JP3456909B2 - Home automation device including remote control device and home appliance controlled by it - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for remotely controlling an electric home appliance such as an air conditioner, and in particular, a remote control device for controlling the electric home appliance by comprehensively judging information transmitted from the electric home appliance. The present invention relates to a home automation device including home electric appliances controlled by the remote control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, home automation has been attracting attention for the purpose of improving life, improving efficiency, and ensuring safety in the home. As a system that realizes this home automation, in order to control home appliances in the home from outside using a telephone line and to control appliances for security maintenance, the interfaces can be unified and the appliances can be connected to each other. Such HBS (home bus system) is widely known.

On the other hand, as a technique for centrally managing a plurality of home electric appliances by remote control, there is an invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-213500. The present invention relates to an operation control device for remotely controlling a plurality of air conditioners, and a device number setting means and a device number setting means for setting device numbers corresponding to a plurality of air conditioners in a transmitting wireless remote controller body. Operation setting means for transmitting an operation control signal and an operation start signal to the air conditioner set by the above. In addition, a device number determination unit that determines that the air conditioner has been selected is provided for the plurality of air conditioners on the receiving side. Then, when it is determined that the air conditioner has been selected, the air conditioner receives the operation control signal and the operation start signal transmitted from the wireless remote controller and starts the operation.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned HB
When controlling home electric appliances by introducing S, it is necessary to connect the appliances by wire in a communication method such as a home bus.
Therefore, it is necessary to lay a cable in the room,
There is a problem that a large amount of cost is required.

Further, the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-213500 is suitable for controlling the same home electric appliance, but cannot be said to be suitable for controlling different home electric appliances.

Further, in any of the above-mentioned technologies, the user controls the home electric appliance by his / her own judgment, and it cannot be said that the usability for the user is improved. Moreover, different sensors are mounted on the home appliances, and the information detected by the sensors is used only by the home appliances on which the sensors are mounted. Therefore, it cannot be said that such information is effectively used.

In addition, the user of the air conditioner may feel the need to reset the air conditioner temperature and air volume because the physiological condition has changed after taking a bath or after exercising. Often. In this case, the user lowers the set temperature of the air conditioner and increases the air volume to change the setting conditions for a more comfortable state. Then, after operating the air conditioner under the set conditions for a while, it is general to restore the original set conditions. However, there is a problem that these operations are very troublesome for the user.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a first object thereof is to provide a remote control device capable of controlling the operation of the air conditioner in accordance with the physiological condition of the user. It is to be.

A second object is to provide a home automation device capable of providing new information to a user by integrating information detected by sensors mounted on a plurality of home electric appliances. .

A third object is to provide a home automation device capable of controlling home electric appliances by integrating information detected by sensors mounted on a plurality of home electric appliances.

[0011]

A remote control device according to claim 1 is for detecting body surface temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the body surface of the user and for detecting the humidity of the body surface of the user. Body surface humidity detecting means, communication means for communicating information between the air conditioner, body surface temperature detected by the body surface temperature detecting means and body surface humidity detected by the body surface humidity detecting means determining the operation mode of the air conditioner based on, via the communication means seen including a setting means for setting the operation mode, the body temperature detecting means and the body surface humidity detecting means
Is provided in the area where the user's palm touches, and
The control device further includes a body surface temperature detecting means and a body surface humidity detecting device.
It is provided at a position facing the intelligence means,
And to enable detection by the body surface humidity detection means.
Intelligence effective means, the setting means by the detection effective means
When the detection is validated, it is detected by the body surface temperature detection means.
Detected by known body surface temperature and body surface humidity detection means.
Operating mode of air conditioner based on known body surface humidity
Is determined and the operation mode is set via the communication means.

