JP6074953B2 - Display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly to a display device used for displaying a hot water supply set temperature or the like in a remote controller of a hot water supply device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a remote controller for a hot water supply apparatus is provided with a display device for displaying numerical information such as a hot water supply set temperature. As such a display device, for example, a liquid crystal display capable of displaying characters and figures can be used. However, in a display device with a simple configuration that mainly displays only numerical information such as a hot water supply set temperature. 7 segment LED display is preferably used.

  FIG. 6 shows a display device using such a 7-segment LED display. As shown in FIG. 6, in this type of display device, 7 segments are arranged at the 10th place and the 1st place respectively. The light emitting part a (light emitting part using an LED as a light source) is configured to display numerical information such as a hot water supply set temperature by appropriately causing the light emitting part a to emit light (for example, Patent Document 1). (See FIG. 2). FIG. 6 shows a case where “45” is displayed as light emission as numerical information.

JP-A-11-51474

  However, the configuration in which each digit number is displayed on a 7-segment LED display has the following problems.

  That is, in the display device having such a configuration, the 7-segment LED display that displays each digit number is fixed by soldering to the electrical board housed in a housing such as a remote control. When mounting the 7-segment LED / display, ensure that the numbers displayed on the 7-segment LED / display are in the correct orientation with the electrical circuit board housed in a housing such as a remote control. 7-segment LED display must be mounted on the electrical board so that the numbers are displayed in the correct orientation).

  On the other hand, in a remote controller or the like provided with this type of display device, a structure that can be mounted in either the vertical or horizontal direction is desired due to the mounting position of the remote controller or the like. For example, in the kitchen remote control of a water heater (mainly a remote controller installed on the wall of the kitchen) It is desired that the user can arbitrarily select the mounting direction of the kitchen remote control. That is, for example, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D, it is desired to provide a remote controller b whose mounting direction can be changed in units of 90 ° according to the user's desire.

  However, in the conventional configuration in which the 7-segment LED display is fixed to the electrical board, even if the mounting direction of the remote control is arbitrarily changed, the direction of the numbers displayed on the display device is horizontal or upside down. Therefore, it was impossible to cope with the change in the mounting direction. In this regard, it may be possible to prepare an electrical board with a 7-segment LED / display mounted in a different direction depending on the mounting direction of the remote control. However, this increases the types of electrical boards and increases the product cost. In addition, there is a problem that the construction work becomes complicated because it is necessary to replace the electrical board at the construction site. In addition, using a 7-segment LED for each digit has room for improvement in terms of economy.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to display numerical information appropriately in any of vertical and horizontal directions without requiring replacement of an electrical board. To provide an apparatus. By providing such a display device, it is possible to provide a remote controller that can arbitrarily change the mounting direction.

To achieve the above object, a display device according to claim 1 of the present invention is a display device comprising a display unit that displays using the light-emitting portion of the single digit 7 segment digits of multiple orders of magnitude In the display , the light emitting part is arranged in a square shape by sharing the light emitting part constituting the right side for displaying the upper digits of the adjacent digits and the light emitting part constituting the left side for displaying the lower digits. And
A control unit configured to control light emission of the light emitting unit so that numerical information can be recognized; and a display setting unit configured to set a display direction of the display unit. The control unit is set by the display setting unit. A control structure is provided that changes the direction of the numbers displayed on the display unit in accordance with the display direction .

That is, in the display device according to claim 1, when displaying a plurality of digits, the light emitting unit constituting the right side for displaying the upper digits of the adjacent digits and the light emitting unit constituting the left side for displaying the lower digits are provided. Since the light-emitting portions are arranged in a square shape by sharing, the number of light-emitting portions can be reduced as compared with the case where a 7-segment display is used for displaying each digit. For example, in the case of displaying a two-digit number, in the present invention, the light emitting portion is arranged in the shape of a “rice”. Therefore, twelve light-emitting portions required for 14 when a 7-segment display is arranged for each digit can be completed, and a display device with excellent economy can be provided.

