JP6444795B2 - Remote control device for battery powered toilet - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery-controlled toilet remote control device for controlling a toilet having a cleaning function.

  Conventionally, a remote control device that controls the operation of a toilet by transmitting an optical signal to a toilet body having a cleaning function has been put into practical use. Remote control devices driven by battery power supply cannot be controlled while the toilet body is in operation by notifying the user or stopping the operation when the battery life is near Techniques have been proposed for preventing inconvenience such as falling into the world (for example, see Patent Documents 1 to 3). In recent years, in order to provide various types of information including the remaining battery level, remote control devices including a display device such as a liquid crystal panel are increasing.

JP-A-8-319649 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-214044 JP 2010-200591 A

  However, in a remote control device using a battery power source, the power supply to the display device is cut off when the battery reaches the end of its life. This applies not only to display devices but also to remote control devices that warn of battery life by light emission of light emitting elements. As a result, it is conceivable that the user may not be aware that the cause of the malfunction of the remote control device is the battery life, particularly when the user has not recognized in advance that the battery life is approaching. Further, in the state where the battery is not stored, such as at the time of shipment, there is no means for providing information other than the instruction manual, and it may be time-consuming for the initial work until the user can start the operation.

  This invention is made in view of such a subject, and the objective is to provide the technique which can provide required information reliably irrespective of the state of a battery in the battery-powered toilet remote control apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a battery-powered toilet remote control device according to an aspect of the present invention uses a battery as a power source, and controls the operation of the main body device by transmitting a radio signal according to an operation by a user. The remote control device displays auxiliary information for operating the remote control device, and displays provisional information other than the auxiliary information during a period in which the acceptance of the operation is stopped due to the state of the battery. A non-volatile display unit is provided.

  A “non-volatile display unit” is a device having a display mechanism that can maintain display contents even when power is not supplied. The “provisional information” is information prepared in correspondence with a state where reception of operations of the remote control device is stopped separately from information displayed when the remote control device is normally used. According to this configuration, information can be continuously displayed regardless of the remaining amount of the battery and whether or not the battery is stored, so that useful information according to each state is surely and easily provided to the user. Can be recognized.

  A voltage monitoring unit that monitors the voltage of the stored battery, a stop determination unit that determines whether to stop accepting an operation due to a battery life when the voltage and an operation state by a user satisfy a predetermined condition, When it is determined that reception is stopped, the display unit may include a display control unit that displays information related to the battery life as provisional information. According to this configuration, even if the acceptance of the operation of the remote control device is stopped due to the end of the battery life, information related to the operation can be continuously displayed, so that the user can be sure that the cause of the stop is the battery life. Can be made.

  The display unit may hide the auxiliary information during a period in which the reception of the operation of the remote control device is stopped. According to this configuration, since it is possible to grasp at a glance that the operation of the remote control device is not accepted, the user does not needlessly press the surrounding buttons. In addition, since a large display area can be secured, a lot of information can be displayed at a time as provisional information.

  The display unit may include a display relating to a battery replacement procedure as provisional information. According to this configuration, the battery replacement procedure can be displayed even when the battery has reached the end of its life, so that the user can recognize at a glance that the battery must be replaced and check the instruction manual etc. The battery can be easily replaced without any problems.

  The display unit may include a display for presenting an alternative operation unit of the remote control device as provisional information. According to this configuration, since the alternative operation means other than the remote control device can be continuously displayed even when the battery has reached the end of its life, the user can easily achieve the object without using the remote control device.

  The display unit may display, as provisional information, information related to initial work necessary to make the remote control device usable in a period from factory shipment until the battery is first stored. According to this configuration, even if no battery is stored in the remote control device shipped as a product, it is possible to continue displaying information related to the necessary initial work. Thus, the initial operation can be appropriately performed and the remote control device can be used.

  According to the present invention, in a battery-powered toilet remote control device, necessary information can be reliably provided to a user regardless of the state of the battery.

It is a figure which shows the outline of the toilet room provided with the remote control apparatus and toilet bowl body which concern on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structural example of the remote control apparatus in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the functional block of the remote control apparatus and toilet bowl body in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the screen displayed on a display part in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows another example of the screen displayed when operation | movement of a remote control apparatus is stopped in this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which concerns on battery consumption which the remote control apparatus performs in this Embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a toilet room provided with a remote control device and a toilet body according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the remote control device 10 is provided on the right wall surface as viewed from the user seated on the toilet body 50. The toilet main body 50 is a flush toilet, and has a function of washing the inside of the toilet by flowing water manually or automatically. The toilet body 50 may further be provided with a nozzle or a deodorizing fan that ejects cleaning water toward the human body part.

