JP2017198391A - Operation device and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect presence of a human that does not indicate any movement in the vicinity of an operation device.SOLUTION: In a bathroom remote controller 5, a touch sensor detects a switch operation based on variation in electrostatic capacity. A human detection sensor 55 constitutes a movement detection part configured to detect movement of a human body. The touch sensor is constituted of detecting a variation in electrostatic capacity at a higher sensitivity than that when detecting a switch operation in response to that the human detection sensor 55 does not detect a human body movement for a predetermined period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an operating device and a control method thereof, and more particularly to an operating device including a detection unit for detecting a human movement and a control method thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a system including a sensor that detects a human movement with a sensor using infrared rays, radio waves, sound waves, or the like has been put into practical use. For example, a water heater disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-181101 (Patent Document 1) includes a human body detection unit that detects a bather entering a bathroom, and based on a detection result of the human body detection unit, Change hot water heating operation control.

JP 2010-181101 A

  However, in the conventional system as described above, even when the bather is in the bathroom, such as when the bather is immersed in the bathtub, if the bather does not move, there is a bather in the bathroom. It can be determined that it is not. From this, the system may execute the same control as when there is no bather in the bathroom even though the bather is in the bathroom.

  The present disclosure has been conceived in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to enable detection of the presence of a person who does not show movement in the vicinity of the operation device.

  According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an operation device including an operation detection unit configured to detect a switch operation based on a change in capacitance, and a motion detection unit configured to detect a movement of a human body. Is provided. The operation detection unit is configured to detect a change in capacitance with higher sensitivity than when detecting a switch operation in response to the movement detection unit not detecting a human body movement for a predetermined period. Detect human body.

  Preferably, the motion detection unit is configured by a pyroelectric infrared sensor. Thereby, a motion detection part can be comprised with low power consumption.

  Preferably, the operating device further includes a control unit configured to output a signal for controlling the hot water supply device in accordance with detection outputs of the operation detecting unit and the motion detecting unit. Thereby, even if a hot water supply apparatus exists in a bathroom etc. without showing a motion, it becomes possible to perform control corresponding to the presence of a person.

  Preferably, when the motion detection unit detects a human body motion, the control unit transmits a predetermined type of signal to the hot water supply device, and the motion detection unit does not detect the human body motion for a predetermined period. In this case, when a human body is detected by the operation detection unit, a predetermined type of signal is transmitted to the hot water supply device, and the human body is detected. Thereby, when there is a change in the capacitance in the operation detection unit, even if the control unit does not detect the movement of the person for a predetermined period with respect to the hot water supply device, It is possible to output the same signal as when the motion detection unit detects a human motion.

  According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the movement of the human body is predetermined in the step of detecting the switch operation based on the change in capacitance, the step of detecting the movement of the human body, and the step of detecting the movement of the human body. Detecting a change in capacitance with a higher sensitivity than the sensitivity in the step of detecting the switch operation in response to not detecting the period, and detecting a human body.

  According to the present disclosure, the distance at which the operation detection unit detects the capacitance is changed according to whether or not the motion detection unit has detected a person's movement.

It is a figure which shows typically the bathroom to which a hot-water supply system is applied, and its vicinity. It is a figure showing roughly composition of a hot-water supply system. It is a figure which shows an example of the external appearance of the bathroom remote control. It is a figure showing roughly the hardware constitutions of a hot-water supply system. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the bathroom remote control 5 roughly. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of a response | compatibility with the detection output of the human detection sensor 55, and the operation mode of the bathroom remote control 5. FIG. The flowchart of the process performed in order that the control part 50 controls the operation mode of the bathroom remote control 5 based on the detection output of the human detection sensor 55 is shown.

  Hereinafter, embodiments 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.

  The operating device according to the present embodiment can be applied to accepting operations of various devices. In the present specification, as an example, an operation device that receives an operation for controlling a hot water supply device in a hot water supply system will be described.

