JP2001241760A - Remote controller device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To permit easy coping with the increase in image data and facilitate the changing of an indicating content in an indicating unit. SOLUTION: A remote controller device 5 is constituted of an operation inputting unit 23, a one-tip microcomputer 21, and an indicating unit 24 to indicate the controlling condition of a main body device controlled by a remote controlling device 5 on the indicating unit 24 by the control of the one-tip microcomputer 21. A non-volatile memory element 22 capable of re-writing is provided different from the one-tip microcomputer 21, the memory element 22 is constituted so that one or a plurality of image data for indicating on an indicating surface HG are stored, and the image data stored in the memory element 22 are read and indicated on the indicating surface HG by the control of the one-tip microcomputer 21.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device configured to display a control state of a main unit on a display unit under the control of a one-chip microcomputer, and is used, for example, for remote control of a water heater.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a hot water supply system of a central hot water supply system has been widely used. In this type of hot water supply apparatus, for example, hot water is supplied to a kitchen and a bath from a hot water supply main body installed outdoors by piping, and hot water for heating and drying is supplied to each part in the room. In the kitchen and the bath, a remote control device for controlling the water heater main body such as setting of hot water temperature and displaying the control state is installed.

Normally, a remote control device has an operation input unit and a display unit arranged on the surface of a housing made of synthetic resin or the like, and has a one-chip microcomputer,
An interface circuit, a power supply circuit, and the like are provided.

As a display unit, a fluorescent display tube or an LCD capable of displaying a matrix of, for example, about 32 × 80 dots is used.
(Liquid crystal display device) or the like is used, and the operating state of the water heater main body, the set hot water temperature, the current time, and the like are displayed on the display surface.

Conventionally, image data for display on a display unit is stored in a ROM (built-in ROM) of about several tens of kilobytes built in a one-chip microcomputer.

[0006]

However, if the display content on the display unit is added by adding a model or a function of the water heater main body, the data amount of the image data is increased by this. Conventionally, there is a problem that the capacity of a built-in ROM of a one-chip microcomputer is insufficient.

Further, in order to improve the operability of the remote control device, the display contents of the display unit may be changed. Conventionally, however, the image data stored in the built-in ROM of the one-chip microcomputer has been changed each time. Need to change. Therefore, a new one-chip microcomputer storing the changed image data must be prepared, and the one-chip microcomputer must be replaced with the one-chip microcomputer of the remote controller already installed. Such work requires a great deal of labor and time.

Further, at the user's house, there is a case where an already installed hot water heater body is replaced with a new model, or a hot water heater body having only a hot water supply function is replaced with a hot water heater body having a heating function. In such a case, with respect to the existing remote controller, it is necessary to add or change the display content of the display unit, but the basic functions often do not need to be changed.

However, in the past, the entire remote control device had to be replaced in order to add or change the display content, and much work was required for the operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can easily cope with an increase in image data.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control device capable of easily changing display contents of a display unit.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus having an operation input unit, a one-chip microcomputer, and a display unit, wherein the control state of a main unit controlled by the remote control unit is controlled by the first remote controller. A remote control device configured to display an image on a display surface of the display unit under the control of a chip microcomputer, wherein a rewritable nonvolatile memory element is provided separately from the one-chip microcomputer. One or a plurality of image data to be displayed on the display surface is stored in the element, and under the control of the one-chip microcomputer, the image data stored in the memory element is read out and read on the display surface. It is configured to be displayed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an interface for receiving image data output from an external data output device, and an interface for receiving one or more image data stored in the memory element. By rewriting the whole or a part with the image data received from the data output device, the display content on the display surface can be updated.

[0013] In the apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the interface is also used by an interface provided for exchanging signals with the main unit. 5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the memory element stores a plurality of background image data, one background image data read from the memory element, and the memory element or the one-chip microcomputer. Built-in ROM
Is combined with the numerical image data read from
It is configured to be displayed on the display surface.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in displaying the numerical image data on the display surface, the display position is controlled according to the content of the background data.

