FR2791796A1 - DIAGNOSIS PROCESS AND TOOL FOR TESTING THE OPERATION OF AT LEAST ONE MOTORIZED CLOSING SYSTEM, SUCH AS A ROLLER SHUTTER OR SIMILAR - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention also relates to a test tool for implementing the method for diagnosing the operation of at least one motorized closing system (1; 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D), in particular a roller shutter, characterized in that that: - is recorded in electronically coded form, at a memory (6) of a management unit (7) of the operation of the engine (3) of said system (1; 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D) one or several events related to the operation of this engine (3); - a test tool (9) capable of reading the content is connected to said management unit (7) by means of wired or non-wired connection means (8) data in memory (6); - the data collected is interpreted through a processing unit internal (12A) or external (12) to the test tool (9) in order to transmit information clear for an operator on the nature of the fault (s) detected.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for diagnosing operation

  at least one motorized closing system, such

than a rolling shutter or the like.

  The invention also relates to a test tool for implementing the method. It is more and more common to motorize closing systems, in particular rolling shutters of a dwelling, this, of course, for the purpose of comfort, but, also, in view

increased security.

  However, such a motorization, compared to a manual solution, can cause malfunctions in the closure system which can be difficult at times,

to determine the cause.

  In particular, when, for example, a roller shutter no longer responds to a closing or opening command, this can

  may be due to a mechanical, electrical, or electronic problem.

  Thus, many of these motorized roller shutters are currently capable of being controlled remotely, by

  via radio or infrared remote control.

  In this case, a closing or opening order passed by the user through the control unit may not be transmitted to the shutter for various reasons, for example due to a polluted environment by parasitic waves or more simply because the transmitter's battery is exhausted. It is also possible that the control unit does not work or that the receiver at the shutter

rolling is faulty.

  The origin of the fault can also come from the engine with which thermal safety is usually associated, which has the function, precisely, of controlling the cut off of the electrical supply of the engine in the event of overheating of the latter. It is

  again, this thermal safety may be faulty.

  Likewise, some of these motorized roller shutters are fitted with obstacle detection devices, the function of which, in particular, when closing the roller shutter is to stop the motor in the event that, on the trajectory of this roller shutter came up with some obstacle. Again, such sensors, essentially, electrical components, are likely to be the cause of non-operation of the shutter. Finally, the failure can be of mechanical origin, but we understand, in view of the foregoing explanations that it is necessary, before we come to dismantle the very mechanism of the roller shutter, that we are able to determine the origin, in particular, if it results from an electrical and / or electronic failure. In a dwelling comprising several of these motorized closing systems, such as roller shutters, it is quite common to have, also control means offering the user the possibility of simultaneously controlling the closing or opening of the group. or a sub-group of roller shutters. It is understandable, under these conditions, that in the event of a malfunction, it is still necessary to verify that an order transmitted by the central control does indeed result in each of the roller shutters intended to be

orders.

  In such a configuration and to avoid a user, after the transmission of a group order order, of having to individually check that each roller shutter has executed the transmitted order, it is still provided that these roller shutters are at even to transmit, at the level of the central control, a signal allowing the user to know, from the place where the order was issued, whether all the shutters are, for example, properly closed. Again, this transmission can be done either by infrared or similar radio waves, or by wire. In particular in this case there are cases where the carrier current technology is used. It is, in fact, transmitting control orders or information from one place to another via the supply network

home electrical system.

  In particular, installations have been devised where each roller shutter is capable of being controlled, individually, from a control box which is specific to it, the transmission being of the non-wired type, that is to say that the control box is in the form of a transmitter capable of communicating with a receiver associated with each of the roller shutters. Furthermore, from each of these control units, it is possible, through an appropriate control instruction, to control, simultaneously, a group or a sub-group of roller shutters. In this particular case, the control unit at which the user acts, first transmits his order to the rolling shutter with which he is associated which rolling shutter interprets this order as a grouped command and transmits, in particular by carrier current, this

  order to the other roller shutters covered by the order.

  Finally, once the order, for example for closing, has been executed by these other roller shutters, these retransmit good performance information to the roller shutter which has transmitted this order to them. The latter, coming himself to close at this time, informs the user that the other roller shutters have executed the order and are closed. If, on the contrary, this roller shutter, with which the control unit is associated, through which the user has transmitted a group closing instruction, does not close, this user is informed that a problem has occurred

  on at least one of the roller shutters.

  It is well understood that in such a situation a malfunction may still be linked to a problem of transmission between the roller shutters by carrier current and that if the last roller shutter does not close the causes can be

multiple and diverse.

  The present invention is therefore intended to respond to this need for identifying the origin of a dysfunction through a particularly efficient diagnostic process and, above all, of easy implementation.

and fast.

