Electric shielding device, operation signal transmitting device, operation terminal, and voice operation device

Abstract

To provide an electrically-driven shielding device which can perform a lifting operation of each of a plurality of shielding materials disposed front and back or up and down simultaneously and electrically by improving usability and convenience, and to provide an operation signal transmission device, an operation terminal and a voice operation device.SOLUTION: An electrically-driven shielding device includes a control device 10 which performs turning control which, while all shielding materials 6F, 6R (or 6U, 6L) disposed front and back (or up and down) are operating in an opening direction or in a closing direction, can turn the operation. In particular, as a command related to the opening / closing operation of the shielding material, an operation signal has only one set of an open command, a close command and a stop command. An operation signal transmission device 500 has a function of transmitting the operation signal. An operation terminal (smart speaker 100, or a mobile terminal 200) is constituted so as to transmit a communication signal including various commands to the operation signal transmission device 500, and preferably, it is constituted as a voice operation device for transmitting the communication signal based on voice.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric shading device, an operation signal transmission device, an operation terminal, and a voice operation device that control the lifting and lowering of a shielding material by the driving force of a motor.

Background Art

[0002] An electric shading device rotates a drive shaft by the driving force of a motor, and winds up or winds back a lifting cord (including a string-like cord or a tape-like lifting tape) with a winding drum, thereby enabling the shielding material to be lifted and lowered.

[0003] In such an electric shading device, a motor is disposed in a head box, the rotation of the output shaft of the motor is transmitted to the drive shaft, and the shielding material is lifted and lowered based on the rotation of the drive shaft.

[0004] Also, an encoder for detecting the rotation speed and rotation amount of the drive shaft is disposed in the head box of the electric shading device. Based on the pulse signal output from the encoder, the count values of the speed and number of pulses of the encoder pulses are managed, and the rotation speed and rotation amount of the motor are controlled by a control device disposed in the head box. By such an operation, the lifting and lowering speed of the shielding material is appropriately adjusted, and the stop position of the lifted and lowered shielding material is controlled.

[0005] By the way, as a type of electric shading device, it is known that an electric pleated screen can be configured in which a screen that can be folded in a zigzag shape, for example, in the vertical direction from a head box is suspended as a shielding material and this screen can be lifted and lowered electrically (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0006] In particular, in the electric pleated screen disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is composed of a plurality of stages (a plurality of types) of shielding materials arranged vertically and can be lifted and lowered electrically. That is, in this electric pleated screen, the screen is composed of an upper shielding material (upper screen) and a lower shielding material (lower screen) made of different fabrics in the upper and lower stages. The upper end edge of the upper screen is attached to the head box and suspended, and its lower end edge is attached to the intermediate rail. The upper end edge of the lower screen is attached to the intermediate rail and suspended, and its lower end edge is attached to the bottom rail. Then, the intermediate rail and the bottom rail are suspended and supported from the head box by independent lifting cords, and the upper screen and the lower screen can be individually lifted and lowered electrically.

[0007] By the way, in the electric pleated screen disclosed in Patent Document 1, each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged vertically can be individually lifted and lowered electrically. In other words, when operating the lifting and lowering of each of the plurality of shielding materials, during the lifting and lowering operation of one shielding material, the lifting and lowering operation of the other shielding material becomes impossible.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] In a conventional electric shielding device such as an electric pleated screen as disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is composed of a plurality of stages (a plurality of types) of shielding materials arranged vertically and can be lifted and lowered electrically. In other words, when operating the lifting and lowering of each of the plurality of shielding materials, during the lifting and lowering operation of one shielding material, the lifting and lowering operation of the other shielding material becomes impossible.

[0010] For example, in an electric pleated screen in which an upper screen and a lower screen are hung side by side in the vertical direction, an operator performs lifting and lowering operations using a wired switch or a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a "remote control"). However, when the operator wants to perform a lifting operation on both screens using a wired switch or a remote control, by operating an up button for the lifting operation, a down button for the lowering operation, and a stop button for stopping the lifting and lowering operation, first, the operator needs to perform a lifting operation on the upper screen and stop it, and then perform a lifting operation on the lower screen and stop it. Similarly, when the operator wants to perform a lowering operation on both screens, first, the operator needs to perform a lowering operation on the lower screen and stop it, and then perform a lowering operation on the upper screen and stop it. Thus, in order to perform the lifting and lowering operations of the upper screen and the lower screen, the operation of the other screen cannot start unless the operation of either the upper screen or the lower screen has stopped. Therefore, when an operator wants to raise or lower all of a plurality of shielding materials, the time required for the lifting and lowering becomes long, and some operators find the operation troublesome, indicating that there is room for improvement in usability.

[0011] Furthermore, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose an electric pleated screen in which each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged side by side in the vertical direction can be individually lifted and lowered electrically. However, an electric shielding device in which each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged in the front and back can be individually lifted and lowered electrically (for example, a pleated screen, a roll screen, a pull-up curtain, etc., or a hybrid configuration in which these different types of shielding materials are combined and arranged in the front and back) is not disclosed. And when performing a lifting and lowering operation on each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged in the front and back, similar to the above, there is room for improvement from the perspective of usability in making the lifting and lowering operation of the other shielding material impossible during the lifting and lowering operation of one shielding material.

[0012] In a conventional electric shading device in which each of a plurality of shading materials arranged vertically is individually electrically movable up and down, in order to operate the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shading materials by a remote control or the like, an operation signal indicating a different command is required for each, which complicates the control of the electric shading device and further leaves room for improvement from the viewpoint of operability.

[0013] Also, in a conventional electric shading device in which each of a plurality of shading materials arranged vertically is individually electrically movable up and down, it is not configured to operate each shading material based on voice, and there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of convenience.

[0014] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric shading device that can individually move up and down each of a plurality of shading materials arranged front and back or up and down by an operation signal having only one set of open command, close command, and stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shading material, an operation signal transmission device having a function of transmitting the operation signal, an Operation operation terminal that transmits a communication signal including any one of an open command, a close command, and a stop command to the signal transmission device, and a voice operation device that transmits the communication signal based on voice.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0015] The electric shading device according to the present invention is an electric shading device that can electrically open and close each of a plurality of shading materials arranged front and back or up and down, and receives an operation signal having only one set of open command, close command, and stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shading material, and includes a control device that controls the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shading materials. When the control device receives an operation signal indicating the open command once or a plurality of times while all the shading materials are operating in the closed direction, the control device individually changes the operation of a number of shading materials corresponding to the number of times the open command is received among the plurality of shading materials to the open operation in a predetermined order. When the control device receives an operation signal indicating the close command once or a plurality of times while all the shading materials are operating in the open direction, among the plurality of shading materials, the CloseIndividually turn the number of shielding materials corresponding to the number of received commands to the closing operation in the order reverse to the predetermined order, and when one or more of the plurality of shielding materials receive an operation signal indicating the stop command during operation, control to stop the operation of all the shielding materials.

[0016] Also, in the electric shielding device according to the present invention, when the control device receives an operation signal indicating the close command once or a plurality of times while the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shielding materials is in a stopped state, among the plurality of shielding materials, the Close Number of shielding materials corresponding to the number of received commands are individually closed in the order reverse to the predetermined order, and when the control device receives an operation signal indicating the open command once or a plurality of times while the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shielding materials is in a stopped state, control to individually open the number of shielding materials corresponding to the number of received open commands among the plurality of shielding materials in the predetermined order.

[0017] Furthermore, the electric shading device according to the present invention is an electric shading device that enables each of a plurality of shading materials arranged front-rear or up-down to be opened and closed electrically, and includes a control device that receives an operation signal having only one set of open command, close command, and stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shading material, and controls the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shading materials. When the control device receives an operation signal indicating the close command once while the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shading materials is in a stopped state, it causes a predetermined one of the plurality of shading materials to perform a closing operation, and when it further receives an operation signal indicating the close command during the closing operation of the one shading material, it causes the other shading material among the plurality of shading materials to perform a closing operation. When the control device receives an operation signal indicating the open command once while both of the plurality of shading materials are operating in the closing direction, it causes the one shading material to turn to an opening operation, and when it further receives an operation signal indicating the open command during the turned opening operation of the one shading material, it causes the other shading material to turn to an opening operation. When the control device receives an operation signal indicating the open command once while the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shading materials is in a stopped state, it causes the other shading material to perform an opening operation, and when it further receives an operation signal indicating the open command during the opening operation of the other shading material, it causes the one shading material to perform an opening operation. When the control device receives an operation signal indicating the close command once while both of the plurality of shading materials are operating in the opening direction, it causes the other shading material to turn to a closing operation, and when it further receives an operation signal indicating the close command during the turned closing operation of the other shading material, it causes the one shading material to turn to a closing operation. When the control device receives an operation signal indicating the stop command while one or more of the plurality of shading materials are operating, it controls to stop the operation of all the shading materials.

[0018] Also, in the electric shading device according to the present invention, the control device is configured to perform opening and closing control of the plurality of shading materials by an operating device having only one set of an opening / closing button and a stop button.

[0019] Also, in the electric shading device according to the present invention, the control device further has means for performing control to automatically stop the shading materials that have reached the upper and lower limit positions during the lifting operation of the plurality of shading materials.

[0020] Further, in the electric shielding device according to the present invention, it is characterized by comprising a setting unit capable of changing the setting regarding the order of the opening and closing operations of each of the plurality of shielding materials by an operator's setting operation.

[0021] Further, in the electric shielding device according to the present invention, when the control device closes the plurality of shielding materials by the setting operation of the setting unit, the shielding materials on the rear side or lower side are prioritized over the shielding materials on the front side or upper side, and when the control device opens the plurality of shielding materials, the shielding materials on the front side or upper side are prioritized over the shielding materials on the rear side or lower side for the first operation setting, and for the plurality of shielding materials Close when operating, the shielding materials on the front side or upper side are prioritized over the shielding materials on the rear side or lower side, and when opening the plurality of shielding materials, it is characterized by having a function of controlling to switch between a second operation setting in which the shielding materials on the rear side or lower side are prioritized over the shielding materials on the front side or upper side.

[0022] Further, in the electric shielding device according to the present invention, the setting unit includes a button switch that can be pressed down, and a notification unit that notifies a setting state regarding the order of the opening or closing operations of the plurality of shielding materials according to the pressing operation. The control device shifts to a setting mode by a long press of the button switch for a predetermined time, and performs control to notify the current setting state, which consists of either the first operation setting or the second operation setting, in a distinguishable manner by the notification unit. Each time the button switch is pressed once, the setting states of the first operation setting and the second operation setting are alternately switched. When the button switch is not pressed for a predetermined time while in the setting mode, the setting regarding the order of the opening and closing operations of each of the plurality of shielding materials is updated to either one of the first operation setting and the second operation setting corresponding to the setting state of the last press of the button switch. It is characterized by having such a function.

[0023] Furthermore, the operation signal transmission device according to the present invention is characterized in that it transmits an operation signal having only one set of open command, close command, and stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shielding material to the electric shielding device of the present invention.

[0024] In addition, in the operation signal transmission device according to the present invention, it is characterized by comprising an infrared remote control, a wireless remote control, a wired switch, or a communication terminal having a function of designating each command by a button operation and transmitting the operation signal.

[0025] Furthermore, the operation terminal according to the present invention transmits a communication signal including any one of the open command, close command, and stop command to the signal transmission device of the present invention so as to transmit the operation signal toward the electric shielding device of the present invention. Operation It is characterized in that.

[0026] Furthermore, the voice operation device according to the present invention is a voice operation device that transmits a communication signal including any one of the open command, close command, and stop command to the signal transmission device of the present invention so as to transmit the operation signal toward the electric shielding device of the present invention. The voice operation device recognizes a voice indicating a specific language related to the opening and closing operation of the shielding material, converts it into an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation, and is characterized by comprising a voice / communication signal conversion unit that converts it into a communication signal in IP (Internet Protocol) format including the converted command. Operation

Advantages of the Invention

[0027] According to the present invention, each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back can be electrically lifted and lowered simultaneously, improving the usability. Also, according to the present invention, the electric shielding device can be electrically lifted and lowered by an operation signal having only one set of open command, close command, and stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back or up and down, improving the convenience.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0028]

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Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention

[0029] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present specification, with respect to the front view of the electric shielding device shown in Fig. 1(b), the upper side and the lower side in the drawing are defined as the upward direction (or upper side) and the downward direction (or lower side) respectively, and the left direction in the drawing is defined as the left side of the electric shielding device, and the right direction in the drawing is defined as the right side of the electric shielding device for explanation. Also, in the example described below, with respect to the front view of the electric shielding device shown in Fig. 1(b), the side to be visually recognized is the front side (or indoor side), and the opposite side is the rear side (or outdoor side).

[0030] (Overall Configuration) Figs. 1(a) to (c) are a plan view (looking-down view), a front view, and a side view respectively showing the schematic configuration of an electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As a representative example of the electric shielding device shown in Fig. 1, an electric pleated screen in which shielding materials are arranged front and back and each can be lifted and lowered is shown. However, it is not necessary to be limited to this as long as each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back can be electrically lifted and lowered by the rotation of a drive shaft. For example, a pleated screen, a roll screen, a pull-up curtain, etc., or an electric shielding device having a hybrid configuration in which these different types of shielding materials are arranged front and back may be used.

[0031] In addition, in the electric pleated screen of one embodiment shown in FIGS. 1(a) to (c), an example is shown in which two types of shielding materials, i.e., a front screen 6F as a front shielding material and a rear screen 6R as a rear shielding material, which can be individually raised and lowered by a plurality of types of lifting cords 3F and 3R, are arranged in the front-rear direction. However, it may also be an electric pleated screen in which three or more types of shielding materials are arranged in the front-rear direction.

