U.S. patent application number 16/195879 was filed with the patent office on 2019-05-30 for remote monitoring system and relay device used therefor.
This patent application is currently assigned to Noritz Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is Noritz Corporation. Invention is credited to Yoshihiko MAEKAWA, Akihiko TSUGAWA.
Application Number | 20190162425 16/195879 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 66632249 |
Filed Date | 2019-05-30 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190162425 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MAEKAWA; Yoshihiko ; et
al. |
May 30, 2019 |
REMOTE MONITORING SYSTEM AND RELAY DEVICE USED THEREFOR
Abstract
The disclosure provides a remote monitoring system for remotely
acquiring various information related to a hot water utilizing
facility in an appropriate period, and a relay device used
therefor. The remote monitoring system includes: a hot water
utilizing facility; a relay device communicating with the hot water
utilizing facility; and a management device communicating with the
relay device via a communication network. The management device is
configured to transmit to the relay device a command for acquiring
information related to the hot water utilizing facility at a set
transmission interval over a set transmission period. The relay
device includes an information acquisition part acquiring at least
one piece of information from a plurality of types of information
related to the hot water utilizing facility according to the
command transmitted from the management device and transmitting it
to the management device. The transmission period is configured so
that setting is changeable.
Inventors: |
MAEKAWA; Yoshihiko;
(Akashi-shi, JP) ; TSUGAWA; Akihiko; (Akashi-shi,
JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Noritz Corporation |
Hyogo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
Noritz Corporation
HYOGO
JP
|
Family ID: |
66632249 |
Appl. No.: |
16/195879 |
Filed: |
November 20, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G05B 15/02 20130101;
F24D 19/1051 20130101; F24H 9/2035 20130101; F24D 19/1063 20130101;
G06F 3/01 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F24D 19/10 20060101
F24D019/10; F24H 9/20 20060101 F24H009/20 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 27, 2017 |
JP |
2017-226611 |
Claims
1. A remote monitoring system, comprising: a hot water utilizing
facility; a relay device communicating with the hot water utilizing
facility; and a management device communicating with the relay
device via a communication network, wherein the management device
is configured to transmit to the relay device a command for
acquiring information related to the hot water utilizing facility
at a set transmission interval over a set transmission period, the
relay device comprises an information acquisition part acquiring at
least one piece of information from a plurality of types of
information related to the hot water utilizing facility according
to the command transmitted from the management device and
transmitting the at least one piece of information to the
management device, and the transmission period is configured to
have a setting changeable.
2. The remote monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the
transmission interval is configured to have a setting
changeable.
3. The remote monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein a
range of the transmission interval settable according to the
transmission period is set, or a range of the transmission period
settable according to the transmission interval is set.
4. The remote monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the
management device comprises a notification part notifying a user
that the transmission period has ended.
5. The remote monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the
management device comprises an item display part displaying a
plurality of types of items related to the hot water utilizing
facility on a display device connected to the management device to
be selectable and inputable, and the management device transmits to
the relay device the command for acquiring information
corresponding to at least one item selected and input on the item
display part.
6. A relay device used for the remote monitoring system according
to claim 1.
7. The remote monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the
management device comprises a notification part notifying a user
that the transmission period has ended.
8. The remote monitoring system according to claim 3, wherein the
management device comprises a notification part notifying a user
that the transmission period has ended.
9. The remote monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the
management device comprises an item display part displaying a
plurality of types of items related to the hot water utilizing
facility on a display device connected to the management device to
be selectable and inputable, and the management device transmits to
the relay device the command for acquiring information
corresponding to at least one item selected and input on the item
display part.
10. The remote monitoring system according to claim 3, wherein the
management device comprises an item display part displaying a
plurality of types of items related to the hot water utilizing
facility on a display device connected to the management device to
be selectable and inputable, and the management device transmits to
the relay device the command for acquiring information
corresponding to at least one item selected and input on the item
display part.
11. The remote monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein the
management device comprises an item display part displaying a
plurality of types of items related to the hot water utilizing
facility on a display device connected to the management device to
be selectable and inputable, and the management device transmits to
the relay device the command for acquiring information
corresponding to at least one item selected and input on the item
display part.
