JP2020005116A - Hot water supply system, hot water supply device, relay device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a hot water supply system that can remotely control a hot water supply device properly from inside and outside of a building of a hot water supply target using a mobile terminal device, a hot water supply device, a relay device, and a program.SOLUTION: A hot water supply system 1 includes a hot water supply device 10 installed for a predetermined building, a portable terminal device 30 having a function of remotely controlling the hot water supply device 10 via an external communication network 40 outside the building, and a control unit that determines whether the portable terminal device 30 exists inside or outside the building, and controls the remote operation such that the number of the target items of the remote operation when the portable terminal device 30 exists outside the building is smaller than the number of target items of the remote operation when the portable terminal device 30 exists inside the building.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a hot water supply system for remotely controlling a hot water supply device via an external communication network, a hot water supply device and a relay device used by the hot water supply system, and a program for causing a hot water supply device and a portable terminal device to execute predetermined control.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a system for remotely controlling a hot water supply device having a bath function, a floor heating function, and the like from an outside location or the like has been studied. According to this system, for example, hot water can be stored in a bath in a house at a desired timing from an outside place, or floor heating or the like can be set in a house. Patent Literature 1 below describes a hot water supply device that performs control while distinguishing between communication from a home remote controller and communication from a portable terminal device.

Japanese Patent No. 6142681

  When the water heater is operated by the portable terminal device, the portable terminal device can be used both inside and outside the house. Here, when the portable terminal device is used outside the home to operate the hot water supply device, the operator performs the setting for the hot water supply device without grasping the usage status of the hot water supply device in the home. In this case, if the hot water supply temperature suddenly changes during hot water supply by remote control from outside the house, for example, the actual user of the hot water supply will have a noticeable discomfort or inconvenience.

  In view of such problems, the present invention provides a hot water supply system, a hot water supply device, a relay device, and a program that can appropriately remotely control a hot water supply device from inside and outside of a building to be heated using a portable terminal device. The purpose is to:

  A first aspect of the present invention relates to a hot water supply system. The hot water supply system according to this aspect includes a hot water supply device installed in a predetermined building, a portable terminal device having a function of remotely controlling the hot water supply device via an external communication network outside the building, and an inside of the building. And where the mobile terminal device is located outside, and the target item of the remote operation when the mobile terminal device is present outside the building is the case where the mobile terminal device is present in the building. And a control unit that controls the remote operation so that the number of items is smaller than the number of target items of the remote operation.

  According to the hot water supply system according to this aspect, the target item of the remote operation when the mobile terminal device exists outside the building is smaller than the target item of the remote operation when the mobile terminal device exists inside the building. Remote operation is controlled. Thus, it is possible to prevent the setting of the hot water supply device from being unexpectedly changed by the remote operation from outside the building using the portable terminal device for the setting item that is not preferably changed. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately remotely control the hot water supply device from inside and outside the building using the portable terminal device.

  In the hot water supply system according to this aspect, the control unit acquires an identifier individually assigned to each router, and in the remote operation, the identifier of the router to which the hot water supply device is connected, and the portable terminal device being connected. When the identifier of the router of the mobile terminal device matches, the mobile terminal device is determined to be present inside the building.

  When the portable terminal device is connected to the same router as the router to which the hot water supply device is connected, the portable terminal device exists inside the building where the router is installed, that is, inside the building where the hot water supply device is installed. Probability is high. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to appropriately determine that the portable terminal device exists inside the building to be supplied with hot water, and to appropriately perform remote control using the portable terminal device.

  In this case, the router may be a wireless router having a wireless communication function, and the identifier may be a BSSID individually assigned to the wireless router. Thereby, the router can be reliably identified.

  Further, in the hot water supply system according to the present aspect, the control unit acquires an IP address of the hot water supply device, and based on a communication result obtained when communication with the acquired IP address is performed from the portable terminal device. The mobile terminal device may be configured to determine whether the mobile terminal device is inside or outside the building.

  For example, the control unit may be configured to determine that the portable terminal device exists outside the building when there is no response from the water heater in communication based on the IP address.

  According to this configuration, when the mobile terminal device is present inside the building to be heated, even if the router to which the hot water device is connected is different from the router to which the mobile terminal device is connected, these two devices are different. Communication from the portable terminal device to the IP address of the water heater can be performed via the router. On the other hand, when the portable terminal device exists outside the building to be heated, the communication from the portable terminal device to the IP address of the hot water device cannot be normally established due to the rule of the IP address. Therefore, the control unit can appropriately determine whether the mobile terminal device is located inside or outside the building to which the hot water is to be supplied, based on the communication result of the communication from the mobile terminal device to the IP address of the water heater. For example, when there is no response from the hot water supply device to the communication based on the IP address, the control unit can determine that the mobile terminal device exists outside the target building.

  In this case, in the communication based on the IP address, the control unit causes the mobile terminal device to transmit information including the identification information of the hot water supply device, and the transmitted identification information and the information set in advance in the hot water supply device. If the identification information does not match, the target items in the remote operation may be reduced.

  According to this configuration, even when the communication based on the IP address is established, the target item in the remote operation is set based on whether or not the identification information matches. Setting operation can be eliminated.

  In this configuration, “reducing the number of target items in the remote operation” means that the number of target items that can be remotely controlled is reduced as compared with the case where both pieces of identification information match, This includes setting the number of items to zero, that is, prohibiting remote operation.

  In the above configuration, when the remote controller of the water heater is connected to the external communication network via the router, the IP address may be the IP address set in the remote controller.

  The hot water supply system according to the present embodiment may be configured to include a server connected to the external communication network and managing the remote operation. In this case, the server may be configured to constitute at least a part of the control unit and execute at least a part of the control in the control unit.

  In this case, the server acquires, for example, an identifier individually assigned to each router, and in the remote operation, the identifier of the router to which the hot water supply device is connected, and the identifier to which the portable terminal device is connected. May be configured to determine that the mobile terminal device is present inside the building when.

  According to this configuration, when the hot water supply device and the portable terminal device are connected to the same router in the building, the server determines whether or not the identifiers of the routers obtained from the hot water supply device and the portable terminal device match each other. It is possible to appropriately determine whether the terminal device exists inside the building.

  A second aspect of the present invention relates to a hot water supply apparatus used for the hot water supply system according to the first aspect. The water heater according to this aspect includes at least a part of the control unit, and includes a water heater control unit that performs at least a part of control in the control unit.

  According to the hot water supply apparatus according to this aspect, the effect of the hot water supply system according to the first aspect can be achieved in cooperation with other devices constituting the hot water supply system or alone.

  In the water heater according to this aspect, the water heater controller acquires, for example, the identifier of the router to which the mobile terminal device is connected and the identifier of the router to which the mobile terminal device is connected. The mobile terminal device may be configured to determine that the mobile terminal device exists inside the building.

  According to this configuration, when the hot water supply device and the portable terminal device are connected to the same router in the building, the hot water supply device control unit determines whether or not the identifiers of the routers respectively obtained from the hot water supply device and the portable terminal device match. Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the mobile terminal device exists inside the building, and it is possible to appropriately perform remote control using the mobile terminal device.

