JP2012177508A - Remote controller for energy system, and energy system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote controller of an energy system capable of allowing a user to adequately estimate data relating to energy consumption.SOLUTION: This remote controller R of the energy system includes a control means capable of executing the control to display an ordinary mode picture plane Io indicating an operating state or an operating condition of the energy system having at least a power generating, hot water supplying or air conditioning function, in a prescribed mode on a display section 41. As the image screen displayed on the display section 41, there is further a first energy consumption image screen IA indicating the data relating to the energy consumption of the energy system, and when the ordinary mode image screen Io is displayed on the display section 41, all or a part of the ordinary mode image screen Io is temporarily switched to the first energy consumption image screen IA at a regular or irregular period by the control of the control means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote controller (remote controller) for remotely operating an energy system having at least one of the functions of power generation, hot water supply, or air conditioning, such as a hot water supply system, a cogeneration system, or an air conditioning system. The present invention relates to an energy system equipped with a remote control.

  In an energy system, it is desired to allow a user to confirm energy consumption. In order to meet such a demand, conventionally, the consumption of each energy such as electricity, gas and tap water used in the energy system is calculated and the content is displayed on the display unit of the remote control. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  When displaying the energy consumption using the remote control, for example, if the energy consumption is displayed only when a predetermined switch operation is performed, the user does not show a great appreciation for the energy consumption. If the specific switch operation is not performed, there is no opportunity to transmit the energy consumption information to the user. In this case, the effect of appealing to the user for energy saving cannot be expected. In addition, even though the remote control has a function capable of displaying the energy consumption, this function is not effectively used.

  On the other hand, in the system described in Patent Document 2, information related to energy consumption is displayed on the initial screen of the display unit of the remote controller. According to such a configuration, information regarding energy consumption is easily transmitted to the user. However, even the system described in Patent Document 2 still has points to be improved as described below.

That is, when the energy system is configured as, for example, a hot water supply system, the initial screen of the remote control display unit includes a hot water supply set temperature, whether or not there is a reservation for automatic hot water filling, the amount of hot water remaining in the hot water storage tank, and other matters. It is necessary to display information on the operating condition and operating state of the hot water supply system so that the user can accurately detect it. When the energy system is a multifunctional system such as a cogeneration system, the amount of information to be displayed on the initial screen is considerably large. On the other hand, since the remote controller is installed, for example, on the wall of a kitchen, there is often a strong demand for downsizing, and the display portion cannot be formed in a very large size in many cases. Therefore, under such conditions, when information on the operating conditions and operating status of the system is displayed on the display unit having a relatively small size so that the user can easily see the information, further information on energy consumption is displayed. Information regarding energy consumption must be simply displayed in a relatively small screen area. This makes it difficult to display detailed data on energy consumption, which may be difficult in providing necessary and sufficient information for the user.
In the remote control described in Patent Document 2, the energy consumption data displayed on the initial screen is regularly updated. However, this data basically includes the data and items displayed on the initial screen. Are the same, and do not newly indicate information of another item. For this reason, the effect of increasing the amount of information related to the energy consumption cannot be expected simply by updating the data.

JP 2003-279119 A JP 2006-13780 A

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances described above, and is an energy system remote control capable of accurately sensing data related to energy consumption to a user, and such a remote control. The problem is to provide an energy system including

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

  An energy system remote control provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes a display unit capable of switching display of data, and an operating state or operating condition of an energy system having at least one function of power generation, hot water supply, or air conditioning. A control unit capable of executing control to display a normal mode screen on the display unit in a predetermined mode, wherein the energy display is a screen displayed on the display unit. When there is further a first energy consumption screen showing data on energy consumption of the system, and the normal mode screen is displayed on the display unit, all or one of the normal mode screens is controlled by the control means. Configured to be temporarily switched to the first energy consumption screen at a constant or indefinite period It is characterized in that it is.

  According to such a configuration, when the normal mode screen is displayed on the display unit of the remote controller, the first energy consumption screen is controlled by the control means without the user performing a specific switch operation. It will be displayed automatically. Therefore, it is possible to make the user actively sense the energy consumption data and to increase the user's appreciation regarding energy saving. As a more important effect, since the first energy consumption screen is displayed by switching all or part of the normal mode screen, this screen switching increases the amount of data displayed on the screen and It is possible to display new item data on energy consumption that could not be displayed on the mode screen, and to increase the display size. For this reason, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately detect data relating to energy consumption in a state that is highly visible to the user.

