Smart gateway, smart home system and smart controlling method thereof

A smart controlling method applied to a smart home system for controlling a number of home appliances of the smart home system is able to learn the habits of the user in relation to the home appliances, deeming a control operation a habit when a certain controlling command is repeated for more than a predetermined number of times in a predetermined period. When the current certain condition value matches one of the habit certain conditions, the smart home system calls the corresponding habit controlling command to control the relative home appliance to execute the habitual operation. A smart gateway and a smart home system are also provided.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to smart home technology, and particularly to a smart gateway, a smart home system, and a smart controlling method for controlling home appliances and devices of the smart home system.

2. Description of Related Art

Smart home technology is popular. With this technology, all home devices in a house are connected to a smart home network system, so as to be controlled in unison, allowing a user to easily control the home devices from anywhere in the house. Most home appliances or devices need to be coupled to a special controller, which is complicated. However, it is problematic for the smart home network system to automatically control the home devices according to the changing habits and preferences of the user.

Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring toFIG. 1, a smart home system100is provided. The smart home system100includes a smart gateway20communicating with a server33and an Internet controller34via the Internet. The smart gateway20is connected to a wired or wireless router35, thereby communicating with the Internet via the router35. The Internet controller34can be a computer, a portable notebook, or the like connecting to the Internet via a wired or wireless Ethernet interface unit. The Internet controller34can also be a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet PC, or the like connecting to the Internet via the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network, the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, the 3edGeneration (3G) Telecommunication network, the 4thGeneration (4G) Telecommunication network. or other networks of mobile Internet. The server33also connects to the Internet, thereby communicating with the smart gateway20and the Internet controller34.

In this embodiment, the smart home system100further includes a remote controller10. The remote controller10communicates with the smart gateway20via a wired or wireless communication mode. The remote controller10sends a control command to the smart gateway20according to a user's input, and the smart gateway20controls the home appliances30to execute an operation according to the control command. Furthermore, the smart gateway20receives the control command sent by the server33or the Internet controller34, to control the home appliances30to execute the operations. The wireless communication mode includes, but is not limited to, IR, BLUETOOTH, Z-wave, NFC, ZigBee, WIFI, or other communication technologies; the wired communication mode can be Power Line Communication (hereinafter PLC), Optical Fiber Power Line Communication (hereinafter OPLC), wired Internet communication, coaxial cable communication, telephone line communication, or other communication technologies.

Referring toFIG. 2, a block diagram of the smart home system100is provided. The smart gateway20includes an Internet communication unit201, a second processor unit202, a first PLC modem unit203, a first wireless communication unit204, and a storage unit205.

The smart gateway20communicates with each of the home appliances30in a wired or wireless communication mode, wherein the wireless communication mode includes, but is not limited to, IR, BLUETOOTH, Z-wave, NFC, Zigbee, WIFI, or other communication technologies; the wired communication mode can be PLC, OPLC, wired Internet communication, coaxial cable communication, telephone line communication, or other communication technologies. In this embodiment, the smart gateway20communicates with the home appliances30via the PLC technologies, the smart gateway20and parts of the home appliances30are connected to the power line. The power line not only supplies power to all electrical devices of consumers, but also serves as a carrier for data transmission between the smart gateway20and the home appliances30. In other embodiments, the smart gateway20and the home appliances30are connected by an Optical Fiber Composite Low-voltage Cable, and communicate with each other via the OPLC technologies.

The storage unit205is configured for storing system information of the home system100. The system information includes unique identification codes (UIDs) of the home appliances30, location and setting parameters of the router35, and verification information of registered users of the smart home system100. The verification information includes a user name and secret code of the registered user.

Referring toFIG. 3, the first PLC modem unit203includes a power carrier transmission module2031and a main controlling module2032. The main controlling module2032is configured for encoding and transmitting data. The power carrier transmission module2031is configured for modulating electronic signals into the power line and demodulating electronic signals from the power line.

Referring toFIGS. 2 and 4, the home appliances30include, but are not limited to, a television301, an air-conditioner302, a lamp303, a fridge304, a door-keeper system (not shown), a socket(not shown), a fan (not shown), and an automatic curtain (not shown). Each of the home appliances30includes a second PLC modem unit40, which is similar to the first PLC modem unit203. The second PLC modem unit40includes a power carrier transmission module41configured for loading electronic signals to the power line and demodulating electronic signals from the power line, and a main controlling module42configured for data interacting, demodulating, encoding, and protocol converting.

