JP2006042067A - Converter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a converter which realizes a communication system having a high flexibility enough to allow controlled apparatus to expanded or newly installed. <P>SOLUTION: The converter comprises a first electronic circuit 31 connectable to a first bus CB1 or an apparatus and a second electronic circuit 33 connectable to a second bus CB2 or an apparatus 40. The first electronic circuit receives input data from the first bus or the apparatus and code-converts the input data into converted data, and the second electronic circuit outputs the converted data to the second bus. Data common to the plurality of converters are previously preset. The first electronic circuit code-converts the data inputted from the first bus or the apparatus to the common data, and the second electronic circuit outputs the code-converted common data by the first electronic circuit to the second bus or the apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a converter, and more particularly to a converter used in a communication system in which air conditioners are network-connected.

For example, in a building air conditioning system in which a large number of indoor and outdoor units such as hotels and tenants are installed, individual control of each indoor unit and overall control by a centralized control device are necessary.
A split type building air conditioning system is constructed as a single air conditioning system by connecting an air conditioning system in which two or more indoor units are connected to one outdoor unit by a refrigerant circuit via a network line. For example, the air conditioning system of a huge building is designed for exclusive use customized for each floor, whereas the split type has an indoor unit installed in a separate room where the floor plan has already been decided, It is a system that air-conditions by an outdoor unit installed in.

  The advantage is the flexibility of installation. As the number of rooms is increased or the floor plan is changed, the air conditioning capacity can be freely increased or decreased by adding an indoor unit. Air conditioning systems can also be introduced into existing buildings by burying pipes and installing indoor and outdoor units.

  However, from the viewpoint of centralized management, the construction of an electrical system is complicated. The refrigerant circuit connecting the indoor unit group and the outdoor unit is designed to be more than a dozen units. However, when these refrigerant circuits are combined to construct one centralized management air conditioning system, the number of indoor units controlled is several hundred. May extend to the table.

  In particular, the centralized control device is desired to have various functions as an information collection device such as temperature sensor information and information necessary for billing calculation in addition to multi-control of a plurality of indoor units existing on the network.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a network air conditioner system has a plurality of indoor and outdoor units and a control device for controlling them suspended on a single main bus as applied to, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-90587 (Patent Document 1). In addition, a large-scale air conditioning system is constructed with a unique network system. As another conventional technique, there is JP-A-2001-235217 (Patent Document 2).

  As shown in FIG. 36, as in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the configuration method for arranging all devices (indoor / outdoor units, control devices, operating devices, etc.) on the same main bus line is an installation work. Sometimes it may be effective in avoiding the complexity of the cable. However, as described above, when the flexibility of installation is emphasized, the one-dimensional arrangement as described in Patent Document 1 is not used. Make it complicated.

  Using the same bus requires the physical communication protocol to be unified. In addition, an indoor / outdoor unit group partially controlled under the control of the adapter needs to recognize the address of the adapter in addition to the address of the indoor unit itself. In other words, it is necessary for the indoor unit control unit to select unnecessary (indoor unit groups managed by other adapters) data, especially in the half-duplex communication bus used in the network bus, which increases traffic. In addition to data loss due to noise, it is necessary to be aware of missing data frame collisions.

  Recently, there is a tendency to open the system, and there are many cases where the protocol for controlling the indoor / outdoor unit group is not necessarily its own. In particular, building air conditioning is highly positioned as a system and will be used for a long period of time, so if a system change occurs due to new development in the meantime, it is difficult to add a system in a one-dimensional system, and all indoor and outdoor units are It can also be replaced.

  JP-A-4-281145 (Patent Document 3) describes a communication system as shown in FIG. A central control device 802 and first to third converters 803 to 805 are connected to the transmission line 801. First to third air conditioning blocks 806 to 808 are connected to the first to third converters 803 to 805, respectively.

  In such a conventional communication system 800, each of the first to third converters 803 to 805 performs protocol conversion on a signal output from the central control device 802 and transmitted on the transmission line 801, and after the conversion, The signals are output to the first to third air conditioning blocks 806 to 808, respectively. In order to output control signals to the first to third air conditioning blocks 806 to 808, the central controller 802 controls the first to third air conditioning blocks 806 to 808, respectively. It is necessary to grasp each control code of the 3 air conditioning blocks 806 to 808.

  Therefore, when a new air conditioning block (not shown) is added to the communication system 800, it is necessary to register the control code of the air conditioning block in the central controller 802 each time. When adding an air-conditioning block, such registration work is required, so that the flexibility of equipment expansion is lacking.

  Conventionally, in the communication system 800 shown in FIG. 37, the air conditioners of the first to third air conditioning blocks 806 to 808 are usually the same type, and all of the air conditioners of the first to third air conditioning blocks 806 to 808 are used. On the other hand, the first to third converters 803 to 805 are used in preparation for the case where non-overlapping addresses cannot be set. That is, even if it is not possible to set non-overlapping addresses (node addresses) for all of the air conditioning devices (nodes) of the first to third air conditioning blocks 806 to 808, the node address within one air conditioning block Are set without duplication, the converter addresses of the first to third converters 803 to 805 to which the air conditioners of the first to third air conditioning blocks 806 to 808 are connected are combined with the node addresses of the air conditioners. By using it, a desired air conditioner can be specified.

JP 2003-90587 A JP 2001-235217 A JP-A-4-281145

For example, it is suitably used in communication systems that supply control signals for controlling a plurality of controlled devices such as air-conditioning devices. A converter that can be improved is desired.
The objective of this invention is providing the converter which can implement | achieve the communication system with high flexibility of expansion of a controlled apparatus or new installation.

  The converter of the present invention comprises a first electronic circuit connectable to a first bus or device, and a second electronic circuit connectable to a second bus or device, wherein the first electronic circuit is connected to the first bus or device. Data is input from the device, and the second electronic circuit outputs conversion data obtained by code-converting data input by the first electronic circuit to the second bus or the device. .

  In the converter according to the present invention, common data common to the plurality of converters is set in advance, and the first electronic circuit performs code conversion on the data input from the first bus or the device to convert the data into the common data. The second electronic circuit converts the common data converted by the first electronic circuit, and outputs the converted data to the second bus or the device.

  In the converter of the present invention, the first electronic circuit has a first conversion table in which a correspondence relationship between data input from the first bus or the device and the common data is shown, and the second electronic circuit is It has a 2nd conversion table in which the correspondence of the common data and the data outputted from the 2nd bus or the device is shown.

  The converter according to the present invention further includes a third electronic circuit having an interface function with an external device.

  In the converter of the present invention, the third electronic circuit performs code conversion on the data input from the external device connected to the third electronic circuit to convert the data into the common data, and the second electronic circuit includes the Conversion data obtained by code-converting the common data converted by the third electronic circuit is output to the second bus or the device.

  In the converter of the present invention, the external device includes a control device including a remote controller, and a sensor including a power meter and a temperature sensor.

  In the converter according to the present invention, the first electronic circuit and the second electronic circuit are separable as hardware or software and can be exchanged.

  In the converter of the present invention, when the data is input from the first bus or the device in the first electronic circuit, and the conversion data is output from the second electronic circuit to the second bus or the device, According to the type of data, the direction of data input / output with respect to the first electronic circuit and the second electronic circuit of the converter is restricted.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to implement | achieve the communication system with high flexibility of expansion of a controlled apparatus or new installation.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a converter of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, a communication system to which the converter of this embodiment is applied will be described.

(System hierarchy)
First, the hierarchical structure of the communication system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 shows a network configuration concept to which the converter 30 is applied. In the figure, reference numerals CB0, CB1, CB2,... Are dominant buses having superiority, for example, CB0 is positioned as an OA bus, CB1 is a control bus, etc. Rather than recognizing it, it has an advantage as a network control mode for air conditioners). The superiority will be described later.

  Specifically, CB0 may be an Ether bus, and CB1 may be a bus with a different protocol, such as CAN. The superiority refers to the dominant system and the controlled system. In FIG. 2, CB0> CB1> CB2... These vertical relationships are determined by the converter 30 denoted as C **, and the level (L0, L1, L2) is determined between the buses CB0, CB1, CB2,. ...) is attached.

  Symbols VBL00, VBL01,... Indicate a series of converters 30 in each level L0, L1, L2,. That is, the position (coordinates) of the network system is determined by a two-dimensional array of levels L0, L1, L2,... And series VBL00, VBL01. In FIG. 2, a two-dimensional arrangement is shown, but it is also possible to configure more multi-dimensionally (however, a two-dimensional arrangement is sufficient for the system of this embodiment).

  A system (S00, S10...) 40 suspended from each main bus (CB0, CB1...) Is a controlled device group (indoor / outdoor unit group). The systems S00 and S10 or S20 are constructed with independent (local) networks operating with different communication protocols.

(Control flow)
In order to make this hierarchical structure function, a network control flow is defined.
Multi-dimensionally arranged converters 30 are physically arranged in order to integrally manage these local systems (S **) 40. FIG. 3 shows the minimum unit of control. Commands for controlling the operation of the system 40 (operation control commands, control signals, control codes, control frames) flow from top to bottom (in the direction from the level L0 to the level L1). The system S ** (40) in FIG. 3 is operated by the operation control command of the converter C ** (30) immediately above. If it demonstrates similarly in FIG. 2, for example, system S00 (40) will follow the operation control command of converter C01 (30) immediately above.

  In addition, the status information (status data, information code, information frame) indicating the status of the system 40 (individual data of the indoor / outdoor units and the operation mode in which it is actually operated) is from bottom to top (level L1 to level L0). Direction). According to FIG. 3, the status information issued by the system S ** 40 is transmitted upward by the converter C ** 30. Referring to FIG. 2, for example, the status information issued by the system S10 (40) is forwarded to the upper bus (CB1) by the converter C11 (30), but the converter C10 (30) discards this information. The converter C00 (30) flows the state information flowing through the backbone bus CB1 to the higher level and finally forwards it to the backbone bus CB0.

