JP2017161102A - Refrigeration storage house - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable other refrigeration devices to communicate with each other in the case of interruption of power supply for supplying electrical power to a control board of a slave.SOLUTION: This invention relates to a refrigeration storage house 1 in which there are provided several refrigeration devices 11 having a control board 17 having communication units 19 and a refrigeration unit 12, each of the communication units 19 is connected in series through a transmission line 30, and signals are transmitted in sequence from one communication unit 19 to another communication unit 19 to control a group of refrigeration units. When a refrigeration device 11 present between refrigeration devices 11 at both ends is defined as a slave, there is provided a bypass path 31 arranged in parallel with the communication unit 19 of the slave, the bypass path 31 being provided with a first switch part 32 that is turned off during supply of electrical power to the control board 17 of the slave and that is turned on when the supply of electrical power to the control board 17 is turned off.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The technology disclosed in the present specification relates to a cooling storage provided with a plurality of cooling devices.

  Conventionally, a plurality of cooling devices having a control board on which a communication unit is provided and a cooling unit are provided. Each communication unit is connected in series via a transmission line, and signals are sequentially transmitted from one communication unit to another communication unit. A cooling storage that controls a cooling unit group by transmitting is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Specifically, the prefabricated refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of cooling devices including a main board (corresponding to a control board) including a communication unit, and a cooling unit including a compressor and a condenser, They are connected in series by a transmission line. Then, by sequentially transmitting a signal from one communication unit to another communication unit, the operation is shifted to the defrosting operation, or by sequentially transmitting a signal from one communication unit to another communication unit, the cooling operation is performed all together. Or performing synchronous operation to shift to

  Further, in the prefabricated refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 described above, when the operation of the cooling unit provided in the cooling device (hereinafter referred to as “slave”) is stopped for some reason, the communication provided in the slave The unit is changed to the pass mode, and the signal received from the adjacent cooling device is transmitted to the reverse adjacent cooling device. As a result, even if the slave cooling unit is stopped, the synchronous operation can be continued only by another cooling device.

JP 2005-76998 A

  By the way, the control of the prefabricated refrigerator described in Patent Document 1 described above is to change the communication unit to the pass mode when the slave cooling unit stops for some reason, but this control supplies power to the control board. This is effective only when the power supply for supplying power to the control board is turned off, and the mode cannot be changed to the pass mode. For this reason, when the power supply for supplying power to the control board is dropped, the cooling devices on both sides of the slave cannot communicate with each other, and the synchronous operation cannot be continued only with the other cooling devices.

  In the present specification, a technique is disclosed in which other cooling devices can communicate with each other even when a power supply for supplying power to a slave control board is turned off.

  The cooling storage disclosed in the present specification includes a plurality of cooling devices including a control board provided with a communication unit and a cooling unit, and connects the communication units in series via a transmission line. A cooling storage that controls the cooling unit group by sequentially transmitting a signal from a unit to the other communication unit, and when the cooling device between the cooling devices at both ends is called a slave, the slave A bypass path provided in parallel with the communication unit, which is turned off while power is supplied to the control board, and turned on when power supply to the control board is cut off A bypass path is provided.

  According to the above cooling storage, when the power supply for supplying power to the slave control board is turned off, the first switch unit provided in the bypass path is turned on, so the other cooling devices are connected via the bypass path. Can communicate with each other. For this reason, even if the power supply for supplying power to the slave control board is cut off, it is possible to continue the synchronous operation only with other cooling devices. As a result, the possibility of occurrence of poor cooling or defrosting in the cabinet can be reduced, and the cold insulation performance at the time of failure can be improved.

  The slave is connected to an alarm device to which power is supplied in a separate system from the control board, and the power supply to the alarm device is interrupted while power is being supplied to the control board, to the control board. And a second switch unit that supplies power to the alarm device when the power supply is interrupted.

If the power supply for supplying power to the slave control board drops, the operation of the cooling unit will stop, so the other cooling devices will have to lower the internal temperature to the amount of the slave, and the operating rate of the other cooling devices Will go up. In this case, if it takes time for the user to notice the power supply for supplying power to the slave control board, the operating rate of the other cooling device will continue to rise for a long time. There is a risk that the life of the product will be shortened. For this reason, it is desirable to make the user aware of this at an early point. However, the slave cannot issue an alarm as it is because the power supply to the control board is cut off.
According to the above cooling storage, since power is supplied to the slave alarm device in a separate system from the control board when the power supply for supplying power to the slave control board drops, the slave can issue an alarm by itself. For this reason, this can be noticed to the user at an early point in time, and the state in which the operating rate of the other cooling devices has increased can be prevented from continuing for a long time. Thereby, it can suppress that the lifetime of another cooling device becomes short.

