JP2003274461A - Relaying apparatus or remote control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a relaying apparatus for using a maintenance signal for remote control of a device or to provide a remote control system including the relaying apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The relaying apparatus 80 is interposed between a device 20 and a remote controller 70, and the relaying apparatus 80 converts a maintenance monitor signal received from the device 20 into a signal for extending a transmission range and transmits the converted signal to the remote controller 70 so as to use the maintenance signal for remotely controlling the device 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water heater such as a gas water heater, an oil water heater, an electric water heater or a heat pump water heater which uses electricity for control, an air conditioner such as an air conditioner or an air conditioner, and a heating toilet seat. Hot water washing toilet seat, hot water washing, heating toilet seat, jar pot, washing machine, clothes dryer, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, rice cooker, cooker, central cleaner, kitchen waste, etc. The present invention relates to a remote control system for controlling or a relay device thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a maintenance device composed of a device for outputting device status information and failure information for the purpose of maintaining the device and a personal computer for maintaining the device has been devised. A conventional example is shown in FIG.
First, the configuration of the conventional example shown in FIG. 5 will be described. In FIG. 5, 1,
8, 10 and 12 are devices, 1 is a master unit, 8, 10 and 12 are slave units, and by controlling the master unit 1, slave units 8, 10, 12 are controlled.
Is controlled. 2, 3 and 4 are slave unit connection terminals of the master unit 1, 5
Reference numeral 6 denotes a personal computer connection terminal of the base unit 1, and reference numeral 6 denotes a main body function part of the base unit 1, which has an original function as a device of the base unit 1 such as a boiling water function and a hot water discharge function when the base unit 1 is a water heater. Reference numeral 7 is a device control means including a CPU of the base unit 1.
Reference numerals 9, 11, and 13 are parent machine connection terminals of the child machines 8, 10, and 12. 14 is a personal computer as maintenance equipment, 1
5 is a device connection terminal of the personal computer 14, 16 is a personal computer 1
4 CPU.

Next, the operation of the conventional example shown in FIG. 5 will be described. The personal computer 14 creates an operation state request signal for the parent device 1, the child devices 8, 10 and 12 by the CPU 12 and uses the device connection terminal 15 to output the parent device 1
It is transmitted to the personal computer connection terminal 5 of. The signal received by the personal computer connection terminal 15 is interpreted by the master unit control means 7, and is transmitted to the master unit main body functional unit 6 or the slave units 8, 10, 12.
With respect to the slave unit connection terminals 2, 3, 4 and the master unit connection terminals 9, 1
1, 13 are transmitted. On the other hand, the main unit main body functional unit 6 or the sub units 8, 10 and 12 return their respective operating states to the main unit control means 4. The master unit control means 4 is a CPU via a personal computer connection terminal 5 and a device connection terminal 15.
The requested operation status information is returned to 16.

Due to the above operation, the personal computer 14 operates as the device 1,
It is possible to know the operating states of the devices 8, 10 and 12, and it is possible to maintain the devices 1, 8, 10 and 12 based on this information. At this time, the communication between the master unit 1 and the personal computer 14 is carried out between the CPUs of the master unit 1 and the personal computer 14, that is, the UART serial communication in which the master unit control means 7 and the CPU 12 can be directly connected, and the unbalanced serial communication which is common in personal computer communication. RS232C communication, which is communication, is used.

[0005]

However, in the conventional example, since the UART serial communication or the RS-232C communication of the unbalanced serial communication is used for the communication between the personal computer and the equipment, the communicable distance is about 10 m. Yes, it is short to communicate between a personal computer installed in a general house and the device. There has been a problem that the demand for remote control or monitoring of equipment, which has been increasing in recent years, cannot be fulfilled because the conventional method cannot obtain a sufficient communication distance. On the other hand, the communication method installed in the device is UART because of the simple circuit configuration.
This is a problem because there is a contradiction that serial communication and unbalanced serial communication such as RS232C are often used. UART serial communication signal and RS2 installed in the device
It is extremely effective that a device installed in a house can be remotely controlled / monitored from a remote controller installed in the house by using an unbalanced serial communication signal such as 32C.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention aims to realize a relay device or a remote control system which uses a maintenance signal from a device and can obtain a communication distance sufficient for remote control. .

