JP3079807B2 - Clock function confirmation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clock function checking device for checking whether or not a clock function is normal in a device having a built-in clock function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are a number of devices having a clock function. For example, most of devices having a reservation function, such as a bath water heater and a VTR, have a clock function. It is used for various functions such as functions.

In such a clock function, there is usually input means for inputting the current time, and the current time is obtained based on the input time and built-in timekeeping means using an oscillator such as a crystal oscillator. To display the time.

Conventionally, there has been little known about a device for determining whether or not a clock function is normal.

[0005]

However, with the above-described conventional clock function, when the clock function stops operating due to an abnormality, or when the clock function itself is forgotten to attach an oscillator or the like at the time of manufacturing the clock function, the clock function itself is not used. If it does not exist, or if there is any abnormality in the clock function, a problem has occurred.

For example, when the clock function does not operate due to an abnormality, or when the oscillator is not attached and the clock function itself cannot be realized, the clock function does not advance even if the time is set. Some display only "00:00", but the display related to the time was performed when the clock function was not available, which was annoying.

[0007] For example, in the case where the clock function operates but the oscillation frequency of the oscillator used for the clock is shifted, or in the case where a different frequency is used from the beginning, the clock is measured but extremely. Or time out early,
In addition, there is a case where the time is measured extremely late and it is not useful as a clock. In particular, a device having a reservation function or the like operates at an incorrect time if such a device is used, which causes a very inconvenient situation.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a timepiece function checking device having a function of checking whether or not a timepiece function is operating normally.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a clock function confirming device capable of automatically displaying time only when the clock function is normal and not displaying time when the clock function is abnormal, and automatically preventing annoying time display. With the goal.

Further, when the present invention is applied to a bath water heater having a function to reserve a bathing time, the clock function itself is stopped when there is an abnormality in the clock function, so that the bath is filled at the wrong time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a watch function confirmation device that is safe without any trouble.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a time setting input means for setting and inputting a time, a first time measuring means for measuring a time as a clock, and a time input by the time setting input means. Time display means for displaying the current time based on the time and the time measured by the first time measurement means; and second time measurement means for measuring the time based on a signal from an oscillator which generates a signal at a constant cycle. And a timing start means for taking timing of timing for simultaneously timing the first timing means and the second timing means; and, after starting timing by the timing start means, the first timing means or the first timing means. 2
When the time measuring means has timed a predetermined period, the contents of the first time measuring means are compared with the contents of the time counting of the second time measuring means to determine a match. A condition judging means for judging that the first time measuring means is normal.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a time setting input means for setting and inputting a time, a first time measuring means for measuring time as a clock, a time inputted by the time setting input means and the first time counting. Time display means for displaying the current time based on the time measured by the means, and second time measurement for measuring the time based on a signal from an oscillator for generating a synchronization signal for electrically synchronizing the apparatus. Means, a power switch for turning on / off the power of the apparatus, and a timing start timing for timing the first and second timing means simultaneously when the power switch is turned on. Means, after starting timing by the timing starting means,
When the first clocking means or the second clocking means has clocked a predetermined period, a comparison is made between the clocked content of the first clocking means and the clocked content of the second clocking means. A match discriminating means for discriminating coincidence, a time display control means for displaying the time display means on condition that the coincidence discriminating means discriminates a match, and And a non-coincidence processing unit that does not display the time display unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided time setting input means for setting and inputting a time, first time measuring means for measuring time as a clock, and the time inputted by the time setting input means and the first time counting. Time display means for displaying the current time based on the time measured by the means, reservation setting means for reserving at least a bathing time of the bath water heater, and a time set and input by the time setting input means. Based on the current time based on the time measured by the clocking means and the reservation time set by the reservation setting means, the reservation processing control means for executing the filling of the bath water heater is electrically synchronized with the apparatus. Clock means for measuring the time based on a signal from an oscillator for generating a synchronizing signal, a power switch for turning on / off a power supply of a bath water heater control device, and a power switch being turned on Along with this, the first time measuring means and the second time measuring means are simultaneously timed, a time measuring start means for taking a timing of time measuring, and after starting time measuring by the time measuring start means, the first time measuring means or the second time measuring means is started. When the time measuring means 2 times a predetermined period,
Coincidence determining means for comparing the clock content of the first clock means with the clock content of the second clock means to determine a match;
On the condition that the coincidence judging means judges the coincidence, the time display control means for displaying the time display means and the time display means are not displayed when the coincidence judging means judges that there is no match. And a non-coincidence processing means for stopping a clock function relating to the first time measuring means.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a timepiece function checking device for setting and inputting the time by inputting the current time by the time setting input means for setting and inputting the time.
The present time is obtained by measuring the time by the first time measuring means, the time is displayed on the time display means, and further, second time measuring means for measuring the time separately from the first time measuring means is provided,
If necessary, the first timing means and the second timing means take timing of timing by the timing starting means, and when the first timing means and the second timing means measure for a predetermined period, the first timing is performed. The content of the timekeeping means is compared with the content of the second timekeeping means to determine coincidence. If they match, it can be determined that the clock function is normal. You can judge.

