JP2023072243A - Heater controller and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a heater controller and a control method that eliminate the need to prepare or select various heat generation sources having capabilities adaptive to differences in heat insulation condition of a region of installation and an underfloor, and provide flexible temperature control according to an installation environment and user preference only by initially setting upper and lower limit values of a duty factor to an arbitrary value.SOLUTION: There is provided a heater controller 1 which controls the temperature of a heating appliance, and the heater controller comprises a control part 210 which controls a duty factor for a heater 10 of the heating appliance, a power supply substrate 22 which supplies electric power to the heater 10, an operation part 3 for operating the control part 210, and a display part 4 which displays operation details thereof, wherein the control part 210 can arbitrarily set a unit time T for which the electric power is supplied to the heater 10 as an initial value, arbitrarily set a lower-limit value R1 of the duty factor per unit time T as an initial value, and arbitrarily set an upper-limit value R5 of the duty factor per unit time as an initial value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to heater controllers and control methods.

2. Description of the Related Art In a heating appliance such as an indoor panel heater or a floor heater, the temperature is adjusted by controlling the energization rate of the heat source (wire heater, etc.) of the heating appliance by a heater controller. In a heating appliance equipped with such a heater controller, even if the wire heater has the same heating (heating) ability, depending on the installation environment of the heating appliance, there is a difference in how it warms up and how it cools down when it is not energized. Therefore, as an electric floor heating system, it has functions such as specifying the heating area, starting and stopping power supply, selecting the floor heating level and supplying corresponding power to the wire heater, detecting abnormalities, etc. A system is known in which a plurality of energization rate tables that store energization rates corresponding to heating levels (high, medium, and low) are provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In the electric floor heating system described in Patent Document 1, by selecting a conduction rate table that matches the conditions of the underfloor to be installed (thermal insulation conditions of the underfloor), the heat insulation conditions of the underfloor differ depending on the installation environment. Even in such a case, almost the same floor (indoor) heating condition can be obtained simply by changing the setting on the controller side without changing the wire heater.

Japanese Patent No. 4526439

By the way, in the electric floor heating system described in Patent Document 1, an energization rate table corresponding to the heat insulation conditions of the underfloor to be installed is selected at the time of initial setting, and during normal operation, the energization rate table selected at the time of initial setting is used. Operates at the energization rate according to the stored maximum and minimum levels.

However, in such an electric floor heating system, there is a limit to the heating levels that can be handled, because only the number of duty ratio tables corresponding to the predetermined multi-stage heating levels is prepared. Therefore, even if the heating (heater) capacity is the same, there are differences in the installation environment (region, heat insulation conditions of the underfloor (new construction, renovation, or floor surface material, etc.)), preferences of users (old and young, men and women), etc. It was difficult to respond flexibly to the differences in how to warm and how to feel.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the heater output can be finely adjusted simply by initializing the upper and lower limits of the energization rate for the heat source to arbitrary values, and the temperature can be flexibly adjusted according to the installation environment and user's preference. An object of the present invention is to provide a heater controller and control method.

A heater controller according to the present invention is a heater controller that performs temperature control of at least a heating appliance, and includes an energization rate control unit that controls an energization rate for a heat source of the heating appliance, and the energization rate control unit that controls the a power supply control unit that supplies power to a heat generating source; an operation unit that operates the energization rate control unit; The control unit arbitrarily sets a unit time for energizing the heat source as an initial value, arbitrarily sets a lower limit value of the energization rate per the set unit time as an initial value, and Further, the upper limit value of the energization rate per unit time can be arbitrarily set as an initial value.

Thus, according to the present invention, in the initial setting at the time of construction (installation), the unit time as the basic energization time for the heat source and the upper and lower limits of the energization rate per unit time are set as initial values at arbitrary values. Because it is possible, the heater output can be finely adjusted according to various usage environments, and there is no need to prepare and select a variety of heat sources with capacities corresponding to differences in the area where the heating equipment is installed and the insulation conditions of the underfloor. It can flexibly respond to various usage environments with only initial settings.

At this time, in the temperature control during actual operation after the installation of the heating appliance, the power supply rate control unit equalizes the capacity of the heat source between the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the power supply rate set as the initial value. It is preferable to divide it so that the energization rate can be adjusted stepwise.

According to this configuration, in the temperature control during actual operation after installation of the heater, by equally dividing the capacity of the heat source between the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the energization rate set as the initial value, the energization is performed. Since the rate can be adjusted stepwise, the heater output can be finely adjusted according to various usage environments and user preferences, and stepwise temperature adjustment is possible.