  In addition, by sharing the light-emitting part that forms the right side of the upper digit and the light-emitting part that forms the left side of the lower digit, the light-emitting part is arranged in the shape of a “field”, thereby rotating the number 90 degrees left and right. Various displays can be performed, such as displaying the image horizontally or rotating it 180 ° and displaying it upside down.

Further, the control unit that controls the light emission of the light emitting unit changes the direction of the numbers displayed on the display unit according to the setting of the display setting unit that sets the display direction of the display unit. When the display setting unit is set to rotate the display direction by 90 ° to the left (or right), the control unit rotates the number by 90 ° to the left (or right) according to this setting and turns it horizontally. indicate. Further, when the display setting unit is set to rotate the display direction by 180 °, the control unit rotates the number by 180 ° according to this setting and displays it upside down. Therefore, in the display device according to the present invention , even if the device on which the display device is mounted is arranged sideways or upside down, display according to the direction in which the device is arranged can be performed by changing the setting of the display setting unit. it can.

The display device according to claim 2 of the present invention is the display device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit alternates between upper digits and lower digits when displaying a plurality of digits on the display unit. And a control structure for displaying a plurality of digits.

That is, in the display device according to claim 2 , for example, when displaying a 2-digit number, the right-side 2 segments and the 1-digit numbers of the 7-segment light-emitting portion displaying the 10-digit number are displayed. Since the two left-side segments of the 7-segment light-emitting part to be displayed are shared, if the 10th and 1st digits are emitted simultaneously, a part of the two numbers will be overlapped and displayed, making it difficult to read There is a risk. Therefore, in the display device according to claim 2 , by alternately emitting the upper digit and the lower digit, it is possible to avoid overlapping the tenth digit and the first digit, Both numbers are legible.

The display device according to claim 3 of the present invention is the display device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit displays a number from the upper digit to the lower digit when displaying a plurality of digits on the display unit. It is characterized by having a control configuration for scrolling display by light emission of the light emitting unit.

That is, in the display device according to the third aspect, when displaying a multi-digit number, the lower-digit number is sequentially scrolled while sliding left and right sequentially from the upper-digit number. Can also be displayed.

According to the present invention, in a display device including a display unit that displays a one-digit number using a seven-segment light-emitting unit, the display unit displays a higher-order digit of adjacent digits when displaying a plurality of digits. Since the light emitting unit constituting the right side for display and the light emitting unit constituting the left side for lower digit display are shared , the light emitting unit is arranged in a square shape so that each digit can be displayed. Compared with the case where a 7-segment display is used, the number of light-emitting portions can be reduced, and a display device with excellent economy can be provided.

  In addition, by sharing the light-emitting unit that forms the right side of the upper digit and the light-emitting unit that forms the left side of the lower digit, the numbers can be rotated 90 degrees left and right to be displayed horizontally, or 180 degrees can be rotated up and down. It can be reversed and displayed. Therefore, a remote controller or the like that can arbitrarily change the mounting direction can be provided at low cost without replacement of the electrical board.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the remote control provided with the display apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display part of the display apparatus which concerns on this invention, Fig.2 (a) has shown the example of arrangement | positioning of the light emission part in the display part, and FIG.2 (b) is the display part. An example in which two-digit numbers are simultaneously displayed by light emission is shown. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the method of displaying the numerical information of 2 digits in the display device, FIG.3 (a) uses the same display device, and the 10th place of numerical information, FIG.3 (b) The figure shows a state in which the first digit of the numerical information is displayed using the display device. It is explanatory drawing which shows another example of the method of displaying 2-digit numerical information in the display apparatus, FIG.4 (a) uses the same display apparatus, and the 10th place of numerical information is shown, FIG.4 (b) ) Shows a state in which the first digit of the numerical information is displayed using the display device. It is explanatory drawing which shows another example of the method of displaying 2-digit numerical information in the display device. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the conventional display apparatus (7 segment LED * display). It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a change of the attachment direction of the kitchen remote control of a water heater.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a remote controller provided with a display device according to the present invention. The remote controller 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an operating device for remotely operating a hot water supply device (not shown), and includes a display device according to the present invention as display means for displaying numerical information such as a hot water supply set temperature. .