  Also, when one of the cooling devices at both ends is referred to as a master and the other is referred to as an end, the cooling storage transmits an operation confirmation signal from the master to the end via the slave at a predetermined time interval. A response signal is returned from the end to the master via the slave, the master has an alarm device, and a response time from when the operation confirmation signal is transmitted to when the response signal is received If is less than the first reference value, an alarm may be issued by the alarm device.

  According to the above cooling storage, the master issues an alarm when the response time is less than the first reference value, that is, when the power supply for supplying power to the slave control board is cut off. Can be noticed. Thereby, it can suppress that the state where the operation rate of the master and the end increased continues for a long time.

  In addition, the slave has an alarm device, and when the power supply to the control board of the master is cut off, the slave switches to a new master and transmits the operation confirmation signal, the operation confirmation signal When the response time from when the response signal is received to when the response signal is received is less than the second reference value which is smaller than the first reference value, an alarm may be issued by the alarm device.

  According to the above cooling storage, when the power supply to the control board of the master goes down, it becomes possible to continue the synchronous operation by switching the slave to a new master, and then to other slaves An alarm can be issued if the power supply is interrupted.

  According to the technology disclosed in the present specification, even if the power supply for supplying power to the slave control board is turned off, other cooling devices can communicate with each other.

Side view of the cooling storage according to the first embodiment Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the cooling storage Block diagram showing normal communication paths Block diagram showing the communication path when power supply to the slave is cut off Schematic diagram showing signal exchange during cooling operation during normal operation Schematic diagram showing exchange of signals when shifting to defrosting operation in normal times Schematic diagram showing the exchange of signals when shifting to the cooling operation in normal times Schematic diagram showing signal exchange during cooling operation when power supply to slave is cut off Schematic diagram showing exchange of signals when shifting to defrosting operation when power supply to the slave is cut off Schematic diagram showing exchange of signals when shifting to cooling operation when power supply to the slave is cut off The block diagram which shows the 2nd switch part in the normal time which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. The block diagram which shows the 2nd switch part when the electric power supply to a slave is interrupted | blocked FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a normal communication path according to the third embodiment. Block diagram showing the master issuing an alarm when the power supply to the slave is cut off Block diagram showing a slave that issues an alarm when switching to a new master Block diagram showing a slave that issues an alarm when switching to a new end

<Embodiment 1>
Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

(1-1) Configuration of Prefabricated Refrigerator First, a configuration of a prefabricated refrigerator 1 as a cooling storage according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The prefabricated refrigerator 1 is an assembly-type refrigerator and includes three cooling devices 11 that cool the inside of the refrigerator. The three cooling devices 11 are designated as No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 from the side close to the door.
In the following description, reference numeral 11 is used to collectively refer to the cooling device 11, and subscripts A, B, and C are added to the reference numeral 11 to distinguish between No. 1 and No. 3 machines. The same applies to other components described below.

  Each cooling device 11 includes a cooling unit 12, a control device 15, and an operation unit 16. The cooling unit 12 has an indoor unit 13 and an outdoor unit 14, which are circulated and connected by a refrigerant pipe. The outdoor unit 14 is provided with a compressor 20 (see FIG. 2), a condenser, a condenser fan 21 (see FIG. 2), and the like, and the indoor unit 13 is provided with a cooler and the like.

  The control device 15 controls the operation of the cooling unit 12 and is provided on the upper surface of the upper wall of the prefabricated refrigerator 1. The operation unit 16 is provided with a display device for displaying various information, operation buttons for a user to perform various operations, and the like, and is attached to the outer surface of the side wall of the prefabricated refrigerator 1.

