JP2011145024A - Remote controller for water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote controller for a water heater capable of securely making a user recognize important information even when a distance between the user and the remote controller is long. <P>SOLUTION: The remote controller for a water heater, which is for remote controlling a water heater, includes a display part 2e of a dot matrix system, a human body detection means for detecting a distance between the display part 2e and a user, and a display content control means which controls to display a normal screen for displaying a plurality of kinds of information simultaneously on the display part 2e when the distance is short, and to display a screen for a long distance on the display part 2e when the distance is long. In the screen for a long distance, a display size of at least one kind of the information among the plurality of kinds of information is enlarged to be larger than that in the normal screen by omitting display of at least one kind of other information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote controller for a water heater.

  A technique is known in which the operation of a water heater for supplying hot water to a bathtub or a hot water tap is remotely operated from a remote controller (hereinafter abbreviated as “remote controller”) installed on a wall surface of a kitchen or bathroom. Generally, the remote controller is provided with a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device that displays characters, numbers, figures, and the like representing information such as the state of the water heater and the hot water temperature. When this remote control is installed especially on the wall surface of a room such as a kitchen, the user may see the remote control not only from a position close to the remote control but also from a position far away. From such a distant position, characters displayed on the display unit may be too small to read.

  In Patent Document 1, the distance between the screen of the personal computer and the user is measured, and the character display size is reduced when the user is close to the screen, and the character display size is displayed when the user is far from the screen. There is disclosed a personal computer system which increases the size of the personal computer.

JP 2006-23953 A

  When the character display size is increased, the area (area) required to display the character information also increases. In the case of a personal computer screen, since there is a scroll function, there is no problem even if the area necessary for display is increased by increasing the display size of characters.

  On the other hand, the remote controller of the water heater cannot provide a scroll function on the screen because the scroll operation cannot be performed when the user is out of reach of the remote controller. The remote controller of the water heater displays a plurality of types of information such as the state of the water heater, the hot water temperature, and the time. Since the size of the display unit of the remote controller of the water heater is limited, when the display size of characters or the like is increased, such information cannot be contained in the display area of the display unit. For this reason, it is difficult to apply the technique of Patent Document 1.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and even when the distance between the user and the remote controller is large, the remote controller for a hot water heater that can make the user surely recognize important information. An object is to provide an apparatus.

  A remote controller for a hot water heater according to the present invention is a remote controller for a hot water heater for remotely operating a water heater, and is a human body that detects a distance between a dot matrix type display unit and a display unit and a user. When the distance between the detection means and the distance is small, a normal screen for simultaneously displaying a plurality of types of information is displayed on the display unit. When the distance is large, at least one of the plurality of types of information is not displayed. Thus, a display content control unit is provided for controlling the display unit to display a long-distance screen in which the display size of at least one other information is larger than that of the normal screen.

  According to the present invention, even when the distance between the user and the remote controller is large, it is possible to make the user surely recognize important information.

It is a control block diagram which shows the hot water supply system to which the remote control device for hot water heaters of Embodiment 1 of this invention is applied. It is the figure which looked at the main remote control in Embodiment 1 of this invention from the front. It is the figure which looked at the state when the main remote control in Embodiment 1 of this invention was attached to the wall surface from the side surface. It is a figure which shows a mode that the character size displayed on the display part of the main remote control in Embodiment 1 of this invention is changed, Fig.4 (a) is a display content when the distance between a user and the main remote control is sufficiently small. 4 (b) shows the display contents (screen for long distance) when the distance between the user and the main remote control is large, and FIG. 4 (c) shows the distance between the user and the main remote control. The display content (far-distance screen) when is larger is shown. It is a figure which shows the example of the priority hold | maintained at the memory | storage device in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the control processing in Embodiment 1 of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the element which is common in each figure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a control block diagram showing a hot water supply system to which the hot water remote controller according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the hot water supply system according to the present embodiment includes a water heater main body 1, and a main remote controller 2 and a bathroom remote controller 3 connected thereto. The main remote controller 2 is usually installed on a wall such as a kitchen. The main remote controller 2 is configured such that the user can input instructions regarding the overall operation of the hot water supply function such as start / stop of operation. The bathroom remote control 3 is installed on the wall surface of the bathroom. The bathroom remote controller 3 is configured such that a user can input instructions regarding settings such as a hot water supply temperature and a hot water supply function.

