Abstract: A system and method for diagnosing a home appliance are disclosed. The home appliance outputs product information as a predetermined sound signal, and transmits the sound signal to a service center of a remote site over a communication network, such that a service technician of the service center can easily check a current status of the home appliance. When a diagnostic server of the service center analyzes the sound signal of the home appliance, it selects a plurality of preamble candidates and can effectively and correctly detect data using weights, so that it can quickly diagnose a faulty operation of the home appliance. An erroneous data analysis and its associated erroneous diagnosis are prevented, so that the diagnostic system provides a service for more correctly diagnosing a faulty operation of the home appliance and also increases user satisfaction and reliability of the home appliance.

Abstract: Disclosed is a network control system for home appliances that satisfies the characteristics of low-cost and high-efficiency with respect to currently used appliances adopting a low-performance microcomputer. The system is constructed to define a master/slave type communication structure with respect to the respective appliances; construct a network by connecting the appliances through the serial communication function; and enable the appliances to communicate with one another if a predetermined communication event is produced. According to the system, an optimized network for the home appliances can be implemented, and operation states of the respective appliances can be displayed through the co-operation among the appliances, thereby maximizing the user convenience.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a data processing method for network layer in a home network system (1) based on a living network control protocol. The data processing method for network layer based on a protocol, that is composed of at least a physical layer, a data link layer, a network and an application layer, includes the steps of: receiving a message sending primitive (MsgSend) in application layer protocol data unit (APDU) frp, the application layer; according to the message sending primitive (MsgSend), generating a communication cycle description; according to the message sending primitive (MsgSend) and/or the communication cycle description, generating a packet sending primitive (PktSend) in network layer protocol data unit (NPDU); and transmitting the packet sending primitive (PktSend) to the data link layer.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a home network system using an LnCP. The home network system includes one or more master devices, one or more slave devices, and a network for connecting the master devices to the slave devices on the basis of a predetermined protocol. In the home network system, the master device performs one or plural communication cycles with the plurality of slave devices at the same time at a predetermined time point, and each slave device performs one communication cycle with the master device at the time point.

Abstract: A home appliance and home appliance system are provided which enable a portable terminal not to recognize an acoustic signal sound corresponding to product information output by the home appliance as noise. Thus, the acoustic signal corresponding to product information output by the home appliance may be transmitted to a service center through the portable terminal. The home appliance may include a controller that sets a dead time at a predetermined interval of time with respect to a signal corresponding to product information to avoid a noise detection section of a portable terminal, a converter that converts the signal into an acoustic signal of a predetermined band, and a sound output device that outputs the acoustic signal as sound.

Abstract: A system and method for diagnosing a home appliance are disclosed. The home appliance outputs product information as a predetermined sound signal, and transmits the sound signal to a service center of a remote site over a communication network, such that a service technician of the service center can easily check a current status of the home appliance. The diagnostic system effectively detects data using multiple synchronous signals having a time difference, quickly diagnoses a current status or fault of the home appliance, provides a service for more correctly diagnosing a faulty operation of the home appliance, and increases user satisfaction and reliability.

Abstract: A diagnostic server and a controlling method are provided. In the method, the diagnostic server receives a packet including at least one frame and performs error checking on each frame included in the packet. The diagnostic server receives a retransmitted packet upon determining from the result of error checking that a frame in the packet has an error. The diagnostic server performs error checking on each frame included in the retransmitted packet and restores the frame included in the packet based on the retransmitted packet when a frame, which is located in a location corresponding to the error frame, included in the retransmitted packet has no error. In the case where a packet including product information is transmitted, this method can reduce the number of retransmissions of the same packet required to acquire an error-free packet.

Abstract: A home network system using a living network control protocol. The home network system includes: at least two electric devices (e.g., a first and a second electric device); and a network based on a predetermined network for networking the electric devices, wherein the first electric device sends a request message to the second electric device, and the second electric device sends a response message to the first electric device, wherein the response message transmitted from a lower layer to an upper layer of the second electric device is transmitted to a lower layer and then to an upper layer of the first electric device, and includes a command code included in the request message, for indicating an operation for the second electric device to execute, and a field related to an execution of the request.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a configuration apparatus thereof which can efficiently configure a new home appliance in the home network system comprised of various home appliances. The configuration method of a home network system, comprising of confirming whether a previously-stored logical address is an initial logical address, transmitting a master search packet to the home network system when the logical address previously stored in the storage means is an initial logical address, waiting for a response packet from the home network system, when the response packet is received from the home network system, changing the initial logical address into a predetermined logical address according to reception of the response packet; and when the response packet is not received from the home network system, changing the previously-stored initial logical address into a previously-stored basic logical address.

