JP4200080B2 - Bathroom system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bathroom system including a hot water supply device and a remote control device for remotely operating the hot water supply device.

  In recent years, there has been a demand for using the bathing time in a bathroom such as a house, for example, using a notebook personal computer to access the Internet, or perform work such as spreadsheets or text creation.

  However, when a notebook personal computer is brought into a bathroom for work, the personal computer has problems in terms of drip-proofing and waterproofing. In other words, personal computers are not usually provided with measures such as drip-proofing, and when used in bathrooms, they adversely affect built-in microcomputers and electronic parts, causing malfunctions. In particular, malfunctioning of the keyboard can occur remarkably in the above environment.

On the other hand, usually, a bathroom remote controller for remotely operating a hot water supply apparatus body for performing a hot water supply operation is provided on a wall surface in the bathroom. The bathroom remote controller may be provided with an operation display unit having a so-called touch panel (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Therefore, in order to meet the above-mentioned demand for using a personal computer in the bathroom, the operation display unit having a touch panel is used instead of the keyboard of the personal computer after connecting the main body of the personal computer and the bathroom remote control. Is also possible. However, since the operation display unit having the touch panel of the bathroom remote control is provided with only the number of operation switches (a relatively small number) necessary for hot water supply operation, the operation display unit having the touch panel is used instead of the keyboard. It is difficult to become.
JP 2002-182835 A

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances described above, and an object thereof is to provide a bathroom system capable of easily performing work that can be performed using a personal computer in a bathroom. .

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention takes the following technical means.

A bathroom system provided by the present invention is a bathroom system including a hot water supply device , a remote control device for remotely operating the hot water supply device from a bathroom, and a personal computer connected to the remote control device in a communicable manner. The remote control device is disposed on a wall surface that is in contact with the bathtub in the bathroom, and has a hot water supply operation mode for performing a hot water supply operation of the hot water supply device and a personal computer operation mode for performing an operation using the personal computer. When the personal computer work mode is set by the mode changeover switch, the keyboard changeover means for projecting the keyboard arrangement on the surface of the lid arranged in the bathtub, and the finger of the user with respect to the keyboard arrangement Recognition means for detecting an operation and recognizing the operation content; Transmitting means for transmitting the user operation content recognized by the stage to the personal computer; display means for displaying the user operation content recognized by the recognition means and a processing result of the personal computer for the operation content; , Is provided .

According to this configuration, when the personal computer work mode is set by the mode changeover switch, the keyboard layout projection unit projects the keyboard layout onto the surface of the lid arranged on the bathtub, and the user performs an operation on the keyboard layout. The operation content is recognized by the recognition means. Then, the operation content is displayed on the display means and is transmitted to the personal computer, and the processing result of the personal computer corresponding to the user operation content is displayed on the display means. Therefore, if the operation content of the user is to access the Internet, for example, the user can connect to the Internet through a personal computer connected to the outside, for example, and the user can browse the Internet content in the bathroom. Therefore, according to the said structure, the operation | work which can be performed using a personal computer with the attitude | position in which the user was immersed in the bathtub can be performed easily in a bathroom.

According to favorable preferable embodiment, the keyboard layout projection means may irradiate the lid is arranged an infrared laser to said bath, the laser irradiation unit for forming an image of the keyboard arranged on the surface of the lid is configured, the recognition means includes an infrared sending unit for sending infrared rays toward the image of the keyboard arrangement formed on the surface of the lid, the infrared radiation transmitted from the infrared transmitting section, of the user finger The detection sensor unit that detects the reflected wave reflected by the sensor unit and the recognition unit that recognizes the operation content of the user based on the reflected wave detected by the detection sensor unit.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a bathroom system according to the present invention. In this bathroom system, a virtual keyboard layout is projected onto the wall of the bathroom, the lid of the bathtub, etc., and the user operates the projected keyboard layout to access the Internet etc. in the bathroom, It is a system that can perform tasks such as spreadsheets and text creation on a personal computer.

  This bathroom system is provided in a house, for example, and a hot water supply body 1 for performing hot water supply operations such as general hot water supply and bath water heating, a bathroom remote control 2 for remotely operating the hot water supply apparatus 1, a network connection adapter 3, and a personal computer 4 And a terminal adapter 5. The hot water supply device main body 1 may be connected to a kitchen remote controller provided in a kitchen or the like for remotely operating the hot water supply device main body 1.

