Electric blind device and electric blind system

Abstract

To provide an electric blind device and an electric blind system in which the battery consumption of the electric blind device can be reduced.SOLUTION: An electric blind device 11 is configured to operate slats 21 as shading parts that block external light by the rotation of a motor 35, the electric blind device 11 including a battery 31, a control board 39 that controls the rotational drive of the motor 35, and a battery board 32 that accepts charging of the battery 31 and supplies power from the battery 31 to the control board 39. The battery board 32 controls the charging of the battery 31 and is equipped with a battery control unit 44 that controls the supply of power from the battery 31 to the control board 39, and when a malfunction prevention button 43 is in on state, the battery control unit 44 stops the supply of power from the battery 31 to the control board 39, and when the malfunction prevention button 43 is in off state, supplies power from the battery 31 to the control board 39.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric blind device and an electric blind system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an electric blind that operates using a dry cell battery as a battery power source and controls the operation of the slats with a remote control device. The patent document uses the dry cell battery as a power source for the remote control receiver, the slat motor, and the microcomputer that controls the motor based on received light signals.

[0003] With this configuration, the electric blind device can be installed even in places where it is difficult to install power wiring. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-303255 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the dry cell is consumed rapidly, and it may be difficult to ensure stable operation over a long period of time.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide an electric blind device and an electric blind system that can reduce the consumption of the battery of the electric blind device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is an electric blind device that operates slats as shading parts that block external light by the rotation of a motor, and is equipped with a battery, a control board that controls the rotational drive of the motor, and a battery board that accepts battery charging and supplies the battery power to the control board, the battery board controls the battery charging and is equipped with a battery control unit that controls the supply of power from the battery to the control board, and when the malfunction prevention button is in the on state, the battery control unit stops the supply of power from the battery to the control board, and when the malfunction prevention button is in the off state, supplies power from the battery to the control board.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is an electric blind device that operates slats as shading parts that block external light by the rotation of a motor, and is equipped with a battery, a voltage conversion board that boosts the power from the battery to a voltage for driving the motor, and a control board that controls the rotational drive of the motor based on the power boosted by the voltage conversion board, and the voltage conversion control unit stops boosting the voltage when the motor is stopped.

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is an electric blind device that operates slats as shading parts that block external light by the rotation of a motor, and is equipped with a battery and a control board that controls the rotational drive of the motor, and when a predetermined time has passed since the motor operation stopped, a predetermined energy-saving operation is performed to reduce the consumption of battery power.

[0010] An electric blind system according to one aspect of the present invention comprises an electric blind device that operates slats as light blocking units that block external light by the rotation of a motor, and an operating device that remotely controls the operation of the electric blind device, wherein the operating device comprises an operating unit that accepts operations by a user, and a transmitting unit that transmits an operating signal indicating the operation content accepted by the operating unit to the electric blind device, the operating unit having an operating button that specifies the operation of the electric blind device, and a group selection button that selects a group number to be registered in the electric blind device, and the transmitting unit transmits an operating signal to the electric blind device in response to the operation of the operating button, the operating signal including information indicating the group number set by the operation of the group selection button. The electric blind device is equipped with a receiving unit that receives the operation signal transmitted from the transmitting unit, a setting button that selects a group number candidate, a flashing LED, a pairing setting unit that registers the group number in the electric blind device, and a control board that controls the operation of the electric blind device, and the pairing setting unit lights up the LED in accordance with the group number candidate selected by the setting button, and if the receiving unit receives an operation signal at that time indicating that a group number has been selected by the group selection button, it registers the same group number as the group number candidate, and if the group number included in the operation signal received by the receiving unit matches the group number registered by the pairing setting unit, the control board operates the electric blind device based on the operation content indicated by the operation signal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the battery consumption of the electric blind device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electric blind system 1. As shown in FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the electric blind device 11. As shown in FIG. [Figure 3]FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the process for preventing malfunction of the electric blind device 11. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the electric blind system 2. As shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the electric blind device 101. As shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the voltage conversion process of the voltage conversion control unit 121. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of the electric blind system 3. As shown in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the electric blind device 131. As shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the energy saving operation control process of the energy saving operation control unit 151. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the electric blind system 4. As shown in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the structure of the electric blind device 161. As shown in FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the electric blind device 161. As shown in FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of the operating device 162. As shown in FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the operation device 162. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the pairing setting process. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing another example of the pairing setting process. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation control process of the electric blind device 161 by the operating device 162. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] [First Example] There are electric blind devices that have a built-in rechargeable battery and operate the slats using the power stored in the battery. Typically, electric blind devices are shipped with the battery partially charged so that the user can immediately use the electric blind device. Therefore, for example, if the electric blind device is turned on and an operation button is pressed due to vibrations during transportation, the electric blind device may malfunction, causing the electric blind device to break down or wasting the power stored in the battery. The electric blind system of this embodiment has been developed in consideration of these problems.

[0014] (Configuration of Electric Blind System 1) 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an electric blind system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electric blind system 1 includes an electric blind device 11 and an operating device 12.

