Patent Publication Number: US-2021176086-A1

Title: Notification control device, notification control system, and notification control method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application Number 2019-222236 filed on Dec. 9, 2019. The entire contents of the above-identified application are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The disclosure relates to a notification control device, a notification control system, and a notification control method. 
     In recent years, installing wireless LAN devices in the home has improved domestic communication environment, and domestic electronic devices capable of connecting to the Internet at any time, which are commonly referred to as Internet of Things (IoT) home appliances or smart home appliances, have become ubiquitous in households. 
     Domestic electronic devices provide users with information useful for the user in a timely manner, by being connected to the Internet. In a case where there are a plurality of domestic electronic devices connected to the Internet in a household, these domestic electronic devices work in concert with one another via a cloud server or the like provided on the Internet to configure a home network (see JP 2008-546981 T and the like). 
     SUMMARY 
     Among the electronic devices used at home, some everyday-life home appliances such as a washing machine, kitchen home appliances such as an oven cooking range, and the like notify persons near the electronic devices of information related to completion of domestic tasks such as washing and cooking, or operation statuses or the like of the electronic devices (hereinafter, referred to as “notification information”) by using an alarm sound and message display. 
     However, in a house, a user is not always present near an electronic device that attempts to perform notification. As a result, the notification issued by a domestic electronic device may not be transmitted to the user with a known method of notification. 
     An object of the disclosure is to provide a notification control device, a notification control system, and a notification control method, which are able to notify a user in a house of information related to electronic devices. 
     A notification control device according to the disclosure includes a controller configured to determine a notification execution device for executing a notification, and a storage unit configured to store a plurality of electronic devices capable of executing the notification. The controller includes a notification data acquisition unit configured to acquire notification data related to the notification. In a case where the notification data acquisition unit acquires the notification data, the controller determines the notification execution device from among the plurality, of electronic devices stored in the storage unit based on a prescribed condition. 
     A notification control system according to the disclosure includes a controller configured to determine a notification execution device for executing a notification, and a storage unit configured to store a plurality of electronic devices capable of executing the notification. The controller includes a notification data acquisition unit configured to acquire notification data related to the notification. In a case where the notification data acquisition unit has acquired the notification data, the controller determines the notification execution device from among the plurality of electronic devices stored in the storage unit based on a prescribed condition, and causes the determined notification execution device to execute the notification based on the notification data. 
     A notification control method according to the disclosure includes a notification data acquisition step in which a notification data acquisition unit acquires notification data related to a notification, and a notification execution device determination step in which a controller determines, based on a prescribed condition, a notification execution device configured to execute the notification from among a plurality of electronic devices stored in a storage unit. 
     A notification control program of the disclosure causes a computer to perform the notification control described above. 
     According to the disclosure, it is possible to notify a user present in a house of information related to electronic devices. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements. 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a notification control system according to a first embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the notification control system according to the first embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of notification control of the first embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating a notification control device according to a second embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the notification control device of the second embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart of notification control of the second embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the drawings, the same reference signs are assigned to the same or corresponding constituent elements, and descriptions thereof will not be repeated. 
     Notification control systems  100  and  200  according to the embodiments described below each include a controller configured to determine a notification execution device to execute notification related to an electronic device, and a storage unit configured to store electronic devices capable of executing the notification. The controller includes a notification data acquisition unit configured to acquire notification data related to states or the like of the electronic devices. In a case that the notification data acquisition unit acquires notification data, the controller determines a notification execution device from among the electronic devices stored in the storage unit based on a prescribed condition, converts the notification data related to the state or the like of the electronic device to a form of information easy to understand, such as image display, a text message or a sound, and then causes the notification execution device to execute the notification. 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a notification control system  100  according to the present embodiment. Specifically,  FIG. 1  illustrates a home network configured by a plurality of electronic devices  10 , such as smart home appliances. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the notification control system  100  of the present embodiment includes the plurality of electronic devices  10  connectable with the Internet, and a server  20  on a cloud. The notification control system  100  of the present embodiment further includes a mobile terminal  30  for communications. 
     Each of the electronic devices  10  is an electronic device primarily used within a house for household use (a so-called home appliance or consumer electronics product), and is a consumer electronics product called an IoT home appliance or a smart home appliance equipped with a network communication function. 
     In  FIG. 1 , a refrigerator (freezer refrigerator), a washing machine, a television, an air conditioner, and an air purifier are described as examples of representative domestic electronic devices  10 . In addition, the notification control system  100  may include other IoT home appliances or smart home appliances. 
     Other home appliances may include, for example, air-conditioning home appliances such as a humidifying air purifier and a dehumidifying air purifier, kitchen home appliances such as a rice cooker and an oven cooking range, everyday-life home appliances such as a vacuum cleaner, AV appliances such as an audio device, and home information appliances such as a personal computer and a smart speaker. 
     Each of the electronic devices  10  and the server  20  are connected to each other via an in-home intranet such as a LAN, and an external network such as the Internet. The connection may be a wireless or wired connection, or a combination thereof. 
     The server  20  is communicably connected to each of the electronic devices  10  via the Internet. In the present embodiment, the server  20  is an example of a notification control device. 
     In the notification control system  100  of the present embodiment, each of the electronic devices  10  transmits, to the server  20 , notification data related to the state of the electronic device in addition to identification information for identifying that electronic device  10 . 
     The notification data is data related to the operation status or the like of the electronic device. Each electronic device  10  transmits notification data to the server  20  when no person is present near that device. For example, in a case where the electronic device  10  is a washing machine, the washing machine may be configured such that, when the washing machine has finished washing and notified a user in its surrounding of information (also referred to as the status or state) indicating the finish of washing but a corresponding operation such as opening a lid of the washing drum is not carried out for a prescribed period of time by the user, the washing machine transmits notification data to the server  20  in order to notify the user of information such as a message indicating that washing is finished from other devices. 
     As another example, in a case where the electronic device  10  is an oven cooking range, the oven cooking range transmits, to the server  20 , data or a signal indicating the finish of cooking as the notification data. Further, in a case where the electronic device  10  is a refrigerator, the refrigerator transmits, to the server  20 , data or a signal indicating the finish of frost removal as the notification data. 
     When the server  20  has acquired the notification data from any of the electronic devices  10 , the server  20  inquires, of the electronic devices, an electronic device other than the electronic device having issued the notification data (notification request device), which is installed in a specified place or room within the house, whether any person is present in the surroundings thereof. As a result, the server  20  acquires a human detection result indicating presence or absence of human detection. 
     Next, the server  20  ranks the electronic devices  10  on the basis of the human detection result, except for the notification request device, which are able to execute the notification in the order of levels of certainty of a person being present in the surroundings, in other words, in descending order of the probability of presence of a person in the surroundings, as a priority order for the notification execution. 
     Thereafter, the server  20  determines each of the electronic devices  10  as a notification execution device for executing the notification in sequence initially from the electronic device  10  ranked highest in the priority order, and causes the determined notification execution device to execute the notification. 
     For example, in a case where the notification request device is a washing machine installed in a washroom, the server  20  determines a refrigerator having detected a person in the kitchen as the notification execution device based on the notification execution priority order described above. Then, the server  20  transmits the notification data to the refrigerator to cause the refrigerator to execute the notification. 
     In this manner, the notification control system  100  of the present embodiment is able to transmit, to a user, notification data issued from one electronic device  10  from another electronic device  10  near the user at a position distanced from the one electronic device  10  by causing the another electronic device to execute the notification. 
     Next, a configuration of the notification control system  100  will be described with reference to  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the notification control system  100  of the present embodiment. 
