JP2006343057A - Hot water supply apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device capable of watching safe bathing by the body motion of a bather uninfluenced by a detection error caused by a determination omission of presence/absence in a bathroom, a detection error when a plurality of bathers take a bath, or the like. <P>SOLUTION: A control means 3 determines the body motion of the bather by determining a change in radio wave receiving intensity by a radio wave intensity measuring part 6 for every identification code received by an identification code receiving part 11. Consequently, even when the bather enters or leaves the bathroom or a plurality of persons are bathing, the presence/absence of body motion and entering/leaving the bathroom can be determined by the change of received radio wave exclusively for the specific bather to provide a hot water supply apparatus allowing safer and effective bathing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to a hot water supply device that prevents unexpected accidents occurring in the bathroom and promptly notifies the outside by watching the body movement of the bather.

  In recent years, bathroom accidents that cause fainting due to sudden changes in blood pressure due to changes in body temperature when undressing in the dressing room, entering the bathroom, or entering the bathtub are increasing, especially in winter. . There are also accidents in which elderly people and infants fall out of their feet when they slip into their bathrooms or bathtubs. It is not uncommon for these accidents to lead to the worst cases of being left unaware of the family, leading to heart disease or inundation in the bathtub.

  Conventionally, as a bathroom safety system to prevent such accidents, when a bather suddenly changes his / her physical condition, he / she presses a push button himself / herself, and a pendant type sensor equipped with a water immersion sensor is worn around the neck. There has been a system for notifying that a sensor has been flooded for a certain period of time, such as when sleeping or fainting and submerging (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In such a system, the subject that the button cannot be pressed when fainting due to a sudden drop in blood pressure or the principle of detecting submergence in the bathtub in the example of Patent Document 1, the target range that can be monitored is within the bathtub. There is a problem that it is limited.

For this reason, in view of these problems, a system for monitoring the entire bathroom has also been proposed. As a specific example, a system that monitors the entire bathroom has an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and a radio wave sensor attached to the wall or ceiling. It prompts the bather to awaken by blinking or a buzzer, or notifies the family outside the bathroom to ask for safety (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP 2001-331882 A JP 2004-133500 A

  However, the configuration using an infrared sensor or radio wave sensor to detect the movement of a bather uses a passive principle in which infrared rays or radio waves are emitted from each sensor to the bather and the change in the reflection state is observed. When there is no change in the reflection state of radio waves or radio waves, it is impossible to determine whether the bather has left the bathroom or whether it has remained unmovable due to fainting or the like.

  For this reason, in such a system, there are functions such as entering / leaving the bathroom explicitly by entering an entrance / exit switch separately from each sensor, and operations such as a bather turning on / off the power switch of each sensor when taking a bath. This is necessary, causing forgetting to switch on and annoying.

  Furthermore, even when taking a bath with parents and children, there is an accident in which the child is submerged in the bathtub while the parents are washing their hair. There is a possibility that it is not possible to cope with the case where it is necessary to distinguish and detect the situation of the specific bather.

  Therefore, in order to solve the conventional problem, the hot water supply apparatus of the present invention includes a communication unit and a control unit with at least one wireless terminal, and the communication unit uniquely identifies the wireless terminal. An identification code receiving unit for receiving a code, and a radio wave intensity measuring unit for measuring a received radio wave intensity from the radio terminal, and the control means has a predetermined radio wave reception intensity from the radio terminal having the same identification code. When there is no change over the determination time, at least one of notification processing and processing for controlling the hot water supply device to perform a predetermined crisis avoidance operation is performed.

  In this way, since the identification of the bather's occupancy is performed for each identification code and the change in radio wave reception intensity is determined, even when a plurality of people are bathing, a specific bather Therefore, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of body movements and entrance / exit bathrooms by changing the received radio waves, so that it is possible to provide a hot water supply device that can realize a safer and more effective watching function.

