JP6209745B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner including a control device that transmits maintenance information to a remote controller or the like.

  Conventionally, there is an air conditioner in which an indoor unit and an outdoor unit are connected by piping or control wiring and power is supplied from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit. In this type of air conditioner, there is an air conditioner that enters a maintenance / after-service operation mode by operating a specific button on the remote controller, acquires maintenance data or after-service data, and displays it on the remote controller (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, there is an air conditioner that reduces standby power by stopping power supply from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit when the air conditioning operation is stopped due to a demand for energy saving of the air conditioner.

JP 2006-29687 A

  However, the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that maintenance information of the outdoor unit cannot be displayed on the remote controller when the energization from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit is cut off when the air conditioning operation is stopped.

  Further, in the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1, in order to acquire maintenance information, the user needs to execute a special operation with the remote controller and enter a special mode. Updating the maintenance information has a problem that it is complicated for the user.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable maintenance information to be read to the outside even when power to an outdoor unit is cut off.

  Another object of the present invention is to solve the above-described conventional problems, and to enable maintenance information to be read out even when power to an outdoor unit is cut off.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, an air conditioner of the present invention includes an indoor unit connected to a commercial power source, a first electronic control unit that controls the indoor unit, and maintenance information for the indoor unit. The outdoor unit includes a second electronic control unit that controls the outdoor unit and a second storage region that stores maintenance information of the outdoor unit, and the indoor unit issues an operation stop instruction. After receiving, maintenance information stored in the second storage area within a predetermined period is transmitted to the first electronic control unit.

  Thereby, even when the energization to the outdoor unit is interrupted, the maintenance information of the outdoor unit can be read from the storage area of the electronic control unit of the indoor unit that is always energized.

And because the maintenance information of the outdoor unit is sent to the electronic control unit of the indoor unit after the operation stop instruction, the maintenance information of the outdoor unit with a large amount of data compared to the communication during the air conditioning operation is transmitted during the air conditioning operation. This can be done without compromising the communication responsiveness.

  In addition, since the user transmits the maintenance information of the outdoor unit stored in the second storage area of the second electronic control unit to the first electronic control unit after the user performs the normal operation of the remote control, the user Each time the normal operation is performed without performing the special operation, the maintenance information of the outdoor unit is transmitted to the first electronic control unit and updated.

  The air conditioner of the present invention can read maintenance information even when the energization of the outdoor unit is cut off.

The block diagram of the air conditioner in Embodiment 1 of this invention Timing chart of internal / external communication in the first embodiment

  A first invention is an air conditioner in which an outdoor unit and an indoor unit are connected via a communication line, wherein the indoor unit is a power source connected to a commercial power source and a first electronic that controls the indoor unit. A control device and a first storage area for storing maintenance information of the indoor unit, wherein the outdoor unit is a second electronic control unit for controlling the outdoor unit, and a second storage area for storing maintenance information of the outdoor unit And the maintenance information stored in the second storage area within a predetermined period after the indoor unit receives the operation stop instruction is transmitted to the first electronic control unit.

  Thereby, even if the energization to the outdoor unit is interrupted, the maintenance information of the outdoor unit can be read. And because the maintenance information of the outdoor unit is sent to the electronic control unit of the indoor unit after the operation stop instruction, the maintenance information of the outdoor unit with a large amount of data compared to the communication during the air conditioning operation is transmitted during the air conditioning operation. This can be done without compromising the communication responsiveness.

  In addition, since the user transmits the maintenance information of the outdoor unit stored in the second storage area of the second electronic control unit to the first electronic control unit after the user performs the normal operation of the remote control, the user Each time the normal operation is performed without performing the special operation, the maintenance information of the outdoor unit is transmitted to the first electronic control unit and updated. For this reason, the convenience for the user is improved.

  According to a second invention, in the first invention, a remote control is provided, and maintenance information of the outdoor unit is displayed on the remote control.

