JP2001165453A - Method of processing abnormality on communication of hot water space heater and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hot water space heater constituted such that, when communication abnormality continuously occurs, it is thereafter detected that it is communication abnormality. SOLUTION: An indoor machine 1 provided with an operation part 13 having a display unit and an outdoor machine 2 to circulate hot water to the indoor machine 1 and perform heating of the interior of a room are communicatably interconnected. When communication abnormality occurs during heating operation, display of abnormality is lighted ON at a display part 24 and operation is stopped. In a so formed hot water spacer heater, in communication abnormality processing effected during operation of the space heater, when abnormality occurs and communication abnormality is dissolved in a specified time, display of abnormality is lighted OFF and operation is re-started. Further, the outdoor machine 2 is also re-started in operation but when communication abnormality continues with an occurring time exceeding a specified time, display of abnormality is lighted ON and a stop of operation is continuously held and operation of the outdoor machine 2 is also not re-started as far as OFF operation of an operation switch 18 is not executed regardless of a fact that communication returns to normality or is in an abnormal state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot water heater that circulates hot water from an outdoor unit such as a hot water boiler to an indoor unit such as a hot water room heater and a fan convector installed in a room to heat the hot water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a hot water heater is connected to an outdoor unit such as a hot water boiler installed outdoors and an indoor unit such as a fan convector installed indoors by a hot water pipe, and is generated by the outdoor unit. The heated water is circulated inside the indoor unit to heat it.

In such control of a hot water heater, an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are connected by serial communication or the like, and various information and commands are exchanged. Then, if an abnormality is confirmed during operation, the operation is stopped for ensuring safety, the type of abnormality (for example, communication failure, running out of fuel, lack of hot water, etc.) is displayed on a display unit of the indoor unit, and the abnormality processing is performed. Is going. When the operation is stopped due to an abnormality, the person checks the display unit, investigates the cause of the operation stop, takes measures for the abnormal part, and restarts the operation.

[0004] Among communication failures, particularly when an abnormality occurs due to the inability to transmit or receive a communication signal between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit, the indoor unit and the outdoor unit are stopped, and an error due to a communication error (hereinafter referred to as a communication error). Is displayed on the display unit. In addition, if the communication state returns to normal after the occurrence of the communication abnormality, the display of the abnormality is turned off, the abnormal stop state is released, and the operation of both the indoor unit and the outdoor unit is resumed.

FIG. 5 is an example of a flowchart of an operation for performing a communication error recovery process. In step S11, a communication error occurs between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit, and the communication between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit and the hot water boiler are normal. Driving in a normal state,
This shows a state in which the LO signal input to the communication input port of the microcomputer built in the control device of the indoor unit is not LO, and the display of a communication error (hereinafter referred to as A7 error) is lit on the display unit. This state is maintained as long as the communication input port is not in the LO state, and thereafter, the communication is normal and the communication input port of the microcomputer is in the LO state (step S1).
2), the abnormal (error) state is released, and the display of the A7 error is turned off. When the stop state due to the error is released (step S13), the operation of the hot water heater is restarted in step S14.

[0006]

However, in the case of an abnormality that occurs due to incomplete connection of the communication line, such as when the communication line between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit is poorly contacted or broken, the signal may be temporarily interrupted, or the like. In some cases, communication abnormalities and normalities may be repeated. In such abnormalities, when communication is restored to normal, the error display is automatically canceled and operation is resumed. Even if the user notices the abnormality on the display and makes a service claim, When the man came to the site to repair, the error display was often canceled and the operation was normal. At the time of repair without such an error display, it is difficult to identify the cause of the abnormality, and the entire device has been inspected to find the cause of the abnormality.

That is, in the conventional hot water heater,
In the case of an unstable failure in which the communication between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit becomes irregular or abnormal at irregular intervals, even if the cause is investigated, the cause is clearly different from a simple mechanical or electrical failure. It was difficult to identify the device, and the equipment was reused without being able to cope with it.

[0008] Frequent repetition of unstable abnormal stop and return to normal operation places a thermal, mechanical or electrical burden on the heater and its control device, thereby increasing the durability of the entire heater. Could be affected.

