JP3211068B2 - Control system status display method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a status display method for a control system in which the status of operating devices is promptly displayed when a key input operation such as power-on is performed on a setting device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a plurality of operating devices (hereinafter described as an example of an air conditioner) and a plurality of setting devices corresponding thereto are connected by a common signal line, and the signal line is connected to the signal line. A control system is adopted in which a control master unit is connected, and the setting units are individually controlled in a one-to-one correspondence with each air conditioner. In this type of control system, when a key input operation is performed on a predetermined setting device, the control master transmits a command signal of the key input operation to a controller of the air conditioner corresponding to the key input operation. Is transmitted to the control master, the status display is performed on the setting device only when the control master confirms receipt of the status signal. For this reason, it takes a considerably long time from when a key input operation is performed on the setting device to when the status is displayed, during which the operator is confused and distrusts the operation of the control system.

Therefore, when a key input operation is performed on the setting device, the control master unit returns a command signal to the setting device as it is to display a status corresponding to the key input operation. Attempts have been made to reduce the time required to display the status. In this case, after returning the status display command signal to the setting device,
Control signals and status signals are transmitted and received to and from the controller of the air conditioner, and then, the setting unit performs confirmation and collation of the status display that has already been performed with the actual status signal transmitted from the controller. Has become. But,
In this case, when a key input operation is performed on the setting device, the master device for control happens to perform another process, and a command signal may not be accepted. It took some time before the display was made.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention, which is proposed in view of the above circumstances, is that when a key input operation is performed on a setting device, the status is immediately displayed and the controller of the system is properly controlled. Control.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display device comprising: a plurality of setting units each having a key operation unit and a display unit on the same signal line; In a status display method of a control system in which a controller provided in each of a plurality of operation devices and a control master are connected, and the setting master and the controller are individually controlled by the control master, a setting master is provided. When a key input operation is performed, the status is displayed immediately, and then a key input command signal is sent to the control master unit.The control master unit returns the command signal to the setting unit to check and collate the display contents, A control signal corresponding to the command signal is transmitted to the controller corresponding to the setter that has performed the input operation, and the controller controls the operation of the operating device based on the control signal, and a state signal indicating the operation state. Transmits to the control master unit, and the control master unit compares the status signal transmitted from the controller with the status display on the setting device, and switches the status display on the setting device to the appropriate status display if the two are different. It is made to let. Further, according to the present invention, after a key input operation is performed on the setting device, a predetermined time is required until the control master unit returns the command signal to the setting device for confirming and collating the content of the command signal. When the time has elapsed, the setting device cancels the status display performed based on the key input operation.

[0006]

According to the status display method of the present invention, when a key input operation is performed on the setting device, the setting device itself displays the status immediately, and the waiting time for this is almost the same. At this point, there is no problem as to whether or not the control parent device is performing another process. Also,
According to the status display method of the present invention described in claim 2, when the setting device sends a command signal to the control master device after performing the status display as described above, the control master device has another status. During the process, if the condition that the command signal is not accepted continues for a predetermined time, the status display performed on the setting device is canceled, so the display when the display is continued is displayed. Reliability can be improved.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an operation explanatory diagram showing an overall operation procedure in the state display method of the present invention. A case in which a key input operation for turning on the power to the setting device 3 is performed will be described.
Displays the "ON" state immediately by itself, and then sends a command signal corresponding to the key input operation to the control base unit 2. The control parent device 2 once returns this command signal to the setting device 3 to collate the contents of the status display. if,
At this point, if an error is found in the status display, the display content is corrected or canceled. Next, the control parent device 2 transmits a control signal corresponding to the key input command signal to the controller 4, and the controller 4 controls the operation of the air conditioner 5 as an operating device based on the control signal. Further, the controller 4 determines the operation state of the air conditioner 5 and makes it a state signal, which is transmitted to the control parent device 2. Here, the control parent device 2 compares the status signal transmitted from the controller 4 with the status display on the setting device 3, and if the two match, terminates the tentative processing for the key input operation. Then, a command signal is sent to the setting device 3 in order to switch to an appropriate status display (10) such as "OFF". For example, when the air conditioner 5 that was operating is stopped by the controller 4 when the timer set time arrives, the controller 4 determines this and transmits a status signal to the control parent device 2. The parent device 2 sends a display switching command signal to the setting device 3 to turn off the status display (10).