  The water heater main body 1 includes a power supply unit 1c, a communication circuit 1b that converts communication signals with the main remote controller 2 and the bathroom remote controller 3, and a control unit 1a that analyzes and transmits / receives communication signals and controls a hot water supply function. ing. Furthermore, although not shown in the figure, the water heater main body 1 includes heating means for boiling hot water, a hot water storage tank for storing hot water, valves for controlling the flow of hot water in each part, various sensors, and the like.

  The main remote controller 2 includes a power supply unit 2c, a communication circuit 2b that converts communication signals between the hot water heater body 1 and the bathroom remote controller 3, a storage device 2d that holds character information and information priority data, and a main remote controller 2, a human body detection unit 2 f that measures the position (distance) of the user 4 in the vicinity of 2, a display unit 2 e that displays character information, hot water supply temperature, and the like, and a volume adjustment unit 2 g that adjusts the volume of voice and notification sounds Signals of the sounding part 2h for sounding sound and notification sound, the switch part 2i for switching the hot water supply function such as hot water supply temperature, the switch part 2i, the human body detection part 2f, and the communication circuit 2b are processed, and the display part 2e And a main remote control unit 2a for controlling the volume adjusting unit 2g.

  The bathroom remote control 3 adjusts the volume of the sound and the notification sound, the communication circuit 3b that converts the communication signal between the power supply unit 3c, the hot water heater main body 1 and the main remote control 2, the display unit 3e that displays the hot water supply temperature, etc. A volume control unit 3g that performs sound, a sound unit 3h that sounds a sound and a notification sound, a switch unit 3i that switches and sets a hot water supply function such as a hot water temperature, and a signal that is processed by the switch unit 3i and the communication circuit 3b, and a display unit 3e and a bathroom remote controller 3a that controls the volume controller 3g.

  FIG. 2 is a front view of main remote controller 2 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in the figure, a display unit 2e, a human body detection unit 2f, a ringing unit 2h, and a switch unit 2i are arranged on the front surface of the main remote controller 2. The display unit 2e is a dot matrix type display device, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, or the like.

  FIG. 3 is a side view of the state when main remote controller 2 is attached to wall surface 5 in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the human body detection unit 2f measures a distance L between the user 4 on the floor surface 6 and the main remote controller 2 (display unit 2e). The human body detection unit 2f measures the distance L with the user 4 by repeating it continuously or intermittently. The human body detection unit 2f can be configured by an infrared distance measuring sensor, for example. Alternatively, as the human body detection unit 2f, a camera that captures an image of the user 4 is installed, and the distance from the user 4 is estimated based on the size, position, and the like of the person image specified by the image processing. May be.

  The main remote control unit 2a selects an appropriate character size and volume based on the distance L from the user 4, and also displays information to be displayed in the display area of the display unit 2e in the priority order stored in the storage device 2d. A selection is made based on the data, and it is displayed on the display unit 2e to sound a sound. For example, the volume is increased when the distance L is large, and is decreased when the distance L is small.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the character size displayed on the display unit 2e of the main remote controller 2 in the first embodiment of the present invention is changed. FIG. 5 shows an example of priorities held in the storage device 2d according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the information to be displayed is limited to the character information 7a, the hot water supply temperature 7b, the operation priority 7c, the remaining hot water amount 7d, and the current time 7e. All information to be displayed can be the target of this control.

  FIG. 4A shows the content (normal screen) displayed on the display unit 2e when the distance L between the user 4 and the main remote controller 2 is sufficiently small. When the user 4 is at a position sufficiently close to the main remote controller 2, as shown in FIG. 4A, the display size (character size) of the character information 7a is minimized, and the hot water supply temperature together with the character information 7a. 7b, operation priority 7c, remaining hot water amount 7d and current time 7e are displayed simultaneously.

