 9 is displayed, and the air conditioner can be remotely controlled from the operation screen of FIG.

  When the remote control from the operation terminal 300 is terminated, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 19, a logout screen 313 is displayed on the operation terminal 300 and a “logout” button is pressed (step S51 in FIG. 16, FIG. 16). 19 steps S501). This logout signal is sent to the ASP server 200, and the ASP server 200 activates a logout synchronization module and transmits a logout command to the home server 100 (step S52 in FIG. 16, step S502 in FIG. 19). The home server 100 performs logout processing and returns the processing result to the ASP server 200 (steps S53 and S54 in FIG. 16 and step S503 in FIG. 19).

  If the ASP server 200 receives the logout confirmation, the current session information is discarded (step S55 in FIG. 16 and step S504 in FIG. 19), the logout confirmation information is transmitted to the operation terminal 300, and the logout confirmation screen 314 is displayed ( Step S56 in FIG. 16 and Step S505 in FIG. 19). If the user presses the “confirm” button on the logout confirmation screen 314, the screen shifts to the login screen.

In this way, according to the home appliance remote control system of the present embodiment, the ASP server 200 temporarily holds the authentication information input from the operation terminal 300, and automatically between the ASP server 200 and the home server 100. If the authentication is successful and automatic authentication is successful, Session information is issued between the two, and a menu screen that presents the user's available services is transmitted from the ASP server 200 to the user's operation terminal 300. If a service selection signal or an operation signal is sent from the terminal 300, session information is added to the communication signal between the ASP server 200 and the home server 100 and then transmitted. Users who select services and perform remote control of home appliances only need to log in once and then log in to the home server. There is no need to repeat the in-process, it is possible to smoothly carry out the consumer electronics remote control while ensuring secure communications.

Also, when the user performs a logout procedure from the operation terminal 300, if the user performs the logout procedure on the logout screen of the operation terminal 300, the ASP server 200 detects the disconnection request for the communication session and the operation terminal 100 and the ASP between the server 200, it is possible to simultaneously disable the communication session between the ASP server 200 and the home server 100, also it is something simple logout procedures.

  In the above-described embodiment, the home server 100 is controlled by the home server 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the function of the home server 100 is incorporated into one of the home appliances that is always energized. It can be configured to manage a group of home appliances.

  Further, the functional configurations of the home server 100 and the ASP server 200 are not limited to those shown in the drawings, and the home server 100 and the ASP server 200 are incorporated by incorporating software programs that exhibit the above-described functions into a computer of an appropriate scale. Can work as.

  Further, in the present invention, the communication between the external server such as the ASP server 200 and the home server 100 is not limited to using command data using the XML language, but can be used for network communication. It is also possible to use other languages and methods.

The block diagram of the household appliance remote control system of one embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the function structure of the home server in the said embodiment. The block diagram which shows the function structure of the household appliances control part in the home server in the said embodiment. The block diagram which shows the function structure of the ASP server in the said embodiment. The block diagram which shows the function structure of the user request process part in the ASP server in the said embodiment. The sequence diagram which shows the process which registers the new entry household appliances with respect to an ASP server in the said embodiment. The sequence diagram of the remote control performed from an operation terminal with respect to arbitrary household appliances in the said embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the format of the command data used for communication between an ASP server and a home server in the said embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the air-conditioner operation screen displayed on the operation terminal in the said embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the display screen of the air-conditioner operation result displayed on the operation terminal in the said embodiment. 5 is a comparison table of command data control items and tag character strings used for communication between an ASP server and a home server in the embodiment. The sequence diagram of execution of the control command between an ASP server, a home server, and household appliances in the said embodiment, and the return of an execution result. The list figure of the command data transmitted for the household appliance control instruction | indication from an ASP server with respect to a home server in the said embodiment. The list figure of the command data transmitted for the notification of a household appliance control result with respect to an ASP server from a home server in the said embodiment. The sequence diagram 1 of the household appliance remote control by the said embodiment. Second sequence diagram of home appliance remote control according to the above embodiment. The sequence diagram 1 of the login process with respect to the login procedure from the operation terminal in the said embodiment. The sequence diagram 2 of the login process with respect to the login procedure from the operating terminal in the said embodiment. The sequence diagram of the logout process with respect to the logout procedure from the operating terminal in the said embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the start instruction | indication screen of the security camera of the front door displayed on the operation terminal in the said embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the picked-up image with the security camera of the entrance displayed on the operation terminal in the said embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the operating condition confirmation screen of the air-conditioner displayed on the operation terminal in the said embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Home server 101 External network communication part 102 Command data generation part 103 Command data interpretation part 104 Home appliance control part 105 Home network communication part 106 Data storage part 111 Home server side authentication part 112 Service execution part 113 Logout execution part 114 Session information holding Unit 200 ASP server 200-1 web server 200-2 member information management server 200-3 database server 201 network communication unit 202 to user request processing unit 203 command data generation unit 204 command data interpretation unit 205 home appliance database management unit 206 member database management Unit 207 Command storage unit 208 Home appliance database 209 Member database 211 Login authentication unit 212 Authentication information holding unit 213 Authentication information Knowledge unit 214 service providing screen transmission unit 215 remote control signal relay unit 216 screen transfer unit 217 logout accepting unit 218 logout notification unit 219 session information issuing unit 300 operating terminal 401, ... Appliances 410 controller 500 external network 600 the home network

