JPH0886500A - Air conditioner remote control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily select an operating button, prevent a misoperation and facilitate the display and recognition after an operation by sorting the forms of the respective operation buttons depending on their functions and arranging the operating button and the display position of a display part on the same row. CONSTITUTION: A room temperature button 2a provided on a door 2 is formed in a longitudinally elongated rectangular shape in an upper central part and the marks of room temperature-up 'Λ' and room temperature-down 'V' are displayed on the surface of the button. A sleeping timer button 2b and a dehmnidifying button 2c in an oval shape are arranged at right and left sides of the room temperature button 2a. The sleeping timer button 2b is clearly discriminated from the dehumidifying button 2c by changing their color tone. A liquid crystal display part 3 is formed from the substantially central part to the upper part 2 of a remote controller main body 1. In the arrangement of display characters, the room temperature button 2a and a set temperature display 3a, the sleeping timer button 2b and its display 3b, and the dehumidifying button 2c and its display 3c are respectively longitudinally arranged on the game rows.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device for an air conditioner, and more particularly to a remote controller in which operation buttons for each function are arranged in the same row as the functions displayed on the display. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an air conditioner equipped with a remote controller of this type, which is remotely operated, a user can operate an indoor unit body, which is generally called an air conditioner, installed on a wall in a room. By operating the operation buttons of the remote controller in the living space, the remote controller
It can be controlled by wireless signals such as infrared rays transmitted from the main unit.
If you set the desired room temperature with the controller,
In response to this, a control signal is transmitted from the remote controller and the set temperature is stored in the indoor unit body, and the set temperature is detected while the ambient temperature is being detected by the temperature detection circuit that is equipped with the indoor unit body and consists of a thermistor. Drive to be kept at.

Generally, these remote controllers are provided with a liquid crystal display section by operating buttons, and the mode of a signal controlled or transmitted by the operating button operated by the user is displayed on the liquid crystal display section. It is like this. here,
The operation buttons are generally round or oval in shape, with the idea that they should be neatly arranged with a focus on the appearance design. This is also apparent from JP-A-6-129695. Further, the positional relationship between the operation buttons and the display on the liquid crystal display section is various.

Regarding the remote control of televisions, VTRs, etc., as shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-83962.
Most remote controller bodies have only operation buttons and no liquid crystal display, and many operation buttons of the same shape are arranged in an orderly manner. Incidentally, TV,
A remote controller such as a VTR controls a signal transmitted or controlled by an operation button operated by a user.
Mode is displayed on the TV screen or the display section of the VTR main body.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned prior art, since the operation buttons are unified in a round shape or an elliptical shape or a large number of circular shapes are arranged, the user is confused when selecting the operation button. Or, I accidentally operated a different operation button, and I needed to get used to handling it, and I could not say that the operability was good.

Further, since the positional relationship between the operation buttons and the display on the display is not in the same row, it is difficult to confirm the operation and the subsequent display, and the visibility is poor and the overall handling is not good. . On the other hand, in the remote controller displayed on a television, a VTR, etc., the operability of the buttons is inferior in the handling operability as described above, and the positional relationship between the operation and the display is remote. -To controller
However, since the subsequent display is a double operation (visual recognition) of watching a television or a VTR, it is general and excellent, but it is not easy to understand.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and it is easy to select an operation button at the time of operation, less likely to cause an erroneous operation, and it is extremely easy to confirm the display after operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control device.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control device for an air conditioner which transmits a control signal to an indoor unit body of the air conditioner by a wireless signal. This is achieved by providing a display section for displaying the functions of the main body, a shape for each function displayed on the display section, and an operation button arranged in the same row as the position of the function displayed on the display section. It

[0009]

[Operation] By dividing the shape of the operation button and each function, when the user performs a button operation of a desired function, it is possible to distinguish from other functions by the shape of the operation button, so it may be difficult to select the button. There is no risk of erroneous operation such as accidentally operating a different operation button. Further, by arranging the operation buttons and the display position of the liquid crystal display section in the same row, it becomes easy to operate the operation buttons and confirm the display, and it is possible to provide a remote control device having excellent handleability as a whole. Is.

