JP7112167B2 - Remote controller and air conditioning system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a remote controller for controlling an air conditioner and an air conditioning system.

As a remote controller for controlling an air conditioner, a remote controller equipped with a wireless communication function and capable of wirelessly communicating with a wireless communication device such as an external smartphone, tablet, or mobile terminal is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ). The remote controller receives an operation signal for operating the air conditioner from the wireless communication device, and controls the air conditioner based on the operation signal. This enables operation of the air conditioner from an external wireless communication device.

JP 2015-224858 A

However, in a case where it is desired to collectively control a plurality of air conditioners, if the remote controller is used, the wireless communication device needs to transmit an operation signal to each of the plurality of remote controllers of the plurality of air conditioners. There is In order to save such time and effort, it is possible to communicate with other remote controllers, transmit operation signals from one wireless communication device to other remote controllers, and receive operation signals from other remote controllers. There is a growing demand for a remote controller that can

On the other hand, even if remote controllers can communicate wirelessly with each other and can transmit and receive operation signals, remote controllers located in locations where radio waves cannot reach from wireless communication devices or other remote controllers cannot receive operation signals. can't receive Also, if at least one of the two remote controllers that transmit and receive operation signals to each other has an unstable radio wave intensity, there is a risk that the operation signals will not be transmitted reliably and quickly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and is capable of communicating with other remote controllers and capable of reliably and quickly transmitting and receiving operation signals for controlling an air conditioner. An object of the present invention is to provide a controller and an air conditioning system.

A remote controller according to the present invention is a remote controller that performs wired communication or wireless communication between a plurality of remote controllers, each of which controls each of a plurality of air conditioners, and controls the air conditioners. A first communication unit that transmits an operation signal to the air conditioner, and a second communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the other remote controller or wireless communication device capable of wireless communication, are connected by wire. and a main control unit that controls the first communication unit, the second communication unit, and the third communication unit, wherein the main control unit includes the When the second communication unit or the third communication unit receives the operation signal, and if there is another remote controller connected by wire to which the operation signal is to be transmitted, the wire connection is made. the third communication unit is controlled to transmit the operation signal to another remote controller connected to the remote controller, and the second communication unit or the third communication unit receives the operation signal; When there is no other wired remote controller to be transmitted, and there is another remote controller capable of wireless communication, the other remote controller capable of wireless communication performs the operation controlling the second communication unit to transmit a signal;

An air conditioning system according to the present invention includes the plurality of remote controllers described above and a plurality of air conditioners controlled by the plurality of remote controllers.

According to the remote controller and air conditioning system according to the present invention, a remote controller that performs wired communication or wireless communication among a plurality of remote controllers in an air conditioning system transmits an operation signal for controlling the air conditioning apparatus to another device. When it is received from the remote controller and there is another wired remote controller, the operation signal is transmitted to the other wired remote controller. When the remote controller receives an operation signal and there is no other remote controller connected by wire, and there is another remote controller capable of wireless communication, the wireless communication is possible. send operation signals to other remote controllers. As a result, it is possible to reliably and quickly transmit and receive the operation signal for controlling the air conditioner.

1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 1; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of communication route information. 3 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks included in the remote controller according to Embodiment 1; FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the flow of processing when the remote controller receives various signals; 4 is a flow chart showing an example of processing by a remote controller that receives an operation signal from a wireless communication device or an input from a user or the like. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of transmission processing of an operation signal by wired communication of a remote controller. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of transmission processing of an operation signal by wireless communication of a remote controller. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of processing by a slave-side remote controller; 4 is a flow chart showing an example of processing by the remote controller 10 when an end signal is received; FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 2; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks included in a wireless relay device according to Embodiment 2; FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the flow of processing when a remote controller and a wireless relay device in an air conditioning system receive various signals; 10 is a flow chart showing an example of first transmission processing of an operation signal by wireless communication of the remote controller according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of second transmission processing of an operation signal by wireless communication of the remote controller according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of transmission processing of an operation signal by wired communication of a wireless relay device; 6 is a flowchart showing an example of transmission processing of an operation signal by wireless communication of a wireless relay device; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing of the wireless relay device when a termination signal is received;

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Also, in the drawings below, the size relationship of each component may differ from the actual size.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The air conditioning system 1 is provided in a building and has a plurality of air conditioners 30 and a plurality of remote controllers 10 for controlling each of the plurality of air conditioners 30 .

Each of the plurality of remote controllers 10 is grouped according to predetermined conditions. One group includes one or more remote controllers 10 . Note that when a plurality of remote controllers 10 are included in one group, these remote controllers 10 are connected to each other by wire. The predetermined condition is based on, for example, the distance between the remote controllers 10 or the placement of each remote controller 10 .

The air conditioning system 1 shown in FIG. 1 has six remote controllers 10, which are grouped by three. is not limited to the above. Also, the number of remote controllers 10 included in each of the plurality of groups in the air conditioning system 1 is not fixed and may not be the same.

The remote controller 10 is capable of wireless communication with the wireless communication device 20 and other remote controllers 10 using a communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark). This allows the remote controller 10 to communicate with remote controllers 10 belonging to different groups.

Each remote controller 10 is assigned unique identification information for identifying itself from other remote controllers 10 in each case of wireless communication and wired communication. The first identification information, which is identification information in wireless communication, and the second identification information, which is identification information in wired communication, are different from each other. In the first embodiment, each remote controller 10 is assigned an ID (Identification) for identifying each other in wireless communication. The ID in the wireless communication may be referred to as a wireless ID hereinafter. The wireless ID is an example of first identification information. In the first embodiment, each remote controller 10 is assigned an ID for identifying each other in wired communication. The ID in the wired communication may be referred to as a wired ID hereinafter. A wireless ID and a wired ID may be distinguished, for example, by a header portion within the ID. In this case, for example, the first bit of the wireless ID may be 0, and the first bit of the wired ID may be 1.

The remote controller 10 emits radio waves containing its own radio ID. The remote controller 10 detects the intensity of radio waves from other remote controllers 10 to determine whether wireless communication with the remote controller 10 that is the source of the radio waves is possible. Specifically, the remote controller 10 determines that wireless communication is possible when the strength of the radio wave from another remote controller 10 is equal to or greater than the reference strength. Hereinafter, radio waves may be referred to as radio waves, and reference strength may be referred to as reference strength.

The remote controller 10 receives an instruction to operate the air conditioner 30 from a user or administrator (user or the like) of the air conditioner 30 via an input unit (not shown). The remote controller 10 transmits an operation signal for controlling the air conditioner 30 to be controlled, to the air conditioner 30 to be controlled. Further, the remote controller 10 transmits and receives operation signals to and from other remote controllers 10 through wired communication or wireless communication. Thereby, the remote controller 10 can operate the air conditioner 30 controlled by the other remote controller 10 by transmitting the operation signal to the other remote controller 10 depending on the setting of the other remote controller 10. can be done. The setting will be described later.

The wireless communication device 20 is, for example, a smart phone, a tablet terminal, a mobile terminal, or the like. The wireless communication device 20 receives input of information for operating the air conditioner 30 from a user or the like, and transmits an operation signal corresponding to the information to the remote controller 10 . The wireless communication device 20 according to the first embodiment transmits an operation signal to one or more remote controllers 10 specified by a wireless ID. It may be something to do.

The air conditioner 30 performs an air conditioning operation for the space to be air conditioned. In Embodiment 1, one or more air conditioners 30 are controlled by one remote controller 10 . When one remote controller 10 controls multiple air conditioners 30, the multiple air conditioners 30 are grouped in advance. One or more air conditioners 30 to be controlled by one remote controller 10 receive operation signals from the one remote controller 10 and operate based on the operation signals, but receive operation signals from other remote controllers 10. Alternatively, operation signals from other remote controllers 10 may be invalidated.

The remote controller 10 has one of the following two types of settings. One setting is when the remote controller 10 receives an operation signal for controlling the air conditioner 30 to be controlled by itself from another remote controller 10 or the wireless communication device 20, and the operation signal These are settings for controlling the harmonizing device 30 . This setting is referred to as permission setting. In the other setting, when the remote controller 10 receives an operation signal for controlling the self-controlled air conditioner 30 from another remote controller 10 or the wireless communication device 20, the operation signal is invalidated. , is a setting that does not control the air conditioner 30 based on the operation signal. Such settings are referred to as prohibited settings.

There are two modes for transmitting operation signals to a plurality of remote controllers 10 according to the first embodiment: a "normal mode" and a "collective setting mode." The normal mode is a mode specifying the air conditioner 30 to be operated. The collective setting mode is a mode in which the air conditioner 30 to be operated is not specified.

In the normal mode, when the user or the like inputs an instruction to the remote controller 10 that controls the air conditioner 30 to be operated by the user or the like, the remote controller 10 responds based on the content of the instruction. to control the air conditioner 30 to be controlled. In addition, in the normal mode, when an operation instruction is input from the user or the like to the air conditioner 30 controlled by another remote controller 10 to the wireless communication device 20 or the remote controller 10, , an operation signal addressed to the other remote controller 10 is transmitted from the wireless communication device 20 or the remote controller 10 .

In the collective setting mode, the remote controller 10 that receives an instruction from the user or the like controls the air conditioner 30 to be controlled based on the content of the instruction. In the collective setting mode, operation signals are collectively transmitted from the wireless communication device 20 or the remote controller 10 for which the user or the like has input an instruction to one or more remote controllers 10 included in the air conditioning system 1. be. Note that in the collective setting mode, the operation signal may or may not be transmitted to the remote controller 10 for which the prohibition is set. The remote controller 10, which has received the operation signal and is set to be permitted, controls the air conditioner 30 based on the operation signal.

The remote controller 10 transmits and receives request signals, end signals, and route signals to and from other remote controllers 10 . A request signal is a signal that requests another remote controller 10 for setting information and communication path information 100, which will be described in detail below. The setting information is information indicating whether the remote controller 10 is permitted or prohibited, and is stored in each remote controller 10 . The end signal indicates to the remote controller 10 that has transmitted the operation signal that the remote controller 10 that has received the operation signal has transmitted the operation signal to another remote controller 10 that has not yet received the operation signal. It is a signal for notification. A path signal is a signal corresponding to the communication path information 100 indicating the remote controller 10 that has received the operation signal. An operation signal, a request signal, an end signal, or a route signal may be collectively referred to as a signal. The communication route information 100 will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of communication route information. The communication path information 100 includes the ID of the remote controller 10 that received the operation signal before the remote controller 10 that received the communication path information 100 . Note that the communication path information 100 in the first embodiment is generated, for example, when a plurality of different instructions are input to at least one of the one or more wireless communication devices 20 and the one or more remote controllers 10. and includes third identification information for identifying each of the plurality of operation signals. In the first embodiment, the third identification information is assumed to be an identifier included in the operation signal and identifying the operation signal from other operation signals. A route signal corresponding to the communication route information 100 in Embodiment 1 is transmitted together with an operation signal transmitted from the remote controller 10 to another remote controller 10 . The communication path information 100 includes the IDs of one or more remote controllers 10 that have received the operation signal, as information indicating the communication path followed by the operation signal, in the order in which the operation signal was received.

