JP2017092721A - Remote control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the following problem: in a conventional interphone in which no regard is paid to noise in a state of no conversation by outputting no audio output signal when the level of an audio input signal has less than a prescribed input level, sound production of noise can be suppressed in a state of no conversation, but noise superimposed over words spoken during conversation cannot be reduced.SOLUTION: When a wireless LAN module is built in, noise is generated due to radio waves during search of a wireless LAN router, and generation of noise is thereby prevented by interrupting search of the wireless LAN router by the wireless LAN module .SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control system including a plurality of remote controllers for controlling the operation of a main body such as a hot water supply device from a position away from the main body.

  For example, in the case of a remote control system that controls the operation of a hot water supply device, the hot water supply device is installed outdoors, and the remote control system is configured from two remote controls: a kitchen remote control installed in the kitchen room and a bath remote control installed in the bathroom. May build. As described above, when a plurality of remote controllers are installed, an interphone function is incorporated in the remote control system so that voice calls can be made between the remote controllers (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  When such an intercom function is used, noise may be superimposed on the call voice due to the influence of disturbance. Therefore, in the conventional remote control system having the interphone function described above, when the audio input signal is lower than the predetermined input level, the audio output signal is not output, or the conversation is performed by suppressing the level of the audio output signal. I try not to be bothered by noise in the absence.

JP, 2011-163725, A (Claim 1)

  In the above-mentioned conventional system, it is possible to suppress the sound generation when the voice input signal is lower than the predetermined input level, that is, when the voice is not spoken, but the noise superimposed on the spoken words during the conversation is reduced. However, if the level of noise increases, it becomes difficult to determine the words spoken by the other party.

  In particular, when there is a noise source inside the remote control, the noise level increases, and the ratio of noise to the conversation increases, so that there is a strong possibility that it becomes difficult to distinguish words during the conversation.

  Accordingly, in view of the above problems, the present invention has an object to provide a remote control system that does not hinder conversation by the interphone function with noise even when the source of noise is present inside the remote control. To do.

  In order to solve the above problems, a remote control system according to the present invention includes a plurality of remote controls for controlling the operation of the main body, and a remote control system having an interphone function capable of communicating with each other between the plurality of remote controls. At least one of the remote controllers is provided with a wireless LAN module that communicates with an external wireless LAN router by using radio waves in any one of a plurality of frequency bands. When searching for a LAN router, the communication with the wireless LAN router is established while sequentially switching the plurality of frequency bands, and the interphone function is prioritized over the search operation of the wireless LAN router. Search stop means is provided to stop the search operation of the wireless LAN router during operation Characterized in that

  The frequency band of radio waves transmitted when the wireless LAN module searches for a wireless LAN router is sequentially switched, and the switching interval is switched at an interval corresponding to the frequency in the audible area. The frequency of the switching becomes noise, which is superimposed on the audio signal generated by the intercom function and is generated from the speaker. Therefore, in a state where the intercom function is operating, the search for the wireless LAN router by the wireless LAN module is stopped so that noise is not generated.

  Specifically, if the intercom function is activated during the search operation of the wireless LAN router, the search operation of the wireless LAN router is interrupted until the intercom function is stopped.

  If communication with the wireless LAN router is interrupted while the interphone function is in operation, the search for the wireless LAN router is not started until the intercom function is stopped.

  By the way, the radio wave used in the wireless LAN has a small output and is easily attenuated by an obstacle such as a wall. On the other hand, since a wireless LAN router is often installed in a living space such as a living room, a wireless LAN module should be installed in a kitchen remote control that is shorter than a bath remote control and has fewer obstacles between them. Is desirable.

  As is clear from the above description, the present invention does not generate noise when the interphone function is in operation, so that no noise is superimposed on the call voice and the interphone function is used with clear voice. be able to.

The figure which shows the structure of one embodiment of this invention Block diagram showing the internal structure of the kitchen remote control Diagram showing operation of wireless LAN module Flow chart showing operation of intercom function

  Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a hot water supply device which is a main body. The hot water supply device 1 is installed outdoors in order to discharge exhaust gas safely and for other reasons. In order to control the operation of the hot water supply apparatus 1 from the inside, a kitchen remote controller 2 is provided in the kitchen KR, and a bath remote controller 3 is provided in the bathroom BR. Both remote controllers 2 and 3 are connected to the hot water supply apparatus 1 via communication lines 11 and 12. These communication lines 11 and 12 are for supplying operating DC power from the hot water supply device 1 to the remote controllers 2 and 3.

