JP2002340398A - Hot water supply apparatus system, information relay device, and information shared type hot water supply apparatus system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To commonly own data, such as voice data and text data, not related to operation of a hot water supply apparatus, in a plurality of hot water supply apparatus systems functioning independently. SOLUTION: An information relay device 2 to relay information between hot water supply apparatus systems 1a and 1b is provided between the hot water supply systems 1a and 1b. The information relay device 2 is provided with a data receiving means for receiving data transmitted from the hot water supply apparatus systems 1a and 1b; a data extracting means for extracting only data not related to operation of hot water supply apparatuses a1 and a2 from received transmission data; and a data transmitting means for transmitting extracted data to the other hot water supply apparatus system. Only data related to operation of the hot water supply apparatuses a1 and a2 between the hot water supply apparatus systems 1a and 1b and voice data and test data can be transmitted between the different hot water supply apparatus systems 1a and 1b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a water heater system,
Regarding an information relay device and an information sharing type water heater system,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for sharing information other than information on a hot water supply operation of a water heater between a plurality of water heater systems.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, with the spread of two-family houses, a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) water heater systems may be installed in one house as shown in FIG. Each water heater system includes a water heater and a remote control device (remote control) thereof.

[0003] In the case shown in the figure, a hot water supply for the first floor is provided.
Water heater a₁Has a communication line L₁Through the first floor bathroom for bathroom
Mocon b₁And the kitchen remote control b for the first floor kitchen_TwoAnd is connected
Water heater a which is responsible for hot water supply on the second floor_TwoIn
Communication line L_TwoBathroom remote control b for the second floor bathroom_ThreeAnd two
Kitchen remote control for floor kitchen b_FourIs connected to the water heater a ₁
Is the remote control for the bathroom and kitchen provided on the first floor b₁, B_Two
By water heater a_TwoIs the bathroom / stand on the second floor
Each remote control b_Three, B_FourCan be remotely controlled by
It is said to be capable.

Meanwhile, in a water heater system installed in such a two-family houses, recently, between the remote controller constituting the system (remote control b _{1 Specifically,} b ₂ or between the remote control b _3, b ₄ between ) Which has a function of transmitting various data such as voice data and text data has been proposed. In such a water heater system, voice data, text data, and the like are transmitted between remote controllers constituting the system, so that a telephone call (interphone function) and character information transmission (message board function) can be performed between the remote controllers. Instrument system is used as an indoor communication tool.

[0005]

However, such a conventional configuration has the following problems, and improvement thereof is desired.

(1) That is, in the conventional configuration, since the intercom function and the message board function described above function only in the same water heater system, a plurality of functions are provided in one house, such as a two-family house. When the water heater system is installed, the intercom function and the message board function cannot be used between remote controllers of different water heater systems. In other words, communication and transmission of character information between the remote control on the first floor and the second floor could not be performed, and the function as a communication tool was not sufficiently performed.

(2) On the other hand, an alarm system for notifying an abnormality in a house such as a suspicious person invading or the occurrence of a fire has recently spread to ordinary households. The device is provided independently of the water heater system described above. Therefore, for example, even if the alarm device is activated during bathing, the user during bathing may not notice this, and there has been a problem that the handling of the generated abnormality is delayed.

In the case of the above-mentioned two-family house, for example, even if the alarm device is activated on the first floor while bathing on the second floor, the occupants on the second floor often do not notice the activation of the alarm device, and the abnormality is discovered. There was a tendency to be delayed, and improvement was desired.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of independently functioning water heater systems, such as voice data and text data. An object of the present invention is to provide an information sharing type water heater system capable of sharing data unrelated to the operation of the water heater. Another object of the present invention is to provide a water heater system and an information relay device therefor.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a water heater system according to the present invention is a water heater system comprising a water heater and a plurality of remote control devices. An information terminal device that outputs predetermined information to the device, and an information acquisition unit that acquires information output from the information terminal device to a remote control device to which the information terminal device is connected; Information transmitting means for transmitting the obtained information to another remote control device.

In a preferred embodiment, the information acquisition means includes a transmission destination setting means for specifying a transmission destination of the acquired information. Further, the information terminal device provides the information to the remote control device in the form of a detection signal.

