WO2023135722A1

WO2023135722A1 - Equipment management device, equipment management system, and data processing method for equipment management system

Info

Publication number: WO2023135722A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/001032
Authority: WO
Inventors: 英俊関; 紀行清水
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2022-01-14
Filing date: 2022-01-14
Publication date: 2023-07-20
Also published as: JPWO2023135722A1

Abstract

An equipment management device according to the present disclosure comprises: a collection unit that collects operation data related to the operation of an air conditioner, which exchanges heat between a refrigerant and air by circulating the refrigerant, from a communication device installed in the air conditioner; a diagnostic unit that diagnoses whether or not the refrigerant is leaking on the basis of the operation data; an accumulation unit that accumulates the operation data and the diagnostic results; and a notification unit that notifies a terminal related to the administrator of the air conditioner when it is diagnosed that the refrigerant is leaking.

Description

Device management device, device management system, and data processing method for device management system

The present disclosure relates to a device management device, a device management system, and a data processing method for the device management system.

Conventionally, a technique for detecting leakage of refrigerant circulated in an air conditioner is known. This type of technology is described in Patent Document 1, for example. The refrigerant amount determination device described in Patent Document 1 acquires operating data of an air conditioner, infers a refrigerant amount index value from the operating data, and compares the inferred refrigerant amount estimated value with the refrigerant index value during normal operation. By doing so, the refrigerant leakage is determined, and if there is refrigerant leakage, the manager of the air conditioner is notified of the refrigerant leakage.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-42949

By the way, in recent years, measures have been taken to curb fluorocarbon emissions. For example, the Fluorocarbon Emissions Control Law requires managers of properties with multiple commercial air conditioners, such as stores and buildings, to conduct simple inspections of the air conditioners at least once every three months. obliged to do so. Accordingly, the equipment manager is required to confirm that there is no leakage of the refrigerant through simple inspections once every three months. Simple inspections are performed by the equipment manager, for example, if there are abnormal noises or vibrations in the air conditioner, if it does not cool when it is cooling, if it does not warm when it is heating, and if the heat exchanger is attached visually. This includes checking for signs of leakage, such as whether frost is observed.

On the other hand, due to the 2022 revision of the Fluorocarbons Emissions Control Law, the remote management system will be able to replace simple inspections. This remote management system is required to detect refrigerant leaks in air conditioners based on guidelines (GL-17).

The present disclosure has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and provides a device management device that can omit simple inspection of air conditioners by remotely detecting refrigerant leakage from air conditioners, and device management. An object of the present invention is to provide a data processing method for a system and an equipment management system.

A device management device according to a first aspect collects operation data related to the operation of the air conditioner from a communication device mounted on the air conditioner that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air by circulating the refrigerant. a diagnosis unit that diagnoses whether or not the refrigerant is leaking based on the operation data collected by the collection unit; and the operation data collected by the collection unit and the diagnosis result of the diagnosis unit. An accumulation unit for accumulation, and a notification unit for notifying a terminal related to an administrator of the air conditioner when the diagnosis unit diagnoses that the refrigerant is leaking.

A device management system according to a second aspect includes an air conditioner that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air by circulating a refrigerant, a communication device that can communicate with the air conditioner, and a communication device that can communicate with the air conditioner. a device management device, wherein the device management device accumulates operation data relating to the operation of the air conditioner and diagnosis results of diagnosing whether or not the refrigerant is leaking based on the operation data; is diagnosed as leaking, the terminal related to the administrator of the air conditioner is notified.

A data processing method for a device management system according to a third aspect operates an air conditioner that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air by circulating a refrigerant, and from a communication device capable of communicating with the air conditioner, the Operation data relating to the operation of the air conditioner is collected, whether or not the refrigerant is leaking is diagnosed based on the collected operation data, the collected operation data and diagnosis results are accumulated, and the refrigerant is When it is diagnosed that there is leakage, the terminal related to the manager of the air conditioner is notified.

According to the present disclosure, simple inspection of the air conditioner can be omitted by remotely detecting refrigerant leakage from the air conditioner.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of a device management system according to an embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the database registered into the equipment management apparatus in embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the air conditioner in embodiment. It is a block diagram showing an example of functional composition of an air conditioner in an embodiment, and a device management device. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of processing for detecting refrigerant leakage by the device management device according to the embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the data recorded on the equipment management apparatus in embodiment. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of signal flow in the device management system according to the embodiment; FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of processing for detecting coolant leakage by the device management device according to the embodiment; 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of signal flow in the device management system according to the embodiment; FIG.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope of the technical ideas of the present disclosure. In the drawings below, the scale and number of each structure may be different from the scale and number of the actual structure in order to make each configuration easier to understand.

(Configuration of equipment management system)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a device management system according to an embodiment. The device management system includes, for example, one or more air conditioners 100, a device management device 200, an owner terminal device 300, and a maintenance company terminal device 400. The equipment management device 200, the owner terminal device 300, and the maintenance company terminal device 400 have a communication interface (not shown) such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) or a wireless communication module for connecting to a network NW such as the Internet. . The air conditioner 100 includes a communication unit 30 (external communication unit 150) as described later. In the following description, the user of the air conditioner 100 is described as "user", the administrator of the air conditioner 100 is described as "owner", and services such as maintenance of the air conditioner 100 are provided as a business. Those who do this shall be referred to as “maintenance contractors”. A maintenance company is an example of a service provider using the air conditioner 100 . The owner terminal device 300 is an example of a terminal related to an administrator of the air conditioner 100 .

