Control method for information terminal device and non-transitory computer readable recording medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9732978-B2
Application number	US-201414514650-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 15, 2014
Priority date	Oct 22, 2013
Publication date	Aug 15, 2017
Grant date	Aug 15, 2017

Abstract

There is provided a control method for an information terminal device having a display and controlling an air conditioner over a network. The control method makes the information terminal device perform processing including: displaying a temperature setting screen where an air conditioner temperature is settable for each of a plurality of time periods; calculating a first time period preset temperature using a first preset temperature at a boundary time and a second preset temperature at a go-to-bed time; calculating a second time period preset temperature using the first preset temperature and a third preset temperature at a wake-up time; displaying the first time period preset temperature and second time period preset temperature; and outputting to the network a control command corresponding to the first preset temperature and second preset temperature when the first time period preset temperature and second time period preset temperature have been fixed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A control method for an information terminal device that has a display and controls an air conditioner over a network,
the control method making the information terminal device perform processing comprising:
displaying on the display a temperature setting screen in which a temperature of the air conditioner is settable for each of a plurality of time periods,
the temperature setting screen including a first temperature setting segment used to set a temperature of the air conditioner in a first time period and a second temperature setting segment used to set a temperature of the air conditioner in a second time period, the first time period being a time period from a go-to-bed time of a user using the air conditioner until a first time that is a time between the go-to-bed time and a wake-up time of the user, the second time period being a time period from the first time until the wake-up time;
calculating a first time period preset temperature of the air conditioner which changes in the first time period by using a first preset temperature that is a temperature of the air conditioner at the first time and that is set in the temperature setting screen and a second preset temperature that is a temperature of the air conditioner at the go-to-bed time and that is set in the temperature setting screen;
calculating a second time period preset temperature of the air conditioner which changes in the second time period by using the first preset temperature and a third preset temperature that is a temperature of the air conditioner at the wake-up time and that is set in the temperature setting screen;
displaying in the first temperature setting segment the calculated first time period preset temperature;
displaying in the second temperature setting segment the calculated second time period preset temperature; and
outputting to the network a first control command that corresponds to the first preset temperature and a second control command that corresponds to the second preset temperature in a case where the calculated first time period preset temperature is fixed as the first time period preset temperature and the calculated second time period preset temperature is fixed as the second time period preset temperature.

2. The control method according to claim 1 , wherein
the calculated first time period preset temperature is represented by a first line that connects a point corresponding to the second preset temperature and a point corresponding to the first preset temperature, and
the calculated second time period preset temperature is represented by a second line that connects a point corresponding to the third preset temperature and the point corresponding to the first preset temperature.

3. The control method according to claim 2 , wherein
the display is a touch panel display,
the first line is changeable to a curve by an operation performed by a user who has touched the first line, and
the second line is changeable to a curve by an operation performed by the user who has touched the second line.

4. The control method according to claim 2 , wherein
the first line is a straight line and the second line is a straight line.

5. The control method according to claim 1 , wherein
the calculated first time period preset temperature is represented using a graph having a vertical axis that represents a preset temperature of the air conditioner and a horizontal axis that represents time, and
the calculated second time period preset temperature is represented using a graph having a vertical axis that represents a preset temperature of the air conditioner and a horizontal axis that represents time.

6. The control method according to claim 1 , wherein
the first control command and the second control command are outputted to the network at a predetermined timing.

7. The control method according to claim 1 , wherein
the first time is a time between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.

8. The control method according to claim 1 , the processing further comprising:
displaying on the display a time setting screen for setting a going-out time that is a time when the user goes out, separately from the temperature setting screen, wherein
the first time is a time obtained by subtracting a first predetermined time from the going-out time that is set in the time setting screen.

9. The control method according to claim 8 , wherein
the first predetermined time is a time having a range of two hours to three hours.

10. The control method according to claim 1 , wherein
the information terminal device is connected to a system that manages position information indicating a position of the information terminal device, receives, from the system, information indicating that the information terminal device is located away from a house of a user of the information terminal device by a predetermined distance for the first time after the wake-up time, and sets a time obtained by subtracting a second predetermined time from a time when receiving the information as the first time.

11. The control method according to claim 10 , wherein
the second predetermined time is a time having a range of two hours to three hours.

12. The control method according to claim 1 , wherein
the information terminal device includes a thermometer, and
sets a time when a body temperature of the user measured by the thermometer bottoms out as the first time.

13. The control method according to claim 1 , wherein
the go-to-bed time is a time when the calculated first time period preset temperature is fixed as the first time period preset temperature and the calculated second time period preset temperature is fixed as the second time period preset temperature.

14. The control method according to claim 1 , wherein
the information terminal device includes an illuminance sensor, and
sets a time when the illuminance sensor detected turn-off of a light in space where the user sleeps as the go-to-bed time.

15. The control method according to claim 1 , wherein
the information terminal device includes an alarm, and
sets a time which is set by the user and at which the alarm is activated as the wake-up time.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program executed by an information terminal device that has a display and controls an air conditioner over a network,
the program causing a computer of the information terminal device to execute processing comprising:
displaying on the display a temperature setting screen in which a temperature of the air conditioner is settable for each of a plurality of time periods,
the temperature setting screen including a first temperature setting segment used to set a temperature of the air conditioner in a first time period and a second temperature setting segment used to set a temperature of the air conditioner in a second time period, the first time period being a time period from a go-to-bed time of a user using the air conditioner until a first time that is a time between the go-to-bed time and a wake-up time of the user, the second time period being a time period from the first time until the wake-up time;
calculating a first time period preset temperature of the air conditioner which changes in the first time period by using a first preset temperature that is a temperature of the air conditioner at the first time and that is set in the temperature setting screen and a second preset temperature that is a temperature of the air conditioner at the go-to-bed time and that is set in the temperature setting screen;
calculating a second time period preset temperature of t

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Corp America

Inventors

• Sugiyama Masashi
• Sasaki Taiji
• Nishida Yoichi
• Harada Shunji
• Fuchikami Tetsuji

Classifications

• F24F11/59 Primary

  for presetting · CPC title

• F24F11/52

  Indication arrangements, e.g. displays · CPC title

• F24F11/64

  using pre-stored data · CPC title

• F24F11/62

  characterised by the type of control or by internal processing, e.g. using fuzzy logic, adaptive control or estimation of values · CPC title

• F24F2011/0071

  Mechanical Engineering · mapped topic