An information relay device according to the present invention is a device interposed between a water heater system and a water heater system for relaying information transmission between the water heater systems. Data receiving means for receiving transmission data, data extracting means for extracting data unrelated to the operation of the water heater from the received transmission data, and data transmitting means for transmitting the extracted data to another water heater system It is characterized by the following.

As a preferred embodiment thereof, the information relay apparatus is provided with a destination setting means for setting a destination of the received transmission data and outputting the destination to the data transmitting means. I do. Further, the transmission destination setting means sets the transmission destination based on data specifying the transmission destination included in the received transmission data.

Further, an information sharing type water heater system according to the present invention includes the above-described water heater system and the above-mentioned information relay device.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the information sharing type water heater system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an information sharing type water heater system according to the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 1 shows a case where the information sharing type water heater system according to the present invention is applied to a two-family house.

In this information sharing type water heater system, in a plurality of water heater systems having the same configuration, data unrelated to the operation of the water heater is shared between remote controllers of different water heater systems. A hot water supply system 1a for supplying hot water, a hot water supply system 2a for supplying hot water on the second floor, and an information relay device 2 for sharing information among these are mainly configured.

A. Each of the water heater systems 1a and 1b has a basic configuration similar to the above-described conventional water heater system, and includes a water heater and its remote controller as main components. That is, in the case of FIG. 1, the water heater a ₁ responsible for hot water supply of the first floor
The bathroom remote b for the first floor bathroom via the communication line L _1
1 and the kitchen remote control b ₂ for the ground floor kitchen are connected, the second floor in the water heater a ₂ in charge of the hot water supply part, bathroom remote controller b ₃ and upstairs kitchen for upstairs bathroom via the communication line L ₂ a kitchen remote control b ₄ of use are connected. Then, there is a possibility respective remotely operated by the water heater a ₁ remote control b _1, by b _2, also water heater a ₂ remote control b _3, b _4.

Therefore, for the sake of convenience, the water heater system 1a will be described in detail below.
Description of the water heater system 1b having the same configuration as that of FIG.

The water heater system 1a includes a water heater a ₁ as described above, and a bathroom remote controller b ₁ and kitchen remote controller b ₂ is its remote control as a main unit. Each of these remote controllers b _{1 and} b ₂ has a data transmission function between the remote controllers, and this data transmission function allows various data such as voice data and text data to be transmitted between the bathroom and kitchen remote controllers b _{1 and} b _2. Data can be transmitted, and thereby, a call function and a message board function between remote controllers can be realized.

In the present invention, information for outputting predetermined information to at least one of the remote controllers b _{1 and} b ₂ (hereinafter, referred to as a kitchen remote controller b ₂ ) among the remote controllers b _{1 and} b ₂ constituting the water heater system 1 a. A terminal device is provided (see FIG. 2).

The information terminal device has the remote controllers b _1, b
Water heater system 1a using data transmission function between _{two
2 is} an information output device for providing various information to the remote controllers b1 _and b2. In this embodiment, an alarm device 3 is used as the information terminal device as shown in FIG.

The alarm device 3 is a device for detecting an abnormality in a room, such as intrusion of a suspicious person or occurrence of a fire, and reporting the abnormality. And an alarm signal output unit 32 for notifying the abnormality detected by the unit 31 to the outside.

More specifically, the abnormality detecting unit 31 has a well-known sensor (for example, a window) used for detecting intrusion of a suspicious person or occurrence of a fire in a conventional alarm system. A sensor that detects opening / closing, a sensor that detects the occurrence of smoke and an unnatural rise in indoor temperature, and the like, and detects an indoor abnormality using these sensors.

The alarm signal output unit 32 is connected to the abnormality detection unit 3.
When an abnormality is detected in step 1, a signal output circuit is provided to notify the occurrence of the abnormality to the outside by a predetermined detection signal (alarm signal). More specifically, the alarm output unit 32 is formed of, for example, a contact circuit having a contact 33 as shown in FIG. 3. When the abnormality detecting unit 31 detects an abnormality, the alarm output unit 32 closes the contact 33 and outputs a signal. configured a line L ₃ to the conductive state.

