JP2002016989A - Remote operating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote operating apparatus allowing the use frequency of control switches to be accurately known, thereby facilitating to design a remote operating apparatus superior in operability. SOLUTION: The remote operating apparatus 2 has a memory means 8 in a controller 6. This means 8 has memory areas for recording the number of operating times of control switches 5 corresponding to the individual switches 5. When the controller 6 receives a switch operation, data of the number of operating times stored in the area corresponding to the operated control switch 5 are added and updated. This number of the operating times is recorded for every function, if a plurality of functions are allotted to one control switch 5.

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, and more particularly, to a remote control device configured to store the frequency of use of an operation switch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, remote control devices (remote controllers) have been widely and generally employed for various devices (controlled devices) such as water heaters, air conditioners, and televisions. In particular, recently, with the improvement in the functions of the controlled devices, the items that can be operated by the remote control device have increased, and accordingly, the number of operation switches provided in the remote control device has also tended to increase.

[0003] Therefore, in this type of remote control device, in order to improve the ease of handling and the operability of the remote control device, an operation switch which is infrequently used is covered with a hidden cover,
Alternatively, the operation mode of the control unit that controls the remote operation device can be switched by software processing, and a different function is assigned to one operation switch by switching the operation mode of the control unit (switch multifunction). By operating infrequently used operation items in a hidden mode other than the normal operation mode, various ingenuities in device design can be achieved, such as reducing the number of operation switches to improve operability and downsizing the device. It has been done.

[0004]

By the way, in adopting such a multi-function hidden cover or switch,
The use situation of the remote control device, that is, the operation items that are frequently used and the operation items that are not frequently used are not accurately determined, which impairs the operability. For this reason, conventionally, the usage status of operation switches has been investigated through questionnaires at the time of user registration and interviews with sales personnel, and based on the results, the design of remote operation devices, especially the layout of operation switches and the assignment of functions, etc. Had been done.

[0005] However, in such a conventional method, it is difficult to obtain accurate information on the usage status of the remote control device, and it is difficult to perform an appropriate design according to the usage status of the operation switch.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device capable of accurately knowing the use frequency of an operation switch. An object of the present invention is to facilitate the design of a remote control device having excellent handling and operability.

[0007]

To achieve the above object, a remote control device according to the present invention comprises a plurality of operation switches,
A remote control device having a control unit that receives the switch operation and outputs a control signal to the controlled device, wherein a storage unit that stores the number of times of operation of each of the operation switches is provided.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the operation switches include a multi-function operation switch to which a plurality of functions are assigned, the storage means stores the information for each function of the operation switches. The number of operations is stored.

[0009] Preferably, the storage means is in the form of a non-volatile memory.

That is, according to the remote control device of the present invention, the number of times of operation is stored in the storage means for each operation switch, or for each function when the operation switch is multifunctional. Thus, the use frequency of the operation switch can be accurately grasped. Therefore, when a new remote control device is designed or an existing product is improved, a hidden cover can be provided according to the frequency of use of the operation switch, and the operation switch can be multifunctional.

Further, since the storage means is constituted by a non-volatile memory, the data of the number of operations stored in the storage means is not lost even if, for example, the remote control device breaks down. It is also possible to use the data as data for troubleshooting.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of a remote control device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a case in which the remote control device of the present invention is applied to a hot water supply system, more specifically, to a hot water supply bath system. In the illustrated example, the remote control device is a remote control device 2 of a water heater 1 which is a controlled device. Two remote control devices 2a and 2b are connected. Reference numeral 2a in the figure indicates a remote control device (bathroom remote control) installed in a bathroom, and reference numeral 2b indicates a remote control device installed in a kitchen other than the bathroom, for example, a kitchen. (Kitchen remote control). Further, reference numeral 3 in the figure denotes a bathtub that receives the supply of hot water from the water heater 1, and reference numeral 4 denotes a shower that receives the supply of hot water from the water heater 1.

In this hot water supply system, by operating various operation switches (to be described in detail later) provided on the remote control device 2a (or 2b), a control signal corresponding to the operation content is remotely controlled. Device 2a
(Or 2b) is transmitted to the water heater 1, and the water heater 1 performs a predetermined water heating operation based on the control signal.