  By adding such rules to the converter 30, the operation control command of the system 40 flows from the upper level to the lower level target (arbitrary system 40), and the status information is distributed from the lower level to the upper level. Will flow. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently flow control commands and status information in the network. This is because an air-conditioning system controlled by a network generally takes a form in which control commands converge on an arbitrary local system 40 and state information is widely propagated to higher-level collection devices. It is.

  That is, the converter 30 has a function of equivalently connecting the upper and lower backbone buses CB0, CB1,... With different protocols, and a rectifying action for efficiently distributing the operation control command and the state information.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B are supplementary explanatory diagrams regarding the levels L0, L1, L2,... And the series VBL00, VBL01.

  FIG. 4A shows the addition of the series VBL * 0, VBL * 1,... At the level L *, and the converter C * 0 provides a communication equivalent action between the levels L *. * 1 (30) is responsible for controlling the local system S * 0 (40), and similarly, the converter C * 2 (30) is responsible for controlling the local system S * 1 (40).

  In the addressing of the converter 30, the series VBL * 0, VBL * 1,... Can be arbitrarily increased with respect to the same level L *. The local system S * 0 (40) and the local system S * 1 (40) may be a group of indoor and outdoor units having the same communication form (protocol, data format, code (form), etc.), or not at all. Different communication forms may be used. In an extreme case, it may be a completely different device that mimics the indoor / outdoor unit group of the local system S * 0 (40). For example, the system may be a system that manages the internal temperature for each case of the computer, such as cooling in a computer room, and the converter 30 is an upper unit as a group of indoor units dedicated to cooling that are controlled independently. By converting the data for the bus CB *, a completely different local system 40 can be managed as part of the network air conditioning system.

  FIG. 4B supplements the concept of the level L *, and is a case where the main bus CB1 and the main bus CB2 are uncorrelated and independent buses. Converter C * 0 (30) provides equivalence between the main bus lines CB0 and CB1, and similarly converter C * 1 (30) connects main bus CB0 and main bus CB2. At this time, the local system S (* + 1) · 0 (40) is operated as a subordinate of the main bus CB2 by the converter C (* + 1) · 0 (30), and the level becomes one inferior. That is, for the level L *, the level given by the converter C (* + 1) · 0 (30) is L (* + 1).

(Basic configuration of converter 30)
Next, the basic configuration of converter 30 will be described.
FIG. 5 shows an internal basic configuration of the converter 30. The inside of the converter 30 is divided into at least three layers of an upper layer 31, an intermediate layer 32, and a lower layer 33. These layers 31 to 33 are separated in terms of hardware or software.

The upper layer 31 performs protocol conversion with the upper bus interface, and the lower layer 33 performs protocol conversion with the lower bus interface.
The intermediate layer 32 gives the converter 30 a general-purpose input / output function. As shown in FIG. 6, the intermediate layer 32 has a bidirectional interface function with the external device 50. Examples of the external device 50 connected to the intermediate layer 32 include a user I / F (providing an indoor / outdoor unit control function), a temperature sensor, and a watt hour meter.

(System hiding)
If the converter 30 has multiple elements and the network is generalized, the code definition in the data frame (operation control command and status information) becomes a problem. For example, in the system S00 (40) and the system S10 (40) in FIG. 2, and in the system S * 0 (40) and the system S * 1 (40) in FIG. The control code used is not necessarily unique. This is because the local system 40 may have completely different communication forms as described above. When a new local system 40 is newly added, it can be freely added without causing a problem with the communication form, data frame, or code definition.

Therefore, converter 30 has the configuration shown in FIG. Commands and status information input from the upper layer 31, the intermediate layer 32, and the lower layer 33 are once converted into unified data (common data) in the converter 30. This processing is performed by the central processing unit 34 in FIG.
As for the outputs from the layers 31 to 33, the data unified in the converter 30 (common data) is reconstructed into data frames corresponding to the layers 31 to 33, and then the layers 31 to 33 are configured. Is output with the protocol.

  Since the central processing unit 34 converts the data into common data, the upper layers 31 of the plurality of converters 30 connected to the same bus CB * can have the same configuration. In this case, The lower layer 33 may be configured differently depending on the communication form of the connected local system 40. In this case, if each layer is configured as a separable substrate, a common substrate is used for the upper layer 31 and a different substrate for the lower layer 33 is selected.

  By the above function of the converter 30, the input / output of the converter 30 is equivalently shared, and the designation to the controlled device (indoor / outdoor unit) in the local system 40 is performed by the address of the converter 30 and the node address of the indoor / outdoor unit. Will be done. The reference of the system 40 from the outside of the converter 30 is concealed by the converter 30, and as a result, communication between different systems 40 is possible.

  Further, in the local system 40, it is possible to add regardless of the old and new system 40 or the different system 40 without being aware of the address of the converter 30, and a general-purpose network air conditioning system can be constructed. When the local system 40 is added, the issue of the control command and the communication of the status information can be handled by adding the additional information to the database inside the control device. A network system can be constructed very easily without changing the network itself.

(Overall configuration of this embodiment)
FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of the hierarchical network system. Reference numerals CB0, CB1, and CB2 denote independent protocol buses. Hereinafter, a specific example will be described.

  The bus CB0 is an OA bus, and information and general-purpose information other than the air conditioning system according to the present embodiment is flowing. A management device that manages various systems such as a BMS (building management system) 60 is When connected to the bus CB0 of this level, it operates extremely effectively.

  The bus CB1 is a bus for overall control of the local system S10 (40) and the local system S11 (40), and is an FA system or an original control bus (for example, CAN and LON are FA system buses). Network). Each of the system S10 (40) and the system S11 (40) includes a controller that suspends one or more indoor / outdoor units and individually controls the indoor units. As shown in the figure, the local system S10 (40) and the local system S11 (40) belong to the level L1, but the physical bus characteristics are the local system S10 (40) and the local system S11. There is no need for compatibility between (40).

  The bus CB2 is further positioned at the level L * (level L2), and is the overall control system of the local system S20 (40). The bus protocol of the bus CB2 is not particularly limited (it may be the same protocol as the upper and lower buses or a different protocol) as long as it is physically isolated from other buses (CB0, CB1).

  The local system S20 (40) suspended on the main bus CB2 can be a small system composed of several indoor and outdoor units called multi air conditioners, for example, and this original communication system is converted into a converter. When emulated with C20 (30), it can be operated as part of the network system.

  Reference numerals Ctrl 0, Ctrl 1, and Ctrl 2 indicate the control device 51 (50) of the system and have a role of a central control device. The control device 60 on the backbone bus CB0 is a control device that supervises all lower-level controlled systems. Here, a building maintenance PC is assumed and called BMS.

  Reference numerals C00, C10, C11, C12, C13, C20, and C21 denote converters 30, and the notation of T, M, and B inside each converter 30 represents an upper layer 31, an intermediate layer 32, and a lower layer 33, respectively. If there is no description of T, M, and B, it indicates that the layer does not exist because it is unnecessary in the converter 30. In the case where the layers are separated in terms of hardware, it is also one of the features that the converter 30 is assembled without mounting unnecessary layer substrates. The control device Ctrl * (51) is basically connected to the intermediate layer 32 of the converter 30.

  Prior to the description, as a precondition, each converter 30 is set with a unique address (for example, 00H, 10H, 11H, 12H, 13H, 20H, etc.), and each control device (BMS, Ctrl0, Ctrl1: 60 and 51 are the unique addresses of the converter 30 required for control and the indoor units suspended in the system S10 (40), system S11 (40), and system S20 (40) (if necessary). It is assumed that the address (node address) of the outdoor unit is already registered.

  The control flow follows the rectifying action of the converter 30, and the operation control command flows in the direction of bus CB0 → bus CB1 → bus CB2, and the status information flows in the direction of bus CB2 → bus CB1 → bus CB0.

  The operation control command issued from the BMS 60 is output as a data frame conforming to the protocol on the bus CB0. For example, in the case of an EtherLAN represented by an OA bus, an operation control command is output in a form in which it is included by an address header such as a TCP / IP protocol.

  Next, the operation of converter C00 (30) will be described.

  The converter C00 (30) includes hardware and software compatible with the bus CB0 in the upper layer 31 and hardware and software for interfacing the control device Ctrl0 (51) in the intermediate layer 32. . The lower layer 33 has hardware and software compliant with the backbone bus CB1.

  First, the operation when converter C00 (30) receives a control frame will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 23, when the upper layer 31 of the converter C00 (30) receives data (control frame) from the backbone bus CB0, it performs a data check (step S1), and as a result, it is received normally. If there is (step S2-OK), the received data frame is converted into common data common to the plurality of converters 30 (step S3) and transmitted to the central processing unit 34 (not shown in FIG. 8) (step S4). ).

  On the other hand, when the intermediate layer 32 of the converter C00 (30) receives the operation control command (control frame) from the control device Ctrl0 (51), the intermediate layer 32 performs data check (step S5), and as a result, has received it normally. If there is (step S6-OK), the received data frame is converted into common data (step S7) and transmitted to the central processing unit 34 (step S8).

  When the central processing unit 34 receives the common data output from each of the upper layer 31 and the intermediate layer 32 (step S9), the header (top data) of the data frame of the common data is the hierarchical address of the converter C00 (30). (L *) or whether it has a higher hierarchical address than itself (step S10), and as a result of the determination, if the header has any hierarchical address (step S10-Y) The data frame of the common data is output to the lower layer 33 (step S11).