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the remote controller 1 mainly includes an operation unit 2, a control unit 3, a communication unit 4, a display unit 5, and a display direction setting unit (display setting means) 6. It is configured as a part.

  The operation unit 2 is an input means for inputting a remote operation with respect to the hot water supply apparatus and various setting operations with respect to the remote controller 1, and is composed of a plurality of operation switches (not shown). 3 is input. As an operation switch provided in the remote controller 1 as the operation unit 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the hot water supply device is in a hot water supply standby state (a state in which a hot water supply operation can be started on the condition of detection of water flow exceeding a predetermined flow rate ) And a “temperature setting switch” (switch with a triangular figure in FIG. 7) for setting / changing the hot water supply set temperature of the water heater.

  The control unit 3 is a control means for controlling each unit of the remote controller 1 and includes a microcomputer (not shown) as a control center, and controls the remote controller 1 based on a control program provided in the microcomputer. It has become. Specifically, for example, in connection with the remote operation of the hot water supply device, the control unit 3 controls the control signal for the hot water supply device (control signal for remotely operating the hot water supply device) according to the input operation at the operation unit 2. ) And transmits the control signal to the control unit of the hot water supply device via the communication unit 4 and a control signal (hot water supply device) transmitted from the control unit of the hot water supply device during operation of the hot water supply device Is received via the communication unit 4, and the received control signal is analyzed and displayed on the display unit 5.

  In this embodiment, the control unit 3 displays the hot water supply set temperature on the display unit 5 when the hot water set temperature is set or changed in the operation unit 2 in connection with the remote operation of the hot water supply device. It is comprised so that it may control (details are mentioned later).

  The communication unit 4 is a communication unit that transmits and receives control signals and the like between the remote controller 1 and a control unit (not shown) of the hot water supply device. The communication unit 4 includes, for example, a two-core communication cable 7. A communication device that communicates with the control unit of the hot water supply device is used.

  The display unit 5 is a display means for displaying numerical information such as a hot water supply set temperature. In the present embodiment, the display unit 5 can display a two-digit number (numerical information) as the hot water supply set temperature. A display 8 is provided.

  FIG. 2A shows an example of a schematic configuration of the display 8. The display 8 is a display that displays a one-digit number by turning on the seven-segment light-emitting units 9, 9,..., And in this embodiment, in order to be able to display a two-digit number, the light emission of 12 segments. The display 8 provided with the part 9,9 ... is used. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the indicator 8 has the light emitting portions 9 arranged in a cross pattern in two vertical and horizontal segments, and the light emitting portions 9 are arranged in the shape of a “rice”. It is configured as follows.

  That is, when a 2-digit number is displayed using a 7-segment light-emitting unit, a set of 7-segment displays in which the light-emitting units are arranged in a “day” shape for each digit is usually used. In the embodiment, two segments on the right side of the light emitting unit that displays the 10th digit (upper digit) number (light emitting unit constituting the right side of the upper digit) and the light emitting unit that displays the 1st digit (lower digit) number. The display unit 8 is configured so as to share the left two segments (the light emitting unit constituting the left side of the lower digit).

  As described above, in the remote controller 1 shown in the present embodiment, the display unit 8 shares the light emitting unit 9 constituting the right side of the upper digit and the light emitting unit 9 constituting the left side of the lower digit, and the light emitting unit 9 is the “field”. Since they are arranged in a letter shape, it is possible to rotate numbers 90 degrees left and right to display them horizontally, or to rotate them 180 degrees and display them upside down.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, each light emitting unit 9 is configured to have an elongated, substantially rectangular shape. Under these light emitting units 9, LEDs (light emitting diodes) serving as light sources are provided. The light emission (turning on / off) of the LED is controlled by the control unit 3. And the indicator 8 provided with such a light emission part 9 is fixedly attached to the electrical board | substrate (not shown) accommodated in the housing | casing (not shown) of the remote control 1 by soldering.