12. The remote monitoring system according to claim 7, wherein the
management device comprises an item display part displaying a
plurality of types of items related to the hot water utilizing
facility on a display device connected to the management device to
be selectable and inputable, and the management device transmits to
the relay device the command for acquiring information
corresponding to at least one item selected and input on the item
display part.
13. The remote monitoring system according to claim 8, wherein the
management device comprises an item display part displaying a
plurality of types of items related to the hot water utilizing
facility on a display device connected to the management device to
be selectable and inputable, and the management device transmits to
the relay device the command for acquiring information
corresponding to at least one item selected and input on the item
display part.
14. A relay device used for the remote monitoring system according
to claim 2.
15. A relay device used for the remote monitoring system according
to claim 3.
16. A relay device used for the remote monitoring system according
to claim 4.
17. A relay device used for the remote monitoring system according
to claim 5.
18. A relay device used for the remote monitoring system according
to claim 7.
19. A relay device used for the remote monitoring system according
to claim 8.
20. A relay device used for the remote monitoring system according
to claim 9.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of Japan
application serial no. 2017-226611, filed on Nov. 27, 2017. The
entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby
incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this
specification.
BACKGROUND
Technical Field
[0002] The disclosure relates to a remote monitoring system for
remotely monitoring a hot water utilizing facility, such as a water
heater, and a relay device used therefor.
Description of Related Art
[0003] Conventionally, the hot water utilizing facility, such as a
water heater, has a function (referred to as maintenance monitoring
function, etc., for example) of acquiring information related to
the hot water utilizing facility from an operation terminal, such
as a remote controller, that comes with the hot water utilizing
facility. By using the maintenance monitoring function, the service
person of the hot water utilizing facility can select a
predetermined item corresponding to desired information from the
operation terminal to acquire the corresponding information
(incoming water temperature, discharged hot water temperature, load
voltage, etc., for example) at a predetermined time interval in a
predetermined period.
[0004] Furthermore, a remote monitoring system is known for
remotely monitoring and operating facility equipment with use of a
communication terminal, such as a mobile phone. Several
configurations have been proposed for operating facility equipment
from a communication terminal, such as a tablet PC, or a remote
management device, instead of the remote controller that comes with
the hot water utilizing facility and serves as the operation
terminal of the maintenance monitoring function (see Japanese
Patent Application Laid-open No. 2013-204845 and No. 2017-67336,
for example).
[0005] Since the above configurations are made from the aspect of
using the communication terminal, etc. as a substitute for the
remote controller of the equipment, it is assumed that the service
person will go to the place where the hot water utilizing facility
is installed to verify it. Therefore, the period of maintenance
monitoring has been preset to a predetermined short period (about
10 minutes to 30 minutes, for example) regardless of whether it is
performed from the remote controller or the communication terminal,
etc. Thus, the conventional configurations have not been made to
allow the service person to carry out long-term verification by
using the communication terminal, etc. without visiting the place
where the hot water utilizing facility is installed. In addition,
depending on the information to be acquired (item to be selected)
or the content to be verified, the periods of information
acquisition may differ from each other. In such cases, the desired
information cannot be properly acquired with the conventional
configuration.
SUMMARY
[0006] A remote monitoring system according to an embodiment of the
disclosure includes: a hot water utilizing facility; a relay device
communicating with the hot water utilizing facility; and a
management device communicating with the relay device via a
communication network. The management device is configured to
transmit to the relay device a command for acquiring information
related to the hot water utilizing facility at a set transmission
interval over a set transmission period. The relay device includes
an information acquisition part acquiring at least one piece of
information from a plurality of types of information related to the
hot water utilizing facility according to the command transmitted
from the management device and transmitting the at least one piece
of information to the management device. The transmission period is
configured to have a setting changeable.
[0007] A relay device according to another embodiment of the
disclosure is used for the remote monitoring system having the
above configuration.
Effects
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an
example of the remote monitoring system according to an embodiment
of the disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the maintenance
monitoring screen displayed on the display device of the management
device according to the present embodiment.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the end time
setting screen according to the present embodiment.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the acquisition
interval setting screen according to the present embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0012] The disclosure provides a remote monitoring system that is
capable of acquiring various information related to the hot water
utilizing facility remotely in an appropriate period, and a relay
device used therefor.