The air conditioner 100 includes, for example, an outdoor unit 10 and an indoor unit 20. The outdoor unit 10 is arranged outdoors. The indoor unit 20 is arranged indoors. The outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20 are connected to each other by a circulation path through which the refrigerant circulates. The air conditioner 100 causes heat exchange between the refrigerant and the indoor air in which the indoor unit 20 is arranged by circulating the refrigerant in the circulation path portion. Thereby, the air conditioner 100 adjusts the temperature of the indoor air. In the embodiment, one outdoor unit 10 and one indoor unit 20 are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this. It may be the air conditioner 100 . When the multi-type air conditioner 100 is provided, the diagnosis of refrigerant leakage, which will be described later, may be performed for each indoor unit 20 .

The air conditioner 100 communicates with the operation unit 110 and the information processing terminal 120, for example. The operation unit 110 is, for example, a controller embedded in an indoor wall. The operation unit 110 is connected to the indoor unit 20 by wire. The operation unit 110 includes operation buttons operated by the user and a display unit. The operation unit 110 receives a user's operation and outputs an operation signal to the indoor unit 20 . The operation unit 110 displays various information such as the state of the air conditioner 100 on the display unit. The information processing terminal 120 is a smartphone or the like operated by a user or the like. The information processing terminal 120 includes operation buttons and a display unit operated by the user. The information processing terminal 120 receives a user's operation and outputs an operation signal to the indoor unit 20 . The information processing terminal 120 displays various information such as the state of the air conditioner 100 on the display unit.

The device management device 200 is an information processing device such as a server device that accumulates operation data of the air conditioner 100 and performs various processes using the operation data. The equipment management device 200 makes various notifications to the owner's terminal device 300 and the maintenance company's terminal device 400 . The equipment management device 200 provides information on operation data based on requests from the terminal device 300 for the owner and the terminal device 400 for the maintenance company.

The device management device 200 manages owner information, user information, property information about the property where the air conditioner 100 is installed, device information of the air conditioner 100, operation data of the air conditioner 100, and the like. For example, the device management device 200 receives owner information, user information, property information, device information, operation data, etc. based on a request received from the information processing terminal 120, the owner terminal device 300, or the maintenance company terminal device 400. registration, reference, modification and deletion of

The information processing terminal 120 acquires user information, property information, and device information, for example, by accepting user operations. The information processing terminal 120 acquires device information of the air conditioner 100 by reading the code attached to the outdoor unit 10 or the indoor unit 20 . The information processing terminal 120 may acquire device information of the air conditioner 100 from the operation unit 110 . Further, the information processing terminal 120 can acquire device information of the air conditioner 100 by reading a code written on a nameplate attached to the air conditioner 100 . User information, property information, and equipment information are transmitted from information processing terminal 120 to equipment management apparatus 200 via air conditioner 100 .

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a database registered in the device management apparatus 200 according to the embodiment. The equipment management device 200 builds, for example, an owner table, property table, equipment table, and maintenance company table. The owner table, property table, equipment table, and maintenance company table are associated with each other. For example, an owner, a device, and a maintenance company may be associated with a property as key information. The equipment management apparatus 200 performs processing including registration, change, deletion, etc. of information on the owner table, property table, equipment table, and maintenance company table. For example, an owner ID and owner information are registered in the owner table. The owner information is information including the owner's name, contact information, and the like. A property ID and property information are registered in the property table. The property information is information including the name of the property such as a building name, the location of the property, and the like. In the device table, device information including device ID, model name, manufacturing number, etc., operation data, abnormality history information, and inspection support information are registered. In the maintenance company table, maintenance company information including maintenance company ID, company name, contact information, etc. is registered. The owner table, property table, and device table are linked by property IDs. The equipment table and the maintenance company table are linked by the equipment ID.

The operating data is, for example, data used for diagnosing refrigerant leakage in the air conditioner 100 . The abnormality history information is information including, for example, an abnormality detection time, an abnormality type or code, an abnormal stop time, and an abnormal stop type or code. The abnormality history information may include, for example, results of diagnosis of refrigerant leakage in the air conditioner 100, results of confirmation of refrigerant leakage by a maintenance company, results of repairs by a maintenance company, and the like. The inspection support information includes information including a simple inspection date of the air conditioner 100, a history of the simple inspection, an inspection record table, and the like. The simple inspection date, simple inspection history, and inspection record table of the air conditioner 100 may be information contained in a database managed by the device management apparatus 200 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the air conditioner 100 according to the embodiment. The air conditioner 100 includes an outdoor unit 10, an indoor unit 20, and a circulation path section 18, for example. Examples of the refrigerant 19 flowing through the circulation path portion 18 include a fluorine-based refrigerant with a low global warming potential (GWP), a hydrocarbon-based refrigerant, and the like.

The outdoor unit 10 includes, for example, a housing 11, a compressor 12, a heat exchanger 13, a flow control valve 14, a blower 15, a four-way valve 16, and a controller 17. A compressor 12 , a heat exchanger 13 , a flow control valve 14 , a blower 15 , a four-way valve 16 , and a controller 17 are accommodated inside the housing 11 .

