JP6965572B2 - Control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a control device in which a plurality of sub-control modules including an operation input module are communicably connected to a main control module via a common communication bus, and is particularly suitable as a control device mounted on a combustion device such as a gas stove. Regarding what can be used for.

The applicant of the present application has conventionally developed a gas stove on which a control device having a main control board (main control module) and a plurality of operation boards (sub control modules) is mounted for various controls. For example, the following patent documents It is disclosed in 1.

The conventional control device for a gas stove includes a communication bus (communication lines 18a, 18b, 19a, 19b) common to a plurality of operation boards, and each operation board has operation information of an operation panel (operation unit), that is, , Information on which of the multiple operation switches provided on the operation panel was pressed, and what kind of operation (for example, long-press operation, single-press operation, double-click operation, etc.) was performed on the operation switch. It is configured to transmit information about what has been done to the main control board via the communication bus.

JP-A-2015-20981

By the way, in order to prevent collision of signals transmitted from each operation board, it is necessary to predetermine specifications regarding transmission timing from each operation board. Lin bus communication has been conventionally known as one of such specifications. This Lin bus communication employs a master-slave method, in which the main control module (master) schedules the communicable period of each sub-control module (slave), and each sub-control module follows a predefined transmission timing. By performing transmission, signal collision can be prevented, each sub-control module can reliably transmit and receive signals at regular intervals, and the communication bus does not become overloaded, so stable communication can be performed.

On the other hand, the operation board as the sub control module cannot transmit a signal to the main control module at an arbitrary timing.

In a household gas stove, the operation information of the operation panel provided on the operation board is transmitted to the main control board by Lin bus communication, and when the main control board receives the operation information, an operation reception sound and an operation guidance sound (operation guidance) are emitted. Then, there is a time lag due to the above scheduling of Lin bus communication between the time when the operation board detects the operation of the operation panel and the time when the main control board receives the operation information. In the case of a configuration in which the operation reception sound (sound such as "beep") is delayed by several hundred milliseconds, the operation feeling deteriorates, and the operation reception sound is generated by pressing the operation switch on the operation panel. It is thought that there are many users who increase the force to press the switch until the operation reception sound is generated, and an unnecessarily strong pressing force repeatedly acts on the operation panel, which accelerates the physical deterioration of the operation panel. There is also a risk that it will end up.

Further, the length of the time lag also varies depending on when the operation panel is operated in the transmission schedule. Therefore, the timing of starting the generation of the operation guidance voice may be immediately after the operation of the operation panel or may be delayed, which may cause distrust of the device due to instability.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in a control device in which a plurality of sub-control modules including an operation input module (operation board, etc.) are communicably connected to a main control module via a common communication bus, a delay in communication via the communication bus The purpose is to eliminate the discomfort in the operation of the operation unit of the operation input module caused by the above.

The present invention has taken the following technical measures to achieve the above object.

That is, the present invention includes a main control module and a plurality of sub-control modules that are communicably connected to the main control module via a common communication bus, and at least one of the sub-control modules is a sub-control module. In a control device which is an operation input module configured to include an operation unit for accepting a plurality of types of user operations and to transmit operation information related to the operation content of the operation unit to the main control module via the communication bus. The operation signal transmission means for transmitting a predetermined operation reception signal from the operation input module to the main control module is further provided, and the operation input module transmits the operation information when receiving any one of the user operations. At the same time, the operation reception signal is transmitted to the main control module via the operation signal transmission means (claim 1).

According to the control device of the present invention, when any one of the user operations is performed by the operation unit of the operation input module, an operation reception signal that does not include operation information regarding what kind of user operation is performed is an operation signal transmission means. In addition to being transmitted from the operation input module to the main control module via the above, operation information regarding what kind of user operation has been performed is transmitted from the operation input module to the main control module via the communication bus. The time when the main control module receives the operation information via the communication bus is delayed by several hundred milliseconds from the time when the user operation is received in the operation input module due to the scheduling of transmission via the communication bus, but the main control module At the time when the operation signal transmission means receives the operation reception signal via the operation signal transmission means, the operation signal transmission means may be a dedicated communication line for the operation reception signal, or a communication line having less delay than the communication bus. It is possible to prevent a delay from occurring from the time when the user operation is received. Therefore, the main control module can first detect that some operation has been performed by receiving the operation reception signal, and when the operation reception signal is received, the operation reception sound is generated and the timer count starts until the operation guidance voice is started. By appropriately controlling the above, it is possible to eliminate a sense of discomfort in the operation of the operation unit of the operation input module.