The smart gateway20and the home appliances30each include a unique identification code (UID), all of the UIDs of the home appliances30are stored in the smart gateway20, so that each of the home appliances30can be identified by the smart gateway20. In detail, the first PLC modem unit203of the smart gateway20sends control signals that include the identification information of the target home appliance30, and the second PLC modem unit40of the home appliances30determines whether or not the identification information of the received control signal matches their UID. Only the home appliance30with a matching UID creates a point-to-point communication between the smart gateway20and the matched home appliance30.

Referring toFIG. 2again, the remote controller10includes an input unit101. a display unit102, a second wireless communication unit103, and a first processor unit104. The first processor unit104generates a controlling command according to a user's input and sends the controlling command to the smart gateway20via the second wireless communication unit103. The controlling command includes an operation command and the identification information of a target home appliance30, which is assigned to execute the operation command.

The remote controller10can communicate with the smart gateway20in a wired or wireless communication mode, wherein the wireless communication mode includes, but is not limited to, IR, BLUETOOTH, Z-wave, NFC, ZIGBEE, WIFI, or other communication technologies; the wired communication mode can be Power Line Communication (hereinafter PLC), Optical Fiber Power Line Communication (hereinafter OPLC), wired Internet communication, coaxial cable communication, telephone line communication, or other communication technologies. In this embodiment, the remote controller10communicates with the smart gateway20via WIFI communication, the second wireless communication unit103of the remote controller10and the first wireless communication unit204of the smart gateway20each includes a WIFI communication module. In other embodiments, the remote controller10communicates with the smart gateway20via IR communication, and some of the home appliances30, such as the television301or the air-conditioner302, also receive IR control signals. The remote controller10directly sends IR control signals to this kind of home appliances30to control them.

Referring toFIG. 5, an operation controlling interface of the remote controller10is provided. In this embodiment, the input unit101of the remote controller10is a touch screen. A controlling program is preloaded in the remote controller10. The controlling program can be, but is not limited to, downloaded from an online applications store. The first processor unit104of the remote controller10runs the controlling program to display the operation controlling interface on the display unit102. In detail, a number of icons50are displayed on the operation controlling interface. Each of the icons50corresponds to one of the home appliances30. For example, the operation controlling interface displayed on the display unit102provides a layout of a house, and the icons50are arranged according to the arrangement of the home appliances30in the house. Users can select any of the home appliances30by choosing an icon50displayed on the display unit102by the input unit101. The display unit102of the remote controller10further provides an operation menu of the selected home appliance30for entering selections. The first processor unit104responds to a user's selection, and sends the controlling command, which includes the selected operation command and the identification information of the selected home appliance30, to the smart gateway20via the second wireless communication unit103. In other embodiments, the input unit101is a plurality of buttons.

In this embodiment, the server33can be, but is not limited to, a cloud server with cloud storage and computing functions. The system information of the smart home system100is also stored in the server33, as disclosed inFIG. 16. The system information includes the UIDs of the home appliances30, a location and setting parameters of the smart gateway20, and verification information of registered users of the smart home system100. The verification information includes a user name and a secret code of the registered user.

Referring toFIG. 6, in this embodiment, the Internet controller34is a smart portable device341. The smart portable device341connects to the Internet via a WIFI (Wireless Fidelity) or WAPI (Wireless LAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure) network, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network, the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, the 3rdGeneration (3G) Telecommunication network or the 4thGeneration (4G) Telecommunication network, or the other networks of mobile Internet.

The smart portable device341also contains a smart home controlling program to run therein. When the smart home controlling program runs in the smart portable device341, the smart portable device341sends an user name and a password input by the user to the server33. The server33verifies whether or not the user name and the password is valid. If yes, the server33sends the system information of the home system10related to the user name to the smart portable device341. The smart portable device341displays the operation controlling interface according to the system information. The operation interface provides a building layout of the house and a plurality of icons50corresponding to the home appliances30. The icons50are arranged according to the arrangement of the home appliances30in the house. The smart portable device341also establishes communication with the smart gateway20according to the location and setting parameters of the router35. The smart portable device341further provides the operations menu of the selected home appliance30for entering selections. The smart portable device341responds to a user's selection and sends the controlling command, which includes the selected operation command and the identification information of the selected home appliance30, to the smart gateway20.

In another embodiment, a peer to peer (P2P) technology is used. After the server33verifies the user name and the password sent by the smart portable device341, the smart portable device341sends the controlling command, which includes the operation command and the identification information of the selected home appliance30, to the router35directly. The router35transmits the controlling command to the smart gateway20.

