JP2016213593A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To utilize flexibility of input, which is achieved by a remote controller including a touch panel, to enable the remote controller to attain additional functions.SOLUTION: An operation screen 900 includes an up button 901 for an instruction to raise a set temperature of hot water in a bathtub. An area 951 is an area for receiving a touch operation conducted to the up button 901 on a touch panel. The area 951 is set so as to be smaller than an area, in which an image of the up button 901 is displayed, in order to allow a user to carefully input the instruction to raise the set temperature.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control device, and more particularly to a remote control device including a touch panel.

  Conventionally, various techniques have been proposed for remote control devices provided for devices to be controlled. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-229209 (Patent Document 1) proposes a remote control device including a function key that can assign different operation contents depending on the contents of screen display.

JP 2009-229209 A

  By providing the touch panel, the remote control device can be provided with function keys, and thus the remote control device can improve the flexibility of input.

  An object of the present disclosure is to provide a remote control device with further functions by utilizing the flexibility of input provided with a touch panel.

  According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a remote control device provided for a control target device is provided. The remote control device includes a touch panel, a touch panel control means for setting a display area on the touch panel for displaying a button for inputting control information for the control target device, and an operation area for receiving an input to the button. The touch panel control means sets the operation area for the button according to the display area for the button and the content of the button control information.

  Preferably, the touch panel control means sets whether to make the operation area coincide with or smaller than the display area in accordance with the content of the control information corresponding to the button.

  Preferably, the touch panel control means further sets an operation area corresponding to the display area of the button according to the state of the control target device.

  Preferably, the device to be controlled is an air conditioner and / or a water heater. When the control information is for increasing the set temperature of the control target device, the touch panel control means sets the operation area corresponding to the button display area to be smaller than the display area.

  Preferably, the device to be controlled is an air conditioner and / or a water heater. The touch panel control means sets the operation area corresponding to the display area of the button to be smaller than the display area when the control information increases the set temperature of the control target device beyond a specific temperature. .

  Preferably, the set temperature is a set temperature of a hot water supply temperature in the water heater or a hot water temperature supplied to the bathtub.

  Preferably, when the control information causes the control target device to start a specific operation, the touch panel control means sets the operation area corresponding to the button display area to be smaller than the display area.

  Preferably, the device to be controlled is a water heater having a reheating function, and the operation is an operation start of the reheating function by the water heater.

  According to the present disclosure, the operation area of the button displayed on the touch panel can be changed by the control information corresponding to the button. If the operation area of the button becomes smaller, the degree of difficulty in inputting control information corresponding to the button becomes higher. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, the remote control device is provided with a function of adjusting the degree of difficulty in inputting the control information according to the control information.

It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed in the touchscreen which is a component of the remote control apparatus which concerns on this indication. It is a block diagram which illustrates roughly the composition of the power generation system to which the remote control device of this indication is applied. It is a functional block diagram explaining the control composition for the display in the touch panel of this indication. It is a figure which shows an example of the data for a display of each button displayed on a touch panel. It is a figure which shows typically the information utilized in order to set the operation area | region of each button. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation area | region of each button shown by FIG. It is a flowchart of the process for the calculating part of a remote control apparatus to transmit the control command according to operation with respect to a touch panel to the control apparatus of a hot-water supply apparatus. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the operation area | region of each button of the remote control apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the 1st example of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the 2nd example of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the 3rd example of 3rd Embodiment.

  An embodiment of a remote control device of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated in principle.

[First Embodiment]
(1. Summary of disclosure)
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen (operation screen 900) displayed on a touch panel that is a component of a remote control device according to the present disclosure.

  A remote control device according to the present disclosure is provided for a power generation system. The power generation system includes, in addition to a power generation device including a solar panel (a power generation device 20 in FIG. 2 to be described later), a water heater that is an example of a controlled device (a hot water supply device 50 in FIG. 2 to be described later), and the controlled A touch panel that displays one or more buttons for inputting control information for the device (a touch panel 110 in FIG. 3 described later), and a control device that controls the display of the touch panel (a control device 150 in FIG. 3 described later). Including.