  In the lower layer 33, when the common data is received from the central processing unit 34 (step S12), the common data is subjected to data conversion and protocol conversion for the bus CB1 (step S13), and then from the lower layer 33 to the bus CB1. Output to.

  Since the upper layer 31 and the intermediate layer 32 are higher in rank than the lower layer 33, the operation control command issued by Ctrl0 (51) is changed to the operation control command conforming to the protocol of the lower layer 33 in accordance with the rectification rule of the converter 30. It is reconstructed (step S13) and output to the lower trunk bus CB1.

  In addition to the air conditioner system, an illumination and power system are also suspended in parallel on the bus CB0. The BMS 60 and the upper layer 31 of the converter C00 (30) are connected by, for example, the TCP protocol (client operation).

  Next, an operation when converter C00 (30) inputs an information frame of state information will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 24, when the lower layer 33 of the converter C00 (30) receives the information frame via the bus CB1, a data check is performed (step S1). As a result, if it is received properly (step S2). -OK) and conversion into common data (step S3). The common data is transmitted from the lower layer 33 to the central processing unit 34 (step S4).

  When the central processing unit 34 of the converter C00 (30) receives the common data of the information frame from the lower layer 33 (step S5), the central processing unit 34 determines whether the data is valid data (step S6). If this is the case (step S6-Y), the common data is transmitted to the upper layer 31 (step S7) and transmitted to the intermediate layer 32 (step S8).

  Upon receiving the common data of the information frame from the central processing unit 34 (step S9), the upper layer 31 of the converter C00 (30) performs data conversion and protocol conversion for the bus CB0 on the common data (step S10). ) And output from the upper layer 31 to the bus CB0.

  Further, when receiving the common data of the information frame from the central processing unit 34, the intermediate layer 32 of the converter C00 (30) determines whether or not the received data is valid data (step S11). If it is valid data (step S11-Y), processing such as display and alarm in Ctrl0 (51) is performed (step S12).

  Next, converter C11 (30) will be described.

  First, with reference to FIG. 25, the operation when converter C11 (30) receives a control frame will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 25, when the upper layer 31 of the converter C11 (30) receives data (control frame) from the immediately above trunk bus CB1, the data is checked (step S1), and as a result, it is received normally. If so (step S2-OK), the received data frame is converted into common data common to the plurality of converters 30 (step S3) and transmitted to the central processing unit 34 (not shown in FIG. 8) ( Step S4).

  On the other hand, when the intermediate layer 32 of the converter C00 (30) receives the operation control command (control frame) from the control device Ctrl1 (51), the intermediate layer 32 performs data check (step S5), and as a result, has received it normally. If there is (step S6-Y), the received data frame is converted into common data (step S7) and transmitted to the central processing unit 34 (step S8).

  When the central processing unit 34 receives the common data output from each of the upper layer 31 and the intermediate layer 32 (step S9), the header (top data) of the data frame of the common data is the hierarchical address of the converter C11 (30). (L *) or whether it has a higher hierarchical address than itself (step S10), and as a result of the determination, if the header has any hierarchical address (step S10-Y) The data frame of the common data is output to the lower layer 33 (step S11).

  In the lower layer 33, when the common data is received from the central processing unit 34 (step S12), the data is stored in the state memory of each indoor unit of the system S11 (40) of the lower layer 33 (step S13). After data conversion and protocol conversion for S11 (40) are performed (step S14), the data is output from the lower layer 33 to each indoor unit.

  The lower layer 33 of the converter C11 (30) is equipped with the communication hardware of the local system S11 (40) and controls the indoor (outside) machine group in the local system S11 (40). The lower layer 33 operates as a part of the local network of the local system S11 (40) (the local system S11 does not have to be a network. One-to-one control between the indoor unit and the lower layer 33 may be performed).

  Next, an operation when converter C11 (30) inputs an information frame of state information will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 26, when the lower layer 33 of the converter C11 (30) receives an information frame from each indoor unit of the system S11, a data check is performed (step S1). Step S2-OK) and conversion into common data (Step S3). The common data is stored in the state memory for each indoor unit of the lower layer 33 (step S4), and then transmitted from the lower layer 33 to the central processing unit 34 (step S5).

  When the central processing unit 34 of the converter C11 (30) receives the common data of the information frame from the lower layer 33 (step S6), the central processing unit 34 determines whether or not the data is valid data (step S7). If so (step S7-Y), the common data is transmitted to the upper layer 31 (step S8) and transmitted to the intermediate layer 32 (step S9).

  Upon receiving the common data of the information frame from the central processing unit 34 (step S10), the upper layer 31 of the converter C11 (30) performs data conversion and protocol conversion for the bus CB1 on the common data (step S11). ) And output from the upper layer 31 to the bus CB1.

  Further, when receiving the common data of the information frame from the central processing unit 34, the intermediate layer 32 of the converter C11 (30) determines whether or not the received data is valid data (step S12). If it is valid data (step S12-Y), processing such as display and alarm in Ctrl1 (51) is performed (step S13).

Next, converter C10 (30) will be described.
Similarly to the converter C11 (30), the converter C10 (30) includes the local system S10. However, since the control device (51) is not connected, the intermediate layer 32 does not exist.

  The upper layer 31 of the converter C10 (30) and the converter C11 (30) constitutes a network on the backbone bus CB1. However, since the converter C10 (30) and the converter C11 (30) are connected in parallel, there is no correlation in control, and each converter C10 (30), C11 (30) is independent of the local system S10 (40), S11 ( 40) autonomously.

  These converters (C10, C11) (30) are centrally controlled by a converter C00 (30). When viewed from the main bus CB1, the configurations of the local systems S10 (40) and S11 (40) are hidden by the converters (C10, C11) (30) and cannot be directly viewed, but the data of the converters (C10, C11) (30) By the conversion, control can be performed as if two groups coexist on the net.

Next, converter C12 (30) will be described.
The converter C12 (30) provides a bridge function between the backbone bus CB1 and the backbone bus CB2. The upper layer 31 of the converter C12 (30) is equipped with hardware and software for communicating with the backbone bus CB1, which is the same as the upper layer 31 of the converters C10 (30) and C11 (30). . The lower layer 33 of the converter C12 (30) includes hardware and software for interfacing with the backbone bus CB2.

  A specific configuration example of the local system S10 or the local system S11 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Reference numeral Ctrl10 is a centralized control device (meaning a centralized control device in the LB10) 61 suspended on the local system bus LB10 of the local system S11, and the outdoor unit 0 and the indoor unit are also provided on the bus LB10. 0 is connected.

  In the lower layer 33 of the converter C11 (same as the converter C11 in FIG. 8) (30), hardware and software corresponding to the protocol of communication performed on the local system bus LB10 are mounted. Non-overlapping control device addresses are set in the layer 33 and the central control device Ctrl10 (61). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the address of the central control device Ctrl10 (61) is C8H-00H, and the address of the lower layer 33 of the converter C11 (30) is C8H-01H. That is, by connecting the lower layer 33 of the converter C11 (30) to the bus LB10, the two control devices 51 and 61 are equivalently suspended.

  As an example of the address of the outdoor unit, the outdoor unit address is 00H-41H, the indoor unit group is 00H-00H, and 00H-01H.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the converter C20 interfaces the backbone bus CB2 and the local system S20. The example of FIG. 8 is a system in which the local system S20 is controlled by a wired remote controller, and has the configuration of FIG. 10 as a specific example.

  Converter C20 (30) shown in FIG. 10 is the same as converter C20 (30) in FIG. The upper layer 31 of the converter C20 (30) corresponds to the protocol of the backbone bus CB2, and the lower layer 33 includes an interface device for emulating the remote control communication bus system shown in FIG. Reference numeral WRC is a wired remote controller 62, and the remote controller 63 and the indoor unit group are daisy chain connected by a bus LB20.

  The lower layer 33 of the converter C20 (30) has a unique address in the daisy chain connection. For example, in the example of FIG. 10, the address of wired remote controller WRC (62) is 00H, the address of lower layer 33 of converter C20 (30) is 01H, the address of indoor unit 0 is 10H, the address of indoor unit 1 is 11H,.・ It becomes.

  The intermediate layer 32 of the converter C20 (30) is equipped with hardware including an infrared light receiving unit, and receives the IR signal of the wireless remote controller (RC: Ctrl2) 51. The upper layer 31 of the converter C20 (30) receives the operation control command flowing through the backbone bus CB2, and temporarily converts it into common data. On the other hand, the operation control command for the intermediate layer 32 sent from the wireless remote controller RC (51) is also converted into common data and mixed in the converter C20 (30). This hybrid data is reconstructed in the command system of the wired remote controller WRC system (bus LB20 system) in the lower layer 33, and controls the local system 40 on the bus LB20 as the second wired remote controller WRC.

  That is, converter C20 (30) provides an infrared control function to local system S20 (40) that originally has only the communication function of wired remote controller WRC (62). At the same time, the converter C20 (30) can be centrally controlled from the upper levels L0 and L1 by mounting the upper layer 31.

  In this manner, the converter C20 (30) can provide a new control path by replacing the hardware of the intermediate layer 32. For example, if a modem device is installed, control can also be performed from a telephone line.

It supplements about the control management rule of the control apparatus (Ctrl *) 51.
The control range of the control device (Ctrl *) 51 is determined by the layers 31 to 33 of the converter (C **) (30). This will be specifically described below.

  The operation control command issued from the control device Ctrl0 (51) is sent to the controlled device group suspended on the main bus CB1 and all the controlled device groups connected hierarchically under the controlled device group. It is effective.

The operation control command issued from the control device Ctrl1 (51) is valid for all controlled device groups existing below the lower layer 33 of the converter C11 (30) (for the local system S11 (40)). Only valid).
The operation control command issued from the control device Ctrl2 (51) is effective only for the local system S20 (40) and does not interfere with other local systems (40).