  1st invention is provided with the communication means and control means with at least 1 or more radio | wireless terminal, The said communication means receives the identification code which specifies the said radio | wireless terminal uniquely, The said radio | wireless terminal, and the said radio | wireless And having the radio field intensity measuring unit for measuring the radio field intensity received from the terminal, the control means, when the radio wave reception intensity from the wireless terminal having the same identification code does not change beyond a predetermined determination time, At least one of a process for performing notification and a process for controlling the hot water supply device to perform a predetermined crisis avoidance operation is performed.

  As a result, when there is no movement of a specific bather over a predetermined time, safety confirmation and preventive measures such as arousing arousal with a buzzer or reporting to a family member can be taken. It will be able to.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication unit and a control unit for communicating with at least one or more wireless terminals, the communication unit receiving an identification code that uniquely identifies the wireless terminal, and the wireless terminal A radio field intensity measurement unit that measures the received radio field intensity, and the control means includes an entrance / exit determination unit that determines an entrance / exit bathroom of the wireless terminal from a change in radio field intensity received by the radio field intensity measurement unit. And when the wireless terminal is in the bathroom and the reception intensity of the radio wave has not changed beyond a predetermined determination time, control is performed so that the hot water supply device performs a predetermined crisis avoidance operation or a notification process. At least one of the processes to be performed is performed.

  Thereby, even when a specific bather's body movement ceases after a predetermined time, it can be determined whether or not the bather is out of the bathroom, and more reliable watching can be performed. .

  A third invention comprises a communication means and control means for communication with at least one or more wireless terminals installed outside the bathroom, and a communication means and control means for communication with the wireless terminals installed in the bathroom. The communication unit includes an identification code receiving unit that receives an identification code that uniquely identifies the wireless terminal, and a radio wave intensity measuring unit that measures a received radio wave intensity from the wireless terminal, and the both control units include The wireless terminal has an entrance / exit determination unit that determines whether the wireless terminal is entering or leaving based on the radio field intensity received by the radio field intensity measurement unit, and the wireless terminal is in the bathroom and the reception strength of the radio wave is a predetermined determination time. When there is no change beyond the above, at least one of notification processing or processing for controlling the hot water supply apparatus to perform a predetermined crisis avoidance operation is performed.

  This makes it possible to more accurately determine the bather's entrance / exit even if the detection range is expanded to a wider range, for example, including a dressing room, using a plurality of remote controls generally installed in a hot water supply device. Can be watched over.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect of the present invention, the determination by the entry / exit determination unit is that the radio field intensity measured by the radio field intensity measurement unit changes beyond a predetermined threshold or the rate of change during a predetermined period is predetermined. It is assumed that the change exceeds the threshold value. This makes it possible to reliably detect the entrance / exit bathroom by a simple calculation.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the contents of the crisis avoidance operation include at least one of an operation method for causing the hot water supply device to lower the water temperature in the bathtub due to drainage or hydration in the bathtub. Is. As a result, prevention control is possible even in the event of an emergency.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the communication means determines and switches the frequency for performing communication from a plurality of frequencies based on the radio field intensity of the received radio wave. As a result, reliable detection can be performed at a frequency with good communication quality.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a hot water supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a top view of a bathroom and a kitchen as an example showing an indoor place where the hot water supply apparatus of the present invention is installed. It is a thing.

  FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the communication unit 4 that performs communication with the wireless terminal 7 and the control unit 3 are integrated with a bathroom remote controller that is generally included in the hot water supply device 8.

  The communication means 4 and the wireless terminal 7 first transmit and receive each other with a signal of a specified common frequency according to a predetermined communication protocol, and the identification code receiving unit 11 of the communication means 4 uses the identification code (wireless) from the signal of the common frequency. A unique code for each terminal 7 is read out to determine whether it is a valid communication partner, and the radio wave intensity measuring unit 6 measures the radio wave intensity. At this time, if the radio wave intensity measuring unit 6 cannot receive with sufficient radio wave intensity due to interference or the like, the communication frequency is switched by transmitting the frequency to be used for subsequent communication.

  Thereby, the control means 3 determines the radio field intensity measured by the radio field intensity measuring unit 6 using the identification code received by the identification code receiving unit 11 as a key, so that even if there are a plurality of radio terminals, A change in received radio wave intensity can be detected.

