Method for controlling information apparatus and computer-readable recording medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9651928-B2
Application number	US-201514602589-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 22, 2015
Priority date	Mar 29, 2013
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

The present disclosure is a method for controlling an information apparatus having a third display and being used in an information management system, the method causing a computer of the information apparatus to: display a display screen representing at least one floor plan of a building on the third display; display device icons representing target devices including a first target device and a second target device on the display screen, the device icons being movable by dragging the device icons; and when it is sensed that a device icon representing the second target device is dropped on a device icon representing the first target device, output to the information management system a first control command for displaying a confirmation screen on a first display of the first target device, the confirmation screen being for confirmation of a state of the second target device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for controlling an information apparatus connected to a network, a first target device and a second target device being controlled over the network, the first target device having a first display, the second target device having no display or having a second display which is smaller in display area than the first display, the information apparatus having a third display and being used in an information management system which manages information indicating a state of the second target device,
the method causing a computer of the information apparatus to:
display a display screen representing at least one floor plan of a building on the third display;
display device icons representing target devices including the first target device and the second target device on the display screen representing the at least one floor plan, the device icons being movable by dragging the device icons; and
when it is sensed that a device icon representing the second target device is dropped on a device icon representing the first target device, output to the information management system a first control command for displaying a confirmation screen on the first display of the first target device, the confirmation screen being for confirmation of the state of the second target device.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
when it is not sensed that the device icon representing the second target device is dropped on the device icon representing the first target device, and when it is sensed that the device icon representing the second target device is selected,
the information indicating the state of the second target device is received from the information management system, and
the confirmation screen is displayed on the third display as overlapped on the display screen representing the at least one floor plan.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein
in displaying the confirmation screen on the third display as overlapped on the display screen, display of the display screen is changed to display which is darker than display of the confirmation screen.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein
when it is sensed that a location outside a region of the confirmation screen is selected, display of the confirmation screen is erased, and the display screen is changed to display with original brightness.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
in a case where the second target device and the first target device cooperate with each other and the confirmation screen can be displayed on the first display of the first target device, when it is sensed that the device icon representing the second target device is selected, display of an other device icon which is other than the device icon representing the first target device and the device icon representing the second target device is changed to display which is darker than display of the device icon representing the first target device and the device icon representing the second target device.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein
when it is sensed that the device icon representing the second target device is dropped on the other device icon, display of the device icon representing the second target device is changed to darker display as with the display of the other device icon.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
in a case where the second target device and the first target device do not cooperate with each other and the confirmation screen cannot be displayed on the first display of the first target device, when it is sensed that selection of the device icon representing the second target device is continued for not less than a predetermined time, display of the device icon representing the second target device is changed to display which is darker than display of an other device icon which is other than the device icon representing the second target device.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein
in a case where the second target device and the first target device do not cooperate with each other and the confirmation screen cannot be displayed on the first display of the first target device, when it is judged that a time of sensing selection of the device icon representing the second target device is less than the predetermined time,
the information indicating the state of the second target device is received from the information management system, and
the confirmation screen is displayed on the third display as overlapped on the display screen representing the at least one floor plan.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
when it is sensed that the device icon representing the second target device is dropped on a device icon, which is other than the device icon representing the first target device, the device icon representing the second target device is retracted to a location outside a display region of the device icon representing the first target device on which the device icon representing the second target device is dropped.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
when it is sensed that the device icon representing the second target device is dropped on the device icon which is other than the device icon representing the first target device, the device icon representing the second target device is retracted to an original display position of the device icon representing the second target device.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
in a case where the second target device and the first target device cooperate with each other and the confirmation screen can be displayed on the first display of the first target device, when it is sensed that selection of the device icon representing the second target device is continued for not less than a predetermined time, display of an other device icon other than the device icon representing the first target device and the device icon representing the second target device is changed to display which is darker than display of the device icon representing the first target device and the device icon representing the second target device.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein
in a case where the second target device and the first target device cooperate with each other and the confirmation screen can be displayed on the first display of the first target device, when it is judged that a time of sensing selection of the device icon representing the second target device is less than the predetermined time,
the information indicating the state of the second target device is received from the information management system, and
the confirmation screen is displayed on the third display as overlapped on the display screen representing the at least one floor plan.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
in a case where the first target device is not turned on when the first control command is output to the information management system, a second control command for turning on the first target device is output to the information management system.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the information indicating the state of the second target device includes log information related to a use history of the second target device.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the information indicating the state of the second target device includes information indicating a consumed electric power amount of the second target device.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the first target device is a television set.

17. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the s

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Corp America

Inventors

• Sasaki Takamitsu
• Naito Eiichi

Classifications

• G08C2201/114

  Solar power · CPC title

• G08C2201/30

  User interface · CPC title

• G08C2201/112

  Mechanical energy, e.g. vibration, piezoelectric · CPC title

• H04L12/2803

  Home automation networks · CPC title

• G05B15/02 Primary

  electric · CPC title