JP2019184174A - Hot water system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a hot water system advantageous in preventing communication abnormality from occurring between a water heater and a remote controller.SOLUTION: A hot water system 10 comprises: a water heater 1 which has a control part (control board 5); and remote controllers (kitchen remote controller 2, bathroom remote controller 3) which are connected to the water heater 1 through a communication line (remote controller communication line 11), and receive electric power and communicate information through the communication line. The hot water system 10 comprises notification means which sends, if communication between the control part and the remote controller is opened and blocked repeatedly a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined time after the remote controller begins to be powered, communication error information indicating that a communication error frequently occurs.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a hot water supply system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many hot water storage type water heaters communicate with each other regarding the operation of a water heater through a remote control communication line that connects between a control board of the water heater body and a remote controller of the water heater. There is a possibility that malfunction of the water heater or the remote controller due to so-called communication failure may occur due to external noise or poor contact of the remote control communication line. Such communication corruption is caused by the remote control communication line being in a half-broken state, or other equipment and wiring that are noise sources around the remote control communication line, This is considered to occur when the voltage between the remote control communication lines fluctuates. However, the communication line for remote control is often routed behind the wall, and it is difficult to confirm that there is no abnormality in construction in appearance. As the communication line for remote control, a 2-core wire is often used regardless of the manufacturer. Even when a hot water heater is replaced, the remote control communication line is hardly redrawn, and even if there is an abnormality, it is often used without notice.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-133867 discloses a technique for displaying an error by determining a communication error in data communication between an indoor unit control circuit and an outdoor unit control circuit of an air conditioner.

JP 2000-241004 A

  When an abnormality in communication between the water heater and the remote controller occurs due to an abnormality in the remote control communication line, it is difficult for the end user to take measures. In this case, until the water heater construction shop reworkes the remote control communication line, the communication speed is lowered or the communication is stopped, so that the ease of use of the water heater by the end user is lowered.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hot water supply system that is advantageous in suppressing the occurrence of a communication abnormality between a water heater and a remote controller. .

A hot water supply system according to the present invention is a hot water supply system including a hot water heater having a control unit, and a remote controller that is connected to the hot water heater via a communication line and performs power reception and information communication through the communication line. Communication that indicates that communication errors frequently occur when the communication between the control unit and the remote controller repeats opening and closing more than a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time after the start of energization to Informing means for informing error information is provided.
Further, a hot water supply system according to the present invention is a hot water supply system including a hot water heater having a control unit, and a remote controller connected to the hot water heater via a communication line and receiving power and communicating information via the communication line. The communication error occurs frequently when the communication between the control unit and the remote controller repeats the normal state and the abnormal state more than a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time after the energization to the remote controller is started. Informing means for informing communication error information as information is provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to provide the hot water supply system advantageous in suppressing generating the communication abnormality between a water heater and a remote control.

It is a figure which shows the hot water supply system by Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating processing for notifying communication error information in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a communication error alerting | reporting screen. It is a figure which shows the example of the error rate display screen which the error rate display means by Embodiment 2 displays.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, common or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is simplified or omitted.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hot water supply system 10 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a hot water supply system 10 of the present embodiment includes a hot water heater 1, a kitchen remote controller 2, and a bathroom remote controller 3. The water heater 1 may be a hot water storage type water heater provided with a hot water storage tank. In the illustrated example, the water heater 1 is disposed outdoors. A control board 5 corresponding to a control unit that controls the operation of the water heater 1 is built in the water heater 1. The kitchen remote control 2 is installed in the kitchen. The bathroom remote control 3 is installed in the bathroom.

  The kitchen remote controller 2 and the bathroom remote controller 3 are connected to the control board 5 of the water heater 1 via a remote control communication line 11. The kitchen remote controller 2 and the bathroom remote controller 3 operate by receiving power from the water heater 1 via the remote control communication line 11. The kitchen remote controller 2 and the bathroom remote controller 3 perform information communication with the water heater 1 via the remote control communication line 11. The hot water supply system 10 according to the present embodiment includes two remote controllers, the kitchen remote controller 2 and the bathroom remote controller 3, but the number of remote controllers may be one or three or more.

  Each of the kitchen remote control 2 and the bathroom remote control 3 includes a display unit 15 and an operation unit 16. The display unit 15 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display part 15 can display the information regarding the state of the water heater 1, the information regarding the setting content of the water heater 1, etc., for example. The operation unit 16 may include buttons, dials, keys, and the like for the user to operate. The display unit 15 may be a touch screen having the function of the operation unit. Each of the kitchen remote control 2 and the bathroom remote control 3 may further include a speaker, a microphone, and the like. The display unit 15 has a function as a notification unit that notifies information. The kitchen remote controller 2 and the bathroom remote controller 3 in the present embodiment include the display unit 15 as a notification unit, but may include other notification units such as a voice guidance device as a modification.