In another embodiment, the server33is a web server configured to provide the operation controlling interface. The smart portable device341accesses the server33to obtain the operation controlling interface. In detail, the server33verifies whether or not the user name and the password sent by the smart portable device341is valid, and permits the smart portable device341to download a web page of the operation controlling interface when the user name and the password is valid. The smart portable device341responds to a user's selection, and sends the controlling command including the operation command and the identification information of the selected home appliance30to the smart gateway20. The operation controlling interface provides a building layout of the house and a number of icons50relating to the home appliances30. The icons50are arranged according to the arrangement of the home appliances30in the house. The smart portable device341further provides the operations menu of the selected home appliance30for entering selections. The smart portable device341responds to a user's selection and sends the controlling command, which includes the operation command and the identification information of the selected home appliance30to the smut gateway20.

In other embodiments, smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or tablet PCs capable of connecting to the Internet via a wireless network, such as WIFI network, can serve as the Internet controller34. The first wireless communication unit204of the smart gateway20can establish communication to the Internet controller34, and receives the controlling command sent by the Internet controller34directly. This connecting manner is suitable for short range wireless communication, the smart gateway20can establish communication to the Internet controller34directly without bridging by the server33.

The smart gateway20is connected to the Internet by the Internet communication unit201. The server33and the Internet controller34are also connected to the Internet. The Internet communication unit201of the smart gateway20transmits the controlling commands sent by the server33or the Internet controller34to the second processor unit202. The Internet communication unit201can be a wired Ethernet interface unit configured for connecting the smart gateway20to the router35, thereby connecting the smart gateway20to the Internet. In other embodiments, the Internet communication unit201can be a WIFI or WAPI communication unit configured for connecting the smart gateway20to the router35wirelessly.

The second processor unit202receives the controlling commands sent by the server33or the Internet controller34. The controlling command includes an operation command and the identification information of the home appliance30, which executes the operation command. In this embodiment, the identification information is the UID of the home appliance30. The second processor unit202further extracts the operation command and the UID of the home appliance30, which executes the operation command from the controlling command.

The first PLC modem unit203sends a controlling signal, which includes the operation command and the UID of a home appliance30, to the home appliance30. The home appliance30that has the matching UID in the controlling signal executes the operation command. In detail, the main controlling module2032of the first PLC modem unit203encodes the controlling signal according to the operation command and the UID of the home appliance30. The power carrier transmission module2031loads the controlling signal to the power line for sending the controlling signal to the target home appliance30.

The home appliance30receives the controlling signal sent by the smart gateway20via the second PLC modem unit40, and executes the operation according to the operation command included in the controlling signal. In detail, the power carrier transmission module41of the second PLC modem unit40demodulates controlling signals from the power line and determines whether or not the UID of the controlling signal matches the UID of itself. If the UIDs match, the power carrier transmission module41receives and parses the controlling signal; the main controlling module42extracts the operation command included in the controlling signal, and the home appliance30executes the required operation according to the operation command.

The smart home system100is connected to the Internet. The smart gateway20is not only capable of receiving the controlling command sent by the remote controller10, but also capable of receiving the controlling command sent by the server33or the Internet controller34. Users can remotely control the home appliance30in the smart home system100with the Internet controller34, such as a common smart electronic device.

The first PLC modem unit203and the second PLC modem unit40communicate with each other. The UID of the smart gateway20is stored in the home appliance30. Therefore, the home appliance30sends signals to the smart gateway20via power lines, and the first PLC modem unit203of the smart gateway20receives the signals via the power lines.

In other embodiments, the home appliances30connect to the smart gateway20wirelessly. Each UID of the home appliances30is uniquely identified by the smart gateway20. Each of the home appliances30and the smart gateway20include a wireless communication module, such as BLUETOOTH, Z-wave, NFC, ZIGBEE, WIFI or WAPI communication module.

Referring toFIG. 7, the smart home system100further includes at least one registration controller36. In this embodiment, the smart home system100includes a number of registration controllers36arranged in rooms of the smart home system100. The registration controller36includes a third wireless communication unit361, a storage module362, a third PLC modem unit363, and a trigger unit364. In this embodiment, the registration controllers36are connected to the power line, and communicate with the home appliances30via the PLC modem units. Each of the registration controllers36includes an UID stored in the storage module362.