  The display direction setting unit 6 is a display setting unit that sets the display direction of the display unit 5 and is a display device according to the mounting direction of the remote controller 1 (for example, four directions shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D). The control unit 3 is instructed to indicate the direction of the number to be displayed on the control unit 8. Specifically, for example, the display direction setting unit 6 detects a manual switch such as a dip switch (configuration in which the display direction of the display unit 5 is manually set by operating a manual switch) or the mounting direction of the remote controller 1. A sensor (a configuration in which the control unit 3 automatically sets the display direction of the display unit 5 from the mounting direction of the remote controller 1 detected by the sensor) is employed.

Next, a display method of the display unit 5 in the remote controller 1 configured as described above will be described.
In the remote controller 1 shown in the present embodiment, when displaying numbers on the display 8, the control unit 3 sets the direction of the numbers to be displayed on the display 8 according to the setting of the display direction setting means 6. That is, for example, when the remote controller 1 is attached to the wall surface rotated 90 ° to the left, the control unit 3 changes the number displayed on the display 8 to the right according to the setting of the display direction setting means 6 and the like. Displayed so that the number displayed on the display unit 5 in the state rotated by 90 °, that is, with the remote control 1 attached to the wall surface, is in the correct orientation as viewed from the user (the displayed number is upright) The lighting control of the light emitting unit 9 in the device 8 is performed.

  When displaying the numbers on the display 8, the remote controller 1 shown in the present embodiment has the light emitting unit 9 of the display 8 that displays numerical information such as the hot water set temperature as described above. The two segments on the right side of the light-emitting unit 9 that displays the number of 1 and the two segments on the left side of the light-emitting unit 9 that displays the number of the one's digit are shared, so that the two-digit number (for example, When “45”) is displayed, as shown in FIG. 1B, some of the numbers overlap and become difficult to read. A number of (higher digits) and a number of 1's (lower digits) are alternately emitted to display a two-digit number.

  For example, when “45” is displayed on the display 8, the control unit 3 first displays “4”, which is a digit of the tenth digit, using the 7-segment light emitting unit 9 on the left side of the display 8. That is, the control unit 3 turns on the light emitting unit 9 corresponding to the numeral “4” in the left seven segments of the display 8 (see FIG. 3A).

  When the display of the tenth digit is continued for a certain period of time (for example, about 0.1 to 1 second), the display is canceled (the light emitting unit 9 displaying the number “4” is turned off). ), “5”, which is the number of the 1's digit, is displayed using the right-side 7-segment light emitting unit 9. That is, this time, the light emitting section 9 corresponding to the numeral “5” is turned on in the seven segments on the right side of the display 8 (see FIG. 3B). Note that the display of the 1's digit at this time is also canceled after the display for a certain period of time in the same manner as the display of the 10's digit.

  And the control part 3 makes the user who visually recognized the indicator 8 recognize the number "45" by repeatedly displaying the number of the 10th place and the number of the 1st place alternately each for a fixed time in this way. . That is, by alternately lighting the tenth digit on the left side and the ones digit on the right side, the user is allowed to recognize two-digit numerical information. At this time, if the period (repetition cycle) for displaying the 10th digit and the 1st digit is too short, it appears to the user that the numbers “4” and “5” are displayed at the same time. In order to prevent this from happening, the period for displaying the 10th digit and the 1st digit is set to about several Hz or less.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration is shown in which the number of the 10th place (or the 1st place) is turned off when the number of the 1st place (or the 10th place) is displayed. For example, as shown in FIG. In addition, when displaying the number of the 1st place (or the 10th place), the number of the 10th place (or the 1st place) may be turned on (intermediate lighting) with the brightness held down. As described above, when the upper digit or the lower digit is displayed, the display of the other digit is set to the intermediate lighting state, whereby flickering associated with the blinking of the light emitting unit 9 can be suppressed.

  Thus, in the remote control 1 shown in the present embodiment, when the display 8 of the display unit 5 displays a plurality of digits, the light emitting unit 9 constituting the right side of the upper digit of the adjacent digits and the left side of the lower digit Since the configuration sharing the light-emitting portion 9 constituting the light-emitting device 9 is provided, the number of the light-emitting portions 9 can be reduced as compared with the case where a 7-segment display is arranged for each digit, which is excellent in economic efficiency. Configuration can be provided.