  In order to automatically activate these functions of the toilet main body 50, a seating sensor 54 for detecting the seating and separation of the user is provided at the rear of the toilet seat. The remote control device 10 is an input device for manually operating various functions of the toilet body 50. In response to a user operation, the remote control device 10 transmits a radio signal such as infrared rays or radio waves indicating the content of the operation from the transmission unit 12 to the toilet body 50. A receiving unit 56 for receiving the radio signal is provided on the upper surface of the rear portion of the toilet body 50.

  A control mechanism that interprets the operation content based on the radio signal acquired by the receiving unit 56 and activates the corresponding function is provided inside the toilet body 50. A main body switch 58 is provided on the left side surface of the toilet body 50 so that the toilet cleaning function can be activated without using the remote control device 10. The appearance shape of the toilet body 50, the positions of the sensors and switches, the appearance shape and the installation location of the remote control device 10 are examples, and are not intended to limit the present embodiment.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the external configuration of the remote control device 10, (A) is a front view, and (B) is a right side view. In this example, the remote control device 10 has a horizontally long casing, and the front surface is an operation surface as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in (B), a groove 19 is provided on the side surface of the remote control device 10, and a rail 21 provided on the inner side surface of the holder member 20 fixed to the wall surface 22 as shown on the right side of the figure. The remote control device 10 can be detachably attached to the wall surface 22 by being slid from the upper side and inserted.

  A battery box and a microcomputer (not shown) are provided in the casing of the remote control device 10. The microcomputer performs various processes using the battery stored in the battery box as a power source. The power from the battery is also consumed for switching the display on the display unit 16, which will be described later, transmitting a wireless signal, playing music from a speaker (not shown), and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, operation button portions 14a and 14b, a display portion 16, and an allocation change button 18 are provided on the front of the remote control device. The operation button portions 14 a and 14 b are composed of a plurality of buttons for operating the operation of the toilet body 50 and the display on the display unit 16. Any of various functions is assigned in advance to the buttons provided in the operation button portions 14a and 14b. Therefore, the remote control device 10 specifies a function corresponding to the button pressed by the user, and transmits a radio signal from the transmission unit 12 or switches the display of the display unit 16 accordingly.

  For example, the operation button portion 14a is provided with a toilet seat opening / closing button, a toilet cleaning button, a human body local cleaning button, and a button for stopping it. The operation button unit 14 b is provided with a power button of the remote control device 10 and an operation button for display contents of the display unit 16. The display unit 16 is a display device for providing necessary information to the user, and changes the display content according to the situation at that time and the operation of the user. In the present embodiment, the display unit 16 is a non-volatile display device that maintains display even when power is not supplied. As a result, the display unit 16 displays auxiliary information for operation in the normal state, while the provisional information is different from the auxiliary information in a period in which reception of the operation of the remote control device 10 is stopped due to the state of the battery. Display information.

  Non-volatile display devices have been put into practical use in the form of electronic paper and electrophoretic displays, and various techniques such as electrophoresis and powder transfer have been proposed. For example, an electrophoretic method using microcapsules is a display method in which microcapsules in which white and black particles positively and negatively charged are encapsulated together with a fluid are used as pixels. The color of particles that migrate inside the capsule and collect on the surface is controlled to be white or black. Even if voltage application is stopped after collecting particles of a desired color on the surface, the state is maintained, so that non-volatile display can be performed.

  As described above, the non-volatile display device has a characteristic that power is consumed only when the display content is changed and the display content is maintained even when the power supply is cut off, regardless of the method. In the present embodiment, by introducing a non-volatile display technology as the display unit 16, the power consumption is steadily reduced and provisional information such as information relating to battery life and information for operating the remote control device is provided. Such information can be displayed even when the battery itself has reached the end of its life. As a result, the current state of the remote control device 10 and necessary work can be recognized no matter what timing the user views the display unit 16 thereafter. Note that the detailed configuration of the nonvolatile display device can be variously considered depending on the method as described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

  The allocation change button 18 is a button that can change the function allocation according to the operation content and the situation of the toilet body 50. On the screen of the display unit 16, the function assigned at that time is displayed immediately above each button so that the user can recognize the correspondence between the button and the function. The remote control device 10 identifies the function corresponding to the button pressed by the user based on the assignment at that time, and transmits a radio signal from the transmission unit 12 or switches the display on the display unit 16 accordingly. .