In the present invention, as the operation input unit, for example, a contact or non-contact switch, a sensor for detecting a change in resistance or permittivity, a sensor for detecting pressure,
Alternatively, various input means such as various sensors such as a touch sensor can be used.

Further, a fluorescent display tube, LC
D, a plasma display panel, a CRT, and other various display means can be used. As the memory element, an EEPROM, a flash memory, a battery-backed RAM, and other various memory elements can be used.

[0017]

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of a water heater 1 using a remote controller 5 according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of a water heater main body 3. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the bath remote controller 5 according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of an appearance of the bath remote controller 5.

In FIG. 1, a hot water supply device 1 includes a water heater main body 3 which is a heat source device for heating hot water to make hot water, and
It comprises a kitchen remote controller 4 or a bath remote controller 5 for remotely controlling the water heater main body 3 from the kitchen or bath, and both. If necessary, other remote control devices (not shown) may be used. In this specification, the whole or a part of the kitchen remote controller 4 and the bath remote controller 5 is referred to as a “remote controller”.
Or, it may be described as “remote control device”.

The water heater main body 3 and the remote controller are connected to each other by two electric wires WR. A DC voltage is supplied from the water heater main body 3 to each remote controller via the electric wire WR, and communication is performed by a contention method or the like.

In FIG. 2, the water heater main body 3 has a microcomputer 11, a sensor group 12, a driving unit 13, a data transmitting / receiving unit 14, a power supply unit 15, and the like. The microcomputer 11 is composed of, for example, a one-chip microcomputer and the like, and controls the entire water heater main body 3 by the CPU executing a program stored in a built-in ROM. The sensor group 12 includes sensors for detecting the temperature, the amount of water, the state of gas, and the like at each location, and a detection signal is input to the microcomputer 11. The drive unit 13 controls driving of various electromagnetic valves, heaters, fans, and the like.

The data transmitting / receiving unit 14 communicates with the remote controller by transmitting serial data to the remote controller and receiving serial data transmitted from the remote controller. For data transmission and reception, amplitude shift keying (AS)
K), frequency shift keying (FSK) and the like.

In FIG. 3, the bath remote controller 5 has a one-chip microcomputer 21, an external memory 22, a key input unit 23, a display unit 24, an audio output unit 25, a data transmission / reception unit 26, a power supply unit 27, and the like.

The external memory 22 is a memory element provided separately from the one-chip microcomputer 21. As the external memory 22, an EEPROM or a flash R
A rewritable nonvolatile memory element such as OM is used. The capacity is, for example, about 20 to 100 kilobytes or more, depending on the content and amount of image data stored therein. Various image data to be displayed on the display surface HG of the display unit 24 are stored in the external memory 22.

The key input section 23 comprises various keys 51 to 58 as shown in FIG. 4, and generates an operation input signal by a user operation. As these keys 51 to 58, a contact or non-contact switch or a display unit 24
A touch sensor or the like that performs an input by touching the screen of the user can be used.

The display section 24 is a fluorescent display tube for performing dot matrix display, and has a display surface HG on which the water heater main body 3 is provided.
The operation status, hot water temperature, current time, reservation setting status, and other messages are displayed. The display on the display unit 24 is performed by, for example, arranging image data read from the external memory 22 or the ROM 213 at an appropriate position on the display surface HG.

In actual display on the display surface HG of the display unit 24, for example, a display RA provided in the display unit 24 or the one-chip microcomputer 21 or the like is used.
Image data is written in M, and display is performed based on the image data.

The audio output unit 25 synthesizes audio based on audio data output from the one-chip microcomputer 21, and outputs audio from the speaker SP. When audio data is output from the one-chip microcomputer 21, the audio output unit 25 may be a simple amplifier.

The data transmitting / receiving unit 26 transmits serial data to the water heater main body 3 and receives the serial data sent from the water heater main body 3 to thereby transmit the water heater main body 3.
A signal is transmitted and received between and. The same modulation system as that of the data transmitting / receiving unit 14 of the water heater main body 3 is used.