[0015] The electric blind device 11 operates slats 21 as light blocking portions based on a control signal transmitted from the operating device 12.

[0016] The operating device 12 is a remote controller that has the function of transmitting an operating signal to the electric blind device 11 by wirelessly connecting via short-range wireless communication such as BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). The operating device 12 has various operating buttons such as an open button for instructing the slats 21 to fold and a close button for instructing the slats 21 to be extended, and transmits an operating signal to the electric blind device 11 in response to the operation of these buttons.

[0017] (Configuration of the electric blind device 11) The electric blind device 11 includes multiple tiers of slats 21 as shading sections, a bottom rail 22, and a head box 23.

[0018] The multi-stage slats 21 are suspended and supported by ladder cords 24 hanging down from the bottom of the head box 23. The multi-stage slats 21 move up and down in accordance with the rise and fall of the bottom rail 22.

[0019] The bottom rail 22 is suspended and supported by the lower ends of ladder cords 24 hanging down from the head box 23 and the lower ends of lifting cords 25. The bottom rail 22 is raised and lowered by reeling out or reeling in the lifting cords 25. For example, when the bottom rail 22 is lowered, the multiple tiers of slats 21 are suspended from the ladder cords 24 and pulled out. On the other hand, when the bottom rail 22 is raised, the multiple tiers of slats 21 are pushed up by the rising bottom rail 22 and folded up.

[0020] The head box 23 is fitted with a battery 31, a battery board 32, a voltage conversion board 33, a receiver 34, a motor 35, a motor drive shaft 36, an encoder 37, a winding unit 38 and a control board 39.

[0021] The battery 31 is used as a power source for the battery board 32, the voltage conversion board 33, the receiver 34, the motor 35, the encoder 37, the control board 39, and the like.

[0022] The battery board 32 has a charging port 41, an LED 42, and a predetermined button, i.e., an anti-malfunction button 43. The battery board 32 charges the battery 31 using AC power supplied via a charging cable (not shown) connected to the charging port 41. The battery board 32 lights up the LED 42 depending on the state of the electric blind device 11. The battery board 32 supplies the power stored in the battery 31 to the voltage conversion board 33 depending on whether the anti-malfunction button 43 is turned on.

[0023] The voltage conversion board 33 is configured to have a voltage conversion amplifier configured by, for example, an operational amplifier, etc. The voltage conversion board 33 boosts the power supplied from the battery 31 via the battery board 32 and outputs it to the control board 39.

[0024] The receiving unit 34 receives a control signal transmitted from the operating device 12 and supplies it to the control board 39 .

[0025] The output shaft of the motor 35 is connected to one end of the motor drive shaft 36, and rotates the motor drive shaft 36 forward and backward. Hereinafter, the rotation of the motor drive shaft 36 when lowering the bottom rail 22 will be referred to as forward rotation, and the rotation of the motor drive shaft 36 when raising the bottom rail 22 will be referred to as reverse rotation.

[0026] Encoder 37 outputs a pulse signal to control board 39 to detect the amount of rotation of motor drive shaft 36. Encoder 37 has a disk-shaped slit plate and a photointerrupter. The disk-shaped slit plate is journaled on motor drive shaft 36. The photointerrupter detects multiple slits in the slit plate as the slit plate rotates. When the photointerrupter detects the slits in the slit plate as the slit plate rotates, encoder 37 outputs a pulse signal to control board 39.

[0027] The winding unit 38 is fixed to the motor drive shaft 36. The winding unit 38 winds the lift-down cord 25 around the outer circumferential surface. When the motor drive shaft 36 rotates forward, for example, the winding unit 38 unwinds the wound lift-down cord 25, thereby lowering the bottom rail 22. When the motor drive shaft 36 rotates reversely, the winding unit 38 winds up the lift-down cord 25. As a result, the lift-down cord 25 is drawn into the head box 23, and the bottom rail 22 rises.

[0028] The control board 39 includes an arithmetic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage circuit such as a RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0029] (Functional configuration of the electric blind device 11) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the electric blind device 11. As shown in FIG.

[0030] The battery board 32 has a battery control unit 44 in addition to the charging port 41, LED 42, and malfunction prevention button 43. The battery control unit 44 executes a malfunction prevention process, which will be described later. The malfunction prevention button 43 can also be provided on a location other than the battery board 32.

[0031] The control board 39 includes an arithmetic and control unit 61 , a motor drive unit 62 , and a memory unit 63 .

[0032] The calculation control unit 61 calculates the amount of rotation of the motor 35 based on a control program stored in the memory unit 63 , and drives the motor 35 via the motor driving unit 62 .

[0033] The memory unit 63 is an information recording device configured with a magnetic recording medium (e.g., a flexible disk, a magnetic tape, a hard disk drive), a magneto-optical recording medium (e.g., a magneto-optical disk), a semiconductor memory (e.g., an EPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a flash ROM, a RAM), etc. The memory unit 63 stores various programs for controlling the overall operation of the electric blind device 11.

