JP3714256B2 - Bathroom heating drying system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a bathroom heating / drying system, and in particular, a communication means using a heat source machine and a bathroom heating / drying machine and a communication means using a heat source machine and a person detection device are different, and the bathroom heating / drying machine and the person detection device are provided via a heat source machine. The present invention relates to a bathroom heating and drying system that performs a cooperative operation.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, bathroom heating dryers that heat and ventilate a bathroom and dry laundry that is suspended in the bathroom are known. This bathroom heating dryer heats the air in the vicinity of the heat exchanger with circulating hot water, and heats the bathroom by blowing out the warm air into the bathroom. And can uniformly warm the bathroom. In addition, using such a hot water circulation type bathroom heater / dryer has an advantage that the running cost is lower than that of an electric heater.
[0003]
However, the conventional bathroom heater / dryer blows warm air at a preset air volume and direction, so the bather feels cold when the air volume is large or when the wind direction is toward the bather. There was a thing. In addition, in order to change the air volume and direction during bathing, it is inconvenient to change the settings with a remote controller (remote controller) installed outside the bathroom.
[0004]
On the other hand, a human detection device that includes a low-resolution image recognition device and an infrared sensor and monitors the presence of a person in a bathroom and the movement of a bather has been known. According to this human detection device, if there is an accident in the bathroom due to the intrusion of a thief or a stroke, this can be detected early. However, when the conventional human detection device is used in a situation where steam is generated, such as in winter, there is a problem that the imaging window becomes cloudy and the inside of the bathroom cannot be photographed and does not function properly.
[0005]
Conventionally, since bath facilities such as the above-described bathroom heating dryer and human detection device are individually controlled, information acquired by each device cannot be used by other devices. Therefore, for example, when the bather leaves the room because he forgot to turn off the operation switch of the bathroom heater / dryer, the bathroom heater / dryer continues to operate and is useless even if the human detection device detects that there is no bather. As a result, power was consumed. In addition, since the conventional bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device have different communication means, it is not possible to simply connect these devices to perform communication.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to enable a device having different communication means such as a bathroom heating dryer and a human detection device to perform a cooperative operation through a heat source device. It is in providing the bathroom heating drying system characterized by performing.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  The bathroom heating / drying system according to claim 1,With dry operation functionIn a bathroom heating / drying system comprising a bathroom heating / drying machine having a heating function, a human detection device equipped with an image recognition device, and a heat source machine, the heat source machine and the bathroom heating / drying machine communicate with each other by a first communication means. The heat source machine and the human detection device communicate with each other by a second communication means, and the bathroom heating dryer and the human detection device cooperate with each other via the heat source device.And when the person detection device detects the cloudiness of the person detection device, the bathroom heating dryer can activate the drying operation function.It is characterized by that.
[0008]
For example, a bathroom heater / dryer communicates using a communication code that is used only for signal transmission / reception, and the human detection device communicates using a two-core cord that performs power supply and signal transmission / reception. Since the communication means and the communication means of the human detection device are different, the bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device cannot directly communicate with each other. However, if the bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device communicate indirectly through a heat source device that can communicate with any of the communication means, these devices can perform coordinated operations.
[0009]
  Also, in the bathroom, condensation is likely to occur particularly in winter, so that the human detection device may not function properly due to fogging of the imaging window of the human detection device. However, in the bathroom heating / drying system according to claim 1, since the bathroom heating / drying machine performs a drying operation when clouding of the imaging window constituting the human detection device is detected, the imaging is performed. The fogging of the window can be removed.
[0010]
  In addition, in order for the bathroom heating dryer and the person detection device to perform a coordinated operation, the heat source device controls the bathroom heating dryer based on the acquired information in the person detection device. May be.In addition, the heat source machine isSecondThe signal received from the human detection device by the communication means offirstThe signal may be converted into a signal suitable for the communication means and transmitted to the bathroom heating / drying machine, and the bathroom heating / drying machine may be operated based on the received information.Yes.
[0011]
  As described above, in order for the bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device to perform a coordinated operation through the heat source machine,Human detection deviceBased on the information acquired byBathroom heating dryerAnd how to controlHuman detection deviceThe information acquired by the heat source machineBathroom heating dryerConverted to a signal suitable for communication withBathroom heating dryerSent to and received the signalBathroom heating dryerThere is a method of performing control by itself, and any method may be used.
[0012]
  The bathroom heating / drying system according to claim 2 is a bathroom comprising a temperature sensor for measuring room temperature, a bathroom heating / drying machine having a heating function, a human detection device having an infrared sensor and an image recognition device, and a heat source machine. In the heating / drying system, the heat source machine and the bathroom heating / drying machine communicate with each other by a first communication means, the heat source machine and the person detection device communicate with each other by a second communication means, and the person detection device is The first mode for determining the presence or absence of movement of the detection object based on both the output signal from the image recognition device and the output signal from the infrared sensor, and detection based only on the output signal from the image recognition device A second mode for determining the presence or absence of movement of the object, the bathroom heating dryer and the human detection device are linked via the heat source unit, the human detection device is The is characterized in that it is switched between the first mode and the second mode by room temperature measured by the temperature sensor.