When the remote controller 10 receives a request signal from another remote controller 10, the communication path information 100 is transmitted from the remote controller 10 to the other remote controller 10 as a response to the request signal. The request signal includes the identifier of the operation signal, and when the remote controller 10 has already received the operation signal including the identifier, it transmits the communication path information 100 including the identifier to the sender of the request signal. If the remote controller 10 has not yet received an operation signal including the identifier, for example, the communication path information 100 including the identifier, which is information indicating the communication path of the operation signal described above, is one or more The communication path information 100 in which the NULL value is stored in the storage area for storing the ID is transmitted to the source of the request signal.

The reason why the remote controller 10 requests the communication path information 100 from the other remote controllers 10 is as follows. Before the remote controller 10 transmits the operation signal to the other remote controller 10, the other remote controller 10 receives the operation signal from the further remote controller 10 and controls the air conditioner 30. Sometimes. In this case, processing for the remote controller 10 to transmit the same operation signal to the other remote controllers 10 can be a wasteful process. In order to omit such useless transmission processing and to confirm whether or not another remote controller 10 has already received the operation signal before transmitting the operation signal, the remote controller 10 sends the other remote controller 10 requests the communication route information 100 to

The communication path information 100 is transmitted from the remote controller 10 to another remote controller 10 together with the end signal in the first embodiment. The reason why the communication path information 100 is transmitted together with the end signal from the remote controller 10 that is the transmission destination of the operation signal to the remote controller 10 that is the transmission source is as follows. First, the end signal is transmitted from the terminal remote controller 10 to the remote controller 10 that transmitted the operation signal to the terminal remote controller 10 on the communication path followed by the operation signal. The remote controller 10 that received the end signal further transmits the end signal to the remote controller 10 that transmitted the operation signal to the remote controller 10 . By acquiring the communication route information 100 together with the end signal, each remote controller 10 of the air conditioning system 1 can recognize what route the operation signal is transmitted. Each remote controller 10 can efficiently transmit and receive another operation signal by referring to the acquired communication path information 100 together with the end signal when it next receives another operation signal. Therefore, the communication path information 100 is transmitted together with the termination signal.

The communication path information 100 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes the wireless ID "001" of the remote controller 10 that first received the operation signal from the wireless communication device 20 by wireless communication, and the remote controller 10 with the wireless ID "001". The wired ID "103" of the remote controller 10 that received the operation signal through wired communication and the wireless ID "004" of the remote controller 10 that received the operation signal through wireless communication from the remote controller 10 with the wired ID "103". , are included concatenated in that order. In Embodiment 1, if there is a remote controller 10 that has received an operation signal through wireless communication, the communication path information 100 includes the wireless ID of the remote controller 10 and transmits the operation signal through wired communication. If there is a remote controller 10 that has received the . For example, if there is a remote controller 10 that has transmitted an operation signal by wireless communication, the communication path information 100 includes the wireless ID of the remote controller 10, and there is a remote controller 10 that has transmitted an operation signal by wired communication. In some cases, the wired ID of the remote controller 10 may be included. When there is a remote controller 10 that has transmitted an operation signal, the communication path information 100 may include the ID of the remote controller 10 in the order in which the operation signal was transmitted.

3 is a diagram illustrating functional blocks included in the remote controller according to Embodiment 1. FIG. The remote controller 10 includes a first communication unit 11, a second communication unit 12, a third communication unit 13, a display control unit 14, a display unit 15, a main control unit 16, and a communication path management unit 17. Prepare.

The first communication unit 11 wirelessly communicates with the air conditioner 30 to be controlled, for example, by infrared rays. However, the communication between the first communication unit 11 and the air conditioner 30 is not limited to this, and may be performed according to a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark) described above. , may be performed by a wired connection. The first communication unit 11 transmits an operation signal to the air conditioner 30 to be controlled. The first communication unit 11 may receive a signal indicating the operation status, operation details, or the like from the air conditioner 30 .

The first communication section 11 has a first communication control section 11A and a first communication interface section 11B. The first communication control unit 11A transmits an operation signal to the air conditioner 30 to be controlled via the first communication interface unit 11B. Further, the first communication control unit 11A may receive a signal indicating the operation status, operation details, or the like from the air conditioner 30 to be controlled via the first communication interface unit 11B.

The second communication unit 12 wirelessly communicates with the wireless communication device 20 or another remote controller 10 according to a communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark). The second communication unit 12 receives an operation signal from the wireless communication device 20 and transmits/receives signals such as an operation signal, a request signal, a route signal, or an end signal to/from other remote controllers 10 . The second communication unit 12 also emits radio waves and detects radio waves from other remote controllers 10 . Hereinafter, signals such as an operation signal, a request signal, a path signal, or an end signal may be collectively referred to as signals.

The second communication section 12 has a second communication control section 12A, a wireless device detection section 12B, and a second communication interface section 12C. The second communication control section 12A transmits and receives signals to and from other remote controllers 10 via the second communication interface section 12C. The second communication control unit 12A receives operation signals from the wireless communication device 20 via the second communication interface unit 12C. The second communication control unit 12A also transmits radio waves via the second communication interface unit 12C.

The wireless device detection section 12B detects radio waves from other remote controllers 10 via the second communication interface section 12C. At this time, the wireless device detection unit 12B detects the strength of the wireless radio wave. Also, the wireless device detection unit 12B acquires the wireless ID of the other remote controller 10 that is the source of the wireless wave.

The third communication unit 13 detects the wired remote controller 10 and acquires the wired ID of the remote controller 10 . The third communication unit 13 transmits and receives signals to and from other wired remote controllers 10 . The third communication section 13 has a third communication control section 13A and a third communication interface section 13B. The third communication control unit 13A transmits and receives signals to and from other wired remote controllers 10 via the third communication interface unit 13B. The third communication control unit 13A acquires a wired ID from another wired remote controller 10 via the third communication interface unit 13B.

The display control unit 14 controls the display unit 15 , and the display unit 15 displays various information according to instructions from the display control unit 14 . The main controller 16 controls the first communication controller 11A, the second communication controller 12A, the wireless device detector 12B, the third communication controller 13A, and the display controller 14 .

The main control unit 16 controls the first communication control unit 11A to transmit an operation signal to the air conditioner 30 to be controlled. When the second communication control unit 12A receives a signal via the second communication interface unit 12C, the main control unit 16 acquires information and the like included in the signal from the second communication control unit 12A. The main control section 16 controls the second communication control section 12A to transmit a signal to the other remote controller 10 via the second communication interface section 12C. The main control unit 16 controls the wireless device detection unit 12B to detect radio waves. The main control unit 16 also acquires the strength of the radio wave detected by the radio device detection unit 12B and the radio ID included in the radio wave from the radio device detection unit 12B. When the third communication control unit 13A receives a signal via the third communication interface unit 13B, the main control unit 16 acquires information and the like included in the signal from the third communication control unit 13A. The main control section 16 controls the third communication control section 13A to transmit a signal to the other remote controller 10 via the third communication interface section 13B.

The main control unit 16 includes the ID of the remote controller 10 in the communication path information 100 received together with the operation signal. Note that the main control unit 16 includes the wireless ID of the remote controller 10 in the communication path information 100 when the second communication unit 12 receives the operation signal. When the third communication unit 13 receives the operation signal, the main control unit 16 includes the wired ID of the remote controller 10 in the communication path information 100 . The main control unit 16 causes the wireless ID or wired ID of the remote controller 10 to be linked to the ID at the end of the information indicating the communication path in the communication path information 100 and include it. The main control unit 16 receives the operation signal together with the communication route information 100 including the ID of the remote controller 10 and stores the communication route information 100 in the communication route management unit 17 .

The main control unit 16 associates the strength of the radio wave detected by the radio device detection unit 12B with the radio ID included in the radio wave, and stores it in the communication path management unit 17 . The main control unit 16 may store the strength of the radio wave in the communication route management unit 17 in association with the radio ID included in the radio wave and included in the communication route information 100 .

When the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 receives an operation signal and the third communication unit 13 detects another remote controller 10 connected by wire, the main control unit 16 controls the third communication unit 13 to transmit an operation signal to the other remote controller 10 connected by wire. Further, the main control unit 16 detects that the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 has received the operation signal, and the third communication unit 13 has not detected another remote controller 10 connected by wire. In this case, the second communication unit 12 is controlled to transmit an operation signal to another remote controller 10 that emits radio waves detected by the second communication unit 12 .

Before the main control unit 16 in the first embodiment controls the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 to transmit the operation signal to the other remote controller 10, the other remote controller 10 has already A request signal is transmitted to the other remote controller 10 in order to confirm whether or not the operation signal has been received. The main control unit 16 refers to the communication path information 100 included in the response from the other remote controller 10 to the request signal, and adds the ID of the other remote controller 10 to the information indicating the communication path in the communication path information 100 . Determine if it contains If the information indicating the communication path in the communication path information 100 includes the ID of the other remote controller 10, the other remote controller 10 has already received the operation signal. , the other remote controller 10 is excluded from the transmission target of the operation signal. If the information indicating the communication path in the communication path information 100 does not include the ID of the other remote controller 10, the other remote controller 10 has not received the operation signal. , the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 is controlled to transmit the operation signal to the other remote controller 10, with the other remote controller 10 as the transmission target of the operation signal.

When transmitting the operation signal by wireless communication, the main control unit 16 in the first embodiment is configured to transmit the operation signal to another remote controller 10 that emits radio waves having an intensity equal to or higher than a predetermined reference intensity. 2 to control the communication unit 12; The main control unit 16 may control the second communication unit 12 to preferentially transmit the operation signal to the remote controller 10 that emits radio waves of higher intensity when transmitting the operation signal by wireless communication. For example, the main control unit 16 may control the second communication unit 12 so that the operation signal is transmitted in order from the remote controller 10 that emits radio waves of higher intensity.

If there is no remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is to be transmitted, the main control unit 16 sends the end signal and the path signal corresponding to the communication path information 100 stored in the communication path management unit 17 to the transmission source of the operation signal. and control the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 to transmit the When receiving the termination signal, the main control section 16 may control the display control section 14 to display the communication path information 100 received together with the termination signal on the display section 15 . Further, when the main control unit 16 receives an end signal from another remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is transmitted, and if there is another remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is transmitted, the main control unit 16 receives the end signal, And the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 is controlled to transmit the communication route information 100 received together with the end signal to the transmission source.

The communication path management unit 17 determines the strength of the radio wave transmitted from the other remote controller 10 acquired by the wireless device detection unit 12B, the wireless ID included in the radio wave, and the other remote controller acquired by the third communication unit 13. The wired ID of the controller 10 is stored. Further, the communication path management unit 17 stores the communication path information 100 that the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 receives together with the operation signal and the main control unit 16 includes the ID. The communication path management unit 17 stores the communication path information 100 received by the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 together with the end signal. Furthermore, the communication path management unit 17 stores setting information.