[0013] According to the above configuration, the command for
acquiring information related to the hot water utilizing facility
is sent from the management device to the relay device at the
predetermined transmission interval in the predetermined
transmission period, and accordingly the relay device acquires the
corresponding information from the hot water utilizing facility. At
this time, the transmission period for transmitting the command is
configured so that the setting is changeable. That is, the user
such as the service person can set the acquisition period of the
desired information to any period by setting the transmission
period for transmitting the command according to the desired
information. Therefore, with the above configuration, it is
possible to acquire various information related to the hot water
utilizing facility remotely in an appropriate period.
[0014] The transmission interval may be configured to have a
setting changeable. Therefore, the acquisition interval of the
desired information can also be set to any interval according to
the acquisition period of the desired information.
[0015] A range of the transmission interval settable according to
the transmission period may be set, or a range of the transmission
period settable according to the transmission interval may be set.
Thus, for example, when the transmission period is long, the
transmission interval is lengthened accordingly; and when the
transmission period is short, the transmission interval is
shortened accordingly. Therefore, for example, when the
transmission period to be set is long, by lengthening the
transmission interval accordingly, it is possible to prevent
excessive communication traffic. In addition, when it is desired to
see a local value change, by setting both the transmission period
and the transmission interval short, it is possible to acquire a
local value change at a pinpoint and to prevent the acquired
information from becoming redundant.
[0016] The management device may include a notification part
notifying a user that the transmission period has ended. Therefore,
it is possible to notify the user of the acquisition of information
with the end of the transmission period and to prevent causing
inconvenience to the user even when the setting of the transmission
period is changed.
[0017] The management device may include an item display part
displaying a plurality of types of items related to the hot water
utilizing facility on a display device connected to the management
device to be selectable and inputable, and the management device
may transmit to the relay device the command for acquiring
information corresponding to at least one item selected and input
on the item display part. Therefore, by selecting multiple types of
items displayed by the item display part, the desired information
can be designated easily.
[0018] The disclosure provides a remote monitoring system that is
capable of acquiring various information related to the hot water
utilizing facility remotely in an appropriate period, and a relay
device used therefor.
[0019] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described with
reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same
or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals
throughout the drawings and repeated descriptions thereof will be
omitted. In addition, the disclosure is not limited to the
following embodiments.
[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an
example of a remote monitoring system according to an embodiment of
the disclosure. The remote monitoring system includes a water
heater 1 (combustion heating water heater, for example) which is an
example of the hot water utilizing facility; a relay device 2
dedicated to the water heater, which is communicably connected to a
controller 1a built in the water heater 1; and a management device
5 composed of a computer connected to a communication network 4,
such as the Internet. The management device 5 communicates with the
relay device 2 via the communication network 4 and a wireless LAN
router 3 (access point) connected to the communication network
4.
[0021] A communication terminal 6 composed of a tablet PC, etc.,
communicates with the management device 5 via the communication
network 4, etc. The remote monitoring system is a system that uses
the communication network 4, the wireless LAN router 3, and the
communication terminal 6. The wireless LAN router 3 is owned by a
resident (user) of a house where the water heater 1 is installed.
Furthermore, the communication terminal 6 may be owned by the
resident of the house where the water heater 1 is installed or may
be owned by a manager (service person, etc.) of the water heater
1.
[0022] There may be one house with the water heater 1 installed but
usually there are a plurality of such houses. There may be one
water heater 1 that constitutes the remote monitoring system but
usually there are a plurality of such water heaters 1. Here, only
one water heater 1 is shown as an example, and the relay device 2,
the wireless LAN router 3, and the communication terminal 6
corresponding only to the water heater 1 are also shown. The
following description is based on such illustration.
[0023] In addition, although FIG. 1 shows the configuration that
one water heater 1 (controller 1a) is connected to one relay device
2 as an example, a plurality of water heaters 1 may be connected to
one relay device 2. In that case, one or a plurality of controllers
(system controller) for unitarily managing a plurality of water
heaters 1 may be connected to the controller 1a of each water
heater 1, and the system controller may be connected to the relay
device 2. Alternatively, the controllers 1a provided in a plurality
of water heaters 1 may be connected to one another, and one of the
controllers 1a may be connected to one relay device 2.
[0024] The water heater 1 is installed at a predetermined place
outside or inside the house and has a hot water supply function for
supplying hot water to the kitchen, bathtub, etc. The water heater
1 has a power supply part (not shown) that converts an AC voltage
supplied from an external AC power supply (commercial power supply)
to generate a predetermined DC voltage, and uses the DC voltage
generated by the power supply part internally and supplies it to
the relay device 2 as the operation power supply voltage via a dual
core cable C1.