[0034] (malfunction prevention treatment) 3 is a flowchart showing the malfunction prevention process of the electric blind device 11. The malfunction prevention process is started when a power button (not shown) of the electric blind device 11 is operated.

[0035] In step S11, the battery control unit 44 determines whether the malfunction prevention button 43 is in an on state.

[0036] If it is determined in step S11 that the malfunction prevention button 43 is on (step S11: Yes), in step S12, the battery control unit 44 stops the supply of power from the battery 31 to the voltage conversion board 33. For example, the malfunction prevention button 43 is on at the time of shipment. Therefore, when a user turns on the power of the electric blind device 11 for the first time, or when the power of the electric blind device 11 is turned on due to vibration during transportation, etc., the malfunction prevention button 43 is determined to be on, and power is not supplied from the battery 31 to the voltage conversion board 33. In other words, power is not supplied to the control board 39 and the motor 35.

[0037] In step S13, the battery control unit 44 waits until charging of the battery 31 starts. If charging starts, in step S14, the battery control unit 44 turns off the malfunction prevention button 43. Specifically, the battery control unit 44 determines that charging has started when it detects that AC power is being supplied via a charging cable (not shown) connected to the charging port 41. In other words, when the user connects a charging cable to the charging port 41 of the electric blind device 11 for the first time to start charging, the malfunction prevention button 43 turns off.

[0038] Then, the process returns to step S11.

[0039] If it is determined in step S11 that the malfunction prevention button 43 is not on, i.e., is off (step S11: No), in step S15 the battery control unit 44 starts supplying power from the battery 31 to the voltage conversion board 33. Because the battery 31 is charged to a certain extent in advance, power supply from the battery 31 to the voltage conversion board 33 starts even when the user uses the electric blind device 11 for the first time after installation.

[0040] After that, the process returns to step S11, and the subsequent processes are executed. That is, once the electric blind device 11 is charged, the malfunction prevention button 43 is turned off, and the supply of power from the battery 31 to the voltage conversion board 33 is maintained.

[0041] The contents of the above-described embodiments can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0042] (1) Malfunction prevention function The above-mentioned electric blind device 11 is In the electric blind device 11, the rotation of the motor 35 operates the slats 21 as a light blocking portion that blocks external light. a battery 31; a control board 39 that controls the rotational drive of the motor 35; a battery board 32 that receives charging of the battery 31 and supplies power from the battery 31 to a control board 39; Equipped with The battery board 32 includes a battery control unit 44 that controls charging of the battery 31 and also controls the supply of power from the battery 31 to the control board 39. When the malfunction prevention button 43 is in the on state, the battery control unit 44 stops the supply of power from the battery 31 to the control board 39, and when the malfunction prevention button 43 is in the off state, the battery control unit 44 supplies power from the battery 31 to the control board 39.

[0043] In this way, when the malfunction prevention button 43 is on, power from the battery 31 is not supplied to the control board 39, so the electric blind device 11 will not operate due to malfunction, for example, during transportation. In addition, malfunction prevention can prevent the charge level of the battery 31 from decreasing.

[0044] (2) Malfunction prevention function: A predetermined button is provided on the battery board 32. The battery 31, the battery board 32, the voltage conversion board 33, the receiver 34, the motor 35, and the control board 39 are mounted in the head box. The malfunction prevention button 43 is attached to the battery board 32.

[0045] The battery board 32 attached inside the head box will not come into contact with anything even during transportation, so by providing an anti-malfunction button 43 there, it is possible to prevent the anti-malfunction button 43 from being turned off due to an incorrect operation.

[0046] (3) Malfunction prevention function: Cancels button on state When the battery 31 is charged, the battery control unit 44 turns the malfunction prevention button 43 to the OFF state.

[0047] With this configuration, once the battery 31 is charged, the malfunction prevention button 43 is turned off and the electric blind device 11 becomes usable, so the user can easily start using the electric blind device 11.

[0048] [Second Example] Next, an electric blind system that can reduce battery consumption by voltage conversion will be described.

[0049] In an electric blind system that incorporates a rechargeable battery and operates the slats using the power stored in the battery, the motor is driven by the battery's power to operate the slats as a light blocking section. To drive the motor, the power stored in the battery must be boosted to a voltage necessary to drive the motor and supplied to a control board that controls the motor drive. However, in conventional electric blind systems, the battery's power is boosted to a voltage sufficient for motor drive and supplied to the control board all the time, i.e., even when the motor is not in operation. This results in a problem of battery power consumption. The electric blind system in this embodiment has been developed in consideration of this problem.

[0050] (Configuration of Electric Blind System 1) Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of an electric blind system 2 in the second embodiment. Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an electric blind device 101 in the second embodiment. The same reference numerals are used for components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and descriptions thereof will be omitted where appropriate.

[0051] The battery board 111 has a charging port 41 and an LED 42. The battery board 111 charges the battery 31 based on AC power supplied via a charging cable (not shown) connected to the charging port 41. The battery board 111 supplies the power charged in the battery 31 to the voltage conversion board 112. The battery board 111 lights up the LED 42 depending on the state of the electric blind device 101.

