JP2003035450A - Abnormality record storing unit and air conditioner comprising it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store abnormality record information including the content of an abnormality and the operating state of an air conditioner upon occurrence of an abnormality in the air conditioner and to erase the abnormality record information upon occurrence of a new abnormality. SOLUTION: The abnormality record information storing unit comprises means for storing abnormality record information including the content of an abnormality and the operating state of an air conditioner upon occurrence of an abnormality, means for acquiring the abnormality record information including the content of the abnormality and the operating state of the air conditioner upon occurrence of an abnormality in the air conditioner and writing that information in the abnormality record storing unit, and means for prohibiting overwriting on the abnormality record storing unit by the abnormality record writing means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an abnormal history information storage device for storing abnormal history information including the contents of abnormality when an abnormality occurs in the device and the operating state of the device at that time, and such abnormal history information. The present invention relates to an air conditioner including a storage device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a household electric appliance, when an abnormality occurs, abnormality history information including the details of the abnormality and the operating state of the device at that time is stored in a memory, and what kind of abnormality has occurred after recovery is stored. It may be configured to be researchable. An EEPROM that can rewrite electrical information is used as a memory for storing the abnormal history information.

In order to read out the abnormal history information stored in the EEPROM and investigate the abnormal state, it is necessary to supply electric power to the electric components. However, if the electric power supply is not started in the complete product state, the electric power is supplied. There is a risk that a new abnormality will occur the moment you go, and the newly generated abnormality history information will be written to the EEPROM.

Since the cost of the EEPROM is high, in order to keep the price of the apparatus low, it is necessary to limit the capacity of the mounted EEPROM and also the number of abnormal history information that can be stored. Therefore, if a new abnormality occurs when power is supplied to inspect the collected product, the original abnormality history information may be erased by overwriting the EEPROM with the new abnormality history information. There is.

[0005]

In particular, in a separate type air conditioner, the electrical equipment on the indoor unit side and the electrical equipment on the outdoor unit side are connected by a transmission line for communication, and the recovered air conditioner Even during the investigation, a new abnormality may occur unless the device including the connection between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit by the transmission line is completely assembled. Therefore, when the abnormal history information is read out and investigated, it is necessary to completely assemble the product, which complicates the work, and it is necessary to secure assembly parts for the investigation. Is difficult to reduce.

According to the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in the device,
Provided is an abnormal history information storage device which stores abnormal history information including the contents of abnormality and the operating state of the apparatus at that time, and prevents the abnormal history information from being erased by a newly generated abnormality.

[0007]

An abnormal history information storage device according to claim 1 of the present invention is capable of storing abnormal history information including the contents of an abnormality at the time of occurrence of an abnormality and the operating state of the device at that time. And an abnormality history writing means for acquiring abnormality history information including details of the abnormality and the operating state of the apparatus at that time and storing it in the abnormality history storage means, and an abnormality history writing means. And an overwriting prohibition unit that prohibits writing to the abnormal history storage unit by the.

In this case, by prohibiting the writing to the abnormality history storage means by the overwrite inhibiting means, even if a new abnormality occurs, the abnormality history information recorded before that is not erased, It is possible to easily read the abnormal history information without assembling the product when investigating the collected product.

An abnormal history information storage device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the abnormal history information storage device according to the first aspect, wherein heat exchange is performed between the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant circuit and the air. The abnormal history information in the air conditioner that controls the indoor air to a desired temperature is stored.

For example, even when only the electric components are taken out from the separate type air conditioner for investigation, the abnormality history information is not overwritten due to the occurrence of a new abnormality, and the investigation can be performed easily. You can

An abnormal history information storage device according to claim 3 of the present invention is the abnormal history information storage device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the abnormal history storage means is constituted by an EEPROM. In this case, since the abnormality history storage means for storing the abnormality history information is composed of an electrically rewritable EEPROM, it is possible to reliably save the details of the abnormality at the time of occurrence and the operating state of the device at that time. it can.

An abnormal history information storage device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the abnormal history information storage device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the overwriting prohibition means writes the abnormal history information in the abnormal history storage means. And an disable signal for prohibiting writing are selectively input to the abnormal history writing means.