[1. Configuration of hot water supply system]
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a bathroom to which a hot water supply system is applied and the vicinity thereof. FIG. 1 shows a bathroom 3 and a dressing room 1. The bathroom 3 and the dressing room 1 are partitioned by an opening / closing door 2. The hot water supply system supplies heated water to the bathtub 4 disposed in the bathroom 3. In the bathroom 3, a bathroom remote controller 5, which is an example of an operation device, is installed on a wall surface 32 slightly above the bathtub 4.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the hot water supply system. As shown in FIG. 2, the hot water supply system includes a circulation pipe 71 that connects the bathtub 4 and the hot water heater 7. The water heater 7 is installed outside the bathroom 3. Water (hot water) heated in the water heater 7 is supplied to the bathtub 4 through the circulation pipe 71. The water heater 7 has a bath chase function and a pouring function in addition to the hot water supply function. Each function will be briefly described.

  The hot water supply function heats water such as tap water introduced from the outside by a heat exchanger in the hot water heater 7. More specifically, the water heater 7 includes a burner. The introduced water is heated to a predetermined hot water supply set temperature by the combustion heat of the burner while passing through the heat exchanger, and is output. The heated water is supplied to, for example, a currant.

  The pouring function fills the bathtub 4 with hot water. In the pouring function, water such as tap water introduced from the outside is heated by the heat exchanger in the same manner as the hot water supplying function, and then supplied to the bathtub 4 through the circulation pipe 71 by open / close switching control of the pouring valve.

  The bath memorial function circulates hot water in the bathtub 4 between the bathtub 4 and the water heater 7 through the circulation pipe 71. The hot water in the bathtub 4 is heated by the “liquid-liquid heat exchanger” in the water heater 7 and returned to the bathtub 4.

  The water heater 7 includes a system controller 700 for controlling the operation of the hot water supply system in the hot water supply function, the bath chasing function, and the pouring function. The system controller 700 is configured to be able to communicate with the bathroom remote controller 5. Each of the communication between these devices may follow any known standard, and may be wired or wireless.

[2. Appearance of bathroom remote control]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of the bathroom remote controller 5. The bathroom remote controller 5 is installed at an upper position by a slight distance U (for example, about U = 10 to 20 cm) from the upper end edge of the bathtub 4 so that the bathroom remote controller 5 can be operated in the state of bathing in the bathtub 4.

  The bathroom remote controller 5 includes an outer shell portion 5A made of a water-resistant material such as plastic in order to be installed in the bathroom 3. The bathroom remote control 5 further includes a touch panel 51, a speaker 53, a microphone 54, a human detection sensor 55, and operation buttons 56.

  The touch panel 51 displays software buttons 51A and 51B. The operation buttons 56 include four hardware buttons (an operation button 56A, a call button 56B, a follow-up button 56C, and a bath automatic button 56D). The operation button 56A is operated to switch on / off of the operation of the hot water supply system. The call button 56 </ b> B is operated to obtain a response from a controller installed in a place other than the bathroom 3. The tracking button 56C is operated to turn on / off the bath cooking function. The bath automatic button 56D is operated to turn on / off the hot water supply function.

[3. Hardware configuration of hot water supply system]
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a hardware configuration of the hot water supply system. As shown in FIG. 4, the system controller 700 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 701, a memory unit 702, a timer 703, an input device 704, an output device 705, and an interface 706.

  The CPU 701 receives an output from the bathroom remote controller 5. The CPU 701 also controls the operation of the water heater 7 by executing a program stored in the memory unit 702. As shown in FIG. 4, the water heater 7 includes a hot water supply circuit 101 that realizes a hot water supply function, a bath supplement circuit 102 that realizes a bath additional cooking function, and a pouring circuit 103 that realizes a pouring function. . The CPU 701 controls each of the hot water supply circuit 101, the bath chase circuit 102, and the pouring circuit 103.

[4. Hardware configuration of bathroom remote control]
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a hardware configuration of the bathroom remote controller 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the bathroom remote controller 5 includes a control unit 50. The control unit 50 includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU and a memory that stores a program executed by the processor, and controls the operation of the bathroom remote controller 5 by processing realized by the processor executing the program. .

  The touch panel 51 includes a touch sensor 511 and a display panel 512. When the touch sensor 511 detects that a software button (for example, the software buttons 51A and 51B in FIG. 3) displayed on the display panel 512 is operated, the touch sensor 511 outputs a predetermined signal to the control unit 50. The touch sensor 511 may be of any type as long as it is a known touch sensor that accepts a touch operation. The display panel 512 is configured by, for example, an LCD (liquid crystal display), but may be configured by any other display device.

  The person detection sensor 55 detects a person's movement within a predetermined range from the bathroom remote controller 5, and is configured by, for example, a pyroelectric infrared sensor.