[0052] The voltage conversion board 112 has a voltage conversion control unit 121. In response to an operation signal received by the receiving unit 34, the voltage conversion control unit 121 boosts the power charged in the battery 31, for example, 3.6 V, to 14.4 V for each electronic component or to 24 V for driving the motor 35, and supplies the boosted power to the control board 39.

[0053] (Voltage conversion processing) 6 is a flowchart showing the voltage conversion process of the voltage conversion control unit 121. The voltage conversion process starts when a power button (not shown) of the electric blind device 101 is operated.

[0054] In step S21, the voltage conversion control unit 121 starts a process of boosting the power charged in the battery 31, which is supplied via the battery board 111, to 14.4V for each electronic component and supplying it to the control board 39.

[0055] In step S22, the voltage conversion control unit 121 waits until the receiving unit 34 receives an operation signal (hereinafter referred to as a motor drive operation signal) that instructs driving the motor 35. When the receiving unit 34 receives the motor drive instruction signal, in step S23, the voltage conversion control unit 121 starts a process of boosting the power charged in the battery 31, which is supplied via the battery board 111, to 24 V for driving the motor 35 and supplying the power to the control board 39. The motor driving unit 62 drives the motor 35 using the 24 V power under the control of the arithmetic control unit 61 of the control board 39.

[0056] In step S24, the voltage conversion control unit 121 waits until the driving of the motor 35 stops. When the driving of the motor 35 stops, the process returns to step S21 and executes the subsequent processes.

[0057] The contents of the above-described embodiments can be understood, for example, as follows. (1) Energy-saving control through voltage conversion The above-mentioned electric blind device 101 is In the electric blind device 101, the rotation of the motor 35 operates the slats 21 as a light blocking portion that blocks external light. a battery 31; a voltage conversion control unit 121 that boosts the power from the battery 31 to a voltage for driving the motor 35; a control board 39 that controls the rotational drive of the motor 35 based on the power boosted by the voltage conversion control unit 121; Equipped with When the motor 35 is stopped, the voltage conversion control unit 121 stops boosting the voltage for driving the motor 35.

[0058] In this way, when the motor 35 is stopped, the voltage conversion control unit 121 does not boost the power from the battery 31 to a voltage for driving the motor 35, thereby making it possible to reduce power consumption.

[0059] [Third Example] Next, an electric blind system that can reduce battery consumption by using an energy saving mode will be described.

[0060] In an electric blind system that has a built-in rechargeable battery and operates the slats based on the power source charged in the battery, in order to operate without any time lag in response to user operation, for example, the system is able to continuously receive signals sent from the operating device and power is constantly supplied to each electronic component. However, this has led to the problem of battery power consumption. The electric blind system in this embodiment has been developed in consideration of this problem.

[0061] (Configuration of Electric Blind System 3) Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of an electric blind system 3 in the third embodiment. Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an electric blind device 131 in the third embodiment. The same reference numerals are used for components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and descriptions thereof will be omitted where appropriate.

[0062] The battery board 111 has a charging port 41 and an LED 42. The battery board 111 charges the battery 31 based on AC power supplied via a charging cable (not shown) connected to the charging port 41. The battery board 111 supplies the power charged in the battery 31 to the voltage conversion board 112. The battery board 111 lights up the LED 42 depending on the state of the electric blind device 101.

[0063] The control board 141 further includes an energy saving operation control section 151. The energy saving operation control section 151 executes a predetermined energy saving operation.

[0064] (Energy-saving operation control processing) 9 is a flowchart showing the energy saving operation control process of the energy saving operation control unit 151. The energy saving operation control process is started when a power button (not shown) of the electric blind device 131 is operated.

[0065] In step S31, the energy saving operation control unit 151 executes the energy saving operation. For example, the energy saving operation control unit 151 controls the receiving unit 34 to intermittently receive the operation signal transmitted from the operation device 12. For example, the energy saving operation control unit 151 can reduce the power consumption by changing the duty ratio to 1 / 2 or the like when not in the energy saving mode.

[0066] In step S32, the energy saving operation control unit 151 waits until the receiving unit 34 receives a motor drive operation signal instructing the motor 35 to be driven.

[0067] When the receiver 34 receives the motor drive instruction signal in step S32, the energy-saving operation control unit 151 cancels the energy-saving operation in step S33. For example, the energy-saving operation control unit 151 controls the receiver 34 to receive the signal transmitted from the operating device continuously, not intermittently. Because the receiver 34 continuously receives the signal transmitted from the operating device, the operation of the motor 35 is unlikely to be interrupted as long as the signal is being transmitted.

[0068] In step S34, the energy saving operation control unit 151 waits until a predetermined time has elapsed since the driving of the motor 35 has stopped.

[0069] In step S34, if a predetermined time has elapsed since the driving of the motor 35 was stopped, the process returns to step S31 and the subsequent processes are executed.

