Patent ID: 7197365

Claim:
A controller for controlling an appliance connected to a network, comprising: a rule format database for storing a rule format that is a description form of a control rule that can be set for the appliance; control rule generation means for setting correspondence information in the rule format in accordance with input control information, and generating the control rule for controlling the appliance; a control rule database for storing the control rule generated by the control rule generation means; rule execution means for, when state data from the appliance connected to the network satisfies a condition of any one of the control rules stored in the control rule database, transmitting a control command in accordance with the control rule to an appliance to be controlled by the control rule; and rule format acquisition means for determining whether or not the rule format for the appliance connected to the network is stored in the rule format database, when the rule format in accordance with the appliance is not stored in the rule format database, sending a request for acquisition of the rule format for the appliance to an external network, and storing the rule format acquired from the external network in accordance with the request in the rule format database.