JP6588386B2 - Remote hot water system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote hot water supply system.

  There is known a remote hot water supply system capable of filling a bathtub by remote control from a place away from the bathroom. According to this system, it is possible to perform hot water filling without going to the bathroom, which is convenient. On the other hand, since the operator performs the hot water filling operation without visually recognizing the inside of the bathtub, there is a possibility that the hot water filling is performed in a state where there is a person such as a child playing in the bathtub.

  Therefore, Patent Document 1 is provided with a human detection means for detecting a person in the bathtub, and when the presence of a person is detected by the means, the hot water filling instruction is not performed even if a hot water filling instruction is given. A remote hot water supply system has been proposed. In this system, human detection means is configured by a human sensor such as a pyroelectric sensor or a CCD camera, and the presence of a person is detected based on the sensor output and a captured image.

JP2015-200421A

  However, in the above-described conventional remote hot water supply system, if a person is located at a blind spot in the detection range of the human sensor or the photographing range of the CCD camera, the presence of the person may not be detected.

  Although it is conceivable to increase the number of human sensors, etc. to reduce blind spots, even when such improvements are made, for example, when the child is hidden in the bathtub with the bathtub lid closed In the situation where the state in the bathtub and the photographing cannot be performed, the presence of a person cannot be detected, and there is room for improvement in detection accuracy.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a remote hot water supply system capable of accurately detecting the presence of a person in a bathtub and capable of performing appropriate hot water filling. To do.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first invention is a remote hot water supply system for performing hot water filling to a bathtub by remote operation, and for receiving a hot water filling instruction by remote operation and detecting a load on the bathtub. Load detecting means, a hot water determining means for determining whether or not to fill based on the load detected by the load detecting means when the hot water filling instruction is received by the receiving means, When it is determined by the tension determination means that the hot water filling is not performed, the invalidation means for invalidating the hot water filling instruction, and when the hot water filling instruction is invalidated by the invalidation means, a notification is given to the remote operator. And a notification instruction means for performing the operation.

  According to 1st invention, when the hot water filling instruction | indication by remote control is received, it is determined based on the load with respect to a bathtub whether hot water is filled. As a result, when it is determined that the hot water filling is not performed, the hot water filling instruction is invalidated. For this reason, hot water filling is not performed in the situation where a person exists in the bathtub and the load on the bathtub is high.

  In particular, in the present invention, since the load on the bathtub is used, there is no blind spot in the detection range of the person in the bathtub, and the presence of the person in the bathtub can be detected even when the bathtub is closed. Therefore, the presence of a person in the bathtub can be accurately detected. In addition, in the present invention, when the hot water filling instruction is invalidated, the remote operator is notified, so that the remote operator can redo the hot water filling instruction. As described above, appropriate hot water filling can be performed.

  In 2nd invention, when the said load is more than a 1st threshold value, the person determination means which determines that a person exists in the said bathtub, and the said 2nd threshold value where the said load is larger than the said 1st threshold value or more Hot water determination means for determining that hot water in the bathtub has been filled or hot water is present in the bathtub, and the hot water determination means is a determination result of the person determination means and the hot water determination means. It is characterized by determining whether or not to fill with water based on the above.

  According to the second invention, not only the presence or absence of the contents in the bathtub, but also whether the contents are a person or hot water is determined. Thereby, if the contents are present, the processing is not limited to the uniform processing of not filling the hot water, and the subsequent processing can be diversified depending on whether the content is human or hot water.

  Moreover, according to 2nd invention, the classification determination of the content is performed based on the load with respect to a bathtub. Considering the capacity of a general bathtub, it is assumed that the weight of hot water that has been filled or that has been advanced to some extent is greater than the weight of a person. In the present invention, by utilizing such characteristics, the detected load is compared with the first and second thresholds to identify which range the person belongs to and determine the person and the hot water. This makes it possible to make an appropriate type determination using the load detection means.

  In 3rd invention, when the said determination | indication instruction | indication means determines with the said person determination means that there exists a person, the notification to the effect that there exists a person in the said bathtub is performed, The said hot water determination means When it is determined that hot water is present, a notification that hot water filling is unnecessary is performed.

  According to the third invention, it is possible to notify the remote operator that it is necessary to redo the hot water filling instruction when there is a person in the bathtub, and when hot water is present, the hot water filling is performed. You can be notified.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided monitoring means for monitoring the change in the load, and the hot water determination means is based on the subsequent change in the load when the person determination means determines that a person is present. It is characterized by re-determining whether or not the tension is applied.

  If there is a person in the bathtub at the time of receiving the hot water filling instruction, the hot water filling at that time should be prevented, but if a person comes out of the bathtub after that, the hot water filling can be performed. According to the fourth invention, it is possible to flexibly switch the presence or absence of hot water filling depending on whether or not a person stays in the bathtub. Thereby, hot water filling after a person disappears is attained, avoiding hot water filling in the state where a person exists in a bathtub.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided automatic execution means for automatically performing hot water filling when the hot water filling determining means determines again that hot water is filled.

