JP6329833B2 - Wearable terminal and method for controlling wearable terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wearable terminal used in a system for remotely operating a home electric appliance through a network by a voice instruction, and a method for controlling the wearable terminal.

  Recent advances in communication technology have made it possible to remotely control home appliances by voice instructions given by a user (see Patent Document 1). According to Patent Literature 1, a user gives a voice instruction to an operation device for controlling a home appliance. The operating device transmits a voice instruction to the server. The server applies voice analysis processing to the voice instruction and generates a control signal for controlling the home appliance. The control signal is transmitted from the server to the home appliance. As a result, the home appliance can operate according to the voice instruction given by the user.

  Patent Document 1 teaches that a smartphone can be used as the operation device described above. Users often have smartphones housed in bags. Therefore, if a smartphone is used as the above-described operation device, the user needs to take out the smartphone from the bag.

  Patent Document 1 also discloses an operation device that remotely operates home appliances using gestures instead of voice instructions. Patent Document 1 teaches that a wristwatch-type wearable terminal can be used as an operation device. If the wearable terminal is used as the operation device described above, the user can immediately give a control instruction by a gesture to the wearable terminal.

JP 2013-179446 A

  According to Patent Document 1, if a wearable terminal is used as an operating device, the user needs to give the wearable terminal an exercise corresponding to the control content. Therefore, the user must memorize various operations representing the control contents.

  The user may operate the body part to which the wearable terminal is attached, not for the purpose of remotely operating the home appliance. Therefore, the technique of Patent Document 1 tends to cause a malfunction of the wearable terminal.

  An object of this invention is to provide the technique which enables it to perform remote control with respect to household appliances simply and correctly.

  A wearable terminal according to one aspect of the present invention is formed so as to be wearable on an upper limb portion of a user, and is used in a system for remotely operating a home electric appliance through a network by a voice instruction. The wearable terminal has a first axis direction orthogonal to a plane defined by a voice data generation unit that generates voice data from the voice instruction, a vertically downward direction of the upper limb part, and a moving direction of the user. A detecting unit that detects the movement of the upper limb and generates movement data related to the movement, and a determination unit that determines whether the user is going to perform a remote operation on the home appliance based on the movement data And a data processing unit for processing the audio data. The data processing unit includes: (i) a transmission data generation unit that generates transmission data corresponding to the audio data if the determination unit determines that the user is going to perform the remote operation; and (ii) A transmission unit that transmits the transmission data to the network.

  According to the above configuration, the detection unit generates motion data related to the motion of the upper limb in the first axis direction orthogonal to the plane defined by the vertical downward direction of the upper limb and the moving direction of the user. Therefore, the determination unit can accurately determine whether or not the user intends to perform a remote operation on the home appliance. If the determination unit determines that the user is going to perform a remote operation based on the exercise data, the transmission data generation unit generates transmission data corresponding to the audio data. Operated.

  In the above configuration, the motion data may represent acceleration of the upper limb in the first axis direction. If the acceleration is greater than an acceleration threshold, the determination unit may determine that the user is about to perform the remote operation.

  According to the above configuration, if the acceleration is larger than the acceleration threshold value, the determination unit determines that the user is going to perform a remote operation, and thus the home appliance is remotely operated accurately and simply.

  The said structure WHEREIN: The said detection part may detect the angular velocity of the rotational motion of the said upper-limb part around the 2nd axis | shaft extended in the said perpendicular downward direction, and may produce | generate the angular velocity data showing the said angular velocity as said motion data. The determination unit compares the rotation angle of the upper limb calculated from the angular velocity data with a rotation angle threshold, and if the rotation angle is larger than the rotation angle threshold, the user tries to perform the remote operation. It may be determined that

  According to the above configuration, the determination unit determines whether or not the user is going to perform a remote operation using not only the acceleration but also the angular velocity, so that the home appliance is remotely operated accurately and simply.

  In the above configuration, the wearable terminal may further include a power supply unit that supplies power to the data processing unit. When the determination unit determines that the user is going to perform the remote operation, the power supply unit may start supplying the power to the data processing unit.

  According to the above configuration, when the determination unit determines that the user is going to perform a remote operation, the power supply unit starts supplying power to the data processing unit, and thus the power consumption of the wearable terminal is reduced.

  The control method according to another aspect of the present invention is suitably applied to a wearable terminal that is formed so as to be wearable on the upper limbs of a user and is used in a system that remotely controls home appliances through a network by voice instructions. The The control method detects motion of the upper limb in a first axis direction orthogonal to a plane defined by a vertically downward direction of the upper limb and a moving direction of the user, and motion data relating to the motion A determination step that determines whether or not the user is going to perform the remote operation based on the exercise data, and a determination result obtained in the determination step is that the user If it indicates that an operation is to be performed, the method includes a generation step of receiving the voice instruction and generating transmission data corresponding to the voice instruction, and a transmission step of transmitting the transmission data to the network. .

  According to the above configuration, in the detection step, motion data relating to the motion of the upper limb in the first axis direction perpendicular to the plane defined by the vertical downward direction of the upper limb and the moving direction of the user is generated. Therefore, in the determination step, it is accurately determined whether or not the user intends to perform a remote operation on the home appliance. If a determination result that the user is going to perform remote operation is obtained in the determination step, transmission data corresponding to the voice instruction is generated in the generation step, so that the home appliance is remotely operated accurately and simply. The

  In the above configuration, the detecting step may include detecting an acceleration of the upper limb in the first axis direction. The determining step may include comparing the acceleration with an acceleration threshold value and determining that the user is going to perform the remote operation if the acceleration is greater than the acceleration threshold value.

  According to the above configuration, if the acceleration is larger than the acceleration threshold value, a determination result that the user is going to perform a remote operation is obtained in the determination step, so that the home appliance is remotely operated accurately and simply. .

  In the above configuration, the detecting step may include detecting an angular velocity of a rotational motion of the upper limb portion around a second axis extending in the vertically downward direction. In the determination step, the rotation angle of the upper limb calculated from the angular velocity is compared with a rotation angle threshold, and if the rotation angle is larger than the rotation angle threshold, the user is going to perform the remote operation. Determination may be included.

  According to the above configuration, in the determination step, it is determined whether or not the user is going to perform a remote operation using not only the acceleration but also the angular velocity, so that the home appliance is remotely operated accurately and simply.

  The present invention enables a user to easily and accurately perform a remote operation on a home appliance.

It is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal of 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram of the three-dimensional coordinate system set in the upper limb part. It is a schematic flowchart showing the exemplary data processing of the wearable terminal shown by FIG. 1 (2nd Embodiment). It is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal of 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart showing exemplary data processing of the wearable terminal shown in FIG. 4 (fourth embodiment). FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal of 5th Embodiment. It is a schematic flowchart showing the exemplary data processing of the wearable terminal shown by FIG. 6 (6th Embodiment). It is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal of 7th Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal of 8th Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal of 9th Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal of 10th Embodiment. FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart showing an exemplary operation of the wearable terminal shown in FIG. 11 (11th embodiment). FIG. It is a conceptual diagram of the control system of 12th Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal of 13th Embodiment. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary usage environment of the wearable terminal illustrated in FIG. 14. It is the schematic showing the exemplary use environment of the wearable terminal shown by FIG. 14 (14th Embodiment). It is the schematic showing the exemplary use environment of the wearable terminal shown by FIG. 14 (14th Embodiment). It is the schematic of the communication apparatus registered into the cloud server as a communication destination of the wearable terminal shown by FIG. 14 (15th Embodiment). It is a table | surface showing the priority set to the cloud server (15th Embodiment). It is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal of 16th Embodiment. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary usage environment of the wearable terminal illustrated in FIG. 19. FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary usage environment of the wearable terminal illustrated in FIG. 19. It is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal of 17th Embodiment. It is the schematic showing the example use environment of the wearable terminal of 18th Embodiment. It is a table | surface showing the priority set in the cloud server which communicates with the wearable terminal shown by FIG. It is the schematic showing the household appliances which a user owns (19th Embodiment). It is a table | surface showing the priority set in the cloud server. It is a table | surface which associates the control object of a cloud server, and a user's operation action (20th Embodiment).

  With reference to the accompanying drawings, various embodiments relating to a control technology of a home appliance using a wearable terminal will be described below. The control technology of home appliances using wearable terminals can be clearly understood by the following description. The terms representing directions such as “up”, “down”, “left” and “right” are merely for the purpose of clarifying the explanation. Accordingly, these terms should not be construed as limiting.

<First Embodiment>
As described above, the conventional control technology using the wearable terminal determines the control content for the home appliance according to the user's gesture. Therefore, in order for the user to make various operation requests to the home appliance, the user has to memorize a large number of gestures.

  Even if the user does not try to operate the home appliance, the wearable terminal may be moved. If the wearable terminal is worn on the user's upper limb, the wearable terminal reciprocates back and forth. If one of the above-described gestures is a back-and-forth movement back and forth on the wearable terminal, the home appliance may perform an operation not intended by the user.

  The present inventors have found these problems from the prior art, and have developed a wearable terminal that enables a control instruction to be easily and accurately performed on home appliances. In the first embodiment, a design concept of a wearable terminal developed by the present inventors will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal 100 of the first embodiment. A wearable terminal 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Wearable terminal 100 is worn on the upper limb of the user. The term “upper limb” means the body part of the user from the shoulder to the fingertip. Wearable terminal 100 may be worn on the user's wrist. Alternatively, the wearable terminal 100 may be worn on the user's finger. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific mounting position of the wearable terminal 100.

  If the wearable terminal 100 is worn on the user's wrist, the wearable terminal 100 may look like a wristwatch. If wearable terminal 100 is worn on the user's finger, wearable terminal 100 may look like a ring. A designer who designs wearable terminal 100 may determine the design of wearable terminal 100 so as to match the mounting position. Therefore, the principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific design of the wearable terminal 100.

  Wearable terminal 100 is incorporated in a system for remotely operating home appliance APL. If the user attempts to remotely control the home appliance APL, the user gives a voice instruction to the wearable terminal 100. Wearable terminal 100 converts voice from a user into an electrical signal. The converted signal is transmitted from wearable terminal 100 to network NTW. The network NTW generates a control signal for controlling the home appliance APL according to the converted signal. The control signal is transmitted from network NTW to home appliance APL. The home appliance APL performs a predetermined operation according to the control signal. Alternatively, the home appliance APL stops in response to the control signal.