  The operation screen 900 shown in FIG. 1 includes an up button 901 and a down button 902. The up button 901 increases the set temperature of the hot water in the bathtub. The down button 902 decreases the set temperature.

  In FIG. 1, a frame F is shown for explanation. In the frame F, an area 951 for receiving a touch operation for the up button 901 and an area 952 for receiving a touch operation for the down button 902 are shown.

  An area 952 substantially coincides with an area where the image of the down button 902 is displayed. On the other hand, the area 951 is smaller than the area where the image of the up button 901 is displayed. More specifically, the area 951 has the same center of gravity as the up button 901, but its outer edge is located inside the outer edge of the up button 901. The area of the region 951 is about ½ of the area of the up button 901.

  If the set temperature of the hot water in the bathtub becomes too high, the hot water in the bathtub may become too hot and dangerous. For this reason, the up button 901 must be carefully operated. From this, in the touch panel of this indication, about the up button 901, the area | region 951 which receives the touch operation with respect to the said button is smaller than the display area (up button 901) of the said button. On the other hand, for a down button 902 in which such a situation does not exist, an area 952 for accepting a touch operation on the button is substantially the same as a display area (down button 902) of the button.

  That is, in the touch panel of the present disclosure, an area for accepting a touch operation on a button is set based on the display area of the button and the control content corresponding to the button.

(2. Configuration of power generation system)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the power generation system 5 to which the remote control device of the present disclosure is applied.

  Referring to FIG. 2, power generation system 5 includes a power generation device 20, an electric wiring 15 in the home, a power conditioner 22, a solar breaker 25, an outlet 42, and a home load breaker 45. The electrical wiring 15 is electrically connected to the power line 11 of the power system. The power line 11 is electrically connected to the commercial power supply 10 of the power system. The power line 11 transmits AC power of 100 VAC or 200 VAC, for example.

  The power generation device 20 is configured by a power generation device capable of selling power by reverse power flow to the power system. Typically, the power generation device 20 is configured by a solar power generation device (solar panel). Hereinafter, the power generation device 20 is also referred to as a solar panel 20.

  The power conditioner 22 converts the power generated by the power generation device 20 into AC power (100 AC to 200 VAC) that can flow backward to the power system and outputs the AC power. The output power of the power conditioner 22 is transmitted to the electric wiring 15 via the solar breaker 25. Furthermore, the electrical wiring 15 is connected to a household outlet 42 via a household load breaker 45.

  The solar breaker 25 is configured to be able to cut off a power path between the power conditioner 22 and the electric wiring 15. Similarly, the household load breaker 45 is configured to be inserted and connected to the electrical wiring 15 so that the electrical path to the outlet 42 can be interrupted.

  If the home load breaker 45 is in a non-blocking (connected) state, the home electric load 40 connected to the outlet 42 can operate by consuming electric power from the electric wiring 15. The household electrical load 40 includes, for example, electrical equipment such as a refrigerator, an air conditioner, a cooking appliance, and a lighting fixture.

  The power generation system 5 is further configured to operate in conjunction with the hot water supply apparatus 50 introduced in the same home or facility. The hot water supply apparatus 50 operates using fuel gas such as city gas or LP gas as an energy source.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the hot water supply device 50 is configured as a cogeneration system including a power generation unit 51. The power generation unit 51 is constituted by, for example, a fuel cell unit that reforms a fuel gas to obtain hydrogen. Or the electric power generation unit 51 can also be comprised by the generator which produces electric power with the engine which uses gas as a fuel, and the output of the said engine. The power conditioner 52 converts the power generated by the power generation unit 51 into power used by the household electrical load 40 (100 VAC or 200 VAC) and outputs the converted power. The output power of the power conditioner 52 is supplied to the node Nd on the electrical wiring 15 that is closer to the household electrical load 40 than the household load breaker 45 is.

  When the hot water supply device 50 is configured to include a power generation device, the power generation unit 51 can operate as a component of the power generation system 5 by operating the power generation unit 51 in conjunction with the power generation system 5. It becomes possible.

