JP2003111173A - Remote controller equipped with touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the switching of a control instruction screen of equipment by a simple operation of a remote controller even if the remote controller is located in a humid place or in a place where it could be operated by a hand wet with water, and to prevent malfunctions of the remote controller. SOLUTION: On the front face of a case 11, a touch panel 4 to display the control instruction screen of the equipment is provided. By rubbing the surface of the touch panel along either the longitudinal or horizontal direction of the panel, the control instruction screen on the touch panel is switched according to the direction in which the surface of the panel is rubbed and the rubbing distance. When a desired control instruction screen shows up on the touch panel, the surface of the touch panel is rubbed in the other direction than the one in which the surface of the touch panel is rubbed to switch the control instruction screen, to output an instruction signal corresponding to the control instruction screen to the equipment.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch remote controller for remotely controlling the operation of equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, the operation of a water heater is controlled by a remote controller installed on the wall of a bath or kitchen. In the conventional remote controller, a display unit that displays a control instruction screen such as a set hot water supply temperature and a tact switch that switches the display of the display unit are provided on the front surface of a housing having a control unit.

When the tact switch is pressed, the control instruction screen of the water heater switches step by step according to the number of times the tact switch is pressed. When the pressing operation of the tact switch is stopped, the control unit outputs an instruction signal according to the control instruction screen to the water heater.

In the case of using the tact switch, for example, when there are many types of control instruction screens or when the set hot water supply temperature on the control instruction screens is changed from a low temperature to a high temperature, the tact switch is pressed. Had to be repeated several times, and there was a problem that the pressing operation was troublesome and the usability was poor. Further, the panel sheet on the front surface of the housing may be damaged by repeatedly pressing the tact switch.

In this case, instead of the tact switch, a jog dial, which has been used in mobile phones in recent years, may be used to rotate the dial and slide the control instruction screen of the water heater or the set hot water temperature to switch. It is proposed to configure the remote control so that it can.

[0006]

However, when the jog dial is used, one end of the cylindrical rotary input unit is installed so as to project from the housing of the remote controller, and the other end is provided inside the housing, for example. It is necessary to rotatably connect to the outer periphery of the photoelectric rotary encoder. For this reason, it is difficult to completely seal the inside of the housing provided with the control unit and the like, and this cannot be applied to a remote controller installed in a bath or kitchen where waterproofness is required.

On the other hand, when the remote controller is configured to switch the control instruction screen of the water heater by sliding it, the operator touches the remote controller by mistake to switch the control instruction screen, and the water heater operates accordingly. You need not to.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a convenient remote controller that can switch the control instruction screen of the device by a simple operation and prevent malfunction.

[0009]

In order to solve this problem, a touch-type remote controller according to claim 1 is provided with a touch panel on a front surface of a housing for displaying a device control instruction screen. When the surface of the touch panel is rubbed along one of the horizontal directions, the control instruction screen of the touch panel is switched according to the moving direction and the moving distance, and either the vertical direction or the horizontal direction of the touch panel is selected at the position of the desired control instruction screen. When the surface of the touch panel is rubbed along the other direction, an instruction signal corresponding to the control instruction screen is output to the device.

Further, the touch-type remote controller according to claim 2 has an input means having a display unit for displaying a device control instruction screen, a vertically long main pad, and a branch pad branched from the main pad on the front surface of the housing. When the surface of the main pad is rubbed in the longitudinal direction, the control instruction screen is switched according to the moving direction and the movement amount, and the branch pad is rubbed in the longitudinal direction at the position of the desired control instruction screen. And outputting an instruction signal corresponding to the control instruction screen to the device.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Referring to FIGS.
For example, in order to remotely control the operation of the water heater 2 installed outdoors from the room, the touch remote controller of the first embodiment provided on the wall surface of the kitchen or bath (hereinafter referred to as "remote controller").
Is. The remote controller 1 has a box-shaped casing 11 having a rectangular opening on the front side, and a control unit 3 and a touch panel 4 are provided inside the casing 11.

The touch panel 4 has a rectangular liquid crystal display section 41 which enables display of a predetermined control instruction screen.
Around the display portion 41, a plurality of light emitting elements 42 and a plurality of light receiving elements 43 are arranged so as to face each other so that a plurality of light rays are arranged in a grid on the display portion 41.

Here, this type of remote controller 1 is usually installed in a humid place and is often operated by a hand with water. Therefore, the remote controller 1 must be waterproof. In the present embodiment, the housing 11
The glass plate 12 is fitted in the opening of the housing 11 so that the airtightness inside is maintained, and the display unit 41 is provided below the glass plate 12.
Was arranged. In this case, the optical axis between the light emitting element 42 and the light receiving element 43 is adjusted so that the light beam from the light emitting element 42 to the light receiving element 43 is blocked when the remote control operator puts a finger on the surface of the glass plate 12, for example. ing.

The display unit 41 displays, for example, ON / OFF of the water heater.
A control instruction screen 41a indicating the type of OFF or "hot water temperature" or "bath temperature" and the set hot water temperature or additional bath temperature at that time is displayed. And the glass plate 12
The control unit 3 calculates the moving direction and the moving distance of the finger from the light receiving elements 43 in the vertical and horizontal directions that do not detect the light beam by rubbing the surface of the finger with the finger or the like along the vertical direction, and the display unit accordingly. The control instruction screen 41a of 41 is switched in the same manner as the screen is switched by rotating the jog dial and sliding the screen.

As a result, the control instruction screen 41 is displayed by pressing a point on the screen with a finger like a conventional touch panel.
The switching is smoother than the step-by-step switching, and the operability of the remote controller 1 is improved.