  A third aspect of the present invention relates to a relay device used in the hot water supply system according to the first aspect. The relay device according to this aspect constitutes at least a part of the control unit and a communication adapter and a wireless router interposed between the hot water supply device and an external communication network, and executes at least a part of the control in the control unit. And a relay device control unit that performs the operation.

  According to the relay device according to this aspect, the effect of the hot water supply system according to the first aspect can be achieved in cooperation with other devices constituting the hot water supply system or alone.

  In the relay device according to the present aspect, the relay device control unit, when communication is performed by the mobile terminal device based on the IP address of the water heater, when there is no response from the water heater, the mobile terminal The device may be configured to determine that the device is outside the building.

  According to this configuration, when the mobile terminal device is outside the building, even if communication based on the IP address is performed by the mobile terminal device, communication between the mobile terminal device and the hot water supply device is not established. No response to the communication is made from the hot water supply device to the portable terminal device. Therefore, the relay device control unit can appropriately determine that the portable terminal device exists outside the building by monitoring the presence or absence of the response.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a computer of a water heater to execute the function of the water heater control unit according to the second aspect.

  According to the program of this aspect, the same effect as in the second aspect can be obtained.

  A fifth aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a computer of a portable terminal device to execute at least a part of the function of the control unit in the hot water supply system according to the first aspect.

  According to the program of this aspect, the same effect as in the first aspect can be obtained.

  The program according to this aspect obtains an IP address of the hot water supply device, performs communication with the obtained IP address, and, based on a communication result for the communication, causes the mobile terminal device to perform communication between the inside and the outside of the building. It may include a function of determining which one exists.

  For example, the program may include a function of determining that the portable terminal device exists outside the building when there is no response from the water heater to the communication based on the IP address.

  According to this function, when the mobile terminal device is present inside the building to be heated, even if the router to which the hot water device is connected is different from the router to which the mobile terminal device is connected, these two devices are used. Communication from the portable terminal device to the IP address of the water heater can be performed via the router. On the other hand, when the portable terminal device exists outside the building to be heated, the communication from the portable terminal device to the IP address of the hot water device cannot be normally established due to the rule of the IP address. Therefore, the mobile terminal device can appropriately determine whether the mobile terminal device is located inside or outside the building to which the hot water is supplied, based on the communication result of the communication directed to the IP address of the water heater. For example, when there is no response from the hot water supply device to the communication based on the IP address, the mobile terminal device can determine that the mobile terminal device is outside the building. Thereby, remote control using the portable terminal device can be appropriately performed.

  The program according to this aspect has a function of changing, on the operation screen used for the remote operation, the target item that can be remotely operated depending on whether the portable terminal device is present inside or outside the building. May be included.

  According to this function, the operator can grasp the target items that can be remotely operated on the operation screen when the user is inside the building and when the user is outside the building. Therefore, the operator can smoothly perform the remote operation based on the operation screen.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a hot water supply system, a hot water supply device, a relay device, and a program that can appropriately remotely control a hot water supply device from inside and outside of a building to be heated using a portable terminal device. can do.

  The effects and significance of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments. However, the embodiment described below is merely an example when embodying the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to what is described in the following embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a hot water supply system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a circuit block of each device configuring the hot water supply system according to the first embodiment. FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts respectively showing the steady-state control in the kitchen remote controller and the server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a configuration of information managed in the server. FIGS. 4A and 4B are flowcharts illustrating the control of the portable terminal device and the server in the remote operation according to the first embodiment, respectively. FIG. 5A is a diagram schematically illustrating an operation screen displayed on the portable terminal device at the time of remote operation according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating items that can be remotely controlled in the in-home mode and the out-of-home mode according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6A is a flowchart illustrating control of the mobile terminal device in remote operation according to the first modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 6B is a flowchart illustrating a setting command accepting process of the server according to the first modification of the first embodiment. FIGS. 7A to 7D are diagrams each illustrating an example of a notification screen displayed when an item that cannot be set is operated according to the first modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating control of the kitchen remote controller in remote control according to Modification Example 2 of Embodiment 1. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a hot water supply system according to the second embodiment. FIGS. 10A and 10B are flowcharts illustrating the control of the portable terminal device and the kitchen remote controller in the remote operation according to the second embodiment, respectively. FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating a packet structure of a confirmation request and a confirmation response transmitted from the portable terminal device and the kitchen remote controller at the time of remote operation, respectively, according to the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a hot water supply system 1 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the hot water supply system 1 includes a hot water supply device 10, a router 20, a portable terminal device 30, an external communication network 40, and a server 50.

  The water heater 10 includes a water heater 11 and remote controllers 12 and 13. The water heater 11 is a gas water heater that supplies hot water using gas as fuel. The hot water generated by the water heater 11 is supplied to a kitchen faucet, a bathtub, a currant, and the like via piping connected to the hot water supply port 11a. When the water heater 11 has a floor heating function, a bathroom heating function, and a heating function using a panel heater, hot water is supplied from the water heater 11 to devices that realize these functions.

  The remote controllers 12 and 13 are connected to the hot water supply device 10 and are used to perform various settings for each function of the hot water supply device 10. The remote controllers 12 and 13 include display units 121 and 131 and input units 122 and 132, respectively. By operating the input units 122 and 132 in accordance with the screens displayed on the display units 121 and 131, the operator can perform arbitrary settings for hot water filling, hot water supply temperature adjustment, and the like. The remote controller 12 is installed in a bathroom, and the remote controller 13 is installed in a kitchen or the like.

  Hereinafter, the remote controller 12 installed in the bathroom is referred to as a “bathroom remote controller 12”, and the remote controller 13 installed in a kitchen or the like is referred to as a “kitchen remote controller 13”.

  The router 20 is a wireless router for connecting each device existing in the building (here, the home H10) to the server 50 via the external communication network 40. A unique BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifier) is assigned to the router 20 as an identifier individually assigned to each router.

  Kitchen remote controller 13 is connected to router 20 by wireless communication. When the mobile terminal device 30 is located in the house H10, the mobile terminal device 30 is connected to the router 20 by wireless communication and can communicate with the server 50. The mobile terminal device 30 is, for example, a mobile phone. In addition, the portable terminal device 30 may be another portable terminal device such as a portable tablet terminal. The external communication network 40 is, for example, the Internet.

  The external communication network 40 is connected to a server 50 for managing remote operations on the water heater 10. The kitchen remote controller 13 communicates with the server 50 via the router 20 and the external communication network 40. When the mobile terminal device 30 exists in the home H10, the mobile terminal device 30 communicates with the server 50 via the router 20 and the external communication network 40. When the mobile terminal device 30 is outside the house, the mobile terminal device 30 is connected to the external communication network 40 via the router 60 or the base station 70 installed outside and communicates with the server 50.

  In the configuration of FIG. 1, the operator can remotely control the hot water supply device 10 using the portable terminal device 30 both inside the house H10 and outside the house. That is, regardless of whether the mobile terminal device 30 is located inside the home H10 or outside the home, the setting request input to the mobile terminal device 30 by the operator is once transmitted to the server 50 via the external communication network 40. . In response to this, server 50 transmits the received setting request to hot water supply device 10 associated in advance with portable terminal device 30 that has received the setting request. Thereby, the setting request is transmitted to kitchen remote controller 13 of corresponding hot water supply device 10 via external communication network 40 and router 20. Thereby, the setting of the content requested by the operator is applied to hot water supply device 10.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a circuit block of each device constituting the hot water supply system 1.