  In this regard, the invention also relates to a test tool for implementing this method capable of immediately informing an operator, for example, an after-sales service technician.

the origin of a failure.

  In a more elaborate design of this tool, it can be connected, via a modem, to a telecommunications network to authorize intervention by remote maintenance. In fact, in this specific case and in the event of a breakdown, an after-sales service is able to know, before even having moved, the origin of this breakdown, therefore the nature of the parts to be changed and the qualification of the personnel. to mission for repair. Taking into account that a breakdown can come from a simple error of the user, even from a simple problem of electrical supply, this can be detected by remote maintenance and makes it possible to prevent that intervention teams do not move unnecessarily . To this end, the invention relates to a method for diagnosing the operation of at least one motorized closure system consisting of: - recording, in electronically coded form, at the level of a memory of the engine operation management unit of said engine system, one or more events when the engine is running or not running, if necessary using appropriate sensors; - to connect to said management unit, via wired or non-wired connection means, a test tool capable of reading the content of the data stored in memory; - to interpret the data collected through a processing unit internal or external to the test tool in order to issue clear information on the nature of the

faults detected.

  As for the test tool for implementing the method, it comprises: means for wired connection or not to a unit for managing the operation of said closure system; means for reading and recording the content of the memory of this management unit; - a unit for processing the data collected; means for displaying the results emitted by said processing unit in the form of identification of the fault or faults detected. Other objects and advantages of the present invention

  will appear during the description which follows relating to

  to an embodiment which is given only by way of example

indicative and not limiting.

  The understanding of this description will be facilitated in view of the

  attached drawing in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a motorized locking system, in particular a rolling shutter authorizing the implementation of the diagnostic method according to the invention; - Figure 2 shows, schematically, an installation comprising several of these motorized closure systems; - Figure 3 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of a test tool, more particularly suitable for testing an installation as shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the present invention has relates to the field of motorized locking systems more particularly intended for the building industry. Thus, these systems have been shown, by way of indication, in the form of rolling shutters 1; 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D with which is individually associated a control unit 2; 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D. The connection between this control unit on which the user is intended to intervene and the corresponding rolling shutter can be of the wired type or can be ensured, as is usually done, by transmission

radio, infrared or similar.

  It is obvious that the malfunction of such a rolling shutter 1; 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D can have different origins and, in particular, it can be linked to electrical or electronic problems in the management of the operation of the motor 3. In particular, such electric motors 3 is usually associated with a thermal safety 4 which can, by itself, cause the failure. Likewise, these roller shutters 1; 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D are often equipped with an obstacle detection sensor 5 associated either with the last blade of the deck, or with a side slide. This sensor, if it is defective, can also prevent the operation of this roller shutter. But the problems can be linked to a simple power cut, at this rolling shutter or even the control box often operating using a battery. Also, according to the invention, a method for diagnosing the operation of at least one of these motorized closure systems has been devised, consisting in: - recording in electronically coded form, at the level of a memory 6 of a unit of management 7 of the operation of the engine 3 of said system 1; 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, one or more events related to the operation of said motor 3, if necessary through appropriate sensors; - to connect to said management unit 7 via connection means 8 wired or not, a test tool 9 capable of reading the content of the data stored in memory 6; - and, ultimately, to interpret the data collected through a processing unit internal or external to the test tool in order to issue clear information for an operator on

  the nature of the fault (s) detected.

  The memory 6 of a management unit 7 can be subdivided into as many fault counters as desired. In particular, it can be recorded, in electronically coded form, the number of times that the operation of the engine 3 has been interrupted under the influence of thermal safety 4 or of an obstacle presence sensor 5, or even the number as soon as this motor 3 has been stopped, quite simply, by means of the limit switches. Similarly, it can be saved in memory 6, any parameter capable of giving an indication of the operating conditions of this engine 3, in particular if one of its

windings is faulty or not.

  The memory 6 can also be provided capable of recording the various events relating to the transmission of an order in

  from the control unit 2; 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D.

  The diagnostic method according to the invention also provides a step consisting in connecting the test tool 9, wired or non-wired, to said control unit 2 in order to record an order transmitted through the latter, simultaneously , the order perceived by the management unit 7 of the

  motorized closure to identify a transmission fault.

  Within the framework of a configuration as visible in FIG. 2, corresponding to an installation grouping together several motorized closing systems, here represented in the form of rolling shutters lA, lB, 1C, 1D to which it is possible to transmit a grouped order, either by means of a specific control unit or even through any of the control units 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D corresponding to each of these rolling shutters lA, lB, 1C, lD, provision is made, preferably, by means of wired or non-wired connection means connecting the test tool 9 to this control box concerned, collect the transmitted order order to compare it with the order received by the various components and saved in their respective memory 6 whose test tool 9 is capable of

read the content.