[0013]
  For example, a bathroom heater / dryer communicates using a communication code that is used only for signal transmission / reception, and the human detection device communicates using a two-core cord that performs power supply and signal transmission / reception. Since the communication means and the communication means of the human detection device are different, the bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device cannot directly communicate with each other. However, if the bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device communicate indirectly through a heat source device that can communicate with any of the communication means, these devices can perform coordinated operations.
[0014]
  In addition, the infrared sensor is characterized in that the sensitivity decreases when the room temperature and the temperature of the object to be detected (for example, the body temperature of a bather) are close to each other. Therefore, when the human detection device includes an image recognition device and an infrared sensor, if the sensitivity of the infrared sensor decreases due to an increase in the temperature in the bathroom, the human detection device may fall into an undetectable state. In the bathroom heating / drying system according to claim 2, if the room temperature is low using the temperature information obtained by the bathroom heating / drying machine, both the output signal of the image recognition device and the output signal of the infrared sensor are used. Because human motion is detected in the mode used, if the room temperature is high, the output signal of the infrared sensor is not used, and the human motion can be detected in the mode using only the output signal of the image recognition device. In addition, it is possible to suppress or prevent a decrease in sensitivity of the human detection device due to a change in room temperature.
[0015]
  The bathroom heating / drying system according to claim 3 is a bathroom comprising a temperature sensor for measuring room temperature, a bathroom heating / drying machine having a heating function, a human detection device having an infrared sensor and an image recognition device, and a heat source machine. In the heating / drying system, the heat source machine and the bathroom heating / drying machine communicate with each other by a first communication means, the heat source machine and the human detection device communicate with each other by a second communication means, and the infrared sensor, It has a threshold for determining the presence or absence of movement of the detection object by comparing with the output signal, the bathroom heating dryer and the human detection device are linked via the heat source unit, the human detection The apparatus is characterized in that the threshold value of the infrared sensor can be changed according to the room temperature measured by the temperature sensor.
[0016]
  For example, a bathroom heater / dryer communicates using a communication code that is used only for signal transmission / reception, and the human detection device communicates using a two-core cord that performs power supply and signal transmission / reception. Since the communication means and the communication means of the human detection device are different, the bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device cannot directly communicate with each other. However, if the bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device communicate indirectly through a heat source device that can communicate with any of the communication means, these devices can perform coordinated operations.
[0017]
  In addition, the infrared sensor is characterized in that the sensitivity decreases when the room temperature and the temperature of the object to be detected (for example, the body temperature of a bather) are close to each other. Therefore, when the human detection device includes an image recognition device and an infrared sensor, if the sensitivity of the infrared sensor decreases due to an increase in the temperature in the bathroom, the human detection device may fall into an undetectable state. However, in the bathroom heating / drying system according to claim 3, when the infrared sensor has a threshold value for determining the presence or absence of movement of the detection target object by comparing with the output signal, the threshold value is set. Since it can change according to the room temperature measured with the bathroom heating dryer, the fall of the sensitivity of the infrared sensor by a temperature change can be suppressed or prevented.
[0018]
  In addition, in the bathroom heating / drying system according to claim 2 and 3, in order for the bathroom heating / drying machine and the human detection device to perform cooperative operations, the heat source machine is configured to be the bathroom heating / drying machine. The person detection device may be controlled based on the acquired information. The heat source unit converts the signal received from the bathroom heater / dryer by the first communication unit into a signal suitable for the second communication unit and transmits the signal to the human detection device. May operate based on the received information. In addition, as described above, in order for the bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device to operate in cooperation with each other via the heat source device, the heat source device uses the human detection device based on the information acquired by the bathroom heater / dryer. The control method and information acquired by the bathroom heater / dryer are converted into a signal suitable for communication with the human detection device, and the heat detection device transmits the signal to the human detection device, and the human detection device that receives the signal controls it. Any method may be used.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a bathroom heating / drying system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This bathroom heating / drying system 1 includes a heat source machine 4 for supplying hot water to a bathtub 3 and a caran in the bathroom 2 and a kitchen caran, a bathroom heating / drying machine 5 for heating, ventilating and drying the bathroom 2, A person detecting device 6 for detecting a person in the bathroom, a bathroom remote controller 7 (hereinafter referred to as a bathroom remote controller 7) having a button for adjusting and reheating the hot water discharged from the shower and the shower of the bathroom 2, and the kitchen callan It comprises a kitchen remote controller 8 (hereinafter referred to as kitchen remote controller 8) that adjusts the temperature of hot water discharged from the kitchen. Between the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 and the heat source machine 4, a heating / hot water pipe 17 for circulating hot water heated by the heat source machine 4 to the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 is drawn.
