JP3589171B2 - Air conditioner service system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air conditioner system such as a multi-air conditioner for a building, and is particularly suitable for services such as failure and maintenance.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a system for monitoring an operation state of an air conditioner and, when an abnormality occurs, automatically transmitting the abnormality to a sales base or a service base via a monitoring center, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-230602. Has been described.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the above-described conventional technology, a user who has made a maintenance contract by remote monitoring can promptly receive a response from a sales base or a service base when an abnormality occurs in a device. However, a user who has not made a maintenance contract reports a device defect to the device administrator when a device error occurs, and after the device administrator confirms the defect, calls the dealer service or the maker service center where the device was purchased. It is the fact that they request repairs while telling the situation. Therefore, if the situation is not communicated smoothly, it has caused a delay in the maintenance response.
[0004]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that allows a user who has not made a maintenance contract by remote monitoring to promptly perform maintenance when a device abnormality occurs, and in particular to improve the efficiency of initial maintenance. To provide a service system.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to an air conditioner service system including an outdoor unit, a plurality of indoor units, and a remote control capable of displaying and operating a shutdown or temperature setting. A centralized air-conditioning management device that stores service call buttons provided in the air conditioner, operating information of the air conditioner, name and contact information of a user or a manager, model information, and location information; A management center having a database of information of a maintenance company or a service department connected to the apparatus and connected to the location information and connected to the Internet, and when the service call button is pressed, the air conditioning central management apparatus Sends the driving information, the user or administrator name and contact information, the model information, and the location information to the management center The management center determines an abnormality from the operation information, the location information information indicating an abnormality of the contents from the plurality of the maintenance company or service department, and sends operation information, the model information, transmitted the maintenance company Or, the service department returns the estimated arrival time and cost estimate of the maintenance staff to the management center, and from the reply, the management center selects a maintenance company or a service department and contacts the user or the administrator. And the maintenance company or the service department to which the contact method has been transmitted contacts the user or the administrator.
[0008]
Further, in the above, it is preferable that the management center has map information related to the location information and displays a map to the selected maintenance company or service department based on the map information.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Reference numeral 101 denotes an air conditioner, which is usually connected in combination of a plurality of indoor units and outdoor units, and is used in various forms such as offices, commercial facilities, hotels, and houses.
[0013]
A plurality of sets of the air conditioner 101 are installed by one customer, for example, with 16 outdoor units and 128 indoor units as one set, and the air conditioner 101 may be used as many as 128 outdoor units and 1024 indoor units. Many are networked (air conditioning management network 104).
[0014]
As the operation information of the air conditioner 101, for example, the temperature of the main part during the refrigerating cycle (such as the set temperature of each indoor unit, the suction temperature, the discharge temperature, etc.), the pressure value, the current of the compressor, the frequency, etc., are periodically or irregularly. It is transmitted to the air conditioning central management device 103 periodically.
[0015]
The remote controller 102 includes an operation stop button 503 for stopping operation, an operation changeover switch 504 for changing the mode of cooling and heating, an auto louver switch 505 for automatically and manually changing the movement of the wind direction, an air volume switch 506 for setting the air volume, and setting an operation time. In addition to a time setting switch 507, a temperature control switch 509, an inspection switch 508 for switching to an inspection mode, a service call button 501 and a reception display unit 502 for displaying an operation state of the button are provided.
[0016]
The management center 200 is connected to the centralized air-conditioning management apparatus via the Internet, and is a Web application server that assumes a Web browser as a client environment in order to use the Web as a platform for an enterprise system or an EC (Electronic Commerce). It is preferable to operate as a service provider called an ASP (Application Service Provider).
[0017]
The maintenance company or the service section 300 makes a maintenance agency contract with the management center 200 and is connected to each other via the Internet 400. The management center 200 stores information on the maintenance company or the service section in a database.
[0018]
The centralized air-conditioning management device 103 collects operation information of the air conditioner 101, and further stores contact information such as the name and telephone number of the user or the administrator, and model information such as a model code. In addition, such information is associated with the name of the user or the administrator, and further includes location information of the air conditioner.
[0019]
The user who notices the abnormality of the air conditioner 101 presses the service call button 501 of the remote controller 102 to request maintenance or the like.
That is, when the service call button 501 is pressed, the signal is sent to the air conditioning central management device via the intranet or the air conditioning dedicated net. Then, the operation information, the name and the contact information of the user or the administrator, the model information, the location information of the air conditioner 101, and the like are transmitted to the management center 200 by e-mail or the like.
[0020]
The management center 200 that has received the maintenance request determines the abnormality from the operation information, and preliminarily determines the information indicating the content of the abnormality, the operation information, the name and contact information of the user or the administrator, and the model information from the location information. Select and send the nearest registered maintenance company or service department. Further, if the management center 200 has the map information related to the location information, the management center 200 can display a map to the selected maintenance company or service department based on the map information.
[0021]
The maintenance company or its own service department returns the estimated arrival time and cost estimate of the maintenance person to the management center. The management center 200 transmits a method of contacting the administrator of the device for which maintenance has been requested to the maintenance company deemed to be optimal from among the replies. The maintenance company directly contacts the equipment manager, receives a formal maintenance request, and performs maintenance on site.
[0022]
Further, the operation information may be stored in a centralized air-conditioning management apparatus and stored in a database at regular intervals, for example, and in this case, the air-conditioning centralized management apparatus 103 includes the operation information, the name and contact information of the user or the administrator, and the location information. Is transmitted to a maintenance company or a service department via the Internet, which simplifies the system and is advantageous for cost reduction. At this time, it is desirable to register a maintenance company or a service department in the air-conditioning central management device 103 in advance.
[0023]
Further, the air conditioner 103 determines the content of the abnormality or detects the abnormality from the air conditioner 101, and transmits the abnormality information, the name and contact information of the user or the administrator, and the location information to the maintenance company or the service department via the Internet. , And a more simplified system can be provided. In this case, if the model code is transmitted from the centralized air-conditioning management device 103 to the maintenance company or the service department, it is possible to respond more quickly.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to promptly request maintenance when an abnormality occurs in a device without making a maintenance contract in advance, and it is possible to improve the efficiency of the initial maintenance.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a service system of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a remote controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
101: air conditioner, 102: remote control, 103: air conditioning central management device, 104: air conditioning management network, 200: management center, 500: internet, 501: service call button, 502: service call display.

Claims (2)

In an air conditioner service system having an outdoor unit, a plurality of indoor units, and a remote controller capable of displaying and operating the operation stop and temperature setting,
A service call button provided on the remote control,
Air conditioning central management device that stores the operation information of the air conditioner, the name and contact information of a user or a manager, model information, and location information,
A management center connected to the air-conditioning central management device via the Internet and having a database of information of a maintenance company or a service department associated with location information, and when the service call button is pressed, the air-conditioning centralization is performed. The management device transmits the operation information to the management center, the name or contact information of the user or the administrator, the model information, and the location information,
The management center determines an abnormality from the operation information, transmits information indicating the content of the abnormality to the plurality of maintenance companies or service departments from the location information, operation information, and transmits the model information ,
The transmitted maintenance company or service department returns the estimated arrival time and cost estimate of the maintenance person to the management center,
From the reply, the management center selects a maintenance company or a service department and transmits a method of contacting the user or the administrator,
The maintenance system or the service department to which the communication method has been transmitted contacts the user or the administrator, and the service system for the air conditioner is provided. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management center has map information related to the location information, and displays a map to the selected maintenance company or service department based on the map information. Air conditioner service system.

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