(1-2) Electrical Configuration of Control Device As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 15 has a control board 17, and a control unit 18 and a communication unit 19 are provided on the control board 17. The control unit 18 controls the operation of the cooling unit 12, and is attached to the communication unit 19, the compressor 20, the condenser fan 21, the internal fan 22, the internal thermistor 23 that detects the internal temperature, and the cooler. The defrosting heater 24, the defrosting thermistor 25 attached to the cooler, the operation unit 16, and the like are connected. The control device 15 also includes a first power supply unit 26 that supplies power to the control board 17.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the OUT terminal of the communication unit 19A of the first machine 11A and the IN terminal of the communication unit 19B of the second machine 11B are connected by a transmission line 30A. Similarly, the OUT terminal of the communication unit 19B of the second machine 11B and the IN terminal of the communication unit 19C of the third machine 11C are connected by a transmission line 30B. Accordingly, the communication units 19 are connected in series, and signals are sequentially transmitted from one communication unit 19 to another communication unit 19.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the transmission line 30A connecting the communication unit 19B and the adjacent communication unit 19A to the second unit 11B and the transmission line connecting the communication unit 19B and the adjacent communication unit 19C are connected. A bypass path 31B connecting 30B is provided in parallel with the communication unit 19B. The bypass path 31B is provided with a first switch part 32B for turning on / off the bypass path 31B.

  The first switch portion 32B is a so-called b-contact relay, and includes a coil, a contact piece, a return spring for returning the contact piece to an ON state (see FIG. 4), and the like. The coil is supplied with electric power from the first power supply unit 26B, and while the electric power is supplied from the first power supply unit 26B (that is, while electric power is supplied to the control board 17B), the contact piece is Repels the magnetic force of the coil and turns off. As a result, the bypass path 31B is turned off.

  On the other hand, when the first power supply unit 26B is dropped and the power supply to the control board 17 is cut off, the power supply to the coil is also cut off, and the contact piece is returned to the on state by the force of the return spring as shown in FIG. To do. As a result, the bypass path 31B is turned on.

(1-3) Operation of Cooling Device Each cooling device 11 alternately repeats a cooling operation for maintaining the internal temperature at the set temperature and a defrosting operation for melting frost attached to the cooler. Hereinafter, the cooling operation and the defrosting operation will be described.

  In the cooling operation, the compressor 20, the condenser fan 21 and the internal fan 22 are operated, and the cold air generated in the vicinity of the cooler is circulated in the internal compartment to cool the interior. And if internal temperature falls more than fixed temperature with respect to setting temperature, they will be stopped. When they are stopped, the inside temperature rises, and when the inside temperature becomes higher than the set temperature by a certain temperature or more, their operation is resumed. By repeating this, the inside of the cabinet is maintained at substantially the set temperature.

  The defrosting operation is started when the defrosting start condition is satisfied during the cooling operation. Specifically, the defrosting start condition is “a defrosting switch provided in the operation unit 16 has been operated”, “defrosting start time set in a timer not shown” has been reached, or the like. The defrosting start conditions are not limited to these, and can be determined as appropriate. In the defrosting operation, the compressor 20, the condenser fan 21 and the internal fan 22 are stopped, and the defrosting heater 24 provided in the cooler is energized.

  However, in this embodiment, in order to avoid the opposite operations such as the cooling operation and the defrosting operation between the cooling devices 11, each cooling device 11 is not only when the defrosting start condition is established by itself, When the defrosting start condition is satisfied in the other cooling device 11, the operation is shifted to the defrosting operation in accordance with it.

And if the defrost completion | finish conditions are satisfied after that, the cooling device 11 will complete | finish a defrost operation, and will return to cooling operation. Specifically, the defrosting termination condition is “the temperature of the cooler detected by the defrosting thermistor 25 has reached a predetermined temperature” or the like. However, the timing at which the defrost termination condition is satisfied may be shifted in each cooling device 11. For this reason, in this embodiment, after waiting for defrost termination | finish conditions to be satisfied in all the cooling devices 11, it transfers to cooling operation all together.
The display device of the operation unit 16 displays the set temperature during the cooling operation, and displays the word “in the defrosting operation” during the defrosting operation.

(1-4) Synchronous operation As described above, the prefabricated refrigerator 1 performs a kind of synchronous operation in which all the cooling devices 11 are aligned to shift to a defrosting operation or a cooling operation. This synchronous operation is performed by the control unit 18 of each cooling device 11 exchanging signals with each other via the communication unit 19. This will be specifically described below.