     For the electronic devices  10 , functional features specific to each household electronic device  10  such as a refrigeration and freezing function, a cooking function, a household function, and an air-conditioning function will not be described, and only configurations involved in notification control will be described. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the electronic device  10  includes a controller  1 , a storage unit  2 , a communication unit  3 , a display unit  4 , a speaker  5 , and a human detection unit  6 . The display, unit  4  and the speaker  5  are both examples of a notification unit configured to notify a user of notification information obtained by converting the notification data. 
     The controller  1  includes a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU). The processor controls each unit of the electronic device  10  based on a program stored in the storage unit  2 . 
     Specifically, in a case where any of the electronic devices  10  issues notification data, the controller  1  of the electronic device  10  controls the acquisition of the notification data and the acquisition of a human detection result related to a prescribed region (for example, the interior of a room). 
     The storage unit  2  includes a main storage device such as a semiconductor memory, and an auxiliary storage device such as a semiconductor memory and/or a hard disk drive. The storage unit  2  stores data and programs. 
     The communication unit  3  includes a receiver and a transmitter as ports through which signals or data can be transmitted and received to/from the server  20  via a network line. The receiver receives notification data generated by the other electronic devices via the server  20 . The transmitter transmits notification data generated by the own device to the server  20 . 
     In a case where the electronic device  10  is an everyday-life home appliance such as a refrigerator, a washing machine, an air conditioner, or an air purifier, the display unit  4  uses an LED panel that also serves as an operation unit (hereinafter, referred to as a touch display). 
     In a case where the electronic device  10  is an electronic device provided with a display or a touch display, the display or the touch display is used as the display unit  4  of the electronic device  10 . In a case where the electronic device  10  is an electronic device provided with a remote controller (“remote”), a display or a touch display of the remote controller may be used as the display unit  4 . 
     The speaker  5  speaks notification information obtained by converting notification data, as an informing unit of the electronic device  10 . Alternatively, the speaker  5  may generate an alarm sound as a notification. 
     A method for notifying the information based on the notification data may be such that, for example, the speaker  5  speaks the information and the display unit performs only flashing. In addition, the method for the notification may be such that only an alarm sound is generated from the speaker  5  and the display unit  4  displays the information based on the notification data. 
     Next, the human detection unit  6  of the electronic device  10  will be described by using an air-conditioning device such as an air purifier or an air conditioner as an example. 
     In  FIG. 2 , the human detection unit  6  mounted in an air-conditioning device is illustrated. The human detection unit  6  detects whether any person is present (human detection result) in the vicinity of a location where the electronic device  10  (the air-conditioning device) is disposed, which is a detection target region, by using various types of sensors individually or in combination. 
     In other words, the human detection unit  6  detects the presence/absence of the user (indoor information) in a specific room in the house where the electronic device  10  (own device) is installed (indoors). The obtained human detection result (indoor information) is transmitted to the server  20  via a transmitter  3 B. 
     In this case, it is possible to associate the human detection result with both a management number of the location (room) in which the electronic device  10  (hereinafter referred to as own device) is installed and a management number allocated to the own device in advance, and transmit the human detection result. At the transmission, additional information associated with a detection start time when a person was detected, a detection end time when no person is detected anymore, and the like may be transmitted to the server  20 . 
     In addition, at the transmission, a detection integration time may be associated and transmitted to the server  20 . The detection integration time is calculated by summing time intervals from the start of detection to the end of detection. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the human detection unit  6  of the air-conditioning device includes a motion sensor  61 , an odor sensor  62 , a dust sensor  63 , an illuminance sensor  64 , and a microphone (sound sensor)  65 . 
     The motion sensor  61  detects whether any person is present near the location where the electronic device  10  is installed. In other words, the motion sensor  61  detects the presence/absence of the user in the room (indoor information). The detection method of the motion sensor  61  is not particularly limited. Any infrared or ultrasonic detection method may be used. 
     The odor sensor  62  detects an odor level in the room where the electronic device  10  is installed. The odor sensor  62  is, for example, a quartz vibration type sensor or a semiconductor type sensor. The odor sensor  62  detects the presence/absence of the user in the room based on a change in the odor level inside the room. 
     The dust sensor  63  detects the amount of dust (tiny particles or debris) in the room in which the electronic device  10  is installed. The dust sensor  63  detects the presence/absence of the user in the room based on a change in the amount of dust inside the room. 
     The illuminance sensor  64  detects the illuminance inside the room in which the electronic device  10  is installed. The illuminance sensor  64  detects the presence/absence of the user in the room based on the illuminance inside the room. In the case of human-presence detection use, the electronic device  10  may include a function of learning and storing changes in illuminance depending on the time periods of everyday life. 
     The microphone  65  detects sound inside the room in which the electronic device  10  is installed. The microphone  65  detects the presence/absence of the user in the room based on a change in sound volume or sound pressure inside the room. 
     In  FIG. 2  illustrates sensors and a microphone mounted on an air purifier. The IoT home appliance or smart home appliance connected to the in-home network may include all the sensors and the microphone, or may include some thereof. The electronic device  10  includes at least the motion sensor  61 . 
     Next, the server  20  of the notification control system  100  will be described. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the server  20  includes a controller  21 , a storage unit  22 , and a communication unit  23 . 
     The controller  21  includes a processor such as a CPU. The processor of the controller  21  controls each configuration of the server  20  by executing a program stored in the storage unit  22 . The controller  21  may give instructions, commands, inquiries, or the like to each of the electronic devices  10 . 
     In the present embodiment, the controller  21  of the server  20  includes a notification data acquisition unit.  21   a  and a human detection result acquisition unit  21   b . The notification data acquisition unit  21   a  acquires, via the network, notification data regarding the state of the electronic device. The human detection result acquisition unit  21   b  acquires, via the human detection unit  6  of each of the electronic devices  10 , a human detection result in a prescribed region (e.g., the interior of a room) for each electronic device  10 . 
     The controller  21  causes the storage unit  22  to store operation data regarding each electronic device  10 , the identification information for identifying each electronic device  10 , and other information transmitted from the controller  1  of each electronic device  10 . 
     The storage unit  22  includes a main storage device such as a semiconductor memory, and an auxiliary storage device such as a semiconductor memory and/or a hard disk drive. The storage unit  22  stores a control program used for controlling operations of each unit of the server  20 . The control program stored in the storage unit  22  is executed by the controller  21 . 
     In the present embodiment, the storage unit  22  of the server  20  stores the human detection results transmitted from each of the electronic devices  10 . Specifically, the individual human detection result s for each of the electronic devices  10  acquired by the human detection result acquisition unit  21   b  are associated with the identification information for identifying each electronic device  10 , and registered as a notification management table  22   a.    
     In addition, a detection start time at which a person was detected, a detection end time at which no person is detected anymore, and other information may be associated with the identification information of each of the electronic devices  10 , and be registered in the notification management table  22   a.    
     The communication unit  23  communicates with a communication device conforming to the same communication standard. For example, the communication unit  23  is a local area network (LAN) adapter conforming to the LAN standard. The communication unit  23  communicates with each of the electronic devices  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1  via a network such as the Internet or an intranet. 
     In the present embodiment, the communication unit  23  of the server  20  receives, via the network, notification data and human detection results generated by each of the electronic devices  10 . In a case where a notification execution device for executing the notification is determined, the communication unit  23  transmits the notification data to the notification execution device. 
     Next, a mobile terminal.  30  will be described with reference to  FIG. 2 . In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal  30  is a mobile phone such as a smart phone. 
     The configuration of the mobile terminal  30  will be described briefly. The mobile terminal  30  includes a controller  31 , a storage unit  32 , a communication unit  33 , a display unit  34 , and a speaker  35 . 
     The controller  31  controls each unit of the mobile terminal  30 . The storage unit  32  stores data and programs. The communication unit  33  performs communication over a network line or a telephone line. As the display unit  34  and the speaker  35 , the display unit and the speaker built into a smart phone are used. 
     In a case where the mobile terminal  30  is a smart phone, identification information such as an e-mail address or a phone number of the smart phone is stored (registered) in advance in the server  20  as prescribed contact information or emergency contact information. 
     Next, processing of the notification data and execution of the notification will be described with reference to a flowchart and Tables 1 to 3.  FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating notification control processing in the present embodiment. 
     “Table 1” is an example of the notification management table  22   a  in the present embodiment. Table 1 is a table (list) for the electronic devices  10  connected to the home network (the notification control system  100 ). In the table, a room number as installation location information and a “notification execution priority order” for each time period set for each household are registered for each preset device number (management number) as basic items to be managed by the controller  21 . 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Notification priority 
               
