JP6864805B2 - Gas appliances - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to gas appliances.

In the field of gas appliances, a system has been proposed that allows internal information to be retrieved from a remote controller. For example, in the heat source machine system disclosed in Patent Document 1, a light emitting element and a light emitting control unit are provided in the remote control unit, and by controlling the light emission of the light emitting element, an optical signal representing information of the heat source machine system is transmitted to the light emitting element. Is output to the outside.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-21675

However, when visible light communication is introduced into gas appliances in this way, "flickering" during the period during which visible light communication is performed becomes a problem. For example, when a visible light signal is superimposed by combining a minute lighting operation and a minute turning off operation within a lighting period of a certain length, the minute turning off operation may be biased at a specific time or the minute lighting operation may be specified depending on the data content. There is a possibility that it will be biased at the time of. When the bias of the minute lighting operation and the minute turning off operation becomes large in this way, the amount of light emitted due to the bias of the visible light signal decreases or increases during the period when it should appear that the lighting continues at a constant amount of light. There is a risk of "flickering" that is visually recognized by the user.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gas appliance capable of performing visible light communication while suppressing the occurrence of flicker.

The gas appliance of the present invention
A light emitting part that emits visible light and
A signal output period shorter than the lighting period is intermittently and periodically set within the lighting period for lighting and displaying the light emitting unit, and the light emitting operation for causing the light emitting unit to emit light and the light emitting unit for stopping are stopped during the signal output period. A control unit that alternately performs a stop operation and
With
When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the control unit puts the light emitting unit into a blinking state in which the lighting period in which the light emitting unit is turned on and the turning off period in which the light emitting state is turned off are alternately repeated, and the time during which the light emitting operation is performed and the stop are performed. The visible light signal is output for the predetermined time so as to output the visible light signal determined by the combination with the time during which the operation is performed in the signal output period set at predetermined time shorter than the lighting period in each lighting period. The light emitting unit is controlled so that the ratio of the total time during which the light emitting operation is performed and the total time during which the stopping operation is performed is set to a constant value or a certain range in each signal output period. It is characterized by doing.

In the gas appliance of the present invention, the light emitting unit is provided so that the ratio of the total time during which the light emitting operation is performed and the total time during which the light emitting operation is performed during each signal output period during visible light communication is a constant value or a constant range. Control. According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the light emitting operation from being too biased or the stopping operation from being too biased during each signal output period. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of "flicker" in which the user visually recognizes the decrease or increase in the amount of light emitted due to the bias of the visible light signal.

In the present invention, the control unit may be configured to control the light emitting unit so as to output a visible light signal having at least a data signal and a dummy signal during the signal output period. Then, in the signal output period, the total time of the light emission operation of the data signal and the total time of the stop operation of the dummy signal are the same, and the total time of the stop operation of the data signal and the total time of the light emission operation of the dummy signal are the same. It may be.

According to this configuration, when a data signal having a large ratio of light emission operation is included in the signal output period, it is possible to suppress the bias of light emission by including a dummy signal having a large ratio of stop operation in the signal output period. .. On the contrary, when a data signal having a large ratio of stop operation is included in the signal output period, it is possible to suppress the bias of light emission by including a dummy signal having a large ratio of light emission operation in the signal output period. Therefore, it is possible to stabilize the ratio of the light emitting operation and the stopping operation within the signal output period for any data.

The dummy signal combined with the data signal in each signal output period may be a signal in which the light and darkness of each minute signal constituting the data signal is inverted.

According to this configuration, it is possible to reliably stabilize the ratio of the light emitting operation and the stopping operation within the signal output period for any data. Moreover, since the dummy signal is a signal in which the light and darkness of the data signal is inverted, the dummy signal can be used as a meaningful signal rather than simply a list of numbers.

The control unit outputs a visible light signal having at least a start signal indicating the beginning of the signal output period, a data signal, a dummy signal, and an inverted signal obtained by inverting the brightness of the start signal during the signal output period. May be configured to control.