  The signal transmitted from the wearable terminal 100 to the network NTW may represent the user's voice as it is. In this case, the network NTW may identify the user's voice from the signal from the wearable terminal 100 and grasp the operation content requested by the user to the home appliance APL. As a result, the network NTW can generate a control signal representing the requested operation content.

  Wearable terminal 100 may extract a specific voice portion (for example, a voice representing a specific word required for the control signal) from the user's voice. In this case, a signal representing the extracted voice may be transmitted from wearable terminal 100 to network NTW. As a result, the network NTW can grasp the operation content requested by the user from the home appliance APL from the received signal, and can generate a control signal representing the requested operation content.

  The wearable terminal 100 may have a function of identifying the user's voice. In this case, wearable terminal 100 can generate a signal representing the operation content that the user requests from home appliance APL. The generated signal is transmitted from the wearable terminal 100 to the home appliance APL through the network NTW.

  As described above, a signal transmitted from wearable terminal 100 to network NTW can represent various contents. Therefore, the principle of this embodiment is not limited to the specific content represented by the signal transmitted from the wearable terminal 100 to the network NTW.

  Various communication technologies that can connect the wearable terminal 100 and the home appliance APL so as to communicate with each other can be applied to the network NTW. For example, the network NTW may include a communication for connecting the cloud server, the wearable terminal 100 to the cloud server so that communication is possible, and communication for connecting the cloud server to the home appliance APL so that communication is possible. These communication paths may be based on various known communication technologies. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific communication technology applied to the network NTW.

  The home appliance APL may be various devices used in a general home. Examples of the home appliance APL include a television device, a washing machine, an air conditioner, and a cooking appliance. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific type of home appliance APL.

  The wearable terminal 100 includes an audio data generation unit 200, a detection unit 300, a determination unit 400, and a data processing unit 500. The voice data generation unit 200 generates voice data from a voice instruction given by the user. The detection unit 300 detects the exercise given to the wearable terminal 100 by the user, and generates exercise data representing the exercise. Based on the exercise data, determination unit 400 determines whether or not the user intends to remotely operate home appliance APL. The data processing unit 500 processes audio data.

  Various devices that can convert sound into an electrical signal (that is, the above-described sound data) can be applied to the sound data generation unit 200. For example, a general small microphone may be used as the audio data generation unit 200. The principle of the present embodiment is not limited to a specific device used as the audio data generation unit 200.

  Various sensor devices that can detect a motion given to the wearable terminal 100 and generate an electrical signal representing the motion (that is, the motion data described above) can be applied to the detection unit 300. The detection unit 300 may be a general acceleration sensor. Alternatively, the detection unit 300 may be a general angular velocity sensor. Further alternatively, the detection unit 300 may be a sensor device (for example, a general six-axis sensor) that can detect acceleration and angular velocity. The principle of the present embodiment is not limited to a specific sensor device used as the detection unit 300.

  The determination unit 400 may be an electronic component and / or a program that performs a determination process based on exercise data. If the detection unit 300 detects the acceleration of the wearable terminal 100, the determination unit 400 may determine whether or not the acceleration exceeds an acceleration threshold value (a predetermined threshold value for the acceleration). If the acceleration is greater than the acceleration threshold, determination unit 400 may determine that the user is attempting to remotely operate home appliance APL. If the detection unit 300 detects the angular velocity of the wearable terminal 100, the determination unit 400 may perform integration calculation processing on the motion data representing the angular velocity. As a result, the determination unit 400 can obtain data regarding the rotation angle of the wearable terminal 100. The determination unit 400 may compare the calculated rotation angle with a rotation angle threshold value (a threshold value predetermined for the rotation angle). If the rotation angle is greater than the rotation angle threshold, determination unit 400 may determine that the user is attempting to remotely operate home appliance APL. As described above, the determination unit 400 may perform various determination processes. Therefore, the principle of the present embodiment is not limited to the specific determination process of the determination unit 400.

  If determination unit 400 determines that the user is attempting to remotely operate home appliance APL, determination unit 400 generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal is output from the determination unit 400 to the data processing unit 500. The data processing unit 500 starts processing for audio data in response to the trigger signal.

  The detection unit 300 and the determination unit 400 may be formed as one integrated circuit. In this case, the data processing unit 500 may be formed as another integrated circuit.

  The detection unit 300, the determination unit 400, and the data processing unit 500 may be formed as a single integrated circuit. Alternatively, each of the detection unit 300, the determination unit 400, and the data processing unit 500 may be formed as a separate circuit. The principle of the present embodiment is not limited to the specific circuit structures of the detection unit 300, the determination unit 400, and the data processing unit 500.

  Data processing unit 500 includes a transmission data generation unit 510 and a transmission unit 520. The audio data described above is output from the audio data generation unit 200 to the transmission data generation unit 510. The above trigger signal is output from determination section 400 to transmission data generation section 510. The transmission data generation unit 510 starts processing of audio data according to the trigger signal, and generates transmission data corresponding to the audio data. The transmission data is output from the transmission data generation unit 510 to the transmission unit 520. Transmitter 520 transmits the transmission data to network NTW.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a three-dimensional coordinate system set in the upper limbs. With reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2, the motion detection technique of the detection part 300 is demonstrated.

  The detection unit 300 detects the movement of the upper limb portion in the first axis DVX direction. The coordinate axis extending straight from the vertically downward shoulder of the upper limb to the fingertip is referred to as a second axis PDX in the following description. A coordinate axis that is orthogonal to the second axis PDX and extends in the direction of movement of the user is referred to as a third axis FBX in the following description. The first axis DVX is orthogonal to the coordinate plane defined by the second axis PDX and the third axis FBX.

  The detection unit 300 detects the movement of the upper limb in the extending direction of the first axis DVX orthogonal to the coordinate plane defined by the second axis PDX and the third axis FBX. The detection axis of the sensor used as the detection unit 300 may be orthogonal to a coordinate plane defined by the second axis PDX and the third axis FBX. In this case, the detection unit 300 can accurately detect a motion (for example, acceleration and / or angular velocity) in a direction along the first axis DVX. Alternatively, the detection axis of the sensor used as the detection unit 300 is inclined at an angle larger than 0 ° and smaller than 90 ° with respect to the coordinate plane defined by the second axis PDX and the third axis FBX. May be. In this case, the detection unit 300 can detect not only the movement along the first axis DVX but also the movement along the coordinate plane defined by the second axis PDX and the third axis FBX. The determination unit 400 performs a predetermined vector operation on the motion data output from the detection unit 300, and is defined by the motion in the direction along the first axis DVX, the second axis PDX, and the third axis FBX. The movement in the direction along the coordinate plane may be evaluated individually. The principle of the present embodiment is not limited to a specific intersection angle of the detection axis of the sensor with respect to the coordinate plane defined by the second axis PDX and the third axis FBX. In the present embodiment, the plane may be exemplified by a coordinate plane defined by the second axis PDX and the third axis FBX. The crossing direction may be exemplified by the direction of the detection axis of the sensor used as the detection unit 300.

  While the user is walking, the upper limb is frequently moved in the direction represented by the third axis FBX. When the user is trying to take an object that is far away, the upper limb is extended, so that the wearable terminal 100 is easily moved in the direction represented by the second axis PDX. When the user is trying to take an object that is close to the upper body, the upper limb is bent, so that the wearable terminal 100 is easily moved in the direction represented by the second axis PDX. These user actions occur frequently. However, the movement of the upper limb in the direction represented by the first axis DVX is rare compared to the movement in the direction represented by the third axis FBX and the second axis PDX. That is, the user rarely moves the upper limb at high speed and / or greatly in the direction represented by the first axis DVX.

  When the detection unit 300 detects the movement of the upper limb (that is, the wearable terminal 100) in the direction represented by the first axis DVX, the data processing unit 500 starts processing the audio data. Are less likely to be initiated by the user's unconscious exercise. Accordingly, the home appliance APL is difficult to operate unintentionally.

Second Embodiment
The wearable terminal described in connection with the first embodiment can operate under various controls. In the second embodiment, an exemplary operation of the wearable terminal will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart showing exemplary data processing of wearable terminal 100. Data processing in the wearable terminal 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Step S110)
In step S110, a detection step is executed. In the detection step, the detection unit 300 detects the movement in the extending direction of the first axis DVX orthogonal to the coordinate plane defined by the second axis PDX and the third axis FBX. The detection unit 300 generates motion data representing the motion in the extending direction of the first axis DVX. The exercise data is output from the detection unit 300 to the determination unit 400. Thereafter, step S120 is executed.

(Step S120)
In step S120, a determination step is executed. In the determination step, the determination unit 400 determines whether the user is going to perform a remote operation on the home appliance APL based on the exercise data. If the determination unit 400 determines that the user is going to perform a remote operation on the home appliance APL, step S130 is executed. In other cases, step S110 is executed.

(Step S130)
In step S130, a generation step is executed. In the generation step, the voice data generation unit 200 generates voice data representing a voice instruction from the user. The audio data is output from the audio data generation unit 200 to the transmission data generation unit 510. The determination unit 400 generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal is output from determination unit 400 to transmission data generation unit 510. When transmission data generation unit 510 receives the trigger signal, transmission data generation unit 510 generates transmission data from the audio data. Thereafter, step S140 is executed.

(Step S140)
In step S140, a transmission step is executed. In the transmission step, the transmission data is output from the transmission data generation unit 510 to the transmission unit 520. Transmitter 520 transmits transmission data to network NTW.

<Third Embodiment>
The design principle of the wearable terminal described in connection with the first embodiment allows an acceleration sensor or angular velocity sensor having one detection axis to be used as the detection unit. In this case, the power consumption of the detection unit is very small. However, even if the sensor element (acceleration sensor or angular velocity sensor) has a large number of detection axes, the power consumption of the sensor element does not become excessively high. Therefore, a sensor element having a plurality of detection axes may be used to detect the movement of the user's upper limb. In this case, the determination unit can accurately determine how the user's upper limb is moving from the exercise data output from the detection unit. In 3rd Embodiment, the wearable terminal which can determine correctly whether the user is requesting | requiring the remote operation with respect to household appliances is demonstrated.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal 100A of the third embodiment. The wearable terminal 100A will be described with reference to FIGS. A symbol used in common between the first embodiment and the third embodiment means that an element to which the common symbol is attached has the same function as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, description of 1st Embodiment is used for these elements.