The remote controller 10 according to the first embodiment includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a communication interface circuit. , and a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an EL (Electroluminescence) display. The function of the first communication interface section 11B can be realized by a communication interface circuit for communication using infrared rays or the like. The function of the second communication interface unit 12C can be realized by a communication interface circuit for wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark). The function of the third communication interface unit 13B can be realized by a communication interface circuit for wired communication such as communication using Ethernet (registered trademark) or communication using optical fiber. The function of the display unit 15 can be realized by a display device. The function of the communication path management unit 17 can be realized by memory. Each function of the main control unit 16, the first communication control unit 11A, the second communication control unit 12A, the wireless device detection unit 12B, the third communication control unit 13A, and the display control unit 14 is stored in the memory by the processor. It can be realized by reading out and executing various programs that are stored. All or part of the remote controller 10 may be dedicated hardware. For example, all or part of the main control unit 16, the first communication control unit 11A, the second communication control unit 12A, the wireless device detection unit 12B, the third communication control unit 13A, and the display control unit 14 may be implemented as an ASIC (Application Specific An integrated circuit) or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) may be used.

Control processing of one or more air conditioners 30 by one or more remote controllers 10 in the air conditioning system 1 according to Embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9. FIG. A case where the operation signal is transmitted in the batch setting mode will be described below. In the following description, the side that transmits an operation signal, request signal, or end signal is defined as the master side, and the side that receives the operation signal, request signal, or end signal is defined as the slave side. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the flow of processing when the remote controller receives various signals. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by a remote controller that receives an operation signal from a wireless communication device or an input from a user or the like. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of transmission processing of an operation signal by wired communication of the remote controller. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of transmission processing of an operation signal by wireless communication of the remote controller. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of processing by the slave-side remote controller. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of processing by the remote controller 10 when a termination signal is received.

Prior to step S101 shown in FIG. 4, the user or the like inputs an operation instruction in the collective setting mode to the wireless communication device 20 or the remote controller 10 in order to collectively set one or more air conditioners 30. . When the operation instruction is input to the wireless communication device 20, the wireless communication device 20 transmits an operation signal corresponding to the content of the instruction to one or more remote controllers 10 capable of wireless communication. Alternatively, the wireless communication device 20 transmits an operation signal to one or more remote controllers 10 specified by the user or the like.

In step S101, when the second communication unit 12 of the remote controller 10 receives an operation signal from the wireless communication device 20 (step S101: YES), the second communication unit 12 sends the operation signal to the main control unit 16. Then, the main control unit 16 shifts the process to step S201 (FIG. 5). Alternatively, in step S101, when an operation instruction is input to the remote controller 10 by the user or the like (step S101: YES), the main control unit 16 shifts the process to step S201. In step S101, when an operation instruction is input to the remote controller 10 by the user or the like (step S101: YES), the main control section 16 may move the process to step S202.

If the setting of the remote controller 10 is the prohibition setting in step S201 (step S201: NO), the main control unit 16 causes the process of the remote controller 10 to proceed to step S204. When the setting of the remote controller 10 is the permission setting in step S201 (step S201: YES), in step S202, the main control unit 16 transmits the operation signal received in step S101 or the operation signal received in step S101 to the air conditioner 30 to be controlled. The first communication unit 11 is instructed to transmit an operation signal based on the content input in . The first communication unit 11 transmits an operation signal to the air conditioner 30 to be controlled based on an instruction from the main control unit 16 . The air conditioner 30 operates according to the operation signal.

In step S<b>203 , the display control unit 14 causes the display unit 15 to display the operation or setting of the air conditioner 30 based on the operation signal transmitted in step S<b>202 according to the instruction from the main control unit 16 . For example, when the set temperature of the air conditioner 30 is changed by the operation signal, the display control unit 14 controls the display unit 15 to indicate that the set temperature has been changed and the set temperature after the change. to display. Note that if the remote controller 10 receives an operation signal from the wireless communication device 20 in step S101, the process of step S203 may be omitted.

In step S<b>204 , the main control unit 16 generates communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal and the ID of the remote controller 10 and stores it in the communication path management unit 17 . In step S<b>204 , the main control unit 16 stores the wireless ID of the remote controller 10 in the communication path information 100 when the remote controller 10 receives the operation signal from the wireless communication device 20 in step S<b>101 . In step S<b>204 , the main control unit 16 stores the wired ID of the remote controller 10 in the communication path information 100 when the user or the like has input to the remote controller 10 in step S<b>101 . However, it is not limited to these.

In step S205, the remote controller 10 switches from the slave side to the master side, and transmits operation signals below. The operation signal transmission processing by the remote controller 10 will be described below with reference to FIG.

In step S<b>301 in FIG. 6 , the third communication section 13 detects whether or not there is another remote controller 10 connected by wire according to an instruction from the main control section 16 . In the detection process, for example, a command (Ping command) in ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) may be used. If another wired remote controller 10 is not detected (step S301: NO), the main control unit 16 shifts the processing of the remote controller 10 to step S401 (FIG. 7), which will be described later. If there is another wired-connected remote controller 10 (step S301: YES), the third communication unit 13 acquires the wired ID of the other wired-connected remote controller 10, and in step S302 The controller 16 stores the wired ID in the communication path manager 17 .

In step S303, the third communication section 13 transmits a request signal to the remote controller 10 having the wired ID stored in the communication path management section 17 in step S302 in accordance with the instruction from the main control section 16. FIG. The request signal is a signal requesting the setting information and the communication path information 100 as described above. Here, the reason why the master-side remote controller 10 requests the setting information will be described.

In an example of the operation signal transmission processing by the remote controller 10 of Embodiment 1, the operation signal is not transmitted to the remote controller 10 that is set to be prohibited. Even if an operation signal is transmitted to the remote controller 10 that is set to be prohibited, the operation instruction from the user or the like cannot be reflected in the air conditioner 30 controlled by the remote controller 10 . In order to avoid such useless transmission processing, the remote controller 10 in this example does not transmit the operation signal to the remote controller 10 that is set to be prohibited, and does not transmit the operation signal. Therefore, the remote controller 10 needs to confirm the setting information of the other remote controller 10 and requests the other remote controller 10 for the setting information. However, this is not the case when the remote controller 10 that is set to be prohibited is used for relaying to another remote controller 10 at the time of transmission of the operation signal.

The reason why the remote controller 10 requests the communication path information 100 is to avoid redundant processing of transmitting the same operation signal to other remote controllers 10 as described above.

The processing of the remote controller 10 that has received the request signal and has become the slave will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 8. FIG. When the third communication unit 13 of the remote controller 10 receives the request signal (step S102: YES), in step S501 (FIG. 8), the main control unit 16 includes the identifier of the operation signal included in the request signal. The communication route management unit 17 is searched for the communication route information 100 . When the slave remote controller 10 has already received the operation signal, the communication path management unit 17 stores the communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal. If the remote controller 10 on the slave side has not received the operation signal, the communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal is not stored in the communication path management unit 17 .

In step S501, when the remote controller 10 on the slave side has already received the operation signal, the main control unit 16 transmits the communication path information 100 and the setting information acquired from the communication path management unit 17 as a request signal. control the third communication unit 13 to transmit to the remote controller 10 that is the transmission source of the . In step S501, if the remote controller 10 on the slave side has not received the operation signal, the main control unit 16 stores the communication path information 100 including the identifier for storing the ID indicating the communication path. The third communication unit 13 is controlled to transmit the communication path information 100 in which, for example, a NULL value is stored in the area and the setting information to the remote controller 10 which is the transmission source of the request signal.

Referring to FIG. 6, the description returns to the remote controller 10 that transmitted the request signal in step S303. The remote controller 10 waits until the third communication unit 13 receives the setting information and the communication path information 100 from one or more remote controllers 10 to which the request signal is sent (step S304: NO). When the third communication unit 13 receives the setting information and the communication path information 100 from one or more remote controllers 10 to which the request signal is sent (step S304: YES), the main control unit 16 The process proceeds to step S305. In step S305, based on the setting information and communication path information 100 received in step S304, the main control unit 16 determines whether or not the remote controller 10, which is the transmission source of these information, is to be the transmission target of the operation signal. do.

When the main control unit 16 determines that none of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 are not targets for transmission of operation signals (step S305: NO), the main control unit 16 The unit 16 shifts the processing of the remote controller 10 to step S401, which will be described later. When the main control unit 16 determines that at least one of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 is to be the transmission target of the operation signal (step S305: YES), the main control unit 16 The control unit 16 shifts the process of the remote controller 10 to step S306.

In step S306, the main control unit 16 controls the third communication unit 13 so as to transmit operation signals to all the remote controllers 10 to which operation signals are to be transmitted in step S305. At this time, the main control unit 16 controls the third communication unit 13 to transmit the communication path information 100 stored in the communication path management unit 17, which is received together with the operation signal, to the remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is transmitted. do.

Processing when there is no other remote controller 10 capable of wired communication in step S301 or when there is no remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is to be transmitted in step S305 will be described with reference to FIG. The following is related to transmission processing of an operation signal by wireless communication by the remote controller 10 . The following processing is performed when there is no remote controller 10 to which an operation signal is to be transmitted via wired communication.

The reason why the process of transmitting the operation signal by wireless communication is performed when there is no wired remote controller 10 in step S301 or when there is no remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is to be transmitted in step S305 is They are as follows. This is because, by executing wired communication with priority over wireless communication, it is possible to reliably and quickly transmit and receive the operation signal without depending on the radio wave intensity. However, processing by wire communication may not be possible depending on the length of the signal line, the arrangement of the remote controller 10, or the like. Also, there is a possibility that there is a remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is to be transmitted, among the remote controllers 10 that are not connected by wire. By transmitting an operation signal to such a remote controller 10 by wireless communication, more air conditioners 30 can be collectively set in the air conditioning system 1 . For this reason, the remote controller 10 according to the first embodiment performs wired communication processing for the other remote controller 10 connected by wire to which the operation signal is to be transmitted, and performs wired communication processing for the other remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is to be transmitted. For the remote controller 10 that is not connected, processing is performed by wireless communication.

In step S<b>401 , the main control unit 16 controls the second communication unit 12 to detect radio waves transmitted from other remote controllers 10 . In step S402, the main control unit 16 determines whether or not the strength of the radio wave detected in step S401 is equal to or greater than the reference strength. If the intensity of the radio wave is greater than or equal to the reference intensity (step S402: YES), the main control unit 16 stores the radio ID included in the radio wave in the communication path management unit 17 in step S403. Note that instead of the processing of steps S402 and S403, the main control unit 16 stores the intensity of radio waves from other remote controllers 10 in the communication path management unit 17 for a predetermined period, and The processing from step S404 onward may be executed for other remote controllers 10 whose average radio wave intensity is greater than or equal to the reference intensity.

If there is no remote controller 10 transmitting radio waves with an intensity equal to or higher than the reference intensity in step S402 (step S402: NO), the main control unit 16 causes the processing of the remote controller 10 to proceed to step S408. Note that the processing in step S408 will be described later.

In step S404, the second communication section 12 transmits a request signal to the remote controller 10 having the wireless ID stored in the communication path management section 17 in step S403 in accordance with the instruction from the main control section 16. FIG.

The processing of the remote controller 10 that has received the request signal and has become the slave will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 8. FIG. When the second communication unit 12 of the remote controller 10 receives the request signal (step S102: YES), in step S501 (FIG. 8), the main control unit 16 includes the identifier of the operation signal included in the request signal. The communication route management unit 17 is searched for the communication route information 100 . When the slave remote controller 10 has already received the operation signal, the communication path management unit 17 stores the communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal. If the remote controller 10 on the slave side has not received the operation signal, the communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal is not stored in the communication path management unit 17 .