Claims (8)

Home appliances having a network communication function, a home server connected to the home appliances via a home network, a service providing server connected to the home server via an external network, and accessing the service providing server via the external network In a home appliance remote control system equipped with an operation terminal to
The service providing server includes a login authentication unit that performs login authentication upon receiving an access from the operation terminal, an authentication information holding unit that holds the authentication information, and an authentication information notification unit that notifies the home server of the held authentication information. A service providing screen transmitting means for receiving a notification of successful authentication from the home server and transmitting a service providing screen to the operation terminal; and the home server receiving a remote control instruction or a service selection instruction from the operation terminal. Remote control signal relay means for transmitting to the screen, and screen transfer means for receiving information on the remote control screen or service presentation screen from the home server and transferring the information to the operation terminal,
The home server performs authentication processing on the notification of authentication information from the service providing server and notifies the service providing server of an authentication result, and a remote control screen or Information on the service presentation screen is transmitted, the remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the service providing server is received, the remote control instruction or service selection instruction is transferred to the corresponding home appliance, or the corresponding service is transmitted to the own device. A home appliance remote control system comprising service execution means for executing. The service providing server comprises logout accepting means for accepting a logout request from the operation terminal, and means for notifying the logout request to the home server,
The home appliance remote control system according to claim 1, wherein the home server includes logout execution means for executing logout processing in response to a logout request notification from the service providing server. The service providing server, upon receiving a notification of successful authentication from the home server, issues unique session information identifying the current series of sessions between the operation terminal and the service providing server home server to the home server. Session information issuing means, and the home server includes session information holding means for holding session information issued by the service providing server,
The remote control signal relay means of the service providing server transmits a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal together with session information identifying the communication to the home server in response to the remote control instruction or service selection instruction. In response to the remote control instruction or service selection instruction to which session information is added from the service providing server, the session information is confirmed, and after confirming regular session information, the remote control instruction or service selection is applied to the corresponding home appliance. The home appliance remote control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an instruction is transferred or a corresponding service is executed in the device itself. A service providing server connected to an operation terminal and a home server via an external network,
Login authentication means for receiving login from any operation terminal and authenticating login;
Authentication information holding means for holding the authentication information;
Authentication information notification means for notifying the corresponding home server of the stored authentication information;
Service providing screen transmitting means for receiving a notification of successful authentication from the home server and transmitting a service providing screen to the operation terminal;
Remote control signal relay means for receiving a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal and transmitting it to the home server;
A service providing server comprising screen transfer means for receiving information on a remote control screen or a service presentation screen from the home server and transferring the information to the operation terminal. Session information issuing means for receiving a notification of successful authentication from the home server and issuing unique session information for identifying the current series of sessions between the operation terminal and the service providing server home server to the home server. Prepared,
5. The service provision according to claim 4, wherein the remote control signal relay means transmits a remote control instruction or a service selection instruction from the operation terminal together with session information for identifying the communication to the home server. server. In the service providing server, a step of performing login authentication upon receiving an access from the operation terminal, a step of holding the authentication information, a step of notifying the corresponding home server of the held authentication information, and successful authentication from the home server Receiving the notification, and transmitting a service providing screen to the operation terminal; receiving a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal; and transmitting to the home server; and remote control from the home server Receiving information on the screen or service presentation screen and transferring the information to the operation terminal;
In the home server, an authentication process is performed for notification of authentication information from the service providing server, and an authentication result is notified to the service providing server; a remote control screen or a service presentation screen is displayed on the service providing server; A step of transmitting information, receiving a remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the service providing server, transferring the remote control instruction or service selection instruction to the corresponding home appliance, or executing the corresponding service in the own device A remote control method for home appliances. In the service providing server, receiving a logout request from the operation terminal; notifying the logout request to the home server;
The home appliance remote control method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of executing logout processing in response to a logout request notification from the service providing server in the home server. In response to the notification of successful authentication from the home server, the service providing server issues unique session information identifying the current series of sessions between the operation terminal and the service providing server home server to the home server. Receiving the remote control instruction or service selection instruction from the operation terminal, and transmitting to the home server together with session information for identifying the communication,
In the home server, a step of confirming session information in response to a remote control instruction or service selection instruction to which session information is added from the service providing server; and after confirming regular session information, 8. The home appliance remote control method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of transferring a remote control instruction or a service selection instruction, or executing a corresponding service in the own device.