JP2576314B2 - Fault diagnosis device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a failure diagnosis device used for failure diagnosis of a multi-room air conditioner or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a failure diagnosis apparatus used in a multi-room air conditioner, when investigating a cause of a failure, an operating state such as a temperature of each part at the time of the cause investigation is digitally displayed by switching a switch. There is something. The serviceman can estimate the cause of the failure from the digitally displayed operating state.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional failure diagnosis apparatus, the operation state at the time of investigating the cause of the failure is digitally displayed, so that the operation state of each part at the time of the failure cannot be reproduced. Often. Therefore, the above-described conventional failure diagnosis apparatus has a problem that the failure cause cannot be accurately estimated in the case of a failure with poor reproducibility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a failure diagnosis device capable of accurately estimating the cause of a failure based on the operating state of each unit at the time of occurrence of the failure.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a failure diagnosis apparatus for detecting an alarm signal from a failure diagnosis target system as shown in FIG. Unit 3 and the alarm detection unit 3
The operation state storage unit 4 storing the operation state of each unit in the failure diagnosis target system 7 at the time when the alarm signal from the failure diagnosis target system 7 is detected, and the alarm relating to the same cause by the alarm detection unit 3 Counting means 21 for counting the number of signal detections; and when the number of alarm signal detections counted by the counting means 21 reaches a predetermined number, a stop signal is sent to the fault diagnosis target system 7 to perform the fault diagnosis. Stopping means 22 for stopping the target system 7;
The display unit 6 has a display unit 6 for displaying the operating state stored in the display unit 6 and two switches RS1 and RS2 that can be switched to a predetermined number of stages. The display unit 6 is provided by a combination of the respective stages of the two switches RS1 and RS2. Is provided with a display item designation section 5 for designating an item of the operation state to be displayed.

[0006]

When an alarm signal from the failure diagnosis target system is detected by the alarm detection unit, the operation state of each unit in the failure diagnosis target system at the time when the alarm detection unit detects the alarm signal is changed. Are stored in the operating state storage unit 4. Further, the counting means 21
Thus, the number of times the alarm detection unit 3 detects the alarm signal related to the same cause is counted. When the number of detections of the alarm signal counted by the counting means 21 reaches a predetermined number, a stop signal is sent to the failure diagnosis target system 7 by the stop means 22, and the failure diagnosis target system 7 is stopped. Is done.

On the other hand, when investigating the cause of the failure of the failure diagnosis target system 7, the item of the operating state to be displayed is designated by the display item designation section 5. Then, among the operation states of the respective parts of the failure diagnosis target system 7 at the time of detecting the alarm stored in the operation state storage section 4, the operation state according to the item designated by the display item designation section 5 is the above-mentioned operation state. It is displayed on the display unit 6. In this manner, the cause of the failure of the failure diagnosis target system 7 is investigated based on the operating state of each unit in the failure diagnosis target system 7 at the time when the failure diagnosis target system 7 issues the alarm signal. The item of the operating state to be displayed on the display unit 6 is specified by a combination of the respective stages of the two switches RS1 and RS2 constituting the display item specifying unit 5. In this way, if switches that can be switched to n stages are used as the switches RS1 and RS2, n × n items can be designated, and the operation state items to be displayed can be easily designated from a large number of items.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block diagram in the case where the failure diagnosis device according to the present embodiment is used in a multi-room air conditioner. The alarm detection unit 3 in the failure diagnosis device 1 constantly monitors the multi-room air conditioning system 7 and detects an alarm signal transmitted from the multi-room air conditioning system 7. When an alarm signal from the multi-room air conditioning system 7 is detected by the alarm detection unit 3, the operating state storage unit 4 stores the operating state (for example, compression) of each unit in the multi-room air conditioning system 7 at that time. Machine discharge pipe temperature, heat exchanger temperature, etc.).

On the other hand, when the service person investigates the cause of the failure of the multi-room air conditioning system 7, the display item to be displayed on the display unit 6 is specified by the display item specifying unit 5. Then, the operation state storage unit 4 is displayed on the display unit 6.
The operation state at the time of occurrence of an alarm corresponding to the designated display item stored in the above is displayed. In this way, the cause of the failure in the multi-room air conditioning system 7 is estimated based on the operation states of the respective units at the time of the alarm displayed on the display unit 6. The failure diagnosis control unit 2 controls the alarm detection unit 3, the operation state storage unit 4, the display item designation unit 5, and the display unit 6 to control the multi-room air conditioning system 7.
, And outputs a stop signal as necessary to stop the multi-room air conditioning system 7.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a failure diagnosis processing operation for the multi-room air conditioning system 7 performed by the failure diagnosis control unit 2. Hereinafter, the failure diagnosis processing operation will be described with reference to FIG. In step S1, the content of the alarm detection count n is initialized to "0". In step S2, it is determined whether or not an alarm signal has been detected by the alarm detection unit 3. If it is detected as a result, the process proceeds to step S3, and if not, the process waits until an alarm signal is detected.