In step S501, when the remote controller 10 on the slave side has already received the operation signal, the main control unit 16 transmits the communication path information 100 and the setting information acquired from the communication path management unit 17 as a request signal. control the second communication unit 12 to transmit to the remote controller 10 that is the transmission source of the . In step S501, if the remote controller 10 on the slave side has not received the operation signal, the main control unit 16 stores the communication path information 100 including the identifier for storing the ID indicating the communication path. The second communication unit 12 is controlled to transmit the communication path information 100 in which, for example, a NULL value is stored in the area and the setting information to the remote controller 10 which is the transmission source of the request signal.

Referring back to FIG. 7, the description returns to the remote controller 10 that transmitted the request signal in step S404. The remote controller 10 waits until it receives the setting information and the communication path information 100 from one or more remote controllers 10 to which the request signal is sent (step S405: NO). When the second communication unit 12 receives the setting information and the communication path information 100 from one or more remote controllers 10 to which the request signal is sent (step S405: YES), the main control unit 16 The process proceeds to step S406. In step S406, based on the setting information and communication path information 100 received in step S405, the main control unit 16 determines whether or not the remote controller 10, which is the transmission source of these information, is to be the transmission target of the operation signal. do.

When the main control unit 16 determines that none of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 are not targets for transmission of operation signals (step S406: NO), the main control unit 16 The unit 16 shifts the processing of the remote controller 10 to step S408, which will be described later. When the main control unit 16 determines that at least one of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 is to be the transmission target of the operation signal (step S406: YES), the main control unit 16 The control unit 16 shifts the processing of the remote controller 10 to step S407.

In step S407, the main control unit 16 controls the second communication unit 12 to transmit operation signals to all remote controllers 10 to which operation signals are to be transmitted in step S406. At this time, the main control unit 16 controls the second communication unit 12 to transmit the communication path information 100 stored in the communication path management unit 17, which is received together with the operation signal, to the remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is transmitted. do.

In step S<b>408 , the remote controller 10 transmits the end signal and the communication path information 100 stored in the communication path management unit 17 to the remote controller 10 or wireless communication device 20 that sent the operation signal.

Next, referring to FIG. 8, processing by the remote controller 10 that has transmitted the communication path information 100 in response to the request signal in step S501 will be described. In step S502, the main control unit 16 of the remote controller 10 receives the operation signal and the communication path information 100 from the main remote controller 10 based on the notification from the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13. determine whether

The slave remote controller 10 waits for an operation signal from the master remote controller 10 until a predetermined time elapses. If the slave remote controller 10 does not receive the operation signal and the communication path information 100 from the master remote controller 10 within a predetermined time (step S502: NO), the remote controller 10 performs processing. ends. If the slave-side remote controller 10 receives the operation signal and the communication path information 100 from the master-side remote controller 10 within the predetermined time (step S502: YES), the main controller 16 controls the first communication unit 11 to transmit an operation signal to the air conditioner 30 to be controlled. Accordingly, the air conditioner 30 that has received the operation signal operates based on the operation signal. In step S<b>504 , the display control unit 14 updates the display content of the display unit 15 according to the instruction from the main control unit 16 . Note that if the operation signal is transmitted from the wireless communication device 20 to the remote controller 10 in step S101, the process of step S504 may be omitted.

In step S505, the main control unit 16 stores the communication route information 100 received from the main remote controller 10 in the communication route management unit 17. FIG. At the time of storing, the main control unit 16 stores the ID of the remote controller 10 in the storage area of the ID indicating the communication path in the communication path information 100 received from the remote controller 10 on the main side. The stored ID is a wired ID when the third communication unit 13 receives the operation signal, and a wireless ID when the second communication unit 12 receives the operation signal. If one or more IDs are already included in the storage area of the IDs indicating the communication paths of the communication path information 100 received from the main remote controller 10, the main control unit 16 adds the end of the one or more IDs The wired ID or wireless ID of the remote controller 10 is linked to the ID of the remote controller 10 .

In step S506, the remote controller 10 switches from the slave side to the master side, and proceeds to the process of step S301 (FIG. 6) described above.

Next, processing when the remote controller 10 receives the end signal will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 9. FIG. If the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 of the remote controller 10 does not receive the end signal in step S103 (FIG. 4) (step S103: NO), the remote controller 10 returns to the signal waiting state. . In step S103, if the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 of the remote controller 10 receives the end signal and the path signal from the remote controller 10 to which the operation signal was transmitted (step S103: YES), The main control unit 16 shifts the processing of the remote controller 10 to step S601.

In step S<b>601 , the main control unit 16 stores the communication route information 100 received together with the end signal in the communication route management unit 17 . At this time, the main control unit 16 updates the communication route information 100 stored in the communication route management unit 17 in step S204 or S505 with the communication route information 100 concerned. Alternatively, the main control section 16 may store the communication path information 100 in the communication path management section 17 together with the communication path information 100 stored in the communication path management section 17 in step S204 or S505.

The communication path information 100 stored in step S601 includes the IDs of one or more remote controllers 10 that have received operation signals via wired or wireless communication in the order in which the operation signals are received. When receiving the next operation signal, the remote controller 10 uses the communication path information 100 to perform the processes from steps S301 to S305, the processes from steps S401 to S406, and the process of step S501. etc. can be omitted. That is, upon receiving an operation signal, the remote controller 10 may transmit the operation signal to the remote controller 10 having an ID linked next to its own ID in the communication path information 100 .

In order to make the transmission of the next operation signal in the air conditioning system 1 smoother, the main control unit 16 uses the strength of the radio wave emitted from the remote controller 10 having the wireless ID included in the communication path information 100 to The destination of the next operation signal may be determined. Therefore, the main control unit 16 sets the strength of the radio wave emitted from the remote controller 10 having the wireless ID included in the communication route information 100, which is detected by the wireless device detection unit 12B, to the communication route information 100. may be stored in the communication path management unit 17 in association with the wireless ID in .

Subsequently, in step S602, the main control unit 16 determines whether or not there is an ID stored before the ID of the remote controller 10 in the communication path information 100. FIG. That is, the main control unit 16 determines whether or not there is another remote controller 10 that has transmitted an operation signal to the remote controller 10 .

If there is a remote controller 10 that has transmitted the operation signal (step S602: YES), the remote controller 10 switches from the slave side to the master side in step S603. As a result, the main control unit 16 controls the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 to transmit the end signal and the communication path information 100 received in step S103 to the remote controller 10 that transmitted the operation signal. send.

If there is no remote controller 10 that has transmitted the operation signal (step S602: NO), the main control unit 16 instructs the display control unit 14 to update the display content of the display unit 15 in step S604. Here, the main control unit 16 instructs the display control unit 14 to display the contents of the communication route information 100 received in step S103 on the display unit 15 . The display control unit 14 causes the display unit 15 to display the content of the communication route information 100 in accordance with the instruction from the main control unit 16 . Alternatively, if the transmission source of the operation signal is the wireless communication device 20 (step S602: NO), the main control unit 16 controls the second communication unit 12 to communicate with the wireless communication device 20 in step S604. Transmit route information 100. Upon receiving the communication path information 100, the wireless communication device 20 displays the content of the communication path information 100 on a display unit (not shown). Note that the main control unit 16 determines whether or not the transmission source of the operation signal is the wireless communication device 20 based on whether or not the first ID included in the ID storage area of the communication path information 100 is the wireless ID. can do.

In step S604, instead of automatically displaying the contents of the communication path information 100 on the display part 15 of the remote controller 10, the display control part 14 indicates that the contents of the communication path information 100 can be displayed. The display unit 15 may be controlled to display the indicated information. In this case, the display control unit 14 may cause the display unit 15 to display the contents of the communication path information 100 by operating the remote controller 10 by the user or the like.

By displaying the content of the communication path information 100 on the display unit 15 or the wireless communication device 20, all the air conditioners 30 that have received the operation signal are indicated, and the air conditioners 30 that have been controlled such as setting changes. This is because the user or the like confirms the

The air conditioning system 1 according to Embodiment 1 has a plurality of remote controllers 10 that each control a plurality of air conditioners 30 and perform wired communication or wireless communication among the plurality of remote controllers 10 . The remote controller 10 according to Embodiment 1 includes a first communication section 11 , a second communication section 12 , a third communication section 13 and a main control section 16 . The first communication unit 11 transmits an operation signal for controlling the air conditioner 30 to the air conditioner 30 . The second communication unit 12 wirelessly communicates with another remote controller 10 or wireless communication device 20 capable of wireless communication. The third communication unit 13 performs wired communication with other remote controllers 10 connected by wire. The main control section 16 controls the first communication section 11 , the second communication section 12 and the third communication section 13 . When the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 receives an operation signal and there is another remote controller 10 connected by wire, the main control unit 16 establishes the wire connection. The third communication unit 13 is controlled to transmit operation signals to other remote controllers 10 . The main control unit 16 is capable of wireless communication when the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 receives an operation signal and when there is no other remote controller 10 connected by wire. If there is another remote controller 10, the second communication unit 12 is controlled to transmit the operation signal to the other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication. The remote controller 10 according to Embodiment 1 preferentially transmits an operation signal to the remote controller 10 connected by wire. As a result, the remote controller 10 and the air conditioning system 1 according to Embodiment 1 can quickly and reliably transmit and receive operation signals.

Each of the plurality of remote controllers 10 according to Embodiment 1 includes first identification information that identifies each of the plurality of remote controllers 10 in wireless communication, and first identification information that identifies each of the plurality of remote controllers 10 in wired communication. 2 identification information. The second communication unit 12 of the remote controller 10 emits radio waves containing the first identification information of the remote controller 10, and detects radio radio waves emitted by other remote controllers 10 capable of wireless communication. If there is another wired remote controller 10 , the third communication unit 13 acquires the second identification information of the other wired remote controller 10 . As a result, the remote controller 10 can identify the remote controller 10 capable of wired communication or wireless communication, and can accurately transmit and receive operation signals.

In the air conditioning system 1 according to Embodiment 1, the operation signal includes third identification information for distinguishing the operation signal from other operation signals, and communication route information 100 indicating the communication route followed by the operation signal. is sent and received with The remote controller 10 further includes a communication path management section 17 that stores communication path information 100 . When the second communication unit 12 receives the operation signal and the communication route information 100, the communication route management unit 17 stores the communication route information 100 including the first identification information of the remote controller 10. , when the third communication unit 13 receives the operation signal and the communication path information 100, it stores the communication path information 100 including the second identification information of the remote controller 10. FIG. Since the communication path management unit 17 stores the communication path information 100 including the ID of the remote controller 10 that has received the operation signal, the operation signal is transmitted and received through the efficient communication path using the communication path information 100 . This enables rapid control of the air conditioner 30 in the air conditioning system 1 .

When the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 receives the operation signal and there is another remote controller 10 connected by wire, the main control unit 16 according to the first embodiment The third communication unit 13 is controlled to transmit a request signal requesting the communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal to the remote controller 10 connected by wire. The main control unit 16 uses the communication path information 100 including the identifier received from the other wired remote controller 10 to which the third communication unit 13 is connected to communicate with the other wired remote controller 10. , determines whether or not to transmit the operation signal. When the operation signal is to be transmitted to another remote controller 10 connected by wire, the main control unit 16 performs the third communication so as to transmit the operation signal to the other remote controller 10 connected by wire. control the unit 13; As a result, the remote controller 10 can refer to whether or not another remote controller 10 connected by wire has already received the operation signal, and based on the result of the reference, perform efficient transmission of the operation signal. can be done.