  In addition to the power generation unit 51 and the power conditioner 52, the hot water supply device 50 includes a heating device 53, an auxiliary heat source device 54, a hot water storage tank 55, and a control device 56 constituted by a microcomputer. Furthermore, a remote control device (hereinafter referred to as “controller”) 100 as a user interface is arranged for hot water supply device 50.

  The heating device 53 heats water to be heated, such as tap water, using the exhaust heat generated during power generation by the power generation unit 51. For example, the heating device 53 is configured by a heat exchanger that receives exhaust heat from the power generation unit 51. The hot water storage tank 55 accumulates heated water (high temperature water) generated by the heating device 53. The hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 55 is used to supply hot water from a currant such as a kitchen, a washroom, and a bathroom, hot water to a bathtub, or a heating medium that circulates through a heating device, according to instructions from the user. Used.

  Furthermore, the hot water supply device 50 can supply hot water to the user by operating the auxiliary heat source device 54 that supplies hot water by gas combustion when the amount of hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 55 or the hot water temperature decreases. It is configured to be possible.

  The hot water supply apparatus 50 is further provided with a flow rate sensor 57 for detecting the amount of hot water supply and a flow rate sensor 58 for detecting the consumption amount of fuel gas.

  The control device 56 generates the power generation unit 51, the power conditioner 52, and the auxiliary heat source device 54 in accordance with various operation instructions (hot water supply operation, bath hot water supply operation, etc.) input from the user to the controller 100 and the setting of the tapping temperature. Etc. are controlled. In addition, detection values by the flow sensors 57 and 58 are input to the control device 56. By integrating the detection values by the flow sensors 57 and 58, it is possible to calculate the amount of gas consumed and the amount of tapping water in the hot water supply apparatus 50.

  The controller 100 includes a touch panel 110, an operation switch 120, and a control device 150. The control device 150 can be configured by a microcomputer.

  The touch panel 110 is constituted by a liquid crystal dot matrix, for example, and displays images and characters in accordance with instructions from the control device 150.

  The operation switch 120 is generally configured by a push switch that can be operated by a user. For example, by input to the operation switch 120, a hot water supply temperature from the hot water supply device 50, a general hot water supply function for a kitchen or a washroom, a hot water supply function capable of filling a bathtub, hot water heating for floor heating, etc. Functions etc. can be turned on.

  The control device 150 of the controller 100 and the control device 56 of the hot water supply device 50 are configured to be able to communicate with each other by wire or wirelessly. Therefore, the operation of hot water supply apparatus 50 is controlled in response to a user instruction input to controller 100. In addition, although the specific example of communication between the control apparatus 150 and the control apparatus 56 is the electric power superimposition communication in a 2 core cable, the said communication system is not limited to this.

  Next, the power flow in the power generation system 5 including the power generation unit 51 of the hot water supply device 50 will be described.

  The power generated by the solar panel 20 changes according to natural conditions such as the amount of sunlight. For example, the power generated by solar power generation is generally changed by maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control. The output power Psl of the power conditioner 22 is detected by the detector 61. The output power Psl corresponds to the available generated power from the solar panel 20 after subtracting the power loss in the power conditioner 22. Hereinafter, the output power Psl of the power conditioner 22 is also simply referred to as generated power Psl.

  The power generated by the power generation unit 51 can be consumed by the household electrical load 40 via the node Nd and the outlet 42 after power conversion by the power conditioner 52. The output power Pfc from the power conditioner 52 to the electrical wiring 15 (node Nd) is detected by the detector 63. The output power Pfc corresponds to the power supplied from the power generation unit 51. Hereinafter, it is also referred to as auxiliary generated power Pfc.

  In the power generation system 5, it is assumed that the power generated by the power generation unit 51 is not allowed to flow backward to the power system. Therefore, the control device 56 basically controls the operation of the power generation unit 51 so that the auxiliary generated power Pfc by the power generation unit 51 does not exceed the power consumption Pcm of the household electrical load 40. The detector 64 is arranged to detect the total output power (that is, power consumption of the household electrical load 40) Pcm to the household electrical load 40 via the outlet 42. For example, when the power consumption Pcm does not reach a certain amount, the power generation unit 51 is stopped.