  When various operation buttons provided on the remote controllers 2 and 3 are operated, a control signal assigned to the operation buttons is transmitted to the hot water supply device 1 via the communication line 11. When the hot water temperature is changed by one remote controller, the newly set hot water temperature information is transmitted to the other remote controller via the communication lines 11 and 12.

  The remote controllers 2 and 3 have an interphone function, and an audio signal is communicated via the communication lines 11 and 12 in addition to a control signal. Both remote controllers 2 and 3 are provided with call buttons 20 and 30, respectively. For example, when the call button 20 of the kitchen remote control 2 is pressed, the lamp incorporated in the call button 20 is turned on and the call button 30 of the bath remote control 3 is turned on. The lamp incorporated in the flashes and the voice spoken toward the kitchen remote controller 2 is generated from the speaker SP of the bath remote controller 3. In response to this, the call button 30 of the bath remote control 3 is pressed. Then, the lamp incorporated in the call button 30 switches from blinking to lighting, and the lamp incorporated in the call button 20 changes from lighting to blinking. When talking to the bath remote controller 3 in this state, the sound is produced from the speaker SP of the kitchen remote controller 2.

  When one minute has elapsed since one of the two call buttons 20 and 30 was last pressed, the intercom function is stopped. In this case, since the intercom function is started from the kitchen remote controller 2 side, the intercom function is also stopped by pressing the call button 20 again while the call button 20 of the kitchen remote controller 2 is lit. To do.

  A wireless LAN module, which will be described later, is incorporated in the kitchen remote controller 2, and communicates with a wireless LAN router R installed in a living room or the like to construct a home LAN. And it is comprised so that the operation of the hot-water supply apparatus 1 can be operated with a device by accessing the kitchen remote controller 2 from a device such as a personal computer, a tablet, and a smart phone connected to the home LAN. A microphone is provided on the side surface of each of the remote controllers 2 and 3 at the position indicated by the arrow M.

  Referring to FIG. 2, a microcomputer 21 for controlling the kitchen remote controller 2 is built in the kitchen remote controller 2. The communication line 11 is connected to the power supply circuit 22, and the control signal superimposed on the DC power sent from the hot water supply device 1 is separated and sent to the communication circuit 23. Conversely, when a signal transmitted from the communication circuit 23 to the hot water supply device 1 is transmitted from the communication circuit 23 to the power supply circuit 22, a control signal is transmitted to the hot water supply device 1 through the communication line 11. The

  On the other hand, as described above, the intercom audio signal is also superimposed on the communication line 11, and the audio signal is separated by the power supply circuit 22 and sent to the intercom IC 24. An audio signal sent from the kitchen remote control 2 to the bath remote control 3 is sent from the intercom IC 24 to the communication line 11 via the power supply circuit 22.

  The intercom IC 24 includes a modulation circuit and a demodulation circuit, and the audio signal transmitted from the bath remote control 3 is demodulated by the interphone IC 24 and sent to the amplifier 25. Then, after being amplified by the amplifier 25, the sound is produced by the speaker SP. On the other hand, the voice spoken toward the kitchen remote controller 2 is input from the microphone M to the interphone IC 24, modulated by the modulation circuit, and transmitted from the power supply circuit 22 to the communication line 11.

  Reference numeral 26 denotes a wireless LAN module, which communicates with the wireless LAN router R, and D is a device. The microcomputer 21 can stop the operation of the wireless LAN module 26 at any time.

  For example, when the power of the wireless LAN router R drops due to a power failure or the like, communication is not established between the wireless LAN module 26 and the wireless LAN router R after the power failure is restored. Then, the wireless LAN module 26 automatically starts searching for the wireless LAN router R.