On the other hand, in connection with this, the kitchen remote controller b ₂ is provided with a signal receiving section (information obtaining means) 34 for receiving a detection signal (alarm signal) from the contact point 33. As the signal receiving unit 34, a kitchen remote controller b
_A microcomputer serving as the control center of ( ₂ ) is preferably used. That is, when the alarm signal is input through a signal line L _3, the microcomputer, kitchen remote control b ₂
A predetermined alarm is notified to the outside in a visible or audible state using a display device (for example, a liquid crystal display or the like) or an audio output device (for example, a speaker or the like) provided in the device.

On the other hand, the kitchen remote controller b_Two
Of the received alarm signal
Water heater a₁Via other remote control (eg bathroom remote
B ₁). In this communication, we accept
Communication signal L₁Data that can be transmitted by
Signal data) and the communication interface 35
Water heater a₁Via the bathroom remote control b₁Send to
You.

The alarm signal data includes the data
Address data that specifies the data transmission destination is added.
preferable. Specifically, the kitchen remote that received the alarm signal
B _TwoIn the microcomputer of the above, the alarm signal
Is set in advance when converting the
Is the remote control address that is set by the user
Is added to the alarm signal data.

Therefore, if, for example, the bathroom remote controller b ₁ is set as this setting, the kitchen remote controller b ₂
In the received alarm signal is added address data indicating a bathroom remote controller b ₁ when it is converted into an alarm signal data該台plant remote b _2, it is transmitted in this state to the water heater a _1. Then, such an alarm signal data water heater a ₁ which has received the (specifically, bathroom remote controller b ₁₎ the transmission destination of the remote control on the basis of the address data to identify the alarm signal to the identified remote controller Send data.

[0030] That is, the microcomputer of the kitchen remote control b _2, in addition to functions as an information acquisition means described above, which functions as a transmission destination setting means for specifying the destination of the alarm signal data.

When the alarm signal data is transmitted to the bathroom remote controller b ₁ in this manner, the bathroom remote controller b ₁ is provided with a display device (not shown) such as a liquid crystal display similarly to the kitchen remote controller b _2. A predetermined alarm is notified to the outside in a visible or audible state through a speaker or a sound output device (for example, a speaker or the like).

Thus, even when the alarm system is activated during bathing, for example, the bather can feel the operation of the alarm system while staying in the bathroom,
It is possible to quickly respond to the occurrence of an abnormality.

B. Information relay apparatus Next, the information relay apparatus 2 will be described. The information relay device 2 is a device that is interposed between the water heater system 1a and the water heater system 1b and relays the transmission of information between the water heater systems 1a and 1b, and each of the water heater systems 1a and 1b. Means for receiving data transmitted from the water heater, data extracting means for extracting data unrelated to the operation of the water heater from the received transmission data, and data transmitting means for transmitting the extracted data to another water heater system. It is composed.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the information relay device 2 includes communication interfaces 21 and 21 and a communication control unit 22 as main components.

The communication interface 21 is composed of a well-known interface circuit for transmitting and receiving data to and from the water heater systems 1a and 1b.

On the other hand, the communication control section 22 is constituted by a microcomputer, and the microcomputer functions as the data extracting means 22a and the transmission destination setting means 22b.

The data extracting means 22a extracts, from the data (transmission data) transmitted from the water heaters a ₁ and a ₂ and input via the communication interface 21, data not related to the operation of the water heater. . Specifically, among the data output from the water heater a _1, a _2, start / stop and the combustion operation for the water heater a _1, a _2, and setting of the hot water supply temperature, water heater operation a predetermined The data containing the instruction related to the filter is filtered to extract and pass only the voice data for communication between the remote controllers, the text data for transmitting character information, and the above-mentioned alarm signal data, and the other water heaters a ₁ , configured to send to a _2.

The transmission destination setting means 22b has a function of setting the transmission destination of the data extracted by the data extracting means 22a. More specifically, for data to which address data for specifying a data transmission destination is added in advance, such as the above-described alarm signal data, a transmission destination is set in accordance with the address data and the communication interface 21 is set.
Output to The data to which no address data is added is added to the address data of the remote controller set in advance or set by the user afterward and output to the communication interface 21.