According to this configuration, it is possible to further stabilize the ratio of light and dark as a whole signal output period while realizing a configuration in which the start of the signal output period can be more reliably recognized by the presence of the start signal.

In each signal output period, the control unit transmits one of the data signal and the dummy signal after the transmission of the start signal, transmits the inverted signal after the transmission of one signal, and transmits the data signal and the dummy signal after the transmission of the inverted signal. The light emitting unit may be controlled so as to transmit the other signal of the dummy signals.

According to this configuration, the inverted signal is surely transmitted between the transmission period of the data signal and the transmission period of the dummy signal, and the inverted signal transmitted at the boundary time makes the data signal and the dummy signal more accurate. It becomes easier to distinguish.

FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a part of the gas stove of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing a part of the gas stove of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the gas stove of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of display control performed in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the blinking display performed in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a visible light signal transmitted during the lighting period during the blinking display. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the relationship between the value of the data transmitted during the signal output period and the combination of signals at each data value. FIG. 8A is an explanatory diagram illustrating the content transmitted by visible light communication, and FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the content transmitted by visible light communication. FIG. 9 is a front view schematically showing a gas stove of another embodiment. FIG. 10 is a front view schematically showing a gas stove of another embodiment different from that of FIG.

<Example 1>
Hereinafter, the gas stove 1 embodying an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. These drawings are used to illustrate the technical features that can be adopted by the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the structure of the device and the like described below are not intended to be limited thereto, but are merely explanatory examples.

In the gas stove 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing portion 2 is composed of the top plate portion 3 and the housing main body 4, and the housing portion 2 constitutes the outer wall portion of the gas stove 1 to form the gas burners 5 and 6. It houses the flow path of the gas to be supplied. The housing portion 2 is formed by detachably attaching a plate-shaped top plate portion 3 to the housing main body 4.

The housing body 4 is configured as, for example, a box-shaped case body whose upper side is opened by a metal material, and is configured to accommodate various parts in an internal space surrounded by walls on the front, rear, left and right sides. The housing body 4 includes a front surface portion 4A constituting the front wall portion of the gas stove 1, and a rear surface portion (not shown) is provided on the rear side of the front surface portion 4A. Further, side surface portions are provided in pairs on the left and right sides, and the front surface portion 4A, the rear surface portion, and the side surface portions form a box-shaped case body.

The top plate portion 3 is configured as a metal plate-shaped member, and is assembled from the upper side with respect to the housing main body 4 so as to close the opening on the upper side of the housing main body 4. The top plate portion 3 functions as an upper surface portion of the gas stove 1 in a state of being assembled to the housing main body 4 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The top plate portion 3 is removable from the housing body 4, and openings are formed on both the left and right sides of the top plate portion 3 so as to penetrate the top plate portion 3 in the thickness direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a gas burner 5 is provided inside the opening on the left side of the top plate portion 3, and a gas burner 6 is provided inside the opening on the right side. The trivets 11 and 12 are provided at the upper part of each opening. The trivets 11 and 12 have a structure in which a cooking container such as a cooking pot (not shown) can be placed on the upper surface of each. The gas burners 5 and 6 function to burn the combustion gas to heat the cooking container placed on the trivets 11 and 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, a sensor unit 15 is provided at the center of the gas burner 5, and a sensor unit 16 is provided at the center of the gas burner 6. The sensor units 15 and 16 can move in and out in the vertical direction and are urged upward by a spring (not shown). The sensor unit 15 is provided with the thermistor 7 shown in FIG. 3, and has a configuration in which the cooking pot is pushed downward when the cooking pot is placed on the trivet 11, and the cooking pot on which the cooking pot is placed is pushed down by the thermistor 7. Detects the bottom surface temperature. The sensor unit 16 is provided with the thermistor 8 shown in FIG. 3, and has a configuration in which the cooking pot is pushed downward when the cooking pot is placed on the trivet 12, and the thermistor 8 is placed on the cooking pot. Detects the bottom surface temperature.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the upper surface side of the gas stove 1, ignition switches 21 and 22 are provided in the regions near the front end and the right end of the top plate portion 3 so as to penetrate the top plate portion 3, respectively. The ignition switches 21 and 22 are all arranged so as to project upward from the top plate portion 3, and the ignition switch 21 on the left side is a switch for performing an ignition operation of the gas burner 5. Further, the ignition switch 22 on the right side is a switch for performing an ignition operation of the gas burner 6. In the region near the rear end of the top plate portion 3, an exhaust cover portion 13 is configured as a part of the top plate portion 3 so as to cover the grill exhaust port (not shown), and the exhaust cover portion 13 has a plurality of exhausts. The hole 13A is formed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a grill door 17 and a grill ignition switch 23 are provided on the front surface of the gas stove 1, respectively. The grill ignition switch 23 is configured as a switch for performing an ignition operation of a grill burner (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 3, the gas burner 5, the gas burner 6, and the grill burner are provided with igniters 25 to 27, respectively. The igniters 25 to 27 are devices that ignite various burners by discharging sparks in conjunction with the ignition operation of the ignition switches 21 to 23, respectively. Further, the gas stove 1 has a first gas supply pipe (not shown) for supplying gas to the gas burner 5, a second gas supply pipe (not shown) for supplying gas to the gas burner 6, and gas to the grill burner. A third gas supply pipe (not shown) is provided to supply the gas.

