JP2007278596A - Remote control device, control method for remote control device, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To resolve a problem in boiling water in a time zone other than a midnight power time zone wherein a user is required an economical load. <P>SOLUTION: In the remote control device (a kitchen remote control) 8 carrying out communication with a heat pump type water heater 1 carrying out supply of hot water stored in a hot water storage tank 3 to carry out necessary operation and display, when boiling hot water in a time zone other than the midnight power time zone, since the user is notified beforehand by a notifying means 45 for boiling in a time other than a midnight time, and the user is notified that hot water is boiled in a time zone other than the midnight power time zone, the user can know that hot water is boiled in a time zone that is not inexpensive, and an economical load is necessary. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is a system composed of a hot water supply device, a hot water heater, a hot water heater and a hot water storage tank associated therewith, and a remote control device for controlling them in a household at a specific time zone such as a midnight time zone. The present invention relates to a remote control device for boiling a hot water storage tank, a control method for the remote control device, and a program.

Conventionally, for this type of system, for example, depending on the amount of remaining hot water and the number of reheating times outside a specific time zone such as midnight power, the number of times of reheating outside the specified time zone on the next day or the set temperature for boiling is set. By raising or lowering the rank by one, you can save the number of chasing times outside a specific time zone to prevent unnecessary boiling, and prioritize and maximize the use of cheap power in a specific time zone. An economical electric water heater that does not run out of hot water due to the need for hot water is provided (see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-5-280806

  However, in the configuration of the above background art, the boiling of hot water is automatically controlled by a preset program, so that the user is likely to use a bath, wash dishes, or use a large amount of hot water. In some cases, it is assumed that when boiling is saved until the midnight power hours, the user runs out of water and the user is troubled.

  Of course, it is economically preferable for the user to boil the water in the hot water tank during late-night power hours, but if the hot day is cold or a lot of hot water is used, the hot water in the hot water tank will run out (this condition is called “hot water out”). It is necessary to boil up.

  However, if you boil hot water at a time other than the midnight power hours, you will be charged before you boil the hot water, so you will be notified before boiling water. Can be selected by the user.

  The present invention, when boiling hot water in a hot water storage tank outside the midnight power time zone, is notified to the user by voice or sound or display, further remote control device that allows the user to refuse boiling, The present invention relates to a control method of a remote control device and a program.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the present invention provides a remote controller for a hot water heater that stops or starts the operation of boiling hot water in a hot water storage tank when an external signal is detected, and has a power usage fee. Midnight power time zone setting means to set a low time zone during the day, and when a signal to boil hot water in the hot water storage tank is input outside of the above time zone, voice that boiling has started Alternatively, it is provided with a midnight non-hour boiling notification means that informs by sound or display, and if the boiling is performed outside the midnight power hours, the user is informed.

  In the present invention, when the hot water in the hot water tank is boiled outside the midnight power hours, the user is informed by voice or sound or display, and the user is not expected to use a large amount of hot water for the time being. Since boiling can be rejected, it is possible to meet the demands of users who want to save money economically.

  The first invention is a remote controller for a water heater that stops or starts the operation of boiling hot water in a hot water storage tank when a signal from the outside is detected, and the power usage fee is low during the day. Midnight power time zone setting means for setting a zone, and when a signal to boil hot water in the hot water storage tank is input in addition to the above-mentioned time zone, a voice or sound or display informs that boiling has started It is a remote control device provided with an overtime boiling notification means.

  Accordingly, in order to make the user know that hot water is boiled outside the midnight power time zone, the user can know that the hot water is boiled in a time zone that is not cheap and requires an economic burden.

  According to a second aspect of the invention, in particular, in the remote control device of the first aspect of the invention, the remote control device causes the user to select whether or not to boil up when notified by the midnight overtime boiling notification means. When boiling is rejected by the boiling permission selecting means and the boiling permission setting means, when the midnight power time period is entered, a boiling command is output to the water heater to raise the hot water storage tank. Command means.

  As a result, the user can refuse boiling if he does not plan to use a large amount of hot water for the time being, and thus can contribute to savings in response to the user's request. In addition, since boiling is performed when entering the midnight power time zone, it is possible to reduce the user's economic burden and not to run out of hot water.

  A third aspect of the invention is a method for controlling a remote control device for a water heater that stops or starts the operation of boiling hot water in a hot water storage tank when an external signal is detected. An input signal detection procedure that includes a midnight power time zone setting means for setting a low time zone, supplies hot water stored in the hot water storage tank, and detects an input of an external signal by a user operation or reservation setting, and the input signal When the detection means detects an external signal, if it is outside the time zone, it will notify that the boiling has started, and whether to allow the user to boil the hot water in the hot water storage tank The procedure for selecting the boiling permission for outside midnight hours, and when boiling is refused, the boiling instruction is output to the water heater when the midnight power time period is entered, and the boiling of the hot water storage tank is performed. And a remote control device control method.

