JP3088212B2 - Remote control device for combustion equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device used for a combustion apparatus such as a hot water supply device having a plurality of remote controllers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A remote control device for a combustion device of this type includes:
There are a polling type and a contention type. First, in the case of the polling system, as shown in FIG. 5, the main controller transmits display data D representing the operating state of the combustion equipment at a constant time interval T1 for each remote controller, and each remote controller transmits the display data D. Receives target data R1, R2,... Indicating the control target input to each time-division, the main controller controls the combustion equipment based on the latest target data, and each remote controller controls the combustion equipment. Displays the operating status. The main controller has a maximum number of connectable remote controllers. The example shown in FIG. 5 is an example in which two remote controllers are connected to the maximum number of four remote controllers. The display data D is also transmitted to the two devices that have not been
Time is also allocated to receive target data from them.

In the contention type, as shown in FIG. 6, display data D is simultaneously transmitted from a main controller to each remote controller at a fixed time interval T2, and each remote controller inputs a control target. Each time the target data is input to the main controller, the main controller controls the combustion equipment based on the latest target data, and each remote controller displays the operating status of the combustion equipment. doing.

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-55618, as shown in FIG. 7, display data D is simultaneously transmitted from a main controller to each remote controller at a fixed time interval T3, and each remote controller is controlled by a remote controller. From the controller, target data R1, R2,
R3 ..., the main controller controls the combustion equipment based on the latest target data, and each remote controller displays the operating state of the combustion equipment.

[0005]

First, in the case of the polling system, there is a problem that the communication time is wasted because the main controller also transmits and receives data to and from a remote controller that is not connected. Next, the contention type does not waste communication time, but there is a possibility that communication will compete because it is not known when transmission of target data from each remote controller to the main controller is performed, There is a problem that control for solving this is complicated.

According to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-55618, communication time is not wasted and communication contention can be easily resolved. However, each remote control has one
Since time-sharing management over the entire operating time T1 of one cycle is required, the capacity of the timer counter used for this operation is large, and thus the processing capacity of the processing unit used is limited, or the capacity of the processing unit is reduced. Has to be increased. In addition, since time is allocated for reception from a remote controller that is not connected, there is a problem that communication time is wasted, though not as much as in the polling method.

An object of the present invention is to solve such problems.

[0008]

For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 1, a remote control device for a combustion device according to the present invention is connected to a combustion control device 1 for controlling a combustion device 20 and to the combustion control device. ., A plurality of remote controllers RC1, RC2,... Each of which inputs target data to the combustion equipment 20 and displays a current operating state of the combustion equipment. A response request unit 3 for sequentially transmitting a request signal to transmit the target data input to the remote controllers RC1, RC2,... To the combustion control unit 1, A display data output means 4 for simultaneously transmitting display data representing an operating state to all the remote controllers RC1, RC2,..., And each of the remote controllers RC1, RC2,.
Timer control means 5 for resetting the timer means 6 at the same time as the end of the transmission of the request signal from the response request means 3 to start the time measurement, and the remote controllers RC1 and RC2 performed in response to the request signal. If the transmission of the target data to the combustion control means 1 is started before the time counted by the timer means 6 reaches a predetermined time, the transmission of the target data is terminated when the transmission of the target data ends. If the transmission is not started before the lapse of the predetermined time, when the predetermined time is reached, the response request means 3 is instructed to transmit a request signal to the next remote controllers RC1, RC2,. When a command signal is transmitted to a specific one of the remote controllers RC1, RC2,..., The display data is also transmitted to the display data output means 4. It is characterized in that a communication control unit 2 for commanding signal.

[0009]

The response request means 3 sequentially transmits a request signal to each of the remote controllers RC1, RC2,... According to a command from the communication control means 2. Each time the transmission of the request signal is completed, the timer control means 5 resets the timer means 6 and starts a new timekeeping. The remote controller which has received the request signal responds to the request signal by the combustion control means 1. Starts transmitting the target data that it has. Except for the case where a request signal is transmitted to a remote controller that is not connected, transmission of target data from the remote controller to the combustion control unit 1 is normally started before the timer unit 6 reaches a predetermined time, Therefore, when the transmission of the target data from the remote controller to the combustion control means 1 is completed, the communication control means 2 instructs the response request means 3 to transmit a request signal for the next remote control. Thereby, each remote controller RC
, RC2,... Are sequentially transmitted to the combustion control means 1.