Therefore, the remote control device 2 will be described below.
Will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the remote control device 2 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the remote control device 2 of the present invention includes a plurality of operation switches 5, a control unit 6 that receives an operation on the operation switches 5 and outputs a predetermined control signal to the water heater 1, A display unit 7 which is linked with the control unit 6 to display the operation status of the water heater 1 and the like; an operation status storage unit (storage means) 8 for storing the number of times of operation of each of the operation switches; And a communication interface 9 as a main part.

Specifically, the operation switch 5 is in the form of a contact electrically connected to an input port of a microcomputer constituting the control unit 6, and the contact is short-circuited by a switch operation. Thus, a switch operation signal is input to the microcomputer.

The control unit 6 constitutes a control center of the remote control device 2. The control unit 6 outputs a control signal for remote control of the water heater 1 and receives an input signal from the water heater 1. Various processes such as a display process for receiving and displaying a control signal indicating an operating state of the electronic device are performed.

Specifically, in the control unit 6, the water heater 1
When the operation switch 5 is operated with respect to the remote control, a switch operation signal from the operation switch 5 is received, and a control signal having a content corresponding to the function assigned to the operation switch 5 is transmitted to the water heater 1. . That is, for example, when a function of instructing reheating of a bath is assigned to the operated switch, a bath reheating pump (not shown) is driven for the water heater 1 in accordance with the operation of the operation switch 5. Thus, a control signal for circulating the bathtub water between the bathtub 3 and the water heater 1 and instructing the start of the combustion operation is output to the water heater 1 via the communication interface 9.

In addition, the control unit 6 performs different operation modes by software processing in order to provide a single operation switch with a plurality of different functions (operation contents) in connection with remote operation of the water heater 1. It is configured to be operable. That is, by switching the operation mode, the specific operation switch 5 is multifunctional (details will be described later).

Further, the control unit 6 controls the operation of the water heater 1 which is input from the water heater 1 via the communication interface 9 in connection with the reception and display process of the operation of the water heater 1. A signal is received, and a process of displaying the operation state of the water heater on the display unit 7 based on the received control signal is performed.

The display unit 7 is a display device that operates in cooperation with the control unit 6, and specifically includes a fluorescent display tube and a display device in the form of a dot matrix composed of self-luminous elements. Is done.

The operation status storage unit 8 is a storage device in which writing and reading of data are controlled by the control unit 6. In the present embodiment, the operation status storage unit 8 is constituted by a nonvolatile memory (for example, an EEPROM or a flash memory). .
Each operation switch 5 is stored in the operation status storage unit 8.
An area for storing the number of operations is provided for each operation. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, this storage area is provided not only for each operation switch 5 but also for each function when there is a multi-function operation switch.

Although the operation status storage section 8 stores the number of times of operation of the operation switch 5 as described above, it is not necessary to newly provide a dedicated memory for storing the number of times of operation. It can also be realized by securing an area for storing the number of operations in an existing memory provided in the remote control device 2 for storing data for maintenance (for example, data of a failure history, a burning time, an energizing time, and the like). is there. In other words, the data stored in the operation status storage unit 8 is data on the number of times the operation switch 5 has been operated and has a small data capacity. It is possible.

FIG. 3 shows the external appearance of the remote controller 2 (more specifically, the bathroom remote controller 2a) of the present embodiment. That is, the bathroom remote controller 2a is provided with the operation switch 5 on the front surface thereof so that the operation of the bathroom remote controller 2a itself can be started /
Operation switch 51 for switching stop and bathroom remote control 2
a priority switch 52 for giving priority to the operation of the kitchen remote controller 2b to the operation of the kitchen remote controller 2b; , A setting switch 56 for switching the operation mode of the control unit 6, an up switch 57 and a down switch 58 provided with different functions for each operation mode of the control unit 6. It has.

The display section 7 includes an operation mode display section 71 formed of a fluorescent display tube and a main display section 72 formed of a dot matrix of self-luminous elements.