  Water heater 11 includes a control unit 111, a storage unit 112, and a communication unit 113. The control unit 111 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls each unit in the water heater 11 according to a program stored in the storage unit 112. The storage unit 112 includes a memory and stores a predetermined control program. The communication unit 113 communicates with the bathroom remote controller 12 and the kitchen remote controller 13 under the control of the control unit 111.

  The bathroom remote controller 12 includes a control unit 123, a storage unit 124, and a communication unit 125 in addition to the display unit 121 and the input unit 122 described above. The display unit 121 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal panel. The input unit 122 includes various operation buttons. The display unit 121 may be a touch panel. The control unit 123 includes a CPU, and performs predetermined control according to a program stored in the storage unit 124. The storage unit 124 includes a memory and stores a predetermined control program. The communication unit 125 communicates with the water heater 11 according to control from the control unit 123.

  The kitchen remote controller 13 includes a control unit 133, a storage unit 134, and a communication unit 135 in addition to the display unit 131 and the input unit 132 described above. The display unit 131 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal panel. The input unit 132 includes various operation buttons. The display unit 131 may be a touch panel. The control unit 133 includes a CPU, and performs predetermined control according to a program stored in the storage unit 134. The storage unit 134 includes a memory and stores a predetermined control program. The communication unit 135 communicates with the water heater 11 according to control from the control unit 133.

  Further, the kitchen remote controller 13 includes a wireless communication unit 136. Here, the wireless communication unit 136 is a wireless communication module capable of performing wireless communication with the router 20. An IP address (private IP address) for specifying a device on a LAN (Local Area Network) set in the home H10 is assigned to the wireless communication unit 136 (wireless communication module).

  The mobile terminal device 30 includes a display unit 301, an input unit 302, a control unit 303, a storage unit 304, and a wireless communication unit 305. The display unit 301 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal panel. The input unit 132 includes various operation buttons and a touch panel stacked on the display unit 301. The control unit 303 includes a CPU, and performs predetermined control according to a program stored in the storage unit 304. The storage unit 304 includes a memory and stores a predetermined control program. The wireless communication unit 305 communicates with the router 20 under the control of the control unit 303. The wireless communication unit 305 is a wireless communication module capable of performing wireless communication with the router 20. The wireless communication unit 305 is also assigned an IP address.

  The server 50 includes a control unit 501, a storage unit 502, and a communication unit 503. The control unit 501 includes a CPU and performs a predetermined control according to a program stored in the storage unit 502. The storage unit 502 includes a memory and a hard disk, and stores a predetermined control program and a database. The communication unit 503 performs predetermined control according to the control from the control unit 501.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts showing the steady-state control in the kitchen remote controller 13 and the server 50, respectively.

  Referring to FIG. 3 (a), control unit 133 of kitchen remote controller 13 identifies state information indicating the current setting state of water heater 10 every time a predetermined time T elapses (S101: YES). The information is transmitted to the server 50 via the router 20 together with the information (S102). At this time, the router 20 transmits the BSSID, which is its own identifier, to the server 50 at the same time. In this manner, the current setting state of the water heater 10, the identification information of the kitchen remote controller 13, and the BSSID (identifier) of the router 20 are transmitted from the router 20 to the server 50 at regular intervals.

  Referring to FIG. 3B, when control unit 501 of server 50 receives the state information from router 20 (S201: YES), control unit 501 updates the state information of kitchen remote controller 13 stored in storage unit 502. (S202). At this time, at the same time, the control unit 501 updates the BSSID (identifier) of the router 20 linked to the kitchen remote controller 13 with the BSSID (identifier) received from the router 20. In this way, the status information managed for each hot water supply device 10 in the server 50 and the BSSID (identifier) of the router 20 are sequentially updated every predetermined time T defined in step S101 of FIG.

  FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a configuration of information managed in the server 50.

  Server 50 stores the management information of FIG. 3C as a database in storage unit 502 for each hot water supply device 10. The management information includes a remote control ID, a BSSID, a mobile ID, an out-of-home item, an in-home item, and status information.

  Here, the remote control ID is identification information of the kitchen remote control 13 included in the water heater 10. The BSSID is an identifier of the router 20 to which the kitchen remote controller 13 is connected. The mobile ID is identification information of the mobile terminal device 30 registered for remotely operating the hot water supply device 10. Here, n mobile terminal devices 30 are registered. The out-of-home item is a setting item that can be remotely operated in an out-of-home mode described later. The home item is a setting item that can be remotely operated in a home mode described later.

  The BSSID and the status information are acquired from the kitchen remote controller 13 and updated as needed under the control of FIG. The remote control ID and the mobile ID are registered in the server 50 when the hot water supply system 1 is introduced. The out-of-home items and the in-house items are registered in the server 50 when the hot water supply system 1 is installed or the like, according to the functions executable in the in-home H10 in which the hot water supply device 10 is installed and the items.

  Next, control at the time of remote operation in hot water supply system 1 will be described.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B are flowcharts illustrating the control of the mobile terminal device 30 and the server 50 in remote control, respectively.

  Referring to FIG. 4A, when the operator starts an application for remote operation on portable terminal device 30, control unit 303 of portable terminal device 30 requests connection to server 50. Send The connection request includes the identification information (mobile ID) of the mobile terminal device 30. The connection request is transmitted to the server 50 via the external communication network 40 from the router to which the portable terminal device 30 is connected at that time. At this time, the BSSID (identifier) of the router is transmitted from the router to the server 50 (S301).

  Referring to FIG. 4B, upon receiving a connection request from mobile terminal device 30 (S401: YES), control unit 501 of server 50 extracts identification information (mobile ID) of mobile terminal device 30 from the connection request. Then, the management information (see FIG. 3C) of the hot water supply device 10 corresponding to the extracted identification information (mobile ID) is specified. Then, the control unit 501 determines whether or not the BSSID included in the management information matches the BSSID received with the connection request (S402).

  Here, when the mobile terminal device 30 is in the home H10, the mobile terminal device 30 transmits a connection request to the server 50 via the router 20 of the home H10. Therefore, in this case, the BSSID (identifier) of the router 20 installed in the home H10 is transmitted together with the connection request. For this reason, the BSSID received by the server 50 together with the connection request matches the BSSID included in the management information. Thus, the determination in step S402 is YES.

  On the other hand, when the mobile terminal device 30 is outside the home, the mobile terminal device 30 transmits a connection request to the server 50 via a router 60 or a base station 70 different from the router 20 of the home H10. Therefore, in this case, a BSSID (identifier) different from the router 20 of the home H10 is transmitted to the server 50 together with the connection request. For this reason, the BSSID received by the server 50 together with the connection request does not match the BSSID included in the management information. Thus, the determination in step S402 is NO.