Further, it is preferable that the energization rate control unit ON-OFF-controls the energization of the heat source based on the unit time set as an initial value. The unit time is in the range of 3 minutes to 15 minutes, the lower limit of the energization rate is in the range of 5.0% to 40.0%, and the upper limit of the energization rate is 50.0% to 100%. It is preferably in the range of 0.0%. According to these configurations, in addition to the effects described above, it is possible to easily and flexibly adjust the temperature according to the installation environment of the heater and the user's preference.

Further, the control method of the present invention includes: a power supply rate control unit that controls a power supply rate to a heat source of a heater; a power supply control unit that supplies power to the heat source according to control by the power supply rate control unit; A control method for controlling the temperature adjustment of the heating appliance by a heater controller comprising an operation unit that operates the energization rate control unit, wherein the energization rate control unit is an arbitrary input input via the operation unit a unit time for energizing the heat generating source, a lower limit value of the energization rate per unit time, and an upper limit value of the energization rate per unit time, respectively; The capacity of the heat source is equally divided between the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the energization rate, and based on the unit time set as the initial value and the equally divided energization rate, the It is characterized by controlling energization to the heat source.

According to the heater controller and control method of the present invention, the heater output can be finely adjusted according to various operating environments simply by initially setting the upper and lower limits of the energization rate to arbitrary values, and the temperature can be adjusted stepwise. becomes. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare and select various heat sources with capacities corresponding to the difference in the heat insulation conditions of the installation area and the underfloor, and flexible temperature control according to the installation environment and user's preference is possible.

3 is an external view of a heater controller according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a display section in the heater controller of FIG. 1; FIG. It is a block diagram showing the configuration of a heater controller according to the embodiment. It is a table|surface where it uses for description of the upper-lower limit value of the energization rate which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of energization rate control per cycle of the heater controller according to the embodiment; It is a table|surface where it uses for description of the upper-lower limit value of the energization rate which concerns on other embodiment. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of energization rate control per cycle of a heater controller according to another embodiment;

A heater controller according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 is an external view of a heater controller 1 according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a display section 10 in the heater controller 1 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the heater controller 1 according to an embodiment. It is a diagram. 4 is a table for explaining upper and lower limit values of the energization rate according to the embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the energization rate control per cycle of the heater controller 1 according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heater controller 1 of the present embodiment is used in, for example, an electric floor heating system (not shown) as a heating appliance. In the present embodiment, the electric floor heating system as a heating appliance heats two floor surfaces (two surfaces) such as a kitchen and a living room as heating areas. The heating area to be heated may be one plane, or may be three or more planes. In the following description, it is assumed that the heater controller 1 is installed in the living room, and the heating area in the living room is side A and the heating area in the kitchen is side B, but the present invention is not limited to this.

The heater controller 1 includes a body portion 2 , an operation portion 3 provided on the body portion 2 , and a display portion 4 for displaying contents according to operations performed by the operation portion 3 . As shown in FIG. 1, an operation lamp 5 is preferably provided at or near the display unit 4 to display the operation/stop state of the electric floor heating system. The operation lamp 5 indicates an operating state of the electric floor heating system when it is lit, and indicates a stopped state of the electric floor heating system when it is not lit.

Further, the main body part 2 may be provided with a temperature sensor 6 for measuring the temperature of the heating area A on which the main body part 2 is installed. This temperature sensor 6 is for measuring the temperature of the heating area A on which the heater controller 1 is installed, and is mounted on the front surface of the main body 2 . The temperature sensor 6 senses the temperature of the surface of the heating area A and displays it on the display unit 4 so that the user can check the current temperature as a reference, and is not used for heating control. do. Further, in the case of this embodiment, a thermistor, which will be described later, is used as the temperature sensor 6 . In this case, the main body 2 is provided with a slit-like ventilation hole 7 for promoting air convection for detecting the temperature of the temperature sensor 6 .

In the case of the present embodiment, the operation unit 3 includes a start button 31 for operating/stopping the electric floor heating system, an adjustment button 32 for adjusting the set temperature and time, and various timers. It has a timer button 33 and a setting button 34 for performing various settings.

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the display unit 4 displays the current temperature, the set temperature, the strength of the heating, the current time, the set time of operation/stop, the operating state of the heater (heater ON), the day of the week, the on timer, Displays the off timer, weekly timer, heating area (A side, B side), registration number when setting various operating conditions, and status such as whether or not maintenance inspection is performed. The display unit 4 is configured by a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and displays various items such as the operating state of the electric floor heating system and various settings and setting changes to be described later according to the operation of various buttons of the operation unit 3. indicate.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the heater controller 1 includes the operation section 3, the display section 4, and the temperature sensor 6 described above in the main body section 2. As shown in FIG. The main body 2 also incorporates a CPU board 21 on which a control section 210 is mounted as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), which is an energization rate control section that controls the operation of the heater, and a power supply board 22 .

