JPH07107563A - Radio remote control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To temporarily continue a hot water supply even when the battery voltage of a radio remote controller drops by providing a battery voltage detection part for detecting the voltage of a battery for a power source. CONSTITUTION:The battery voltage is detected by a battery voltage detection part 8. When the voltage of a battery 7 drops and the battery is almost exhausted, a voltage reduction mark is displayed on a display part 5 by means of flickering. When the battery voltage in further lowered, a radio remote controller 2 transmits the battery exhaustion to a main body 1 of an equipment by radio and, radio communication is not performed afterwards so as to avoid useless communication. At the same time, the function of an operation switch 3 of the radio remote controller 2 stops, the display part 5 stops displaying the temperature of the hot water or the like, and only the voltage drop mark is displayed. When the battery exhaustion is decided by the radio remote controller 2, the mode is automatically switched within a range capable of securing safety by the main body 1 of the equipment. Thus, even when the battery is exhausted and the function of the radio remote controller becomes inactive, hot water can be supplied for a while.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless remote control system for home water heaters and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in the case of a wired remote control system (hereinafter, also referred to as a remote control system), since power to the remote controller (hereinafter, also referred to as a remote control) is supplied from the water heater main body, The battery never ran out. In addition, there are some infrared remote controllers and the like that are battery-powered, but none of them continue the operation of the water heater main body or change the operation mode when the battery runs out.

[0003]

However, in the case where the operation is stopped when the battery voltage drops as in the conventional case, when the battery runs out when the battery-powered wireless remote controller is applied to equipment products such as a water heater, There was a problem that hot water suddenly became unusable. Further, if the battery runs out while the hot water temperature is set to a high temperature, there is a problem that even if the hot water supply temperature is set to a low temperature next time, the hot water supply state of the previous high temperature setting continues.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and it is a first object of the present invention to allow the hot water supply operation to be continued even though the battery voltage of the wireless remote controller is lowered.

The second purpose is to inform the water heater main body that the battery is dead just before the wireless remote controller stops functioning due to the battery voltage drop, and then stop the function of the operation switch to prevent unstable operation. However, it is to inform the user that the battery is dead.

A third object is to prevent the abrupt change of the operation mode of the water heater main body to continue the operation mode during hot water supply until the hot water supply is stopped even when the battery of the wireless remote controller is exhausted during hot water supply. is there.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a wireless remote control system of the present invention has an operation switch for inputting a driving instruction signal to a water heater main body and a wireless output by an input operation of the operation switch. A transmitter / receiver that generates and transmits, and also receives a radio signal from the water heater main unit, a display unit that displays the status of the remote controller and the water heater main unit, a control unit that controls the entire remote controller, and a power supply And a battery voltage detection unit for detecting the battery voltage of the battery controller, which sends a battery exhaustion signal to the water heater main body at a predetermined voltage before the remote controller function becomes unstable due to the battery voltage drop Is designed to automatically operate in a predetermined operation mode when water flow through the heat exchanger is detected.

Further, the remote controller which has transmitted the battery exhaustion signal changes the display content of the display unit to the display of battery exhaustion and stops the function of the operation switch.

Furthermore, when the battery exhaustion signal is transmitted during the hot water supply operation of the water heater main body, the operation mode at that time is automatically switched to a predetermined operation mode after completion.

[0010]

With the first means, the wireless remote control system of the present invention transmits the battery exhaustion signal before the voltage of the battery power supply drops and the function of the wireless remote control does not operate, and the hot water supply main body operates in a predetermined operation mode. It can be operated automatically and can be operated tentatively even if the battery runs out.

In the second means, the low voltage of the wireless remote controller is stopped by transmitting to the water heater main body that the battery is dead and stopping the function of the operation switch immediately before the function of the wireless remote controller stops working. The unstable operation due to is eliminated, and the user is indicated that the battery is dead, indicating that the battery needs to be replaced.

Further, in the third means, when the battery exhaustion of the wireless remote controller is transmitted to the water heater main body during hot water supply, the operation mode is automatically switched after the water heater main body finishes the operating state at that time. , It becomes possible to use the water heater main body with the least inconvenience to the user.

[0013]

Embodiments of the wireless remote control system of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a wireless remote control system for a water heater as an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a main body of the water heater, which communicates with a wireless remote controller 2 by wireless communication. The equipment main body 1 is provided with a water flow sensor 9 for detecting water supply from the outside, a heat exchanger 10 for heating the water supply, a controller 11 for controlling hot water supply operation, and the like.

The wireless remote controller 2 has an operation switch 3, a transmission / reception section 4 for transmitting the operation content of the operation switch 3 to the instrument body 1, and a signal from the instrument body 1, the state of the wireless remote controller 2 and the instrument body. Display unit 5 for displaying the state 1
And a control unit 6 that controls the entire wireless remote controller 2.
And a battery 7 for power supply and a battery voltage detector 8.