  Next, the hot water supply apparatus main body 8 in FIG. 1 is a part provided with the main part of the hot water supply apparatus, and is constituted by a heating device, a piping section, an electromagnetic valve, and the like, and the control means 10 controls the entire hot water supply apparatus main body 8. To do. The bathroom remote controller 1 and the hot water supply apparatus main body 8 are connected by a communication system in the apparatus, and operations such as setting of the hot water temperature operated by the bathroom remote controller 1 are performed from the internal communication means 2 of the bathroom remote controller 1 to the hot water supply apparatus 8. It communicates with the internal communication means 9 and is input to the control means 10 to control the content of the operation.

  The control means 3 of the bathroom remote controller 1 and the control means 10 of the hot water supply device main body 8 are constituted by a microcomputer and its peripheral circuits, and the processing contents executed by the programs stored in both control means are overlapped or switched with each other. It does not matter.

Furthermore, the radio field intensity from the wireless terminal 7 measured by the radio field intensity measuring unit 6 in FIG. 1 varies depending on the distance between the bathroom remote controller 1 and the wireless terminal, the presence or absence of a shielding object between them, the material, and the like. For example, when the wireless terminal 7 carried by the bather leaves the bathroom, the radio wave is shielded and attenuated by the wall and door of the bathroom, so the entrance / exit determination unit 5 shows the change in the radio field intensity in the radio field intensity measurement unit 6. The entrance / exit of the bather is determined by determining according to a preset threshold.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the hot water supply device main body 8 has two remote controllers, the hot water supply device main body 8 is attached to the outside wall of the house, and the communication means installed outside the bathroom on the side wall of the kitchen unit 14. A kitchen remote controller 12 which is a remote controller integrated with the control means is installed, and a bathroom remote controller 1 which is a remote controller integrated with the communication means and the control control installed in the bathroom on the side wall of the bathtub 15 is installed in the bathroom. The bathroom and the dressing room are connected by a door 13, and the kitchen and the dressing room are connected by a door 16. The components of the kitchen remote controller 12 are configured in the same manner as the bathroom remote controller 1 shown in FIG.

  In a normal hot water supply apparatus, as shown in FIG. 2, the hot water supply apparatus 8 is provided with a plurality of remote controllers such as the kitchen remote control 12 and the bathroom remote control 1, and between the kitchen remote control 12 and the bathroom remote control 1 via the hot water supply apparatus main body 8. In addition to being able to make intercom calls between the bather 17 and the family, it is possible to perform operations such as changing the hot water supply temperature of the hot water supply device main body 8 and turning the power on and off from each remote controller.

  The wireless terminal 7 has been used in various applications such as electronic shelf labels and car entry keys, and has made remarkable technological advances in fields such as downsizing, cost, and power saving technology. The ultra-compact power-saving wireless unit has also been proposed.

  In the present embodiment, such a technique is utilized to form a small pendant, wristband, or armband shape so that the bather 11 can carry it. In addition, the unit may be configured to be attached to a bathroom fixture that a bather brings into the bathroom, such as a towel, a shower cap, or a children's toy, so that the wireless terminal 7 is consciously carried or forgotten. It is also effective that the annoyance can be reduced.

  Such a wireless terminal 7 is an active type that can transmit and transmit radio waves by itself, and measures the sensitivity of changes due to distance and shielding better than the passive type that uses a conventional infrared sensor or radio wave sensor to see changes in reflection from the human body. it can.

  The communication method of the wireless terminal is not particularly limited. However, if 400 MHz, which is a power-saving wireless device with low attenuation of radio wave intensity due to steam in the bathroom, is used, there are many systems that are already commercialized. The effect is also great.

  In addition, when the target frequency is used by other systems depending on the surrounding conditions, interference may occur, or when the specific frequency is greatly affected by resonance, attenuation, reflection, etc. due to the structure of the bath, etc. When the radio wave is large, if the frequency is switched manually or automatically, it can be optimized for each home and situation, and the effect is great.