The control unit 210 is composed of a microcomputer or the like, and controls the operation of the heater controller 1 based on various information. The control unit 210 includes a storage unit 211 that stores operating conditions such as various setting values and logs (for example, the number of relay ON/OFF times), and a clock 212 that is used for an ON timer, OFF timer, and weekly timer. Become. In the case of this embodiment, the storage unit 211 is composed of a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory.

The CPU board 21 also has a battery 213 for holding the power supply to the microcomputer. The clock 212 is a built-in clock of the microcomputer, and when the microcomputer stops, the clock is reset. It should be noted that the battery 213 is preferably of a rechargeable type, and is preferably capable of retaining the supplied power for approximately 24 hours when fully charged.

The power supply board 22 controls power supply to the heater 10 that is the heat source of the electric floor heating system, and includes a relay 221 , a temperature sensor connector 222 , and a switching power supply 223 .

In the case of the present embodiment, the power supply board 22 is provided with relays 221 for two circuits corresponding to the heaters 10 installed on the two heating areas A and B, respectively. A relay 221 controls ON/OFF of power supply to the heater 10 . Heaters 10 and relays 221 are provided according to the number of heating areas.

The temperature sensor connector 222 is connected with the thermistor 11 for measuring the temperature of the heating area B surface away from the main body 2 . The thermistor 11 is a resistor whose electric resistance changes greatly with respect to temperature changes, and is used as a sensor for measuring the temperature of the heating area B surface using this phenomenon. Note that the thermistor 11 is generally used for measurements from -50°C to 150°C. Like the temperature sensor 6, the thermistor 11 senses the temperature of the surface of the heating area B and displays it on the display unit 4 so that the user can check the current temperature as a reference. shall not be used.

The switching power supply 223 is a general power supply device incorporating a switching regulator that converts power with high efficiency. In the switching power supply 223, a switching element (not shown) converts and adjusts power in the process of obtaining output power from input power using a power conversion device (not shown). Compatible with AC85V to 264V.

In the heater controller 1 having the main body 2 configured as described above, the following control method (that is, control of the control unit 210 by operating the operation unit 3) is performed in the initial stage of installation of the electric floor heating system. ), the upper and lower limits of the basic energization time (unit time) and the energization rate per unit time can be set to arbitrary values as initial values.

That is, in the present embodiment, the upper and lower limit values of the energization rate can be initially set to arbitrary values by operating various buttons of the operation section 3 in the main body section 2 as follows. . First, by pressing the setting button 34 and the rising side of the adjusting button 32 for three seconds at the same time, the power ratio setting screen is displayed. Next, by operating the adjustment button 32 on the rising side and the falling side, the unit time T is changed and set to an arbitrary value. Next, by operating the setting button 34, the next item "energization rate R1" is entered. Next, by operating the adjustment button 32 on the rising side and the falling side, the energization rate R1 is changed and set to an arbitrary value. Next, by operating the setting button 34, the next item "energization rate R5" is entered. Next, by operating the adjustment button 32 on the rising side and the falling side, the energization rate R5 is changed and set to an arbitrary value. Then, by operating the setting button 34, it shifts to the first "basic energization time T". In this case, the operation (setting) is confirmed by pressing the setting button 34 for 3 seconds on any of the setting screens for the three items of the unit time T, the energization rate R1, and the energization rate R5, and the setting contents are stored in the storage unit. 211.

In this embodiment, the unit time T, which can be changed according to the user's request, is set to 5 minutes as an initial value, but can be set arbitrarily within the range of 3 minutes to 15 minutes. ing. In addition, the energization rate R1 of the energization rate setting 1 as the minimum setting of the energization rate is set at 10.0% as an initial value, but can be set arbitrarily within the range of about 5 to 40% according to the user's request. It is possible to change. Furthermore, the energization rate R5 of the energization rate setting 5 as the maximum setting of the energization rate is set at 70.0% as an initial value, but it can be set to about 50.0% to 100.0% according to the user's request. The setting can be changed arbitrarily within the range. Then, the energization rates R1 to R5 are set from the unit time T, the energization rate R1, the energization rate R5, and the energization rate calculation formula in the table of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, as initial settings, the unit time T is 5 minutes, the power supply rate R1 is 10.0% at power supply rate setting 1, which is the lowest heating temperature, and the power supply rate R5 is 10.0% at power supply rate setting 5, which is the highest heating temperature. is set at 70.0%.

