JP2003348250A - Remote command device and electric curtain utilizing the device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remotely operate an electric curtain from the outside of a house. <P>SOLUTION: A remote command device is provided with a command unit 12 for inputting a generation tone from a telephone set A through a microphone 11. The command unit 12 recognizes a command from the outside by the generation tone of the telephone set A and outputs a control signal S<SB>1a</SB>or a control signal S<SB>1b</SB>corresponding to the command to open/close the curtain 21 of the electric curtain 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote command device capable of remotely controlling an arbitrary target device via a telephone line, and an electric curtain using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Household electric appliances such as air conditioners, television receivers and heating appliances can be operated to a predetermined operation by operating an operation switch. In addition, many electric appliances with a remote controller are commercially available, and these appliances can be remotely controlled, for example, from a place about several meters away via the remote controller.

[0003]

According to the prior art, the remote controller can operate the target appliance only from a place distant, for example, about several meters. For example, the remote controller can remotely operate the target appliance from outside. There was a problem that was not possible at all.

In view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a command unit for inputting a sound generated by a telephone so that any target appliance can be easily remotely controlled from a remote place via a telephone line. It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote command device capable of performing such operations and an electric curtain using the same.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided a command unit for inputting a sound generated by a telephone. The gist of the present invention is to recognize an external command and output a control signal corresponding to the command.

[0006] The command unit can recognize the command by identifying the push button sound of the answering machine when recording a message, and can recognize the command by counting the ringing tone of the telephone.

Further, the command unit includes a modem connected to the telephone line, and can decode the data code from the telephone line to recognize the command.

A second aspect of the present invention comprises a curtain, a drive motor for opening and closing the curtain, and a control unit for controlling the drive motor, the control unit comprising a control signal from a remote command device according to the first aspect of the invention. The gist of the invention is to operate the drive motor in accordance with the following.

The control unit may be provided with a rain sensor.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the command unit inputs a sound generated by the telephone and recognizes a command from the outside according to the type and number of sounds generated, thereby generating a control signal corresponding to the command. The target device can be operated by outputting. In other words, the user can arbitrarily remotely control the target device from a place away from the office via the telephone line. However, the command here refers to an operation command for operating the target appliance to a predetermined operation.

The command unit recognizes the command by recognizing the push button sound at the time of the message recording of the answering machine so that a plurality of commands from the outside can be easily recognized. It is assumed that the answering machine outputs the message content such as the voice of the other party and the push button sound from the other party's phone when recording the message.

The command unit counts the ringing tone of the telephone and recognizes the command, thereby eliminating the need for a telephone charge when remotely operating the target appliance.

Since the command unit includes a modem connected to the telephone line, the command unit can decode the data code transmitted via the telephone line and recognize the command. The data code refers to a control code represented by, for example, a combination of character strings having an arbitrary number of characters, a combination of numbers and symbols having an arbitrary number of digits, and the like.

According to the structure of the second aspect of the invention, by combining the curtain, the drive motor, and the control unit, the control unit receives the control signal from the remote control device according to the first aspect of the present invention, via the drive motor. The curtain can be opened and closed. However, the curtain can be installed, for example, outdoors and used as a clothesline for shielding laundry from wind and rain, or for shading or partitioning indoors.

When the rain sensor detects raindrops, the control unit automatically closes the clothesline curtain to prevent the laundry from getting wet. When the rain sensor does not detect raindrops, the control unit includes a curtain. Can be opened automatically to dry the laundry.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The remote command device 10 includes a command unit 12 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Note that the remote commander 10
Is used in combination with the electric curtain 20, for example.

The electric curtain 20 is installed, for example, outdoors and has a curtain 21 surrounding the clothespins Wa, Wa.
21 ... are provided. Each curtain 21 has a winding shaft 22
, And a frame-shaped common weight 21a is attached to the lower end. The winding shafts 22, 22,...
25a are mounted on the upper part of the support frame 25 which is installed via the support frame 25a. Are connected via bevel gears 22a, 22a, and one winding shaft 22 is connected to a drive motor 23 with a brake. In the support frame 25, support brackets 25d, 25
can be detachably mounted on d, and a roof plate (not shown) is attached to the upper part of the support frame 25. However, in FIG. 2, only one mounting base 25c is shown.