The main control unit 16 according to the first embodiment stores the information indicating the communication path in the communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal received from the remote controller 10 connected by wire as a response to the request signal. , if there is no wireless ID and wired ID of the other wired remote controller 10, the other wired remote controller 10 is set as the transmission target of the operation signal, and the wired connection is performed. If there is a wireless ID or a wired ID of another remote controller 10 that is connected to another remote controller 10, the other remote controller 10 that is connected by wire is not set as a transmission target of the operation signal. As a result, it is possible to omit redundant processing for transmitting operation signals to other wired remote controllers 10 . Therefore, it is possible to speed up the propagation of the operation signal in the air conditioning system 1 .

In the case where the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 receives an operation signal, the main control unit 16 in the first embodiment controls the other wired remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is transmitted. and if there is another remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication, request the other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication for the communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal. It controls the second communication unit 12 to transmit the request signal. The main control unit 16 uses the communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal received from the other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication to control the other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication to perform the operation. A determination is made as to whether or not the signal is to be transmitted. When the operation signal is to be transmitted to another remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication, the main control unit 16 performs the second communication so as to transmit the operation signal to the other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication. control the unit 12; As a result, the remote controller 10 can transmit the operation signal to the remote controllers 10 capable of wireless communication other than those in the same group, and the operation signal can be transmitted to the remote controllers 10 installed in a wide range. can be propagated.

The main control unit 16 according to the first embodiment stores the information indicating the communication path in the communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal received from the other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication as a response to the request signal. , if there is no wireless ID and wired ID of the other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication, the other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication is set as the transmission target of the operation signal, and the wireless communication is performed. If there is a wireless ID or a wired ID of another remote controller 10 that is capable of wireless communication, the other remote controller 10 that is capable of wireless communication is not set as a transmission target of the operation signal. As a result, the remote controller 10 can omit redundant transmission processing of operation signals to other remote controllers 10 capable of wireless communication. Therefore, it is possible to speed up the propagation of the operation signal in the air conditioning system 1 .

In the case where the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 receives an operation signal, the main control unit 16 in the first embodiment controls the other wired remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is transmitted. and if there is no other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication to which the operation signal is transmitted, the other remote controller 10 or the wireless communication device 20 that is the transmission source of the operation signal , an end signal indicating that the transmission processing of the operation signal has ended, and the communication route information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal stored in the communication route management unit 17. 3 to control the communication unit 13; As a result, the other remote controller 10 or wireless communication device 20 that has transmitted the operation signal can detect that the operation signal transmission process has been completed.

When the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 receives the end signal and the communication route information 100, the main control unit 16 in the first embodiment sends the communication route information 100 to the communication route management unit 17. The second communication section 12 or the third It controls the communication unit 13 . As a result, the remote controller 10 can acquire information about the communication path followed by the operation signal transmitted from the remote controller 10, and can use the information when transmitting/receiving the operation signal thereafter. Speeding up of propagation in the air conditioning system 1 can be achieved.

When the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 receives the end signal and the communication route information 100, the remote controller 10 according to the first embodiment follows an instruction from the main control unit 16 to establish the communication route. A display unit 15 for displaying the content indicated by the information 100 is further provided. As a result, the user or the like who has input the operation instruction to the remote controller 10 can know the air conditioner 30 in which the operation instruction is reflected, thereby improving convenience for the user or the like.

When the second communication unit 12 receives the operation signal and the communication path information 100, the main control unit 16 in the first embodiment adds the remote controller 10 wireless IDs are concatenated, and when the third communication unit 13 receives the operation signal and the communication path information 100, the wired The IDs are concatenated, and the communication route information 100 after concatenation of the wireless IDs or the wired IDs is stored in the communication route management unit 17 . As a result, the communication path information 100 allows the remote controller 10 to more accurately acquire the communication path followed by the transmitted/received operation signal, and to transmit/receive the operation signal more quickly.

When the main control unit 16 in Embodiment 1 receives another operation signal from another remote controller 10, the communication route information 100 stored in the communication route management unit 17 is sent to the second remote controller together with the end signal. Based on the communication path information 100 received by the communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13, the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 is controlled to transmit another operation signal to the other remote controller 10. As a result, the remote controller 10 can transmit and receive operation signals more quickly.

The request signal in the first embodiment requests setting information of another remote controller 10 to which the request signal is to be sent together with the communication path information 100 including the identifier of the operation signal. The setting information indicates whether or not the other remote controller 10 can control the air conditioner 30 controlled by the other remote controller 10 based on the operation signal received from the remote controller 10 or the wireless communication device 20. This is the information shown. Depending on the operation signal received from the remote controller 10 or the wireless communication device 20 , the main control unit 16 determines whether the setting information received from the other remote controller 10 to which the request signal is sent is the air controlled by the other remote controller 10 . When indicating that the harmonizing device 30 cannot be controlled, other remote controllers 10 are not targeted for transmission of operation signals. As a result, the operation signal can be propagated without waste.

The main control unit 16 according to the first embodiment associates the intensity of the radio wave detected by the second communication unit 12 with the wireless ID included in the radio wave, and stores it in the communication path management unit 17 . When the main control unit 16 controls the second communication unit 12 to transmit an operation signal, the main control unit 16 emits radio waves having an intensity equal to or higher than a predetermined reference intensity among other remote controllers 10 capable of wireless communication. The second communication unit 12 is controlled to transmit the operation signal to other remote controllers 10 . As a result, the communication path through which the operation signal is propagated more reliably and quickly is used when the operation signal is transmitted, and the efficiency of the control in the air conditioning system 1 can be improved.

The main control unit 16 according to the first embodiment associates the radio wave intensity detected by the second communication unit 12, which is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference intensity, with the wireless ID included in the radio wave. and stored in the communication path management unit 17 . When controlling the second communication unit 12 to transmit the operation signal, the main control unit 16 transmits the operation signal to the other remote controller 10 having the wireless ID stored in the communication path management unit 17. The second communication unit 12 is controlled as follows. As a result, the communication path through which the operation signal is transmitted more reliably and quickly is used when transmitting the operation signal, and the efficiency of the control in the air conditioning system 1 can be improved, and the communication path management in the remote controller 10 can be achieved. The storage area of the unit 17 can be saved.

The main control unit 16 according to the first embodiment associates the strength of the radio wave detected by the second communication unit 12 with the wireless ID included in the radio wave, stores it in the communication path management unit 17, to transmit an operation signal, the operation signal is preferentially transmitted to other remote controllers 10 that emit radio waves with higher strength among the other remote controllers 10 that are capable of wireless communication. It controls the second communication unit 12 . Thereby, the operation signal can be propagated more quickly and reliably in the air conditioning system 1 .

Embodiment 2.
Embodiment 2 will be described below. Descriptions of the contents overlapping with those of the first embodiment will be omitted unless there are special circumstances. Also, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding configurations as those in the first embodiment.

In the air-conditioning system 1 according to Embodiment 1, when a plurality of groups each including one or more remote controllers 10 are installed at locations separated from each other, there are groups to which the operation signal does not spread. There is fear. As a result, the operation intended by the user or the like may not be executed in the air conditioning system 1 . The air-conditioning system 1A according to Embodiment 2 enables transmission and reception of operation signals in a plurality of groups installed at locations separated from each other.

10 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 2. FIG. The air conditioning system 1A according to Embodiment 2 has one or more wireless relay devices 40 in addition to each configuration included in the air conditioning system 1 according to Embodiment 1 above. One or more wireless relay devices 40 are, for example, the above-described remote controller 10, computer, gateway, router, and the like. The wireless relay device 40 is provided to enable wireless communication between groups when the air conditioning system 1A includes a plurality of groups each including one or more remote controllers 10 . The wireless relay device 40 may or may not be wired to one or more remote controllers 10 . In the example of the air conditioning system 1A shown in FIG. 10, the wireless relay device 40 is wire-connected to the remote controllers 10 included in one group, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The wireless relay device 40 transmits/receives signals such as an operation signal, a route signal, a request signal, or an end signal to/from the remote controller 10 . Note that, like the remote controller 10, the wireless relay device 40 transmits/receives the operation signal together with the route signal, and transmits/receives the end signal together with the route signal. The wireless relay device 40 also transmits a request signal to the remote controller 10 . The wireless relay device 40, like the remote controller 10, has an ID that is an example of unique fourth identification information that identifies itself from other wireless relay devices 40, remote controllers 10, and the like. The configuration of the wireless relay device 40 will be described below.

FIG. 11 is a diagram exemplifying functional blocks included in the wireless relay device according to the second embodiment. The wireless relay device 40 includes a first relay section 41, a second relay section 42, a relay-side display control section 43, a relay-side display section 44, a relay-side main control section 45, and a relay-side route management section 46. Prepare.

The first relay unit 41 performs wireless communication with the remote controller 10 according to a communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark). When the air conditioning system 1A includes a plurality of wireless relay devices 40, the wireless relay devices 40 do not have to communicate with each other, and communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark) , the first relay unit 41 may communicate with another wireless relay device 40 . Note that in the second embodiment, if there is another wireless relay device 40 whose radio wave has been detected by the wireless relay device 40, these wireless relay devices 40 communicate with each other.

The first relay unit 41 transmits and receives signals to and from the remote controller 10 . Also, the first relay unit 41 transmits radio waves. The radio wave contains the ID of the radio relay device 40 . The first relay unit 41 detects radio waves emitted by the remote controller 10 or the radio relay device 40 . The first relay section 41 has a first relay control section 41A, a relay-side wireless detection section 41B, and a first relay interface section 41C.

The first relay control unit 41A transmits and receives signals to and from the remote controller 10 or another wireless relay device 40 via the first relay interface unit 41C. The relay-side wireless detection unit 41B detects wireless radio waves from the remote controller 10 or another wireless relay device 40 via the first relay interface unit 41C. At this time, the relay-side radio detector 41B detects the strength of the radio wave. Also, the relay-side wireless detection unit 41B acquires the wireless ID of the remote controller 10 or the ID of the wireless relay device 40 that is the source of the wireless wave. The first relay control unit 41A also transmits radio waves via the first relay interface unit 41C.

The second relay unit 42 detects the wired remote controller 10 and acquires the wired ID of the remote controller 10 . The second relay unit 42 transmits and receives signals to and from the wired remote controller 10 . The second relay section 42 has a second relay control section 42A and a second relay interface section 42B. The second relay control unit 42A transmits and receives signals to and from the wired remote controller 10 via the second relay interface unit 42B. The second relay control unit 42A acquires a wired ID from the wired remote controller 10 via the second relay interface unit 42B.

The relay-side display control unit 43 controls the relay-side display unit 44 , and the relay-side display unit 44 displays various information according to instructions from the relay-side display control unit 43 . The relay-side main control section 45 controls the first relay control section 41A, the second relay control section 42A, the relay-side wireless detection section 41B, and the relay-side display control section 43 .