  In the present invention, preferably, as a screen displayed on the display unit, a second energy consumption indicating data relating to energy consumption of the energy system in the same or non-identical manner as the first energy consumption screen. When there is a quantity screen and the normal mode screen is displayed, when a predetermined switch operation is performed, all or part of the normal mode screen is switched to the second energy consumption screen. It is configured.

  According to such a configuration, when the user performs a predetermined switch operation, the second energy consumption screen is displayed on the display unit. Therefore, the user can display the first energy consumption screen. Data on energy consumption can be positively confirmed at a desired time without waiting for the time for automatic switching display.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that when the first energy consumption screen is displayed, a part of the normal mode screen is switched to the first energy consumption screen, and another part of the normal mode screen is displayed. The display is configured to continue, and when the second energy consumption screen is displayed, the entire normal mode screen is switched to the second energy consumption screen.

  According to such a configuration, when the first energy consumption screen is displayed, the normal mode screen can be displayed on the other part of the display unit, whereas the second energy consumption screen is displayed. Since the consumption screen is displayed instead of the normal mode screen, the display size can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to accurately meet both the demands of checking the energy consumption amount while displaying the normal mode screen and the case of checking the energy consumption amount regardless of the normal mode screen.

  In the present invention, preferably, the control means sets an energy saving target for a predetermined period of the energy system based on past energy consumption data in the energy system or data input in advance to the control means. In addition, the target achievement status is determined, and the determination result is displayed on the normal mode screen.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to let the user perceive the degree of energy saving on the normal mode screen, which helps the user to save energy.

  In the present invention, preferably, the control means stores data of a plurality of figures for indicating the goal achievement situation, and when the normal mode screen is displayed, the goal achievement situation is selected from the plurality of figures. The figure corresponding to is selected and displayed in the normal mode screen, and the figure displayed in the normal mode screen is displayed at its display position according to the current date or time. Are configured to be different.

  According to such a configuration, the degree of energy saving can be easily and quickly understood based on the type and position of the graphic displayed on the normal mode screen.

  The energy system provided by the second aspect of the present invention is an energy system that includes a remote controller and has at least one function of power generation, hot water supply, or air conditioning. The remote controller provided by the first aspect of the present invention is used.

  According to such a configuration, an effect similar to that described for the remote control provided by the first aspect of the present invention can be obtained.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the energy system provided with the remote control which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram of the remote control shown in FIG. (A)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the switching operation | movement of the display screen of the remote control shown in FIG. (A)-(d) is explanatory drawing which shows the some figure displayed on the display part of the remote control shown in FIG. It is a principal part front view which shows the other example of the normal mode screen of the remote control shown in FIG. It is a principal part front view which shows the other example of the normal mode screen of the remote control shown in FIG. (A)-(c) is a principal part front view which shows the example in the case of switching to a 1st energy consumption screen in the remote control shown in FIG. (A)-(f) is a principal part front view which shows the example of the screen switching display performed following the screen display shown in FIG. (A), (b) is a principal part front view which shows the other example of the display screen of the remote control shown in FIG. (A)-(c) is a principal part front view which shows the example in the case of switching to a 2nd energy consumption screen in the remote control shown in FIG. (A)-(c) is a principal part front view which shows the other example of the 2nd energy consumption screen in the remote control shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the main operation | movement process procedures of the control part of the remote control shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  The energy system A including the remote controller R shown in FIG. 1 is configured as a cogeneration system. Since the basic configuration itself of the energy system A is the same as that conventionally known, it will be briefly described. That is, this energy system A is a double power generation system including a generator 20 operated by a gas engine as the heat source unit 25 and a solar battery panel 26. The electric power generated by these is sent to the indoor distribution board 28 through the power conditioner 27 as appropriate, distributed to various places in the house, and sold. The amount of electricity sold and the amount of electricity purchased are measured by the electricity meter 29a.

  The exhaust heat from the heat source unit 25 is sent to a heating device 21 having a heat exchanger and used for generating hot water, and the generated hot water is stored in a hot water storage tank 22. This hot water is heated by the auxiliary heat source unit 23 or adjusted to a predetermined temperature without being heated, and is used for general hot water supply or floor heating. The operation of each part of the energy system A is controlled by the control unit 24, and the amount of energy used or traded from the watt-hour meter 29a, the gas flow meter 29b, and the water meter 29c is transmitted to the control unit 24. Is done. When the auxiliary heat source unit 23 is a gas combustion type heat source unit, the gas consumption can be measured by the gas flow meter 29b, but is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the amount of heat and fuel required for hot water heating It is also possible to use a method of calculating based on the calorific value of the gas. The energy as used in the present invention is not limited to energy in a narrow sense such as electric power or heat, but includes a wide concept including fuel (gas, oil, etc.) as an energy resource, and further including water such as tap water. is there.