  If the determination in step S402 is YES, control unit 501 sets the remote control mode to the home mode (S403). If the determination in step S402 is NO, control unit 501 sets the remote operation mode to the outside-home mode (S404). Then, control unit 501 transmits a response including the set mode (mode information) and the state information of hot water supply device 10 to portable terminal device 30 (S405). This response is received by the control unit 303 of the mobile terminal device 30 in step S302 of FIG. After that, the server 50 executes a process of receiving a setting command from the mobile terminal device 30 (S406).

  Referring to FIG. 4A, upon receiving a response from server 50 (S302: YES), control unit 303 of portable terminal device 30 refers to a mode (in-home mode / out-home mode) included in the response, The setting items that can be selected at the time of remote operation are determined according to the mode (S303). Here, the setting items that can be selected in the in-home mode and the setting items that can be selected in the out-of-home mode are stored in the storage unit 304 of the mobile terminal device 30 in advance. The control unit 303 selects a setting item group corresponding to the mode included in the response received from the server 50 from the two setting item groups stored in the storage unit 304 as a setting item group that can be selected at the time of remote operation. select.

  Here, the setting item group that can be selected in the in-home mode is all items associated with all functions executable in the in-home H10 in which the water heater 10 is installed. In addition, in the setting item group that can be selected in the case of the outside-home mode, some items are excluded from all items associated with all functions executable in the house H10 in which the water heater 10 is installed. The remaining items. Therefore, the number of setting item groups in the out-of-home mode is smaller than the number of setting item groups in the in-home mode.

  Items that are excluded in the outside-home mode include the functions of the hot water supply device 10 corresponding to the set items in the house H10, such as a change of hot water supply temperature, a change of bath temperature, and a change of bath water level. In the case where the setting is to be changed, it is assumed that it is not preferable that the setting is changed unexpectedly.

  After determining the selectable setting item group in this way, the control unit 303 causes the display unit 301 to display an operation screen for receiving a remote operation, and receives a setting operation by the remote operation (S304). This operation screen is configured to accept settings for the selectable setting item group determined in step S303 and not accept settings for other items. That is, in the in-home mode, the operation screen is configured to accept settings for all items, and in the out-of-home mode, the operation screen is configured to accept settings for items except for some items.

  FIG. 5A is a diagram schematically showing an operation screen 600 displayed on the portable terminal device 30 at the time of remote operation. FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of setting items that can be remotely controlled in the in-home mode and the out-of-home mode.

  In the example of FIG. 5B, in the house H10 in which the hot water supply device 10 is installed, a floor heating function, a bathroom heating function, and a heating function can be executed in addition to the hot water supply function and the bath function. In the in-home mode, all items associated with these functions can be set.In the out-of-home mode, each of the hot water supply, bath, floor heating, bathroom heating, and heating can be set from all items associated with these functions. Items other than the temperature change item in the function and the water change item in the bath function can be set.

  Referring to FIG. 5A, operation screen 600 is divided into areas 610, 620, and 630.

  The area 610 includes a mode display section 611, a hot water supply temperature setting section 612, a bath temperature setting section 613, a bath water level setting section 614, a bathtub image 615, a confirm button 616, and an end button 617. I have. The mode display unit 611 displays whether the current operation mode is the in-home mode or the out-of-home mode based on the mode information included in the response received in step S302 of FIG. The hot water supply temperature setting unit 612, the bath temperature setting unit 613, and the bath water level setting unit 614 respectively provide the current hot water supply temperature, bath temperature, and bath temperature based on the state information included in the response received in step S302 of FIG. The setting state of the temperature and the bath water level is shown. The bathtub image 615 displays the current setting of the bath water level as an image of water stored in the bathtub.

  Here, when the operation mode is the home mode, hot water supply temperature setting section 612, bath temperature setting section 613, and bath water level setting section 614 are enabled to be operable. In this case, the confirm button 616 is similarly activated. The operator can change the hot water supply temperature, the bath temperature, and the bath water level by touching hot water supply temperature setting section 612, bath temperature setting section 613, and bath water level setting section 614.

  For example, when the operator touches these setting sections, an up / down key is displayed immediately below the setting section. Each time the operator touches the up / down key, the numerical value of each setting unit increases or decreases. Thus, the operator can change the set value for the desired setting section. Thereafter, when the operator touches the confirmation button 616, the change of these items is confirmed.

  When the operation mode is the outside-home mode, the hot water supply temperature setting unit 612, the bath temperature setting unit 613, and the bath water level setting unit 614 are invalidated so that they cannot be operated. In this case, the confirm button 616 is similarly invalidated. In FIG. 5A, since the operation mode is the outside-home mode, all of the hot water supply temperature setting unit 612, the bath temperature setting unit 613, the bath water level setting unit 614, and the confirm button 616 are invalidated. In this case, even if the operator touches hot water supply temperature setting section 612, bath temperature setting section 613, and bath water level setting section 614, the operator cannot change the hot water supply temperature, bath temperature, and bath water level.

  The area 620 includes an automatic bath setting section 621, a reheating setting section 622, and a bath cleaning setting section 623. The bath automatic setting section 621 is a setting button for storing hot water in the bathtub at the set bath temperature and bath water level. The reheating setting unit 622 is a setting button for setting reheating of the bath. The bath cleaning setting section 623 is a setting button for automatically performing bath cleaning.

  The bath automatic setting section 621, the reheating setting section 622, and the bath cleaning setting section 623 can always be operated according to the conditions in FIG. 5B regardless of whether the operation mode is the home mode or the outside mode. Is enabled in the default state.

  By touching the automatic bath setting unit 621, the reheating setting unit 622, and the bath cleaning setting unit 623, the operator can select the function of these setting units. When these setting units are touched again, the selection is canceled. The selected setting section is highlighted so that the selection can be visually recognized. In the example of FIG. 5A, the bath automatic setting unit 621 is selected. Thereafter, the operator can confirm the selected setting item by touching the confirm button 616.

  The area 630 includes four buttons 631 to 634 for switching the function to be operated. In the example of FIG. 5A, a button 631 for selecting a bath function as an operation target is selected. For this reason, in the areas 610 and 620, setting items corresponding to the bath function are displayed as operation targets.

  When the operator touches button 632, the setting items corresponding to the bathroom heating function are displayed in areas 610 and 620 as operation targets. When the operator touches button 633, setting items corresponding to the heating function are displayed in areas 610 and 620 as operation targets, and when button 634 is touched, setting items corresponding to the floor heating function are displayed in areas 610 and 620. The item is displayed as an operation target. Also in these cases, according to the condition of FIG. 5B, when the operation mode is the outside mode, only the setting items corresponding to the temperature change are invalidated, and when the operation mode is the home mode, all the setting items are invalid. Be activated.

  When the enter button 616 is touched after the above operation is performed, the control unit 303 transmits a setting command corresponding to the item operated by the operator to the server 50 in step S304 of FIG. . In response to this, the control unit 501 of the server 50 transmits a setting request including the received setting command to the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13 in step S406 of FIG. Thereby, the setting according to the remote control is performed on the hot water supply device 10.

  When ending the remote operation, the operator touches the end button 617 on the operation screen 600 shown in FIG. As a result, the control unit 303 makes the determination in step S305 of FIG. 4A YES, and transmits an end notification to the server 50 (S306). At this time, the operation screen 600 of FIG. 5A is closed at the same time. Thus, the remote operation control in the portable terminal device 30 ends. Upon receiving the end notification from the mobile terminal device 30 (S407: YES), the control unit 501 of the server 50 ends the control of the remote operation. Thereby, the control of the remote operation in hot water supply system 1 ends.