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a relay device to be inserted between a device and a remote controller of the device, and converts a maintenance monitor signal received from the device into a signal for extending a transmission distance. However, by transmitting the maintenance signal to the remote controller, the relay signal is used for remote control of the device. In addition, a remote control system including a device and a remote controller for the device is provided with the relay device of the present invention.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention described in claim 1 is a relay device inserted between a device and a remote controller of the device, and extends a transmission distance of a maintenance monitor signal received from the device. By converting the maintenance signal into a signal and transmitting the signal to the remote controller, it is possible to realize a relay device used for remote control of the device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a relay device U
By converting the ART serial communication signal or the unbalanced serial communication signal into the balanced serial communication signal, it is possible to realize a relay device that uses the maintenance signal for remote operation of the device.

According to the invention described in claim 3, in the relay device U
By converting the ART serial communication signal or the unbalanced serial communication signal into the specific low-power wireless communication signal, it is possible to realize a relay device that uses the maintenance signal for remote operation of the device.

According to the invention described in claim 4, in the relay device U
By converting the ART serial communication signal or the unbalanced serial communication signal into the power line carrier wireless communication signal, it is possible to realize a relay device that uses the maintenance signal for remote operation of the device.

[0012] The invention described in claim 5 is a relay device U
By converting the ART serial communication signal or the unbalanced serial communication signal into the Bluetooth communication signal, it is possible to realize a relay device that uses the maintenance signal for remote operation of the device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a relay device U
By converting the ART serial communication signal or the unbalanced serial communication signal into the Ethernet communication signal, it is possible to realize a relay device that uses the maintenance signal for remote operation of the device.

According to the invention described in claim 7, in the relay device U
By converting the ART serial communication signal or the unbalanced serial communication signal into the Echonet communication signal, it is possible to realize a relay device that uses the maintenance signal for remote operation of the device.

The invention described in claim 8 can realize a relay device which uses a maintenance signal for remote control of equipment by bidirectionally converting a communication signal.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the above device,
The remote controller of the device and a relay device inserted between the device and the remote controller of the device. The relay device converts a maintenance monitor signal received from the device into a signal for extending a transmission distance, and the remote controller. By using the relay device that transmits the maintenance signal, it is possible to realize a remote control system that uses the maintenance signal for remote operation of the device.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a maintenance signal is used as equipment maintenance information, operating state information, setting information, failure information, history information thereof, operation commands to the device, setting commands, maintenance information inquiry, and operation. By including at least one of the information inquiry, the failure information inquiry, and the history information inquiry, it is possible to realize a relay device that uses the maintenance signal for remote operation of the device.

The invention described in claim 11 is a program for causing a computer to execute at least a part of the functions of the relay device or the remote control system.

The invention described in claim 12 provides a recording medium containing at least one of a program and data.

Since it is a program, a part or all of the electric equipment of the present invention can be easily realized by using a home computer or the like. Moreover, the program can be easily distributed by recording it on a recording medium or distributing the program using a communication line.

[0021]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below.

(Embodiment 1) First, the configuration of the remote control system of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the overall configuration of the remote control system of this embodiment. Figure 1
20 is a device of this embodiment, 21 is a master device, 40, 5
Reference numerals 0 and 60 denote cordless handsets. In the present embodiment, the parent device 21 is a gas combustion device that produces hot water with gas and supplies water to a bath, kitchen, washroom or the like. The child device 40 is the parent device 2
Hot water floor heating device that functions by using the hot water generated in 1; cordless handset 50 is a hot water bathroom dryer that functions by using the hot water generated in 21; The operating device to be installed is shown. The hot water floor heating system is a floor heating system that functions by circulating the hot water boiled in the combustion equipment.The hot water bathroom dryer uses the heat of the hot water boiled in the combustion equipment to dry the clothing and other items in the bathroom. It is a drying device having a function to do. In addition to these, although not described in the present embodiment, a hot water air conditioner that functions by utilizing the amount of heat of hot water, a fan eater that functions by utilizing the amount of heat of hot water, or the like can be used as the slave unit.

The equipment 20 is, of course, a water heater such as a gas water heater, an oil water heater, an electric water heater or a heat pump water heater which uses electricity for control, an air conditioner or an air conditioner such as an air conditioner, a heating toilet seat or a toilet bowl for washing with hot water. Washing with warm water Heating Toilet seats, jar pots, washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, rice cookers, cookers, central cleaners, garbage collectors, and other home appliances, and home networks that control various devices in cooperation It is also possible to