The electrical configuration of the gas stove 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
In the gas stove 1, a power supply unit 40 is housed inside the housing body 4. The power supply unit 40 has, for example, a configuration in which two dry batteries are connected in series, and is directly or indirectly fixed to the housing body 4 via another member. Further, inside the housing body 4, a main board 9 in which various electronic components are mounted on the board body is provided, and the main board 9 is also directly or indirectly with respect to the housing body 4 via other members. It is fixed to.

The main board 9 is provided with a microcomputer (hereinafter, also referred to as a microcomputer) 50 that functions as a control circuit. In addition to the CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., the microcomputer 50 further includes a timer, an I / O interface, etc. (not shown). The CPU of the microcomputer 50 controls various operations of the gas stove 1 in an integrated manner, and can perform various arithmetic processes. Further, various control programs of the gas stove 1 are stored in the ROM of the microcomputer 50.

A power supply circuit 41, a switch input circuit 42, a thermistor input circuit 43, an igniter circuit 45, a safety valve circuit 46, a solenoid valve circuit 47, a drive circuit 62, and the like are connected to the microcomputer 50, respectively.

The power supply circuit 41 has a function of receiving power supply from a power supply unit 40 (for example, two dry batteries mounted in a battery box) and generating a DC power supply to be applied to various circuits. The switch input circuit 42 detects each of the ignition switches 21 to 23 being pressed. The igniter circuit 45 drives the igniters 25 to 27 of various burners, respectively. The safety valve circuit 46 opens and closes each of the safety valves 28 to 30 provided in the first to third gas supply pipes described above. The solenoid valve circuit 47 opens and closes the solenoid valves 31 and 32 provided in the first and second gas supply pipes described above, respectively. The microcomputer 50 is a part capable of controlling the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 31 and the safety valve 28 provided in the first gas supply pipe leading to the gas burner 5, and is used in the second gas supply pipe leading to the gas burner 6. It is a part that can control the opening and closing of the provided solenoid valve 32 and safety valve 29.

The gas stove 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided with only a light emitting unit 60 composed of a single lamp as a light emitting component. The light emitting unit 60 is composed of a light emitting element such as an LED, and has a configuration in which light is emitted to the outside (front side) of the front surface portion 4A.

The microprocessor 50 is configured to give a drive instruction to the light emitting unit 60 to the drive circuit 62. The drive circuit 62 controls lighting and extinguishing of the light emitting unit 60 in response to a command from the microcomputer 50. The microcomputer 50 corresponds to an example of the control unit, and intermittently and periodically sets a signal output period shorter than the lighting period within the lighting period for lighting and displaying the light emitting unit 60, and the light emitting unit 60 is set during the signal output period. It has a function of performing visible light communication so as to alternately perform a light emitting operation for causing light emission and a stop operation for stopping the light emitting unit 60.

