JP2003240337A - Remote control system with interphone function - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote control system with an interphone function automatically switching over the communication direction by detecting a sound pressure and capable of preventing a user from forgetting to turn off an interphone device. <P>SOLUTION: This remote control system 10 with the interphone function is provided with first and second remote controllers 12 and 13 provided in different positions out of a plurality of remote controllers remotely controlling a hot water supply device 11, detecting a sound input from first and second microphones 25 provided in the first and second remote controllers 12 and 13, and automatically switching over the communication direction from one to the other. When there is no sound of a prescribed value or more inputted from the first and the second microphones 25 for a prescribed time with the communication function of the interphone device 20 turned on, the function of the interphone device 20 is automatically completed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention includes first and second remote controllers for remotely controlling a hot water supply device for a bath, and the first and second remote controllers are provided in a bathroom and a kitchen. It relates to a remote control system with functions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A water heater is used as a device for automatically pouring hot water into a bathtub and boiling water accumulated in the bathtub in some cases. First and second remote controllers for remotely operating the water heater as needed. Are provided in the bathroom and kitchen respectively. Then, recently, a device provided with an intercom function between the first and second remote controllers has been developed.
The transmission and the reception are switched by the switches provided in the second intercom apparatus.

[0003]

However, when only the switch is turned on and off, the intercom device is forgotten to be turned off, and there is a problem that unnecessary calls are transmitted to the other party and unnecessary power is consumed in the amplifier circuit. Also, if the intercom device is automatically turned off after a certain period of time (30 seconds to 1 minute) has been turned on after the switch of the intercom device is turned on, it often happens when you want to monitor the sound or voice of the bath. Call button (ie
It is necessary to operate the switch), which is extremely troublesome. Furthermore, if the conversation on the intercom device becomes long, the intercom device will be cut off on the way,
In this case, it is necessary to press the call button again, which is troublesome. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a remote control system with an intercom function, which detects sound pressure and automatically switches the call direction including transmission and reception, and also prevents forgetting to turn off the intercom device. The purpose is to provide.

[0004]

A remote control system with an intercom function according to a first aspect of the present invention, which meets the above-mentioned object, is a first remote control system and a second remote control system which are provided at different locations among a plurality of remote control units for remotely operating a water heater. And an intercom including an intercom device that detects sound input from the first and second microphones respectively provided in the first and second remote controllers and automatically switches the transmission direction from one to the other. In a remote control system with a function, in a state in which a call function of the intercom device is turned on, if there is no sound input of a predetermined value or more from the first and second microphones for a certain time, the function of the intercom device is changed. It is automatically terminated. When there are three or more remote controllers, the second remote controller may be a specific single remote controller or a plurality of remote controllers other than the first remote controller. A remote control system with an intercom function according to a second aspect of the present invention is the remote control system with an intercom function according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein one of the first and second microphones in a transmitting state is in a transmitting state. Even when the sound input for maintaining the above is detected, the function of the intercom apparatus is automatically terminated after a predetermined time has elapsed. A remote control system with an intercom function according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the remote control system with an intercom function according to the first or second aspect, notifies the end by voice guidance when the function of the intercom device automatically ends. There is.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, referring to the attached drawings, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied will be described to provide an understanding of the present invention. Here, FIG. 1 is an operation flow diagram of a main part of a remote control system with an intercom function according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of a remote control of the system, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic blocks of the system. It is a figure.

As shown in FIG. 3, a remote control system 10 with an intercom function according to an embodiment of the present invention is
First and second attached to the water heater 11 which is usually placed outdoors
It is a device built in the remote controllers 12 and 13. The first remote controller 12 is located in the kitchen and the second remote controller 13 is located in the bathroom. Normally, the first remote controller 12 and the second remote controller 13 are, as shown in FIG.
4 and a lamp 15 for displaying the same, hot water supply temperature adjusting switches 16 and 17, an operation switch 18 and the like are provided, and liquid crystal, fluorescent display tube, light emitting diode and the like are used to operate hot water supply temperature and bath temperature. A display unit 19 for displaying the state is provided. The second remote controller 13 on the bathroom side is further provided with a hot water level setting switch for controlling the level of hot water in the bathtub. Since the internal mechanisms of the water heater 11 and the first and second remote controllers 12 and 13 that control the water heater 11 are well known, description of the controller of the water heater system will be omitted.