  In this way, it is economically preferable for the user to boil the water in the hot water tank during late-night power hours, but if the hot water is used on a cold day or if a lot of hot water is used (this condition is called “hot water” If you boil hot water at a time other than late-night power hours, you will be charged before you boil because it costs an inexpensive electricity bill. In response to the user's request so that the user can be selected, and when the boiling is refused, the user's economic burden is reduced because boiling is performed after entering the midnight power period.

  The fourth invention is a program for causing a computer to realize at least a part of the remote control device of the first or second invention. Since it is a program, it is possible to easily realize at least a part of the remote control device of the present invention by cooperating hardware resources such as an electric / information device, a computer, and a server. Also, program distribution and installation can be simplified by recording on a recording medium or distributing a program using a communication line.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a remote control device and a water heater in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the remote control device provided in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is.

  In FIG. 1, a heat pump type water heater 1 includes a heat source unit 2 for boiling hot water and a hot water storage unit 4 having a hot water storage tank 3 for storing hot water.

  The water stored in the hot water storage tank 3 is boiled using electricity, and is used when hot water is filled in the bathtub 6 of the bathroom 5 or hot water is used from the faucet 7.

  In addition, the user can keep an electricity bill to the minimum necessary by using the midnight electric power with a cheap charge mainly for boiling in the hot water storage tank 3. FIG. The user can control or check the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 by using a remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8, a bathroom remote control 9, or an additional remote control (not shown).

  Further, the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 is connected to the center server 11 via a communication network 12 such as ADSL, optical fiber, CATV, etc., and “bath automatic” for filling the bathtub 7 in the bathroom 6 from the mobile phone 13. It can be performed.

  In the system configuration as described above, there are various contents that can be controlled by the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 for the hot water storage unit 4 having a hot water supply function. For example, setting of “hot water temperature” to be supplied to the user, setting of “automatic bathing off / on” for boiling hot water in the bathtub 6, and “remaining amount of hot water in tank” in the hot water storage tank 3 in which hot water is stored And the like.

  The user can use the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 to lower the "hot water temperature" if the hot water coming out of the faucet is too hot, or to perform "automatic bathing" if you want to boil the bath. If there is not enough hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 because a lot of hot water was used for the bath or the bath, an operation such as increasing the “remaining hot water amount in the tank” is performed.

  In this way, the user can make various settings related to hot water supply / bathroom at home using the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8.

  The hot water storage tank unit 4 supplies an appropriate amount of hot water at an appropriate temperature to the hot water supply / bath by boiling the water in the hot water storage tank 3, but the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 basically supplies midnight power. Use to boil.

  However, if the user uses a lot of hot water even outside the midnight hours, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 decreases and the hot water runs out. When the hot water is approaching, boiling is started outside midnight, the user is allowed to select whether or not to start boiling, and notification is given when boiling is to be performed. This will be described in detail later.

  In FIG. 2, the heat pump type hot water heater 1 can communicate with a remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8, a bathroom remote control 9, and an additional remote control (not shown) via the first transmission / reception means.

  The heat pump water heater 1 has, as main functions, a boiling operation control means 22 for boiling water in the hot water storage tank 3, and a bath control means 23 for controlling hot water filling, reheating, heat insulation, etc. of the bathtub. There is a hot water supply control means 24 for controlling the hot water supply temperature.

  The boiling of the water in the hot water storage tank 3 is started or stopped by the input signal from the input signal detecting means 25. As an input to the input signal detection means 25, a thermistor 26 that detects the temperature of the water in the hot water storage tank, a boiling setting means 28 that sets the boiling time according to the time of the time counting means 27a that measures the time, a remote control device ( The first transmitter / receiver 21a communicates with a remote controller such as a kitchen remote controller 8).

  On the other hand, the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 has a first transmission / reception means 21b that communicates with the heat pump type water heater 1 and a second transmission / reception means 41 to automatically bath the bath from the mobile phone 13 via the center server 11 to the bathtub. Can be done.

  Further, the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 also has a time measuring means 27b for measuring time.

  In addition, the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 has display means 42 that can display a screen such as a liquid crystal panel, and selects a menu that the user wants to operate from the displayed items by touching the item. There is an operation means 43 provided with a touch panel.

  Although not shown in FIG. 2, the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 other than the touch panel is provided with a hard key as a function frequently used by the user so that the hard key can be displayed regardless of what screen is displayed. The desired function is realized by pressing. As a function set to the hard key, for example, “Buro automatic” that fills hot water every day when taking a bath.