[0025] The relay device 2 is installed at a predetermined place
outside or inside the house and is connected to the controller 1a
of the water heater 1 by the dual core cable C1. Thereby, mutual
communication (bidirectional communication) between the relay
device 2 and the controller 1a of the water heater 1 is performed
via the dual core cable C1. Here, communication information is
superimposed on the operation power supply voltage supplied from
the power supply part to the relay device 2 in the dual core cable
C1.
[0026] Further, when connection setting of the wireless LAN router
3 and a wireless LAN is performed, the relay device 2 can perform
wireless communication with the wireless LAN router 3 through the
wireless LAN. The relay device 2 executes communication processing
with the controller 1a of the water heater 1 and executes
communication processing with the management device 5 via the
wireless LAN router 3 and the communication network 4. For example,
the relay device 2 transmits device information transmitted from
the controller 1a of the water heater 1 to the management device 5
via the wireless LAN router 3 and the communication network 4 by
converting the communication format. In addition, the information
transmitted from the management device 5 via the communication
network 4 and the wireless LAN router 3 is transmitted to the
controller 1a of the water heater 1 by converting the communication
format.
[0027] Although not shown, the relay device 2 includes a computing
device such as a micro controller, a storage device for temporarily
storing data, an input/output interface connected to the controller
1a of the water heater 1 via the dual core cable C1, a
communication module for performing data communication with the
wireless LAN router 3 through the wireless LAN, etc. With these
configurations, the relay device 2 performs functions such as an
information acquisition part 21.
[0028] In accordance with a command transmitted from the management
device 5, the information acquisition part 21 acquires at least one
piece of information from multiple types of information (device
state information) related to the water heater 1 and transmits the
same to the management device 5.
[0029] The management device 5 includes a storage part 5a
constituted by a flash memory or a hard disk drive, etc. The
storage part 5a stores association information in which a user
account (user identification information) transmitted from the
communication terminal 6 is associated with a serial number of the
relay device 2 (identification information of the relay device 2).
In the present embodiment, the association information also
includes identification information (BSSID) of the wireless LAN
router 3.
[0030] The storage part 5a also stores various device information
transmitted from the relay device 2. The device information is
transmitted from the relay device 2 to the management device 5
together with the serial number of the relay device 2. Then, the
received device information is stored in the storage part 5a in
association with the serial number of the relay device 2 by the
management device 5.
[0031] Although not shown, the management device 5 further includes
a computing device such as a micro controller, a RAM, a
communication module for transmitting and receiving data via the
communication network 4, etc. in addition to the above-described
storage part 5a. With these configurations, the management device 5
performs functions such as a command transmission part 51, an item
display part 52, a notification part 53, etc.
[0032] The command transmission part 51 transmits a command for
acquiring the device state information of the water heater 1 to the
relay device 2 at a set transmission interval over a set
transmission period. The item display part 52 displays on a display
device connected to the management device 5 multiple types of items
related to the state of the water heater 1 to be selected. In the
present embodiment, the display device is a display part (not
shown) of the communication terminal 6 communicably connected to
the management device 5 via the communication network 4.
[0033] The communication terminal 6 is a portable terminal such as
a tablet PC or a smart phone and can be connected to the
communication network 4 via a base station, etc. of a 3G (third
generation) or 4G (fourth generation) mobile phone network. In
addition, the communication terminal 6 is capable of wireless LAN
connection.
[0034] If an application program dedicated to the remote monitoring
system (hereinafter referred to as "system specific application")
is installed and the association information has been stored in the
storage part 5a of the management device 5, the communication
terminal 6 can perform a remote operation and state confirmation on
the water heater 1 via the management device 5, etc. by using the
user account associated with the serial number of the relay device
2.
[0035] For example, when performing a remote operation on the water
heater 1, the resident or the service person operates the
communication terminal 6 to log in to the user management site
provided by the management device 5 and transmit remote operation
information (command) for remotely operating the water heater 1 to
the management device 5. Then, the management device 5 refers to
the association information including the user account acquired at
the time of login and transmits the remote operation information to
the relay device 2 having the serial number included in the
association information. In the relay device 2, the received remote
operation information is transmitted to the controller 1a. The
controller 1a controls the water heater 1 based on the received
remote operation information. The remote operation information
includes an ON command for the operation switch of the remote
controller of the water heater 1, an OFF command for the operation
switch, setting information of the hot water supply temperature,
etc.
[0036] In addition, when performing state confirmation on the water
heater 1, the resident or the service person operates the
communication terminal 6 to log in to the user management site
provided by the management device 5 and transmit device state
request information for requesting information of the state of the
water heater 1 to the management device 5. Then, the management
device 5 refers to the association information including the user
account acquired at the time of login and transmits the device
state information, which is received from the relay device 2 having
the serial number included in the association information and
stored in the storage part 5a, to the communication terminal 6.
[0037] The device state infatuation, for example, includes the
incoming water temperature, discharged hot water temperature, load
voltage, amount of fuel (gas) or water consumption per unit time,
combustion operation frequency, combustion operation time, amount
of fuel (gas) or water consumed in the combustion operation, hot
water supply setting temperature, etc. The device state information
may include error information indicated by a preset error code,
etc.
[0038] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a maintenance
monitoring screen displayed on the display device of the management
device according to the present embodiment. The item display part
52 displays the maintenance monitoring screen 60 on the display
device (the display part of the communication terminal 6, for
example) connected to the management device 5. The maintenance
monitoring screen 60 is mainly used by the service person of the
water heater 1 and is displayed after logging in the remote
monitoring system by accessing the URL of the management device 5
from a Web browser installed in the communication terminal 6 or by
executing a dedicated application and inputting the user ID
registered for each service person for authentication, for example.
As described above, the item display part 52 displays multiple
types of items related to the state of the water heater 1 on the
maintenance monitoring screen 60 to be selected.
[0039] The maintenance monitoring screen 60 includes a device
selection screen 61, an item selection screen 62, a data display
screen 63, and a system selection screen 64. The device selection
screen 61 is a first sub screen for selecting a display target
device for displaying item information among a plurality of water
heaters WH1 to WH24 and a plurality of system controllers SC1 to
SC3. As in the configuration of FIG. 1, when the relay device 2 is
connected to the controller 1a of one water heater 1 not via the
system controller, the device selection screen 61 may not be
displayed or may be displayed as a blank.
[0040] The item selection screen 62 is a second sub screen for
selecting one or a plurality of items from a plurality of items
(100, for example). Here, identification numbers 00 to 99 are
displayed as identifiers respectively corresponding to the 100
items, and the user can select one or a plurality of the
identification numbers. That is, multiple types of items related to
the device selected on the device selection screen 61 are displayed
on the item selection screen 62 to be selected.
[0041] The data display screen 63 is a third sub screen for
displaying information related to all the items selected by the
item selection screen 62 for all the display target devices
selected by the device selection screen 61.
[0042] The system selection screen 64 is a fourth sub screen for
inputting or selecting the user information and the acquisition
period and acquisition interval of the device state information, or
for displaying data acquisition information.
[0043] When the user such as the service person inputs a customer
ID (ID of the user, etc. of the water heater 1; monitor 03 in the
example of FIG. 2) to a customer ID input box 64a of the system
selection screen 64 and selects a set button 64b, the system
configuration (the water heater and the system controller, for
example) set corresponding to the customer ID is displayed on the
device selection screen 61 to be selected. On the device selection
screen 61, devices that are not connected cannot be selected.
[0044] In the case where a plurality of users (service persons)
input the same customer
[0045] ID in an overlapping period and select the set button 64b,
the operation on the maintenance monitoring screen 60 performed by
the user who selects the set button 64b first may be set as a valid
operation and the operations of other users may not be accepted. At
this time, the management device 5 may display that another user is
using the maintenance monitoring function with the same customer ID
on the display parts of the communication terminals 6 of the other
users. At this time, the predicted waiting time may be displayed as
well. In addition, the maintenance monitoring screen 60 displayed
on the communication terminal 6 of the user who can perform a valid
operation on the maintenance monitoring screen 60 may be displayed
on (shared with) the communication terminals 6 of the other
users.
[0046] In the state where the user has selected the desired device
on the device selection screen 61 and selected at least one item
corresponding to the desired device state information on the item
selection screen 62, when an information acquisition start button
64c on the system selection screen 64 is operated, the command
transmission part 51 of the management device 5 generates a command
for acquiring information corresponding to the at least one item
that the user selects on the maintenance monitoring screen 60 and
transmits it to the relay device 2.