  According to a third invention, in the first invention, maintenance information of the outdoor unit is displayed on a terminal connected via a communication means.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
The air conditioner of the present embodiment is a separation type air conditioner that includes an indoor unit 2 and an outdoor unit 3. The indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3 are connected to each other by a refrigerant pipe (not shown), a power supply line 11 that supplies power from the indoor unit 2 to the outdoor unit 3, and an internal / external communication line 16 that is a control wiring. Has been.

The indoor unit 2 includes an indoor heat exchanger, an indoor fan that blows air to the indoor heat exchanger, and a flow direction of air that is blown from the air outlet, inside a main body that includes an air inlet for sucking air and an air outlet that blows air. Wind direction deflecting blades for changing The wind direction deflecting blades are composed of a plurality of left and right blades that change the flow direction of the air blown from the air outlet in the left and right directions, and upper and lower blades that change in the up and down direction.

  The plurality of left and right blades are connected by a connecting bar that interlocks the movement of the blades. The connecting bar is connected to the stepping motor for the left and right blades of the stepping motor unit 7, and the plurality of left and right blades are rotated by the operation of the stepping motor for the left and right blades.

  The upper and lower blades include an upper blade and a lower blade provided below the upper blade. The upper blade and the lower blade are respectively connected to the upper and lower blade stepping motors of the stepping motor unit 7 on either of the left and right rotation shafts, and are rotated in the vertical direction by the operation of the upper and lower blade stepping motors.

  The outdoor unit 3 includes a compressor 12, a four-way valve, an expansion valve 13, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an outdoor fan that sends air to the outdoor heat exchanger.

  The compressor 12, the four-way valve, the outdoor heat exchanger, the expansion valve 13, and the indoor heat exchanger are connected by a refrigerant pipe to constitute a refrigeration cycle circuit. The compressor 12 compresses the refrigerant sealed in the refrigeration cycle circuit into a high temperature and high pressure state. The outdoor heat exchanger or the indoor heat exchanger releases heat from the compressed refrigerant to the outdoor or indoor air. The expansion valve 13 reduces the pressure of the refrigerant that has released the heat to a low temperature and low pressure state. An indoor heat exchanger or an outdoor heat exchanger absorbs heat from indoor or outdoor air into the decompressed refrigerant.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of components that are electrically connected to the air conditioner according to the first embodiment.

  The indoor unit 2 includes a sensor unit 4, a first electronic control unit 5, an indoor fan motor 6 that rotationally drives the indoor fan, and a stepping motor unit 7 that changes the angle of the wind direction deflecting blade.

  The sensor unit 4 is a temperature sensor that detects a suction temperature that is a temperature of air sucked into the indoor unit 2, a heat exchanger temperature that is a temperature of the indoor heat exchanger, and a space in which the indoor unit 2 is installed. It consists of human sensors that detect the human body, and collects data necessary for controlling the indoor unit 2.

  The first electronic control unit 5 includes a power supply unit (not shown) connected to an AC power supply 8 outside the air conditioner 1, and receives power supply from the AC power supply 8. The first electronic control unit 5 is connected to the sensor unit 4, the indoor fan motor 6, and the stepping motor unit 7. The first electronic control unit 5 includes an indoor non-volatile memory 9 composed of an EEPROM or the like as a first storage area. The first electronic control unit 5 includes an operating device (for example, a remote controller) that is an external device that is operated by the user, and an indoor transmission / reception unit (not shown) that communicates with infrared rays or the like.

  The first electronic control unit 5 controls the rotation speed of the indoor fan motor 6 and the operation of the stepping motor unit 7 based on the data acquired by the sensor unit 4.

  The outdoor unit 3 includes a second electronic control unit 10 and an outdoor fan motor 14 that rotationally drives the outdoor fan.

The first electronic control unit 5 and the second electronic control unit 10 are connected to each other by a power line 11 and an internal / external communication line 16. The first electronic control unit 5 supplies power to the second electronic control unit 10 via the power line 11. The first electronic control unit 5 cuts off the power supply in order to reduce the standby power of the second electronic control unit 10 (the power of the second electronic control unit consumed for the start of the air conditioning operation when the air conditioning operation is stopped). Equipped with a bowl.