[0032] In the electric pleated screen of one embodiment shown in FIGS. 1(a) to (c), a front screen 6F that can be bent in a zigzag shape from the front of the lower surface of the head box 1 is suspended and supported, and the lower end of the front screen 6F is attached to the upper surface of a bottom rail 7F that functions as a weight member. The head box 1 is fixed to an attachment surface such as a ceiling surface via a bracket 15.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 1(c), the front screen 6F of this example is provided with protruding pieces 60 at the positions of the folds on the outdoor side of the fabric that is bent in a zigzag shape. Insertion holes formed by round holes or long holes or the like are respectively provided in the protruding pieces 60, and the lifting cord 3F hanging down from the head box 1 is inserted into the insertion holes. For this reason, the lifting cord 3F hangs down on the back side of the front screen 6F so that it cannot be visually recognized in a front view as shown in FIG. 1(b), enhancing the aesthetics. However, regarding the present invention, an insertion hole may be provided at approximately the center in the front-rear direction of the front screen 6F, and the lifting cord 3F inserted into the insertion hole may be configured to be visually recognizable in a front view. Further, as shown in FIG. 1(c), behind the lifting cord 3F, a pitch holding cord 4F is hung down from the head box 1, and the lower end thereof is attached to the bottom rail 7F. A large number of annular support cords 40 are provided at equal intervals on the pitch holding cord 4F, and the lifting cord 3F is inserted through the support cords 40. When the bottom rail 7F is lowered to stretch the front screen 6F, the protruding pieces 60 are supported by the respective support cords 40 of the pitch holding cord 4F, so that the folds of the front screen 6F are held at substantially equal intervals.

[0034] In addition, a rear screen 6R that can be bent in a zigzag shape from the rear of the lower surface of the head box 1 is suspended and supported, and the lower end of the screen 6R is attached to the upper surface of a bottom rail 7R that functions as a weight member.

[0035] Regarding the rear screen 6R in this example as well, similar to the front screen 6F, as shown in Fig. 1(c), protruding pieces 60 are provided at the positions of the folds on the outdoor side of the fabric that can be bent in a zigzag shape. Insertion holes formed by round holes or long holes or the like are respectively provided in the protruding pieces 60, and a lifting cord 3R hanging from the head box 1 is inserted through the insertion holes. For this reason, the lifting cord 3R hangs down on the back side of the rear screen 6R so that it cannot be visually recognized in a front view as shown in Fig. 1(b), enhancing the aesthetics. However, regarding the present invention, an insertion hole may be provided at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the rear screen 6R, and the lifting cord 3R inserted through the insertion hole may be configured to be visually recognizable in a front view. Also, as shown in Fig. 1(c), behind the lifting cord 3R, a pitch holding cord 4R hangs down from the head box 1, and its lower end is attached to the bottom rail 7R. A large number of annular support cords 40 are provided at equal intervals on the pitch holding cord 4R, and the lifting cord 3R is inserted through the support cords 40. When the bottom rail 7R is lowered to stretch the rear screen 6R, the protruding pieces 60 are supported by the respective support cords 40 of the pitch holding cord 4R so that the folds of the rear screen 6R are held at substantially equal intervals.

[0036] Winding drums 51F and 51R are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction and rotatably supported with respect to respective support members 5 disposed at appropriate positions (two positions on the left and right in this example) inside the head box 1. Cam clutches 52F and 52R are respectively provided at one axial end of each of the winding drums 51F and 51R. Each of the winding drums 51F and the cam clutch 52F, as well as each of the winding drums 51R and the cam clutch 52R, are configured in the same shape.

[0037] To each take-up drum 51F, the upper end of a lifting cord 3F (a cord-like cord in this example, but a tape-like lifting tape may also be used) is attached so as to be windable or rewound, and the lower end of the lifting cord 3F passes through an insertion hole formed in each protruding piece 60 provided on the outdoor side of the front screen 6F and is attached to the bottom rail 7F. The take-up drum 51F is formed such that its diameter gradually decreases toward one axial direction, and in this example, the cord-like lifting cord 3F is sequentially wound around the take-up drum 51F in a spiral manner.

[0038] Also, to each take-up drum 51R, the upper end of a lifting cord 3R (a cord-like cord in this example, but a tape-like lifting tape may also be used) is attached so as to be windable or rewound, and the lower end of the lifting cord 3R passes through an insertion hole formed in each protruding piece 60 provided on the outdoor side of the rear screen 6R and is attached to the bottom rail 7R. The take-up drum 51R is formed such that its diameter gradually decreases toward one axial direction, and in this example, the cord-like lifting cord 3R is sequentially wound around the take-up drum 51R in a spiral manner.

[0039] A drive shaft 2F is inserted through the central axes of each take-up drum 51F, cam clutch 52F, and rotating drum 53. The rotating drum 53 transmits the rotation of the drive shaft 2F to the take-up drum 51F and also transmits the driving force of the take-up drum 51F to the drive shaft 2F.

[0040] Similarly, a drive shaft 2R is inserted through the central axes of each take-up drum 51R, cam clutch 52R, and rotating drum 53. The rotating drum 53 transmits the rotation of the drive shaft 2R to the take-up drum 51R and also transmits the driving force of the take-up drum 51R to the drive shaft 2R.

[0041] One end of the drive shaft 2F is connected to the output shaft of the motor 9F via the drive shaft coupler 20F, and the rotation of the output shaft of the motor 9F is transmitted to the drive shaft 2F. Therefore, the drive shaft 2F is rotated by the driving force of the motor 9F, and the lifting cord 3F is wound or rewound by the winding drum 51F based on the rotation of the drive shaft 2F, so that the bottom rail 7F can be lifted and lowered, and thereby the front screen 6F can be lifted and lowered. Incidentally, since the winding drum 51F utilizes the tension applied to the lifting cord 3F (the self-weights of the front screen 6F and the bottom rail 7F) when the front screen 6F is lowered, its driving force is transmitted from the winding drum 51F to the drive shaft 2F via the rotating drum 53, and the driving force applied to the drive shaft 2F is adjusted for downward control.

[0042] Also, one end of the drive shaft 2R is connected to the output shaft of the motor 9R via the drive shaft coupler 20R, and the rotation of the output shaft of the motor 9R is transmitted to the drive shaft 2R. Therefore, the drive shaft 2R is rotated by the driving force of the motor 9R, and the lifting cord 3R is wound or rewound by the winding drum 51R based on the rotation of the drive shaft 2R, so that the bottom rail 7R can be lifted and lowered, and thereby the rear screen 6R can be lifted and lowered. Incidentally, since the winding drum 51R utilizes the tension applied to the lifting cord 3R (the self-weights of the rear screen 6R and the bottom rail 7R) when the rear screen 6R is lowered, its driving force is transmitted from the winding drum 51R to the drive shaft 2R via the rotating drum 53, and the driving force applied to the drive shaft 2R is adjusted for downward control.

[0043] The drive control of each of the motors 9F and 9R is performed by a control device 10 disposed in the head box 1. And a DC power supply 11 for supplying power to the motors 9F and 9R and the control device 10 is disposed in the head box 1. When the control device 10 receives an operation signal from an external device (not shown) such as a wired switch 21, an infrared remote control 22, a wireless remote control 23, or a personal computer (PC), the control device 10 performs various controls of the electric shading device corresponding to various commands included in the operation signal. For example, by configuring the motors 9F and 9R as DC motors respectively, the control device 10 can control the rotation speed of the motors 9F and 9R by controlling the duty ratio of the pulse signal supplied from the control device 10 to the motors 9F and 9R. Also, encoders 8F and 8R for detecting the rotation speed and rotation amount of each of the drive shafts 2F and 2R are disposed in the head box 1, and the control device 10 manages the count values of the speed and number of pulses of the encoder pulses based on the pulse signals output from the respective encoders 8F and 8R, and controls the rotation speed and rotation amount of the motors 9F and 9R. By such an operation, corresponding to various commands included in the operation signal, the control device 10 appropriately adjusts the lifting speed of the front screen 6F or the rear screen 6R, and controls the lifting stop position of the front screen 6F or the rear screen 6R.

[0044] In the electric pleated screen of this embodiment configured as described above, for example, if the bottom rail 7F is pulled up to directly below the head box 1, and the bottom rail 7R is lowered with the front screen 6F folded between the head box 1 and the bottom rail 7F, the rear screen 6R is shielded from the head box 1 to a desired position.

[0045] Also, if the bottom rail 7F is lowered, the front screen 6F is shielded from the head box 1 to the desired position. Therefore, for example, if the rear screen 6R is made of a light-transmissive fabric and the front screen 6F is made of a light-blocking fabric, the degree of freedom in adjusting the amount of light can be increased. And when the bottom rail 7R is pulled up to the upper limit and opened, the rear screen 6R can be folded between the head box 1 and the bottom rail 7R.

[0046] (Clutch type obstacle detection and stop device) By the way, when the bottom rail 7F or the bottom rail 7R contacts an obstacle and its descent is obstructed, a clutch type obstacle detection and stop device is activated, and the drive shafts 2F or 2R are locked. That is, when the bottom rail 7F or the bottom rail 7R contacts an obstacle, the take-up drums 51F and cam clutches 52F supported by the support member 5, and the take-up drums 51R and cam clutches 52R function as a clutch type obstacle detection and stop device that mechanically performs "obstacle detection" for each bottom rail 7F, 7R and "stop" of each drive shaft. That is, the take-up drums 51F and cam clutches 52F supported by the support member 5, and the take-up drums 51R and cam clutches 52R are configured as a clutch type obstacle detection and stop device as shown in FIG. 2. Hereinafter, the clutch type obstacle detection and stop device will be briefly described.

[0047] Since the take-up drum 51R and the cam clutch 52R have the same structure as the take-up drum 51F and the cam clutch 52F, respectively, FIG. 2(a) shows a cross-sectional view of the configuration of the take-up drum 51F and the cam clutch 52F that function as a clutch type obstacle detection and stop device supported by the support member 5, representatively.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 2(a), the clutch type obstacle detection and stop device has the take-up drum 51F and the cam clutch 52F supported at the support portion 50 of the support member 5, and the cam clutch 52F is connected to the take-up drum 51F via the rotation drum 53.

[0049] Further, the support member 5 is fixed by fitting a snap fit 501 protruding from its bottom surface into the head box 1. The cam clutch 52F, the rotary drum 53, and the winding drum 51F are rotatably supported between through holes 502 and 503 formed at both left and right ends of the support portion 50. More specifically, the cylindrical portion 521 of the cam clutch 52F is rotatably supported with respect to the through hole 502, and a pulley cap 54 fitted to the right end (as shown in the figure) of the winding drum 51F is rotatably supported with respect to the through hole 503.

[0050] The rotary drum 53 is accommodated inside the cam clutch 52F in the radial direction. The rotary drum 53 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is mounted so as to have a predetermined rotational play with respect to the winding drum 51F and be non-rotatable relative to it, and not move relative to it in the axial direction. Also, the drive shaft 2F penetrates through the cylindrical portion 521 so as to be relatively rotatable, but the rotary drum 53 rotates integrally with the drive shaft 2F.

[0051] The snap fit 501 is formed with a lead-out port for winding up or rewinding the lifting cord 3F from a predetermined position and leading it out. Also, a braking convex portion 504 is formed on the bottom surface of the left side (as shown in the figure) of the support portion 50.

[0052] The winding drum 51F is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and includes an engaging portion 511 and a winding portion 512.

[0053] The winding portion 512 of the winding drum 51F is set such that its diameter gradually decreases from the cam clutch 52F side toward the right end side (as shown in the figure). And the drive shaft 2F penetrates through the center of the pulley cap 54 fitted to the right end (as shown in the figure) of the winding drum 51F so as to be relatively rotatable.

[0054] The cam clutch 52F is accommodated inside the engaging portion 511 of the winding drum 51F in the radial direction. The cam clutch 52F includes a cylindrical portion 521 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and a braking portion 522 formed to have a larger diameter than the cylindrical portion 521.

[0055] The braking part 522 is set to have a diameter of the outer peripheral surface that is slidable with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the engaging part 511 of the winding drum 51F. One or more braking claws 523 are formed to protrude in a sawtooth shape at the end of the braking part 522 on the side of the cylindrical part 521, and are engageable with the braking convex part 504 of the support part 50.

[0056] When the rotation in the circumferential direction is prevented by the engagement of the braking claw 523 with the braking convex part 504, the cam clutch 52F is made non-rotatable relative to the support part 50.

[0057] The cam clutch 52F has a cam structure in which the side wall of the braking part 522 is assembled to the winding drum 51F with a predetermined rotational play via the rotating drum 53 and is non-rotatable relative to each other, and is relatively movable (slidable) along the axial direction within the range of the predetermined rotational play.

[0058] That is, a sliding hole 524 as a cam structure is formed in the side wall of the braking part 522 in the cam clutch 52F, and this sliding hole 524 is formed to be inclined at approximately 45° with respect to the axis of the braking part 522. Further, the length of the sliding hole 524 is set so as to be disposed over an angular range of approximately 45° in the circumferential direction of the braking part 522.

[0059] And, a sliding convex part 531 that protrudes toward the outer side in the radial direction is formed on the rotating drum 53. The rotating drum 53 is assembled to the cam clutch 52F such that the sliding convex part 531 is positioned inside the sliding hole 524 of the cam clutch 52F, and the rotating drum 53 is relatively movable only within the range where the sliding convex part 531 relatively moves inside the sliding hole 524 of the cam clutch 52F.

[0060] Specifically, when the sliding convex portion 531 is located at one end of the sliding hole 524, the cam clutch 52F will be located on the side where it is axially accommodated with respect to the winding drum 51F (the right side in Fig. 2(a)), so the engagement state between the braking claw 523 and the braking convex portion 504 is released. On the other hand, when the sliding convex portion 531 is located at the other end of the sliding hole 524, the cam clutch 52F will axially slide and move to the side where it protrudes axially with respect to the winding drum 51F (the left side in Fig. 2(a)), so the braking claw 523 and the braking convex portion 504 will be in an engaged state.

[0061] When the braking claw 523 and the braking convex portion 504 are in an engaged state, the rotation of the cam clutch 52F is blocked, and the moving range of the cam clutch 52F is restricted by the engagement range between the rotating drum 53 and the winding drum 51F. Therefore, with the sliding convex portion 531 moved to the other end of the sliding hole 524, the rotation of the rotating drum 53 stops, and the rotation of the drive shaft 2F, which is non-rotatably connected to the rotating drum 53, also stops.

[0062] Therefore, when the cam clutch 52F moves relative to the axis of the winding drum 51F and the braking claw 523 engages with the braking convex portion 504, the cam clutch 52F is locked to the support portion 50 so as not to be relatively rotatable. Also, when the engagement state between the braking claw 523 and the braking convex portion 504 is released, the cam clutch 52F becomes relatively rotatable with respect to the support portion 50.