In step S3, it is determined whether or not the number n of alarm detections is "0" (that is, whether the alarm detection is the first time). If the result is "0", the process proceeds to step S4, and if not, the process skips step S4. In step S4, the operating state storage unit 4 stores the operating state of each unit such as the temperature of the discharge pipe of the compressor and the temperature of the heat exchanger in the multi-room air conditioning system 7. In step S5, the content of the alarm detection number n is incremented, and the number of occurrences of the malfunction is counted.

In step S6, it is determined whether or not the number n of alarm detections is equal to or greater than a predetermined value "n _X ". As a result, if it is equal to or more than “n _X ”, the process proceeds to step S 8, and if it is smaller than “n _X ”, the process proceeds to step S 7. In step S7, the rotational frequency of the compressor, the electric valve opening, the fan tap, and the like are reset to initial values according to the load on the indoor unit side in the multi-room air conditioning system 7. Then, the flow returns to step S2 to check again whether an alarm signal is detected. In step S8, the above values are reset to the initial values and the alarm signal is detected even if the operation is repeated a predetermined number of times “n _X ”. Therefore, the above problem is determined to be true and the multi-room air conditioning system is determined. 7 is stopped to terminate the failure diagnosis processing operation.

As described above, when the failure diagnosis processing operation is performed by the failure diagnosis control unit 2 and the multi-room air conditioning system 7 is stopped, the cause of the failure is investigated by the service person. First, by operating switches RS1 and RS2 provided on the display panel of the outdoor unit of the multi-room air conditioning system 7 as shown in FIG. It is displayed on the display unit 6.

At this time, the operating state of each unit displayed on the display unit 6 is the operating state of each unit stored in the operating state storage unit 4 in step S4 in the flowchart of the failure diagnosis processing operation. Therefore, in the present embodiment, even at the time of investigating the cause of the failure, it is possible to know the operation state of each unit at the time of occurrence of the failure.

FIG. 4 shows a list of display items displayed on the display section 6, wherein the set value of the switch RS1 and the switch RS2 are displayed.
Represents display items determined by a combination with the set value of. In FIG. 4, the horizontal column shows the set value of the switch RS1, while the vertical column shows the set value of the switch RS2, and the intersection of the set value of the switch RS1 and the set value of the switch RS2 is displayed on the display unit 6. Display items to be displayed are described. That is, the combination of the set value of the switch RS1 and the set value of the switch RS2 is referred to as (the switch RS1
, Set value of switch RS2), for example,
In the case of (0,0), the content of the abnormality is displayed on the display unit 6 by a code.

Next, for example, when the switch RS1 is switched to (1, 0), the value of the output frequency of the inverter is digitally displayed. Next, for example, when the switch RS1 and the switch RS2 are switched to (F, 1), a connection error in the piping / wiring connecting the outdoor unit and the indoor unit of the room A in the multi-room air conditioning system 7 is made. Is displayed by the code. Hereinafter, similarly, the operation state at the time of occurrence of a failure selected by the switches RS1 and RS2 is displayed on the display unit 6. That is, the display item specifying unit 5 is configured by the switch RS1 and the switch RS2.

The details of the abbreviations used in FIG. 4 are as follows. D _OT : Discharge pipe temperature D _CB1 : Outdoor heat exchanger temperature DE: Refrigerant saturated vapor temperature D _EA : Refrigerant temperature before accumulator D _DB2 : Outdoor high pressure equivalent saturated vapor temperature Outdoor mode: Heating / cooling mode D _OA : Outside air Temperature EV: Electric expansion valve in each room D _{G1 to} D _G7 : Gas refrigerant temperature immediately before / after the indoor heat exchanger in each room D _{L1 to} D _L7 : Liquid refrigerant temperature immediately before / after the indoor heat exchanger in each room D _C1 to D _C7: condensation of the chambers of the indoor heat exchanger temperature D _A1 to D _A7: the chambers of the indoor heat exchanger the evaporation temperature EV _0: superheat control electric valve

When the frequency, current, temperature, opening, or the like is selected as the display item on the display unit 6, the values of the frequency, current, temperature, angle, and the like are directly displayed as three-digit numbers. You. When “relay output” is selected as a display item, each digit of the display unit 6 displays the output state of one relay, and when the relay is “on”, “1” is displayed. On the other hand, if it is "off", "0" is displayed. Further, when another display item is selected, a code corresponding to the display content of the display item is displayed.