In this embodiment, the third wireless communication unit361includes an IR communication unit. The first wireless communication unit204of the smart gateway20also includes an IR communication unit. The registration controllers36communicate with the smart gateway20via IR communication. Each of the home appliances30includes a fourth wireless communication unit320. The fourth wireless communication unit320also includes an IR communication unit for establishing communication with the registration controllers36. The third wireless communication unit361sends out IR signals. In other embodiments, the third wireless communication unit361and the fourth wireless communication unit320can use BLUETOOTH, Z-wave, NFC, ZIGBEE, WIFI, or other communication technologies.

Each of the home appliances30needs to be registered in the smart gateway20, so as to allow the smart gateway20to recognize the home appliance30. A user uses the registration controller36to control the home appliances30in a room to automatically register with the smart gateway20.

The registration controller36needs to be registered in the smart home system100in an initial state. To register the registration controller36, the registration controller36is connected to the power supply and is located within the communicating range of the first wireless communication unit204of the smart gateway20, and a registering program is run on the smart gateway20. Then, the first wireless communication unit204of the smart gateway20establishes communication with the third wireless communication unit361of the registration controller36, and the smart gateway20sends its UID to the registration controller36. The registration controller36receives the UID of the smart gateway20and saves it in the storage module362, thereby completing the registration process.

After registering the registration controller36in the smart home system100, the home appliances30can be registered in the smart gateway20. When the registration controller36is connected to the power line, the registration controller36sends a registering code to the home appliances30located within the communication range of the registration controller36via the third wireless communication unit361, and sends a register request to the smart gateway20via the third PLC modem unit363, in response to a user's input on the trigger unit364. The registering code includes the UID of the smart gateway20and the UID of the registration controller36, and the register request includes the UID of the registration controller36. In this embodiment, the communication range of the registration controller36is within the room where the registration controller36is placed.

Referring toFIG. 8, each of the home appliances30located within the communication range of the registration controller36receives the registering code sent by the registration controller36via the fourth wireless communication unit320, and establishes communication with the smart gateway20according to the UID of the smart gateway20included in the registering code. Each home appliance30sends a registration signal to the smart gateway20. The registration signal includes the UID of the registration controller36and the UID of the home appliance30.

The smart gateway20generates a region code corresponding to the UID of the registration controller36in response to the received register request sent by the registration controller36. In this embodiment, the region code is the UID of the registration controller36.

The smart gateway20assigns a corresponding region code to the home appliances30according to the UID of the registration controller36in the registration signal, and the UIDs of the home appliances30and the corresponding region code are recorded in a mapping table. In this embodiment, the smart gateway20stores the mapping table in the system information of the home system100.

In this embodiment, the home system100includes a number of registration controllers36distributed in each room of the home system100. Each of the registration controllers36includes a unique UID. The home appliances30located in one room respond to the trigger of the registration controller36in the same room to register with the smart gateway20. The smart gateway20assigns a region code to every registering home appliance30and stores the UID of the home appliance30and the region code in the mapping table. Because the UIDs of the registering home appliances30and the UIDs of the registration controllers36are all unique, until the registered home appliance30is moved to a new room and receives a new register code sent by another registration controller36, the region code corresponding to the UID of the home appliance30stored in the mapping table will not be replaced by a new region code.

In other embodiments, in response to a user's operation on the trigger unit364, the third wireless communication unit361sends a registering code to the home appliances30located within the communication range of the registration controller36, and the third PLC modem unit363sends a register request to the smart gateway20via the PLC modem units. The smart gateway20calls all the electronic devices on the power line to directly send their UIDs in response to the register request. In detail, the smart gateway20signals all the electronic devices on the power line in response to the register request to determine whether or not the UID of the registration controller36included in the register code received by the home appliance30is the same as the UID of the registration controller36included in the register request received by the smart gateway20. If so, the smart gateway20requests the home appliances30to send their UIDs to the smart gateway20via the PLC modem units.

In other embodiments, a safety certification process is carried out in the registering process, either when registering the home appliance30on the smart gateway20, or registering the registration controller36on the smart home system100. When the registration controller36is registered on the smart home system100, the first wireless communication unit204of the smart gateway20and the third wireless communication unit361of the registration controller36establish communication with each other. The smart gateway20sends its UID and a code to the registration controller36. The code can be the UID of the smart gateway20or a random code. The registration controller36encrypts the registration request with the code before sending the registration request to the smart gateway20. The registration controller36also packages the code in the registering code, and sends the registering code to the home appliances30. The home appliance30also encrypts the registration signal with the received code. In this way, only the smart gateway20that generates the code can decode the registration request sent by the registration controller36and the registration signal sent by the home appliance30. Therefore, other smart gateways connected to the power line, such as a smart gateway in a neighbor's house, cannot obtain the details of the registration request and the registration signal to control the home appliances30.