  The remote controller R is a wall-hanging type that is used by being fixed to the wall surface of a kitchen or a bathroom, for example, and has a configuration in which constituent elements to be described later are assembled inside and on the front surface of the resin casing 40. As shown in FIG. 2, the remote controller R includes a control unit 1 (corresponding to an example of a control means in the present invention) that executes operation control and data processing of each unit, and a control unit 24 of the energy system A (see FIG. 1) A communication unit 12 that performs data communication with the display unit, a display unit 41 configured by using a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL panel, an operation unit 3 having operation switches 3a to 3e described later, a speaker 13, and a microphone 14. It has. A calendar clock (not shown) for determining the current date and time is provided in the control unit 24 of the energy system A.

The control unit 1 stores, in the storage unit 10, data of a plurality of figures Da (Da _{1 to} Da ₄ ), which will be described later with reference to FIG. The past energy consumption data is stored. In terms of functionality, the control unit 1 also includes an energy consumption calculation unit 11d that calculates an actual energy consumption, an energy consumption saving target value calculation unit 11a, and the saving target value and the actual energy consumption. A target achievement situation determination unit 11b that determines a target achievement situation based on the value and a display control unit 11c are provided. The display control unit 11c controls data display using the display unit 41. As will be described later, the normal mode screen Io and the first and second energy consumption screens IA and IB are displayed on the display unit 41. Execute the control to be displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the display unit 41 and the operation switches 3 a to 3 e are provided on the front surface portion of the housing 40. FIG. 1 shows a state where the normal mode screen Io is displayed on the display unit 41. More specifically, the operation switches 3a to 3e are a menu switch 3a, a returning switch 3b, a cross direction switch 3c, a determination switch 3d, and other various operation switches 3e for executing predetermined operations. The menu switch 3a is a switch that is operated when changing the setting of the operating condition (for example, the target hot water temperature) of the energy system A.

  Next, the operation of the energy system A including the remote controller R and the operation processing procedure of the control unit 1 of the remote controller R will be described. For easy understanding, an outline of operation control of the control unit 1 will be described first with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the remote controller R is in a normal state, that is, in a normal state in which a specific menu selection mode is not set, the control unit 1 displays a normal mode screen Io (see also FIG. 1) as shown in FIG. It is displayed on the display unit 41 (S1). Next, when the determination switch 3d is operated, the second energy consumption screen IB as shown in FIG. 3B is switched and displayed on the display unit 41 (S2: YES, S3). In this state, when the return switch 3b is operated, the screen of the display unit 41 returns to the normal mode screen Io (S4: YES, S1).

On the other hand, unlike the above description, when the determination switch 3d is not operated and the display state of the normal mode screen Io continues for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes to 10 minutes), the control unit 1 is as shown in FIG. In addition, a part of the normal mode screen Io is used as a display area of the first energy consumption screen IA, and a plurality of first energy consumption screens IA (IA _{1 to} IA ₆ ) are sequentially switched as will be described later. It is displayed (S3: NO, S5: YES, S6). If the determination switch 3d is operated while the switching display of the first energy consumption screen IA is being performed, the display of the first energy consumption screen IA is interrupted and displayed. The screen of the unit 41 is switched to the second energy consumption screen IB (S7: NO, S8: YES, S3). In contrast, when the switching display of the plurality of first energy consumption screens IA is completed, the screen of the display unit 41 returns to the original normal mode screen Io (S7: YES, S1). The display of the first energy consumption screen IA is repeated whenever the normal mode screen Io continues for a predetermined time.

  Next, details of the operation process of the control unit 1 described above and details of various screens displayed on the display unit 41 will be described.

[Normal mode screen Io]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3A, in the normal mode screen Io, data indicating the operating state or operating conditions of the energy system A is displayed in addition to the date and current time data. Specific examples of the latter data include data such as the target hot water supply temperature, the amount of hot water remaining in the hot water storage tank 22, whether or not power generation is in progress, the amount of power generation during power generation, the amount of power purchased or sold.

However, on the normal mode screen Io, data D1 related to the energy consumption amount of the energy system A is further displayed in addition to the above. This data D1 includes, for example, a graphic Da imitating a person or an animal and a message Db such as “XXXXX circle set” displayed in the vicinity thereof, which allows the user to understand the achievement status of the energy saving target. It can be done. More specifically, as a process for displaying the data D1, the control unit 1 refers to, for example, the past energy consumption amount in the same month, and predetermines a saving target value for energy consumption in the current month. This target value is compared with the amount of energy actually consumed in the current month or its value converted value. Based on this comparison, the control unit 1 determines the target achievement status as of today or at the present time, and based on the determination result, the message Db described above.
Have created. When the saving target cannot be achieved, the message Db is, for example, “XXXXX yen over” as shown in FIG.