  According to 5th invention, hot water filling is performed automatically according to the condition change in a bathtub. Thereby, even if the remote operator does not give instructions one by one, hot water filling is performed, and convenience is improved.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a confirmation notification instruction means for performing a confirmation notification for confirming whether or not the hot water filling is to be performed to the remote operator when the hot water filling determination means determines again that the hot water filling is performed. And hot water filling execution means for executing hot water filling based on the hot water filling instruction after the confirmation notification.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the confirmation notification is performed when there is no more person, and the hot water filling is performed when there is a hot water filling instruction again from the remote operator. As a result, for example, it is possible to take measures such as contacting a family member at home and instructing hot water filling after confirming the situation in the bathtub, thereby improving safety.

  In a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided an opening / closing control means for opening / closing a drain valve of the bathtub, and the opening / closing control means is configured such that the load is not less than the first threshold and the second threshold value when the drain valve is closed. The drain valve is opened when it is equal to or lower than a threshold value, and the person determination means determines that a person is present in the bathtub when the load does not decrease even when the drain valve is opened. .

  For example, in a home where there is a custom of using the remaining hot water in the bathtub as washing water, there is a possibility that the remaining hot water exists in the bathtub. Under such a premise, when the load is not less than the first threshold and not more than the second threshold and the drain valve is closed, the contents in the bathtub may be remaining hot water, There is a risk of misjudgment. In the seventh invention, in such a case, the drain valve is opened. As a result, when the amount of water in the bathtub does not decrease and the load does not decrease, it is determined that a person exists. Thereby, a person and remaining hot water can be distinguished and it becomes possible to determine the presence of a person.

  In an eighth invention, when the load is greater than or equal to a third threshold value that is greater than the second threshold value, a bathing determination unit that determines that a person is bathing, and a drainage control that performs drainage control of the bathtub. And the drainage control means executes preliminary drainage when it is determined that the bathing determination means determines that bathing is in progress, and executes forced drainage based on the change in the load after the preliminary drainage is executed. It is characterized by that.

  In the eighth invention, when it is determined by the bathing determination means that the person is taking a bath, preliminary drainage is performed to reduce the hot water in the bathtub, and the reaction of the bather is observed. Then, the change in the load after the preliminary drainage is monitored, and if the change in the load is recognized, for example, when the bather adds hot water and the load increases, it is estimated that there is no abnormality in the bather's condition. To do. On the other hand, if there is no change in the load and the bather's reaction is not recognized, it is estimated that an abnormality has occurred in the bather's condition and forced drainage is performed. Thereby, when an elderly person is getting sick while taking a bath, hot water can be extracted, and accidents such as drowning in the bathtub can be suppressed.

  In a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided timing means for measuring a bathing time when the bathing determination means determines that the bathing is in progress, and the drainage control means has the bathing time measured by the timing means exceeding a predetermined time. In this case, forced drainage is performed.

  According to the ninth aspect, when a person is in the bathtub for a long time, the hot water in the bathtub can be forcibly removed. For example, a person who becomes unwell during bathing drowns in the bathtub. It is suppressed.

  In a tenth aspect of the invention, a load sensor is disposed so as to receive a vertical load from the bathtub, and the load detection means subtracts the weight of the bathtub from the total weight obtained from the output of the load sensor. It is characterized by detecting.

  In the tenth invention, the load sensor is disposed so as to receive a vertical load from the bathtub, and the total weight including the weight of the bathtub is acquired by the load sensor. In this case, it is possible to appropriately obtain a load on the bathtub by subtracting the bathtub portion from the total weight.

Schematic which shows the structure of the remote hot water supply system in 1st Embodiment. The flowchart which shows a remote hot water filling process. The flowchart which shows a person corresponding process. The flowchart which shows an abnormality determination process. The figure for demonstrating a hot water filling execution process. The figure for demonstrating the determination process whether a person continues staying in a bathtub. The figure for demonstrating a person determination process. The figure for demonstrating abnormality determination processing. The flowchart which shows the abnormality determination process of 2nd Embodiment.

<First Embodiment>
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a remote hot water supply system.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a bathroom 11 is provided in a building 10 such as a house. An installation table 12 is provided below the bathroom 11, and a bathtub 20 is installed on the installation table 12. A plurality of legs 22 that support the bathtub 20 from below are provided on the back surface of the bottom 21 of the bathtub 20. These leg portions 22 are arranged one by one at the four corners of the bottom portion 21 in plan view.

  Between each leg part 22 and the installation stand 12, the load sensor 23 for detecting the load with respect to the bathtub 20 is installed 1 each. Each load sensor 23 is arranged to receive a vertical load from the bathtub 20 by placing the leg portion 22 on the upper surface thereof. For this reason, in each load sensor 23, the total load (total weight W1) which added the part for the weight of the bathtub 20 to the load with respect to the bathtub 20 is detected. The load detection signal of each load sensor 23 is output to, for example, a controller 40 installed in a dressing room or the like.

