JP2013221707A - Air conditioner, cause estimation method for communication abnormality, and cause estimation program for communication abnormality - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To estimate the cause of communication abnormality between substrates of an air conditioner.SOLUTION: There is provided a cause estimation method for communication abnormality which may be caused when one of two substrates of an air conditioner serves as a primary station and the other serves as a secondary station to communicate with each other through a communication path, and the like. The method stores an operation history of an actuator, repeatedly executes a step of transmission and reception between the primary station and secondary station at a constant period, and when such an event of communication abnormality occurs that reception from the secondary station becomes impossible in the step of transmission and reception, sequentially stores the occurrence of such an event. When the number of times of the occurrence of events monotonously increases within a predetermined period, the method estimates that the communication path gets out of order. When the number of times of the occurrence of events does not monotonously increase, on the other hand, the method estimates that noise of action of an actuator causes the communication abnormality if the actuator acts at the same period with the occurrence of the abnormality, and estimates that the communication abnormality is caused from outside if there is not such an actuator.

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to processing when a communication abnormality occurs between substrates inside the air conditioner.

  The outdoor unit of the air conditioner is provided with an inverter board on which an inverter circuit and the like for performing drive control of the compressor are mounted in addition to a control board that plays a central role in operation control (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). .) The two boards are connected to each other by, for example, a cable, and data is transmitted and received alternately at regular intervals.

JP2011-237066A (paragraph [0028]) JP 2006-214635 A (paragraph [0002])

  In the conventional air conditioner as described above, in rare cases, communication between the control board and the inverter board may be abnormal. In such a case, for example, an error code indicating a communication abnormality can be displayed on the control board, but the cause cannot be identified. Possible causes are cable disconnection, poor contact at the connector portion of the cable, the influence of noise, etc., and the possibility is relatively high, and there is little failure of the board itself. Therefore, the maintenance worker often takes measures to replace the cable (including the connector) first.

  However, there are cases where noise is not the cause of the cable. In this case, if the reproducibility of the communication abnormality due to noise is high, the communication abnormality reoccurs even after the cable replacement, so that it can be immediately understood that the cable was not the cause. However, if the reproducibility is low, it cannot be easily confirmed whether or not the communication abnormality is resolved by replacing the cable. As a result, it is likely that measures will be taken to replace the cable if it is not bad, which is not reasonable.

  In view of such a conventional problem, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to estimate the cause of a communication abnormality between substrates in an air conditioner.

  (1) The present invention is a cause of communication abnormality that may occur when communication is possible via a communication path with the first board mounted on the air conditioner as the primary station and the second board as the secondary station. An estimation method comprising: (a) storing operation histories of a plurality of actuators included in the air conditioner; (b) transmitting data from the primary station to the secondary station, and accordingly the secondary station If there is a communication abnormality event in which reception from the secondary station is not possible in the transmission / reception process, repeat the transmission / reception process of receiving this if there is a reply from the occurrence of the event. (C) The cause is estimated in the light of at least three inferences. If the number of occurrences of the event increases monotonically within a predetermined period, the communication path is faulty. The first to be As a matter of course, if the number of occurrences does not increase monotonously and any of the actuators operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, it is assumed that the noise generated by the actuator is the cause of the communication abnormality. In the second inference, if the number of occurrences does not increase monotonously and there is no actuator that operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, the third reason is that the cause of the communication abnormality is an external factor. It is characterized by including reasoning.

  In the method for estimating the cause of communication abnormality as described above, according to the first, second and third inferences, the cause of the communication abnormality is a communication path, noise generated from the actuator, and external factors. It can be estimated by discriminating from a certain case. Therefore, there is no need to suspect a communication path failure as a cause of communication abnormality. As a result, for example, cables and connectors constituting the communication path need not be replaced unnecessarily, and rational maintenance work can be performed.