(1-4-1) Determination of Master, Slave, and End First, with reference to FIG. 3, the master, slave, and end that are the premise for performing synchronous operation will be described. The three cooling devices 11 operate as any one of a master, a slave, and an end that sequentially form a parent-child relationship. In this embodiment, since the configuration of the three cooling devices 11 is the same, each cooling device 11 can operate in any of a master, a slave, and an end. Whether each cooling device 11 operates as a master, a slave, or an end is determined by the connection order as follows.

(A) When no other communication unit 19 is connected to the IN terminal (parent side) of the communication unit 19 and another communication unit 19 is connected to the OUT terminal (child side), the operation is performed as “master”. To do.
(B) When another communication unit 19 is connected to both the IN terminal (parent side) and the OUT terminal (child side) of the communication unit 19, it operates as a “slave”.
(C) When the other communication unit 19 is connected to the IN terminal (parent side) of the communication unit 19 and the other communication unit 19 is not connected to the OUT terminal (child side), the operation is “end”. .

  Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the first machine 11A is the master, the second machine 11B is the slave, and the third machine 11C is the end.

(1-4-2) Communication Pulse Next, a communication pulse (an example of a signal) exchanged between the cooling devices 11 to perform a synchronous operation will be described. There are the following three types of communication pulses exchanged for performing synchronous operation.

Cooling pulse P1 (pulse width 1 second): transmitted when the cooling unit 12 is in the cooling operation.
Defrost pulse P2 (pulse width 3 seconds): transmitted when the cooling unit 12 is in the defrosting operation.
Defrosting end pulse P3 (pulse width 2 seconds): transmitted in a state where the defrosting operation of the cooling unit 12 is completed.

(1-4-3) Normal exchange First, normal exchange in which all of the master, slave, and end are operating normally, in other words, the first power supply unit on each control board 17 of each cooling device 11. The exchange when power is supplied from 26 will be described.

(A) Exchange during cooling operation First, exchange during a cooling operation will be described with reference to FIG. The master sends a cooling pulse P1 to the child (slave) every 20 seconds as “its own state”. When the slave receives the cooling pulse P1 from the parent (master), the cooling pulse P1 is transmitted as “own state” to the parent (master) and the child (end) after 4 seconds. When the end receives the cooling pulse P1 from the parent (slave), the cooling pulse P1 is transmitted to the parent (slave) and the child (not existing) as the “own state” after 4 seconds.
The end transmits the cooling pulse P1 to the child (not existing) when the communication unit 19 of the cooling device 11 recognizes that there is a parent when another cooling device 11 is added below the end. Because.

(B) Exchange when shifting from cooling operation to defrosting operation Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the exchange when shifting from cooling operation to defrosting operation will be described. In the present embodiment, when the defrost start condition is established in any one of the master, the slave, and the end, the defrost pulse P2 is transmitted centering on one of them. And each cooling device 11 to which the defrost pulse P2 was transmitted shifts to the defrost operation even if the defrost start condition is not satisfied by itself.

  Hereinafter, a case where the defrosting start condition is satisfied in the slave will be specifically described as an example. When the defrosting start condition is satisfied, the slave sets “own state” to “in defrosting operation” and immediately shifts to the defrosting operation. Then, when receiving a cooling pulse P1 from the master (during cooling operation) after that, the slave transmits a defrosting pulse P2 to the master and the end after 4 seconds.

When the master receives the defrost pulse P2 from the slave, it sets “own state” to “during defrost operation” and shifts to the defrost operation.
When the end also receives the defrost pulse P2 from the slave, the “own state” is set to “defrosting operation”, and the defrosting operation is started.

(C) Exchange at the time of shifting from the defrosting operation to the cooling operation Next, referring to FIG. 7, the transfer at the time of ending the defrosting operation and shifting to the cooling operation is performed first by the slave at the defrosting end condition. Will be described, and then the defrost termination condition will be established at the end, and finally the defrost termination condition will be established at the master.

When the defrosting end condition is satisfied first in the slave, the slave has not received the defrosting end pulse P3 from the child (end) when the defrosting end condition is satisfied. When the frost pulse P2 is received, the defrost pulse P2 is transmitted to the parent and the child instead of the defrost end pulse P3.
Thereafter, when the defrost termination condition is satisfied at the end, the end transmits a defrost termination pulse P3 to the parent (slave) in the next cycle.