  In other words, the operation control commands function in a convergent manner from the upper level L * to the lower level L *, and the operation control commands diverge within the entire network system to avoid loss or increase in traffic due to data frame collisions. Rukoto can.

  With reference to FIGS. 8 and 10, as an example, a control flow of control performed from BMS 60 to indoor unit 1 (address 11H) in local system S20 (40) will be described.

The memory device in the BMS 60 stores the address of the target controlled device (the indoor unit 1 in the local system S20 (40)) as three composite addresses.
The composite address value is 20H-00H-11H, and the first address, second address, and third address are from the left. The first address is an address that designates the converter 30 and is applied by a network bridge. The second address is a subnet indicating the controlled system, and the third address is a unique address of each node.

  The second address (subnet address) works specially. Like the local system S11 (40) illustrated in FIG. 9, the network air conditioner system is often divided by a refrigerant circuit. Reference numerals G0 and G1 in FIG. 9 are those, and the outdoor unit and the indoor unit group connected by the refrigerant pipe are handled as one lump. Among them, a node address (third address) unique to the indoor / outdoor unit group is assigned.

  However, as illustrated in FIG. 10, there are many small air conditioning systems (local system S20) configured only by node addresses. In other words, the air conditioning system includes a system composed of the second and third addresses (subnet address + node address) (for example, the local system S11 (40)) and a system composed only of the third address (node address) ( For example, there is a local system S20 (40)). However, in order to make the air conditioning system common, it is not preferable to distinguish the address system of the controlled system. Therefore, a dummy meaning is defined for the second address.

  The upper layer 31 of the converter C11 (30) in FIG. 9 recognizes three composite addresses. 11H-00H-00H, 11H-00H-01H... 11H-00H-41H. Here, 11H of the first address means the converter C11 (30). The second address 00H means a group of indoor and outdoor units connected by the same refrigerant piping as subnet addresses G0 and G1 in FIG. The third address is a node address that does not overlap within the subnet.

  In addition, the lower layer 33 of the converter C11 (30) discards the first address (the first address means the converter C11 and is discarded here because it is unnecessary), and the node is identified by the second address and the third address. I do. 00H-00H, 00H-01H,... 00H-41H in FIG.

  On the other hand, the second address does not exist in the local system S20 (40) of FIG. Therefore, a virtual second address (00H) is added as a dummy on the network system. The upper layer 31 of the converter C20 (30) recognizes 20H-00H-10H, 20H-00H-11H..., And the lower layer 33 recognizes only 10H and 11H. The lower layer 33 of the converter C20 (30) discards the second address as a virtual value.

  In FIG. 8, the BMS 60 creates an operation control command using 20H-00H-11H as a header, and issues these data to the backbone bus CB0 as a partial element (data portion of the TCP frame) of the data frame of the backbone bus CB0. .

  The upper layer 31 of the converter C00 (30) analyzes the data received from the backbone bus CB0 (packet processing, extraction of the data part, etc.) and refers to the first address. The level is determined from this address, and if it is inferior to the self level (level L0) (level L1 or higher), the operation control command is converted into common data, and the central processing unit 34 of the converter C00 (not shown in FIG. 8). Forward to.

  The lower layer 33 of the converter C00 (30) receives the address header and the common data from the central processing unit 34, and reconstructs a data frame based on the backbone bus CB1.

  At level L1, the upper layer 31 of the converters C10, C11, C12, C13 (30) receives the data frame, but only the converter C12 (30) has a valid first address here. Since the lower layer 33 of the other converter 30 is located in the lowest layer, the data frame is discarded.

  Similarly, the operation control command is transmitted to the lower layer 33 of the converter C20 (30) through the upper layer 31 of the converter C20 (30). The lower layer 33 of the converter C20 (30) ignores the second address, reconstructs an operation control command frame with the address of the indoor unit 1 (third address) as a header, and goes to the local bus LB20 (see FIG. 10). Send it out. The indoor unit 0 discards the frame, and only the indoor unit 1 accepts the operation control command.

  Next, the flow of state information will be described.

  The status information is a monitor signal and follows a path opposite to the operation control command. That is, it flows divergently from the lower level L * to the upper level L *.

  In FIG. 8, the individual information (the actual operation state and setting value of the indoor / outdoor unit) output from the local system S20 (40) to the local bus LB20 is received by the lower layer 33 of the converter C20 (30). Once converted into common data in the lower layer 33, it is reconstructed into a status information frame conforming to the backbone bus CB2 in the upper layer 31 and output.

  Another function provided by the converter 30 is collection of sensor information. The converter C21 has a configuration that does not have the lower layer 33, and has hardware and software that can connect the sensor M2 (50) to the intermediate layer 32.

  The sensor information input from the sensor M2 (50) is once decomposed into common data in the intermediate layer 32, then reconstructed into a data frame based on the backbone bus CB2 in the upper layer 31, and output as a sensor information frame. The

In the information frame, at least only the first address is written as an address header. While the control frame describes the address header of the destination, the source is written in the status information frame.
The status information frame and sensor information frame (hereinafter referred to as an information frame as a common frame) on the backbone bus CB2 are received by the lower layer 33 of the converter C12 (30) and subjected to the same internal conversion, and then the backbone bus CB1. Is sent out.

  The information frame on the backbone bus CB1 is received by the lower layer 31 of the converter C00 (30). In addition, the information frame is received by the upper layer 31 of the converters C10 and C11 (30), but if the first address is determined and is inferior to the self level, it is discarded according to the rectification definition of the converter.

  In the converter C00 (30), the information frame is forwarded to the intermediate layer 32 and the upper layer 31, and the state is displayed by the control device Ctrl0 (51). If the control device Ctrl0 (51) does not need the data frame, the frame data is discarded inside the control device Ctrl0 (51).

  The information frame output from the upper layer 31 of the converter C00 (30) to the backbone bus CB0 is received by the BMS 60 and necessary information is displayed. The BMS 60 knows the properties of the sensor M2 (50) as well as the individual address of the controlled device in the local system S20 (40). For example, if the sensor M2 (50) is an outdoor temperature sensor, when the status frame of the first address 21H is received in the BMS 60, it is displayed on the screen as temperature information. In addition, in the case of indoor unit information in the local system S20 (30), the second address is “dummy”, and which indoor unit is operating is already registered. The BMS 60 can display these information in an appropriate manner.

  The same applies to the converter C13 (30) and the sensor M1 (50) in FIG. The state frame of level L1 is not reflected in the inferior level L2. The upper layer 31 of the converters C10, C11, C12 discards this information frame.

  As an example of the sensor, the sensor M1 (50) may be a watt hour meter. For example, if only the power supply system of the local system S20 (40) is connected via the watt-hour meter M1, the watt-hour meter M1 sets the power consumption of the local system S20 (40) to the dominant level (level L0 at the maximum). I can tell you. Further, since the BMS 60 is connected to the OA bus (CB0), it will be possible to transmit these amounts of power to a display terminal (not shown) far away.

  Next, data conversion processing in the converter (C **) 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11A illustrates control frame conversion processing, and FIG. 11B illustrates information frame conversion processing.

  The upper layer 31 has a control code conversion table 31ta (FIG. 11-3) and an information code conversion table 31tb (FIG. 11-4). The intermediate layer 32 has a control code conversion table 32ta (FIG. 11-5) and an information code conversion table 32tb (FIG. 11-6). The lower layer 33 has a control code conversion table 33ta (FIG. 11-7) and an information code conversion table 33tb (FIG. 11-8).

First, the control code will be described with reference to FIG.
In the example of FIG. 11A, as shown in FIGS. 11-3, 11-5, and 11-7, data (control code) Bu = data (control code) Cm = data (control) Code) Ab = data (control code) C.

  When data of Bu is input to the upper layer 31 of the converter 30, the upper layer 31 refers to the control code conversion table 31 ta and converts it into data C as common data corresponding to the data Bu. The data C is output from the upper layer 31 to the central processing unit 34.

Similarly, when the data Cm is input to the intermediate layer 32, the intermediate layer 32 refers to the control code conversion table 32ta and converts the data Cm to data C. The data C is output from the intermediate layer 32 to the central processing unit 34.
The central processing unit 34 buffers the data C input from the upper layer 31 or the intermediate layer 32 including the destination address. The central processing unit 34 outputs the data C to the lower layer 33.

  When the lower layer 33 receives the data C from the central processing unit 34, the lower layer 33 refers to the control code conversion table 33ta, reconverts the data C into the control code Ab, and sends the data C to the directly below main bus or controlled device group. .

Next, the information code will be described with reference to FIG.
In the example of FIG. 11-2, as shown in FIGS. 11-4, 11-6, and 11-8, the data compatibility definition is data (information code) 3b = data (information code) 2m = data (information code) Explanation will be made assuming that 1u = data (information code) 2.

  The information frame 3b input to the lower layer 33 is converted into 2 as common data in the lower layer 33 with reference to the information code conversion table 33tb. The lower layer 33 outputs the converted common data 2 to the central processing unit 34. The central processing unit 34 outputs the input common data 2 to each of the upper layer 31 and the intermediate layer 32.

  In the upper layer 31 that has received the data 2 from the central processing unit 34, the information code conversion table 31tb is referred to, the common data 2 is reconverted into the information code 1u, and is sent to the main bus immediately above. Similarly, in the intermediate layer 32 that has received the two common data from the central processing unit 34, the information code conversion table 32tb is referred to, and the common data 2 is converted into the data 2m and connected to the intermediate layer 32. It is sent to the display device (unnecessary data is discarded at each layer).