[0063] In this way, when the drive shaft 2F is rotated in the upward pulling direction of the shielding material (front screen 6F), the rotation is transmitted to the rotating drum 53. At this time, the rotating drum 53 rotates relative to the winding drum 51F and the cam clutch 52F during the said predetermined rotational play.

[0064] In this case, the engagement state between the braking claw 523 of the cam clutch 52F and the braking convex portion 504 of the support portion 50 is released, and the cam clutch 52F is relatively rotatable with respect to the support portion 50. Then, when the rotating drum 53 rotates more than the said predetermined rotational play, it becomes non-rotatable relative to the cam clutch 52F and the winding drum 51F.

[0065] Therefore, when the drive shaft 2F is further rotated in the upward direction, the rotary drum 53 rotates in the upward direction integrally with the cam clutch 52F and the take-up drum 51F, and the upward driving of the shielding material (front screen 6F) is performed.

[0066] On the other hand, when the drive shaft 2F is lowering the shielding material (front screen 6F), since it is performed using the self-weight of the front screen 6F and the bottom rail 7F, the driving force during lowering is transmitted from the take-up drum 51F toward the drive shaft 2F.

[0067] When the take-up drum 51F and the cam clutch 52F are rotated in the downward direction, since the engagement state between the braking claw 523 of the cam clutch 52F and the braking convex portion 504 of the support portion 50 is released, the rotary drum 53 and the drive shaft 2F are immediately transmitted with the rotation in the downward direction.

[0068] Here, FIGS. 2(b) to (e) schematically illustrate the operations of the take-up drum 51F and the cam clutch 52F, which function as a clutch-type obstacle detection stop device in FIG. 2(a), when the bottom rail 7F collides with an obstacle during the lowering operation of the shielding material (front screen 6F). In FIGS. 2(d) and 2(e), although it is shown as a simplified view of one braking claw 523, a plurality of braking claws 523 can be provided.

[0069] First, as shown in Fig. 2(b), when the shielding material (front screen 6F) is being pulled down, before the bottom rail 7F collides with an obstacle, the lifting cord 3F is rewound from the winding drum 51F, and the front screen 6F descends. Tension in the pulling direction is applied to the lifting cord 3F wound around the winding drum 51F due to the weight of the bottom rail 7F and the like. As the cam clutch 52F rotates, the winding drum 51F rotates back by its own weight, and its self-rotation is controlled by the rotation control of the drive shaft 2F. At this time, since the sliding convex portion 531 is located at one end of the sliding hole 524 and the cam clutch 52F is positioned on the side where it is most axially accommodated with respect to the winding drum 51F (the right side in Fig. 2(a)), the engagement state between the braking claw 523 and the braking convex portion 504 is released.

[0070] Then, as shown in Fig. 2(c), when the bottom rail 7F collides with an obstacle, the tension in the pulling direction of the lifting cord 3F is lost, and the rotation of the winding drum 51F and the cam clutch 52F stops. However, since the rotating drum 53 and the drive shaft 2F maintain rotation, a rotational difference occurs. However, the rotating drum 53 is relatively rotated with respect to the winding drum 51F only during the predetermined rotational play.

[0071] Then, the sliding convex portion 531 is guided by the sliding hole 524, and as shown in Fig. 2(d), as the winding drum 51F stops rotating, during the passage of the predetermined rotational play of the rotating drum 53, the cam clutch 52F starts to move axially relative (slide).

[0072] Then, as shown in FIG. 2(e), as the winding drum 51F stops rotating, during the passage of the predetermined rotational play of the rotating drum 53, the braking claw 523 in the cam clutch 52F engages with the braking convex portion 504, thereby preventing rotation in the circumferential direction and making the cam clutch 52F non-rotatable relative to the support portion 50. The rotation of the cam clutch 52F is blocked. At this time, since the movement range of the cam clutch 52F is restricted by the engagement range between the rotating drum 53 and the winding drum 51F, the rotation of the rotating drum 53 stops with the sliding convex portion 531 moved to the other end of the sliding hole 524, and the rotation of the drive shaft 2F that is non-rotatable relative to the rotating drum 53 also stops. In this way, the cam clutch 52F is made non-rotatable relative to the support portion 50. When the predetermined rotational play of the rotating drum 53 elapses, the rotation of the rotating drum 53 also stops, and the rotation of the drive shaft 2F is locked.

[0073] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the cam clutch 52F is assembled such that the side wall of the braking portion 522 has a predetermined rotational play and is non-rotatable relative to the winding drum 51F via the rotating drum 53, and within the range of the predetermined rotational play, the sliding hole 524 formed in the cam clutch 52F guides the sliding convex portion 531 formed in the rotating drum 53, thereby enabling relative movement (slidable) along the axial direction. An example of a cam structure has been described. However, the cam structure that mechanically locks the drive shaft 2F is not limited to this example. Any cam clutch structure that mechanically stops the rotation of the drive shaft 2F when the winding drum 51F stops rotating due to a physical obstacle can be considered, and various forms are possible.

[0074] For example, instead of the rotating drum 53 and the cam clutch 52F, a cam clutch can be configured with a braking claw 523 engageable with the braking convex portion 504 and a sliding convex portion 531, and the cam clutch can be supported by the inner peripheral wall of the winding drum 51F. In this case, the cam clutch is structured to be non-rotatable relative to the drive shaft 2F but allow relative movement (slide movement) within a predetermined range with respect to the winding drum 51F in the axial direction. To operate the rotation of the sliding convex portion 531 in the same manner as the operation illustrated in FIG. 2, a cam clutch structure can be formed with a sliding groove corresponding to the sliding hole 524 on the inner peripheral wall of the winding drum 51F.

[0075] (Configuration of the control device) FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the control device 10 in an electric shading device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0076] When the control device 10 receives an operation signal from an external device such as a wired switch 21, an infrared remote controller 22, a wireless remote controller 23, or a personal computer (PC) 24, it performs various controls of the electric shading device corresponding to various commands included in the operation signal. For example, the control device 10 manages the count values of the speed and the number of pulses of the encoder pulses from the encoders 8F, 8R to control the rotation speed and the rotation amount of the motors 9F, 9R, appropriately adjusts the lifting speed of each shading material (each screen and each bottom rail), and controls the lifting stop position of each shading material.

[0077] The wired switch 21 is an operation switch having a function of transmitting an operation signal to the control device 10 by making a wired connection to the control device 10.

[0078] The infrared remote controller 22 is a remote controller having a function of transmitting an operation signal to the control device 10 by making a wireless connection to the control device 10 by infrared rays.

[0079] The wireless remote controller 23 is a remote controller that has a function of transmitting an operation signal to the control device 10 by wirelessly connecting to the control device 10 via a wireless LAN (including short-range wireless communication).

[0080] The personal computer (PC) 24 has a function of transmitting an operation signal to the control device 10 by being wiredly connected to the control device 10 (or by wirelessly connecting via a wireless LAN).

[0081] Here, the operation signal includes at least an up command for instructing the raising operation of each shielding material (each screen and each bottom rail) (since it is a command for the opening operation of various shielding materials, it is also comprehensively referred to as the "open command"), a down command for instructing the lowering operation of each shielding material (since it is a command for the closing operation of various shielding materials, it is also comprehensively referred to as the "close command"), a stop command for instructing the stop of the raising and lowering operation of each shielding material, and a setting command for the upper and lower limit positions of each shielding material. Also, various commands for instructing the raising and lowering of these shielding materials can be associated with the "% indication operation" indicating the opening ratio of each shielding material. Act In addition, when the operator performs the raising operation of each shielding material (each screen and each bottom rail) with the wired switch 21, the infrared remote controller 22, or the wireless remote controller 23, the up command can be transmitted by pressing the "open button (OPEN, or △, etc.)" as illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 described later. When performing the lowering operation, the down command can be transmitted by pressing the "close button (CLOSE, or ▽, etc.)" as illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 described later. When performing the stop operation of the raising and lowering operation, the stop command can be transmitted by pressing the "stop button (STOP, or □, etc.)" as illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 described later.

[0082]

[0083] ​Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the control device 10 includes a microcomputer unit 101, a storage unit 102, a wireless signal receiving unit 103, an infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 104, a wired signal transmitting / receiving unit 105, an external device interface (IF) unit 106, motor drive units 107F, 107R, abnormality detection units 108F, 108R, and pulse detection units 109F, 109R.

[0084] The wireless signal receiving unit 103 is a functional unit that receives an operation signal from the wireless remote controller 23 and outputs it to the microcomputer unit 101, enables mutual communication between the microcomputer unit 101 and the wireless remote controller 23, and enables the exchange of detailed commands regarding operations.

[0085] The infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 104 is a functional unit that receives an operation signal from the infrared remote controller 22 and outputs it to the microcomputer unit 101.

[0086] The wired signal transmitting / receiving unit 105 is a functional unit that receives an operation signal from the wired switch 21 and outputs it to the microcomputer unit 101.

[0087] The external device interface (IF) unit 106 is a functional unit that receives an operation signal from an external device such as a personal computer (PC) 24 and outputs it to the microcomputer unit 101, enables mutual communication between the microcomputer unit 101 and the external device interface (IF) unit 106, and enables the exchange of detailed commands regarding operations.

[0088] The motor drive units 107F, 107R are motor drivers that drive the motors 9F, 9R, respectively.

[0089] The abnormality detection units 108F, 108R are functional units that respectively detect abnormal values (one or more of overcurrent / abnormal waveform current / abnormal waveform voltage) in the motor drive units 107F, 107R and notify the microcomputer unit 101.

[0090] The pulse detection units 109F and 109R are functional units that respectively receive the pulse signals from the encoders 8F and 8R and notify the microcomputer unit 101.

[0091] The microcomputer unit 101 reads and executes a program previously stored in the storage unit 102, thereby receiving an operation signal from the wireless remote control 23 received via the wireless signal receiving unit 103, an operation signal from the infrared remote control 22 received via the infrared signal transceiver unit 104, an operation signal from the wired switch 21 received via the wired signal transceiver unit 105, or an operation signal from an external device such as the PC 24 received via the external device IF unit 106, and processes various commands included in the operation signal. As a result, the control device 10 for performing various controls of the electric shielding device can be configured as a computer.

[0092] And the functions of the control device 10 realized by the execution of the program by the microcomputer unit 101 include a function of receiving an operation signal, discriminating various commands included in the operation signal, and performing various controls of the corresponding electric shielding device; a function of counting the presence or absence of encoder pulses and the number of encoder pulses while receiving the pulse signals from the respective encoders 8F and 8R via the pulse detection units 109F and 109R, and appropriately storing and managing the count value in the storage unit 102; a function of storing and managing in the storage unit 102 various settings regarding the upper limit setting position, lower limit setting position, etc. of each shielding material that can be set according to the count value of the number of encoder pulses; a function of performing drive control of the motors 9F and 9R via the motor drive units 107F and 107R that respectively drive the motors 9F and 9R; and a function of monitoring the abnormal values (one or more of overcurrent / abnormal waveform current / abnormal waveform voltage) in the motor drive units 107F and 107R via the abnormal detection units 108F and 108R that respectively detect the abnormal values and notify the microcomputer unit 101.

[0093] (Operating device) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an infrared remote controller 22 typical as an operating device in an example of an electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The infrared remote controller 22 of this example has only one set of open / close buttons (open button 221 and close button 222) and a stop button 223, and the same applies to the wired switch 21 and the wireless remote controller 23 shown in FIG. 1.

[0094] Incidentally, when a plurality of electric shielding devices are installed as operation targets, the infrared remote controller 22 shown in FIG. 4 can be grouped by device ID up to a maximum of 4 groups. For a plurality of electric shielding devices having the same device ID, there are round buttons (the illustrated "1" to "4") 224 of group designation buttons for group designation and simultaneous operation, and a collective designation button (the illustrated "ALL" button) 225 for collectively operating all groups simultaneously. Each of the plurality of electric shielding devices installed as operation targets can set a device ID corresponding to the group designation button 224 and the collective designation button 225 with a dip switch or the like. Therefore, usually, when using the infrared remote controller 22 shown in FIG. 4, the control device 10 in the electric shielding device to be operated controls to recognize an operation signal caused by pressing the open / close buttons (open button 221 and close button 222) and the stop button 223 transmitted after pressing the group designation button 224 or the collective designation button 225 and perform corresponding operations. However, it is possible to provide a mode in which the set value of the device ID in each electric shielding device directly recognizes an operation signal caused by pressing the open / close buttons (open button 221 and close button 222) and the stop button 223 without requiring pressing of the group designation button 224 or the collective designation button 225 and controls to perform corresponding operations.

[0095] And as described above, the infrared remote controller 22 shown in FIG. 4 has a function of transmitting an operation signal by infrared rays to the control device 10 in the electric shading device to be operated. When performing an ascending operation, an ascending command can be transmitted by pressing the open button 221. When performing a descending operation, a descending command can be transmitted by pressing the close button 222. When performing a stop operation of the ascending and descending operation, a stop command can be transmitted by pressing the stop button 223.

[0096] Also, when setting the upper and lower limit positions of each shading material, an operating device such as the infrared remote controller 22 can transmit a setting command for shifting to the setting mode to the control device 10 in the electric shading device to be set by long-pressing the stop button 223 for a predetermined time or simultaneously long-pressing the open button 221 and the stop button 223 for a predetermined time. After shifting to the setting mode based on the reception of the setting command, the control device 10 in the electric shading device to be set automatically raises a predetermined one of the plurality of shading materials included in the electric shading device to be set, determines and stores the setting of the upper limit position in the storage unit 102 by long-pressing the stop button 223 for a predetermined time, then automatically raises the other shading material, determines and stores the setting of the upper limit position in the storage unit 102 by long-pressing the stop button 223 for a predetermined time, and then automatically lowers each shading material, and determines and stores the setting of the lower limit position of each shading material in the storage unit 102 by long-pressing the stop button 223 for a predetermined time, to perform the upper and lower limit position setting control of the plurality of shading materials.