In the control device of the present invention, the main control module comprises a sound generating circuit, that is configured to generate the operation reception sound and receiving the operation acceptance signal by the sound generator (claim 1). According to this configuration, the operation input module is not provided with a voice generation circuit to simplify the circuit configuration and reduce the cost, but the main control module is not delayed immediately after the operation of the operation unit of the operation input module. The operation reception sound can be uttered by the voice generation circuit of, and the operation information about the operation contents of the operation unit is transmitted from the operation input module to the main control module via the communication bus. Operation information can be reliably transmitted to the main control module.

Further, the main control module, upon receiving the operation information, that is configured to be generated by the operation guide voice corresponding to the operation information after a predetermined time has elapsed from the time of receiving the operation acceptance signal the sound generating circuit (Claim 1 ). According to this, even if the time lag of communication via the communication bus fluctuates depending on the situation, the time from the time when the user operation is accepted to the time when the operation guidance voice corresponding to the operation is generated is made almost constant. It is possible to improve the stability of the operation of the device.

Further, the plurality of sub-control modules are configured to sequentially communicate with the main control module via the communication bus in a time-division manner, and when the operation input module receives any one of the users, the operation is performed. The reception signal may be transmitted to the main control module via the operation signal transmission means, and then the operation information may be transmitted to the main control module via the communication bus (claim 2 ). According to this, the operation reception signal can be reliably received before the main control module receives the operation information, the simplification of various control sequences based on the reception time of the operation reception signal, and the stability of the control operation. It can be improved. Lin bus communication can be preferably used as the time-division communication specifications as described above.

Further, the plurality of sub-control modules are configured to sequentially communicate with the main control module via the communication bus in a time-division manner, and when the operation input module receives any one of the users, the operation is performed. The reception signal may be transmitted to the main control module via the operation signal transmission means, and then the operation information may be transmitted to the main control module via the communication bus (claim 6). According to this, the operation reception signal can be reliably received before the main control module receives the operation information, the simplification of various control sequences based on the reception time of the operation reception signal, and the stability of the control operation. It can be improved. Lin bus communication can be preferably used as the time-division communication specifications as described above.

Each control module may be configured as a control board in which constituent parts are mounted on one board, or a functional module composed of a plurality of boards or parts so as to have a predetermined function. It may be an appropriate configuration.

Further, the control device of the present invention is suitably implemented as a control device for controlling the combustion operation of the gas combustion device by incorporating a main control module and a plurality of sub control modules in a housing of a gas stove or other gas combustion device. can.

According to the control device of the present invention, the main control module can first detect that some user operation has been performed by receiving the operation reception signal, and when the operation reception signal is received, the operation reception sound is generated and the operation guidance voice is generated. By performing appropriate control such as starting counting of the timer until the start, it is possible to eliminate a sense of discomfort in the operation of the operation unit of the operation input module.

It is a schematic control block diagram of the gas stove which mounts the control device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic circuit diagram which shows the communication connection circuit composition of the main control board and the operation board of the control device for a gas stove.

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic control block diagram of a control device for a gas stove according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the gas stove includes a main control board 1 (main control module) and two operation boards 2 and 3 in total on the left and right sides. (Sub-control module) and top plate board 4 (sub-control module) are provided in a standard configuration, and a plurality of optional boards 5 and 6 (sub-control module) for providing additional functions according to the user's request. ), And these substrates 1 to 6 are built in the housing of the gas stove.

The main control board 1 includes a microcomputer 11 (control unit) for controlling combustion of a burner provided in a gas stove and controlling various operations in automatic cooking modes such as a cooking timer mode, a water boiling mode, and a rice cooking mode. .. Further, the main control board 1 includes a voice generation circuit 12 and a speaker 13 that generate voice in response to a voice generation command from the microcomputer 11.