The present invention has solved the above-mentioned conventional problems. If a communication error occurs continuously,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hot water heater that can be recognized as a communication error later.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an indoor unit having an operation unit having a display panel, and heating the room by circulating hot water through the indoor unit. An outdoor unit is communicably connected, and when a communication error occurs during the heating operation, the display of the abnormality is lit on the display unit, and the operation of the hot water heater is stopped. When a communication error occurs and the communication error is resolved within a certain period of time, the display of the error is turned off and operation resumes, and the outdoor unit also starts operating. When the time exceeds a certain time, regardless of whether the communication returns to normal or is in an abnormal state, unless the operation switch is turned off, the display of the abnormality is lit and the operation stop is maintained, and the operation of the outdoor unit is not restarted. Communication hot water heater It is a method.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an indoor unit having an operation unit having a display panel and a release switch, and an outdoor unit for circulating warm water in the indoor unit and heating the indoor are communicably connected. When a communication error occurs during operation, the display of the error is lit on the display unit, and the operation of the hot water heater is stopped, and the display of the error and the stop of the operation are released by operating a release switch. This is a communication error processing method for the hot water heater.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an indoor unit having an operation unit having a display panel and an outdoor unit that circulates warm water to the indoor unit and heats the room are communicably connected to each other so that the indoor unit can be connected during the heating operation. When a communication abnormality occurs, the display of the abnormality is lit on the display unit, and in the hot water heater configured to stop the operation, the communication abnormality process performed during the operation of the heater is performed for a certain period of time after the abnormality occurs. If the communication error is resolved within the time, the error display is turned off and the operation is restarted.If the communication time exceeds a certain time, the error display is turned on and the operation is resumed regardless of whether the communication returns to normal or is abnormal. This is a communication abnormality processing device for a hot water heater having a mechanism that keeps stopping.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an indoor unit having an operation unit having a display panel and a release switch is communicably connected to an outdoor unit that circulates hot water to the indoor unit to heat the room. When a communication error occurs during operation, the display of the error is lit on the display unit, and the operation of the hot water heater is stopped, and the display of the error and the stop of the operation are released by operating a release switch. It is a communication abnormality processing device of a hot water heater having a mechanism to be performed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the communication abnormality processing device for a hot water heater according to the third or fourth aspect, the operation unit having the display panel is provided separately from the indoor unit.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the communication abnormality processing device for a hot water heater according to the fourth aspect, the release switch is also used as an operation switch.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, an indoor unit having an operation unit having a display panel and a release switch is communicably connected to an outdoor unit that circulates hot water through the indoor unit to heat the room. When the communication state of the machine is normal, the operation is performed with the communication input port of the microcomputer set to LO, and when a communication abnormality occurs, the display of the abnormality is lit on the display unit and the operation is stopped. In the machine, the abnormality processing performed during the operation of the heater is a mechanism for turning off the display of the abnormality and restarting the operation when a communication abnormality is resolved within a certain time after the occurrence of the abnormality, and A communication abnormality processing device for a hot water heater having a mechanism for turning on the display of the abnormality and maintaining the stop of the operation and releasing the display of the abnormality and the stop of the operation by operating a release switch. Is

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a hot water heater in one embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes an indoor unit mainly including a radiator such as a fan co-vector, and shows a side cross section of a main part. Reference numeral 2 denotes an outdoor unit having a hot water boiler 3 and the like, and reference numeral 4 denotes a hot water pipe, which is configured to circulate hot water generated by the outdoor unit 2 into the indoor unit 1 for heating.

A communication line 5 is provided between the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2,
6 to communicate with each other and exchange various information and commands. A signal is transmitted from the indoor unit 1 to the outdoor unit 2 via the transmission communication line 5, and the outdoor unit 2 is transmitted via the reception communication line 6.
Is receiving a signal from

In the indoor unit 1, reference numeral 7 denotes an outer case, 8 denotes a heat radiation heat exchanger, 9 denotes a thermal valve, 12 denotes a blower, 13 denotes an operation unit, and 14 denotes a control device.

The exterior case 7 has a suction port 1
5. An outlet 16 is provided at the lower part of the front surface to form an air flow path connecting the inlet 15 and the outlet 16. An air filter (not shown), a heat exchanger 8, and a blower 12 are arranged in the air flow path in this order from the suction port 15 side.