[0097] In the electric shading device of the present embodiment, each of the motors 9F and 9R and the control device 10 are connected by a motor harness, but no physical detection switch for detecting the physical upper limit position and the physical lower limit position when raising and lowering a screen like a conventional electric pleated screen is provided. Even in this case, the control device 10 determines the absolute upper and lower limit positions based on the count values of the encoder pulses obtained from the encoders 8F and 8R, or detects abnormal values (one or more of overcurrent / abnormal waveform current / abnormal waveform voltage) in the motor drive units 107F and 107R by the abnormality detection units 108F and 108R, or detects that the input of the encoder pulses disappears for a predetermined time during operation control. In one or more of these ways, for each of the front screen 6F and the rear screen 6R, the physical upper limit position and the physical lower limit position that define the physically operable range of raising and lowering can be detected. This physical upper limit position and physical lower limit position may be used as the movable range, or the upper limit position and the lower limit position may be set to the desired positions of the operator by the setting of the above-described operating device, and the set upper limit position and the set lower limit position may be used as the movable range.

[0098] By the way, the control device 10 in the electric shading device of the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 selectively controls the individual raising and lowering control of the front shading material and the rear shading material and the simultaneous raising and lowering control of the front shading material and the rear shading material depending on whether or not the operation signal related to raising and lowering received from the operating device based on the pressing of a set of opening / closing buttons and stop buttons in the operating device such as the infrared remote control 22 shown in FIG. 4 is a continuous reception of the operation signal related to raising and lowering. That is, it is not necessary to provide raising and lowering operation buttons on the operating device for each of the front shading material (front screen 6F) and the rear shading material (rear screen 6R), and each of the plurality of shading materials can be controlled to be electrically raised and lowered simultaneously, improving the usability.

[0099] Hereinafter, taking the operation by the infrared remote controller 22 as an example, the "same-direction downward control", "same-direction upward control", and "opposite-direction lifting control" will be described in order for the lifting control of each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged before and after by the control device 10 of the electric shielding device to be operated.

[0100] (Same-direction downward control) FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the same-direction downward control of each of the plurality of shielding materials by the control device 10 in the electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 6(a) to (c) are schematic views for explaining the operation of the electric shielding device during the same-direction downward control of each of the plurality of shielding materials by the control device 10.

[0101] First, while the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) are stopped, when the control device 10 receives a downward command by the first pressing of the close button 222 as shown in FIG. 6(a) (step S11), only one of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) determined in advance (in this example, the rear shielding material, the rear screen 6R having the bottom rail 7R at the lower end) starts the downward movement (step S12).

[0102] Under the downward movement of this rear shielding material, the control device 10 monitors whether a further downward command is received (step S13).

[0103] While the control device 10 is in the process of lowering the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R), if it receives a further lowering command by pressing the close button 222 for the second time as shown in FIG. 6(b) before receiving a stop command (step S13: Y), it also starts a lowering operation simultaneously for the other predetermined shielding material (in this example, the front shielding material, the front screen 6F having the bottom rail 7F at its lower end) (step S14). On the other hand, while the control device 10 is in the process of lowering the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R), if it does not receive a lowering command (step S13: N), it monitors the reception of a stop command (step S17: N), and if it receives a stop command before receiving a lowering command (step S17: Y), it stops the lowering operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) (step S18) and ends this control.

[0104] In addition, when the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) in the process of lowering reaches the lower limit position before the control device 10 receives a stop command, the control device 10 automatically stops the lowering operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R). Similarly, when the front shielding material (front screen 6F) in the process of lowering reaches the lower limit position, the control device 10 automatically stops the lowering operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F).

[0105] The control device 10 monitors the reception of a stop command while only the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) is being lowered or while both the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) and the front shielding material (front screen 6F) are being lowered (step S15: N).

[0106] Then, while only the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) is being lowered or while both the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) and the front shielding material (front screen 6F) are being lowered, if the control device 10 receives a stop command by pressing the stop button 223 as shown in FIG. 6(c) (step S15: Y), it stops the lowering operation of all the shielding materials and ends this control (step S16).

[0107] In this way, the control device 10 selectively controls the lifting of the front shielding material and the rear shielding material individually and the simultaneous lifting of the front shielding material and the rear shielding material based on whether or not a continuous operation signal related to lifting among the operation signals of lifting and stopping that can be received from the operation device such as the infrared remote control 22, which can be received based on the pressing of a set of closing buttons and stop buttons in the operation device. For this reason, with a simple operation of a set of closing buttons and stop buttons, it is possible not only to individually perform the lowering operations of the plurality of shielding materials arranged front and rear to their respective desired stop positions while allowing them, but also to perform them simultaneously, thus improving the usability.

[0108] (Same-direction upward control) FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the same-direction upward control of each of a plurality of shielding materials by the control device 10 in the electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8(a) to (c) are schematic diagrams for explaining the operation of the electric shielding device during the same-direction upward control of each of the plurality of shielding materials by the control device 10.

[0109] First, while the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) are stopped, when the control device 10 receives an upward command by the first pressing of the open button 221 as shown in FIG. 8(a) (step S21), only one of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) that is predetermined (in this example, the front shielding material, the front screen 6F having the bottom rail 7F at the lower end) starts to move upward (step S22).

[0110] During the upward movement of this front shielding material, the control device 10 monitors whether or not it receives a further upward command (step S23).

[0111] During the ascending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F), when the control device 10 receives a further ascending command by pressing the open button 221 for the second time as shown in FIG. 8(b) before receiving a stop command (step S23: Y), the control device 10 starts an ascending operation simultaneously for the other pre-determined shielding material (in this example, the rear shielding material, rear screen 6R having a bottom rail 7R at its lower end) as well (step S24). On the other hand, during the ascending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F), when the control device 10 does not receive an ascending command (step S23: N), it monitors the reception of a stop command (step S27: N), and when it receives a stop command before receiving an ascending command (step S27: Y), it stops the ascending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) (step S28) and ends this control.

[0112] In addition, when the front shielding material (front screen 6F) during the ascending operation reaches the upper limit position before receiving a stop command, the control device 10 automatically stops the ascending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F). Similarly, when the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) during the ascending operation reaches the upper limit position, the control device 10 automatically stops the ascending operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R).

[0113] The control device 10 monitors the reception of a stop command during the ascending operation of only the front shielding material (front screen 6F) or during the ascending operations of both the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) (step S25: N).

[0114] Then, when the control device 10 receives a stop command by pressing the stop button 223 as shown in FIG. 8(c) during the ascending operation of only the front shielding material (front screen 6F) or during the ascending operations of both the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) (step S25: Y), it stops the ascending operations of all the shielding materials and ends this control (step S26).

[0115] In this way, based on whether or not the control device 10 continuously receives an operation signal related to lifting among the lifting and stop operation signals receivable from an operation device such as the infrared remote control 22, i.e., based on whether or not the control device 10 continuously receives an operation signal related to lifting among the operation signals of a set of open button and stop button in the operation device, the control device 10 controls each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back to be simultaneously liftable electrically. For this reason, with a simple operation of a set of open button and stop button, it becomes possible to simultaneously perform the lifting operations of each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back while allowing the lifting operation of each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back to reach a desired stop position, thus improving usability.

[0116] In the same-direction lifting control (same-direction lowering control and same-direction lifting control) shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 described above, the control device 10 can be configured to allow only the "second lowering command" and the "stop command" and not allow the reception of the "lifting command" after receiving the "first lowering command", and similarly, to allow only the "second lifting command" and the "stop command" and not allow the reception of the "lowering command" after receiving the "first lifting command". However, when the control device 10 is provided with a "different-direction lifting control" that allows the reception of the "lifting command" even after receiving the "first lowering command" or allows the reception of the "lowering command" even after receiving the "first lifting command", the usability may be improved. For example, when the front shielding material is lifted by receiving the "first lifting command" and then the rear shielding material is lowered by receiving the subsequent "lowering command", for example, the front shielding material can reach the upper limit position and the rear shielding material can reach the lower limit position with only two pressing operations of the open button and the close button. Also, all of the shielding materials during operation can be immediately stopped by pressing the stop button once. Hereinafter, this "different-direction lifting control" will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0117] (Different-direction lifting control) FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the control of the vertical movement in different directions of each of a plurality of shielding materials by the control device 10 in the electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 10(a) to (c) are schematic diagrams for explaining the operation of the electric shielding device during the control of the vertical movement in different directions of each of the plurality of shielding materials by the control device 10. Here, an example of the "control of vertical movement in different directions" that allows the reception of a "lowering command" even after the reception of the "first rising command" will be described as a representative example.

[0118] First, while the operations of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) are stopped, when the control device 10 receives a rising command by pressing the open button 221 as shown in FIG. 10(a) (step S31), only one of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) that is predetermined (in this example, the front shielding material, the front screen 6F having the bottom rail 7F at the lower end) starts to move upward (step S32).

[0119] During the upward movement of this front shielding material, the control device 10 monitors whether a lowering command has been received (step S33). Incidentally, during the upward movement of this front shielding material, when the control device 10 receives a second rising command, the operation is the same-direction upward control shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 described above, and the description of the operation is omitted.

[0120] When the control device 10 receives a lowering command by pressing the close button 222 as shown in FIG. 10(b) before receiving a stop command during the upward movement of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) (step S33: Y), the control device 10 stops the upward movement of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) (step S34) and shifts to step S12 shown in FIG. 5. Also, when the control device 10 does not receive a lowering command during the upward movement of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) (step S33: N), it shifts to step S23 shown in FIG. 7.

[0121] In FIGS. 9 and 10, an example of "opposite-direction lifting control" in which the control device 10 allows reception of a "lowering command" even after reception of a "first upward command" has been described as a representative. The same applies to "opposite-direction lifting control" in which the control device 10 allows reception of an "upward command" even after reception of a "first downward command", and the description thereof will be omitted. As an application of these lifting controls, the control device 10, in response to reception of an operation signal resulting from an operation of an opening / closing button in the reverse direction received during the lifting control of one or both of a plurality of shielding materials in one direction (e.g., upward), can be configured to lift and lower the other or both of the shielding materials in a direction opposite to the operation direction of said one direction (e.g., downward).

[0122] In this way, the control device 10 controls each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged one after another so as to be able to be lifted and lowered electrically and simultaneously, depending on whether or not it is a continuous reception of an operation signal related to lifting among the lifting and stopping operation signals receivable from an operating device such as the infrared remote controller 22 based on pressing of a set of opening / closing buttons and a stop button. For this reason, with a simple operation of a set of opening / closing buttons and a stop button, it becomes possible to simultaneously perform the lifting operations of each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged one after another while allowing each to reach its desired stop position, improving usability.

[0123] In the above, the present invention has been described by giving examples of specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the examples of the embodiments shown in FIG. 1 and can be variously modified without departing from its technical idea. Hereinafter, as control by the control device 10 of typical modification examples, first and second turning controls will be described in order.

[0124] (First Turning Control) FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a first turning control example for turning from a state (see FIG. 5) in which each of a plurality of shielding materials is under the same-direction lowering control by the control device 10 in an electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention to a raising operation, and FIGS. 12(a) to (c) are schematic views for explaining the operation of the electric shielding device at the time of the first turning control of each of the plurality of shielding materials by the control device 10. In the control flow shown in FIG. 11, the control of steps S11 to S18 related to the same-direction lowering control as a premise is the same as that shown in FIG. 5, but is different in that steps S41 to S45 related to the first turning control are newly added.

[0125] First, while the operations of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) are stopped, when the control device 10 receives a lowering command by the first pressing of the close button 222 as shown in FIG. 6(a) (step S11), only one of the predetermined shielding materials among the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) (in this example, the rear shielding material, the rear screen 6R having the bottom rail 7R at the lower end) starts a lowering operation (step S12).

[0126] Under the lowering operation of this rear shielding material, the control device 10 monitors whether a further lowering command is received (step S13).

[0127] While the control device 10 is in the process of lowering the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R), if it receives a further lowering command by pressing the close button 222 for the second time as shown in Fig. 6(b) before receiving a stop command (step S13: Y), it starts the lowering operation simultaneously for the other shielding material determined in advance (in this example, the front shielding material, the front screen 6F having the bottom rail 7F at its lower end) as well (step S14). On the other hand, while the control device 10 is in the process of lowering the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R), if it does not receive a lowering command (step S13: N), it monitors the reception of a stop command (step S17: N), and if it receives a stop command before receiving a lowering command (step S17: Y), it stops the lowering operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) (step S18) and ends this control.

[0128] In addition, when the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) in the process of lowering reaches the lower limit position before the control device 10 receives a stop command, the control device 10 automatically stops the lowering operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R). Similarly, when the front shielding material (front screen 6F) in the process of lowering reaches the lower limit position, the control device 10 automatically stops the lowering operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F).

[0129] After passing through step S14, the control device 10 monitors the reception of a raising command and a stop command during the lowering operations of both the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) and the front shielding material (front screen 6F) (step S41: N, or step S15: N).

[0130] Then, while the control device 10 is in the process of lowering both the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) and the front shielding material (front screen 6F), if it receives a stop command by pressing the stop button 223 as shown in Fig. 6(c) (after passing through step S41: N and reaching step S15: Y), it stops the lowering operations of all the shielding materials and ends this control (step S16). In addition, when the control device 10 receives a stop command while only the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) is in the process of lowering, it also performs control to stop the lowering operations of all the shielding materials.

[0131] On the other hand, when the control device 10 receives an ascending command by the first pressing of the open button 221 as shown in FIG. 12(b) during the descending operations of both the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) and the front shielding material (front screen 6F) as shown in FIG. 12(a) via step S14 (step S41: Y), the front shielding material (front screen 6F) continues its descending operation, and the control device 10 performs control to turn the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) to an ascending operation (step S42).

[0132] Subsequently, when the control device 10 receives a further ascending command by the second pressing of the open button 221 as shown in FIG. 12(c) before receiving a stop command during the descending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the ascending operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) (step S43: Y), the control device 10 performs control to turn the front shielding material (front screen 6F) to an ascending operation as well (step S44).

[0133] Then, when the control device 10 receives a stop command during the descending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the ascending operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R), or during the ascending operations of both the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) (step S45: Y), the control device 10 stops the descending operations of all the shielding materials and ends this control (step S16). Incidentally, when the control device 10 receives a further ascending command before receiving a stop command during the ascending operations of both the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R), the control device 10 ignores it (because all the shielding materials have already turned to the ascending operation).

[0134] Incidentally, when the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) in the ascending operation reaches the upper limit position before the control device 10 receives a stop command, the control device 10 automatically stops the ascending operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R). Similarly, when the front shielding material (front screen 6F) in the ascending operation reaches the upper limit position, the control device 10 automatically stops the ascending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F).