When the first relay control unit 41A receives a signal via the first relay interface unit 41C, the relay-side main control unit 45 acquires information and the like included in the signal from the first relay control unit 41A. The relay-side main control section 45 controls the first relay control section 41A to transmit a signal to the remote controller 10 or another wireless relay device 40 via the first relay interface section 41C. The relay-side main control unit 45 controls the relay-side radio detection unit 41B to detect radio waves. Further, the relay-side main control unit 45 acquires the strength of the radio wave detected by the relay-side radio detection unit 41B and the ID included in the radio wave from the relay-side radio detection unit 41B. When the second relay control unit 42A receives a signal via the second relay interface unit 42B, the relay-side main control unit 45 acquires information and the like included in the signal from the second relay control unit 42A. The relay-side main control section 45 controls the second relay control section 42A to transmit a signal to the remote controller 10 or another wireless relay device 40 via the second relay interface section 42B.

The relay-side main control unit 45 stores the communication route information 100 received together with the operation signal in the relay-side route management unit 46 . At this time, the relay-side main control unit 45 may include the ID of the wireless relay device 40 including the relay-side main control unit 45 in the communication route information 100 .

The relay-side main control unit 45 stores the intensity of the radio wave detected by the relay-side radio detection unit 41B in the relay-side route management unit 46 in association with the ID included in the radio wave. The relay-side main control unit 45 may store the strength of the radio wave in the relay-side route management unit 46 in association with the ID contained in the radio wave and contained in the communication route information 100 .

When the first relay unit 41 or the second relay unit 42 receives the operation signal and the second relay unit 42 detects the remote controller 10 connected by wire, the relay-side main control unit 45 , controls the second relay unit 42 to transmit an operation signal to the remote controller 10 connected by wire. Further, the relay-side main control unit 45 does not detect the remote controller 10 to which the second relay unit 42 is wired-connected when the first relay unit 41 or the second relay unit 42 receives the operation signal. In this case, the first relay unit 41 is controlled to transmit an operation signal to the remote controller 10 or the wireless relay device 40 that emits radio waves detected by the first relay unit 41 .

The relay-side main control unit 45 in the second embodiment controls the first relay unit 41 or the second relay unit 42 to transmit the operation signal to the remote controller 10 before the remote controller 10 has already received the operation signal. A request signal is transmitted to the remote controller 10 in order to confirm whether or not the signal is received. The relay-side main control unit 45 refers to the communication path information 100 included in the response from the remote controller 10 to the request signal, and determines that the ID of the remote controller 10 is included in the information indicating the communication path in the communication path information 100. Determine if the If the information indicating the communication path in the communication path information 100 includes the ID of the remote controller 10, the remote controller 10 has already received the operation signal. The remote controller 10 is excluded from transmission targets of operation signals. If the information indicating the communication path in the communication path information 100 does not include the ID of the remote controller 10, the remote controller 10 has not received the operation signal. The remote controller 10 is set as a transmission target of the operation signal, and the first relay unit 41 or the second relay unit 42 is controlled to transmit the operation signal to the remote controller 10 .

The relay-side main control unit 45 in the second embodiment, when transmitting an operation signal by wireless communication, to the remote controller 10 or other wireless relay device 40 that emits radio waves with an intensity equal to or greater than a predetermined reference intensity, It controls the first relay unit 41 to transmit the operation signal. The relay-side main control unit 45 may control the first relay unit 41 to preferentially transmit the operation signal to the remote controller 10 that emits radio waves of higher intensity when transmitting the operation signal by wireless communication. good. For example, the relay-side main control section 45 may control the first relay section 41 so that the operation signal is transmitted in order from the remote controller 10 that emits radio waves of higher intensity.

If there is no remote controller 10 or wireless relay device 40 to which the operation signal is to be transmitted, the relay-side main control unit 45 controls the first relay unit 41 or the second relay unit 41 to transmit the end signal to the transmission source of the operation signal. control unit 42; In this case, the relay-side main control unit 45 causes the first relay unit 41 or the second relay unit 42 to transmit a route signal corresponding to the communication route information 100 stored in the relay-side route management unit 46 together with the end signal. may be controlled.

When receiving the termination signal, the relay-side main control section 45 may control the relay-side display control section 43 to display the communication route information 100 received together with the termination signal on the relay-side display section 44. . Further, when the relay-side main control unit 45 receives an end signal from the remote controller 10 or the wireless relay device 40 that is the transmission destination of the operation signal, the remote controller 10 or the wireless relay device 40 that is the transmission source of the operation signal is In some cases, the first relay unit 41 or the second relay unit 42 is controlled to transmit the termination signal and the communication path information 100 received together with the termination signal to the transmission source.

The relay-side route management unit 46 determines the strength of the radio wave transmitted from the remote controller 10 or the radio relay device 40 acquired by the relay-side wireless detection unit 41B, the ID included in the radio wave, and the second relay unit 42 acquires The wired ID of the remote controller 10 that has been received is stored. The relay-side route management unit 46 also stores the communication route information 100 that the first relay unit 41 or the second relay unit 42 receives together with the operation signal, and the relay-side main control unit 45 includes the ID. The relay-side route management unit 46 stores the communication route information 100 received by the first relay unit 41 or the second relay unit 42 together with the end signal. If the relay-side route management unit 46 receives setting information from the remote controller 10 in response to the request signal, it may store the setting information.

The wireless relay device 40 according to the second embodiment can be configured by, for example, a processor such as a CPU or MPU, a memory such as a ROM or RAM, a communication interface circuit, a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an EL display, and the like. The function of the first relay interface unit 41C can be realized by a communication interface circuit for wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark). The function of the second relay interface unit 42B can be realized by a communication interface circuit for wired communication such as communication using Ethernet (registered trademark) or communication using optical fiber. The function of the relay-side display unit 44 can be realized by a display device. The function of the relay-side route management unit 46 can be realized by memory. Each function of the relay-side main control unit 45, the first relay control unit 41A, the relay-side wireless detection unit 41B, the second relay control unit 42A, and the relay-side display control unit 43 is performed by the processor using various functions stored in the memory. It can be realized by reading and executing the program. All or part of the wireless relay device 40 may be dedicated hardware. For example, all or part of the relay-side main control unit 45, the first relay control unit 41A, the relay-side wireless detection unit 41B, the second relay control unit 42A, and the relay-side display control unit 43 may be implemented as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). ) or an integrated circuit such as FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array).

12 to 17, and FIG. , FIGS. 6 and 8. FIG. Hereinafter, as in the first embodiment, the case where the operation signal is transmitted in the collective setting mode will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the flow of processing when a remote controller and a wireless relay device in an air conditioning system receive various signals. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of first transmission processing of an operation signal by wireless communication of the remote controller according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of second transmission processing of an operation signal by wireless communication of the remote controller according to Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of transmission processing of an operation signal by wired communication of the wireless relay device. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of transmission processing of an operation signal by wireless communication of the wireless relay device. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing of the wireless relay device when receiving a termination signal.

The processing in step S701 shown in FIG. 12 is the same as the processing in step S101 in FIG. 4 in the first embodiment. If received, or if an operation instruction is input to the remote controller 10 by the user or the like (step S701: YES), the main control unit 16 shifts the process to step S201 (FIG. 5). In step S701, when an operation instruction is input to the remote controller 10 by the user or the like (step S701: YES), the main control unit 16 may move the process to step S202. Since the processing in steps S201 to S205 below is the same as in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

In step S301 (FIG. 6) following step S205, the third communication section 13 detects whether or not there is another remote controller 10 connected by wire according to an instruction from the main control section 16. FIG. If another wired remote controller 10 is not detected (step S301: NO), the main control unit 16 shifts the processing of the remote controller 10 to step S801 (FIG. 13), which will be described later. If there is another remote controller 10 connected by wire (step S301: YES), the processes in steps S302 and S303 are the same as those in the first embodiment, so description thereof will be omitted.

The processing of the remote controller 10 that has transmitted the request signal from the master remote controller 10 in step S303 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 8. FIG. When the third communication unit 13 of the remote controller 10 receives the request signal (step S702: YES), the processing of the remote controller 10 proceeds to step S501 (FIG. 8). Since the processing in steps S501 to S506 is the same as the processing in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 6, the description returns to the remote controller 10 that transmitted the request signal in step S303. Since the process of step S304 is the same as that of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted. In step S305, the main control unit 16 of the remote controller 10 determines whether or not the remote controller 10, which is the transmission source of the setting information and the communication path information 100 received in step S304, is to be the transmission target of the operation signal.

When the main control unit 16 determines that none of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 are not targets for transmission of operation signals (step S305: NO), the main control unit 16 The unit 16 shifts the processing of the remote controller 10 to step S801 (FIG. 13) described later. When the main control unit 16 determines that at least one of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 is to be the transmission target of the operation signal (step S305: YES) Since the processing is the same as that of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

Processing after step S801 will be described below with reference to FIG. In step S<b>801 , the main control unit 16 controls the second communication unit 12 to detect radio waves transmitted from other remote controllers 10 . In step S802, the main control unit 16 determines whether or not the strength of the radio wave detected in step S801 is equal to or greater than the reference strength. In step S802, if there is no remote controller 10 transmitting radio waves with an intensity equal to or higher than the reference intensity (step S802: NO), the main control unit 16 shifts the processing of the remote controller 10 to step S901 (FIG. 14). Let If the intensity of the radio wave is equal to or greater than the reference intensity in step S802 (step S802: YES), the processes in steps S803, S804, and S805 are the same as the processes in steps S403, S404, and S405 in FIG. Since it is the same, the explanation is omitted. Further, the processing of the remote controller 10, which is the transmission destination of the request signal in step S404, is the same as the above-described processing in S702 in FIG. 12 and in FIG. 8, so description thereof will be omitted.

In step S806, based on the setting information and the communication path information 100 received in step S805, the main control unit 16 of the remote controller 10 determines whether the remote controller 10, which is the transmission source of these information, is the transmission target of the operation signal. determine whether or not When the main control unit 16 determines that none of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 are to be transmission targets of the operation signal (step S806: NO), the main control unit 16 The unit 16 shifts the processing of the remote controller 10 to step S901. When the main control unit 16 determines that at least one of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 is to be the transmission target of the operation signal (step S806: YES) Since the processing is the same as the processing in step S407, description thereof is omitted.

Processing after step S901 will be described below with reference to FIG. In step S901, the main control unit 16 of the remote controller 10 controls the third communication unit 13 to detect the presence or absence of the wired wireless relay device 40, controls the second communication unit 12, and controls the wireless relay device. A radio wave containing an ID of 40 is detected. In step S901, when the second communication unit 12 and the third communication unit 13 do not detect the wireless relay device 40 (step S901: NO), in step S902, the main control unit 16 determines the transmission destination of the operation signal. control the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 so as to transmit the end signal to the remote controller 10 or the wireless communication device 20; After transmitting the end signal, the remote controller 10 ends the process. Other remote controllers 10 that have received the end signal (step S704 in FIG. 12: YES) shift the process to step S601 shown in FIG. Since the subsequent steps S601 to S604 are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

In step S901, when the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 detects the wireless relay device 40 (step S901: YES), in step S903, the main control unit 16 causes the detected wireless relay device 40 to It controls the second communication unit 12 or the third communication unit 13 to transmit the operation signal. After transmitting the operation signal to the wireless relay device 40, the remote controller 10 terminates the process.