The operation board 2 on the left side is an operation input module built in the left operation panel provided on the left side of the front surface of the gas stove housing so as to be openable and closable, and is a plurality of operation switches (for accepting a plurality of types of user operations). For example, it includes an operation unit 21 having a tactile switch) and a microcomputer 22 (control unit) that detects the operation of the operation unit 21. The microcomputer 22 has operation information regarding the operation content of the operation unit 21, that is, information regarding which of a plurality of operation switches has been operated and how the operation switch has been operated (for example, long press or single press). Operation information including information about the number of continuous pushes, etc.) is transmitted to the main control board 1 via the communication bus 7. Further, the operation board 2 is provided with an appropriate display unit (not shown) such as an LED or a 7-segment display, and when a display command from the main control board 1 is received via the communication bus 7, the display command is received. It is configured to display according to.

The operation board 3 on the right side is an operation input module built in the right operation panel provided on the right side of the front surface of the gas stove housing so as to be openable and closable, and is a plurality of types of user operations (for example, ignition operation and fire extinguishing operation). The operation unit 31 has a plurality of operation switches (for example, tactile switches) to receive the operation of increasing the heating power and the operation of reducing the heating power, and the microcomputer 32 (control unit) for detecting the operation of the operation unit 31. The microcomputer 32 transmits operation information regarding the operation content of the operation unit 31 to the main control board 1 via the communication bus 7. Further, the operation board 3 is provided with an appropriate display unit (not shown) such as an LED or a 7-segment display, and when a display command from the main control board 1 is received via the communication bus 7, the display command is received. It is configured to display according to. The operation information may be information indicating the type of user operation such as ignition operation, fire extinguishing operation, or thermal power adjustment operation, and detection of an operation switch indicating which operation switch is operated and how. The information itself (for example, information that identifies the operated operation switch and information on whether or not the operation switch has been pressed and held) may be used.

The top plate substrate 4 is a display module that mainly controls the display of LEDs provided on the top plate portion of the gas stove, and when a display command from the main control board 1 is received via the communication bus 7, it responds to the display command. It is configured to display the LED.

Each of the option boards 5 and 6 has an appropriate configuration such as a communication module for adding a communication function with a smartphone and an infrared communication module for adding an infrared communication function with a ventilation fan device with an infrared communication function. be able to. These option boards 5 and 6 are also communicably connected to the main control board 1 via the communication bus 7.

In the present embodiment, Lin (local interconnect network) bus communication is adopted as a communication specification via the communication bus 7, and the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1 communicates with the above-mentioned five sub-control modules 2 to 6. By sequentially allocating possible periods in a time-division manner and sequentially polling each sub-control module 2 to 6, a plurality of sub-control modules 2 to 6 can be connected to the main control board 1 while avoiding signal collision. It is configured so that stable communication can be performed sequentially between them.

More specifically, for example, the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1 has an operation board (left) 2, an operation board (right) 3, a top board 4, an option board 5, and an option board 6 in this order every 100 milliseconds. Switches the sub-control module that allows communication to. Therefore, each sub-control module can communicate with the main control board 1 only for 100 milliseconds during 500 milliseconds, and is in a communication standby state for 400 milliseconds.

In this case, if the operation unit 21 is operated within the period in which the operation board 2 can communicate via the communication bus 7, the operation information regarding the operation content is immediately after the user operates the main control board via the communication bus 7. It is sent to 1. On the other hand, if the operation unit 21 is operated immediately after the communicable period assigned to the operation board 2 ends, the transmission of the operation information is suspended until the next communication becomes possible, so that the main control board 1 operates the operation information. Will be received after 400 milliseconds from the user's operation.

