JP2003309563A - Facility equipment control system and setter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an equipment control system, where a controller connected to a setter by a telecommunication line can recognize communication abnormality, and this setter. <P>SOLUTION: A facility equipment control system 1 is equipped with a plurality of indoor units, an outdoor unit, a station 4, and a setter 6. The station 4 is connected to the plural indoor units via the outdoor unit 3, and controls the indoor unit 3. The setter 6 is connected to the station 4 by the above telecommunication line 5, and transmits a confirmation signal for confirming that it is in communication with the station 4, to the station 4 with specified timing during communication with the station 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a facility equipment control system and a setting device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an equipment control system has been used which is composed of various equipment such as air-conditioning equipment and electric equipment and a controller to which these are connected, and which comprehensively controls and manages these equipment. It has become so. For example, it is composed of a plurality of air conditioners installed in the building and one controller to which these are connected,
There is a system that can comprehensively manage building air conditioning with a controller. According to this equipment control system, the user can perform centralized control / management of the equipment by the controller, and the management efficiency of the equipment is improved.

By the way, when using such a facility equipment control system, it is necessary to make initial settings for the controller and settings corresponding to the expansion of facility equipment. There has been proposed a facility equipment control system that can be remotely performed by using. In this equipment control system, the setting device is connected to the controller by a communication line such as a telephone line or ISDN, and after setting the line connection, the setting data is transmitted to the controller. According to such an equipment control system, it is possible to set the controller without moving to the installation location of the controller, which is convenient.

[0004]

However, in communication of setting data using such a communication line, the communication may be disconnected due to occurrence of some abnormality. For example, a TCP / IP connection is established by establishing a line connection by a telephone line.
If a communication error occurs during connection, TCP / I
The P connection may be broken. At this time, if the controller does not have the function of automatically detecting the communication abnormality, the controller cannot recognize the disconnection of the communication.

Further, this becomes a problem particularly when the communication line can be disconnected only from the controller side. That is, although the communication for transmitting / receiving the setting data has already been disconnected, the communication line may remain connected. An object of the present invention is to provide a facility equipment control system and a setting device that allow a controller to recognize a communication abnormality.

[0006]

A facility equipment control system according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a facility equipment, a controller, and a setting device. The controller is connected to the equipment and controls the equipment. The setting device is connected to the controller via a communication line, and transmits a confirmation signal for confirming that the communication is being performed with the controller at a predetermined timing while communicating with the controller.

In this facility equipment control system, the setting device transmits a confirmation signal to the controller at a predetermined timing during communication with the controller. Therefore, the controller can determine the communication state based on whether or not the confirmation signal is received. That is, the controller can determine that the communication is normal when the confirmation signal is received, and that the communication has a problem when the confirmation signal is not received. As a result, the controller can recognize the communication abnormality.

This is particularly effective when the controller, not the setting device, needs to recognize the communication abnormality. For example, when the communication line is connected by a callback connection from the controller, it is the controller side that can disconnect the communication line. Therefore, in such a case, the controller needs to recognize the communication abnormality, and the present invention is particularly effective.

The equipment control system according to a second aspect is the equipment control system according to the first aspect,
The setting device transmits the setting data regarding the setting of the controller to the controller via the communication line, and transmits the confirmation signal to the controller when the setting data is not transmitted. In this equipment control system, the setting device is
When the setting data is not sent to the controller,
Send a confirmation signal to the controller. Therefore, the controller can determine the communication state based on whether or not the confirmation signal is received. The controller can judge that the communication is normal when receiving the setting data,
When the setting data is not received, it may not be possible to determine whether it is simply because the setting device is not transmitting or because of communication error. However, in this equipment control system, the controller can determine that the communication is normal when the confirmation signal is received, and that the communication has a problem when the confirmation signal is not received. As a result, the controller can recognize the communication abnormality.

The equipment control system according to claim 3 is the equipment control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the controller acts as a setting device when the confirmation signal is not received for a predetermined time. Judge that communication has been disconnected. Further, the setting device transmits the confirmation signal at intervals shorter than the predetermined time. In this equipment device control system, the setting device transmits the confirmation signal at an interval shorter than the predetermined time period in which the communication is determined to be disconnected, so that the communication is disconnected when the transmitted confirmation signal is not received multiple times. Determine that That is, it is not determined that the communication is disconnected just by not receiving the confirmation signal once, and thus it is less likely that the communication is erroneously determined to be abnormal.

An equipment control system according to a fourth aspect is the equipment control system according to the third aspect,
The interval at which the setting device transmits the confirmation signal can be changed. The time required for the signal transmitted from the setting device to reach the controller is affected by the communication speed. That is,
When the communication speed is slow, it takes time until the signal is received, as compared with the case where the communication speed is fast. Since the confirmation signal is not transmitted while the setting data is being transmitted, if the transmission time of the setting data is different, the time until the confirmation signal is transmitted next will be different. Therefore, even if the communication speeds are different, if the confirmation signals are always transmitted at the same intervals, the number of times the confirmation signals are transmitted within a predetermined time may differ depending on the communication speeds. For example, when the communication speed is high, the confirmation signal is transmitted 6 times within a predetermined time, but when the communication speed is low, it takes time to transmit the setting data transmitted during the confirmation signal. There may be cases where the signal is transmitted only twice.

However, in this equipment control system,
Since the interval at which the setting device transmits the confirmation signal can be changed, the interval can be set according to the communication speed. A setting device according to a fifth aspect includes a transmission unit and a control unit. The transmitting means transmits a signal via a communication line to a controller that is connected to the equipment and controls the equipment. The control means causes the transmission means to transmit a confirmation signal for confirming that the communication is being performed with the controller during the communication with the controller to the controller at a predetermined timing.

In this setting device, the transmitting means transmits the confirmation signal to the controller at a predetermined timing during communication with the controller. Therefore, the controller can determine the communication state based on whether or not the confirmation signal is received. That is, the controller can determine that the communication is normal when the confirmation signal is received, and that the communication has a problem when the confirmation signal is not received. As a result, the controller can recognize the communication abnormality.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the setting device according to the fifth aspect, further comprising input means for inputting setting data relating to setting of the controller. Then, the control means causes the transmitting means to transmit the setting data input by the input means to the controller, and when the setting data is not transmitted, transmits a confirmation signal confirming that the communication is being performed with the controller to the controller. Send to the means.

In this setting device, the transmitting means transmits the confirmation signal to the controller when the setting data is not transmitted to the controller. Therefore, the controller can determine the communication state based on whether or not the confirmation signal is received. The controller can judge that the communication is normal when it receives the setting data, but when it does not receive the setting data, it may be because the setting device is not transmitting or because of communication error. It may not be possible to determine whether or not However, according to this setting device, the controller can determine that the communication is normal when the confirmation signal is received, and that the communication has a problem when the confirmation signal is not received. This allows
The controller can recognize the communication abnormality.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION <Configuration of Facility Equipment Control System>
An equipment control system 1 to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied is shown in FIG. This facility equipment control system 1 is a system in which a plurality of indoor units for air conditioning in a building can be centrally managed by one station, and a service person can remotely set the station through a public line. is there.

The equipment control system 1 mainly comprises a plurality of indoor units 2 of the air conditioner, an outdoor unit 3, a station 4 and a setting device 6. The indoor unit 2 is provided in each room in the building and sends conditioned air to each room. The outdoor unit 3 is provided on the roof of a building or the like, and is connected to the indoor unit 2 by a refrigerant pipe and a communication line. The outdoor unit 3 constitutes a refrigerant circuit with the indoor unit 2, and performs heat exchange between the outside air and the refrigerant.

The station 4 is connected to the outdoor unit 3 by a communication line, and centrally manages a plurality of indoor units 2 connected to the outdoor unit 3. The station 4 is arranged in, for example, a management room of a building. The station 4 can manage the operation / stop of the indoor unit 2, the temperature setting, etc. on an annual schedule. Setting device 6
Is connected to the station 4 through the public line 5, and the station 4 is set so as to correspond to the indoor unit 2 to which the station 4 is connected. Setting device 6
Is a personal computer on which a test run tool for setting the station 4 is installed.
The setting device 6 can be used to set the station 4 remotely.

<Structure of Setting Device 6> The structure of the setting device 6 is shown in FIG. The setting device 6 mainly includes a modem 60, a microcomputer 61, an input unit 62, and a monitor 63. The modem 60 is connected to the station 4 via the public line 5 and transmits / receives signals to / from the station 4 by TCP / IP connection. Public line 5 here
There are ISDN and telephone lines.

The input unit 62 is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, and inputs setting data relating to the setting of the station 4. The serviceman inputs the setting data through the input unit 62 while looking at the setting data input screen displayed on the monitor 63. The microcomputer 61 sends the setting data input by the input unit 62 to the station 4 and the modem 60.
To send. Also, the microcomputer 61 sends a confirmation signal to the station 4 to confirm that it is communicating with the station 4 when the setting data is not transmitted.
To send. The transmission of this confirmation signal will be described later in detail.