In this case, by means of selectively inputting an enable signal for permitting writing to the abnormal history storage means and a disable signal for inhibiting writing to the abnormal history storage means to write to the abnormal history storage means. The prohibition can be set easily.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the abnormal history information storage device selectively inputs an enable signal for permitting writing to the abnormal history storage means and a disable signal for prohibiting writing to the abnormal history writing means. The means for doing so comprises a switch or a jumper wire.

In this case, it becomes easy to set the write inhibition to the abnormal history storage means. An air conditioner according to claim 6 of the present invention is an air equipped with an air conditioning unit that performs heat exchange between a refrigerant circulating in a refrigerant circuit and introduced air and supplies adjusted air after the heat exchange into a room. It is a harmony machine, and when an abnormality occurs in the air conditioning unit, an abnormality history storage means that can store abnormality history information including the details of the abnormality when the abnormality occurs in the air conditioning unit and the operating state of the air conditioning unit at that time , Anomaly history writing means that acquires the anomaly history information including the details of the anomaly and the operating condition of the air conditioning unit at that time and stores it in the anomaly history storage means, and prohibits writing to the anomaly history storage means by the anomaly history writing means And an abnormal history information storage device including an overwriting prohibition unit.

In this case, by prohibiting the writing to the abnormality history storage means by the overwriting inhibition means, even if a new abnormality occurs, the abnormality history information recorded before that is not erased, Abnormality history information can be easily read without assembling the product when investigating the collected product, and when the abnormality occurs in the air conditioning unit, a part including the abnormal history storage means is collected. It is possible to analyze abnormal history information of the air conditioning unit.

An air conditioner according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the air conditioner according to the sixth aspect, wherein the abnormal history storage means is
It is composed of EEPROM. In this case, it is possible to reliably store the abnormality content when the abnormality occurs in the air conditioning unit and the operating state of the air conditioning unit at that time.

An air conditioner according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the air conditioner according to the sixth or seventh aspect, wherein the overwriting prohibition means and the enable signal and the writing permitting the writing to the abnormal history storage means. And a disable signal for prohibiting the above are selectively input to the abnormality history writing means.

In this case, by means of selectively inputting an enable signal for permitting writing to the abnormal history storage means and a disable signal for prohibiting writing to the abnormal history storage means, the writing to the abnormal history storage means is performed. The prohibition can be set easily.

An air conditioner according to claim 9 of the present invention is the air conditioner according to claim 8, wherein an enable signal for permitting writing to the abnormal history storage means and a disable signal for prohibiting writing are provided. The means for selectively inputting to the abnormal history writing means is composed of a switch or a jumper wire.

In this case, it becomes easy to set the write prohibition to the abnormal history storage means. In the air conditioner according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the abnormality history information storage device is housed in an electrical component box detachably attached to the air conditioning unit.

In this case, by collecting only the electrical component box, the abnormal history information stored in the abnormal history information storage device can be analyzed, and the maintenance work is simplified.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Appearance of Air Conditioner] 1 of the Present Invention
The appearance of an air conditioner to which the embodiment is applied is shown in FIG.

The air conditioner 1 is equipped with an indoor unit 2 mounted on the wall surface of the room and an outdoor unit 3 installed outdoors. The outdoor unit 3 includes an outdoor air conditioning unit 5 that houses an outdoor heat exchanger, an outdoor fan, and the like.

An indoor heat exchanger is housed in the indoor unit 2,
An outdoor heat exchanger is housed in the outdoor unit 3, and each heat exchanger is connected by a refrigerant pipe 6 to form a refrigerant circuit.

[Schematic Configuration of Refrigerant Circuit] FIG. 2 shows an example of a refrigerant circuit used in the air conditioner 1. An indoor heat exchanger 11 is provided in the indoor unit 2. The indoor heat exchanger 11 includes a heat transfer tube that is folded back at both ends in the length direction, and a plurality of fins through which the heat transfer tube is inserted.
Performs heat exchange with the contacting air.

Further, a cross flow fan 12 is provided in the indoor unit 2 for sucking indoor air and exchanging heat with the indoor heat exchanger 11 and discharging the indoor air. . The cross-flow fan 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape and has blades provided on the peripheral surface in the direction of the rotation axis, and generates an air flow in the direction intersecting with the rotation axis. The cross flow fan 12 is rotationally driven by a fan motor 13 provided inside the indoor unit 2.

The outdoor air conditioning unit 5 includes a compressor 21 and
A four-way switching valve 22 connected to the discharge side of the compressor 21, an accumulator 23 connected to the suction side of the compressor 21,
An outdoor heat exchanger 24 connected to the four-way switching valve 22 and a pressure reducer 25 including an electric expansion valve connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 24.
And are provided. The decompressor 25 is connected to a field pipe 31 via a filter 26 and a liquid shutoff valve 27, and is connected to one end of the indoor heat exchanger 11 via the field pipe 31. Further, the four-way switching valve 22 is the gas closing valve 2
8 is connected to the on-site pipe 32 via 8 and is connected to the other end of the indoor heat exchanger 11 via this on-site pipe 32. The field pipes 31 and 32 correspond to the refrigerant pipe 6 in FIG.

Inside the outdoor air conditioning unit 5, a propeller fan 29 for discharging the air after heat exchange in the outdoor heat exchanger 24 is provided. This propeller fan 2
9 is rotationally driven by the fan motor 30.

[Outdoor Control Unit] FIG. 3 shows a control block diagram in the outdoor air conditioning unit 5. The outdoor air conditioning unit 5 includes an outdoor control unit 101 composed of a microprocessor. The outdoor control unit 101 is connected to a ROM 102 that stores a control program and various constants, and a RAM 103 that temporarily stores operating variables. Outdoor control unit 1
01, ROM 102, and RAM 103 can be configured as a one-chip microcomputer.

The outdoor control section 101 is connected to an electrically rewritable EEPROM 104. This EEPR
The OM 104 can store various data relating to the operating state of the device, and in particular, can store the abnormal content information when the abnormal state of the device occurs, the operating state of the device at that time, environmental information, etc. Has become. EEPROM 1
A part of the whole area is allocated to the area for storing the abnormal history information in 04, and for example, an area for storing two abnormal history information is secured.

Further, the outdoor controller 101 has an EEPROM 10
An overwriting restriction unit 105 for permitting or prohibiting writing to No. 4 is connected. The overwrite control unit 105 permits or prohibits the outdoor control unit 101 from storing abnormal history information in the EEPROM 104.

The outdoor control section 101 is connected to a communication section 106 for transmitting and receiving data to and from the indoor control section provided in the indoor air conditioning unit 2. The outdoor control unit 101 further includes an outdoor air thermistor 111 for detecting the outdoor air temperature, a heat exchange thermistor 112 for detecting the evaporation temperature or the condensation temperature of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 24,
Discharge pipe thermistor 1 for detecting the discharge pipe temperature of the compressor 21
13, sensors such as a suction side pressure sensor 114 for detecting the suction side pressure of the compressor 21 and a discharge side pressure protection switch 115 for protecting the pressure of the compressor 21 are connected, and the detection signals of the respective sensors are input. It

The outdoor control unit 101 is connected to a compressor drive unit 116 that drives the compressor 21, a fan motor drive unit 117 that drives the fan motor 30, a four-way switching valve 22, an electric valve 25, and the like. , Is configured to control each part during operation by supplying a control signal to each part.

The outdoor control unit 101 includes a ROM 102 and a RAM
It is mounted on a printed circuit board together with 103, EEPROM 104, overwrite control unit 105, and the like. Further, the compressor drive unit 116 and the fan motor drive unit 117 are mounted on a plurality of printed circuit boards that are the same as or different from the printed circuit board on which the outdoor control unit 101 is mounted, and as shown in FIG. It is stored in the box 121.

In the electrical equipment box 121, a connector 122 for sensors and switches, a motor valve connector 1
23, four-way valve connector 124, compressor connector 12
5, the thermistor connector 126, etc., and is connected to each part arranged in the outdoor air conditioning unit 5 via these connectors. Further, the electrical component box 121 is provided with a communication connector 128, a power source power receiving connector 128, etc., which are connected to the indoor control section in the indoor unit 2, and are respectively connected to the indoor unit 2. Each connector arranged in the electrical component box 121 includes an outdoor control unit 101, a compressor drive unit 116, a fan motor drive unit 11
It is also possible to mount it on a printed circuit board on which 7 or the like is mounted, or to be mounted on the inner wall of the electrical component box 121 and connected to a terminal on the printed circuit board by a harness. Electrical equipment box 121
Is detachably attached to the outdoor air conditioning unit 5, and it is possible to collect and investigate only the electrical component box 121 when an abnormality occurs. Alternatively, only the printed circuit board on which the EEPROM 104 is mounted in the electrical component box 121 may be collected.

As shown in FIG. 5, the overwriting restricting section 105 is provided with a resistor 151 for lowering the 5V power supply voltage to a predetermined signal voltage, and a jumper wire 152 for grounding the output end of the resistor 151. ing. The output end of the resistor 151 is the P64 of the microcomputer 200 that constitutes the outdoor control unit 101.
Connected to a port.

[0038]

[Table 1] As shown in Table 1, under normal operating conditions, jumper wire 1
52 is in a short circuit state, and 5V voltage is not applied to the P64 port of the microcomputer 200. Therefore, WRITE that permits writing from the microcomputer 200 to the EEPROM 104
It is in the ENABLE state.

When the jumper wire 152 is cut,
A voltage of 5V is applied to the P64 port of the microcomputer 200, and the microcomputer 200 is in the WRITE DISABLE state in which writing to the EEPROM 104 is prohibited.

The jumper line 152 of the overwriting regulation unit 105
Instead of this, a switch such as a DIP switch may be provided. In addition, the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3
With the remote control transmission line normally connected, use the remote controller to send the instruction signal indoors and use the EEPROM1
It is also possible to transmit the signal for prohibiting writing to 04.

[Reading Out Abnormality Probability Information] When a failure or other abnormality occurs in the air conditioner as described above, the connectors 122 for sensors and switches,
A motor-operated valve connector 123, a four-way valve connector 124, a compressor connector 125, a thermistor connector 126,
The cause investigation can be performed by removing all the wirings connected to the communication connector 128, the power receiving connector 128, etc., collecting only the electrical component box 121, and reading the abnormal history information stored in the EEPROM 104. It will be possible.

In this case, the jumper wire 152 of the overwriting restricting section 105 is cut or the switch is operated to set WR.
The ITE DISABLE state is set, and the device is connected to a reading device for reading the data stored in the EEPROM 104. The communication unit 106 or a part thereof can be used for connection with the reading device, and another communication interface can be provided.

In such a state, when power supply to the circuit components in the electrical equipment box is started in order to read the data stored in the EEPROM 104, the outside air thermistor 111, which should be originally connected to the outdoor control unit 101. , Heat exchanger thermistor 112, discharge pipe thermistor 113, suction side pressure sensor 114, discharge side pressure protection switch 115 and other sensors, compressor 21, four-way switching valve 22, controlled valve 25 and other controlled equipment, indoor air conditioning The indoor control unit and the like in the unit 2 are not connected, and the outdoor control unit 101 considers that an abnormality has occurred and executes error processing. However, since the WRITE DISABLE state is set for the EEPROM 104, the abnormal history information stored in the EEPROM 104 is protected. Therefore, it becomes possible to read the content of the abnormality that actually occurred with the reading device, and it becomes easy to investigate the cause of the abnormality occurrence.

According to the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in the apparatus as described above, it is possible to take out and collect only the electrical components and investigate the cause, and the collection work becomes easy. In addition, since the abnormal history information stored in the EEPROM 104 is protected by the control of the overwriting restricting unit 105, it is not necessary to assemble other components to complete the state when power supply is started for reading data. , Work easier.

[Other Embodiments] (A) For the indoor control section arranged in the indoor air conditioning unit 2, an EEPROM that stores abnormal history information and this EE
An overwriting restriction unit can be provided to allow or prohibit the writing of data to the PROM. Also in this case, the overwrite restricting unit can be configured to control the EEPROM WRITE ENABLE of the microcomputer by a jumper wire, a switch, or the like. (B) At the time of investigating the cause when an abnormality occurs in the device, at least only the printed circuit board on which the EEPROM 104 is mounted may be removed and collected.

Further, without being limited to the air conditioner,
The configuration of the present invention can be applied to other home electric appliances.

[0047]

In the abnormal history information storage device according to the first aspect of the present invention, by overwriting the abnormal history storage means by the overwriting prohibiting means, even if a new abnormality occurs, before that It is possible to easily read the abnormal history information without erasing the recorded abnormal history information and without assembling the product when investigating the collected product.

In the anomaly history information storage device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the anomaly history information is overwritten due to the occurrence of a new anomaly even when only the electrical components are taken out from the separate type air conditioner for investigation. It is possible to conduct an investigation easily without doing anything.