  Furthermore, the detector 62 is arranged so as to detect the supply power Pld from the electrical wiring 15 to the household electrical load 40 via the household load breaker 45. The detectors 61 to 64 are each configured by a voltage sensor and a current sensor or a power sensor for detecting an instantaneous value of power. Detection values Pa to Pd by detectors 61 to 64 are transmitted to control device 56 of hot water supply device 50. The control device 56 generates display data on the touch panel 110 by processing (calculating) the detection values Pa to Pd into a form to be provided to the user, and sends the display data to the control device 150 of the controller 100. Send.

  As described above, the detected value Pa indicates the generated power Psl from the power generation device (solar panel 20), and the detected value Pb indicates the supplied power Pld to the household electrical load 40 via the household load breaker 45. Similarly, the detection value Pc indicates auxiliary power generation Pfc by the power generation unit 51, and the detection value Pd indicates power consumption Pcm by the household electrical load 40 (hereinafter also referred to as household power consumption Pcm). The home power consumption Pcm can also be obtained by calculation based on the detection values by the detectors 62 and 63 (Pcm = Pld + Pfc). That is, the arrangement of the detector 64 may be omitted.

  In the power generation system 5, the household power consumption Pcm corresponds to the sum of the power supply Pld supplied from the electrical wiring 15 and the auxiliary power generation Pfc from the power generation unit 51 (Pcm = Pfc + Pld). In other words, Pld = Pcm−Pfc.

  When the generated power Psl from the solar panel 20 is larger than the power supplied Pld from the electric wiring 15 to the household electric load 40 (Psl> Pld), the surplus power (Psl−Pld) is “sold to the power system”. It will be in the state of being "electrically". That is, the power selling power Pse = Psl−Pld (where Psl> Pld). On the other hand, when Pld ≧ Psl, Pse = 0.

  On the other hand, when the household power consumption Pcm is larger than the sum (Psl + Pfc) of the generated power Psl and the auxiliary generated power Pfc, the power consumption Pcm is secured by “buying power” from the power system ( (Pld = Pcm−Pfc) At this time, the supplied power Pld is larger than the generated power Psl from the solar panel 20 (Pld> Psl), and the insufficient power (Pld−Psl) is “purchased” from the power system. It becomes. That is, the purchased power Ppu = Pld−Psl (where Pld> Psl). On the other hand, when Psl ≧ Pld, Ppu = 0. The supplied power Pld from the electrical wiring 15 corresponds to private power out of the power from the power generation device (solar panel 20). Hereinafter, the power Pld is also referred to as “private power Pld”.

  As described above, the power generation system 5 handles a large amount of energy-related data. For this reason, there is a need to configure the energy display device so that the user can visually recognize comparison information between the plurality of data by arranging a plurality of data of the same unit such as cost and power in a bar graph display. For example, bar graph display is executed on the touch panel 110 of the controller 100.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a control configuration for display on the touch panel 110 of the present disclosure.

  Referring to FIG. 3, control device 150 of controller 100 includes a calculation unit 152 realized by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory 154, a power connector 156, and a power circuit 157. The memory 154 has a RAM (Random Access Memory) area and a ROM (Read Only Memory) area. The CPU of the calculation unit 152 executes the processing disclosed in the present specification by executing a program stored in the memory 154, for example. Note that the program executed by the CPU may be stored non-temporarily in a recording medium detachable from the controller 100.

  For example, the power connector 156 is connected to a power connector provided in the hot water supply device 50 with a two-core cable, and introduces electric power from the hot water supply device 50 to the controller 100. The power supply circuit 157 supplies power from the hot water supply device 50 to each element in the controller 100. Display data (for example, data generated by processing the detection values Pa to Pd) can be superimposed on the power transmitted by the two-core cable.

  In the power generation system 5, the display data may be processed by the control device 150. In such a case, the original data (for example, detection values Pa to Pd) of the display data is input to the control device 150.