  Similar to the first embodiment, the wearable terminal 100A is worn on the user's upper limb. Wearable terminal 100A is incorporated in a system for remotely operating home appliance APL. If the user attempts to remotely control the home appliance APL, the user gives a voice instruction to the wearable terminal 100A. Wearable terminal 100A converts the voice from the user into an electrical signal. The converted signal is transmitted from wearable terminal 100A to network NTW. The network NTW generates a control signal for controlling the home appliance APL according to the converted signal. The control signal is transmitted from network NTW to home appliance APL. The home appliance APL performs a predetermined operation according to the control signal. Alternatively, the home appliance APL stops in response to the control signal.

  Similar to the first embodiment, the wearable terminal 100 </ b> A includes an audio data generation unit 200 and a data processing unit 500. The description of the first embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  Wearable terminal 100A further includes a detection unit 300A and a determination unit 400A. The detection unit 300A generates motion data representing the motion of the upper limb. The exercise data is output from the detection unit 300A to the determination unit 400A. Based on the exercise data, determination unit 400A determines whether or not the user is requesting a remote operation on the home appliance. If determination unit 400A determines that the user is requesting remote operation of the home appliance, determination unit 400A generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal is output from determination unit 400A to transmission data generation unit 510.

  The detection unit 300A may be a sensor element having six detection axes. Three of the six detection axes may be used for acceleration detection. The remaining detection axes may be used for angular velocity detection. At least one of the six detection axes is used to detect movement in a direction intersecting the coordinate plane defined by the second axis PDX and the third axis FBX. Therefore, as described in relation to the first embodiment, determination unit 400A can accurately determine whether or not the user is requesting remote operation for the home appliance.

  The detection unit 300A may be a sensor element having two to five detection axes. Alternatively, the detection unit 300A may be a sensor element having more than six detection axes. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific number of detection axes.

  The determination unit 400A includes a pattern storage unit 410 and a pattern analysis unit 420. The pattern storage unit 410 stores in advance pattern data related to the movement of the upper limb until the user gives a voice instruction. The pattern data may be an acceleration variation pattern. Alternatively, the pattern data may be a variation pattern of angular velocity. The exercise data is output from the detection unit 300A to the pattern analysis unit 420.

  After the movement data is output from the detection unit 300 </ b> A to the pattern analysis unit 420, the pattern analysis unit 420 reads the pattern data from the pattern storage unit 410. The pattern analysis unit 420 compares the exercise data with the pattern data.

  If the exercise data is close to or coincides with the pattern data, the pattern analysis unit 420 may determine that the user is requesting a remote operation for the home appliance APL. In this case, the pattern analysis unit 420 generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal is output from the pattern analysis unit 420 to the transmission data generation unit 510.

  If the exercise data is far from the pattern data, the pattern analysis unit 420 may determine that the user does not request a remote operation for the home appliance APL. In this case, no trigger signal is output from the pattern analysis unit 420 to the transmission data generation unit 510. Therefore, an erroneous remote operation on the home appliance APL is less likely to occur.

<Fourth embodiment>
If the reference movement is set for the movement of the upper limb, the comparison between the movement data and the pattern data becomes easy. If the trigger signal is generated when the movement of the upper limb after the reference operation is close to or coincides with the pattern data, the amount of pattern data stored in the pattern storage unit may be small. In the fourth embodiment, exemplary data processing in the wearable terminal will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart showing exemplary data processing of wearable terminal 100A. Data processing in wearable terminal 100A will be described with reference to FIGS. The code used in common between the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment means that the element to which the common code is attached has the same function as that of the third embodiment. Therefore, description of 3rd Embodiment is used for these elements.

  As described in relation to the third embodiment, the detection unit 300A has a plurality of detection axes. One of the plurality of detection axes is used to detect acceleration in the extending direction of the first axis DVX orthogonal to the coordinate plane defined by the second axis PDX and the third axis FBX. Therefore, part of the motion data output from the detection unit 300A can represent the acceleration in the extending direction of the first axis DVX. Other detection axes may be used to detect acceleration and / or angular velocity in other directions.

(Step S210)
In step S210, the detection unit 300A detects the movement of the upper limb. Thereafter, step S220 is executed.

(Step S220)
In step S220, the detection unit 300A generates motion data representing the motion of the upper limb. The exercise data is output from the detection unit 300A to the pattern analysis unit 420. Thereafter, step S230 is executed. Steps S210 and S220 correspond to the detection step described with reference to FIG.

(Step S230)
In step S230, the pattern analysis unit 420 determines whether or not the acceleration in the extending direction of the first axis DVX is greater than the acceleration threshold value. If the acceleration in the extending direction of the first axis DVX is larger than the acceleration threshold value, step S240 is executed. In other cases, step S210 is executed.

(Step S240)
In step S240, the pattern analysis unit 420 reads pattern data from the pattern storage unit 410. The pattern analysis unit 420 compares the motion data after the time when the acceleration greater than the acceleration threshold occurs with the pattern data. If the movement data is close to or coincides with the pattern data, step S250 is executed. In other cases, step S210 is executed.

(Step S250)
In step S250, the pattern analysis unit 420 generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal is output from the pattern analysis unit 420 to the transmission data generation unit 510. Steps S230 to S250 correspond to the determination step described with reference to FIG.

  A user who wants to remotely control the home appliance APL may move the upper limbs vigorously in the extending direction of the first axis DVX. As a result, the processes in step S230 and step S240 are sequentially executed.

  The pattern data may represent a movement until the upper limb moved in the extending direction of the first axis DVX moves close to the user's mouth. If the user moves the wearable terminal 100A near the mouth after the upper limb has been moved vigorously in the extending direction of the first axis DVX, step S250 is executed.

<Fifth Embodiment>
If the detection unit outputs motion data representing acceleration and motion data representing angular velocity, the determination unit can accurately determine whether or not the user requests a remote operation on the home appliance. it can. In 5th Embodiment, the wearable terminal which determines whether the user is requesting | requiring the remote control with respect to household appliances using the exercise | movement data showing an acceleration and the exercise | movement data showing an angular velocity is demonstrated.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal 100B of the fifth embodiment. With reference to FIG.2 and FIG.6, the wearable terminal 100B is demonstrated. The code | symbol used in common between 3rd Embodiment and 5th Embodiment means that the element to which the said common code | symbol was attached | subjected has the same function as 3rd Embodiment. Therefore, description of 3rd Embodiment is used for these elements.

  Similar to the third embodiment, the wearable terminal 100B is worn on the upper limb of the user. Wearable terminal 100B is incorporated in a system for remotely operating home appliance APL. If the user tries to remotely control the home appliance APL, the user gives a voice instruction to the wearable terminal 100B. Wearable terminal 100B converts voice from the user into an electrical signal. The converted signal is transmitted from wearable terminal 100B to network NTW. The network NTW generates a control signal for controlling the home appliance APL according to the converted signal. The control signal is transmitted from network NTW to home appliance APL. The home appliance APL performs a predetermined operation according to the control signal. Alternatively, the home appliance APL stops in response to the control signal.

  Similarly to the third embodiment, the wearable terminal 100B includes an audio data generation unit 200 and a data processing unit 500. The description of the third embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  Wearable terminal 100B further includes a detection unit 300B and a determination unit 400B. Detection unit 300 </ b> B includes an acceleration detection unit 310 and an angular velocity detection unit 320. Determination unit 400B includes an acceleration determination unit 430, an integration unit 440, a rotation angle determination unit 450, and a trigger signal generation unit 460.

  The acceleration detection unit 310 has a detection axis that detects acceleration in the extending direction of the first axis DVX. In addition, the acceleration detection unit 310 may have a detection axis that detects acceleration in other directions.

  The acceleration detection unit 310 generates acceleration data representing acceleration in the extending direction of the first axis DVX as motion data. The acceleration data is output from the acceleration detection unit 310 to the acceleration determination unit 430. The acceleration determination unit 430 determines whether or not the acceleration represented by the acceleration data is greater than a predetermined acceleration threshold value. If the acceleration represented by the acceleration data is greater than a predetermined acceleration threshold, a first trigger signal is generated. The first trigger signal is output from the acceleration determination unit 430 to the trigger signal generation unit 460.

  The angular velocity detector 320 has a detection axis that detects the angular velocity of the rotational motion of the upper limb around the second axis PDX. In addition, the angular velocity detection unit 320 may have a detection axis that detects angular velocities in other directions.

  The angular velocity detection unit 320 generates angular velocity data representing the angular velocity of the rotational motion of the upper limb around the second axis PDX as motion data. The angular velocity data is output from the angular velocity detector 320 to the integrator 440. The integration unit 440 performs an integration process on the angular velocity data, and generates rotation angle data representing the rotation angle of the upper limb around the second axis PDX. The rotation angle data is output from the integration unit 440 to the rotation angle determination unit 450. The rotation angle determination unit 450 generates a second trigger signal if the rotation angle represented by the rotation angle data is larger than a predetermined rotation angle threshold. The second trigger signal is output from rotation angle determination unit 450 to trigger signal generation unit 460.

  When the trigger signal generation unit 460 receives both the first trigger signal and the second trigger signal, the trigger signal generation unit 460 generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal is output from trigger signal generation section 460 to transmission data generation section 510.

  The designer of wearable terminal 100 </ b> B may use a microphone as audio data generation unit 200. If the designer designs the wearable terminal 100B to be worn on the wrist, the designer places the microphone sound collection unit at a position corresponding to the dial of the wristwatch (ie, a position adjacent to the back of the hand). May be. If the designer designs wearable terminal 100B to be worn on the finger, the designer places the microphone sound collection unit at a position corresponding to the ring jewel (that is, a position adjacent to the back of the hand). May be. Under these arrangement designs, the user vigorously swings up the upper limb part in the extending direction of the first axis DVX to bring the microphone sound collection part closer to the mouth, and then moves the upper limb part around the second axis PDX. Rotate frequently. If the user does not intend to bring the microphone's sound collection part closer to the mouth, the rotational movement of the upper limb around the second axis PDX is rare. Therefore, wearable terminal 100B is unlikely to cause an erroneous remote operation on home appliance APL.