[0070] In addition to or instead of changing the frequency of reception during energy saving operation, the energy saving operation control unit 151 may turn off the power to the encoder 37 and a dip switch circuit (not shown) via the control board 141 in order to reduce consumption of the battery 31.

[0071] The contents of the above-described embodiments can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0072] (1) Energy-saving control The above-mentioned electric blind device 131 is In the electric blind device 131, the slats 21 serving as shading units for blocking external light are operated by the rotation of the motor 35. a battery 31; a control board 141 that controls the rotational drive of the motor 35; Equipped with When a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the motor 35 stopped, a predetermined energy saving operation is performed to reduce the power consumption of the battery 31.

[0073] This configuration makes it possible to reduce power consumption.

[0074] (2) Intermittent control The above-mentioned electric blind device 131 is a receiving unit 34 for receiving a signal from an operating device for remotely controlling the operation of the light blocking unit; an energy saving operation control unit 151 that controls the frequency with which the receiving unit 34 receives signals from the operating device; Furthermore, When a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the motor 35 stopped, the energy saving operation control unit 151 reduces the frequency with which the receiving unit 34 receives signals from the operating device.

[0075] This configuration makes it possible to reduce the power consumption of the receiving unit 34.

[0076] (3) Turn off the power to the encoder dip switch circuit The above-mentioned electric blind device 131 is an encoder 37 that detects the amount of rotation of the motor drive shaft 36; A dip switch circuit, Furthermore, When a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the motor 35 has stopped, the control board 141 turns off the power supply from the battery 31 to at least one of the encoder 37 and the dip switch circuit.

[0077] This configuration makes it possible to reduce the power consumption of the encoder 37 and the dip switch circuit.

[0078] [Fourth Example] Next, the pairing setting between the electric blind device and the operating device will be described.

[0079] In an electric blind system that can be remotely controlled using an operating device, it is necessary to pair the electric blind with the operating device in order to remotely control a blind selected from a large number of installed blinds. Conventional electric blind systems have the problem of complicated setup, such as requiring the user to set an identification number for the blind to be installed using a dip switch or the like, and then inputting both the desired group number and the blind's identification number into the control device. The electric blind system in this embodiment has been developed in consideration of this problem. (Example of an electric blind system configuration) FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electric blind system 4 according to the fourth embodiment.

[0080] The electric blind system 4 is configured to include electric blind devices 161-1, 161-2, and 161-3 (hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between them, they will be simply referred to as electric blind devices 161) and an operating device 162. In this example, three electric blind devices 161 are included, but the number may be one, two, four or more.

[0081] The electric blind device 161 operates the slats 21 as light blocking portions based on a control signal transmitted from an operating device 162 .

[0082] The operating device 162 is a remote controller that has the function of transmitting an operating signal to the electric blind device 161 by wirelessly connecting via short-range wireless communication such as BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). The operating device 162 has various operating buttons 81a (FIG. 13) such as an open button for instructing the slats 21 to fold and a close button for instructing the slats 21 to be extended, and transmits an operating signal corresponding to the operation of these buttons to the electric blind device 161.

[0083] In this example, in the electric blind system 4, group number 1 is registered in the electric blind devices 161-1 and 161-2, and group number 2 is registered in the electric blind device 161-3, through a pairing setting process described below.

[0084] Any electric blind device 161 having a registered group number selected from electric blind devices 161-1, 161-2, and 161-3 can be operated by operation device 162. For example, when a user selects group number 1 on operation device 162, only electric blind devices 161-1 and 161-2 belonging to group 1 can be operated by operation device 162.

[0085] (Structure of the electric blind device 161) Fig. 11 is a diagram showing the structure of an electric blind device 161 in the fourth embodiment. The same reference numerals are used for components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, and the description thereof will be omitted where appropriate.

[0086] The battery board 111 has a charging port 41 and an LED 42. The battery board 111 charges the battery 31 based on AC power supplied via a charging cable (not shown) connected to the charging port 41. The battery board 111 supplies the power charged in the battery 31 to the voltage conversion board 33. The battery board 111 lights up the LED 42 depending on the state of the electric blind device 161.

[0087] The control board 171 includes an arithmetic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage circuit such as a RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0088] The setting button 172 is a button that is operated by the user during the pairing setting process described later.

[0089] 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an electric blind device 161 according to the fourth embodiment. The same reference numerals are used for components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and the description thereof will be omitted where appropriate.

[0090] The control board 171 has an arithmetic and control unit 181 , a motor driving unit 62 , and a memory unit 63 .

[0091] The calculation control unit 181 calculates the amount of rotation of the motor 35 based on the control program stored in the memory unit 63, and controls the motor driving unit 62 to drive the motor 35 based on an operation signal from the operation device 162 received by the receiving unit 34, and controls the operation of the entire electric blind device 161. The calculation control unit 181 also has a pairing setting unit 191.

[0092] The pairing setting unit 191 performs a pairing setting process, which will be described later, and turns on the LED 42 in response to the operation of the setting button 172, thereby performing pairing setting with the operating device 162.