The first and second remote controllers 12 and 13 are respectively provided with intercom devices 20 as shown in FIG. 4, and control circuits 21 each having a CPU are provided.
21a. Control circuit 2 of the first remote controller 12
The control circuits 21a of the first and second remote controllers 13 are mutually linked by a carrier wave propagating through the control line 22 of the water heater system. That is, the control signal from the control circuit 21 of the first remote controller 12 to the control circuit 21a of the second remote controller 13 is transmitted by modulating the control signal from the control circuit 21 into a high frequency signal by the modulation circuit 23 and controlling the control line 22. For the reception of the signal from the control circuit 21a to the control circuit 21, the high frequency signal to be sent is demodulated by the detection circuit 24 and input to the control circuit 21. As a result, the same information is input to the CPUs in the control circuits 21 and 21a, and the two are integrated to perform one operation. Hereinafter, this operation will be described with reference to FIG. 4, but if the intercom device 20 is a one-way call,
Since the basic operation of switching and using the call direction is well known, its detailed description is omitted.

An intercom device 20 provided in each of the first and second remote controllers 12 and 13 outputs a voice by a microphone (corresponding to the first or second microphone in the claims) 25 for inputting voice. A speaker 26 is provided. The signal from the microphone 25 is amplified by the amplifier 27, modulated to a predetermined frequency by the modulation circuit 28, and sent to the control line 22. On the other hand, the voice signal from the control line 22 is demodulated through the detection circuit 29, the signal is amplified by the amplifier 30, and the speaker 2
Converted to sound by 6. The control circuit 21 (21a) is provided with a switching circuit so that the modulation circuit 28 and the detection circuit 29 do not operate at the same time. When the voice is sent from the first remote controller 12 to the second remote controller 13, the first The modulation circuit 28 and the amplifier 27 of the remote controller 12 are activated, and the detection circuit 29 and the amplifier 30 of the second remote controller 13 are activated, so that the second remote controller 13 moves to the first remote controller 12. When sending a voice to the second remote controller 13, the modulation circuit 28 and the amplifier 27 of the second remote controller 13 are activated and the detection circuit 29 and the amplifier 30 of the first remote controller 12 are activated. ing. As a result, the control circuit 21, 21a that operates jointly by the communication line 22 causes the remote controller 12,
The communication state between 13 is switched. That is, the transmission direction is automatically switched from one to the other. Further, a voice guidance circuit 34 is provided, and when the intercom function is terminated, a voice signal "terminates the call" is inputted to the amplifier 30 by the signal from the control circuit 21 (21a) and is emitted from the speaker 26. ing.

Each intercom device 20 includes an amplifier 27.
A microphone level detection circuit 31 that receives the signal of the microphone 25 amplified by is provided, detects whether or not there is a signal of a predetermined sound pressure or higher from the microphone 25, and sends it to the control circuit 21 (21a). The control circuit 21 (21a) is provided with a call switch 32,
By pressing this to operate it, the remote control device 20 on the side where the call switch 32 is forcibly pressed becomes ready to talk, and further the lamp 33 indicating the talk status is turned on. When this intercom apparatus 20 is used, one of the first and second remote controllers 12 and 13 is pressed to turn it on. As a result, the intercom device 20 is activated. The intercom device 20 can be used by the above operation regardless of whether the operation switch 18 is on or off.

Next, with reference to FIG. 1, the operation of the intercom apparatus 20, which is a characteristic part of the present invention, will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, first, by pressing one of the call switches 32 of the first and second remote controllers 12 and 13, the intercom apparatus 20 starts operating (the call function is in an ON state) (step S1), It is determined whether or not the 30-minute timer is counting (step S2), 30
If the minute timer is not counting, the 30 minute timer is started (step S3). Next, while checking whether the 30-minute timer has completed counting (step S
4) It is detected whether or not there is an input of a sound pressure level (switching level) above a predetermined level from the first remote controller 12 (step S5), and if there is no sound pressure level above a predetermined level from the second remote controller 13. It is detected whether or not the level (switching level) is input (step S6). When a voice is input from either the first remote controller 12 or the second remote controller 13, the call state is automatically switched so that the intercom device 20 having the voice can transmit. Or keep it as it is. Therefore, when talking continuously from the intercom device 20 on one side, the call state is not switched.

If there is a sound pressure input above a predetermined level in steps S5 and S6 (Y in steps S5 and S6),
The 1-minute timer is reset (step S7). When there is no signal of a predetermined sound pressure level from either the first remote controller 12 or the second remote controller 13 (when both are N in steps S5 and S6), the one-minute timer is counted (steps S8 and S9). ). When the 1-minute timer counts up (step S10), the 1-minute timer is reset (step S11), and the voice guidance circuit 3
4 operates, and the voice guidance such as "End the call" is issued from the speaker 26 (step S1).
2) Then, the call state ends (step S13). on the other hand,
Even if there is an input of a predetermined sound pressure or more from the first and second remote controllers 12 and 13 in step S5 or step S6, if the 30-minute timer finishes counting (in the case of Y in step S4), 30 minutes The timer is reset (step S14), and the process proceeds to steps S12 and S13 to forcibly end. The reason for this is that it is generally not possible to use an intercom device for more than 30 minutes, and
This is because it is considered that there is an input of a predetermined sound pressure or higher due to the sound of water from the tap of the water supply or the shower.