<Sixth Embodiment>
If a plurality of reference actions are set for the movement of the upper limb, the determination unit can accurately determine whether or not the user is going to perform a remote operation on the home appliance. In the sixth embodiment, exemplary data processing in a wearable terminal that determines whether or not a user is going to perform a remote operation on a home appliance using a plurality of reference operations will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart showing exemplary data processing of wearable terminal 100B. Data processing in the wearable terminal 100B will be described with reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 6, and FIG. The code | symbol used in common between 5th Embodiment and 6th Embodiment means that the element to which the said common code | symbol was attached | subjected has the same function as 5th Embodiment. Therefore, description of 5th Embodiment is used for these elements.

(Step S310)
In step S310, the detection unit 300B detects the movement of the upper limb. The acceleration detector 310 detects the acceleration in the extending direction of the first axis DVX. The angular velocity detector 320 detects the angular velocity of the rotational motion of the upper limb around the second axis PDX. Thereafter, step S320 is executed.

(Step S320)
In step S320, the detection unit 300B generates motion data representing the motion of the upper limb. The acceleration detection unit 310 generates acceleration data representing acceleration in the extending direction of the first axis DVX as motion data. The acceleration data is output from the acceleration detection unit 310 to the acceleration determination unit 430. The angular velocity detection unit 320 generates angular velocity data representing the angular velocity of the rotational motion of the upper limb around the second axis PDX as motion data. The angular velocity data is output from the angular velocity detector 320 to the integrator 440. Thereafter, Step S330 is executed. Steps S310 and S320 correspond to the detection step described with reference to FIG.

(Step S330)
In step S330, the acceleration determination unit 430 determines whether or not the acceleration represented by the acceleration data is greater than an acceleration threshold value. If the acceleration is greater than the acceleration threshold, the acceleration determination unit 430 generates a first trigger signal. The first trigger signal is output from the acceleration determination unit 430 to the trigger signal generation unit 460. Thereafter, step S340 is executed. If the acceleration is not greater than the acceleration threshold, step S310 is executed.

(Step S340)
In step S340, the integration unit 440 performs integration calculation processing on the angular velocity data to calculate a rotation angle. The rotation angle data representing the calculated rotation angle is output to the rotation angle determination unit 450. Thereafter, step S350 is executed.

(Step S350)
In step S350, the rotation angle determination unit 450 determines whether or not the rotation angle represented by the rotation angle data is larger than the rotation angle threshold. If the rotation angle is greater than the rotation angle threshold, rotation angle determination unit 450 generates a second trigger signal. The second trigger signal is output from rotation angle determination unit 450 to trigger signal generation unit 460. Thereafter, step S360 is executed. If the rotation angle is not larger than the rotation angle threshold, step S310 is executed. The processing from step S330 to step S350 corresponds to the determination step described with reference to FIG.

(Step S360)
In step S360, the trigger signal generation unit 460 generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal is output from trigger signal generation section 460 to transmission data generation section 510.

  A user who intends to remotely control the home appliance APL first moves the upper limbs vigorously in the extending direction of the first axis DVX. As a result, the processing from step S310 to step S330 is sequentially executed.

  The user then rotates the upper limb about the second axis PDX. As a result, the processing from step S340 to step S360 is sequentially executed.

  A combination of a quick movement of the upper limb in the extending direction of the first axis DVX and a rotational movement of the upper limb around the second axis PDX rarely occurs accidentally. Therefore, wearable terminal 100B is unlikely to cause an erroneous remote operation on home appliance APL.

<Seventh embodiment>
In general, the sensor element does not consume much power. On the other hand, data transmission to the network consumes a large amount of power. Therefore, it is unsuitable for a wearable terminal that electric power is always supplied to the electronic component responsible for data transmission to the network. In the seventh embodiment, the design principle of a wearable terminal that does not consume much power will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a wearable terminal 100C according to the seventh embodiment. The wearable terminal 100C is described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, FIG. 6, and FIG.

  The wearable terminal 100C includes a first integrated circuit 110, a second integrated circuit 120, a microphone 200C, an antenna unit 521, and a power supply unit 600. The microphone 200C converts the voice from the user into an electric signal (voice data). Therefore, the microphone 200C corresponds to the audio data generation unit 200 described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, or FIG. The antenna unit 521 is used for transmitting transmission data to a network (not shown). Therefore, the antenna unit 521 corresponds to a part of the transmission unit 520 described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, or FIG.

  The first integrated circuit 110 includes a motion sensor 300C and an operation determination unit 400C. The motion sensor 300C detects the motion of the upper limb to which the wearable terminal 100C is attached. Therefore, the motion sensor 300C may correspond to one of the detection units 300, 300A, and 300B described with reference to FIGS. Similar to the detection units 300, 300A, and 300B, the motion sensor 300C generates motion data representing the motion of the upper limb. The motion data is output from the motion sensor 300C to the motion determination unit 400C.

  The operation determination unit 400C analyzes the exercise data and determines whether or not the user intends to remotely operate a home appliance (not shown). Therefore, the operation determination unit 400C may correspond to one of the determination units 400, 400A, and 400B described with reference to FIGS. In addition to the functions of the determination units 400, 400A, and 400B described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, and 6, the motion determination unit 400C performs upper limb exercises when the user remotely operates the home appliance. You may have the function to learn. Similar to determination units 400, 400A, and 400B, operation determination unit 400C that has determined that the user intends to remotely operate the home appliance generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal is output from the operation determination unit 400C to the second integrated circuit 120 and the power supply unit 600.

  The power supply unit 600 may always supply power to the first integrated circuit 110 that performs detection and analysis of the movement of the upper limb. On the other hand, if the power supply unit 600 does not receive the trigger signal, the power supply unit 600 does not supply power to the second integrated circuit 120 responsible for communication with the network. When the power supply unit 600 receives the trigger signal, the power supply unit 600 starts supplying power to the second integrated circuit 120. As a result, unnecessary power consumption is less likely to occur.

  When the second integrated circuit 120 receives the trigger signal from the operation determination unit 400C, and the second integrated circuit 120 receives power supply from the power supply unit 600, the second integrated circuit 120 receives from the microphone 200C. Data processing for converting audio data into transmission data is executed. Therefore, the second integrated circuit 120 corresponds to the data processing unit 500 described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, or FIG.

  The second integrated circuit 120 includes a control unit 121, an I / O section 122, an encoding unit 510C, and a transmission unit 522. The control unit 121 generally performs control related to data processing in the second integrated circuit 120. Therefore, the I / O section 122, the encoding unit 510C, and the transmission unit 522 operate under the control of the control unit 121.

  Microphone 200 </ b> C may receive power through I / O section 122. Therefore, the microphone 200C does not consume power before the operation determination unit 400C generates the trigger signal. As a result, unnecessary power consumption is less likely to occur.

  As described above, the microphone 200C converts a voice instruction from the user into voice data. The audio data is output from the microphone 200 </ b> C to the I / O section 122. The I / O section 122 outputs audio data to the encoding unit 510C under the control of the control unit 121.

  The encoding unit 510C encodes the audio data and generates transmission data under the control of the control unit 121. The transmission data is output from encoding unit 510C to transmission unit 522. The encoding unit 510C and the control unit 121 correspond to the transmission data generation unit 510 described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, or FIG.

  The transmission unit 522 outputs transmission data under the control of the control unit 121. The transmission data is transmitted to the network through the antenna unit 521. The transmission unit 522 may be a communication element used for short-range communication (for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark)). As a result, the power consumption of the transmission unit 522 is set to a low level. The transmission unit 522, the antenna unit 521, and the control unit 121 correspond to the transmission unit 520 described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, or FIG.

<Eighth Embodiment>
It is preferable that the power supply to the second integrated circuit is stopped after the user inputs a voice instruction to the wearable terminal from the viewpoint of reducing power consumption. The user may manually input completion of the voice instruction to the wearable terminal. However, if the user forgets the instruction to stop the power supply, the power supply to the second integrated circuit is continued. Therefore, it is preferable that the power supply to the second integrated circuit is automatically stopped. In the eighth embodiment, a wearable terminal capable of automatically stopping power supply to the second integrated circuit will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal 100D of the eighth embodiment. The wearable terminal 100D is described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, FIG. 6, and FIG. The code | symbol used in common between 7th Embodiment and 8th Embodiment means that the element to which the said common code | symbol was attached | subjected has the same function as 7th Embodiment. Therefore, description of 7th Embodiment is used for these elements.

  Similar to the seventh embodiment, the wearable terminal 100D includes a first integrated circuit 110, a microphone 200C, and an antenna unit 521. The description of the seventh embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  Wearable terminal 100D further includes a second integrated circuit 120D and a power supply unit 600D. The power supply unit 600D may constantly supply power to the first integrated circuit 110 that is responsible for detection and analysis of upper limb movement. On the other hand, if the power supply unit 600D does not receive the trigger signal, the power supply unit 600D does not supply power to the second integrated circuit 120D that is responsible for communication with the network. When the power supply unit 600D receives the trigger signal, the power supply unit 600D starts to supply power to the second integrated circuit 120D.

  When the second integrated circuit 120D receives the trigger signal from the operation determination unit 400C and the second integrated circuit 120D receives power supply from the power supply unit 600D, the second integrated circuit 120D receives the signal from the microphone 200C. Data processing for converting audio data into transmission data is executed. Therefore, the second integrated circuit 120D corresponds to the data processing unit 500 described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, or FIG.

  Similar to the seventh embodiment, the second integrated circuit 120D includes an I / O section 122, an encoding unit 510C, and a transmission unit 522. The description of the seventh embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  The second integrated circuit 120D further includes a control unit 121D and a timer 123. The control unit 121D performs overall control related to data processing in the second integrated circuit 120D. Therefore, the I / O section 122, the timer 123, the encoding unit 510C, and the transmission unit 522 operate under the control of the control unit 121D.

  When the power supply unit 600D receives the trigger signal from the operation determination unit 400C, the power supply unit 600D generates a request signal for requesting activation of the timer 123. The request signal is output from the power supply unit 600D to the control unit 121D substantially in synchronization with the start of power supply from the power supply unit 600D to the second integrated circuit 120D. The control unit 121D activates the timer 123 in response to the request signal.

  The timer 123 is preset with an input period required for voice input. When the input period elapses from the activation time of the timer 123, the timer 123 notifies the end of the input period to the control unit 121D. In response to the notification from the timer 123, the control unit 121D generates a control signal instructing to stop power supply. The control signal is output from the control unit 121D to the power supply unit 600D.