At this time, the energization rate R4 is given by the following formula (1)
R4=R1+(R5-R1)/4×3 (1)
can be derived to be 55.0%.

Further, the energization rate R3 is given by the following formula (2)
R3=R1+(R5-R1)/4×2 (2)
can be derived to be 40.0%.

Then, the energization rate R2 is given by the following formula (3)
R2=R1+(R5-R1)/4×1 (3)
can be derived to be 25.0%.

Also, the energization times t1 to t5 corresponding to these energization rates R1 to R5 are given by the following equations (4) to (8), respectively.
t1=T×R1 (4)
t2=T×R2 (5)
t3=T×R3 (6)
t4=T×R4 (7)
t5=T×R5 (8)
t1 is 0.5 minutes, t2 is 1.25 minutes, t3 is 2 minutes, t4 is 2.75 minutes, and t5 is 3.5 minutes.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the energization pause time (that is, the power OFF time) at each energization rate setting 1 to 5 is 5 minutes set as the unit time T, and the energization time t1 derived as described above. It can be derived by subtracting ~t5. That is, the energization pause time at energization rate setting 5, which has the highest heating temperature, is 1.5 minutes, the energization pause time at energization rate setting 4 is 2.25 minutes, and the energization pause time at energization rate setting 3 is It can be derived that the energization pause time at energization rate setting 2 is 3.75 minutes, and the energization pause time at energization rate setting 1 is 4.5 minutes.

In other words, n: energization rate level (energization rate setting), m: number of divisions (resolution), R1: lower limit of energization rate, Rmax: upper limit of energization rate, and T: basic energization time. From the equation (9), the energization time tn can be derived from the following equation (10). However, the following n and m are integers.
Rn=R1+(Rmax−R1)/(m−1)×n (9)
tn=T×Rn (10)

As described above, according to the heater controller 1 and the control method thereof according to the present embodiment, in the initial stage of installation of the electric floor heating system, the unit time T as the basic energization time for the heater 10 And the upper limit value R5 and the lower limit value R1 of the energization rates R1 to R5 per unit time can be set as initial values at arbitrary values, so the heater 10 according to the difference in the area where the electric floor heating system is installed and the heat insulation conditions It is not necessary to prepare and select various capabilities of the controller 1, and it is possible to flexibly cope with various usage environments only by setting in the controller 1.

At this time, in temperature control during actual operation after installation of the electric floor heating system, the control unit 210 controls the heater between the upper limit value R5 and the lower limit value R1 of the energization rates R1 to R5 set as initial values. It is preferable to equally divide the 10 capacities so that the energization rates R1 to R5 can be adjusted stepwise. According to this configuration, in temperature control during actual operation after installation of the electric floor heating system, the heater 10 By equally dividing the capacity of , the energization rates R1 to R5 can be adjusted stepwise, so the output of the heater 10 can be finely adjusted according to the installation environment and user's preference, and the temperature can be adjusted step by step. becomes. That is, if the range of the upper and lower limits of the energization rate is wide, the amount of change in the energization rate per step (that is, the amount of heat generated) is increased, and if the upper and lower limit range of the energization rate is narrow, the amount of change in the energization rate per step is decreased. Depending on whether the range of the upper and lower limits of the energization rate is wide or narrow, the amount of change in the energization rate per step, the so-called resolution (heat generation amount), can be changed.

In addition, it is preferable that the control unit 210 controls ON/OFF of the energization of the heater 10 by the switching power supply 223 based on the unit time T set as the initial value. The unit time is in the range of 3 minutes to 15 minutes, the lower limit of the energization rate is in the range of 5.0% to 40.0%, and the upper limit of the energization rate is 50.0% to 100.0%. is preferably in the range of According to these configurations, in addition to the effects described above, it is possible to easily and flexibly adjust the temperature according to the installation environment of the electric floor heating system and user's preference.

It should be noted that the above-described embodiments and modifications merely show representative forms of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. As long as the configuration of the heater controller of the present invention is provided even with such a modification, it is of course included in the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, as the initial settings, the unit time T is 5 minutes, the energization rate R1 at the energization rate setting 1, which is the lowest heating temperature, is 10.0%, and the energization at the energization rate setting 5, which is the highest heating temperature. Although the rate R5 has been described as being set at 70.0%, it may be initialized with other values.