  The process according to the invention and the functioning of the test tool allowing its implementation will be better understood.

  in view of the description which follows, relating specifically to

  this FIG. 2 represents several rolling shutters 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D with which is associated a control unit 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D making it possible to transmit to them, at least, an order to open or close. In particular, the transmission between a control unit and a roller shutter takes place by

  radio, infrared or similar waves.

  Furthermore, these rolling shutters 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D are connected to a power supply network 13 through which they are able to transmit information by carrier current. In particular, from a control unit 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D it is possible through an order transmitted to the roller shutter which is directly associated with it, respectively 1A, lB, lC, 1D, to

  communicate with the other roller shutters of the group or a sub-

  group of roller shutters to ensure the closing and / or opening control of several roller shutters simultaneously

  from such a control unit 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D.

  Note that such a configuration also allows these other roller shutters controlled from a determined control unit to transmit information in return, for example,

  good order execution information.

  In such a configuration, the diagnostic method therefore consists in recording in electronically coded form at the level of the memory 6 of the management units 7 of the operation of the motor 3 of each of the rolling shutters of the events relating to the latter, in particular, the state in which is located this rolling shutter, open or closed, the number is the origin of the various commands to stop the operation of the motor 3 etc ... At the level of this memory 6 is still recorded the nature of the order lately received through the associated control unit, as well as, if applicable, the nature of the last order which was transmitted by carrier current by another rolling shutter. The method then consists in connecting to said management unit 7 of each of these rolling shutters 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D a test tool 9 by means of connection means 8 which advantageously take the form of 'a power outlet 14 adapted to be connected by carrier current, to these roller shutters. Indeed, in such a configuration, these necessarily include encryption and decryption means for, precisely, as the case may be, transmitting on this electrical supply network 13 an information train intended for other roller shutters or , on the contrary, receive and decrypt information transmitted by carrier current

and for them.

  Of course, the test tool 9 then then also includes such an encryption-decryption unit 15 for communicating through this network 13 with the roller shutters 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D this, both for read the contents of their memory 6 or to detect any transmission by current

carrier.

  It is also possible to envisage non-wired connection means 8 between the test tool 9 and these management units 7 of the rolling shutters lA, lB, lC, 1D, in particular if the latter are linked together by means of such means of transmission not

wired.

  Insofar as a control unit 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D communicates with its rolling shutter lA, lB, lC, 1D by radio waves or the like and that, consequently, said rolling shutter 1 is necessarily equipped with a suitable receiver , said connection means 8 can also be in the form of a transmitter associated with the test tool 9 which is then able to transmit information to the receiver of the management unit 7 of a rolling shutter 1A, IB , 1C, 1D determined. Once this transmission has been established, this same test tool can communicate with each of the other roller shutters by carrier current and by using the encryption and decryption unit necessarily fitted to the roller shutter with which it communicates directly. Conversely, in order to collect the information, at the level of this test tool 9, of the data in memory 6 of each of the roller shutters 1A, IB, 1C, 1D, it suffices to equip said roller shutter with which it communicates directly, by radio, infrared or other waves, from a transmitter capable of transmitting, to a receiver of the test tool 9, said data corresponding to this same rolling shutter, but also the data from the memories of the other rolling shutters collected by carrier current. In particular, use may be made of the receiver with which such a rolling shutter is necessarily equipped in order to use it as a transmitter by controlling the control of the oscillator of this receiver by means of the microcontroller 10 which comprises a control unit.

management 7.

  Finally, the transmitter of the test tool 9 first transmits, via the shutter receiver, an order to send information to the microcontroller 10, which microcontroller 10, when executed, controls the oscillator of the receiver for this transmission of the requested information. For this to work, it suffices to approach this test tool 9 close enough to the rolling shutter to which it is intended to be connected directly, knowing that the connection to the other rolling shutters is made through this same shutter.

rolling, by carrier current.

  In such a configuration, this test tool 9 comprises, despite everything, means of connection to the electrical supply network 13, in order, on the one hand, to measure the degree of pollution of this network. This consists in detecting whether a carrier current signal other than those transmitted by the closure systems is

  likely to disrupt the functioning of the latter.

  Such a connection also makes it possible to make a comparison between carrier current signals transmitted between the roller shutters and those perceived and recorded at their level.

respective memory 6.

  Likewise, this test tool 9 advantageously comprises wave receiving means 16 of a nature identical to the communication existing between a control unit 2; 2A, 2B, 2C and a roller shutter 1; 1A, lB, lC, 1D, or even between the different roller shutters if these are intended to communicate with each other other than by wire, so as to detect whether in the environment where transmission by l takes place! radio waves, infrared or other, is not polluted by waves

  parasites are not able to disrupt this communication.

