JP3124846B2 - Air conditioning diagnostic system - 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 an air-conditioning diagnosis system for remotely diagnosing a plurality of air-conditioning equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an air conditioning diagnosis system for remotely performing an abnormality diagnosis on a plurality of air facilities using an expert system. This system is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the control terminals 2 provided in each of the plurality of air conditioners 1 are connected to a central diagnostic apparatus C by a signal line 4, and the central control apparatus C has a knowledge base B including a diagnostic rule. , The inference engine E infers the cause of the abnormality, and the diagnosis result is displayed on the image display device 8 connected to the inference engine E. The knowledge base B and the inference engine E constitute a so-called expert system.

In such an air-conditioning diagnosis system, each control terminal 2 monitors the state of the air-conditioning equipment 1 with a sensor (not shown), and transmits a diagnosis request signal to the central diagnosis device C via the communication line 4 when an abnormality occurs. Upon receiving this signal, the central diagnostic apparatus C diagnoses the cause and countermeasure of the abnormality of the air conditioner 1 using the expert system.

[0004] Air-conditioning equipment to which such an air-conditioning diagnosis system is applied is designed to order, and has a specific structure. In response to this, in the air conditioning diagnosis system as described above, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-178557, a plurality of different rule groups applied to air conditioning equipment having different configurations are stored on a single knowledge base. It was constructed as an integral body.

[0005]

However, in the conventional air-conditioning diagnosis system, as described above, a plurality of rule groups are formed as an integral and inseparable unit on a single knowledge base. There was a problem.

(1) When executing inference, the entire large-scale knowledge base including the diagnosis rules of a plurality of air conditioners is copied and resident on the main memory as inference data for inference.
Large main memory was required. For this reason, the system introduction cost was high.

(2) In order to incorporate a new air conditioner into the system as a diagnosis target, the entire knowledge base must be significantly modified in accordance with the configuration of the new air conditioner, and this procedure is complicated. Was. Therefore, a long preparation period was required to introduce the system, and the introduction cost was further increased.

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and aims at eliminating the need for a large-scale main memory and facilitating the adaptation to new air conditioning equipment. It is to provide an excellent air conditioning diagnostic system.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioning diagnosis system according to claim 1 is provided in each of one or more air conditioning equipments constituted by a plurality of types of equipment, and when an air conditioning equipment malfunctions. A control terminal that issues a diagnosis request signal, connected to each of these control terminals by a signal line that transmits the signal, at least at the time of the signal reception, the air conditioning diagnosis system having a central diagnosis device that performs an abnormality diagnosis of the air conditioning equipment, The central diagnostic device has a main memory and knowledge for storing a device rule expressing the rule of the abnormality diagnosis for each type of the device and a connection rule expressing a configuration of each of the air-conditioning facilities in a connection relationship between the devices. Base, and inference data for diagnosing the air-conditioning equipment from each rule in the knowledge base when trying to diagnose an abnormality of the air-conditioning equipment. Generating means for generating on the serial main memory, wherein the inference engine for performing the abnormality diagnosis is provided by inference based on this inference data.

An air conditioning diagnosis system according to a second aspect of the present invention is the air conditioning diagnosis system according to the first aspect, further comprising definition means for defining a plurality of components constituting each of the devices used in the air conditioning equipment as a group. When the inference engine recognizes that the cause of the abnormality is likely to be an influence cause derived from another device belonging to the same group as the device to be diagnosed, the other of the inference data includes The apparatus is configured to perform the abnormality diagnosis based on the device rule portion of the device.

[0011]

In the air conditioning diagnosis system according to the first aspect of the present invention, when performing an abnormality diagnosis of the air conditioning equipment, the generating means diagnoses the air conditioning equipment from each rule in the knowledge base. Is dynamically generated in the main memory. Therefore, the entire large-scale knowledge base including the diagnosis rule group of the plurality of air conditioners is not copied and resident on the main memory, and the large-scale main memory becomes unnecessary.

Further, since the equipment configuration of each air conditioner is expressed on a connection rule independent of the equipment rules,
Incorporation of a new air conditioner to be diagnosed into the system can be performed only by inputting a connection rule. For this reason, it is not necessary to largely rework the entire knowledge base in accordance with the configuration of the equipment, and it is easy to deal with new air conditioning equipment.

Further, in the air conditioning diagnosis system of the second aspect,
The definition means defines a plurality of components constituting a device as a group, and the inference engine is a cause of the abnormality that is caused by another device belonging to the same group as the device to be diagnosed. When the possibility is recognized, the abnormality diagnosis is performed based on the device rule portion of the other device in the inference data, so that accurate diagnosis including the diagnosis of the influence cause can be performed.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an air-conditioning diagnosis system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

(1) Configuration of the Embodiment FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 [Overall Configuration] The air-conditioning diagnosis system of this embodiment is provided in a plurality of air-conditioning equipments 1 as shown in FIG. It has a control terminal 2, a central diagnostic device 3 for centrally managing these control terminals 2, and a communication line 4 connecting each control terminal 2 and the central diagnostic device 3.