Referring toFIG. 9, in another embodiment, the smart home system100includes only one registration controller360. The registration controller360includes a third wireless communication unit3601, a storage module3602, a third PLC modem unit3603and a trigger unit3604. The registration controller360is connected to the power line, and sends a registration request to the smart gateway20in PLC manner to register the home appliances30located within the communication range of the registration controller360.

As previously mentioned, the registration controller360needs to be registered in the smart home system100in an initial state. To register the registration controller360, the registration controller360is connected to the power line, and is located within the communicating range of the first wireless communication unit204of the smart gateway20, and a registering program is run on the smart gateway20. Then, the first wireless communication unit204of the smart gateway20and the third wireless communication unit3601of the registration controller360establish communication with each other, and the smart gateway20sends its UID to the registration controller360. The registration controller360receives the UID of the smart gateway20and saves it into the storage module3602, thereby completing the registration process.

After registering the registration controller360in the smart home system100, the home appliances30can be registered in the smart gateway20, the registration controller360must be located in the room containing the home appliances30needing to be registered or within the communication range of the home appliances30. The registration controller360sends a register request to the smart gateway20via the third PLC modem unit3603, in response to a user's input on the trigger unit3604. The register request includes the UID of the registration controller360. The smart gateway20generates a serial code, and a region code composing of the serial code and the UID of the registration controller360, the smart gateway20further sends the serial code to the registration controller360.

The registration controller360receives the serial code via the third PLC modern unit3603, and sends a registration code to the home appliances30located within the communication range of the registration controller360via the third wireless communication unit3601. The registration code includes the UID of the smart gateway20, the UID of the registration controller36, and the serial code.

Each of the home appliances30located within the communication range of the registration controller360receives the registration code sent by the registration controller360via the fourth wireless communication unit320, and establishes communication with the smart gateway20according to the UID of the smart gateway20included in the registration code. Each home appliance30sends a registration signal to the smart gateway20. The registration signal includes the serial code, the UID of the registration controller360, and the UID of the home appliance30.

Referring toFIG. 10, the smart gateway20assigns the corresponding region code to the home appliance30according to the serial code and the UID of the registration controller360contained in the registration signal, and records the UID of the home appliance30and the corresponding region code in a mapping table.

In this embodiment, the home system100includes only one registration controller360, the registration controller360being taken to each room in turn of the smart home system100, to register the home appliances30located in different rooms. The serial codes generated by the smart gateway20responding to a registration request are different each time. Therefore, the smart gateway20can generate different region codes to the home appliances30in different rooms of the smart home system100, for example, when the registration controller360is located in a lounge of the smart home system100, the smart gateway20receives a registration request and generates a first serial code, such as 01, the region code corresponding to the home appliances30in the lounge is composed of the first serial code “01” and the UID of the registration controller360; then the registration controller360is taken to a bedroom of the smart home system100, the smart gateway20receives a registration request again and generates a second serial code, such as 02, the region code corresponding to the home appliances30in the bedroom is composed of the second serial code “02” and the UID of the registration controller360.

Referring toFIG. 11, a flowchart of a remote controlling method for controlling the home appliances30of the smart home system100is illustrated. The method includes the following steps, each of which is tied to various components contained in the smart home system100as shown inFIG. 2.

In step S1, the Internet controller34sends a controlling command to the smart gateway20via Internet in response to user's input, the controlling command includes an operation command and the UID of a home appliance30which is assigned to execute the operation command.

In step S2, the smart gateway20extracts the operation command and the UID of the home appliance30which is assigned to execute the operation command from the received controlling command. In detail, the Internet communication unit201of the smart gateway20receives the controlling commands sent by the server33or the Internet controller34and transmits the controlling commands to the second processor unit202, the second processor unit202further extracts the operation command and the UID of the home appliance30which is assigned to execute the operation command from the controlling command. In this embodiment, the UID of the home appliance30is the UID of the second PLC modern unit40.

In step S3, the smart gateway20sends a controlling signal including the operation command to the home appliance30which is assigned to execute the operation command. In detail, the main controlling module2032of the first PLC modem unit203encodes the controlling signal according to the operation command and the UID of the home appliance30which is assigned to execute the operation command extracted by the second processor unit202, and the power carrier transmission module2031loads the controlling signal to the power line for sending the controlling signal to the target home appliance30.