  When the slave receives the defrosting end pulse P3 from the child (end), the slave has met the defrosting end condition itself and has received the defrosting end pulse P3 from the child (end). When the defrost pulse P2 is received from the (master), the defrost end pulse P3 is transmitted to the parent (master).

  Even if the master receives the defrosting end pulse P3 from the child (slave), while the defrosting end condition is not satisfied by itself, the defrosting is not completed yet, and the defrosting pulse P2 is sent to the child (slave). Send. After that, when the defrosting end condition is satisfied by the master, the master has satisfied the defrosting end condition by itself and has received the defrosting end pulse P3 from the child (slave). Assuming that the defrosting termination condition is satisfied in the device 11, the “own state” is set to “during cooling operation”, and the operation proceeds to the cooling operation. Then, the master transmits a cooling pulse P1 to the child (slave).

When the slave receives the cooling pulse P1 from the parent (master), the slave sets its own state to “during cooling operation” and shifts to the cooling operation. Then, the cooling pulse P1 is transmitted to the child (end).
When receiving the cooling pulse P1 from the parent (slave), the end sets “own state” to “cooling operation” and shifts to the cooling operation.

(1-4-4) Exchange when power supply to the slave control board is cut off Next, when the first power supply unit 26B of the slave is dropped and the power supply to the slave control board 17B is cut off Explaining exchanges. If the power supply to the slave control board 17B is cut off, the communication pulse is not relayed by the slave as it is. For this reason, the master and the end cannot communicate with each other, and the synchronous operation cannot be continued.

  As a countermeasure, in this embodiment, when the power supply to the slave control board 17B is cut off, the bypass path 31B is turned on, and the slave appears as if its existence has disappeared. This prevents your state from affecting the master and end. Hereinafter, the exchange when the power supply to the slave control board 17B is cut off and the bypass path 31B is turned on will be described in detail.

(A) Exchange during cooling operation First, with reference to FIG. 8, an exchange when power supply to the control board 17B of the slave is cut off when the master, slave and end are all in the cooling operation will be described. To do.
When the master transmits a cooling pulse to the child (slave), the cooling pulse P1 passes through the slave and is transmitted to the child (end). Similarly, the cooling pulse P1 transmitted by the end is transmitted to the master through the slave.

(B) Exchange when shifting from cooling operation to defrosting operation Next, referring to FIG. 9, when all of the master, slave and end are in the cooling operation, the supply of power to the slave is interrupted, The exchange when shifting to the defrosting operation in this state will be described. Here, a case where the defrosting start condition is first established at the end will be described as an example.

The end immediately switches to the defrosting operation when the defrosting start condition is satisfied. When the cooling pulse P1 is received after passing through the slave from the master, the end transmits the defrosting pulse P2 to the slave and the child (not existing) after 4 seconds. The defrost pulse P2 passes through the slave and is received by the master.
When the master passes through the child (slave) and receives the defrost pulse P2, the master shifts to the defrost operation.

(C) Communication when shifting from the defrosting operation to the cooling operation Next, referring to FIG. 10, the master and the end shift to the defrosting operation in a state where the supply of power to the slave control board 17B is cut off. Then, the exchange when returning to the cooling operation will be described. Here, a case where the defrosting termination condition is satisfied at the end will be described as an example.

When the defrost termination condition is satisfied, the end transmits a defrost termination pulse P3 to the parent (slave) and the child (not actually present). The defrosting end pulse P3 passes through the slave and is received by the master.
When the master receives the defrosting end pulse P3 and the defrosting end condition is not satisfied by itself, the master does not end the defrosting yet and transmits the defrosting pulse P2 to the child (slave). The defrost pulse P2 passes through the slave and is received by the master. When the end receives the defrost pulse P2, the end transmits a defrost end pulse P3 to the parent (slave) and the child (not actually present). The defrosting end pulse P3 passes through the slave and is received by the master.

When the master receives the defrosting end pulse P3, if the defrosting end condition has ended, the master satisfies the defrosting end condition by itself, and the defrosting ends from the child (slave). Since the pulse P3 is received, it is considered that the defrosting termination condition is satisfied in all the cooling units 12, the “own state” is set to “during cooling operation”, and the operation proceeds to the cooling operation. Then, the cooling pulse P1 is transmitted to the child (slave). This cooling pulse P1 passes through the slave and is received by the end.
When receiving the cooling pulse P1 from the parent (slave), the end sets “own state” to “cooling operation” and shifts to the cooling operation.