  FIG. 3 shows functional block configurations of the remote control device 10 and the toilet body 50. Each block shown here can be realized in hardware by an element such as a CPU of a computer, a display device, and a mechanical device, and in software by a computer program or the like. Depicts functional blocks realized by. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software.

  The remote control device 10 includes an operation reception unit 24, a signal transmission unit 26, a stop determination unit 28, a voltage monitoring unit 30, a display control unit 32, and an image data storage unit 31. The operation accepting unit 24 is realized by the buttons constituting the operation button units 14a and 14b shown in FIG. 2, the allocation change button 18, an internal microcomputer, and the like, and the function corresponding to the button pressed by the user. After specifying the operation content, the signal transmission unit 26 and the display control unit 32 are notified of the information.

  The signal transmission unit 26 is realized by a microcomputer and the transmission unit 12 shown in FIG. 1, etc., and generates a radio signal indicating the user's operation contents based on the notification from the operation reception unit 24 and transmits it to the toilet body 50. To do. The stop determination unit 28 is realized by a microcomputer or the like, and determines the timing at which the operation of the remote control device 10 is stopped at the stage where the battery life is reached or before that. In addition to the battery voltage, the number of operations by the user after the battery voltage becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, the operation time, and the like may be appropriately combined as the determination criterion.

  Therefore, the stop determination unit 28 includes a measurement mechanism according to the determination criterion employed, such as a counter that counts the number of operations, a timer that accumulates the operation time, and a register. The operation accepting unit 24 stops accepting the operation in accordance with the operation stop request from the stop determining unit 28. Thereby, the remote control device 10 shifts to a state where the power is turned off. The voltage monitoring unit 30 is realized by a voltage determination circuit that measures the voltage of the battery stored in the battery box on the back of the remote control device 10 and a microcomputer. When the voltage monitoring unit 30 measures the voltage of the battery at a predetermined time interval and determines that the voltage is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value, the voltage monitoring unit 30 notifies the display control unit 32 and the stop determination unit 28 to that effect.

  The display control unit 32 is realized by a microcomputer, the display unit 16 shown in FIG. 2, and the like, and information related to the operation contents by the user notified from the operation receiving unit 24 and the remaining battery level notified from the voltage monitoring unit 30. The contents of the display are changed according to the stop timing of the remote control device 10 notified from the stop determination unit 28. By configuring the display unit 16 with a non-volatile display device as described above, power consumption related to display occurs only when the contents are changed. Data such as an image to be displayed and a screen configuration are stored in the image data storage unit 31 in association with an assumed situation.

  The toilet main body 50 includes a signal receiving unit 60, an operation control unit 62, and a main body operation receiving unit 64. The signal receiving unit 60 is realized by the receiving unit 56 and the microcomputer built in the toilet body 50 shown in FIG. 1, receives the radio signal transmitted from the remote control device 10, and the toilet body 50 by the user. Specify the operation content for. The operation control unit 62 is realized by a microcomputer and a mechanical device that is under the control and implements each function of the toilet body 50, and operates the mechanical device so as to correspond to the operation content specified by the signal receiving unit 60. .

  The main body operation accepting unit 64 is realized by the main body switch 58 and the microcomputer shown in FIG. 1, and specifies the operation content performed by the user using the main body switch 58. The operation control unit 62 also operates the corresponding mechanical device according to the operation content specified by the main body operation receiving unit 64.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 16. In the figure, for easy understanding, four allocation change buttons 18 provided below the display unit 16 are also shown. First, the uppermost screen (a) in FIG. 4 is an example of a screen displayed in a steady state such as when the remote control device 10 is turned on. The screen (a) includes a “cleaning strength” display unit 100 indicating the strength (momentum) of the cleaning water ejected from the nozzle, a current time display unit 102, and an allocation display unit 104 of the allocation change button 18. .

  The “cleaning strength” display unit 100 represents six levels of strength of the cleaning water with six circles, and represents the current setting with the number of filled circles. The number of filled circles is increased or decreased in response to pressing of a button for adjusting the cleaning strength in the operation button unit 14a shown in FIG. The current time display unit 102 displays the current time measured by a clock built in the remote control device 10. That is, the current time display unit 102 changes with time. The assignment display unit 104 displays the function currently assigned to each of the assignment change buttons 18 in the form of characters or symbols immediately above each button. In the case of the figure, it can be seen that “drying”, “deodorization”, “music”, and “care” are assigned in order from the left button.