[0020]
The heat source unit 4 and the bathroom heater / dryer 5 are supplied with electric power from household power supplies 9a, 9b of AC 100V. The human detection device 6, the bathroom remote control 7 and the kitchen remote control 8 are supplied with electric power from the heat source unit 4. The human detection device 6 is operated by ON / OFF operation of the operation switch 11a of the bathroom remote controller 7 or the operation switch 11b of the kitchen remote controller 8, and the bathroom heater / dryer 5 is heated and dried installed outside the bathroom 2. The operation start and stop can be controlled by the ON / OFF operation of the machine switch 12.
[0021]
The heating / drying machine switch 12, the hot water supply button for the bathtub, the button for changing the heating set temperature of the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 and the like may be provided on the panel of the bathroom remote control 7 or the kitchen remote control 8. good. Moreover, you may make it display the person detection result in the bathroom 2 by the human detection apparatus 6 on the panel of the remote control 8 for kitchens.
[0022]
The human detection device 6, the bathroom remote control 7, and the kitchen remote control 8 are connected to the control board 10 of the heat source unit 4 by the human detection device double core cord 13, the bathroom remote control double core cord 14, and the kitchen remote control double core cord 15, respectively. Has been. Each of the two-core cords 13, 14, and 15 is a bundle of two cords, a signal line that carries electric power and a signal and a ground line. The bathroom heating / drying machine 5 and the control board 10 of the heat source machine 4 are connected by a heating / drying machine communication cord 16 used for signal transmission / reception.
[0023]
The information detected by the bathroom heater / dryer 5 and the human detection device 6 and the information input from the bathroom remote controller 7 and the kitchen remote controller 8 are sent to the heater / dryer communication code 16 and the two-core cords 13, 14, 15. Via, it is transmitted to the heat source unit 4. The heat source device 4 controls the other devices 5, 6, 7, and 8 based on the information received from the devices 5, 6, 7, and 8, and receives the received information from the other devices 5, 6, 7, and 8. Can be sent to.
[0024]
As described above, the communication system between the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 and the heat source machine 4 and the communication system between the human detection device 6 and each remote controller 7 and 8 and the heat source machine 4 are different, but the control board of the heat source machine 4 10, the received signal can be converted into a signal suitable for the destination communication method. Therefore, for example, the signal received by the heat source device 4 from the human detection device 6 is converted into a signal suitable for communication with the bathroom heating dryer 5 and then transmitted to the bathroom heating dryer 5.
[0025]
In the present embodiment, the human detection device two-core cord 13 is not necessarily a signal line that can communicate in both directions, and a signal line that can transmit a signal only in one direction from the human detection device 6 toward the heat source unit 4. It may be. The control board 10 has a timer function.
[0026]
FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing the configuration of the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 of the bathroom heating / drying system 1 of the present invention. The bathroom heater / dryer 5 can perform three types of operations: heating operation, ventilation operation, and drying operation for drying clothes and the bathroom.
[0027]
The bathroom heater / dryer 5 is installed at the upper and lower parts of the ceiling panel 18. The upper part of the ceiling panel 18 is housed in a casing 19. A ventilator storage unit 21 is provided. A front cover 25 having a hot air outlet 22 and suction ports 23 and 24 is attached to the lower part of the ceiling panel 18.
[0028]
The air sucked into the fan storage unit 20 from the heating inlet 23 is warmed in the vicinity of the hot water heat exchanger 26 that circulates the hot water supplied from the heat source unit 4 by the heating hot water pipe 17 and blows air from a cross flow fan or the like. The fan 27 blows out from the hot air outlet 22 into the bathroom 2 along the air passage 28. The intensity of the hot air blown out can be changed to a strong wind or a weak wind by changing the rotational speed of the blower fan 27.
[0029]
The direction of warm air blown out from the warm air outlet 22 into the bathroom 2 can be changed by tilting the wind direction plate 29. For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, if the hot air is blown out with the wind direction plate 29 perpendicular to the ceiling panel 18, the hot air is blown downward from the ceiling. As shown in (b), if the hot air is blown out with the wind direction plate 29 tilted with respect to the ceiling panel, the hot air is blown out toward the wall surface of the bathroom 2. Hereinafter, the wind directions as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B are referred to as “downward” and “laterally”, respectively. Further, the room temperature of the bathroom 2 can be grasped by measuring the temperature of the air sucked from the heating inlet 23 with a room temperature sensor 30 such as a thermistor.
[0030]
Air containing moisture in the bathroom, which is introduced into the ventilator housing 21 from the ventilation inlet 24 shown in FIG. 2, is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port 33 by the sickro fan 32 driven by the motor 31. Moreover, you may make it discharge | emit to the outdoors through an exhaust duct (not shown) from the exhaust port 33. FIG.
[0031]
Next, the human detection device 6 having the configuration shown in FIG. 4 will be described. The human detection device 6 includes a low-resolution image recognition device 34, an infrared sensor 35, and a signal processing unit 36, and can detect the presence / absence of a person in the bathroom and the state of a bather (presence / absence of movement). it can.