(1-5) Effect of Embodiment According to the prefabricated refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment described above, when the first power supply unit 26B that supplies power to the slave control board 17B falls, it is provided in the bypass path 31B. Therefore, the master and the end can communicate with each other via the bypass path 31B. For this reason, even if the first power supply unit 26B of the slave is dropped, the synchronous operation can be continued only by the master and the end. As a result, the possibility of occurrence of poor cooling or defrosting in the cabinet can be reduced, and the cold insulation performance at the time of failure can be improved.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. If the first power supply unit 26B that supplies power to the slave control board 17B drops and the power supply to the control board 17B is cut off, the operation of the cooling unit 12B is stopped. The inside temperature must be lowered until the master and end operating rates are increased.

  In this case, if it takes time until the user notices the power supply to the control board 17B of the slave, the state in which the operation rate of the master and the end increases continues for a long time, and the life of the master and the end May be shortened. For this reason, it is desirable to make the user aware of this at an early point. However, the slave according to the first embodiment cannot issue an alarm as it is because the power supply to the control board 17B is cut off. Here, the slave has been described as an example, but the same applies to the master and the end.

  Therefore, when the power supply to the control board 17 is interrupted, the cooling device 11 (master, slave, and end) according to the second embodiment issues an alarm by the power supplied by a system different from the first power supply unit 26. It is configured to emit.

  With reference to FIG. 11, the structure of the cooling device 11 which concerns on Embodiment 2 is demonstrated. The cooling device 11 according to the second embodiment electrically connects the alarm device 40, the second power source 41 of a system different from the first power source 26, and the alarm device 40 and the second power source 41. A second switch unit 43 provided in the power line 42. In FIG. 11, the alarm device 40 and the second power supply unit 41 are omitted for the master and end, but the master and end are also provided.

As the alarm device 40, a patrol lamp that emits an alarm by lighting or blinking, a buzzer that emits an alarm sound, or the like can be used. In addition, the structure which issues a warning by displaying a warning message on the display apparatus provided in the operation part 16 may be sufficient.
The second power supply unit 41 may supply power supplied from a commercial power source to the alarm device 40 or may be a battery.

  The second switch unit 43 is also a so-called b-contact relay, and includes a coil, a contact piece, a return spring for returning the contact piece to an ON state (see FIG. 12), and the like. While power is supplied from the first power supply unit 26 (that is, while power is supplied to the control board 17), the contact piece repels the magnetic force of the coil, and the urging force of the return spring as shown in FIG. It is turned off against As a result, the second switch unit 43 is turned off.

  On the other hand, when the power supply from the first power supply unit 26 to the coil is interrupted (that is, when the power supply to the control board 17 is interrupted), the contact piece is turned on by the force of the return spring as shown in FIG. Return to the state. As a result, the second switch unit 43 is turned on. When the second switch unit 43 is turned on, electric power is supplied from the second power supply unit 41 to the alarm device 40, thereby generating an alarm.

  According to the prefabricated refrigerator 1 according to the second embodiment described above, for example, when the first power supply unit 26B that supplies power to the slave control board 17B goes down, power is supplied to the slave alarm device 40B. An alarm can be issued. For this reason, this can be noticed to the user at an early point in time, and it is possible to prevent the state in which the operation rates of the master and the end have been increased from continuing for a long time. Thereby, it can suppress that the lifetime of a master and an end becomes short. The same applies to the master and end.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The third embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. The slave according to the first embodiment cannot issue an alarm when the first power supply unit 26B is dropped. Therefore, in the third embodiment, the master monitors the operation of the slave, and the master issues an alarm when the operation of the slave is stopped.

  With reference to FIG. 13, the structure of the prefabricated refrigerator 1 which concerns on Embodiment 3 is demonstrated. The configuration of the prefabricated refrigerator 1 according to the third embodiment is substantially the same as that of the prefabricated refrigerator 1 according to the first embodiment, but FIG. 13 shows a case where there are two slaves. Here, the left slave is referred to as a first slave 11B, and the right slave is referred to as a second slave 11D.

  In the third embodiment, alarm devices (not shown) are provided for the master, the slave, and the end, respectively. The configuration of the alarm device is the same as that of the alarm device of the second embodiment. However, the alarm device according to the third embodiment is supplied with power from the first power supply unit 26 that supplies power to the control board 17. For this reason, for example, when the first power supply unit 26B that supplies power to the slave control board 17B is dropped, the slave cannot issue an alarm by itself. The same applies to the master and end.