Another embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. FIG. 6 is a table for explaining upper and lower limit values of the energization rate according to another embodiment, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the energization rate control per cycle of the heater controller according to another embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, as initial settings, the unit time T is 10 minutes, the power supply rate R1 is 50.0% at the power supply rate setting 1 with the lowest heating temperature, and the power supply rate R5 at the power supply rate setting 5 with the highest heating temperature. is set at 90.0%.

In this case, the energization rate R4 is given by the following formula (1)
R4=R1+(R5-R1)/4×3 (1)
can be derived to be 80.0%.

Further, the energization rate R3 is given by the following formula (2)
R3=R1+(R5-R1)/4×2 (2)
can be derived to be 70.0%.

Then, the energization rate R2 is given by the following formula (3)
R2=R1+(R5-R1)/4×1 (3)
can be derived to be 60.0%.

Also, the energization times t1 to t5 corresponding to these energization rates R1 to R5 are given by the following equations (4) to (8), respectively.
t1=T×R1 (4)
t2=T×R2 (5)
t3=T×R3 (6)
t4=T×R4 (7)
t5=T×R5 (8)
t1 is 5 minutes, t2 is 6 minutes, t3 is 7 minutes, t4 is 8 minutes, and t5 is 9 minutes.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the energization pause time (that is, the power OFF time) at each energization rate setting 1 to 5 is 10 minutes set as the unit time T, and the energization time t1 derived as described above. It can be derived by subtracting ~t5. That is, the energization pause time at energization rate setting 5, which has the highest heating temperature, is 1 minute, the energization pause time at energization rate setting 4 is 2 minutes, and the energization pause time at energization rate setting 3 is 3 minutes. It can be derived that the energization pause time at the rate setting 2 is 4 minutes, and the energization pause time at the energization rate setting 1 is 5 minutes.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the energization rate can be adjusted in five stages has been described, but the number of adjustable stages (the number of divisions) is not limited to five stages. It may be in stages. The number of stages (number of divisions) may be incorporated in advance at the time of examination of the controller and control method, or may be set at the time of setting the energization time and energization rate.

Thus, according to the heater controller 1, in the initial stage of installation of the electric floor heating system, the unit time T as the basic energization time for the heater 10 and the upper limit values of the energization rates R1 to R5 per unit time R5 and the lower limit value R1 can be set as initial values at arbitrary values. It is possible to flexibly adjust the temperature according to various usage environments and user preferences only by setting in .

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 heater controller 2 main body 21 CPU substrate 210 control unit (conductivity control unit)
211 storage unit 212 clock 213 battery 22 power supply substrate 221 relay 222 temperature sensor connector 223 switching power supply 3 operation unit 31 start button 32 adjustment button 33 timer button 34 setting button 4 display unit 5 operation lamp 6 temperature sensor 7 ventilation hole 10 heater 11 thermistor

Claims (7)

A heater controller that controls the temperature of at least a heater,
an energization rate control unit that controls an energization rate for the heating source of the heater;
a power control unit that supplies power to the heat source according to control by the power supply rate control unit;
an operation unit for operating the duty ratio control unit;
a display unit that displays operation details of the energization rate control unit by at least the operation unit;
The energization rate control unit is
arbitrarily setting the unit time for energizing the heat source as an initial value,
arbitrarily setting the lower limit value of the set energization rate per unit time as an initial value;
A heater controller, wherein the set upper limit value of the energization rate per unit time can be arbitrarily set as an initial value. In temperature control during actual operation after installation of the heating appliance,
The energization rate control unit is
2. The heater controller according to claim 1, wherein the capacity of said heat source is equally divided between an upper limit value and a lower limit value of said energization rate set as said initial value, and said energization rate can be adjusted stepwise. The energization rate control unit is
3. The heater controller according to claim 1, wherein power supply to said heat generating source is ON-OFF controlled based on said unit time set as said initial value. The heater controller according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said unit time is in the range of 3 minutes to 15 minutes. The heater controller according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the lower limit of the energization rate is in the range of 5.0% to 40.0%. The heater controller according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the upper limit of the energization rate is in the range of 50.0% to 100.0%. An energization rate control unit that controls an energization rate for a heat source of a heater, a power supply control unit that supplies power to the heat source according to the control by the energization rate control unit, and an operation unit that operates the energization rate control unit. A control method for controlling the temperature adjustment of the heater by a heater controller comprising:
The energization rate control unit is
Arbitrary values input via the operation unit, the unit time for energizing the heat source, the lower limit value of the energization rate per unit time, and the upper limit value of the energization rate per unit time and , respectively, and
equally dividing the capacity of the heat source between the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the initially set energization rate;
A control method, comprising: controlling energization of the heat source based on the unit time set as the initial value and the equally divided energization rate.

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