<Effect of First Embodiment>
According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  The remote operation is controlled so that the target item of the remote operation when the mobile terminal device 30 exists outside the house is smaller than the target item of the remote operation when the mobile terminal device 30 exists in the house H10. Thereby, when the function of the hot water supply device 10 is already used or is about to be used in the house H10, the hot water supply device 10 is suddenly operated by remote control from outside the house for setting items that are not preferably changed. Can be prevented from being changed. Therefore, using the portable terminal device 30, the water heater 10 can be appropriately remotely controlled from inside and outside the house.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the control unit 501 determines that the identifier (BSSID) of the router 20 to which the hot water supply device 10 is connected and the identifier (BSSID) of the router to which the portable terminal device 30 is connected. If they match, it is determined that the mobile terminal device 30 is in the home H10, and the home mode is set. This makes it possible to properly determine that the mobile terminal device 30 is present in the house H10 (inside the building for which hot water is to be supplied), and to appropriately switch between the house mode and the outside mode. Therefore, using the portable terminal device 30, the water heater 10 can be appropriately remotely controlled from inside and outside the house.

  Further, as described with reference to FIG. 5A, the control unit 303 of the mobile terminal device 30 sets a target item that can be remotely controlled on the operation screen 600 used for remote control, and the mobile terminal device 30 displays It changes depending on whether it is located at H10 (inside the building) or outside the house. Thus, the operator can grasp the target items that can be remotely operated on the operation screen 600 between when the user is at the house H10 and when the user is outside the house. Therefore, the operator does not erroneously perform a setting operation on a setting item that cannot be set by remote operation from outside the house. Therefore, the operator can perform the remote operation based on the operation screen 600 smoothly and properly.

<First Modification of First Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, when the mobile terminal device 30 is outside the house, the operable setting items are limited on the operation screen 600 of the mobile terminal device 30. In the first modification, the mobile terminal device 30 is Regardless of whether the user is outside or inside the house, all the setting items are set to be operable in the mobile terminal device 30. That is, in the first modification, the operation screen 600 is not changed between the in-home mode and the out-of-home mode. In the first modification, the server 50 determines whether the setting command received from the mobile terminal device 30 is a setting command that can be permitted in the operation mode (in-home mode / out-of-home mode), and the setting command can be permitted. If not, the server 50 refuses to accept the setting command.

  In this case, the control in the portable terminal device 30 is changed as shown in FIG. In the control of FIG. 6A, step S303 of FIG. 4A is omitted, and step S311 is added. By omitting step S303, the operation screen 600 displayed in step S304 is set so that all setting items can be operated regardless of the operation mode (in-home mode / out-home mode). For example, hot water supply temperature setting section 612, bath temperature setting section 613, bath water level setting section 614, and confirm button 616 shown in FIG. 5A are all operable regardless of the operation mode (in-home mode / out-home mode). Enabled for

  In this case, the setting command receiving process in step S406 in FIG. 4B is executed according to the flowchart in FIG. 6B. That is, when the control unit 501 of the server 50 receives the setting command from the portable terminal device 30 (S501: YES), the received setting command is permitted by the operation mode set in steps S403 and S404 in FIG. 4B. It is determined whether the command is a setting command to be obtained (S502).

  For example, when the operation mode is the out-of-home mode, when control unit 501 receives a setting command relating to hot water supply temperature change, determination in step S502 is NO. When the operation mode is the home mode, the control unit 501 determines YES in step S502 for any setting command.

  When the determination in step S502 is YES, the control unit 501 of the server 50 transmits a setting request including the received setting command to the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13 (S503). Thereby, the setting according to the remote control is performed on the hot water supply device 10. Furthermore, control section 501 transmits a notification indicating that the setting by remote operation to hot water supply apparatus 10 has been completed to portable terminal apparatus 30 (S504). Thus, the setting command receiving process ends.

  When the determination in step S502 is NO, the control unit 501 of the server 50 transmits a setting request including the received setting command to the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13, and indicates that the setting command is not accepted. Is transmitted to the portable terminal device 30 (S505). In this case, the setting according to the remote control is not performed on the hot water supply device 10. Thus, the setting command receiving process ends.

  The control unit 303 of the mobile terminal device 30 determines whether the setting command has been received by the server 50 based on the notifications transmitted in steps S504 and S505 (S311). If the setting command has been received, the control unit 303 advances the processing to step S305. On the other hand, when the setting command has not been received, the control unit 303 causes the display unit 301 to display a notification screen for notifying that.

  FIGS. 7A to 7D are diagrams each showing an example of the notification screen.

  FIGS. 7A to 7D show notification screens 710 when a bath temperature change operation, a bath water level change operation, a hot water supply temperature change operation, and a floor heating temperature change operation are performed in the outdoor mode, respectively. 740 are shown. The notification screens 710 to 740 include notification messages 711 to 741 indicating that these change operations cannot be performed outside the house, and OK buttons 712 to 742, respectively. The operator refers to the notification messages 711 to 741 to grasp that these operations are not accepted from outside the house. Thereafter, the operator touches OK buttons 712 to 742. Thereby, the control unit 303 advances the processing to step S305. Note that a similar notification screen is also displayed when a bathroom heating temperature change operation and a heating temperature change operation are performed.

  In this modification, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

<Modification 2 of Embodiment 1>
In the first modification, whether or not the setting command is a setting command that can be permitted in the operation mode (in-home mode / out-of-home mode) is determined in the server 50, but this determination is performed as follows. The determination may be made by the kitchen remote controller 13 of the water heater 10.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing control by the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13 in remote control according to the second modification of the first embodiment.

  In this case, when transmitting the setting command, the control unit 501 of the server 50 transmits the BSSID (identifier) of the router to which the mobile terminal device 30 is connected and the BSSID (identifier) of the router 20 to which the kitchen remote controller 13 is connected. ) Is transmitted to the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13.

  Upon receiving the setting request from the server 50 (S601), the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13 determines whether the two BSSIDs (identifiers) included in the setting request match (S602), and based on the determination result. Then, the operation mode (in-home mode / out-home mode) is set (S603, S604). Further, the control unit 133 determines whether or not the setting item of the received setting command is a setting command that can be permitted in the operation mode (in-home mode / out-home mode) (S605).

  If the received setting command is a setting command that can be permitted (S605: YES), the control unit 133 performs setting based on the setting command, and transmits a notification indicating that the setting is permitted to the server 50 (S606). ). On the other hand, if the received setting command is not a setting command that can be permitted (S605: NO), the control unit 133 transmits to the server 50 a notification indicating that the setting is rejected without performing setting according to the setting command. (S607). Thus, the processing for the setting request ends.

  The notifications transmitted in steps S606 and S607 are transmitted from the server 50 to the mobile terminal device 30. In response to this, the control unit 303 of the mobile terminal device 30 performs the process of step S311 in FIG.

