JPWO2013111337A1 - Control device, control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

When the remote control (10) determines that the power saving flag (122) is on, that is, when the remote control (10) determines that the power saving operation is in operation, the image information read by the drawing unit (107) is stored in a small amount of image. The monochrome image stored in the section (110) is determined. This monochrome image has one-eighth the amount of information compared to the color image stored in the normal image storage unit (109). Therefore, when the remote controller (10) is in the power saving operation, the drawing unit (107) converts the monochrome image stored in the small image storage unit (110) into the color image stored in the normal image storage unit (109). Compared with the case of reading, it is possible to read with less power. Therefore, in the remote control (10), when the remote control (10) is in the power saving operation, the consumed power can be suppressed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device, a control method, and a program.

  As a technique for suppressing power consumed by a control device that operates a device to be operated, there is a remote control device described in Patent Literature 1.

  The remote control device described in Patent Literature 1 suppresses power consumption by turning off the fluorescent display tube that illuminates the display surface of the display unit when no operation is performed by the user within the time set by the user. doing.

JP 2006-349219 A

  Here, when the remote control device described in Patent Document 1 is applied to, for example, a remote control device for an air conditioner, when operations such as temperature setting of the air conditioner are repeatedly performed within a set time, the fluorescent display tube is turned off. Not done. That is, in this case, in the remote control device described in Patent Document 1, the fluorescent display tube is kept on. Therefore, the remote control device described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that, when an operation is performed, the consumed power may not be suppressed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a control device, a control method, and a program capable of suppressing consumed power without being affected by the presence or absence of an operation.

  In order to achieve the above object, a control device according to the present invention receives an operation for controlling a control target device, and transmits control information corresponding to the received operation to the control target device. The display unit displays a control screen. The information storage unit stores first image information that is image information of an image element that forms a control screen displayed on the display unit. The small amount information storage unit stores second image information that is image information of an image element and has a smaller information amount than the image information stored in the information storage unit. The operation mode setting unit sets the operation mode of the control device to one of a first operation mode that operates with predetermined power consumption and a second operation mode that consumes less power than the first operation mode. When the operation mode setting unit sets the first operation mode, the screen generation unit reads the first image information stored in the information storage unit and generates a control screen composed of a plurality of image elements, When the operation mode setting unit sets the second operation mode, the second image information stored in the small amount information storage unit is read to generate a control screen composed of a plurality of image elements, and the generated control screen Display the screen on the display.

  According to the present invention, when the second operation mode is entered, the power consumed when reading the image information can be suppressed as compared to the first operation mode. Therefore, according to the present invention, power consumption can be suppressed without being affected by the presence or absence of an operation.

It is a block diagram of the air-conditioning system concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the output voltage in a storage battery, and residual amount. It is a figure which shows the connection of a storage battery, a normal image storage part, and a small amount image storage part. (A) is an LCD display using color image information stored in the normal image storage unit, and (b) is an LCD display using monochrome image information stored in the small image storage unit. It is a flowchart which shows a power saving setting process. It is a flowchart which shows a screen generation process. It is a flowchart which shows an electricity supply switching process. It is a block diagram of the air-conditioning system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the connection of a power supply part, a normal image memory | storage part, and a small amount image memory | storage part. It is a flowchart which shows an electric power process. It is a flowchart which shows the power saving setting process of the air conditioning system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the air-conditioning system 1 which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated with reference to FIGS.

  The air conditioner system 1 includes a remote controller 10 and an air conditioner 20.

  The remote controller 10 is a remote controller (control device) that receives an operation for controlling the air conditioner 20 and transmits a command (control information) corresponding to the accepted operation to the air conditioner 20. Specifically, the remote controller 10 transmits an instruction to the air conditioner 20 such as an operation of the air conditioner 20 (cooling, blowing, or heating) and a change in the set temperature of the air conditioner 20. The remote controller 10 includes a storage battery 101, an A / D converter 102, a control unit 103, a normal image storage unit 109, a small image storage unit 110, a screen configuration information unit 111, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 120 (operations). An information holding unit 121, a power saving flag 122 and a VRAM (Video RAM) 123), a ROM (Read Only memory) 125, an input unit 130, an LCD controller 131, an LCD 132, and a communication unit 133. .

  The storage battery 101 outputs DC power consumed by the remote controller 10. Specifically, the storage battery 101 supplies DC power consumed by the units 102 to 133 of the remote controller 10. The storage battery 101 may be either a primary battery or a secondary battery.

  The A / D (Analog / Digital) converter 102 is a converter that converts an output voltage (analog value) of the storage battery 101 into a digital value and outputs the digital value to the control unit 103 via the bus line BL.

  The control unit 103 controls the remote controller 10 by executing a program stored in the ROM 125 (for example, a program for realizing processing shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 described later).

  Further, when the control unit 103 executes a program stored in the ROM 125, the control unit 103 causes the remaining battery level detection unit 104, the event management unit 105, the screen generation unit 106, the drawing unit 107, and the power control. The function of the unit 108 is realized.

  The remaining battery level detection unit 104 compares the output voltage (digital value) of the storage battery 101 output from the A / D converter 102 with a predetermined threshold value, and the output voltage of the storage battery 101 is not less than the threshold value. Determine whether. Thereby, the battery remaining amount detection unit 104 detects the remaining energy of the storage battery 101. Hereinafter, the remaining energy of the storage battery 101 is referred to as “remaining amount”.

  The relationship between the output voltage and the remaining amount in the storage battery 101 is as shown in FIG. That is, as the output voltage of the battery 101 decreases, the remaining amount of the storage battery 101 also decreases. The battery remaining amount detection unit 104 indirectly detects that the remaining amount of the storage battery 101 is less than a predetermined amount by detecting that the detected output voltage of the storage battery 101 is less than the threshold value. .

  When the remaining battery level detection unit 104 determines that the output voltage of the storage battery 101 is less than the threshold value, it turns on the power saving flag 122 and changes the operation mode of the remote control 10 from normal operation to less power consumption than normal operation. Change to behavior. Note that, when the power saving flag 122 is already on, the battery remaining amount detection unit 104 maintains the power saving flag 122 on regardless of the comparison result between the output voltage of the storage battery 101 and the threshold value.

  When the user operates the input unit 130, the event management unit 105 executes a process according to the operation. Specifically, when there is an operation of the input unit 130 that requires changing the display content of the LCD 132 (hereinafter referred to as “screen”), the event management unit 105 operates and the screen number after the change. Are extracted with reference to the table stored in the ROM 125. Here, the screen number is a number uniquely assigned to each type of screen in order to identify the screen. For example, when the user performs an operation to set the shape (longitudinal or landscape) of the room in which the air conditioner 20 is installed, the event management unit 105 refers to the table, and the screen number corresponding to the room shape setting screen Is identified. Further, for example, when the user performs an operation for setting related to cleaning inside the air conditioner 20, the event management unit 105 refers to the table and identifies a screen number corresponding to the setting screen related to cleaning. The screen number specified by the event management unit 105 is used by the screen generation unit 106.