In the present embodiment, in order to enable real-time transmission from each operation board 2 and 3 to the main control board 1 that some user operation has been performed, an operation reception signal is sent from each operation board 2 and 3 to the main control board 1. The operation boards 2 and 3 and the main control board 1 are connected so as to be able to transmit signals via an operation signal transmission signal line 8 (operation signal transmission means) for transmitting the above. A signal line 8 may be provided individually for each of the operation boards 2 and 3, but as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of operation boards 2 and 3 are provided via the signal line 8 with respect to the main control board 1. The configuration may be connected in parallel.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a connection circuit configuration via a communication bus 7 and a signal line 8 between the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1 and the microcomputers 22 and 32 of the operation boards 2 and 3. First, the connection circuit of the communication bus 7 will be described. Each microcomputer 11, 22, 32 has a built-in serial communication module for UART communication, such as the RL78 series microcomputer manufactured by Renesas Electronics, and Lin is composed of a UART port. It is provided with a bus communication transmission port Tx and a Lin bus communication reception port Rx. The Lin bus communication transmission port Tx of the microcomputers 22 and 32 of the operation boards 2 and 3 is connected to the Lin bus communication reception port Rx of the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1 via the communication bus 7. The Lin bus communication receiving port Rx of the microcomputers 22 and 32 is connected to the Lin bus communication transmitting port Tx of the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1 via the communication bus 7. The serial communication module can also be provided outside the microcomputer.

Further, the microcomputers 22 and 32 of the operation boards 2 and 3 are provided with an operation reception signal output port, and the port is configured by one of a large number of digital output ports provided in the microcomputers 22 and 32. ing. The operation reception signal output port is connected to the base of the pnp type transistor Q1, the emitter of the transistor Q1 is connected to the power supply line, and the signal line 8 is connected to the collector output of the transistor Q1. On the other hand, the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1 includes an operation reception signal input port, and the port is composed of one of a large number of digital input ports provided in the microcomputer 11. The operation reception signal input port is connected to the power supply line via the pull-up resistor R1 and is connected to the ground via the npn type transistor Q2, and the signal line 8 is connected to the base of the transistor Q2. There is.

Further, on each of the operation boards 2 and 3, a detection circuit for detecting the operation of the operation units 21 and 31 is provided. The configuration of the detection circuit may be appropriate and is not limited to the illustrated examples. Further, when the operation units 21 and 31 are composed of a plurality of operation switches, a detection circuit may be individually provided corresponding to each of the plurality of operation switches, and the detection circuits may be individually provided on the operation boards 2 and 3. It may be a detection circuit that detects a plurality of operation switches by a dynamic scan method. Further, the operation units 21 and 31 can be configured by a liquid crystal touch panel. In this case, the touch panel can be divided into a plurality of areas, and operation buttons corresponding to different user operations can be arranged in each area. Since the configurations and operations of the operation boards 2 and 3 are the same, the configurations and operations of the operation boards 2 will be described below.

The microcomputer 22 of the operation board 2 is configured to output the operation reception signal output port to High when none of the operation switches constituting the operation unit 21 are operated. At this time, the signal potential of the signal line 8 is in the Low state, and a High signal is input to the operation reception signal input port of the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1.

The microcomputer 22 of the operation board 2 is configured to first set the operation reception signal output port to Low output when one user operation is received by operating any one of the operation switches. At this time, the signal potential of the signal line 8 is in the High state (this state is the state in which the operation reception signal is output), and the Low signal is input to the operation reception signal input port of the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1. Will be done.

Following the transmission of the operation reception signal, the operation board 2 transmits the operation information regarding the operation content of the operation unit 31 to the main control board 1 by Lin bus communication. More specifically, the microcomputer 22 of the operation board 2 waits until the transmission permission message is received from the main control board 1, and when the transmission permission message is received, the microcomputer 22 controls the operation information from the microcomputer 22 via the communication bus 7. It is transmitted to the microcomputer 11 of the board 1. The operation information can be defined by, for example, 8-bit digital information.

When the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1 receives the operation reception signal from the operation board 2 via the operation signal transmission signal line 8, that is, when the input of the operation reception signal input port transitions from the High signal to the Low signal, the sound is heard. A voice generation command signal for generating a predetermined operation reception sound (for example, a sound such as "beep") is sent to the generation circuit 12, and the operation reception sound is generated from the speaker 13. Further, the microcomputer 11 starts counting the elapsed time from the time when the operation reception signal is received.