  According to this configuration, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

  The mobile terminal device 30 may determine whether the mobile terminal device 30 is located inside or outside the home and set an operation mode (in-home mode / out-home mode) based on the determination. In this case, for example, in response to the connection request transmitted from server 50, the BSSID (identifier) of the router to which portable terminal device 30 is connected and the BSSID (identifier) of router 20 to which kitchen remote controller 13 is connected are included. Included. Then, the control unit 303 of the mobile terminal device 30 determines whether the mobile terminal device 30 is located inside the house or outside the house based on whether or not the two received BSSIDs (identifiers) match. , The operation mode (in-home mode / out-home mode) is set. Subsequent processing is the same as that after step S303 in FIG.

  With this configuration, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

<Embodiment 2>
In the first embodiment, it is determined whether the mobile terminal device 30 is in the house H10 or outside the house by determining whether or not the identifiers (BSSIDs) of the routers to which the kitchen remote controller 13 and the mobile terminal device 30 are connected match. Was. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, using the IP address of the kitchen remote controller 13, it is determined whether the mobile terminal device 30 is in the house H10 or outside the house.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a hot water supply system 1 according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the second embodiment, two routers 20 and 21 are installed in the house H10. As in the first embodiment, the kitchen remote controller 13 is connected to the router 20. The mobile terminal device 30 is set to be connected to the router 21 in the home H10. The routers 20 and 21 are connected to the external communication network 40. The routers 20 and 21 are connected to each other. The router 21 also knows the IP address of the device connected to the router 20.

  Further, the server 50 holds the IP address of the kitchen remote controller 13 as the management information shown in FIG. Here, the IP address is an IP address (private IP address) for specifying a device on the LAN set in the home H10. The control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13 transmits its own IP address to the server 50 together with the status information in step S102 of FIG. When receiving the IP address together with the status information from the kitchen remote controller 13 in step S201 of FIG. 3B, the control unit 501 of the server 50 updates the IP address included in the management information to the received IP address.

  FIGS. 10A and 10B are flowcharts illustrating the control of the portable terminal device 30 and the kitchen remote controller 13 in remote control according to the second embodiment, respectively.

  Referring to FIG. 10A, when the operator starts an application for remote operation on portable terminal device 30, control unit 303 of portable terminal device 30 sends a message to A request to obtain the IP address of the remote controller 13 is transmitted (S701). This acquisition request includes the identification information (mobile ID) of the mobile terminal device 30. Thereafter, the control unit 303 waits for reception of the IP address (S702).

  Upon receiving the acquisition request from the mobile terminal device 30, the control unit 501 of the server 50 changes the IP address associated with the identification information based on the identification information (mobile ID) of the mobile terminal device 30 included in the acquisition request. The IP address extracted from the management information is transmitted to the portable terminal device 30.

  Thereby, control unit 303 of portable terminal device 30 receives the IP address from server 50 (S702: YES). Then, the control unit 303 transmits a confirmation request to the received IP address (S703).

  FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating a packet configuration of the confirmation request.

  The confirmation request is transmitted by an IP packet. The IP header includes a destination IP address, a source IP address, transmission control data, and the like. The TCP header includes control data and the like used in TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). The TLS header includes information for constructing an encrypted communication channel by a TLS (transport layer security) protocol. The data portion following the TLS header stores the type of notification and an identification number (IoT_ID) on the server 50 for managing the kitchen remote controller 13. Here, the type of notification is a confirmation request. The identification number is also received from the server 50 in the portable terminal device 30 when the IP address is received in step S702 of FIG.

  Here, when the mobile terminal device 30 is in the home H10, the confirmation request transmitted from the mobile terminal device 30 is received by the kitchen remote controller 13 from the router 20 installed in the home H10 via the router 21. Therefore, in this case, a response to the confirmation request is transmitted from the kitchen remote controller 13 to the portable terminal device 30 via the routers 21 and 22. On the other hand, when the portable terminal device 30 is outside the house, the confirmation request is not received by the kitchen remote controller 13 because it cannot be connected to the outside communication network 40 outside the house depending on the IP address (private IP address). Therefore, in this case, a response to the confirmation request is not transmitted from kitchen remote controller 13 to portable terminal device 30.

  The control unit 303 of the mobile terminal device 30 determines whether the mobile terminal device 30 is in the home H10 or outside the home depending on whether a response to the confirmation request is received from the kitchen remote controller 13 within a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) (S704). Is determined. If the response to the confirmation request is not received within the predetermined time (S704: NO), the control unit 303 determines that the mobile terminal device 30 is outside the house and sets the operation mode to the outside house mode (S707). ). On the other hand, when the response to the confirmation request is received within the predetermined time (S704: NO), the control unit 303 further executes the processing of step S705, and according to the content of the result field included in the received confirmation response. Then, the operation mode is set to either the in-home mode or the out-of-home mode (S706, S707).

  Here, with reference to FIG. 10B, a process of generating a confirmation response in the kitchen remote controller 13 will be described.

  Upon receiving the confirmation request transmitted from the portable terminal device 30 in step S703 of FIG. 10A (S801: YES), the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13 extracts the identification number (IoT_ID) from the confirmation request (S802). ), And compares the extracted identification number (IoT_ID) with its own identification number (IoT_ID) (S803). The identification number (IoT_ID) of the kitchen remote controller 13 is stored in the storage unit 134 in advance.

  When the two identification numbers (IoT_ID) match (S804: YES), the control unit 133 adds information indicating the match to the result field of the confirmation response (S805), and transmits the confirmation response to the mobile terminal device 30. (S807). On the other hand, when the two identification numbers (IoT_ID) do not match (S804: NO), the control unit 133 adds information indicating the mismatch to the result field of the acknowledgment (S806), and sends the acknowledgment to the mobile terminal device 30. (S807).

  FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating a packet configuration of the acknowledgment.

  Like the confirmation request, the confirmation response is transmitted by an IP packet. The IP header, the TCP header, and the TLS header are the same as the confirmation request in FIG. In the acknowledgment, the notification type is set to the acknowledgment in the data portion following the TLS header, and the result field includes information indicating one of steps S805 and S806 in FIG. 10B.

  Returning to FIG. 10A, when receiving the confirmation response from the kitchen remote controller 13 (S704: YES), the control unit 303 of the portable terminal device 30 determines whether the result field of the confirmation response is a match or a mismatch. (S705). Here, if the confirmation fields match (S705: YES), the control unit 303 sets the operation mode to the home mode (S706) and accepts a remote operation from the operator. On the other hand, if the confirmation fields do not match (S705: NO), the control unit 303 sets the operation mode to the outside-home mode (S707) and accepts a remote operation from the operator. The reception of the remote operation is performed by the same processing as steps S304 to S306 in FIG. At this time, in the server 50, the processes shown in steps S406 and S407 of FIG. 4B are executed, and the setting command transmitted from the mobile terminal device 30 is received.

<Effect of Embodiment 2>
According to the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

  The control unit 303 of the mobile terminal device 30 acquires the IP address of the kitchen remote controller 13 and, based on a communication result (presence or absence of a confirmation response) when communication (transmission of a confirmation request) is performed with respect to the acquired IP address. Then, it is determined whether the mobile terminal device 30 exists in the house H10 or outside the house. Specifically, when there is no response from kitchen remote controller 13 in communication based on the IP address (transmission of the confirmation request), control unit 303 determines that portable terminal device 30 is outside the home. Thereby, it is possible to more appropriately determine whether the mobile terminal device 30 is inside the house or outside the house.