(2) In the method for estimating the cause of communication abnormality in (1) above, the first board and the second board may be a control board and an inverter board provided in the outdoor unit, respectively.
In this case, it is possible to estimate the cause of communication abnormality between the control board and the inverter board of the outdoor unit on which a compressor or the like that may generate noise is mounted.

(3) In the method for estimating the cause of communication abnormality in (2), the actuator may include a compressor, a fan, a solenoid valve, and a motor-operated valve.
In this case, even when the cause of the communication abnormality is noise generated by any of these actuators, this can be estimated.

  (4) On the other hand, the present invention from another viewpoint is an invention of an air conditioner, and the air conditioner is capable of communicating with a first board serving as a primary station of communication and with the primary station. A second board serving as a next station; and a communication path interconnecting the first board and the second board, wherein the first board receives data from the primary station to the secondary station. And a communication unit that repeatedly executes a transmission / reception step of receiving a response from the secondary station if there is a response in response thereto, and storing operation histories of a plurality of actuators, and in the transmission / reception step, When an abnormal communication event that cannot be received from the secondary station occurs, the cause is estimated in light of a storage unit that sequentially stores the occurrence of the event and at least three inferences. The number of occurrences of the event within a period is simply The number of occurrences does not increase monotonically and any of the actuators does not coincide with the occurrence of the event. When operated, the second inference that the noise generated by the actuator is the cause of communication abnormality, and the number of occurrences did not increase monotonously and operated at the same time as the occurrence of the event When there is no actuator, an estimation unit including a third inference that the cause of the communication abnormality is an external factor is provided.

  In the air conditioner configured as in the above (4), according to the first, second, and third inferences, the cause of the communication abnormality is the communication path, and the noise generated from the actuator. It can be estimated by discriminating it from an external factor. Therefore, there is no need to suspect a communication path failure as a cause of communication abnormality. As a result, for example, cables and connectors constituting the communication path need not be replaced unnecessarily, and rational maintenance work can be performed.

  (5) Further, the present invention from another viewpoint can communicate with each other via a communication path with the first board mounted on the air conditioner as the primary station and the second board as the secondary station. A program for estimating a cause of a communication abnormality that may occur in a case, a function of storing operation histories of a plurality of actuators included in the air conditioner, and transmitting data from the primary station to the secondary station, and accordingly When there is a communication abnormality event in which reception from the secondary station cannot be performed in the transmission / reception step, the transmission / reception step of receiving the response from the secondary station is repeatedly performed at a certain period. The cause is estimated in light of the function of sequentially storing the occurrence of events and at least three types of inference. If the first reasoning that the road is faulty and the number of occurrences does not increase monotonously and one of the actuators operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, the actuator is generated. The second reasoning that the noise is the cause of the communication abnormality, and if the number of occurrences does not increase monotonously and there is no actuator that operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, This is a communication error cause estimation program for realizing the function including the third reasoning that the cause is an external factor by a computer installed in the air conditioner or its management device.

  In the communication error cause estimation program of (5) above, according to the first, second, and third inferences, the cause of the communication error is the communication path, the noise generated from the actuator, and the external factor. Can be identified and estimated. Therefore, there is no need to suspect a communication path failure as a cause of communication abnormality. As a result, for example, cables and connectors constituting the communication path need not be replaced unnecessarily, and rational maintenance work can be performed.

  According to the communication abnormality cause estimation method / cause estimation program and the air conditioner of the present invention, the cause of communication abnormality between substrates in the air conditioner can be estimated.

It is the schematic which shows the main components of the electric system in the outdoor unit of an air conditioner. It is a sequence diagram when communication is normally performed between the primary station and the secondary station in the outdoor unit. It is an example of a sequence diagram when a communication abnormality event occurs between a primary station and a secondary station in an outdoor unit. It is an example of the time chart which shows the relationship between the operation | movement history of the actuator inside an outdoor unit, and the presence or absence of communication abnormality. It is a block diagram which shows the thing regarding the cause estimation of communication abnormality among the function parts contained in the control board. It is a flowchart which shows the cause estimation method or cause estimation program of communication abnormality.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing main components of an electric system in an outdoor unit 1 of a so-called “building multi” type air conditioner, for example. In the figure, an inverter-type compressor 3, an electromagnetic valve 4 and a motor-operated valve 5 provided on a refrigerant pipe (not shown), a fan 6, and an electrical component unit 7 are provided in a housing 2 of the outdoor unit 1. An internal control board 8 and an inverter board 9 are provided.