[0093] (Configuration of operation device 162) 13 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of the operating device 162. The operating device 162 has various operating buttons 81a, such as an open button for instructing the slats 21 to fold, a close button for instructing the slats 21 to extend, and a stop button for stopping the operation of the slats 21, as well as a group selection button 81b for selecting group numbers 1 to 8 registered in the electric blind device 161. When there is no need to distinguish between the operating buttons 81a and the group selection buttons 81b, they will be collectively referred to as the operating unit 81.

[0094] 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the operation device 162. The operation device 162 includes an operation button 81a, a group selection button 81b, a control unit 82, a memory unit 83, and a transmission unit 84.

[0095] The control unit 82 includes an arithmetic circuit such as a CPU, and a storage circuit such as a RAM. The control unit 82 functions as a transmission control unit 91 by reading and executing an information processing program stored in the memory unit 83.

[0096] The transmission control unit 91 transmits a signal including information input via the operation unit 81 via the transmission unit 84 .

[0097] The memory unit 83 is an information recording device configured by a magnetic recording medium (e.g., a flexible disk, a magnetic tape, a hard disk drive), a magneto-optical recording medium (e.g., a magneto-optical disk), a semiconductor memory (e.g., an EPROM, a flash ROM, a RAM), etc. The memory unit 83 stores various programs for controlling the overall operation of the operating device 162 and various data acquired by the operating device 162.

[0098] The transmitter 84 is, for example, an infrared light emitting diode that emits an infrared command signal, and transmits the signal to the electric blind device 161 according to the control of the transmission control unit 91 .

[0099] (Pairing setting process) The left side of Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the pairing setting process by the electric blind device 161. For example, when the user presses the setting button 172 of the electric blind device 161 for a long time (for example, when pressed for three seconds or more), the orange light flashes once and the device enters setting mode. Then, when the user further presses the setting button 172 for a short time (for example, when pressed for about one second), the orange light flashes twice and the device enters pairing mode. When the electric blind device 161 enters pairing mode, the pairing setting process starts.

[0100] Here, lighting up N (N=1, 2, 3, etc.) times means that the light is turned on for a predetermined time and turned off for a predetermined time, repeated N times, then turned off for a time longer than the predetermined time, and then turned on again by repeating this process N times.

[0101] In step S41, the pairing setting unit 191 of the electric blind device 161 waits until the setting button 172 of the electric blind device 161 is pressed and held.

[0102] When the setting button 172 is pressed and held down in step S41, the pairing setting unit 191 lights up the LED 42 in accordance with the group number candidate in step S42. Specifically, for example, if there are eight groups with group numbers 1 to 8, the pairing setting unit 191 first causes the LED 42 to flash once in green, and then causes it to flash twice when the setting button 172 is pressed again briefly. Similarly, each time the setting button 172 is pressed and held down, the number of flashes of the LED 42 changes from three times to four times to five times to six times to seven times to eight times. Then, the number of flashes of the LED 42 returns to one time. While watching the flashing state of the LED 42, the user can light up the LED 42 in accordance with the group number to be registered by briefly pressing the setting button 172.

[0103] In step S43, the pairing setting unit 191 waits until the receiving unit 34 receives an operation signal transmitted from the operating device 162 indicating that a group number has been selected with the group selection button 81b.

[0104] When an operation signal indicating that a group number has been selected is received in step S43, pairing setting section 191 registers the group number of the group number candidate in memory section 63 in step S44.

[0105] Thereafter, the pairing setting unit 191 turns off the LED 42 and ends the pairing setting process.

[0106] The right side of FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the pairing setting of the operating device 162 corresponding to the pairing setting of the electric blind device 161.

[0107] In step S51, the transmission control unit 91 of the operating device 162 waits until the group selection button 81b is operated by the user. At this time, it is assumed that the user operates the setting button 172 of the electric blind device 161 to blink the LED 42 corresponding to the group number registered in the electric blind device 161.

[0108] The user confirms that the LED 42 of the electric blind device 161 is flashing in accordance with the group number they wish to register, and then operates the group selection button 81b (step S51: Yes). In step S52, the transmission control unit 91 transmits an operation signal to the electric blind device 161 indicating that the group number has been selected.

[0109] The process then ends.

[0110] In this manner, pairing is set up. ((Example)) Next, a specific example of pairing setting processing by the electric blind device 161 and the operating device 162 will be described.

[0111] First, when the user presses and holds the setting button 172 of the electric shade device 161, the orange light flashes once and the device enters setting mode. Furthermore, when the user presses and holds the setting button 172, the orange light flashes twice and the device enters pairing mode, starting the pairing setting process.

[0112] When the user presses and holds the setting button 172 of the electric blind device 161 (step S41: Yes), the pairing setting unit 191 lights up the LED 42 according to the group number candidate (step S42). If the user wants to register group number 3 in the electric blind device 161, the user presses the setting button 172 twice briefly to make the LED 42 flash three times.