A voltage detection circuit 49 is connected to the microprocessor 50. The voltage detection circuit 49 is configured as a known voltage detection circuit that detects the voltage of the power supply unit 40 (battery), and the microcomputer 50 monitors the detection value from the voltage detection circuit 49 to measure the battery voltage. I know.

Next, the visible light communication performed by the gas stove 1 will be described.
The display process shown in FIG. 4 is a process that is repeatedly executed by the microcomputer 50 at predetermined short time intervals after the power of the gas stove 1 is turned on. In the process of FIG. 4, the remaining battery level is determined as the process starts (S1). In S1, it is determined whether or not the voltage (battery voltage) of the power supply unit 40 is less than the threshold voltage, and if the voltage (battery voltage) of the power supply unit 40 is less than the threshold voltage, the process proceeds to Yes in S1. When proceeding to Yes in S1, the light emitting unit 60 is displayed in the first light emitting state (lighting state) (S4). When the light emitting unit 60 is turned on in S4, the light emitting unit 60 is continuously and continuously emitted.

If it is determined in S1 that the voltage (battery voltage) of the power supply unit 40 is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage, the process proceeds to No in S1. When proceeding to No in S1, it is determined whether or not a predetermined error has occurred (S2). In the gas stove 1, a plurality of types of errors such as poor ignition, operation of fire extinguishing function, and operation of abnormal heating prevention function are registered in advance as predetermined errors.

If it is determined that no error has occurred at the time of the determination process in S2, the process proceeds to No in S2, and the process of FIG. 4 ends. If it is determined that any error has occurred in any part at the time of the determination process in S2, the process proceeds to Yes in S2.

When proceeding to Yes in S2, the light emitting unit 60 is displayed in the second light emitting state (blinking state) (S3). When displaying in the blinking state in S3, for example, the light emitting unit 60 blinks and displays so as to alternately repeat the lighting state for about several seconds and the extinguishing state for about several seconds. Then, visible light communication is performed during the lighting period during the blinking display.

As described above, in this configuration, the display is controlled by the microcomputer 50 corresponding to the control unit, and when the first condition is satisfied (specifically, the power supply unit 40 (battery) is in a predetermined output reduction state. When the detection unit detects this), the light emitting unit 60 is controlled to the first light emitting state (lighting state). Then, when the second condition is satisfied (when an error state different from the predetermined output reduction state of the power supply unit 40 (battery) occurs), the light emitting unit 60 is different from the first light emitting state (lighting state). It is controlled to the second light emitting state (blinking state in which the lighting state and the turning off state are repeated). Then, when controlling to the second light emitting state, visible light communication is performed, and by changing the light emitting state of the visible light emitted from the light emitting unit 60, information corresponding to the change in the light emitting state is transmitted to the outside.

When it is determined that an error has occurred in S2 (when a predetermined abnormal state occurs), the microcomputer 50 performs the process of S3, controls the light emitting unit 60 to the second light emitting state, and second. Detailed information about an error (predetermined abnormal state) is transmitted by visible light communication performed in the light emitting state of.

When the light emitting unit 60 blinks and displays the light emitting unit 60 so as to alternately repeat the lighting state and the extinguishing state in S3, the microcomputer 50 superimposes a visible light signal during the lighting state. FIG. 5 is an image diagram of the blinking display, and when the blinking display is performed, the light emitting unit 60 is repeatedly turned on and off for a short time during the lighting period. During the extinguishing period, the light emitting unit 60 is continuously extinguished.