               
                   
                 order for each time period 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Device 
                   
                 Home appliance 
                 Installation 
                 Room 
                 6:00- 
                 15:00- 
                 21:00- 
               
               
                 No. 
                 Product name 
                 group 
                 location 
                 No. 
                 15:00 
                 21:00 
                 6:00 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 001 
                 Television A 
                 AV home appliance 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 6 
                 6 
                 1 
               
               
                 002 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 7 
                 7 
                 2 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner A 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 003 
                 Humidifying air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 8 
                 8 
                 3 
               
               
                   
                 purifier 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 004 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Dining room 
                 02 
                 1 
                 4 
                 11 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner B 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 005 
                 Air purifier A 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Dining room 
                 02 
                 2 
                 5 
                 12 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 006 
                 Refrigerator 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 3 
                 1 
                 13 
               
               
                   
                   
                 appliance 
               
               
                 007 
                 Rice cooker 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 4 
                 2 
                 14 
               
               
                   
                   
                 appliance 
               
               
                 008 
                 Oven cooking 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 5 
                 3 
                 15 
               
               
                   
                 range 
                 appliance 
               
               
                 009 
                 Washing machine 
                 Everyday-life 
                 Washroom 
                 04 
                 9 
                 9 
                 16 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 010 
                 Television B 
                 AV home appliance 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 10 
                 10 
                 4 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 A 
               
               
                 011 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 11 
                 11 
                 5 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner C 
                 home appliance 
                 A 
               
               
                 012 
                 Air purifier B 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 12 
                 12 
                 6 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 A 
               
               
                 013 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 06 
                 13 
                 13 
                 7 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner D 
                 home appliance 
                 B 
               
               
                 014 
                 Air purifier C 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 06 
                 14 
                 14 
                 8 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 B 
               
               
                 015 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 07 
                 15 
                 15 
                 9 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner E 
                 home appliance 
                 C 
               
               
                 016 
                 Air purifier D 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 07 
                 16 
                 16 
                 10 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 C 
               
               
                 017 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Children&#39;s 
                 08 
                 Excluded 
                 17 
                 Excluded 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner F 
                 home appliance 
                 room A 
               
               
                 018 
                 Air purifier E 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Children&#39;s 
                 08 
                 Excluded 
                 18 
                 Excluded 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 room A 
               
               
                 019 
                 Vacuum cleaner 
                 Everyday-life 
                 Closet/ 
                 09 
                 17 
                 19 
                 Excluded 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 corridor 
               
               
                 020 
                 Dehumidifying air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Closet/ 
                 09 
                 18 
                 20 
                 Excluded 
               
               
                   
                 purifier 
                 home appliance 
                 corridor 
               
               
                        
                                    
                           
                              
                        
                        
                        
                        
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In Table 1, for example, in the morning time period (6:00-15:00), as for the “notification priority order”, the priority order of the electronic device  10  disposed in the “dining room”, “kitchen”, or the like where the probability of presence of a person is considered high is set to be higher. Conversely, the notification priority order of the electronic device  10  disposed in each “living room”, such as a bedroom or a Japanese-style room, where the probability of presence of a person is considered low in the morning time period, is set to be lower. 
     As for an electronic device  10  disposed in a location where the probability of presence of a person is considered low in all the time periods, such as a closet (storeroom) or a corridor, the notification priority order thereof is set to be relatively low, or the device is excluded from the priority order. The “children&#39;s room” is treated differently, and is excluded from the “notification” regarding household duties except for the daytime time period (15:00-21:00). 
     Specific Example 1 
     Specific Example 1 of the notification control will be described below while using the notification management table  22   a  in Table 1. Specific Example 1 is described by exemplifying a case in which notification data is generated indicating that a washing process is finished in the morning time period (6:00-15:00) by the washing machine (device number “009”) installed in a washroom (room number 04). 
     First, as illustrated in the flowchart of  FIG. 3 , when the notification control (notification process) is started, in step S 1 , the controller  21  functioning as a notification controller performs notification issue confirmation in which it is confirmed whether notification data issued by any of the electronic devices  10  is contained in data or a signal received by the communication unit  23 , that is, whether any of the electronic devices  10  has issued notification data. 
     In step S 1 , in a case where the result of the notification issue confirmation is “No”, that is, no notification data sent from the other devices has been issued from any of the electronic devices  10 , the controller  21  repeats the notification issue confirmation in step S 1  until any of the electronic devices  10  issues notification data. 
     In a case where one of the electronic devices (a notification request device; the washing machine in this case) has issued notification data (the determination in step S 1  is “Yes”), the controller  21  executes a notification execution device determination process (step S 2  to step S 6 ) in which, from among the electronic devices registered in the notification management table  22   a  and capable of executing a notification, the electronic device for executing the notification (referred to as notification execution device) is determined based on the human detection results for each of the electronic devices  10  acquired by the human detection result acquisition unit  21   b.    
     The notification execution device determination process will be described below with reference to  FIG. 3  and “Table 2”. First, the controller  21  creates a list “Table 2”, which indicates the “order of the electronic devices highly likely to execute the notification”, based on the results of “human detection” having been inquired of each of the electronic devices  10  based on the notification management table  22   a  (Table 1). 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Priority order 
               
               
                 Device 
                   
                 Home appliance 
                 Installation 
                 Room 
                 Priority order 
                 Person 
                 of notification 
               
               
                 No. 
                 Product name 
                 group 
                 location 
                 No. 
                 6:00-15:00 
                 detected? 
                 execution 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 009 
                 Washing machine 
                 Everyday-life 
                 Washroom 
                 04 
                 Notification 
                 No 
                 No 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                   
                   
                 source 
               
               
                 004 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Dining room 
                 02 
                 1 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner B 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 005 
                 Air purifier A 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Dining room 
                 02 
                 2 
                 No 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 006 
                 Refrigerator 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 3 
                 Yes 
                 First 
               
               
                   
                   
                 appliance 
               
               
                 007 
                 Rice cooker 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 4 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 appliance 
               
               
                 008 
                 Oven cooking 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 5 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 range 
                 appliance 
               
               
                 001 
                 Television A 
                 AV home appliance 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 6 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                 002 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 7 
                 Yes 
                 Second 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner A 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 003 
                 Humidifying air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 8 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 purifier 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 010 
                 Television B 
                 AV home appliance 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 9 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 A 
               
               
                 011 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 10 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner C 
                 home appliance 
                 A 
               
               
                 012 
                 Air purifier B 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 11 
                 Yes 
                 Third 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 A 
               
               
                 013 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 06 
                 12 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner D 
                 home appliance 
                 B 
               
               
                 014 
                 Air purifier C 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 06 
                 13 
                 Yes 
                 Fourth 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 B 
               
               
                 015 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 07 
                 14 
                 No 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner E 
                 home appliance 
                 C 
               
               
                 016 
                 Air purifier D 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Livina room 
                 07 
                 15 
                 No 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 C 
               
               
                 019 
                 Vacuum cleaner 
                 Everyday-life 
                 Closet/ 
                 09 
                 16 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 corridor 
               
               
                 020 
                 Dehumidifying air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Closet/ 
                 09 
                 17 
                 No 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 purifier 
                 home appliance 
                 corridor 
               
               
                 017 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Children&#39;s 
                 08 
                 Excluded 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner F 
                 home appliance 
                 room A 
               
               
                 018 
                 Air purifier E 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Children&#39;s 
                 08 
                 Excluded 
                 No 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 room A 
               
               
                        
                                 
                           
                              
                        
                        
                        