Therefore, in step S5 and step S6, if a voice is input from either one of the first and second remote controllers 12 and 13, the transmission direction is automatically switched. , You can save the trouble of pressing the call switch to switch the transmission status. Furthermore, if the sound pressure input for a fixed time (1 minute in this example) is not received from the first and second remote controllers 12 and 13, the call state of the intercom device 20 is automatically terminated, and the power of the intercom device 20 is turned on. Turns off. As a result, useless power can be saved.

30 used in the above embodiment
The minute timer and the 1-minute timer can be appropriately selected according to the application, but generally, a timer that replaces the 30-minute timer is 20-40 minutes, and a timer that replaces the 1-minute timer is 0.5-minute. A 2 minute timer is appropriate. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the intercom devices 20 forming a pair use a carrier wave for mutual communication, but it is also possible to perform communication by a dedicated wiring.
Furthermore, the CPU is provided in both of the intercom devices 20 that make a pair
Although the control circuit with is arranged, the CPU is only on one side.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which

[0014]

The intercom remote control system according to the first to third aspects of the present invention is provided with first and second remote controls provided at different locations among a plurality of remote controls for remotely controlling the water heater. , A remote control system with an intercom function, which includes an intercom device that detects sound input from the first and second microphones respectively provided in the second remote control and automatically switches the transmission direction from one to the other. Therefore, it is not necessary to operate the switch to switch the transmitting direction as in a normal intercom device. Then, when the call function of the intercom device is turned on, if there is no sound input of a predetermined value or more from the first and second microphones for a certain period of time, the function of the intercom device is automatically terminated. It is possible to prevent forgetting to turn off the power and prevent wasteful power consumption. In addition, the sound pressure detection level of the microphone is set to be low so that the sound during bathing can be detected and the voice guidance for ending the call state is issued to detect abnormal conditions when a child or an elderly person is bathing. It can be detected quickly.

In particular, in the remote control system with the intercom function according to the second aspect, the first state in the transmitting state,
Even if one of the second microphones detects a sound input for maintaining the transmitting state, the function of the intercom device is automatically terminated after a predetermined time has elapsed. As a result, even if the intercom device is operating due to ambient noise, it can be automatically shut off to prevent forgetting to turn it off and the bather's abnormality can be detected. The remote control system with the intercom function according to the third aspect notifies the end by the voice guidance when the function of the intercom device automatically ends, so that the person using the device can recognize that the intercom device has been disconnected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation flowchart of a main part of a remote control system with an intercom function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a remote controller of the system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the system.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the system.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Remote control system with intercom function, 11:
Water heater, 12: first remote controller, 13: second remote controller, 14: switch, 15: lamp, 16, 17: adjusting switch, 18: operation switch, 19: display section, 20:
Intercom device 21, 21a: control circuit: 22: control line, 23: modulation circuit, 24: detection circuit, 25: microphone, 26: speaker, 27: amplifier, 28: modulation circuit, 29: detection circuit, 30: amplifier , 31: microphone level detection circuit, 32: call switch, 33: lamp, 3
4: Voice guidance circuit

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 3L024 CC05 CC06 EE03 EE07 FF02                       FF12 FF17 FF18 GG41 GG50                 5K038 AA01 AA06 CC09 DD21                 5K048 AA14 AA16 BA14 DC03 EB14                       FB12

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first remote controller and a second remote controller, which are provided at different locations among a plurality of remote controllers for remotely controlling a water heater,
The first and second remote controllers respectively provided in the first and second remote controllers
A remote control system with an intercom function, which includes an intercom device for automatically switching a transmitting direction from one to the other by detecting a sound input from a second microphone, in a state in which a call function of the intercom device is turned on. A remote control system with an intercom function, wherein the function of the intercom device is automatically terminated when there is no sound input of a predetermined value or more from the first and second microphones for a certain period of time. 2. The remote control system with the intercom function according to claim 1, wherein either one of the first and second microphones in a transmitting state detects a sound input for maintaining the transmitting state. Even if it is, a remote control system with an intercom function, which automatically ends the function of the intercom device after a predetermined time has elapsed. 3. The remote control system with intercom function according to claim 1, wherein when the function of the intercom device automatically ends, the end is notified by voice guidance. Remote control system with.