JP2002071211A - Switching function setting system for operation unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a switching function setting system that can change the functions assigned to the control switches of an operation unit for electronic equipment according to the frequency in operation, etc., of the operation unit. SOLUTION: In a remote operation unit 10a in which the functions assigned to control switches 11 and 12 can be switched to each other by switching the operation mode of a microcomputer carried by the operation unit, the operational mode which is initialized as the normal operation mode of the microcomputer is made arbitrarily changeable. Consequently, the functions assigned to the control switches 11 and 12 during the normal operation mode can be changed according to the liking of a user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for setting a switch function of an operating device, and more particularly to a technology for setting a function assigned to each switch of a remote operating device used in, for example, a water heater system with a bath kettle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of water heaters, FIG.
As shown in (1), a single water heater 1 can be used to supply both hot water to the bathtub 2 (in the case where a reheating function is added, reheating) and hot water to the shower 3 or Karan. A hot water heater system with a bath kettle (hereinafter referred to as a hot water heater system) is provided.

In such a water heater system, usually, two remote control devices of a bath remote controller 10a for a bathroom and a kitchen remote controller 10b for a kitchen are provided as the remote controller 10 of the water heater 1. Remote control device 10a, 1
Various setting operations such as setting of hot water supply temperature and setting of hot water temperature (bath temperature) of bathtub 2 are enabled by 0b.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the external configuration of such a remote control device 10 (specifically, bath remote control 10a).
Shown in The bath remote controller 10a shown in FIG. 2 includes an up switch 11 for increasing the set temperature and a down switch 1 for decreasing the set temperature for setting operations of hot water supply temperature and bath temperature.
2, two operation switches (temperature control switches). In the illustrated remote controller 10a, a mounted microcomputer (not shown) has a plurality of operation modes (input modes). The switch function assigned to the switch 12 can be switched.

More specifically, the microcomputer has at least two operation modes of the hot water supply temperature setting mode and the bath temperature setting mode as the operation modes. The microcomputer accepts switch operations of the up switch 11 and the down switch 12 as a hot water supply temperature setting operation, and accepts the switch operation as a bath temperature setting operation in a bath temperature setting mode.

[0006] Among such operation modes, the hot water supply temperature setting mode is initially set as a normal operation mode. Therefore, the setting switch 13
When the up switch 11 and the down switch 12 are operated in a state in which is not yet operated (initial state), this operation is accepted by the microcomputer as a setting operation of the hot water supply temperature. In other words, the user of the water heater system needs the up switch 11 and the down switch 12
Is operated so that the setting of the hot water supply temperature can be changed immediately.

[0007] As described above, the conventional bath remote controller 10 is used.
In a, the reason why the hot water supply temperature setting operation mode is initially set as the normal operation mode is that the same remote controller 10a and the kitchen remote controller 10b are equipped with the same microcomputer. More specifically, when using the same microcomputer as the microcomputer mounted on these, it is necessary to initialize an operation mode with a high operation frequency as a normal operation mode,
Since the setting operation of the bath temperature is performed almost only in the bathroom and the setting operation of the bath temperature is hardly performed in the kitchen remote controller 10b, the setting mode of the hot water supply temperature is set as a normal operation mode common to the bath remote controller 10a and the kitchen remote controller 10b. Initial setting.

[0008]

However, such a conventional remote control device has the following problems.
The improvement was desired.

That is, recently, a single-lever faucet or a thermo-curan capable of mixing and arbitrarily mixing water and hot water as a curan or shower used in a kitchen or a bathroom has become widespread. While the operation frequency of the operation tends to decrease, the bath temperature varies depending on the preference of the bather, so that the bath temperature setting operation tends to be performed for each bather. That is, due to the spread of the single lever faucet and the like, the operation frequency of the bath temperature setting operation has become higher than the operation frequency of the hot water supply temperature setting operation.

Therefore, if the setting operation of the hot water supply temperature is performed as the initial setting as in the prior art, the setting operation of the bath temperature cannot be performed immediately when the remote control device is in the initial state (that is, the operation mode switching operation cannot be performed). Required),
There is a problem that the operability of the remote control device is not good.