[Control Terminal] Although not shown, each control terminal 2 has a sensor for measuring the state of each device constituting the air conditioner 1 and, when an output value of the sensor exceeds a predetermined allowable value, an abnormality occurs. A control circuit configured to transmit a diagnostic request signal to the central diagnostic apparatus 3 via the communication line 4.

[Air-conditioning equipment] Each air-conditioning equipment 1 in this embodiment has a different configuration according to the required capacity. Specifically, a cooling tower, a refrigerator, a pump, a fan, an air-conditioner, Packaged air conditioners, boilers,
A plurality of types of devices such as a steam generator and an instrumentation device such as a control valve are connected by connecting members such as pipes and wind guides.

[Central Diagnostic Device] The central diagnostic device 3 has C
A PU (Central Processing Unit) 4 and a main memory 5 connected to the CPU 4 are provided. The CPU 4 is connected to a disk device 6, a keyboard 7, an image display device 8, and a communication line 4 via an I / O control circuit 9. Here, the CPU 4 operates according to a predetermined procedure according to a program (not shown) stored in the main memory 5, and has a generating function of generating inference data 13 on the main memory 5 and a generation function based on the inference data 13. An inference engine function for performing abnormality diagnosis by inference. Less than,
C having the generation function and the inference engine function respectively
The description will be made assuming a generation unit 10 and an inference unit 11 as virtual circuit blocks inside the PU 4 (FIG. 1). The CPU 4 (specifically, the generation unit 10 and the inference unit 11)
Corresponds to the generating means and the inference engine described in claim 1.

On the disk device 6, a knowledge base 12 is constructed. The knowledge base 12 includes a device rule expressing a rule of abnormality diagnosis for each type of device, and a configuration of each air conditioner. And a special rule expressing a rule for abnormality diagnosis of a special device which is not included in the device rule. Here, FIG. 2 is an example of the device rule, in which a specific cause code is determined as a diagnosis result with respect to satisfaction of a specific condition. In this specification, the term "rule" means the broadest concept of knowledge including so-called objects (objects) and attributes (attributes).

The cause of the abnormality is considered to be an intrinsic cause inside the device in which the symptom occurs, and an influence cause derived from another device related to the device. In order to make it possible to infer such an influence cause, in the present embodiment, a plurality of components relating to the same function are defined as the same group even if they constitute different devices. Specifically, this definition is made by recording each group number to which each part belongs in the connection rule of the air conditioner to which each part belongs. Therefore, the connection rule according to the present embodiment corresponds to the definition means defined in claim 2. Here, FIG. 3 schematically shows an example of a component group in the present embodiment. For example, although not shown, a cooling tower, a refrigerator, and a pump that circulates cooling water between the cooling tower and the refrigerator are defined as the same group called a cooling water group in terms of a function related to the function of cooling water.

(2) Operation of the Embodiment: FIG. 1 The present system having the above configuration is used as follows.

[Application to New Facility] Incorporation of the new air conditioner 1 into the present system uses the keyboard 7 and the image display device 8 under the control of the CPU 4 and the knowledge base 12.
By inputting a connection rule and a necessary special rule corresponding to the device configuration of the air conditioner 1 at the same time.

[Abnormality Diagnosis] The present system is provided when a diagnosis request signal is transmitted from the control terminal 2 via the communication line 4, or
The abnormality diagnosis is performed when the operator of the central diagnosis device 3 makes a diagnosis request via the keyboard 7. The diagnosis request from the control terminal 2 is issued by the operator of the control terminal 2.
Is also transmitted when a predetermined diagnosis request operation is performed on. In addition, the operator of the control terminal 2 or the central diagnostic apparatus 3 includes the air conditioning equipment 1 to be diagnosed and a predetermined identification number for specifying the equipment in the diagnosis request. When such a diagnosis request is input to the CPU 4 via the I / O control circuit 9, first, the generation unit 10 stores inference data 13 for diagnosis based on each rule in the knowledge base 12 in the main memory 5. Generate on top.

That is, the generation unit 10 refers to the connection rule of the air conditioner 1 stored in the knowledge base 12 based on the identification number in the diagnosis request, and determines the device rule of the device included in the connection rule. The data is loaded from the knowledge base 12 onto the main memory 5. At this time, the device rules are mutually connected in a relationship corresponding to the connection rule. When a special rule of the air conditioner 1 exists in the knowledge base 12, the generation unit 10 adds the special rule to the inference data 13.

Subsequently, the inference unit 11 outputs the inference data 1
Then, an abnormality diagnosis based on the inference is performed based on the inference. This inference is
The process starts from the device rule portion of the device specified in the diagnosis request in the inference data 13. When the inference unit 11 determines in the inference process that the cause of the abnormality may be the cause of the influence from the other device components in the same group, the inference unit 11 also makes the inference to the device rule portion of the other device. Is derived. Therefore, the CPU 4 including the inference unit 11 corresponds to the inference engine described in claim 2.