[0032]
According to the image recognition device 34 of the human detection device 6, the image in the bathroom 2 is imaged by the imaging lens 37 on the image detection unit 38 composed of a C-MOS array of 1024 pixels (32 × 32 pixels). Is done. Each pixel of the image detection unit 38 is connected to the scanner 39 and the multiplexer 40. The scanner 39 is driven and controlled by a scanner drive control unit 41, and controls each pixel of the image detection unit 38 so as to sequentially enter a light receiving state (on state) at regular intervals. In addition, the photocurrents simultaneously output from the pixels in the line in the light receiving state are converted into serial data by the multiplexer 40 and output to the image processing unit 42. The image processing unit 42 discards image information without movement such as the background, extracts only the bather information, and analyzes the bather state using an analysis algorithm. In addition, the image determination unit 43 determines the presence or absence of a bather or a bather's movement based on the analysis result in the image processing unit 42, and the determination result is output to the signal processing unit 36.
[0033]
Further, according to the infrared sensor 35, the movement of the bather is detected by the detection unit 44. A signal representing the magnitude of the bather's movement is output from the detection unit 44 to the process determination unit 45, and the process determination unit 45 determines the presence / absence of the bather or the bather's movement based on the input signal. The result is output to the signal processing unit 36.
[0034]
The signal processing unit 36 comprehensively determines the presence / absence of a bather, the presence / absence of a bather's movement, and the like based on information output from the image recognition device 34 and the infrared sensor 35, and the result is a control board of the heat source unit 4. 10 to send. Thereby, the heat source device 4 can always grasp the presence or absence of a bather.
[0035]
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a state of communication between the heat source device 4, the bathroom heating dryer 5, and the human detection device 6 in the bathroom heating / drying system 1 of the present invention. When the operation switch 11 of the human detection device 6 is turned on, information regarding the presence or absence of a bather is transmitted from the human detection device 6 to the heat source unit 4 every certain time (signal C1).
[0036]
On the other hand, when the heating / drying machine switch 12 of the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 is turned on, the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 transmits a heating / warming water circulation signal to the heat source unit 4 (signal C2). When the heat source unit 4 receives the heating / warming water circulation signal from the bathroom heating / drying unit 5, the heat source unit 4 supplies hot water to the heating / warming water pipe 17, and the bathroom heating / drying unit 5 receives a signal for controlling the air volume and direction during heating operation. Transmit (signal C3 and signal C4).
[0037]
At this time, if no bather is detected by the human detection device 6, a control signal (wind direction: down, air volume: instructing to blow strong downward air from the hot air outlet 22 so as to warm the bathroom rapidly. Strong) is sent out (signal C3). Further, when a bather is detected, a control signal for instructing to blow a sideways weak wind from the hot air outlet 22 so that the bather does not feel cold due to the hot air hitting the bather. (Wind direction: side, air volume: weak) is transmitted (signal C4). Thus, according to the bathroom heating system 1 of the present invention, the air direction and the air volume of the bathroom heater / dryer 5 can be controlled based on the information obtained by the human detection device 6.
[0038]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of control of the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 by the bathroom heating / drying system 1 described above. First, when a circulation signal of heating / warming water is transmitted from the bathroom heater / dryer 5 to the heat source unit 4, the heat source unit 4 resets the timer (step S1) and determines whether there is a bather (step S2).
[0039]
At this time, if the bather is not detected by the human detection device 6, the heat source unit 4 instructs the bathroom heating dryer 5 to blow a strong downward air from the hot air outlet 22 (wind direction: down) The air volume: strong) is sent out to rapidly warm the bathroom (step S3). The operation with the wind direction and the air volume is continued until a bather is detected (step S4).
[0040]
In addition, if a bather is detected by the human detection device 6 (step S2 or step S4), the heat source unit 4 instructs a control signal (wind direction: horizontal direction) to blow a laterally weak wind from the warm air outlet 22 , The air volume: weak) is sent out, and the bathroom heater / dryer 5 performs a heating operation so that the bather does not receive hot air (step S5). The operation with the wind direction and the air volume is performed until the bather's exit is detected (step S6).
[0041]
If the bather's exit is detected (step S6), a timer is first started (step S7), and then the control signal (wind direction: down) instructing the wind direction to remain downward while the air volume remains weak. , Air volume: weak) is sent out (step S8). By making the wind direction downward as described above, it is possible to quickly spread the warm air to every corner of the bathroom. Also, since the bathroom is already warm to some extent, the bathroom will not cool down even if the airflow is weak.
[0042]
If the human detection device 6 detects the next bather (step S10) after a certain time has elapsed since the timer was started, the timer is reset (step 11) and the process returns to step S5 again. Also, until a certain time has elapsed since the timer was started (step S9), even if the bather is not detected (step S10), the heating operation of blowing the weak wind downward is continued and the next bather's Therefore, the bathroom 2 is kept warm (step S8).
[0043]
If a certain period of time has passed without the bather being detected since the timer was started (step S9), it is possible that the previous bather has forgotten to turn off the operation switch of the bathroom heating dryer 5. A control signal instructing to stop the operation is sent to the bathroom heater / dryer (step S12).