  The inverter board 9, the compressor 3, and the fan 6 are connected by cables 10 and 11, respectively. The control board 8, the electromagnetic valve 4 and the motor operated valve 5 are connected by cables 12 and 13, respectively. The control board 8 and the inverter board 9 are connected to each other by a cable 14 with a connector 14c, and can communicate with each other. The control board 8 is mounted with a CPU that plays a central role in the operation control of the air conditioner and its peripheral circuits. The control valve 8 controls the electromagnetic valve 4 and the motor operated valve 5. On the inverter board 9, an inverter circuit and other drive circuits for the compressor 3 and the fan 6 are mounted.

  If the control board 8 is a primary station for communication and the inverter board 9 is a secondary station, the primary station and the secondary station can communicate with each other, and send and receive data related to the control of the compressor 3 and the fan 6. It is repeated at regular intervals. Here, data transmitted from the primary station to the secondary station is referred to as “primary station data”, and data transmitted from the secondary station to the primary station is referred to as “secondary station data”.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram when communication is normally performed between the primary station and the secondary station. Primary station data is transmitted from the primary station to the secondary station. The secondary station that has received the primary station data transmits the secondary station data to the primary station, that is, replies.
Such a series of transmission / reception steps are repeatedly executed at regular intervals T. The period T is set to be sufficiently longer than the time required for the transmission / reception process. Therefore, when communication is performed normally, the data is transmitted from the secondary station within the period T after the primary station transmits data. There is a reply.

  FIG. 3 is an example of a sequence diagram when a communication abnormality event occurs between the primary station and the secondary station. In FIG. 3 (a), in the third transmission / reception process in the illustrated period, the primary station data has reached the secondary station, but the secondary station data as a response has not reached the primary station for some reason. Shows the case. FIG. 3B shows a case where the primary station data did not reach the secondary station for some reason in the third transmission / reception process in the illustrated period. In this case, of course, there is no data response from the secondary station to the primary station.

  As the cause of the communication abnormality as described above, for example, a failure of the communication path, that is, a disconnection of the cable 14 or a contact failure at the connector 14c can be considered. In addition, there may be noise caused by various operations in the outdoor unit 1, that is, the compressor 3, the fan 6, the electromagnetic valve 4, and the electric valve 5. Furthermore, regardless of the air conditioner, external factors such as external noise, lightning strikes, and high-voltage lines can be considered.

  Here, in the case of a communication channel failure, the failure state continues. Therefore, once an event of communication abnormality occurs, no response will continue from the secondary station even if it is transmitted from the primary station many times thereafter, and the communication abnormality will not be recovered. In the case of poor contact, it may be recovered temporarily, but even in that case, the duration of contact failure is sufficiently longer than the cycle T of the transmission / reception process.

  On the other hand, noise generated from an internal actuator is likely to occur during an operation from off to on or vice versa, and has a relatively short duration. Also, many external factors have a relatively short duration. Noise may occur frequently regardless of whether it is internal noise or external noise, but even in that case, it is unlikely that the transmission / reception process is continuously disturbed for a long time.

  FIG. 4 is an example of a time chart showing the relationship between the operation history of the actuator in the outdoor unit 1 and the presence or absence of communication abnormality. In the figure, (a) is the presence or absence of communication abnormality, (b) is the compressor on / off, (c) is the fan on / off, (d) is the motor valve on / off, (e) is the solenoid valve ON / OFF is shown respectively. For example, if a communication abnormality occurs at time t3, it can be estimated that noise generated from the actuator has caused the communication abnormality by checking whether there is an actuator operating at the same time. In this example, since the compressor is turned on at the same time as the occurrence of the communication abnormality, it can be estimated that the noise generated by the compressor is the cause of the communication abnormality.