The controller 1 stores, for example, a plurality of figures Da (Da _{1 to} Da ₄ ) shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D as the figure Da. These figures Da _{1 to} Da ₄ are prepared for distinguishing the degree of the achievement situation of the energy saving target, and the control unit ₁ selects one of them according to the achievement situation of the saving target. Is selected and displayed on the display unit 41. When the saving target cannot be achieved, a graphic Da ₄ is displayed as shown in FIG.

  The figure Da is configured to be displayed in an arrangement corresponding to the current date. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, characters indicated by the symbols Pa and Pb on the left and right ends of the normal mode screen Io are characters indicating the first and last days of the current month (for example, “1st”, “31”). ")" Is displayed, and the area connecting these characters corresponds to a virtual time axis indicating the period from the first day to the last day of the current month. The figure Da is displayed at the left end on the first day of every month, and moves to the right by a predetermined amount every day. When approaching the last day of every month, the figure Da is arranged as shown in FIG.

[First energy consumption screen IA]
As described above, the control unit 1 displays the first energy consumption screen IA every time the normal mode screen Io continues for a predetermined time. At the time of this display, the following processing is performed. That is, when the first energy consumption screen IA is displayed, a screen display as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B is performed as a prior operation. In FIG. 7A, the data D1 including the graphic Da and the message Db is displayed so as to move toward the right end of the display unit 41. In FIG. 7B, the display of the data D1 is lost. By such a change in the screen, the user can perceive that the first energy consumption screen IA is displayed thereafter. In addition, when the graphic Da is displayed again on the first energy consumption screen IA, it is convenient to make the display position constant. Note that when the above-described operation is performed, music or other sounds may be generated, and then the first energy consumption screen IA may be displayed more actively.

After the above-described screen display, the first energy consumption screen IA (IA _{1 to} IA ₆ ) and the auxiliary display are performed, for example, in the manner shown in FIGS. 7C and 8A to 8 F. The guide screen IC is sequentially switched and displayed (FIGS. 8C to 8F do not show the entire display unit 41 but only the first energy consumption screen IA and the guide screen IC. ). On the first energy consumption screen IA, in addition to displaying the amount of money saved or exceeded the amount related to energy consumption, the amount of utility cost, the purchased electricity cost, the gas cost, the current month that was not displayed on the normal mode screen Io, The contents indicate water bills. If such a display is made, the user can know the details of the cost of energy consumption that could not be found on the normal mode screen Io.

  The first energy consumption screen IA is displayed using the area where the data D1 is displayed on the normal mode screen Io shown in FIG. 1 in the display unit 41. The main part of the normal mode screen Io is It remains as it is. For this reason, even when confirming the content of the first energy consumption screen IA, the operating status of the energy system A can be known by looking at the normal mode screen Io. Although the first energy consumption screen IA has a relatively small size, a relatively large amount of data can be displayed in a character size that is easy to see by the screen switching operation.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a first energy consumption screen IA displayed on the first day of every month. There may be almost no energy consumption on the first day of each month, and it is not very effective to display the achievement status of the saving target. For this reason, on the first day of every month, the first energy consumption screen IA displays data related to energy consumption for the previous month. Although not shown in the drawings, the same applies to the case where the data D1 is displayed on the first day of each month and the message Db such as the saving amount is displayed on the first day of each month on the normal mode screen Io as shown in FIG. . In addition, after the 1st energy consumption screen IA switches from the content as shown to Fig.9 (a) to the content which shows a utility bill as shown to the same figure (b), Fig.8 (c)-( Similar to the display screens IA _{4 to} IA ₆ and IC shown in f), the screen can be switched to a screen showing the cost of other energy items and a screen for guiding the operation of the decision switch 3d.

[Second energy consumption screen IB]
When the normal mode screen Io is displayed (including when the first energy consumption screen IA is displayed), when the determination switch 3d is operated, the control unit 1 is shown in FIG. Such a second energy consumption screen IB is displayed in a substantially full screen state. Therefore, in this state, it is possible to improve the visibility by displaying the data related to the energy consumption with considerably large characters. Further, by repeatedly operating the decision switch 3d, the second energy consumption screen IB is changed from the content shown in FIG. 10A to the content shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C. It is also possible to switch sequentially at a timing desired by the user. Therefore, it is easier to confirm the contents of the displayed data.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a second energy consumption screen IB displayed on the first day of every month. In the second energy consumption screen IB shown in the figure, energy consumption data for the previous month is displayed for the same reason as in the case of the first energy consumption screen IA. The items displayed on the second energy consumption screen IB are the same as those on the second energy consumption screen IB shown in FIG. 10 except for the previous month.