The setting device 3, the controller 4, and the air conditioner 5 are arranged such that predetermined devices form a one-to-one correspondence. FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration of a control system. As described above, a plurality of these pairs are connected to the same signal line L. Therefore, when a key input operation is performed on one of the setting devices 3, a different key input operation may be performed on another setting device 3 substantially simultaneously. Therefore, at this time, since the control master unit 2 receives the command signal sent from one setting unit 3, the control master unit 2 cannot receive the command signal sent from the other setting unit 3. Such a situation may also occur while the master controller 2 is communicating with a higher-level controller (not shown) connected to the signal line L, another controller 4, or the like. In this case, the setting device 3 that has not received the command signal while sending it will wait for a while, but if no command signal is returned after a predetermined time has elapsed, the status display performed for the key input operation will be displayed. Is canceled, and a message for clearly notifying the OFF display, non-display state, or invalid key input operation is displayed. By doing so, the operator is notified that the key input operation is invalidated, and is prompted again to perform the key input operation so that reliable control can be performed. It is preferable to set about 2 seconds as the time required from the key input operation to the return of the command signal.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 2, the setting device 3
In addition to a power button, a temperature setting button, a timer setting button, a key operation unit 6 having various switching buttons (all not shown) and the like, and a display unit 7 composed of an LCD or the like, and a controller 4 Is provided with a temperature sensor 8, a relay output unit 9, and the like, and controls the air conditioner 5 by operating these based on a control signal transmitted through the signal line L from the control parent device 2. In this embodiment, the control system for air conditioning including the air conditioner 5 as the operating device has been described. However, the state display method of the present invention can be applied to other power control systems and lighting control systems.

[0010]

As will be understood from the above description, according to the state display method of the control system according to the first aspect of the present invention, when a key input is made to the setting device, the setting device immediately sets the state. Since the display is performed and there is almost no waiting time for the display, the operator is not confused and does not feel distrust in the control of the system. Further, according to the status display method of the control system according to the present invention described in claim 2, even after the setting device performs the status display as described above, the control master device does not receive the command signal. Is continued for a predetermined period of time, the status display is canceled, so that the reliability of the display when the display is continued is enhanced. At the same time, the operator is again prompted to perform a key input operation, so that reliable control can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation explanatory diagram showing an overall operation procedure in a state display method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a control system.

[Explanation of symbols]

L: signal line 2: control master unit 3: setting unit 4: controller 5: air conditioner

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of setting devices each having a key operation unit and a display unit, a controller corresponding to each of a plurality of operation devices, and a control master device are connected to the same signal line, and the setting device and the controller are connected. In the state display method of the control system, which is individually controlled by the control parent device, the setting device, when there is a key input operation such as power-on, immediately after the state display corresponding to the display unit, A command signal corresponding to the key input operation is sent to the control unit.The control unit returns this command signal to the setting unit to check and collate the display contents. A control signal corresponding to the above-mentioned command signal is transmitted to the controller that has performed the operation, and the operation of the corresponding operation device is controlled, and a status signal indicating the operation state is transmitted from the controller to the control master, and the control master is used. On the side, the status signal returned from the controller is compared with the status display on the setting device, and if the two are different, the status display displayed on the display of the setting device at the time of the above key input operation is changed to the appropriate status. A control system status display method that switches to display. 2. After a predetermined time elapses after a key input operation such as a power-on operation on the setting device and before the control master unit returns a command signal to the setting device for checking and confirming the command contents, The method according to claim 1, wherein the setting device cancels a corresponding status display performed based on a key input operation.