  The above “simultaneous period” may not be strictly coincident. This is because a communication abnormality may occur with a slight delay time from the moment of noise generation. Therefore, it shall be treated as “simultaneous period” including the possible delay time range.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which a communication abnormality occurs at time t3. However, if a communication abnormality occurs at time t2, it is estimated that noise generated by the motor-operated valve is the cause of the communication abnormality. be able to. Further, if a communication abnormality occurs at time t1, it can be estimated that noise generated by the fan or the electromagnetic valve is the cause of the communication abnormality. In this example, since the fan on-operation and the solenoid valve on-operation are at the same timing, it is impossible to estimate which noise is the cause. Is possible.
FIG. 4 shows an example of the on-operation of the actuator. However, in the case of the off-operation, a communication abnormality due to noise generation can occur, so that estimation in the same manner is possible.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing functions related to the cause estimation of the communication abnormality among the functional units included in the control board 8. In the figure, the control board 8 includes a control unit 80 including a CPU and a ROM storing programs and other necessary information, an estimation unit 81 as a function realized by software in the control unit 80, and an inverter board 9. A storage unit 83 that is a RAM that stores information related to communication and control, and a display unit 84 that can display a cause of communication abnormality, for example, a seven-segment display. The estimation unit 81 estimates the cause based on the information stored in the storage unit 83 and displays the cause on the display unit 84 when a communication abnormality occurs. The control unit 80 communicates with the inverter board 9 via the communication unit 82 to control the drive of the compressor 3 and the fan 6 and also to control the electromagnetic valve 4 and the motor operated valve 5.

Next, a method for estimating the cause of communication abnormality will be specifically described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. 6 as an example. The execution subject of the flowchart is the control unit 80 (including the estimation unit 81) of the control board 8, and the communication unit 82, the storage unit 83, and the display unit 84 operate as peripheral circuits.
First, in step S1, the control unit 80 executes the above-described transmission / reception process and stores an operation history of the actuator. Subsequently, the control unit 80 determines whether or not an event that causes a communication abnormality has occurred (step S2).

  When communication is normally performed, the process waits for the number of determinations in step S2 to reach a predetermined number (step S7), and the execution of steps S1, S2, and S7 is repeated. In addition, execution of a transmission / reception process is performed for every fixed period T. When the number of determinations reaches a predetermined number without occurrence of an abnormal communication event, the control unit 80 determines whether or not the integrated value of the number of event occurrences is 0 (step S8). Here, since it is 0, the control unit 80 resets the number of determinations (step S9) and returns to step S1.

  On the other hand, when a communication abnormality event occurs, the control unit 80 resets the determination count to 1 and accumulates the occurrence count from that time (step S3). The integration is performed every time an abnormal communication event occurs. When the abnormal communication event occurs continuously, steps S1 to S4 are executed until the number of determinations reaches a predetermined number. When the occurrence of a communication abnormality event continues, the integrated value increases monotonically and linearly, and the integrated value is the same as the number of determinations. When the number of determinations reaches the predetermined number, the control unit 80 advances the process to step S5.

  On the other hand, when a communication abnormality event occurs due to the influence of internal and external noise, the occurrence of the event may continue to some extent as the number of determinations increases, but does not last long. Moreover, it may occur sporadically. In any case, the integrated value does not increase monotonously, and therefore the integrated value is not 0, but is smaller than the number of determinations. When the communication abnormality is temporarily or permanently recovered, steps S1, S2, and S7 are repeatedly executed, and when the number of determinations reaches a predetermined number, the control unit 80 determines whether or not the integrated value is zero. Is determined (step S8). If an event of communication abnormality has occurred even once, the integrated value is not zero. Therefore, the control unit 80 advances the process to step S5.