The compressor 12 , the heat exchanger 13 , the flow control valve 14 and the four-way valve 16 are provided in a portion of the circulation path section 18 located inside the housing 11 . Compressor 12 , heat exchanger 13 , flow control valve 14 , and four-way valve 16 are connected by a portion of circulation path portion 18 located inside housing 11 .

The four-way valve 16 is provided in a portion of the circulation path portion 18 that is connected to the refrigerant discharge side of the compressor 12 . The four-way valve 16 switches the path of the refrigerant 19 flowing through the circulation path portion 18 between the path indicated by the solid line and the path indicated by the broken line. A route indicated by a solid line is a route for returning the refrigerant 19 discharged from the compressor 12 to the compressor 12 via the heat exchanger 13 , the flow control valve 14 and the indoor unit 20 . A path indicated by a dashed line is a path for returning the refrigerant 19 discharged from the compressor 12 to the compressor 12 via the indoor unit 20 , the flow control valve 14 and the heat exchanger 13 .

The indoor unit 20 includes a housing 21, a heat exchanger 22, a blower 23, and a controller 24. The housing 21 accommodates the heat exchanger 22, the blower 23, and the controller 24 inside. The indoor unit 20 is capable of a cooling operation for cooling the air in the room in which the indoor unit 20 is arranged and a heating operation for warming the air in the room in which the indoor unit 20 is arranged. The communication unit 30 is a separate communication device from the indoor unit 20, and may be connected to a signal input/output unit of a control board on which the control unit 24 and the like are mounted. Also, the communication unit 30 may be a communication device that wirelessly communicates with a wireless LAN adapter connected to the control board and receives signals from the control board via the wireless LAN adapter.

When the air conditioner 100 performs cooling operation, the refrigerant 19 flows through the compressor 12, the heat exchanger 13 of the outdoor unit 10, the flow control valve 14, and the heat exchanger 22 of the indoor unit 20, as indicated by the solid line arrows. in that order back to the compressor 12 . In cooling operation, the heat exchanger 13 inside the outdoor unit 10 functions as a condenser, and the heat exchanger 22 inside the indoor unit 20 functions as an evaporator.

When the air conditioner 100 performs heating operation, the refrigerant 19 flows through the compressor 12, the heat exchanger 22 of the indoor unit 20, the flow control valve 14, and the heat exchanger 13 of the outdoor unit 10, as indicated by dashed arrows. in that order back to the compressor 12 . In heating operation, the heat exchanger 13 inside the outdoor unit 10 functions as an evaporator, and the heat exchanger 22 inside the indoor unit 20 functions as a condenser.

The control unit 24 is mounted on a circuit board inside the indoor unit 20 together with a storage unit (not shown). The controller 24 controls each part of the indoor unit 20 . The control unit 17 is mounted on a circuit board inside the outdoor unit 10 together with a storage unit (not shown). The controller 17 controls each part of the outdoor unit 10 . The control unit 24 and the control unit 17 are implemented by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program stored in a program memory. Software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware, is written as a program, and the program is stored in program memory. Also, some or all of the functional units may be realized by hardware such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). It may be realized by cooperation of hardware. The storage unit includes, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM), etc. , non-volatile or volatile semiconductors Realized by memory.

Specifically, the control unit 24 receives signals from various sensors (not shown) mounted on the outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20 . The control unit 24 controls the motor in the blower 23 . The controller 24 supplies a control signal for operating the outdoor unit 10 to the controller 17 . The control unit 17 controls the motor in the compressor 12 , the motor in the blower 15 , the actuator in the four-way valve 16 , and the actuator in the flow control valve 14 .

The sensors include, for example, temperature sensors that detect various temperatures such as the outside air temperature, room temperature, refrigerant pipe temperature, and shell temperature of the compressor 12, the drive amount of the blower 15, the drive amount of the blower 23, the drive amount of the compressor 12, and the like. , a sensor for detecting various operations such as the operation of the flow control valve 14, the operation of the four-way valve 16, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of functional configurations of the air conditioner 100 and the device management device 200 according to the embodiment. The air conditioner 100 includes, for example, a control unit 24, an acquisition unit 140, a processing unit 142, a storage unit 144, an external communication unit 150, and an in-home communication unit 152. The communication unit 30 described above corresponds to the external communication unit 150 , but is not limited to this, and may communicate with the operation unit 110 or the information processing terminal 120 like the in-home communication unit 152 . The acquiring unit 140 and the processing unit 142 are implemented by executing a program stored in a program memory by a processor such as a CPU. Each unit such as the control unit 24, the acquisition unit 140, the processing unit 142, the storage unit 144, the external communication unit 150, and the in-home communication unit 152 is mounted on either the outdoor unit 10 or the indoor unit 20. It may be distributed to the outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20 and mounted.

