Water heater control apparatus and water heater control method

Abstract

To update a water heater at an appropriate time while considering the user of the water heater.SOLUTION: A control unit 14 starts processing to update software that runs on a water heater 10 when the current time is in an available time zone for permitting to update the software, the available time zone being stored in advance, and when the water heater 10 is suspended at the time. When the water heater 10 enters active state after starting the processing to update the software running on the water heater 10, the control unit 14 interrupts the processing to update the software until the water heater 10 is suspended again. The control unit 14 stores a time zone that does not overlap an operation time zone which has been set in advance based on the active state of the water heater 10, as the available time zone.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a water heater control device and a water heater control method. [Background technology]

[0002] Office equipment such as printers run firmware (hereafter referred to as FW) to provide various functions, including printing. Firmware updates are provided by device manufacturers to fix bugs and update functions. While firmware updates are necessary, they can cause temporary inconvenience, such as limiting the use of the appliance during the update process. For this reason, a technique has been proposed for selecting a time to execute the firmware update process that places as little burden on the user as possible.

[0003] For example, the electronic device described in Patent Document 1 has the following features. "In an electronic device having a firmware update means for updating firmware via a network, the firmware update means comprises an update notification receiving means for receiving a notification informing the user of a firmware update from the network, an inquiry means for notifying an administrator of the electronic device of the content of the notification received by the update notification receiving means and inquiring about an update method, a setting means for receiving the result of the inquiry from the administrator made by the inquiry means and setting the firmware update method, and an update means for updating the firmware using the update method set by the setting means." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-228200 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Unlike office equipment, which has a set usage time, such as during working hours, general home appliances such as water heaters are mainly used in the home, and the lifestyle habits of each family member vary, so even if the time when the water heater will not be used is set in advance, it is often the case that the water heater will be used suddenly. For example, in a household, even if a father has set a time in advance to allow software updates in the early morning when usage is low, there will be unexpected uses, such as when a son gets up early and suddenly fills the bathtub with hot water.

[0006] If such unexpected use and a firmware update outage occur at the same time, users will be inconvenienced by the sudden loss of hot water. Therefore, a flexible update process is required that takes into account unexpected use, while also setting a time period when firmware updates are possible during which the user will not use the appliance frequently. However, conventional technologies such as Patent Document 1 only provide simple settings for whether or not to update firmware, which are set according to a single policy such as "results of an inquiry from an administrator," and are not able to accommodate flexible update processing.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and its main objective is to update a water heater at an appropriate time while taking into consideration the use of the water heater. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the water heater control device of the present invention has the following features. The present invention is characterized by having a control unit that stores the valid time period during which software updates are permitted, and when the current time is within the valid time period and the water heater is currently stopped, starts the process of updating the software operating in the water heater. Other features will be described later. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, updates to a water heater can be performed at an appropriate time while taking into consideration the use of the water heater. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a hot water supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a water heater control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a setting process before a firmware update according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a FW update process executed after the setting process of FIG. 3 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display screen of a remote control according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a hot water supply system 100. The hot water supply system 100 includes a hot water supply apparatus 10, a server 21, a network 22, and a wireless router 23. Server 21 provides software such as firmware that operates water heater 10 to water heater 10 via network 22. Water heater 10 is connected to network 22 such as the Internet via wireless router 23 that performs wireless communication such as Wifi (registered trademark), and updates the firmware received from server 21 to itself.

[0013] As a hot water supply function, water heater 10 has tank 12 for storing water or hot water, heat pump unit 11 which is a heat source machine that heats the water supplied from tank 12, and bathtub 13 to which the heated hot water is supplied. Note that water heater 10 of this embodiment heats water taken out from the bottom of tank 12 using heat pump unit 11 and returns it to the top of tank 12 to fill tank 12 with hot water (by boiling or boiling more water, etc.), and supplies the hot water stored in the top of tank 12 to bathtub 13, the kitchen, etc. Tank 12 is always filled with hot water or water, and due to the difference in density between the hot water and water, hot water accumulates in the top and water accumulates in the bottom. Furthermore, the water heater 10 has, as control functions, a remote control 15 that accepts operations from the user and displays various information on the screen, a wireless unit 16 for communicating with the wireless router 23, and a control unit 14 that controls each component of the water heater 10 and performs FW updates.