Reference numeral 70 denotes a remote controller for performing remote control and status monitoring of the device 20, and reference numeral 80 denotes a relay device installed between the device 20 and the remote controller 70 for converting signals from both devices. Two
2, 23 and 24 are device-to-device connecting means of the master device 21 connected to the slave devices 40, 50 and 60, 25 is a device-to-relay device connecting device of the master device 21 connected to the relay device 80, and 41, 51 and 61 are master devices. The parent device connecting means of the child devices 40, 50 and 60 connected to the device 21 is shown. 71 is a display part of the remote controller 70, 72, 73,
74 and 75 are operation switches of the remote controller 70, and 76 is a relay device connecting means of the remote controller 70 that is connected to the relay device 80. Reference numeral 81 is connection means to the master device of the relay device connected to the base device 21, 82, 83 and 84 are connection means to the remote control device of the relay device 80 connected to the remote controller 70, and 85 is the relay device 80.
The maintenance terminal of is shown.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of the device 20 of this embodiment, FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the remote controller 70 of this embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of the relay device 80 of this embodiment.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 26 is a main body function section having functions such as water heating and tapping, which are main body functions of the base unit 21, and 2
Reference numeral 7 denotes a master unit control means including a CPU of the master unit 21, and the like.
Is a parent device information storage means for storing the operating state and failure information of the parent device 21, 29 is a child device control means for controlling the child devices 40, 50 and 60, and 30 is a remote controller 70.
A transmitting / receiving means for transmitting and receiving is shown. Also, 42, 52,
Reference numeral 62 denotes a slave unit control means including CPUs of the slave units 40, 50 and 60, and 43, 53 and 63 denote slave unit main body functional units having respective main body functions of the slave units 40, 50 and 60.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed block diagram of the remote controller 70. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 77 is a remote controller control means constituted by the CPU of the remote controller 70, 78 is a timer setting means, 79
Indicates a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving to / from the relay device.

FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of the relay device 80. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 86 is a relay device control means constituted by the CPU of the relay device 80, 87, 88 and 89 are signal conversion means, 90, 91 and 92 are transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving with the remote controller 70, and 93 is transmission / reception with the master device 21. Sending and receiving means, 94
Is a timer means, 95 and 96 are priority setting means A, and priority setting means B and 97 are selection means.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When controlling on / off of the main unit (combustion device) 21, temperature setting, water amount setting, automatic bath hot water filling, etc., a slave unit (hot water floor heating device) 40 and a slave unit (hot water bathroom dryer) 50 When performing control such as on / off and temperature setting, remote control is performed from a remote controller 70 which is not necessarily installed near the parent device 21 and the child devices 40 and 50. For example, the operation switch 72 is operated to control ON / OFF of the master unit. When setting the temperature of the hot water, the operation switch 73 is operated. In addition, child machine (hot water floor heating system) 4
To control ON / OFF of 0, the operation switch 74 is operated. In addition, when controlling the on / off of the child device (hot water bathroom dryer) 50, the operation switch 75
To operate. When performing other functions, control is performed by operating the operation switches not shown.
In addition, the operating state, the setting state, the failure state, and the history of these of the master device 21 and the slave devices 40 and 50 are not necessarily the master device 21 and the slave device 4.
Remote monitoring is performed with the remote controller 70 not installed near 0 and 50.

The locations of these devices are, for example, the base unit 2
It is possible to install 1 on the pipe shaft of an apartment or an outdoor wall. In addition, child device 40 (hot water floor heating device)
It is possible to install the device in a living room, a bedroom, a child's room, a study, etc., the child device 50 (hot water bathroom dryer) in the bathroom, and the child device (operating device) 60 in the bathroom. Also, the remote controller 70
Can be installed in the kitchen, living room or corridor.

The detailed operation of this embodiment will be described below. Maintenance information, operation state information, setting information, failure information and history information of the slave unit (hot water floor heating device) 40 are transmitted from the slave unit control means 42 via the master unit connecting means 41 and the slave unit connecting means 22. It is stored in the child device information storage means 31. Also,
Maintenance information, operating state information, setting information, failure information, and history information of the parent machine are stored in the parent machine information storage means 28.
Here, the maintenance information is information indicating the states of the parent device and the child device, and is, for example, the combustion temperature of the heater, the rotation speed of the fan, the amount of water that can be turned into hot water, the amount of running water of the pipe in the device, and the like. In addition, the operating state information and information indicating whether the parent device or the child device is currently in the on state, in the off state, or in the standby state. The setting information is the setting information of the parent device and the child device such as the temperature setting value of boiling hot water, the boiling flow rate setting value, and the automatic hot water filling setting state. Further, the failure information is information on the currently failed parts. The history information is information indicating the history of various information described above. The master unit 20 transmits the information stored in the slave unit information storage unit 31 and the master unit information storage unit 28 from the transmission / reception unit 30, and receives the information by the transmission / reception unit 93 via the relay device connection unit and the master unit connection unit 81. , To the relay device control means 86.