                        
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     A setting method for a specific “notification execution priority order” (Table 2) will be described. In step S 2  of the flowchart in  FIG. 3 , the controller  21  first executes a human detection result confirmation process in which the controller  21  inquires the presence/absence of human detection of all the electronic devices  10  (see Table 1) connected to the network simultaneously. 
     Then, in the human detection result confirmation process, the “notification execution priority order” is set only for each of the electronic devices that have replied with data of human detection being “Yes” in sequence from the electronic device ranked higher in the “priority order for each time period” in Table 1. 
     For example, as illustrated in Table 2, in the human detection result confirmation process, in a case where a reply indicating human detection as “Yes” is acquired from four devices including the refrigerator (device number “006”, room number “03”, kitchen), the air conditioner A (device number “002”, room number “01”, living area), the air purifier B (device number “012”, room number “05”, living room A), and the air purifier C (device number “014”, room number “06”, living room B), the controller  21  sets the priority order of “first” to “fourth”, as the priority order at the notification data generation time, in sequence from the electronic device ranked higher in the priority order for each time period (6:00-15:00), and stores the set priority order in the storage unit  22 . 
     In Table 2, an electronic device that is powered off and does not reply with a human detection result is indicated by “OFF”. 
     Next, the controller  21  sequentially causes each of the electronic devices  10  set to be “first” to “fourth” based on the stored “priority order of notification execution” (Table 2), to execute the notification. 
     As a specific procedure of the notification execution, first, in step S 3  of the flowchart illustrated in  FIG. 3 , a value of “1” (first) is substituted into a variable M for determining the priority order of the notification execution devices. 
     Next, in step S 4 , the controller  21  executes a repeated-notification suppression confirmation process in which, in order to suppress the notification being repeated the same room, it is confirmed whether the notification has already been executed in the same room (location) as the room where the electronic device  10  with the priority order set to the order of M (in this case, “first”) is disposed. 
     The repeated-notification suppression confirmation process may be carried out by confirming, for example, whether there is a record indicating that the notification has already been executed by the electronic device having the same room number on the priority order list. 
     In step S 4 , in a case where it is confirmed that no notification has been executed yet in the same room (location) (“No” in step S 4 ), the controller  21  determines the electronic device with the priority order of “first” as the notification execution device, and causes the determined device to execute the notification in step S 5 . 
     On the other hand, in step S 4 , in a case where it is confirmed that the notification has already been executed in the same room (location) (“Yes” in step S 4 ), the controller  21  confirms in step S 6  whether there remains an electronic device to which an inquiry about the human detection result can be sent, that is, confirms whether the repeat of notification is confirmed until the last electronic device capable of notification is taken into consideration in the “notification execution priority order” list (Table 2). 
     In step S 6 , in a case where an electronic device capable of executing the notification still remains (“Yes” in step S 6 ), the controller  21 , in step S 7 , adds one to the variable M, which is the order of inquiry. That is, hereinafter, the confirmation of whether the notification can be executed is continued with respect to the electronic device  10  with the priority order of “M+1” (in this case, “second”). 
     On the other hand, in step S 6 , in a case where no electronic device capable of executing the notification remains (“No” in step S 6 ), the controller  21 , in step S 10 , reports the content of the notification data to the mobile terminal  30  in an external network, such as a smart phone for which contact information such as an email address has been registered in advance, and then terminates the process. 
     The notification device determination process carried out in step S 4  to step S 6  as described above is continued until the notification is executed, as step S 5 , by any of the electronic devices, or the notification data is transmitted, cis step S 10 , to the external mobile terminal  30 . 
     Next, when the notification execution device determination process (steps S 2  to S 6 ) is complete and the notification is executed in step S 5 , the controller  21  performs a corresponding operation confirmation decision process in steps S 8  and S 9  of the flowchart in which it is confirmed whether a “corresponding operation” which is an operation corresponding to the notification by the user has been carried out. 
     In the corresponding operation confirmation decision process, first, it is confirmed in step S 8  whether the corresponding operation has been carried out by the user on the electronic device (in this case, the washing machine) that issued the notification data. 
     In step S 8 , when the corresponding operation, such as opening or closing the lid of the washing machine, has been carried out (“Yes” in step S 8 ), the controller  21  completes all of the corresponding operation confirmation decision process and the notification process, and then terminates the notification control (end). 
     In step S 8 , when the corresponding operation by the user is not confirmed (“No” in step S 8 ), the controller  21  confirms in step S 9  whether a prescribed time has passed since the execution of the notification (step S 5 ). 
     The confirmation of whether the prescribed time has passed since the execution of the notification in step S 9  is performed in order to make sure whether the notification was definitely transmitted to the user and thereafter the user has taken an appropriate action. For this reason, a time of approximately 1 to 10 minutes, for example, is set as the prescribed time. 
     In the corresponding operation confirmation decision from step S 8  to step S 9 , in a case where the length of a state in which no corresponding operation is carried out by the user is less than the prescribed time when measured from the execution of the notification (step S 5 ) (“No” in step S 9 ), the controller  21  returns to step S 8  to continue the confirmation of the presence or absence of the corresponding operation by the user. When the corresponding operation is confirmed (“Yes” in step S 8 ), the corresponding operation confirmation decision process is terminated (end). 
     Further, in step S 9 , in a case where the length of the state in which no corresponding operation is carried out by the user is equal to or longer than the prescribed time when measured from the execution of the notification, (“Yes” in step S 9 ), the controller  21  returns to step S 7  of the notification execution device determination process, and adds one to the variable M, which refers to the priority order of notification execution. 
     Then, the controller  21 , again, following the priority order in sequence, iterates the repeated-notification suppression confirmation process (step S 4 ) and the confirmation of whether there remains an electronic device capable of notification (step S 6 ) until no confirmation target device capable of notification is present. 
     As described above, the notification control system  100  is able to directly report, to the user, the notification issued by one of the electronic devices  10 , which is a notification request source, by the notification from a notification execution device installed in a remote room. 
     In the notification control system  100  of the first embodiment, when the notification is data related to abnormalities, malfunctions, or the like of an electronic device, the controller  21  causes all of the electronic devices  10  capable of executing a notification to execute the notification regardless of the time period. 
     In Specific Example 1 (Table 2), the notification control is described exemplifying a case in which only one electronic device  10  running with its power being on is present in each room. However, a plurality of electronic devices  10  capable of executing a notification may be present simultaneously in a single room in some cases. In such case, the notification control system  100  does not execute the notification two times successively in the same room, and attempts to cause another electronic device  10  in charge of detecting a person in another room to execute the notification. Specific Example 2 below is an example of the case discussed above. 
     Specific Example 2 
     Notification control of Specific Example 2 will be described with reference to Table 3 and the flowchart in  FIG. 3 . Table 3, like Table 2, is a “notification execution priority order” list created based on the results obtained by inquiring the presence/absence of the human detection results of the electronic devices  10  registered in the notification management table  22   a  (Table 1). 
     The list of “notification execution priority order” in Table 3 is different from Table 2 in that the stated list is a list directed to the night time period (21:00-6:00 next day). 
     In Specific Example 2, an example is given of a case in which, in a refrigerator (device number “006”) installed in a kitchen (room number “03”), notification data is generated indicating that the door of the cool storage space is open (forget to close) during the night time period. 
     In Specific Example 2 as well, in step S 1 , in a case where the result of the notification issue confirmation is “No”, that is, no notification data from the other devices has been issued from any of the electronic devices  10 , the controller  21  of the server  20  configured to function as a notification controller repeats the notification issue confirmation in step S 1  until any of the electronic devices  10  issues notification data. 
     In a case where one of the electronic devices (a notification request device; a refrigerator in this case) has issued notification data (the determination in step S 1  is “Yes”, that is, in a case where the notification data acquisition unit  21   a  has acquired notification data, the controller  21  executes the notification execution device determination process (step S 2  to step S 6 ) in which, from among the electronic devices registered in the notification management table  22   a  and capable of executing notification, an electronic devices configured to execute a notification referred to as a notification execution device) is determined based on the human detection results for each of the electronic devices  10  acquired by the human detection result acquisition unit  21   b.    
     For example, when notification data is received from the refrigerator in the night time period, the controller  21  creates a “notification execution priority order” list as illustrated in “Table 3” in the same manner as in Specific Example 1, and stores the list in the storage unit  22 . 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 3 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Priority order 
               
               
                 Device 
                   
                 Home appliance 
                 Installation 
                 Room 
                 Priority order 
                 Person 
                 of notification 
               
               
                 No. 
                 Product name 
                 group 
                 location 
                 No. 
                 21:00-6:00 
                 detected? 
                 execution 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 006 
                 Refrigerator 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 Notification 
                 No 
                 No 
               
               
                   
                   
                 appliance 
                   
                   
                 source 
               
               
                 001 
                 Television A 
                 AV home appliance 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 1 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                 002 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 2 
                 Yes 
                 First 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner A 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 003 
                 Humidifying air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 3 
                 Yes 
                 (Second) 
               
               
                   
                 purifier 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 010 
                 Television B 
                 AV home appliance 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 4 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 A 
               
               
                 011 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 5 
                 Yes 
                 Third 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner C 
                 home appliance 
                 A 
               
               
                 012 
                 Air purifier B 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 6 
                 Yes 
                 (Fourth) 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 A 
               
               
                 013 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 06 
                 7 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner D 
                 home appliance 
                 B 
               
               
                 014 
                 Air purifier C 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 06 
                 8 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 B 
               
               
                 015 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 07 
                 9 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner E 
                 home appliance 
                 C 
               
               
                 016 
                 Air purifier D 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 07 
                 10 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 C 
               
               
                 004 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Dining room 
                 02 
                 11 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner B 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 005 
                 Air purifier A 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Dining room 
                 02 
                 12 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 007 
                 Rice cooker 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 13 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 appliance 
               
               
                 008 
                 Oven cooking 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 14 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 range 
                 appliance 
               
               
                 009 
                 Washing machine 
                 Everyday-life 
                 Washroom 
                 04 
                 15 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 017 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Children&#39;s 
                 08 
                 Excluded 
                 Yes 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner F 
                 home appliance 
                 room A 
               
               
                 018 
                 Air purifier E 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Children&#39;s 
                 08 
                 Excluded 
                 Yes 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 room A 
               