The combustion control means 1 instructs the response request means 3 to transmit a request signal to a specific one of the remote controllers, and also instructs the display data output means 4 to transmit. The display data indicating the operating state of the combustion equipment 20 is transmitted to the remote controllers RC1, RC2,. As a result, the combustion control means 1 controls each of the remote controllers RC1, RC
.. Control the combustion equipment 20 based on the latest target data input to each remote controller RC1, RC2,.
.. Indicates the operating state of the combustion equipment 20.

When a request signal is transmitted to a remote controller that is not connected, target data is not transmitted from the remote controller to the combustion control means 1 in response to the request signal.
The time counting by the timer means 6 reaches a predetermined time, and at that time, the communication control means 2 instructs the response request means 3 to transmit a request signal to the next remote controller. Since the time that can be measured by the timer means 6 is slightly longer than the predetermined time, each of the remote controllers RC1, RC2,.
• It is much shorter than the time of one cycle to make one round.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, the time that can be measured by the timer means is much shorter than the time of one cycle of making one turn around each remote controller. The capacity of the counter to be used is much smaller than that of a conventional timer that measures an entire cycle. Therefore, the area occupied by the processing unit is reduced by that much, so that the processing capacity can be increased without increasing the capacity of the processing unit.

Further, the time for transmitting the target data to the combustion control means is not allocated to the remote controller which is not connected, so that the communication time is shortened.
Therefore, the control cycle time can be reduced accordingly.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation of a combustion device 20 such as a hot water supply device is controlled by an electronic control device 10. Although the specific structure is omitted, the combustion equipment 20 includes a plurality of solenoid valves for controlling a gas supply amount to a gas burner for heating the heat exchanger, a tap water temperature sensor, a water supply amount sensor, a flame sensor,
An ignition device, an electric fan for controlling the amount of combustion air supplied to the combustion chamber, and the like are provided. The electronic control unit 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11, a read-only memory (ROM) 1
2. It comprises a writable memory (RAM) 13 and input / output interfaces 15, 16 and the like. The above-mentioned respective solenoid valves, sensors, ignition devices, electric fans and the like are connected to the CPU 11 via the input / output interface 16. Also CPU
11, start / stop operation at a plurality of places where the user operates via the input / output interface 15;
Target data necessary for operation control of the combustion device 20 such as a set temperature, a set hot water amount, and set times of various timers are input, and an operation state of the combustion device 20 such as presence or absence of operation, a detected hot water temperature, and a detected hot water amount is displayed. Remote controllers RC1, RC for
Are connected.

In the ROM 12, each remote controller RC1, R
An operation program for controlling the operation of the combustion equipment 20 based on the target data input from C2,..., The electronic control unit 10, the combustion equipment 20, and the remote controllers RC1, RC2,.
And an operation program for controlling communication between them, and numerical values required for these controls (for example, the maximum number N of connectable remote controllers, a time P3 described later, etc.) are stored. RAM
A counter 13 has an area for temporarily storing variables required for these control operations, and a counter 14 which constitutes a timer T (timer means 6) together with a clock pulse generator built in the CPU 11. doing. Combustion equipment 2
The operation program for controlling the operation of 0 is substantially the same as that of a normal combustion device of this kind.

Next, the control of communication between the electronic control unit 10, the combustion equipment 20, and the remote controllers RC1, RC2,... Of this embodiment will be described with reference to the operation explanatory diagram shown in FIG. 3 and the flowchart shown in FIG. This will be described below. In this embodiment, the maximum number N of remote controllers that can be connected is four, but the number of remote controllers that are actually connected is three. The electronic control unit 10 sets each variable to a predetermined initial value (for example, each remote controller) each time a predetermined interrupt signal is input, or each time the operation of one cycle for all the remote controllers RC1, RC2,. Is reset to 1), and the operation according to the flowchart of FIG. 4 is started.

Since n = 1 at the start of operation, the CPU
Step 11 advances the control operation from step 100 to step 101. As shown in FIG. 3, the display data D indicating the operation state of the combustion equipment 20 is controlled by all remote control over a period P1 (for example, about 55 milliseconds) from the time Ta1. , And then in step 102, a request signal S1 to the first remote controller RC1 is transmitted over a time P2 (for example, about 4 milliseconds). In step 103, after waiting for the transmission of the request signal S1 to end, the CPU 11 resets the timer T and starts measuring the time t from 0. Request signal S1
Is completed, the remote controller RC1 starts transmitting the target data R1 of the remote controller RC1 to the CPU 11, and the target data R1 is stored in a predetermined area of the RAM 13.