The control unit 24 outputs control signals to each unit of the air conditioner 100 . Acquisition unit 140 acquires operation data from each unit of air conditioner 100 . The operation data includes sensor information and operation information regarding the operation of each unit of air conditioner 100 . The operation data includes, for example, the operation mode, the set temperature, the opening degree of the indoor linear expansion valve (LEV (Linear Expansion Valve)) in the indoor unit 20, the room temperature, the outside temperature, the temperature of the circulation path section 18, the temperature in the air conditioner 100 The refrigerant temperature of each part, the operating frequency of the compressor 12, the opening degrees of the flow control valve 14 and the four-way valve 16, etc. may be included. The refrigerant temperature of each part in the air conditioner 100 includes, for example, the temperature of the refrigerant 19 in the heat exchanger 13 and the temperature of the refrigerant 19 discharged from the compressor 12 . The operation information regarding the operation of each unit of air conditioner 100 may include a control signal output from control unit 24 and a signal indicating the amount of operation of each unit of air conditioner 100 . The storage unit 144 stores the operating data acquired by the acquisition unit 140 . The processing unit 142 performs various processes in the air conditioner 100 . The external communication unit 150 is a communication unit that transmits operation data to the equipment management device 200 . In-home communication unit 152 performs wired communication with operation unit 110 . The in-home communication unit 152 communicates with the information processing terminal 120 using a short-range communication method. The short-range communication system is, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The device management apparatus 200 includes, for example, a communication unit 210, a collection unit 220, a processing unit 230, and a storage unit 240. Communication unit 210 communicates with external communication unit 150 provided in air conditioner 100 . The collection unit 220 collects operation data from the air conditioner 100 and stores the collected operation data in the storage unit 240 . The processing unit 230 functions as a diagnosis unit that diagnoses whether or not the refrigerant 19 is leaking based on the operating data collected by the collection unit 220 . Diagnosis results are accumulated in the storage unit 240 . Accordingly, the storage unit 240 functions as an accumulation unit that accumulates the operating data collected by the collection unit 220 and the diagnosis results by the processing unit 230 . The processing unit 230 functions as a notification unit that notifies the owner terminal device 300 related to the manager of the air conditioner 100 when it is diagnosed that the refrigerant 19 is leaking. In addition, the device management device 200 provides information such as diagnostic results to the terminal device 400 for maintenance contractors.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for detecting refrigerant leakage by the device management apparatus 200 according to the embodiment. First, the device management apparatus 200 determines whether or not the timing for collecting operation data has arrived (step S100). The collection timing of the driving data may be set periodically, for example, at a set time in one day. The equipment management apparatus 200 repeats the process of step S100 when the collection timing has not come.

Note that the device management apparatus 200 may collect load information from the air conditioner 100 when the collection timing arrives, and change the operation mode of the air conditioner 100 based on the load information. The load information may be information based on at least one of the blown air temperature with respect to the set temperature of the air conditioner 100, the amount of air blown, the amount of driving the compressor 12, the amount of driving the blower 15 or the blower 23, and the like. Operation modes include, for example, heating mode, cooling mode, powerful mode, and quiet mode. In addition, the device management apparatus 200 temporarily postpones the collection of operation data when the load of the air conditioner 100 is higher than the set value, and collects the operation data when the load of the air conditioner 100 becomes lower than the set value. You can collect.

When the collection timing arrives, the equipment management device 200 collects the operational data and saves the collected operational data (step S102). For example, the device management apparatus 200 may transmit a request to the air conditioner 100 to transmit the uncollected operating data for one day to the device management apparatus 200 in response to the arrival of the collection timing. Further, the device management apparatus 200 may transmit the collection timing to the air conditioner 100 in advance, and start receiving the operation data automatically transmitted from the air conditioner 100 in response to the arrival of the collection timing.

Note that the equipment management device 200 may set the collection timing and operation mode based on the user's operation or a request from the owner's terminal device 300 . As a result, based on the request, the device management apparatus 200 sets the collection timing for the air conditioners 100 installed in stores that are open at night, for example, so that they are operated in the diagnostic mode during the daytime hours. be able to.

The device management device 200 diagnoses whether or not leakage of the refrigerant 19 has occurred in the air conditioner 100 using the collected operation data (step S104). The device management device 200 analyzes data such as the operation mode, set temperature, room temperature, outside temperature, and temperature of the circulation path section 18 of the air conditioner 100, for example, and executes an algorithm for diagnosing the presence or absence of leakage of the refrigerant 19. . The device management apparatus 200 may execute an existing algorithm capable of estimating the amount of refrigerant. The device management apparatus 200 may determine the amount of refrigerant in the air conditioner 100 by, for example, calculating the degree of supercooling of the refrigerant 19 and comparing the degree of supercooling with a determination threshold value. The device management apparatus 200 calculates a predicted value of the refrigerant amount equivalent value from the normal operation data, and compares the refrigerant amount equivalent value calculated from the operation data acquired from the air conditioner 100 with the predicted value. , it may be diagnosed whether the refrigerant 19 is leaking.

As a result of diagnosing refrigerant leakage, the equipment management device 200 notifies the owner's terminal device 300 and the maintenance company's terminal device 400 of the leakage of the refrigerant 19 (step S108). In addition, the device management apparatus 200 records the refrigerant leakage diagnosis result (step S110). When the device management apparatus 200 determines that the refrigerant 19 does not leak as a result of diagnosing the refrigerant leakage, it records the diagnosis result of the refrigerant leakage (step S110). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of data recorded in the device management apparatus 200 according to the embodiment. For example, the device management apparatus 200 records the ID of the air conditioner 100, the collection date of the operation data, and the stored operation data in the storage unit 240 in association with each other. The equipment management apparatus 200 may further record the date of collection of the operation data and the operation data in association with the diagnosis result. As a result, the device management apparatus 200 can use the data recorded in the storage unit 240 as data that substitutes for the simple inspection of the air conditioner 100 .