[0011] Such a problem is not limited to the remote control device used by switching operation modes as shown in FIG. 2. For example, an operation switch for setting a hot water supply temperature and an operation switch for setting a bath temperature are used. The same also occurs in a remote control device having both of them and having an operation switch for bath temperature setting operation covered with a hidden cover. That is, in such a remote control device, every time the bath temperature setting operation is performed, the opening and closing operation of the hidden cover is required, and the bath temperature setting operation is complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to change a function assigned to an operation switch in an operation device of an electronic device according to an operation frequency or the like. A switch function setting method is provided.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a switch function setting system for an operating device, comprising:
An operation device for performing various setting operations for an electronic device, wherein the input mode that is initially set is arbitrarily changed in an operation device in which a function assigned to an operation switch can be switched by switching an input mode. By being made possible, the function assigned to the operation switch in the initial state can be changed.

Here, the above-mentioned electronic devices refer to all devices that perform a predetermined function by supplying power.
In the present invention, it particularly means a device that accepts a setting operation by the operation device. Therefore, a system such as a water heater system including, for example, a water heater is also included in addition to a single device such as a water heater and an air conditioner. Further, the operating device includes an operating device integrally formed with the electronic device, such as an operating panel provided on the electronic device, and an electronic device that is separate from the electronic device. Also included are remote control devices.

That is, in the present invention, since the input mode initially set in the operating device can be changed, for example, in the input mode initially set in the remote operating device (operating device) of the water heater system with a bath kettle, In the other input modes after the mode change, the operation switch used for setting the bath temperature is set as the operation switch for setting the bath temperature from the initial state before the mode change. That is, the other input modes can be initialized.

Therefore, according to the switch function setting method of the operating device according to the first aspect of the invention, when the operation of changing the setting of the bath temperature is higher than the operation of changing the setting of the hot water temperature, the user can change the input mode. By changing the initial setting of, the bath temperature setting operation can be performed immediately without performing the mode switching operation,
A remote control device with good operability can be provided.

According to the switch function setting method for an operating device of the second invention, an operating device for performing various setting operations for an electronic device, which has a plurality of operation switches for the setting operation, is provided with an initial setting. In this state, the functions assigned to the respective operation switches can be changed later, so that the functions originally assigned to one operation switch and the other operation switch can be exchanged. It is characterized by the following.

That is, according to the second aspect, the function assigned to the operation switch in the initial state can be changed later, so that, for example, a remote control device of a water heater system with a bath kettle In the (operating device), when an operation switch for setting the hot water supply temperature and an operation switch for setting the bath temperature are provided, the functions assigned to these operation switches in the initial state are exchanged. Assign the bath temperature setting operation function to the operation switch for hot water supply temperature setting,
On the other hand, it is possible to assign the hot water supply temperature setting operation function to the operation switch originally used for the bath temperature setting operation.

Therefore, according to the switch function setting method of the operating device according to the second invention, for example, an operation switch covered with a hidden cover (for example, an operation switch for setting bath temperature) and such a hidden cover The function can be switched between an operation switch that is not covered with a switch (for example, an operation switch for setting a hot water supply temperature), so that the operation switch that is frequently operated according to the operation frequency can be easily operated (that is, a hidden cover). Position where there is no).

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a remote control device of a water heater system with a bath kettle to which a switch function setting method of a control device according to the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 The basic configuration of a water heater system with a bath kettle is shown in FIG.
In addition, an example of the remote control device of the water heater system has been described with reference to FIG.

Therefore, the remote control device (floor remote controller) 10a shown in FIG. 2 will be described in more detail. The bath remote controller 10a is a remote control device for the water heater 1, and includes the up switch 11,
In addition to the down switch 12 and the setting switch 13, an operation switch 14 for setting the operation of the bath remote controller 10a on / off, an automatic bath switch 15 for performing automatic hot water filling of the bathtub 2, and a reheating of bathtub water. , A priority switch 17 for switching the setting priority of the hot water supply temperature between remote controls in the water heater system, and a call switch 18 for making a call with the kitchen remote control 10b.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a display unit for displaying the operation status of these operation switches, the operation status of the water heater 1, and the like. The display unit 19 has specific contents (in the illustrated example, "hot water supply"). , "Plenty / warm", "temperature of bath", "volume of bath water") by turning on / off the indicator lamps, a liquid crystal display panel and a dot matrix display in which each dot is formed by a fluorescent display tube. And a second display section 19b capable of freely displaying characters and figures such as a panel.

The operation switches 11 to 18 and the display unit 19 are electrically connected to a microcomputer (not shown) mounted on the bath remote controller 10a.
It is controlled by this microcomputer.