  A water supply port 26 is provided in the side wall 25 of the bathtub 20, and a water supply pipe 27 is connected to the water supply port 26. The water supply pipe 27 is connected to a water heater 28 installed outdoors, and hot water (hot water) generated by the water heater 28 can be supplied to the bathtub 20 through the water supply pipe 27. A water supply device 29 having a water supply valve that opens and closes the water supply pipe 27 is provided in the middle of the water supply pipe 27. The water supply device 29 is electrically connected to the controller 40 and opens and closes the water supply valve in accordance with a control signal from the controller 40.

  A drain port 31 is provided at the bottom 21 of the bathtub 20, and a drain pipe 32 is connected to the drain port 31. The drainage pipe 32 is provided with a drainage device 33 provided with a drainage valve 31 or a drainage valve for opening and closing the drainage pipe 32. The drainage device 33 is electrically connected to the controller 40, and opens and closes the drainage valve according to a control signal from the controller 40. Further, the drainage device 33 is provided with a detection unit that detects the open / closed state of the drainage valve, and a detection signal of the detection unit is output to the controller 40.

  A bathroom operation panel 35 for performing a hot water supply operation to the bathtub 20 in the bathroom 11 is installed on the wall of the bathroom 11. The bathroom operation panel 35 is disposed at a position that can be reached by a person immersed in the bathtub 20 and can be operated not only during bathing but also during bathing. The bathroom operation panel 35 is provided with an operation unit 36 for performing an opening / closing operation of the drain port 31 (drainage valve) and a predetermined release operation in addition to a hot water supply operation such as a filling operation and a filling operation. Further, the bathroom operation panel 35 is provided with a notification unit 37 including a display screen, a speaker, and the like for displaying a notification image or outputting a notification sound.

  Next, the electrical configuration of this system will be described.

  The controller 40 includes a known microcomputer that includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like. A communication unit 41 is connected to the controller 40, and the controller 40 can be connected to the Internet 42 by the communication unit 41. A portable communication terminal 43 such as a smartphone can be connected to the Internet 42. By performing a predetermined operation at the communication terminal 43, a hot water filling instruction is input from the communication terminal 43 to the controller 40 via the Internet 42. Thereby, hot water filling operation from a remote place is possible.

  When the controller 40 receives a hot water filling instruction from the communication terminal 43, the controller 40 determines whether or not to fill the hot water based on the load detection signal from the load sensor 23, and performs hot water filling control on the bathtub 20. In determining whether or not to fill the hot water, it is determined whether or not the contents are present in the bathtub 20 based on the load detection signal. It is also determined whether it is hot water or hot water.

  A bathroom operation panel 35 is connected to the controller 40, and the controller 40 can grasp the operation status of the operation unit 36 of the bathroom operation panel 35 and performs predetermined notification through the notification unit 37 of the bathroom operation panel 35. It is possible. Further, a notification device 45 installed in a room other than the bathroom 11 such as a living room is connected to the controller 40, and the controller 40 can perform a predetermined notification through the notification device 45.

  Next, the remote hot water filling process executed by the controller 40 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. This process is executed at a predetermined time period.

  In FIG. 2, in step S <b> 101, the total weight W <b> 1 is acquired based on the load detection signal output from the load sensor 23. In continuing step S102, the weight W2 with respect to the bathtub 20 is acquired by subtracting the weight W2 of the bathtub 20 from the total weight W1. The weight W2 is the weight of the bathtub 20 alone and is stored in the controller 40 in advance. When an object such as a bathtub lid is placed on the bathtub 20, the load W <b> 3 includes the weight of the object.

  In subsequent steps S103 and S104, it is determined whether or not a re-execution flag is stored in the RAM and whether or not an abnormality determination flag is stored. When the re-execution flag is stored, the process proceeds to the person handling process, and when the abnormality determination flag is stored, the process proceeds to the abnormality determination process. Details of the person handling process and the abnormality determination process will be described later.

  If neither the re-execution flag nor the abnormality determination flag is stored, it is determined in step S105 whether a hot water filling instruction from the communication terminal 43 is received. If a hot water filling instruction has not been received, this control process is terminated. If it has been received, whether or not the drain valve has been opened based on the detection signal from the drain device 33 in step S106. Determine. Here, when the drain valve is opened, it is estimated that hot water (liquid) does not exist in the bathtub 20 at that time.

  If an affirmative determination is made in step S106, it is determined in step S107 whether or not hot water is filled by determining whether or not the load W3 is equal to or greater than the first threshold th1. Here, the first threshold th1 is for determining whether or not the inside of the bathtub 20 is empty, in other words, whether or not the contents exist in the bathtub 20. The first threshold th1 is set to a value larger than the weight of an object that can be placed on the bathtub 20 constantly, such as a bathtub lid, and smaller than the weight of an infant (for example, about two years old), For example, it is set to 5 kg. Note that the first threshold th1 may be a fixed value, or may be settable by the user according to the family structure.