[0044]
According to the bathroom heating / drying system 1 of the present invention, the communication method between the heat source unit 4 and the bathroom heating / drying unit 5 and the communication method between the heat source unit 4 and the human detection device 6 are different. The bathroom heating / drying machine 5 can be controlled based on the information obtained by the human detection device 6 through the heat source 4 that can be processed.
[0045]
Since the body is wet during bathing, it may feel cold due to the warm air blown out from the bathroom heating dryer 5, but from the bathroom heating dryer 5 based on the presence / absence information of the bather obtained by the human detection device 6 By changing the direction and volume of the hot air that blows out, the bather can take a bath without feeling cold.
[0046]
Moreover, since the operation of the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 can be controlled by detecting the entrance / exit of the bather by the person detection device 6, the operation due to forgetting to turn off the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 can be prevented.
[0047]
According to the bathroom heating / drying system 1 of the present invention, if only the control board 10 of the heat source machine 4 is replaced with a conventional board, each apparatus such as the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 and the human detection apparatus 6 which have been used conventionally. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a large-scale construction, and the cost of adopting the bathroom heating / drying system 1 can be suppressed.
[0048]
In addition, you may perform control of said bathroom heating dryer 5 inside the bathroom heating dryer 5. FIG. In such a case, after the information obtained by the human detection device 6 is received by the control board 10 of the heat source unit 4, it is converted into a signal suitable for the communication method to the bathroom heating dryer 5, and converted into a bathroom heating dryer. The bathroom heating / drying machine 5 that has transmitted the signal to 5 and received the signal may perform the same process as the process performed on the control board 10 of the heat source unit 4.
[0049]
(Second Embodiment)
Particularly in winter, steam is likely to be trapped in the bathroom 2, so that the imaging window attached to the human detection device 6 shown in FIG. 4 may be cloudy and the human detection device 6 may not operate normally. When fogging of the imaging window occurs, the fogging of the imaging window can be removed by performing the drying operation of the bathroom heating dryer 5.
[0050]
The bathroom heating / drying system 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention and each device constituting the bathroom heating / drying system 1 such as the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 and the human detection device 6 are the same as those described in the first embodiment. It has the composition of. The image detection unit 38 of the image recognition device 34, which is a component of the human detection device shown in FIG. 4, is a C-MOS array of 32 × 32 pixels (= 1024 pixels), and each pixel is in the 0th floor. It is possible to perform monochrome photography of 256 gradations from the tone to 255 gradations.
[0051]
In the present embodiment, the human detection device two-core cord 13 that connects the control board 10 of the heat source device 4 and the human detection device 6 may be a signal line that can transmit a signal in both directions. A signal line that can transmit a signal from 6 to the heat source unit 4 only in one direction may be used. Further, the human detection device 6 may not include the infrared sensor 35.
[0052]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of detecting fogging of the imaging window arranged in front of the imaging lens 37 of the image recognition device 34. When the operation switch 11 of the human detection device 6 is turned on, monitoring of the movement of a person in the bathroom starts. In the image recognition device 34, the highest gradation X and the lowest gradation Y of the image detected by the image detection unit 38 are extracted (step S13), and the contrast Z (= XY) is calculated (step S14). Then, it is determined whether or not the contrast Z is smaller than the predetermined value D (step S15).
[0053]
If the contrast Z is smaller than the predetermined value D, it is predicted that the image is blurred due to the fogging of the imaging window, and therefore it is determined that the fogging of the imaging window has been detected (step S16). On the other hand, when the contrast Z is larger than the predetermined value D, it is determined that no fogging of the imaging window has been detected since the imaging window is not fogged and a clear image is obtained (step S17). These determination results are transmitted to the heat source device 4, and the heat source device 4 can always grasp the presence or absence of fogging of the imaging window of the human detection device 6 (step S18).
[0054]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by the heat source unit 4 in order to prevent fogging of the imaging window of the human detection device 6 in the bathroom heating / drying system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. When the clouding is detected in the imaging window of the human detection device 6 by the procedure shown in FIG. 7 (step S19), the heat source unit 4 transmits a control signal instructing the bathroom heating dryer 5 to start the drying operation ( Step S20).
[0055]
The drying operation is always performed while clouding is detected, but if the clouding is not detected during the drying operation (step S21), the heat source unit 4 causes the bathroom heating dryer 5 to stop the drying operation. Is sent (step S22). If the heating operation has been performed before clouding is detected, the heating operation may be resumed after the drying operation is stopped.
[0056]
According to the bathroom heating / drying system 1 of the present invention, the operation of the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 is controlled via the heat source unit 4 on the basis of the information obtained by the person detection device 6, and the imaging window of the person detection device 6 is controlled. Haze can be removed. According to this bathroom heating / drying system 1, it is possible to prevent the sensitivity of the human detection device 6 from being lowered due to clouding of the imaging window.
[0057]
In addition, you may perform control of said bathroom heating dryer 5 inside the bathroom heating dryer 5. FIG. In such a case, after the heat detection device 4 receives the cloudy detection result in the human detection device 6, it is converted into a signal suitable for the communication method to the bathroom heating dryer 5 and transmitted to the bathroom heating dryer 5. The bathroom heater / dryer 5 that has received the signal may perform the same processing as the heat source unit 4.