[0014] The control unit 14 may be provided inside the water heater 10, or may be a water heater control device in a separate housing from the water heater 10, connected wirelessly or by wire to one or more water heaters 10. By providing a water heater control device separate from the water heater 10, even in the case of an apartment building where individual households use different water heaters 10, for example, one water heater control device can collectively update the firmware for multiple water heaters 10. The control unit 14 of the water heater control device stores the valid time period during which software updates are permitted, and when the current time is within the valid time period and the water heater 10 is currently stopped, it starts the process of updating the software running on the water heater 10.

[0015] Here, the water heater 10 is in one of the following states. The "stopped state" of the water heater 10 means, for example, that the hot water is not being used for heating or reheating, such as for filling the bath or in the kitchen, and the heat pump unit 11 and solenoid valves are not operating (the control unit 14 is not controlling heating or the like). In other words, this is a state in which firmware can be updated. The "operating state" of the water heater 10 is a state in which the water heater 10 is not stopped, for example, a state in which the control unit 14 is controlling the heating of water, etc., and in which firmware updates are not possible.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the water heater control device. The water heater control device is configured as a computer 900 having a CPU 901 , a RAM 902 , a ROM 903 , an HDD 904 , a communication I / F 905 , an input / output I / F 906 , and a media I / F 907 . The communication I / F 905 is connected to an external communication device 915. The input / output I / F 906 is connected to an input / output device 916. The media I / F 907 reads and writes data from a recording medium 917. Furthermore, the CPU 901 executes a program (also called an application or an app for short) loaded into the RAM 902 to improve and control each processing unit. This program can be distributed via a communication line or recorded on a recording medium 917 such as a CD-ROM and distributed.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the setting process before the FW update. The control unit 14 receives input of initial settings such as input of time zone division and input of enabling wireless LAN (S11). The time slots are time slots related to the electricity rates in the contract between the electric power company and the user of the water heater 10. For example, one contract may specify the late-night time slot during which electricity rates are cheaper as "11 PM to 7 AM," while another contract may specify the late-night time slot as "12 AM to 7 AM." Therefore, the control unit 14 accepts input of each time period such as "late night time period, daytime time period, peak time period, etc." The time period may be input by directly specifying a time such as "11pm to 7am" for each time period, or by inputting the contract number of the power company and obtaining a time such as "11pm to 7am" from a correspondence table (contract number → time period correspondence) prepared in advance.

[0018] The input for enabling the wireless LAN is a setting that enables the wireless unit 16 of the water heater 10 to connect to the network 22 via the wireless router 23, and is input from the remote control 15 on the third screen 203 in Fig. 5, which will be described later. This setting enables the water heater 10 and the server 21 to communicate with each other, and firmware can be received from the server 21. Then, the control unit 14 determines whether or not to enable the wireless LAN (S12), and if the answer is No in S12 (if the wireless LAN is disabled), firmware cannot be received from the server 21, and the process returns to S11.

[0019] Furthermore, the control unit 14 accepts input of the valid time period for the FW update (S13). Note that the control unit 14 sets the time period "8:00 AM to 10:00 PM" as the default (initially displayed) valid time period when input in S13, excluding the time period "10:00 PM to 8:00 AM" that has a one-hour margin before and after the late-night time period "11:00 PM to 7:00 AM." In this way, by providing a one-hour margin before and after the late-night time period, it is possible to prevent the FW update from being activated during the preparation time or post-processing time associated with the change of time period.