  The content (images and / or characters) displayed on the touch panel 110 is controlled by the liquid crystal driver 115 applying a driving voltage to each liquid crystal pixel of the touch panel 110. The liquid crystal driver 115 controls the driving voltage of each liquid crystal pixel in accordance with a control command from the calculation unit 152. As a result, the image and / or characters set by the calculation unit 152 are displayed on the touch panel 110. Thereby, the display of the screen on the touch panel 110 as shown in FIG. 1 is realized.

  The touch panel 110 generates an operation signal based on a touch operation on the touch panel 110 and transmits the operation signal to the calculation unit 152. The operation signal is, for example, a signal that specifies the coordinates to be touched in the liquid crystal dot matrix. In the present disclosure, as a method of operation in the touch panel 110, any method including a resistive film method and a capacitance method may be selected.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the controller 100 includes an operation switch 120. Arithmetic unit 152 can also transmit a control command for notifying a user instruction input to operation switch 120 to control device 56 of hot water supply device 50. Thereby, the control apparatus 56 can control operation | movement of the hot water supply apparatus 50 based on the said control command.

(3. Display area and operation area settings on the touch panel)
In this specification, an area in which buttons displayed on the touch panel 110 are displayed is referred to as a “button display area”. An area for accepting a touch operation on a button displayed on the touch panel 110 is referred to as a “button operation area”. For example, with respect to the up button 901 in the frame F in FIG. 1, the touch operation on the up button 901 is accepted not only in the entire up button 901 but in the region 951 therein. Therefore, the area shown as the up button 901 in the frame F in FIG. 1 is the display area of the up button. An area indicated as an area 951 is an operation area for the up button.

  In the touch panel 110 of the present disclosure, the relationship between the display area corresponding to the displayed button and the operation area is set based on the control content (control command) corresponding to the button. Hereinafter, this setting will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of display data for each button displayed on the touch panel 110. The data shown in FIG. 4 includes, for each button, an ID, an image file name, coordinates for specifying a display area on the touch panel 110 (display coordinates), and control contents corresponding to the button. The control content corresponding to the button represents the content of a control command transmitted from the control device 150 to the control device 56 (see FIG. 2) when the button is operated.

  In FIG. 4, ID is a number assigned to each button. The image file name is information for specifying the image file of each button. The image file of each button is stored in the memory 154, for example. The button display area includes coordinates ((x11, y11), etc.) representing the upper left point of the area where each button is displayed on the touch panel 110 and coordinates ((x12, y12), etc.) representing the lower right point. The button display area shown in FIG. 4 is, for example, a rectangular area specified by two coordinates of the upper left and lower right of the displayed button.

  The shape of the display area is not limited to a rectangle. The shape may be a rounded corner of the rectangle, or any other shape.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing information used for setting the operation area of each button. FIG. 5 shows information for designating whether the operation area needs to be reduced for each control content. Specifically, the control content “increase the set temperature by 1 ° C.” specifies that the reduction is required. The control content “decrease the set temperature by 1 ° C.” specifies that the reduction is not required.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the operation area of each button shown in FIG. The data shown in FIG. 6 includes an operation area for each button in addition to the data (ID, image file name, display coordinates, and control content) shown in FIG. The operation area of each button is generated based on the display area of each button (FIG. 4) and the necessity of reducing the operation area (FIG. 5).

  More specifically, for a button that is designated as not requiring reduction of the operation area, the operation area matches the display area. More specifically, the control content of the button with the button ID “0002” “decrease the set temperature by 1 ° C.” does not require reduction of the operation area as shown in FIG. For this reason, in FIG. 6, the display area and the operation area match for the button ID “0002”.

  On the other hand, for buttons designated to require reduction of the operation area, the operation area is smaller than the display area. More specifically, the control content of the button with the button ID “0001” “increase the set temperature by 1 ° C.” requires reduction of the operation area as shown in FIG. Therefore, in FIG. 6, the display area and the operation area do not match for the button ID “0001”. More specifically, the rectangle specified by the coordinates ((x31, x32)) of the two points in the operation area column is a rectangle specified by the coordinates ((x11, x12)) of the two points in the display area column. On the other hand, the centroids coincide with each other, but are smaller than the rectangle specified in the display area.