  For example, as an example of a method for switching the frequency, such a wireless terminal communication system includes several frequency bands as channels, and the communication unit 4 may not be able to receive the identification code by the identification code communication unit 11 or may be legal. If the radio wave intensity exceeding a preset threshold is measured when the communication partner is not a valid identification code, the radio wave is transmitted to the wireless terminal 7 by regarding this as a radio wave of the interference source, and the interference source It is possible to realize a configuration in which the frequency is shifted to a frequency with no noise.

Furthermore, in this case, the wireless terminal is of course constructed to be drip-proof and waterproof, but if the wireless terminal is made of a water-repellent material, water droplets on the surface can be removed quickly, resulting in higher accuracy. Highly effective in measuring radio field strength.

  Next, FIG. 3 is a graph showing an example of the time change of the radio wave intensity measured simultaneously by the radio wave intensity measuring unit of the kitchen remote controller 12 and the bathroom remote controller 1 from the wireless terminal 7 worn by the bather 17. The vertical axis of the graph indicates the radio wave intensity, and the horizontal axis indicates the passage of time.

  A graph line 18 indicated by a solid line in FIG. 3 indicates a change in the radio wave intensity measured by the radio wave intensity measuring unit 18 of the bathroom remote controller 1, and a graph line 19 indicated by a broken line is the radio wave intensity measuring unit of the kitchen remote controller 12. It shows changes in the measured radio field intensity. The graph lines 18 and 19 in FIG. 3 illustrate only the intensity of the received radio wave from the identification code of the wireless terminal 7 measured by the identification code receiving unit.

  The behavior of the bather 17 at each time in FIG. 3 is an example of the case where the bather 17 was in the washing area and bathed until time T3. The door 13 was opened and closed at times T3 to T4 to change the dressing room. Shows the case of

  The radio wave intensity received by the radio wave intensity measuring unit of each remote controller generally attenuates as the distance increases, and the radio wave attenuates as there are more shielding objects between the radio terminals. Therefore, the graph line 19 of the radio field intensity received by the kitchen remote controller 12 in FIG. 3 shows a smaller value than the graph line 18 of the radio field intensity received by the bathroom remote controller 1.

  Next, in FIG. 3, for example, at time T <b> 1 to T <b> 2, the bather 17 stayed without moving his body, so that there was almost no change in the received radio wave intensity. For example, in FIG. 3, it is determined whether or not the change width of the received radio wave intensity is equal to or less than a predetermined range ΔR so that the received radio wave intensity at time T1 to T2 is in the range of R1 to R1 + ΔR.

  Furthermore, since the door 13 was opened at the time T3 and the bath was left, the distance between the wireless terminal 7 carried by the bather 17 and the bathroom remote control 1 was increased, and the reception intensity of the bathroom remote control 16 was reduced as shown by the graph line 18, Subsequently, at T4, since the door 13 is closed, the area between the bather 17 and the bathroom remote controller 1 is blocked by the door 13 which is a shielding object, so that the received radio wave is further reduced. At this time, conversely, on the graph line 19, since the bather 17 has left the washing place at time T 3, the distance between the kitchen remote control 12 and the bather 17 becomes closer, and the reception intensity increases.

  Accordingly, the entry / exit determination unit 5 can determine that the room has been exited when the threshold R0 is provided by the graph line 18 as an example of the entry / exit determination method and falls below this. In addition, the reference value of the received radio wave intensity may slightly vary depending on the state of steam in the bathroom. As a countermeasure for this, for example, if a decrease rate −R / ΔT, which is a differential value in a predetermined time range ΔT = (T4−T3), is determined by a relative value such as a point in time when it exceeds a predetermined value, It is possible to determine the bather 11 leaving the room more accurately.

  In addition, if the determination is made using the measurement values obtained by the radio field intensity measurement units of a plurality of remote controllers, the detection range can be widened and more accurate detection can be performed.