The heat exchanger 8 is provided in the vicinity of the suction port 15 and is connected to the outdoor unit 2 by the hot water pipe 4. The heat exchanger 8 is generated by the outdoor unit 2 and circulated to the indoor unit 1 via the thermal valve 9. Heated with warm water.

By opening and closing the thermal valve 9, hot water can be circulated and shut off. Reference numeral 28 denotes a hot water thermistor attached near the hot water inlet of the heat exchanger 8, and detects the temperature of the hot water at regular time intervals. By detecting the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 with the hot water thermistor 28 and monitoring the temperature of the hot water, when the temperature of the hot water is low, the cold air does not enter the room.

The blower 12 is driven to rotate by a fan motor, and the heat output of the room heating can be controlled by changing the rotation speed of the fan motor.

The operation unit 13 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
An operation switch 18 for operating / stopping the heater, and a set temperature switch 2 for a user to set a desired room temperature.
2. Switches necessary for controlling the operation of the heater, such as a hot air changeover switch 23 for switching the amount of air blown into the room, and a display unit 24 for displaying room temperature, set temperature, an error when an abnormality occurs, and the like are provided. ing. The operation switch 18
Is also used as a release switch for releasing the abnormality, and the abnormal state of the communication is released by turning off the operation switch 18. The on / off operation of the operation switch 18 is interlocked with the operation / stop of the hot water boiler 3 and the opening and closing of the thermal valve 9.
By turning on 8, the hot water boiler 3 starts operating, and the thermal valve 9 is opened.

The control device 14 is a device for instructing the operation of the equipment in response to the operation of the operation unit 13 and the input signals from various sensors. Signals are transmitted and received by a room temperature thermistor 25 provided below the device 14.

On the other hand, the outdoor unit 2 is provided with a hot water boiler 3, a circulation pump (not shown), and the like. These components are connected to the heat exchanger 8 of the indoor unit 1 by a hot water pipe 4. To form a hot water circulation circuit. The hot water boiler 3 is controlled so that the temperature of the hot water becomes a certain temperature (for example, 77 ° C.), and the hot water generated by the hot water boiler 3 is circulated and supplied to the indoor unit 1 by a circulation pump (not shown). .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control device. The control device 14 has a microcomputer 27 (hereinafter, referred to as a microcomputer) that controls the entire device.

On the input side of the microcomputer 27, an operation unit 13 having an operation switch 18, a set temperature switch 22, and the like, a room temperature thermistor 25, and a hot water thermistor 28 for detecting hot water temperature are connected to input ports, respectively. Further, a communication input port 31 is provided so as to exchange signals with the outdoor unit 2 and the like.

On the output side of the microcomputer 27, a display unit 24, a fan motor of the blower 12, a thermal valve 9 and the like are connected to output ports. Further, a communication output port 32 is provided so as to exchange signals with the outdoor unit 2 and the like.

The communication input port 31 keeps the LO signal at all times when the outdoor unit 2 is operating normally, and when the outdoor unit 2 is abnormal or the communication state is abnormal, the LO signal is kept low. When the signal is no longer a signal and the HI signal is input, the abnormality is detected. The HI signal includes signals such as running out of fuel in the boiler 3, dropping or leaking of hot water (antifreeze), abnormal heating and mis-ignition, and the like, and these abnormal signals can be distinguished by the pulse width of the HI signal. . Error symbols due to the difference in pulse width are determined as A1, A2, A3,.... Then, if necessary, an error symbol is displayed by transmitting it to the display unit 24 from the output port.

When the normal operation is performed between the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2 to perform the heating operation, the LO
The signal is kept. Then, if necessary, it can be displayed on the display unit 24 that the operation is normal.

Here, abnormalities occur due to, for example, poor contact or noise in the communication line connecting the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2, and normal information can be transmitted and received between the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2. When there is no communication input port 31 of the microcomputer 27
Cannot keep the LO signal. When there is such a signal abnormality in the communication input port 31, the microcomputer 27 stops the hot water boiler 3, the blower 12, and the like in order to secure the safety of the device.
The operation of the device is stopped, such as closing the thermal valve 9. At the same time, an error (A7 error) for displaying a communication error is displayed on the display unit 24.