When setting the station 4 by the setting device 6, the setting device 6 first establishes a line connection with the station 4. At this time, the line is connected using the callback from the station 4. This is because the OS installed in the station 4 may not have an incoming call function. When the line connection between the setting device 6 and the station 4 is established by the callback, the test operation tool is activated, and the setting device 6 starts communication such as transmission of setting data to the station 4.

<Transmission of Confirmation Signal> As shown in FIG. 3, the setting device 6 periodically transmits a confirmation signal to the station 4 by the PING command. In this setting device 6,
The interval of transmission of the confirmation signal is set to 20 seconds, but this value can be changed by the service person rewriting the registry.

The setting device 6 does not send a confirmation signal while transmitting the setting data, but transmits the confirmation signal after the transmission of the setting data is completed, as shown in FIG. For example,
It is assumed that the setting device 6 receives the data setting request and transmits the setting data immediately before 20 seconds have elapsed since the confirmation signal PING1 was transmitted by the PING command, and the transmission time is 20 seconds. In this case, the setting device 6 uses the PI
40 seconds after the transmission of NG1, the next confirmation signal PING2 is transmitted.

When the station 4 does not receive the confirmation signal from the setting device 6 for 2 minutes, it judges that the communication is abnormal. When the station 4 determines that there is an abnormality in communication, it disconnects the line. The time-out time for the confirmation signal is not limited to 2 minutes, but may be any other time, but the time-out time until the test operation tool starts and receives the first confirmation signal is set longer than the time-out time after the second time. . In the present embodiment, the timeout time after the second time is 2 minutes, whereas the first timeout time is set to 10 minutes. This is because it is an illegal case when the test operation tool is activated, so that the timeout time has a margin. As a result, it is possible to more accurately recognize the occurrence of abnormality.

When the test operation tool ends, the setting device 6 sends a line disconnection request to the station 4. The station 4, which has received the line disconnection request, disconnects the line connection. Since the setting device 6 has a function of automatically recognizing disconnection of communication, such a time-out process is not performed on the setting device side. Also,
The station 4 does not make a PING response to the setting device 6. This is because the setting device 6 has the function of automatically recognizing the disconnection of communication, and therefore the process for the PING response is not necessary.

<Characteristics> (1) In this equipment control system 1, a confirmation signal is transmitted to the station 4 every 20 seconds, and when the station 4 does not receive the confirmation signal for 2 minutes, communication with the setting device 6 is performed. It is determined that there is something wrong with. That is, when the communication between the setting device 6 and the station 4 is broken due to some kind of communication abnormality, that is, when the TCP / IP connection is disconnected, the confirmation signal transmitted from the setting device 6 does not reach the station 4. The station 4 recognizes the communication abnormality on the basis that the confirmation signal, which should have been transmitted from the setting device 6, does not arrive. In this way, the station 4 can determine the communication state based on whether or not the confirmation signal is received.

Particularly, in this equipment control system 1,
Since the line is connected by the callback from the station 4 side, it is necessary to disconnect the line from the station 4 side. In this case, the line connection cannot be disconnected unless the station 4 recognizes that a communication error has occurred. For this reason, the line remains connected even though the signal is not transmitted and received. Further, the station 4 may not have the function of automatically detecting a communication abnormality. But,
In the equipment control system 1 according to the present embodiment, the station 4 can recognize the communication abnormality based on whether or not the confirmation signal is received. Therefore, as described above, TCP /
It is possible to prevent a situation where the IP connection is disconnected but the line remains connected.

(2) In this equipment control system 1,
Since the setting device 6 transmits the confirmation signal at intervals of 20 seconds, which is shorter than the time-out period of 2 minutes, if the transmitted confirmation signal is not received a plurality of times, it is determined that the communication is disconnected. That is, it is not judged that the communication is disconnected just by not receiving the confirmation signal once. Therefore, it is possible to reduce erroneous determination of communication abnormality when the setting data is transmitted during the confirmation signal.

(3) In this equipment control system 1,
By rewriting the registry of the setting device 6, the interval of the confirmation signal transmitted from the setting device 6 can be changed. Therefore, the interval can be set according to the communication speed. That is, when the communication speed is low, the influence of the delay of the signal transmission time can be reduced by reducing the interval as compared with the case where the communication speed is high.

(4) In this equipment control system 1,
When the test operation tool ends, the setting device 6 transmits a line disconnection request to the station 4, and the station 4 receiving the line disconnection request disconnects the line connection. In this equipment control system 1, it is necessary to disconnect the line from the station 4 to which the callback connection is made as described above, but by performing such an operation, the line is connected even after the trial run tool is finished. It is possible to prevent the situation in which the operation is continued.