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of signal flow in the device management system according to the embodiment. The air conditioner 100 transmits the operation data to the equipment management device 200 at collection timing or arbitrary timing. The arbitrary timing may be, for example, the timing when the air conditioner 100 is operating. The air conditioner 100 is activated based on determination that the operation data collection timing has arrived, or is activated in accordance with a request output from the communication unit 30 based on the arrival of the operation data collection timing. you can

The device management device 200 collects the operational data transmitted from the air conditioners 100 and accumulates the operational data. When the device management device 200 detects leakage of the refrigerant 19 using the accumulated operation data, the device management device 200 notifies the owner terminal device 300 and the maintenance company terminal device 400 . The maintenance company terminal device 400 requests operation data and the like from the equipment management device 200 , and the equipment management device 200 transmits the operation data of the air conditioner 100 to the maintenance company terminal device 400 . As a result, the maintenance company terminal device 400 can create a report including the analysis result of the operation data and proposal information including information indicating the details of the repair, and transmit the report and the proposal information to the owner terminal device 300. can.

The information notified from the equipment management device 200 to the owner terminal device 300 and the maintenance contractor terminal device 400 may include, for example, the ID of the air conditioner 100, property information where the air conditioner 100 is installed, and owner information. . Further, the equipment management device 200 may transmit the contact information of the maintenance company of the air conditioner 100 to the owner's terminal device 300 and cause the owner's terminal device 300 to display the contact information of the maintenance company. The contact information of the maintenance company includes, for example, information such as the name of the maintenance company, the e-mail address of the contact, and the phone number of the company. This allows the owner to contact the maintenance company upon receiving the notification. In addition, the equipment management device 200 also notifies the terminal device 400 for the maintenance company, so that the operation data of the air conditioner 100 in which leakage of the refrigerant 19 is detected is detected before the maintenance company repairs the air conditioner 100. etc. can be shared with the owner. As a result, consultations on repairs, etc., between the owner and maintenance contractors will be smoother, operation data will be analyzed in advance before going to the site, making it easier to identify the cause of the refrigerant leak, and repair inquiries and work will be carried out. It has the advantage of being able to reduce time and respond quickly.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of processing for detecting refrigerant leakage by the device management device according to the embodiment. First, the device management apparatus 200 determines whether or not the timing for collecting operation data has arrived (step S200). The equipment management apparatus 200 repeats the process of step S200 when the collection timing has not arrived. When the collection timing arrives, the device management apparatus 200 determines whether the air conditioner 100 is stopped (step S202).

The device management apparatus 200 may, for example, acquire operation data from the air conditioner 100 and determine whether the air conditioner 100 is stopped based on the operation data. Whether or not the air conditioner 100 is stopped may be determined based on the schedule information or the usage history of the air conditioner 100 . Furthermore, the equipment management apparatus 200 collects human detection information on the floor or room air-conditioned by the air conditioner 100, does not determine that it is stopped when there is a person, and does not determine that it is stopped when there is no person. can be determined. The human detection information may be the output of a human detection sensor, the locked state of a space such as a floor or a room, the business hours of a store, or the like. The equipment management apparatus 200 may collect human detection information from, for example, an information providing apparatus that acquires information from a building management system or the like.

The device management device 200 acquires environmental information such as weather forecast (temperature, weather, humidity) around the air conditioner 100 from an external information providing device, and determines the date and time suitable for diagnosing leakage of the refrigerant 19. good. The device management apparatus 200 starts up the air conditioner 100 in the diagnosis mode when the date and time suitable for diagnosing the leakage of the refrigerant 19 has arrived.

Furthermore, the device management apparatus 200 operates in the diagnosis mode during a time period when the unit price of the power required to operate the air conditioner 100 is lower than the standard, or during a time period when renewable energy is available for the operation of the air conditioner 100. The air conditioner 100 may be operated. The charge unit price standard may be, for example, a preset unit price or an average unit price per day. In this case, the device management device 200 may notify the owner terminal device 300 of the power consumption for the diagnostic mode operation.

It should be noted that the equipment management apparatus 200 may set the collection timing and operation mode during suspension based on a user's operation or a request from the owner's terminal device 300 . As a result, based on the request, the device management apparatus 200 sets the collection timing for the air conditioners 100 installed in stores that are open at night, for example, so that they are operated in the diagnostic mode during the daytime hours. be able to.

When the air conditioner 100 is not stopped, the device management device 200 collects the operation data from the air conditioner 100 and saves the collected operation data (step S204). When the air conditioner 100 is stopped, the device management apparatus 200 transmits to the air conditioner 100 a request to start the air conditioner 100 in diagnostic mode (step S208). The diagnosis mode is an operation mode in which operation is performed to acquire operation data necessary for diagnosing leakage of the refrigerant 19 . The diagnosis mode is, for example, an operation mode in which one or both of the cooling operation and the heating operation are performed for 10 minutes. The device management device 200 collects the operating data from the air conditioner 100 and stores the collected operating data (step S208).