There is a slight time lag from the end of transmission of the request signal S1 to the start of transmission of the target data R1, but during that time C
The PU 11 advances the control operation to step 106 and returns the control operation to step 105 until the time t reaches a predetermined time P3 (for example, 10 milliseconds). Since the time P3 is set longer than the normal time lag, the transmission of the target data R1 is started before the time t reaches the time P3, and the CPU 11
Advances the control operation from step 105 to 107 to stop the operation of the timer T. Next, at step 108, after the transmission of the target data R1 is completed, at step 109, 1 is added to the variable n to make n = 2, and in this state, n is N
Since it does not exceed (4 in this embodiment), the CPU 11 returns the control operation from step 110 to step 100 and repeats the above operation.

This repetition is started at a certain point in time Ta2 immediately after the end of the transmission of the target data R1. In this case, since n = 2, step 101 is skipped, and the transmission of the display data D is stopped as shown in FIG. Only the transmission of the request signal S2 to the second remote controller RC2 is performed, and at the same time, the timer T is reset to start counting the time t from 0, and the remote controller RC2 has The target data R2 is transmitted to the CPU 11. In the third repetition started from the time point Ta3, as in the second repetition, only the request signal S3 is transmitted to the third remote controller RC3.
R3 is transmitted to the CPU 11.

In the fourth repetition started from the time point Ta4, the request signal S4 is transmitted, but the target data R4 is not transmitted to the CPU 11 because there is no fourth remote controller. In this case, the timer T reset in step 104 is not stopped until the time t reaches the time P3.
Advances the control operation from step 106 to step 109 and sets n = 5. As a result, the operation of one cycle is completed, and the operation returns to the start and the operation is started again from time Ta1. In this case, since the operation time is shortened by the amount of skipping steps 107 and 108, the time interval between time points Ta4 and Ta1 is shorter than the time interval between time points Ta3 and Ta4.

In this manner, each of the remote controllers RC1, RC
Target data transmitted from 2... To the electronic control unit 10
Based on R1, R2, R3, R4, the CPU 11
, And each of the remote controllers RC1, RC2,... Displays the operation state of the combustion equipment 20 based on the display data D transmitted from the electronic control unit 10.

According to the above-described embodiment, the time that can be counted by the timer T is only slightly longer than the time P3, and is much shorter than the time of one cycle in which each remote controller makes one turn. The capacity of the counter 14 used for T needs to be much smaller than that of a conventional timer that measures an entire cycle. Therefore, the C
There is no risk of reducing the processing capacity of the PU 11 or increasing the capacity of the CPU 11.

Further, since a time for transmitting the target data to the CPU 11 is not allocated to the remote controller which is not connected, the communication time is shortened by that much, and the cycle time of the control is reduced. be able to.

In the above embodiment, each remote controller RC
After one cycle of operation for 1, RC2,.
Although it has been described that the operation is started immediately from the start, arithmetic processing for other control may be inserted during the operation. Also, instead of incorporating the electronic control device 10 in the main control device, one of the remote controllers RC1, RC2,.
They may be incorporated into one. Further, the timer T does not necessarily need to be stopped after the lapse of the predetermined time P3, and may reach the maximum time that can be measured and stop operating.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a remote control device for a combustion apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall structural diagram of an embodiment of a remote control device for a combustion apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a control program of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of an example of the related art.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of another example of the related art.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of still another example of the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 combustion control means 2 communication control means 3 response request means 4 display data output means 5 timer control means
6 Timer control means, 20 Combustion equipment, RC1, RC
2, RC3 ... remote controller.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-55618 (JP, A) JP-A-1-300155 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F23N 5/26 H04Q 9/00 301

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. Combustion control means for controlling a combustion apparatus, and a plurality of remote controls connected to the combustion control means for respectively inputting target data to the combustion apparatus and displaying a current operation state of the combustion apparatus. Requesting means for sequentially transmitting, to each of the remote controllers, a request signal to transmit target data inputted to each of the remote controllers to the combustion control means. Display data output means for simultaneously transmitting display data indicating the operating state of the combustion equipment to all the remote controllers; and timer means simultaneously with the completion of transmission of the request signal from the response request means to each of the remote controllers. A timer control means for resetting the time and newly starting time measurement; and a target data from each of the remote controllers to the combustion control means, which is performed in response to the request signal. If the transmission of the target data is started before the time counted by the timer means reaches a predetermined time, when the transmission of the target data is completed, the transmission of the target data is not started before the predetermined time elapses. When the predetermined time is reached, the response request means 3 is instructed to transmit a request signal to the next remote controller and the command is transmitted to a specific one of the remote controllers. A communication control unit for instructing the display data output unit to transmit the display data when performing the operation.