Remote controller and air conditioning system

Abstract

A remote controller (1) comprises: a display panel unit (2) in which a dot-matrix display panel is used; an operation detection unit (22) which detects operation of operation key units (3, 4, 5) that accept an operation by a user; a display control unit (24) which controls the display panel unit (2); and a mode switching unit (23) which causes the display control unit (24) to switch the display panel unit (2) to an operational mode in which power consumption is high and information visibility is high or to a standby mode in which power consumption is lower and information visibility is lower than in the operational mode. If the operation detection unit (22) does not detect further operation of the operation key units (3, 4, 5) within a preset period after detecting operation of the operation key units (3, 4, 5), the mode switching unit (23) causes the display control unit (24) to switch the display panel unit (2) to the standby mode.

Description

Remote Controller and Air Conditioning System

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a remote controller and an air conditioning system provided with a display panel unit for displaying information.

[0002] A portable device is equipped with a battery for power supply. Patent Document 1 discloses a portable device that operates in either a normal state where the power consumption is a normal value or a power-saving state where the power consumption is less than the normal state. The portable device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes an input means for receiving an input from a user, a temperature detection means for detecting the ambient temperature, and a power control means for switching to the power-saving state when, during operation in the normal state, there is no input from the input means for a preset time or more and the detected temperature is below a preset temperature.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-44874

[0004] A portable device is provided with a display panel unit for displaying information. There are two types of portable devices: one that displays information on the display panel unit only when an input operation from a user is received, and the other that constantly displays information on the display panel unit. Examples of the former include a mobile phone terminal, and examples of the latter include a remote controller for an air conditioner that needs to constantly display information such as the room temperature and the set temperature.

[0005] When the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is applied to a remote controller for an air conditioner, since the display panel unit, which accounts for most of the power consumption, continues to be supplied with power for constantly displaying information even in the power-saving state, the power consumption of the display panel unit cannot be reduced. Therefore, when applying the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 to a remote controller for an air conditioner, it was necessary to reduce the power consumption of the display panel unit by using a display panel such as a segment liquid crystal display device, which has a small power consumption but has limitations on the information that can be displayed.

[0006] This disclosure has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a remote controller that reduces power consumption in the display panel without being restricted by the information that can be displayed in the display panel.

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the remote controller according to this disclosure comprises a display panel unit using a dot matrix display panel, an operation key unit that accepts user operations, an operation detection unit that detects when an operation is performed on the operation key unit, a display control unit that controls the display panel unit, and a mode switching unit that causes the display control unit to switch the display panel unit between an operating mode with high power consumption and high visibility of information, and a standby mode with lower power consumption and lower visibility of information than the operating mode. The mode switching unit, when the operation detection unit detects that an operation has been performed on the operation key unit, causes the display control unit to switch the display panel unit to operating mode, and if the operation detection unit detects that the operation key unit has been operated again before a predetermined period has elapsed since the operation detection unit detected that an operation has been performed on the operation key unit, it causes the display control unit to continue in operating mode, and if the operation detection unit does not detect that the operation key unit has been operated again before a predetermined period has elapsed since the operation detection unit detected that an operation has been performed on the operation key unit, it causes the display control unit to switch the display panel unit to standby mode.

[0008] The remote controller relating to this disclosure has the effect of reducing power consumption in the display panel without being restricted by the information that can be displayed on the display panel.

[0009] A diagram showing the configuration of the air conditioning system according to Embodiment 1. An external view of the remote controller according to Embodiment 1. A functional block diagram of the remote controller according to Embodiment 1. A flowchart showing the operation flow of the remote controller according to Embodiment 1. An external view of the remote controller according to Embodiment 2. A flowchart showing the operation flow of the remote controller according to Embodiment 2. A circuit block diagram of the power input section of the remote controller according to Embodiment 3. A circuit block diagram of the power input section of the remote controller according to Embodiment 4. A diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration that realizes the control unit of the remote controller according to Embodiments 1, 2, 3, and 4.

[0010] The remote controller and air conditioning system according to the embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0011] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning system according to Embodiment 1. The air conditioning system 100 according to Embodiment 1 comprises an air conditioner unit 10 installed in the space to be air-conditioned and a remote controller 1. The air conditioner unit 10 and the remote controller 1 are connected by wire or wireless connection, and setting information such as power on / off, temperature setting and airflow setting made in the remote controller 1 is transferred from the remote controller 1 to the air conditioner unit 10. The air conditioner unit 10 performs air conditioning operation based on the setting information transferred from the remote controller 1.

[0012] Figure 2 is an external view of a remote controller according to Embodiment 1. The remote controller 1 comprises a reflective dot matrix liquid crystal display panel 2 and operation key sections 3, 4, and 5 using electrostatic touch panels. The remote controller 1 is used to control an air conditioner or a water heater.