In step S5, the control unit 80 determines whether or not the integrated value increases monotonously (linearly). Here, when it is increasing monotonously, the control unit 80 estimates that the cause of the communication abnormality is a failure (disconnection or contact failure) of the communication path (cable 14 or connector 14c) (step S6). ).
On the other hand, when it does not increase monotonically, for example, when the integrated value is clearly smaller than the number of determinations, a communication abnormality event has occurred but has ended temporarily or the communication abnormality has recovered There will be many.
That is, the determination in step S5 can identify whether the channel is faulty or other causes (noise, etc.).

If it is determined in step S5 that the integrated value has not increased monotonously, the control unit 80 refers to the operation history to determine whether there is an actuator that operates at the same time as the occurrence of the communication abnormality event. Determine (step S10). When there is such an actuator, the control unit 80 estimates the noise of the actuator (step S11). When there is no such actuator, the control unit 80 estimates that the cause of the communication abnormality is an external factor (step S12).
That is, the determination in step S10 makes it possible to identify whether the cause is an internal actuator noise or an external factor.

  Thereafter, the control unit 80 displays the estimated result on the display unit 84 (FIG. 5) as an error code, for example (step S13). The maintenance worker can understand the cause estimated by the control unit 80 by looking at the error code. In addition, the control unit 80 resets the integrated value and the numerical value of the determination count, and returns to step S1. If only one actuator is operated at the same time, specifically, an error code for specifying which of the compressor, the fan, the electromagnetic valve, and the motor-operated valve can be displayed on the display unit 84.

As described above, in the communication error cause estimation method of the present embodiment,
(1) Store the operation history of a plurality of actuators included in the air conditioner,
(2) The transmission / reception process is repeatedly executed at a constant period, and when an abnormal communication event occurs in which the transmission / reception process cannot be received from the secondary station, the occurrence of the event is sequentially stored, and
(3) The cause is estimated in light of a predetermined “inference”. This reasoning is the following three types in this example.

[First inference]: When the number of occurrences of events increases monotonically within a predetermined period in which the number of determinations reaches a predetermined number, the communication path is broken.
[Second reasoning]: If the number of occurrences of an event does not increase monotonously and any of the actuators operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, the noise generated by that actuator is the cause of the communication error. is there.
[Third Reasoning]: When the number of occurrences of an event does not increase monotonously and there is no actuator that operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, the cause of the communication abnormality is an external factor.
Note that the inference can be divided into individual actuators, and can be made finer and more than three.

  In the method for estimating the cause of communication abnormality as described above, according to the first, second and third inferences, the cause of the communication abnormality is a communication path, noise generated from the actuator, and external factors. It can be estimated by discriminating from a certain case. Therefore, there is no need to suspect a communication path failure as a cause of communication abnormality. As a result, for example, cables and connectors constituting the communication path need not be replaced unnecessarily, and rational maintenance work can be performed.

The above-described method for estimating the cause of communication abnormality is stored as a program in the ROM of the control unit 80, for example. That is, the present invention is also a cause estimation program for communication abnormality. The program is
(1) A function of storing operation histories of a plurality of actuators included in the air conditioner,
(2) Repeatedly execute the transmission / reception process at a fixed period, and in the case of a communication abnormality event in which reception from the secondary station cannot be performed in the transmission / reception process, a function of sequentially storing the occurrence of the event, and
(3) A function for estimating the cause in light of the above inference,
This is a cause estimation program for communication abnormality to be realized by a computer installed in an air conditioner. For example, when a management device as a higher-level device having information processing and management control functions exists separately for the air conditioner, the management device has a cause estimation program for communication abnormality. Also good.

  In the above embodiment, the primary station is a control board and the secondary station is an inverter board. In the case of an air conditioner, this is a typical example, and the cause of communication abnormality between the control board and the inverter board of an outdoor unit equipped with a compressor or the like that may generate noise is estimated. be able to. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these substrates, and the method of the present invention can be applied to cause estimation of communication abnormality when communication is performed between any two independent substrates.