Abstract: A home network system which can efficiently configure a new home appliance in the home network system. The home network system includes at least one new device newly connected to a master device through a network, for transmitting a plugged-in request message containing an initial address through the network, receiving an address change request message containing a logical address, and changing the initial address to the logical address, and at least one master device connected to the new device through the network, for receiving the plugged-in request message from the new device, setting the logical address for the new device, and transmitting the address change request message containing the logical address to the new device, wherein the initial address comprises at least a product code and a logical address of the new device, and the new device changes the logical address to the logical address set by the master device.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a home network system (1) using a living network control protocol. The home network system (1) includes: a predetermined network; at least one electric device (40 to 49) connected to the network based on a predetermined protocol; and at least one network manager (2 to 23) connected to the network based on the protocol, for controlling and monitoring the electric device (40 to 49), wherein the protocol comprises an application layer, a network layer, a data link layer, and a physical layer, wherein the physical layer further comprises a special protocol for providing an interface with a dependent transmission medium, and the network layer further comprises a home code control sub-layer for managing a home code for network security when accessing the dependent transmission medium, the home control sub-layer processing a packet from the data link layer or the network layer, according to a predetermined home code.

Abstract: A home appliance and a home appliance system are provided. The home appliance converts product information into at least one acoustic signal, and an output device outputs the at least one acoustic signal as a sound. Further, the home appliance system may include a management device. The management device may receive the sound and read the product information contained in the sound. The home appliance may prevent data loss that may occur upon transmission of a sound through a communications network by converting the product information into acoustic signals of different amplitude or frequency bands.

Abstract: A home appliance system and an operation method thereof are disclosed. The home appliance outputs product information as a predetermined sound and transmits the sound through a connected communication network, thereby making it easier for a service center at a remote place to check a status of the home appliance. Further, the home appliance system and operation method thereof prevents noise or signal error generated in the procedure of converting product information into a signal of a predetermined frequency band in order to output the product information as a sound, thus enabling stable signal conversion and improving the accuracy of information transmission using the output of sound.

Abstract: A home appliance and a home appliance system are provided. The home appliance may convert product information into an acoustic signal and externally output the same as a sound. The home appliance system may receive the sound, convert the same into the acoustic signal, and then inversely convert the acoustic signal into the product information and read the same. Accordingly, the home appliance may externally output the acoustic signal as the sound so that the user may be easily notified of transmission. Also, the home appliance system may easily transmit the sound to a management device to read the product information because the sound may be transmitted via a communications network.

Abstract: A packet structure and packet transmission method of a network control protocol. A user in the inside or outside of the house can effectively control various home appliances such as refrigerator or laundry machine or monitor operation state of the devices, over the network such as RS-485 network, low-power RF network, and power line network so that the user can enjoy the remote control and the convenient monitoring. In addition, the packet structure for the inter-layer interface in the network system can be managed. The packet structure at the network layer is generated by assigning one or more fields indicative of a packet start, a destination address, a source address, a packet length, a network layer control, an application layer protocol data unit, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), and a packet end, and a field indicative of a network layer control. The generated packet structure of the network layer is transmitted to thus interface layers in a network system.

Abstract: A method for controlling a home automation system is disclosed, in which web sites, a PC trying to connect to the web sites, and electric home appliances connected to the PC are provided. The home automation system includes a step for trying to communicate with electric home appliances and web sites once a user operates an internet operating program; a step for opening a main web page, analyzing commands for a button clicked by a user with reference to the main web page, and performing a controlling operation according to the analyzed result if the PC is connected to the web sites; and a step for opening a local page stored in PC and opening a corresponding link page according to a button clicked by a user if the PC is connected only to electric home appliances without being connected to the web sites.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for setting a home code in a network system and a device for a network system. The method and device allow a user to conveniently remote control the operation of and monitor the operational state of appliances. Thanks to the method and device, a user, for example, who is locating at home or out-of-home, can control the operation or monitor the operational state of various appliances such as refrigerator or laundry machine through a living network installed at home, such as RS-485 network, a low power RF network, or a power line network.

Abstract: A communication apparatus and a method for supporting carrier sense multiple access/collision detection (CSMA/CD) are disclosed.

Abstract: A method for separating multiple home networks networked in one communication line into each home network is disclosed, which includes the steps of forming home network for networking apparatuses in the house to communicate with one another, setting individual home codes to each apparatus, connecting the home networks formed in a plurality of houses to one another, and forming packet data including the home codes for communicating.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an address management and message transmitting and receiving method in a network control system. The present invention, for example, enables a user in the inside or outside of house to control the operation or monitor the operation status of various appliances such as refrigerator, laundry machine, etc through a network such as RS-485 network, low power RF network, power line network, etc. installed at home, thus making it possible to provide the convenience of remote control and monitoring to the user. In addition, the present invention may flexibley assign and manage addresses for all the devices connected to one another through the network, and transmit and receive messages between a master and a slave, thus making it possible to control the appliances in the network control system more efficiently.