CN1938688A

CN1938688A - Ordered record of system-wide fault in an hvac system

Info

Publication number: CN1938688A
Application number: CN 200580002553
Authority: CN
Inventors: R·K·夏; C·M·普拉宁
Original assignee: Carrier Corp
Current assignee: Carrier Corp
Priority date: 2004-01-20
Filing date: 2005-01-18
Publication date: 2007-03-28
Anticipated expiration: 2025-01-18
Also published as: CN100437510C

Abstract

An HVAC system includes a central controller which communicates with a multiple of HVAC components over a digital communication bus. The central controller maintains an ordered fault list that includes the source of a fault, a description of the fault, the last occurrence of the fault, and the number of sequential occurrences, or repetitions across the entire HVAC system.

Description

The ordered record of TSD total system down in heating, the heating ventilation and air-conditioning system

Background of invention

The application requires the right of priority of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/537765 of submission on January 20th, 2004.Be included in herein disclosing of described provisional application is whole by reference.

The present invention relates to the HVAC system, wherein the ordered record of the fault that occurs is kept at single display device position in the total system scope.

Generally, heating, heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system comprise a plurality of parts, and described a plurality of parts are installed in the buildings and work together in phase.Generally, the HVAC system comprises indoor unit (gas-fired furnace or fan loop), outdoor unit (A/C or heat pump) and thermostat.In addition, more sophisticated system can have multizone controller ability, comprises zone controller and zone damper (zone damper).The HVAC system comprises servicing unit toward contact, such as filtrator, humidifier and ventilation blower.

The operation of these a plurality of unit is complementary to heavens.The problem of a unit may cause another consequent malfunction.For example, air strainer stops up and may cause that furnace airflow reduces on exhaust blower, and this may cause the furnace high temperature limit tripping operation.From house owner's viewpoint, the result is the heat supply deficiency.

During cold season, same blocking filter and follow-up air-flow reduce may cause that air conditioning coil freezes, and this may damage compressor of air conditioner potentially.

In the gamut of the many possible combination of HVAC system and mutual relationship, there are many so causal other examples.What the maintenance technician may be because a problem is come a buildings to practical problems, generally all do not have concrete clue.Sometimes, when the technician arrived, the symptom of being reported can not repeat, because state may change.Even even if the technician has seen described symptom, basic reason also may be in intrasystem other places.

Thereby the technician generally relies on experience in the past, and necessary position of repairing is determined in conjecture.Often, this may draw unsuitable diagnosis to the problem of system, replaces parts potentially repeatedly, attempts the function of corrective system.This process is unnecessarily lost time, and of a high price.

Traditional HVAC system does not have system-wide failure logging.Individually, some high-end HVAC parts is such as the independent failure logging of speed change gas-fired furnace preservation about parts itself.Although this has certain effect, the failure logging of each separate part can not lay one's finger on the identification of root problem and the follow-up reason of contingency question.

Therefore, be preferably in the intrasystem middle position of HVAC orderly fault list is provided, described orderly fault list is assisted the understanding of technician's raising to the fault in the historical period section with the historical data that can't obtain up to now, and the root that allows diagnosis relatively quickly to go wrong.

Brief summary of the invention

Comprise the central controller of communicating by letter according to HVAC of the present invention system with zone controller; And the indoor unit of communicating by letter with outdoor unit by digital communication bus.Described bus preferably includes four communication paths that transmit data and electric power.

Central controller is preserved fault list, and described fault list comprises the root of the fault of whole HVAC system, the description of described fault, last generation and number of times that occurs in sequence or the multiplicity of described fault.By preserving described multiplicity with the form of digital value, series of identical fault is not just flooded described inventory, and its diagnostic benefits (benefit) is minimized.

Therefore, the present invention provides orderly fault list at the intrasystem middle position of HVAC, described orderly fault list is assisted the understanding of technician's raising to the fault of phase of history in the period with the historical data that can't obtain up to now, and allows quickly the root of described problem to be made diagnosis relatively.

The cutline of accompanying drawing

From the detailed description of following embodiment to present recommendation, the professional and technical personnel will understand various feature and advantage of the present invention.The accompanying drawing of following described detailed description is described below tout court:

Fig. 1 is total synoptic diagram of the HVAC system that uses of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the block diagram of central controller; And

Fig. 3 is the expression according to the signal of fault list menu page of the present invention.