  The control unit 50 receives inputs from the touch sensor 511, the microphone 54, the human detection sensor 55, and the operation button 56. The control unit 50 controls the operations of the display panel 512 and the speaker 53.

  The touch sensor 511 can detect not only a touch operation but also a movement of an object in the touch sensor 511. More specifically, the touch sensor 511 detects a change in capacitance due to a touch operation, and outputs the coordinates where the change has occurred to the control unit 50. Furthermore, the touch sensor 511 can detect that an object has approached the touch sensor 511 in a state where the sensitivity relating to the detection of the change in capacitance is relatively high. The sensitivity of the touch sensor 511 may be increased, for example, by increasing the capacitance supplied to the touch sensor 511, or may be increased by lowering a threshold at which it is determined that there has been a change in capacitance. May be. In the touch sensor 511, the detection sensitivity is increased, so that a distance (from the display panel 512) at which the touch sensor 511 can detect a change in capacitance increases.

[5. Operation of hot water system]
In the hot water supply system, the bathroom remote controller 5 detects two types of information (a person's movement around the bathroom remote controller 5 and a touch operation on the touch panel 51). The system controller 700 controls the water heater 7 based on the detection output from the bathroom remote controller 5. For example, the system controller 700 controls the water heater 7 so that the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub 4 is maintained at a predetermined temperature by the bath additional cooking function while the bathroom remote controller 5 detects the movement of the person in the bathroom 3. When the bathroom remote controller 5 does not detect the movement of a person in the bathroom 3 for a predetermined period or longer, the hot water heater 7 is controlled to stop the bath chasing function.

  In the hot water supply system, the movement of a person is basically detected by the human detection sensor 55. However, when the person detection sensor 55 is realized by a pyroelectric infrared sensor, the person detection sensor 55 cannot detect the movement of the person when the person is stationary in the bathroom 3. In the bathroom 3, when a person is stationary for a relatively long time, such as when the person has been immersed in the bathtub 4 for a relatively long time, the system controller 700 should realize the bath cooking function, The function may be stopped.

  Therefore, in the hot water supply system, when the human detection sensor 55 does not detect a person's movement continuously for a predetermined period, the bathroom remote controller 5 detects the presence or absence of a person in the vicinity of the bathroom remote controller 5. More specifically, the bathroom remote controller 5 sets a normal mode for detecting a touch operation on the touch panel 51 (touch sensor 511) and a detection distance of a change in capacitance in the touch panel 51 (touch sensor 511) with respect to the normal mode. It can operate in a standby mode in which the presence or absence of a person within a given range is detected from the touch panel 51 (touch sensor 511) by increasing the length. In the standby mode, the bathroom remote controller 5 detects the presence or absence of a person within a range of about several tens of centimeters from the touch panel 51 (touch sensor 511), for example.

  Here, “continue for a predetermined period” means that when the human detection sensor 55 is configured to detect the presence / absence of a person's movement at a specific time, it continues for a predetermined period. It may mean that the detected output of the number of times is determined. For example, when the human detection sensor 55 is configured to detect the presence / absence of a person's movement at a frequency of once every 10 seconds, all six consecutive (or seven) detection outputs are human. It is equivalent to “not detecting human movement for one minute” to indicate that the movement of the person is not moving.

[6. Human sensor output and operation mode]
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of the correspondence between the detection output of the human detection sensor 55 and the operation mode of the bathroom remote controller 5. FIG. 6 shows a power saving mode as an operation mode of the bathroom remote controller 5 in addition to the normal mode and the standby mode described above. The operation mode of the bathroom remote controller 5 will be described in detail.

(1) Normal mode The touch sensor 511 detects a touch operation on the touch panel 51. That is, the detection distance of the touch sensor 511 is adjusted so that the touch sensor 511 detects a change in capacitance on the surface of the touch panel 51. That is, in the normal mode, the detected change amount of the capacitance of the touch sensor 511 is set to a distance approximately equal to the surface of the touch sensor 511 from the portion where the touch sensor 511 is mounted on the touch panel 51.