The data transmission / reception unit 26 is connected to the bath remote controller 5 when an inspection device 7 described later is connected thereto.
Also serves as an interface for communicating with
Note that connection terminals TC1 and TC2 are provided for connection of the electric wire WR.

The power supply 27 is connected to the water heater WR from the water heater main body 3.
Bath remote control 5 based on the DC voltage sent through
Is generated and supplied to each unit. The one-chip microcomputer 21 includes a CPU 211, a RAM 2
12, a ROM 213, an I / O port 214, and the like. The ROM 213 has a capacity of, for example, about 20 kilobytes, and stores programs and data for control. The CPU 211 executes the program to write and read data to and from the external memory 22, fetch an operation input signal from the key input unit 23, display a still image, a moving image, or characters on the display unit 24, Output of audio data to audio output unit 25, water heater main unit 3 by data transmitting / receiving unit 26
Alternatively, communication with the inspection device 7 and other processing are performed, and overall control of the bath remote controller 5 is performed.

Next, the image data FD stored in the external memory 22 and its updating method will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which image data FD and the like are stored in the external memory 22 and the like, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a processing timing for display on the display unit 24. 5A shows the storage state of the external memory 22, and FIG. 5B shows the storage state of the memory 71 built in the inspection device 7, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 5A, for example, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the screen 1, the screen 2, the screen 3,... Each of the image data FD1, FD2, FD3,... Is stored.

The image data FD, which is displayed on the display unit 24, may be changed due to a version upgrade or a change in the water heater main body 3, etc.
These are changed or selected according to the user's preference.

The one-chip microcomputer 21
May not be stored in the ROM 213 of FIG. Therefore, audio data, other data, or a program may be stored in the external memory 22 instead of the image data. In that case, the capacity of the ROM 213 of the one-chip microcomputer 21 can be reduced. Further, large-capacity image data FD can be stored without worrying about the capacity of the ROM 213. For example, it is possible to store a large number of screen saver screens such as 100 screens in the external memory 22 and allow the user to select a desired screen. Further, after shipping or installation of the bath remote controller 5, it is possible to easily add the image data FD.

In the present embodiment, the image data FD is stored, for example, in a bitmap format. The image data FD may have the same size as the display surface HG of the external memory 22 or may have a smaller size. By specifying an address from among the image data FD, the image data FD required for each display is read out. For the read image data, the display position is specified as it is or
It is displayed on the display surface HG of the display unit 24.

As shown in FIG. 6, every time the clock CLK for display is input, the image data FD is read from the external memory 22. The read image data FD is subjected to necessary processing such as enlargement, reduction, inversion, designation of a display position, and the like, and then is actually displayed on the display surface HG. The display contents are maintained until the next display. As a result, the display content is updated every cycle T1 of the clock CLK. The cycle T1 of the clock CLK is, for example, 100
msec.

When it is desired to change a part of the image data FD stored in the external memory 22, the following procedure can be performed. Referring to FIG. 3, electric wire WR connected to connection terminals TC1 and TC2 of bath remote controller 5 is not connected to water heater main body 3 and kitchen remote controller 4, and connection of inspection device 7 is performed instead. Connect to terminals TK1 and TK2.

The inspection device 7 mainly includes the bath remote controller 5
It is used for failure diagnosis or operation check such as. Usually, a remote control is inspected in a factory. After the remote control is installed at the user's home, an inspection by a serviceman is performed during maintenance. For these inspections, an inspection device 7 or a similar device is used.

The inspection device 7 outputs a signal similar to the signal output from the water heater main body 3 and checks the response state of the bath remote controller 5 to the signal. Based on the response state, it is determined whether or not the operation state of the bath remote controller 5 is normal. The inspection device 7 includes a microcomputer, a data transmission / reception unit, a power supply, an operation panel, and the like, in addition to the rewritable nonvolatile memory 71.