[0058]
(Third embodiment)
In particular, when using a bathroom in winter, the steam tends to accumulate, so the imaging window attached to the human detection device 6 shown in FIG. 4 is likely to be cloudy, and the visibility inside the bathroom due to the large amount of steam generated. The human detection device 6 may not be able to detect the bather. Steam is generated in a large amount when the difference between the temperature of the hot water in a bathtub or the like and the room temperature is large, and clouding of the imaging window is generated by cooling the steam drifting in the bathroom on the surface of the imaging window. Therefore, in order to prevent poor visibility and clouding of the imaging window, a large amount of steam is prevented by keeping the room temperature above a certain temperature, and the bathroom in which the human detection device 6 and the human detection device 6 are installed. It is effective to warm the walls of the wall so that condensation does not occur.
[0059]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control procedure by the bathroom heating / drying system 1 according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Each apparatus constituting the bathroom heating / drying system 1 of the present invention and the bathroom heating / drying system 1 such as the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 and the human detection apparatus 6 has the same configuration as that described in the first embodiment. are doing.
[0060]
It should be noted that the human detection device double-core cord 13 that connects the control board 10 of the heat source device 4 and the human detection device 6 may be a signal line that can transmit signals in both directions, or may be controlled from the human detection device 6. A signal line that can transmit a signal only in one direction of the substrate 10 may be used. In addition, the human detection device 6 may not include the infrared sensor 35.
[0061]
In FIG. 9, temperature T <b> 1 is a room temperature setting temperature (hereinafter referred to as heating setting temperature) when performing heating operation in the bathroom heating dryer 5, and is a room temperature provided on the heating dryer switch 12 or the kitchen remote control 8. It is the temperature that the bather can operate with the setting button. The temperature T2 is a set temperature of the hot water discharged from the bathroom currant or shower (hereinafter referred to as hot water temperature set temperature), and is a hot water temperature setting button provided on the bathroom remote control 7 or the kitchen remote control 8. The temperature at which the bather can operate.
[0062]
Further, the temperature T3 is a temperature at which a large amount of steam can be prevented. If a large amount of steam is generated when the temperature difference between the hot water discharged from the bathroom currant or shower and the temperature in the bathroom exceeds α, the temperature difference between the bath temperature and the hot water temperature should not exceed α. A large amount of steam can be prevented by setting the temperature. Therefore, the temperature T3 is a temperature determined by obtaining the temperature (T2-α).
[0063]
When the operation switch 11 of the human detection device 6 is turned ON, the human detection device 6 transmits an “in-operation signal” to the heat source unit 4 at every elapse of a fixed time regardless of whether or not a person is detected. Upon receiving this signal, the heat source unit 4 checks the heating set temperature T1 and the hot water temperature set temperature T2 (steps S23 and S24), and calculates the temperature T3 (= T2-α) using the hot water temperature set temperature T2. (Step S25).
[0064]
Next, the obtained temperature T3 is compared with the heating set temperature T1 (step S26). When the obtained temperature T3 is higher than the heating set temperature T1, since the generation of steam cannot be sufficiently suppressed even if the heating operation is performed with the heating set temperature T1 maintained, the heating set temperature T1 is changed to the temperature T3 (step) S27). Further, when the obtained temperature T3 is lower than the heating set temperature T1, there is no possibility that a large amount of steam is generated if the heating operation is performed at the heating set temperature T1 set by the bather, so the heating set temperature T1 is changed. There is no need.
[0065]
Next, it is confirmed whether or not a bather is detected by the human detection device 6 (step S28). If no bather is detected, a control signal (air volume: strong, wind direction: side) is transmitted to instruct to blow strong wind toward the wall surface in the bathroom of the bathroom heater / dryer 5 (step S29). Because the air in the bathroom is rapidly warmed by this operation, there is no possibility that a large amount of steam is generated when the bather uses hot water. Moreover, if the wall surface in a bathroom warms, it can prevent that dew condensation generate | occur | produces in the imaging window of the human detection apparatus 6 attached to the wall surface. Furthermore, clouding of the imaging window can also be prevented by blowing the hot air blown from the bathroom heater / dryer 5 directly or indirectly onto the imaging window of the human detection device 6. The operation with this air volume is performed until the bather is detected by the human detection device 6.
[0066]
Moreover, if a bather is detected by the human detection device 6 (step S28), a control signal (wind direction: weak, air volume: side) instructing to blow a weak wind toward the wall surface of the bathroom heating dryer 5 is generated. It is transmitted (step S30). According to this driving | operation, the inside of a bathroom, the wall surface of a bathroom, etc. can be warmed, without blowing warm air on a bather.
[0067]
According to the bathroom heating / drying system 1 of the present invention, since the heating operation is performed to keep the interior of the bathroom at a certain temperature or more while the human detection device is operating, a large amount of steam is less likely to occur. By blowing warm air on the imaging window of the detection device 6, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of dew condensation, and thus it is possible to prevent the human detection device 6 from entering an undetectable state due to poor visibility or clouding of the imaging window. .