[0010]

EXAMPLE In the remote control device of an air conditioner, main operation buttons, their contents, and button names shown in this example are described in parentheses.

Main operation button: Turns ON / OFF the operation (start / stop). Room temperature control button: Adjusts the set temperature (room temperature). Operation switching button: Switches the operation type such as heating and cooling (operation switching). Dehumidification ... Dehumidification operation can be performed by pressing this button, and the type of dehumidification can be selected (dehumidification). Wind speed switching button ... Switches the wind strength (wind speed switching). Time set button: Adjusts the current time and timer-set time (time). Timer-button: Selects ON or OFF, etc., and cancels at the set time (off, on, reserved, cancel).

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 is the remote controller body,
A circuit board on which a control IC, an oscillator, and other electronic parts are mounted and a dry battery are housed inside a case body (none of which is shown). Reference numeral 2 is a door which is formed so as to cover the front surface by hanging from a substantially central portion of the remote controller main body 1 to a lower end thereof, and is openably and closably mounted. The door 2 has a room temperature button 2a for controlling the room temperature that is frequently used during normal use, a sleep timer button 2b that allows several kinds of off timers to be operated by simply pressing the button, and a dedicated room for comfort and economy. A dehumidifying button 2c that can be operated with one shot of the dehumidifying mode is provided. While operating each button, either of the buttons on the main unit described later is operated at the same time, but the IC is programmed to achieve the desired operating mode. Has been done. As for the shape and arrangement of each button provided on the door 2, the room temperature button 2a has a vertically long rectangular shape in the center of the upper part, and the room temperature up "∧" and room temperature down "∨" marks are displayed on the button surface. . Good night timer
For the button 2b and the dehumidification button 2c, elliptical buttons are arranged on the left and right of the room temperature button 2a, and a good night timer-
The button 2b and the dehumidification button 2c are clearly distinguished by changing the color tone. Regarding the material and manufacturing method of each of these buttons, a rubber molded product such as silicone is generally used.
It is also conceivable to use a resin molded product such as S or a sheet key squeezed from a thin plate. Further, although the good night timer button 2b and the dehumidifying button 2c have the same shape and are distinguished by the color tone, it is sufficiently conceivable to change the shape of each button such as a round shape and a square shape as another measure. A liquid crystal display unit 3 is electrically connected to the IC and the circuit board so that the control state of each function can be displayed as characters / numerical values or illustrations by the operation of the buttons. The liquid crystal display unit 3 is formed by hanging from the central portion of the remote controller main body 1 to the upper portion. Regarding the arrangement of display characters and the like, the set room temperature is set in the upper central portion as a unit price of numerical value and ° C like 3a. The characters of the good night timer and the off time are displayed on the left side by letters and numbers as 3b, and the dehumidification operation is displayed on the right side by letters and an illustration by liquid crystal like 3c. The set temperature display 3a, the sleep timer button 2b and its display 3b, and the dehumidification button 2c and its display 3c are arranged in the same row in the vertical direction. The room temperature button 2a adjusts the room temperature by raising or lowering the set room temperature, and the sleep timer-button 2b is "cut after 1 hour" → "cut after 2 hours" → "3" every time the button is pressed.
There is a function to cyclically convert from "cut after time" → "cut after 7 hours" → "continuous", and dehumidification button 2c
Has a function to cyclically convert "dry dehumidification" → "clothes drying" → "room dehumidification" → "condensation control" each time it is pressed. 4 is the main operation button for driving O
N and OFF are performed, and a horizontally long button is arranged between the door 2 and the liquid crystal display unit 3. The main operation button 4 may have a triangular shape or a round shape as long as it has a shape that can be distinguished from other buttons, instead of a horizontally long shape, but in the case of the present invention, the appearance design is left-right symmetrical and simpler and easier to use. −
The above-mentioned shape and arrangement are adopted in order to obtain the image quality and to have little individual relation with each liquid crystal display content.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a main body operation part, which is located inside the door 2 and provided with operation buttons which are not frequently used even during normal use.
The main buttons and liquid crystal display contents will be described below. 5d is an operation switching button, and every time the button is pressed, the operation mode is automatically → heating → dehumidification → cooling → ventilation and cyclic operation.
Switch the mode. The operation switching button 5d has a horizontally long rectangular shape together with another wind speed switching button 5e for switching the strength of the wind, and is arranged on the right side of the main body operation unit 5. Reference numeral 5f is a timer button for setting and canceling a timer for turning on and off at a set time, and an on / off button for selecting a timer mode has a substantially square shape, and reservation and cancellation are performed by the operation switching button 5d described above. It is distinguished as a horizontally long prism with a shorter length.
The timer button 5f is arranged on the left side of the main body operation unit 5. A time button 5h is used to adjust the set time of the timer and to adjust the time when setting the current time with the current time button 5g. The time button 5
On the surface of h, "∧" to advance the time and "∨" to return the time
Mark is displayed, and the shape is a vertically long rectangular shape. On the other hand, the present time button 5g has a small circular shape and is arranged at the center of the main body operation unit 5.