  In addition, when the operation or setting of the air conditioner 20 is changed by the operation of the input unit 130 by the user, the event management unit 105 stores the changed operation or setting in the operation information holding unit 121 in the RAM 120. Let The operations and settings stored in the operation information holding unit 121 are hereinafter referred to as “operation information”. Specifically, the operation information is information indicating an operation state of the air conditioner 20 such as an operation state (cooling, air blowing, heating) of the air conditioner 20, a set temperature of the air conditioner 20, and the like.

  In addition, when an operation for instructing a shift to the power saving operation is performed by the input unit 130 by the user, the event management unit 105 turns on the power saving flag 122 and switches the operation state of the remote controller 10 to the power saving operation. Further, when the user performs an operation for shifting to the normal operation via the input unit 130, the event management unit 105 turns off the power saving flag 122 and switches the operation state of the remote controller 10 to the normal operation. The switching operation by the user to the normal operation is performed in a state where the remaining battery level detection unit 104 determines that the output voltage of the storage battery 101 is equal to or higher than a threshold value ( In the state where the battery remaining amount detection unit 104 determines that the output voltage of the storage battery 101 is less than the threshold value (in the state where the remaining amount of the storage battery 101 is detected to be less than the predetermined amount), it is invalid. Become.

  The screen generation unit 106 acquires screen configuration information corresponding to the screen number extracted by the event management unit 105 from the screen configuration information storage unit 111. The screen generation unit 106 determines information (image and operation information) to be used for the screen based on the acquired screen configuration information, and also determines which image in which area in the display surface of the LCD 132 (screen 132). And operation information to be arranged).

  The screen configuration information described above includes information related to the display of the images constituting the screen, the display coordinates that specify the area within the display surface of the LCD 132 on which the images are arranged, and the normal image specification that specifies the image to be displayed during normal operation. It consists of information and power saving image specifying information for specifying an image to be displayed during the power saving operation. The normal image specifying information and the power saving image specifying information are displayed when an image to be displayed does not change (fixed), including an image address indicating a storage location of the image in the normal image storage unit 109 or the small image storage unit 110. When an image changes according to operation information, in addition to an image address, a type name corresponding to the operation information is included. For example, when the type name corresponding to the operation information is “set temperature”, the screen generation unit 106 acquires the set temperature value from the operation information holding unit 121 and specifies the image address of the number image corresponding to the value. .

  When the screen generation unit 106 acquires the screen configuration information corresponding to the screen number extracted by the event management unit 105 from the screen configuration information storage unit 111, the display coordinates and the image address of the image constituting the screen from the acquired screen configuration information And designates the display coordinates and the image address, and makes a drawing request to the drawing unit 107. A screen is generated when the screen generation unit 106 issues a drawing request to all images constituting the screen. Here, the reference destination of the image address is switched depending on the operation state of the remote controller 10, and when the power saving flag 122 is off (normal operation), the normal image storage unit 109 is set, and the power saving flag 122 is on (power saving operation). In this case, the small amount image storage unit 110 is used. By performing the switching in this way, the screen generation unit 106 corresponds to the image constituting the screen displayed on the LCD 132 immediately before switching when the power saving flag 122 is switched from OFF to ON. A screen can be generated using the image address of the corresponding image after switching.

  When the drawing unit 107 receives a drawing request from the screen generation unit 106, the drawing unit 107 reads an image corresponding to the image address designated by the screen generation unit 106 from the normal image storage unit 109 or the small image storage unit 110, and reads the read image, Data is written in an area in the VRAM 123 corresponding to the display coordinates designated by the screen generation unit 106.

  The power control unit 108 monitors the power saving flag 122 and controls the supply of power from the storage battery 101 to the normal image storage unit 109 and the small amount image storage unit 110 according to the operation state of the remote controller 10. Specifically, when the remote controller 10 is in normal operation, the power supply control unit 108 supplies power from the storage battery 101 to the normal image storage unit 109, while supplying power from the storage battery 101 to the small amount image storage unit 110. Shut off. As a result, when the remote controller 10 is in a normal operation, the power supply control unit 108 indicates that power is consumed in the storage unit in which the image is not read out by the drawing unit 107, that is, the small amount image storage unit 110. It is preventing.

  On the other hand, when the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation, the power supply control unit 108 supplies power from the storage battery 101 to the small amount image storage unit 110, while cutting off power supply from the storage battery 101 to the normal image storage unit 109. To do. As a result, when the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation, the power control unit 108 consumes power in the storage unit in which the image is not read out by the drawing unit 107, that is, the normal image storage unit 109. Is preventing.

  A specific configuration for controlling the power supply from the storage battery 101 to the normal image storage unit 109 and the small image storage unit 110 by the power supply control unit 108 is as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the power supply control unit 108 controls the power supply to the normal image storage unit 109 by the field effect transistor FET1. The power supply terminal of the normal image storage unit 109 is connected to the drain of the field effect transistor FET1, the port of the control unit 103 is connected to the gate of the field effect transistor FET1, and the power supply terminal of the storage battery 101 is connected to the source of the field effect transistor FET1. ing. The power control unit 108 controls power supply to the normal image storage unit 109 by switching the level of the first power control signal output to the drain of the field effect transistor FET1. Specifically, the power supply control unit 108 sets the level of the first power supply control signal to “High (hereinafter, simply referred to as“ H ”)”, turns on the field effect transistor FET 1, and transfers to the normal image storage unit 109. On the other hand, the level of the first power control signal is set to “Low (hereinafter, simply referred to as“ L ”) to cut off the field effect transistor FET 1 and cut off the power supply to the normal image storage unit 109. To do.

  Similarly, the power control unit 108 controls the power supply to the small amount image storage unit 110 by the field effect transistor FET2. The power supply terminal of the small amount image storage unit 110 is connected to the drain of the field effect transistor FET2, the port of the control unit 103 is connected to the gate of the field effect transistor FET2, and the power supply terminal of the storage battery 101 is connected to the source of the field effect transistor FET2. ing. The power control unit 108 controls the power supply to the small amount image storage unit 110 by switching the level of the second power control signal output to the drain of the field effect transistor FET2. Specifically, the power supply control unit 108 sets the level of the second power supply control signal to “H”, makes the field effect transistor FET2 conductive, and supplies power to the small amount image storage unit 110, while performing the first power supply control. The signal level is set to “L”, the field effect transistor FET2 is shut off, and the power supply to the small amount image storage unit 110 is shut off.

  The normal image storage unit 109 is, for example, a ROM. The normal image storage unit 109 stores an image composed of pixels displayed on the LCD 132 during normal operation. Here, the stored image is a set of information representing the display color for each pixel displayed on the LCD 132, that is, image information. The normal image storage unit 109 may store a compressed image compressed by a predetermined method such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). In this case, the compressed image is decompressed by the drawing unit 107 and then stored in the VRAM 123. An image is written. The normal image storage unit 109 stores a color image that can specify, for example, 256 colors.

  The small image storage unit 110 is, for example, a ROM. The small image storage unit 110 stores an image composed of pixels displayed on the LCD 132 during the power saving operation. Here, the stored image is information corresponding to the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109, that is, image information. The small amount image storage unit 110 stores, for example, two-color monochrome images.

  In this way, by storing an image having a smaller amount of information than the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109 in the small amount image storage unit 110, the storage capacity of the small amount image storage unit 110 compared to the normal image storage unit 109. As a result, it is possible to reduce the power consumption used during the operation of the small-volume image storage unit 110.

  A screen example using a color image stored in the normal image storage unit 109 and a screen example using a monochrome image stored in the small image storage unit 110 are as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the screen example using the color image has “ON” characters indicating that the air conditioner 20 is in operation, and “COLD” character buttons indicating that the air conditioner 20 is in cooling operation. And the display window of the set temperature “26 ° C.” is highlighted. In addition, character buttons “OFF”, “SEND”, “WARM”, and a set temperature adjustment button composed of two upper and lower triangles are hatched. In addition, the background is colored.

  On the other hand, in a screen example using a monochrome image, as shown in FIG. 4B, a character button, a display window, and a set temperature adjustment button are displayed in a single color (for example, black).

  As described above, the monochrome image stored in the small image storage unit 110 can use two colors, and the color image stored in the normal image storage unit 109 can use 256 colors. Therefore, the information amount of the monochrome image is 1/8 of that of the color image. Therefore, when the remote controller 10 is in the power saving operation, the drawing unit 107 reduces the monochrome image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 as compared with the case of reading the color image stored in the normal image storage unit 109. It can be read with power. Therefore, the remote controller 10 can suppress power consumption when the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation.

  A screen configuration information storage unit 111 illustrated in FIG. 1 stores screen configuration information acquired by the screen generation unit 106. As described above, the screen configuration information stored in the screen configuration information storage unit 111 includes display coordinates, normal image specifying information, and power saving image specifying information.

  The RAM 120 includes an operation information holding unit 121, a power saving flag 122, and a VRAM 123.

  The operation information holding unit 121 stores, as operation information, information indicating an operation state of the air conditioner 20 such as an operation state (cooling, blowing, heating) of the air conditioner 20 and a set temperature of the air conditioner 20, for example. The operation information stored in the operation information holding unit 121 is updated by the event management unit 105 when a change occurs in the operation state of the air conditioner 20.

  The power saving flag 122 determines whether the remote controller 10 is in a normal operation or whether the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation. When the power saving flag 122 is turned on, the remote controller 10 performs a power saving operation. On the other hand, when the power saving flag 122 is turned off, the remote controller 10 performs a normal operation. Immediately after the remote controller 10 is activated, the power saving flag 122 is off.

  The VRAM 123 stores the display color of each pixel for one screen displayed on the LCD 132. By rewriting the storage contents of the VRAM 123, the display contents (screen) of the LCD 132 are changed.

  The input unit 130 is a touch panel arranged on the LCD 132, for example. The input unit 130 receives from the user an instruction to shift the operation state of the remote controller 10 to a normal operation or a power saving operation, and an instruction to change the setting of the air conditioner 20.

  An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) controller 131 reads the content stored in the VRAM 123 at a constant cycle, and causes the LCD 132 to display a screen corresponding to the content stored in the VRAM 123.

  The LCD 132 is a dot matrix type liquid crystal display.

  When an operation by the user is performed via the input unit 130, the communication unit 133 transmits a command instructing change of the operation state to the communication unit 220 of the air conditioner 20 using, for example, infrared rays or radio waves. The communication unit 133 sends the command to the air conditioner 20 regardless of the operation state of the remote controller 10, specifically, whether the remote controller 10 is in a normal operation or the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation. It can be transmitted to the unit 220.

  Therefore, in the remote controller 10, even if the remaining amount of the storage battery 101 is less than the predetermined value and the remote controller 10 enters a power saving operation, the air conditioner 20 can be operated while suppressing the power consumed by the remote controller 10. . Therefore, the remote controller 10 can operate the air conditioner 20 for a long time as compared with the remote controller that reads a color image even when the remaining amount of the storage battery 101 becomes less than a predetermined value.

  The bus line BL includes an A / D converter 102, a control unit 103, a normal image storage unit 109, a small image storage unit 110, a screen configuration information unit 111, a RAM 120, a ROM 125, an input unit 130, and an LCD. The controller 131 and the communication unit 133 are connected to each other.

  The air conditioner 20 is an air conditioner that adjusts the temperature in the room, and includes a control unit 201, a communication unit 203, and an operation information holding unit 204.

  The control unit 201 controls the air conditioner 20. The control unit 201 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM, and a RAM (not shown).

  The control unit 201 implements the function of the control unit 202 when the CPU executes a program stored in the ROM.

  The control unit 202 operates the air conditioner 20 according to the operation information indicating the operation state of the air conditioner 20 stored in the operation information holding unit 204.

  The communication unit 203 receives a command transmitted from the communication unit 133 of the remote controller 10.

  The bus line BL connects the control unit 201, the communication unit 203, and the operation information holding unit 204 to each other.

  The operation information holding unit 204 stores information indicating the operation state of the air conditioner 20 such as the operation state (cooling, blowing, heating) of the air conditioner 20 and the set temperature of the air conditioner 20 as operation information. The operation information stored in the operation information holding unit 204 is updated by the control unit 201 when a command is received by the communication unit 203 and a change occurs in the operation state of the air conditioner 20.

  The power saving setting process executed by the remote controller 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The power saving setting process is a process for switching the power saving flag 122 on and off. The power saving setting process is executed periodically (for example, every minute). In addition, the power saving setting process is also executed when an operation by the user via the input unit 130 is performed.

  In the power saving setting process, first, the control unit 103 determines whether or not the power saving flag 122 is on (step S1).

  If the control part 103 determines with the power saving flag 122 being OFF (step S1: No), it will transfer to step S2.

  In step S2, the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) determines whether or not a user operation instructing a shift to a power saving operation is accepted by the input unit 130 (step S2).

  The control unit 103 (event management unit 105) turns on the power saving flag 122 (step S3) when an operation for instructing the shift to the power saving operation is accepted (step S2: Yes), and this power saving setting is set. The process ends.

  On the other hand, when the operation for instructing the shift to the power saving operation is not accepted (step S2: No), the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) proceeds to step S4. Moreover, also when it determines with the power saving flag 122 being ON by step S1, the control part 103 transfers to step S4 (step S1: Yes).

  In step S4, the control unit 103 (battery remaining amount detecting unit 104) determines whether or not the output voltage of the storage battery 101 is less than a threshold value, that is, whether or not the remaining amount of the storage battery 101 is less than a predetermined amount. (Step S4).

  When the control unit 103 (battery remaining amount detection unit 104) determines that the output voltage is less than the threshold value (step S4: Yes), it is detected that the remaining amount of the storage battery 101 is less than the predetermined amount, so step S3 is performed. To finish this power saving setting process. On the other hand, when the control unit 103 (battery remaining amount detection unit 104) determines that the output voltage is greater than or equal to the threshold (step S4: No), it is detected that the remaining amount of the storage battery 101 is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount. The process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S5, the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) determines whether or not a user operation for instructing a shift to a normal operation is accepted by the input unit 130 (step S5).

  When the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) determines that the operation for shifting to the normal operation has been accepted (step S5: Yes), the control unit 103 turns off the power saving flag 122 (step S6) and ends the power saving setting process. To do.

  When the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) determines that the operation for shifting to the normal operation is not accepted (step S5: No), the power saving flag 122 is not switched and the power saving setting process is terminated. .

  As described above, in the power saving setting process, the power saving flag 122 is switched on and off, and the operation state of the remote controller 10 is switched to either the power saving operation or the normal operation.

  Next, screen generation processing executed by the remote controller 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The screen generation process is executed when the power saving flag 122 is turned on or off, or when an operation by the user via the input unit 130 is performed. In this screen generation process, the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109 and the image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 are described as compressed information.

  In the screen generation processing, first, the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) displays a screen number indicating what screen is used for the change, and a table stored in the ROM (the operation content and the changed screen number correspond to each other). It is extracted from the attached table) (step S11). Specifically, for example, when the user performs an operation for setting the shape (vertical or horizontal) of the room in which the air conditioner 20 is installed, the event management unit 105 displays a screen number corresponding to the room shape setting screen. Identify. Further, for example, when the user performs an operation for setting related to cleaning inside the air conditioner 20, the event management unit 105 specifies a screen number corresponding to the setting screen related to cleaning.

  Thereafter, the control unit 103 (screen generation unit 106) acquires screen configuration information corresponding to the screen number specified by the event management unit 105 from the screen configuration information storage unit 111 (step S12).

  Thereafter, the control unit 103 (screen generation unit 106) determines whether or not the power saving flag 122 is on, that is, whether or not the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation (step S13).

  If the control unit 103 (screen generation unit 106) determines that the power saving flag 122 is on, that is, determines that the remote controller 10 is in power saving operation (step S13: Yes), the screen is configured from the screen configuration information. The display coordinates and image address of the image to be determined are determined (step S14). At this time, the image address is the address of the small amount image storage unit 110.

  Thereafter, the control unit 103 (screen generation unit 106) designates an image address and display coordinates, and issues an image drawing request to the control unit 103 (drawing unit 107) (step S15).

  Then, the control unit 103 (drawing unit 107) accesses the small image storage unit 110 in accordance with the image address of the image determined in step S14, and reads a monochrome image (compressed image) from the small image storage unit 110 (step). S16), decompression (step S17), and write the decompressed image in the area in the VRAM 123 corresponding to the determined display coordinates. (Step S18).

  The control unit 103 ends the screen generation process after performing the above-described processing from step S14 to step S18 for all the images in the screen displayed on the LCD 132.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 103 (screen generation unit 106) determines that the power saving flag 122 is off, that is, determines that the remote controller 10 is in normal operation (step S13: No), the screen is determined from the screen configuration information. The image address and display coordinates of the image to be configured are determined (step S20). At this time, the image address is the address of the normal image storage unit 109.

  Thereafter, the control unit 103 (screen generation unit 106) designates an image address and display coordinates, and issues an image drawing request to the control unit 103 (drawing unit 107) (step S21).

  Then, the control unit 103 (drawing unit 107) accesses the normal image storage unit 109 in accordance with the image address of the image determined in step S20, and reads a color image (compressed image) from the normal image storage unit 110 (step). (S22) The image is expanded (step S23), and the expanded image is written in the area in the VRAM 123 corresponding to the determined display coordinates (step S18).

  The control unit 103 ends the screen generation processing after performing the processing from step S20 to step S22 and the processing in step S18 on all the images in the screen displayed on the LCD 132.

  By executing the screen generation process described above, the remote controller 10 corresponds to the image constituting the screen displayed on the LCD 132 immediately before switching when the power saving flag 122 is switched from OFF to ON. A monochrome image is read out from the small-volume image storage unit 110 using the image address of the corresponding image after switching, and a screen can be generated and displayed on the LCD 132 using this.

  Here, the monochrome image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 has an information amount of 1/8 of one pixel compared to the color image stored in the normal image storage unit 109. Therefore, when the power saving flag 122 is on (when the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation), the transfer amount for reading from the small image storage unit 110 performed by the drawing unit 107 and the transfer amount for writing to the VRAM 123 are as follows. Compared to the case where the remote controller 10 is in a normal operation, it can be suppressed and drawing can be performed in a short time. Therefore, the remote controller 10 can suppress power consumption by performing monochrome display during the power saving operation.

  Note that if the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109 and the image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 are uncompressed, step S17 and step S23 may be skipped.

  Next, the energization switching process executed by the remote controller 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In the energization switching process, the DC power from the storage battery 101 is converted into the normal image storage unit according to the on / off state of the power saving flag 122, that is, according to whether the remote controller 10 is in the power saving operation or the normal operation. 109 or a small amount image storage unit 110. The energization switching process is executed when the on / off of the power saving flag 122 is switched.

  In the energization switching process, first, the control unit 103 (power control unit 108) determines whether or not the power saving flag 122 is on (step S31).

  When the control unit 103 (power control unit 108) determines that the power saving flag 122 is on, that is, the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation (step S31: Yes), the first power control signal is set to “L”. Switching is performed to turn off the field effect transistor FET1 (step S32).

  Thereafter, the control unit 103 (power supply control unit 108) switches the second power supply control signal to “H”, and makes the field effect transistor FET2 conductive (step S33).

  Thereafter, the control unit 103 (power control unit 108) ends this conduction switching process.

  That is, the control unit 103 (power supply control unit 108) is configured such that when the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation, the storage unit in which the image is not read by the drawing unit 107, that is, the normal image storage unit 109 is powered. It is prevented from being consumed.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 103 (power supply control unit 108) determines that the power saving flag 122 is off, that is, the remote controller 10 is in normal operation (step S31: No), the control unit 103 (power supply control unit 108) sets the second power supply control signal to “L”. To turn off the field effect transistor FET2 (step S34).

  Thereafter, the control unit 103 (power supply control unit 108) switches the first power supply control signal to “H”, and makes the field effect transistor FET1 conductive (step S35).

  Thereafter, the control unit 103 (power control unit 108) ends this conduction switching process.

  In other words, the control unit 103 (power control unit 108) consumes power in the storage unit in which the image reading is not performed by the drawing unit 107 when the remote controller 10 is in a normal operation, that is, in the small amount image storage unit 110. Is prevented.

  As described above, when the remote controller 10 of the air conditioner system 1 according to the first embodiment determines that the power saving flag 122 is on, that is, determines that the remote controller 10 is in the power saving operation, the drawing unit 107 reads. The image is determined as a monochrome image stored in the small image storage unit 110. This monochrome image has an information amount of 1/8 compared to the color image stored in the normal image storage unit 109. Therefore, when the remote controller 10 is in the power saving operation, the drawing unit 107 reduces the monochrome image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 as compared with the case of reading the color image stored in the normal image storage unit 109. It can be read with power. Therefore, the remote controller 10 can suppress power consumption when the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation. In addition, when the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation, the remote controller 10 determines the image read by the drawing unit 107 as a monochrome image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 regardless of whether or not the input unit 130 is operated. Therefore, the remote controller 10 can suppress power consumption without being affected by the presence or absence of an operation.

  Further, when the remote controller 10 determines that the power saving flag 122 is on, that is, determines that the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation, the storage unit that is not subjected to image reading by the drawing unit 107, that is, The power supply from the storage battery 101 to the normal image storage unit 109 is cut off. Thus, the remote controller 10 prevents the normal image storage unit 109 from consuming the power from the storage battery 101 when the remote controller 10 is in the power saving operation. Therefore, the remote controller 10 can suppress power consumption when the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation.

  In the remote controller 10, even if the remaining amount of the storage battery 101 is less than a predetermined value and the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation, the air conditioner 20 can be operated while suppressing power consumed by the remote controller 10. . Therefore, the remote controller 10 can operate the air conditioner 20 for a long time as compared with the remote controller that reads a color image even when the remaining amount of the storage battery 101 is less than a predetermined amount.

  Further, the image stored in the small image storage unit 110 is obtained by reducing the colors that can be used in the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109. Therefore, when the remote controller 10 is developed, an image to be stored in the small image storage unit 110 can be created by diverting an image to be stored in the normal image storage unit 109. Accordingly, the image development period and development cost can be suppressed as compared with the case where an image stored in the small image storage unit 110 is created without diverting the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, an air conditioner system 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The air conditioner system 2 is obtained by changing a part of the configuration and processing of the air conditioner system 1 according to the first embodiment. Therefore, in the air conditioner system 2, the same configurations and the same operations (processes) as those of the air conditioner system 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The air conditioner system 2 includes a remote controller 30, a controller 40, air conditioners 41_1 and 41_2, a power cable 50, a communication cable 60, and a control cable 70.

  The remote controller 30 is a remote controller that operates the air conditioner 41_1 via the controller 40. The air conditioner 41_2 of the same model as the air conditioner 41_1 is operated via the controller 40 by the remote controller 30 and another remote controller 30.

  The remote controller 30 operates by consuming DC power supplied from the air conditioner 41_1 via the power cable 50. For this reason, the remote controller 30 removes the storage battery 101, the A / D converter 102, and the remaining battery level detection unit 104 from the remote controller 10 of the first embodiment. Further, the communication unit 133 is changed to the communication unit 136. On the other hand, the remote controller 30 includes a power supply unit 134 and a flag switching unit 135 that the remote control 10 of the first embodiment does not have.

  In addition, the remote controller 30 performs a power saving setting process (see FIG. 5), a screen generation process (see FIG. 6), and an energization switching process (see FIG. 7), similarly to the remote controller 10 of the first embodiment. However, the remote controller 30 executes a power saving setting process (FIG. 10) partially different from the power saving setting process (see FIG. 5) executed by the remote controller 10. The remote controller 30 executes the same process as the remote controller 10 for the screen generation process and the energization switching process.

  The power supply unit 134 of the remote controller 30 steps down the DC voltage supplied from the air conditioner 41_1 via the power cable 50, for example, and supplies the DC voltage to the units 103 to 136 of the remote control 30 and the bus line BL. Unlike the DC voltage supplied from the storage battery 101 (see FIG. 1), the DC voltage supplied from the air conditioner 41_1 does not decrease with time and is stable. For this reason, the remote controller 30 eliminates the need for the A / D converter 102 and the remaining battery charge detection unit 104 that are used by the remote controller 10 to detect the supply power (remaining battery charge) of the storage battery 101.

  Here, instead of the storage battery 101, a configuration for supplying DC power from the power supply unit 134 to the normal image storage unit 109 and the small amount image storage unit 110 is as shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the power supply terminal of the power supply unit 134 is connected to the sources of the field effect transistor FET1 and the field effect transistor FET2, and the ground terminal of the power supply unit 134 is grounded.

  The flag switching unit 135 illustrated in FIG. 8 is a function realized when the control unit 103 executes a program stored in the ROM 125. The flag switching unit 135 turns on the power saving flag 122 when a power saving command for switching the operation state of the remote control 30 from the normal operation to the power saving operation is received via the communication unit 136. On the other hand, the flag switching unit 135 turns off the power saving flag 122 when a normal command for switching the operation state of the remote control 30 from the power saving operation to the normal operation is received via the communication unit 136.

  The communication unit 136 communicates with the communication unit 406 of the controller 40 via the communication cable 60. Specifically, the communication unit 136 transmits a command instructing change of the operation state of the air conditioner 41_1 to the communication unit 406 of the controller 40 when an operation by the user via the input unit 130 is performed. In addition, the communication unit 136 receives a normal command or a power saving command for changing the operation state of the remote controller 30 when it is transmitted from the communication unit 406 of the controller 40.

  Specifically, the communication unit 136 can transmit and receive this command regardless of the operation state of the remote controller 30, even if the remote controller 30 is in a normal operation or the remote controller 30 is in a power saving operation. it can. Therefore, the remote controller 30 can continue to operate the air conditioner 41_1 even when the remote controller 30 enters the power saving operation.

  The controller 40 controls the operation of the air conditioner 41_1 and the air conditioner 41_2. The controller 40 includes a control unit 202 and an operation information holding unit 204 included in the air conditioner 20 of the first embodiment. Further, the controller 40 has the following configuration that the air conditioner 20 of the first embodiment does not have, that is, a control unit 401, a contract power storage unit 404, a floor area storage unit 405, a communication unit 406, an interface unit. 407, an input unit 408, a display unit 409, and a speaker 410.

  The control unit 401 controls operations of the air conditioner 41_1 and the air conditioner 41_2. The control unit 401 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown).

  The CPU executes a program stored in the ROM (for example, a program for realizing processing shown in FIG. 10 described later).

  In addition to the control unit 202 realized by the air conditioner 20 according to the first embodiment, the control unit 401 executes a program stored in the ROM, in addition to the power consumption prediction unit 402 and the power calculation unit 403. And realize the function.

  The power consumption prediction unit 402 predicts the power consumption per hour that is necessary when the change of the operation state instructed by the user via the remote controller 30 is realized by the air conditioner 41_1. Specifically, the power consumption prediction unit 402 determines the difference between the change in the operation state instructed by the user via the remote controller 30 and the current operation state indicated by the operation information stored in the operation information holding unit 204 ( For example, the difference between the newly designated set temperature and the current set temperature, the newly designated set humidity and the current set humidity, and the like are calculated, and the difference is used by the air conditioner 41_1. The necessary calorie consumption is calculated from the floor area of the room being stored (the value stored in the floor area storage unit 405). Then, the power consumption prediction unit 402 predicts the required power consumption per hour from the calculated calorie consumption.

  The power calculation unit 403 uses the power consumption per unit time predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 402 as the power that can be consumed by the air conditioner 41_1 and the air conditioner 41_2 (consumable power per unit time). ) Is not exceeded.

  Furthermore, when the power consumption per unit time predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 402 exceeds the consumable power, the power calculation unit 403 determines whether the remote controller 30 is within the consumable power if the remote control 30 is set to a power saving operation. Calculate. Specifically, the power calculation unit 403 subtracts the power consumption reduced when the remote controller 30 is shifted to the power saving operation from the power consumption per unit time predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 402, and It is determined whether or not the subtracted power consumption per unit time is within consumable power.

  When the power calculation unit 403 determines that the subtracted power consumption per unit time is within the consumable power, the power calculation unit 403 sends a power saving command for shifting the remote control 30 to the power saving operation via the communication unit 406. 30.

  The consumable power storage unit 404 stores consumable power allocated as consumable power to the air conditioner 41_1 and the air conditioner 41_2. The consumable power stored in the consumable power storage unit 404 is set by the user by operating the input unit 408. The consumable power storage unit 404 stores contract power contracted with an electric power company, for example.

  The floor area storage unit 405 stores the floor area of the room where the air conditioner 41_1 is used. The floor area stored in the floor area storage unit 405 is set by the user via the input unit 408.

  The communication unit 406 communicates with the communication unit 136 of the remote controller 30 via the communication cable 60. Specifically, the communication unit 406 transmits a normal command for changing the operation state of the remote control 30 and a power saving command to the communication unit 136 of the remote control 30. Communication unit 406 receives a command for instructing change of the operation state of air conditioner 41_1 from communication unit 136 of remote controller 30.

  The interface unit 407 transmits a signal for controlling the operation of the air conditioner 41_1 or the air conditioner 41_2 through the control cable 70.

  The input unit 408 is, for example, a keyboard. The input unit 408 receives input by the user of consumable power to be stored in the consumable power storage unit 404 and a floor area to be stored in the floor area storage unit 405.

  The display unit 409 is a liquid crystal display, for example. The display unit 409 gives a warning when the power calculation unit 403 determines that the power consumption per unit time predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 402 exceeds the consumable power even when the remote controller 30 is in the power saving operation. indicate.

  When a warning is displayed on the display unit 409, the speaker 410 outputs a warning sound according to the warning.

  The power processing executed by the controller 40 described above will be described with reference to FIG. The power processing predicts the power consumption per hour required when the change of the operation state instructed by the user is realized by the air conditioner 41_1. In the power processing, it is determined whether or not the predicted power consumption per unit time exceeds the power that can be consumed. This power process is executed when the controller 40 receives a command that instructs to change the operation state of the air conditioner 41_1.

  In the power processing, first, the control unit 401 (power consumption prediction unit 402) executes the following processing in step S41. In other words, the control unit 401 (power consumption prediction unit 402) is configured to change the operation state instructed by the user via the remote controller 30 and the current operation state indicated by the operation information stored in the operation information holding unit 204. A difference (for example, a difference between the newly designated set temperature and the current set temperature, a difference between the newly designated set humidity and the current set humidity, etc.) is calculated, and the difference is calculated from the air conditioner 41_1. The calorie consumption required is calculated from the floor area of the room in which is used (value stored in the floor area storage unit 405). Then, the control unit 401 (power consumption prediction unit 402) predicts necessary power consumption per hour from the calculated calorie consumption.

  Next, the control unit 401 (power calculation unit 403) allocates the power consumption per unit time predicted by the control unit 401 (power consumption prediction unit 402) as the power that can be consumed by the air conditioner 41_1 and the air conditioner 41_2. It is determined whether or not the consumable power that has been consumed, that is, the consumable power stored in the consumable power storage unit 404 has been exceeded (step S42).

  When the control unit 401 (power calculation unit 403) determines that the power consumption per unit time predicted by the control unit 401 (power consumption prediction unit 402) exceeds the consumable power (step S42: Yes), step S43 is performed. The following judgment is performed. That is, the control unit 401 (power calculation unit 403) determines the power consumption per unit time predicted by the control unit 401 (power consumption prediction unit 402), which is reduced when the remote controller 30 is shifted to the power saving operation. It subtracts from the power consumption and determines whether or not the subtracted power consumption per unit time is within the consumable power (step S43).

  When the control unit 401 (power calculation unit 403) determines that the subtracted power consumption per unit time is within the consumable power (step S43: Yes), the control unit 401 (power calculation unit 403) outputs a power saving command to shift the remote controller 30 to the power saving operation. It transmits to the remote control 30 via the communication part 406 (step S44).

  On the other hand, if the control unit 401 (power calculation unit 403) determines that the subtracted power consumption per unit time exceeds the consumable power (step S43: No), the display unit 409 and the speaker 410 are used, The warning notification is started (step S46). This notification is continued until step S44 or step S45 is executed.

  When the control unit 401 (power calculation unit 403) determines in step S42 that the power consumption per unit time predicted by the control unit 401 (power consumption prediction unit 402) is within consumable power (step S42: Yes). ) Since it is not necessary to shift the remote controller 30 to the power saving operation, a normal command for shifting the remote controller 30 to the normal operation is transmitted to the remote controller 30 via the communication unit 406 (step S45).

  The control unit 401 (power calculation unit 403) ends this power processing after executing any of step S44, step S45, or step S46.

  As described above, the power calculation unit 403 reduces the power consumption when the power consumption per unit time predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 402 exceeds the consumable power, and when the remote controller 30 is shifted to the power saving operation. Is subtracted from the power consumption per unit time predicted by the power consumption prediction unit 402. Then, when the subtracted power consumption per unit time is within consumable power, the power calculation unit 403 transmits a power saving command to the remote controller 30.

  Next, a power saving setting process executed by the remote controller 30 (a process that differs in part from the power saving setting process executed by the remote controller 10) will be described with reference to FIG. The power saving setting process is a process for switching the power saving flag 122 on and off. The power saving setting process is executed when a user operation is performed via the input unit 130 or when a command is received from the controller 40.

  In the power saving setting process executed by the remote controller 30, first, the control unit 103 (CPU) determines whether or not the power saving flag 122 is on (step S51).

  If the control part 103 determines with the power saving flag 122 being OFF (step S51: No), it will transfer to step S52.

  In step S52, the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) determines whether or not an operation for shifting to the power saving operation by the user has been received by the input unit 130 (step S52).

  When the operation for instructing the shift to the power saving operation is accepted (step S52: Yes), the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) turns on the power saving flag 122 (step S53), and sets the power saving setting. End the process.

  On the other hand, when the operation for instructing the shift to the power saving operation is not accepted (step S52: No), the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) proceeds to step S54. Moreover, also when it determines with the power saving flag 122 being ON by step S51 (step S51: Yes), the control part 103 transfers to step S54.

  In step S54, the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) determines whether or not an operation for shifting the user to the normal operation is accepted by the input unit 130 (step S54).

  When the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) determines that the operation for shifting to the normal operation has been accepted (step S54: Yes), it turns off the power saving flag 122 (step S55), and ends this power saving setting process. To do.

  On the other hand, if the control unit 103 (event management unit 105) determines that the operation for shifting to the normal operation has not been accepted (step S54: No), the process proceeds to step S56.