(3-1) Slave Monitoring by Master The master according to the third embodiment sends an operation confirmation pulse (an example of an operation confirmation signal) to the first slave 11B for confirming whether or not the operation of the slave is stopped. Send at regular time intervals. The operation confirmation pulse is transmitted to the end via the two slaves, and an operation confirmation pulse (an example of a response signal) is returned from the end to the master via the two slaves as a response thereto.

For example, in order to facilitate understanding, the time required for the processing for transmitting the operation confirmation pulse received by the slave and the end from the parent to the child is uniformly T, and the operation confirmation pulse received from the child is transmitted to the parent. The time required for the processing is uniformly T. In this case, since the time for the operation confirmation pulse to pass through the transmission line 30 is almost negligible, if both slaves are in operation, the time from when the master transmits the operation confirmation pulse until the reply is returned. The response time is 6T (an example of a first reference value).
Therefore, the master measures the response time, and compares the measured response time with 6T. If the response time is 6T, the master determines that the slave is operating normally.

  Here, the time for the slave and end to process the operation confirmation pulse is uniformly T, but this is for ease of understanding. Actually, the time required for processing the operation confirmation pulse depends on the slave and end. Can be different. The time required for the slave or end to process the operation confirmation pulse can be appropriately determined by actually performing the measurement.

(3-2) When the power supply to the slave is interrupted As shown in FIG. 14, when the power supply to the control board 17 of any slave is interrupted, as described in the first embodiment, The slave bypass path 31 is turned on, and the operation confirmation pulse is bypassed. Therefore, 2T, which is the time for the slave to process the operation confirmation pulse, is not applied, and the response time is 4T, which is the time obtained by subtracting 2T from 6T described above. Therefore, if the measured response time is less than 6T, the master determines that the power supply to the control board 17 of any slave is cut off and the operation of the slave is stopped, and issues an alarm.

(3-3) When the power supply to the master control board is cut off As shown in FIG. 15, when the power supply to the master control board 17 is cut off, the first slave 11B adjacent to the master Switches to the master. Specifically, for example, if the first slave 11B does not receive the operation confirmation pulse from the master even after the above-described fixed time has elapsed, the power supply to the master control board 17 is cut off and the master operation is stopped. Determines that has stopped, and switches itself to the master. Then, the first slave 11B issues an alarm when switching to the master in order to inform the user that the operation of the master is stopped.

  Then, the first slave 11B (new master) monitors the second slave 11D in place of the original master. Specifically, the first slave 11B (new master) transmits an operation confirmation pulse to the second slave 11D at regular time intervals, and the second response time is 4T (an example of the second reference value). It is determined that the slave 11D is operating normally. On the other hand, if it is less than 4T, the first slave 11B (new master) determines that the power supply to the control board 17 of the second slave 11D is cut off and the operation is stopped, and issues an alarm.

(3-4) When the power supply to the end is cut off As shown in FIG. 16, when the power supply to the end control board 17 is cut off, the second slave 11D adjacent to the end is turned to the end. Switch. Specifically, for example, when the second slave 11D does not receive the operation confirmation pulse from the end even after a predetermined time has elapsed after transmitting the operation confirmation pulse received from the first slave 11B to the end, It is determined that the power supply to the end control board 17 is cut off and the end is stopped, and the end is switched to a new end. Then, the second slave 11D (new end) issues an alarm when switching to the end in order to inform the user that the operation of the old end has stopped.

  In this case, the second slave 11D (new end) may transmit a pulse indicating that the old end is stopped to the master. And when the master receives the pulse, when the response time is measured after that, even if the measured time is compared with 4T (the time obtained by subtracting the time 2T required for the program processing at the old end from 6T). Good.

(3-5) Effect of Embodiment According to the prefabricated refrigerator 1 according to the third embodiment described above, when the response time is less than 6T (first reference value), that is, the power supplied to the control board 17 of the slave. Since the master issues an alarm when the power supply unit 1 falls, it is possible to make the user aware of this at an early point in time, and the state where the operation rate of the master and the end has been increased is prevented from continuing for a long time. can do. Thereby, it can suppress that the lifetime of a master and an end becomes short.