  The power supply unit 600D stops the power supply to the second integrated circuit 120D in response to the control signal from the control unit 121D. As a result, after the voice input, the second integrated circuit 120D does not unnecessarily consume power.

<Ninth Embodiment>
The wearable terminal may have a user interface function that presents information to the user and receives input from the user. If the wearable terminal can present information useful to the user, the usefulness of the wearable terminal is increased. For example, if the wearable terminal displays the voice instruction processing progress, the user can confirm whether or not the voice is properly input. If the wearable terminal accepts other inputs in addition to the voice instruction from the user, the wearable terminal can have various functions. For example, if the wearable terminal accepts a user's manual input, the user can perform various operations such as setting the communication path of data transmitted from the wearable terminal and the priority order for the home appliance to be controlled. it can. In the ninth embodiment, a wearable terminal having a user interface function is described.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal 100E of the ninth embodiment. The wearable terminal 100E is described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, FIG. 6, and FIG. A symbol used in common between the eighth embodiment and the ninth embodiment means that an element to which the common symbol is attached has the same function as that of the eighth embodiment. Therefore, description of 8th Embodiment is used for these elements.

  Similar to the eighth embodiment, the wearable terminal 100E includes a first integrated circuit 110, a microphone 200C, and an antenna unit 521. The description of the eighth embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  Wearable terminal 100E further includes a second integrated circuit 120E, a user interface 130, and a power supply unit 600E. The power supply unit 600E may constantly supply power to the first integrated circuit 110 that is responsible for detection and analysis of upper limb movement. On the other hand, if the power supply unit 600E does not receive the trigger signal, the power supply unit 600E does not supply power to the second integrated circuit 120E and the user interface 130. When the power supply unit 600E receives the trigger signal, the power supply unit 600E starts to supply power to the second integrated circuit 120E and the user interface 130.

  When the second integrated circuit 120E receives the trigger signal from the operation determination unit 400C and the second integrated circuit 120E receives power supply from the power supply unit 600E, the second integrated circuit 120E receives from the microphone 200C. Data processing for converting audio data into transmission data is executed. Therefore, the second integrated circuit 120E corresponds to the data processing unit 500 described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, or FIG.

  Similar to the eighth embodiment, the second integrated circuit 120E includes a timer 123, an encoding unit 510C, and a transmission unit 522. The description of the eighth embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  The second integrated circuit 120E further includes a control unit 121E and an I / O section 122E. The control unit 121E performs overall control related to data processing in the second integrated circuit 120E. Therefore, the I / O section 122E, the timer 123, the encoding unit 510C, and the transmission unit 522 operate under the control of the control unit 121E.

  When the power supply unit 600E receives the trigger signal from the operation determination unit 400C, the power supply unit 600E generates a request signal for requesting activation of the timer 123. The request signal is output from the power supply unit 600E to the control unit 121E substantially in synchronization with the start of power supply from the power supply unit 600E to the second integrated circuit 120E. The control unit 121E activates the timer 123 in response to the request signal.

  After starting the timer 123, the control unit 121E may generate display data representing various information. The display data is output from the control unit 121E to the user interface 130 through the I / O section 122E. For example, the display data may indicate that the wearable terminal 100E is ready to accept a voice instruction. Alternatively, the display data may represent a period until the voice instruction is terminated. Further alternatively, the display data may represent other information useful to the user. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to specific information represented by display data.

  The user interface 130 includes a display 131 and a touch panel 132. The display 131 displays information represented by the display data generated by the control unit 121E. Therefore, the user can visually acquire the information provided from wearable terminal 100E.

  The user can operate the touch panel 132 to input various information to the wearable terminal 100E. Information input by the user through the touch panel 132 is output to the control unit 121E through the I / O section 122E. The control unit 121E may generate various control signals according to input information from the user. Various control signals may be output to the network through the transmission unit 522 and the antenna unit 521. The principle of the present embodiment is not limited to specific contents of input information or specific control contents defined by control signals.

<Tenth Embodiment>
The wearable terminal may be removed from the upper limb. If the user leaves the wearable terminal removed from the upper limb, a third party may pick up the wearable terminal. If a third party operates the wearable terminal, the home appliance may perform an undesirable operation. Therefore, the wearable terminal is preferably operated only by a true user. In the tenth embodiment, a wearable terminal having an authentication function for determining a true user will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal 100F of the tenth embodiment. The wearable terminal 100F is described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, FIG. 6, and FIG. The code | symbol used in common between 9th Embodiment and 10th Embodiment means that the element to which the said common code | symbol was attached | subjected has the same function as 9th Embodiment. Therefore, description of 9th Embodiment is used for these elements.

  Similar to the ninth embodiment, the wearable terminal 100F includes a first integrated circuit 110, a user interface 130, a microphone 200C, and an antenna unit 521. The description of the ninth embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  Wearable terminal 100F further includes a second integrated circuit 120F, a power supply unit 600F, and a power button 610. When the user operates the power button 610 to request activation of the wearable terminal 100F, the power supply unit 600F starts supplying power to the first integrated circuit 110, the second integrated circuit 120F, and the user interface 130. The power supply from the power supply unit 600F to the first integrated circuit 110 is continued until the user operates the power button 610 to request a stop of the power supply from the power supply unit 600F to the first integrated circuit 110.

  Similar to the ninth embodiment, the second integrated circuit 120F includes an I / O section 122E, a timer 123, an encoding unit 510C, and a transmission unit 522. The description of the ninth embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  The second integrated circuit 120F further includes a control unit 121F, a storage unit 124, and an authentication unit 125. The control unit 121F performs overall control related to data processing in the second integrated circuit 120F. Therefore, the I / O section 122E, the timer 123, the storage unit 124, the authentication unit 125, the encoding unit 510C, and the transmission unit 522 operate under the control of the control unit 121F.

  The control unit 121F may generate display data for requesting input of a password. The display data is output from the control unit 121F to the display 131 through the I / O section 122E. As a result, the display 131 displays an image for requesting input of a password.

  The user operates the touch panel 132 according to the password request image on the display 131 and inputs the password. Authentication information representing the input password is output from the touch panel 132 to the I / O section 122E. The I / O section 122E outputs authentication information to the authentication unit 125 under the control of the control unit 121F.

  The storage unit 124 stores a password set in advance by the user. Upon receiving the authentication information, the authentication unit 125 reads the password from the storage unit 124. The authentication unit 125 then compares the authentication information with the read password.

  If the authentication information matches the read password, the authentication unit 125 notifies the control unit 121F that the authentication has been successfully completed. Thereafter, the control unit 121F may generate display data indicating that the authentication is completed. The display data is output from the control unit 121F to the display 131 through the I / O section 122E. As a result, the display 131 displays an image indicating that the authentication process has been successfully completed.

  If the authentication information does not match the read password, the authentication unit 125 notifies the control unit 121F that the authentication has failed. Thereafter, the control unit 121F may generate display data for prompting re-input of a password and / or interruption of authentication. The display data is output from the control unit 121F to the display 131 through the I / O section 122E. As a result, the display 131 displays an image that prompts the user to re-enter the password and / or interrupt the authentication. The user operates the touch panel 132 according to the displayed image, and inputs the password again. Alternatively, the user operates the touch panel 132 according to the displayed image, and requests the wearable terminal 100F to interrupt the authentication process. The interruption processing request input through the touch panel 132 is output from the touch panel 132 to the control unit 121F through the I / O section 122E.

  After the display data indicating that the authentication is completed is output to the display 131, or after the control unit 121F receives a request for interruption processing, the control unit 121F generates a control signal for requesting to stop power supply. To do. The control signal is output from the control unit 121F to the power supply unit 600F. As a result, the power supply unit 600F continues to supply power to the first integrated circuit 110, but stops supplying power to the second integrated circuit 120F and the user interface 130.

  Thereafter, when the user gives a predetermined motion to the upper limb, the motion determination unit 400C generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal is output from the operation determination unit 400C to the second integrated circuit 120F and the power supply unit 600F. When the power supply unit 600F receives the trigger signal, the power supply unit 600F resumes power supply to the second integrated circuit 120F and the user interface 130.

  When the power supply unit 600F receives the trigger signal from the operation determination unit 400C, the power supply unit 600F generates a request signal for requesting activation of the timer 123. The request signal is output from the power supply unit 600F to the control unit 121F substantially in synchronization with the start of power supply from the power supply unit 600F to the second integrated circuit 120F. The controller 121F activates the timer 123 in response to the request signal.

  When the second integrated circuit 120F receives the trigger signal from the operation determination unit 400C and the second integrated circuit 120F receives power supply from the power supply unit 600F, the second integrated circuit 120F receives from the microphone 200C. Data processing for converting audio data into transmission data is executed. Therefore, the second integrated circuit 120F corresponds to the data processing unit 500 described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, or FIG.

  If the user authentication is completed successfully, the result of the user authentication may be valid until the wearable terminal 100F is removed from the upper limb. Therefore, the user may not frequently perform the above-described authentication work.

  Wearable terminal 100F starts an authentication process in response to an operation on power button 610. Alternatively, the authentication process may be started when the wearable terminal 100F is worn on the upper limb. Therefore, the principle of the present embodiment is not limited to a specific operation for starting the authentication process.

  Wearable terminal 100F uses a password for user authentication. Alternatively, other authentication techniques may be used for user authentication. Biometric authentication technology such as voiceprint authentication technology, fingerprint authentication technology, and iris authentication technology may be used for user authentication. Alternatively, blood pressure measurement technology or pulse measurement technology may be used for user authentication. If the blood pressure measured during the authentication process and / or the pulse measured during the authentication process are compared with the past measurement data related to blood pressure or pulse, the wearable terminal is determined to be a true person who is trying to use the wearable terminal. Whether or not the user is a user can be determined. Therefore, the principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific authentication technique.

<Eleventh embodiment>
The wearable terminal described in relation to the tenth embodiment can execute various operations. In the eleventh embodiment, an exemplary operation of the wearable terminal will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart showing an exemplary operation of wearable terminal 100F. The operation in wearable terminal 100F will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 5, 7, 11, and 12. FIG.

(Step S405)
In step S405, the user operates the power button 610 to request activation of the wearable terminal 100F. Step S405 is continued until the user requests activation of wearable terminal 100F. When the user requests activation of wearable terminal 100F, step S410 is executed.

(Step S410)
In step S410, the power supply unit 600F starts supplying power to the first integrated circuit 110, the second integrated circuit 120F, and the user interface 130. Thereafter, step S415 is executed.