  In step S56, control unit 103 (flag switching unit 135) determines whether or not communication unit 136 has received a power saving command (step S56).

  In step S56, if control unit 103 (flag switching unit 135) determines that a power saving command has been received (step S56: Yes), the power consumed by air conditioner 41_1, air conditioner 41_2, and remote controller 30 is set within the consumable power. Therefore, the power saving flag 122 is turned on (step S53), and this power saving setting process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when determining that the power saving command has not been received (step S56: No), the control unit 103 (flag switching unit 135) determines whether or not the normal command has been received by the communication unit 136 (step S57). .

  When determining that the normal command has been received (step S57: Yes), the control unit 103 (flag switching unit 135) turns off the power saving flag 122 (step S55) in order to set the remote control 30 to normal operation. The power setting process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 103 (flag switching unit 135) determines that a normal command has not been received (step S57: No), the power saving setting process is terminated.

  As described above, in the power saving setting process, the power saving flag 122 is switched on and off in accordance with a user operation via the input unit 130 or a command received from the controller 40, and the operation state of the remote controller 30 is saved. Switch to either power operation or normal operation.

  As described above, when receiving the power saving command from the controller 40, the remote controller 30 of the air conditioner system 2 according to the second embodiment switches to the power saving operation. Then, similarly to the remote controller 10 of the air conditioner system 1 according to the first embodiment, the remote controller 30 determines an image to be read by the drawing unit 107 as a monochrome image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 by image configuration processing. This monochrome image has an information amount of 1/8 compared to the color image stored in the normal image storage unit 109. Therefore, when the remote controller 30 is in the power saving operation, the drawing unit 107 reduces the number of monochrome images stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 as compared with the case where the color image stored in the normal image storage unit 109 is read. It can be read with power. Therefore, the remote controller 30 can suppress power consumption when the remote controller 30 is in a power saving operation. In addition, when the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation, the remote controller 30 determines the image read by the drawing unit 107 as a monochrome image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 regardless of whether the input unit 130 is operated. Therefore, the remote controller 30 can suppress power consumption without being affected by the presence or absence of an operation.

  If the remote controller 30 determines that the power saving flag 122 is on, that is, determines that the remote controller 10 is in a power saving operation, the remote controller 30 is the storage unit from which the image is not read by the drawing unit 107, that is, The power supply from the power supply unit 134 to the normal image storage unit 109 is cut off. Thus, the remote controller 30 prevents the normal image storage unit 109 from consuming power from the power supply unit 134 when the remote control 30 is in a power saving operation. Therefore, in the remote controller 30, when the remote controller 30 is in the power saving operation, the consumed power can be suppressed.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and application are possible.

  For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, a monochrome image that can use two colors is used as an example of an image stored in the small-volume image storage unit 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the image stored in the small image storage unit 110 may be an image having a resolution lower than the resolution of the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109, for example. Examples of the low resolution image include an image having a smaller number of pixels than the number of pixels constituting the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109. As described above, the image information stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 can also be obtained by making the resolution of the image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 lower than the resolution of the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109. The amount can be reduced as compared with the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109. Therefore, when the operation state is a power saving operation, the power consumed when the remote controller 10 and the remote controller 30 read an image can be suppressed as compared with the case where the operation state is a normal operation. Therefore, when the operation state is a power saving operation, the consumed power can be suppressed.

  For example, when gradation is used for the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109, the image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 may be a single color that does not use gradation. In this case, a reversible compression method such as a run-length method or a Packbits method that can compress an image composed of a single color at a high compression rate may be applied to the image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110. Thereby, the compression rate of the image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 is increased, and the information amount of the image stored in the small amount image storage unit 110 is compared with the information amount of the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109. , Can be less. Therefore, when the operation state is a power saving operation, the power consumed when the remote controller 10 and the remote controller 30 read an image can be suppressed as compared with the case where the operation state is a normal operation. Therefore, when the operation state is a power saving operation, the consumed power can be suppressed.

  In general, the power consumption of the ROM decreases as the storage capacity decreases. Therefore, when a ROM is used for the small image storage unit 110 and the normal image storage unit 109, the storage capacity of the small image storage unit 110 is smaller than the storage capacity of the normal image storage unit 109 as shown by the remote controller 10. Thus, the power consumption of the small amount image storage unit 110 can be suppressed as compared with the normal image storage unit 109.

  Further, when the small image storage unit 110 and the normal image storage unit 109 are, for example, hard disks other than the ROM, the rated power consumption in the small image storage unit 110 is higher than the rated power consumption in the normal image storage unit 109. A small one may be used. Also by this, the power consumption of the small amount image storage unit 110 can be suppressed as compared with the normal image storage unit 109.

  In the remote controller 10 and the remote controller 30 of each embodiment described above, the compressed image is stored in the normal image storage unit 109 and the small image storage unit 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the non-compressed image is stored in the normal image storage unit 109, the compressed image is stored in the small image storage unit 110, and the information amount of the image stored in the small image storage unit 110 is set as the normal image storage unit 109. The amount of information stored in the image may be smaller. If the information amount of the image stored in the small image storage unit 110 is smaller than the information amount of the image stored in the normal image storage unit 109, an uncompressed image is stored in the normal image storage unit 109 and the small image storage unit. You may memorize | store in the part 110. FIG.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the image constituting the screen displayed on the display surface of the LCD 132 is generated by the drawing unit 107 realized by the control unit 103 executing the program stored in the ROM 125. However, it is not limited to this. Instead of the drawing unit 107, a graphic accelerator constituted by hardware may be used. In this case, the graphic accelerator may have the following configuration, similar to the drawing unit 107. That is, when the graphic accelerator receives a drawing request from the screen generation unit 106, the graphic accelerator reads the image corresponding to the image address designated by the screen generation unit 106 from the normal image storage unit 109 or the small image storage unit 110, and reads the read image. What is necessary is just to set it as the structure written in the area | region in VRAM123 corresponding to the display coordinate designated from the screen production | generation part 106. FIG.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, by switching between energization and cutoff of the small-volume image storage unit 110 and the normal image storage unit 109, it is possible to prevent power from being consumed in the storage unit that does not perform image reading. However, it is not limited to this. That is, when the control unit 103 can control the supply and non-supply of the clock signal from the control unit 103 used for the operation of the small image storage unit 110 and the normal image storage unit 109, the following is performed. Thus, it is possible to prevent power from being consumed in a storage unit that is not used.

  That is, when the remote controller 10 or the remote controller 30 is in a normal operation, the control unit 103 (power supply control unit 108) stops the supply of the clock signal to the small amount image storage unit 110, while the clock signal to the normal image storage unit 109. Supply. On the other hand, when the remote controller 10 or the remote controller 30 is in the power saving operation, the control unit 103 (power control unit 108) stops supplying the clock signal to the normal image storage unit 109, while the small amount image storage unit 110 has a clock. Supply the signal. By doing so, it is possible to prevent power from being consumed in a storage unit that is not used.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the small image storage unit 110 and the normal image storage unit 109 do not have a built-in CPU. Therefore, power supply to the small image storage unit 110 or the normal image storage unit 109 is not supplied. Although the field effect transistors FET1 and FET2 are used, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, when the CPU is built in the small image storage unit 110 and the normal image storage unit 109, the supply and non-supply of power to the small image storage unit 110 or the normal image storage unit 109 is controlled by the built-in CPU. Also good.