  In the controller 100 of the first embodiment, the calculation unit 152 (FIG. 3) displays buttons on the touch panel 110 based on the information shown in FIG. 6, and also displays a touch operation on the touch panel 110. It is determined whether or not it is an instruction to input control information corresponding to the selected button. More specifically, the calculation unit 152 determines that the input of control information corresponding to the button is instructed when the coordinates of the touch operation target are included in the operation region of the button.

  In one example, information specifying how much the operation area is to be made smaller than the display area is stored in the memory 154, for example. The computing unit 152 generates the information shown in FIG. 6 based on the information shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and the information specifying the degree. In another example, the information shown in FIG. 6 from the time of shipment of the remote control device 100 is stored in the memory 154 instead of the information shown in FIG.

(4. Process flow)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a process for calculating unit 152 to transmit a control command corresponding to an operation on touch panel 110 to control device 56 of hot water supply device 50. The operation area of each button displayed on the touch panel 110 is set according to the control content of each button, for example, as shown in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, in step S <b> 10, the calculation unit 152 determines whether or not there is a touch operation on the touch panel 110. Then, calculation unit 152 stops control at step S10 until it is determined that there is a touch operation (NO at step S10), and when it is determined that there is a touch operation (YES at step S10), control proceeds to step S20.

  In step S <b> 20, the calculation unit 152 determines whether or not the coordinate where the touch operation is performed in step S <b> 10 is included in the operation area of any button displayed on the touch panel 110. If computing unit 152 determines that the coordinates are included in the operation area of any button (YES in step S20), control proceeds to step S30. On the other hand, when calculating unit 152 determines that the coordinates are not included in the operation region of any button (NO in step S20), control is returned to step S10.

  In step S <b> 30, the calculation unit 152 outputs an instruction (control instruction) for executing the control content of the button including the coordinates of the touch operation in step S <b> 10 in the operation area to the control device 56. Then, control is returned to step S10.

  In the first embodiment described above, the relationship between the area where the button is displayed and the area where the operation for the button is received is set based on the control content corresponding to the button. When a touch operation is performed on the operation region set as described above, the controller 100 outputs an instruction of the control content of the button corresponding to the operation region to the control device 56. When two or more buttons are displayed on the touch panel 110 of the controller 100, the operation area for the display area of each button can be set based on the control content corresponding to each button.

  For example, when the control content requires attention to safety when the user uses the controlled device, the operation area of the button for the control content is made smaller than the display area of the button. When such attention is not required when operating a button (or when the level of attention is relatively low), the button operation area is the same as the display area of the button. “Same” in this case includes substantially the same (matching). “Substantially the same” includes, for example, a case where one of the display area and the operation area is a rectangle and the other is a shape obtained by rounding the corners of the rectangle.

  When the operation area is made smaller than the display area, the center of gravity of the operation area preferably matches the center of gravity of the display area. This is because when the user touches the center of gravity of the display area, the location of the touch is surely included in the operation area. However, when the operation area is made smaller than the display area, the shape of the operation area does not have to be similar to the display area. For example, when the shape of the display area is a rectangle, the operation area may be a circle arranged inside the rectangle.

[Second Embodiment]
In the remote control device of the second embodiment, the button operation area changes according to the state of the controlled device. In 2nd Embodiment, the preset temperature of the hot water of a bathtub is employ | adopted as an example of the state of a to-be-controlled device. FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the operation area of each button of the remote control device according to the second embodiment.

  In the example shown in FIG. 8, the operation content “Raise the set temperature by 1 ° C.” (button ID = 0001) is associated with two operation areas corresponding to the two conditions. The two conditions are the set temperature of the hot water in the bathtub.

  In the example of FIG. 8, if the set temperature is 42 ° C. or less, the coordinates defining the operation area coincide with the coordinates defining the display area, and if the set temperature exceeds 42 ° C., the coordinates defining the operation area are Different from the coordinates defining the display area. That is, if the set temperature is 42 ° C. or lower, the operation area is set to coincide with the display area, and if the set temperature exceeds 42 ° C., the operation area is different from the display area (more specifically, , As described with reference to FIG. 6).