After a communication error has occurred, a predetermined time (for example, 30
When the LO signal is input to the communication input port 31 within the communication input port 31 and the communication error is resolved, the display of the error (A7 error) is turned off, and the operation of the hot water boiler 3, the blower 12, and the like is automatically started. Then, the thermal valve 9 is opened, the operation is restarted, and the operation returns to the normal operation.

After the occurrence of an error, the communication input port 31
LO signal does not return to the
When the LO signal is input to the microcomputer 27 for more than (minutes), the display of the abnormality (A7 error) is kept lit and the operation is stopped. That is, even if the communication abnormality is resolved, the operation stop state of the heater is maintained.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart for performing such a communication error determination process. When the operation switch 18 is turned on, the return output from the output port 32 of the microcomputer 27 to the outdoor unit 2 is set to the LO level (step S1). If the communication is performed normally and the boiler 3 operates normally, the LO signal is input to the communication input port 31 of the microcomputer 27.
If the input signal of the communication input port 31 is LO (normal), the communication input port 31 is periodically monitored, and waits until the next input signal is input (step S2). If the LO signal is not input to the communication input port in step S2, the process proceeds to step S3, and waits for the input of the next signal for a fixed time (for example, 4 seconds). If the LO signal is not input to the communication input port 31 even after the lapse of the fixed time, it is regarded as abnormal, and the process proceeds to step S4, where the indoor unit 1,
The operation of the outdoor unit 2 is stopped. At this time, if an error is caused by the communication, an A7 error is displayed on the display unit 24 (step S5).

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an operation for performing a communication error recovery process. During A7 error display (step S
21) The microcomputer 27 monitors the state of the communication input port 31 while counting the time elapsed since the occurrence of the abnormality (step S22).
It is determined whether or not the communication input port 31 is an LO signal. If the state of the communication input port 31 becomes LO within 30 minutes after the occurrence of the abnormality, the process proceeds from step S23 to step S24. In step S24, the A7 error display is cancelled, and the flow shifts to step S25 to restart the operation.

On the other hand, if the elapsed time from the occurrence of the abnormality (A7 error) exceeds 30 minutes in step S22, the process proceeds to step S26, the A7 error display continues to light, and the operation of the heater stops. It is kept in the state.
At this time, when the operation switch 18 (release switch) is turned off, the error is released (step S28), and A
7 The error display is cancelled, and at the same time, the process proceeds to step S29, where the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2 are brought into the same normal stopped state as the state stopped by the operation switch 18.

In this way, if a communication abnormality that does not recover within a predetermined time is prevented from automatically recovering, it is possible to easily check for an abnormality in the communication line. In addition, the inspection is performed in such a manner so that the heater is not used in an unstable state due to a communication error, so that an unnecessary load is not applied to the equipment.

If the coating of the communication lines 5 and 6 is damaged due to inexperience or mistake in construction when installing the heater, or if a stapler or the like is in contact with the core wire and a communication error occurs, a communication error may occur. A7 error display is performed as
If each abnormal point is found and processed, the microcomputer 27 automatically returns to start the normal operation of the heater. Therefore, when installing the equipment, the operation of canceling the abnormal stop is almost unnecessary, and the installation time is reduced. It can be shortened.

Although the present invention has been described based on one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.

In this embodiment, the operation switch 18 and the display unit 24 are provided in the indoor unit 1. However, a device such as a remote controller separate from the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2 is provided, and the operation switch 18 and the display are provided on the device. The unit 24 may be provided.

In the present embodiment, the operation switch 18 is used as a release switch so that the operation switch 18 is turned off to release the abnormal state when the device stops abnormally. The release switch may be provided independently, or the release switch may be provided on the indoor unit or when a remote controller or the like is provided separately.

In this embodiment, when an abnormality occurs,
If the time is within minutes, the abnormality is automatically eliminated and the operation returns to the normal operation. However, the time of 30 minutes is not limited, and an arbitrary time may be set as needed.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a communication error occurs in the indoor unit and the outdoor unit during the heating operation, the device is automatically stopped once, the communication error display is turned on, and the device is turned on. So as not to put unnecessary burden on When the communication abnormality is resolved within a certain time, the display of the abnormality is turned off and the operation is restarted. In this way, the apparatus is automatically restarted in the event of a temporary communication error caused by the influence of noise or the like or the installation of the apparatus, so that a complaint of an abnormal stop of the heater is prevented.