  FIG. 4B shows the content (screen for long distance) displayed on the display unit 2e when the distance L between the user 4 and the main remote controller 2 is large. When the user 4 is far from the main remote controller 2, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the first priority information, that is, the display size (character size) of the character information 7a is increased. Accordingly, the user 4 can reliably read the character information 7a even when the display unit 2e is far away. Further, the main remote controller 2a determines the information other than the enlarged character information 7a according to the priority data stored in the storage device 2d in accordance with the remaining displayable area, from the highest priority information. Select in order and display simultaneously. In the example shown in FIG. 4B, the remaining display area can display the hot water supply temperature 7b with the second highest priority and the operation priority 7c with the third highest priority. The remaining hot water amount 7d with the fourth priority and the current time 7e with the fifth priority are not shown.

  FIG. 4C shows the contents (long distance) displayed on the display unit 2e when the distance L between the user 4 and the main remote controller 2 is larger or when the user 4 is not present around the main remote controller 2. Screen). In this case, as shown in FIG. 4C, the character size of the character information 7a is maximized, and the display of all other information is omitted. As a result, the user 4 can read the character information 7a even when the user 4 is further away from the main remote controller 2.

  As described above, the main remote controller control unit 2a determines the contents to be displayed on the display unit 2e according to the priority order, and omits display of information with a low priority order when the display area is insufficient.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of control processing in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In step S1, the human body detection unit 2f is activated, and in step S2, the distance L between the user 4 and the main remote controller 2 is detected using the human body detection unit 2f and transmitted to the main remote control unit 2a.

  In step S3, the main remote controller 2a performs volume selection according to the detected distance L. In step S4, the main remote controller 2a selects a character size according to the distance L. The character size may be selected by setting some threshold values for the distance L and increasing the character size every time the distance L exceeds the threshold value.

  In step S5, the main remote controller 2a selects display information in accordance with the character size selected in step S4 and the priority order data stored in the storage device 2d. That is, a display area necessary for displaying the character information 7a with the character size selected in step S4 is calculated, and other information to be displayed at the same time is selected in descending order within the remaining display area. To do. Display of information with a low priority that does not fit in the remaining display area is omitted. In step S6, display is performed on the display unit 2e according to the selection result of the display information in step S5.

  In step S7, the human body detection unit 2f detects again the distance L between the user 4 and the main remote controller 2, and transmits it to the main remote controller control unit 2a.

  In step S8, the main remote controller 2a selects a character size based on the distance L detected in step S7, and compares the selected character size with the currently displayed character size, thereby Judge whether the character size is appropriate. If it is determined that the current character size is not appropriate, the process proceeds to step S9, where the main remote controller 2a selects the character size based on the distance L. In the subsequent step S10, the main remote controller 2a selects display information based on the selected character size and the priority order data stored in the storage device 2d. The contents of this process are the same as in step S5. In the subsequent step S11, display is performed on the display unit 2e according to the selection result of the display information in step S10, and the process proceeds to step S12. If it is determined in step S8 that the current character size is appropriate, the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, it is determined whether or not to end the character display. If the character display is to be continued, the process proceeds to step S7, and the processes in step S7 and subsequent steps are performed again. Thereby, according to the distance L detected by the human body detection part 2f, the display size of the character information 7a can be updated sequentially. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12 that the character display is terminated, the process proceeds to step S13, and the character information displayed on the display unit 2e is deleted.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when the distance between the user and the remote controller is large, the display of information with low priority is omitted by omitting display of information with low priority (in the above example). The display size of the character information 7a) can be increased. For this reason, even when the user is at a position away from the remote control, the user can reliably read important information displayed on the display unit of the remote control. That is, in a remote control with a limited display area, important information can be provided correctly even if the distance between the user and the remote control changes, and good usability can be obtained.