  As mentioned above, in 2nd Embodiment, until the set temperature of the hot water of a bathtub exceeds 42 degreeC, even if it touches any part where the button for raising the said set temperature is displayed, once The set temperature of the touch increases by a certain temperature (for example, 1 ° C.).

  On the other hand, when the set temperature of hot water in the bathtub exceeds 42 ° C., the set temperature does not increase unless the center of gravity of the button is touched. That is, in such a case, the user cannot carefully increase the set temperature unless the user carefully checks the button and carefully touches the center of gravity of the button.

  The operation area of the button may be reduced in two or more steps according to the set temperature. For example, when the set temperature is 42 ° C. or lower, the button operation area matches the display area. When the set temperature exceeds 42 ° C. but is equal to or lower than 44 ° C., the area of the button operation area is the area of the display area (up button 901) as shown as the area 951 in the frame F of FIG. It is made small to the extent that it becomes about 1/2 of this. Further, when the set temperature exceeds 44 ° C., the area of the button operation area is reduced to about 1/8 of the area of the display area.

[Third Embodiment]
In the third embodiment, adjusting the relationship between the display area of the button and the operation area according to the control content corresponding to the button is also applied to buttons other than the temperature rise.

(1. chase button)
The first example of the third embodiment is a button for inputting an instruction for causing a control target device to execute a specific operation. As a specific example of the button, there is a “chasing button” for instructing chasing hot water from a bathtub. The follow button is a component of the screen shown in FIG. 1, for example.

  “Casting” is to return the hot water in the bathtub to the hot water supply device 50 (see FIG. 2), to the set temperature of the hot water in the bathtub, and then return to the bathtub. More specifically, the power generation system 5 is provided with a pipe (mechanism circuit) for circulating hot water between the bathtub and the heating device 53 (heat exchanger) of the hot water supply device 50. The memorial circuit includes a bath return passage portion for sending hot water from the bathtub to the heating device 53 and a bath going passage portion for sending hot water from the heating device 53 to the bathtub. An internal passage for circulating hot water in the heating device 53 is connected between the bath return passage portion and the bath return passage portion. A circulation pump for circulating hot water between the bathtub and the heating device 53 is installed in the bath return passage. In the heating device 53, a heat exchange passage for circulating a fluid for heat exchange is provided. In “chasing”, hot water in the bathtub is sent to the heating device 53 via the bath return passage portion, heated by heat exchange with the fluid flowing through the heat exchange passage, and then passed through the bath passage passage portion. And returned to the bathtub.

  In FIG. 9, two types of tracking buttons 905A and 905B are shown together with their operation areas. The operation area 955A of the follow button 905A has substantially the same shape as the follow button 905A. On the other hand, the operation area 955B of the follow button 905B is smaller than the follow button 905B. More specifically, the tracking button 905B and the operation area 955B have the same center of gravity, and the area of the operation area 955B of the tracking button 905B is about 2/3 of the tracking button 905B.

  In the remote control device according to the third embodiment, for example, when the set temperature of the hot water in the bathtub is 42 ° C. or lower, the display area and the operation area of the follow button are displayed as shown as the follow button 905A. Are almost identical. On the other hand, when the set temperature of the hot water in the bathtub exceeds 42 ° C., it is made smaller than the operation area of the tracking button and its display area, as shown as the tracking button 905B.

  Note that the operation area of the tracking button may be set smaller than the display area regardless of the set temperature of the hot water in the bathtub.

(2. Initialization of energy data)
In the second example, an operation area of a button that receives an input of an irreversible instruction is set smaller than the display area of the button. More specific description will be given below.

  In the power generation system 5, as described above, various data such as private power (supplied power Pld) in the power from the solar panel 20 (see FIG. 2) and the hot water temperature in the hot water storage tank 55 are acquired in the power generation system 5. Is done. In the power generation system 5, for example, statistical values of various data for a certain period are accumulated in the memory 154, and the statistical values can be displayed on the touch panel 110.

  When circumstances such as changing the owner of the power generation system 5 occur, the user may desire to delete the above-described statistical values from the memory 154. Note that erasure of data may be irreversible. In other words, once data has been erased, it may not be revived thereafter.