When the inference is derived as described above, the inference unit 1
1 combines the data of the device in which the symptom has occurred with the device rule portion of the other device to continue the inference. The derivation of such inference is continued until the device in which the symptom occurred is diagnosed as normal. In addition, the result of such derived inference is sequentially returned to the device rule of the derivation source in terms of the inference algorithm, and the inference returns to the first device rule and ends.

After completion of the inference, the diagnosis result is displayed on the image display device 8 in the form of parameters such as a cause device, a cause code, and a countermeasure code.

(3) Effects of the Embodiment As described above, in the present embodiment, the equipment rules and the connection rules are configured separately and independently. This can be performed by inputting a connection rule corresponding to the device configuration of the air conditioner 1 and necessary special rules. For this reason, since it is not necessary to change the entire knowledge base 12, according to the present embodiment, it is easy to deal with the new air conditioning equipment 1, and it is possible to shorten the preparation period for system introduction and reduce the introduction cost.

In this embodiment, before the diagnosis, the generation unit 1
0 extracts only rules necessary for the diagnosis of the air-conditioning equipment from the rules in the knowledge base 12 and dynamically generates inference data 13 for diagnosis on the main memory 5. Large knowledge base 12 with diagnostic rules
The whole is copied on the main memory 5 as inference data and never resident. For this reason, according to this embodiment, a large-scale main memory is not required, and the introduction cost can be further reduced.

Conventionally, when the entire knowledge base has such a large capacity that it cannot be copied onto the main memory, the disk device on which the knowledge base is constructed is regarded as a part of the main memory, and it is sequentially determined during the inference. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a virtual disk system in which necessary rule portions are read out by disk access. In contrast, according to the present embodiment, the knowledge base 12
Since it is not necessary to load the whole on the main memory 5, disk access during the inference becomes unnecessary, and the inference can be executed at a higher speed than in the past.

Further, in this embodiment, a plurality of components constituting the device are defined as a group by a connection rule, and the inference unit 11 determines that the cause of the abnormality is the influence cause. Since the inference is derived from the device rule of the other device, accurate diagnosis including the diagnosis of the influence cause can be performed.

In particular, in the present embodiment, since a special rule for diagnosing a special device not included in the device rule can be stored in the knowledge base 12, the air conditioning equipment 1 including the special device can be stored in the knowledge base 12. It can also be applied.

(4) Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but also includes the following other embodiments. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the registration of the group number in the connection rule in the knowledge base is used as the definition means in claim 2, but the definition means makes such a group number resident in the main memory. Can also be realized.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, a large-scale main memory is not required, and it is easy to cope with new air conditioning equipment.
Because we can provide an excellent air conditioning diagnostic system,
It is possible to shorten the preparation period for system introduction and reduce the introduction cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an air conditioning diagnosis system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an example of a device rule according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an example of a component group according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an example of a conventional air conditioning diagnosis system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Air conditioning equipment 2: Control terminal 3, C: Central diagnostic device 4: Communication line 5: Main memory 6: Disk device 7: Keyboard 8: Image display device 9: I / O control circuit 10: Generation unit 11: Inference unit 12, B: Knowledge base 13: Inference data E: Inference engine

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Norio Hiroshi Tanaka 2-3-6 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo Techno-Hishiwanai Co., Ltd. (72) Eiji Honda 3-23 Shimoshinmachi, Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture (56 References JP-A-2-178557 (JP, A) JP-A-4-367744 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F24F 11/02 F24F 11/02 103

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A control terminal provided in one or two or more air-conditioning facilities constituted by a plurality of types of equipment, for issuing a diagnosis request signal when an abnormality occurs in the air-conditioning facility; An air-conditioning diagnostic system connected to a terminal and having a central diagnostic device for performing abnormality diagnosis of the air-conditioning equipment at least at the time of receiving the signal, wherein the central diagnostic device has a main memory and a rule for the abnormality diagnosis. A knowledge base that stores a device rule expressed for each device and a connection rule that expresses the configuration of each of the air conditioning equipment by the connection relationship of each device, and the knowledge base in the knowledge base when trying to diagnose an abnormality of an air conditioning device. Generating means for generating inference data for diagnosing the air-conditioning equipment from each rule on the main memory; and inference based on the inference data. Conditioning diagnostic system, characterized in that the inference engine is provided for performing the abnormality diagnosis Te. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a definition unit that defines a plurality of components constituting each of the devices used in the air conditioner as a group, wherein the inference engine is the same as the device whose cause of the abnormality is a diagnosis target. When the possibility of being the cause of influence derived from another device belonging to the group is recognized, the abnormality diagnosis is configured to be performed based on the device rule portion of the other device in the inference data. The air conditioning diagnosis system according to claim 1, wherein: