Bathroom equipment control system

Abstract

To provide a bathroom apparatus control system that does not cause trouble with subsequent hot water filling even when the operation of a bathtub cleaning device is interrupted.SOLUTION: A bathroom apparatus control system includes control means capable of, by remote control using a communication terminal, controlling filling of a bathtub with hot water by a water heater and controlling a bathtub cleaning device that performs rinsing after cleaning with detergent. The control means, when determining that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device is interrupted in the middle, controls the water heater so as not to perform hot water filling until a predetermined cancelling operation is performed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a bathroom equipment control system that can also operate a bathtub cleaning device remotely. [Background technology]

[0002] A bathtub cleaning device is provided that automatically cleans a bathtub. This bathtub cleaning device is controlled to clean with detergent and then rinse with tap water. Furthermore, as in Patent Document 1, it is possible to remotely control the bathtub cleaning device from outside the house using a mobile terminal such as a smartphone. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-176761 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, once the bathtub cleaning device has started, it may be necessary to interrupt the bathtub cleaning midway through, for example, when a command to stop the bathtub cleaning is issued from a mobile terminal, when a bathtub cleaning is forcibly terminated using a remote control installed in the home, or when an error occurs in the device. If the bathtub cleaning is interrupted in this way after the cleaning with detergent has started but before rinsing with tap water has been completed, detergent will remain inside the bathtub. If you fill the tub in this state, the water will contain detergent, making it impossible to take a bath. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a bathroom equipment control system that allows the bathtub to be filled with water without any problems even if the operation of the bathtub cleaning device is interrupted. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a bathroom equipment control system that is equipped with a control means that can remotely control the filling of the bathtub with water by a water heater and the control of a bathtub cleaning device that rinses after cleaning with detergent via a communication terminal, and is characterized in that if the control means determines that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device has been interrupted midway, it controls the water heater not to fill the bathtub with water until a predetermined release operation is performed. This means that if the bathtub cleaning device is interrupted mid-operation, even if a command to fill the bathtub is issued by the water heater, the bathtub will not be filled unless a specified cancellation operation is performed. This makes it possible to prevent the bathtub from being filled with detergent remaining in the bathtub, eliminating any impediments to filling the bathtub.

[0006] Preferably, the control means controls the water heater not to fill the tub with water if it determines that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device has been interrupted midway after the bathtub cleaning device has started cleaning with detergent but before rinsing has been completed. According to this, if the control means determines that the timing when the bathtub cleaning device is interrupted is a timing when detergent may remain in the bathtub, it will prohibit the bathtub from being filled. Therefore, if the operation is interrupted at a timing when there is no detergent remaining in the bathtub, the bathtub will be filled. This makes it possible to further eliminate obstacles to filling the bathtub.

[0007] In this case, it is also preferable that the control means, when determining that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device has been interrupted midway, transmits a bathtub cleaning interruption signal to the communication terminal. This makes it possible to display on the communication terminal that the bathtub cleaning has been interrupted.

[0008] Furthermore, preferably, when the control means determines that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device was interrupted midway after the bathtub cleaning device started cleaning with detergent but before rinsing was completed, when the communication terminal remotely controls the water heater to fill the bathtub with water, the control means controls the water heater to fill the bathtub with water after rinsing the bathtub cleaning device. According to this, even if there is a possibility that detergent remains in the bathtub, rinsing is performed first before filling the bathtub, which further reduces the chance of problems with filling the bathtub. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a bathroom equipment control system that allows the bathtub to be filled with water without any problems even if the operation of the bathtub cleaning device is interrupted. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a bathroom appliance control system. [Figure 2] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the bathroom appliance control system. [Figure 3] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the bathroom appliance control system. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the bathroom appliance control system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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

[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the bathroom appliance control system. A bathroom 100 arranged in a house is equipped with a bathtub 110, a bathroom cleaning device 200 that automatically cleans the inside of the bathroom 100, and a bathtub cleaning device 300 that automatically cleans the inside of the bathtub 110. The house is also equipped with a water heater 400 that fills the bathtub 110 with water and supplies hot water to the bathtub cleaning device 300.