[0013] The display panel 2 is provided with, for example, an air conditioning mode display field 11, a set temperature display field 12, and a room temperature display field 13, and displays information such as the air conditioning mode, set temperature, and current room temperature of the space to be air-conditioned.

[0014] The display panel 2 employs a reflective dot color matrix liquid crystal panel, enabling the display of information in color. The display panel 2 is not limited to a liquid crystal system; it may also use an organic electroluminescent system. In other words, the display panel 2 only needs to use a dot matrix system, and the type of dot matrix system is not limited.

[0015] The operation keys 3, 4, and 5 are used, for example, to turn the power on and off, change and confirm the set temperature, and switch power supply systems. The operation keys 3, 4, and 5 are arranged around the display panel 2. Figure 1 shows an example where the operation keys 3, 4, and 5 are arranged below the display panel 2. When an operation is performed, the operation keys 3, 4, and 5 output a key input signal.

[0016] Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of the remote controller according to Embodiment 1. The remote controller 1 includes a display panel unit 2 and operation key units 3, 4, and 5, as well as a control unit 30. The control unit 30 includes an operation detection unit 22, a mode switching unit 23, and a display control unit 24.

[0017] The operation detection unit 22 detects when the operation key units 3, 4, and 5 are operated. When the operation detection unit 22 receives a key input signal output by the operation key units 3, 4, and 5, it outputs a detection signal.

[0018] When the mode switching unit 23 receives a detection signal output by the operation detection unit 22, it outputs an operation mode signal to the display control unit 24, causing the display panel unit 2 to switch from standby mode to operation mode.

[0019] If the mode switching unit 23 receives another detection signal before a preset period has elapsed since the initial detection signal was received, it outputs an operation mode signal to the display control unit 24. As a result, the operation mode of the display panel unit 2 continues with the time at which the mode switching unit 23 received the detection signal updated.

[0020] The mode switching unit 23 outputs a standby mode signal to the display control unit 24 if it does not receive another detection signal before a preset period has elapsed since it received the detection signal. In other words, if the mode switching unit 23 does not receive another detection signal before a preset period has elapsed since it received the detection signal, it outputs a standby mode signal to the display control unit 24 to switch the display panel unit 2 from operation mode to standby mode.

[0021] The display control unit 24 controls the display of the display panel unit 2 according to the type of signal received from the mode switching unit 23. When the display control unit 24 receives a standby mode signal, it puts the display panel unit 2 into a standby mode with a low screen refresh rate. The refresh rate of the display panel unit 2 in standby mode is hereinafter referred to as the "standby mode rate". The standby mode rate is, for example, 1 Hz. In addition, when the display control unit 24 receives a standby mode signal, it may display information such as the set temperature on the display panel unit 2 while keeping the front light off.

[0022] When the display control unit 24 receives an operating mode signal, it sets the display panel unit 2 to an operating mode in which the screen refresh rate is higher than the standby mode rate. The refresh rate of the display panel unit 2 in the operating mode is hereinafter referred to as the "operating mode rate." The operating mode rate is, for example, 20 Hz. In addition, when the display control unit 24 receives an operating mode signal, it may also display information such as the set temperature on the display panel unit 2 while keeping the front light on.

[0023] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the remote controller according to Embodiment 1. In step S301, the display control unit 24 displays information on the display panel unit 2 in standby mode. In step S302, when an operation is performed on the operation key units 3, 4, and 5, the operation key units 3, 4, and 5 output key input signals. In step S303, the operation detection unit 22 detects that an operation has been performed on the operation key units 3, 4, and 5 by receiving the key input signals output by the operation key units 3, 4, and 5. In step S306, the operation detection unit 22 outputs a detection signal to the mode switching unit 23. In step S307, the mode switching unit 23 outputs a switching signal to the operation mode to the display control unit 24. In step S308, the display control unit 24, having received the switching signal to the operation mode, switches the display panel unit 2 to the operation mode. In step S309, the mode switching unit 23 determines whether or not it has received another detection signal before a preset period has elapsed since the time it received the detection signal. If the mode switching unit 23 receives another detection signal before a preset period has elapsed since the detection signal was received, the result in step S309 is Yes, and step S309 is repeated. If the mode switching unit 23 does not receive another detection signal before a preset period has elapsed since the detection signal was received, the result in step S309 is No, and the process proceeds to step S310. In step S310, the mode switching unit 23 outputs a signal to switch to standby mode to the display control unit 24. In step S311, the display control unit 24 switches the display panel unit 2 to standby mode.

[0024] As described above, the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 1 uses a dot matrix display device as the display panel unit 2, and therefore is not limited by the amount of information that can be displayed on the display panel unit 2. Furthermore, the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 1 detects operations on the operation key units 3, 4, and 5 and switches the mode of the display panel unit 2, so when no operations on the operation key units 3, 4, and 5 are detected, the display panel unit 2 can be put into standby mode to reduce power consumption. In addition, although the refresh rate of the display panel unit 2 is lowered in standby mode, the information displayed itself is the same as in operation mode. For this reason, the amount of information that the user can see while the display panel unit 2 is in standby mode does not decrease with the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 1.

[0025] Operations on the remote controller 1 may be performed multiple times in a row. For example, when changing the air conditioning set temperature, the user may press the key to increase the set temperature or the key to decrease the set temperature multiple times in a row. In such cases, if the refresh rate of the display panel 2 is low, the information displayed on the display panel 2 may not reflect each key operation, which may reduce the operability of the operation keys 3, 4, and 5. For example, if the user repeatedly presses the key to increase the set temperature, by the time the information displayed on the display panel 2 is updated, the set temperature may have become higher than the target temperature the user was trying to set. In such cases, the user will need to press the key to decrease the set temperature to correct the set temperature to the target temperature, which reduces the operability of the operation keys 3, 4, and 5.

[0026] In the first embodiment, the remote controller 1, upon detecting an operation in the operation key units 3, 4, and 5, switches the display panel unit 2 to operation mode and increases the refresh rate compared to the standby mode. In the operation mode, the remote controller 1 in the first embodiment immediately reflects key operations in the operation key units 3, 4, and 5 in the information displayed on the display panel unit 2, thus suppressing a decrease in the operability of the operation key units 3, 4, and 5.

[0027] Embodiment 2. Figure 5 is an external view of the remote controller according to Embodiment 2. In the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 2, display areas for marks 31, 32, and 33 are provided above the positions of the operation key units 3, 4, and 5 on the display panel unit 2. Mark 31 corresponds to operation key unit 3, mark 32 corresponds to operation key unit 4, and mark 33 corresponds to operation key unit 5. When an operation is performed on operation key units 3, 4, or 5, the corresponding marks 31, 32, and 33 are displayed on the display panel unit 2. By displaying marks 31, 32, and 33 on the display panel unit 2, the user can visually confirm which of the operation key units 3, 4, or 5 has been operated on.

[0028] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the operation flow of the remote controller according to Embodiment 2. The operation of the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 2 differs from the operation of the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 1 in that it performs the processing of steps S304 and S305 between step S303 and step S306.

[0029] The processing from step S301 to step S303 is the same as that of the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 1. In step S304, the operation detection unit 22 outputs a mode transition display signal to the display control unit 24. In step S305, the display control unit 24 causes the display panel unit 2 to display a mode transition. The processing from step S306 onward is the same as that of the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 1.

[0030] The remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 2 visualizes the period of inoperability that occurs during mode transitions. When the display control unit 24 receives a signal to switch to the operating mode while in standby mode, it displays marks 31, 32, and 33 simultaneously for a predetermined period of time at a location above the position of the operation key units 3, 4, and 5 on the display panel unit 2. In other words, when the display control unit 24 transitions from standby mode to operating mode, it displays marks 31, 32, and 33 simultaneously above the operation key units 3, 4, and 5 to notify the user that the display panel unit 2 is in the process of transitioning modes.

[0031] The remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 2 displays marks 31, 32, and 33 simultaneously during the period of inoperability that occurs when the display panel 2 transitions from standby mode to operation mode. This allows the user to recognize that a mode transition is in progress and prevents the user from operating the operation keys 3, 4, and 5 during the period of inoperability.

[0032] Embodiment 3. Figure 7 is a circuit block diagram of the power input section of the remote controller according to Embodiment 3. The power input section of the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 3 includes a battery holder 34 for receiving power from a battery, an external power supply terminal 35 which is a terminal for receiving power by wired connection to an external power supply, and a switch section 36 which is a switch for selecting either power from the battery or power from an external power supply. The switch section 36 is operated manually. The switch section 36 connects either the battery holder 34 or the external power supply terminal 35 to the load section 38. The load section 38 is a part that consumes power to operate and includes the display panel section 2 and the control section 30.

[0033] The remote controller 1 supports two power supply methods: power supply from batteries installed in the battery holder 34, and external power supply via a wired connection of an external power supply to the external power supply terminal 35. Power supply from batteries and external power supply can be switched by a switch unit 36. The switch unit 36 ​​has the role of shutting off one of the power supply systems when batteries are installed in the battery holder 34 and an external power supply is connected via a wired connection to the external power supply terminal 35.

[0034] In the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 3, since only one of the battery holder 34 and the external power supply terminal 35 is connected to the load unit 38 by the switch unit 36, failure due to reverse current flow can be prevented.

[0035] Embodiment 4. Figure 8 is a circuit block diagram of the power input section of the remote controller according to Embodiment 4. The power input section of the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 4 differs from the power input section of the remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 3 in that it includes a power detection unit 37.

[0036] The power supply detection unit 37 detects that power is being supplied through the external power supply terminal 35. When the power supply detection unit 37 detects that power is being supplied through the external power supply terminal 35, it outputs an external power supply detection signal to the display control unit 24. When the external power supply detection signal is input to the display control unit 24, it increases the display brightness of the display panel unit 2. In other words, when power is supplied from an external power supply, the display control unit 24 increases the display brightness of the display panel unit 2 compared to when power is supplied from a battery.

[0037] The remote controller 1 according to Embodiment 4 can detect power supply through the external power supply terminal 35, thereby keeping the display brightness of the display panel 2 low when power is supplied from the battery, taking battery life into consideration, and increasing the display brightness of the display panel 2 when power is supplied from an external power source to improve the visibility of information.

[0038] Next, the hardware configuration of the control unit 30 provided in the remote controller 1 will be described. Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration for realizing the control unit of the remote controller according to Embodiments 1, 2, 3, and 4. The control unit 30 is realized as a computer system by a processing circuit that includes a processor 91 that performs various processes, a memory 92 which is the main memory, and a storage device 93 that stores information.

[0039] The processor 91 may be an arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, CPU (Central Processing Unit), or DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The memory 92 can be a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), or EEPROM® (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). The storage device 93 stores a program for detecting operations on the operation key units 3, 4, and 5 and for performing mode switching on the display panel unit 2. The processor 91 reads the program stored in the storage device 93 into the memory 92 and executes it. The functions of the control unit 30 are realized when the processor 91 reads the program stored in the storage device 93 into the memory 92 and executes it.

[0040] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples of the content, and can be combined with other known technologies. It is also possible to omit or modify parts of the configuration without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0041] 1 Remote controller, 2 Display panel, 3, 4, 5 Operation key section, 10 Air conditioner unit, 11 Air conditioning mode display section, 12 Set temperature display section, 13 Room temperature display section, 22 Operation detection section, 23 Mode switching section, 24 Display control section, 30 Control section, 31, 32, 33 Marks, 34 Battery holder, 35 External power supply terminal, 36 Switch section, 37 Power detection section, 38 Load section, 91 Processor, 92 Memory, 93 Storage device, 100 Air conditioning system.

Claims

1. A display panel unit using a dot matrix display panel; an operation key unit that accepts user operations; an operation detection unit that detects when an operation is performed on the operation key unit; a display control unit that controls the display panel unit; and a mode switching unit that causes the display control unit to switch the display panel unit between an operating mode with high power consumption and high visibility of information, and a standby mode with lower power consumption and lower visibility of information than the operating mode, wherein the mode switching unit, when the operation detection unit detects that an operation has been performed on the operation key unit, causes the display control unit to switch the display panel unit to the operating mode, and if the operation detection unit detects that the operation key unit has been operated again before a predetermined period has elapsed since the operation detection unit detected that an operation has been performed on the operation key unit, causes the display control unit to continue to operate the display panel unit in the operating mode. A remote controller that, if the operation detection unit detects that an operation has been performed on the operation key unit and does not detect that the operation key unit has been operated again within the predetermined period that has elapsed, causes the display control unit to switch the display panel unit to the standby mode.

2. The remote controller according to claim 1, wherein the operation key unit comprises a plurality of operation keys, the display panel unit comprises a mark display unit corresponding to each of the plurality of operation keys and displaying a mark when the corresponding operation key is operated, and the mode switching unit simultaneously displays the marks while the display control unit switches the mode of the display panel unit.

3. The remote controller according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display panel is a reflective liquid crystal panel, and displays information while the front light remains off during the standby mode.

4. The remote controller according to claim 3, wherein the display panel is a color liquid crystal panel.

5. A remote controller according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a battery holder in which a battery is installed and an external power supply terminal to which an external power supply is connected, wherein power is supplied from the battery or the external power supply.

6. The remote controller according to claim 5, further comprising a power switch unit that switches between a power supply path from the battery and a power supply path from the external power source.

7. The remote controller according to claim 6, further comprising a power supply detection unit for detecting power supply from the external power supply, wherein the display brightness of the display panel is increased to a higher level when power is supplied from the external power supply than when power is supplied from the battery.

8. An air conditioning system comprising a remote controller according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and an air conditioning unit installed in a space to be air-conditioned and connected to the remote controller in a manner that enables communication, wherein setting information obtained by operations performed on the operation key section of the remote controller is transferred from the remote controller to the air conditioning unit.

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