Next, processing of the wireless relay device 40 that receives an operation signal from the remote controller 10 or the wireless relay device 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12, 15 and 16. FIG. In step S703 (FIG. 12), if the wireless relay device 40 receives an operation signal from the remote controller 10 or another wireless relay device 40 (step S703: YES), the process from step S1001 (FIG. 15) is performed. .

In step S<b>1001 , the second relay unit 42 detects whether or not there is another remote controller 10 connected by wire according to an instruction from the relay-side main control unit 45 . In the detection process, for example, a command in ICMP may be used. If the wired remote controller 10 is not detected (step S1001: NO), the relay-side main control section 45 shifts the processing of the wireless relay device 40 to step S1101 (FIG. 16), which will be described later. If there is a wired remote controller 10 (step S1001: YES), the second relay unit 42 acquires the wired ID of the wired remote controller 10, and in step S1002, relay-side main control unit 45 stores the wired ID in the relay-side route management unit 46 .

In step S1003, the second relay unit 42 transmits a request signal to the remote controller 10 having the wired ID stored in the relay-side route management unit 46 in step S1002 in accordance with the instruction of the relay-side main control unit 45. The request signal is a signal requesting the setting information and the communication path information 100 as described above. The reason why the wireless relay device 40 requests the setting information and the communication path information 100 is the same as the above-described reason why the remote controller 10 requests these information. The processing of the remote controller 10 that has received the request signal and has become the slave side is the same as the processing described with reference to FIGS.

After the process of step S1003, until the second relay unit 42 receives the setting information and the communication path information 100 from one or more remote controllers 10 to which the request signal is transmitted (step S1004: NO), the wireless relay device 40 stand by. When the second relay unit 42 receives the setting information and the communication path information 100 from one or more remote controllers 10 to which the request signal is transmitted (step S1004: YES), the relay-side main control unit 45 performs wireless relay. The process of the device 40 is moved to step S1005. In step S1005, based on the setting information and the communication path information 100 received in step S1004, the relay-side main control unit 45 determines whether or not the remote controller 10, which is the transmission source of these information, should be the transmission target of the operation signal. judge. The determination method is the same as the determination method of the remote controller 10 in step S305.

When the relay-side main control unit 45 determines that all of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 are not to be transmission targets of operation signals (step S1005: NO), The relay-side main control unit 45 shifts the processing of the wireless relay device 40 to step S1101, which will be described later. If the relay-side main control unit 45 determines that at least one of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 is to be the transmission target of the operation signal (step S1005: YES). , the relay-side main control unit 45 shifts the processing of the wireless relay device 40 to step S1006.

In step S1006, the relay-side main control unit 45 controls the second relay unit 42 to transmit operation signals to all the remote controllers 10 to which operation signals are to be transmitted in step S1005. At this time, the relay-side main control unit 45 receives the operation signal together with the second relay unit 42 so as to transmit the communication path information 100 stored in the communication path management unit 17 to the remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is to be transmitted. to control.

Processing when there is no other remote controller 10 capable of wired communication in step S1001 or when there is no remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is to be transmitted in step S1005 will be described with reference to FIG. The following processing is performed when there is no remote controller 10 to which an operation signal is to be transmitted via wired communication.

In step S<b>1101 , the relay-side main control section 45 controls the first relay section 41 to detect the radio wave transmitted from the remote controller 10 . In step S1102, the relay-side main control unit 45 determines whether or not the strength of the radio wave detected in step S1101 is equal to or greater than the reference strength. If the intensity of the radio wave is greater than or equal to the reference intensity (step S1102: YES), the relay-side main control section 45 stores the wireless ID included in the radio wave in the relay-side route management section 46 in step S1103. It should be noted that, instead of the processing of steps S1102 and S1103, the relay-side main control unit 45 stores the strength of the radio waves from the remote controller 10 in the relay-side route management unit 46 for a predetermined period of time, and The processing from step S1104 onward may be executed for the remote controller 10 for which the average radio wave intensity is equal to or greater than the reference intensity.

In step S1102, if there is no remote controller 10 transmitting radio waves with an intensity equal to or higher than the reference intensity (step S1102: NO), the relay-side main control unit 45 shifts the processing of the wireless relay device 40 to step S1108. . Note that the processing in step S1108 will be described later.

In step S1104, the first relay unit 41 transmits a request signal to the remote controller 10 having the wireless ID stored in the relay-side route management unit 46 in step S1103 in accordance with the instruction of the relay-side main control unit 45.

The processing of the remote controller 10 that has received the request signal and has become the slave side is the same as the processing described above with reference to FIGS. The wireless relay device 40 waits until it receives the setting information and the communication path information 100 from one or more remote controllers 10 to which the request signal is sent (step S1105: NO). When the first relay unit 41 receives the setting information and the communication path information 100 from one or more remote controllers 10 to which the request signal is transmitted (step S1105: YES), the relay-side main control unit 45 40 is transferred to step S1106. In step S1106, based on the setting information and the communication path information 100 received in step S1105, the relay-side main control unit 45 determines whether or not the remote controller 10, which is the transmission source of these information, should be the transmission target of the operation signal. judge.

When the relay-side main control unit 45 determines that all of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 are not to be transmission targets of operation signals (step S1106: NO), The relay-side main control unit 45 shifts the processing of the wireless relay device 40 to step S1108, which will be described later. If the relay-side main control unit 45 determines that at least one of the one or more remote controllers 10 that are the transmission sources of the setting information and the communication path information 100 is to be the transmission target of the operation signal (step S1106: YES). , the relay-side main control unit 45 shifts the processing of the wireless relay device 40 to step S1107.

In step S1107, the relay-side main control unit 45 instructs the first relay unit 41 to transmit operation signals to all the remote controllers 10 to which operation signals are to be transmitted in step S1106. At this time, the relay-side main control unit 45 controls the first relay unit 41 to transmit the communication path information 100 received together with the operation signal to the remote controller 10 to which the operation signal is transmitted.

In step S1108, the wireless relay device 40 transmits the end signal and the communication path information 100 to the remote controller 10 or the wireless relay device 40 that transmitted the operation signal.

In step S704 of FIG. 12, when the wireless relay device 40 receives the end signal from the remote controller 10 or another wireless relay device 40 (step S704: YES), the relay-side main control unit 45 The processing by device 40 is moved to step S1201 in FIG. In step S<b>1201 , the relay-side main control unit 45 stores the communication route information 100 received together with the end signal in the relay-side route management unit 46 . Subsequently, in step S1202, the relay-side main control unit 45 sends the end signal and the communication path information 100 to the remote controller 10 or the wireless relay device 40, which is the transmission source of the operation signal including the identifier included in the communication path information 100. to send.

The air conditioning system 1A according to Embodiment 2 has one or more wireless relay devices 40 that relay communication between the remote controller 10 and other remote controllers 10 . The wireless relay device 40 wirelessly communicates with at least one remote controller 10, and when an operation signal is received, if there is a wired remote controller 10, the other wired remote controller 10 to transmit the operation signal. When there is no remote controller 10 connected by wire, the wireless relay device 40 transmits an operation signal to the remote controller 10 for wireless communication. As a result, even when groups including one or more remote controllers 10 are separated from each other and wireless communication cannot be performed, the wireless relay device 40 relays the operation signal, so that the signal can be propagated. In addition, since the wireless relay device 40 preferentially transmits the operation signal to the remote controller 10 connected by wire in one or more remote controllers 10, the transmission of the operation signal in the air conditioning system 1A can be performed quickly and reliably. It can be carried out.

The remote controller 10 according to the second embodiment is used when there is no other remote controller 10 connected by wire to the remote controller 10, and there is no other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication with the remote controller 10. In this case, and when there is a wireless relay device 40 capable of wired communication or wireless communication, when an operation signal is received, the operation signal is transmitted to the wireless relay device 40 . As a result, the operation signal can be transmitted even to the remote controller 10 installed in a place that cannot be reached from the remote controller 10, and the air conditioner 30 can be controlled in a wider range. can.

When the remote controller 10 according to the second embodiment receives an operation signal, another remote controller 10 wired to the remote controller 10 receives the operation signal before the remote controller 10. When there is no other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication with the remote controller 10, and there is a wireless relay device 40 capable of wired communication or wireless communication, the wired The operation signal is transmitted to the wireless relay device 40 without transmitting the operation signal to the other connected remote controllers 10 . As a result, the remote controller 10 does not transmit the same operation signal as the operation signal already received by the other remote controller 10 connected by wire to the other remote controller 10 connected by wire. It is possible to omit unnecessary transmission processing. Therefore, it is possible to speed up the transmission of the operation signal. In addition, the remote controller 10 can transmit operation signals to remote controllers 10 in a wider range through the wireless relay device 40 .

When the remote controller 10 according to Embodiment 2 receives an operation signal and when there is no other remote controller 10 connected by wire to the remote controller 10, the remote controller 10 wirelessly communicates with the remote controller 10. If another remote controller 10 that is capable of The operation signal is transmitted to the wireless relay device 40 without transmitting the operation signal to another remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication. As a result, the remote controller 10 does not transmit the same operation signal as the operation signal already received by another remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication to the other remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication. It is possible to omit unnecessary transmission processing. Therefore, it is possible to speed up the transmission of the operation signal. In addition, the remote controller 10 can transmit operation signals to remote controllers 10 in a wider range through the wireless relay device 40 .

When the remote controller 10 according to the second embodiment receives an operation signal, another remote controller 10 wired to the remote controller 10 receives the operation signal before the remote controller 10. and another remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication with the remote controller 10 has received the operation signal before the remote controller 10, and wired communication or wireless communication If there is a wireless relay device 40 capable of performing the operation, the operation signal is transmitted to the wireless relay device 40 . As a result, the remote controller 10 does not transmit the same operation signal as the operation signal already received by another remote controller 10 to the other remote controller 10, so that unnecessary transmission processing can be omitted. Therefore, it is possible to speed up the transmission of the operation signal. In addition, the remote controller 10 can transmit operation signals to remote controllers 10 in a wider range through the wireless relay device 40 .

When the wireless relay device 40 according to Embodiment 2 receives an operation signal, and if there is a wired remote controller 10 that has not yet received the operation signal, the wireless relay device 40 transmits the operation signal through the wired connection. is transmitted to the remote controller 10 that is connected. Further, the wireless relay device 40 can be used in a case where the remote controller 10 connected by wire has received the operation signal before the wireless relay device 40, and the wireless relay device 40 has not received the operation signal and is capable of wireless communication. When the controller 10 is present, the operation signal is transmitted to the remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication. Since the wireless relay device 40 transmits the operation signal when there is a wired remote controller 10 that has not received the operation signal, the operation signal can be reliably transmitted. Further, when the remote controller 10 connected by wire has already received the operation signal, the wireless relay device 40 transmits the operation signal to the remote controller 10 capable of wireless communication that has not yet received the operation signal. is transmitted, unnecessary transmission processing of the operation signal can be omitted, and the operation signal can be spread more widely in the air conditioning system 1A.