The control instruction screen 41a can be obtained by simply rubbing with a finger.
When the remote controller 1 is configured to switch between the two, the remote controller operator accidentally touches the glass plate 12 and touches the control instruction screen 4
Even if 1a is switched, it is necessary to prevent water heater 2 from operating accordingly. Therefore, when the glass plate 12 is horizontally rubbed with a predetermined amount of fingers when the predetermined control instruction screen 41a is displayed, the control instruction is confirmed, and the control unit 3 controls the water heater 2 accordingly. A predetermined control instruction is output to prevent malfunction of the water heater.

In this case, in order to clarify the direction of rubbing with the finger for switching the display of the control instruction screen 41a on the display unit 41 and the direction of rubbing with the finger for confirming the control instruction, FIG.
An arrow-shaped guide display 41b may be displayed as shown in FIG.

The remote control operator may rub the glass plate 12 diagonally with a finger. In this case, the line connecting the start point and the end point of the path when rubbed with the finger is defined as the vertical movement distance. The distance is converted into a horizontal movement distance and the movement distances are compared, and the larger movement distance is prioritized.
In this case, the control screen display 41a of the display unit 41 is switched according to the converted moving distance.

Next, the operation of the remote controller 1 of the present invention will be described when the set hot water temperature of the hot water heater 2 is changed.
The display of the display unit 41 disappears when it is not used for a long time. Next, when the light beam to any of the light receiving elements 43 is blocked by touching the glass plate 12, the control unit 3 displays the state before the display on the display unit 41 disappears.

Then, the surface of the glass plate 12 is rubbed with a finger in the vertical direction to switch to the control instruction screen 41a for instructing to change the set hot water supply temperature (see FIG. 1). In this state,
When the glass plate 12 is rubbed in the horizontal direction with a finger, the screen is fixed, the display of the set hot water supply temperature blinks, and a guide display "Changing hot water supply temperature" is displayed on the display unit 41.

When the surface of the glass plate 12 is further rubbed with the finger in the vertical direction in this state, the temperature display is sequentially switched to the different control instruction screen 41a every 1 ° C. according to the moving distance. In this case, moving the finger from the bottom to the top of FIG. 1 increases the set temperature, and conversely, moving the finger from the top to the bottom decreases the set temperature.

Then, when the desired set temperature is reached, the surface of the glass plate 12 is rubbed with a finger in the horizontal direction to confirm the fact. In this case, control unit 3 outputs an instruction signal for controlling the operation of water heater 2 to water heater 2 according to the control instruction screen 41a.

In this embodiment, the control of the operation of the water heater 2 has been described, but the remote controller 1 of the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to other devices that require remote operation. . Further, for example, the remote controller can be configured to display a time with a built-in clock function, or to incorporate a TV tuner and use it as a TV.

3 and 4 show a touch-type remote controller 10 according to the second embodiment. The housing 110 of the remote controller 1 has a display unit 1 for displaying a device control instruction screen.
11 and an input unit 112 are provided. Input unit 112
Is composed of a vertically long main pad 112a provided along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the housing 110, and a branch pad 112b that is orthogonal to the main pad 112a and is branched from the main pad 112a. There is.

The main pad 112a and the branch pad 112b are made of a water-repellent material, and are attached to the opening of the same shape provided on the front surface of the housing 110 with their peripheries sealed.

Below the main pad 112a, a first switch section SW1 having five switches connected to the control section 3 is provided.
And a second switch section SW2 having one switch connected to the control section 3 is also provided below the branch pad 112b (see FIG. 4). In this case, the switch units SW1 and SW2 are similar to those of the touch pad used in the personal computer in recent years, and when the remote controller operator rubs the main pad 112a and the branch pad 112b along the longitudinal direction with a finger or the like. For example, a finger pressing force (resistive film type touch pad) or static electricity (electrostatic type touch pad) is used to turn ON / OFF sequentially.

Then, for example, when the main pad 112a is rubbed with a finger from top to bottom in FIG. 1 in order to change the hot water supply temperature, the controller 3 causes each switch S of the switch SW1 to switch.
O of W1a, SW1b, SW1c, SW1d, SW1e
The moving direction and the moving amount are calculated from the order of N / OFF, and the control instruction screen of the display unit 111 is switched according to the calculated moving direction and moving amount in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

Next, when the switch of the lower second switch section SW2 is turned on by rubbing the branch pad 112b after reaching the desired temperature display control instruction screen, the temperature display is fixed. In this case, control unit 3 outputs to the water heater an instruction signal for controlling the operation of the water heater according to the control instruction screen.

[0029]

As described above, the remote controller of the present invention is capable of sequentially switching the control instruction screen display on the display section with a simple operation and is easy to use without malfunctioning the equipment. Play. Moreover, since the surface of the remote controller is flat, the visibility of the display unit is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a remote controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the inside of the remote controller shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a remote controller according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the inside of the remote controller shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 remote control 4 touch panel 42 light emitting element 43 Light receiving element

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A touch panel on which a device control instruction screen is displayed is provided on the front surface of a housing, and when the surface of the touch panel is rubbed along either the vertical or horizontal direction of the touch panel, the moving direction and moving distance thereof are obtained. The control instruction screen of the touch panel is switched according to, and when the surface of the touch panel is rubbed along the other of the vertical and horizontal directions of the touch panel at the position of the desired control instruction screen, an instruction signal corresponding to the control instruction screen is generated. A touch-type remote control that outputs to a device. 2. The front surface of the housing is provided with a display section for displaying a device control instruction screen, and an input means having a vertically long main pad and a branch pad branched from the main pad. When rubbing along the longitudinal direction, the control instruction screen is switched according to the moving direction and the moving amount, and when rubbing the branch pad along the longitudinal direction at the position of the desired control instruction screen, the instruction signal according to the control instruction screen is changed. Is a touch-type remote controller that outputs to a device.