[0031]

According to the facility equipment control system of the first aspect, the setting device transmits a confirmation signal to the controller at a predetermined timing during communication with the controller. Therefore, the controller can determine the communication state based on whether or not the confirmation signal is received. That is, the controller can determine that the communication is normal when the confirmation signal is received, and that the communication has a problem when the confirmation signal is not received. As a result, the controller can recognize the communication abnormality.

This is particularly effective when the controller, not the setting device, needs to recognize the communication abnormality. For example, when the communication line is connected by a callback connection from the controller, it is the controller side that can disconnect the communication line. Therefore, in such a case, the controller needs to recognize the communication abnormality, and the present invention is particularly effective.

In the equipment control system according to the second aspect, the setting device transmits the confirmation signal to the controller when the setting data is not transmitted to the controller. Therefore, the controller can determine the communication state based on whether or not the confirmation signal is received. The controller can judge that the communication is normal when it receives the setting data, but when it does not receive the setting data, it may be because the setting device is not transmitting or because of communication error. It may not be possible to determine whether or not
However, in this equipment control system, if the controller receives the confirmation signal, the communication is normal,
If the confirmation signal is not received, it can be determined that there is a communication problem. This causes the controller to
Communication abnormalities can be recognized.

In the equipment control system according to the third aspect of the invention, the setting device transmits the confirmation signal at intervals shorter than the predetermined time for determining the disconnection of the communication, so that the transmitted confirmation signal is received a plurality of times. If not, it is determined that the communication has been disconnected. That is, it is not determined that the communication is disconnected just by not receiving the confirmation signal once, and thus it is less likely that the communication is erroneously determined to be abnormal.

In the equipment control system according to the fourth aspect, since the interval at which the setting device transmits the confirmation signal can be changed, the interval can be set according to the communication speed. In the setting device according to the fifth aspect, the transmitting means transmits the confirmation signal to the controller at a predetermined timing during communication with the controller. Therefore, the controller can determine the communication state based on whether or not the confirmation signal is received. That is, the controller can determine that the communication is normal when the confirmation signal is received, and that the communication has a problem when the confirmation signal is not received. As a result, the controller can recognize the communication abnormality.

In the setting device according to the sixth aspect, the transmitting means transmits the confirmation signal to the controller when the setting data is not transmitted to the controller. For this reason,
The controller can determine the communication status based on whether or not the confirmation signal is received. The controller can judge that the communication is normal when it receives the setting data, but when it does not receive the setting data, it may be because the setting device is not transmitting or because of communication error. It may not be possible to determine whether or not However, according to this setting device, the controller can determine that the communication is normal when the confirmation signal is received, and that the communication has a problem when the confirmation signal is not received. As a result, the controller can recognize the communication abnormality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a facility equipment control system.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a setting device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing communication of a confirmation signal between a setting device and a station.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing communication of a confirmation signal between a setting device and a station.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Indoor unit (equipment) 3 Outdoor unit (facility equipment) 4 stations (controller) 6 setting device 60 modem (transmitting means) 61 Microcomputer (control means) 62 Input unit (input means)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An equipment (2, 3), and the equipment (2, 3) connected to the equipment (2, 3).
It is connected to the controller (4) that controls 3) and the controller (4) through a communication line, and it is confirmed that the controller (4) is communicating at a predetermined timing while communicating with the controller (4). And a setting device (6) for transmitting a confirmation signal to the controller (4). 2. The setting device (6) transmits setting data concerning the setting of the controller (4) to the controller (4) via the communication line, and when the setting data is not transmitted, The equipment control system according to claim 1, which transmits the confirmation signal to the controller (4). 3. The controller (4) judges that the communication with the setting device (6) is disconnected when the confirmation signal is not received for a predetermined time, and the setting device (6) The facility equipment control system according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation signal is transmitted at an interval shorter than the predetermined time. 4. The equipment control system according to claim 3, wherein an interval at which the setting device (6) transmits the confirmation signal can be changed. 5. Transmitting means (60) for transmitting a signal via a communication line to a controller (4) which is connected to equipment (2, 3) and controls the equipment (2, 3), During communication with the controller (4), control means (61) for causing the transmission means (60) to transmit a confirmation signal for confirming that the controller (4) is in communication with the controller (4) at a predetermined timing. And a setting device including. 6. Further comprising an input means (62) for inputting setting data relating to the setting of said controller (4), said control means (61) said said setting data inputted by said input means (62). When the setting data is not transmitted to the controller (4) and the transmission means (60) is transmitted, a confirmation signal for confirming that the controller (4) is in communication is transmitted to the controller (4). The setting device according to claim 5, which causes the transmitting means (60) to transmit.