[0135] As described above, the control device 10 of this example that performs the control shown in FIG. 11, when it receives an operation signal indicating a close command (in this example, a lowering command) once while the opening and closing of each of a plurality of shielding materials (in this example, a front shielding material (front screen 6F) and a rear shielding material (rear screen 6R)) is in a stopped state, causes a predetermined one of the plurality of shielding materials (in this example, the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R)) to perform a closing operation, and when it further receives an operation signal indicating a close command during the closing operation of the one shielding material, it performs control to cause the other shielding material (in this example, the front shielding material (front screen 6F)) among the plurality of shielding materials to perform a closing operation. Further, the control device 10 of this example, when it receives an operation signal indicating an open command (in this example, a raising command) once while both of the plurality of shielding materials are operating in the closing direction, causes the one shielding material to turn to an opening operation, and when it further receives an operation signal indicating an open command during the turned opening operation of the one shielding material, it performs control to cause the other shielding material to turn to an opening operation.

[0136] (Second turning control) FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a second turning control example in which the control device 10 in the electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention turns from a state (see FIG. 7) under the same-direction raising control of each of a plurality of shielding materials to a lowering operation, and FIGS. 14(a) to (c) are schematic views for explaining the operation of the electric shielding device at the time of the second turning control of each of the plurality of shielding materials by the control device 10. In the control flow shown in FIG. 13, steps S21 to S28 related to the same-direction raising control as the premise are the same as those shown in FIG. 7, but are different in that control of steps S51 to S55 related to the second turning control is newly added.

[0137] First, while the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) are stopped, when the control device 10 receives an ascending command upon the first press of the open button 221 as shown in Fig. 8(a) (step S21), only one of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) that is predetermined (in this example, the front shielding material, the front screen 6F having the bottom rail 7F at the lower end) starts the ascending operation (step S22).

[0138] During the ascending operation of this front shielding material, the control device 10 monitors whether a further ascending command is received (step S23).

[0139] When the control device 10 receives a further ascending command upon the second press of the open button 221 as shown in Fig. 8(b) before receiving a stop command during the ascending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) (step S23: Y), it also starts the ascending operation simultaneously for the other predetermined shielding material (in this example, the rear shielding material, the rear screen 6R having the bottom rail 7R at the lower end) (step S24). On the other hand, when no ascending command is received during the ascending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) (step S23: N), the control device 10 monitors the reception of a stop command (step S27: N), and when it receives a stop command before receiving an ascending command (step S27: Y), it stops the ascending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) (step S28) and ends this control.

[0140] In addition, when the front shielding material (front screen 6F) during the ascending operation reaches the upper limit position before receiving a stop command, the control device 10 automatically stops the ascending operation of the front shielding material. Similarly, when the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) during the ascending operation reaches the upper limit position, the control device 10 automatically stops the ascending operation of the rear shielding material.

[0141] During the upward movement of both the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R), the control device 10 monitors the reception of a stop command (step S51: N to step S25: N).

[0142] Then, when the control device 10 receives a stop command by pressing the stop button 223 as shown in FIG. 8(c) during the upward movement of both the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) (after passing through step S51: N and reaching step S25: Y), it stops the upward movement of all shielding materials and ends this control (step S26). Incidentally, when the control device 10 receives a stop command while only the front shielding material (front screen 6F) is moving downward, it also performs control to stop the downward movement of all shielding materials.

[0143] On the other hand, after passing through step S24, when the control device 10 receives a lowering command by pressing the close button 222 for the first time as shown in FIG. 14(b) during the upward movement of both the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) and the front shielding material (front screen 6F) as shown in FIG. 14(a) (step S51: Y), it performs control to continue the upward movement of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) and turn the front shielding material (front screen 6F) to the downward movement (step S52).

[0144] Subsequently, when the control device 10 receives a further lowering command by pressing the close button 222 for the second time as shown in FIG. 14(c) before receiving a stop command during the upward movement of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) and the downward movement of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) (step S53: Y), it performs control to also turn the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) to the downward movement (step S54).

[0145] And when the control device 10 receives a stop command during the ascending operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R), and during the descending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F), or during the descending operations of both the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) and the front shielding material (front screen 6F) (step S55: Y), it stops the descending operations of all the shielding materials and ends this control (step S26). Incidentally, when the control device 10 receives a further ascending command prior to receiving the stop command during the descending operations of both the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) and the front shielding material (front screen 6F), it ignores the command (because all the shielding materials have already switched to the descending operation).

[0146] Incidentally, when the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) during the descending operation reaches the lower limit position prior to the control device 10 receiving the stop command, the control device 10 automatically stops the descending operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R). Similarly, when the front shielding material (front screen 6F) during the descending operation reaches the lower limit position, the control device 10 automatically stops the descending operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F).

[0147] As described above, the control device 10 of this example that performs the control shown in FIG. 13, when it receives an operation signal indicating an open command (in this example, an ascending command) once when the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shielding materials (in this example, the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R)) are in the stopped state, causes the predetermined other shielding material (in this example, the front shielding material (front screen 6F)) among the plurality of shielding materials to perform an opening operation. And when it further receives an operation signal indicating an open command during the opening operation of the other shielding material, it causes the one shielding material (in this example, the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R)) among the plurality of shielding materials to Open perform an operation. Also, when the control device 10 of this example receives an operation signal indicating a close command (in this example, a descending command) once when both of the plurality of shielding materials are operating in the opening direction, it causes the other shielding material to Close switch the operation, and when it further receives an operation signal indicating a close command during the switched Close operation of the other shielding material, it performs control to cause the one shielding material to switch to a closing operation.

[0148] In the example shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, an example of using two shielding materials, i.e., a front shielding material (front screen 6F) and a rear shielding material (rear screen 6R), is described. However, even when there are three or more shielding materials, or when the form is such that a plurality of shielding materials are arranged vertically as exemplified in FIG. 23 described later, the control device 10 controls in the same manner.

[0149] That is, regarding the opening / closing control of a plurality of shielding materials arranged front-rear or up-down, when the control device 10 receives an operation signal indicating an open command one or more times while all the shielding materials are operating in the closed direction, the control device 10 individually changes the operation of a number of shielding materials corresponding to the number of times the open command is received among the plurality of shielding materials to the open operation in a predetermined order. When the control device 10 receives an operation signal indicating a close command one or more times while all the shielding materials are operating in the open direction, among the plurality of shielding materials Close the control device 10 performs control to individually change the operation of a number of shielding materials corresponding to the number of times the command is received to the close operation in the order reverse to the predetermined order. Further, when the control device 10 receives an operation signal indicating a close command one or more times while the opening / closing of each of the plurality of shielding materials is in a stopped state, among the plurality of shielding materials Close the control device 10 individually performs a closing operation on a number of shielding materials corresponding to the number of times the command is received in the order reverse to the predetermined order. When the control device 10 receives an operation signal indicating an open command one or more times while the opening / closing of each of the plurality of shielding materials is in a stopped state, the control device 10 performs control to individually perform an opening operation on a number of shielding materials corresponding to the number of times the open command is received among the plurality of shielding materials in the predetermined order.

[0150] In this way, even when the control device 10 performs the above-described first and second steering controls, depending on whether or not an operation signal related to lifting, which can be received from the operation device such as the infrared remote control 22, based on pressing a set of close buttons and stop buttons in the operation device, is continuously received among the operation signals of lifting and stopping, the control device 10 selectively controls the individual lifting of the front shielding material and the rear shielding material and the simultaneous lifting of the front shielding material and the rear shielding material. For this reason, with a simple operation of a set of close buttons and stop buttons, it is possible not only to individually perform the lowering operations of the plurality of shielding materials arranged front and rear to their respective desired stop positions while allowing them, but also to perform them simultaneously, improving the usability.

[0151] Also, for example, the electric shielding device is not limited to the above-described electric pleated screen, and can be applied to other types of electric shielding devices such as a roll screen, a pull-up curtain, or a hybrid configuration in which these different types of shielding materials are combined and arranged front and rear (for example, the front shielding material is a pull-up curtain type shielding material and the rear shielding material is a pleated screen type shielding material, etc.).

[0152] Typical examples of other electric shielding devices having shielding materials front and rear are shown in FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b) respectively. FIGS. 15(a) and 15(b) are schematic side views showing examples in which the control device 10 according to the present invention is applied to typical other embodiments of the electric shielding device according to the present invention. In addition, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as those in the above-described embodiments.

[0153] First, the electric shielding device shown in Fig. 15(a) is an electric roll screen that enables the front shielding material (front screen 6F provided with a weight bar 7F' functioning as a weight member at the lower end) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R provided with a weight bar 7R' functioning as a weight member at the lower end) to be simultaneously raised and lowered. The winding pipes 51F', 51R' shown in Fig. 15(a) are functional parts that wind up or unwind the front screen 6F and the rear screen 6R respectively to raise and lower them, and encoders 8F, 8R and motors 9F, 9R are disposed inside them (not shown in the figure). The winding pipes 51F', 51R' are rotatably supported between support members 1a supported on both the left and right sides of the mounting frame 1'. And a DC power supply 11 (not shown in the figure) and a control device 10 similar to that shown in Fig. 3 are disposed inside the mounting frame 1'. Therefore, also for the electric roll screen shown in Fig. 15(a), the control device 10 can be configured to be able to electrically control each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged front and rear to be simultaneously raised and lowered by "same-direction lowering control", "same-direction raising control", "opposite-direction raising and lowering control", and "first turning control" and "second turning control", and the usability is improved.

[0154] In addition, the electric shielding device shown in Fig. 15(b) is an electric lifting curtain that enables the front shielding material (front curtain fabric 6F') and the rear shielding material (rear curtain fabric 6R') to be lifted and lowered simultaneously. The front shielding material (front curtain fabric 6F') is suspended and supported from the front surface of the head box 1 shown in Fig. 15(b), and the rear shielding material (rear curtain fabric 6R') is suspended and supported from a plate piece 1b protruding from the bottom surface at the center in the front-rear direction of the head box 1. Rings 80 are attached to the vertical center portions near both sides in the width direction on the back surfaces of the front shielding material (front curtain fabric 6F') and the rear shielding material (rear curtain fabric 6R'), and lifting cords 3F and 3R are inserted through the rings 80 respectively. At the lower ends of the respective lifting cords 3F and 3R, hook-type cord catches 30 are attached in this example, and hook receiving portions 31 for hanging the respective cord catches 30 are attached to the lower end portions of the front shielding material (front curtain fabric 6F') and the rear shielding material (rear curtain fabric 6R'). The winding drums 51F and 51R shown in Fig. 15(b) wind up or unwind the upper ends of the lifting cords 3F and 3R respectively, in the same manner as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, to raise and lower the front shielding material (front curtain fabric 6F') and the rear shielding material (rear curtain fabric 6R') suspended and supported from the head box 1. Encoders 8F and 8R and motors 9F and 9R are respectively disposed in the head box 1 (not shown). And a DC power supply 11 (not shown) and a control device 10 similar to that shown in Fig. 3 are disposed in the head box 1. Therefore, also for the electric lifting curtain shown in Fig. 15(b), the control device 10 can be configured to electrically and simultaneously control the raising and lowering operations of each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged front and rear by "same-direction lowering control", "same-direction raising control", "opposite-direction raising and lowering control", and "first turning control" and "second turning control", so that the usability is improved.

[0155] (Setting unit for the order of the opening or closing operations of a plurality of shielding materials) Incidentally, when the control device 10 described above controls each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged front and rear to be simultaneously raised and lowered electrically, the "same-direction lowering control", "same-direction raising control", and "opposite-direction raising and lowering control", as well as the "first turning control" and "second turning control" are used to operate the plurality of shielding materials one by one in a predetermined order for opening or closing operations. Here, a setting unit 25 that can be changed by an operator's setting operation regarding the order of opening and closing operations of each of the plurality of shielding materials can be provided on the frame of the electric shielding device (for example, the head box 1 shown in FIG. 1 or the mounting frame 1' shown in FIG. 15, etc.).

[0156] FIGS. 16(a) and (b) are partial perspective views schematically showing an example in which a setting unit 25 regarding the order of opening or closing operations of a plurality of shielding materials is provided for the electric shielding device of an embodiment shown in FIG. 1 as a representative.

[0157] As shown in FIG. 16(a), a support frame plate 1c for providing the setting unit 25 is provided at the front part on one end side in the left-right direction (the left end side in this example) of the head box 1 which is the frame of the electric shielding device of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. That is, the setting unit 25 is provided at the lower end part of this support frame plate 1c.

[0158] Then, as shown in FIG. 16(b), the setting unit 25 of this example includes a single button switch 25a that can be pressed using an elongated rod-shaped tool T, and in accordance with the pressing operation of the button switch 25a, a notification unit that notifies the setting state regarding the order of opening or closing operations of a plurality of shielding materials (the notification unit of this example is a light-emitting diode (LED) notification unit 25b that notifies by blinking, but it may be a buzzer, or a configuration in which the LED notification unit 25b and the buzzer are used in combination.).

[0159] FIG. 17 shows a schematic configuration of a control device 10 that controls and sets the order in which a plurality of shielding materials are opened or closed by a setting unit 25 in the electric shielding device of this example. The control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 includes a microcomputer unit 101, a storage unit 102, a wireless signal receiving unit 103, an infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 104, a wired signal transmitting / receiving unit 105, an external device interface (IF) unit 106, motor driving units 107F, 107R, abnormality detection units 108F, 108R, pulse detection units 109F, 109R, and a setting interface (IF) unit 110.

[0160] That is, the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 is different in that it further includes a setting interface (IF) unit 110 compared to that shown in FIG. 3. Since the other components are the same, further description is omitted. Here, the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 will be described with respect to the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) as a plurality of shielding materials. However, it can be diverted to perform lifting control for the upper screen 6F and the lower screen 6L as illustrated in FIG. 15, and can be configured to perform substantially the same control.

[0161] The operation settings regarding the order in which a plurality of shielding materials are opened or closed by the setting unit 25 in the electric shielding device of this example are set as two predetermined types: "first operation setting" and "second operation setting".

[0162] (First operation setting) For the "first operation setting", when closing a plurality of shielding materials, the rear shielding material (or the lower shielding material illustrated in FIG. 23 described later) is prioritized over the front shielding material (or the upper shielding material illustrated in FIG. 23 described later). When opening a plurality of shielding materials, the front shielding material (or the upper shielding material illustrated in FIG. 23 described later) is prioritized over the rear shielding material (or the lower shielding material illustrated in FIG. 23 described later).