(2) Standby mode The touch sensor 511 detects the presence / absence of a person within a given range from the touch panel 51. That is, in the standby mode, the detection distance of the touch sensor 511 is adjusted to a given distance (for example, about several tens of centimeters). In other words, in the standby mode, the detected change amount of the capacitance of the touch sensor 511 is set to the length from the portion where the touch sensor 511 is mounted on the touch panel 51 to the given distance from the surface of the touch sensor 511. The

(3) Power Saving Mode In the bathroom remote control 5, the touch panel 51 (touch sensor 511 and display panel 512) stops operating, and the human detection sensor 55 continues the detecting operation.

  FIG. 6 shows two types of detection outputs represented by lines L1 and L2. A line L1 indicates a detection output of the human detection sensor 55. Regarding the line L1, a value above the intermediate value VC indicates that there is a movement on one side in the bathroom 3, and a value below the intermediate value VC indicates that there is a movement on the other side in the bathroom 3.

  A line L2 indicates the determination result of the presence or absence of human movement in the bathroom 3 based on the value indicated by the line L1. More specifically, with respect to the line L2, the value V1 located in the upper part of FIG. 6 indicates that there is no human movement in the bathroom 3. A value V <b> 2 positioned below indicates that there is no human movement in the bathroom 3. When the value of the line L1 changes from the intermediate value VC by a certain value or more, the value indicated by the line L2 changes from the value V1 to the value V2. The line L2 is output by the control unit 50 that processes the detection output of the human detection sensor 55, for example.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, no human movement is detected from the detection output of the human detection sensor 55 until time T1. At this time, the operation mode of the bathroom remote controller 5 is a power saving mode.

  From time T1 to time T2, a human motion is detected almost continuously. More specifically, from time T1 to time T2, there is no situation in which no human movement is detected for a predetermined period or longer. From time T1 to time T2, the operation mode of the bathroom remote controller 5 is the normal mode.

  After time T2, no human movement is detected. The operation mode of the bathroom remote controller 5 is changed to the standby mode at time T3. The time from time T2 to time T3 is the “predetermined time”. That is, since a predetermined time has elapsed from time T2 at time T3, the operation mode of the bathroom remote controller 5 is changed to the standby mode.

  In addition, when a person's movement is not detected further for a specific time from time T3, the operation mode of the bathroom remote control 5 is changed to the power saving mode.

[7. Process flow]
FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of processing executed by the control unit 50 in order to control the operation mode of the bathroom remote controller 5 based on the detection output of the human detection sensor 55.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in step S <b> 10, the control unit 50 determines whether or not there is a human movement based on the detection output of the human detection sensor 55. If it is determined that there is a human movement, control unit 50 proceeds to step S20 (YES in step S10), and if it is determined that there is no human movement, the control section 50 proceeds to step S40 (NO in step S10). In step S <b> 10, the control unit 50 may transmit a signal indicating that a human motion is detected in the bathroom 3 to the system controller 700.

  In step S20, the control unit 50 sets the operation mode to “normal mode”. Thereafter, the control proceeds to step S30.

  In step S30, control unit 50 sets the distance at which the change in capacitance is detected by touch sensor 511 to a short distance (for example, the surface of touch panel 51). Thereafter, control returns to step S10.

  In step S <b> 40, the control unit 50 continues for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute), and determines whether or not a human movement is detected from the detection output of the human detection sensor 55. If control unit 50 determines that a situation has not occurred in which no human movement has been detected for a predetermined time (NO in step S40), control is returned to step S10. On the other hand, if control unit 50 determines that no human movement has been detected for a predetermined time (YES in step S40), control proceeds to step S50.

  In step S50, the control unit 50 sets the operation mode to “standby mode”. Thereafter, the control proceeds to step S60.

  In step S <b> 60, the control unit 50 sets a long distance (for example, about several tens of centimeters from the surface of the touch panel 51) at which the change in capacitance of the touch sensor 511 is detected. Thereafter, the control proceeds to step S70.

  In step S70, the control unit 50 determines whether there is a person's movement and a person's presence. In step S <b> 70, the control unit 50 determines the presence or absence of human movement from the detection output of the human detection sensor 55. The control unit 50 further determines the presence / absence of a person from the detection output of the touch sensor 511. For example, when the capacitance of the touch sensor 511 changes with respect to the capacitance applied to the touch sensor 511, the control unit 50 determines that a person is present. If control unit 50 determines that there is a person's movement or that there is a person (YES in step S70), control is returned to step S20. At this time, the control unit 50 may transmit to the system controller 700 a signal indicating that a human movement has been detected. That is, when a change is found in the capacitance of the touch sensor 511 in step S70, the control unit 50 determines that the system controller 700 determines that there is a human movement from the detection output of the human detection sensor 55. A signal similar to that transmitted to the controller 700 may be transmitted.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S70 that no human movement has been detected and no human is present, the control unit 50 advances the control to step S80 (NO in step S70).