  In addition, since the light emitting sections 9 of the display 8 are arranged in the shape of a “rice”, the numbers displayed on the display 8 are rotated 90 ° to the left or right by the control of the control unit 3 or 180 °. You can make it. Therefore, numerical information can be displayed on the display unit 8 in an appropriate orientation in accordance with the mounting direction of the remote controller 1 without replacing the electrical board on which the display unit 8 is mounted.

Embodiment 2
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The remote controller 1 shown in the present embodiment is a modification of the display method of the display 8 in the display unit 5, and the other configuration is the same as that of the remote controller 1 shown in the first embodiment. Therefore, parts having the same configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  In the remote controller 1 shown in the present embodiment, the control unit 3 is configured to scroll and display the numbers from the upper digit to the lower digit by the light emission of the light emitting unit 9 when the display unit 8 displays a plurality of digits. Yes.

  For example, when displaying “45” on the display 8, as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 3 displays the number “45” so that it flows from the right 7 segment to the left 7 segment over time. Thus, the lighting control of the light emitting unit 9 is performed. As a result, the user can recognize the number “45” by visually recognizing the scroll display on the display 8.

  In this scroll display, FIG. 5 shows a configuration in which the number of the tenth place is displayed after displaying the number of the first place “5”. It is good also as a structure scroll-displayed so that the blank (non-display) of a fixed interval may intervene after displaying a number.

  The above-described embodiments show preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these, and various design changes can be made within the scope of the invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the light emitting unit 9 of the display 8 that displays numerical information on the display unit 5 is configured by 12 segments and arranged in the shape of a “rice” is shown. It is also possible to increase the number vertically and horizontally and configure it with 12 or more segments (for example, 24 segments). In addition, by increasing the number of light emitting units 9 constituting the display device 8 in this way, even when the mounting direction of the remote controller 1 is changed, two or more digits (three digits in the case of 24 segments) are attached. Can be displayed according to the direction.

  Moreover, although the case where the display device according to the invention is applied to the remote controller of the water heater is shown in the above-described embodiment, the present invention can display devices other than the remote controller as long as the display device displays multi-digit numerical information. Of course, it is applicable to the apparatus. For example, in a main body operation type hot water supply apparatus in which the operation unit is installed in the main body of the hot water supply apparatus, the present invention can also be applied to a display device (display) provided in the main body of the hot water supply apparatus. Thereby, the design change accompanying the change of the display direction in a display apparatus can be easily performed, without replacing | exchanging an electrical equipment board | substrate also in a main body operation type hot water supply apparatus.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where numbers are displayed on the display device 8 has been described. However, the present invention is a character other than numbers (for example, European characters such as A, b, c, d, E, F, and H). Of course, the present invention can also be applied to the case of displaying multiple digits.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Remote control 2 Operation part 3 Control part (control means)
4 communication unit 5 display unit 6 display direction setting unit (display setting means)
7 Communication cable 8 Display 9 Light emitting part

Claims (3)

In a display device including a display unit that displays a one-digit number using a 7-segment light-emitting unit ,
Upon displaying the number of multiple orders of magnitude, adjacent light-emitting portion constituting the right side for high-order display digit and lower digits shaped field light-emitting portion and a light-emitting portion constituting the left side of the display by sharing A display unit arranged in
A control unit for controlling the light emission of the light emitting unit so that numerical information can be recognized;
A display setting unit for setting a display direction of the display unit,
The display device, wherein the control unit includes a control configuration that changes a direction of a number displayed on the display unit according to a display direction set by the display setting unit . The control unit includes a control configuration for displaying a plurality of digits by alternately emitting upper digits and lower digits when displaying a plurality of digits on the display unit. Item 4. The display device according to Item 1 . 2. The control unit according to claim 1 , further comprising: a control unit configured to scroll and display numbers from an upper digit to a lower digit by light emission of a light emitting unit when displaying a plurality of digits on the display unit. The display device described.

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