[0047] In accordance with the command transmitted from the
management device 5 (at the timing of receiving the command), the
information acquisition part 21 of the relay device 2 acquires at
least one piece of information (device state information) from the
multiple types of information related to the corresponding device
and transmits the acquired device state information to the
management device 5. The item display part 52 of the management
device 5 displays the acquired device state information on the data
display screen 63.
[0048] The command transmission part 51 transmits the above command
at a predetermined transmission interval in a predetermined
transmission period. Therefore, the information acquisition part 21
acquires the corresponding device state information every time it
receives the above command and transmits the same to the management
device 5. A data acquisition status display part 64g of the system
selection screen 64 displays data acquisition start date/time
(command transmission start date/time) and update date/time (latest
data acquisition date/time) of the set transmission period. The
data acquisition status display part 64g also displays the response
time from command transmission to data reception. The data
acquisition status display part 64g may also display the end
time.
[0049] After acquisition of the device state information starts,
when an information acquisition stop button 64j of the system
selection screen 64 is selected, the command transmission part 51
stops transmitting the command. In this case, the desired device
state information acquired in the period from the start of
acquisition of the device state information to the selection of the
information acquisition stop button 64j is displayed on the data
display screen 63.
[0050] In addition, the command transmission part 51 stops
transmitting the above command when a predetermined transmission
period ends (when the end time elapses). Thus, finally, the desired
device state information acquired at every predetermined time
interval in the predetermined period is displayed on the data
display screen 63. In the example of FIG. 2, the data display
screen 63 is configured to display the numerical values of the
acquired device state information in a list, but the data display
screen 63 may be configured to display a graph in addition to or
instead of the list.
[0051] After the transmission period ends, the notification part 53
notifies the user that the transmission period has ended. The form
of notification is not particularly limited. For example, the
notification part 53 displays text such as "data acquisition
completed" in the data acquisition status display part 64g of the
system selection screen 64. In addition to or instead of the above,
the notification part 53 may notify the user, for example, by
sending a data acquisition completion mail to a predetermined mail
address such as a mail address registered in advance corresponding
to the user ID (ID of the service person). Through the
notification, it is possible to notify the user of the acquisition
of information with the end of the transmission period and to
prevent causing inconvenience to the user even when the setting of
the transmission period is changed.
[0052] The device state information transmitted to the management
device 5 is stored in association with the customer ID as a data
acquisition history in the storage part 5a for each series of data
groups acquired in the set information acquisition period (the
period from the transmission start time to the transmission end
time of the command). In addition, when the user selects a data
output button 64f of the system selection screen 64, it is also
possible to output the acquired device state information in a
predetermined data format (csv format, for example). Thus, for
example, it is possible to save and use the acquired device state
information in the communication terminal 6 of the user. In the
present embodiment, the device state information that can be
outputted is a series of data groups in the latest information
acquisition period, but a series of data groups in a past
information acquisition period may also be read out from a data
acquisition history and outputted.
[0053] Here, the transmission period of the above command is
configured so that the setting is changeable. Therefore, the system
selection screen 64 has an end time setting button 64d for changing
the setting of the transmission period (end time of acquisition of
the information) of the above command. When the user selects the
end time setting button 64d, an end time setting screen (a fifth
sub screen) for setting the end time of the information acquisition
period is displayed.
[0054] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the end time
setting screen according to the present embodiment. The end time
setting screen 65 may be configured as a screen (tab or window)
different from the maintenance monitoring screen 60 or may be
configured as a pull-down menu screen of the end time setting
button 64d. In the example of FIG. 3, the end time setting screen
65 includes a date setting part 65a, a time setting part 65b, a
date reset part 65c, and a set button 65d.
[0055] In the date setting part 65a, the desired end date is
configured to be selectable. In FIG. 3, the date setting part 65a
includes a calendar display part and is configured so that the
desired end date can be selected from the calendar display part.
When the date reset part 65c is selected, it is reset to a
predetermined date (the date of the operation, for example)
regardless of the date selected in the date setting part 65a.
[0056] In the time setting part 65b, the desired end time is
configured to be selectable. In the example of FIG. 3, the hour,
minute, and second are configured to be selectable independently.
When the user selects the set button 65d after selection of the end
time is completed, the command transmission part 51 sets the end
time of the transmission period for transmitting the command to the
time that has been selected. The set end time is stored in the
storage part 5a. Also, after the set button 65d is selected, the
end time setting screen 65 is closed and the maintenance monitoring
screen 60 is displayed again. The set end time (end time) is
displayed in the end time setting button 64d.
[0057] Further, the transmission interval for transmitting the
above command is configured so that the setting is changeable.
Therefore, the system selection screen 64 has an acquisition
interval setting button 64e for changing the setting of the
transmission interval (the acquisition interval of the device state
information) of the above command. When the user selects the
acquisition interval setting button 64e, the acquisition interval
setting screen (a sixth sub screen) for setting the acquisition
interval of the device state information is displayed.
[0058] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the acquisition
interval setting screen according to the present embodiment. The
acquisition interval setting screen 66 may be configured as a
screen (tab or window) different from the maintenance monitoring
screen 60 or may be configured as a pull-down menu screen of the
acquisition interval setting button 64e. In the example of FIG. 4,
the acquisition interval setting screen 66 includes a time setting
part 66a, an automatic setting part 66b, and a set button 66c. In
the example of FIG. 4, in the time setting part 66a, it is possible
to select a predetermined acquisition interval in the units of
hour, minute, and second. When the user selects the set button 66c
after selection of the acquisition interval is completed, the
command transmission part 51 sets the transmission interval for
transmitting the command to the time interval that has been
selected. After selection of the acquisition interval is completed,
the acquisition interval setting screen 66 is closed and the
maintenance monitoring screen 60 is displayed again. The set
acquisition interval is displayed in the acquisition interval
setting button 64e.
[0059] According to the above configuration, the command for
acquiring information related to the water heater 1, which is a hot
water utilizing facility, is sent from the management device 5 to
the relay device 2 at the predetermined transmission interval in
the predetermined transmission period, and accordingly the relay
device 2 acquires the corresponding information from the water
heater 1. At this time, the transmission period for transmitting
the command is configured so that the setting is changeable. That
is, the user such as the service person can set the acquisition
period of the desired information to any period by setting the
transmission period for transmitting the command according to the
desired information. Thus, with the above configuration, it is
possible to acquire various information related to the hot water
utilizing facility remotely in an appropriate period.
[0060] Further, in the present embodiment, the acquisition interval
of the desired information can be set to any interval according to
the acquisition period of the desired information. In addition, in
the present embodiment, the desired information can be designated
easily by selecting multiple types of items displayed on the
maintenance monitoring screen 60 through the item display part 52.
Moreover, the above configuration can also be realized by adding a
function to the management device 5 (by changing the operation
program of the management device 5, for example) in the existing
remote monitoring system. Therefore, even in the existing remote
monitoring system, it is possible to easily realize the
configuration that is capable of acquiring various information
related to the hot water utilizing facility remotely in an
appropriate period without changing the software such as the
operation program of the relay device 2.
[0061] The above embodiment illustrates an example that the end
time setting screen 65 for setting the end time is displayed based
on the calendar so as to set the transmission period of the
command, but in addition to or instead of the above, an end time
(timer time) calculated from the start of acquisition may be
set.
[0062] Further, in the present embodiment, regarding the
transmission period of the command (the acquisition period of the
device state information) and the transmission interval of the
command (the acquisition interval of the device state information),
the command transmission part 51 is configured to be capable of
switching between a case where the user changes the setting as
described above and a case where a predetermined value is used.
More specifically, when the user selects the end time change check
box 64h of the system selection screen 64 to display a check mark
in the end time change check box 64h, the end time (set by the end
time setting screen 65) displayed on the end time setting button
64d is valid. On the other hand, by not displaying the check mark
in the end time change check box 64h, the end time displayed on the
end time setting button 64d becomes invalid and the predetermined
transmission period (within the 30 minutes from the start of
information acquisition, for example) that has been stored in the
storage part 5a becomes valid.
[0063] Likewise, when the user selects the acquisition interval
change check box 64i of the system selection screen 64 to display a
check mark in the acquisition interval change check box 64i, the
acquisition interval (set by the acquisition interval setting
screen 66) displayed on the acquisition interval setting button 64e
is valid. On the other hand, by not displaying the check mark in
the acquisition interval change check box 64i, the acquisition
interval (transmission interval) displayed on the acquisition
interval setting button 64e becomes invalid and the predetermined
transmission interval (0.5 seconds, for example) that has been
stored in the storage part 5a becomes valid.