  If any of the allocation change buttons 18 is pressed in this state, the operation screen specialized for only the corresponding function and the case where the toilet main body 50 is operated by transmitting a radio signal indicating the corresponding function by the button. When switching to the display. In the latter case, a new function is assigned to the allocation change button 18 as necessary to correspond to the operation screen, and as a result, the display of the allocation display unit 104 also changes. Note that the illustrated functions are merely examples, and various functions can be assigned according to the functions provided in the remote control device 10 or the toilet body 50.

The middle screen (b) in FIG. 4 is an example of a screen that warns that the remaining battery level is low. This screen is displayed when the voltage monitoring unit 30 detects that the battery voltage has become equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value _Vth1 . Here, the threshold value V _th1 is set to 2.5 V, for example. In the example shown in the figure, a battery mark 106 indicating that the remaining battery level is low is additionally displayed on the screen (a) displayed in the steady state. Such a display allows the user to recognize that the remaining battery level is low and that the battery should be replaced soon.

  The lowermost screen (c) of FIG. 4 is displayed in a state where the remaining battery level is further reduced from the state of the screen (b) and the operation of the remote control device 10 is stopped by the determination of the stop determination unit 28. It is an example of a screen. At this stage, the display unit 16 displays in characters and figures that the battery needs to be replaced due to the end of the battery life, that is, the operation by the remote control device 10 cannot be performed unless the battery is replaced. In the example of the figure, the text information “Please replace the battery” is displayed.

  Furthermore, in this example, the battery replacement procedure is indicated by the text information “1. Lift the remote control” and “2. Remove the back cover and replace the battery”. Such a display allows the user to easily replace the battery without checking the instruction manual. Further, as shown in the screen (c), by displaying the information related to the battery life using the entire area of the display unit 16, the allocation display unit 104 is not displayed and the allocation change button 18 is disabled at the same time. Can be represented.

  Once such a screen is displayed, the display is maintained without power supply thereafter. When the battery is replaced and the battery voltage is restored, the display can be returned to the screen (a) by the power from the battery. Note that the transition timing from the screen (b) to the screen (c) is not always determined based on only the battery voltage as described above. When the operation of the remote control device 10 is stopped based only on the voltage of the battery, there may be a problem that the power supply voltage falls below the threshold value and the operation becomes ineffective in a state where the cleaning water is ejected from the nozzle. It is.

Therefore, the stop determination unit 28 uses the remote control device 10 as a determination criterion when the battery voltage is equal to or lower than the threshold value V _th2 only when the operation of the remote control device 10 or the operation of the toilet body 50 is not performed. 10 operation is stopped. Here, the threshold value V _th2 is set to a value smaller than the threshold value V _th1 when display of the battery mark 106 is started, for example, 2.2 V. On the other hand, when the operation on the remote control device 10 or the operation of the toilet body 50 is performed, the operation of the remote control device 10 is stopped when the voltage is equal to or lower than the threshold value _Vth2 and the next stop operation is performed. Let

  However, the condition for stopping the operation of the remote control device 10 is not limited to this, and the accumulated operation time of the remote control device 10 is measured for a predetermined time when the stop button is pressed a predetermined number of times when the battery mark 106 is displayed. When it reaches, etc. Furthermore, conditions may be set by combining battery voltages. In any case, the display control unit 32 shifts the display to the screen (c) when the operation of the remote control device 10 stops.

  FIG. 5 shows another example of a screen displayed when the operation of the remote control device 10 is stopped. In this example, information indicating that toilet cleaning can be performed using the main body switch 58 instead of the remote control device 10 is displayed. Further, in this example, where the main body switch 58 is located on the toilet body is illustrated by a picture. With these displays, the user can easily recognize the alternative operation means, and there is no possibility that he / she will not be able to operate the remote control device 10 after using it. The display as shown in FIG. 5 is particularly effective in a public toilet or the like that is temporarily used by the user and is unaware of the remaining battery level. Note that the battery replacement procedure shown in the screen (c) of FIG. 4 and the information on the alternative means of operation shown in FIG. 5 may be displayed either as shown or simultaneously. Good.

  Next, the operation of the remote control device 10 realized by the configuration described so far will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing relating to battery consumption performed by the remote control device 10 in the present embodiment. This flowchart starts when the remote control device 10 is turned on. Thereby, the operation reception part 24 of the remote control apparatus 10 starts reception of operation by a user (S10). At this time, the display control unit 32 reads out the image data as shown in the screen (a) of FIG. 4 from the image data storage unit 31 and displays the data.

By the process of S10, a radio signal is appropriately transmitted to the toilet body 50 or the display on the display unit 16 is updated according to the operation of the user. In parallel with this, the voltage monitoring unit 30 continues to monitor the voltage of the battery (S12). If the voltage is not lower than the threshold value V _th1 , the display is left as it is, that is, the display according to the user's operation (N in S12). When the battery voltage becomes equal to or lower than the threshold value V _th1 (Y in S12), the display control unit 32 warns by displaying that the remaining battery level is low (S14).