In step S4, the home appliance30receives the controlling signal sent by the smart gateway20and executes the required operation according to the operation command included in the controlling signal. In detail, the power carrier transmission module41of the second PLC modem unit40demodulates the controlling signals from the power line and determines whether or not the UID of the controlling signal matches the UID of itself; if the UIDs match, the power carrier transmission module41receives the controlling signal; the main controlling module42extracts the operation command included in the controlling signal and the home appliance30executes the operation according to the operation command.

In other embodiments, the smart gateway20communicates with each of the home appliances30via a wireless communication mode, wherein the wireless communication mode includes, but is not limited to, IR, BLUETOOTH, Z-wave, NFC, Zigbee, WIFI, or other communication technologies. In that way, in step4, the smart gateway20sends a controlling signal via the first wireless communication unit204. In step S5, the home appliance30receives the controlling signal via the fourth wireless communication unit320.

Referring toFIG. 12, the remote controlling method of the home appliances30of the smart home system100shown inFIG. 1Ifurther includes the following steps before the step S1:

In step S10, the Internet controller34runs the smart home controlling program for providing an operation control login interface.

In step S20, the Internet controller34sends the user name and the password input by the user to the server33.

In step S30, the server33verifies whether the user name and the password are valid; if yes, process goes to step S40if not, it reverts to step S20.

In step S40, the server33sends the system information of the home system10related to the user name to the Internet controller34.

In step S50, the Internet controller34displays the operation controlling interface.

In step S60, the Internet controller34establishes communication with the smart gateway20according to the location and setting parameters of the router35included in the system information.

Referring toFIG. 13, the smart home system200is similar to the smart home system100mentioned inFIG. 2. The smart home system200also includes a remote controller10, a smart gateway22communicating with a server33and an Internet controller34via the Internet, and the smart gateway22also communicates with a number of home appliances30. The home appliances30include, but are not limited to, a television301, an air-conditioner302, a lamp303, a fridge304, a door-keeper system (not shown), a socket (not shown), a fan (not shown), and an automatic curtain (not shown). The smart gateway22includes an Internet communication unit221, a second processor unit222, a first PLC modem unit223, a first wireless communication unit224, and a storage unit225.

The difference between the smart home system200and the smart home system100is that, the smart home system200further includes a learning unit226, a detecting unit227, and an intelligent controlling unit228. In this embodiment, the learning unit226, the detecting unit227, and the intelligent controlling unit228are arranged in the smart gateway22.

Referring toFIG. 14, the detecting unit227includes a number of detecting modules70, the detecting modules70include at least a timer module71, a temperature sensor module72, a light sensor module73, a noise sensor module74, and a humidity sensor module75. The detecting unit227is configured to detect real time values of certain conditions of the smart home system200, and each of the detecting modules70detects the real time value of a certain condition. For example, the timer module71obtains the current time of the smart home system200, the temperature sensor module72detects and obtains the temperature of the room which the temperature sensor module72is located, the light sensor module73detects and obtains the ambient light intensity, the noise sensor module74obtains the level of noise and the humidity sensor module75obtains the value of the ambient humidity.

In this embodiment, the detecting unit227further includes a microphone76and a speaker77. The microphone76converts captured sound to electronic signals and sends the electronic signals to the smart gateway22, the smart gateway22parses the electronic signals via voice control technology. In this way, the smart gateway22can recognize the voice of the user as controlling commands and controls the target home appliance30to execute the operation command. The speaker77is configured to generate various kinds of sounds in response to the controlling of the smart gateway22. In another embodiment, a cloud computing technology can be employed to recognize the controlling command.

Each of the certain conditions corresponds to a controlling command. For example, users habitually turn on or turn off a home appliance30at a special time, so a certain condition of “time” corresponds to an operation command of “Power On/Off” applied on some home appliances30; the operation command of “Dim/Brighten” applied on a lamp303corresponds to the ambient light intensity, so the operation command of “Dim/Brighten” applied on a lamp303corresponds to the certain condition of “ambient light intensity”; the operation command of “Temperature Up/Down” applied on a air-conditioner302corresponds to the certain condition of “temperature”. Each controlling command corresponds to a certain condition, and a certain condition may correspond to two or more controlling commands. A relationship table including the relationship between the certain condition and the controlling command is stored in the storage unit225.