[0064] The predetermined transmission period and transmission
interval are set in advance to the times that are frequently used
for multiple items. Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble
of setting the transmission period and the transmission interval
every time and to prevent causing inconvenience.
[0065] Moreover, on the system selection screen 64, it is possible
to automatically set the range of the settable transmission
interval according to the transmission period. More specifically,
when the user selects the automatic setting part 66b of the
acquisition interval setting screen 66, the command transmission
part 51 reads the currently set end time (transmission period) and
sets the transmission interval (acquisition interval) according to
the read transmission period. For example, when the transmission
period is one week or more and one month or less, the command
transmission part 51 sets the transmission interval to be
selectable from a range of one minute or more and several minutes
or less. Alternatively, when the transmission period is one week or
more and one month or less, the command transmission part 51 may
automatically set the transmission interval to a predetermined
value from a range of one minute or more and several minutes or
less according to the transmission period.
[0066] Thus, for example, when the transmission period is long, the
transmission interval is lengthened accordingly; and when the
transmission period is short, the transmission interval is
shortened accordingly. Therefore, for example, when the
transmission period to be set is long, by lengthening the
transmission interval accordingly, it is possible to prevent
excessive communication traffic and to prevent an excessive data
amount from being stored in the storage part 5a of the management
device 5. In addition, when it is desired to see a local value
change, by setting both the transmission period and the
transmission interval short, it is possible to acquire a local
value change at a pinpoint and to prevent the acquired information
from becoming redundant.
[0067] In addition to or instead of providing the automatic setting
part 66b on the acquisition interval setting screen 66, the same
automatic setting part may be provided on the end time setting
screen 65. In that case, the command transmission part 51 sets the
range of the settable transmission period according to the
transmission interval.
[0068] With the above description, many modifications or other
embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in
the art. Accordingly, the above description should only be
construed as illustrative, and is provided for teaching those
skilled in the art the embodiments of implementing the disclosure.
Details of the structure and/or functions can be changed
substantially without departing from the spirit of the
disclosure.
[0069] For example, the above embodiment illustrates an example of
the configuration (the maintenance monitoring screen 60) in which
the transmission period and the transmission interval of the
command for one or a plurality of items corresponding to the device
state information can be set collectively, but the command
transmission part 51 may also be configured such that the
transmission period and/or the transmission interval for command
transmission can be set for each item. Further, on the maintenance
monitoring screen 60, candidates of the suitable transmission
period and/or transmission interval may be displayed according to
the item.
[0070] In addition, the management device 5 may be divided into a
plurality of devices and the plurality of devices may be configured
to cooperate with one another to function as the management device
5. For example, the storage part 5a of the management device 5 may
be configured as a device different from a computer that performs
various calculations. Furthermore, the remote monitoring system may
be configured to perform various calculations of the management
device 5 by a plurality of computers.
[0071] Moreover, a combustion heating water heater is illustrated
as an example of the hot water utilizing facility, but it may also
be water heaters of other heating types such as heat pump heating
and electric heating. Further, the hot water utilizing facility is
not limited to the water heater 1 and may be a device, such as a
hot water filtration device, configured to communicate with the
management device 5 via the relay device 2. In addition, the water
heater 1 may be a hot water supply device having at least one of
the functions such as hot water supply function, bath reheating
function, and hot water heating function.
[0072] Furthermore, the above configuration of the disclosure can
also be applied to a configuration in which the remote controller
of the water heater 1 (the hot water utilizing facility) is
connected to or integrated with the relay device 2. In the
illustrated configuration, the remote monitoring system is provided
with the wireless LAN router 3 that performs wireless communication
with the relay device 2, but the router that communicates with the
management device 5 may be connected to or integrated with the
relay device 2. That is, the relay device 2 may be configured to
communicate with the management device 5 (3G connection or 4G
connection) directly via the communication network 4. In addition,
a router connected to the relay device 2 in a wired manner may be
used instead of the wireless LAN router 3.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0073] The disclosure is useful as a remote monitoring system that
is capable of acquiring various information related to a hot water
utilizing facility remotely in an appropriate period, and a relay
device used therefor.
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