  The hot water supply apparatus body 1 is installed outside a house, for example, and is a combustion unit (not shown) including a heat exchanger for general hot water supply, bathing or hot water heating, various combustors, various valves, and the like. ) And a control unit 11 that controls the overall operation of the hot water supply apparatus main body 1.

  The control unit 11 is configured by, for example, a printed circuit board on which electronic components are mounted, and includes a microcomputer, an EEPROM that stores various types of data as necessary, and a communication unit for communicating with the bathroom remote control 2 (both shown in the figure). (Not shown). The control unit 11 serves as a control center of the hot water supply device main body 1, and includes an operation execution program stored in a ROM (not shown) or an operation signal sent from the bathroom remote control 2, a kitchen remote control (not shown), and a heating device. Based on the above, the combustion state of various combustors and the opening and closing of various valves are controlled.

  The hot water supply device body 1 and the bathroom remote control 2 are connected by a two-core wire 6 for supplying power (for example, 15 V) from the hot water supply device body 1 to the bathroom remote control 2. The data signal exchanged in (1) is transmitted while being superimposed on the power supply voltage supplied by the two-core wire 6.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the bathroom remote controller 2 includes a case 2 a that is installed in the bathroom and has a waterproof function, and is used for remotely operating the hot water supply apparatus main body 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the bathroom remote controller 2 includes a control unit 20. The control unit 20 includes a display operation unit 21 including a panel surface unit 21 a and a display surface unit 21 b, an operation switch 22, a keyboard layout projection unit 23, An infrared transmission unit 24 and an infrared sensor unit 25 are connected.

  The control unit 20 controls the bathroom remote controller 2, and includes a microcomputer, an EEPROM that stores various data as necessary, and a ROM that stores an execution program. The control unit executes operation control and data processing of each unit based on the execution program, the operation content of the display operation unit 21 by the user, or a command signal sent from the hot water supply apparatus main body 1, for example, hot water set temperature Then, the set temperature of the bath water temperature, the ignition status of the burner, and the like are displayed on the display surface portion 21b of the operation display portion 21 as necessary.

  The bathroom remote controller 2 has a hot water supply operation mode in which a normal hot water supply operation is performed and a personal computer work mode in which work using the personal computer 4 can be performed. It is possible to switch to any mode by a displayed mode selector switch (not shown).

  The ROM stores an OS (Operating System: for example, Windows CE (registered trademark)), which is one of comprehensive management programs, and this OS is switched to the personal computer work mode by an operation on the operation display unit 21 of the user. Further, the control unit 20 is a command for activating the personal computer 4 by remote operation (also referred to as “Wakeup on LAN function”) based on a user operation on the operation display unit 21. In other words, the user can activate the personal computer 4 by a remote activation switch (not shown) displayed as appropriate on the operation display unit 21.

  The operation display unit 21 is schematically configured by a panel surface portion 21a configured as a so-called touch panel for a user to perform a pressing operation, and a display surface portion 21b made of, for example, a liquid crystal display provided on the rear side of the panel surface portion 21a. Yes.

  The display surface unit 21b displays the set temperature of the general hot water supply, the set temperature of the hot water bath, the ignition status of the burner (not shown), and the like, and starts reheating during the hot water supply operation according to a command from the control unit 20. Or display a plurality of types of operation screens on which a plurality of types of operation switches representing the operation commands are laid out. In addition, when the user operates a virtual keyboard layout described later, the display surface unit 21b displays the operation content (for example, the input content on the work screen when the text creation software is activated). Furthermore, when the personal computer working mode is switched, the OS desktop screen and icons are displayed. The display surface portion 21b may be constituted by, for example, a fluorescent tube in which a large number of phosphors are arranged in a dot matrix, an electroluminescence display, a plasma display, or the like instead of the liquid crystal display.

  The panel surface portion 21a has a function of detecting the position of the user's pressing operation on the display surface portion 21b using an optical method or a resistive film method using a resistive film. The detection signal of the pressing operation from the panel surface portion 21a is input to the control unit 20, and the control unit 20 operates the operation switch operated by the user from the detection signal of the pressing operation and information on the display position of the operation switch on the display surface portion 21b. Is determined.