The operation mode display section 71 indicates “hot water supply”, “plenty / warm” indicating the type of operation mode of the control section 6.
The display is composed of each display of “bath temperature” and “bath hot water amount”, and a bar display for emitting and displaying the current operation mode (in the illustrated example, a bar indicating the operation mode of “bath temperature” is lit). . Further, the main display section 72 displays the current time, bath hot water temperature, bath hot water amount, hot water supply set temperature, and the like in characters and figures using a dot matrix (see illustration). In addition,
The display content of the main display section 72 is appropriately changed depending on the operation mode.

In the remote control device 2 configured as described above, switching of the operation mode of the control unit 6 and storage of the number of times of operation of the operation switch 5 are performed as follows.

A: Switching of Operation Mode In this remote operation device 2, four operation modes ("hot water supply" mode, "plenty / warm" mode, and "furo") as operation modes of the control unit 6 are shown in FIG. A "hot water temperature" mode and a "hot water volume" mode) are set, and these operation modes can be switched by operating the setting switch 56.

Specifically, when the operation switch 51 is operated to start the operation, the operation mode of the control unit 6 is selected to be the "hot water supply" mode. In other words, the "hot water supply" mode is the normal operation mode, and under this operation mode,
The hot water supply set temperature is set to “up” for the up switch 57.
The function (operation content) of performing hot water supply is set to the down switch 58. Therefore, in this operation mode, when the up switch 57 is operated, the hot water supply set temperature is sequentially increased according to the number of operations, while when the down switch 58 is operated, the hot water set temperature is sequentially set low according to the number of operations. .

When it is desired to adjust a setting other than the hot water supply set temperature, the setting switch 56 is repeatedly operated until the mode of the desired setting is changed. For example, when it is desired to change the setting of the amount of hot water in the bathtub 3, the setting switch 56 is operated three times, and the operation mode of the control unit 6 is switched to the "hot water amount" mode. In this operation mode, the up switch 57 is assigned a function of increasing the amount of bath water, and the down switch 58 is assigned a function of decreasing the bath temperature. Therefore, when the up switch 57 is operated in this operation mode, the amount of bath water during automatic filling is increased, and when the down switch 58 is operated, the amount of bath water is reduced.

As described above, the remote control device 2 of the present embodiment
In the above, a plurality of functions are assigned to the up switch 57 and the down switch 58, whereby the number of operation switches 5 provided on the front of the apparatus is suppressed.

B: Storage of the number of times the operation switch is operated As described above, the operation mode of the control unit 6 is switched to change the desired various settings. In the remote operation device 2 of the present embodiment, the operation is changed. When a switch operation is performed on the switch 5, the control unit 6 that has received the switch operation executes a process of storing the number of times the operation switch 5 has been operated.

Specifically, when the operation switch 5 is operated and the operation is received by the control unit 6, the control unit 6
A process of adding one to the operation count data stored in the storage area provided in the operation status storage unit 8 corresponding to the operation switch 5 on which the operation is performed is performed.

For example, when the operation switch 51 is operated, the control unit 6 having received the operation performs a process of adding 1 to the data of the area of the operation status storage unit 8 for storing the number of times the operation switch 51 is operated. Do.

On the other hand, when the operated switch is a multifunctional switch such as the up switch 57, when the switch is operated, the control unit 6 controls the up switch 57 based on the operation mode. Is determined, and the data in the operation status storage unit 8 is rewritten based on the determined function. In other words, if the operation mode is the "hot water supply" mode, the data in the storage area corresponding to this is rewritten, and if the operation mode is the "hot water amount" mode, the storage set corresponding to the "hot water amount" mode is set. Update the data in the area.

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation switch 5
Each time is operated, the control unit 6 updates the data in the storage area of the operation status storage unit 8, so that the operation status of the operation switch 5 can be accurately grasped. In addition, since this data is updated for each function of the operation switch 5, the number of times of use can be accurately grasped for each function even when the switch is multifunctional.

Further, since the operation status storage unit 8 is constituted by a non-volatile memory, the stored data of the number of operations is not lost. The number of times the operation switch 5 has been operated can be read.