  A compressor 12, an expansion valve 13, and an outdoor fan motor 14 are connected to the second electronic control unit 10. In addition, the second electronic control unit 10 includes an outdoor non-volatile memory 15 composed of an EEPROM or the like as a second storage area.

  The indoor non-volatile memory 9 and the outdoor non-volatile memory 15 have an area for storing operation data when an abnormality occurs in addition to a storage area for holding control data during normal operation of the air conditioner. .

  The second electronic control device 10 is based on the data acquired by the sensor unit 4 transmitted via the internal / external communication line 16, the data acquired by the sensor unit provided in the outdoor unit, the rotational speed of the compressor 12, The rotational speed of the outdoor fan motor 14 and the operation of the expansion valve 13 are controlled.

  The operation of the air conditioner configured as described above will be described. An operation when the air conditioner is stopped will be described. When the indoor transmission / reception unit of the first electronic control unit 5 receives a request to stop the air conditioner from the remote controller, the first electronic control unit 5 opens the power supply disconnector of the first electronic control unit 5 and By cutting off the power supply from the first electronic control unit 5 to the second electronic control unit 10, standby power is reduced.

  If the power supply from the first electronic control unit 5 to the second electronic control unit 10 is cut off, communication between the first electronic control unit 5 and the second electronic control unit 10 cannot be performed.

  An operation during normal operation of the air conditioner will be described. The user can give instructions for operating, stopping, changing the temperature, etc. of the air conditioner by operating the buttons on the remote controller. When the indoor transmission / reception unit of the first electronic control unit 5 receives an operation request for the air conditioner from the remote controller, first, the power supply disconnector of the first electronic control unit 5 is closed, and the first electronic control unit 5 Power supply to the second electronic control device 10 is started.

  Next, operation commands, communication data, and the like are communicated between the first electronic control device 5 and the second electronic control device 10. Details of this communication will be described later.

  When the air conditioning operation is started, in the indoor unit 2, the indoor fan is rotated by driving the indoor fan motor 6, and the indoor air taken in through the filter from the suction port is heat-exchanged by the indoor heat exchanger and blown out from the outlet.

  In the outdoor unit 3, the outdoor fan rotates by driving the outdoor fan motor 14, and blows outdoor air to the outdoor heat exchanger.

  During the cooling operation, the refrigerant sealed in the refrigeration cycle circuit is compressed into a high-temperature and high-pressure state by the compressor 12 and releases heat to the outdoor air by the outdoor heat exchanger. Thereafter, the pressure is reduced to a low temperature and low pressure state by the expansion valve 13, and heat is absorbed from the indoor air by the indoor heat exchanger. During the heating operation, the refrigerant is compressed into a high-temperature and high-pressure state by the compressor 12 and releases heat to the indoor air by the indoor heat exchanger. Thereafter, the pressure is reduced to a low temperature and low pressure state by the expansion valve 13, and heat is absorbed from the outdoor air by the outdoor heat exchanger.

An operation when some abnormality occurs during the operation of the air conditioner will be described. During the air conditioning operation, the sensor unit 4, the indoor fan motor 6, which are devices connected to the first electronic control unit 5,
When an abnormality occurs in the stepping motor unit 7 or the like, the first electronic control unit 5 stores operation data (for example, an error code) at the time of occurrence of the abnormality in the indoor nonvolatile memory 9 as maintenance information. The maintenance information of the indoor unit 2 includes, for example, information such as the accumulated cooling operation time, the accumulated heating operation time, the operation mode, and the room temperature that is the temperature of the room air.

  In addition, when an abnormality occurs in the compressor 12, the expansion valve 13, the outdoor fan motor 14, etc., which are devices connected to the second electronic control device 10, the second electronic control device 10 stores in the outdoor nonvolatile memory 15. Operation data at the time of occurrence of abnormality is stored as maintenance information. The maintenance information of the outdoor unit 3 includes, for example, information such as the outdoor air temperature that is the temperature of the outdoor air, the command frequency to the compressor 12, and the rotational speed of the compressor 12.