In the inspection device 7 of the present embodiment, the external memory 22 of the bath remote controller 5 is stored in the memory 71 built therein.
The image data FE to be stored is stored. The inspection device 7 acquires information such as a model, a manufacturing date, a version, and the like of the bath remote controller 5 through communication with the bath remote controller 5. Based on the information, the part of the image data FD stored in the external memory 22 of the bath remote controller 5 that needs to be updated is determined.

For example, of the image data FD stored in the external memory 22, the image data FD2 of the screen 2 is an old version. To change the image data FD2 to the new version of the screen 2a, the image data FD2 needs to be changed to the inspection apparatus 7. Is rewritten by the image data FE2 stored in the memory 71.

In the rewriting process, the image data FE2 is read from the memory 71 in the inspection device 7,
The signal is modulated and output from the connection terminals TK1 and TK2. The transmitted signal is sent to the bath remote controller 5 via the electric wire WR1.
Is received by the data transmission / reception unit 26. Data transmission / reception unit 2
The data is demodulated by the control unit 6 and written into the screen 2 of the external memory 22 under the control of the one-chip microcomputer 21.

As a result, the new version screen 2a is displayed on the display unit 24 of the bath remote controller 5 instead of the old version screen 2 from the next use. As described above, the display content of the display unit 24 can be updated without making any changes to the hardware of the bath remote controller 5. Moreover, since it is only necessary to transfer the image data of the portion that needs to be changed from the inspection device 7, the processing time is short, the work can be completed in a short time, and the operation in the work is easy.

As an interface for receiving image data FE from the inspection device 7, the bath remote controller 5
Since the data transmission / reception unit 26 originally provided for the remote control is also used, the configuration of the bath remote controller 5 is not complicated and can be simplified.

The image data FE required for remote controllers of various types may be stored in the memory 71 of the inspection device 7, and the image data FE to be transferred may be selected from the image data FE. The image data to be transferred may be manually selected.

The inspection device 7 of this embodiment corresponds to the data output device of the present invention. As the data output device, a dedicated device that can transmit image data, or a general-purpose computer, for example, a personal computer, can be used instead of the inspection device 7. Further, as an interface for communication, the data transmitting / receiving unit 26
May be used instead of other communication interfaces, for example, a serial communication port (SIO port) of the one-chip microcomputer 21 and directly connected thereto. In that case, an appropriate connector for connection may be provided.

The above embodiment is directed to the bath remote controller 5, but the same applies to the kitchen remote controller 4.
Next, a method of displaying the image data FD stored in the external memory 22 on the display unit 24 will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that the remote controller is not the bath remote controller 5 but the kitchen remote controller 4.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the background data FDb1 to 3 stored in the external memory 22, and FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of screens HG1 to HG3 displayed on the display unit 24. FIG.

The background data FDb1 shown in FIG. 7A and the background data FDb2 shown in FIG. 7B have the same display contents but different arrangements. For example, one background data F
Db1 is the old version and the other background data FDb
2 is the new version. The display contents of the background data FDb3 shown in FIG. 7C are different from those. Background data F
Db3 is image data necessary for a newly added function so that the user can stay in the kitchen and make bath reservation settings.

The time part data FDp1 and FDp2 shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B are used for displaying the time from 0:00 to 9:00 and the time part data FD shown in FIGS. 8C and 8D.
p3 and p4 are used to display the time from the 10:00 to 12:00 hours. In these time part data FDp1 to FDp4,
All the times of the day are displayed by combining time parts data FDp (not shown) that displays each time from 0:00 to 9:59.

Various screens are displayed on the display surface HG of the display unit 24 by combining these background data FDb, time part data FDp, numerical data (not shown) and illustration data. When the time part data FDp or the numerical data is displayed, the display position is changed by the one-chip microcomputer 21 to the background data FD.
It is controlled according to the content of b.