In the clock function checking device according to a second aspect of the present invention, the second time-measuring means temporarily constitutes a time-measuring means by a synchronizing signal for synchronizing the inside of the device. And effective utilization can be realized. Further, the time counting start means takes the timing of timing when the power is turned on, so that the clock function can be checked every time the power is turned on. Further, when the coincidence determining means determines that the clock function is normal, the time is displayed, and when it is determined that the clock function is abnormal, the time is not displayed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an unsightly display that cannot be used. .

Further, in the timepiece function checking device according to the third aspect,
The present invention is applied to a bath water heater capable of making a reservation for hot water filling, and when the coincidence determining means determines a mismatch, the clock function itself is stopped, so that the hot water is not filled at an erroneous time and the safety is ensured. can do.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which a timepiece function checking device of the present invention is applied to a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) of a water heater as a household equipment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a remote controller for operating a water heater. The remote controller has a built-in clock function checking device of the present invention. A display unit 2 is provided above the front of the remote control 1.
Is provided, and information such as the current time and hot water is displayed. Below it, a power switch 3, input switches 4, 5, 6, as time setting input means, switches 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 for making a reservation, and a switch 11 for operating the control of the water heater. , 13, and 14 are provided.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the display on the display unit 2 of FIG. 1. In addition to displaying the time display 21, the display 22 of the reservation contents and the control contents 23 to 31 of the water heater are displayed. ing.

Next, the electrical configuration inside the remote controller 1 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the remote controller 1. First, a first clocking means 41 and a second clocking means 44 are provided for performing a clock function.
The first timer 41 is a first oscillator 42 dedicated to a time timer.
And a first timer 43. This first oscillator 42
Is a crystal oscillator of 38 KHZ, for example, which can accurately measure time as a clock. The first timer 43 counts a signal from the first oscillator 42 to measure time. The contents of the timing are transmitted to the bus line 48. On the other hand, the second clock means 44 includes a second oscillator 45 and a second timer 46. The second oscillator 45 is for generating a clock signal for synchronizing the operation of the CPU and the like. A crystal oscillator having a frequency of 40 MHZ is used. The second timer 46 counts the time by counting this signal, and its content is transmitted to the bus line 48. The second timer 46 uses the first timer 4 to measure time using a signal for synchronization.
The function as a watch is very bad compared to 3, but it can be used for a short time. The signal of the second oscillator 45 is also input to the synchronization circuit 47.

Next, time setting input means 49, time display means 50,
There are other setting means 51, other display means 52, and the power switch 3.

The time setting input means 49 is for performing the initial setting of the current time for the clock function, and corresponds to the time setting switch 4, hour switch 5 and minute switch 6 in FIG. The time display means 50 corresponds to the current time portion of the display unit 2 of the remote controller 1. The other setting means 51 is for inputting control of the water heater, reservation, and the like. A reservation setting means 51a for making a reservation such as bathing of a bath is included in the other setting means 51. The other display means 52 displays the contents on the display unit 2. The power switch 3 turns on and off the power of the remote controller 1.