  The first electronic control device 5 and the second electronic control device 10 exchange operation data and maintenance information by performing bidirectional communication.

  Communication (internal / external communication) between the first electronic control device 5 and the second electronic control device 10 will be described. FIG. 2 is a timing chart schematically showing the operation of internal / external communication. As internal / external communication, normal communication that is communication performed during normal operation and maintenance information read communication that transmits maintenance information stored in the outdoor nonvolatile memory 15 of the second electronic control device 10 to the first electronic control device 5. There is. In internal / external communication, communication data is separated by distinguishing between a communication command used in normal communication and a communication command used in maintenance information read communication.

  In normal communication, which is communication performed during normal operation, the first electronic control device 5 transmits the indoor temperature, humidity, operation mode, and the like to the second electronic control device 10 of the outdoor unit 3, and the second electronic control device 10 Transmits the operating status of the compressor 12 to the first electronic control unit 5 of the indoor unit 2 in addition to the outdoor temperature and the like.

  The first electronic control unit 5 and the second electronic control unit 10 control the operations of the indoor fan motor 6, the outdoor fan motor 14, the stepping motor unit 7, and the like based on control data obtained by the internal / external communication.

  In the maintenance information read communication, maintenance information stored in the outdoor nonvolatile memory 15 of the outdoor unit 3 is transmitted from the outdoor unit 3 to the indoor unit 2.

  When the indoor transmission / reception unit of the first electronic control unit 5 receives an operation request for the air conditioner from the remote controller and starts supplying power from the first electronic control unit 5 to the second electronic control unit 10, the first electronic control unit The device 5 starts the internal / external communication by transmitting a communication command for normal communication to the second electronic control device 10. Internal / external communication is continued during the air-conditioning operation.

  On the other hand, when the indoor transmission / reception unit of the first electronic control unit 5 receives a stop request for the air conditioner from the remote controller, the first electronic control unit 5 transmits the stop request to the second electronic control unit 10.

  After the first electronic control unit receives the stop request, for the first predetermined time (for example, 2 minutes), in order to stabilize the behavior of the refrigerant and the lubricating oil in the refrigeration cycle circuit, the rotational speed of the outdoor fan motor 14 is set. Delay control such as dropping gradually.

Furthermore, after the first electronic control unit 5 receives the stop request, a second predetermined time (for example, 3 minutes) set longer than the first predetermined time is set to an erroneous stop request due to an erroneous operation of the user's remote control. Is supplied to the second electronic control device 10 in preparation for the case where is transmitted. According to this, when a correct driving request is transmitted immediately after an erroneous stop request, the first
Communication between the electronic control unit 5 and the second electronic control unit 10 can be established, and the air operation can be resumed. Note that the second predetermined time is set in consideration of the communication time required to transmit the maximum transmission amount of the maintenance information read communication.

  After the first predetermined time elapses, the maintenance information read communication command is transmitted from the first electronic control device 5 to the second electronic control device 10 until the second predetermined time. When the second electronic control unit 10 receives the maintenance information read communication command, the second electronic control unit 10 starts transmission of maintenance information held in the outdoor nonvolatile memory 15 of the outdoor unit 3. That is, the communication shifts to the maintenance information read communication of the outdoor unit 3.

  The maintenance information read communication shifts to normal communication again when the transmission of the maintenance information of the outdoor unit 3 to the electronic control device of the indoor unit 2 is completed before the second predetermined time elapses. That is, when all the maintenance information held by the outdoor unit 3 is read, the communication returns to normal communication, and returns to internal / external communication using a command for normal communication. At this time, the maintenance information read from the outdoor unit 3 is stored in the indoor nonvolatile memory 9 of the indoor unit 2.

  After the elapse of the second predetermined time, the first electronic control unit 5 opens the power supply disconnector and stops the power supply from the first electronic control unit 5 to the second electronic control unit 10.

  In the maintenance information read communication, the maintenance information of the outdoor unit 3 stored in the outdoor non-volatile memory 15 is transmitted to the first electronic control unit 5, so that the amount of data is larger than that of normal communication.