(Step S415)
In step S415, the authentication process described in relation to the tenth embodiment is performed. When wearable terminal 100F appropriately authenticates the user, step S420 is executed.

(Step S420)
In step S420, the power supply unit 600F stops power supply to the second integrated circuit 120F and the user interface 130. Meanwhile, the power supply unit 600F continues to supply power to the first integrated circuit 110. Thereafter, step S425 is executed.

(Step S425)
In step S425, operation determination unit 400C determines whether or not the user is requesting remote operation on the home appliance. That is, in step S425, the determination step described with reference to FIG. 3 is executed. As described with reference to FIG. 5, in the determination step, a comparison between the acceleration and the acceleration threshold value may be performed (step S230 in FIG. 5). In addition, the motion data obtained from the motion sensor 300C may be compared with previously stored pattern data (step S240 in FIG. 5). Alternatively, as described with reference to FIG. 7, a comparison between the rotation angle and the rotation angle threshold value may be performed in the determination step (step S <b> 350 in FIG. 7). The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific determination technique.

  If operation determination unit 400C determines that the user does not request remote operation of the home appliance, step S430 is executed. If operation determination unit 400C determines that the user is requesting remote operation of the home appliance, step S435 is executed.

(Step S430)
In step S430, the power supply unit 600F determines whether or not the user operates the power button 610 to stop the power supply. If the user operates power button 610 to stop power supply, wearable terminal 100F ends the operation. In other cases, step S425 is executed.

(Step S435)
In step S435, the operation determination unit 400C generates a trigger signal. The trigger signal is output from the operation determination unit 400C to the power supply unit 600F and the control unit 121F. The power supply unit 600F restarts power supply to the second integrated circuit 120F and the user interface 130 in response to the trigger signal. The controller 121F activates the timer 123 according to the trigger signal. Thereafter, step S440 is executed.

(Step S440)
In step S440, the user gives a voice instruction for operating the home appliance to wearable terminal 100F. The voice instruction is converted into an electric signal (voice data) by the microphone 200C. The audio data is output to the encoding unit 510C through the I / O section 122E. Thereafter, step S445 is executed.

(Step S445)
In step S445, the control unit 121F determines whether or not an input period set in advance for voice input has been completed. If control unit 121F receives notification of completion of the input period from timer 123, step S450 is executed. Alternatively, the control unit 121F may receive a notification indicating that the encoding process has been completed from the encoding unit 510C. Also in this case, step S450 is executed. In other cases, step S435 is executed.

(Step S450)
In step S450, encoding unit 510C encodes the audio data and generates transmission data. The transmission data is output from encoding unit 510C to transmission unit 522. Thereafter, step S455 is executed.

(Step S455)
In step S455, the transmission unit 522 transmits transmission data from the antenna unit 521. Thereafter, step S460 is executed.

(Step S460)
In step S460, power supply unit 600F determines whether or not the user operates power button 610 to stop power supply. If the user operates power button 610 to stop power supply, wearable terminal 100F ends the operation. In other cases, step S420 is performed.

<Twelfth embodiment>
The wearable terminal is worn on the upper limb of the user. If the communication device carried by the user relays transmission data generated by the wearable terminal, the wearable terminal does not consume a large amount of power for transmission of transmission data. In the twelfth embodiment, a communication technique that does not cause excessive power consumption of the wearable terminal will be described.

  FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram of a control system 700 according to the twelfth embodiment. The control system 700 is described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, 6, 8 to 11, and 13.

  The control system 700 controls various home appliances. FIG. 13 shows a television set AP1, an air conditioner AP2, and a washing machine AP3 as home appliances. The principle of the present embodiment is not limited to a specific home appliance controlled by the control system 700.

  The control system 700 includes a wearable terminal 101, a smartphone 710, a home gateway 720, and a cloud server 730. The wearable terminal 101 may be one of the wearable terminals 100, 100A, 100B, 100C, 100D, 100E, and 100F described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, FIG. 6, and FIG. . Wearable terminal 101 is attached to the wrist of a user who exists outdoors. Alternatively, the wearable terminal may be worn on another part (eg, finger) of the upper limb of the user. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific wearing position of the wearable terminal.

  Since both the wearable terminal 101 and the smartphone 710 are communication devices carried by the user, the wearable terminal 101 transmits transmission data representing a voice instruction from the user using a short-range communication technology such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). It can be transmitted to the smartphone 710. Therefore, wearable terminal 101 does not consume excessively large power for transmission of transmission data.

  The smartphone 710 can communicate with the cloud server 730 via a base station (not shown) using a wireless communication technology (for example, W-CDMA or LTE) that can cover a wide area. Communication between the smartphone 710 and the cloud server 730 may be based on various known communication technologies. Therefore, the principle of the present embodiment is not limited to a specific communication technology used for communication between the smartphone 710 and the cloud server 730.

  Transmission data generated by the wearable terminal 101 is transmitted to the cloud server 730 through the smartphone 710. When the cloud server 730 receives the transmission data, the cloud server 730 performs a decryption process on the transmission data. Thereafter, the cloud server 730 analyzes the decrypted transmission data. The cloud server 730 can use various voice recognition techniques for analysis of transmission data. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific voice recognition technology.

  The cloud server 730 generates control data based on the analysis result of the transmission data. The control data may include information on the household electrical appliance to be controlled defined by the voice instruction of the user, the control content defined by the voice instruction of the user and other information necessary for controlling the household electrical appliance. For example, if the user gives the wearable terminal 101 a voice instruction that “operates the air conditioner at a set temperature of 25 ° C.”, the control data generated by the cloud server 730 is “air conditioner AP2 "Is specified, and" operation at a set temperature of 25 ° C "is specified as the control content.

  The control data is transmitted from the cloud server 730 to the home gateway 720. Home gateway 720 transfers the control data to the home appliance specified by the control data. As described above, if the control data designates “air conditioner AP2”, home gateway 720 transfers the control data to air conditioner AP2. If the control data defines “operation at a set temperature of 25 ° C.”, the air conditioner AP2 operates at a set temperature of 25 ° C.

<13th Embodiment>
The wearable terminal may receive radio waves output from other mobile terminals and radio waves output from home appliances. In this case, the wearable terminal may give information regarding the received radio wave to the network. As a result, an appropriate communication path is set for transmission data output from the wearable terminal. In the thirteenth embodiment, a wearable terminal capable of receiving radio waves output from other mobile terminals and radio waves output from home appliances will be described.

  FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram of a wearable terminal 100G according to the thirteenth embodiment. The wearable terminal 100G will be described with reference to FIG. A symbol used in common between the tenth embodiment and the thirteenth embodiment means that an element to which the common symbol is attached has the same function as that of the tenth embodiment. Therefore, description of 10th Embodiment is used for these elements.

  Similar to the tenth embodiment, the wearable terminal 100G includes a first integrated circuit 110, a user interface 130, a microphone 200C, an antenna unit 521, a power supply unit 600F, and a power button 610. The description of the tenth embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  Wearable terminal 100G further includes a second integrated circuit 120G. Similar to the tenth embodiment, the second integrated circuit 120G executes processing such as generation of transmission data, control of the user interface 130, and user authentication. The processing operation described in connection with the tenth embodiment is applied to the second integrated circuit 120G.

  Similar to the tenth embodiment, the second integrated circuit 120G includes an I / O section 122E, a timer 123, a storage unit 124, an authentication unit 125, and an encoding unit 510C. The description of the tenth embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  The second integrated circuit 120G further includes a control unit 121G and a communication unit 522G. Similar to the tenth embodiment, the communication unit 522G transmits the transmission data through the antenna unit 521. In addition, the communication unit 522G generates a signal from the radio wave received by the antenna unit 521. The generated signal is output from the communication unit 522G to the control unit 121G.

  The control unit 121G determines whether there are a plurality of devices that can communicate with the wearable terminal 100G from the signal from the communication unit 522G. If the control unit 121G determines that there are a plurality of devices that can communicate with the wearable terminal 100G, a request signal for requesting selection of the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G may be generated. The request signal is transmitted to the network through the communication unit 522G and the antenna unit 521.

  FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary use environment of wearable terminal 100G. A technique for selecting a communication destination of wearable terminal 100G will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. A symbol used in common between the twelfth embodiment and the thirteenth embodiment means that an element to which the common symbol is attached has the same function as that of the twelfth embodiment. Therefore, description of 12th Embodiment is used for these elements.

  FIG. 15 shows television apparatuses AP1 and AP4, an air conditioner AP2, and a washing machine AP3 as home appliances. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific household electrical appliance to be controlled.

  Wearable terminal 100G is attached to the wrist of the user who is at home. Alternatively, the wearable terminal may be worn on another part (eg, finger) of the upper limb of the user. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific wearing position of the wearable terminal.

  The antenna unit 521 of the wearable terminal 100G receives radio waves not only from the smartphone 710 but also from the television device AP4. The control unit 121G can determine that the smartphone 710 and the television device AP4 exist as devices that the wearable terminal 100G can communicate with. Similar to the twelfth embodiment, the communication between the wearable terminal 100G and the smartphone 710 may be based on short-range wireless technology (for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark)). Similarly, communication between wearable terminal 100G and television apparatus AP4 may also be based on short-range wireless technology.

  The control unit 121G generates a request signal that requests that one of the smartphone 710 and the television device AP4 be determined as a communication destination. The request signal may be transmitted from the wearable terminal 100G to the cloud server 730 through the smartphone 710. Alternatively, the request signal may be transmitted from the wearable terminal 100G to the cloud server 730 through the television device AP4.

  The cloud server 730 may determine one of the smartphone 710 and the television device AP4 as a communication destination based on a predetermined determination criterion. The cloud server 730 generates a communication destination signal representing the determined communication destination. The communication destination signal may be transmitted from the cloud server 730 to the wearable terminal 100G through the smartphone 710. Alternatively, the communication destination signal may be transmitted from the cloud server 730 to the wearable terminal 100G through the television device AP4.

  Since the television device AP4 is connected to the home gateway 720 through a wired LAN, the cloud server 730 may determine the television device AP4 as a communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G from the viewpoint of a wide communication band. . Alternatively, the cloud server 730 may determine the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G based on other determination criteria. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific criterion.