These are input / output devices I / O5
4 is transmitted to a bus line 48, and the bus line 48 is further connected to a CPU (Central Process).
ing Unit) 63 and ROM (Re
ad Only Memory) 65, RAM (Ran
dom Access Memory) 66.

The CPU 63 includes a timer start means 55, a first timer control means 56, a second timer control means 57, a coincidence determination means 58, a non-coincidence processing means 59, a time display control means 60,
It has reservation processing control means 61 and other control means 62. The time counting start means 55 is means for instructing the first timer control means 56 and the second timer control means 57 for timing of time in order to simultaneously time the first time counting means 41 and the second time counting means 44. It is started at the timing when the power switch 3 is turned on. Further, it may be started at another timing other than the turning on of the power switch 3. The first timer control means 56 controls the first time measuring means 41, and controls, for example, the operation and stop of the first timer 43. The second timer controller controls the second timer 44, and controls, for example, the operation and stop of the second timer 46. The coincidence determining means 58 compares the time content of the first time measuring means 41 with the time content of the second time measuring means 44 after a predetermined time elapses, for example, 10 seconds after the time is started by the time starting means 55. It is determined whether or not the contents match. If the contents match, it is determined that the first timekeeping means 41 serving as a clock of the clock is normal, and if the contents do not match, it is determined that there is some abnormality. The non-coincidence processing means 59 is a coincidence determining means 58
The time display control means 60 is a means for displaying and controlling the time of the clock. The reservation processing control means 61 performs reservation processing based on the contents of the time display control means 60. For example, the reservation processing control means 61 performs bath filling of a bath by reservation. Other control means include data input / output control and ROM
65, to control the transmission of data to and from the RAM 66, and to control other than the above.

Next, the ROM 65 stores contents for causing the CPU 63 to operate, initial data relating to each unit, and the like. The RAM 66 stores data such as input / output data to / from each unit and time measured. In addition, bus line 4
Reference numeral 8 is connected to a transmission line through an interface I / F 67, and the remote controller 1 remotely controls the water heater through the transmission line.

Next, the operation of the present invention in the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The confirmation of the clock function of the present invention is performed by the power switch 3
Is turned on, and it is determined whether or not the power switch 3 is turned on (S1). When the power switch is turned on, the clock start means 55 instructs the first timer control means 56 and the second timer clock means 57 to have the same clock time, and the first clock means 41 and the second clock means 44 simultaneously time. (S2). Then, it is determined whether a predetermined time, for example, 10 seconds, has elapsed since the start of the clock time (S3). When the time has elapsed, the contents of the timekeeping of the first timekeeping means and the contents of the timekeeping of the second timekeeping means are compared (S4). Then, it is judged by the coincidence judging means 58 whether or not the contents of the comparison result coincide with each other (S5). If they coincide with each other, it is judged that there is a clock function and it is operating normally, and the display of the clock function is performed. Is displayed on the display unit 2 of the remote controller 1 by the time display control means 60 (S6). If the time has not been initialized, “00:00” is displayed. If the time has been initialized, the current time is continuously displayed on the display unit 2. Since the clock function is backed up, the clock function continues to operate even when the power is off, and if it has already been initialized, the display can be continued even when the power is off.

When the time is initially set or reset, the time setting input means 49 operates the time setting switches 4, 5, and 6 (S7, S8). If the setting of the time has already been completed or the time is unnecessary, the process ends (S7). On the other hand, if the coincidence discriminating means 58 discriminates that there is no coincidence, there is no first clocking means 41 itself, or
It is determined that there is some abnormality in the first timing means (S
5, S9). Examples of abnormalities include the fact that the first oscillator 42 is not mounted, that the first oscillator 42 is mounted but that of a different frequency is mounted, or that the external components of which are different in resistance or capacitor are mounted. This is the case where the frequency is shifted due to the difference. In such a case, the display of the time is not displayed on the display unit 2 of the remote controller 1 without displaying the clock function (S9).
And make the clock function unavailable at all. At this time, since the clock function is abnormal, there is no need to set the time, and the process ends.

Although the above embodiment has been described using an example of a crystal oscillator as an oscillator, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this, and another oscillator may be used.