               
                 019 
                 Vacuum cleaner 
                 Everyday-life 
                 Closet/ 
                 09 
                 Excluded 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 corridor 
               
               
                 020 
                 Dehumidifying air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Closet/ 
                 09 
                 Excluded 
                 No 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 purifier 
                 home appliance 
                 corridor 
               
               
                        
                                 
                           
                              
                        
                        
                        
                        
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In consideration of living hours, the priority order of “living area”, “living room”, and the like is set Lo be higher in the list of Table 3. In addition, the priority order of “dining room”, “kitchen”, “washroom”, and the like, where the probability that any person is present at night is assumed to be low, is set to be lower. Further, in Specific Example 2, human detection is skewed toward the living area (room number “01”) and the living room A (room number “05”) 
     In this case, it is assumed that, in the notification execution device determination process (steps S 2  to S 6 ), the controller  21  first caused the air conditioner A (device number “002”, room number “01”, installation location “living area”) with the priority order of “first” to execute the notification, for example. 
     Subsequently, in the corresponding operation confirmation decision process (steps S 8 , S 9 ) after the notification execution (step S 5 ), in a case where a prescribed time has passed (“Yes” in step S 9 ) since the notification execution in a state where no corresponding operation is carried out by the user (“No” in step S 8 ), the controller  21  performs count-up processing to raise the priority order by one (N=N+1) in step S 7 , similarly to Specific Example 1. 
     Then, in step S 4 , the controller  21  executes the repeated-notification suppression confirmation process to confirm whether the humidifying air purifier (device number “003”) with the priority order of “M+1” (“second” in this case) is capable of notification. 
     At this time, the installation location (room number “01”, living area) of the air conditioner A (device number “002”) having executed the notification and the installation location (room number “01”, living area) of the humidifying air purifier (device number “003”) ranked highest in the current priority order matches, and therefore the controller  21  determines in step S 4  that the notification has already been executed in the same room (“Yes” in step S 4 ). 
     That is, the notification in the living area (room number “01”) of the humidifying air purifier (device number “003”) with the priority order of “second” is not executed, and the process moves to step S 6 , in which it is confirmed whether an electronic device capable of notification still remains. 
     The repeated-notification suppression confirmation process in step S 4  may be carried out by deciding whether there is a record indicating that the notification has already been executed by the electronic device having the same room number on the priority order list (Table 3). 
     Alternatively, in a case where, for example, the controller  1  of the electronic device  10  including the microphone  65  recognizes or records the sound of the notification in the same room, the recording may be used to confirm the repeated-notification suppression. 
     Subsequently to step S 4 , the flow of the process after the notification is executed is the same as that of Specific Example 1. That is, in a case of “Yes” in step S 4 , the controller  21  confirms in step S 6  whether there remains an electronic device to which an inquiry about the human detection result can be sent. 
     In a case of “No” in step S 6 , the controller  21  reports the content of the notification data to the mobile terminal  30  in the external network, and then terminates the process (step S 10 ). In contrast, in a case of “Yes” in step S 6 , the controller  21  performs count-up processing on the variable N, which refers to the priority order, by one (“M+1”), and continues to confirm whether the notification can be executed regarding the electronic device with the subsequent priority order. 
     Further, after executing the notification in step S 5 , the corresponding operation confirmation decision process is performed in steps S 8  and S 9 . Then, in a case where the corresponding operation has been carried out (“Yes” in step S 8 ), the controller  21  terminates the notification control (end). In a case where the corresponding operation has not been carried out for a prescribed time (“Yes” in step S 9 ), the process returns to step S 6  to continue performing the notification execution device determination process (steps S 2  to S 6 ). 
     As described above, the notification control system  100  is able to minimize a situation in which notifications having the same content are successively issued a plurality of times in the same room. 
     Moreover, the notification control system  100  is able to directly report, to the user, the notification data issued by one of the electronic devices  10 , which is a notification request source, by notification from a notification execution device installed in a remote room. 
     In the notification control system  100  of Specific Example 2 as well, when the notification data is data related to abnormalities, malfunctions, or the like of an electronic device, the controller  21  is able to cause all of the electronic devices  10  capable of executing notification to execute the notification at any time. 
     Second Embodiment 
     Next, notification control of a second embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3  and Tables 1 and 4. “Table 4”, like Tables 2 and 3, is a list indicating an “order of the electronic devices highly capable of execute notification”, which is created based on the result obtained by inquiring the presence/absence of the human detection results of the electronic devices  10  described in the notification management table  22   a  (Table 1). 
     The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, when the controller  21  inquires the human detection result of each electronic device  10 , the controller  21  acquires, in addition to the human detection result, information of “time of the first detection of a person” and associates this information with the presence/absence of the detection. 
     Accordingly, “notification execution priority order” in Table 4 described below is different from the priority orders in Tables 2 and 3; in Table 4, the priority order of notification is allocated in order of shortness of the “time passed” from the “time of the first detection of a person”, that is, the priority order of notification is allocated in such a manner that the electronic device that has succeeded in detection of movement a person last (most recently) is allocated with a higher priority order of notification than the others. 
     Note that in the list of Table 4, the priority order for each time period described in the notification management table  22   a  (Table 1) is only used for selecting such electronic devices for which inquiring the human detection result of the stated electronic devices is “excluded”. Then, in Table 4, listed are air-conditioning devices in a home such as air conditioners and air purifiers, which are evenly disposed across the rooms and are considered to be operated at relatively high operation rates. 
     Next, specific notification control using the list of Table 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart in  FIG. 3 . 
     In the notification control of the second embodiment, first in step S 1 , until any of the electronic devices  10  issues the notification data, that is, until the notification issue confirmation result becomes “Yes”, the controller  21  of the server  20  puts the issue of notification data from other devices on standby. 
     In a case where one of the electronic devices (a notification request device; a refrigerator in this case) has issued notification data (the determination in step S 1  is “Yes”), the controller  21  executes the notification execution device determination process (step S 2  to step S 6 ) in which, from among the electronic devices registered in the notification management table  22   a  and capable of executing notification, an electronic devices for executing the notification (notification execution device) is determined based on the human detection results transmitted by each of the electronic devices  10 . 
     For example, when notification data is received from a refrigerator in the kitchen in the night time period, the controller  21  creates a “priority order of notification execution” list as illustrated in “Table 4”, and stores the created list in the storage unit  22 . 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 4 
               
               
                   
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Time when 
                   
               
               
                 Device 
                   
                 Home appliance 
                 Installation 
                 Room 
                 Person 
                 detected a 
                 Priority 
               
               
                 No. 
                 Product name 
                 group 
                 location 
                 No. 
                 detected? 
                 person 
                 order 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 006 
                 Refrigerator 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 No 
                 — 
                 Notification 
               
               
                   
                   
                 appliance 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 source 
               
               
                 005 
                 Air purifier A 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Dining room 
                 02 
                 Yes 
                 3 minutes 
                 First 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                   
                   
                   
                 earlier 
               
               
                 012 
                 Air purifier B 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 No 
                 — 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 A 
               
               
                 014 
                 Air purifier C 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 06 
                 Yes 
                 30 minutes 
                 (Fourth) 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 B 
                   
                   
                 earlier 
               
               
                 016 
                 Air purifier D 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 07 
                 No 
                 — 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 C 
               
               
                 003 
                 Humidifying 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 OFF 
                 — 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 air purifier 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 020 
                 Dehumidifying 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Closet/ 
                 09 
                 No 
                 — 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 air purifier 
                 home appliance 
                 corridor 
               
               
                 002 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 OFF 
                 — 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner A 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 004 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Dining room 
                 02 
                 Yes 
                 5 minutes 
                 (Second) 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner B 
                 home appliance 
                   
                   
                   
                 earlier 
               
               
                 011 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 No 
                 — 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner C 
                 home appliance 
                 A 
               
               
                 013 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 06 
                 Yes 
                 15 minutes 
                 Third 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner D 
                 home appliance 
                 B 
                   
                   
                 earlier 
               
               
                 015 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 07 
                 OFF 
                 — 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner E 
                 home appliance 
                 C 
               
               
                 017 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Children&#39;s 
                 08 
                 Excluded 
                 — 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner F 
                 home appliance 
                 room A 
               