[0020] Here, the late-night time period "23:00 to 7:00" when electricity rates are low is a suitable time period for preparing hot water for the bathtub 13 even if it is not currently in use, as shown in the example of operation state below, and is a time period during which operation is frequent. An example of an operating state is "boiling up," which is a mode in which hot water storage operation is performed using late-night electricity, etc., to fill tank 12 with hot water at night. An example of an operating state is "Prevention of running out of hot water." This mode is activated when the water level in the tank 12 is low, and the water in the tank 12 is supplied while the water is heated.

[0021] The control unit 14 saves the default valid time period "8:00 AM to 10:00 PM" confirmed by the user or the time period "2:00 PM to 4:00 PM" directly input by the user as a valid time period included in the time period "7:00 AM to 11:00 PM" excluding the late-night time period "11:00 PM to 7:00 AM" as the input result of S13. Here, the control unit 14 determines whether the valid time period for the FW update input in S13 overlaps with the time period during which the operating state is expected, such as the late-night time period set in S11 (S14), and if Yes in S14 (if they overlap), the process returns to S13 and the valid time period for the FW update is re-input. If the answer is No in S14, the control unit 14 saves the valid time period for FW update input in S14 (S15).

[0022] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the FW update process that is executed after the setting process of FIG. The control unit 14 determines whether new firmware for FW update exists in the server (S21). If the answer is Yes in S21, the control unit 14 determines whether the current time falls within the valid time period of FW update, "8:00 to 22:00", saved in S15 (S22). If the answer is Yes in S22, the control unit 14 determines whether the current time is the operating state of the water heater 10 (S23). If the answer is No in S22 or Yes in S23, the control unit 14 returns the process to S22.

[0023] If S23 indicates No, indicating a stopped state, the control unit 14 starts executing a FW update using the firmware read from the server 21 (S24). If an unexpected interruption occurs during the FW update in S24, such as a sudden use of the water heater 10 by the user or a power outage, the control unit 14 interrupts the FW update, thereby prioritizing the operating state of the water heater 10. After the cause of the interruption is resolved, the control unit 14 retries the FW update. An operating state due to a sudden use of the water heater 10 by the user occurs, for example, when there is a shortage of hot water in the tank during the day or evening, and the hot water storage operation is manually performed to fill the tank 12 with hot water, thereby "topping up the tank." In other words, if the water heater 10 transitions to an operating state after the control unit 14 has started the process of updating the software running on the water heater 10, the control unit 14 will suspend the process of updating the software until the water heater 10 returns to a stopped state.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the display screen of the remote controller 15. On the remote controller 15, the displayed screens change in the order of a first screen 201, a second screen 202, a third screen 203, a fourth screen 204, a fifth screen 205, and a sixth screen 206. The first screen 201 is a main menu screen that displays a system menu selected from a tab menu (operation, notification, system, other) using the remote control 15, and "wireless LAN function settings" selected from the system menu (power contract settings, factory settings, wireless LAN function settings) using the remote control 15. When the user presses the "enter" button on the remote control 15 from "wireless LAN function settings," the first screen 201 transitions to the second screen 202.

[0025] The second screen 202 displays the firmware update settings selected from the wireless LAN setting menu (pairing settings, deleting all registered devices, firmware update settings) using the remote control 15. When the user selects "firmware update settings" and presses the "OK" button on the remote control 15, the second screen 202 transitions to the third screen 203. 3, the third screen 203 highlights "Enable" selected from the firmware update setting selection (enable, disable) on the remote control 15. When the user selects "Enable" and then presses the "Enter" button on the remote control 15, the setting to enable the wireless LAN is input (Yes in S12), and the third screen 203 transitions to the fourth screen 204.

[0026] The fourth screen 204 displays an explanation of the firmware update settings (please set the time period during which firmware updates can be performed. The remote control will not be operable for several minutes during the firmware update). When the user presses the "Enter" button on the remote control 15 from this display state, the fourth screen 204 transitions to the fifth screen 205. The fifth screen 205 is a screen for inputting the time period for firmware update settings as S13 in Fig. 3, and in Fig. 5, an input field for directly correcting the time value of "00:00 to 00:00" is displayed. When the user presses the "Enter" button on the remote control 15 from this display state, the fifth screen 205 transitions to a sixth screen 206.