C: Reading of the operation count data By the way, the data of the operation count stored in the operation status storage section 8 in this manner is stored in the operation status storage section 8 during the operation mode of the control section 6, for example. A mode (maintenance mode) for reading stored data is provided, and when the mode is switched to this mode, the data can be read out so as to be displayed on the main display section 72. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, a device (maintenance monitor) 10 having a function of displaying data is connected to the communication interface 9, and the number of operations is displayed using the display function of the maintenance monitor 10. You can also.

The above-described embodiment merely shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this, and various design changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the remote control device 2 according to the present invention is applied to the remote control device of the water heater 1 has been described. The present invention can also be applied as a remote control device for devices other than the first device.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the number of times of operation of the operation switch 5 is stored in the operation status storage unit 8 for each function of the operation switch 5 has been described. If detailed data on the number of operations is unnecessary, the number of operations can be stored for each operation switch.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the operation status storage unit 8 is provided separately from the control unit 6 has been described. However, the operation status storage unit 8 can be built in the control unit 6. . Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration as shown in FIG. 4 has been exemplified as the multi-function of the operation switch 5, but the details of the multi-function operation switch 5 can be appropriately changed in design.

In the above-described embodiment, the number of times of operation of each operation switch 5 is stored in the operation status storage unit 8 provided in the remote control device 2. It is also possible to store the number of times of operation of the operation switch 5 in the remote control device 2 on the water heater side by communication with the water heater, provided on the water heater side (not shown). In this case, when a plurality of remote control devices 2 are connected to the water heater, the operation status of the operation switch 5 in each remote control device 2 can be collectively managed by the water heater, and the entire system can be managed. It is possible to optimize the storage capacity.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration is described in which the number of operations is written in the operation status storage unit 8 each time the operation of the operation switch 5 is performed.
For example, the number of times the operation switch 5 has been operated is temporarily stored in an internal memory (not shown) of the control unit 6, and the accumulated data is periodically and collectively written to the operation status storage unit 8. It is also possible to configure to perform the following. In other words, according to this configuration, the communication frequency between the control unit 6 and the operation status storage unit 8 can be reduced, thereby simplifying the communication program used for the communication.

[0046]

As described in detail above, according to the remote control device of the present invention, the number of times of operation of each operation switch or each function when the operation switch is multifunctional is reduced. Since it is stored in the storage means, the use frequency of the operation switch can be accurately grasped.

Further, since the storage means is constituted by a non-volatile memory, the once stored data of the number of operations is not lost even when the power supply of the remote control device is cut off. Diagnosis can also be made.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a connection example when a remote control device according to the present invention is used as a remote control device of a water heater.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the remote control device.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of an external configuration of the remote control device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of function assignment of operation switches in the remote operation device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a model of a storage area of an operation status storage unit in the remote operation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot-water supply device 2, 2a, 2b Remote operation device 5, 51-58 Operation switch 6 Control part 7 Display part 8 Operation status storage part (storage means)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tadahiko Oshio 93, Edo-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Pref. (72) Inventor: Masayoshi Murakami 93, Edo-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture Inside Noritz Co., Ltd. Person Takehiro Kurihara 93 Edo-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo F-term in Noritz Corporation (reference) 3L061 BB01 BC07 5K048 AA04 AA14 BA03 BA08 BA14 DC04 EB02 FB10 FB15 GB03 GB04 HA04 HA06 HA13

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A remote control device comprising: a plurality of operation switches; and a control unit that receives the switch operation and outputs a control signal to a controlled device, wherein the storage unit that stores the number of operations for each operation switch is provided. A remote control device, which is provided. 2. When the operation switch includes a multi-function operation switch to which a plurality of functions are assigned, the storage means stores the number of times of operation for each function of the operation switch. The remote control device according to claim 1. 3. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein said storage means is in the form of a nonvolatile memory. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying the number of operations stored in said storage means.
A remote control device according to claim 3. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication interface for enabling data communication with an external device, wherein the number of operations stored in said storage means is readable via said communication interface. Claim 3
The remote control device according to any one of the above.