               
                 018 
                 Air purifier E 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Children&#39;s 
                 08 
                 Excluded 
                 — 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 room A 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In the list of Table 4, the air purifier A (device number “005”, room number “02”, installation location “dining room”), air conditioner B (device number “004”, room number “02”, installation location “dining room”), air conditioner D (device number “013”, room number “06”, installation location “living room B”), and air purifier C (device number “014”, room number “06”, installation location “living room B”) are set with the priority orders of first to fourth, respectively, in order of shortness of the “time passed” from the “time when a person was first detected” related to the presence/absence of human detection, among the electronic devices  10  (air-conditioning devices) having replied with human detection results. 
     Next, the controller  21  carries out steps S 3  to S 6  of the notification execution device determination process. First, in step S 3 , the controller  21  substitutes a value of “1” (first) into the variable M for determining the priority order of the notification execution device. 
     Next, in step S 4 , the controller  21  executes the repeated-notification suppression confirmation process in which, in order to suppress the notification being repeated in the same room, it is confirmed whether the notification has already been executed in the same room as the room where the electronic device with the priority order of M to execute the notification is disposed. 
     For example, it is assumed that the controller  21  first caused the air conditioner D (device number “013”, room number “06”, installation location “living room B”) with the priority order of “third” to execute the notification. 
     Subsequently, in the corresponding operation confirmation decision process (steps S 8 , S 9 ) after the notification execution (step S 5 ), in a case where the corresponding operation is not carried out by the user, causing step S 8  to be “No”, and the subsequent step S 9  takes “Yes”, the controller  21  performs count-up processing to raise the priority order by one (M=M+1) in step S 7 , similarly to Specific Example 2. 
     Then, in step S 7 , the controller  21  executes the repeated-notification suppression confirmation process to confirm whether the air purifier C (device number “014”) with the priority order of “M+1” (“fourth.” in this case) is capable of notification. 
     At this time, the installation location (room number “06”, living room B) of the air conditioner D (device number “013”) having executed the notification (“third”) and the installation location (room number “06”, living room B) of the air purifier C (device number “014”) ranked highest in the current priority order (“fourth”) matches, and therefore the controller  21  determines in step S 4  that the notification has already been executed in the same room (“Yes” in step S 4 ). 
     Because the notification in the living room B (room number “06”) of the air purifier C (device number “014”) with the priority order of “fourth” is not executed and there remains no device capable of notification (“No” in step S 6 ), the controller  21  reports the content of the notification data to the mobile terminal  30  in the external network, and terminates the notification control (end). 
     The repeated-notification suppression confirmation process in step S 4  may be carried out by deciding whether there is a record indicating that the notification has already been executed by the electronic device having the same room number on the priority order list (Table 4). 
     Alternatively, in a case where, for example, the controller  1  of the electronic device  10  including the microphone  65  recognizes or records the sound of the notification in the same room, the recording may be used to confirm the repeated-notification suppression. 
     Next, in a case where the notification has not been executed in the same room (location) thereby causing step S 4  to be “No”, the controller  21  determines the electronic device with the priority order of “M” as the notification execution device, and causes the determined device to execute the notification in step S 5 . In a case where step S 4  is “Yes”, the controller  21  confirms in step S 6  whether there remains an electronic device to which an inquiry about the human detection result can be sent. 
     In a case where step S 6  is “Yes”, the controller  21  performs, in step S 7 , count-up processing on the variable N, which refers to the order of inquiry, by one, and continues to confirm whether the notification can be executed by the electronic device  10  with the priority order of (“M+1”). In a case where step S 6  is “No”, the controller  21  reports the content of the notification data to the mobile terminal  30  in the external network, and then terminates the process (step S 10 ). 
     The notification device determination process carried out in step S 4  to step S 6  as described above is continued until the notification is executed by any of the electronic devices (step S 5 ), or the notification data is transmitted to the external mobile terminal  30  (step S 10 ). 
     After executing the notification (step S 5 ), the controller  21  performs the same corresponding operation confirmation decision process as that in the first embodiment in steps S 8  and S 9 . 
     In a case where step S 8  is “Yes”, the controller  21  completes all of the corresponding operation confirmation decision process and the notification process, and then terminates the notification control (end). In a case where step S 8  is “No”, the controller  21  confirms in step S 9  whether a prescribed time has passed since the execution of the notification (step S 5 ). A time of approximately 1 to 10 minutes, for example, is set as the prescribed time. 
     In a case where step S 9  is “No”, the controller  21  returns to step S 8  to continue the confirmation of the presence or absence of the corresponding operation by the user. When the corresponding operation is confirmed (“Yes” in step S 8 ), the corresponding operation confirmation decision process is terminated (end). 
     In a case where step S 9  is “Yes”, the controller  21  returns to step S 7  of the notification execution device determination process, and after adding one to the variable M, which refers to the priority order of notification execution, the controller  21  again iterates the repeated-notification suppression confirmation process (step S 4 ) and the confirmation of whether there remains an electronic device capable of notification (step S 6 ) until no confirmation target device capable of notification is present. 
     As described above, the notification control system  100  of the second embodiment is able to minimize a situation in which notifications having the same content are successively executed a plurality of times in the same room. Moreover, the notification control system  100  is able to directly report, to the user, the notification data issued by one of the electronic devices  10 , which is a notification request source, by notification from a notification execution device installed in a remote room. 
     In the notification control system  100  of the second embodiment, when the notification data is data related to abnormalities, malfunctions, or the like of an electronic device, the controller  21  causes all of the electronic devices  10  capable of executing notification to execute the notification at any time or at a pattern time described in any of the examples. 
     Third Embodiment 
     Next, control of a notification control system  200  of a third embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 4 to 6  and Table 5.  FIG. 4  is a diagram illustrating the notification control system  200  according to the present embodiment.  FIG. 4  also illustrates, like  FIG. 1 , a home network configured by a plurality of electronic devices  10 , such as smart home appliances. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the notification control system  200  includes the plurality of electronic devices  10  connectable to a home network in a home (house), and a wireless LAN router  40  configured to provide mutual communication among these devices. 
     As in the second embodiment, each of the electronic devices  10  is an electronic device primarily used within a house for household use (a so-called home appliance or consumer electronics product), and is a consumer electronics product called an IoT home appliance or a smart home appliance equipped with a network communication function. In  FIG. 4 , representative domestic electronic devices  10  are described as examples, and additionally the notification control system  200  may include various IoT home appliances or smart home appliances. 
     The notification control system  200  illustrated in  FIG. 4  differs from the notification control system  100  of the first and second embodiments most in that it does not include a management server on a cloud (the Internet) and that the notification control is performed within an intranet in the house. 
     Due to this, one device among the plurality of electronic devices  10  included in the notification control system  200  comprehensively controls the entire notification control system  200  as a notification control device  10 A configured to manage a notification process in which, for example, the electronic device  10  (notification execution device) for executing a notification is determined, as is performed by the server  20  in the first embodiment. 
     The notification control device  10 A is an example of a notification control device in the present disclosure. Among the electronic devices  10 , a representative electronic device configured to control the notification process of the entire notification control system  200  as a notification control device is referred to as an “electronic device  10 A”, and devices other than this device are each referred to as an “electronic device  10 B”. Differences in configuration between the electronic devices  10 A and  10 B are the notification data acquisition unit  1   a  and a human detection result acquisition unit  1   b  in a controller  1 , and a notification management table  2   a  in a storage unit  2 . Accordingly, between the electronic device  10 A and the same type of electronic device, a difference in apparent shape and any other differences in basic functions are not present. 
     In the notification control system  200  in  FIG. 4 , the connection between each of the electronic devices  10  and the wireless LAN router  40  may be a wireless or wired connection, or a combination thereof. The wireless LAN router  40  is a commercially available general purpose router, and therefore is not particularly described herein. Each of the electronic devices  10  is able to connect to the Internet via the wireless LAN router  40 . 
     Next, a configuration of the notification control system  200  will be described with reference to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the notification control system.  200  of the present embodiment. 
     For the electronic devices  10  (including  10 A and  10 B), functional features specific to the domestic electronic devices  10  such as a refrigeration and freezing function, a cooking function, a household function, and an air-conditioning function are not described, and only configurations related to notification control will be described. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the electronic devices  10 A and  10 B each include the controller  1 , the storage unit  2 , the communication unit  3 , the display unit  4 , the speaker  5 , and the human detection unit  6 . The display unit  4  and the speaker  5  are both examples of a notification unit configured to notify the user of information. 
     The difference in configuration between the electronic device  10 A and the electronic device  10 B is such that the electronic device  10 A includes the notification data acquisition unit  1   a  configured to acquire notification data related to the other electronic devices, the human detection result acquisition unit  1   b  configured to acquire a human detection result related to the presence or absence of a person in a prescribed region, and the notification management table  2   a  configured to store the electronic devices capable of executing a notification. 
     A detailed configuration of the electronic device  10 A will be described below. Portions of the configuration that are the same as the configuration of the electronic device  10  described in the first and second embodiments will be described briefly. 
     The controller  1  includes a processor to control each unit of the electronic device  10 A based on a program or the like stored in the storage unit  2 . 
     The controller  1  includes the notification data acquisition unit  1   a  and the human detection result acquisition unit  1   b  described in the first and second embodiments. The notification data acquisition unit  1   a  acquires notification data issued by any of the electronic devices  10 . The human detection result acquisition unit  1   b  acquires both a human detection result detected by the human detection unit  6  of the electronic device  10 A as the own device, and a human detection result in a prescribed region (for example, in a room) detected by the human detection unit  6  of the electronic devices  10 B as other devices. 
     The controller  1  causes the storage unit  2  to store operation data regarding the electronic device  10 B, identification information for identifying each electronic device  10 B, and the like transmitted from the controller of the electronic device  10 B. 
     The storage unit  2  includes a storage device such as a semiconductor memory and/or a hard disk drive. The storage unit  2  stores a control program used for controlling operations of each unit of the electronic device. The control program stored in the storage unit  2  is executed by the controller  1 . 
     The storage unit  2  stores the human detection results acquired from each of the electronic devices  10 B. Specifically, the controller  1  associates the human detection results detected by the human detection unit  6  of each of the electronic devices  10 B, which are acquired by the human detection result acquisition unit  1   b , with the identification information for identifying each electronic device  10 B, and registers these human detection results in the notification management table  2   a.    
     Further, the storage unit  2  may register, as human detection results, a detection start time, a detection end time, or a detection integration time in a state of being association with the identification information of each electronic device  10 B in the notification management table  2   a.    
     The communication unit  3  exchanges data or signals with each of the electronic devices  10 B via the wireless LAN router  40 . The communication unit  3  receives, via the network, the notification data and the human detection results generated in each of the electronic devices  10 B. In a case where a notification execution device (one of the electronic devices  10 B) for execution the notification is determined, the communication unit  3  transmits the notification data to the notification execution device. 
     The display unit  4  and the speaker  5  of the electronic device  10 A are used when the electronic device  10 A (own device) executes the notification. The method for notification may use the sound of the speaker  5 , or may combine the sound of the speaker  5  or an alarm sound with display on the display unit  4 . 
     The human detection unit.  6  detects the presence/absence of the user (indoor information) in a specific room in the house (indoors), similarly to the first embodiment. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the human detection unit  6  of the electronic device  10 A may include the motion sensor  61 , the odor sensor  62 , the dust sensor  63 , the illuminance sensor  64 , and the microphone  65 . 
     In  FIG. 5 , sensors and the microphone mounted on an air purifier are exemplified. The electronic device  10 B and the IoT home appliance or smart home appliance connected to the in-home network may include all the sensors and the microphone, or may include some thereof. The electronic device  10 A includes at least the motion sensor  61 . 
     The electronic device  10 E differs from the electronic device  10 A in that it includes none of the notification data acquisition unit  1   a , the human detection result acquisition unit  1   b , and the notification management table  2   a.    
     Note that all of the electronic devices  10  included in the notification control system  200  may include the notification data acquisition unit  1   a  and both the human detection result acquisition unit  1   b  and the notification management table  2   a . That is, it is possible for any of the electronic devices  10 B to serve as a notification control device (electronic device  10 A). However, a plurality of notification control devices are not allowed to be present in the home network system, and only one notification control device is allowed to be present at the same time. 
     Next, notification control of the notification control system  200  of the third embodiment will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart in  FIG. 5  and priority lists in “Table 1” and “Table 5”. 
     In the following, similarly to Specific Example 1, the notification control will be described by exemplifying a case in which a notification is issued indicating that a washing process is finished in the morning time period (6:00-15:00) by a washing machine (device number 009) installed in a washroom (room number 04). 
     In the third embodiment, a humidifying air purifier (device number 003) is selected as the notification control device (electronic device  10 A), focusing on a point that operation rates of air-conditioning devices such as air conditioners and air purifiers are always high in a house. The own device (humidifying air purifier) may be selected as a notification execution device. 
     As basic information for determining the priority order of notification execution, for example, the notification management table  22   a  illustrated in Table is registered in the storage unit  2  of the humidifying air purifier (device number 003) to serve as the notification control device. 
     As illustrated in the flowchart of  FIG. 6 , when the notification control (notification process) is started, first in step  11 , the controller  1  of the electronic device  10 A (humidifying air purifier) performs notification issue confirmation in which it is confirmed whether notification data issued by any of the electronic devices  10 B is contained in the data received by the communication unit  3  via the wireless LAN router  40 , that is, it is confirmed whether any of the electronic devices  10 B has issued notification data. 
     In step S 11 , in a case where the result of the notification issue confirmation is “No”, that rs, no notification data from the other devices has been issued from any of the electronic devices  10 E, the controller  1  repeats the notification issue confirmation in step S 11  until any of the electronic devices  105  issues notification data. 
     In a case where one of the electronic devices (a notification request device; the washing machine in this case) has issued notification data and the notification data acquisition unit  1   a  has acquired the notification data (the determination in step S 11  is “Yes”), the controller  1  executes a notification execution device determination process (step S 12  to step S 17 ) in which, from among the electronic devices registered in the notification management table  2   a  and capable of executing notification, the electronic device for executing the notification (notification execution device) is determined based on the human detection results for each of the electronic devices  105  acquired by the human detection result acquisition unit  1   b.    
     The notification execution device determination process will be described below with reference to  FIG. 6  and “Table 5”. First, the controller  1  creates a list “Table 5”, which indicates the “order of the electronic devices highly likely to execute the notification”, based on the results of “human detection” having been inquired of each of the electronic devices  105  based on the notification management table  2   a  (Table 1). 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                 TABLE 5 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Device 
                   