  Furthermore, according to the prefabricated refrigerator 1, when the first power supply unit 26 for supplying power to the master control board 17 falls, it becomes possible to continue the synchronous operation by switching the slave to a new master, Thereafter, an alarm can be issued when power supply to other slaves is cut off.

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in the present specification is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope disclosed by the present specification.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the case where the first switch unit 32 and the second switch unit 43 are provided on the control board 17 has been described as an example, but these are not necessarily provided on the control board 17. May be.

  (2) Although the case where the number of the cooling devices 11 is three is illustrated in the first and second embodiments, the number of the cooling devices 11 may be four or more.

  (3) Although the case where the master and the end also have the bypass path 31 has been described as an example in the above embodiment, the master and the end may not have the bypass path 31.

(4) In the above embodiment, the case where the communication unit 19 provided in the slave is not configured to execute the pass mode has been described as an example. However, the communication unit 19 provided in the slave can execute the pass mode. It may be configured. Then, even when the operation of the cooling unit 12 is stopped, if power is supplied to the control board 17, the communication unit 19 may be changed to the pass mode.
That is, when the slave cooling unit 12 stops operation for some reason and the power is supplied to the slave control board 17, the communication unit 19 is changed to the path mode to perform the synchronous operation by the master and the end. The configuration may be such that when the power supply to the slave control board 17 is cut off, the bypass path 31 is turned on to enable the synchronous operation by the master and the end.

  (5) In the above embodiment, the synchronous operation has been described as an example of controlling the plurality of cooling devices 11 based on the signal. However, as a mode of controlling the plurality of cooling devices 11 based on the signal, other than the above embodiment. In addition, for example, the set temperature of the internal temperature changed by one unit is transmitted to another unit and reset, or when a failure occurs in one unit, it is notified to others and any processing is performed. Such a control is conceivable, and can be similarly applied to such a case.

  (6) Although the prefabricated refrigerator 1 has been described as an example of the cooling storage in the above embodiment, the cooling storage is not limited to the prefabricated refrigerator 1 as long as the cooling storage includes a plurality of cooling devices 11.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Prefabricated refrigerator (an example of a cooling storage), 11A ... Cooling device (an example of master), 11B ... Cooling device (an example of slave), 11C ... Cooling device (an example of end), 11D ... Cooling device (an example of slave) , 12 ... Cooling unit, 17 ... Control boards 19A to 19D ... Communication unit, 26 ... First power supply unit, 30 ... Transmission line, 30A, 30B ... Transmission line, 31 ... Bypass path, 32 ... First switch unit, 40 ... alarm device, 41 ... second power supply unit, 43 ... second switch unit, P1 ... cooling pulse (an example of signal), P2 ... defrost pulse (an example of signal), P3 ... defrosting end pulse (signal) Example)

Claims (4)

A plurality of cooling devices having a control board provided with a communication unit and a cooling unit are provided, the communication units are connected in series via a transmission line, and signals are sequentially transmitted from one communication unit to another communication unit. A cooling storage for controlling the cooling unit group by transmitting
When the cooling device between the cooling devices at both ends is referred to as a slave, the slave is a bypass path provided in parallel with the communication unit, and is off while power is supplied to the control board. A cooling storage having a bypass path provided with a first switch portion that is turned on when power supply to the control board is cut off. The slave is
An alarm device to which power is supplied in a separate system from the control board;
A second switch unit that cuts off power supply to the alarm device while power is being supplied to the control board, and supplies power to the alarm device when power supply to the control board is cut off;
The cooling storage of Claim 1 provided with. When one of the cooling devices at both ends is called a master and the other is called an end,
The cooling storage unit transmits an operation confirmation signal from the master to the end via the slave at a predetermined time interval, and returns a response signal from the end to the master via the slave as a response thereto. Yes,
The master has an alarm device, and when the response time from transmission of the operation confirmation signal to reception of the response signal is less than a first reference value, an alarm is issued by the alarm device. The cooling storage according to 1.   The slave has an alarm device, and when the power supply to the control board of the master is cut off, the slave switches to a new master and transmits the operation confirmation signal, and transmits the operation confirmation signal. The cooling storage according to claim 3, wherein when the response time from when the response signal is received is less than a second reference value that is smaller than the first reference value, an alarm is issued by the alarm device.

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