[0113] The user presses the group selection button 81b for group number 3 on the operating device 162 (step S51: Yes), and the transmission control unit 91 of the operating device 162 transmits an operation signal indicating that group number 3 has been selected to the electric blind device 161 (step S52).

[0114] When the pairing setting unit 191 of the electric blind device 161 receives an operation signal indicating that a group number has been selected (step S43: Yes), in step S44, it registers group number 3, which is a group number candidate, in the memory unit 63.

[0115] The process then ends and the LED 42 turns off. The process may end when the stop button on the operation device 162 is pressed, or the electric blind device 161 may notify the user that registration is complete by, for example, moving the bottom rail 22 up or down when the process ends.

[0116] (Another example of pairing setup process) The diagram on the left side of FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing another example of the pairing setting process by the electric blind device 161.

[0117] Steps S61 and S62 are similar to steps S41 and S42 in FIG. 15, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0118] In step S63, the pairing setting unit 191 waits until the receiving unit 34 receives an operation signal transmitted from the operating device 162 and indicating the same group number as the group number candidate.

[0119] When an operation signal indicating the same group number as the group number candidate is received in step S63, the pairing setting unit 191 registers the group number of the group number candidate in the memory unit 63 in step S64.

[0120] In step S63, if an operation signal indicating the same group number as the group number candidate is not received, for example, if a group selection button 81b with a group number different from the group number candidate displayed by LED 42 is selected, the pairing setting unit 191 may, for example, light up LED 42 in red to display an error message.

[0121] Thereafter, the pairing setting unit 191 turns off the LED 42 and ends the pairing setting process.

[0122] The right side of FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing another example of the pairing setting process of the operating device 162 corresponding to the other example of the pairing setting process of the electric blind device 161.

[0123] In step S71, the transmission control section 91 of the operating device 162 waits until the group selection button 81b is pressed.

[0124] If the group selection button 81b is pressed in step S21, the transmission control section 91 transmits a signal including information on the group number of the group selection button 81b to the electric blind device 161 in step S72.

[0125] The process then ends.

[0126] (Operation control processing) The left side of FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation control process of the electric blind device 161 by the operating device 162 after the pairing setting process.

[0127] In step S81, the transmission control unit 91 of the operating device 162 waits until the group number of the electric blind device 161 to be operated is selected. When the group selection button 81b for the group number of the electric blind device 161 to be operated is operated and the group number of the electric blind device 161 to be operated is selected, in step S82 the transmission control unit 91 waits until the operating button 81a is operated. If the operating button 81a is operated, the process proceeds to step S83.

[0128] In step S83, the transmission control unit 91 transmits an operation signal indicating the operation content of the operation button 81a operated in step S82, including information on the group number indicated by the group selection button 81b operated in step S81, to the electric blind device 161 via the transmission unit 84.

[0129] Then, the process returns to step S81.

[0130] The right side of FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation control process of the electric blind device 161 corresponding to the operation control process by the operating device 162.

[0131] In step S91, the arithmetic and control unit 181 of the electric blind device 161 waits until the receiving unit 34 receives an operation signal transmitted from the operating device 162. When the operation signal is received, in step S92, the arithmetic and control unit 181 determines whether or not the group number included in the operation signal matches its own group number registered in the memory unit 63 in the pairing setting process. If it is determined that they do not match, the process returns to step S91.

[0132] If it is determined in step S92 that they match, then in step S93, the arithmetic and control unit 181 controls the operation of the electric blind device 161 based on the information on the operation content included in the operation signal. For example, the arithmetic and control unit 181 controls the motor driving unit 62 to drive the motor 35.

[0133] Then, the process returns to step S91.

[0134] The contents of the above-described embodiments can be understood, for example, as follows. (1) Pairing settings The above-mentioned electric blind system 4 is In the electric blind system 4, there is provided an electric blind device 161 that operates slats as a light blocking portion that blocks external light by the rotation of a motor, and an operating device 162 that remotely controls the operation of the electric blind device 161, The operation device 162 is an operation unit 81 that accepts operations by a user; a transmitter 84 that transmits an operation signal indicating the operation content received by the operation unit 81 to the electric blind device 161; Equipped with The operation unit 81 is An operation button 81a for specifying the operation of the electric blind device 161; a group selection button 81b for selecting a group number to be registered in the electric blind device 161; Equipped with The transmitter 84 transmits an operation signal corresponding to the operation of the operation button 81a, including information indicating the group number set by the operation of the group selection button 81b, to the electric blind device 161; The electric blind device 161 is a receiving unit 34 that receives the operation signal transmitted from the transmitting unit 84; a setting button 172 for selecting a group number candidate; LED42 flashes, a pairing setting unit 191 that registers a group number in the electric blind device 161; a control board 171 for controlling the operation of the electric blind device 161; Equipped with The pairing setting unit 191 lights up the LED 42 in accordance with the group number candidate selected by the setting button 172, and when the receiving unit 34 receives an operation signal indicating that a group number has been selected by the group selection button 81b at that timing, it registers the same group number as the group number candidate, If the group number included in the operation signal received by the receiving unit 34 matches the group number registered by the pairing setting unit 191, the control board 171 operates the electric blind device 161 based on the operation content indicated by the operation signal. An electric blind system.