  In the present embodiment, the two-core remote control communication line 11 connected to the control board 5 is branched into two and connected to each of the kitchen remote control 2 and the bathroom remote control 3. The water heater 1, the kitchen remote controller 2, and the bathroom remote controller 3 perform information communication with each other by representing data in a voltage fluctuation state between the two cores of the remote control communication line 11.

  As in the example shown in FIG. 1, there is a possibility that a half-broken portion 12 exists in the remote control communication line 11. Since the wiring resistance becomes unstable at the half-broken portion 12, voltage fluctuations other than normal communication occur. As a result, there is a possibility that the communication data will be garbled, causing a malfunction, or changing the setting arbitrarily.

  In addition, there is a possibility that there is an electrical wiring routed for the electrical device 4 that is not related to the water heater 1 near the remote control communication line 11. In such a case, the external noise 13 resulting from the communication of the electric device 4 or the fluctuation of the current flowing through the electric device 4 is propagated to the communication line 11 for the remote controller. There is a possibility of malfunction.

  Since the remote control communication line 11 is often routed behind the wall, it is not possible for the end user to check the state of the remote control communication line 11 or correct the position of the remote control communication line 11 or the like. Have difficulty. For this reason, when there is a possibility that malfunctions or the like may occur due to the above-described causes, the construction shop that installed the hot water supply system 10 is surely aware of the possibility, and before handing over to the end user, It is desirable to correct the communication line 11.

  In the following description, the kitchen remote controller 2 and the bathroom remote controller 3 are collectively referred to simply as “remote controllers”. In the following description, the expression “remote control” means at least one of the kitchen remote control 2 and the bathroom remote control 3.

  In the hot water supply system 10 according to the present embodiment, when there is a possibility that an abnormality may occur in the communication between the hot water heater 1 and the remote controller due to the state of the remote control communication line 11, communication errors frequently occur. Communication error information, which is information indicating that the communication is in progress. Thereby, the worker of the construction shop can surely notice the abnormality of the state of the remote control communication line 11, and can rework the remote control communication line 11 before handing over the hot water supply system 10 to the end user. . For this reason, since it is possible to reliably prevent the hot water supply system 10 from being handed over to the end user without reworking the remote control communication line 11, it is possible to reliably prevent the end user's usability from being lowered.

  In the present embodiment, the communication error information is notified when the communication between the control board 5 and the remote control repeats opening and closing more than a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time after the energization of the remote control is started. To do. The “predetermined time” may be 600 seconds, for example.

  The control board 5 periodically transmits a confirmation signal for confirming the communication state to the remote controller. When receiving the confirmation signal, the remote control transmits a response signal to the control board 5. The control board 5 determines that communication is open when a response signal is received within a certain time after transmitting the confirmation signal, and otherwise determines that communication is interrupted. Good. The control board 5 stores the number of communication interruptions in the memory as the number of communication errors.

  In the present embodiment, the communication between the control board 5 and the remote controller repeats the normal state and the abnormal state more than a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time after the energization of the remote controller is started. You may alert | report error information. The control board 5 determines that the communication is in a normal state when a response signal is received within a predetermined time after transmitting the confirmation signal, and otherwise determines that the communication is in an abnormal state. Good. The control board 5 stores the number of times communication has become abnormal in the memory as the number of communication errors.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing for notifying communication error information in the first embodiment. When the hot water supply system 10 is constructed by the construction shop and energization of the hot water heater 1 is started, the control board 5 starts the processing of this flowchart. In the present embodiment, at least one operation unit 16 of the kitchen remote controller 2 and the bathroom remote controller 3 includes a test run completion button. When the operator of the construction shop completes the trial run of the hot water supply system 10 after construction and confirms that there is no abnormality in the communication between the hot water heater 1 and the kitchen remote control 2 and the bathroom remote control 3, the test run completion button is pressed. Press.

  In step S1, the control board 5 confirms whether or not the test run completion button has been pressed in the past. When it is stored in the memory that the test run completion button has been pressed in the past, it is considered that there is no abnormality in the state of the remote control communication line 11, so there is no need to notify communication error information. Therefore, in this case, the process of this flowchart is terminated.