Reference Signs List 1, 1A air conditioning system 10 remote controller 11 first communication unit 11A first communication control unit 11B first communication interface unit 12 second communication unit 12A
second communication control unit 12B wireless device detection unit 12C second communication interface unit 13 third communication unit 13A third communication control unit 13B third communication interface unit 14
Display control unit 15 Display unit 16 Main control unit 17 Communication path management unit 20 Wireless communication device 30 Air conditioner 40 Wireless relay device 41 First relay unit 41A First relay control unit 41B Relay side Wireless detection unit 41C first relay interface unit 42 second relay unit 42A second relay control unit 42B second relay interface unit 43 relay side display control unit 44 relay side display unit 45 relay side main control unit , 46 relay-side route management unit, 100 communication route information.

Claims (23)

A remote controller that performs wired or wireless communication between a plurality of remote controllers, each of which controls each of a plurality of air conditioners,
a first communication unit that transmits an operation signal for controlling the air conditioner to the air conditioner;
a second communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the other remote controller or wireless communication device capable of wireless communication;
a third communication unit that performs wired communication with the other wired remote controller;
a main control unit that controls the first communication unit, the second communication unit, and the third communication unit;
with
The main control unit
When the second communication unit or the third communication unit receives the operation signal, and if there is another remote controller connected by wire to which the operation signal is to be transmitted , the wire connection controlling the third communication unit to transmit the operation signal to another remote controller that is
When the second communication unit or the third communication unit receives the operation signal, and when there is no other wired remote controller to which the operation signal is to be transmitted , wireless communication a remote controller that controls the second communication unit to transmit the operation signal to the other remote controller capable of wireless communication, if there is another remote controller capable of wireless communication. Each of the plurality of remote controllers
having first identification information identifying each of the plurality of remote controllers in wireless communication and second identification information identifying each of the plurality of remote controllers in wired communication;
The second communication unit of the remote controller,
transmitting radio waves containing the first identification information of the remote controller;
detecting radio waves emitted by another remote controller capable of wireless communication;
The third communication unit is
2. The remote controller according to claim 1, wherein when there is another remote controller that is connected by wire, the second identification information of the other remote controller that is connected by wire is obtained. The operation signal is
includes third identification information for distinguishing the operation signal from other operation signals, and is transmitted and received together with communication route information indicating the communication route followed by the operation signal;
The remote controller
further comprising a communication route management unit that stores the communication route information;
The communication path management unit
when the second communication unit receives the operation signal and the communication path information, stores the communication path information including the first identification information of the remote controller; 3. The remote controller according to claim 1, wherein when said operation signal and said communication path information are received, said communication path information including second identification information of said remote controller is stored. The main control unit
When the second communication unit or the third communication unit receives the operation signal, and if there is another remote controller to which the third communication unit is connected by wire, the wire connection is made. controlling the third communication unit to transmit a request signal requesting the communication path information including the third identification information of the operation signal to another remote controller located in the remote controller;
Using the communication path information including the third identification information of the operation signal received by the third communication unit from the other wired-connected remote controller, the other wired-connected remote controller is , determines whether or not to transmit the operation signal,
controlling the third communication unit to transmit the operation signal to the other wired-connected remote controller when the operation signal is to be transmitted to the other wired-connected remote controller; The remote controller according to claim 3. The main control unit
In response to the request signal, in the storage area of information indicating the communication path in the communication path information including the third identification information of the operation signal received from the other remote controller connected by wire, When the first identification information and the second identification information of the other connected remote controller do not exist, the other remote controller connected by wire is set as a transmission target of the operation signal, and the remote controller connected by wire is set as a transmission target of the operation signal. 5. The operation signal according to claim 4, wherein if there is said first identification information or said second identification information of another remote controller connected by wire, said other remote controller connected by wire is not a transmission target of said operation signal. remote controller. The main control unit
When the second communication unit or the third communication unit receives the operation signal, and when there is no other wired-connected remote controller to which the operation signal is to be transmitted, and the wireless communication is If there is another remote controller capable of wireless communication, the request signal requesting the communication path information including the third identification information of the operation signal is transmitted to the other remote controller capable of wireless communication. controlling the second communication unit;
Using the communication path information including the third identification information of the operation signal received from the other remote controller capable of wireless communication, the other remote controller capable of wireless communication transmits the operation signal. Determine whether to target or not,
controlling the second communication unit to transmit the operation signal to the other remote controller capable of wireless communication when the operation signal is to be transmitted to the other remote controller capable of wireless communication; 6. The remote controller according to claim 4 or 5. The main control unit
In response to the request signal, the wireless When there is no first identification information and second identification information of another remote controller capable of communication, the other remote controller capable of wireless communication is set as a transmission target of the operation signal, and the wireless communication is performed. 7. The operation signal according to claim 6, wherein when there is said first identification information or said second identification information of another remote controller capable of wireless communication, said other remote controller capable of wireless communication is not set as a transmission target of said operation signal. remote controller. The main control unit
When the second communication unit or the third communication unit receives the operation signal, and when there is no other wired remote controller to which the operation signal is to be transmitted, and If there is no other remote controller capable of wireless communication to which the operation signal is to be sent, an end signal indicating that the operation signal transmission process has ended is sent to the other remote controller that is the transmission source of the operation signal. and controlling the second communication unit or the third communication unit to transmit the communication route information including the third identification information of the operation signal stored in the communication route management unit. The remote controller according to claim 6 or claim 7. The main control unit
When the second communication unit or the third communication unit receives the end signal and the communication route information, the communication route information is stored in the communication route management unit, and the third communication unit in the communication route information is stored in the communication route management unit. The second communication unit or the 9. The remote controller according to claim 8, which controls the third communication section. When the second communication unit or the third communication unit receives the end signal and the communication path information, a display unit for displaying the contents indicated by the communication path information according to the instruction from the main control unit 10. A remote controller according to claim 8 or claim 9, further comprising. The main control unit
When the second communication unit receives the operation signal and the communication route information, the second communication unit of the remote controller including the main control unit is added to the end of the information indicating the communication route in the communication route information. 1 Concatenate the identification information,
When the third communication unit receives the operation signal and the communication path information, the third 2 Concatenate the identification information,
11. The remote controller according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein said communication path information after linking said first identification information or said second identification information is stored in said communication path management section. The main control unit
When the other operation signal is received from the other remote controller, the communication path information stored in the communication path management section, which is the second communication section or the third communication section together with the end signal, is received. 12. The remote controller according to claim 11, which controls the second communication unit or the third communication unit so as to transmit the another operation signal to the other remote controller based on the communication path information received by . The request signal is
requesting setting information of the other remote controller to which the request signal is sent, together with the communication path information including the third identification information of the operation signal;
The setting information is
information indicating whether or not the other remote controller can control the air conditioner controlled by the other remote controller based on the operation signal received from the remote controller or the wireless communication device;
The main control unit
Depending on the operation signal received from the remote controller or the wireless communication device, the setting information received from the other remote controller to which the request signal is transmitted, the air conditioner to be controlled by the other remote controller 13. The remote controller according to any one of claims 4 to 12, wherein said other remote controller is not set as a transmission target of said operation signal when it indicates that said other remote controller cannot be controlled. The second communication unit is
detecting a radio wave emitted by another remote controller capable of wireless communication, the radio wave including the first identification information of the other remote controller capable of wireless communication;
The main control unit
The intensity of the radio wave detected by the second communication unit is associated with the first identification information included in the radio wave and stored in the communication path management unit;
When controlling the second communication unit to transmit the operation signal, the other remote controller capable of wireless communication emits the radio wave having an intensity equal to or higher than a predetermined reference intensity, the wireless communication 14. The remote controller according to any one of claims 3 to 13, which controls the second communication unit to transmit the operation signal to another remote controller capable of. The second communication unit is
detecting a radio wave emitted by another remote controller capable of wireless communication, the radio wave including the first identification information of the other remote controller capable of wireless communication;
The main control unit
The intensity of the radio wave detected by the second communication unit, which is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference intensity, is associated with the first identification information included in the radio wave to manage the communication path. stored in the department,
When controlling the second communication unit to transmit the operation signal, the operation signal is transmitted to the other remote controller having the first identification information stored in the communication path management unit. 14. The remote controller according to any one of claims 3 to 13, which controls the second communication unit. The second communication unit is
detecting a radio wave emitted by another remote controller capable of wireless communication, the radio wave including the first identification information of the other remote controller capable of wireless communication;
The main control unit
The intensity of the radio wave detected by the second communication unit is associated with the first identification information included in the radio wave and stored in the communication path management unit;
When controlling the second communication unit to transmit the operation signal, among the other remote controllers capable of wireless communication, the other remote controller capable of wireless communication that emits the radio waves of higher intensity. 14. The remote controller according to any one of claims 3 to 13, wherein the remote controller controls the second communication unit to preferentially transmit the operation signal. An air conditioning system comprising a plurality of remote controllers according to any one of claims 1 to 16, and a plurality of air conditioners to be controlled by the plurality of remote controllers. The air conditioning system further comprises
having one or more wireless relay devices for relaying communication between the remote controller and other remote controllers;
The wireless relay device
When performing wireless communication with at least one of the remote controllers and receiving the operation signal, if there is a wired remote controller to which the operation signal is to be sent, the operation signal is to be sent. and if there is no wired remote controller to which the operation signal is to be sent, the operation signal is sent to the remote controller capable of wireless communication. 18. The air conditioning system of claim 17, which transmits a The remote controller
When there is no other remote controller to which the operation signal is to be sent, which is wiredly connected to the remote controller, and the other remote controller to which the operation signal is to be sent and which is capable of wireless communication with the remote controller When there is no remote controller and there is the wireless relay device capable of wired communication or wireless communication, and when the operation signal is received, the operation signal is transmitted to the wireless relay device. 19. An air conditioning system according to claim 18. The remote controller
When the operation signal is received, and when another remote controller connected by wire to the remote controller receives the operation signal before the remote controller, and the remote controller is wirelessly connected to the remote controller When there is no other remote controller to which the operation signal is to be transmitted and which is capable of communication, and when there is the wireless relay device capable of wired communication or wireless communication, the wired connection is performed. 20. The air conditioning system according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the operation signal is transmitted to the wireless relay device without transmitting the operation signal to other remote controllers. The remote controller
When the operation signal is received, and when there is no other remote controller to which the operation signal is to be transmitted and which is connected by wire to the remote controller, wireless communication with the remote controller is possible. When the other remote controller receives the operation signal before the remote controller and when the wireless relay device capable of wired communication or wireless communication is present, the wireless communication is possible. 21. The air conditioning system according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein the operation signal is transmitted to the wireless relay device without transmitting the operation signal to other remote controllers. The remote controller
When the operation signal is received, and when another remote controller connected by wire to the remote controller receives the operation signal before the remote controller, and the remote controller is wirelessly connected to the remote controller If another remote controller capable of communication receives the operation signal before the remote controller, and if there is the wireless relay device capable of wired communication or wireless communication, The air conditioning system according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the operation signal is transmitted to a radio relay device. The wireless relay device
When the operation signal is received, if there is a wired remote controller that has not received the operation signal, the operation signal is transmitted to the wired remote controller, and the wired connection is performed. If the remote controller receiving the operation signal has received the operation signal before the wireless relay device, and if there is a remote controller capable of wireless communication that has not received the operation signal, the operation The air conditioning system according to any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein a signal is transmitted to said remote controller capable of wireless communication.

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