Next, an example of the display on the display unit 6 will be described in detail together with the estimated cause of failure. FIG.
An example of a failure diagnosis by the failure diagnosis device 1 in the present embodiment is shown. In FIG. 5, the set values of the switches RS1 and RS2, the display items on the display unit 6, the display contents of the display unit 6, and the estimated cause are displayed for each of the above-described abnormal contents. That is, FIG. 5 (a) is an example of a failure diagnosis at "overload operation stop", FIG. 5 (b) is an example of a failure diagnosis at "output overcurrent stop", and FIG. 5 (c) is "indoor heat exchange". This is an example of failure diagnosis for "temperature abnormality".

First, the combination of the switches RS1 and RS2 is set to (0,0), and the display item "abnormal contents" is selected. Then, when the error content code “E5” is displayed on the display unit 6 as shown in FIG. 5A, it can be understood that the error content is “stop of overload operation”.
When the error content code "L5" is displayed as shown in FIG. 5B, the error content is "output overcurrent stop", and as shown in FIG. 5C, the error content code "A5" is displayed. When it is displayed, it can be understood that the content of the abnormality is “abnormal indoor heat exchange temperature”.

After that, another display item corresponding to the obtained abnormality content is selected and displayed by the switches RS1 and RS2, and the cause of the failure may be estimated from the displayed content. Hereinafter, the “stop of overload operation” will be described with reference to FIGS. For example, the combination of the switch RS1 and the switch RS2 is set to (3, 0), and the display item “D _OT : discharge pipe temperature” is selected. In this case, the display section 6 displays the discharge pipe temperature “137”.
If ° C. is displayed, the failure cause can be estimated that the discharge temperature of the compressor in the multi-room air conditioning system 7 is abnormally high.

The switches RS1 and RS2
Is set to (5, 0) and the display item “DE: saturated vapor temperature of refrigerant” is selected, the low pressure equivalent saturated vapor temperature “5” ° C. is displayed on the display unit 6. Furthermore, the combination of the switch RS1 and the switch RS2
When the display item "D _EA : refrigerant temperature before accumulator" is selected by setting to (6, 0), it is assumed that the accumulator inflow refrigerant temperature "-3" [deg.] C. is displayed on the display unit 6. Then, based on these two display contents, for example, a thermistor for detecting a saturated steam temperature provided in the pipe between the receiver and the accumulator entrance in the multi-room air conditioning system 7 and an accumulator provided in the accumulator inflow pipe The cause of the failure is presumed to be a mistake with the thermistor for detecting the inflow refrigerant temperature.

Further, the combination of the switch RS1 and the switch RS2 is set to (F, 1), and the display item "incorrect piping A room" is selected. In this case, if an erroneous piping code “P” is displayed on the display unit 6, the piping /
The wiring is assumed to be normal. The switch R
It is assumed that when the combination of S1 and the switch RS2 is set to (F, 2) and the display item “incorrect piping B room” is selected, the incorrect piping code “E” is displayed on the display unit 6. Similarly, the combination of switch RS1 and switch RS2 is
It is assumed that an incorrect piping code “E” is displayed on the display unit 6 when the display item “incorrect piping C room” is selected by setting (F, 3). Then, it is estimated that room B and room C are erroneous piping / wiring.

The combination of the switches RS1 and RS2 is set to (1, C), and the display item "relay output" is selected. In this case, it is assumed that the relay on / off code “000” is displayed on the display unit 6. In this case, when the combination of the switches RS1 and RS2 is set to (1, C), the first digit of the three-digit number string displayed on the display unit 6 indicates ON / OFF of the four-way valve relay. Is set in advance as follows. Therefore, the relay on / off code indicates that the four-way valve relay is non-conductive. That is, the cause of the failure is presumed to be a coil failure of the four-way valve relay. Hereinafter, similarly, the display items are switched by the switching setting of the switch RS1 and the switch RS2, and the cause of the failure is estimated based on the display contents of the display unit 6.

Also, in the case of the abnormality content "output overcurrent stop" and the abnormality content of "indoor heat exchange temperature abnormality", the cause of the failure is estimated in exactly the same manner.