  If a negative determination is made in step S107, it is determined that the hot water is filled. In this case, in step S108, a control signal is output to the drainage device 33, the drainage valve is closed, and the bathtub 20 is in a state capable of storing water. Thereafter, in step S109, control signals are output to the water supply device 29 and the water heater 28 to start filling the bathtub 20 with hot water. In addition, the target hot water amount (setting hot water amount) at the time of hot water filling may be instructed by a remote operator (communication terminal 43) at the time of hot water filling instruction by remote operation, or may be set and registered in advance.

  In a succeeding step S110, a notification signal is output to the communication terminal 43 to notify the remote operator. The notification in this case notifies the remote operator of the start of hot water filling, and causes the communication terminal 43 to display a message such as “Starting hot water filling” and sound output.

  On the other hand, when an affirmative determination is made in step S <b> 107, it means that the load W <b> 3 is high despite the absence of hot water in the bathtub 20, and therefore it is estimated that there is a person in the bathtub 20. In this case, the process proceeds to the person handling process in step S111.

  In the person handling process, as shown in FIG. 3, first, in step S201, a notification signal is output to the bathroom operation panel 35 to notify the bathroom. This notification prompts the person in the bathtub 20 to leave, and in the notification unit 37 of the bathroom operation panel 35, for example, a message such as “Start filling up. Please exit from the bathtub”. Display and output audio.

  In subsequent step S202, the re-execution flag is stored in the RAM, and in step S203, a monitoring period T1 (for example, 5 minutes) is set in the timer. The monitoring period T1 is a period for monitoring a change in the load W3 after determining that there is a person in the bathtub 20, that is, a period for monitoring whether or not a person has left the bathtub 20.

  Next, in step S204, it is determined again whether or not the hot water is filled by determining whether or not the load W3 is less than the first threshold th1. If an affirmative determination is made in step S204, it means that a person has left the bathtub 20, so the RAM re-execution flag is cleared in step S205, and the process proceeds to step S108 in FIG. Then, a drain valve closing process in step S108, a hot water filling start process in step S109, and a hot water filling start notification signal transmission process in step S110 are sequentially executed.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 3, if a negative determination is made in step S204, it is determined in step S206 whether or not the monitoring period T1 has elapsed. If not, the human determination process is terminated. Thereafter, when the next remote hot water filling control process is executed, an affirmative determination is made in the determination process of step S103 of FIG. 2, and the determination process of step S204 of FIG. 3 is re-executed. Thereafter, while the negative determination is continued in the determination process of step S204, the determination process of step S204 is repeated until the monitoring period T1 elapses, and it is continuously monitored whether or not the load W3 is less than the first threshold th1. To do.

  If an affirmative determination is made in step S206, that is, if the monitoring period T1 has passed without the load W3 being less than the first threshold th1, it is determined that the hot water will not be filled, and in steps S207 and S208, An execution flag clear process and a hot water filling instruction invalidation process are executed. Thereafter, in step S209, a notification signal is output to the communication terminal 43 to notify the remote operator. This notification is to notify that there is a possibility that there is a person in the bathtub 20 together with the stop of the hot water filling. For example, in the communication terminal 43, “There is a possibility that there is a person in the bathtub. If you want to fill with water, please perform the filling operation again. "

  Returning to the description of FIG. 2, if it is determined in step S106 that the drain valve is not open, it is determined in step S112 whether or not the load W3 is equal to or greater than the first threshold th1. When the load W3 is not equal to or greater than the first threshold th1, it is determined that the hot water is filled, and the hot water filling start process in step S109 and the hot water filling start notification signal transmission process in step S110 are sequentially executed.

  On the other hand, when an affirmative determination is made in step S112, a content type determination process after step S113 is performed. That is, when the load W3 is equal to or greater than the first threshold th1 with the drain valve closed, there is a possibility that the content in the bathtub 20 is not only a person but also hot water. I do.

  In the type determination process, first, in step S113, it is determined whether or not the load W3 is equal to or smaller than the second threshold th2. Here, the second threshold th2 is for determining whether or not the content in the bathtub 20 is a person. Based on the capacity of a general bathtub used in a family household (about 200L), the weight W4 of hot water already filled (for example, 170kg when the hot water set amount is 170L) or hot water filling has progressed to some extent. The weight of hot water is assumed to be greater than the weight of an adult male. The second threshold th2 uses such characteristics, and is set to a value (for example, 120 kg) that is smaller than the weight of hot water that has been refilled or that has been refilled to some extent and that is greater than the weight of an adult male. The second threshold th2 may be a fixed value, or may be settable by the user according to the weight of the family or the set amount of hot water.

  By the way, in a home where there is a custom such as using the remaining hot water of the bathtub 20 for washing water, there is a possibility that the remaining hot water exists in the bathtub 20. Although the weight of the remaining hot water is not as large as the weight of hot water filled or hot water filled to some extent, it can be considered that it overlaps with the weight of a person. For this reason, when the drainage valve is closed when the load W3 is equal to or less than the second threshold th2, the contents in the bathtub 20 may be remaining hot water, and there is a risk of erroneously determining the presence of a person. .