This microcomputer has a plurality of operation modes as described above. In this embodiment,
As this operation mode, in addition to the above-described hot water supply temperature setting mode and bath temperature setting mode, an initial setting selection mode is provided as a mode for selecting an operation mode to be initially set. In addition, this initial setting selection mode is
It can be selected by a predetermined operation of the setting switch 13 (for example, operating the setting switch 13 several times),
When this mode is selected, the second display unit 1
A predetermined setting change screen (see FIG. 4A) is displayed on 9b.

Next, the initial setting selection mode will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

That is, in the bath remote controller 10a,
As described above, the hot water supply temperature setting mode is initially set as a normal operation mode. However, if it is desired to change the initial setting to the bath temperature setting mode, the setting switch 13 is first operated to operate the microcomputer. The mode is changed to the initial setting selection mode, and a predetermined setting change screen is displayed on the second display section 19b (see step S1 in FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 4A, the setting change screen includes, for example, the name a of the target remote control device 10 ("flo remote controller" in the illustrated example) and the setting contents ("temperature control" in the illustrated example). SW setting ") b and operation mode selections (" hot water supply "and" furo "in the illustrated example) that can be selected as initial settings c
_1, and a screen for displaying and c _2.

The user selects an operation mode desired to be initialized as a normal operation mode in accordance with the display of the setting change screen (see step S2 in FIG. 3). That is, in the present embodiment, since the setting mode of the hot water supply temperature is initially set as the normal operation mode, the user desiring to change the mode is set to the “furo” c indicating the setting mode of the bath temperature according to the display of the above-mentioned option. _{The second} option is selected ("Yes" selection in step S3 in FIG. 3).

Here, the selection of the above-mentioned alternatives c ₁ and c ₂ is as follows.
An operation switch provided adjacent to the selection branch, specifically, the up switch 11 and the down switch 12
(In the drawing, these are collectively shown as a temperature control switch.) That is, the up switch 11 is operated to select the hot water supply temperature setting mode, and the down switch 12 is operated to select the bath temperature setting mode. Is performed. In other words, in the initial setting selection mode, the up switch 11 and the down switch 12 are assigned with the function of selecting the selection branches c ₁ and c ₂ , that is, the function of selecting the operation mode to be initialized. Have been.

[0031] Then, when the setting mode of the bath temperature is selected in this state, in the setting change screen, for example, such as blinking the display c ₂ of the "bath", the setting mode of the bath temperature is selected Is displayed (see FIG. 4 (b)).

After the selection, the selection is registered in the microcomputer through a predetermined operation for confirming the selection (for example, including no operation for about several seconds) (see step S4 in FIG. 3). The information is displayed on the second display unit 19b (see reference numeral d in FIG. 4C). With this registration,
When the operation of the bath remote controller 10a is started in subsequent operations, the bath temperature setting mode is first selected as the operation mode of the microcomputer.

Thereafter, a predetermined operation for exiting the initial setting selection mode is performed, thereby terminating the initial setting selection mode (see step S5 in FIG. 3). FIG.
The operation shifts to the initial setting operation mode selected as the normal operation mode in step S3, that is, the bath temperature setting mode (see step S6 in FIG. 3).

Thereafter, each time the operation of the bath remote controller 10a is started, the bath temperature setting mode is set as the normal operation mode of the microcomputer. If the up switch 11 and the down switch 12 are operated (without performing the operation), this operation is accepted by the microcomputer as a bath temperature setting operation.

On the other hand, in the step S3 in FIG.
If choices of c ₂ is not selected, i.e., when the up switch 11 indicating the choices "hot water" c ₁ is operated, changing the initially set the operation mode is not registered in the microcomputer (3 Step S7). When a predetermined operation for exiting the initial setting selection mode is performed in this state, the setting change screen ends (see step S8 in FIG. 3).

In this case, since the operation mode initially set as the normal operation mode in the microcomputer is not changed, the setting mode of the hot water supply temperature is initially set in the microcomputer as originally set, and the bath remote controller is set. At the beginning of the operation of 10a, the hot water supply temperature setting mode is selected. That is, the bath remote controller 10a in the initial state
Up switch 11 and down switch 12
Is performed, the operation is received by the microcomputer as a setting operation of the hot water supply temperature.

As described above, in the water heater system shown in the present embodiment, since the operation mode initially set in the microcomputer can be selected, the user sets the bath temperature as the initial setting of the bath remote controller 10a in advance. By selecting the mode, the bath temperature setting operation can be performed immediately without performing the operation mode switching operation.