As described above, in this embodiment, when a malfunction occurs, the operation state (rotational frequency, temperature, temperature, etc.) of each part is not stopped when the first alarm is detected without stopping the multi-room air conditioning system 7. , Opening, positive / abnormal, etc.) are stored in the operating state storage unit 4. Then, the rotation frequency of the compressor, the electric valve opening, the fan tap, and the like are reset to the initial values according to the load on the indoor unit side. In this way, alarm detection
Even if the reset operation is repeated a predetermined value “n _X ” times, the multi-room air conditioning system 7 is stopped only when the alarm signal is detected. Therefore, the multi-room air-conditioning system can be stopped only when a certain malfunction that is repeated several times is caused, not a temporary malfunction caused by disturbance or the like, and the reliability of the failure diagnosis can be improved.

At the time of investigating the cause, the set values of the switches RS1 and RS2 are selected from the operating states of the various units in the multi-room air conditioning system 7 at the time of occurrence of the failure stored in the operating state storage unit 4. The operation state of the display item designated by the combination is read out and displayed on the display unit 6. In this way, the service person can directly refer to the operating state at the time of occurrence of a malfunction, instead of the operating state of each part at the time of investigating the cause.
Therefore, even the cause of the failure with poor reproducibility can be easily found.

In the above embodiment, only one of the predetermined values “n _X ” is used as a criterion when the multi-room air conditioning system is stopped. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a plurality of the above-mentioned predetermined values may be provided for each type of fault, and the criterion for determining whether to stop the multi-room air conditioning system may be changed according to the type of fault.

Further, the display item designating section 5 in the above embodiment is composed of two switches, a switch RS1 and a switch RS2, but the present invention is not limited to this.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example is described in which the failure diagnosis device 1 of the present invention is used for failure diagnosis of a multi-room air conditioning system. However, the failure diagnosis device 1 may be used for failure diagnosis of another system.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, the failure diagnosis device of the present invention detects an alarm signal from the failure diagnosis target system by the alarm detection unit, and operates the respective units in the failure diagnosis target system when the alarm is detected. Is stored in the operating state storage unit, and when the alarm signal detection count counted by the counting means reaches a predetermined value, the stop means outputs a stop signal to stop the failure diagnosis target system. The fault diagnosis target system can be stopped only when a certain malfunction that is repeated several times, not a temporary malfunction, occurs. Therefore, according to the present invention, the reliability of failure diagnosis can be improved.

When the cause is investigated, the operation status of each part in the failure diagnosis target system at the time of alarm detection is displayed on the display unit in accordance with the item designated by the display item designation unit. Instead, the cause can be investigated directly based on the operating state at the time of occurrence of the failure. Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
Even the cause of failure with poor reproducibility can be easily found. The display item designating section is composed of two switches that can be switched to a predetermined number of stages.
Since the switch is specified by a combination of the respective stages of the two switches, n × n items can be specified by using a switch which can be switched to each of the n stages as the switch. Therefore, it is possible to easily specify an operation state item to be displayed from a large number of items.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment when a failure diagnosis device of the present invention is used in a multi-room air conditioner.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a failure diagnosis processing operation performed by the failure diagnosis device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a display panel provided with switches and a display unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display item.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a failure diagnosis by the failure diagnosis device shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Failure diagnosis apparatus, 2 ... Failure diagnosis control part, 3 ... Alarm detection part, 4 ... Operating state storage part, 5 ... Display item designation part, 6 ... Display part, 21 ... Counting means, 22 ... Stopping means.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An alarm detection unit (3) for detecting an alarm signal from a failure diagnosis target system (7), and wherein the alarm detection unit (3) is provided in the failure diagnosis target system.
The operating state storage unit (4) storing the operating state of each unit in the failure diagnosis target system (7) when the alarm signal from (7) is detected, and the same cause by the alarm detecting unit (3) Counting means (21) for counting the number of detections of the alarm signal according to the above, and when the number of detections of the alarm signal counted by the counting means (21) reaches a predetermined number, the failure diagnosis target system (7) A stop means (22) for sending a stop signal to stop the failure diagnosis target system (7); a display unit (6) for displaying the operation state stored in the operation state storage unit (4); Two switches (RS1, R
S2), and a display item designating section (5) for designating an operation state item to be displayed on the display section (6) by a combination of respective stages of the two switches (RS1, RS2). A fault diagnosis device characterized by the above-mentioned.