The setting means determines the operation mode of the air conditioner based on the body surface temperature detected by the body surface temperature detecting means and the body surface humidity detected by the body surface humidity detecting means, and through the communication means. Since the operation mode is set, operation control suitable for the physiological condition of the user can be performed. Also, body surface temperature detection means and body surface humidity detection
Means are provided where the palm of the user contacts
Therefore, it is easier to detect the user's physiological condition.
Become so. Furthermore, the setting means is a detection effective means.
Therefore, when the detection is enabled, the operating mode of the air conditioner
Set the mode so that the user's physiological condition can be detected accurately.
It is possible to

[0013]

[0014]

[0015]

[0016]

The remote control device according to claim 2 is the following:
A 1 Symbol placement of the remote control device, communication means IrDA
Infrared communication is performed by IrDA control of (Infrared Data Association).

The communication means is IrDA control of IrDA.
Since infrared communication is carried out by means of the above, it is possible to perform one-to-N communication (N is a natural number), bidirectional communication, long-distance communication (about 10 meters) and the like. Therefore, the remote control device can control the home electric appliance more finely.

[0019]

[0020]

[0021]

[0022]

[0023]

[0024]

[0025]

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the use of a remote control device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner installed indoors has a room temperature detection unit 101 that detects the temperature inside the room.
And a light emitting / receiving unit 102 that communicates with the remote control device 3 by infrared rays. Further, the remote control device 3 is
It includes a light emitting / receiving unit 301 that communicates with the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner by infrared rays. The user uses the remote control device 3 to remotely control the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner. Infrared communication between the light emitting / receiving unit 102 of the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner and the light emitting / receiving unit 301 of the remote control device 3 is performed by bidirectional infrared communication such as IrDA control of the standard group IrDA of infrared data standards. Done.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the remote control device 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The remote control device 3 includes a light emitting / receiving unit 301 and a body surface data input switch 302 that enables measurement of the body surface when pressed.
And a body surface measuring unit 30 for measuring the temperature and humidity of the body surface
3 and a display unit 306 for displaying information to the user,
It includes a control circuit 307 for controlling the entire remote control device, a switch unit 308 for selecting a home electric appliance to be remotely controlled and an operation mode, and a human body sensor 309 for detecting whether or not there is a person in the room. The body surface measurement unit 303 includes a body surface temperature detection unit 304 that detects the temperature of the body surface, and a body surface humidity detection unit 305 that detects the humidity of the body surface. Further, as the human body sensor 309, for example, a sensor that emits infrared rays and detects a human body by a change in reflected light is used.

FIG. 3 shows the control circuit 307 of the remote controller 3.
3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of FIG. Control circuit 307
Is a RAM (Random Acces
s Memory) 401, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 402 in which a remote control program and the like are stored, and a display unit 30.
6, a character generator 403 that generates a character font to be displayed on the display unit 6, an A / D (Analog / Digital) converter 404 that converts the voltage output from the body surface temperature detection unit 304 and the body surface humidity detection unit 305 into digital data,
I / O controller 405 for controlling I / O (Input / Output) and CPU (Central Processing Unit) 406
And a timer 407. The body surface temperature detection unit 304,
Utilizing the fact that the resistance value of the thermistor changes with temperature, the temperature is detected by amplifying the voltage across the thermistor 408 with the amplifier 409. Further, the body surface humidity detecting unit 305 detects the humidity by utilizing the fact that the capacitance between the facing electrodes changes depending on the humidity. That is,
An F / V (Frequency / Voltage) converter 411 constitutes an oscillation circuit whose frequency changes according to the capacitance between the electrodes 410.
The humidity is detected by converting the frequency into a voltage by.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control unit 103 that performs overall control of the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner. In the present specification, the parts other than the control unit 103 in the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner will be collectively referred to as the air conditioner body. Further, since this air conditioner body is a well-known technique, detailed description will be omitted.