When the time exceeds a predetermined time, the operation is stopped and the abnormality display is kept lit, so that
When repair is to be performed later, the cause of the failure can be easily understood, the time required for inspection and repair can be shortened, and the device can be prevented from being used in an unstable state.

The cancellation of the abnormal display and the restart of the operation
Since the operation can be performed by operating the operation switch or the like, the operation can be easily resumed after repairing the failed part.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a communication system of a hot water heater.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a control device.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of a communication error recovery process according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart for performing a communication error determination process.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart for performing a conventional communication error recovery process.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an operation unit of the indoor unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit 2 Outdoor unit 3 Hot water boiler 4 Hot water pipe 5 Communication line 6 Communication line 8 Heat exchanger 9 Heat valve 12 Blower 13 Operation part 14 Control device 18 Operation switch (release switch) 24 Display part 27 Microcomputer 31 Communication input port 32 Communication output port

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 9/00 361 H04Q 9/00 361

Claims (7)

[Claims] An indoor unit having an operation unit having a display panel,
The indoor unit is communicably connected to an outdoor unit that circulates hot water to heat the room, and when a communication error occurs during the heating operation, the display of the error is lit on the display unit and the operation is stopped. In such a hot water heater, the communication error process performed during the operation of the heater turns off the error display and restarts the operation when the communication error is resolved within a predetermined time after the occurrence of the error, and The outdoor unit also starts operating, but if the communication error exceeds a certain period of time, regardless of whether the communication returns to normal or is in an abnormal state, the error display is turned on unless the operation switch is turned off, and the operation is performed. A method of processing a communication abnormality of a hot water heater, wherein the operation of the outdoor unit is not restarted while the stoppage of the outdoor unit is maintained. 2. An indoor unit having an operation unit having a display panel and a release switch, and an outdoor unit that circulates hot water to the indoor unit to heat the indoor unit, are communicably connected to each other. In the hot water heater, the display of the abnormality is lit on the display unit when the occurrence of the abnormality occurs, and the operation is stopped, and the display of the abnormality and the stop of the operation are released by operating a release switch. A method for processing communication abnormalities in a hot water heater. 3. An indoor unit having an operation unit having a display panel,
The indoor unit is communicably connected to an outdoor unit that circulates hot water to heat the room, and when a communication error occurs during the heating operation, the display of the error is lit on the display unit and the operation is stopped. In such a hot water heater, the communication error process performed during the operation of the heater turns off the error display and restarts the operation when the communication error is resolved within a certain period of time after the occurrence of the error. A communication error of the hot water heater characterized by having a mechanism that turns on the display of an error when the time is exceeded and keeps the operation stopped regardless of whether the communication returns to normal or is abnormal. Processing equipment. 4. An indoor unit having an operation unit having a display panel and a release switch, and an outdoor unit that circulates warm water to the indoor unit and heats the indoor room are communicably connected to each other. In the hot water heater in which the display of the abnormality is turned on and the operation is stopped when the occurrence of the abnormality, the display of the abnormality and the stop of the operation are released by operating a release switch. A communication abnormality processing device for a hot water heater. 5. The communication abnormality processing device for a hot water heater according to claim 3, wherein the operation unit having the display panel is provided separately from the indoor unit. 6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the release switch is also used as an operation switch. 7. An indoor unit having an operation unit having a display panel and a release switch, and an outdoor unit that circulates warm water through the indoor unit and heats the room, are communicably connected to each other. When the communication is normal, the operation is performed with the communication input port of the microcomputer set to LO, and when a communication abnormality occurs, the display of the abnormality is lit on the display unit and the operation is stopped. Abnormality processing performed during operation of the machine is a mechanism that turns off the display of abnormalities and resumes operation when a communication abnormality is resolved within a certain time after an abnormality occurs, and lights up an abnormality display when it exceeds a certain time A communication abnormality processing device for a hot water heater, comprising: a mechanism for displaying and displaying the abnormality and canceling the operation stop by operating a release switch. .