  For example, in the determination method of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, two routers 20 and 21 are installed in the house H10, and the portable terminal device 30 is connected to the router 21 different from the router 20 to which the kitchen remote controller 13 is connected. When the connection is set, the BSSID transmitted from the router 21 to which the mobile terminal device 30 is connected to the server 50 is the same as that of the router 20 to which the kitchen remote controller 13 is connected, even if the mobile terminal device 30 is in the house. No longer matches BSSID. Therefore, in this case, the operation mode (in-home mode / out-of-home mode) is set assuming that the mobile terminal device 30 exists outside the house, even though the mobile terminal device 30 exists inside the house.

  On the other hand, in the second embodiment, as shown in steps S703 and S704 in FIG. 10A, the mobile terminal device 30 exists in the house or outside the house by communication directed to the IP address of the kitchen remote controller 13. Is determined. For this reason, even if two routers are installed in the home H10 and the mobile terminal device 30 is set to connect to the router 21 different from the router 20 to which the kitchen remote controller 13 connects, as described above, In addition, it is possible to appropriately determine whether the mobile terminal device 30 is located inside the house or outside the house. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the in-home mode and the out-of-home mode can be set more appropriately by remote control.

  In the second embodiment, even when three or more routers are installed in the home H10, the router connected to the mobile terminal device 30 determines the IP address of the kitchen remote controller 13 connected to another router. As long as the mobile terminal device 30 is located inside or outside the house, it can be properly determined. In the second embodiment, when the device to which the mobile terminal device 30 is connected in the home H10 is not a router but a relay device, similarly to the above, whether the mobile terminal device 30 exists inside the home or outside the home Can be properly determined.

  According to the second embodiment, the control unit 303 of the mobile terminal device 30 transmits information including the identification number (IoT_ID) of the kitchen remote controller 13 in communication (confirmation request) based on the IP address, and transmits the transmitted identification. If the number (IoT_ID) does not match the identification number (IoT_ID) preset in the kitchen remote controller 13 (S705 in FIG. 10A: NO), the operation mode is set to the outside-home mode (FIG. 10A). 10, S707), the target items in the remote operation are reduced. Thereby, for example, an undesired setting operation due to spoofing can be suppressed.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10A, when the identification number (IoT_ID) of the portable terminal device 30 does not match the identification number (IoT_ID) preset in the kitchen remote controller 13. (S704: NO), when the operation mode is set to the out-of-home mode (S707), but when these two identification numbers (IoT_ID) do not match, the number of setting items that can be remotely controlled more than the out-of-home mode May be reduced, or all setting items may be set to be inoperable to prohibit remote operation. Thereby, an undesired setting operation due to spoofing can be more effectively suppressed.

<Modification of Second Embodiment>
In the second embodiment, the determination whether the mobile terminal device 30 is inside the house or outside the house is made in the mobile terminal device 30. However, this determination may be made in the kitchen remote controller 13. In this case, upon receiving the acquisition request transmitted in step S701 of FIG. 10A, server 50 transmits the IP address of kitchen remote controller 13 to portable terminal device 30 at the same time as transmitting the IP address. Is transmitted to the portable terminal device 30. If the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13 receives a confirmation request from the mobile terminal device 30 within a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) after receiving this notification, it determines that the mobile terminal device 30 is present in the home H10, If the confirmation request is not received from the mobile terminal device 30 within the predetermined time, it is determined that the mobile terminal device 30 is outside the house.

  In this case, if the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13 receives the confirmation request within a predetermined time, the control unit 133 executes the processing of steps S802 to S807 in FIG. The response is transmitted to the portable terminal device 30 via the router 20. At this time, the control unit 133 includes information indicating that the mobile terminal device 30 is in the home H10 (hereinafter, referred to as “home identification information”) in the confirmation response.

  When the confirmation request is not received within a predetermined time, the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13 only outputs information indicating that the mobile terminal device 30 is outside the house (hereinafter, referred to as “outside house identification information”). A acknowledgment including the acknowledgment is generated, and the generated acknowledgment is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 30 via the server 50.

  In this case, the control unit 303 of the mobile terminal device 30 executes the following processing instead of the processing of steps S704 to S707 in FIG. That is, when receiving the confirmation response from the kitchen remote controller 13 via the router 20, the control unit 303 confirms that the confirmation response includes the in-home identification information, and further determines whether the information in the result field matches or does not match. Check if there is. Here, when the result fields match, the control unit 303 sets the operation mode to the in-home mode, and when the result fields do not match, sets the operation mode to the outside mode. Further, when receiving the confirmation response from kitchen remote controller 13 via server 50, control unit 303 confirms that the confirmation response includes the outside-of-home identification information, and sets the operation mode to the outside-home mode.

  Even in the case where a plurality of routers are installed in the in-home H10 and the portable terminal device 30 is set to connect to the router 21 different from the router 20 to which the kitchen remote controller 13 connects, similarly to the second embodiment, by this control. Even if there is, it is possible to appropriately determine whether the mobile terminal device 30 is located inside the house or outside the house. Therefore, the in-home mode and the out-of-home mode can be set more appropriately.

<Other changes>
In the first and second embodiments and the modifications thereof, the wireless communication unit 136 is provided in the kitchen remote controller 13 constituting the water heater 10. However, the wireless communication unit is provided in the water heater 11 and the water heater 11 is connected to the router 20. It may be connected. In this case, the control by the kitchen remote controller 13 in the first and second embodiments and the modifications thereof is performed by the control unit 111 of the water heater 11. Alternatively, a control unit including a wireless communication unit in addition to water heater 11, bathroom remote controller 12, and kitchen remote controller 13 may be arranged in water heater 10, and this control unit may be connected to router 20. In this case, the control by the kitchen remote controller 13 in the first and second embodiments and the modifications thereof is performed by the control unit of the control unit.

  Hot water supply device 10 (kitchen remote controller 13) does not necessarily need to be connected to router 20, and may be connected to, for example, a repeater installed in house H10.

  Further, when a relay device including the router 20, a communication adapter, and a control unit is installed in the home H10, the control unit of the relay device may control the relay device according to any one of the first and second embodiments and their modifications. The control in the remote control shown may be performed. In this configuration, the router 20 and the communication adapter are interposed between the water heater 10 and the external communication network 40 and relay the water heater 10 and the external communication network 40. The communication adapter is connected to the hot water supply device 10 (for example, the kitchen remote controller 13) by wire, and the communication adapter and the router 20 are wirelessly connected.

  For example, in this configuration, when the control unit of the relay device makes a determination based on the IP address of hot water supply device 10 (kitchen remote controller 13) shown in the second embodiment, server 50 acquires the IP address from portable terminal device 30. When the request is received, a notification to that effect is sent to the control unit of the relay device. In response, the control unit of the relay device monitors whether or not a response to the confirmation request transmitted from portable terminal device 30 has been made from water heater 10 (kitchen remote controller 13) within a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds). I do. Then, when the response is made from hot water supply device 10 (kitchen remote controller 13) within a predetermined time, the control unit of the relay device determines that portable terminal device 30 is in home H10, and this response is received within a predetermined time. If not performed by the device 10 (the kitchen remote controller 13), it is determined that the portable terminal device 30 is outside the house.