  Instead of the cloud server 730, the user may determine the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G. The control unit 121G may cause the display 131 to display information regarding candidate communication destinations (the smartphone 710 and the television device AP4 in the usage environment illustrated in FIG. 13). The user may operate the touch panel 132 to designate one of the smartphone 710 and the television device AP4 as a communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G. Further alternatively, the candidate communication destination may be displayed on the smartphone 710. The user may operate the smartphone 710 and specify one of the smartphone 710 and the television device AP4 as a communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G.

  At least one of the cloud server 730, the smartphone 710, and the wearable terminal 100G may have a function of specifying a communication destination. Alternatively, the television devices AP1 and AP4, the air conditioner AP2, the washing machine AP3, and the home gateway 720 may have a function of designating a communication destination.

<Fourteenth embodiment>
When the user operates a communication device existing around the wearable terminal or when the user moves, the communication environment around the wearable terminal may change. Therefore, it is preferable that the communication destination of the wearable terminal is reset in response to a change in the communication environment. In the fourteenth embodiment, a technique for resetting a communication destination in response to a change in the communication environment will be described.

  16A and 16B are schematic diagrams illustrating an exemplary usage environment of wearable terminal 100G. A technique for switching the communication destination of wearable terminal 100G will be described with reference to FIGS. 14, 16A, and 16B. A symbol used in common between the thirteenth embodiment and the fourteenth embodiment means that an element to which the common symbol is attached has the same function as that of the thirteenth embodiment. Therefore, the description of the thirteenth embodiment is applied to these elements.

  FIG. 16A shows television apparatuses AP1 and AP4, an air conditioner AP2 and a washing machine AP3 as home appliances. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific household electrical appliance to be controlled.

  According to the principle described in relation to the thirteenth embodiment, the television set AP4 is selected as the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G. At this time, the user has set the communication method of the smartphone 710 to W-CDMA or LTE.

  Thereafter, the user switches the communication method of the smartphone 710 to WiFi. As a result, a WiFi connection is established between the smartphone 710 and the home gateway 720.

  The antenna unit 521 of the wearable terminal 100G receives a radio wave used for WiFi connection. As a result, the control unit 121G can detect that the communication environment around the wearable terminal 100G has changed. Control unit 121G generates a request signal for requesting selection of a communication destination of wearable terminal 100G. The request signal is transmitted to the cloud server 730 through the communication unit 522G and the antenna unit 521.

  The cloud server 730 is set to select a communication device having a wide communication band as a communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G. The WiFi connection between the smartphone 710 and the home gateway 720 has a wider band than the communication connection between the television device AP4 and the home gateway 720. Therefore, the cloud server 730 switches the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G from the television device AP4 to the smartphone 710.

<Fifteenth embodiment>
A communication device that can be used as a communication destination of the wearable terminal may be registered in advance in the cloud server. Priorities may be set in advance for communication devices registered in the cloud server. In the fifteenth embodiment, a technique for setting a communication destination according to a preset priority order will be described.

  FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a communication device registered in the cloud server 730 as a communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G. A communication destination setting technique of wearable terminal 100G will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 17 shows a smartphone A, a smartphone B, a car navigation system, a television device, and a home gateway. Each of the smartphone A, the smartphone B, the car navigation system, the television device, and the home gateway can be connected to the wearable terminal 100G so as to be able to communicate with each other by a short-range wireless technology.

  The cloud server 730 stores information (for example, communication addresses) of the smartphone A, the smartphone B, the car navigation system, the television device, and the home gateway. The cloud server 730 selects a communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G from the smartphone A, the smartphone B, the car navigation system, the television device, and the home gateway.

  FIG. 18 is a table showing the priority order set in the cloud server 730. The communication destination setting technology of wearable terminal 100G will be further described with reference to FIGS.

  As described in relation to the fourteenth embodiment, the wearable terminal 100G can transmit information related to the communication environment around the wearable terminal 100G to the cloud server 730. The cloud server 730 may determine the user's whereabouts from information related to the communication environment. If the information regarding the communication environment represents the presence of radio waves from the car navigation system, the cloud server 730 may determine that the user is in the vehicle. If the information regarding the communication environment indicates the presence of radio waves from the television device or the home gateway, the cloud server 730 may determine that the user is present in the house. If the information regarding the communication environment represents the presence of only radio waves from the smartphone A and / or the smartphone B, the cloud server 730 may determine that the user exists outside the house. If wearable terminal 100G has a GPS function, cloud server 730 may determine the location of the user based on GPS information from wearable terminal 100G. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific technique for detecting a user's whereabouts.

  Under the priority order setting shown in FIG. 18, the cloud server 730 that has determined that the user exists in the vehicle sets the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100 </ b> G in the car navigation system. The cloud server 730 that has determined that the user exists in the house sets the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G in the television device. If the wearable terminal 100G is not in an environment where communication with the television apparatus is possible, the cloud server 730 changes the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G from the television apparatus to the home gateway. If the wearable terminal 100G is not in an environment where communication with the home gateway is possible, the cloud server 730 further changes the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G from the home gateway to the smartphone A. The cloud server 730 that has determined that the user is outside the home sets the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G to the smartphone A. If the wearable terminal 100G is not in an environment where communication with the smartphone A is possible, the cloud server 730 changes the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100G from the smartphone A to the smartphone B.

  The priority of the communication destination may be set by the user. For example, the user may set and / or change the communication destination priority by operating the touch panel 132 of the wearable terminal 100G. Alternatively, the user may set and / or change the priority using a smartphone or other communication device.

<Sixteenth Embodiment>
If the wearable terminal communicates with other communication devices using short-range communication technology (for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark)), the wearable terminal does not consume excessively large power for communication. However, a communication device that can communicate with the wearable terminal may not exist within the communication range covered by the short-range communication technology. Therefore, the wearable terminal may change the communicable distance according to the use environment. In the sixteenth embodiment, a wearable terminal capable of changing the communicable distance will be described.

  FIG. 19 is a schematic block diagram of a wearable terminal 100H according to the sixteenth embodiment. The wearable terminal 100H is described with reference to FIGS. A symbol used in common between the thirteenth embodiment and the sixteenth embodiment means that an element to which the common symbol is attached has the same function as that of the thirteenth embodiment. Therefore, the description of the thirteenth embodiment is applied to these elements.

  Similar to the thirteenth embodiment, the wearable terminal 100H includes a first integrated circuit 110, a user interface 130, a microphone 200C, an antenna unit 521, a power supply unit 600F, and a power button 610. The description of the thirteenth embodiment is incorporated by these elements.

  The wearable terminal 100H further includes a second integrated circuit 120H. Similar to the thirteenth embodiment, the second integrated circuit 120H executes processing such as generation of transmission data, control of the user interface 130, and user authentication. The processing operation described in connection with the thirteenth embodiment is applied to the second integrated circuit 120H.

  Similar to the thirteenth embodiment, the second integrated circuit 120H includes an I / O section 122E, a timer 123, a storage unit 124, an authentication unit 125, and an encoding unit 510C. The description of the thirteenth embodiment is incorporated by these elements.

  The second integrated circuit 120H further includes a control unit 121H, a switching unit 126, a first communication unit 523, and a second communication unit 524. The wearable terminal 100H may perform communication based on the first communication technology using a set of the first communication unit 523 and the antenna unit 521. Wearable terminal 100H may perform communication based on the second communication technology using a set of second communication unit 524 and antenna unit 521. The switching unit 126 selects a communication element used for communication from the first communication unit 523 and the second communication unit 524.

  While the second communication technology can make transmission data reach a wider range than the first communication technology, the second communication technology requires more power than the first communication technology. The first communication technology may be exemplified by Bluetooth (registered trademark). The second communication technology may be exemplified by WiFi.

  As described with reference to FIG. 18, when the user exists in the house, the smartphone A, the television device, and the home gateway may be set as the communication destination of the wearable terminal 100H. In this case, if the user exists in the house and all of the smartphone A, the television apparatus, and the home gateway are far away from the wearable terminal 100H, the wearable terminal 100H uses the first communication technology to detect the smartphone A. In some cases, the television apparatus and the home gateway cannot be properly communicated. If the wearable terminal 100H uses the second communication technology instead of the first communication technology, the wearable terminal 100H may be able to communicate with at least one of the smartphone A, the television device, and the home gateway.

  20A and 20B are schematic views illustrating an exemplary usage environment of wearable terminal 100H. The switching of the communication technique between the first communication technique and the second communication technique will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 20B.

  When the power supply unit 600F supplies power to the second integrated circuit 120H, the control unit 121H may generate image data for requesting selection of one of the first communication technology and the second communication technology. The image data is output to the display 131 through the I / O section 122E. The display 131 displays an image requesting selection of one of the first communication technology and the second communication technology using the image data. The user operates the touch panel 132 to select one of the first communication technology and the second communication technology. Information representing the selected communication technology is output from the touch panel 132 to the control unit 121H through the I / O section 122E.

  If the user selects the first communication technology, the control unit 121H controls the switching unit 126 and transmits transmission data from the first communication unit 523. As a result, wearable terminal 100H can transmit transmission data to home gateway 720 without consuming a large amount of power.

  If the user selects the second communication technology, the control unit 121H controls the switching unit 126 and transmits transmission data from the second communication unit 524. As a result, the home gateway 720 that is far away from the wearable terminal 100H can receive the transmission data.

  The selection of the communication technology may not depend on the user's operation. The control unit 121H may automatically switch the communication technology according to the communication status. For example, if the control unit 121H determines that communication under the first communication technology is not possible, or if the control unit 121H detects an interruption of communication under the first communication technology, the switching unit 126 may automatically select the second communication technology. Alternatively, if the control unit 121H determines that communication under the first communication technology is not possible, or if the control unit 121H detects an interruption of communication under the first communication technology, The user may be prompted to switch communication technologies through the display 131. The principle of this embodiment is not limited to a specific method for switching communication technologies.

  The controller 121H may limit the usage period of the second communication technology using the timer 123 as necessary. In this case, wearable terminal 100H does not consume excessively large power.

<Seventeenth Embodiment>
The wearable terminal may access the cloud server without using a relay device such as a smartphone. In the seventeenth embodiment, a wearable terminal capable of accessing a cloud server without using a relay device such as a smartphone is described.