Next, the device management device 200 diagnoses leakage of the refrigerant 19 using the operation data (step S210). As a result of the diagnosis, the device management apparatus 200 determines whether or not the refrigerant 19 is leaking (step S212). When determining that the refrigerant 19 is not leaking, the device management apparatus 200 records the refrigerant leakage diagnosis result (step S216), and returns the process to step S200. When determining that the refrigerant 19 is leaking, the device management device 200 notifies the owner's terminal device 300 and the maintenance company's terminal device 400 (step S214). In addition, the equipment management apparatus 200 records the refrigerant leakage diagnosis result (step S216).

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of signal flow in the device management system according to the embodiment. The device management apparatus 200 transmits a start request to the air conditioner 100 when the air conditioner 100 is stopped. When the air conditioner 100 is activated, it notifies the user that the air conditioner 100 will be operated in the diagnosis mode. At this time, the air conditioner 100 may control the operation unit 110 to give the notification by voice or display, and may control the information processing terminal 120 to give the notification by voice or display. After notifying the user, the air conditioner 100 starts up in the diagnosis mode, transmits the operation data to the device management device 200, and stops after the diagnosis mode ends. The equipment management device 200 collects the operation data transmitted from the air conditioner 100 and accumulates the operation data.

In the device management system of the embodiment, the device management device 200 has transmitted the activation request to the air conditioner 100, but the present invention is not limited to this. The air conditioner 100 may start up at a preset time, start operating in the diagnosis mode, and store operating data. Further, a communication device capable of communicating with the air conditioner 100 and the equipment management device 200 starts the air conditioner 100 by transmitting a start request to the air conditioner 100, and the operation data saved by the air conditioner 100 is transmitted to the air conditioner 100. It may be transmitted to the device management apparatus 200 . This communication device is, for example, a communication device that communicates with the air conditioner 100 that does not have a function of communicating with the device management device 200 , and may be a communication device that is separate from the air conditioner 100 . That is, steps S100 and S110 in FIG. 5 may be executed by the air conditioner 100 or a communication device separate from the air conditioner 100, and the collected operation data may be transmitted to the device management device 200. As a result, for example, when the device management apparatus 200 cannot communicate with other devices, the device management system can diagnose refrigerant leakage using the air conditioner 100 or a communication device separate from the air conditioner 100. It can be performed. When the situation in which the device management apparatus 200 cannot communicate with other devices is resolved, the device management system performs refrigerant Leak diagnostics and operational data can be collected.

In the device management system of the embodiment, the device management device 200 performs refrigerant leakage diagnosis processing, but the present invention is not limited to this. The refrigerant leakage diagnosis may be performed in the air conditioner 100 from which the operating data is acquired. The air conditioner 100 can cause the device management apparatus 200 to accumulate the operation data and the refrigerant leakage diagnosis result by transmitting the refrigerant leakage diagnosis result to the device management apparatus 200 . Furthermore, the refrigerant leakage diagnosis may be performed by a communication device separate from the air conditioner 100 that communicates with the air conditioner 100 . The communication device acquires operation data from the air conditioner 100 , diagnoses refrigerant leakage using the acquired operation data, and transmits the refrigerant leakage diagnosis result to the device management apparatus 200 .

In the embodiment, the operating time in the diagnostic mode is the time, for example, 10 minutes to 1 hour, during which operating data for diagnosing refrigerant leakage from the air conditioner 100 can be acquired. The diagnostic mode operating time may be set by the device management apparatus 200 . The device management apparatus 200 may set the operating time of the diagnostic mode based on the type of air conditioner 100 . The device management apparatus 200 may set, for example, a relatively longer operation time for an air conditioner 100 that may fail if the operation time is short, than for other air conditioners 100 . The equipment management apparatus 200 operates the air conditioner 100 for a short period of time such as 5 minutes, for example, and uses operation data acquired to diagnose refrigerant leakage. The operation data may be reacquired by operating the air conditioner 100 for a long period of time, and refrigerant leakage may be rediagnosed using the reacquired operation data.

　Refrigerant leakage diagnosis may be performed not only by one device but also by multiple devices. For example, the communication unit 30 or the air conditioner 100 diagnoses refrigerant leakage, and when it is diagnosed that there is refrigerant leakage, the refrigerant leakage diagnosis result and operation data are transmitted to the device management apparatus 200 . The equipment management apparatus 200 re-diagnoses the refrigerant leakage when receiving the refrigerant leakage diagnosis result and the operation data. The device management device 200 can notify the owner's terminal device 300 and the maintenance company's terminal device 400 when it is diagnosed that there is a refrigerant leakage as a result of re-diagnosing the refrigerant leakage. Further, when the device management device 200 diagnoses refrigerant leakage and diagnoses that there is a refrigerant leakage, the device management device 200 notifies the communication unit 30 of the refrigerant leakage, and the communication unit 30 or the air conditioner 100 is operated. A refrigerant leakage diagnosis may be performed in real time in parallel with data acquisition.

As described above, according to the device management apparatus 200 of the embodiment, the communication unit 30 mounted in the air conditioner 100 that exchanges heat between the refrigerant 19 and the air by circulating the refrigerant 19 sends a signal to the air conditioner 100. operation data relating to the operation of is collected, whether or not the refrigerant 19 is leaking is diagnosed based on the collected operation data, and the collected operation data and the diagnosis result by the processing unit 230 are accumulated. When the device management device 200 diagnoses that the refrigerant 19 is leaking, the device management device 200 notifies the owner terminal device 300 of this fact. According to the device management apparatus 200, the refrigerant leakage detection of the air conditioner can be remotely performed, thereby omitting simple inspection of the air conditioner. As a result, according to the device management apparatus 200, the burden on the device manager (owner) for simple inspection can be reduced. Further, according to the device management device 200 , the owner can confirm the diagnosis result of the device management device 200 by using the owner terminal device 300 and can grasp the operating state of the air conditioner 100 . Furthermore, according to the device management device 200, refrigerant leakage diagnosis is performed by the device management device 200 instead of the air conditioner 100 or the communication unit 30, so the refrigerant leakage diagnosis can be performed by updating the algorithm to the latest one. can be done.