  On the other hand, if there is no record that the test run completion button has been pressed in the past, the process proceeds from step S1 to step S2. The control board 5 stores, in a memory, a total energization time obtained by integrating the time when the control board 5 is energized after the start of energization for the first time after construction. In addition, the remote control stores a total energization time obtained by integrating the time when the remote control is energized after the start of energization for the first time after construction in the memory. In step S2, the control board 5 determines whether or not the total energization time of the control board 5 is 10 seconds or longer than the total energization time of the remote controller.

  In the present embodiment, the control board 5 notifies the communication error information when the number of communication errors within a predetermined time after the energization of the remote controller starts exceeds the “notification reference number”, otherwise Does not notify communication error information. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the predetermined notification reference number is set to three.

  If the total energization time of the control board 5 is not longer than 10 seconds than the total energization time of the remote controller, the process proceeds from step S2 to step S3. In step S <b> 3, the control board 5 sets the notification reference number to 3 which is a predetermined number.

  On the other hand, when the total energization time of the control board 5 is longer than the total energization time of the remote controller by 10 seconds or more, the process proceeds from step S2 to step S4. In step S4, the control board 5 sets the notification reference number to a value obtained by adding the predetermined number of times to three times and the number of communication errors during the time when the remote controller is not energized.

  When the total energization time of the control board 5 is longer than the total energization time of the remote controller by 10 seconds or more, for example, there is the following possibility. Before the remote control is installed, there is a case where energization of the water heater 1 is started. In such a case, the control board 5 stores the number of communication errors in the period before the remote controller is installed. Since such a communication error is not caused by the state of the remote control communication line 11, it should not be the basis for notifying the communication error information. Similarly, when energization of the water heater 1 is started in a state where the remote control communication lines 11 are short-circuited or the remote control communication line 11 is disconnected, only the control board 5 is energized. Even if the control board 5 transmits data to the remote controller, no reply is received. Therefore, the number of communication errors when the remote control is not energized should be ignored.

  According to the processing of step S2 and step S4 described above, when the total energization time for the control board 5 is longer than the total energization time for the remote control, the control board 5 causes a communication error during de-energization of the remote control. It is possible to determine whether to report communication error information by excluding the number of times. For this reason, even when the total energization time for the control board 5 is longer than the total energization time for the remote control, it is possible to more appropriately determine whether or not to notify the communication error information.

  Even when the energization of the water heater 1 is started after the remote control has been normally constructed, the total energization time for the control board 5 due to the difference in the rise time of the control board 5 and the remote control. May be longer. In this embodiment, when the total energization time of the control board 5 is longer than the total energization time of the remote control by 10 seconds or more, the total energization time of the control board 5 is longer than the total energization time of the remote control. Since the determination is made, the influence due to the difference in the rise time as described above can be eliminated.

  As a modification, the following may be used. Communication is performed from the remote control to the control board 5 when energization to the remote control is started. The control board 5 counts only the number of communication errors after the time when the first communication is received from the remote controller. Even in this case, an effect similar to the above can be obtained.

  The value of the predetermined notification reference number (three times in the present embodiment) is set to a value larger than the number of communication errors that may occur when the remote control communication line 11 is normally constructed. . As a result, erroneous determination can be reliably prevented. However, if the value of the predetermined notification reference number is too large, an abnormality of the remote control communication line 11 may be overlooked, so it is better to set the margin a little.

  The process proceeds from step S3 or step S4 to step S5. In step S5, the control board 5 determines whether or not the number of communication errors within a predetermined time after the energization of the remote controller has started exceeds the notification reference number. If the number of communication errors within the predetermined time does not exceed the notification reference number, there is no need to notify communication error information, and the process returns from step S5 to step S1.

  On the other hand, when the number of communication errors within the predetermined time exceeds the notification reference number, the process proceeds from step S5 to step S6. In step S <b> 6, the control board 5 displays a communication error notification screen for notifying communication error information on at least one display unit 15 of the kitchen remote control 2 and the bathroom remote control 3.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication error notification screen. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the phrase “There are frequent communication errors between the water heater and the remote control” and “the remote control line is not half-broken or there is no noise source equipment or wiring near the remote control line. Please review. "Message is displayed. In this way, it can be expected that by reporting the assumed cause of the communication abnormality as communication error information, it is possible to help the construction shop repair the remote control communication line 11 more quickly and correctly.