The microcomputer 50 sets a signal output period (each period of the visible light signals S1, S2, S3 ... Shown in FIG. 6) for each predetermined time Ta, which is a time sufficiently smaller than the lighting period T1 in each lighting period T1. However, in each signal output period, the visibility is determined by the combination of the time during which the light emission operation (specifically, the lighting operation for a minute time) is performed and the time during which the stop operation (specifically, the lighting operation for a minute time) is performed. Output an optical signal. Specifically, in the lighting period T1 (the period of the lighting state) in the blinking display state shown in FIG. 5, a unit time Δt (minute time) sufficiently smaller than the lighting period T1 is determined as shown in FIG. A visible light signal combined with a lighting signal (light emission signal) having a unit time Δt and an extinguishing signal (stop signal) having a unit time Δt is periodically emitted every predetermined time (short time) Ta. Note that FIG. 6 illustrates a drive waveform that drives the light emitting unit 60. The light emitting unit 60 is turned on during the L level period, and the light emitting unit 60 is turned off during the H level period. The L-level waveform is a lighting signal and represents "1", and the H-level waveform is a lighting signal and represents "0".

In the example of FIG. 6, when the period of the visible light signal S1 is divided by the unit time Δt, it becomes a lighting signal, an extinguishing signal, an extinguishing signal, an extinguishing signal, an extinguishing signal, a lighting signal, a lighting signal, and a lighting signal, which are visible. The optical signal S1 represents the data of "10000111". When the period of the visible light signal S2 is divided by the unit time Δt, it becomes a lighting signal, an extinguishing signal, an extinguishing signal, a lighting signal, an extinguishing signal, a lighting signal, a lighting signal, and an extinguishing signal. It represents the data of "10010110". When the period of the visible light signal S3 is divided by the unit time Δt, it becomes a lighting signal, an extinguishing signal, a lighting signal, a lighting signal, an extinguishing signal, a lighting signal, an extinguishing signal, and an extinguishing signal. It represents the data of "10110100". In this way, in each period of the visible light signals S1, S2, S3 ... Set for each predetermined time Ta, the value of "1" is transmitted by the lighting signal of the unit time Δt, and the extinguishing signal of the unit time Δt is transmitted. Transmits a value of "0". By transmitting such data, necessary information can be transmitted.

More specifically, when the microcomputer 50 performs visible light communication in step S4, the ratio of the total time during which the light emission operation is performed and the total time during which the stop operation is performed in each signal output period is set to a constant value. The light emitting unit 60 is controlled in this way. Specifically, the visible light signal is transmitted with the signal configuration as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the visible light signal is composed of a start signal, a data signal, an inversion signal, and a dummy signal.

The start signal is a signal indicating the start of each signal output period, and is a signal of a light emitting operation having a unit time of Δt (a signal indicating “1”). In the example shown in FIG. 6 and the like, in the lighting period T1, the stop operation (light-off operation) continues during the time other than each signal output period (non-output period), and the start signal is the non-output period. It is a signal that can specify the boundary between the signal output period and the signal output period.

The data signal is a signal indicating data to be transmitted. For example, a value to be transmitted (data value) is indicated by a 3-bit binary number. Specifically, the correspondence is as shown in FIG. 7, and if the data value is "0", the data signal is "000", and if the data value is "1", it is "001". If the value of the data is "2", it is "010".

The inverting signal is a signal obtained by inverting the start signal, and is a signal (signal indicating "0") of a stop operation (turning off operation) of a unit time Δt. This inverted signal is configured as a signal indicating the boundary between the data signal and the dummy signal.

The dummy signal is a signal that is combined with the data signal in each signal output period, and is a signal in which the light and darkness of each minute signal constituting the data signal is inverted. That is, in the data signal, the signal of the light emitting operation is converted into the signal of the stop operation (turning off operation), and the signal of the stop operation (turning off operation) is converted into the signal of the light emitting operation. For example, if the data value is "0" and the data signal is "000", the dummy signal to be combined is "111", which is the inverted data signal "000". If the data value is "1" and the data signal is "001", the dummy signal to be combined is "110", which is the inverted data signal "001". If the data value is "2" and the data signal is "010", the dummy signal to be combined is "101", which is the inverted data signal "010". Since the data signal and the dummy signal are combined in this way, the total time of the light emission operation of the data signal and the total time of the stop operation of the dummy signal are the same in the signal output period, and the total time of the stop operation of the data signal is the same. The total time of the light emission operation of the dummy signal is the same. In each signal output period, the start signal and the inversion signal are included as signals other than the data signal and the dummy signal, but the time of the start signal emission operation and the time of the inversion signal stop operation (turn-off operation) are the same. It has become. Therefore, in each signal output period, the total time of the light emitting operation and the total time of the stop operation are the same, and the ratio of the total time of the light emitting operation to the total time of the stop operation is a constant value (50%). Become.