                 Home appliance 
                 Installation 
                 Room 
                 Priority order 
                 Power 
                 Person 
               
               
                 No. 
                 Product name 
                 group 
                 location 
                 No. 
                 6:00-15:00 
                 supply 
                 detected? 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 009 
                 Washing machine 
                 Everyday-life 
                 Washroom 
                 04 
                 Notification 
                 ON 
                 No 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                   
                   
                 source 
               
               
                 004 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Dining room 
                 02 
                 1 
                 OFF 
                 (Start) 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner B 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 005 
                 Air purifier A 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Dining room 
                 02 
                 2 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 006 
                 Refrigerator 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 3 
                 Always 
                 Yes/No 
               
               
                   
                   
                 appliance 
                   
                   
                   
                 ON 
               
               
                 007 
                 Rice cooker 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 4 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 appliance 
               
               
                 008 
                 Oven cooking 
                 Kitchen home 
                 Kitchen 
                 03 
                 5 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 range 
                 appliance 
               
               
                 001 
                 Television A 
                 AV home appliance 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 6 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                 002 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 7 
                 ON 
                 Yes/No 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner A 
                 home appliance 
               
               
                 003 
                 Humidifying air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living area 
                 01 
                 (Notification 
                 Always 
                 Yes/No 
               
               
                   
                 purifier 
                 home appliance 
                   
                   
                 control) 
                 ON 
               
               
                 010 
                 Television B 
                 AV home appliance 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 9 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 A 
               
               
                 011 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 10 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner C 
                 home appliance 
                 A 
               
               
                 012 
                 Air purifier B 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 05 
                 11 
                 Always 
                 Yes/No 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 A 
                   
                   
                 ON 
               
               
                 013 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 06 
                 12 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner D 
                 home appliance 
                 B 
               
               
                 014 
                 Air purifier C 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 06 
                 13 
                 Always 
                 Yes/No 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 B 
                   
                   
                 ON 
               
               
                 015 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 07 
                 14 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner E 
                 home appliance 
                 C 
               
               
                 016 
                 Air purifier D 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Living room 
                 07 
                 15 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 C 
               
               
                 019 
                 Vacuum cleaner 
                 Everyday-life 
                 Closet/ 
                 09 
                 16 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 corridor 
               
               
                 020 
                 Dehumidifying air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Closet/ 
                 09 
                 17 
                 Always 
                 (End) 
               
               
                   
                 purifier 
                 home appliance 
                 corridor 
                   
                   
                 ON 
               
               
                 017 
                 Air 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Children&#39;s 
                 08 
                 Excluded 
                 OFF 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                 conditioner F 
                 home appliance 
                 room A 
               