[0135] When the setting button 172 is pressed, the pairing setting unit 191 causes the LED 42 to flash candidates for the group number, and registers them as the group number based on the signal received by the receiving unit 34. This allows the operating device 162 to easily pair with each of the electric blind devices 161, even if there are multiple electric blind devices 161 nearby.

[0136] Furthermore, if the group number included in the signal received by the receiving unit 34 matches its own group number, the motor driving unit 62 of the electric blind device 161 controls the operation of the electric blind device 161 based on the signal. This allows the user to use the operating device 162 to operate only the electric blind device 161 that the user wants to operate, even if there are multiple electric blind devices 161 nearby.

[0137] [Supplementary explanation of the embodiment] The above-described embodiments each show a preferred specific example of the present invention. The numerical values, components, arrangement and connection order of the components, processing order in the flowcharts, etc. shown in the embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, the drawings are not necessarily strict illustrations.

[0138] The above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware or software. When the series of processes is executed by software, the program constituting the software is installed from a program recording medium into a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware, or into, for example, a general-purpose personal computer that can execute various functions by installing various programs.

[0139] The program executed by the computer may be a program that processes in chronological order according to the order described in this specification, or may be a program that processes in parallel or at the required timing, such as when called.

[0140] Although the above-described embodiment has been described using a blind device as an example, the present invention is not limited to this. [Explanation of symbols]

[0141] 1. Electric blind system 2. Electric blind system 3. Electric blind system 4. Electric blind system 11 Electric blinds 12 Operating device 21 Slats 22 Bottom Rail 23 Headbox 24 Ladder Code 25 Lifting cord 31 Battery 32 Battery board 33 Voltage conversion board 34 Receiving unit 35 motor 36 Motor drive shaft 37 Encoder 38 Winding section 39 Control board 41 Charging port 42 LED 43 Anti-malfunction button 44 Battery control unit 61 Calculation control unit 62 Motor drive unit 62 steps 63 Memory section 81 Operation section 82 Control Unit 83 Memory section 84 Transmitter 91 Transmission control section 101 Electric blind device 111 Battery board 112 Voltage conversion board 121 Voltage conversion control section 131 Electric blind device 141 Control board 151 Energy saving operation control unit 161 Electric blind device 162 Operating device 171 Control board 172 Settings button 181 Calculation control unit 191 Rear pairing setting section 191 Pairing setting section

Claims

1. In an electric blind device in which slats as shading units that block external light are operated by the rotation of a motor, A battery, a control board for controlling the rotational drive of the motor; a battery board that receives battery charging and supplies battery power to the control board; Equipped with the battery board includes a battery control unit that controls charging of the battery and controls supply of power from the battery to the control board; The battery control unit stops the supply of power from the battery to the control board when the malfunction prevention button is in the on state, and supplies power from the battery to the control board when the malfunction prevention button is in the off state. An electric blind device.

2. In an electric blind device in which slats as shading units that block external light are operated by the rotation of a motor, A battery, a voltage conversion control unit that boosts the power from the battery to a voltage for driving the motor; a control board that controls the rotational driving of the motor based on the power boosted by the voltage conversion control unit; Equipped with The voltage conversion control unit stops the voltage boosting when the motor is stopped. An electric blind device.

3. In an electric blind device in which slats as shading units that block external light are operated by the rotation of a motor, A battery, a control board for controlling the rotational drive of the motor; Equipped with When a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the motor has stopped, a predetermined energy-saving operation is performed to reduce the consumption of power from the battery. An electric blind device.

4. An electric blind system includes an electric blind device that operates slats as shading units that block external light by the rotation of a motor, and an operating device that remotely controls the operation of the electric blind device, The operating device is an operation unit that accepts operations by a user; a transmitter that transmits an operation signal indicating the operation content received by the operation unit to the electric blind device; Equipped with The operation unit includes: an operation button for specifying the operation of the electric blind device; a group selection button for selecting a group number to be registered in the electric blind device; Equipped with the transmitting unit transmits to the electric blind device an operation signal corresponding to the operation of the operation button, the operation signal including information indicating the group number set by the operation of the group selection button; The electric blind device a receiving unit that receives the operation signal transmitted from the transmitting unit; A setting button to select group number candidates; A blinking LED, a pairing setting unit that registers the group number in the electric blind device; a control board for controlling the operation of the electric blind device; Equipped with the pairing setting unit turns on the LED in accordance with the group number candidate selected by the setting button, and when the receiving unit receives the operation signal indicating that the group number has been selected by the group selection button at that timing, registers the group number that is the same as the group number candidate; When the group number included in the operation signal received by the receiving unit matches the group number registered by the pairing setting unit, the control board operates the electric blind device based on the operation content indicated by the operation signal. An electric blind system.

Images