  As described above, in the communication system according to the present embodiment, the control side of the air conditioning block such as the central control device is the control code of the air conditioning equipment of a certain air conditioning block (in the above example, the control codes Ab, Bb... As a result, an appropriate control code (in the above example, control codes Ab, Bb,... * B) is transmitted to the air conditioning block to control the air conditioning equipment without knowing * b). can do. That is, when an air conditioning block is added, a control code output from the control side of the air conditioning block such as a control device (in the above example, control code Au, Bu. If the air conditioning block is added together with the converter 30 for converting Am, Bm... * M) into the control code of the air conditioning block (in the above example, the control code Ab, Bb... * B). The side that controls the air conditioning block does not need to know (register) the control code of the air conditioning block. The same applies to the information code.

  Thus, in the communication system of the present embodiment, when the air conditioning block is added, it is only necessary to add the air conditioning block together with the converter having the function of converting to the control code of the air conditioning equipment. Since the work of registering in the central control unit is unnecessary, the flexibility of equipment expansion is improved. The same applies to the information code.

  Next, referring to FIG. 12 to FIG. 22, an example of data conversion in the converter (C **) (30) will be described more specifically. Here, control frame (control information) processing (see FIG. 11A) will be described. However, the data conversion method inside the converter (C **) (30) is the same for the status frame processing (see FIG. 11-2).

  As shown in FIG. 12, when the indoor unit 4 (node address: 00-01) connected to the converter 2 (converter address: (L) / (N)) (30c) is controlled by the control frame (CF0). Will be explained.

(1) Configuration of Control Frame (CF0) The data configuration of the control frame (CF0) flowing through the upper bus 201 (CB *) is defined as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, the data format of the control frame (CF0) is, from the beginning, the header 101, the destination field 102 (hereinafter referred to as destination 102), the internal unit destination field 103 (internal unit destination 103), and the operation / stop field 104. (Hereinafter, “operation / stop 104”), a set temperature field 105 (hereinafter, “set temperature 105”), and an operation mode field 106 (hereinafter, “operation mode 106”).

  The header (HCF0) 101 is a header for identifying a data frame in the upper bus 201. The destination ((L) / (N)) 102 is the address of the destination converter 2 (30c). The indoor unit destination (00-01) 103 represents the address of the indoor unit 4 connected to the target converter 2 (30c).

  Further, in the control frame (CF0), V * 0 (104 to 106) is a specific for controlling the operation state of the indoor unit 4 in the code format (data format) of the control frame (CF0) flowing through the higher-level bus 201. Shows a typical code. As shown in FIG. 14, in the control frame (CF0) flowing through the upper bus 201, the specific code of the operation / stop 104 is Va0, the specific code of the set temperature 105 is Vc0, and the specific operation mode 106 It is assumed that the code is Vb0.

(2) Operation of Top Layer 31 of Converter 0 (30) The control frame (CF0) transmitted in the upper bus 201 is first received by the top layer of the converter 0 (30a) (upper layer, see reference numeral 31 in FIG. 13). The As shown in FIG. 12, each converter 30 is assigned an individual address (converter address). The address (L-1) / (N) of the converter 0 (30a) indicates that the hierarchical address (vertical direction) is (L-1) and the node (horizontal direction) is (N). Similarly, the address (L) / (N-1) of the converter 1 (30b) indicates that the hierarchical address (vertical direction) is (L) and the node (horizontal direction) is (N-1). The address (L) / (N) of the converter 2 (30c) indicates that the hierarchical address (vertical direction) is (L) and the node (horizontal direction) is (N).

  The top layer 31 of the converter 0 (30a) converts the received control frame (CF0) into common data. Here, the common data means data having a predetermined data format and code format set in advance. The common data is known for each converter 30 and is common to all converters 30.

  The data format of the common data is defined as shown in FIG. 15 (only the data part). The common data format includes, from the beginning, an operation / stop field 111 (hereinafter, operation / stop 111), an operation mode field 112 (hereinafter, operation mode 112), a set temperature field 113 (hereinafter, set temperature 113), and an air volume field 114 ( Hereinafter, the air volume is configured in the order of 114). In FIG. 15, Va to Vd indicate specific code examples of the operation / stop 111, the operation mode 112, the set temperature 113, and the air volume 114 after being converted into the common data code format, respectively.

  When the control layer (CF0) is received in the top layer 31 of the converter 0 (30a), data conversion (code conversion and format conversion) as shown in FIG. Generated. In FIG. 16, the control frame (CF0) including the header 101, the destination 102, the internal unit destination 103, the operation / stop 104, the set temperature 105, and the operation mode 106 shown in FIG. As a result of the data conversion, the data is converted into common data including the destination 102, the internal unit destination 103, the operation / stop 111, the operation mode 112, the set temperature 113, and the air volume 114.

  As shown in FIG. 16, in the common data, the header (HCF0) 101 (see FIG. 14) is first deleted after being received by the converter 0 (30a). For the destination ((L) / (N)) 102 and the internal device destination (00-01) 103, the code and the position of the field are left as they are from the control frame (CF0).

  When the control frame (CF0) is converted into common data, the operation / stop 104 code of the control frame (CF0): Va0 (see FIG. 14) is operated / stopped at the head position of the data portion of the common data. 111 code: converted to Va. Similarly, the code: Vc0 of the set temperature 105 is converted to the code: Vc of the set temperature 113 in the second position from the back of the data portion. The code Vb0 of the operation mode 106 is converted into the code Vb of the operation mode 112 in the second position from the top of the data part.

  The data conversion in the top layer 31 can be performed by referring to a table stored in the top layer 31 (for example, the layer control code conversion table 31ta in FIG. 11C) (described later). Similarly, the data conversion in each of the bottom layer 33 and the middle layer 32 can be performed by referring to the tables stored in the bottom layer 33 and the middle layer 32, respectively. In these tables, all are associated with common data.

  Here, since the code indicating the air volume is not included in the control frame (CF0) transmitted in the upper bus 201, the common data after the data conversion is not set as the air volume 114 at the end of the data portion. A code (NuLL) is set.

  In the top layer 31 of the converter 0 (30a), the data conversion as shown in FIG. 16 is performed, and the control frame converted into the common code (common data) is sent to the central processing unit 34 of the converter 0 (30a). It is checked whether it has a self-hierarchical address or a self-hierarchical address, and if applicable, it is stacked in the buffer of the central processing unit 34 for timing adjustment, and the middle layer 32 or bottom layer 33, or Forwarding to both the middle layer 32 and the bottom layer 33 is determined. The central processing unit 34 also performs frame discard processing. In the common data, (L) of (L) / (N) of the destination 102 indicates a hierarchical address larger than (L-1) which is its own hierarchical level. In this example, the common data is forwarded from the central processing unit 34 to the bottom layer 33.

(3) Operation of the bottom layer 33 of the converter 0 (30a) In the bottom layer 33 of the converter 0 (30a), the common data sent from the central processing unit 34 is converted into the code of the lower bus 202 as shown in FIG. The control frame CF1 (see FIG. 12) is generated by converting into a set. The control frame CF1 is a signal having a predetermined data format used for communication on the lower bus 202.

  When generating the control frame (CF1), first, a header (HCF1) 120 for identifying the data frame CF1 is added to the lower level bus 202, and the destination ((L) / (N)) 102 and the internal unit destination are added. (00-01) 103 is left unchanged from the common data.

  When the common data is converted into the control frame (CF1), the common data operation / stop 111 code: Va is the operation / stop 121 code: Va1 at the head position of the data portion of the control frame (CF1). Is converted to Similarly, the code Vb of the operation mode 112 is converted into the code Vb1 of the operation mode 123 at the end of the data part. The code: Vc of the set temperature 113 is converted to the code: Vc1 of the set temperature 122 in the second from the back of the data part. The code of the air volume 114: Null is deleted.

  The control frame (CF1) generated in the bottom layer 33 of the converter 0 (30a) is sent to the lower level bus 202. The control frame (CF1) output from the bottom layer 33 of the converter 0 (30a) is received by the top layers 31 of both the converter 1 (30b) and the converter 2 (30c). In the converter 1 (30b), an address of the converter 1 (30b) (converter 1 address: (L) / (N-1)) and a destination ((L) / (N)) 102 of the control frame (CF1) are obtained. It does not match. Since the hierarchy of the destination ((L) / (N)) 102 of the control frame (CF1) is also addressed to L, the control frame (CF1) is discarded. Therefore, only the operation of converter 2 (30c) will be described below.

(4) Operation of Top Layer 31 of Converter 2 (30c) As shown in FIG. 18, the top layer 31 of the converter 2 (30c) performs data conversion to common data again. 18, the control frame (CF1) including the header 120, the destination 102, the internal unit destination 103, the operation / stop 121, the set temperature 122, and the operation mode 123 shown in FIG. 17 is the converter 2 (30c). As a result of the data conversion in the top layer 31, the data is converted into common data including the destination 102, the internal unit destination 103, the operation / stop 111, the operation mode 112, the set temperature 113, and the air volume 114.

  As shown in FIG. 18, in the common data, the header (HCF0) 120 (see FIG. 17) is first deleted after being received by the converter 2 (30c). For the destination ((L) / (N)) 102 and the internal device destination (00-01) 103, the positions of the codes and fields are left as they are from the control frame (CF1).

  When the control frame (CF1) is converted into common data, the operation / stop 121 code: Va1 (see FIG. 17) of the control frame (CF1) is operated / stopped at the head position of the data portion of the common data. 111 code: converted to Va. Similarly, the code Vc1 of the set temperature 122 is converted to the code Vc of the set temperature 113 in the second position from the back of the data part. The code Vb1 of the operation mode 123 is converted to the code Vb of the operation mode 112 at the second position from the top of the data part.

  As described above, the control frame converted into the common code in the top layer 31 of the converter 2 (30c) is sent to the central processing unit 34 of the converter 2 (30c). The central processing unit 34 of the converter 2 (30c) forwards this control frame to the bottom layer 33 because the code ((L) / (N)) of the destination 102 matches the self-converter address.