  As a function related to boiling, the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 has a midnight power time zone setting means 44. For example, a case in which the late-night power time period in which the power rate is reduced depending on the region is assumed. That is, the midnight electric power time zone according to the area to be used can be set in the heat pump type hot water heater 1. For example, in an area where a power charge is designated from 22:00 to 6:00 as a low-night power time zone, the midnight power time zone setting means 44 sets the time from 22:00 to 6:00.

  Note that the midnight power hours may change in the future, so if you download information from the center server 11 and select it by displaying it on the screen, or if you are contracted with the power company, A method of setting the heat pump type water heater 1 directly via the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 may be used.

  As mentioned above, it is economically preferable for the user to boil the hot water tank during late-night power hours, but if there is a lot of hot water on a cold day, the hot water in the hot water tank will run out (this condition is called “hot water” It is necessary to boil up. However, when boiling water in a time zone other than the late-night power time zone, it is informed before boiling because it costs an inexpensive electricity bill. This is the midnight hour boiling notification means 45.

  Further, it is also provided with an outside midnight boiling permission selecting means 46 which is notified by the midnight outside boiling raising notifying means 45 and selects whether or not the boiling is permitted although it is not in the midnight power time zone. That is, it can select by a user's intention.

  In the case where boiling is refused by the late-night-time boiling permission selection means 46, the heat pump type hot water heater 1 is heated so as to be boiled when entering the midnight power time zone measured by the time counting means 27 b by the boiling re-command means 47. Give instructions.

In addition, for each user who chooses whether or not to allow boiling outside the midnight time zone every time, the outside midnight boiling time permission setting means 48 permits the boiling outside the midnight time beforehand. Whether or not can be set.

  The time of the time counting means 27a of the heat pump type hot water heater 1 and the time of the time counting means 27b of the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 are synchronized because they communicate periodically (such as once per hour). The time can also be acquired from the center server 11, and the center server 11 has an NTP (Network Time Protocol) function, and is synchronized periodically at a high accuracy time.

  Alternatively, the time counting means may be acquired via the first transmission / reception means 21a, 21b as either one of 27a or 27b.

  The control means 49 performs arithmetic processing on the input information and data, and generates and sends out control signals and data.

  The operation and action of the system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram for informing when boiling starts outside midnight power time, and FIG. 4 shows an example of a notification screen for informing when boiling starts outside midnight power time. FIG.

  When the thermistor 26 that detects the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank detects a temperature lower than a predetermined temperature (60 ° C. in the present embodiment) (S51), the time measured by the time measuring means 27b is set by the midnight power time zone setting means 44. If it is a time zone other than the midnight power time zone (S52), the control means 49 confirms whether or not the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 can start boiling through the first transmission / reception means 21b. A notification is transmitted (S53).

  When the first transmission / reception means 21b receives the boiling permission confirmation notification, the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 displays a notification screen as shown in FIG. A sound such as the above is sounded to notify the user (S54).

  When the user checks the notification screen shown in FIG. 4 and does not use hot water for a while, such as going out, there is no problem in his / her life even if he / she does not boil up immediately. There is no need to do. In such a case, it is possible to select whether or not to refuse boiling outside the late-night power hours by selecting the overtime boiling permission selection means 46 (S55).

  In FIG. 4, when “Yes” is touched by the overtime boiling permission selection means 46, the control means 49 transmits the boiling permission to the heat pump type water heater 1 via the first transmission / reception means 21 b (S <b> 56). The boiling operation is started by the boiling operation control means 22 (S57).

  When “No” is touched in the overtime boiling permission selecting means 46, a boiling rejection is transmitted to the heat pump type hot water heater 1 (S58), and the heat pump type hot water heater 1 does not start boiling (S59).

  When the boiling is refused, when the time counted by the time counting means 27b enters the midnight power time zone set by the midnight power time zone setting means 44 (S60), the boiling re-command means 47 Is sent to the heat pump hot water heater 1 (S61), and the heat pump hot water heater 1 starts to be heated by the boiling operation control means 22 (S62).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, it is economically preferable for the user to boil the water in the hot water storage tank during the midnight power hours, but if the hot day is cold or a lot of hot water is used, the hot water storage tank will run out. It is necessary to boil. However, if the user does not plan to use hot water immediately, it is meaningless to boil it in a time zone that is not cheap. For this reason, when boiling water in a time zone other than the midnight power time zone, a notification is given before boiling, so that the user can select whether or not to allow boiling although it is not in the midnight power time zone.