  The test tool 9 can be provided with display means 11 capable of informing the user of the nature of the fault or faults identified through data recorded in the memories 6 of the roller shutters or also of the various disturbing phenomena detected. Advantageously, such display means 11 use a simple configuration of a plurality of indicators 11A, 11B, 11C ... which are associated with a clear legend allowing rapid interpretation. In particular, the test tool 9 comprises, in this case, an internal processing unit 12A, which is capable of decrypting the content of the memories 6 or, even, of interpreting other measurements to control the ignition or the extension of a particular indicator 11A, llB, 11C constituting a

  direct information for this operator.

  However, this test tool 9 can still be connected to an external processing unit 12. In this case, this test tool 9 could advantageously be equipped with a modem 17 for the transmission, by a telecommunications network 18, of

  information it will have collected during a test cycle.

  This makes it possible to envisage, in particular, remote maintenance of such an installation grouping together several motorized locking systems. Although the invention is described with reference to a particular embodiment, it is understood that it is in no way limited thereto and that it is possible to make various modifications to the forms, materials and combinations of these various elements,

  without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims (9)

Claims   1. Method for diagnosing the operation of at least one motorized closing system (1; lA, lB, lC, 1D), in particular of a rolling shutter, characterized in that: - the level d is recorded in electronically coded form 'a memory (6) of a management unit (7) of the operation of the engine (3) of said system (1; IA, lB, lC, 1D) one or more events related to the operation of this engine (3); - A test tool (9) adapted to read the content of the data in memory (6) is connected to said management unit (7) by means of wired or non-wired connection means (8); - we proceed to the interpretation of the data collected through an internal processing unit (12A) or external (12) to the test tool (9) in order to issue clear information for a   operator on the nature of the fault or faults detected.   2. Diagnostic method according to claim 1, characterized in that: - a motorized locking system (1; lA is also recorded in the memory (6) of the management unit (7) , lB, 1C, 1D), the order transmitted from a control unit (2; 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D);   - the test tool (9) is connected, wired or wireless, to said control unit (2; 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D), in order to record an order transmitted through the latter in view   identify a transmission fault.   3. Test tool (9) for the operation of at least one motorized closure system (1; lA, lB, 1C, 1D), for implementation   the method according to any one of claims i and 2,   characterized in that it comprises: - means of wired or not connection (8) to a management unit (7) of the operation of said motorized system (1; 1A, lB, lC, 1D); - means for reading and recording the content of the memory (6) of the management unit (7); - a processing unit (12; 12A) for the data collected; means for displaying the results emitted by said processing unit in the form of identification of the fault or faults detected. 4. Test tool according to claim 3, characterized in that the display means (11) are defined by a plurality of indicators (11A; llB, 11C ..) with which is associated a   clear legend suitable for direct interpretation by an operator.   5. Test tool according to one of claims 3 or 4,   characterized by the fact that it comprises wave receiving means (16) of a nature identical to the communication between a control unit (2; 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) and a motorized closing system (1; lA, lB, 1C, 1D) and / or between different motorized locking systems (1; lA, lB, lC, 1D) in order to detect the emission of parasitic waves.   6. Test tool according to any one of claims 3 to   4, characterized in that it comprises a modem for the transmission of the data collected through a network of telecommunications (18).   7. Test tool according to any one of claims 3 to   6, characterized in that the connection means (8) to a management unit (7) of a motorized closing system (1; lA, lB, lC, 1D) are of the carrier current type and defined by the power supply network of said system (1; lA, lB, 1C, 1D), the latter as well as the said tool being provided with an encryption and decryption unit suitable for such transmission of information by carrier current.   8. Test tool according to any one of claims 3 to   6, characterized in that the connection means (8) to a management unit (7) of a motorized closing system (1; 1A, lB, lC, 1D) provided with at least one receiver for reception of a transmission emitted by the transmitter of a control unit (2; 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D), are essentially defined by a transmitter associated with the test tool and the receiver of said motorized closing system (1 ; 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D), said test tool (9) by its transmitter being provided capable of transmitting to the microcontroller (10) of the management unit (7) an order to send information at least contained in its memory (6) to control, by this microcontroller (10), the oscillator of the receiver and the   transmission by the latter of the requested information.   9. Test tool according to claim 8, characterized in that the connection means (8) are further supplemented by a connection by carrier current between different motorized closure systems (1A, lB, 1C, 1D) for reading, through said system to which said tool (9) is connected via its transmitter of the content of the memory (6) of the management unit (7) corresponding to each of the other systems   motorized closing devices (1A, lB, lC, 1D).