The operation mode to be initially set is selected for each microcomputer, that is, for the remote control device 10.
For example, the bath remote controller 10a can set the bath temperature setting mode to the initial setting, while the kitchen remote controller 10b can set the hot water supply temperature setting mode to the initial setting. It is possible to select an optimal operation mode as an initial setting for every 10.

Embodiment 2 Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. That is, in the first embodiment, the remote control device 10 in which the function assigned to the operation switch is switched by switching the operation mode of the mounted microcomputer is described. A remote control device that does not switch the operation mode will be described.

More specifically, although not shown, the invention according to the present embodiment is applied to, for example, a remote control device having an operation switch for setting a hot water supply temperature and an operation switch for setting a bath temperature separately. Is done. That is, in the remote control device having such a configuration, the operation switch for setting the hot water supply temperature and the operation switch for setting the bath temperature are respectively connected to the microcomputer through separate wires. In other words, the microcomputer recognizes whether these operation switches are for setting the hot water supply temperature or for setting the bath temperature.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, the recognition of the microcomputer can be rewritten on the condition of a predetermined operation of the operation switch provided in the remote control device, that is, the microcomputer is initially recognized for the operation of setting the hot water supply temperature. By recognizing the operation switches that are used for setting the bath temperature, and recognizing the operation switches that are initially recognized for setting the bath temperature for setting the hot water supply temperature, the functions of these operation switches are recognized. It is intended to be interchangeable.

Thus, for example, when the operation switch for bath temperature setting is covered with a cover, the functions of the operation switch for setting hot water supply temperature and the operation switch for setting bath temperature are exchanged. Can be arranged at a position without a cover. In other words, in this case, if the operation frequency of the operation switch for bath temperature setting is high, the switch function is exchanged, so that the bath temperature setting operation can be performed without opening and closing the hidden cover each time. Performance can be improved.

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-described embodiment, the operation of changing the initial setting in the bath remote controller 10a has been described, but this operation is also applied to the kitchen remote controller 10b. In the above-described embodiment, the hot water supply temperature setting mode and the bath temperature setting mode have been described as the operation modes that can be initialized, but the operation modes that can be initialized are not limited to these, and the design can be changed as appropriate. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the description has been made by taking the water heater system as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to operation devices other than the remote control device 10 of the water heater system as long as the operation device is an electronic device.

[0045]

As described above in detail, the switch function setting method for the operating device according to the first invention is based on the operating device in which the function assigned to the operating switch can be switched by switching the input mode. Since the initial input mode can be changed arbitrarily,
The user can change the input mode initially set according to his / her preference. Therefore, for example, by setting the input mode that is frequently operated as the initial setting,
The user can immediately perform the setting operation without having to perform the input mode switching operation, thereby providing an operation device with good operability.

Further, in the switch function setting method of the operating device according to the second aspect of the present invention, in a device having a plurality of operation switches as setting operation switches, a function assigned to each of the above-mentioned operation switches in an initial state is a posteriori. Since the setting can be changed, the user can exchange the switch functions assigned to the respective operation switches in the initial state according to his / her preference. Therefore, for example, by exchanging the functions of the operation switch covered by the hidden cover and the operation switch not covered by the hidden cover, it is easy to operate the operation switch having a high operation frequency in accordance with the operation frequency. Position.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a water heater system with a bath kettle.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of an external configuration of a remote control device used in the water heater system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a change operation of an initial setting in a remote control device employing the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display mode of a display unit in the remote control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 water heater 2 bath tub 3 shower 10 remote control device (operating device) 10a bath remote control (remote control device) 10b kitchen remote control (remote control device) 11 up switch (temperature control switch) 12 down switch (temperature control switch) 13 setting switch 19 Display

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An operation device for performing various setting operations for an electronic device, wherein the input device is configured to be capable of switching a function assigned to an operation switch by switching an input mode. A switch function setting method for an operation device, wherein a function assigned to the operation switch in an initial state is changeable by allowing a mode to be arbitrarily changeable. 2. An operation device for performing various setting operations on an electronic device, the operation device having a plurality of operation switches for the setting operation, wherein a function assigned to each of the operation switches in an initial state is a post operation. A switch function setting method for an operating device, characterized in that the setting can be changed in a timely manner, whereby the function originally assigned to one operation switch and another operation switch can be exchanged. 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a water heater system with a bath kettle, and the operating device is a remote control device of the water heater system with a bath kettle. Switch function setting method for operating device.