  In the energy system A including the remote controller R of the present embodiment, as described above, when the normal mode screen Io is displayed, the first energy consumption screen IA is displayed without the user performing a switch operation or the like. Is automatically displayed and data relating to energy consumption is provided to the user. Therefore, even for users who are not normally concerned about energy saving, the effect of saving energy can be expected by the display action of the first energy consumption screen IA. On the other hand, when it is difficult to confirm the contents only by displaying the first energy consumption screen IA, the user operates the determination switch 3d to display the second energy consumption screen IB having a large size. The contents can be checked carefully. Therefore, the user can easily and accurately detect the energy consumption data.

  The present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the energy system remote control and the energy system according to the present invention can be variously changed within the intended scope of the present invention.

  The first energy consumption screen does not necessarily have to be a screen in which a part of the normal mode screen is switched and displayed. For example, the first energy consumption screen has a large size like the second energy consumption screen of the embodiment, and When the energy consumption screen is displayed, the normal mode screen may not be displayed at all. Moreover, about the 1st and 2nd energy consumption screen, a content and a mode can also be made into the same screen. In this case, the screen automatically displayed by the control of the control means is the first energy consumption screen, and the screen displayed by the switch operation is the second energy consumption screen. The span, such as an energy saving target, may not be on a monthly basis, for example, it may be a shorter span such as a week or 10 days, or a longer period such as two months or three months.

The concept of the “energy system” itself in the present invention means a system that includes a device that generates energy or a device that uses (consumes) energy and executes processing for a predetermined purpose. The energy system to be used is an energy system having at least one function of power generation, hot water supply, and air conditioning, and includes a hot water supply system having no power generation function and an air conditioning system in addition to a cogeneration system. Although this invention is suitable for comprising as a "residential energy system" comprised when a component apparatus is installed in a house, it is not limited to this. The scale of the present invention is not limited. For example, a relatively simple hot water supply system in which a general hot water supply or a bath hot water supply is made possible by using a gas water heater, or an air conditioning system in which a general household air conditioner is installed to enable air conditioning or the like is also included in the present invention. This corresponds to the energy system.

A Energy system R Remote control
Io Normal mode screen IA First energy consumption screen IB Second energy consumption screen 1 Control unit (control means)
3 Operation part 41 Display part

Claims (6)

A display unit capable of switching display of data;
A control means capable of executing a control to display a normal mode screen on the display unit, which indicates an operating state or operating conditions of an energy system having at least one of power generation, hot water supply, or air conditioning functions in a predetermined manner;
An energy system remote control comprising:
As the screen displayed on the display unit, there is further a first energy consumption screen showing data on energy consumption of the energy system,
When the normal mode screen is displayed on the display unit, all or part of the normal mode screen is temporarily displayed on the first energy consumption screen at a constant or indefinite period under the control of the control means. A remote control for an energy system, characterized in that it is configured to be switched to The energy system remote control according to claim 1,
As a screen displayed on the display unit, there is further a second energy consumption screen showing data on energy consumption of the energy system in the same or non-identical manner as the first energy consumption screen,
An energy that is configured such that when a predetermined switch operation is performed while the normal mode screen is displayed, all or a part of the normal mode screen is switched to the second energy consumption screen. System remote control. The remote control of the energy system according to claim 2,
When the first energy consumption screen is displayed, a part of the normal mode screen is switched to the first energy consumption screen, and the display of other parts of the normal mode screen is continued. Configured,
An energy system remote control configured such that when the second energy consumption screen is displayed, the entire normal mode screen is switched to the second energy consumption screen. A remote controller for an energy system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The control unit sets an energy saving target for a predetermined period of the energy system based on past energy consumption data in the energy system or data previously input to the control unit, and the target achievement status The energy system remote controller is configured to display the determination result on the normal mode screen. The remote control of the energy system according to claim 4,
The control means stores data of a plurality of figures for indicating the goal achievement situation, and selects a figure corresponding to the goal achievement situation from the plurality of figures when the normal mode screen is displayed. The selected figure is configured to be displayed in the normal mode screen,
The energy system remote control is configured such that the graphic position displayed on the normal mode screen is different in display position according to the current date or time. An energy system having a remote control and having at least one function of power generation, hot water supply, or air conditioning,
An energy system, wherein the remote controller according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is used as the remote controller.

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