1: outdoor unit (air conditioner), 3: compressor, 4: solenoid valve, 5: motor operated valve, 6: fan, (3-6: actuator), 8: control board (primary station), 9: inverter board (Secondary station), 14: cable, 14c: connector, (14, 14c: communication path), 81: estimation unit, 82: communication unit, 83: storage unit

Claims (5)

This may occur when the first board (8) mounted on the air conditioner is the primary station and the second board (9) is the secondary station and can communicate with each other via the communication path (14, 14c). A method for estimating the cause of communication abnormality,
Storing operation histories of a plurality of actuators (3 to 6) included in the air conditioner;
A transmission / reception process of transmitting data from the primary station to the secondary station and receiving a response from the secondary station in response thereto is repeatedly executed at a constant cycle, and in the transmission / reception process, the secondary station If an abnormal communication event occurs that cannot be received from the device, the event occurrence will be stored in sequence,
The cause is estimated in light of at least three inferences. In the inference, if the number of occurrences of the event monotonously increases within a predetermined period, the communication channel (14, 14c) has failed. If the number of occurrences does not increase monotonically and one of the actuators operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, the noise generated by the actuator will cause a communication error. If the number of occurrences does not increase monotonically and there is no actuator that operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, the cause of the communication error is an external factor. And a third reasoning that is included. A method for estimating the cause of a communication abnormality.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the first board (8) and the second board (9) are a control board and an inverter board provided in the outdoor unit (1), respectively.   The method for estimating the cause of communication abnormality according to claim 2, wherein the actuator includes a compressor (3), a fan (6), a solenoid valve (4), and a motor-operated valve (5). A first board (8) which is the primary station of communication;
A second board (9) which is a secondary station capable of mutual communication with the primary station;
A communication path (14, 14c) for connecting the first substrate and the second substrate to each other;
The first substrate (8)
A communication unit (82) for repeatedly executing a transmission / reception process of transmitting data from the primary station to the secondary station and receiving the response if there is a response from the secondary station in a constant cycle;
A storage unit that stores operation histories of a plurality of actuators (3 to 6), and sequentially stores the occurrence of the event when a communication abnormality event that the reception from the secondary station cannot be performed in the transmission / reception process occurs (83)
The cause is estimated in light of at least three inferences. In the inference, if the number of occurrences of the event monotonously increases within a predetermined period, the communication channel (14, 14c) has failed. If the number of occurrences does not increase monotonically and one of the actuators operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, the noise generated by the actuator will cause a communication error. If the number of occurrences does not increase monotonically and there is no actuator that operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, the cause of the communication error is an external factor. An air conditioner comprising: an estimation unit (81) including a third inference that is present. This may occur when the first board (8) mounted on the air conditioner is the primary station and the second board (9) is the secondary station and can communicate with each other via the communication path (14, 14c). A program for estimating the cause of communication abnormality,
A function of storing operation histories of a plurality of actuators (3 to 6) included in the air conditioner;
A transmission / reception process of transmitting data from the primary station to the secondary station and receiving a response from the secondary station in response thereto is repeatedly executed at a constant cycle, and in the transmission / reception process, the secondary station When a communication abnormality event that cannot be received from occurs, the function to sequentially store the occurrence of the event,
The cause is estimated in light of at least three inferences. In the inference, if the number of occurrences of the event monotonously increases within a predetermined period, the communication channel (14, 14c) has failed. If the number of occurrences does not increase monotonically and one of the actuators operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, the noise generated by the actuator will cause a communication error. If the number of occurrences does not increase monotonically and there is no actuator that operates at the same time as the occurrence of the event, the cause of the communication error is an external factor. The function including the third reasoning to be
A cause estimation program for a communication abnormality to be realized by a computer installed in the air conditioner or its management device.

Images