For example, a screen HG1 shown in FIG.
Are background data FDb1, time part data FDp4,
Time part data FDp11 indicating "0:00" and numerical data FDn4,0 of "4" and "0" are combined at a predetermined position.

On the other hand, a screen H shown in FIG.
In G2, background data FDb2 different from screen HG1 is used, and the same time part data FDp3, 11 and numerical data FDn4, 0 are arranged at positions different from screen HG1.

The screen HG3 shown in FIG. 9C is displayed by the added background data FDb3. By operating a key provided on the right side of the screen HG3, the next screen for bath reservation setting is displayed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by updating or adding the background data FDb, the same contents can be displayed in different arrangements or designs, or new contents or functions can be easily added. . Further, by incorporating an illustration, a moving image, or the like into the background data FDb, a fresh impression can be given to the user even with the same bath remote control 5.

Further, one screen is created by combining various image data, and this is displayed on the display unit 24.
Is displayed on the display surface HG, so that the total amount of image data required for display is reduced.

In the embodiment described above, the image data FD is stored as bitmap data in the external memory 22, but may be stored as compressed data, code data, or other data. In addition, data of various formats or methods can be used as image data. Various input means such as a contact or non-contact switch or a touch sensor can be used as the operation input unit. Water heater main unit 3 via two electric wires WR from a remote controller
Although the example where remote control was performed has been described, remote control may be performed using one or three or more electric wires or wirelessly.

In addition, a bath remote controller 5, a water heater main body 3,
Alternatively, the structure, shape, number, material, circuit, processing contents, processing sequence, processing timing, screen contents, and the like of the whole or each part of the hot water supply device 1 can be appropriately changed in accordance with the spirit of the present invention.

The present invention can be applied to various remote control devices other than the hot water supply device.

[0060]

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily cope with an increase in image data and to easily change the display content of the display unit.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the configuration of the remote control device can be simplified. According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, the total amount of image data required for display is reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of a water heater.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the water heater main body.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the bath remote controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of the appearance of a bath remote controller.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing how image data and the like are stored in an external memory and the like.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating processing timing for display on a display unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of background data stored in an external memory.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of time part data stored in an external memory.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on a display unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot-water supply device 3 Hot-water supply device main body (device main body) 4 Kitchen remote control (remote control device) 5 Bath remote control (remote control device) 7 Inspection device (data output device) 21 1-chip microcomputer 22 External memory (memory element) 23 Operation input section 24 Display unit 26 Data transmission / reception unit (interface) FD image data FDb Background data (background image data) FDn Numeric data (numeric image data) 0

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takehiro Kurihara 93 Edocho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo F-term in Noritz Co., Ltd. 3L024 CC06 EE03 EE08 EE13 EE15 EE16 FF02 FF03 FF05 FF07 FF09 FF12 FF15 FF18

Claims (5)

[Claims] An operation input unit, a one-chip microcomputer, and a display unit, wherein a control state of a main unit controlled by the remote control device is displayed on a display surface of the display unit under the control of the one-chip microcomputer. A rewritable non-volatile memory element provided separately from the one-chip microcomputer, wherein the memory element includes one for displaying on the display surface. Alternatively, a plurality of image data are stored, and under the control of the one-chip microcomputer, the image data stored in the memory element is read out and displayed on the display surface, Remote control device. 2. An interface for receiving image data output from an external data output device, wherein the whole or a part of one or a plurality of image data stored in the memory element is converted into the data. 2. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the display content on the display surface can be updated by rewriting the image data received from the output device. 3. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein said interface is also used by an interface provided for transmitting and receiving signals to and from said main unit. 4. The memory device stores a plurality of background image data, one background image data read from the memory device and one read from the internal ROM of the memory device or the one-chip microcomputer. The remote controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the remote controller is configured to be combined with the output numerical image data and displayed on the display surface. 5. The remote control device according to claim 4, wherein, when said numerical image data is displayed on said display surface, a display position thereof is controlled in accordance with the content of said background data.