In the process of step S3 in FIG. 4, the above-mentioned detailed information is transmitted by such a visible light signal. The detailed information includes, for example, unique information uniquely attached to the gas stove 1, device type identification information for specifying the type of the gas stove 1, abnormal species identification information for specifying the type of abnormality generated in the gas stove 1, and the like. These pieces of information are stored in, for example, the memory 52. The memory 52 corresponds to an example of a storage unit, and is composed of, for example, a known semiconductor memory such as a non-volatile memory.

The detailed information can have a data structure as shown in FIG. 8A, for example. In the example of FIG. 8A, a unique ID (serial number) is included as unique information uniquely attached to the gas stove 1. Further, the product number (product number) and the lot number are included as the equipment type characteristic information for specifying the equipment type of the gas stove 1. These information are stored in the memory 52 in advance, and in the visible light communication performed in S3, the information is read from the memory 52 and transmitted to the outside.

Further, in the visible light communication performed in S3, as shown in FIG. 8A, information such as the type of error determined in S2 and the part where the error occurs (error location) is included as the information to be transmitted. be able to. When a plurality of types of errors have occurred, all the information regarding the errors occurring can be included as shown in FIG. 8A.

In the process of S3 of FIG. 4, such detailed information is transmitted from the light emitting unit 60 by visible light communication and transmitted to an external receiving device (a device capable of receiving and analyzing the visible light signal). it can.

As described above, in the gas stove 1, the microcomputer 50 corresponding to the control unit performs visible light communication and changes the light emitting state of the visible light emitted from the light emitting unit 60 to obtain information corresponding to the change in the light emitting state. It can be sent to the outside. Therefore, the internal information of the gas stove 1 can be read without disassembling the housing portion 2. Further, when the housing portion 2 contains a metal component, it is difficult to read the internal information by RFID technology, but according to this method, the internal information can be read satisfactorily.

Moreover, the gas stove 1 has a total time during which the light emission operation is performed and a total time during which the stop operation is performed during each signal output period (each period of S1, S2, S3 ... Shown in FIG. 6) in which visible light communication is performed. The light emitting unit 60 is controlled so that the ratio of and is constant. According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the light emitting operation from being too biased or the stopping operation from being too biased during each signal output period. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of "flicker" in which the user visually recognizes the decrease or increase in the amount of light emitted due to the bias of the visible light signal.

In particular, since the signal output period is set periodically and the total time of the light emitting operation and the total time of the stop operation are the same in each signal output period, the bias is further suppressed and the effect of suppressing "flickering" is very effective. Will be expensive.

Further, the microcomputer 50 corresponding to the control unit controls the light emitting unit 60 so as to output a visible light signal in which a data signal and a dummy signal are combined in each signal output period. Then, in each signal output period, the total time of the light emission operation of the data signal and the total time of the stop operation of the dummy signal are made the same, and the total time of the stop operation of the data signal and the total time of the light emission operation of the dummy signal are the same. It is supposed to be. According to this configuration, when a data signal having a large ratio of light emission operation is included in the signal output period, it is possible to suppress the bias of light emission by including a dummy signal having a large ratio of stop operation in the signal output period. .. On the contrary, when a data signal having a large ratio of stop operation is included in the signal output period, it is possible to suppress the bias of light emission by including a dummy signal having a large ratio of light emission operation in the signal output period. Therefore, it is possible to stabilize the ratio of the light emitting operation and the stopping operation within the signal output period for any data.

