JP2012047343A - Water heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water heater which makes it possible to exactly recognize versions of softwares incorporated in control parts of a water heater body and remote controls.SOLUTION: The water heater includes the water heater body 10 and the remote controls 1, 2 which operate the water heater body, wherein the water heater body and the remote controls respectively have the control parts 3 into which the softwares are incorporated, the remote controls include display parts 12, 32 which display information regarding the respective control parts and, on the display part, the versions of the softwares incorporated in the respective control parts can be displayed to be arranged side by side at the same time.

Description

  The present invention relates to a water heater.

  A water heater generally includes a water heater body and a remote controller for operating the water heater body. Each of the water heater main body and the remote control has a control unit in which software is incorporated.

  The user selects and sets a desired operation such as a boiling operation and a bathing function from the remote controller. The content set with the remote control is sent to the control unit of the water heater main body. The controller of the water heater main body that has received the setting contents controls operations related to hot water supply (for example, driving of a heat pump unit, a pump, etc.) based on the settings and the detection results of various sensors.

  Conventionally, as a method of confirming the software version of the control unit, there is a method of starting a test program if it is a control unit of a remote control and displaying the software version of the remote control having started the test program on the display unit of the remote control. On the other hand, the software version of the main body of the water heater is judged by attaching a sticker that clearly indicates the software version to the control unit and checking it.

  However, the control unit of the water heater main body is mounted in the water heater main body, and in order to check the version of the software, the water heater main body must be disassembled until the control unit can check. In addition, there is a possibility that there is a mistake in attaching a seal indicating the version. Therefore, the conventional method has a problem in confirming the software version of the water heater main body.

  More specifically, the software of the control unit of the water heater main body and the software of the control unit of the remote controller are improved every day, and even the same product may have different software versions. Therefore, the person who performs maintenance or the person who performs the test of the water heater correctly knows the software version of the control unit of the water heater body and the software version of the remote controller when checking the operation of the installed water heater. If this is not possible, there will be inconveniences in maintenance and testing.

  By displaying the software version of the water heater main unit on the display of the remote controller, it is possible to know the software version without disassembling the water heater main unit to a state where the control unit can be confirmed. A hot water heater has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 2768604

  However, in the above-described conventional water heater, software versions incorporated in the control unit of the water heater body and the remote controller are sequentially displayed.

  For this reason, it is difficult for the person who performs maintenance or the person who performs the test of the water heater to know which control unit software the displayed version belongs to, or other than the control unit where the version is displayed. It was not easy to use in that the version of the control unit had to be stored.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a water heater capable of accurately grasping the version of software incorporated in the control unit of the water heater main body and the remote controller.

  The present invention includes a water heater main body and a remote controller for operating the water heater main body, and the water heater main body and the remote controller each have a control unit in which software is incorporated, and the remote controller relates to each of the control units. A display unit for displaying information is provided, and the display unit is configured to be able to display the software versions incorporated in the respective control units side by side at the same time.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the version of the software incorporated in the control part of the water heater main body and the remote control can be grasped correctly.

It is a block diagram of the water heater based on 1st Embodiment. It is a front view of the remote control of the water heater according to the first embodiment. It is a front view of the other remote control of the water heater according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state which displayed the version on the display part of the water heater which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state which displayed the menu screen on the display part of the water heater which concerns on 1st Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

<Configuration of water heater>
A hot water supply apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a hot water supply body 10 that houses a hot water storage tank 5 for storing fresh water supplied from a water supply source, and a heat pump that generates hot water by heating the fresh water stored in the hot water storage tank 5. Unit 4 is provided. Further, the hot water storage tank 5 and the heat pump unit 4 are connected to a hot water supply terminal and the like, and a circuit through which fresh water or hot water can flow is provided, and a pump 9 provided on the circuit, various sensors (for example, the water temperature in the hot water storage tank is adjusted). Temperature sensor to detect, water level sensor to detect the level of hot water stretched on the bathtub, etc.).

  The controller 3 of the water heater main body 10 is communicably connected to the remote controller 1 and the remote controller 2, and based on the settings output from the remote controller 1 or the remote controller 2 and the detection results of various sensors, the heat pump unit 4 and the pump 9. Etc. are controlled.