In this embodiment, the communication between the transmitting / receiving means 30 and the transmitting / receiving means 93 is assumed to be unbalanced serial communication. The relay device control means 86 transfers the signal transmitted to the relay device 80 to the signal conversion means 87, 88, 89, and the signal conversion means 87, 88, 89 converts the unbalanced serial communication signal and various communication signals. In the unbalanced serial communication, for example, the RS232C system has a communicable distance of about 10 m, and there is a limit to where it can be used. However, conversion to various communication signals enables communication of several hundred meters.

In this embodiment, the signal converting means 87 converts an unbalanced serial communication signal and a balanced serial communication signal such as RS422 or RS485. Further, the signal conversion means 88
Converts unbalanced serial communication signals and specified low power wireless communication signals. Further, the signal converting means 89 converts an unbalanced serial communication signal and an Ethernet communication signal. Besides this, although not described in the present embodiment, it is conceivable to convert an unbalanced serial communication signal and a power line carrier communication signal, a Bluetooth communication signal, an Echonet communication signal and the like.

Further, in this embodiment, the signal converting means 87, 8
Although the configuration is such that the relay devices 8 and 89 and the relay device control means are connected to each other through dedicated paths, the configuration may be such that the relay device control means is connected to a plurality of signal conversion means via a common route. In this case, the signal transmission from the relay device control means 86 to the signal conversion means 87, 88, 89 divides the signal into appropriate packets, and the first packet is transmitted to the signal conversion means 87 first, not simultaneously, and then To the signal conversion means 88,
Then, the signal is transmitted to the signal converting means 89. Next, the second packet is transmitted to the signal converting means 87, then to the signal converting means 88, and then to the signal converting means 89, from the relay device controlling means 86 to the signal converting means 87, 88. 8
There is a method of transmitting signals to 9 in time series. In addition, there is a method in which the signal converting means used by the selecting means 97 is selected and the relay device controlling means transmits the signal only to the selected signal converting means. There is also a method of automatically selecting the signal conversion means to be used. This is the remote control 70
There is a method in which the transmission / reception means of the relay device 80 which can receive the signal transmitted from the relay device 80 is detected, and the relay device control means 86 transmits the signal only to the signal conversion means connected to this transmission / reception means.

The transmitting / receiving means 90, 91, 92 transmit the signals whose communication methods have been converted by the signal converting means 87, 88, 89 to the remote controller 70 via the remote controller connecting means 82, 83, 84.
To the relay device connecting means 76. In this embodiment, there are three sets of the signal conversion means, the transmission / reception means, and the remote control connection means of the relay device 80, but it goes without saying that one set may be provided, or more sets may be provided. . Needless to say, the transmitting / receiving means and the remote-control connecting means may be shared by a plurality of signal converting means. Information transmitted to the remote controller 70 is received by the transmission / reception unit 79 and reaches the remote controller control unit 77. By displaying the information on the display unit 71, the remote controller controlling unit 77 can monitor the information of the device 20 with the remote controller 70 not necessarily installed near the device 20.

Further, for example, the remote controller control means 77 operates the operation switch 74 to issue a control command for turning on the slave unit 40 from the transmission / reception means 79 in balanced serial communication (eg RS48).
When transmitted in 5), the transmission / reception unit 91 receives the control command of the slave unit 40 via the relay device connection unit 76 and the remote control connection unit 83. The signal converting means 88 is the transmitting / receiving means 9.
1 converts the control command of the slave unit 40 received by the balanced serial communication into the unbalanced serial communication (for example, RS232C), and transmits the unbalanced serial communication from the transmission / reception unit 93 via the relay device control unit 86. The transmission / reception means 30 receives the control command of the slave unit 40 via the master unit connection unit 81 and the relay device connection unit 25, and the slave unit control unit 29 transmits the slave unit 40 as an ON signal to the slave unit 40 via the master unit control unit. Machine connection means 2
3. The slave unit control unit 42 turns on the slave unit main body function unit via the master unit connection unit 41. The ON / OFF control of the parent device 21 and the other child device 50 and the setting control such as the temperature setting can be performed in the same manner.