Similar to the buttons provided on the door 2, the material and manufacturing method of the buttons of the main body operating section 5 are generally rubber molded products such as silicone, but resin molded products such as ABS or thin plates are used. It is also possible to use a squeezed seat key. The distinction by the button shape of the main body operation unit 5 may be to replace each button or to divide the shape into a round shape, a triangle shape, a quadrangle shape, and the like to further distinguish them as large and small buttons. Since the first impressions when viewed are complicated when they are provided in a dense place, the present invention does not make an extreme difference in shape. Regarding the arrangement of the characters displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 3 corresponding to the respective operation buttons of the main body display unit 5, the driving mode is vertically arranged in the lower right side as shown by 3d by letters.
The timer (related to the time when the cooling timer is set) is turned on or off and the time is indicated by 3f in the lower left part of the timer (the time when the charging timer is set at 6:00 am). ) Further, the current time required for setting the timer is displayed on the left side by a letter and a numerical value like 3 g, and is displayed in the vicinity of or shared by the timer (current time in the embodiment indicates 11:00 pm). Yes, the operation switching button 5d and the operation mode display 3d, the timer button 5f, the time button 5h, the current time button 5g, and the timer display 3f.
And the current time display 3g are arranged in the same row in the vertical direction.

The above-mentioned buttons of the door 2 and the buttons of the main operation section 5 and the liquid crystal display section 3 are not only vertically arranged as in this embodiment, but depending on the design, the door, the main body operation section and the liquid crystal display are arranged. In some cases, the display section is made vertically long, and the operation section and the display section are arranged on the left and right sides of the remote controller main body, respectively. In this case, the operation buttons and the display section are arranged horizontally in the same row. The same effect can be obtained. Further, even in the remote controller without the door 2, the main body operating portion 5 shown in this embodiment forms the appearance, and the arrangement with the liquid crystal display portion 3 may be the same as that in this embodiment.

As another example of the above-mentioned distinction of the operation buttons, there is generally used a method in which the color tones of the operation buttons are all different, or the operation buttons normally operate when pressed. Therefore, there are methods such as changing the hardness and pressing force of the operation button and providing a protrusion for Braille on the button surface, but when looking at the selection and operability of the operation button, the former is visually impaired and visually impaired. It cannot be said that it is easy for humans to use, and the latter is not a good method because it requires a delicate space between the fingertips when it is operated, and both are not remote control.
The price of the laser will be quite high.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, since the shape of the operation button for each function is changed and differentiated, the button and the function can be easily judged visually, and even a visually handicapped person can do it. It is easy to operate because you can see the difference in shape just by touching it with your finger. Further, since the operation unit is arranged on the lower side and the display unit is arranged on the upper side, and the positions of the operation buttons of the door 2 and the buttons of the main body operation unit 5 and the display position of the liquid crystal display unit 3 are arranged vertically in the same row, There is an effect that it is possible to make a remote controller which is easy to confirm the display later and is very easy to use.

Although it is possible to reverse the vertical arrangement of the operating portion and the display portion in relation to this embodiment, in this case, the display portion is difficult to see with the palm of the hand when operating, and the handling becomes bad. I will add that there is a drawback.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the liquid crystal display unit 3, and FIG.
Shows an enlarged view of the main body operation unit 5. In FIG. 3, all the contents are not displayed as shown in the figure in actual use, but the all mode display state is shown for ease of explanation. It is shown.

The features of the above embodiments are summarized as follows: (1) The display unit that displays the functions of the indoor unit body of the air conditioner, and the shapes that are displayed according to the functions displayed on the display unit are (2) In addition to the feature of (1) above, a remote controller provided with each operation button is provided in the same row as the position of the function displayed on the section. A main body and a door that covers the operation unit of the main body are provided, and the shapes of the operation buttons provided on each of the main body and the door are divided by function, and the main body and the door have different functions, (3) In addition to the features of (1) above,
The main operation button is arranged in the center of the vertically long main body, the display unit is provided at the upper part of the main body, the operation button provided on the door and the operation button of the main unit are provided at the lower part, and the display unit and the main operation button are moved up and down. That is, they are arranged in the same direction.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, the shape of the operation button is divided according to the function, so that the button and the function can be easily judged by looking at the figure, and even a visually handicapped person can do it. It is easy to operate because you can identify which function the operation button is by touching it with your finger, there is no risk of erroneous operation, and it can be provided at low cost. Further, by arranging the button and the liquid crystal display position for each function in the same row, it is possible to easily confirm the display when the button is operated and after the operation, which is very easy to use. Furthermore, even if the operation buttons are provided on both the door and the main body operation unit, the positions of the door button functions and display functions and the positions of the main body operation unit buttons and display functions are in the same row. Since the buttons are arranged and the shapes of the buttons are changed for each function, the operability is good and the display can be easily confirmed in all operations.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a remote control device according to an embodiment with a door closed.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state in which a door of the remote control device of the embodiment is opened.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a display unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main body display section of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Remote controller body 2 ... Door 3
… Liquid crystal display section 4… Main operation buttons 5… Main body operation section

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A remote control of an air conditioner for transmitting a control signal to an indoor unit body of the air conditioner by a wireless signal.
In the device, the display unit that displays the function of the indoor unit body of the air conditioner, the shape of each function displayed on the display unit, and the position of the function displayed on the display unit. A remote control device for an air conditioner, comprising operation buttons arranged in the same row. 2. A remote control of an air conditioner for transmitting a control signal to an indoor unit body of the air conditioner by a wireless signal.
In the device, the display unit that displays the function of the indoor unit body of the air conditioner, the shape of each function displayed on the display unit, and the position of the function displayed on the display unit. The main body and the door are provided with operation buttons arranged in the same row, a remote controller main body provided with each of the operation buttons, and a door covering the operation section of the main body. A remote control device for an air conditioner, in which the shapes of the operation buttons provided therein are divided according to the above functions, and the main body and the door have different functions. 3. A remote control of an air conditioner for transmitting a control signal to an indoor unit body of the air conditioner by a wireless signal.
In the device, the display unit that displays the function of the indoor unit body of the air conditioner, the shape of each function displayed on the display unit, and the position of the function displayed on the display unit. With the operation buttons arranged in the same row, the main operation button is arranged in the substantially central part of the vertically long main body, the display part is on the upper part of the main body, and the operation buttons on the door and the operation buttons of the main part are on the lower part. A remote control device for an air conditioner, wherein the display section and the main operation buttons are arranged in the same row in the vertical direction.