  Therefore, if an affirmative determination is made in step S113, a control signal is output to the drainage device 33 to open the drainage valve in step S114, and in the subsequent step S115, it is determined whether or not the load W3 is reduced. To do. As a result, when the load W3 decreases, it is estimated that the contents in the bathtub 20 are remaining hot water, and the process proceeds to step S108. In step S108, the drain valve is closed after draining of the remaining hot water is completed. Thereafter, the hot water filling start process in step S109 and the hot water filling start notification signal transmission process in step S110 are sequentially executed.

  On the other hand, when the load W3 does not decrease in step S115, it is estimated that the content in the bathtub 20 is a person, and the process proceeds to the person handling process in step S111. In the person handling process, as already described, the hot water filling process is executed if the person leaves the bathtub 20 and the hot water filling instruction is invalidated if the person does not leave.

  On the other hand, if the load W3 is not equal to or less than the second threshold th2 in the determination process of step S113, that is, if the load W3 is greater than the second threshold th2, the load W3 is set to the third threshold at step S116. It is determined whether or not it is less than th3. Here, the third threshold th3 is the presence of only hot water in the bathtub 20 or hot water in the hot water, or whether both hot water and people exist in the bathtub 20 (in other words, human This is for determining whether the person is taking a bath. The third threshold th3 is set by adding an error (for example, 10 kg) to the weight W4 (for example, 170 kg) of hot water that has been filled with water, for example, 180 kg. The third threshold th3 may be automatically set according to the set amount of hot water at the time of hot water filling, or may be set by the user.

  If a negative determination is made in step S116, it is estimated that only hot water in the bathtub 20 has been filled or hot water is present. In this case, since the hot water filling is unnecessary, the hot water filling instruction is invalidated in step S117 and the hot water filling is stopped. In step S118, a notification signal is output to the communication terminal 43 to notify the remote operator. This notification notifies that the hot water filling has been performed at the same time as the hot water filling is stopped, and the communication terminal 43 displays a message such as “The hot water filling has already been performed” and voice output. Make it. Thereby, when a hot water filling instruction | indication overlaps, it can notify that a hot water filling is unnecessary.

  On the other hand, if the load W3 is not equal to or less than the third threshold th3 in step S116, that is, if the load W3 is greater than the third threshold th3, it is estimated that the person is taking a bath. In this case as well, no hot water filling is required, so the hot water filling instruction is invalidated in step S119, and in the subsequent step S120, a notification signal for notifying that bathing is in progress is sent together with the cancellation of the hot water filling. Transmit to the terminal 43.

  After performing the transmission process of step S120, it progresses to step S121 and an abnormality determination process is performed. This process determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the bather based on the load W3.

  In the abnormality determination process, as shown in FIG. 4, first, in step S301, a notification signal is output to the bathroom operation panel 35 to notify the bathroom. This notification notifies the bather that the preliminary drainage is to be executed. In the notification unit 37 of the bathroom operation panel 35, for example, “The preliminary drainage starts. Please press the switch to cancel the operation. " Here, the preliminary drainage is to temporarily drain the hot water in the bathtub 20 to reduce the hot water, and is performed in order to observe the reaction of the bather. In the preliminary drainage, an open signal is output to the drainage device 33 to open the drainage valve, and after a predetermined amount (for example, 10 L) of hot water is reduced, a close signal is output to the drainage device 33 to close the drainage valve.

  Next, in step S302, it is determined whether or not the preliminary drainage release operation has been performed in the operation unit 36 of the bathroom operation panel 35. If there is no release operation, the drainage valve is opened in step S303. Perform preliminary drainage. Thereafter, in step S304, an abnormality determination flag is stored in the RAM, and in step S305, a monitoring period T2 (a time longer than the preliminary drainage execution period, for example, 5 minutes) is set in the timer. The monitoring period T2 is a period for monitoring the change in the load W3 after the preliminary drainage is performed. That is, whether or not the bather notices a decrease in hot water and stops the drainage during the preliminary drainage (of the drain valve). It is a period for monitoring whether or not to perform a closing operation) and whether or not to increase the amount of hot water by performing a pouring operation.

  After performing the process of step S305, whether or not the decrease of the load W3 has stopped before the decrease amount of the load W3 reaches the weight decrease (10 kg) corresponding to the preliminary drainage amount (10L) in step S306. Determine. When the decrease in the load W3 stops, it means that the bather noticed the preliminary drainage and closed the drain valve, and therefore it is estimated that there is no abnormality in the bather's state. In this case, the process proceeds to step S308, the abnormality determination flag in the RAM is cleared, and the abnormality determination process ends.