  Referring to FIG. 3, for example, if this wireless LAN module 26 uses 2.4 GHz band radio waves, 13 channels (CH) having different frequencies are prepared for communication. Radio waves are transmitted in sequence up to CH13 and a response from the wireless LAN router R is awaited. At that time, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the radio wave intensity of CH1 is increased from low output to high output, and if there is no response from the wireless LAN router R, switching to CH2 is performed, and similarly from low output to high output Raise the signal strength. If there is no response from the wireless LAN router R even in CH2, then the wireless LAN router R is searched in the same manner by switching to CH3. The search is continued between CH1 and CH13 until there is a response from the wireless LAN router R. If there is no response from the wireless LAN router R at that time, the search from CH1 is repeated again. Therefore, as shown in (a), the radio wave intensity transmitted from the wireless LAN module 26 changes like a sawtooth wave, and the frequency of the sawtooth wave is 300 Hz. This 300 Hz corresponds to between “Le” and “Mi” in terms of the scale, and is a frequency that falls within the audible range.

  On the other hand, when communication is established with the wireless LAN router R, a pulse signal is transmitted every 10 Hz as shown in (b). Note that this frequency of 10 Hz is outside the audible range.

  There is a case where the change of the radio wave transmitted from the wireless LAN module 26 acts on the amplifier 25 as noise, and even if the 10 Hz noise shown in FIG. However, when the 300 Hz noise shown in (a) is applied, when the voice from the bath remote control 3 is generated by the speaker SP of the kitchen remote control 2 during a call by the interphone function, it is simultaneously generated as a 300 Hz noise sound. End up.

  Therefore, the control shown in FIG. 4 is performed. First, the microcomputer 21 determines whether or not the wireless LAN module 26 is connected to the wireless LAN router R (ST1). If it is not connected, the microcomputer 21 searches for the wireless LAN router R as shown in FIG. Start (ST2).

  On the other hand, the search for the wireless LAN router R is continued until the call start operation by the intercom function is performed. As described above, when any one of the call buttons 20 and 30 is pressed (ST3), the microcomputer 21 prepares for the call. (ST4) If the wireless LAN router R is still being searched, the wireless LAN module 26 stops the search for the wireless LAN router R in order to prevent the above-described interference of 300 Hz noise (ST5, ST6). ). Further, if the wireless LAN router R is not being searched, there is no actual harm even if the 10 Hz noise shown in FIG. 3 (b) interferes, so that the interphone function can be used without stopping the operation of the wireless LAN module 26. Is permitted (ST5, ST7). The state is maintained until the call is finished (ST8), but when the call is finished, the process returns to ST1 again (ST9).

  As described above, when the intercom function is activated while the wireless LAN module 26 is searching for the wireless LAN router R, the search operation by the wireless LAN module 26 is temporarily suspended until the intercom function ends, and when the intercom function ends, The search for the wireless LAN router R is resumed again. By controlling in this way, it is possible to prevent noise in the audible area from interfering with the sound output from the speaker SP of the kitchen remote controller 2.

  Although not shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, when communication between the wireless LAN module 26 and the wireless LAN router R is interrupted, the wireless LAN module 26 immediately starts searching for the wireless LAN router R. If the intercom function is activated when communication is cut off, the wireless LAN router R is controlled not to start searching until the intercom function is stopped.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to an above-described form, You may add a various change in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot-water supply apparatus 2 Kitchen remote control 3 Bath remote control 11 Communication line 12 Communication line 20 Call button 30 Call button BR Bathroom KR Kitchen M Microphone R Wireless LAN router SP Speaker

Claims (4)

  In a remote control system having a plurality of remote controls for controlling the operation of the main body and having an intercom function capable of communicating with each other between the plurality of remote controls, an external wireless communication device is provided in at least one of the plurality of remote controls. A wireless LAN module that communicates with a LAN router using radio waves in any one of a plurality of frequency bands is provided. When searching for the wireless LAN router, the wireless LAN module uses the plurality of frequency bands. Search that establishes communication with the wireless LAN router while switching sequentially, prioritizing the operation of the intercom function over the search operation of the wireless LAN router, and stopping the search operation of the wireless LAN router during the operation of the interphone function A remote control system characterized in that a stop means is provided.   2. The remote control system according to claim 1, wherein when the intercom function is activated during the search operation of the wireless LAN router, the search operation of the wireless LAN router is suspended until the intercom function is stopped.   3. The remote controller according to claim 1, wherein when communication with the wireless LAN router is interrupted while the intercom function is in operation, search for the wireless LAN router is not started until the intercom function is stopped. system.   The remote controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of remote controllers are a kitchen remote controller and a bath remote controller that control the operation of the hot water supply device, and the wireless LAN module is provided in the kitchen remote controller. system.

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