[0163] For example, in the example of the electric shading device according to an embodiment shown in FIG. 1, in the "first operation setting", when the closing operation of the front shading material (front screen 6F) and the rear shading material (rear screen 6R) is performed by operating a device such as the infrared remote controller 22 shown in FIG. 4 by pressing the close button 222 twice, as the order, when the close button 222 is pressed for the first time, the closing operation of the rear shading material (rear screen 6R) is performed, and when the close button 222 is pressed for the second time, the closing operation of the front shading material (front screen 6F) is performed. Also, in the "first operation setting", when the opening operation of the front shading material (front screen 6F) and the rear shading material (rear screen 6R) is performed by operating a device such as the infrared remote controller 22 shown in FIG. 4 by pressing the open button 221 twice, as the order, when the open button 221 is pressed for the first time, the opening operation of the front shading material (front screen 6F) is performed, and when the open button 221 is pressed for the second time, the opening operation of the rear shading material (rear screen 6R) is performed.

[0164] (Second operation setting) The "second operation setting" is in the reverse order of the "first operation setting", that is, for a plurality of shading materials Close when operating, the front shading material (or the upper shading material illustrated in FIG. 23 described later) is given priority over the rear shading material (or the lower shading material illustrated in FIG. 23 described later), and when performing the opening operation for a plurality of shading materials, the rear shading material (or the lower shading material illustrated in FIG. 23 described later) is given priority over the front shading material (or the upper shading material illustrated in FIG. 23 described later).

[0165] For example, in the example of the electric shielding device according to an embodiment shown in FIG. 1, in the "second operation setting", when the closing operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) is performed by operating a device such as the infrared remote controller 22 shown in FIG. 4 by pressing the close button 222 twice, as the order, when the close button 222 is pressed for the first time, the closing operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) is performed, and when the close button 222 is pressed for the second time, the closing operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) is performed. Also, in the "second operation setting", when the opening operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) is performed by operating a device such as the infrared remote controller 22 shown in FIG. 4 by pressing the open button 221 twice, as the order, when the open button 221 is pressed for the first time, the opening operation of the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) is performed, and when the open button 221 is pressed for the second time, the opening operation of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) is performed.

[0166] And the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 stores in the storage unit 102 an initial value (either one of the first operation setting and the second operation setting) of the setting state regarding the order of causing the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R) to perform an opening operation or a closing operation. And the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17, under the control of the microcomputer unit 101, each time it receives a signal from the pressing operation of the button switch 25a via the setting IF unit 110, while performing control to perform a blinking notification that can be identified by the operator by the difference in blinking in the LED notification unit 25b, alternately switches and determines the first operation setting and the second operation setting, and updates the setting state regarding the order stored in the storage unit 102.

[0167] A more specific control example for updating the setting state regarding the order in the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 will be described with reference to FIG. 18. FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating control for setting the order in which a plurality of shielding materials perform an opening operation or a closing operation by the control device 10 in an electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0168] First, when all the shielding materials (in this example, the front shielding material and the rear shielding material) are in a stopped state, the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 monitors whether the button switch 25a is long-pressed for a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds) (step S61: N). If it is determined that the button switch 25a is long-pressed for the predetermined time (step S61: Y), the process shifts to a setting mode for setting the order of the opening or closing operations of the plurality of shielding materials.

[0169] Then, when the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 shifts to the setting mode, it reads the current setting state regarding the order of each opening / closing operation of the front shielding material and the rear shielding material from the storage unit 102, and notifies the operator in an identifiable manner by the notification unit (in this example, the LED notification unit 25b) (step S62).

[0170] Subsequently, while in the setting mode, the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 monitors whether the button switch 25a is pressed (step S63). When the button switch 25a is not pressed (step S63: N), the process shifts to step S65. However, when the button switch 25a is pressed (step S63: Y), each time the button switch 25a is pressed, control is performed to alternately switch the setting states of the first operation setting and the second operation setting (step S64).

[0171] Here, while in the setting mode, the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 monitors whether the pressing of the button switch 25a is in a state where the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S65). Until the predetermined time elapses, it allows the alternate switching of the setting states by repeated pressing of the button switch 25a (step S65: N). When it is determined that the pressing of the button switch 25a is in a state where the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S65: Y), the setting mode is canceled, and the order of each opening / closing operation of the front shielding material and the rear shielding material corresponding to the setting state where the button switch 25a was last pressed is updated in the storage unit 102 (step S66).

[0172] Thereafter, according to the set state regarding the order of the opening and closing operations of the updated front shielding material and rear shielding material, the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 performs the above-described "same-direction downward control", "same-direction upward control", and "opposite-direction lifting control", as well as "first turning control" and "second turning control" by either the first operation setting or the second operation setting.

[0173] Therefore, the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 shifts to the setting mode by long-pressing the button switch 25a for a predetermined time, and performs control to notify the notification unit 25 in an identifiable manner of the current set state consisting of either the first operation setting or the second operation setting. Then, each time the button switch 25a is pressed once, the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 alternately switches the set states of the first operation setting and the second operation setting. And while the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 is in the setting mode, when the button switch 25a is not pressed for a predetermined time, it functions to update the setting regarding the order of the opening and closing operations of the plurality of shielding materials to either the first operation setting or the second operation setting corresponding to the set state in which the button switch 25a was last pressed.

[0174] As the "operation standard setting", the control device 10 shown in FIG. 17 stores in the storage unit 102 the initial value (either the first operation setting or the second operation setting) of the set state regarding the order of the opening or closing operations of the front shielding material (front screen 6F) and the rear shielding material (rear screen 6R). Note that the "operation standard setting" as the initial value in one embodiment is the "first operation setting".

[0175] When the notification unit in the setting unit 25 is configured by one LED notification unit 25b as illustrated in FIG. 16, assuming that '··' indicates the extinguished period and '●' indicates the lit period, the following notification method can be adopted.

[0176] (When shifting to the setting mode) The LED notification unit 25b blinks for a short period and a predetermined number of times (3 times in this example). ··●·●·●····················

[0177] (When in the "first operation setting" that switches each time the button switch 25a is pressed once) The LED notification unit 25b blinks for a relatively long period and a predetermined number of times (3 times in this example). ··●····●····●··············

[0178] (When in the "second operation setting" that switches each time the button switch 25a is pressed once) The LED notification unit 25b blinks twice for a relatively long period and a predetermined number of times (3 times in this example). ··●●····●●····●●···········

[0179] By providing such a setting unit 25 on the frame of the electric shielding device (for example, the head box 1 shown in FIG. 1 or the mounting frame 1' shown in FIG. 15, etc.), it becomes possible to selectively set the order of opening or closing operations of a plurality of shielding materials according to the installation position and the desired operation of the operator, so that the convenience is improved.

[0180] The control device 10 shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 17 of the electric shielding device illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 15 described above is configured to be able to control the lifting and lowering operations of each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back electrically. However, without requiring individual commands for identifying each shielding material, as commands related to the opening and closing operations of the shielding materials, an ascending command (which is a command for the opening operation for various shielding materials and is also comprehensively referred to as an "open command"), a descending command (which is a command for the closing Act operation for various shielding materials and is also comprehensively referred to as a "close command"), and a stop command can be electrically lifted and lowered by an operation signal having only one set.

[0181] And a remote operation system for remotely operating the electric shielding device illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 15 via an Internet-based network can be constructed by a mobile terminal such as a smart speaker or a smartphone.

[0182] [Remote control system] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 19, an example of a remote control system including an electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 19 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a remote control system including an electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0183] The remote control system shown in FIG. 19 includes the electric shielding device illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 15 described above, a smart speaker 100 with an Internet-based network connection established, a mobile terminal 200 such as a smartphone, a router 300, a cloud server 400, and an operation signal transmission device 500.

[0184] The smart speaker 100 is a device that recognizes the voice of a registered user U and performs processing corresponding to the voice using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) function. In this example, application software for operating the electric shielding device that utilizes this AI function is installed. This application software recognizes a voice indicating a specific language related to the opening and closing operation of the shielding material, converts it into an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation, and further functions as a voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 that converts various commands related to the converted operation into communication signals in IP (Internet Protocol) format in the smart speaker 100. Also, various commands related to the converted operation are stored in the payload of the communication signal in IP format with the own device as the source and the operation signal transmission device 500 as the destination in the IP header of the communication signal. Thereby, when the smart speaker 100 recognizes the voice of the registered user U indicating a specific language related to the opening and closing operation, it has a function of transmitting a communication signal including various commands related to the converted operation to the operation signal transmission device 500 via the router 300 (or it may also be via the mobile terminal 200).

[0185] The mobile terminal 200 is a communication device capable of mobile communication, such as a smartphone, and has application software installed thereon that presents an operation screen 200a for operating the electric shielding device. Further, as a function of this application software, it is possible to recognize a voice indicating a specific language related to the opening and closing operation of the shielding material, convert it into an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation, and further, the mobile terminal 200 can be made to function as a voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 that converts various commands related to this converted operation into a communication signal in IP format. Furthermore, instead of giving the smart speaker 100 the function of the voice / communication signal conversion unit 600, it is also possible to configure the application software on the mobile terminal 200 side to function as the voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 in a state of being communicatively connected to the smart speaker 100.

[0186] As shown in the figure, an open button "(OPEN, or △, etc.)" 221, a close button "(CLOSE, or ▽, etc.)" 222, and a stop button "(STOP, or □, etc.)" 223 are presented on the operation screen 200a presented on the mobile terminal 200. In this example, for the case where the electric shielding device to be operated has rotatable slats (an embodiment of the electric shielding device having slats will be described later), a full-close tilt button "(↑ / ↓)" 226 and a reverse full-close tilt button "(↓ / ↑)" 227 are provided as operation buttons for operating the tilt operation of the slats.

[0187] Then, one press of the open button 221 can send one up command, one press of the close button 222 can send one down command, and one press of the stop button 223 can send one stop command. Also, for the full-close tilt button "(↑ / ↓)" 226 and the reverse full-close tilt button "(↓ / ↑)", while they are being pressed, commands for continuously operating the tilt operation of the slats are continuously transmitted, and when the pressing is released, the continuous transmission of commands stops.

[0188] Therefore, the smart speaker 100 and the mobile terminal 200 are configured as an operation terminal that transmits a communication signal including any one of an open command, a close command, and a stop command to the signal transmission device 500 so as to transmit the operation signal toward the electric shielding device to be operated. Operation

[0189] In particular, the smart speaker 100 or the mobile terminal 200 includes an audio-communication signal conversion unit 600 that recognizes an audio indicating a specific language related to the opening and closing operation of the shielding material, converts it into an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation, and converts it into an IP-formatted communication signal including the converted command, so as to transmit the operation signal toward the electric shielding device to be operated. Operation Therefore, the smart speaker 100 or the mobile terminal 200 is configured as an audio operation device that transmits a communication signal including any one of an open command, a close command, and a stop command to the signal transmission device 500 based on the audio.

[0190] The router 300 is a device that relays communication signals between each communication device (in this example, between the smart speaker 100, the mobile terminal 200, the cloud server 400, and the operation signal transmission device 500).

[0191] The cloud server 400 is a server that operates on the Internet and relays communication between the mobile terminal 200 and the operation signal transmission device 500 (furthermore, it may be a system configuration that relays communication between the smart speaker 100 and the operation signal transmission device 500). Note that a home server (not shown) having the same function as the cloud server 400 and monitoring and managing the opening and closing states of the shielding materials of one or more electric shielding devices to be operated may be provided instead of the cloud server 400, or a system configuration further including the home server (not shown) may be adopted.

[0192] ​When the operation signal transmission device 500 receives a communication signal received from the smart speaker 100 or the mobile terminal 200, it extracts various commands related to the operations stored in the communication signal and transmits them to one or more of the electric shading devices to be operated by short-range wireless communication (or by wired communication). It is a device dedicated to the remote operation system in this example. In addition, external devices such as the wired switch 21, infrared remote control 22, wireless remote control 23, or personal computer (PC) 24, which have the function of designating each command by the above-described button operation and transmitting the operation signal, can also be configured as the operation signal transmission device 500.

[0193] In the remote operation system shown in FIG. 19 configured as described above, as described above, the control device 10 of the electric shading device is configured to be able to control each of a plurality of shading materials arranged front and back to be moved up and down electrically. However, without requiring individual commands for identifying each shading material, it can be moved up and down electrically by an operation signal having only one set of open command, close command, and stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shading material.

[0194] And, as will be described below, by the operation using the voice or operation screen shown in FIG. 19, it can be moved up and down electrically by an operation signal having only one set of open command, close command, and stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shading material. FIGS. 20(a) and (b) show an operation example of downward control in the same direction and an operation example of upward control in the same direction in the electric shading device according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

[0195] 〔During operation by voice〕 For example, to perform the lowering operation of each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged before and after by voice, the function of the voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 in the smart speaker 100 (or by the function of the voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 in the mobile terminal 200) can lower a predetermined one of the shielding materials (e.g., the rear screen 6R) with the voice of "close the screen" for the first time (see Fig. 20(a-1)), and can lower the other shielding material (e.g., the front screen 6F) with the continuous voice of "close the screen" for the second time (see Fig. 20(a-2)). Also, for example, to perform the raising operation of each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged before and after by voice, the function of the voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 in the smart speaker 100 (or by the function of the voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 in the mobile terminal 200) can raise the other shielding material (e.g., the front screen 6F) with the voice of "open the screen" for the first time (see Fig. 20(b-1)), and can raise the one shielding material (e.g., the rear screen 6R) with the continuous voice of "open the screen" for the second time (see Fig. 20(b-2)).

[0196] 〔When operating by the operation screen〕 On the other hand, in the operation by the operation screen 200a in the mobile terminal 200, to perform the lowering operation of each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged before and after, when a first lowering command is transmitted by pressing the close button 222 once, a predetermined one of the shielding materials (e.g., the rear screen 6R) can be lowered (see Fig. 20(a-1)), and when a second lowering command is transmitted by pressing the close button 222 continuously for the second time, the other shielding material (e.g., the front screen 6F) can be lowered (see Fig. 20(a-2)). Also, in the operation by the operation screen 200a on the mobile terminal 200, to perform the raising operation of each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back, when a first raising command is transmitted by pressing the open button 221 once, the other shielding material (e.g., the front screen 6F) can be raised (see Fig. 20(b-1)), and when a second raising command is transmitted by pressing the open button 221 continuously for the second time, the one shielding material (e.g., the rear screen 6R) can be raised (see Fig. 20(b-2)).