In the abnormal history information storage device according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the abnormal history storage means for storing the abnormal history information is constituted by the electrically rewritable EEPROM, the abnormal contents when the abnormality occurs It is possible to reliably save the operating status of the device at that time.

In the abnormal history information storage device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the enable signal for permitting the writing to the abnormal history storage means and the disable signal for prohibiting the writing are selectively inputted to the abnormal history writing means. By this means, it is possible to easily set prohibition of writing to the abnormality history storage means.

In the abnormal history information storage device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it becomes easy to set the write inhibition to the abnormal history storage means. In the air conditioner according to claim 6 of the present invention,
By prohibiting writing to the abnormality history storage means by the overwrite prohibition means, even if a new abnormality occurs, the abnormality history information recorded before that is not erased, and the collected products can be investigated. It is possible to easily read the error history information without assembling the product when performing the operation, and when an error occurs in the air conditioning unit, a part including the error history storage means is collected to recover the error history of the air conditioning unit. It becomes possible to analyze the information.

In the air conditioner according to claim 7 of the present invention,
When an abnormality occurs in the air conditioning unit, the details of the abnormality and the operating state of the air conditioning unit at that time can be reliably saved.

In the air conditioner according to claim 8 of the present invention,
By easily inputting an enable signal for permitting writing to the abnormal history storage means and a disable signal for inhibiting writing to the abnormal history writing means, it is possible to easily set prohibition of writing to the abnormal history storage means. be able to.

In the air conditioner according to claim 9 of the present invention,
It becomes easy to set write-protection to the abnormality history storage means. In the air conditioner according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, by collecting only the electrical component box, the abnormal history information stored in the abnormal history information storage device can be analyzed, and the maintenance work is simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of an air conditioner.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a refrigerant circuit.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of an outdoor air conditioning unit.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an electrical component box.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram for explaining an overwrite restricting unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 Outdoor control unit 104 EEPROM 105 Overwrite Control Department

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An abnormality history storage unit capable of storing abnormality history information including an abnormality content at the time of occurrence of an abnormality and an operating state of the apparatus at that time, and an abnormality content when the apparatus has an abnormality, and an apparatus at that time. An abnormal history writing unit that acquires abnormal history information including an operating state of the above and stores it in the abnormal history storage unit; and an overwrite prohibition unit that prohibits writing to the abnormal history storage unit by the abnormal history writing unit, Anomaly history information storage device equipped with. 2. The abnormality according to claim 1, wherein heat exchange is performed between the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant circuit and the air, and abnormal history information in the air conditioner for controlling the indoor air to a desired temperature is stored. History information storage device. 3. The abnormal history information storage device according to claim 1, wherein the abnormal history storage means is an EEPROM. 4. The overwriting prohibiting means comprises means for selectively inputting an enable signal for permitting writing to the abnormal history storage means and a disable signal for inhibiting writing to the abnormal history writing means. The abnormal history information storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. Means for selectively inputting an enable signal for permitting writing to said abnormal history storage means and a disable signal for inhibiting writing to said abnormal history storage means to a switch or a jumper wire. The abnormal history information storage device according to claim 4. 6. An air conditioner comprising an air conditioning unit for exchanging heat between the refrigerant circulating in a refrigerant circuit and the introduced air and supplying the conditioned air after the heat exchange into the room. Abnormal content when an abnormality occurs in the unit, an abnormal history storage means capable of storing abnormal history information including the operating state of the air conditioning unit at that time, and the abnormality content when an abnormality occurs in the air conditioning unit, Abnormal history writing means for acquiring abnormal history information including the operating state of the air conditioning unit at that time and storing it in the abnormal history storage means, and prohibiting writing to the abnormal history storage means by the abnormal history writing means An air conditioner equipped with an abnormal history information storage device including overwriting prohibition means. 7. The air conditioner according to claim 6, wherein the abnormal history storage means is an EEPROM. 8. The overwriting prohibiting means comprises means for selectively inputting an enable signal for permitting writing to the abnormal history storage means and a disable signal for inhibiting writing to the abnormal history writing means. The air conditioner according to claim 6 or 7. 9. A means for selectively inputting an enable signal for permitting writing to said abnormal history storage means and a disable signal for prohibiting writing to said abnormal history storage means by a switch or a jumper wire. The air conditioner according to claim 8. 10. The air conditioner according to claim 6, wherein the abnormal history information storage device is housed in an electrical equipment box detachably attached to the air conditioning unit.