  For example, as shown after time T3 in FIG. 3, in the case where the bather 17 leaves the washing place and the door 13 is closed, the distance between the bathroom remote control 1 and the wireless terminal 17 of the bather 17 increases. Since the shield of the door 13 is interposed, the received radio wave intensity becomes small as shown by the graph line 18. At this time, since the intensity change of the received radio wave due to the bather 17 moving his / her body is also measured small in proportion to the absolute value, the determination becomes difficult. On the other hand, the reception intensity at the kitchen remote controller 12 increases as the cover of the door 13 disappears as indicated by the graph line 19, and the change due to body movement increases in proportion.

  In FIG. 3, it is determined whether or not the threshold value R2 is exceeded, and at time T3 when the threshold value R2 is exceeded, the determination of the received radio wave intensity over the bathroom is switched to the received radio wave intensity at the kitchen remote control 12 and the body motion determination is continued. To do.

  In this way, when the received radio waves from the same wireless terminal can be received by a plurality of remote controllers by the identification code receiving unit, the received radio wave strength to be determined is switched at a certain threshold value, and in this embodiment, only the washing place is used. The measurement can be continued over a wider range as the detection range is expanded to the dressing room.

  When the received radio wave intensity exceeding the threshold value R2 can be measured by the radio wave intensity measuring units of a plurality of remote controllers, the maximum radio wave may be determined, and each determination result is determined by majority decision. It doesn't matter if you do. The body movement determination threshold value ΔR may be changed in proportion to the absolute value, and it may be determined whether the rate of change has exceeded the threshold value using the differential value ΔR / ΔT.

  In the present invention, although the exit from the bathroom is not detected by the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 above, the time width in which there is no body movement is predetermined as shown in the T1 to T2 section of FIG. When the inhuman motion determination time is exceeded, notification processing and crisis avoidance driving are performed.

  As an example of the notification process, a bath melody sound or a synthetic sound such as “Please move your body” is sent from the bathroom remote controller to encourage the bather to wake up from a dozing state or fainting state. It can be configured to play a sound or play a message such as “Please call out in the bathroom”.

  In addition, according to our experiment, it is considered that this intangible motion determination time is appropriate in the range of about 1 minute to several minutes. However, depending on the situation of the bather at home and the mounting structure and form of the wireless terminal 7 It may be set so that a learning function such as a notification history may be provided, and a method of sequentially optimizing according to repeated use may be used.

  Moreover, as an example of the operation contents of crisis avoidance, the hot water supply device main body part 8 is controlled from each remote controller, and hot water in the bathtub is discharged to avoid bathing of the bather, or water is added to lower the water temperature to cause heat stroke. It is also possible to perform a driving control that alleviates the symptom of the condition, or a driving with a stimulus that helps awaken the bather such as the occurrence of a bubble.

  In addition, these crisis avoidance controls have several time thresholds for determining the time when there is no body movement, the buzzer is notified at the first stage, and the time when there is no body movement continues. Accordingly, a control method may be used in which processing is added such that a crisis avoidance operation is performed.

  In addition, the processing of the entrance / exit determination unit 5 and the like performed by the control means of the bathroom remote controller 1 and the kitchen remote controller 12 may be configured so that a part or all of the processing is performed by the control means 10 of the hot water supply device. It is. Also, there may be three or more remote controllers.

  Furthermore, the bathroom in the present embodiment is described only as a washing place that does not include a dressing room, but the bathroom may include a washing place and a dressing room.

  In addition, the communication between the remote controller and the hot water supply apparatus is illustrated in FIG. 1 by a two-wire wired system that is common in hot water supply apparatuses that are currently commercialized, but this is also the same wireless system as the communication means with the wireless terminal. Of course, it does not matter even if it uses.

  In the present embodiment, the remote controller of the hot water supply apparatus has been described with the radio wave intensity measurement unit and the entrance / exit determination unit, but a configuration in which these are provided on the water heater body side may also be used.