  For example, as shown in the screen (b) of FIG. 4, the battery mark 106 is additionally displayed on the display screen so far. However, the image displayed as a warning is not limited to the battery mark 106 but may be a graphic or a character that the user can recognize. Even at this stage, the operation accepting unit 24 continues accepting various operations by the user. At this time, the display control unit 32 maintains the warning display such as the battery mark 106 even if the operation screen is switched by the user's operation. On the other hand, the stop determination unit 28 starts monitoring whether or not the condition for stopping the operation of the remote control device 10 is satisfied as described above (S16).

  As long as the stop condition is not satisfied, the user's operation is accepted while the warning display relating to the remaining battery level is continued (N in S16). On the other hand, when the stop condition is satisfied (Y in S16), the stop determination unit 28 notifies the operation reception unit 24 and the display control unit 32 to that effect, thereby stopping the reception of the operation (S18) and FIG. As shown in the screen (c), the display is switched to a screen showing the end of the battery life and the accompanying information (S20). Thereby, the display is maintained thereafter until the battery is replaced.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment described above, in the battery-powered remote control device, a situation where the battery life is likely to be reached is determined, and an image indicating that is displayed on the nonvolatile display device. As a result, since the display of the image is maintained until the battery is replaced thereafter, the battery is the reason why the operation of the remote control device does not work regardless of the elapsed time until the user tries the operation again. Can be easily recognized. Especially in a remote control device for a toilet room, which is operated for a short time and is left for a long time, the user is less aware of the battery depletion and is likely to feel a sudden feeling that the operation does not work. Therefore, the above effect of the present embodiment is particularly effective for a toilet room remote control device.

  Further, since a non-volatile display device is used and an image relating to the battery life is displayed as the last display and the operation of the remote control device is stopped at the same time, the battery is not substantially consumed thereafter. Therefore, it is not necessary to stop the operation of the remote control device with a margin in the remaining battery capacity for display, and the amount of storage of the battery can be utilized to the maximum for the original function of the remote control device.

  Also, by displaying images related to battery life over the entire display area and erasing the display for accepting operations such as the assignment status display for buttons that can change function assignments, operations may not be accepted. At first glance it can be grasped. Further, by including the battery replacement method in the display, the user can easily replace the battery without checking the instruction manual or the like. Similarly, by including information related to alternative means of the remote control device in the display, the user can easily achieve the purpose even in a situation where the battery cannot be replaced immediately.

  The remote control device according to the embodiment has been described above. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to combinations of the respective components, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the display process in the remote control device in which a battery is inserted and is normally used has been described, but the display timing is not limited thereto. For example, after the remote control device is manufactured, it is energized once before it is shipped from the factory, and then the initial work necessary to make the remote control device ready for use, such as inserting batteries or installing the device. Such information may be displayed. Thereby, the construction contractor and the purchaser can easily install the remote control device or start using the battery without having to check the instruction manual. Also in this case, by inserting a battery into the battery box, the display control unit can switch the display to the initial screen or the like using the power.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Remote control apparatus, 12 Transmission part, 16 Display part, 24 Operation reception part, 26 Signal transmission part, 28 Stop determination part, 30 Voltage monitoring part, 32 Display control part, 50 Toilet body, 56 Receiving part, 58 Main body switch.

Claims (4)

A remote control device that controls the operation of the main unit by using a battery as a power source and transmitting a radio signal according to an operation by a user,
A non-volatile display unit that displays auxiliary information for operation of the remote control device and displays temporary information other than the auxiliary information in a period in which the acceptance of the operation is stopped due to the state of the battery ; ,
A voltage monitoring unit for monitoring the voltage of the stored battery;
When the voltage and the operation status by the user satisfy a predetermined condition, a stop determination unit that determines stop of acceptance of the operation,
When it is determined that the acceptance of the operation is stopped, the display control unit displays information related to the battery life as the provisional information on the display unit;
A remote control device for a battery-powered toilet.   The battery-powered toilet remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the display unit hides the auxiliary information during a period in which reception of the operation is stopped. The display unit, as the provisional information, battery powered toilet remote control device of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that inclusion of the display in accordance with the procedure for replacing the battery. The said display part includes the display which shows the alternative operation means of the said remote control apparatus as said temporary information, The remote control apparatus for battery-powered toilets in any one of Claim 1 to 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.

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