  The bathroom remote controller 2 is disposed above the operation display unit 21 and has a keyboard array projection unit 23 (corresponding to “projection means” in the claims) that emits a projection signal that is an infrared laser for projecting the keyboard array. , And an infrared transmitter 24 (corresponding to the “infrared transmitter” in the claims). The bathroom remote controller 2 includes an infrared sensor unit 25 (corresponding to a “detection sensor unit” in the claims) that is disposed below the operation display unit 21 and receives infrared rays. In addition, the bathroom remote control 2 is provided with an operation switch 22 for starting and stopping the operation of the hot water supply device on the front surface of the case 2a. The bathroom remote controller 2 may be provided with a speaker for outputting sound.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the keyboard layout projection unit 23 projects a virtual keyboard layout K onto the surface of a lid C disposed on the upper part of the bathtub B, for example. The keyboard layout projection unit 23 irradiates the surface of the lid C with an infrared laser at a predetermined angle so that the keyboard layout is projected onto the surface of the lid C of the bathtub B.

  The infrared transmission unit 24 transmits infrared rays to the entire keyboard layout region virtually projected by the keyboard layout projection unit 23.

  The infrared sensor unit 25 is a sensor that detects whether or not the reflected infrared wave irradiated by the infrared transmission unit 24 is received. In other words, when the user operates the keyboard layout K virtually projected by the keyboard layout projection section 23 while holding the finger, the infrared sensor section 25 causes the infrared finger transmitted from the infrared transmission section 24 to be transmitted to the user's finger. The reflected wave reflected by is detected. The detection result in the infrared transmission unit 24 is sent to the control unit 20, and the control unit 20 recognizes which key of the keyboard array K is operated (pressed) by the user's finger based on the detection result. That is, the control unit 20 determines whether the infrared sensor unit 25 and each key of the keyboard array K are based on the time from when the infrared ray is emitted by the infrared ray sending unit 24 until the infrared ray is reflected and detected by the infrared sensor unit 25. By calculating the distance, it is recognized which key has been operated. And the control part 20 displays the operation content on the operation display part 21, for example based on the operation content in the keyboard arrangement | sequence K. FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the control unit 20 is connected with a communication unit 26 for communicating with the hot water supply device body 1 and a kitchen remote controller (not shown), and wireless communication for communicating with the network connection adapter 3. The unit 27 is connected. The wireless communication unit 27 can be connected to the network connection adapter 3 by, for example, a wireless LAN, and exchanges data signals with the network connection adapter 3.

  The network connection adapter 3 is installed outside the bathroom, is connected to the bathroom remote controller 2 by, for example, a wireless LAN, and exchanges data signals with the bathroom remote controller 2. The network connection adapter 3 is connected to the personal computer 4 through, for example, a LAN cable 7 (for example, 10BASE-T). Thereby, a data signal and a command signal from the personal computer 4 to the bathroom remote controller 2 are transmitted via the network connection adapter 3, while a data signal and a command signal from the bathroom remote controller 2 to the personal computer 4 are also transmitted to the network remote controller 2. It is sent via the connection adapter 3. The network connection adapter 3 is connected to a commercial power outlet so that power is supplied from the commercial power outlet. However, the network connection adapter 3 is connected to the hot water supply apparatus main body 1 via a two-core wire (not shown). The power supply may be supplied from the apparatus main body 1.

  The personal computer 4 is installed outside the bathroom, and for example, a notebook type is adopted. The personal computer 4 has the “Wakeup on LAN function” described above, which is activated based on a command signal from the bathroom remote controller 2. That is, when the personal computer 4 receives a command signal to activate the personal computer 4 from the bathroom remote controller 2 via the network connection adapter 3 in the sleep state, the personal computer 4 is activated based on the command signal. It has become.

  The terminal adapter 5 is installed outside the bathroom, is connected to the personal computer 4 and serves as an interface with a public telephone line.

  Next, the effect | action in the said embodiment is demonstrated.

  When the bather enters the bathroom and wants to work using the personal computer 4, first, as shown in FIG. 4, the lid C of the bathtub B is disposed at a predetermined position above the bathtub B. .

  At this time, since the water heater main body 1 and the bathroom remote controller 2 are normally in the hot water supply operation mode, the bather operates the mode switch displayed on the operation display unit 21 of the bathroom remote controller 2. Thereby, the hot-water supply apparatus main body 1 and the bathroom remote control 2 shift from the hot-water supply operation mode to the personal computer work mode.

  Specifically, the control unit 20 of the bathroom remote controller 2 recognizes that the mode change switch is operated by the user and activates the OS stored in the ROM. When the OS is activated, the keyboard layout projection unit 23 projects a virtual keyboard layout K onto the surface of the lid C of the bathtub B, for example. In addition, the infrared transmission unit 24 irradiates the entire region of the keyboard array K virtually projected by the keyboard array projection unit 23 with infrared rays. Further, when the user operates the keyboard array K virtually projected by the keyboard array projecting unit 23 with the finger, the infrared sensor unit 25 receives infrared light reflected by the movement of the user's finger.