According to the equipment management device 200 of the embodiment, the maintenance company can receive compensation for the service from the owner by providing the service of diagnosing and inspecting refrigerant leakage. In addition, according to the equipment management device 200, the manufacturer of the air conditioner 100 or the equipment management device 200 can provide a maintenance company with application software for diagnosing and inspecting refrigerant leakage. You can receive compensation for the application software from the vendor.

According to the equipment management device 200 of the embodiment, it is possible to notify the maintenance contractor terminal device 400 in addition to the owner terminal device 300 . As a result, according to the device management apparatus 200, the maintenance company can promptly repair or replace the refrigerant leakage.

According to the equipment management device 200 of the embodiment, information including the contact information of the maintenance company is notified to the owner terminal device 300, so that the owner can smoothly contact and consult with the maintenance company about refrigerant leakage. be able to.

According to the device management apparatus 200 of the embodiment, the instruction to start the operation of the air conditioner 100 is transmitted to the air conditioner 100 while the air conditioner 100 is stopped, and the air conditioner 100 that starts the operation Driving data can be collected from As a result, according to the equipment management apparatus 200, even if the air conditioner 100 is not operated, it is possible to periodically diagnose refrigerant leakage for simple inspection, such as once a day. In addition, according to the device management apparatus 200, it is possible to avoid causing noise and discomfort to the user by performing operation for diagnosing refrigerant leakage during a time period when the user is not present. Furthermore, according to the device management device 200, there is no need to change the load of the air conditioner 100 based on the set temperature or the like. be able to.

Furthermore, according to the device management apparatus 200, the detection information of people in the space where air is to be The mode of operation of machine 100 can be changed. As a result, according to the device management apparatus 200, it is possible to avoid causing noise and discomfort to the user due to the operation for diagnosing refrigerant leakage.

Furthermore, according to the equipment management device 200, the load information of the air conditioner 100 is collected from among the operation data, and the timing for starting the operation of the air conditioner 100 or the operation mode of the air conditioner 100 is set based on the load information. can be changed. As a result, according to the device management apparatus 200, it is possible to suppress the noise and discomfort caused to the user due to the operation for diagnosing refrigerant leakage. For example, the device management apparatus 200 avoids the operation for diagnosing refrigerant leakage when the load on the air conditioner 100 is high, and performs the operation for diagnosing refrigerant leakage when the load on the air conditioner 100 is low. It can be carried out.

Furthermore, according to the equipment management device 200, the timing for starting the operation of the air conditioner 100 or the operation mode of the air conditioner 100 is determined based on the information about the environment around the air conditioner 100 provided from the information providing device. can be changed. As a result, according to the device management apparatus 200, operation for diagnosing refrigerant leakage can be performed in an environment such as room temperature or humidity suitable for diagnosing refrigerant leakage.

Furthermore, the device management apparatus 200 sets the air conditioner 100 to operate during a time period when the unit price of the electricity required to operate the air conditioner 100 is lower than the standard, or during a time period when renewable energy is available for operation of the air conditioner 100. It is possible to set the timing for the machine 100 to start operating. Thereby, according to the equipment management apparatus 200, the electric power charge for diagnosing refrigerant leakage can be suppressed.

According to the device management system of the embodiment, the air conditioner 100 that exchanges heat between the refrigerant 19 and air by circulating the refrigerant 19, the communication unit 30 that can communicate with the air conditioner 100, and the communication unit 30 A device management device 200 capable of communication is provided, and the device management device 200 accumulates operation data regarding the operation of the air conditioner 100 and diagnosis results of diagnosing whether or not the refrigerant 19 is leaking based on the operation data. , the owner terminal device 300 of the air conditioner 100 can be notified when it is diagnosed that the refrigerant 19 is leaking. According to this equipment management system, it is possible to omit a simple inspection of the air conditioner by remotely detecting refrigerant leakage from the air conditioner. As a result, the device management system can reduce the burden on the device manager (owner).

According to the device management system of the embodiment, any one of the air conditioner 100, the communication unit 30, and the device management device 200 may diagnose whether the refrigerant 19 is leaking based on the operation data. In this device management system, when it is diagnosed whether or not the refrigerant 19 is leaking from the air conditioner 100, the diagnosis result is transmitted from the air conditioner 100 to the device management device 200 via the communication unit 30, and the communication unit When the device 30 diagnoses whether or not the refrigerant 19 is leaking, the diagnosis result is transmitted from the communication unit 30 to the device management device 200 . As a result, according to the device management system, for example, even if the device management device 200 cannot diagnose refrigerant leakage, the air conditioner 100 or the communication unit 30 can diagnose refrigerant leakage.