  This may be configured as follows. That is, the field effect transistors FET1 and FET2 are deleted from the circuit diagrams shown in FIGS. Then, the terminals connected to the drains of the field effect transistors FET1 and FET2 are connected to the bus line BL, respectively. Further, the storage battery 101 or the power supply unit 134 is connected to each of the small amount image storage unit 110 and the normal image storage unit 109 using a conductive wire, and the direct current power of the storage battery 101 or the power supply unit 134 is connected to the small amount image storage unit 110 and What is necessary is just to make it supply to each of the normal image memory | storage part 109. FIG. Further, the CPU incorporated in the small image storage unit 110 and the normal image storage unit 109 includes the storage battery 101 regardless of whether the remote control 10 or the remote control 30 is in a normal operation or the remote control 10 or the remote control 30 is in a power saving operation. Alternatively, DC power may be supplied from the power supply unit 134. With this configuration, the built-in CPU can operate regardless of whether the remote controller 10 or the remote controller 30 is in a normal operation or the remote controller 10 or the remote controller 30 is in a power saving operation.

  The control unit 103 (power control unit 108) outputs a supply command to the CPU built in the normal image storage unit 109 via the bus line BL when the remote control 10 or the remote control 30 is in a normal operation. A non-supply command is output to the CPU incorporated in the small-volume image storage unit 110 to supply power to the normal image storage unit 109 and non-supply of power to the small-volume image storage unit 110. On the other hand, when the remote controller 10 or the remote controller 30 is in a power saving operation, the power supply control unit 108 outputs a non-supply command to the CPU built in the normal image storage unit 109 via the bus line BL, while storing a small amount of image. A supply command may be output to the CPU incorporated in the unit 110 to supply no power to the normal image storage unit 109 and supply power to the small amount image storage unit 110. In this way, the remote controller 10 or the remote controller 30 can also prevent power from being consumed in a storage unit that is not used when the remote controller 10 or the remote controller 30 is in a power saving operation.

  In the above embodiment, the program for controlling the air conditioner system 1 and the air conditioner system 2 includes a flexible disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an MO (Magneto-Optical Disc), and the like. An air conditioner system that executes the processes shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 and FIGS. 10 to 11 is configured by storing and distributing the program in a computer-readable recording medium and installing the program in the computer or the like. It is good.

  Further, the above-described program may be stored in a disk device or the like of a predetermined server device on a communication network such as the Internet, and may be downloaded, for example, superimposed on a carrier wave.

  In the case where the processes shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 and FIGS. 10 to 11 are realized by sharing each OS (Operating System), or when the processes shown in FIGS. Only the part other than the OS may be stored and distributed in a medium, or may be downloaded.

  Various embodiments and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, the above-described embodiment is for explaining the present invention, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. In other words, the scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of claims, not the embodiment described above. Various modifications within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the equivalent invention are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention is suitable for realizing suppression of consumed power.

1, 2 Air conditioner system 10, 30 Remote control 20, 41_1, 41_2 Air conditioner 40 Controller 101 Storage battery 102 A / D converter 103, 201, 401 Control unit 109 Normal image storage unit 110 Small image storage unit 111 Screen configuration information storage unit 120 RAM
130 Input unit 131 LCD controller 132 LCD
133, 136, 203, 406 Communication unit 134 Power supply unit 204 Operation information holding unit 404 Consumable power storage unit 405 Floor area storage unit 407 Interface unit 408 Input unit 409 Display unit 410 Speaker BL Bus line

Claims (8)

A control device that receives an operation for controlling a control target device and transmits control information according to the received operation to the control target device,
A display unit for displaying a control screen;
An information storage unit that stores first image information that is image information of image elements forming a control screen displayed on the display unit;
A small amount information storage unit that stores second image information that is image information of the image element and has a smaller information amount than the image information stored in the information storage unit;
An operation mode setting unit that sets the operation mode of the control device to one of a first operation mode that operates at a predetermined power consumption and a second operation mode that consumes less power than the first operation mode;
When the operation mode setting unit sets the first operation mode, the first image information stored in the information storage unit is read to generate a control screen composed of a plurality of image elements, and the operation mode When the setting unit sets the second operation mode, the second image information stored in the small amount information storage unit is read to generate a control screen composed of a plurality of image elements, and the generated control screen A screen generation unit for displaying on the display unit;
A control device comprising: When the operation mode setting unit performs setting to switch one of the first operation mode and the second operation mode to the other, the screen generation unit displays the control screen displayed on the display unit immediately before switching. The image information corresponding to the image elements constituting the image, the information corresponding to the operation mode after switching is read out to generate a control screen, and displayed on the display unit,
The control device according to claim 1. When the operation mode setting unit performs setting to switch from the first operation mode to the second operation mode, the power supplied to the information storage unit is cut off while the small amount information storage unit is cut off. A power control unit that starts supplying the power to
The control device according to claim 1 or 2. The operation mode setting unit
When the output voltage of the storage battery that supplies power consumed by the control device is detected and the output voltage less than the predetermined value is detected by comparing the detected output voltage with a predetermined value, Setting to switch from the first operation mode to the second operation mode;
The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A communication unit that receives a command to change the operation mode of the control device from the control target device;
The operation mode setting unit
When the communication unit receives a command to change from the first operation mode to the second operation mode, the setting for switching the operation mode from the first operation mode to the second operation mode is performed.
The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The small amount information storage unit
The storage capacity is smaller than the storage capacity of the information storage unit.
The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A control device that includes a display unit that displays a control screen, receives an operation for controlling the control target device, and transmits control information corresponding to the received operation to the control target device. An operation mode setting step for setting to any one of a first operation mode that operates at a power consumption of and a second operation mode that consumes less power than the first operation mode;
When the first operation mode is set in the operation mode setting step, the control device reads out first image information that is image information of an image element forming the control screen, and generates the control screen. When the second operation mode is set in the operation mode setting step, the control screen is read by reading second image information that is image information of the screen element and has a smaller information amount than the first image information. Generating a screen and displaying the generated control screen on the display unit;
A control method comprising: A computer that has a display unit that displays a control screen, accepts an operation for controlling a control target device, and transmits a control information corresponding to the received operation to the control target device.
An operation mode setting function for setting the operation mode of the control device to any one of a first operation mode that operates at a predetermined power consumption and a second operation mode that consumes less power than the first operation mode. ,
When the first operation mode is set by the operation mode setting function, the control screen is generated by reading first image information that is image information of an image element forming the control screen, and the operation mode setting function When the second operation mode is set by the step, the control screen is generated by reading out the second image information which is the image information of the image element and whose information amount is smaller than the first image information, and generates the control screen. Screen generation function for displaying the control screen on the display unit,
A program that realizes

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