[0197] Therefore, according to the electric shielding device of the present embodiment, each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back can be electrically raised and lowered by an operation signal having only one set of an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shielding material, and the convenience is improved.

[0198] In addition, in the electric shielding device illustrated in Figs. 1 and 15 described above, an example having a plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back has been described. However, similarly, for an electric shielding device having a plurality of shielding materials arranged vertically, it can be electrically raised and lowered by an operation signal having only one set of an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shielding material by the operation using the voice or the operation screen shown in Fig. 19.

[0199] (Another embodiment) Figs. 21(a) to (c) are a plan view (looking down view), a front view, and a side view respectively showing the schematic configuration of another embodiment of the electric shading device according to the present invention. As a representative example of the electric shading device shown in Fig. 21, an electric pleated screen is shown in which a plurality of shading materials are arranged in a row vertically and each can be moved up and down. In Fig. 21, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those shown in Fig. 1. Further, in Fig. 21, it is not necessary to be limited to this as long as each of the plurality of shading materials arranged in a row vertically can be electrically moved up and down by the rotation of the drive shaft. For example, a pleated screen, a honeycomb screen which is also a kind of it, a horizontal blind, a pull-up curtain, a roll screen, etc., or an electric shading device having a hybrid configuration in which these different types of shading materials are arranged in a row vertically may be used.

[0200] Further, in the electric pleated screen of the embodiment shown in Figs. 21(a) to (c), an example is shown in which two types of shading materials, an upper screen 6U as an upper shading material and a lower screen 6L as a lower shading material, which can be individually moved up and down by a plurality of types of lifting cords 3U, 3L, are arranged in a row vertically. However, it may also be an electric pleated screen in which three or more types of shading materials are arranged in the front-rear direction.

[0201] In the electric pleated screen of the embodiment shown in Figs. 21(a) to (c), an upper screen 6U that can be bent in a zigzag shape from the lower surface of the head box 1 is suspended and supported, and the lower end of the upper screen 6U is attached to the upper surface of an intermediate rail 7U that functions as a weight member. The head box 1 is fixed to an attachment surface such as a ceiling surface via a bracket 15.

[0202] In this example, as shown in Fig. 21(c), on the outdoor side folding line position of the fabric that is zigzag-folded, the upper screen 6U of this example is provided with protruding pieces 60, and each of the protruding pieces 60 is provided with an insertion hole formed by a round hole, a long hole, or the like. The lifting cords 3U and 3L hanging down from the head box 1 are inserted through the insertion holes. For this reason, the lifting cords 3U and 3L hang down on the back side of the upper screen 6U so that they cannot be visually recognized in a front view as shown in Fig. 21(b), enhancing the aesthetic appearance. However, regarding the present invention, an insertion hole may be provided at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the upper screen 6U, and the lifting cords 3U and 3L inserted through the insertion hole may be configured to be visually recognizable in a front view. Also, as shown in Fig. 21(c), behind the lifting cords 3U and 3L, a pitch holding cord 4U hangs down from the head box 1, and its lower end is attached to the intermediate rail 7U. A large number of annular support cords 40 are provided at equal intervals on the pitch holding cord 4U, and the lifting cords 3U and 3L are inserted through the support cords 40. When the intermediate rail 7U is lowered to stretch the upper screen 6U, the protruding pieces 60 are supported by the respective support cords 40 of the pitch holding cord 4U so that the folding lines of the upper screen 6U are held at substantially equal intervals.

[0203] Also, a lower screen 6L that can be folded in a zigzag shape is suspended and supported from the lower surface of the intermediate rail 7U, and the lower end of the screen 6L is attached to the upper surface of a bottom rail 7L that functions as a weight member.

[0204] Regarding the lower screen 6L in this example, similar to the upper screen 6U, as shown in Fig. 21(c), protruding pieces 60 are provided at the positions of the folds on the outdoor side of the fabric that is folded in a zigzag shape. Insertion holes formed by round holes or long holes, etc. are respectively provided in the protruding pieces 60, and a lifting cord 3L that hangs down from the head box 1 and penetrates the intermediate rail 7U is inserted through the insertion holes. For this reason, the lifting cord 3L hangs down on the back side of the lower screen 6L so that it cannot be visually recognized in a front view as shown in Fig. 21(b), enhancing the aesthetics. However, regarding the present invention, an insertion hole may be provided at approximately the central portion in the front-rear direction of the lower screen 6L, and the lifting cord 3L inserted through the insertion hole may be in a form that can be visually recognized in a front view. Also, as shown in Fig. 21(c), behind the lifting cord 3L, a pitch holding cord 4L hangs down from the head box 1, and its lower end is attached to the bottom rail 7L. A large number of annular support cords 40 are provided at equal intervals on the pitch holding cord 4L, and the lifting cord 3L is inserted through the support cords 40. When the bottom rail 7L is lowered to stretch the lower screen 6L, the protruding pieces 60 are supported by the respective support cords 40 of the pitch holding cord 4L so that the folds of the lower screen 6L are held at substantially equal intervals.

[0205] The winding drums 51U and 51L are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction and rotatably supported with respect to the respective support members 5 disposed at appropriate positions (in this example, two positions on the left and right) in the head box 1.

[0206] The upper ends of the lifting cords 3U (in this example, they are cord-like cords, but tape-like lifting tapes may also be used) are wound or rewound on the respective winding drums 51U in a manner that can be taken up or let out. The lower ends of the lifting cords 3U penetrate the insertion holes formed in the respective protruding pieces 60 provided on the outdoor side of the upper screen 6U and are attached to the intermediate rail 7U. The winding drums 51U are formed such that their diameters gradually become thinner toward one direction in the axial direction. In this example, the cord-like lifting cords 3U are sequentially wound spirally on the winding drums 51U.

[0207] Further, at each winding drum 51L, the upper end of the lifting cord 3L (which is a cord-shaped cord in this example, but may also be a tape-shaped lifting tape) is attached so as to be windable or rewound, and the lower end of the lifting cord 3L passes through the insertion holes formed in the respective protruding pieces 60 provided on the outdoor side of the upper screen 6U, further passes through the intermediate rail 7U, passes through the insertion holes formed in the respective protruding pieces 60 provided on the outdoor side of the lower screen 6L, and is attached to the bottom rail 7L. The winding drum 51L is formed such that its diameter gradually decreases toward one axial direction, and in this example, the cord-shaped lifting cord 3L is sequentially wound around the winding drum 51L in a spiral manner.

[0208] A drive shaft 2U is inserted through the central axis of each winding drum 51U, and the rotation of the drive shaft 2U is transmitted to the winding drum 51U, and the driving force of the winding drum 51U is transmitted to the drive shaft 2U.

[0209] Similarly, a drive shaft 2L is inserted through the central axis of each winding drum 51L, and the rotation of the drive shaft 2L is transmitted to the winding drum 51L, and the driving force of the winding drum 51L is transmitted to the drive shaft 2L.

[0210] By the way, a clutch mechanism 52U that locks the rotation of the drive shaft 2U is provided as an obstacle detection stop device on the winding drum 51U when the lowering of the intermediate rail 7U is hindered by contact with an obstacle. Also, a clutch mechanism 52L that locks the rotation of the drive shaft 2L is provided as an obstacle detection stop device on the winding drum 51L when the lowering of the bottom rail 7L is hindered by contact with an obstacle.

[0211] One end of the drive shaft 2U is connected to the output shaft of the motor 9U via the drive shaft coupler 20U, and the rotation of the output shaft of the motor 9U is transmitted to the drive shaft 2U. Therefore, the drive shaft 2U is rotated by the driving force of the motor 9U, and based on the rotation of the drive shaft 2U, the lifting cord 3U is wound or unwound by the winding drum 51U, so that the intermediate rail 7U can be lifted and lowered, and thereby the upper screen 6U can be lifted and lowered. Note that since the winding drum 51U utilizes the tension applied to the lifting cord 3U (the self-weights of the upper screen 6U and the intermediate rail 7U) when the upper screen 6U is lowered, its driving force is transmitted from the winding drum 51U to the drive shaft 2U, and the driving force applied to this drive shaft 2U is adjusted for downward control.

[0212] Also, one end of the drive shaft 2L is connected to the output shaft of the motor 9L via the drive shaft coupler 20L, and the rotation of the output shaft of the motor 9L is transmitted to the drive shaft 2L. Therefore, the drive shaft 2L is rotated by the driving force of the motor 9L, and based on the rotation of the drive shaft 2L, the lifting cord 3L is wound or unwound by the winding drum 51L, so that the bottom rail 7L can be lifted and lowered, and thereby the lower screen 6L can be lifted and lowered. Note that since the winding drum 51L utilizes the tension applied to the lifting cord 3L (the self-weights of the lower screen 6L and the bottom rail 7L) when the lower screen 6L is lowered, its driving force is transmitted from the winding drum 51L to the drive shaft 2L, and the driving force applied to this drive shaft 2L is adjusted for downward control.

[0213] The drive control of each of the motors 9U and 9L is performed by the control device 10 disposed in the head box 1. And in the head box 1, a DC power supply 11 for supplying power to the motors 9U and 9L and the control device 10 is disposed. The control device 10 is composed of the same components as those shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 17, and when receiving an operation signal from an external device (not shown) such as a wired switch 21, an infrared remote controller 22, a wireless remote controller 23, or a personal computer (PC), performs various controls of the electric shading device corresponding to various commands included in the operation signal.

[0214] The control device 10 shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 17 has been described as performing lifting control for the upper screen 6F and the lower screen 6L, including a microcomputer unit 101, a storage unit 102, a wireless signal receiving unit 103, an infrared signal transmitting / receiving unit 104, a wired signal transmitting / receiving unit 105, an external device interface (IF) unit 106, motor drive units 107F, 107R, abnormality detection units 108F, 108R, and pulse detection units 109F, 109R. However, the control device 10 according to the present embodiment can divert each component in the control device 10 shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 17 to perform lifting control for the upper screen 6F and the lower screen 6L, and can be configured to perform substantially the same control. Therefore, further illustration is omitted.

[0215] For example, by configuring the motors 9U and 9L as DC motors respectively, the control device 10 can control the rotation speed of the motors 9U and 9L by controlling the duty ratio of the pulse signals supplied from the control device 10 to the motors 9U and 9L. In addition, encoders 8U and 8L for detecting the rotation speed and rotation amount of the drive shafts 2U and 2L are arranged in the head box 1, and the control device 10 manages the count values of the speed and number of pulses of the encoder pulses based on the pulse signals output from the respective encoders 8U and 8L, and controls the rotation speed and rotation amount of the motors 9U and 9L. By such an operation, corresponding to various commands included in the operation signal, the control device 10 appropriately adjusts the lifting speed of the upper screen 6U or the lower screen 6L, and controls the lifting stop position of the upper screen 6U or the lower screen 6L.

[0216] In the electric pleated screen of the present embodiment configured as described above, if the intermediate rail 7U is pulled up to directly below the head box 1, and the bottom rail 7L is lowered with the upper screen 6U folded between the head box 1 and the intermediate rail 7U, the lower screen 6L is shielded from the head box 1 to a desired position.

[0217] Also, when the bottom rail 7L is lowered to the lower limit and the intermediate rail 7U is lowered onto the bottom rail 7L, the lower screen 6L is folded between the intermediate rail 7U and the bottom rail 7L, and the upper screen 6U is shielded between the head box 1 and the intermediate rail 7U. Therefore, for example, if the upper screen 6U is made of a light-transmissive fabric and the lower screen 6L is made of a light-shielding fabric, the degree of freedom in adjusting the amount of sunlight can be increased.

[0218] Then, if the bottom rail 7L is lowered to the lower limit and the intermediate rail 7U is positioned between the head box 1 and the bottom rail 7, soft light transmitted through the upper screen 6U made of a light-transmissive fabric can be collected.

[0219] Also, when the bottom rail 7L is pulled up to the upper limit and opened, the bottom rail 7L can be pulled up together with the intermediate rail 7U, and the upper screen 6U and the lower screen 6L can be folded between the head box 1 and the bottom rail 7L.

[0220] In the above, the present invention has been described by giving examples of specific embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the examples of the embodiments shown in FIG. 21, and various modifications can be made without departing from the technical idea thereof.

[0221] For example, the electric shading device is not limited to the above-described electric pleated screen, but can also be applied to other types of electric shading devices such as a honeycomb screen, a horizontal blind, a lift curtain, a roll screen, etc., which are also a type of it, or a hybrid configuration in which these different types of shading materials are arranged in series vertically (for example, the upper shading material is a lift curtain type shading material, and the lower shading material is a pleated screen type shading material, etc.).

[0222] Also, in this embodiment, as will be described below, by operating the voice or operation screen shown in FIG. 19, an electric lifting operation can be performed by an operation signal having only one set of open command, close command, and stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shielding material. FIGS. 22(a) and (b) show an operation example of the same-direction downward control and an operation example of the same-direction upward control in an electric shielding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

[0223] 〔When operating by voice〕 For example, to perform a lowering operation of each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged vertically by voice, from the non-operating state (see FIG. 22(a-1)), by the function of the voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 in the smart speaker 100 (or by the function of the voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 in the mobile terminal 200), with the voice of "close the screen" for the first time, a predetermined one of the shielding materials (e.g., the lower screen 6L) can be lowered (see FIG. 22(a-2)), and with the continuous voice of "close the screen" for the second time, the other shielding material (e.g., the upper screen 6U) can be lowered (see FIG. 22(a-3)). Also, for example, to perform a raising operation of each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged vertically by voice, from the non-operating state (see FIG. 22(b-1)), by the function of the voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 in the smart speaker 100 (or by the function of the voice / communication signal conversion unit 600 in the mobile terminal 200), with the voice of "open the screen" for the first time, the other shielding material (e.g., the upper screen 6U) can be raised (see FIG. 22(b-2)), and with the continuous voice of "open the screen" for the second time, the one shielding material (e.g., the lower screen 6L) can be raised (see FIG. 22(b-3)).