  In the communication error notification screen shown in FIG. 3, information regarding the real-time communication error rate is displayed as “current communication error rate”. In the example shown in FIG. 3, whether or not the current communication error rate is good is displayed in three stages. However, it may be displayed in more stages or a numerical value of the error rate. As described above, according to the present embodiment, notification of communication error information including information on a real-time communication error rate has the following advantages. The operator of the construction shop can check the current communication error rate while changing the wiring position of the remote control communication line 11 or changing the operation state of the peripheral electrical equipment 4. For this reason, it can be expected that the worker will help to rework the remote control communication line 11 more quickly and correctly.

  The process proceeds from step S6 in FIG. 2 to step S7. When it is necessary to temporarily interrupt the display of the communication error notification screen, the operator of the construction shop performs an error display interruption operation on the remote control. In step S7, the control board 5 determines whether or not an error display interruption operation has been performed. When the error display interruption operation is performed, the process proceeds from step S7 to step S8, and the control board 5 turns off the communication error notification screen displayed on the display unit 15. Thus, the hot water supply system 10 of this Embodiment is equipped with the interruption means to interrupt the alerting | reporting of communication error information temporarily.

  The process proceeds from step S8 to step S9. In step S9, the control board 5 determines whether or not an error display restart operation has been performed. When the error display restart operation is performed, the process returns from step S9 to step S6, and the control board 5 restarts the display of the communication error notification screen on the display unit 15.

  On the other hand, if the error display interruption operation has not been performed in step S7, the process proceeds to step S10, and the control board 5 determines whether or not a rework completion operation has been performed. The operator of the construction shop performs a retouching completion operation on the remote control when the reworking of the remote control communication line 11 is completed. If the retouching completion operation is not performed in step S10, the process returns to step S7. If a retouching completion operation has been performed, the process proceeds from step S10 to step S11. When the retouching completion operation is performed, that is, when the reworking operation of the remote control communication line 11 is completed, it is considered that there is no need to display the communication error notification screen. For this reason, the control board 5 complete | finishes the display of the communication error alerting | reporting screen of the display part 15 by step S11.

  The retouching completion operation is desirably a simple operation such as simply pressing the enter button in the operation unit 16. This is because the operator can reliably perform the retouching completion operation after the reworking of the remote control communication line 11 is completed. Further, the operation method of the retouching completion operation may be notified by being displayed on the display unit 15 or by voice guidance.

  Since the remote control communication line 11 is often routed inside the wall, it can be considered that time is required for reworking. For this reason, the construction shop may need to hand over the hot water supply system 10 to the end user before the reworking of the remote control communication line 11 is completed. However, it is not preferable to hand over the hot water supply system 10 to the end user in a state where the communication error notification screen is displayed on the display unit 15. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when it is necessary to hand over the hot water supply system 10 to the end user before the reworking of the remote control communication line 11 is completed, the construction shop displays the error display in step S7 described above. By performing the interruption operation, the display of the communication error notification screen can be temporarily stopped. Thereafter, the construction shop can restart the display of the communication error notification screen by performing the error display restart operation in step S9 when resuming the reworking of the remote control communication line 11. Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reliably suppress the delivery of the hot water supply system 10 to the end user from being delayed.

  It is not preferable to leave the display of the communication error notification screen temporarily stopped by the error display interruption operation. For this reason, the error display interruption operation is preferably a special operation such as simultaneous pressing of the upward key and the downward key included in the operation unit 16. Moreover, it is desirable that the operation method of the error display interruption operation is only described in the installation manual that is not touched by the end user. The error display restart operation is preferably a special operation similar to the above so that the end user does not operate it by mistake. It is desirable that the operation method of the error display restart operation is only described in the installation manual.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when a predetermined operation is performed on the remote controller in step S11, the notification of communication error information is terminated. Thereby, before the hot water supply system 10 is handed over from the construction shop to the end user, the notification of the communication error information can be ended easily and reliably.

  In the present embodiment, the control board 5 determines whether or not the trial operation of the hot water supply system 10 is completed depending on whether or not there is a record that the trial operation completion button is pressed, and if the trial operation is completed, a communication error occurs. Information is not reported. As a modification to this, the control board 5 may end the notification of the communication error information when the total energization time to the water heater 1 exceeds the reference time. This reference time may be, for example, about 24 hours (= 1 day). When the total energization time for the water heater 1 exceeds the reference time, it is highly possible that the trial operation has been completed, and thus the necessity of notifying communication error information is low. Also, considering the case where the hot water supply system 10 is constructed in a newly built property, the possibility of delivery on the same day is low, so before the total energization time to the hot water heater 1 exceeds the reference time, that is, communication error information There is a low possibility that the hot water supply system 10 is delivered to the end user before the notification. By making it like the said modification, since it becomes unnecessary for an operator to press down a trial run completion button, it can prevent that the work item of a construction shop increases.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment described above, and the description of the same or corresponding parts will be simplified or omitted.