According to the embodiment, the air conditioner 100 that exchanges heat between the refrigerant 19 and air is operated by circulating the refrigerant 19, and the communication unit 30 capable of communicating with the air conditioner 100 operates the air conditioner 100. It is diagnosed whether the refrigerant 19 is leaking based on the collected operation data, the collected operation data and the diagnosis result are accumulated, and it is diagnosed that the refrigerant 19 is leaking. In this case, a data processing method of the device management system can be realized in which the owner terminal device 300 is notified. According to the data processing method of the device management system, it is possible to omit the simple inspection of the air conditioner by remotely detecting the refrigerant leakage of the air conditioner. As a result, according to the data processing method of the device management system, the burden on the device manager (owner) can be reduced.

According to the device management system of the embodiment, even if the air conditioner 100 does not have the function of communicating with the device management device 200, the refrigerant leakage can be diagnosed and inspected by connecting the communication unit 30. can provide services. As a result, the manufacturer of the communication device can make a profit by selling the communication unit 30 separately and providing a service of diagnosing and inspecting refrigerant leakage.

In the data processing method of the equipment management system, the air conditioner 100 is activated based on the determination that the timing for collecting the operation data has come, or when the timing for collecting the operation data from the communication unit 30 has come. It may be activated according to a request output based on

As described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. be The configurations described in the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Outdoor unit, 11... Housing, 12... Compressor, 13... Heat exchanger, 14... Flow control valve, 15... Air blower, 16... Four-way valve, 17... Control part, 18... Circulation path part, 19... Refrigerant , 20... indoor unit, 21... housing, 22... heat exchanger, 23... fan, 24... control unit, 30... communication unit, 100... air conditioner, 110... operation unit, 120... information processing terminal, 140... Acquisition unit 142 Processing unit 144 Storage unit 150 External communication unit 152 In-home communication unit 200 Equipment management device 210 Communication unit 220 Collection unit 230 Processing unit 240 Storage unit , 250... Learning data storage unit 252... Learning processing unit 254... Prediction unit 300... Terminal device for owner 400... Terminal device for maintenance company

Claims

A collection unit that collects operation data related to the operation of the air conditioner from a communication device mounted on the air conditioner that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air by circulating the refrigerant;
a diagnosis unit that diagnoses whether the refrigerant is leaking based on the operation data collected by the collection unit;
an accumulation unit for accumulating the operating data collected by the collection unit and diagnosis results by the diagnosis unit;
and a notification unit that notifies a terminal related to an administrator of the air conditioner when the diagnosis unit diagnoses that the refrigerant is leaking.
The equipment management device according to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies a terminal related to a company that provides maintenance services using the air conditioner.
3. The equipment management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said notification unit notifies a terminal related to an administrator of said air conditioner of information including contact information of a company that provides said maintenance service.
The collection unit transmits to the air conditioner an instruction to start operation of the air conditioner while the air conditioner is stopped, and collects the operation data from the air conditioner that has started operation. 4. The equipment management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
5. Among claims 1 to 4, wherein the collection unit sets a timing for starting the operation of the air conditioner based on an operation received from a user of the air conditioner or an administrator of the air conditioner. The device management device according to any one of items 1 and 2.
The collection unit collects human detection information in a space to be air-conditioned by the air conditioner, and the timing for starting the operation of the air conditioner based on the human detection information, or the operation of the air conditioner 5. The device management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which changes modes.
The collection unit collects load information of the air conditioner from among the operation data, and changes the timing at which the air conditioner starts operation or the operation mode of the air conditioner based on the load information. The equipment management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
wherein the collecting unit changes a timing for starting operation of the air conditioner or an operation mode of the air conditioner based on information about the environment around the air conditioner provided from an information providing device; 5. The device management apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 4.
The collection unit supplies electricity to the air conditioner during a time period when the unit price of electricity required to operate the air conditioner is lower than a standard or during a time period when renewable energy is available for operation of the air conditioner. 5. The device management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the timing for starting operation is set.
an air conditioner that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air by circulating the refrigerant;
a communication device capable of communicating with the air conditioner;
A device management device capable of communicating with the communication device,
The equipment management device accumulates operation data relating to the operation of the air conditioner and diagnosis results of diagnosing whether or not the refrigerant is leaking based on the operation data, and diagnoses that the refrigerant is leaking. an equipment management system that notifies a terminal related to an administrator of the air conditioner when
any one of the air conditioner, the communication device, and the equipment management device diagnoses whether the refrigerant is leaking based on the operation data;
When diagnosing whether or not the refrigerant is leaking from the air conditioner, the diagnosis result is transmitted from the air conditioner to the device management device via the communication device,
When the communication device diagnoses whether or not the refrigerant is leaking, the diagnosis result is transmitted from the communication device to the device management device.
The equipment management system according to claim 10.
Operating an air conditioner that exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air by circulating the refrigerant,
Collecting operation data related to the operation of the air conditioner from a communication device capable of communicating with the air conditioner,
Diagnosing whether the refrigerant is leaking based on the collected operating data,
accumulating the collected operating data and diagnostic results,
When diagnosing that the refrigerant is leaking, notifying the terminal related to the administrator of the air conditioner,
Data processing method for equipment management system.
The air conditioner is activated based on determination that the timing for collecting the operation data has arrived, or according to a request output from the communication device based on the arrival of the timing for collecting the operation data. 13. The data processing method for a device management system according to claim 12, wherein the data processing method is activated.