The learning unit226includes a recording module2261and an analysis module2262. When the second processor unit222receives the controlling commands sent by the server33or the Internet controller34, the recording module2261determines what is the type of the certain condition which corresponds to the controlling command and obtains the current value of the determined certain condition. The recording module2261further records the controlling command and the corresponding certain condition value in the storage unit225as an operational record. For example, the controlling command received by the second processor unit222is an operation command of “Power On” applied to the home appliance30of “TV”, and the certain condition corresponding to this controlling command is timed, the recording module2261records the controlling command and the current time obtained by the timer module71as an operational record in the storage unit225. If the controlling command received by the second processor unit222is an operation command of “open dry mode” applied to the home appliance30of “air-conditioner”, the certain condition corresponding to this controlling command is humidity of environment, similarly the recording module2261records the controlling command and the humidity value detected by the humidity sensor module75as an operational record.

The smart home system200learns the habits of the user only when a command becomes a “habit”; a “habit” in the exemplary embodiment means that a controlling command is applied or repeated under the same conditions (i.e., under the same certain condition value or values) for more than a predetermined number of times in a predetermined period. The analysis module2262is configured for analyzing the operational records and determining which of the controlling commands is a habit according to the number of times the controlling command is applied or repeated under a same certain condition value or values within a predetermined time period, and records the habit controlling command and the corresponding habit certain condition value or values in an intelligent command table. The intelligent command table is stored in the storage unit225.

For example, in a predetermined period of 7 days, the predetermined number of times being five, if the user powers on the television301at 18 o'clock five times or more, then the recording module2261has a record of five operations of “power on at 18 o'clock” and “power on at 18 o'clock” is taken as a habit. The analysis module2262records the habit controlling command “powers on the television301” and the habit certain condition value “at 18 o'clock”, in an intelligent command table.

In an alternative embodiment, the analysis module2262further analyses the operational records and determines which controlling commands are habitual according to the times of the repeated operations in a same certain condition value range or ranges within a predetermined time period, and records the habit controlling command and the corresponding habit certain condition value range or ranges in an intelligent command table.

For example, in a predetermined period of 7 days, the predetermined number of times is three, the certain condition is humidity and the value ranges of the humidity are divided into ten states, including 0%-10%, 11%-20% . . . and 90-%-100%. The learning controlling command is an operation command of “open dry mode” applied on the home appliance30of “air-conditioner.” If the user sends an operation command of “open dry mode” applied to the home appliance30of “air-conditioner” three times or more in a humidity state of 80%-90%, the analysis module2262records the habit controlling command and the habit certain condition value range in the intelligent command table, and this controlling command is taken as a habit.

Referring toFIG. 15, a number of habit controlling commands and the corresponding habit certain condition values are recorded in the intelligent command table. In this embodiment, if a record of the habit controlling command and the corresponding habit certain condition value already exists in the intelligent command table, a new record determined by the analysis module2262will replace the original one, updating the intelligent command table.

In an alternative embodiment, the intelligent command table further includes one or more predetermined certain condition values and predetermined controlling command. The predetermined certain condition value and the corresponding predetermined control are set by user. For example, the predetermined certain condition value “temperature” of 30˜35° C., and the corresponding predetermined controlling command “cool to 25° C.” to the “air-conditioner”.

Both of the habit certain condition and the predetermined certain condition are intelligent certain conditions, the corresponding habit controlling command and predetermined controlling command are intelligent controlling commands. When the detecting unit227detects that the current certain condition value is matched to one of the habit certain conditions or the predetermined certain conditions, the smart home system200calls the relevant habit controlling command or the predetermined controlling command to control the relative home appliance30to execute the required operation.

The detecting modules70of the detecting unit227detect the current certain condition values, and send the current certain condition values to the intelligent controlling unit228.

The intelligent controlling unit228receives the current certain condition values, and sends the predetermined control command to the second processor unit222corresponding to the predetermined certain condition which matches the current certain condition value. When there is no predetermined certain condition matching the current certain condition value, the intelligent controlling unit228further sends the habit controlling command to the second processor unit222corresponding to the habit certain conditions which matches the current certain condition value. In detail, the intelligent controlling unit228determines whether the current certain condition value matches one of the predetermined certain conditions; if yes, sends the predetermined controlling command to the second processor unit222corresponding to the predetermined certain condition which matches the current certain condition value. When there is no predetermined certain condition matching the current certain condition value, the intelligent controlling unit228determines whether the current certain condition value matches one of the habit certain conditions; if yes, sends the habit controlling command to the second processor unit222corresponding to the habit certain condition which matches the current certain condition value.