(5) Operation of Middle Layer 32 of Converter 2 (30c) As shown in FIG. 12, a remote controller 50 is connected to the middle layer 32 of the converter 2 (30c). When the user performs an operation from the remote controller 50, a control frame (CF2) indicating control content corresponding to the operation is input to the middle layer 32 of the converter 2 (30c). In the middle layer 32 of the converter 2 (30c), as shown in FIG. 19, the control frame (CF2) is converted into common data.

  In FIG. 19, the control frame (CF 2) input from the remote controller 50 to the middle layer 32 includes a destination 102, an internal unit destination 103, an operation / stop 131, an operation mode 132, a set temperature 133, and an air volume 134. This control frame (CF2) is the result of data conversion in the middle layer 32 of the converter 2 (30c). As a result, the destination 102, the internal unit destination 103, the operation / stop 111, the operation mode 112, the set temperature 113, and the air volume 114 is converted into common data.

  As shown in FIG. 19, in the common data, the destination ((L) / (N)) 102 and the internal unit destination (00-01) 103 have the same code and field positions from the control frame (CF2). Is done.

  When the control frame (CF2) is converted into common data, the operation / stop 131 code: Va2 of the control frame (CF2) is the start / stop 111 code: Va in the data portion of the common data. Is converted to Similarly, the code: Vb2 of the operation mode 131 is converted to the code: Vb of the operation mode 112 in the second position from the top of the data portion. The code: Vc2 of the set temperature 133 is converted to the code: Vc of the set temperature 113 in the second from the back of the data part. The code: Vd2 of the air volume 134 is converted into the code: Vd of the air volume 114 at the end of the data portion.

  As described above, in the middle layer 32 of the converter 2 (30c), the control frame converted into the common code is sent to the central processing unit 34 of the converter 2 (30c). The central processing unit 34 of the converter 2 (30c) matches the code ((L) / (N)) of the destination 102 of the data frame transmitted from the remote controller 50 with the self-converter address. Forward to 33.

(6) Operation of Bottom Layer 33 of Converter 2 (30c) As shown in FIG. 12, the bottom layer 33 of the converter 2 (30c) is directly connected to a network air conditioning system including indoor units 3-5. The converter 2 (30c) closest to the air conditioning system (its bottom layer 33) is closer to the control operation of the indoor units 3 to 5 than the converter 0 (30a) of the intermediate operation that is not directly connected to the air conditioning system. have. Converter 2 (30c) (its bottom layer 33) may perform a virtual remote control operation on indoor units 3-5.

  From this, as shown in FIG. 20, the bottom layer 33 of the converter 2 (30c) has a state memory 35 for storing operation control commands for the indoor units 3 to 5 as the number of the indoor units 3 to 5. Has 3 minutes. The state memory 35 has an operation / stop memory area 35a, an operation mode memory area 35b, a set temperature memory area 35c, and an air volume memory area 35d corresponding to the data portion of the control frame.

  The common data generated in the above (4) and (5) is written in the state memory 35 for the indoor unit 4. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG.

  In the bottom layer 33 of the converter 2 (30c), the common data sent from the central processing unit 34 is converted into control data (code set) for the network air conditioning system configured by the indoor units 3 to 5, as shown in FIG. ). The converted data is data corresponding to a control frame (CF3) having a predetermined code (form) and data format that is directly used for control of the network air conditioning system configured by the indoor units 3 to 5.

  As shown in FIG. 21, in the data conversion in the bottom layer 33 of the converter 2 (30c), the converter 2 (30d) can be applied to both the data forwarded from the lower level bus 202 and the data forwarded from the remote controller 50. The destination ((L) / (N)) 102 indicating the converter address and the internal unit destination (00-01) 103 indicating the node address of the indoor unit 4 to be controlled are deleted.

  Data sent from the central processing unit 34 to the bottom layer 33 (including both data routed from the lower bus 202 and data routed from the remote controller 50) are control frames (CF3) for the indoor units 3-5. When the data is converted to the data corresponding to, the common data operation / stop 111 code: Va is converted into the operation / stop 141 code: Va3 at the head position of the control data. Similarly, the code Vb of the operation mode 112 is converted into the code Vb3 of the operation mode 142 at the second position of the control data. The code: Vc of the set temperature 113 is converted to the code: Vc3 of the set temperature 143 in the second position from the back of the data part. The code of the air volume 114 is Null in the data forwarded from the lower bus 202, and is Vd in the data forwarded from the remote controller 50. Therefore, the code Vd is converted into a code: Vd3 of the set temperature 144.

  Data sent from the lower processing bus 202 (see FIG. 18) and data sent from the remote controller 50 (see FIG. 19) are sent from the central processing unit 34 to the bottom layer 33 of the converter 2 (30c). It is done. Which of these data is prioritized is basically overwritten in the state memory 35. In other words, data transmitted later in time is prioritized (overwritten). When the data forwarded from the lower bus 202 (see FIG. 18) and the data forwarded from the remote controller 50 (see FIG. 19) are simultaneously input to the central processing unit 34, the central processing unit 34 The data forwarded from the remote controller 50 is first output to the bottom layer 33, and then the data forwarded from the lower level bus 202 is output to the bottom layer 33. However, as shown in FIG. 21, since the data sent from the lower bus 202 does not include the air volume data, the air volume data is forwarded from the remote controller 50 in the data corresponding to the control frame (CF3). The value of the air volume data included in the data is adopted.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 22, the bottom layer 33 of the converter 2 (30c) generates a control frame (CF3) based on the data corresponding to the control frame (CF3) written in the state memory 35 of FIG. Generate and control the indoor unit 4. In the bottom layer 33, a header (HCF3) 151 for identifying the data frame (CF3) on the transmission path 203 and an internal unit destination (00-01) 103 are added to the data in the state memory 35, A control frame (CF3) is generated. The control frame (CF3) is sent from the bottom layer 33 of the converter 2 (30c) to the indoor unit 4, and the indoor unit 4 is controlled.

  The bottom layer 33 of the converter 2 (30c) determines whether the data corresponding to the control frame (CF3) stored in the state memory 35 matches the data of the control frame (CF3) sent to the indoor unit 4. Check.

  According to said 1st Embodiment, the following terms are disclosed.

(1) In a network air conditioning system that centrally manages a plurality of air conditioners in a network, the air conditioning system can be expanded or expanded by physically and logically dividing the air conditioning system by converters arranged and addressed in a matrix. It is characterized by flexible reduction.

(2) The upper and lower levels between different network buses are defined from the input / output relationship of the converter, and the converter suspended on the same level is defined as a horizontal series. The coordinates on the air-conditioning system network are designated by the converter arranged in (1), and the function (1) is realized.

(3) Using a form in which a communication system of one or more indoor units and outdoor units is suspended in a converter as a minimum unit, suspending it on a network bus at each level and converting data between input and output of the converter Thus, even if the indoor / outdoor unit group is a separate system, the system can be recognized as the same system from a higher level.

(4) By defining the superiority in the upper and lower levels according to the input / output relationship of the converter, the operation control commands such as indoor / outdoor units flow from the upper order to the lower order, and the status information etc. flow from the lower order to the upper order. Even in a matrix-like complicated network configuration, data transmission can be efficiently performed without divergence of data frames.

(5) The internal structure of the converter is physically or logically divided into at least upper and lower layers, and each layer provides a protocol-dedicated interface, while it is converted into data common to the converter internally. Thus, each level can be equivalently coupled, and the versatility of the converter is improved.

(6) An intermediate layer is provided in the converter, and this layer is provided with a dedicated interface function. By connecting a control device and sensors to this layer, an arbitrary control function and an information collecting function are provided to the network air conditioning system. It is characterized by that.

(7) In a converter having a control device attached to an intermediate layer, this control device targets control only at a lower level than the converter, thereby complicating control signals in the network as the number of control devices increases. It is characterized by suppressing this.

(8) In a converter in which a sensor device is attached to an intermediate layer, the sensor device forwards sensor information only to a higher level than the converter, thereby complicating signals in the network based on sensor data. It is characterized by suppressing.

(9) A watt hour meter is attached to the intermediate layer, and an arbitrary power line is connected via the watt hour meter to measure the power amount at a higher level.

(10) By providing a secondary communication function (such as an infrared light receiving device or a modem function) in the intermediate layer, it becomes possible to add a control function that was not originally provided to the lower-layer air conditioner system. It is characterized by that.

(11) A converter having both versatility and low cost is provided by constructing a converter by combining only necessary boards with the upper layer, the intermediate layer, and the lower layer as separate hardware boards. To do.

(12) The individual identification address in the air conditioning network system is composed of three elements, the first address, the second address, and the third address, and the first address is the unique address of the converter (above (1) to (3)) The second address is an intermediate address in units of a refrigerant circuit or the like, and the third address is a unique node address of an indoor / outdoor unit or the like.

  The first address indicates the specific coordinates of the air conditioning network composed of converters. When the indoor / outdoor unit group composed of the refrigerant system address and the node address is to be controlled, the second address and the third address are used. However, it is characterized in that versatility is enhanced by using only the third address for the control of the indoor / outdoor unit group using only the node address.

(13) In the command from the upper level of the air conditioning network, specify all of the first address, the second address, and the third address, and if the controlled device group does not require the second address, A general-purpose control system is constructed regardless of the presence or absence of the second address by providing a function for discarding the second address as a dummy address in the converter lower layer immediately above.

(14) As shown in FIG. 1A, the communication system of the present embodiment is connected to the first bus 205, converts the first signal flowing through the first bus 205, and converts the first controlled device 40. A first control signal that generates a first control signal for control and provides the first control signal to the first controlled device 40 and a first signal that is connected to the first bus 205 and flows through the first bus 205 A second converter that performs code conversion, generates a second control signal having a code different from that of the first control signal for controlling the second controlled device 40, and provides the second control signal to the second control device 40 30.