The maintenance terminal 85 has a function of outputting a maintenance signal of the device received by the relay device 80 from the device 20, and the maintenance of the device 20 is performed by connecting a personal computer or the like to the maintenance terminal 85. Information can be monitored. The device 20 can also be controlled from a personal computer connected to the maintenance terminal 85. Signal for maintenance is base unit 2
1, maintenance information, operating status information, setting information, failure information, and history information of these. Originally, this signal is a signal output from the relay device connection means 25 of the master device 21, and by connecting a personal computer to the relay device connection means 25, the status information of the master device 21 and the slave devices 40 and 50 can be obtained, It is a signal that can control the master device 21 and the slave devices 40 and 50, and is a relay device 80 of this embodiment.
Is configured to output a maintenance signal from the maintenance terminal 85, and even if the master device connection means 81 is connected to the relay device connection means 25, the device can be connected by connecting the personal computer to the maintenance terminal 85. Can be maintained. Further, when the remote-control connecting means 82, 83, 84 and the maintenance terminal 85 are used at the same time, when the priority setting means A95 is set, the output from the remote-control connecting means 82, 83, 84 is output from the maintenance terminal 85 rather than the output. It has the function of prioritizing signals. Further, it has a function of not outputting a signal from the remote control connection means 82, 83, 84 when the priority setting means B is set. Further, when the timer means 94 sets an arbitrary time, a function of transmitting a control signal to the device 20 after a lapse of the time set by the timer means 94 from the time when the relay device 80 receives the control command from the remote controller 70 is provided. Have Further, the timer setting means 78 is a timer means 94.
You can set the set time to. It goes without saying that the device 20 can be controlled from an outdoor PDA, mobile phone, personal computer or the like via the remote control 70 by connecting to the web from the remote control, or the information of the device 20 can be monitored by an outdoor PDA, mobile phone, personal computer or the like. Yes. It goes without saying that the relay device 80 may be configured to be integrated with the remote controller 70, or may be configured to be built in the housing of the device 20. Further, it goes without saying that the device 20 may not include any child device and may be configured only by the parent device, and the remote control device 70 may be configured by a personal computer.

[0038]

As described above, in the conventional example, the communication between the personal computer and the device is for maintenance, and since UART serial communication or unbalanced serial communication such as RS-232C communication is used, the communication distance is Short as about 10m,
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for remote control or monitoring of equipment, but the conventional method cannot obtain a sufficient communication distance and has a problem that remote control cannot be performed. However, according to the present invention, since unbalanced serial communication such as RS232C is used between the device and the relay device, the communicable distance is short, but balanced serial communication such as RS422 and RS485 between the relay device and the remote controller is performed. Since specific low power wireless communication, power line carrier communication, Bluetooth communication, Ethernet communication, Echonet communication, etc. are used, a communicable distance of about several hundred meters can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a remote control system that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of devices constituting a remote control system that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a remote controller that constitutes a remote controller system that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a relay device that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 Base unit (combustion equipment) 40 handset (hot water floor heating system) 50 handset (hot water bathroom dryer) 60 Remote unit (operating device) 70 remote control 80 relay device 87, 88, 89 Signal conversion means

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yasuo Yoshimura             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5K048 BA01 DC01 DC04 DC06 EA11                       EB02 EB12 HA01 HA02 HA03

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A relay device to be inserted between a device and a remote controller of the device, wherein a maintenance monitor signal received from the device is converted into a signal for extending a transmission distance and transmitted to the remote controller. A relay device that uses the maintenance signal for remote control of equipment. 2. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the relay device converts a UART serial communication signal or an unbalanced serial communication signal into a balanced serial communication signal. 3. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the relay device converts a UART serial communication signal or an unbalanced serial communication signal into a specific low power wireless communication signal. 4. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the relay device converts a UART serial communication signal or an unbalanced serial communication signal into a power line carrier communication signal. 5. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the relay device converts a UART serial communication signal or an unbalanced serial communication signal into a Bluetooth communication signal. 6. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the relay device converts a UART serial communication signal or an unbalanced serial communication signal into an Ethernet (registered trademark) communication signal. 7. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the relay device converts a UART serial communication signal or an unbalanced serial communication signal into an Echonet communication signal. 8. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the relay device bidirectionally converts a communication signal. 9. A remote control system comprising the relay device according to claim 1 in a remote control system comprising a device and a remote controller for the device. 10. The maintenance signal is equipment maintenance information, operating status information, setting information, failure information, history information of these, operation command, setting command, maintenance information inquiry, operation information inquiry, and failure information inquiry to the device. The relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which includes at least one of a history information inquiry and a history information inquiry. 11. A program for causing a computer to execute some or all of the functions of the relay device or remote control system according to claim 1. Description: 12. A computer-readable recording medium in which the program according to claim 11 is recorded.