Further, the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1 is configured to start a control operation corresponding to the operation information when the operation information is received from the operation board 2 via the communication bus 7. For example, when the operation unit 21 for instructing the start of combustion is operated, the operation control of the solenoid valve for starting the combustion of the burner and the operation control of the ignition device are started. Further, when the operation unit 21 for instructing the combustion stop is operated, the closing operation control of the solenoid valve for stopping the combustion of the burner is started. Further, when the operation unit 21 for selecting any of the plurality of automatic cooking modes is operated, the change control of the currently selected cooking mode is started. Further, when the operation unit 21 for instructing the start of the automatic cooking mode is operated, the operation control of the currently selected cooking mode is started.

Further, when the microcomputer 11 of the main control board 1 receives the operation information, the voice generation circuit 12 generates an operation guidance voice corresponding to the operation information after a lapse of a predetermined time from the time when the operation reception signal is received. Has been done. For example, when a user operation for instructing the start of combustion is performed, an operation guidance voice such as "start combustion" can be generated. Further, when a user operation for instructing the combustion stop is performed, an operation guidance voice such as "combustion is stopped" can be generated. Further, when a user operation for selecting one of a plurality of automatic cooking modes is performed, an operation guidance voice such as "change the cooking mode to XXX mode" can be generated. Further, when a user operation for instructing the start of the automatic cooking mode is performed, an operation guidance voice such as "Start cooking in the XXX mode" can be generated.

The predetermined time from receiving the operation reception signal to generating the operation guidance voice can be, for example, 1 second. It is preferable that this predetermined time is longer than the maximum transmission time lag of Lin bus communication. If the operation reception signal is not received within the predetermined time before receiving the operation information, the control operation is performed by performing a predetermined error process (for example, communication abnormality notification) without receiving the operation information. It can be configured not to start, or it can be configured to generate an operation guidance voice even when the operation reception signal is not received. It is preferable that the control operation is started after the operation guidance voice is generated.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the design can be changed as appropriate. For example, in the above embodiment, the signal line 8 is configured as a dedicated line for transmitting the operation reception signal, but the operation reception signal is transmitted by the serial communication line (operation signal transmission means) having less delay than the communication using the communication bus 7. It can also be configured to transmit from a few to the main control board 1. Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which two operation boards 2 and 3 are provided is shown, but the number of operation boards may be one. Further, the operation units 21 and 31 may be composed of a single operation switch or a touch panel. In this case, a plurality of operation units 21 and 31 may be pressed by long pressing of the operation switch, or may be a plurality of operation units 21 and 31 depending on the touch position and gesture of the touch panel. It is possible to accept various types of user operations.

1 Main control module (main control board)
A few operation input modules (operation board)
4, 5, 6 Sub-control module 7 Communication bus 8 Operation signal transmission means (operation signal transmission signal line)
12 Voice generation circuit 21 Operation unit 31 Operation unit

Claims (2)

The main control module includes a plurality of sub-control modules that are communicably connected to the main control module via a common communication bus, and at least one of the sub-control modules performs a plurality of types of user operations. In a control device which is an operation input module configured to include an operation unit for receiving and to transmit operation information related to the operation content of the operation unit to the main control module via the communication bus.
The operation signal transmission means for transmitting a predetermined operation reception signal from the operation input module to the main control module is further provided, and the operation input module transmits the operation information when receiving any one of the user operations. The operation reception signal is transmitted to the main control module via the operation signal transmission means .
The main control module includes a voice generation circuit, and is configured to generate an operation reception sound by the voice generation circuit when the operation reception signal is received.
When the main control module receives the operation information, the control is configured to generate an operation guidance voice corresponding to the operation information by the voice generation circuit after a lapse of a predetermined time from the time when the operation reception signal is received. Device. In the control device according to claim 1, the plurality of sub-control modules are configured to sequentially communicate with the main control module via the communication bus in a time-divided manner, and the operation input module is any one of them. When the user operation is received, the operation reception signal is transmitted to the main control module via the operation signal transmission means, and then the operation information is transmitted to the main control module via the communication bus. Control device.

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