  The control unit 20 recognizes which key of the keyboard array K is operated based on the light reception result by the infrared sensor unit 25. And the control part 20 displays the operation content on the display surface part 21b of the operation display part 21. FIG. The bather can activate, for example, a spreadsheet or sentence creation application through the contents displayed on the display surface part 21b of the operation display part 21, and can perform the work by them. Therefore, according to the said structure, the operation | work which can be performed using the personal computer 4 can be easily performed in a bathroom.

  Further, as described above, when the mode switch is operated by the user, the control unit 20 sends a command signal for starting the personal computer 4 to the network connection adapter 3 via the wireless communication unit 27. And send it by radio. This command signal is sent from the network connection adapter 3 to the personal computer 4 via the LAN cable 7. Since the personal computer 4 has a “Wakeup on LAN function”, when the personal computer 4 receives the command signal, if it is in a sleep state, it is started from that state.

  Thereafter, when the bather performs an operation to access the Internet, for example, the control unit 20 sends a command signal to that effect to the personal computer 4 via the network connection adapter 3. The personal computer 4 accesses the Internet via the terminal adapter 5. As a result, the bathroom remote controller 2 can display Internet content and the like on the display surface portion 21b via the network connection adapter 3, the personal computer 4, and the terminal adapter 5. Therefore, the bather can browse desired contents on the Internet in the bathroom.

  In addition, according to the above configuration, when image information or music information is stored in the hard disk or the like of the personal computer 4, the image information is displayed on the bathroom remote controller 2 through the above-described path, or the music information is converted to audio. Can be output. Alternatively, when the personal computer 4 is equipped with a storage medium such as a DVD, the DVD or the like can be reproduced by the bathroom remote controller 2 through the above-described path.

  Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, in the above embodiment, the personal computer 4 is connected to the bathroom remote controller 2 via the network connection adapter 3, but image information and music information stored in the personal computer 4 are not used in the bathroom. Alternatively, the personal computer 4 may not be used. For example, if an access point or the like is used instead of the network connection adapter 3 and the access point is connected to a public telephone line, the controller 20 of the bathroom remote control 2 can directly access the Internet using the OS. In addition, since the personal computer 4 is not used, the cost can be reduced.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the keyboard arrangement | sequence K was projected on the surface of the lid | cover C of the bathtub B, you may project the keyboard arrangement | sequence K on the wall surface of a bathroom etc. not only this. Also, the keyboard layout is not limited to a commonly used English character key array, and may be a keyboard array of kana characters, numbers, or other characters.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the bathroom system concerning this invention. It is a front view of a bathroom remote control. It is a schematic block diagram of a bathroom remote control. It is a figure which shows the usage type of a bathroom remote control.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot-water supply apparatus main body 2 Bathroom remote control 3 Network connection adapter 4 Personal computer 20 Control part 21 Operation display part 23 Keyboard arrangement | sequence projection part 24 Infrared sending part 25 Infrared sensor part

Claims (2)

A bathroom system comprising a hot water supply device , a remote control device for remotely operating the hot water supply device from a bathroom, and a personal computer connected to the remote control device in a communicable manner,
The remote control device is disposed on a wall surface that is in contact with the bathtub in the bathroom,
In the remote control device,
A mode changeover switch for switching between a hot water supply operation mode for performing a hot water supply operation of the hot water supply device and a personal computer work mode for performing work using the personal computer;
When the personal computer work mode is set by the mode changeover switch, keyboard arrangement projection means for projecting the keyboard arrangement on the surface of the lid arranged in the bathtub;
Recognizing means for detecting an operation of a user's finger on the keyboard arrangement and recognizing the operation content;
Transmission means for transmitting the user's operation content recognized by the recognition means to the personal computer;
Display means for displaying the operation contents of the user recognized by the recognition means and the processing result of the personal computer for the operation contents;
A bathroom system characterized by that . The keyboard array projection means is configured by a laser irradiation unit that irradiates an infrared laser toward a lid disposed in the bathtub, and forms an image of the keyboard array on the surface of the lid,
The recognizing means includes an infrared transmitter that transmits infrared rays toward an image of the keyboard array formed on the surface of the lid, and a reflected wave of the infrared rays transmitted from the infrared transmitter and reflected by the user's finger. 2. The bathroom system according to claim 1 , comprising: a detection sensor unit that detects an object and a recognition unit that recognizes the operation content of the user based on a reflected wave detected by the detection sensor unit .

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