[0224] 〔When operating by operation screen〕 On the other hand, in the operation using the operation screen 200a on the mobile terminal 200, to perform the lowering operation of each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged vertically, from the state when not in operation (see Fig. 22(a-1)), when the first lowering command is transmitted by pressing the close button 222 once, one of the predetermined shielding materials (e.g., the lower screen 6L) can be lowered (see Fig. 22(a-2)). When the second lowering command is transmitted by pressing the close button 222 continuously for the second time, the other shielding material (e.g., the upper screen 6U) can be lowered (see Fig. 22(a-3)). Also, in the operation using the operation screen 200a on the mobile terminal 200, to perform the raising operation of each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged vertically, from the state when not in operation (see Fig. 22(b-1)), when the first raising command is transmitted by pressing the open button 221 once, the other shielding material (e.g., the upper screen 6U) can be raised (see Fig. 22(b-2)). When the second raising command is transmitted by pressing the open button 221 continuously for the second time, the one shielding material (e.g., the lower screen 6L) can be raised (see Fig. 22(b-3)).

[0225] Therefore, according to the electric shielding device of the present embodiment, each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged vertically can be moved up and down electrically by an operation signal having only one set of open command, close command, and stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shielding material, and the convenience is improved.

[0226] Typical examples of other electric shielding devices having shielding materials connected vertically are shown in Figs. 23(a) to (c) respectively. Figs. 23(a) to (c) are schematic side views showing examples in which the control device according to the present invention is applied to other typical electric shielding devices according to the present invention. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those in the above-described embodiment.

[0227] First, the electric shielding device shown in Fig. 23(a) is an electric honeycomb screen that enables the lifting and lowering of an upper shielding material (a honeycomb-shaped upper screen 6U with an intermediate rail 7U at its lower end when viewed from the side) suspended from a head box 1 and a lower shielding material (a honeycomb-shaped lower screen 6L with a bottom rail 7L at its lower end when viewed from the side) suspended from the intermediate rail 7U. The winding drums 51U and 51L shown in Fig. 23(a) wind up or unwind the upper ends of the lifting cords 3U and 3L, similar to the embodiment shown in Fig. 21, to raise and lower the upper screen 6U and the lower screen 6L. In addition, insertion holes are provided in the joining pieces 60' that form each honeycomb shape in the upper screen 6U, and the lifting cords 3U and 3L are inserted through these insertion holes. The lower end of the lifting cord 3U is attached to the intermediate rail 7U. Further, the lifting cord 3L passes through the intermediate rail 7U, is inserted through an insertion hole provided in the joining piece 60' that forms each honeycomb shape in the lower screen 6L, and is attached to the bottom rail 7L. Encoders 8U and 8L and motors 9U and 9L are respectively disposed in the head box 1 (not shown). And a DC power supply 11 (not shown) and a control device 10 similar to that shown in Fig. 3 or Fig. 17 are disposed in the head box 1. Therefore, the control of the control device 10 according to the present invention can also be applied to the electric honeycomb screen shown in Fig. 23(a).

[0228] In addition, the electric shading device shown in Fig. 23(b) is an electric horizontal blind that can raise and lower an upper shading material (a group of fabric slats 6U' made of, for example, a light-transmissive fabric with an intermediate rail 7U at the lower end) supported by a ladder cord 12U suspended from the head box 1 and a lower shading material (a group of aluminum slats 6L' with a bottom rail 7L at the lower end) supported by a ladder cord 12L suspended from the head box 1 and passing through the intermediate rail 7U. The take-up drums 51U and 51L shown in Fig. 23(b) wind up or unwind the upper ends of the lifting cords 3U and 3L, similar to the embodiment shown in Fig. 21, to raise and lower the fabric slat group 6U' and the aluminum slat group 6L'. Incidentally, insertion holes are provided substantially at the center in the front-rear direction in the fabric slat group 6U', and the lifting cords 3U and 3L are inserted through these insertion holes. The lower end of the lifting cord 3U is attached to the intermediate rail 7U. Also, the lifting cord 3L passes through the intermediate rail 7U, is inserted through an insertion hole provided substantially at the center in the front-rear direction in the aluminum slat group 6L', and is attached to the bottom rail 7L. Then, the fabric slat group 6U' and the aluminum slat group 6L' can be rotated by the relative movement of the vertical threads of the ladder cords 12U and 12L, but the description of the mechanism is omitted. Encoders 8U and 8L and motors 9U and 9L are respectively disposed in the head box 1 (not shown). And a DC power supply 11 (not shown) and a control device 10 similar to that shown in Fig. 3 or Fig. 17 are disposed in the head box 1. Therefore, the control of the control device 10 according to the present invention can also be applied to the electric horizontal blind shown in Fig. 23(b).

[0229] Also, as shown in FIG. 23(c), the upper shielding material may be a group of fabric slats 6U' made of, for example, a light-transmissive fabric having an intermediate rail 7U at the lower end, and the lower shielding material may be a lower screen 6L having a bottom rail 7L at the lower end and having a zigzag shape (or a honeycomb shape) in side view. A control device 10 similar to that shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 17 may be disposed in the electric shielding device having a hybrid configuration. As another electric shielding device having a hybrid configuration, although not shown, for example, in an electric shielding device having a hybrid configuration in which the upper shielding material is a pull-up curtain type shielding material and the lower shielding material is a pleated screen type shielding material, a control device 10 similar to that shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 17 may be disposed. For these electric shielding devices having a hybrid configuration, the control by the control device 10 according to the present invention can also be applied.

[0230] Therefore, in the remote operation system shown in FIG. 19, an electric shielding device that enables each of a plurality of shielding materials arranged front and back or up and down to be opened and closed electrically includes a control device 10 that receives an operation signal having only one set of an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operations of the shielding materials and controls the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shielding materials.

[0231] When the control device 10 receives an operation signal indicating an open command once while the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shielding materials are in a stopped state, the control device 10 causes a predetermined shielding material among the plurality of shielding materials to perform an opening operation, and when the control device 10 receives the operation signal continuously a plurality of times, the control device 10 causes the plurality of shielding materials to perform an opening operation one by one in a predetermined order according to the number of consecutive receptions.

[0232] Also, when the control device 10 receives an operation signal indicating a close command once while the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shielding materials are in a stopped state, the control device 10 causes a predetermined shielding material among the plurality of shielding materials to perform a closing operation, and when the control device 10 receives the operation signal continuously a plurality of times, the control device 10 causes the plurality of shielding materials to perform a closing operation one by one in a predetermined order according to the number of consecutive receptions.

[0233] When the control device 10 receives an operation signal indicating a stop command from one or more of the plurality of shielding materials during operation, it controls to stop the operation of all the shielding materials.

[0234] In addition, from the viewpoints of intuitive operability and convenience, as understood from FIG. 20 or FIG. 22, it is preferable that the control device 10 controls the predetermined order for performing the opening operation to be the reverse order of the predetermined order for performing the closing operation.

[0235] Therefore, according to the electric shielding device of the present embodiment, each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged front and rear or up and down can be electrically lifted and lowered by an operation signal having only one set of an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shielding material, and the convenience is improved.

[0236] Therefore, the electric shielding device according to the present invention is not limited to the examples of the above-described embodiments, and is limited only by the description of the claims.

Industrial Applicability

[0237] According to the present invention, each of the plurality of shielding materials arranged front and rear can be electrically lifted and lowered simultaneously, and the usability and convenience are improved, so it is useful for the applications of electric shielding devices.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0238] 1 Head box 1' Mounting frame 2F, 2R Drive shafts 2U, 2L Drive shafts 3F Lifting cord for front screen 3R Lifting cord for rear screen 3U Lifting cord for upper screen 3L Lifting cord for lower screen 5 Support member 6F Front shielding material (front screen) 6F' Front shielding material (front curtain fabric) 6R Rear shielding material (rear screen) 6R’ Rear shielding material (rear curtain fabric) 6U Upper shielding material 6L Lower shielding material 7F Bottom rail for front screen 7F’ Weight bar for front screen 7R Bottom rail for rear screen 7R’ Weight bar for front screen 7U Intermediate rail 7L Bottom rail 8F,8R Encoder 8U,8L Encoder 9F,9R Motor 9U,9L Motor 10 Control device 11 DC power supply 15 Bracket 20F,20R Drive shaft coupler 20U,20L Drive shaft coupler 21 Wired switch 22 Infrared remote control 23 Wireless remote control 24 Personal computer (PC) 25 Setting part 25a Button switch 25b Light emitting diode (LED) notification part 101 Microcomputer part 102 Memory part 103 Wireless signal receiving part 104 Infrared signal transmitting and receiving part 105 Wired signal transmitting and receiving part 106 External device interface (IF) part 110 Setting interface (IF) part 100 Smart speaker 200 Mobile terminal 300 Router 400 Cloud server 500 Operation signal transmission device 600 Audio / communication signal conversion part

Claims

1. An electric shading device configured to be able to open and close each of a plurality of shading materials arranged front and rear or up and down electrically, comprising: a control device that receives an operation signal having only one set of an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operations of the shading materials, and controls the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shading materials; the control device: when receiving an operation signal indicating the open command once or multiple times while all the shading materials are moving in the closing direction, turns the operation of opening individually, in a predetermined order, a number of shading materials corresponding to the number of times the open command is received among the plurality of shading materials; when receiving an operation signal indicating the close command once or multiple times while all the shading materials are moving in the opening direction, turns the operation of closing individually, in an order reverse to the predetermined order, a number of shading materials corresponding to the number of times the close command is received among the plurality of shading materials; when receiving an operation signal indicating the stop command while one or more of the plurality of shading materials are in operation, controls to stop the operation of all the shading materials. An electric shading device characterized by the above.

2. The control device: when receiving an operation signal indicating the close command once or multiple times while the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shading materials are in a stopped state, operates to close individually, in an order reverse to the predetermined order, a number of shading materials corresponding to the number of times the close command is received among the plurality of shading materials; when receiving an operation signal indicating the open command once or multiple times while the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shading materials are in a stopped state, controls to operate to open individually, in the predetermined order, a number of shading materials corresponding to the number of times the open command is received among the plurality of shading materials. The electric shading device according to Claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. An electric shading device configured to be able to open and close each of a plurality of shading materials arranged front and rear or up and down electrically, comprising: a control device that receives an operation signal having only one set of an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operations of the shading materials, and controls the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shading materials; the control device: when receiving the operation signal indicating the close command once while the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shading materials are in a stopped state, operates one of the plurality of shading materials, which is predetermined, to close, and when further receiving the operation signal indicating the close command during the closing operation of the one shading material, operates the other one of the plurality of shading materials to close. When an operation signal indicating the open command is received once while both of the plurality of shielding materials are operating in the closing direction, the one shielding material is turned to an open operation, and when an operation signal indicating the open command is further received during the turned open operation of the one shielding material, the other shielding material is turned to an open operation. When an operation signal indicating the open command is received once while the opening and closing of each of the plurality of shielding materials is in a stopped state, the other shielding material is caused to perform an open operation, and when an operation signal indicating the open command is further received during the open operation of the other shielding material, the one shielding material is caused to perform an open operation. When an operation signal indicating the close command is received once while both of the plurality of shielding materials are operating in the opening direction, the other shielding material is turned to a close operation, and when an operation signal indicating the close command is further received during the turned close operation of the other shielding material, the one shielding material is turned to a close operation. An electric shielding device characterized in that when an operation signal indicating the stop command is received while one or more of the plurality of shielding materials are operating, control is performed to stop the operation of all the shielding materials.

4. The control device is configured to perform opening and closing control of the plurality of shielding materials by an operation device having only one set of an opening / closing button and a stop button. The electric shielding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The control device further includes means for performing control to automatically stop the shielding materials that have reached the upper and lower limit positions during the lifting operation of the plurality of shielding materials. The electric shielding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. An electric shielding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by comprising a setting unit capable of changing settings regarding the order of opening and closing operations of the plurality of shielding materials by an operator's setting operation.

7. The control device, by the setting operation of the setting unit, A first operation setting in which when the plurality of shielding materials are to be closed, the shielding materials on the rear side or lower side are prioritized over the shielding materials on the front side or upper side, and when the plurality of shielding materials are to be opened, the shielding materials on the front side or upper side are prioritized over the shielding materials on the rear side or lower side. A second operation setting in which when the plurality of shielding materials are to be closed, the shielding materials on the front side or upper side are prioritized over the shielding materials on the rear side or lower side, and when the plurality of shielding materials are to be opened, the shielding materials on the rear side or lower side are prioritized over the shielding materials on the front side or upper side. The electric shading device according to claim 6, characterized by having a function of controlling so as to switch.

8. The setting unit includes a button switch that can be pressed, and a notification unit that notifies a setting state regarding an order of opening or closing operations of a plurality of shading materials according to the pressing operation. The control device shifts to a setting mode by a long press of the button switch for a predetermined time, and performs control to notify the current setting state, which consists of either the first operation setting or the second operation setting, in an identifiable manner by the notification unit. Each time the button switch is pressed once, the setting states of the first operation setting and the second operation setting are alternately switched. When the button switch is not pressed for a predetermined time while in the setting mode, the setting of the order of each opening and closing operation of the plurality of shading materials is updated to either one of the first operation setting and the second operation setting corresponding to the setting state where the button switch was last pressed. The electric shading device according to claim 7, characterized by having such a function.

9. An operation signal transmission device, characterized in that, for the electric shading device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, it transmits an operation signal having only one set of an open command, a close command, and a stop command as commands related to the opening and closing operation of the shading material.

10. An infrared remote control, a wireless remote control, a wired switch, or a communication terminal, characterized by having a function of designating each command by a button operation and transmitting the operation signal. The operation signal transmission device according to claim 9.

11. An operation terminal, characterized in that, for the operation signal transmission device according to claim 9 or 10, it transmits a communication signal including any one of the open command, the close command, and the stop command so as to transmit the operation signal to the electric shading device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

12. A voice operation device, characterized in that, for the operation signal transmission device according to claim 9 or 10, it transmits a communication signal including any one of the open command, the close command, and the stop command based on voice so as to transmit the operation signal to the electric shading device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. An audio operation device, comprising: an audio / communication signal conversion unit that recognizes an audio indicating a specific language related to an opening / closing operation of a shielding material, converts the audio into open command, close command, and stop command as commands related to the opening / closing operation, and converts the converted commands into a communication signal in IP (Internet Protocol) format including the converted commands.

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