The control unit 10 of the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner
Reference numeral 3 denotes a RAM 111 used for a work area and the like, and a ROM for storing programs for controlling the air conditioner body and the like.
112, an A / D converter 114 that converts the voltage output from the room temperature detection unit 101 into digital data, and an I / O controller 1 that controls I / O of the air conditioner body or the like.
15, a CPU 116, and a light emitting / receiving unit 102 that performs infrared communication with the remote control device 3. Since room temperature detecting unit 101 and light emitting / receiving unit 102 have the same configurations and functions as body surface temperature detecting unit 304 and light emitting / receiving unit 301 shown in FIG. 3, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

The CPU 116 receives the infrared signal transmitted from the remote control device 3 via the light emitting / receiving unit 102, determines the operation mode based on the received data, and controls the air conditioner main body. Further, the CPU 116 periodically detects the room temperature by the room temperature detection unit 101, converts the room temperature data into an infrared signal via the light emitting / receiving unit 102, and transmits the infrared signal to the remote control device 3.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the processing procedure of the remote control device in the present embodiment.
First, the CPU 406 uses the body surface data input switch 308.
It is determined whether or not is pressed (S1). If the body surface data input switch 308 is not pressed (S1,
NO), the control operation (normal control operation) of the air conditioner 3 in the current operation mode is performed (S9). If the body surface data input switch 302 is pressed (S1, YE
S), the CPU 406 measures the temperature of the body surface of the palm of the user by the body surface temperature detecting unit 304 (S2), and measures the humidity of the body surface by the body surface humidity detecting unit 305 (S3). By using the body surface data input switch 302 that does not turn on unless the user grips the remote control device 3 with a predetermined force or more, more stable temperature data and humidity data can be obtained.

Next, the CPU 406 causes the body surface temperature detection unit 3
Based on the body surface temperature measured by 04 and the body surface humidity measured by the body surface humidity detecting unit 305, it is determined whether or not the physiological condition of the user is different from before. For example, as shown in the truth table of FIG. 6, the temperature of the body surface of the user is 35 ° C. or higher, and the humidity of the body surface is 60.
If it is more than%, it is determined that the user is out of the bath (S4, YES), the set temperature is lowered by "2 ° C" (S5),
The air volume is set to "strong" (S6), and the operation mode of the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner is set via the light emitting / receiving unit 301 (S7).

Finally, the CPU 406 sets "5 minutes" in the timer 407 (S8), returns to the original operation mode after 5 minutes, and performs the normal control operation (S9). As shown in the truth table of FIG. 6, the temperature of the body surface of the user is 3
If the humidity is 5% or less and the humidity is 60% or more, it may be determined to be in the "bulk mode" and the humidifying operation may be performed.

Further, when the user touches the body surface measuring section 303 with a finger or a palm, the respective values change abruptly. Therefore, the user can detect this change and the remote control device 3 can detect the change.
You may make it detect that it is contacting. By doing so, the body surface data input switch 30
It is also possible to omit 2.

As described above, according to the remote control device 3 in the present embodiment, the operation mode of the air conditioner is changed by detecting the change in the physiological condition of the user, so that the user Eliminates the need for cumbersome operations such as changing the operation mode by remote control.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a home automation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner installed indoors includes a room temperature detection unit 101 that detects the temperature inside the room, and a light emitting and receiving unit 102 that communicates with the remote control device 3 ′ by infrared rays. Air purifier 5
Includes a flame detection unit 501 that detects a flame, and a light emitting and receiving unit 502 that communicates with the remote control device 3 ′ by infrared rays.

The outdoor unit 6 of the air conditioner includes a transmitting / receiving unit 601 for transmitting / receiving data to / from the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner by wire, an outdoor air temperature detecting unit 602 for detecting the temperature of the outdoor air, and a humidity of the outdoor air. Outside air humidity detecting unit 603 for detecting the temperature and outside air wind speed detecting unit 60 for measuring the wind speed of the outside air
Including 4 and. It should be noted that since outside air temperature detection unit 602 and outside air humidity detection unit 603 have the same configuration and function as body surface temperature detection unit 304 and body surface humidity detection unit 305 shown in FIG. 3, detailed description thereof will not be repeated. Further, the outside air wind speed detection unit 604 detects the wind speed by detecting a change in temperature after self-heating. The outdoor unit 6 of the air conditioner transmits the outside air temperature, the outside air humidity, and the outside air wind speed to the indoor unit 1 via the transmitting / receiving unit 601.