               
                 018 
                 Air purifier E 
                 Air-conditioning 
                 Children&#39;s 
                 08 
                 Excluded 
                 ON 
                 — 
               
               
                   
                   
                 home appliance 
                 room A 
               
               
                        
                                 
                           
                              
                        
                        
                        
                        
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     A specific control method will be described. The list of “priority order” illustrated in “Table 5” is, similarly to Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4, a list based on the priority order in “Table 1”. However, the list of Table 5 is different from the lists indicating the “notification execution priority order” such as those of Table 2, Table 3 and Table 4, and is a list of “priority order of result inquiry” indicating the order of inquiring the presence/absence of human detection results. 
     Accordingly, when the “priority order of result inquiry” list (Table 5) is set in step S 12 , the controller sequentially inquires of the electronic devices  10 B whether each electronic device  10 B is capable of executing a notification in step S 13  and steps S 14  to S 17  in accordance with the priority order. That is, at the time of inquiry, the controller  1  is able to execute the notification from the electronic device  10 B, in the surrounding of which a person is surely present. 
     The notification execution device determination process (steps S 12  to S 17 ) will be described with reference to the flow in  FIG. 6 . 
     After creating the “priority order of result inquiry” list (Table 5) in step S 12 , the controller  1  sequentially inquires of each electronic device  10 B whether that device capable of notification along the list. 
     First, in step S 13 , a value of “1” (first) is substituted into a variable N, which indicates the order of inquiry. Then, in step S 14 , the controller  1  acquires a human detection result indicating whether the electronic device  10 B with the priority order of “N (N-th)” has detected a person at the current time (inquiry time). 
     Note that “Table 5” indicates the priority order of inquiry. For example, the order of inquiry starts from a high-ranked “air conditioner” (device number “004”) and ends at a “dehumidifying air purifier” (device number 020) in the “human detection” column of Table 5. 
     The electronic device unable to obtain a human detection result due to its power supply being turned off is displayed with “OFF” in Table 5. 
     In step S 14 , in a case where the inquiry target device has detected a person (“Yes” in step S 14 ), the controller  1  executes, in step S 15 , a repeated-notification suppression confirmation process in which, in order to suppress the notification being repeated in the same room, it is confirmed whether the notification has already been execution in the same room (location) as the room where the electronic device  10 B with the priority order set to the order of N is disposed. 
     The repeated-notification suppression confirmation process may be carried out by confirming, for example, whether there is a record indicating that the notification has already been executed by the electronic device having the same room number on the priority order list. Alternatively, in a case where, for example, the electronic device  10 B including the microphone  65  recognizes or records the sound of the notification in the same room, the recording may be used to confirm the repeated-notification suppression. 
     In step S 15 , in a case where it is confirmed that no notification has been executed yet in the same room (location) (“No” in step S 15 ), the controller  1  determines the electronic device with the inquiry priority order of “N” (N-th) as the notification execution device, and causes the determined device to execute the notification in step S 18 . 
     On the other hand, in a case where it is confirmed in step S 15  that the notification has already been executed in the same room (location) (“Yes” in step S 15 ) or the human detection result was not obtained in step S 14  (“No” in step S 14 ), the controller  1  confirms in step S 16  whether there remains an electronic device to which an inquiry about the human detection result can be sent, that is, confirms whether the repeat of notification is confirmed until the last electronic device capable of notification is taken into consideration in the “priority order of result inquiry” list (Table 5). 
     In step S 16 , in a case where an electronic device capable of executing the notification still remains (“Yes” in step S 16 ), the controller  1 , in step S 17 , adds one to the variable N, which refers to the order of inquiry. That is, hereinafter, the confirmation of whether the notification can be executed is continued with respect to the electronic device  10 B with the priority order of “N+1”. 
     On the other hand, in step S 16 , in a case where no electronic device capable of executing the notification remains (“No” in step S 16 ), the controller  1 , in step S 10 , reports the content of the notification data to the mobile terminal  30  in an external network, such as a smart phone for which contact information such as an email address has been registered in advance, and then terminates the process. 
     The notification device determination process carried out in step S 12  to step S 17  as described above is continued until the notification is executed, as step S 18 , by any of the electronic devices, or the notification data is transmitted, as step S 10 , to the external mobile terminal  30 . 
     Next, when the notification execution device determination process (steps S 12  to S 17 ) is complete and the notification is executed in step S 18 , the controller  1  performs a corresponding operation confirmation decision process in steps S 19  and S 20  of the flowchart for confirming whether a “corresponding operation,” which is an operation corresponding to the notification by the user, has been carried out. 
     In the corresponding operation confirmation decision process, first in step S 19 , it is confirmed whether the corresponding operation has been carried out by the user on the electronic device (in this case, the washing machine) that issued the notification. 
     In step S 19 , when the corresponding operation, such as opening or closing the lid of the washing machine, has been carried out (“Yes” in step  319 ), the controller  1  completes all of the corresponding operation confirmation decision process and the notification process, and then terminates the notification control (end). 
     In step S 19 , when the corresponding operation by the user is not confirmed (“No” in step S 19 ), the controller  1  confirms in step S 20  whether a prescribed time has passed since the execution of the notification (step S 18 ). 
     The confirmation of whether the prescribed time has passed since the execution of the notification in step  320  is performed in order to make sure whether the notification was definitely transmitted to the user and thereafter the user has taken appropriate action. For this reason, a time of approximately 1 to 10 minutes, for example, is set as the prescribed time. 
     In the corresponding operation confirmation decision process from step S 19  to step S 20 , in a case where the length of a state in which no corresponding operation is carried out by the user is less than the prescribed time when measured from the execution of the notification (step S 18 ) (“No” in step S 20 ), the controller  1  returns to step S 19  to continue the confirmation of the presence or absence of the corresponding operation by the user. When the corresponding operation is confirmed (“Yes” in step S 19 ), the corresponding operation confirmation decision process is terminated (end). 
     Further, in step S 20 , in a case where the length of the state in which no corresponding operation is carried out by the user is equal to or longer than the prescribed time when measured from the execution of the notification, (“Yes” in step S 20 ), the controller  1  returns to step S 17  of the notification execution device determination process, and adds one to the variable N, which refers to the priority order of inquiry. 
     Then, the controller  1 , again, following the priority order in sequence, iterates the repeated-notification suppression confirmation process (step S 15 ) and the confirmation of whether there remains an electronic device capable of notification (step S 16 ) until no confirmation target device capable of notification present. 
     According to the notification control device ( 10 A) and the notification control system  200  of the third embodiment described above, notification data generated by any of the electronic devices  10 B connected to the network in the house can be reported from another electronic device  10  ( 10 B or  10 A) located closest to the user. 
     A computer such as a personal computer configured to manage the overall network may be installed in a home, and the server function (function of the electronic device  10 A) may be replaced with this computer. 
     A smart speaker to perform the server function may be disposed in the home network. The smart speaker may function as a notification controller of the notification control system that manages the overall in-home network and notification data in place of the notification control device (electronic device  10 A). In addition, the smart speaker may perform human detection, notification execution, or the like, as one of the electronic devices  10  included in the notification control system. 
     The embodiments of the disclosure have been described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 6  and Tables 1 to 5. However, the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and may be implemented in various aspects without departing from the gist thereof. 
     Some constituent elements may be removed from the overall constituent elements indicated in the embodiments. In order to facilitate understanding of the drawings, respective constituent elements are mainly depicted in the drawings schematically, and the number of illustrated constituent elements or the like may be different from the actual number for the sake of convenience when creating the drawings. Each of the constituent elements illustrated in the above embodiments is exemplary and is not particularly limited, and various modifications thereof are possible to be made within a range that does not substantially depart from the effects of the disclosure. 
     In the notification control systems  100  and  200 , the priority order of notification may be changed depending on the content of the notification data. For example, with respect to less urgent notifications such as finish of washing, finish of cooking, water shortage in a humidification water tank of a humidifier, full water in a water storage tank of a dehumidifier, and the like, the priority order may be set initially, from the electronic device  10  installed at a location close to the electronic device for the notification. Conversely, in a case of an urgent notification, the notification may be executed by all of the electronic devices  10  connected to the network regardless of the priority order. 
     The prescribed condition in the notification control system of the disclosure may be a condition other than the “human detection result” described in the embodiments. For example, the notification execution device may be determined based on a preset priority order. The prescribed condition may be a combination of human detection results and a preset priority order, or a combination of two or more of other conditions. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The disclosure can be used in the field of notification control devices, notification control systems, notification control methods, and notification control programs. 
     While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely, by the following claims.