[0068]
Moreover, according to the bathroom heating / drying system 1 of the present invention, the temperature setting temperature of the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 can be controlled using temperature information input from the bathroom remote control 7 or the kitchen remote control 8.
[0069]
In addition, you may perform control of said bathroom heating dryer 5 inside the bathroom heating dryer 5. FIG. In such a case, the control board 10 of the heat source device 4 has received the operating signal sent from the human detection device 6, the signal indicating the presence or absence of a person, and the signal inputted from each of the remote controllers 7 and 8. Then, it converts into the signal suitable for the communication method to the bathroom heating dryer 5, transmits to the bathroom heating dryer 5, and the bathroom heating dryer 5 which received the signal performs the same process of the said heat-source unit 4. You can do it.
[0070]
(Fourth embodiment)
The infrared sensor 35 has a problem that the detection accuracy decreases when the temperature difference between the room temperature and the object to be detected becomes small. Since the temperature in the bathroom rises during bathing, when the human detection device 6 including the image recognition device 34 and the infrared sensor 35 as shown in FIG. 4 is used, even if the image recognition device 34 is used. Even if the sensor is operating normally, the sensitivity of the infrared sensor 35 decreases, so that the sensitivity of the human detection device 6 may decrease, or the human detection device 6 may be undetectable. In order to solve this problem, the method for determining the movement of the person in the person detecting device 6 may be switched depending on the room temperature.
[0071]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the human detection device 6 by the heat source unit 4 in the bathroom heating / drying system 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Each apparatus constituting the bathroom heating / drying system 1 of the present embodiment and the bathroom heating / drying system 1 such as the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 and the human detection device 6 has the same configuration as that described in the first embodiment. Have. Moreover, since the temperature in the bathroom measured by the room temperature sensor 30 incorporated in the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 shown in FIG. 2 is transmitted to the heat source unit 4 every elapse of a predetermined time, the heat source unit 4 always knows the room temperature. be able to.
[0072]
In FIG. 10, a temperature T4 is a temperature at which normal operation of the infrared sensor 35 is guaranteed, and a temperature T5 is a temperature that determines a threshold value of the infrared sensor 35 described later. The relationship between the temperature T4 and the temperature T5 is T4> T5. Further, the relationship between the threshold value X and the threshold value Y of the infrared sensor 35 is X <Y, and the relationship between the threshold value A and the threshold value B of the image recognition device 34 is A <B.
[0073]
When the operation switch 11 is turned on and the control board 10 of the heat source device 4 receives room temperature information from the bathroom heating / drying machine 5 (step S31), it is determined whether or not the bathroom temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature T4. (Step S32). Since the infrared sensor 35 operates normally when the room temperature is lower than the temperature T4, the human detection device 6 uses the infrared sensor 35 and the image recognition device 34 together to improve the detection accuracy of the occupant's movement. Can do. Further, when the temperature in the bathroom is equal to or higher than the temperature T4, if the motion of the occupant is detected using only the image recognition device 34, the human detection device 6 may be adversely affected by the sensitivity reduction of the infrared sensor 35. Absent.
[0074]
FIG. 11A is a graph showing a signal output from the detection unit 44 of the infrared sensor 35 shown in FIG. 4, where the horizontal axis represents the elapsed time and the vertical axis represents the magnitude of the detected movement. Yes. Since this signal includes noise due to blurring of the infrared sensor 35, the processing determination unit 45 only shows a signal having a magnitude exceeding a preset threshold in FIG. 11B. As shown, it is determined that motion has been detected, and if there is a signal that does not exceed the threshold, it is determined that motion has not been detected.
[0075]
Since the signal output from the detection unit 44 of the infrared sensor 35 decreases as the room temperature increases, if the threshold value is fixed to one value, the sensitivity of the infrared sensor 35 decreases as the temperature increases. Therefore, when the temperature in the bathroom is lower than the temperature T4 (when the infrared sensor is used in combination) (step S32), it is next determined whether or not the room temperature is equal to or higher than the temperature T5 (step S33). Is set (steps S34 and S35).
[0076]
When the room temperature is equal to or higher than the temperature T5, the heat source device 4 transmits a control signal for setting the threshold value of the infrared sensor 35 to a small threshold value X to the human detection device 6 (step S34). When the room temperature is lower than the temperature T5, a control signal for setting the threshold value of the infrared sensor 35 to the threshold value Y having a large value is transmitted (step S35). By setting the threshold value of the infrared sensor 35, the sensitivity of the infrared sensor 35 can be kept almost constant regardless of a change in room temperature. Further, when receiving the control signal for setting the threshold value of the infrared sensor 35 to any value, the human detection device 6 can determine to use the infrared sensor together.