FIG. 2 shows a decrease in battery voltage and a wireless remote controller 2.
3 shows the relationship between the operating states of. Wireless remote control 2
If the battery is used for a long time, the voltage of the battery 7 will drop. In the area where the battery voltage is (A) in FIG. 2, the operation of the wireless remote controller 2 is sufficiently stable, and thus normal operation is performed.
In the area (B) of FIG. 2 where the battery voltage is near the end of the battery, a low voltage mark is displayed by blinking on the display unit 5, but since the operation of the wireless remote controller 2 is stable, normal operation is performed. Here, in addition to displaying the hot water temperature and the like on the display unit 5 and blinking the voltage drop mark at the same time, the user can be more surely urged to replace the battery by using a sound such as a buzzer. Also, the voltage drop mark may be turned on or may be notified only by a buzzer or the like.

When the battery voltage further decreases to the area (C), the wireless remote controller 2 is wirelessly notified to the instrument body 1 that the battery has run out, and the decrease in the battery voltage causes a message to be transmitted to the instrument body 1. In order to avoid unstable and useless transmission such that the battery 7 also fails in power consumption and the voltage consumption of the battery 7 is significantly accelerated, wireless communication is not performed thereafter. At the same time, the function of the operation switch 3 of the wireless remote controller 2 is stopped, and the display unit 5 stops displaying the hot water temperature and lights only the voltage drop mark.
The method of displaying the voltage drop mark may be any method as long as it can be distinguished from the case where the battery is almost dead, and the same method may be used. In addition, it may be used together with a buzzer or the like, or may be notified only by the buzzer or the like.

When it is determined that the wireless remote controller 2 has run out of battery, the instrument body 1 automatically switches modes within a range where safety can be ensured. For example, if the battery runs out during automatic bath operation, operation continues until automatic operation or the heat retention mode ends, and then the hot water supply operation
If you fix the temperature at 7 ℃ or if the battery runs out while burning hot water at 75 ℃ for hot water supply, it will remain as it is until the faucet is closed. Once the faucet is closed, it will be fixed at 47 ℃. The mode switches to the mode considered. After that, when the controller 11 of the appliance main body 1 fixes the predetermined operation mode and the faucet is opened to receive water supply to the heat exchanger 10 from the water flow sensor 9, the controller 11 is ready to supply hot water. The period when the battery voltage is in the area of (C) of FIG. 2 is (C)
Continue the mode that was initially switched.

When the battery voltage is in the area of FIG. 2D, the CPU of the control unit 6 resets so that the display on the display unit 5 is also turned off. However, even in this state, the hot water supply operation can be continued as in the area (C). Here, the battery voltage is detected by the battery voltage detecting unit 8. However, since the voltage changes due to the current flowing due to the influence of the internal resistance of the battery 7 or the like, it is desirable to detect when the maximum current during the remote control operation flows.

In addition, the wireless remote controller 2 is 2 as a system.
If more than one unit is installed, follow the operation of the wireless remote controller 2 if any one can operate. If the wired remote controller and wireless remote controller 2 are used together, even if the wireless remote controller 2 runs out of battery, Follow the remote control operation.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the battery voltage of the wireless remote controller 2 drops, and first, in (B), an indication that the battery is about to run out is displayed, resulting in an inconvenient use state in which transmission fails many times. If the voltage drops further, the user is informed that the wireless remote controller 2 has run out of battery in (C) and then the function of the operation switch 3 of the wireless remote controller 2 is stopped. By displaying a message to that effect and automatically switching the instrument main body 1 to the optimum mode, the system can be used without causing great inconvenience to the user even if the battery 7 runs out. .

[0021]

As is apparent from the above description, the wireless remote control system according to the first aspect of the present invention enables provisional hot water supply even when the battery runs out and the wireless remote control does not function.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent wireless communication in an unstable state by transmitting the battery exhaustion to the water heater main body immediately before the wireless remote controller loses its function and stopping the function of the operation switch. Only the dead battery can be highlighted to the user.

Further, according to claim 3, when the wireless remote controller does not perform its function during hot water supply, the hot water heater body switches to a predetermined operation mode after the operating state at that time ends, so that the battery runs out. Even if it does, it prevents the hot water temperature from changing suddenly during hot water supply.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a wireless remote control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the battery voltage of the system and the operating state that changes as the voltage drops.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Wireless remote control 3 Operation switch 5 Display section 8 Battery voltage detection section

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Nobuo Hamano 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Shuji Ishizuka 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An operation switch for inputting a driving instruction signal to the water heater main body, and a transmission / reception unit for generating and transmitting a wireless output by input operation of the operation switch, and for receiving a wireless signal from the water heater main body. , A display section for displaying the state of the remote controller and the state of the water heater main body, a control section for controlling the entire remote controller, and a battery voltage detection section for detecting the voltage of the battery for power supply, and the battery voltage At a certain voltage before the remote controller function becomes unstable and the remote controller function becomes unstable and the water heater main body detects that water is flowing through the heat exchanger in the predetermined operation mode. Wireless remote control system that operates automatically. 2. The wireless remote control system according to claim 1, wherein the remote controller that has transmitted the battery dead signal changes the display content of the display unit to the battery dead display and stops the function of the operation switch. 3. The wireless remote control system according to claim 1, wherein, when the battery exhaustion signal is transmitted to the main body of the water heater during the hot water supply operation, the operation mode at that time is terminated and the operation mode is automatically switched to a predetermined operation mode.