[0013] Also located within the home is a control box 500 that controls bathroom cleaning device 200, bathtub cleaning device 300, and water heater 400. This control box 500 transmits control signals, which are generated by operating a remote control 600 installed within the home, to bathroom cleaning device 200, bathtub cleaning device 300, and water heater 400. Control box 500 also receives control signals transmitted from cloud server 800 based on operational commands transmitted by operating an app installed on a mobile device 700, such as a smartphone, owned by a resident of the home, and transmits the control signals to bathroom cleaning device 200, bathtub cleaning device 300, and water heater 400. Cloud server 800 and control box 500 correspond to the control means of the present invention, and there may be one cloud server 800 and one control box 500, or multiple cloud server 800 and control box 500. A gateway device (not shown) that converts signals between the cloud server 800 and the control box 500 is installed in the home.

[0014] Bathtub cleaning device 300 automatically cleans bathtub 110 by supplying it with detergent and hot water from water heater 400. The cleaning procedure is generally as follows: first, hot water is sprayed onto bathtub 110 to perform a preliminary wash, then detergent is sprayed to remove dirt adhering to the inner surface of bathtub 110, and finally hot water is sprayed onto the inner surface of bathtub 110 to rinse, but the presence or absence of a preliminary wash is not essential.

[0015] Bathroom cleaning device 200 cleans the washing area of ​​bathroom 100. Cleaning methods that can be used include a method in which dirt adhering to the washing area is washed away with a base wash and then hot water containing hypochlorous acid is sprayed onto the washing area to clean it, or a method in which hot water is sprayed onto the washing area to pre-wash it, then detergent is sprayed onto the surface of the washing area to remove dirt adhering to the surface of the washing area, and finally hot water is sprayed onto the washing area to rinse it.

[0016] The water heater 400 performs tasks such as filling the bathtub 110 with hot water, reheating water, and supplying hot water to the bathtub cleaning device 300.

[0017] When cloud server 800 receives an operation command from mobile terminal 700, it generates a control signal based on the command and transmits it to control box 500 in the home via the Internet. Cloud server 800 also receives signals transmitted by control box 500 via the Internet, and transmits signals to change the display of the app screen of mobile terminal 700 as necessary in relation to the received signals. If the bathtub cleaning operation being performed is interrupted midway, the cloud server 800 receives a signal via the control box 500 indicating that the bathtub cleaning device 300 has been interrupted.

[0018] Next, the operation of this bathroom equipment control system will be described. As shown in Figure 2, the bathroom equipment control system starts operation of bathtub cleaning device 300 by remote control 600 or mobile device 700. If a command to stop bathtub cleaning is issued via remote control 600 or mobile device 700 after the operation of bathtub cleaning device 300 has begun, operation of bathtub cleaning device 300 is interrupted. Bathtub cleaning is interrupted when cloud server 800 receives an interruption signal sent from bathtub cleaning device 300 via control box 500. Cloud server 800 then determines that bathtub cleaning has been interrupted. Cloud server 800 then denies the bathtub filling command sent from mobile device 700, even if the user attempts to do so. Specifically, cloud server 800 rejects the bathtub filling command sent from mobile device 700, or cloud server 800 transmits a signal to mobile device 700 indicating that the bathtub filling request is prohibited. This makes it possible to prevent the bathtub from being filled with water while detergent remains inside the bathtub 110 even if the bathtub cleaning is interrupted and detergent remains inside the bathtub 110.