The washer / dryer 7 also includes a light emitting / receiving unit 701 that communicates with the remote control device 3'by infrared rays. The user uses the remote control device 3 ′ to use the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner, the air cleaner 5, and the washer / dryer 7
Control remotely.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control unit 503 which controls the air cleaner 5 as a whole.
In the present specification, the parts of the air cleaner 5 other than the control unit 503 are collectively referred to as the air cleaner body. Further, since this air purifier body is a well-known technique, detailed description will be omitted.

The control unit 503 of the air purifier 5 controls the RAM 511 used in the work area and the like, the ROM 512 in which the control program of the air purifier main body and the like are stored, and the I / O of the air purifier main body and the like. I / O controller 5
15, a CPU 516, and a light emitting / receiving unit 502 that performs infrared communication with the remote control device 3 ′. The flame detection unit 501 detects a flame by detecting that the amount of ultraviolet rays becomes a predetermined value or more. The CPU 516 controls the air purifier main body to start the cleaning of the air when the flame detection unit 501 detects a flame (for example, when the user ignites a cigarette), and the light emitting / receiving unit 5
The information is transmitted to the remote control device 3 ′ via 02.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control unit 702 that controls the entire washing and drying machine 7.
In the present specification, the parts other than the control unit 702 of the washer / dryer 7 are collectively referred to as the washer / dryer main body. Further, since this washer / dryer main body is a well-known technique, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The control unit 702 of the washer / dryer 7 controls a RAM 711 used in a work area, a ROM 712 in which a program for controlling the washer / dryer body is stored, and I / O of the washer / dryer body. I / O controller 7
15, a CPU 716, and a light emitting / receiving unit 701 that performs infrared communication with the remote control device 3 ′. CPU71
Reference numeral 6 automatically controls washing, rinsing, dehydration, and drying by controlling the main body of the washer / dryer based on the transmission data from the remote control device 3'received via the light emitting / receiving unit 701. .

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for explaining the processing procedure of the remote control device 3'in the present embodiment. First, the CPU 406 determines whether or not the information indicating that the flame is detected is received from the air purifier 5 via the light emitting / receiving unit 301 (S11). If the information indicating that the flame is detected is not received from the air purifier 5 (S11, NO), the normal control operation is repeated (S18). If the information indicating that the flame is detected is received from the air purifier 5 (S11, YE
S), the room temperature data is received from the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner (S12).

Next, the CPU 406 determines whether the room temperature data received from the indoor unit 1 is abnormally high temperature (S13). If it is not abnormally high temperature (S13, N
O), the CPU 406 controls the air purifier 5 by remote control.
To continue the operation of the air purifier 5 (S1
8). If the temperature is abnormally high (S13, YES),
The CPU 406 determines that a fire has occurred (S1
4).

Then, the human body sensor 309 detects whether or not there is a person in the room (S15). When it is detected that there is a person in the room (S15, YES), the display unit 306
Is displayed to warn the user (S16). Although not shown, a voice may be issued by a voice synthesizer or a user may be warned by a bell or the like.

Further, when it is detected that there is no person in the room (S15, NO), although not shown, an alarm device or the like installed outdoors issues a warning to nearby people (S1).
7). Note that FIG. 11 shows a truth table showing the relationship between the flame detection and the room temperature.

As described above, according to the home automation device of the present embodiment, the room temperature detector 101 installed in the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner and the flame detector 501 installed in the air cleaner 5 are installed. With the information from, it became possible to detect the occurrence of a fire that could not have been detected.

(Third Embodiment) A schematic configuration of a home automation device according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
Since it is the same as the schematic configuration of the home automation device in the second embodiment shown in, detailed description will not be repeated. Since the remote control device has a different function, the description will be given with reference numeral 3 ".