  FIG. 21 is a schematic block diagram of the wearable terminal 100I of the seventeenth embodiment. The wearable terminal 100I will be described with reference to FIG. The reference symbol used in common between the sixteenth embodiment and the seventeenth embodiment means that the element with the common reference symbol has the same function as that of the sixteenth embodiment. Therefore, the description of the sixteenth embodiment is applied to these elements.

  Similar to the sixteenth embodiment, the wearable terminal 100I includes a first integrated circuit 110, a user interface 130, a microphone 200C, an antenna unit 521, a power supply unit 600F, and a power button 610. The description of the sixteenth embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  The wearable terminal 100I further includes a second integrated circuit 120I. Similar to the sixteenth embodiment, the second integrated circuit 120I executes processing such as generation of transmission data, control of the user interface 130, user authentication, and switching of communication technology. The processing operations described in relation to the sixteenth embodiment are applied to the second integrated circuit 120I.

  Similar to the sixteenth embodiment, the second integrated circuit 120I includes a control unit 121H, an I / O section 122E, a timer 123, a storage unit 124, an authentication unit 125, an encoding unit 510C, and a first communication. Part 523 and a second communication part 524. The description of the sixteenth embodiment is incorporated in these elements.

  The second integrated circuit 120I further includes a switching unit 126I and a third communication unit 525. The switching unit 126I selects a communication element used for transmission of transmission data from the first communication unit 523, the second communication unit 524, and the third communication unit 525 under the control of the control unit 121H.

  When switching unit 126I selects third communication unit 525, wearable terminal 100I performs communication based on the third communication technology. While the third communication technology can make transmission data reach a wider range than the second communication technology, the third communication technology requires more power than the second communication technology. The third communication technology may be exemplified by 3G.

  When the switching unit 126I selects the third communication unit 525, the wearable terminal 100I can deliver the transmission data to the cloud server without using a relay communication device such as a smartphone. Therefore, even if the outdoor user does not have a smartphone, the user can remotely operate the home appliance.

<Eighteenth embodiment>
The user may give a voice instruction to the wearable terminal and operate other devices as well as home appliances. For example, if the user can give a voice instruction to the wearable terminal and remotely control the smartphone, the user can operate the smartphone without taking the smartphone out of the bag. In the eighteenth embodiment, a wearable terminal capable of remotely operating not only home appliances but also other devices will be described.

  FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary use environment of the wearable terminal 102 according to the eighteenth embodiment. The wearable terminal 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Similar to the above-described various embodiments, the user can give a voice instruction to the wearable terminal 102 to remotely control the network of home appliances. Therefore, the remote operation technology for the home appliance network described in connection with the various embodiments described above is applied to the wearable terminal 102.

  Unlike the various embodiments described above, the user can give a voice instruction to the wearable terminal 102 and remotely operate the smartphone. The transmission data generation technique for remotely operating the smartphone may be the same as the transmission data generation technique for remotely operating the home appliance network.

  If the user needs to say the name of the device that is the target of remote operation when giving a voice instruction, the user may feel annoying giving the voice instruction. The priority setting technology described in connection with the fifteenth embodiment contributes to eliminating the annoyance felt by the user.

  FIG. 23 is a table showing the priority order set in the cloud server. With reference to FIG.22 and FIG.23, the remote operation technique with respect to a household appliance and a smart phone is demonstrated.

  In a cloud server, a higher priority than a smartphone is given to a network of home appliances. As described in connection with the fifteenth embodiment, the user may operate the wearable terminal 102 to change the priority setting.

  If the user does not include the name of the device that is the target of remote operation in the voice instruction, the cloud server is given the voice instruction to the home appliance network under the priority setting shown in FIG. Judge. Therefore, the user only needs to include the phrase representing “smartphone” in the voice instruction only when remotely operating the smartphone.

  If the user does not include the phrase “smartphone” in the voice instruction and includes a smartphone-specific function (for example, photography) in the voice instruction, the cloud server gives the voice instruction to the smartphone. It may be determined that the

<Nineteenth embodiment>
The user may have a plurality of similar home appliances. Even if the user owns two air conditioners and the user includes the phrase “air conditioner” in the voice instruction, the cloud server will remotely operate either of the two air conditioners. I can't judge what I'm trying to do.

  A unique name may be assigned to each of the two air conditioners. In this case, the user needs to store a unique name assigned to each of the two air conditioners. This makes the user feel annoying. In the nineteenth embodiment, a wearable terminal that enables appropriate remote control of a plurality of home appliances of the same type will be described.

  FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating home appliances owned by a user. With reference to FIG. 24, the technique regarding the appropriate remote control with respect to several same kind household appliances is demonstrated.

  The user owns a home gateway, a television set, a washing machine, an air conditioner (1), and an air conditioner (2). Under the prior art, remote operation of the air conditioner (1) and the air conditioner (2) is likely to face the above-mentioned problems. The priority setting technology described in connection with the fifteenth embodiment contributes to the solution of the above-described problems.

  FIG. 25 is a table showing the priority order set in the cloud server. With reference to FIG.24 and FIG.25, the remote operation technique with respect to a household appliance and a smart phone is demonstrated.

  Similar to the fifteenth embodiment, the cloud server can determine where the user is. The user can set a priority order for each location.

  While the user is outside the house, “air conditioner (1)” is one of the remotely operated targets, while “air conditioner (2)” is removed from the remotely operated target. Has been removed. Therefore, the cloud server determined that the user exists outside the house can appropriately select “air conditioner (1)” as the control target.

  While the user is in the house, “air conditioner (2)” is one of the remotely operated targets, while “air conditioner (1)” is from the remotely operated target. Has been removed. Therefore, the cloud server determined that the user exists in the house can appropriately select “air conditioner (2)” as the control target.

  The user can set priorities in view of the user's own daily behavior. If the user rarely uses the washing machine, the user may completely remove the washing machine from the remote control target.

<20th Embodiment>
The wearable terminal, the communication device and the home appliance that are responsible for relaying data between the wearable terminal and the cloud server may be designed to be operable under the control of the cloud server. In this case, it is preferable that the cloud server determines a control target based on a user operation. In the twentieth embodiment, a technique for determining a control target based on a user operation is described.

  FIG. 26 is a table associating the control target of the cloud server with the user operation. With reference to FIG. 26, a technique for determining a control target based on a user operation will be described.

  If the user operates the power button of the wearable terminal and starts supplying power to the wearable terminal, the cloud server may determine that the subsequent control instruction is for the wearable terminal.

  If the user operates the touch panel of the smartphone, the cloud server may determine that the subsequent control instruction is for the smartphone.

  If the user exercises the upper limb with the wearable terminal attached, the cloud server may determine that the subsequent control instruction is for the home appliance.

  The principles of the various embodiments described above may be combined to meet the requirements for home appliance control.

  The principle of the above-described embodiment is suitably used for control of home appliances.

100 to 100I ... Wearable terminals 101, 102 ... Wearable Terminal 110 ... 1st integrated circuit 120,120D-120I ... -2nd integrated circuit 121,121D-121H ..... control part 200 ...・ ・ ・ Audio data generation unit 200C ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Microphone 300 ~ 300B ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Detection unit 300C ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Motion sensor 310 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・... Acceleration detector 320 ... Angular velocity detector 400-400B ... ······················································································································.・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Acceleration determination unit 450 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Rotation angle determination unit 500 Data processor 510 ... Transmit Data generation unit 510C ... encoding unit 520 ...・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Transmitter 521 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・Antenna section 522 ... Transmitter section 522G ... Communication unit 523 ... 1st communication unit 524 ... ... 2nd communication part 525 ... 3rd communication part 600,600D ~ 600F ... Power supply unit 700 ... Control system DVX・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ 1st axis FBX ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・・ ・ ・ Third axis NTW ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Network PDX ・・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ 2nd axis

Claims (7)

A wearable terminal that is formed so as to be wearable on a user's upper limb and is used in a system for remotely operating a home electric appliance through a network by voice instruction,
A voice data generation unit that generates voice data from the voice instruction;
Detection that detects motion of the upper limb in a first axis direction orthogonal to a plane defined by a vertically downward direction of the upper limb and a moving direction of the user, and generates motion data related to the motion And
Based on the exercise data, a determination unit that determines whether or not the user is going to perform a remote operation on the home appliance;
A data processing unit for processing the audio data,
The data processing unit
(I) if the determination unit determines that the user is going to perform the remote operation, a transmission data generation unit that generates transmission data corresponding to the audio data;
(Ii) A wearable terminal comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the transmission data to the network. The motion data represents acceleration of the upper limb in the first axis direction,
The wearable terminal according to claim 1, wherein if the acceleration is greater than an acceleration threshold, the determination unit determines that the user is going to perform the remote operation. The detection unit detects an angular velocity of a rotational motion of the upper limb around the second axis extending in the vertically downward direction, and generates angular velocity data representing the angular velocity as the motion data;
The determination unit compares the rotation angle of the upper limb calculated from the angular velocity data with a rotation angle threshold, and if the rotation angle is larger than the rotation angle threshold, the user tries to perform the remote operation. The wearable terminal according to claim 2, wherein the wearable terminal is determined to be. A power supply unit for supplying power to the data processing unit;
4. The power supply unit starts supplying the power to the data processing unit when the determination unit determines that the user is going to perform the remote operation. The wearable terminal according to Item 1. A wearable terminal control method that is formed so as to be wearable on a user's upper limb and is used in a system for remotely operating a home electric appliance through a network by voice instruction,
Detection that detects motion of the upper limb in a first axis direction orthogonal to a plane defined by a vertically downward direction of the upper limb and a moving direction of the user, and generates motion data related to the motion Steps,
A determination step of determining whether or not the user is going to perform the remote operation based on the exercise data;
A generation step of accepting the voice instruction and generating transmission data corresponding to the voice instruction if the determination result obtained in the determination step indicates that the user is going to perform the remote operation; ,
And a transmission step of transmitting the transmission data to the network. The detecting step includes detecting acceleration of the upper limb in the first axis direction;
The determination step includes comparing the acceleration with an acceleration threshold value and determining that the user is going to perform the remote operation if the acceleration is greater than the acceleration threshold value. 5. The control method according to 5. The detecting step includes detecting an angular velocity of a rotational motion of the upper limb around a second axis extending in the vertically downward direction;
In the determination step, the rotation angle of the upper limb calculated from the angular velocity is compared with a rotation angle threshold, and if the rotation angle is larger than the rotation angle threshold, the user is going to perform the remote operation. The control method according to claim 6, further comprising: determining.

Images