  Finally, the system of this embodiment can be configured to simultaneously measure the radio field intensity of a plurality of wireless terminals for each identification code, and is not limited to a bathroom in the home, and many people such as public baths and accommodations can take a bath. Of course, it can be applied to such baths as well, for example, in a public bath, etc., it is configured to be mounted on a locker key number tag of a dressing room worn on the arm or ankle during bathing. In this case, it is considered that the device is more effective as a device for watching an elderly person or an infant.

  As described above, according to the hot water supply apparatus according to the present invention, the identification code receiving unit that receives the identification code that uniquely identifies the wireless terminal and the intensity measurement unit of the received radio wave from the wireless terminal have the same identification code. Since at least one of the process of generating a notification signal or the hot water supply apparatus operation process for avoiding a crisis is performed when the reception intensity of the radio wave from the wireless terminal does not change beyond a predetermined determination time, a plurality of Even when a person is taking a bath, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of body movements and the entrance / exit bathroom by changing the received radio wave for a specific bather, so it is safer and more effective for hot water bathing Can be provided.

The block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the hot water supply apparatus in embodiment of this invention The upper view which shows some indoors which attached the hot-water supply apparatus in embodiment of this invention The figure which shows an example of the change of the electromagnetic wave intensity received during the bathing of the bather in embodiment of this invention

Explanation of symbols

1 Bathroom remote control (remote control in the bathroom)
2 Communication means 3 Control means 4 Communication means 5 Entrance / exit determination unit 6 Radio wave intensity measurement unit 7 Wireless terminal 8 Hot water supply device main body (hot water supply device)
9 Internal communication means 10 Control means 11 Identification code receiver 12 Kitchen remote control (remote control outside bathroom)

Claims (6)

Communication means and control means for at least one or more wireless terminals, wherein the communication means receives an identification code that uniquely identifies the wireless terminal, and received radio wave intensity from the wireless terminal A radio wave intensity measuring unit for measuring the radio wave intensity measuring unit, and the control means performs a notification process when the radio wave reception intensity from a wireless terminal having the same identification code does not change beyond a predetermined determination time or A hot water supply apparatus that performs at least one of processes for controlling the hot water supply apparatus to perform a predetermined crisis avoidance operation. The communication means includes at least one wireless terminal communication means and a control means, and the communication means receives an identification code receiving unit for uniquely identifying the wireless terminal, and measures received radio wave intensity from the wireless terminal. A radio field intensity measuring unit that performs the radio terminal, and the control unit includes an entrance / exit determination unit that determines an entrance / exit bathroom of the radio terminal from a change in radio field intensity received by the radio field intensity measurement unit, and the radio terminal Is in the bathroom and the reception intensity of the radio wave does not change over a predetermined determination time, at least one of the process of performing the notification or the process of controlling the hot water supply apparatus to perform the predetermined crisis avoidance operation Hot water supply device that performs processing. Communication means and control means for communication with at least one or more wireless terminals installed outside the bathroom; Communication means and control means for communication with the wireless terminals installed in the bathroom; An identification code receiving unit that receives an identification code that uniquely identifies the terminal; and a radio wave intensity measuring unit that measures the received radio wave intensity from the wireless terminal, and the radio wave intensity measuring unit receives both the control means. And an entrance / exit determination unit that determines whether the wireless terminal is in or out of the bathroom based on the received radio wave intensity, and the wireless terminal is in the bathroom and the radio wave reception intensity does not change beyond a predetermined determination time. In such a case, a hot water supply apparatus that performs at least one process of performing a notification or controlling the hot water supply apparatus to perform a predetermined crisis avoiding operation. The determination by the entrance / exit determination unit is performed when the radio field intensity measured by the radio field intensity measurement unit changes beyond a predetermined threshold or the rate of change during a predetermined period changes beyond a predetermined threshold. The hot water supply device described. The hot-water supply apparatus of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 provided with at least one of the driving | running methods to perform the fall of the water temperature in a bathtub by the waste_water | drain in a bathtub or water addition with a hot-water supply apparatus as the content of crisis avoidance driving | operation. The hot water supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the communication means determines and switches a frequency at which communication is performed from a plurality of frequencies based on a state of radio wave intensity of the received radio wave.

Images