Specifically, the dummy signal combined with the data signal in each signal output period is a signal in which the light and darkness of each minute signal constituting the data signal is inverted. According to this configuration, it is possible to reliably stabilize the ratio of the light emitting operation and the stopping operation within the signal output period for any data. Moreover, since the dummy signal is a signal in which the light and darkness of the data signal is inverted, the dummy signal can be used as a meaningful signal rather than simply a list of numbers. For example, by collating the data signal with the dummy signal after reception, it is confirmed whether the signal is transmitted correctly, or when the data signal cannot be received normally, the dummy signal is used instead. It becomes possible.

The microcomputer 50 corresponding to the control unit outputs a visible light signal, which is a combination of a start signal indicating the start of a signal output period, a data signal, a dummy signal, and an inverted signal in which the light and darkness of the start signal is inverted, for each signal output period. The light emitting unit 60 is controlled so as to output to. According to this configuration, it is possible to further stabilize the ratio of light and dark as a whole signal output period while realizing a configuration in which the start of the signal output period can be more reliably recognized by the presence of the start signal.

The microcomputer 50 corresponding to the control unit transmits a data signal after transmitting the start signal, transmits an inverted signal after transmitting the data signal, and transmits a dummy signal after transmitting the inverted signal in each signal output period. Controls the light emitting unit 60. According to this configuration, the inverted signal is surely transmitted between the transmission period of the data signal and the transmission period of the dummy signal, and the inverted signal transmitted at the boundary time makes the data signal and the dummy signal more accurate. It becomes easier to distinguish.

<Other Examples>
The present invention is not limited to the examples described in the above description and drawings, and for example, the following examples are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the first embodiment, the information as shown in FIG. 8A is given as the information stored in the memory 52 (storage unit), but as shown in FIG. 8B, an error that has occurred in the past It may include historical information. For example, error information (error date and time, error location, error type, etc.) may be stored in the memory 52 each time an error occurs, and such error history information may be transmitted when performing visible light communication. For example, in the process of S3 of FIG. 4, the information of the error history that occurred in the past as shown in FIG. 8 (B) may be transmitted by visible light communication, and when some special operation is performed on the gas stove 1. The error history information as shown in FIG. 8B may be transmitted by visible light communication. In any case, according to this configuration, it is possible to grasp the history of errors that have occurred in the past without disassembling the housing portion 2, and error analysis can be performed more easily.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the light emitting portion 60 is provided on the front surface portion, but the light emitting portion may be provided on the top plate portion.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the light emitting unit 60 configured as a point-shaped or circular display unit is illustrated, but the light emitting unit is configured as a display unit that displays at least one of other symbols and figures. You may be. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the light emitting unit 260 may be configured in a shape imitating the figure of a battery. In this case as well, the display process can be performed in the same flow as in FIG. 4, and when proceeding to Yes in S1 (when the battery voltage is less than the threshold value), the light emitting unit 260 (display unit imitating the battery figure). Is turned on, and the display is controlled so that the battery figure shines. On the other hand, when the process proceeds to No in S1 and Yes in S2, the same visible light communication as in the first embodiment is performed, and information that cannot be represented by the figure of the light emitting unit 260 (display unit imitating the battery figure) is transmitted. can do. According to this configuration, information display by clearly indicating symbols and figures and information transmission by visible light communication can be shared in the same part. In particular, if the display unit is also used for visible light communication, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced, which is advantageous in terms of space.
(4) In the first embodiment, the light emitting unit 60 configured as a simple circular type lamp is illustrated, but for example, it may be configured as a display unit capable of displaying characters and numbers. In FIG. 10, instead of the light emitting unit 60, a double-digit 7-segment type light emitting unit 360 is used, and the light emitting unit 360 can display characters, numbers, and the like. In this case as well, the display process can be performed in the same flow as in FIG. 4, and when proceeding to Yes in S1 (when the battery voltage is less than the threshold value), for example, the light emitting unit 360 is turned on and a predetermined code ( (Code indicating low battery level) is displayed. On the other hand, when the process proceeds to No in S1 and Yes in S2, the code of the error occurring in S3 is displayed on the light emitting unit 360, and the light emitting unit 360 is displayed by visible light communication from the light emitting unit 360. Information that cannot be represented by figures (for example, information as shown in FIG. 8) can be transmitted. Even in this case, the microcomputer 50 corresponding to the control unit can transmit at least information different from the information that can be displayed by the light emitting unit 360 (display unit) to the outside by visible light communication, and the light emitting unit 360 (display unit) can be transmitted to the outside. It is possible to output even the information that is not displayed by) to the outside.
(5) In the first embodiment, an example is shown in which the first light emitting state is the lighting state and the second light emitting state is the blinking state, but the first light emitting state is the blinking state and the second light emitting state. The state may be a lit state.
(6) In Example 1, a gas stove is illustrated as an example of a gas appliance, but it may be applied to other gas appliances such as a gas water heater and a bath system.
(7) In Example 1, the ratio of the total time during which the light emission operation is performed and the total time during which the stop operation is performed is fixed at 50% in each signal output period, but other ratios (for example, 40% and 45%) are used. Etc.) may be constant. Alternatively, in each signal output period, each signal output period is such that the ratio of the total time during which the light emitting operation is performed and the total time during which the stop operation is performed is within a certain range (for example, in the range of 40% to 60%). The signal of may be adjusted.
(8) In the first embodiment, in the signal output period, a configuration is illustrated in which a data signal is transmitted after the start signal is transmitted, an inverted signal is transmitted after the data signal is transmitted, and a dummy signal is transmitted after the inverted signal is transmitted. , It does not have to be in this order. In the signal output period, a dummy signal may be transmitted after the start signal is transmitted, an inverted signal may be transmitted after the dummy signal is transmitted, and a data signal may be transmitted after the inverted signal is transmitted.