  On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S306, it is determined in step S307 whether or not the load W3 has increased. When the amount of hot water increases and the load W3 increases, it means that the bather has performed a hot water addition operation during or after the preliminary drainage, and therefore it is estimated that there is no abnormality in the bather's condition. In this case, the abnormality determination flag in the RAM is cleared in step S308, and the abnormality determination process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S307, it is determined in step S309 whether or not the timer-set monitoring period T2 has elapsed. If not, the abnormality determination process is terminated. Thereafter, when the next remote hot water filling control process is executed, an affirmative determination is made in the determination process of step S104 of FIG. 2, and the determination processes of steps S306 and S307 of FIG. 4 are re-executed. Thereafter, while the negative determination is continued in the determination process of steps S306 and S307, the determination process of steps S306 and S307 is repeated until the monitoring period T2 elapses, and whether or not the decrease in the load W3 is stopped and the load W3 is determined. Monitor continuously whether it increases. In addition, after completion | finish of preliminary drainage, it monitors only whether the load W3 increases.

  And when it affirmation determinates in step S309, ie, when the monitoring period T2 passes without the load W3 increasing, it estimates that the bather's state may have abnormality. In this case, the RAM abnormality determination flag is cleared in step S310, and forced drainage processing is executed in step S311. The forced drainage treatment is performed to forcibly drain hot water in the bathtub 20 to greatly reduce the amount of hot water, and is performed for the purpose of suppressing a bather from drowning. In addition, forced drainage may completely drain hot water in the tub 20 or only lower the water level to a position below the bather's head or chest in order to avoid lowering the body temperature of the bather. It may be a thing.

  Next, in step S312, an alarm notification signal is output to the communication terminal 43 to perform alarm notification to the remote operator. This notification is to notify that there is a possibility that the bather's condition is abnormal. In the communication terminal 43, “the bather's condition may be getting worse. Please display a message such as “Please.” Furthermore, in step S313, an alarm notification signal is output to the bathroom operation panel 35 and the notification device 45, and an alarm notification is made to prompt the bather to check the state in the bathroom 11 and a room other than the bathroom 11.

  Next, the operation when a hot water filling instruction by remote control is received will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the load W3 at the time of receiving the hot water filling instruction (timing t1) is less than the first threshold th1, the hot water filling to the bathtub 20 is started in response to the hot water filling instruction, and thereafter The hot water filling is performed until timing t2 when the set hot water amount (weight W4) is reached. Further, a notification to the remote operator is made with the start of hot water filling.

  As shown in FIG. 6, at the time of receiving a hot water filling instruction (timing t11), the drain valve is opened, and in this state, the load W3 is not less than the first threshold th1 and not more than the second threshold th2. In that case, a notification for prompting the user to leave the bathtub 20 is made in the bathroom 11 and the hot water filling is waited. Thereafter, the change in the load W3 is continuously monitored while the re-execution flag is stored. At time t12, when the person leaves the bathtub 20 and the load W3 becomes less than the first threshold th1, the drain valve is closed and the start of hot water filling is automatically executed.

  If there is a person in the bathtub 20 at the time of receiving the hot water filling instruction, it is preferable to perform the hot water filling if a person comes out of the bathtub 20 after that, even if hot water filling at that time should be prevented. According to this embodiment, when there is a person in the bathtub 20 at the time of receiving the hot water filling instruction, the hot water filling is waited, and then the hot water filling is executed by the person leaving the bathtub 20. For this reason, hot water filling after a person disappears is attained, avoiding hot water filling in the state where there is a person in bathtub 20.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the hot water filling instruction is received (timing t21), the drain valve is closed, and in this state, the load W3 is not less than the first threshold th1 and not more than the second threshold th2. The drain valve is opened and the subsequent change in the load W3 is monitored. Thereby, it is determined whether the contents in the bathtub 20 are people or remaining hot water. And when load W3 reduces, drainage processing is continued because the contents in bathtub 20 are presumed to be remaining hot water. When the load W3 becomes less than the first threshold th1 at timing t22, the drain valve is closed and hot water filling is started.

  Thus, according to this embodiment, when it is determined that the content in the bathtub 20 is remaining hot water, the hot water is filled after draining the remaining hot water. Invalidation of the hot water filling instruction can be avoided. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress excessive hot water filling restriction.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the hot water filling instruction is received (timing t31), if the load W3 is larger than the third threshold th3, it is estimated that bathing is taking place, and the preliminary drainage is performed over the timing t32 to t33. Executed. If the load W3 does not decrease by the timing t33 when the preliminary drainage ends, the forced drainage starts at the timing t34 when the monitoring period T2 elapses after the timing t33 and the load W3 does not increase. It continues until timing t35 when the amount of hot water is reached.

  Thus, in this embodiment, when there is no change in the load W3 and the reaction of the bather is not recognized, it is estimated that an abnormality has occurred in the state of the bather and forced drainage is performed. The hot water can be removed when the condition is worse, and accidents such as drowning in the bathtub 20 can be suppressed.

  According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following excellent effects are recognized.

  -When a hot water filling instruction by remote operation is received, whether or not to invalidate the hot water filling instruction is determined based on the load W3 on the bathtub 20, so that the hot water filling in a state where there is a person in the bathtub 20 is performed. Can be limited. In particular, since the presence or absence of a person is determined based on the load W3, there is no blind spot in the detection range of the person in the bathtub 20, and the presence of a person in the bathtub 20 is detected even when the bathtub 20 is closed. be able to. Accordingly, the presence of a person in the bathtub 20 can be detected with high accuracy, and appropriate hot water filling can be performed.