Therefore, the electric curtain 20 rotates the winding shafts 22, 22... Simultaneously in the forward and reverse directions via the drive motor 23, and drives the curtains 21, 21.
A, Wa ... can be opened and closed (in the direction of arrow K1 in FIG. 2). That is, the electric curtain 20 winds up the curtains 21, 21,.
It is possible to dry laundry (not shown)
The curtains 21, 21 are rolled down in rainy weather to prevent the laundry from getting wet. The curtains 21, 21 ...
Even if the periphery of the clothes rods Wa, Wa... Is closed, a gap is formed between the clothes rods Wa, Wa.

The microphone 11 installed in the immediate vicinity of the telephone A is connected to the command unit 12 of the remote command device 10. Note that the telephone A is an answering machine with a speaker equipped with an answering machine function, and the telephone line P
L. The output of the command unit 12 is output to the control unit 26 of the electric curtain 20 as control signals S1a and S1b. In addition, the command unit 12
It has a memory 12a with a setting device 13 and a modem 1
2b, it is connected to the telephone line PL. Therefore,
The command unit 12 can input, via the microphone 11, a ring tone generated by the telephone A and a push button sound transmitted from the telephone of the other party when the message of the telephone A is recorded.
The user can input a data code transmitted from the other party's computer or a telephone equipped with a mail function via b.

Output conditions for outputting the control signals S1a and S1b can be set and stored in the memory 12a of the command unit 12 via the setting unit 13. However,
The output condition here is a combination of a plurality of continuous push button sounds, the number of continuous ring tones, the content of a data code from the telephone line PL, and the like. For example, the push button sound can correspond to the control signals S1a, Sb in the order of 0, 0, ♯, 1, 1, ♯, respectively. Seven to nine times can correspond to the control signals S1a and Sb, respectively.
In the data code, for example, different combinations of character strings can be associated with the control signals S1a and S1b.

The electric curtain 20 has a control unit 26 for controlling the drive motor 23. Control unit 2
The output 6 is input to the drive motor 23 as a drive signal S2. The control unit 26 includes the winding shaft 2
A rotation sensor 26a for detecting the amount of rotation of the winding shaft 2
A limit switch 26b for detecting an ascending limit of the curtains 21, 21,... The control unit 26 includes a manual open switch 27a,
Close switch 27b and rain sensor 2 for detecting external raindrops
8 are attached.

When the power is turned on, the command unit 12 executes the program shown in FIG. That is, when the program detects a push button sound as a sound generated by the telephone A via the microphone 11 (program step (1) in FIG. 3, hereinafter simply referred to as (1)),
The push button sound is identified in comparison with the output condition of the push button sound stored in the memory 12a (2), and when the output condition of the control signal S1a is met, the control signal S1a is output ((3), (4)). If the output condition of the control signal S1b is met, the control signal S1b is output ((5), (6)). Note that the program uses the push button sound as the control signal S1a,
If none of the output conditions of S1b is met ((3),
(5)), and return to the program step (1) and wait.

On the other hand, upon detecting the ringing tone of the telephone A (7), the program counts the ringing tone (8), and determines whether the number of occurrences of the ringing tone matches the output conditions of the control signals S1a and S1b. The same operation is performed ((3) to (6)).
Note that the program determines that the number of ringing tones is equal to the control signal S1
If none of the output conditions of a and S1b is satisfied ((3), (5)), the process returns to the program step (1). When detecting the data code from the telephone line PL (9), the program decodes the data code (1).
0), the same operation is performed depending on whether the data code satisfies the output conditions of the control signals S1a and S1b ((3)
~ (6)).

The control unit 26 of the electric curtain 20
The closing switch 27b is operated, the rain sensor 28 detects raindrops, or the control signal S1a from the command unit 12.
Is input, the program of FIG. 4 is executed. That is, the program outputs the drive signal S2 to rotate the drive motor 23 forward and lower the curtains 21, 21... (Program step (1) in FIG. 4, hereinafter simply referred to as (1)
Like this). Subsequently, when the open switch 27a is manually operated (2), the drive motor 23 is stopped (5), and the curtains 21, 21,... Are stopped at the intermediate positions, and the program ends. Further, the program includes a rotation sensor 26.
When the lower limit of the curtains 21, 21... is detected via the line a (3), or when the forward rotation time of the drive motor 23 exceeds the set time (4), the drive motor 23 is automatically stopped (5).