  In this case, the control unit of the relay device sets the remote operation mode to either the home mode or the outside mode based on whether the mobile terminal device 30 is inside the house or outside the house. Is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 30 via the server 50. In response to this, the mobile terminal device 30 sets the mode of the remote operation to either the home mode or the outside mode.

  Also in this case, similarly to the second embodiment, the control unit of the relay device may further determine whether or not the identification number (IoT_ID) included in the confirmation response is appropriate. In this case, even if the control unit of the relay device determines that the mobile terminal device 30 is in the home H10 due to the confirmation response, if the identification number (IoT_ID) is not appropriate, the remote control mode is set. Set to outside mode.

  The functions and items of the hot water supply device 10 are not necessarily limited to those shown in FIG. 5B, but can be changed as appropriate. For example, the function and item of hot water supply device 10 may be a hot water supply function and a bath function and an item associated with these functions, or a hot water supply function, a bath function and a floor heating function may be associated with these functions. It may be an item.

  Further, the operation screen 600 displayed on the portable terminal device 30 does not necessarily have to have the configuration shown in FIG. 5A, and as long as a predetermined setting item can be operated in the in-home mode and the out-of-home mode. Another operation screen may be used.

  In the first embodiment, the identifier (BSSID) of the router 20 is transmitted from the router 20 to the server 50 at a predetermined cycle, and the identifier (BSSID) managed by the server 50 is sequentially updated. The identifier (BSSID) managed by the server 50 may be fixed to this identifier (BSSID) until the router 20 is replaced after the identifier (BSSID) of the server 20 is registered.

  The control of the control unit described in the claims may be shared by the hot water supply device 10, the mobile terminal device 30, and the server 50, or one of the hot water supply device 10, the mobile terminal device 30, and the server 50 May go.

  For example, in the first embodiment and its first modification, the control of the control unit according to claim 1 is mainly performed by the control unit 303 of the portable terminal device 30 as shown in FIGS. In the second modification of the first embodiment, the control of the control unit according to the first embodiment is mainly performed by the control unit 501 of the server 50 as shown in FIG. 13). Further, in the second embodiment, the control of the control unit according to claim 1 is mainly executed by the control unit 303 of the portable terminal device 30 as shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, the control of the control unit according to the first aspect is mainly executed jointly by the control unit 133 of the kitchen remote controller 13 and the control unit 303 of the portable terminal device 30 as described above.

  As described above, the control unit described in the claims may be configured by arbitrarily combining the control units of the hot water supply device 10, the portable terminal device 30, and the server 50. It may be configured by any one of the control units of the terminal device 30 and the server 50.

  In addition, the embodiments of the present invention can be variously modified as appropriate within the scope described in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot-water supply system 10 Hot-water supply device 11 Hot-water supply device 13 Kitchen remote control 20, 21 Router 30 Portable terminal device 40 External communication network 50 Server 133 Control unit (Hot-water supply device control unit)
303 control unit (terminal device control unit)
501 control unit

Claims (18)

A water heater installed for a given building,
A portable terminal device having a function of remotely controlling the water heater via an external communication network outside the building,
It is determined whether the mobile terminal device exists inside or outside the building, and the target item of the remote operation when the mobile terminal device exists outside the building is the mobile terminal device inside the building. A control unit that controls the remote operation so as to be less than the target item of the remote operation in the presence of
A hot water supply system characterized by the following. The hot water supply system according to claim 1,
The control unit acquires an identifier individually assigned to each router, and in the remote operation, the identifier of the router connected to the hot water supply device matches the identifier of the router connected to the mobile terminal device. If the mobile terminal device is determined to be present inside the building,
A hot water supply system characterized by the following. The hot water supply system according to claim 2,
The router is a wireless router having a wireless communication function,
The identifier is a BSSID individually assigned to the wireless router;
A hot water supply system characterized by the following. In the hot water supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The control unit obtains an IP address of the hot water supply device, and based on a communication result obtained when communication is performed from the mobile terminal device to the obtained IP address, the mobile terminal device is configured to perform an internal operation of the building. And whether it exists outside or
A hot water supply system characterized by the following. In the hot water supply system according to claim 4,
The control unit, when there is no response from the water heater to the communication based on the IP address, determines that the mobile terminal device is outside the building,
A hot water supply system characterized by the following. The hot water supply system according to claim 4 or 5,
The control unit, in the communication based on the IP address, causes the portable terminal device to transmit information including identification information of the hot water supply device, the transmitted identification information, and identification information preset in the hot water supply device. And if they do not match, reduce the target items in the remote operation,
A hot water supply system characterized by the following. In the hot water supply system according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
The IP address is an IP address set in a remote controller of the water heater.
A hot water supply system characterized by the following. In the hot water supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A server that is connected to the external communication network and manages the remote operation;
The server constitutes at least a part of the control unit, and executes at least a part of the control in the control unit.
A hot water supply system characterized by the following. The hot water supply system according to claim 8,
The server acquires an identifier individually assigned to each router, and in the remote operation, when the identifier of the router connected to the hot water supply device matches the identifier connected to the mobile terminal device. Determining that the mobile terminal device is inside the building;
A hot water supply system characterized by the following. It is a hot-water supply device used for the hot-water supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A water heater control unit that constitutes at least a part of the control unit and executes at least a part of the control in the control unit,
A hot water supply device characterized by the above-mentioned. The hot water supply device according to claim 10,
The water heater control unit acquires the identifier of the router to which the mobile terminal device is connected and the identifier of the router to which the mobile terminal device is connected, and when the two match, the mobile terminal device is located inside the building. Is determined to exist.
A hot water supply device characterized by the above-mentioned. It is a relay device used for the hot water supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A communication adapter and a wireless router interposed between the water heater and an external communication network,
A relay device control unit that constitutes at least a part of the control unit and executes at least a part of the control in the control unit,
A relay device characterized by the above-mentioned. The relay device according to claim 12,
The relay device control unit may be configured such that, when communication is performed by the mobile terminal device based on the IP address of the water heater, if there is no response from the water heater, the mobile terminal device is located outside the building. Judge
A relay device characterized by the above-mentioned.   A program that causes a computer of a water heater to execute the function of the water heater controller according to claim 10.   A program for causing a computer of a portable terminal device to execute at least a part of the functions of the control unit according to claim 1. The program according to claim 15,
Obtain the IP address of the hot water supply device, perform communication with the obtained IP address, and determine whether the mobile terminal device is inside or outside the building based on a communication result of the communication. Including the ability to
A program characterized by the following. The program according to claim 16,
When there is no response from the water heater to the communication based on the IP address, the portable terminal device includes a function of determining that the mobile terminal device is present outside the building
A program characterized by the following. The program according to any one of claims 15 to 17,
The operation screen used for the remote operation includes a function of changing the target item that can be remotely operated, depending on whether the mobile terminal device is present inside or outside the building.
A program characterized by the following.

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