  When the contents are present in the bathtub 20, the type of the contents is determined based on the load W3. Therefore, if the contents are present, the process is not limited to a uniform process in which the hot water is not filled. Depending on which is the case, the subsequent processing can be diversified. In particular, since the type determination is performed using the load sensor 23 by utilizing the difference between the weight of the person and the weight of the hot water or the hot water that has been filled to some extent, an appropriate type can be obtained without adding dedicated means. Judgment can be made.

  -When receiving a hot water filling instruction by remote control, prior to the determination process using the load W3, the open / close state of the drain valve is determined (step S106), so the type of contents can be determined efficiently. become. That is, when the discharge valve is open in step S106, it can be immediately determined that there is a person in the bathtub 20 because the load W3 is equal to or greater than the first threshold th1. That is, it is possible to determine the presence of a person without performing the determination processes in steps S113 and S116, and to reduce the processing load on the controller 40.

  In addition, by determining the open / closed state of the drain valve, it is possible to prevent the hot water filling from being performed while the drain valve remains open, and to avoid unnecessary consumption of hot water. .

  -Since the hot water filling is automatically executed when it is determined again that the person has left the bathtub 20 and is hot water filled, the hot water filling is automatically performed according to a change in the situation in the bathtub 20. Thereby, even if the remote operator does not give instructions one by one, hot water filling is executed, and convenience is improved.

  The load sensor 23 is disposed so as to receive the vertical load from the bathtub 20, and the load W3 is obtained by subtracting the weight of the bathtub 20 from the total weight W1 obtained from the output of the load sensor 23. For example, when the load sensor is arranged in the bathtub 20, there is a possibility that the load on the bathtub 20 cannot be appropriately acquired due to the influence of buoyancy or the like, but according to the present embodiment, the load on the bathtub 20 is appropriately set with a simple configuration. It becomes possible to acquire.

<Second Embodiment>
In the present embodiment, the abnormality determination process is different from that in the first embodiment. The abnormality determination process of the present embodiment can be performed instead of or in addition to the abnormality determination process of step S121 in the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the abnormality determination process in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, first, in step S401, a monitoring period T3 (for example, 60 minutes) is set in the timer. The monitoring period T3 is a period for monitoring a change in the load W3 since it is determined that there is a person in the bathtub 20, that is, a period for monitoring a person's bathing time.

  After executing the process of step S401, it is determined in step S402 whether or not the bathing has ended based on the change in the load W3. If the bathing has ended, the abnormality determination process is ended. On the other hand, if bathing has not ended, it is determined in step S403 whether or not the bather has movement based on the change in the load W3. In the present embodiment, the load sensors 23 are arranged one by one corresponding to the leg portions 22 of the bathtub 20, but in step S403, the output of each load sensor 23 is individually acquired to obtain the load bias and the gravity center position. Ask for. And it monitors whether the bias | inclination of the said load and a gravity center position change, and a bather's body movement state is determined.

  If a negative determination is made in step S403, it is determined in step S404 whether or not the monitoring period T3 has elapsed. If not, the process returns to step S402. Thereafter, the processes in steps S402 and S403 are repeated until the monitoring period T3 elapses. On the other hand, if the monitoring period T3 has elapsed, in step S405, a notification signal is output to the bathroom operation panel 35 to notify the bathroom. This notification notifies the bather that the forced drainage is to be executed. In the notification unit 37 of the bathroom operation panel 35, for example, “Forced drainage starts. Please press the switch to perform the release operation. "

  Next, in step S406, it is determined whether or not a forced drainage canceling operation has been performed. If there is no canceling operation, the processes of steps S407 to S409 are executed. Note that these processes are the same as steps S309 to S312 in the abnormality determination process of the first embodiment.

  If a negative determination is made in step S403 or an affirmative determination is made in step S406, the process proceeds to step S410, the timer for measuring the elapse of the monitoring period T3 is reset, and the process returns to step S401.

  According to the present embodiment, when a person has been in the bathtub 20 for a long time, the hot water in the bathtub 20 can be forcibly removed. The drowning is suppressed.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be implemented as follows, for example.

  (1) In the above embodiment, a hot water filling instruction is performed by remote operation from the communication terminal 43. For example, an operation device for remote operation is installed in a place other than the bathroom 11 such as a kitchen and the hot water filling instruction is given by the operation device. It is good also as composition which performs.

  (2) In the above embodiment, when there is a person in the bathtub 20, the hot water filling is automatically executed based on the fact that the person has left the bathtub 20 and re-determined that the hot water is filled. A notification signal may be output to confirm whether or not to perform filling. In this case, the hot water filling may be performed based on the hot water filling instruction from the remote operator (communication terminal 43) after the confirmation notification. Accordingly, it is possible to take a response such that the remote operator contacts the family at home and confirms the situation in the bathtub 20 and then instructs hot water filling.