The control unit 26 executes the program shown in FIG. 5 when the open switch 27a is operated and the rain sensor 28 no longer detects raindrops or when the control signal S1b from the command unit 12 is input. That is, the program outputs the drive signal S2 to reverse the drive motor 23 to raise the curtains 21, 21,... (Program step (1) in FIG. 5, hereinafter simply referred to as (1)). When the close switch 27b is manually operated (2), the raising of the curtains 21, 21... Is stopped (5), and the curtain 2 is moved via the limit switch 26b.
When the upper limit of 1, 21,... Is detected (3), or when the reverse rotation time of the drive motor 23 exceeds the set time (4), the drive motor 23 is automatically stopped (5). However, FIGS. 4 and 5
Since each program step (4) is only for backup, these steps may be omitted, and the set time of each program step (4) may be the same or different.

[0027]

[Other Embodiments] The electric curtain 20 is a wall W of a building.
Can be reduced to three or two curtains (FIG. 6 (A),
(B)). When the electric curtain 20 is installed on the veranda Ba of an apartment or the like, only one curtain 21 may be used (FIGS. 6C and 6D). However, FIG.
(C) is a front view of a veranda Ba with a fence Bb, and (D) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. (C).

In the above description, the microphone 11
Instead of transmitting the sound generated by the telephone A to the command unit 12 by wire, the sound generated by the telephone A may be transmitted to the command unit 12 wirelessly. Further, the microphone 11 may electrically detect the ringing sound and the push button sound of the telephone A, for example, instead of the electromagnetically coupled pickup. On the other hand, the command unit 12 may delete the modem 12b and delete the function of recognizing the command by the data code. The memory 12a of the command unit 12 may set and store the number of occurrences of a plurality of ring tones, combinations of a plurality of push button sounds, and a plurality of data codes as output conditions of the control signals S1a and S1b.

In the electric curtain 20, the rain sensor 28 may be connected to the control unit 26 via a manual switch (not shown). The electric curtain 20 at this time uses the rain sensor 28 to automatically open and close the curtains 21, 21,..., And without using the rain sensor 28, regardless of the weather, the open switch 27a, the close switch 27b, or The curtains 21, 21... Can be opened and closed by the control signals S1a, S1b.

The remote commander 10 of the present invention can be used in combination with an electric curtain 20 for drying clothes, an electric curtain for shading or partitioning installed indoors, an electric shutter, a rice cooker, an air conditioner, and the like. Any target appliance, such as a floor heating system, can be remotely controlled. The command unit 12 may output three or more control signals S1i (i = a, b...) To one target appliance in response to an external command. Further, the command unit 12 can output three or more control signals S1i to a plurality of target devices, and can remotely control these target devices individually.

[0031]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, by providing the command unit for inputting the sound generated by the telephone, the command unit recognizes an external command based on the generated sound. Since a control signal corresponding to the command can be output, there is an excellent effect that any target appliance can be easily remotely controlled from a place such as an outside place via a telephone line.

According to the second invention, by combining the curtain, the drive motor, and the control unit, the control unit can open and close the curtain according to the control signal from the remote commander according to the first invention. ,
There is an excellent effect that the laundry can be appropriately protected even when the weather suddenly changes.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the overall configuration

FIG. 2 is a configuration perspective view of an electric curtain.

FIG. 3 is a program flowchart (1).

FIG. 4 is a program flowchart (2).

FIG. 5 is a program flowchart (3).

FIG. 6 is a configuration explanatory view showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

A: Telephone PL: telephone line S1a, S1b ... control signal 10 Remote command device 12 ... Command unit 12b… Modem 21 ... Curtain 23 Drive motor 26 ... Control unit 28 ... rain sensor

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    F term (reference) 2E042 AA06 BA04 CA01 CA15 CB01                       CB04 CC00                 5K048 AA04 BA12 DC07 EB02 EB14                       HA02                 5K101 KK11 MM05 NN02 RR27 UU03                       UU15

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A command unit for inputting a sound generated by a telephone, wherein the command unit recognizes an external command based on the sound generated by the telephone and outputs a control signal corresponding to the command. Remote commander. 2. The remote command device according to claim 1, wherein the command unit recognizes a command by identifying a push button sound when a message is recorded by an answering machine. 3. The remote command device according to claim 1, wherein the command unit recognizes the command by counting a ringing tone of the telephone. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the command unit includes a modem connected to a telephone line, and recognizes the command by decoding a data code from the telephone line. Remote commander. 5. A remote command according to claim 1, further comprising a curtain, a drive motor for opening and closing the curtain, and a control unit for controlling the drive motor. An electric curtain, wherein the drive motor is operated according to a control signal from a device. 6. The electric curtain according to claim 5, wherein a rain sensor is attached to the control unit.