  In the first embodiment, when the display size of information with high priority is enlarged, the display is omitted in order from information with low priority. You may make it switch sequentially in time. For example, the remaining hot water amount 7d and the current time 7e may be alternately displayed in the area where the hot water supply temperature 7b and the operation priority 7c are displayed on the long distance screen of FIG. 4B. By doing so, it is also possible to display the information of the category having the lowest priority, so that the usability is improved. Further, when the information to be omitted is sequentially switched over time, the display time may be changed according to the priority order of the information to be displayed. For example, information with a high priority may have a longer display time, and information with a lower priority may have a shorter display time.

  Further, the priority order of the display information as shown in FIG. 5 may be fixed, but may be changed by the user. That is, the user may arbitrarily set the priority order by operating the switch unit 2i. Further, the display size when enlarging may be a size fixed in advance according to the distance L between the user and the remote controller, but may be changed by the user. In other words, the display size at the time of enlargement may be set to a desired size by the user operating the switch unit 2i.

  In addition, hysteresis is provided in the threshold when selecting (determining) an appropriate display size according to the distance L between the user and the remote controller, and display size switching hunting can be performed when the user moves the distance between the borders. You may be sure to prevent it from happening. The display size may be changed not only by the main remote controller 2 but also by the bathroom remote controller 3. The storage device for storing the priority order data may be in the main remote controller 2 as in the present embodiment, or may be in the water heater main body 1 or the bathroom remote controller 3. Regarding the volume setting, the volume setting may be fixed in advance according to the distance L between the user and the remote controller, and the user can freely change the volume setting according to the distance L. It is good. The volume may be fixed regardless of the distance L.

  Further, in the present embodiment, only information with the first priority is targeted for enlarged display, but a plurality of information may be targeted for enlarged display. Further, when the distance L between the user and the remote controller is large, the long distance screen as shown in FIG. 4B or 4C may be continuously displayed. And the normal screen as shown in FIG. 4 (a) may be displayed alternately by switching over time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water heater main body 2 Main remote control 2a Main remote control part 2d Storage device 2e Display part 2f Human body detection part 2g Volume adjustment part 2h Sounding part 2i Switch part 3 Bathroom remote control 4 User 7a Character information display 7b Hot water supply temperature display 7c Operation priority Display 7d Remaining hot water display 7e Current time display

Claims (8)

A remote controller for a water heater for remotely operating a water heater,
A dot matrix display,
Human body detecting means for detecting a distance between the display unit and the user;
When the distance is small, a normal screen for simultaneously displaying a plurality of types of information is displayed on the display unit, and when the distance is large, display of at least one of the plurality of types of information is omitted. Display content control means for controlling the display unit to display a long-distance screen obtained by enlarging the display size of at least one other information from the normal screen;
A remote control device for a water heater, comprising: The display content control means includes
Means for determining the display size so that the display size becomes larger as the distance is longer when displaying the long distance screen;
Means for increasing the number of pieces of information to be omitted from the plurality of types of information as the determined display size is larger;
The remote controller for a hot water heater according to claim 1, comprising: Storage means for storing the priority of display of the plurality of types of information;
The display content control means is means for determining, based on the priority order, information for enlarging the display size and information for omitting display among the plurality of types of information when displaying the long distance screen. The remote controller for a hot water heater according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by comprising: The display content control means includes
Means for determining the display size so that the display size becomes larger as the distance is longer when displaying the long distance screen;
Means for selecting and displaying information other than the information enlarged and displayed at the determined display size in order from the highest priority within the range of the remaining display area;
The remote controller for a hot water heater according to claim 3, comprising:   The remote controller for a hot water heater according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a user can set the priority order and / or the display size at the time of enlargement.   6. The display content control means, comprising: means for sequentially switching temporally objects to be omitted from the plurality of types of information when displaying the long distance screen. The remote controller for a hot water heater according to any one of the above. An audio output unit for outputting audio for informing information;
When the distance is large, a volume adjusting means for increasing the volume of the sound compared to when the distance is small;
The remote control device for a hot water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:   The remote controller for hot water heater according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the display content control means sequentially updates a display size of information to be enlarged and displayed according to the detected distance. apparatus.

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