As described above, the data input from one of the water heater systems to the information relay device 2 has the address information for specifying the transmission destination added thereto in the information relay device 2 while the other water heater system is being used. Is output to
Each remote controller b ₁ , b ₂ on the first floor and each remote controller b ₃ ,
calls and identifying the called party with the b _4, except that it is possible to perform the transmission of character information identifying the information transmission destination, each water heater system 1a, the information acquired from the information terminal device in 1b other The information can be transmitted to the remote controller of the water heater system, and the information can be shared between the water heater systems 1a and 1b.

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, a configuration in which information is shared between the two water heater systems for the first floor and the second floor has been described. However, three or more water heaters are provided via the information relay device 2. The system can also be configured to share information.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the alarm device is used as the information terminal device connected to the water heater system 1 has been described. However, as the information terminal device, an information device connected to a computer network or the like is used. It is also possible to use. As information supplied from the information magazine terminal device to the water heater system, voice data, text data, and the like can be used.

Further, it is possible to connect different information terminal devices to the respective remote controllers in the bathroom and the kitchen, and to share such information between the respective remote controllers in the bathroom and the kitchen and between different water heater systems.

[0044]

As described in detail above, in the information sharing type water heater system according to the present invention, an information terminal device for outputting predetermined information to at least one remote control device of the water heater system constituting the system. And information acquisition means are provided,
Since the information obtained by this information obtaining means can be transmitted to another remote control device, as the information terminal device,
For example, by using an alarm system, it is possible to quickly transmit an alarm by an alarm device to a user who is taking a bath.

Further, between the water heater systems, means for receiving transmission data from each water heater system, means for extracting data unrelated to the operation of the water heater from the received transmission data, By providing an information relay device having a data transmission means for transmitting the extracted data to another water heater system, information on a call function and a message board function of the water heater system can be shared between different water heater systems. Can be. Therefore, even when a plurality of water heater systems are installed in one house such as a two-family house, it is possible to communicate and transmit text information between remote controllers of different water heater systems.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information sharing type water heater system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a connection example of information terminal devices in the information sharing type water heater system.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a signal transmission form of the information terminal device in the information sharing type water heater system.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of an information relay device in the information sharing type water heater system.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional water heater system in a two-family house.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1a, 1b water heater system 2 information relay apparatus a _1, a ₂ water heaters b ₁ ~b ₄ remote (remote operation apparatus) 3 alarm device (an information terminal device) 31 abnormality detection unit 32 warning signal output unit 33 contact 34 Signal receiving unit (information acquisition unit) 21 Communication interface 22 Communication control unit 22a Data extraction unit 22b Destination setting unit

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masatsugu Yano 93 Edo-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo Pref. (Reference) 3L024 CC17 CC21 CC30 DD01 DD11 DD31 DD41 EE03 EE07 FF04 FF11 FF18

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A water heater system comprising a water heater and a plurality of remote control devices, wherein at least one remote control device constituting the system is provided with an information terminal device for outputting predetermined information, and the information terminal device is provided with the information terminal device. A remote control device connected to the remote control device is provided with information obtaining means for obtaining information output from the information terminal device, and information transmitting means for transmitting the information obtained by the information obtaining means to another remote control device. A water heater system characterized by that: 2. The water heater system according to claim 1, wherein the information acquisition unit includes a transmission destination setting unit that specifies a transmission destination of the acquired information. 3. The water heater system according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal device provides the information to a remote control device in the form of a detection signal. 4. A device interposed between the water heater systems and relaying the transmission of information between the water heater systems, comprising: means for receiving transmission data from each water heater system;
An information relay device comprising: means for extracting data unrelated to the operation of a water heater from received transmission data; and data transmitting means for transmitting the extracted data to another water heater system. 5. The information relay device according to claim 4, further comprising a destination setting unit that sets a destination of the received transmission data and outputs the destination to the data transmitting unit. apparatus. 6. The information relay device according to claim 5, wherein the transmission destination setting unit sets the transmission destination based on data specifying the transmission destination included in the received transmission data. 7. An information sharing type comprising: the water heater system according to any one of claims 1 to 3; and the information relay device according to claim 4 or 5. Water heater system.