[0019] If bathtub cleaning remains interrupted, the bathtub cannot be filled indefinitely, so a specific release operation can be performed to release the bathtub from filling. For example, the user may perform this release operation by using a special operation on remote control 600 after the bathtub cleaning has been interrupted, after using a shower or other means to rinse off the detergent in bathtub 110. Alternatively, the user may perform a special operation on mobile terminal 700 or remote control 600 to cause bathtub cleaning device 300 to perform a rinsing operation. In this way, even if the bathtub cleaning device 300 is interrupted midway through its operation, a predetermined release operation is performed so that no detergent remains in the bathtub 100, and the bathtub can be filled if instructed to do so.

[0020] Here, as shown in Figure 3, if the cloud server 800 determines that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device 300 was interrupted midway after the bathtub cleaning device 300 started cleaning with detergent but before rinsing was completed, the cloud server 800 may control the bathtub not to fill with water. In this way, cloud server 800 prohibits filling the bathtub only if it determines that the timing at which bathtub cleaning device 300 was interrupted is a timing at which detergent may remain in bathtub 110. Therefore, if operation is interrupted at a timing when there is no detergent remaining in bathtub 110, filling the bathtub will be carried out.

[0021] When prohibiting the execution of the bathtub filling operation, cloud server 800 may send a bathtub cleaning interruption signal to communication terminal 700 if it determines that the operation of bathtub cleaning device 300 has been interrupted midway. In this case, communication terminal 700 can display that the bathtub cleaning has been interrupted midway. For example, when an app is launched, it can display that the bathtub cleaning has been interrupted midway, or when an attempt is made to fill the bathtub with water using communication terminal 700, it can display that the bathtub cleaning operation cannot be performed because it was interrupted midway.

[0022] Also, as shown in Figure 4, if the cloud server 800 determines that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device 300 was interrupted midway after the bathtub cleaning device 300 started cleaning with detergent but before rinsing was completed, when the communication terminal 700 remotely controls the water heater 400 to fill the bathtub with water, the cloud server 800 may control the bathtub cleaning device 300 to automatically rinse before filling the bathtub with water. According to this, even if there is a possibility that detergent remains in the bathtub 110, the detergent is washed away by rinsing, so even if the bathtub is filled after the bathtub cleaning is interrupted, hot water mixed with detergent will not accumulate, which further reduces the difficulty of filling the bathtub.

[0023] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be implemented in various other embodiments. For example, instead of placing a control box inside the home, signals from the cloud server may be sent to a remote control via a gateway device, and the remote control may then send signals to each bathroom appliance. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 100 bathrooms 110 Bathtub 300 Bathtub cleaning device 400 Water heater 500 Control box (control means) 600 Remote Control 700 Communication Terminals 800 Cloud Server (Control Means)

Claims

1. A bathroom equipment control system having a control means that can remotely control a bathtub cleaning device that uses a water heater to fill a bathtub with water and rinses the bathtub after cleaning with detergent using a communication terminal, The control means If it is determined that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device has been interrupted midway, the device controls the water heater not to fill the bathtub with water until a predetermined cancellation operation is performed; This bathroom equipment control system is characterized by controlling the water heater not to fill the tub with water if it is determined that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device has been interrupted after the bathtub cleaning device has started cleaning with detergent but before rinsing has been completed.

2. A bathroom equipment control system having a control means that can remotely control a bathtub cleaning device that uses a water heater to fill a bathtub with water and rinses the bathtub after cleaning with detergent using a communication terminal, The control means If it is determined that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device has been interrupted midway, the device controls the water heater not to fill the bathtub with water until a predetermined cancellation operation is performed; A bathroom equipment control system characterized in that, when the control means determines that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device was interrupted after the bathtub cleaning device started cleaning with detergent but before rinsing was completed, and when the communication terminal remotely controls the water heater to fill the bathtub with water, the control means controls the water heater to fill the bathtub with water after rinsing the bathtub cleaning device.

3. The bathroom equipment control system described in claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the control means sends a bathtub cleaning interruption signal to the communication terminal when it determines that the operation of the bathtub cleaning device has been interrupted midway.

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