  The heat pump unit 4 is a heat source that indirectly generates electricity to generate heat, and the fresh water stored in the hot water storage tank 5 is heated to hot water by exchanging heat with the heat generated by the heat pump unit 4. The heat source is not limited to the heat pump unit 4 described above, and a heater that generates heat using electricity may be arranged in the hot water storage tank 5.

  When the user operates the water heater main body 10, an operation to be used is selected from the remote controller 1 or the remote controller 2 and determined. For example, an operation from a kitchen remote controller will be described. The automatic bath key 13, the follow-up key 14, the tank heating key 15, the hot water temperature lower key 28 to the key 31 are installed on the front of the remote control, and the bath reservation key 16 to the time setting key 27 are installed in the door.

  Functions that are frequently used on a daily basis, such as “automatic bathing” and “tracking”, can be set easily by installing them on the front face without having to open and close the door. (See Fig. 2: Kitchen remote control, Fig. 3: Full remote control.) Also, keys related to functions that are not used on a daily basis, such as “clock setting”, can be installed in the door without touching them by mistake. The appearance is also given a clean impression.

  The set contents are displayed on the display unit 12 or 32 of the remote controller 1 or 2, and the user can check the set contents such as “hot water set temperature” and “bath set temperature”.

<Operation example>
Since it is not necessary for general users to display the software version on a daily basis, the menu screen for setting the keys installed on the front surface of the remote control, “Buro reservation setting”, etc., like the automatic bath key 13 (FIG. 5: There is little need to include a function to display the software version in the menu screen. For example, it is necessary to check the software version by pressing a key and a key at the same time, or by displaying a screen that displays the software version by entering a password. Only those who can handle it. Therefore, it is possible to provide a function of confirming the software version without hindering daily use.

  By following such a determined procedure, the screen shifts to a screen that displays the software version of the control unit of the remote controller 1 or 2 and the software version of the control unit of the water heater main body 10. Thus, by displaying the software version of the water heater main body 10 on the display unit 12 or 32 of the remote controller 1 or 2, the software version can be obtained without disassembling the water heater main body 10 to a state where the control unit can be confirmed. Can know.

  The display unit 12 or 32 displays the software versions incorporated in the respective control units side by side. Therefore, it is possible to accurately grasp the version of software incorporated in the control unit of the water heater body 10 and the remote controller 1 or 2. Specifically, it is possible to easily determine which control unit software the displayed version belongs to. In addition, since it is not necessary to store versions of control units other than the control unit that currently displays the version, it is easy to check the version.

  In addition, by including a model code assigned to each model in the software version to be displayed, a combination error between the control unit 3 of the water heater main body 10 and the remote controller is discovered, and a malfunction due to the combination mistake before the user uses it. (Refer to FIG. 4: connection with each control unit and software version display screen).

  In addition, a plurality of remote controllers 1 and 2 are provided for the water heater main body 10. In this case, for example, the display unit 12 is configured to be able to further display the software version of the control unit included in the remote control 2 (for example, the bathroom remote control) other than the remote control 1 (for example, the kitchen remote control) provided with the display unit 12. There may be. In this way, the version of not only the water heater main body 10 but also all the remote controllers 1 and 2 can be grasped in one remote controller 1. If all the versions of the remote controllers 1 and 2 cannot be displayed in the display unit 12 of the remote controller 1, the version that could not be displayed on the screen is sent by operating an appropriate key. A method of displaying can be considered.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible within the range which does not deviate from the meaning of invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the heat pump water heater has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to an electric water heater using a heater, and is not an electric water heater such as these, but a gas water heater. It can also be applied to.

1, 2 Remote control 3 Control unit 10 Water heater body

Claims (2)

A water heater main body and a remote controller for operating the water heater main body,
Each of the water heater main body and the remote control has a control unit in which software is incorporated,
The remote control includes a display unit that displays information on each control unit,
The hot water heater is configured such that the display unit can simultaneously display the versions of software incorporated in the control units. The electric water heater according to claim 1,
A plurality of remote controls are provided for the water heater body,
The hot water heater is configured such that the display unit can further display a software version of a control unit included in a remote controller other than the remote controller including the display unit.

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