In the above embodiment, the first time measuring means 4
The description has been made on the assumption that the timings of the first and second clocking means 44 at the same time are the same as when the power is turned on. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is.

In the above embodiment, the coincidence determining means 58
In the description above, the case where the time display is not displayed when it is determined that they do not match with each other is described. However, the word "clock abnormal" is displayed in that part, the corresponding error code is displayed,
Further, a buzzer for notifying an abnormality may be issued.

[0033]

According to the present invention, an abnormality in a clock function can be reliably detected in a device having a clock function.
The clock function is not used while the clock function is abnormal. Also, when there is an abnormality in the clock function, the time is not displayed, so the wrong time will not be displayed.
It does not provide the wrong time to the user.

Further, in an apparatus capable of making a bath filling reservation, the clock function itself is stopped in the event of an abnormality, so that safety management can be performed without executing the bath filling at an incorrect time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a remote controller incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a display unit of a remote controller.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Power Switch 21 Time Display 41 First Clock Means 42 First Oscillator 43 First Timer 44 Second Clock Means 45 Second Oscillator 46 Second Timer 49 Time Setting Input Means 50 Time Display Mean 51a Reservation Setting Mean 55 Time Start Means 56 First timer control means 57 Second timer control means 58 Match determination means 59 Non-match processing means 60 Time display control means 61 Reservation processing control means 63 CPU 65 ROM 66 RAM

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. Time setting input means for setting and inputting time; first time measuring means for measuring time as a clock; and time inputted by the time setting input means and time measured by the first time measuring means. Time display means for displaying the current time based on time; second time means for measuring time based on a signal from an oscillator which generates a signal at a constant cycle; the first time means and the second time means Time-measurement start means for taking time to measure time simultaneously with the time-measurement means; and after starting time measurement by the time-measurement start means, the first
When the time measuring means or the second time measuring means has timed a predetermined period, the contents of the first time measuring means and the contents of the second time measuring means are compared with each other to determine coincidence. And a coincidence determining means for determining that the first timekeeping means is normal on condition that they are determined to be coincident with each other. 2. Time setting input means for setting and inputting time; first time measuring means for measuring time as a clock; and time inputted by the time setting input means and time measured by the first time measuring means. Time display means for displaying the current time based on time; second time measurement means for measuring time based on a signal from an oscillator which generates a synchronization signal for electrical synchronization within the apparatus; and A power switch for turning on / off a power supply, a timing start means for taking timing of timing the first timing means and the second timing means simultaneously when the power switch is turned on; After starting the timing by the start means, the first
When the time measuring means or the second time measuring means has timed a predetermined period, the contents of the first time measuring means and the contents of the second time measuring means are compared with each other to determine coincidence. A match determining means for determining, a time display control means for displaying the time display means on condition that the match determining means determines a match, and when the match determining means determines that there is no match,
A clock function checking device, comprising: a mismatch processing unit that does not display the time display unit. 3. A time setting input means for setting and inputting a time; a first time measuring means for measuring time as a clock; a time inputted by the time setting input means and a time measured by the first time measuring means. Time display means for displaying the current time based on the time; reservation setting means for reserving at least the bathing time of the bath water heater; time set by the time setting input means and time measured by the first time measuring means. A reservation processing control means for executing bath filling of the bath water heater based on a current time based on the time set, and a reservation time set by the reservation setting means, and a synchronization signal for electrically synchronizing the inside of the apparatus. A second timer for measuring time based on a signal from the generated oscillator; a power switch for turning on / off a power supply of a control device of the bath water heater; and A timer starting means for timing time measurement which measures the first time measuring means and said second counting means at the same time, after starting the counting by said time counting start means, the first
When the time measuring means or the second time measuring means has timed a predetermined period, the contents of the first time measuring means and the contents of the second time measuring means are compared with each other to determine coincidence. A match determining means for determining, a time display control means for displaying the time display means on condition that the match determining means determines a match, and when the match determining means determines that there is no match,
A clock function checking device, comprising: a mismatch processing unit that does not display the time display unit and stops a clock function related to the first clock unit.