The second processor unit222receives the predetermined controlling command or the habit controlling command, and extracts the operation command and the UID of the home appliance30, which executes the operation command from the predetermined controlling command or the habit controlling command. The controlling process of the smart home system200is similar to the smart home system100mentioned before.

With such configuration, the smart home system200tracks the users' habits of using control commands and adjusts itself to match the users' habits.

Referring toFIG. 16, in another embodiment, the detecting unit227is not arranged in the smart gateway22, a detecting device27is employed and located in rooms of the smart home system200. The detecting device27communicates with the first wireless communication unit of the smart gateway22wirelessly. In an alternative embodiment, the detecting device27communicates with smart gateway22via a wired or wireless communication mode, wherein the wireless communication mode may include, but is not limited to, IR, BLUETOOTH, Z-wave, NFC, Zigbee, WIFI, or other communication technologies; the wired communication mode can be PLC, OPLC, wired Internet communication, coaxial cable communication, telephone line communication, or other communication technologies.

The detecting device27is similar to the detecting unit227, including a timer module71, a temperature sensor module72, a light sensor module73, a noise sensor module74, a humidity sensor module75, a microphone76, and a speaker77.

In an alternative embodiment, the detecting modules of the detecting unit227or the detecting device27can be divided into a number of sensors to sense the various certain conditions.

In another embodiment, the server33is a platform having computing and storing function. The learning unit226and the intelligent controlling unit228are arranged in the server33, the intelligent command table is also stored in the server33.

Referring toFIG. 17, a flowchart of a controlling method of the home appliances30of the smart home system200according to an embodiment is illustrated. The method includes the following steps, each of which is tied to various components contained in the smart home system200as shown inFIG. 13.

In step S21, the detecting unit227detects the current certain condition values. In detail, the detecting modules70of the detecting unit227detect the current certain condition values, and send the current certain condition values to the intelligent controlling unit228.

In step S22, the intelligent controlling unit228determines whether the current certain condition value matches one of the predetermined certain conditions; if yes, process goes to step S23, if not, process goes to step S220.

In step S23, the intelligent controlling unit228sends the predetermined controlling command to the second processor unit222of the smart gateway22corresponding to the predetermined certain condition which matches the current certain condition value, and the second processor unit222of the smart gateway22extracts the operation command and the UIDs of the home appliance30, which is assigned to execute the operation command from the received predetermined controlling command.

In step S220, the intelligent controlling unit228determines whether the current certain condition value matches one of the habit certain conditions; if yes, process goes to step S230, if not, process goes back to step S21.

In step S230, the intelligent controlling unit228sends the habit controlling command to the second processor unit222of the smart gateway22corresponding to the habit certain conditions which match the current certain condition value, and the second processor unit222of the smart gateway22extracts the operation command and the UID of the home appliance30, which is assigned to execute the operation command from the received habit controlling command.

In step S24, the smart gateway22sends a controlling signal including the operation command to the home appliance30which is assigned to execute the operation command.

In step S25, the home appliance30receives the controlling signal sent by the smart gateway22and executes the required operation according to the operation command included in the controlling signal.

Referring toFIG. 18, a flowchart of an intelligent controlling method of the smart home system200according to an exemplary embodiment is illustrated. The method includes the following steps, each of which is tied to various components contained in the smart home system200as shown inFIG. 13.

In step S31, the recording module2261of the smart gateway22records the received controlling command and the corresponding certain condition value as an operation record and stores the operation record in the storage unit225. In detail, when the second processor unit222receives the controlling commands sent by the server33or the Internet controller34, the recording module2261determines what type of certain condition corresponds to the controlling command and obtains the current value of the determined certain condition, the recording module2261further records the controlling command and the corresponding certain condition value in the storage unit225as an operational record.

In step S32, the analysis module2262of the smart gateway22analyses the operational records and determines whether or not the number of times that the controlling command under a same certain condition value or in a same certain condition value range has been given has reached or is equal to a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time period; if yes, the process goes to step S33, otherwise it goes to end.

In step S33, the analysis module2262of the smart gateway22determines whether the controlling command is a habit and the certain condition value or value range is a certain condition value or value range corresponding to a habit, and records the habit controlling command and the corresponding habit certain condition value or value range in an intelligent command table.

This disclosure may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit thereof. Thus, the present examples and embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the disclosure is not to be limited to the details given herein.