JPH05344567A - Remote controller for electric apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the power consumption of a remote controller by providing the controller with a means for detecting human being's existence in its vicinity, and only at the time of receiving a detection signal from the detection means, displaying the operating state of an apparatus and setting up a control circuit in an operatable state. CONSTITUTION:Only when a human being exists in the vicinity of a remote controller 3, an infrared-ray sensor 1 is turned on, a control device 4 in the remote controller 3 is driven and the operating information of an apparatus body is displayed on a remote controller display image plane. Simultaneously the remote controller 3 lets an operation instruction be in receivable state, and when an operation/temperature control switch is depressed, a corresponding signal is transmitted and the apparatus body is controlled. Thereby the remote controller 3 is not driven when a human being is not in its vicinity, but when the human being is separated off the remote controller 3 after operating it, unnecessary image display is stopped but the operation of the apparatus body is continued. Consequently the service life of a display device can be prolonged and power consumption can be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control for remotely controlling household gas water heaters and other appliances.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a gas water heater, an operation switch of a remote controller (remote operation device) is pressed to enter an operating state, and if the operation switch remains "ON", the display screen of the remote controller is always displayed. It remained.

[0003]

However, in the prior art, when the operation switch is in the "ON" state, the remote controller must display the instrument operation information on the display screen even when it is not necessary to display it. There was a problem of requiring a lot of power.

The present invention solves the above problems,
The first purpose is to display the indicator only when a person is nearby.

A second object of the invention is to enable the maneuvering of the appliance only when a person is nearby.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the first technical means of the present invention is a detecting means for detecting the presence of a human being, and only when the detecting signal of the detecting means is received. It is provided with a display for displaying the driving information of the equipment.

The second means of the present invention comprises a detecting means for detecting the presence of a human being, and a control circuit for making a driving operation command of the appliance acceptable by a detection signal of the detecting means. Is.

[0008]

According to the first technical means, when the detecting means detects the approach of a human being, the remote control device of the present invention displays the operation information of the appliance on the display receiving the detection signal. Also, when a person moves away, useless display is stopped.

Further, according to the second technical means, when a person approaches, the control circuit is brought into a driving operable state. And by disabling driving when humans move away,
The power consumption of the remote control device is reduced.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a remote control device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a remote controller (remote operation device) for a water heater as an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an internal circuit diagram thereof. The remote controller 3 of the water heater has a built-in infrared sensor 1 as a detection means, so that it can be determined that a person is nearby. Further, the infrared sensor 1 is incorporated in the power supply line 5 of the control circuit 4 in terms of a circuit, and the infrared sensor 1 is turned on / off.
The control circuit 4 of the remote controller 3 can be turned ON / OFF by F.

According to the above configuration, when a person is near the remote controller 3, the infrared sensor 1 is normally turned on and the control circuit 4 of the remote controller 3 is operating. At this time, when a person pushes the operation switch 6, the control circuit 4 operates and the remote controller 3 (remote operation device) is in a receivable state. Therefore, the operation signal is sent from the remote controller 3 to the main device 8 by wire 9 or wirelessly, and the main device 8 Starts driving. At this time, when the temperature control switch 7 of the remote controller 3 is operated, the control circuit 4 operates, and since the remote controller 3 is also ready to receive the switch 7, the temperature controlled signal is sent from the remote controller 3 to the main unit 8.

When a person is not near the remote controller 3, the infrared sensor 1 is turned off and the control circuit 4 of the remote controller 3 is turned on.
Will not work because it is disconnected from the power supply 10. For example, when a person presses the driving switch 6 and is near the remote controller 3, the remote controller display screen 2 is displayed. However, when a person moves away from the remote controller 3, the infrared sensor 1 detects this situation and the unnecessary remote controller display screen 2 is not displayed. At this time, the operation of the main body instrument 8 continues. When a person approaches again, the remote control display screen 2 displays the driving information of the main equipment.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the infrared sensor 1 is built in, when a person is near the remote controller 3, the operation is possible and the display screen 2 of the remote controller 3 is displayed. Further, when a person is not near the remote controller 3, it becomes inoperable and the display screen 2 of the remote controller 3 is not displayed, which is effective in reducing the power consumption of the remote controller 3 (at this time, the remote controller 3). Is no longer displayed, but the operation of the main unit continues.)

As a sensor for judging that the remote controller 3 is near a human, an optical sensor, a heat sensitive sensor, an ultrasonic wave or the like can be considered.

[0016]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, according to claim 1, a human is a remote controller (remote operation device).
Since it is possible to display the operation information of the appliance only when it is determined that the user is near the vehicle, it is possible to perform efficient display and reduce the life and power consumption of the display.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the remote control can be operated only when a person is near the remote control, the power consumption of the remote control (remote control device) can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a remote controller (remote operation device) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] Internal circuit diagram

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 infrared sensor 2 remote control display screen 3 remote control 4 control circuit 5 power line

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A remote control device for an electric appliance, comprising: a detecting means for detecting the presence of a human being; and a display for displaying operation information of the appliance main body only when a detection signal of the detecting means is received. 2. A remote control device for an electric appliance, comprising: detection means for detecting the presence of a human being; and a control circuit for making it possible to accept a driving operation command of the appliance by a detection signal of the detection means.