The detailed description of preferred embodiment

Fig. 1 illustrates the general synoptic diagram of HVAC system 10.System 10 generally comprises the central controller 12 of communicating by letter with zone controller 14; And the indoor unit 16 of communicating by letter with outdoor unit 18.Central controller 12 preferably communicates by digital communication bus 20.Bus 20 preferably includes four communication paths, and such as four leads 22 etc., described four leads transmit data and electric power.Obviously, other communication system also will have benefited from the present invention similarly.

As conspicuous, zone controller 14 be preferably each zone in the several regions provide thermostat control and to these zones in the humidifier control of each humidifier that interrelates.Zone controller 14 comprises the microprocessor controller 24 of communicating by letter with central controller 12 by bus 20.Indoor unit 16 comprises the indoor unit microprocessor controller 26 of communicating by letter with central controller 12 by bus 20.Indoor unit 16 generally comprises heating furnace, fan loop etc.Outdoor unit 18 such as A/C unit or heat pump, comprises outdoor unit microprocessor controller 26, and outdoor unit microprocessor controller 26 passes through indoor unit microprocessor controller 24, communicates by letter with central controller 12 via bus 20.In other words, each HVAC system unit all comprises

special microprocessor controller

24,26,28, and

special microprocessor controller

24,26,28 is communicated by letter with central controller 12 by data bus 20.

Obviously, although disclose certain components configuration and communication bus layout in described illustrational embodiment, other device also will have benefited from the present invention.

Central controller 12 comprises: display 30, such as LCD or flat-panel monitor; And input media 32, such as a plurality of buttons, directed keypad, but, comprise mouse, keyboard, keypad, remote-control device or microphone as another program.As another program, display 30 can be a touch-screen display.

Central controller 12 is preferably as being used for the thermostat of HVAC system 10 and further comprising the computer module 33 that is connected to display 30 and input media 32.Computer module 33 generally comprises CPU 34 and is connected to the memory storage 36 (Fig. 2) of CPU 34.Memory storage 36 can comprise hard disk drive, CD ROM, DVD, RAM, ROM or readable storer, magnetic store or the integrated circuit of other usefulness optical means.The software that comprises the control HVAC system 10 of the instruction that thermostat instruction and display 30 and user interface are used also can be stored in the memory storage 36, perhaps as another program, is stored in ROM, RAM or the flash memories.

When breaking down at each HVAC system unit place, send fault-signals by bus to central controller 12 from

microprocessor controller

24,26,28, central controller 12 those failure loggings in memory storage 36, so that show subsequently and analyze.The orderly inventory that central controller 12 is preserved about nearest one group of several fault in total system 20 scopes.Preferably preserve 10 faults at least, still,, can write down the fault of any number according to the available memory on the central controller 12.

Referring to Fig. 3, central controller 12 best record trouble inventories 40.Fault list 40 comprises the last generation of the description of the root of fault, described fault, described fault and the number of times that occurs in sequence or repeat.In other words, multiplicity is not have other fault to appear at the number of times that repeats to take place between them.Preserve multiplicity by the form with digital value, series of identical fault can not flooded described inventory, and its diagnostic benefits (benefit) is minimized.

Fault list 40 is orderly, and nearest fault comes its top, heel time nearest or the like.The generation that repeatedly repeats of same fault only takies a record.As described above, repeat the other record of frequency.In addition, best record date and temporal information.Take place for repeating, in described disclosed embodiment, only write down nearest date and time information.

Described date and time information preferably provides the ability of recalling.In other words, if do not import correct date and time when mounted, or if owing to system downtime or any reason, described date and time is destroyed, and the technician can import current date when maintenance is called out.Central controller 12 in fault list with respect to current date and time calculation date and temporal information.In other words, central controller 12 is preserved the period counting from the period of counting of fault, makes in case of necessity, can reconstruct date and time information.

As what recognize, fault list 40 provides the historical data that can't obtain up to now to the technician, with the understanding of raising to the fault of phase of history period, and allows the root-cause of reality is made comparatively faster diagnosis.As just example,

fault

1 and 2 is illustrated in furnace limit trip the plugged filter fault takes place to occur soon before.This reflection, plugged sereen are difficult problems.Similarly, air conditioner low pressure occurs and is likely that the heating furnace low-flow amount represented at fault 4 places causes in the fault 3.Now, the maintenance technician can accurately find out practical problems rapidly and solve described problem probably.

Display 30 shows described orderly fault list to the maintenance technician.In addition or as another program, central controller 12 will optionally be uploaded to the appointment maintenance tool 42 (schematically being illustrated among Fig. 1) that temporarily is connected to system bus 20 in extension machine seat 43 grades to fault list.

As another program or additionally, central controller 12 can be uploaded to remote access apparatus 44 (schematically being illustrated among Fig. 1) to fault list, so that send described information by telephone line, wireless network, internet or other telecommunication system.

In order to sharpen understanding, please be careful the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/537765 that yields assignee of the present invention that submitted on January 20th, 2004, its full content is incorporated herein.

Although diagram, described specific sequence of steps and it proposed the patent protection requirement, should be understood that these steps can be with any order, individually or executions that combine, unless illustrate specially, all will still have benefited from the present invention.

Above being exemplary rather than defining of description by wherein restriction.Teach according to above-mentioned, many modifications of the present invention and change all are possible.Disclose the embodiment that the present invention recommends, still, this professional those of ordinary skill can recognize, and some modification will fall within the scope of the invention.Therefore, understand that in the scope of accompanying Claim book, the present invention can implement in the mode beyond describing particularly.Therefore, following claims be should study and true scope of the present invention and content determined.

Claims

1. diagnose the method for HVAC system may further comprise the steps for one kind:

(1) the HVAC parts of monitoring HVAC system;

(2) fault on the described HVAC parts of identification;

(3) fault-signal of representing fault is sent to central controller; And

(4) in described central controller, preserve the orderly fault list of having compressed described fault-signal.

2. the method for claim 1, wherein said step (1) also comprises: monitor a plurality of HVAC parts.

3. method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said step (3) also comprises: with digital form described a plurality of HVAC parts are connected with described central controller.

4. the method for claim 1, wherein said step (4) also comprises: according to nearest fault described fault list is sorted.

5. method as claimed in claim 4, wherein said step (4) also comprises: preserve the period counting from the described period that described fault takes place.

6. the method for claim 1, wherein said step (4) also comprises: with the form of a record preserve most common failure repeatedly repeat take place.

7. method as claimed in claim 6 wherein also comprises step: the form with single digital value shows the described generation that repeatedly repeats.

8. the method for claim 1, wherein said step (4) also comprises: the root of preserving described fault in described fault list.

9. the method for claim 1, wherein said step (4) also comprises: keep the description to described fault in described fault list.

10. the method for claim 1, wherein said step (4) also comprises: the counting that occurs in sequence of preserving each fault in described fault list.

11. method as claimed in claim 10 wherein also comprises described step: the period of the last generation of each in the fault that preservation sequentially takes place.

12. the method for claim 1 wherein also comprises described step: carry out telecommunication with described central controller.

13. a HVAC system comprises:

A plurality of HVAC parts, each in described a plurality of HVAC parts comprises the parts microprocessor;

Central controller, each in the microprocessor of described central controller and described parts is carried out digital communication, so that each the orderly fault list that receives a plurality of fault-signals and store described fault-signal from described a plurality of HVAC parts; And

Communicate by letter so that show the display of described orderly fault list with described central controller.

14. HVAC as claimed in claim 13 system, wherein said a plurality of HVAC parts comprise with in the lower member at least one: A/C unit, heat pump, zone controller, heating furnace or fan loop.

15. HVAC as claimed in claim 13 system, wherein said central controller comprises thermostat.

16. HVAC as claimed in claim 13 system, wherein said digital communication comprises four path communication buses.

17. HVAC as claimed in claim 13 system wherein also comprises the maintenance tool of optionally communicating by letter with described central controller by extension machine seat.

18. HVAC as claimed in claim 13 system wherein also comprises the remote access apparatus that carries out telecommunication with described central controller.

19. a HVAC system comprises:

Be used to monitor the device of HVAC parts;

On behalf of the fault-signal of described fault, the fault and the handle that are used to discern on the described HVAC parts be sent to the device of central controller; And

Be used to preserve the device of the orderly fault list that comprises the fault-signal on the described central controller.

20. HVAC as claimed in claim 19 system, wherein said central controller comprises thermostat.

21. HVAC as claimed in claim 19 system wherein also comprises the device that is used for carrying out with described central controller telecommunication.