[0027] In this fifth screen 205, the control unit 14 allows the user to input a valid time period from a display screen that displays an operating time period such as a late-night time period "11 PM to 7 AM." The operating time period is a time period that is set in advance as a period during which the water heater 10 is expected to be in an operating state. Then, the control unit 14 saves the valid time period input from the fifth screen 205 from among the time periods that do not overlap with the operating time period (time periods for which S14 returns No). The control unit 14 may also set the operating time period to be a late-night period when electricity rates are low, during which the water heater 10 operates to heat the water stored in the tank. A sixth screen 206 is a screen for completing the setting of the time period for firmware update settings.

[0028] Note that one or more of the following additional information may also be displayed as auxiliary information on fifth screen 205. - The late-night time period set in S11 (for example, 11pm to 7am). The default valid time period (e.g., 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM) calculated from the late-night time period set in S11 (omitted in Figure 5). - The time period for the last firmware update setting (omitted in Figure 5). This can prevent re-inputting in S13 from occurring as a result of determining Yes in S14.

[0029] In the present embodiment described above, the control unit 14 permits the FW update (S24) if the time falls within a pre-set valid time period for FW update (Yes in S22) and the water heater 10 is not currently in operation (No in S23), that is, if the water heater 10 is in a stopped state. This allows the control unit 14 to appropriately cancel the FW update if a user suddenly needs to use the water heater 10, even if the time period is a time period that has been pre-set as a valid time period for FW update. In other words, the control unit 14 can update the water heater 10 at an appropriate time while taking into consideration the use of the water heater 10.

[0030] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various other applications and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention as defined in the claims. For example, the above-described embodiments provide a detailed and specific description of the configuration of the hot water supply system 100 in order to clearly explain the present invention, and the system is not necessarily limited to systems that include all of the components described. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with a component of another embodiment. It is also possible to add a component of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, replace, or delete other components from part of the configuration of each embodiment.

[0031] Furthermore, the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, etc. may be partially or entirely implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. As the hardware, a broad processor device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) may be used. Furthermore, each component of the hot water supply system 100 according to the above-described embodiment may be implemented in any hardware as long as the respective hardware can transmit and receive information to and from each other via a network. Furthermore, the processing executed by a certain processing unit may be realized by a single piece of hardware, or may be realized by distributed processing using multiple pieces of hardware. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 10. Water heater 11 Heat pump unit 12 Tank 13 Bathtub 14 Control unit (water heater control device) 15 Remote Control 16 Wireless Unit 21 Server 22 Network 23 Wireless Router 100 Hot Water System

Claims

1. The apparatus further includes a control unit that stores a valid time period during which software updates are permitted, and that starts a process to update the software that runs on the water heater when the current time is within the valid time period and the water heater is currently stopped. Water heater control device.

2. When the water heater transitions to an operating state after starting a process to update the software running in the water heater, the control unit suspends the process to update the software until the water heater returns to a stopped state. The water heater control device according to claim 1 .

3. The control unit stores, as the valid time period, a time period that does not overlap with a pre-set operating time period during which the operating state of the water heater is expected. The water heater control device according to claim 1 .

4. The control unit is characterized in that the operating time period is a late-night time period when electricity rates are low, and is a time period during which a boiling function for heating water stored in a tank of the water heater is operated. The water heater control device according to claim 3.

5. The control unit allows the user to input the valid time period from a display screen that displays the operating time period. The water heater control device according to claim 3.

6. The hot water heater control device stores a valid time period during which software updates are permitted, and when the current time is within the valid time period and the hot water heater is currently stopped, starts a process to update the software operating in the hot water heater. Water heater control method.

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