  The hot water supply system 10 according to the second embodiment includes an error rate display unit that can display information on a communication error rate between the control board 5 and the remote controller. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an error rate display screen displayed by the error rate display unit according to the second embodiment. The control board 5 may display an error rate display screen on at least one display unit 15 of the kitchen remote controller 2 and the bathroom remote controller 3.

  In the present embodiment, the control board 5 stores the time when the communication error with the remote controller occurs in the memory as the communication error occurrence time. And the control board 5 memorize | stores in the memory the frequency | count or frequency with which the communication error generate | occur | produced in the past for every time slot | zone of a day.

  As shown in FIG. 4, on the error rate display screen, information on the real-time communication error rate is displayed as “current communication error rate”, and information on the time of communication error occurrence is “past time zone error rate”. Is displayed. In the illustrated example, whether or not a communication error is likely to occur is displayed in five stages for each time zone of the day.

  When a predetermined operation for displaying the error rate display screen is applied to the remote controller, the control board 5 displays the error rate display screen. Even if the error rate has no problem in actual use, there is a possibility that the end user may feel uneasy when viewing it. For this reason, it is desirable to prevent the end user from accidentally displaying the error rate display screen. Therefore, the operation for displaying the error rate display screen is preferably a special operation as described in the first embodiment, and the operation method is preferably only described in the installation manual.

  Although it is immediately after construction that the communication error between the water heater 1 and the remote controller is most likely to occur due to the state of the communication line 11 for the remote controller, the hot water supply system 10 is used for a long time. It is also conceivable that the remote control communication line 11 is deteriorated or the electric device 4 causing external noise is attached later. For this reason, it may be necessary to confirm the state of the remote control communication line 11 later.

  According to the present embodiment, an operator of a construction shop that has received a repair request from an end user can easily confirm the state of the remote control communication line 11 by displaying an error rate display screen. For this reason, even if an abnormality occurs in the remote control communication line 11 afterwards, the hot water supply system 10 is provided so that the remote control communication line 11 can be easily repaired by the construction shop without reducing the usability of the end user. Is possible.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained by displaying information on the communication error occurrence time on the error rate display screen. The worker of the construction shop can easily identify the other electrical device 4 that causes the communication error by determining in which time zone the communication error is likely to occur. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, a communication error tends to occur in the time zone from 14:00 to 18:00, so the IH cooking heater used for dinner preparation may cause the communication error. Can be guessed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water heater, 2 Kitchen remote control, 3 Bathroom remote control, 4 Electric equipment, 5 Control board, 10 Hot water supply system, 11 Remote control communication line, 12 Semi-disconnection location, 13 External noise, 15 Display part, 16 Operation part

Claims (9)

In a hot water supply system comprising a water heater having a control unit, and a remote controller connected to the water heater via a communication line and receiving power and communicating information through the communication line,
The communication error occurs frequently when the communication between the control unit and the remote controller repeats opening and closing more than a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time after the energization of the remote controller is started. A hot water supply system provided with an informing means for informing communication error information which is information. In a hot water supply system comprising a water heater having a control unit, and a remote controller connected to the water heater via a communication line and receiving power and communicating information through the communication line,
A communication error frequently occurs when the communication between the control unit and the remote controller repeats the normal state and the abnormal state more than a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time after the energization of the remote controller is started. A hot water supply system provided with an informing means for informing communication error information which is information to the effect.   The hot water supply system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the total energization time to the water heater exceeds a reference time, the notification of the communication error information is terminated.   The hot water supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when a predetermined operation is performed on the remote controller, the notification of the communication error information is terminated.   When the total energization time to the control unit is longer than the total energization time to the remote controller, the control unit excludes the number of communication errors during de-energization of the remote controller, and the communication error information The hot-water supply system as described in any one of Claims 1-4 which judges whether alerting | reporting.   The hot water supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the communication error information includes information on a real-time communication error rate.   The hot water supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising interruption means for temporarily interrupting notification of the communication error information.   The hot water supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising an error rate display unit capable of displaying information on a communication error rate between the control unit and the remote controller. The control unit stores a communication error occurrence time that is a time when a communication error occurs with the remote controller,
The hot water supply system according to claim 8, wherein the error rate display means is capable of displaying information relating to the communication error occurrence time.

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