  (3) In the above embodiment, in the preliminary drainage, the drain valve is closed after discharging a predetermined amount of hot water by opening the drain valve, but only the drain valve is opened as the preliminary drain and the drain valve is closed. It is good also as a structure entrusted to a bather's operation. In this case, if the change (decrease) in the load W3 does not stop within a predetermined period after the start of preliminary drainage, it is determined that there is a possibility that an abnormality has occurred in the bather, and the drainage is continued and forced drainage continues. It is good to be the composition which performs.

  (4) In the said embodiment, it is good also as a structure which makes it possible to register a bathtub user with a body weight, and to specify a person, when it determines with there being a person in the bathtub 20. FIG. In this case, the remote operator can know who is in the bathtub 20 by notifying the remote operator of the specified person. Moreover, when specifying that the child is in the bathtub 20, it is good also as a structure which outputs a notification signal also to the alerting | reporting apparatus 45 and urges the family at home to move the child from the bathtub 20.

  (5) In the above embodiment, when a hot water filling instruction by remote control is received, abnormality determination processing is performed based on the determination that a person is taking a bath. A determination process may be performed. Specifically, it is possible to determine whether or not a person has started bathing based on the load W3 and to perform an abnormality determination process triggered by the start of bathing.

  (6) In the said 2nd Embodiment, although the period which monitors bathing time and the period which monitors a bather's body movement state were made into the same monitoring period T3, it is good also considering the latter as a period shorter than the former. Thereby, although the bathing time is not long, the case where the state which does not move continues to some extent can be set as the target of forced drainage, and it becomes possible to contribute to the further suppression of accidents during bathing.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Bathtub, 23 ... Load sensor, 33 ... Drainage device, 40 ... Controller, 41 ... Communication part, 43 ... Communication terminal, W1 ... Gross weight, W3 ... Load, th1 ... First threshold, th2 ... Second threshold , Th3 ... third threshold value.

Claims (10)

In a remote hot water supply system that remotely fills a bathtub with hot water,
Receiving means for receiving a hot water filling instruction by the remote operation;
Load detecting means for detecting a load on the bathtub;
When the receiving means receives the hot water filling instruction, the hot water filling judging means for judging whether or not the hot water filling is performed based on the load detected by the load detecting means;
Invalidating means for invalidating the hot water filling instruction when it is determined by the hot water filling judging means that the hot water filling is not performed,
A remote hot water supply system, comprising: a notification instruction means for informing a remote operator when the hot water filling instruction is invalidated by the invalidation means. A person determination means for determining that a person is present in the bathtub when the load is equal to or greater than a first threshold;
When the load is equal to or greater than a second threshold value that is greater than the first threshold value, hot water determination means for determining that hot water has been filled or hot water is present in the bathtub, and
The remote hot water supply system according to claim 1, wherein the hot water filling determining unit determines whether or not to fill the hot water based on determination results of the person determining unit and the hot water determining unit.   The notification instruction means, when it is determined by the person determination means that a person is present, notifies that there is a possibility that there is a person in the bathtub, and the hot water determination means determines that hot water exists. The remote hot water supply system according to claim 2, wherein a notification that hot water filling is unnecessary is performed. Comprising monitoring means for monitoring the load change;
3. The hot water filling judging means, when it is judged by the person judging means that a person is present, re-determines whether or not the hot water filling is performed based on the subsequent change in the load. The remote hot water supply system according to 3.   5. The remote hot water supply system according to claim 4, further comprising automatic execution means for automatically performing hot water filling when it is determined again by the hot water filling judging means. A confirmation notification instruction means for performing a confirmation notification for confirming whether or not to perform hot water filling when the hot water filling determination means re-determines that hot water filling is performed;
The remote hot water supply system according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising a hot water filling execution means for executing hot water filling based on a hot water filling instruction after the confirmation notification. An open / close control means for opening and closing the drain valve of the bathtub;
The open / close control means opens the drain valve when the load is not less than the first threshold and not more than the second threshold when the drain valve is closed,
The said person determination means determines that a person exists in the said bathtub, when the said load does not reduce even if the said drain valve is opened, The one of the Claims 2 thru | or 6 characterized by the above-mentioned. Remote hot water system. Bathing determination means for determining that a person is taking a bath when the load is equal to or greater than a third threshold greater than the second threshold;
Drainage control means for performing drainage control of the bathtub,
The drainage control means performs preliminary drainage when it is determined that the bathing determination means determines that bathing is in progress, and performs forced drainage based on the change in the load after the preliminary drainage is performed. Item 8. The remote hot water supply system according to any one of Items 2 to 7. When it is determined that the person is taking a bath by the bathing determination means, a timekeeping means for measuring the bathing time is provided,
The remote hot water supply system according to claim 8, wherein the drainage control means performs forced drainage when the bathing time measured by the timing means exceeds a predetermined time. A load sensor is arranged to receive a vertical load from the bathtub,
The remote hot water supply according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the load detection means detects the load by subtracting the weight of the bathtub from a total weight obtained from an output of the load sensor. system.

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