[0077]
Next, the heat source device 4 transmits a control signal for setting the threshold value of the image recognition device 34 to the threshold value A to the human detection device 6 (step S36). Similarly to the signal output from the detection unit 44 of the infrared sensor 35 shown in FIG. 11A, the output signal of the image processing unit 42 of the image recognition device 34 is a signal representing the magnitude of the detected motion. This signal also contains noise. Therefore, a threshold value is also provided for the output signal of the image recognition device 34, and it can be determined that a human movement is detected by the image recognition device 34 when an output signal equal to or greater than the threshold value is obtained.
[0078]
On the other hand, in step S32, when the temperature in the bathroom is equal to or higher than the temperature T4, the movement of the person is detected using only the image recognition device 34 without using the infrared sensor 35. In this case, the heat source device 4 transmits a control signal for setting the threshold value of the image recognition device 34 to the threshold value B to the human detection device 6 (step S37). When the image recognition device 34 is used alone, the detection accuracy may be lower than when the infrared sensor 35 is used together, but the threshold value of the image recognition device 34 is larger than the threshold value A when the infrared sensor 35 is used together. If the threshold value B is set, a decrease in detection accuracy can be prevented. Further, when the human detection device 6 receives this control signal, it can determine that only the image recognition device 34 is used.
[0079]
According to the bathroom heating / drying system 1 of the present invention, it is possible to switch the determination method of human motion detection in the human detection device 6 using room temperature information obtained by the bathroom heating / drying machine 5. Thereby, even when the sensitivity of the infrared sensor 35 temporarily decreases due to an increase in room temperature, it is possible to prevent or suppress the decrease in sensitivity of the human detection device 6.
[0080]
The control of the human detection device 6 may be performed inside the human detection device 6. In such a case, the room temperature information received from the bathroom heating dryer 5 by the heat source unit 4 is converted into a signal suitable for the communication method to the person detection device 6 and transmitted, and the person detection that has received this room temperature information is detected. The apparatus 6 may be configured to perform the same process as that of the heat source unit 4 illustrated in FIG.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of a bathroom heating / drying system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of the bathroom heater / dryer of FIG.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating a state in which hot air is blown downward and laterally from the hot air outlet of the bathroom heater / dryer shown in FIG. 2;
4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of the human detection device of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the bathroom heating / drying system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the bathroom heating / drying system of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of detecting fogging of the imaging window of the human detection device.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in a bathroom heating / drying system according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in a bathroom heating / drying system according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in a bathroom heating / drying system according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a method in which the infrared sensor in the bathroom heating / drying system according to the embodiment of FIG. 10 detects a person, wherein (a) shows an output signal of a detection unit of the infrared sensor; Indicates an output signal of the determination unit of the infrared sensor.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Bathroom heating and drying system
4 heat source machine
5 Bathroom heating dryer
6 person detection device
7 Remote controller for bathroom
8 Remote controller for kitchen
10 Control board
11 Operation switch
12 Heating dryer switch
13 human detection device double core cord
14 Remote control two-core cord for bathroom
15 Remote control two-core cord for kitchen
16 Communication code for bathroom heating dryer
17 Heating hot water pipe
22 Hot air outlet
29 Wind direction board
30 Room temperature sensor
33 Ventilation opening
34 Image recognition device
35 Infrared sensor
36 Signal processor
37 Imaging lens
38 Image detector

Claims (3)

In a bathroom heating / drying system comprising a bathroom heating / drying machine having a drying operation function and a heating function, a human detection device having an image recognition device, and a heat source machine,
The heat source machine and the bathroom heating dryer communicate with each other by a first communication means,
The heat source machine and the human detection device communicate by a second communication means,
The bathroom heating dryer and the human detection device are linked via the heat source device, and when the human detection device detects clouding of the human detection device, the bathroom heating dryer operates the drying operation function. A bathroom heating and drying system characterized by being made to be allowed . In a bathroom heating / drying system comprising a temperature sensor for measuring room temperature and a bathroom heating / drying device having a heating function, a human detection device having an infrared sensor and an image recognition device, and a heat source device,
The heat source machine and the bathroom heating dryer communicate with each other by a first communication means,
The heat source machine and the human detection device communicate by a second communication means,
The human detection device includes a first mode for determining the presence or absence of movement of the detection target based on both the output signal from the image recognition device and the output signal from the infrared sensor, and the output signal from the image recognition device. And a second mode for determining the presence or absence of movement of the detection object based on
The bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device are linked via the heat source device, and the human detection device switches between the first mode and the second mode according to the room temperature measured by the temperature sensor. A bathroom heating / drying system characterized by that . In a bathroom heating / drying system comprising a temperature sensor for measuring room temperature and a bathroom heating / drying device having a heating function, a human detection device having an infrared sensor and an image recognition device, and a heat source device,
The heat source machine and the bathroom heating dryer communicate with each other by a first communication means,
The heat source machine and the human detection device communicate by a second communication means,
The infrared sensor has a threshold for determining the presence or absence of movement of the detection object by comparing with the output signal;
The bathroom heater / dryer and the human detection device cooperate with each other via the heat source device, and the human detection device can change a threshold value of the infrared sensor according to a room temperature measured by the temperature sensor. Features a bathroom heating and drying system.

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