1 ... Gas stove (gas appliance)
50 ... Microcomputer (control unit)
60 ... Light emitting part

Claims (6)

A light emitting part that emits visible light and
A signal output period shorter than the lighting period is intermittently and periodically set within the lighting period for lighting and displaying the light emitting unit, and the light emitting operation for causing the light emitting unit to emit light and the light emitting unit for stopping are stopped during the signal output period. A control unit that alternately performs a stop operation and
With
The control unit, the blinking state in which the turn-off period to be the lighting period unlit comprising the light emitting portion and the lighting state when a predetermined condition is satisfied are alternately repeated, time and the stop where the light emitting operation is performed The visible light signal is output for the predetermined time so as to output the visible light signal determined by the combination with the time during which the operation is performed in the signal output period set at predetermined time shorter than the lighting period in each lighting period. The light emitting unit is controlled so that the ratio of the total time during which the light emitting operation is performed and the total time during which the stopping operation is performed is set to a constant value or a certain range in each signal output period. A gas appliance characterized by The control unit controls the light emitting unit so as to output the visible light signal having at least a data signal and a dummy signal during the signal output period.
In the signal output period, the total time of the light emission operation of the data signal and the total time of the stop operation of the dummy signal are the same, and the total time of the stop operation of the data signal and the light emission of the dummy signal. The gas appliance according to claim 1, wherein the total operating time is the same. The gas appliance according to claim 2, wherein the dummy signal combined with the data signal in each signal output period is a signal in which the light and darkness of each minute signal constituting the data signal is inverted. The control unit outputs the visible light signal having at least a start signal indicating the start of the signal output period, the data signal, the dummy signal, and an inverted signal obtained by inverting the brightness of the start signal during the signal output period. The gas appliance according to any one of claims 2 to 3, which controls the light emitting unit so as to output to. In each of the signal output periods, the control unit transmits one of the data signal and the dummy signal after the transmission of the start signal, and transmits the inverted signal after the transmission of the one signal. The gas appliance according to claim 4, wherein the light emitting unit is controlled so as to transmit the other signal of the data signal and the dummy signal after the transmission of the inverting signal. The gas appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the signal output period and the period during which the light emitting unit is continuously turned off are alternately set in the lighting period.

Images