(15) As shown in FIG. 1-2, the communication system according to the present embodiment further includes the second bus provided hierarchically above the first bus 205 and the first bus 205 in (14) above. A third converter 30 is provided which is connected to the bus 206 and converts a second signal flowing through the second bus 206 into a first signal flowing through the first bus 205. The third converter 30 performs code conversion between the transmission paths of the second bus 206 and the first bus 205.

(16) As shown in FIG. 1-3, the communication system according to the present embodiment is further provided hierarchically below the first bus 205 and the first bus 205 in the above (14) or (15). The first signal flowing through the first bus 205 is converted into a third signal to be communicated through the third bus 207, or the third signal flowing through the third bus 207 is converted into the third signal. A fourth converter 30 that converts the first signal to be communicated by one bus is provided. The fourth converter 30 performs code conversion between the transmission paths of the third bus 207 and the first bus 205.

  The following effects are acquired by the said matter.

  According to the above (1) to (3), it is possible to uniquely address a network constructed in a matrix by a converter, to specify a position in the network system, and to be physically logical. Therefore, it is possible to flexibly cope with the case where an air conditioner is added or moved in the air conditioning network system.

  According to the above (4), upper and lower levels are provided, control commands flow in a convergent manner from the upper level to the lower level, and information system frames flow in a diffused manner from the lower level to the upper level. The rectifying action in the air-conditioning network system located in is provided. Therefore, it is possible to prevent data from being randomly scattered in the network, and to reduce the risk of data loss due to a meaningless increase in traffic or frame collision.

  According to the above (5), by dividing the configuration of the converter into an upper layer and a lower layer, an independent design corresponding to each main bus is possible, and the versatility of the converter becomes extremely high.

  According to the above (6), general-purpose input / output means can be provided by providing an intermediate layer in the converter.

  According to the above (7) and (8), the control means and the information collecting means are provided in the air-conditioning network system without meaningless increase in data loss or traffic due to frame collision by the signal rectifying action of the converter. Is possible.

  According to (9) above, for example, when partial billing information is required, a large-scale change is made to the air conditioning network system by detecting the amount of power via a converter and extracting the information from an arbitrary backbone bus. In addition, the amount of power for billing information can be obtained easily and user services such as calculation of the electricity bill are possible.

  According to the above (10), it is possible to provide secondary communication means for the intermediate layer function of the converter. It becomes possible to add an infrared control function to a wired system, or to control a remote system via a telephone line or to promptly notify a failure information.

  According to (11) above, any converter can be provided by combining the upper layer, the intermediate layer, and the lower layer with hardware of separate boards. In addition to improving versatility, the cost of the converter can be greatly reduced compared to the case of designing a new converter.

  According to the above (12) and (13), the versatility of the network system can be further enhanced. There are roughly two types of network control for air conditioners. One is to divide the refrigerant circuit into one section, use this as a subnet address, and further assign individual node addresses to indoor / outdoor unit groups suspended in the refrigerant circuit. The other is a system typified by a household multi-air conditioner and the like that defines only one refrigerant circuit (there is no address indicating the refrigerant circuit). This system has addresses only for indoor (outside) units and remote control.

  If you want to mix the above two systems in an air-conditioning network system, determining the presence or absence of a subnet address in the network address system is extremely lacking in versatility. The host controller and the converter directly above the local system It is desirable to process only in the lower layer. By making the address into three elements and defining a dummy meaning for the second address, the versatility of the air conditioning network system can be greatly improved.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described.
The second embodiment relates to the details of the network of the converter (C **) 30 and the local system (S **) 40 of the first embodiment.

  FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the local system (S **) 40 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 27, the local system (S **) 40 includes one outdoor unit 401 and at least one indoor unit 402 connected to the outdoor unit 401. In the local system (S **) 40, the outdoor unit 401 and the indoor unit 402 are connected by a local bus 403, and operation settings and operation state data are transmitted and received only within the local bus 403.

Next, a specific configuration of the second embodiment will be described.
As described below, the second embodiment includes first to eighth configuration examples.

(First configuration example)
As described in the first embodiment, the local communication of each local system (S **) 40a to 40d as shown in FIG. 28 with respect to the local system (S **) 40 as shown in FIG. A converter 30 having a function of converting the system to the communication system of the upper bus CB0 is connected. As described in the first embodiment, the converter 30 has a function of converting the higher-level bus communication system to the local bus communication system in addition to the above functions.

  The converter 30 is connected to each local system (S **) 40a to 40d, and each local system (S **) 40a to 40d can be connected to the host bus CB0. From the host bus CB0, the operation control of each local system (S **) 40a to 40d is performed by the BMS 60 or the like that performs centralized management, and the operation state of each air conditioner is monitored.

  As shown in FIG. 29, the converter 30 has an upper bus address 312 on the upper bus CB0 and takes in the address 405 set in the indoor / outdoor units 401, 402 to 701, 702 connected to the converter 30, Has the function to memorize.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, a case will be described in which the controller 60 commands the indoor unit 1-1 (reference numeral 502b) to start operation. In this case, the operation start command transmitted from the controller 60 includes the address B (reference numeral 312b) which is the upper bus address of the converter 1 (reference numeral 30b) and the local address of the indoor unit 1-1 (reference numeral 502b) corresponding to the lower hierarchy. Address 2 (reference numeral 405b) is the destination.

  When the converter 1 (30b) receives the operation start command transmitted from the controller 60, the converter 1 (30b) recognizes that the destination is the local address 2 (405b) and sets the local address 2 (405b). In response, an operation start command is transmitted.

  When transmitting the operation state of the indoor unit 1-1 (502b) to the host bus CB0, when the converter 30b has communication data between the indoor and outdoor units 501 and 502 (or the local air conditioner 500 has a device for monitoring the local area) Monitor data is also possible), the transmission source hooks the operation data of the local address 2 (405b) as the above status data, the local address 2 (405b) and the upper bus address B (312b) as the transmission source Transmit to bus CB0. The transmission is a periodic transmission. Instead of periodic transmission, a configuration may be used in which transmission is performed when the operation state is changed (converter 30 has a function of storing the previous operation state).

(Second configuration example)
Similar to the first configuration example, the converter 30 has an upper bus address 312 (see FIG. 29) on the upper bus CB0, and the address 312 is set as an address of one system of the local air conditioners 400 to 700 to set operation. I do.

  For example, in FIG. 28, a case will be described in which the operation start is instructed from the controller 60 to the local system (S **) 40b connected to the converter 1 (30b). In this case, controller 60 transmits an operation start command with address B (312b), which is the upper address of converter 1 (30b), as the destination. Receiving the operation start command, converter 1 (30b) transmits the operation start command to each indoor unit 502 constituting local system (S **) 40b connected to converter 1 (30b). .

  A case where the operation state of the local system (S **) 40b connected to the converter 1 (30b) is transmitted to the upper bus CB0 will be described. In this case, the converter 1 (30b) is connected to the communication data (or local system (S **) 40b) between the indoor / outdoor units 501 and 502 of the local system (S **) 40b. The operation data is hooked as the above status data, and the higher bus address B (312b) of the converter 1 (30b) is transmitted to the bus CB0 as the transmission source. The transmission is a periodic transmission. Instead of periodic transmission, a configuration may be used in which transmission is performed when the operation state is changed (converter 30 has a function of holding the previous operation state). Data is transmitted by using one local system as one system unit.

(Third configuration example)
The case where the operation state of the indoor unit 1-1 (502b) is transmitted to the bus CB0 in the second configuration example will be described. In this case, the converter 1 (30b) has a transmission source of communication data between the indoor / outdoor units 501 and 502 (or monitor data if there is a device for monitoring the local in the configuration of the local air conditioner 500). The operation data of the local address 2 (405b) is hooked as the state data, and the local address 2 (405b) and the upper bus address B (312b) are transmitted as the transmission source. The transmission is a periodic transmission. Instead of periodic transmission, a configuration may be used in which transmission is performed when the operation state is changed (converter 30 has a function of holding the previous operation state).

(Fourth configuration example)
As shown in FIG. 33, in the first configuration example, the converter 30 has an upper bus address 313 on the bus CB0 for each of the indoor / outdoor units 401, 402, 501, 502,. It has a function of taking in local addresses 405 set in the outdoor units 401, 501,.

  For example, in FIG. 28, a case where the controller 60 commands the indoor unit 1-1 (502b) to start operation will be described. In this case, an operation start command is transmitted from the controller 60 with the address G (313G), which is the upper bus address of the indoor unit 1-1 (502b), as the destination (see FIG. 33). The converter 1 (30b) having the address G (313G) that has received the operation start command transmitted from the controller 60 recognizes that the destination is the local address 2 (405b) in the converter 1 (30b), An operation start command is transmitted to local address 2.

  Next, a case where the operation state of the indoor unit 1-1 (502b) is transmitted to the upper bus CB0 will be described. In this case, the converter 1 (30b) has a transmission source of communication data between the indoor / outdoor units 501 and 502 (or monitor data if there is a device for monitoring the local in the configuration of the local air conditioner 500). The operation data of the local address 2 (405b) is hooked as the above state data, and the upper bus address G (313G) is transmitted to the bus CB0 as the transmission source. Transmission is periodic transmission. Instead of periodic transmission, a configuration may be used in which transmission is performed when the operation state is changed (converter 30 has a function of storing the previous operation state).