  The control device 150 of the controller 100 displays on the touch panel 110 a button for instructing deletion of the statistical value. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation screen including a button for instructing deletion of statistical values. For example, when the menu button constituting the operation screen shown in FIG. 1 (the box labeled “Menu” positioned at the bottom of the operation screen) is touched, the control device 150 displays the operation screen of FIG. Display on the touch panel 110.

  The operation screen 980 in FIG. 10 includes three buttons 981, 982, and 983. The button 981 is a button for designating various settings of the power generation system 5 (see FIG. 2). The button 982 is a button for displaying the usage status of the power generation system 5 (supplied power Pld and the like). A button 983 is a button for instructing deletion of the statistical value. FIG. 10 further shows three operation areas 991, 992, and 993 corresponding to the three buttons 981, 982, and 983, respectively.

  The operation areas 991 and 992 substantially coincide with the display areas for the buttons 981 and 982, respectively. On the other hand, the operation area 993 is smaller than the button 983.

  The instruction by operating the buttons 981 and 982 is reversible, while the instruction by operating the button 983 is irreversible. More specifically, the setting that is an instruction by operating the button 981 can be changed. That is, the setting change can be undone. The display of data, which is an instruction by operating the button 982, does not substantially change the characteristics of the data. That is, even after the display, the state before the display can be maintained.

  On the other hand, erasure of data as an instruction by operating the button 983 is irreversible. In other words, once deleted data cannot be restored. In the second example, the operation area 993 of the button 983 is set smaller than the button 983 so that the user can carefully operate the button 983.

(3. Third example)
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the third example. FIG. 11 shows a data initialization confirmation screen 995.

  The confirmation screen 995 in FIG. 11 includes a message “Do you want to initialize?”, A YES button 996 for approving data initialization (statistical value deletion), and a NO button for canceling the initialization instruction. 997. In FIG. 11, an operation area 996 </ b> A is an operation area for the YES button 996. The operation area 997A is an operation area of the NO button 997.

  The operation area 997A substantially coincides with the NO button 997. On the other hand, the operation area 996A is smaller than the YES button 996.

  In the third example, as another example of inputting an irreversible instruction, a button (YES button 996) for inputting a final instruction to erase the statistical value of the second example is employed. The operation region 996A of the YES button 996 is set smaller than the YES button 996 because the instruction output by the operation on the YES button 996 is irreversible.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  100 remote control device (controller), 110 touch panel, 115 liquid crystal driver, 120 operation switch, 152 arithmetic unit, 154 memory, 156 power connector, 900,980 operation screen, 901 up button, 902 down button.

Claims (8)

A remote control device provided for a control target device,
A touch panel;
Touch panel control means for setting a display area for displaying a button for inputting control information for the control target device in the touch panel and an operation area for receiving an input for the button,
The touch panel control means is a remote control device that sets an operation area for the button according to a display area for the button and a content of control information of the button.   2. The remote control according to claim 1, wherein the touch panel control unit sets whether the operation area matches or is smaller than the display area in accordance with the content of control information corresponding to the button. apparatus.   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the touch panel control unit further sets an operation region corresponding to a display region of the button according to a state of the control target device. The device to be controlled is an air conditioner and / or a water heater,
The touch panel control means sets an operation area corresponding to a display area of the button to be smaller than the display area when the control information is to increase a set temperature of the device to be controlled. The remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The device to be controlled is an air conditioner and / or a water heater,
The touch panel control means makes the operation area corresponding to the display area of the button smaller than the display area when the control information increases the set temperature of the control target device beyond a specific temperature. The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the remote control device is set as follows.   The remote control device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the set temperature is a set temperature of a hot water supply temperature in the water heater or a hot water temperature supplied to a bathtub.   The touch panel control means sets the operation area corresponding to the display area of the button to be smaller than the display area when the control information causes the control target device to start a specific operation. The remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The device to be controlled is a water heater having a reheating function,
The remote control device according to claim 7, wherein the operation is an operation start of a reheating function by the water heater.

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