  In addition, since it is necessary to send and receive requests and data to each component device in a timely manner after starting the operation of the air conditioner, the amount of data communicated as normal communication is smaller than before starting or after stopping operation. There are many more. On the other hand, after the first electronic control unit 5 receives the stop request, it is only necessary to transmit / receive a request or data to a specific component device as delay control, so compared to the amount of data communicated as normal communication during the air conditioning operation. The amount of data is not large.

  In the present embodiment, since the first electronic control device 5 receives the stop request and performs the maintenance information read communication until the power supply to the second electronic control device 10 is stopped, Normal communication response is not impaired.

  A method for using maintenance information will be described. When a user or an operator operates a remote control and presses a button for displaying maintenance information, that is, when the indoor transmission / reception unit of the first electronic control unit 5 receives a maintenance information read request from the remote control. The maintenance information related to the indoor unit held in the indoor nonvolatile memory 9 of the indoor unit 2 and the maintenance information related to the outdoor unit 3 held in the outdoor nonvolatile memory 15 are combined and transmitted to the remote controller.

  For this reason, even when the power supply to the outdoor unit 3 is interrupted or when communication between the first electronic control unit 5 and the second electronic control unit 10 is not performed, the display screen provided on the remote controller In addition, maintenance information of the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3 can be displayed. As a result, the user or the operator can know in detail the state in which an abnormality has occurred in the air conditioner.

  In addition, maintenance information captured in the indoor nonvolatile memory 9 of the indoor unit 2 is captured in a remote server through a network connected to the air conditioner, thereby managing the state of the air conditioner device from a remote location. can do.

The maintenance information captured in the indoor non-volatile memory 9 is a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, or the like connected to the indoor unit 2 via short-range wireless communication or a wireless LAN in accordance with a user instruction. May be displayed.

  In addition, the maintenance information captured in the indoor nonvolatile memory 9 may be displayed on the display unit of the operation terminal of the home energy management system (HEMS) connected to the air conditioner through the network according to the user's instruction. Good.

  Moreover, you may display the maintenance information taken in the indoor non-volatile memory 9 with LED etc. of the main body of the air conditioner 1 according to a user's instruction | indication.

  Also by these, the user and the operator can know in detail the state in which an abnormality has occurred in the air conditioner.

  The present invention reads out maintenance information stored in the outdoor unit after the operation is stopped, and stores the read maintenance information in the indoor unit, so that the indoor unit and the outdoor unit can be disconnected even when the power supply to the outdoor unit is cut off. Since the maintenance information of the machine can be read, it can be widely applied to an air conditioner using internal / external communication.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air conditioner 2 Indoor unit 3 Outdoor unit 4 Sensor part 5 1st electronic controller 6 Indoor fan motor 7 Stepping motor part 8 AC power supply 9 Indoor non-volatile memory 10 Second electronic controller 11 Power line 12 Compressor 13 Expansion valve 14 Outdoor fan motor 15 Outdoor non-volatile memory 16 Internal / external communication line

Claims (3)

An air conditioner in which an outdoor unit and an indoor unit are connected via a communication line, wherein the indoor unit includes a power supply unit connected to a commercial power source, a first electronic control unit that controls the indoor unit, and an indoor unit A first storage area that stores the maintenance information of the outdoor unit, and the outdoor unit includes a second electronic control unit that controls the outdoor unit, and a second storage area that stores maintenance information of the outdoor unit, After the machine receives the operation stop instruction, normal communication is performed until the first predetermined time after which the behavior of the refrigerant and the lubricating oil in the refrigeration cycle circuit is stabilized, and maintenance information read communication is performed after the normal communication ends. , the period from the stop instruction thereafter until the second predetermined time elapses again performs the normal communication, the maintenance information stored in the second storage area when the maintenance information read communication, the first Air conditioner and transmits to the electronic control unit. The air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising a remote controller, wherein maintenance information of the outdoor unit is displayed on the remote controller.   The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein maintenance information of the outdoor unit is displayed on a terminal connected via a communication unit.