  Furthermore, when boiling is refused, when the midnight power time period is entered, the heat pump type hot water heater 1 is instructed to boil up and is heated up, which can contribute to user saving.

  In addition, it is possible to set in advance whether or not to allow boiling outside the midnight time period in advance for a user who is troublesome to select whether or not to permit boiling outside the midnight time band every time.

  In the present embodiment, when the user refuses to boil outside the midnight power time zone, when the midnight power time zone is entered, the boiling start command is transmitted to the heat pump type water heater. If the heat pump type water heater is set to boil at midnight electric power time zone in 28, the heat pump type can be used without sending a boiling start command from the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 to the heat pump type hot water heater. Boiling can be started with a water heater alone.

  In addition, although each of the heat pump type hot water heater 1 and the remote control device (kitchen remote control) 8 has time by the time counting means 27, only the heat pump type hot water heater 1 may be used.

  Moreover, you may equip the heat pump water heater 1 side with a part of means shown to the remote control apparatus 8 of FIG. For example, the reheating instruction unit 47 may be provided on the water heater 1 side.

  Also, if the user does not touch “Yes” or “No” within the predetermined time even after the predetermined time has elapsed on the notification screen of FIG. You may not do it until you enter the belt.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the hot water heater has been described as a heat pump type hot water heater, but if the charge of the energy used by the heat source varies depending on the usage time zone, an electric water heater, a gas water heater, a fuel cell type water heater, etc. It does not matter.

  Note that the units described in this embodiment cooperate hardware resources such as a CPU (or microcomputer), RAM, ROM, storage / recording device, electrical / information device including I / O, a computer, a server, and the like. You may implement with the form of a program. In the form of a program, new functions can be easily distributed / updated and installed by recording them on a recording medium such as magnetic media or optical media or distributing them via a communication line such as the Internet.

  As described above, the remote control device, the control method of the remote control device, and the program according to the present invention construct a similar system as a means for providing a user with savings if the device or system has a different energy charge for the heat source. This can be achieved.

  For example, if there is a service for browsing information content by accessing a server etc. from a remote control device, in order to reduce the server load because the access to the server increases during the time when the general person is at home and is active This can be achieved in a similar manner when the energy charge of the heat source is set high. Thus, the present invention is not limited to midnight power. Further, if there is a cheap time zone for gas and water as well as electric power, the present invention may be applied.

System configuration diagram of a remote control device and a water heater in the first embodiment of the present invention Block diagram of a remote control device and a water heater provided in the first embodiment of the present invention Sequence diagram to notify when it becomes a situation to start boiling outside midnight power hours The figure which shows an example of the alerting | reporting screen alert | reported when it will be in the condition which starts boiling outside midnight power time

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat pump type water heater 2 Heat source unit 3 Hot water storage tank 4 Hot water storage unit 8 Remote control device (kitchen remote control)
22 Boiling operation control means 44 Late-night power time zone setting means 45 Late-night time outside boiling raising notification means 46 Late-night time outside boiling permission selection means 47 Boiling re-instruction means 48 Late-night time outside boiling permission setting means 49 Control means

Claims (4)

A remote control device for a water heater that stops or starts the operation of boiling hot water in a hot water storage tank when an external signal is detected,
When a signal to boil hot water in the hot water storage tank is input in addition to the midnight power time zone setting means for setting a low time zone during the day when the electricity usage fee is low, boiling is started A remote control device comprising a midnight hour boiling-up notification means for notifying the user of the occurrence by voice, sound or display. The remote control device is configured to allow the user to select whether or not to boil when notified by the late-night-time boiling notification means, and when the boiling permission setting means causes the boiling to be performed by the user. 2. The remote control device according to claim 1, further comprising a boiling re-instruction means for outputting a boiling command to the water heater and boiling the hot water storage tank when the refusal is entered in a midnight power time zone. A control method for a remote control device of a water heater that stops or starts an operation of boiling hot water in a hot water storage tank when an external signal is detected,
It has a midnight power time zone setting means that sets a low time zone during the day when the electricity usage fee is low,
An input signal detection procedure for supplying hot water stored in the hot water storage tank and detecting an external signal input by a user operation or reservation setting;
When the input signal detection means detects an external signal, the midnight boiling out notification procedure for notifying that the boiling has started if it is outside the time zone, and
A midnight hour boiling permission selection procedure for allowing the user to select whether or not to allow boiling of the hot water in the hot water storage tank;
In the case of refusing boiling, a boiling re-command procedure that outputs a boiling command to the water heater when the midnight electric power hours are entered, and boiling the hot water storage tank,
A control method for a remote control device comprising: A program for causing a computer to execute at least a part of the remote control device according to claim 1.

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