(Fifth configuration example)
As shown in FIG. 30, a converter 30 having a function of converting the local communication system of the local system (S **) 40 into a higher bus communication system is connected to the local system (S **) 40 as shown in FIG. To do. The bus CB0 is mixed (shared) with indoor / outdoor units (hereinafter referred to as network-compatible air conditioners) 601N, 602N, 701N, and 702N that use the bus CB0 as a communication line. System (S **) 40 can also be a network-compatible air conditioner).

  The converter 30 is connected to each local system (S **) 40, and each local system (S **) 40 and the network-compatible air conditioners 601N, 602N, 701N, and 702N can be connected via the bus CB0. From the bus CB0, the operation control of the local system (S **) 40 and the network-compatible air conditioners 601N, 602N, 701N, 702N is performed by the controller 60 that performs operation control and operation monitoring, and the operation state on the bus CB0 is monitored. Monitor.

  As shown in FIG. 31, the converter 30 has a bus corresponding to the network compatible air conditioners 601N, 602N, 701N, and 702N when the address 406 of the network compatible air conditioners 601N, 602N, 701N, and 702N is assigned to each refrigerant system. It has an address 314 of the refrigerant system on CB0, and has a function of taking in and storing the address 405 set in each of the indoor / outdoor units 401, 402, 501, and 502 connected to the converter 30.

  For example, when the controller 60 commands the indoor unit 0-0 (402a) to start operation, the controller 60 uses the higher bus address A (312a) of the converter 0 (30a) and the local address 1 (405b) corresponding to the lower hierarchy. ) Is output as a destination. Receiving the operation start command, converter 0 (30a) generates an operation start command destined for local address 1 (405b) in converter 0 (30a) and transmits it to local address 1 (405b). .

  A case where the operating state of the indoor unit 0-0 (402a) is transmitted to the bus CB0 will be described. In this case, the converter 0 (30a) has the transmission source from the communication data between the indoor / outdoor units 401 and 402 (or monitor data if the local air conditioner 400 has a device for monitoring the local area). The operation data of the local address 1 (405b) is hooked as the above state data, and the local address 1 (405b) and the higher address A (312a) of the converter 0 (30a) are transmitted to the bus CB0. The transmission is a periodic transmission. Instead of periodic transmission, a configuration may be used in which transmission is performed when the operation state is changed (converter 30 has a function of storing the previous operation state).

(Sixth configuration example)
As shown in FIG. 32, in the fifth configuration example (FIG. 30), when the address 315 is assigned to each of the indoor / outdoor units 601N, 602N, 701N, and 702N of the network compatible air conditioner, the converter 30 is connected to the bus CB0. The number of addresses 312 is the same as the number of connected local systems (S **) 40, and the addresses 405 set in the indoor / outdoor units 401, 402, 501, 502 connected to the converter 30 are fetched. It has a function to record the upper bus address and local address in association.

  For example, a case where the controller 60 commands the indoor unit 1-1 (502b) to start operation will be described. In this case, an operation start command is output with address 312g of converter 1 (30b) as the destination. Receiving the operation start command, converter 1 (30b) generates and transmits an operation start command for address 2 (405c) in converter 1 (30b).

  Next, the case where the operation state of the indoor unit 1-1 (502b) is transmitted to the bus CB0 will be described. In this case, the converter 1 (30b) determines whether the transmission source is the communication data between the indoor / outdoor units 501 and 502 (or monitor data if the local air conditioner 500 has a device for monitoring the local area). The operation data at the local address 2 (405c) is hooked as the above state data, and the upper bus address 312g corresponding to the address 2 (405c) is transmitted to the bus CB0 as a transmission source. The transmission is a periodic transmission. It may be configured to transmit when the operation state is changed instead of the regular transmission (the converter 30 has a function of storing the previous operation state).

(Seventh configuration example)
As shown in FIG. 34, the converter 0 (30a) and the converter 1 (30b) enable the local system (S **) 40 to be connected to the LAN (CB0) corresponding to the upper bus. The converter 2 (30c) enables connection of the network-compatible air conditioners 601N, 602N, 701N, and 702N configured by LON (CB1) to the LAN (CB0) corresponding to the upper bus. By making the bus CB0 common, each air conditioner can be controlled and monitored by a device such as a controller 60 via a LAN.

(Eighth configuration example)
As shown in FIG. 35, the converter 0 (30a) and the converter 1 (30b) can connect the local system (S **) 40 to the LON bus CB1 corresponding to the upper bus, and share the upper bus with each other. The air conditioner can be controlled by the controller 2 (60a) via the LON bus CB1.

  The converter 2 (30c) is a LANCB0 that hits the higher-level buses with the network-compatible air conditioners 601N, 602N, 701N, and 702N (including the local air conditioners 401, 402, 501, and 502 connected by the converters 0 and 1) configured by LON. Allows connection to. By sharing the upper bus, each air conditioner can be controlled and monitored by a device such as the controller 1 (60) via the LAN.

  As in the configuration examples of the second embodiment, it is possible to give diversity to the addresses assigned to the indoor unit / outdoor units 401, 402,... Of the converter 30 and the local system (S **) 40.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the other structure of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the further another structure of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a network system block diagram by the converter hierarchy connection of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the connection (minimum unit) of the converter of a communication system to which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied, and a local system. It is a level conceptual diagram of the converter hierarchical network system of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is another level conceptual diagram of the converter hierarchical network system of the communication system to which one embodiment of the converter of the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the converter internal hierarchy structure of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is connection explanatory drawing of the intermediate | middle layer of the converter of one Embodiment of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram inside a generalized converter of an embodiment of a communication system to which an embodiment of the converter of the present invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the hierarchical network air-conditioning system of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the connection example (1) of the local system of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the connection example (2) of the local system of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the common data conversion conceptual diagram about the control code of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the common data conversion conceptual diagram about the information code of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the control code conversion table of the upper layer of the converter of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the information code conversion table of the upper layer of the converter of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the control code conversion table of the middle layer of the converter of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the information code conversion table of the middle layer of the converter of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the control code conversion table of the lower layer of the converter of the communication system with which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the information code conversion table of the lower layer of the converter of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the further another example of a structure of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the converter of this invention. It is a figure which shows the control frame (CF0) of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the common data format of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the data conversion of the upper layer of the converter 0 of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the data conversion of the lower layer of the converter 0 of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the data conversion of the upper layer of the converter 2 of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the data conversion of the middle layer of the converter 2 of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the state memory of the converter of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure for demonstrating construction of the driving | running state memory data of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the control frame (CF3) of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement when the control frame of the converter 00 of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied is input. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement when the information frame of the converter 00 of the communication system to which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied is input. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement when the control frame of the converter 11 of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied is input. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement when the information frame of the converter 11 of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied is input. It is a block diagram which shows one structure of the local system of the communication system by which one Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the 1st structural example of the communication system by which 2nd Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the address of the 1st structural example of the communication system by which 2nd Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the 5th structural example of the communication system by which 2nd Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the address of the 5th structural example of the communication system by which 2nd Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the 6th structural example of the communication system by which 2nd Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the address of the 4th structural example of the communication system by which 2nd Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the 7th structural example of the communication system by which 2nd Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the 8th structural example of the communication system by which 2nd Embodiment of the converter of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the conventional communication system. It is a block diagram which shows the other conventional communication system.

Explanation of symbols

30 Converter 31 Upper layer 32 Intermediate layer 33 Lower layer 34 Central processing unit 40 Local system 50 External device 51 Control device 60 BMS
201 Bus 202 Bus 205 Bus 206 Bus 207 Bus 800 Communication system 801 Transmission path 802 Central controller 803 Converter 804 Converter 805 Converter 806 Air conditioning block 807 Air conditioning block 808 Air conditioning block C ** Converter CB * Bus L * Level S ** System M1 Sensor M2 sensor

30 Converter 31 Upper layer 32 Intermediate layer 33 Lower layer 34 Central processing unit 40 Local system 50 External device 51 Control device 60 BMS
201 Bus 202 Bus 205 Bus 206 Bus 207 Bus 800 Communication system 801 Transmission path 802 Central controller 803 Converter 804 Converter 805 Converter 806 Air conditioning block 807 Air conditioning block 808 Air conditioning block C ** Converter CB * Bus L * Level S ** System M1 Sensor M2 sensor

Claims (8)

A first electronic circuit connectable to a first bus or device;
A second electronic circuit connectable to a second bus or device,
The first electronic circuit inputs data from the first bus or the device,
The converter, wherein the second electronic circuit outputs converted data obtained by code-converting data input by the first electronic circuit to the second bus or the device. The converter of claim 1, wherein
Common data common to a plurality of the converters is set in advance,
The first electronic circuit performs code conversion on the data input from the first bus or the device to convert the data into the common data,
The converter, wherein the second electronic circuit outputs the converted data obtained by code-converting the common data converted by the first electronic circuit to the second bus or the device. The converter of claim 2, wherein
The first electronic circuit has a first conversion table showing a correspondence relationship between the data input from the first bus or the device and the common data,
The second electronic circuit has a second conversion table showing a correspondence relationship between the common data and data output from the second bus or the device. The converter according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Furthermore,
A converter comprising a third electronic circuit having an interface function with an external device. The converter of claim 4, wherein
The third electronic circuit converts the data input from the external device connected to the third electronic circuit into the common data by performing code conversion,
The converter, wherein the second electronic circuit outputs converted data obtained by code-converting the common data converted by the third electronic circuit to the second bus or the device. The converter according to claim 4 or 5,
The external device includes a control device including a remote controller, and a sensor including a power meter and a temperature sensor. The converter according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The first electronic circuit and the second electronic circuit are separable as hardware or software and can be exchanged. The converter according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
When the first electronic circuit inputs the data from the first bus or the device and outputs the converted data from the second electronic circuit to the second bus or the device, depending on the type of data The direction of data input / output with respect to the first electronic circuit and the second electronic circuit of the converter is restricted.

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