  In step S80, after determining that there is no human movement for a predetermined time in step S40, the control unit 50 further continues for a specific time (for example, 9 minutes), Determine if there is a situation where none of the people are present. If control unit 50 determines that there has not yet occurred a situation in which there is no movement or presence of a person for a specific time (NO in step S80), control is returned to step S70. On the other hand, when it is determined that neither the movement of the person nor the presence of the person has occurred for a specific time, the control unit 50 advances the control to step S90 (YES in step S80).

  In step S90, the control unit 50 sets the operation mode of the bathroom remote controller 5 to the power saving mode. Thereby, the operation of the touch panel 51 (the touch sensor 511 and the display panel 512) is stopped. Thereafter, the control proceeds to step S100.

  In step S <b> 100, the control unit 50 determines whether or not there has been a person's movement based on the detection output of the human detection sensor 55. Control unit 50 stops control at step S100 until it is determined that there is a human movement (NO at step S100). On the other hand, if control unit 50 determines that there is a human movement, control is returned to step S20 (YES in step S100). At this time, the control unit 50 may transmit a signal indicating that a human movement has been detected to the system controller 700. When the control is returned to step S20, the operation mode of the bathroom remote controller 5 is set to the normal mode, whereby the operation of the touch panel 51 (touch sensor 511 and display panel 512) is resumed.

  In the present embodiment described above, the touch sensor 511 constitutes an operation detection unit configured to detect a switch operation based on a change in capacitance. The human detection sensor 55 constitutes a movement detection unit configured to detect the movement of the human body. In response to the fact that the human detection sensor 55 has not detected the movement of the human body for a predetermined period (YES in step S40), the touch sensor 511 has a higher sensitivity and capacitance than when the switch operation is detected. It is configured to detect changes. Thereby, the touch sensor 511 detects the presence of an object including a human body. In the touch sensor 511, a long detection distance for a change in capacitance corresponds to a high detection sensitivity for the change in capacitance.

  In the present embodiment, when the movement of the object including the human body is detected based on the detection output of the human detection sensor 55, the control unit 50 causes the system controller 700 to move the object including the human body. The signal which shows that is transmitted. Furthermore, when the control unit 50 determines in step S70 that there is an object including a human body from the detection output of the touch sensor 511 (a person is present near the touch panel 51), A signal indicating that there is a movement of an object including a human body is transmitted.

  In the present embodiment, the touch sensor 511 and the display panel 512 need not be configured integrally as shown as the touch panel 51. Instead of the touch panel 51, a touch switch type operation device configured by separating the touch sensor 511 and the display panel 512 may be employed.

  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.

  3 bathrooms, 4 bathtubs, 5 bathroom remote controls, 7 water heaters, 50 control units, 51 touch panels, 55 human detection sensors, 511 touch sensors, 512 display panels, 700 system controllers.

Claims (5)

An operation detection unit configured to detect a switch operation based on a change in capacitance;
A movement detection unit configured to detect movement of the human body,
The operation detection unit detects a change in capacitance with higher sensitivity than when the switch operation is detected in response to the movement detection unit not detecting the movement of the human body for a predetermined period. An operating device configured to detect the human body.   The operation device according to claim 1, wherein the motion detection unit is configured by a pyroelectric infrared sensor.   The operating device according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit configured to output a signal for controlling the hot water supply device in accordance with detection outputs of the operation detecting unit and the motion detecting unit. . The controller is
When the movement detection unit detects the movement of the human body, a predetermined signal is transmitted to the hot water supply device,
When the motion detector does not detect the movement of the human body for the predetermined period, the predetermined signal is transmitted to the hot water supply device when the operation detector detects the human body. The operating device according to claim 3, which is configured as follows. Detecting a switch operation based on a change in capacitance;
Detecting the movement of the human body;
In response to not detecting the movement of the human body for a predetermined period in the step of detecting the movement of the human body, a change in capacitance is detected with higher sensitivity than the sensitivity in the step of detecting the switch operation. And a step of detecting the human body.

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