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining a processing procedure of the remote control device 3 ″ in the present embodiment. First, the CPU 406 causes the outside air from the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner via the light emitting / receiving unit 301. The temperature, the outside air humidity, and the outside air wind speed are received (S21, S22, S23).
Then, the CPU 406 determines from this information whether or not the laundry is dried faster when dried outside (S2).
4). This determination method will be described with reference to FIG.

In the graph shown in FIG. 13, the vertical axis represents the outside air temperature,
The horizontal axis is the outside air humidity. In addition, the three straight lines indicate the boundaries between the clothes dried faster by drying outside or the dryer dried faster by the dryer due to the difference in the wind speed of the outside air. For example, when the combination of the outside air temperature and the outside air humidity is below the straight line, it indicates that drying the laundry with the dryer dries faster. Further, when the combination of the outside air temperature and the outside air humidity is above the straight line, it indicates that the laundry is dried faster when it is dried outside.

When the CPU 406 determines that it is faster to dry the laundry outside (S24, YES), the CPU 406 transmits a dehydration instruction to the washing / drying machine 7 via the light emitting / receiving unit 301 (S25). Further, when it is determined that drying with a dryer dries faster (S24, NO), the light emitting / receiving unit 3
An instruction to dry is transmitted to the washer / dryer 7 via 01 (S26).

As described above, according to the home automation device of the present embodiment, the outside air temperature detecting portion 602, the outside air humidity detecting portion 603, and the outside air wind speed detecting portion 604 mounted on the outdoor unit 6 of the air conditioner. According to the information, it becomes possible to easily determine whether the laundry is dried faster if it is dried, which has been difficult to determine in the past.

The embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description but by the claims, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a usage state of a remote control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a remote control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control circuit 307 of the remote control device 3.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control unit 103 of the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of the remote control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a truth table for determining settings of the air conditioner.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a home automation device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control unit 503 of the air purifier 5.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control unit 702 of the washer / dryer 7.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the remote control device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a truth table for detecting the occurrence of fire.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a processing procedure of the remote control device in the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a graph used in determining whether it is faster to dry laundry outside.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Indoor unit of air conditioner 3 Remote control device 5 Air purifier 6 Air conditioner outdoor unit 7 washer / dryer 101 Room temperature detector 102, 301, 502, 701 Light receiving and emitting section 103 Control unit of indoor unit of air conditioner 111, 401, 511, 711 RAM 112, 402, 511, 712 ROM 114,404 A / D converter 115,405,515,715 I / O controller 116, 406, 516, 716 CPU 302 Body surface data input switch 303 Body Surface Measurement Section 304 Body surface temperature detector 305 Body surface humidity detector 306 display 307 Control circuit 308 Switch part 309 human body sensor 403 character generator 407 timer 408 Thermistor 409 amplifier 410 electrodes 411 F / V converter 501 flame detector 601 transceiver 602 Outside temperature detector 603 Outside air humidity detector 604 Outside air velocity detector

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F24F 11/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A body surface temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the body surface of the user, a body surface humidity detecting means for detecting the humidity of the body surface of the user, and an air conditioner. Communication means for communicating information, determining the operation mode of the air conditioner based on the body surface temperature detected by the body surface temperature detection means and the body surface humidity detected by the body surface humidity detection means A remote control device including setting means for setting an operation mode via the communication means , wherein the body surface temperature detecting means and the body surface humidity detecting means are used.
The remote control device is further provided in a portion where a person's palm touches, and the remote control device further includes the body surface temperature detecting means and
And the body surface humidity detecting means, and
Has detection by surface temperature detection means and body surface humidity detection means
The detection means is effective by the detection effective means including the detection effective means for enabling.
Is detected by the body surface temperature detecting means.
Body surface temperature and body surface humidity detection means
The operating mode of the air conditioner based on the measured body surface humidity.
Mode and set the operation mode via the communication means.
Remote control device. 2. The communication means is IrDA c of IrDA.
The remote control device according to claim 1 , which performs infrared communication by ontrol .