US-12625986-B2 - Information processing method and information processing system

US12625986B2US 12625986 B2US12625986 B2US 12625986B2US-12625986-B2

Abstract

A server includes: a first receiving part that receives, from an appliance arranged in a building, operational data of the appliance; a second receiving part that receives use request information indicating a use request for the appliance from a user terminal belonging to a user of the appliance; a transmitting part that transmits approval request information to an owner terminal belonging to an owner of the appliance in response to receipt of the use request information; a third receiving part that that receives, from the owner terminal, approval information indicating an approval to use of the appliance; and a setting part that sets a restriction on access to appliance data by the owner in response to receipt of the approval information, the appliance data including at least one of the operational data and data based on the operational data.

Inventors

Kazunobu Konishi
Taro Suzuki

Assignees

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION OF AMERICA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230919
Priority Date: 20210322

Claims (8)

1 . An information processing method, by a computer, comprising: receiving, from an appliance arranged in a building, operational data of the appliance; receiving use request information indicating a use request for the appliance from a user terminal belonging to a user of the appliance; transmitting approval request information to an owner terminal belonging to an owner of the appliance in response to receipt of the use request information; receiving, from the owner terminal, approval information indicating an approval to use of the appliance; setting a restriction on access to appliance data by the owner in response to receipt of the approval information, the appliance data including at least one of the operational data and data based on the operational data; receiving demand information about a list including the appliance from the user terminal; transmitting the list including the appliance to the user terminal in response to the demand information; presenting the list including the appliance to the user via the user terminal; and receiving, when receiving the use request information, use request information about an appliance included in the list including the appliance.
2 . An information processing method, by a computer, comprising: receiving, from an appliance arranged in a building, operational data of the appliance; receiving use request information indicating a use request for the appliance from a user terminal belonging to a user of the appliance; transmitting approval request information to an owner terminal belonging to an owner of the appliance in response to receipt of the use request information; receiving, from the owner terminal, approval information indicating an approval to use of the appliance; and setting a restriction on access to appliance data by the owner in response to receipt of the approval information, the appliance data including at least one of the operational data and data based on the operational data; transmitting a type of data contained in the appliance data to the user terminal; presenting the type to the user via the user terminal; receiving, from the user terminal, a permission setting type which is a type of data, among types of data, to which access by the owner is permitted; and setting the restriction on access to the appliance data by the owner in accordance with the permission setting type.
3 . The information processing method according to claim 2 , wherein the type transmitted to the user terminal includes a type of data which is in the appliance data and to which access by the owner is permitted.
4 . The information processing method according to claim 3 , wherein the permission setting type includes a maintenance type which is a type of data for use in maintenance of the appliance, and the restriction on access includes permission of access to the data of the maintenance type by the owner.
5 . The information processing method according to claim 4 , further comprising: determining an incentive to be given to the user in accordance with the permission of the access to the data of the maintenance type by the owner; transmitting the incentive to the user terminal; and presenting the incentive to the user via the user terminal.
6 . The information processing method according to claim 2 , further comprising: receiving the permission setting type from the user terminal; and setting, in accordance with the permission setting type, a restriction on access to appliance data of the other appliance by the owner, the other appliance being arranged in the building except for the appliance directed to the use request.
7 . An information processing system comprising: a processor, in cooperation with a memory, performs operations including: receiving, from an appliance arranged in a building, operational data of the appliance; receiving use request information indicating a use request for the appliance from a user terminal belonging to a user of the appliance; transmitting approval request information to an owner terminal belonging to an owner of the appliance in response to receipt of the use request information; receiving, from the owner terminal, approval information indicating an approval to use of the appliance; setting a restriction on access to appliance data by the owner in response to receipt of the approval information, the appliance data including at least one of the operational data and data based on the operational data; receiving demand information about a list including the appliance from the user terminal; transmitting the list including the appliance to the user terminal in response to the demand information; presenting the list including the appliance to the user via the user terminal; and receiving, when receiving the use request information, use request information about an appliance included in the list including the appliance.
8 . An information processing system comprising: a processor, in cooperation with a memory, performs operations including: receiving, from an appliance arranged in a building, operational data of the appliance; receiving use request information indicating a use request for the appliance from a user terminal belonging to a user of the appliance; transmitting approval request information to an owner terminal belonging to an owner of the appliance in response to receipt of the use request information; receiving, from the owner terminal, approval information indicating an approval to use of the appliance; setting a restriction on access to appliance data by the owner in response to receipt of the approval information, the appliance data including at least one of the operational data and data based on the operational data; transmitting a type of data contained in the appliance data to the user terminal; presenting the type to the user via the user terminal; receiving, from the user terminal, a permission setting type which is a type of data, among types of data, to which access by the owner is permitted; and setting the restriction on access to the appliance data by the owner in accordance with the permission setting type.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION This disclosure relates to a technology of managing an appliance arranged in a building. BACKGROUND ART Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology of giving a restriction on access to an appliance from a manipulation terminal of a user in accordance with a type of the user or a place where the user is by providing an access management table having access permission information per appliance unit for each user in a home network. However, the technology of Patent Literature 1 fails to suppose a case where the user of the appliance connected to the home network is not an owner of the appliance. In this regard, a drawback is seen in unconditionally providing the owner of the appliance with appliance data about the user, which results in failure to protect the privacy of the user. Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-251312 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This disclosure has been achieved to solve the drawback, and has an object of providing a technology for protecting a privacy of a user even in a case where the user who uses an appliance arranged in a building is not an owner of the appliance. An information processing method according to an aspect of the disclosure, by a computer, includes: receiving, from an appliance arranged in a building, operational data of the appliance; receiving use request information indicating a use request for the appliance from a user terminal belonging to a user of the appliance; transmitting approval request information to an owner terminal belonging to an owner of the appliance in response to receipt of the use request information; receiving, from the owner terminal, approval information indicating an approval to use of the appliance; and setting a restriction on access to appliance data by the owner in response to receipt of the approval information, the appliance data including at least one of the operational data and data based on the operational data. This disclosure enables protection of the privacy of the user even in a case where the user who uses the appliance in the building is not the owner of the appliance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an appliance management system in a first embodiment. FIG. 2 shows an example of a data configuration of an appliance data DB. FIG. 3 shows an example of a data configuration of an appliance management DB. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a process by the appliance management system in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a process by the appliance management system when a server receives operational data. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a process by the appliance management system when a user makes a browse request to the server. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a process by the appliance management system when an owner makes a browse request to the server. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an appliance management system in a second embodiment. FIG. 9 shows an example of a data configuration of an appliance management DB in the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a process by the appliance management system in the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an appliance management system in a third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a process by the appliance management system in the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an appliance management system in a fourth embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of a process by the appliance management system in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart which is continuous from FIG. 14. FIG. 16 shows a display screen image of permission request information. FIG. 17 shows a display screen image of permission request information in a fifth embodiment. FIG. 18 shows a display screen image displayed on a display of a user terminal to present a detailed type determined concerning other appliance to the user. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Circumstances Led Up to this Disclosure A rental service for renting a building, such as a house or a room, provided with an appliance to a tenant (user) has been generally known. In such a rental service, a landlord (owner) who rents a building provides a service to a tenant (user) while managing a plurality of appliances arranged in the building. Here, examples of the managed appliances include electric products and house equipment each having communicability, and are so called IOT (Internet of Things) devices. In the rental service, the owner has a responsibility for maintenance and damage handling of the provided appliances. The user can receive various services including: maintenance of an appliance by using appliance data, such as daily operational data of the appliance; and automation about a repair req