JPH11175871A - Burner with communication function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To have a load for a remote monitoring system reduced by properly performing notification of abnormal data. SOLUTION: When an abnormality occurs in a hot water feeder and this is detected at as S3, a burning is stopped at an S6 and it is judged at an S7 whether or not the abnormality ranks serious A out of kinds of abnormality ranked in advance. If it ranks A, a telephone number of a monitoring center is dialed at an S8 and the abnormality data are transmitted. On the other hand, if it is judged at the S7 that the abnormality ranks anything but A, that is, it is minor, the transmission of the abnormal data is not executed immediately but the occurrence contents are saved at an S9 and, when the same abnormality occurs, the number of occurrences is integrated. Then, it is judged at an S10 that the number of integrated minor abnormality occurrences reaches three, the abnormal data are transmitted at the S8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a combustion apparatus with a communication function used for a remote monitoring system using communication means such as a telephone line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a remote monitoring system in which gas meters at homes and offices are connected to a monitoring center via a telephone line to centrally monitor the remaining amount of gas, gas leakage, and the like has been employed. Therefore, for the same purpose, a combustion device such as a water heater
It is connected to the monitoring center of the combustion device via communication means such as a telephone line, and is periodically or sequentially notified of information generated in the combustion device, for example, abnormal data such as ignition failure or failure, thereby performing maintenance or the like. A remote monitoring system capable of promptly responding to the problem can also be configured. Therefore, as a combustion device for such a remote monitoring system, a device provided with a communication function capable of outputting to outside using a telephone line is known.

[0003]

However, in the above-described combustion apparatus with a communication function, even a slight abnormality, such as poor ignition, which can be resolved by operating the apparatus again, is also subject to notification. , The frequency of reporting becomes relatively high.
Therefore, the load on the monitoring center is increased, and the line is blocked, so that the notification of the severe abnormality may be delayed. Also, the line usage fee increases.

Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a combustion apparatus with a communication function that can appropriately respond to a remote monitoring system by properly reporting the abnormality. Things.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the types of the abnormalities are classified in advance according to the degree, and the generated abnormalities are ranked in the highest rank. In this case, the notification is performed immediately when the corresponding condition is satisfied, or when the predetermined condition is satisfied, when the predetermined number of times or the predetermined time is reached. Further, in addition to the object of claim 1, in the invention according to claim 2, in order to reduce the frequency of reporting at other ranks, when reporting the abnormality of the highest rank, the predetermined number of times or the prescribed time period is used. Irrespective of the arrival, abnormalities of other ranks are also reported at the same time.

On the other hand, according to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the same object as in the first aspect, the notification is performed if the type of the generated abnormality is different, and the type of the generated abnormality is If the abnormality is the same as the abnormality that occurred last time, the notification is not performed.
Further, in addition to the object of claim 3, the invention according to claim 4 has the same type of abnormality because the occurrence situation may be different if the interval of occurrence is long even for the same abnormality. However, if the occurrence interval is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, the above-mentioned notification is made. Further, in the invention according to claim 5, in addition to the object of claim 3 or 4, even if the same abnormality is present, if the normal combustion is performed during that time, the occurrence situation may be different. Even if the same type of abnormality is detected, the above notification is made when normal combustion control is performed between the two.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 First, an embodiment of the first invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a remote monitoring system using a water heater with a communication function (hereinafter abbreviated as “water heater”), and FIG. 2 is a configuration explanatory diagram of a controller of the water heater. First, the water heater 1 performs a known hot water supply control for heating water passing through the heat exchanger with the combustion heat of the burner.
In addition to the CPU 3, a combustion control unit 4, an abnormality detection unit 5, a storage unit 6, a first communication unit 7, and a second communication unit 8 are provided. The combustion control unit 4 includes a drive circuit such as an electromagnetic valve and a proportional control valve disposed in the gas flow path, an ignition circuit including an igniter, and the like, and performs a point fire extinguishing control of the burner and an opening and closing control of the proportional control valve. Next, the abnormality detection unit 5 detects non-ignition, misfire, incomplete combustion, and the like by the frame rod or the thermocouple, failure detection of the solenoid valve, abnormal temperature detection by the fuse disposed at the inner body outlet of the combustion chamber, and the like. Do. The storage unit 6 can store abnormal data such as the number of times and time of occurrence of abnormalities detected by the abnormality detecting unit 5 and a control routine for abnormal data processing to be described later. The storage unit 6 stores a normal R
The telephone number of the monitoring center 25 is also stored using a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM in addition to the AM and the ROM.
Further, the first communication unit 7 is connected to the communication unit 10 of the remote controller 9 to exchange signals between the remote controller 9 and the controller 2, and the second communication unit 8 is connected to the NCU 21 on the terminal side. Communication with the outside is possible by telephone line. On the other hand, the remote controller 9 is provided with a display unit 11 for setting temperature, current time, and the like, a display control unit 12 thereof, an operation switch, a temperature setting switch (not shown), and the like, in addition to the communication unit 10.

On the other hand, the remote monitoring system 20 utilizes the gas meter remote monitoring system described in the related art. NCU21 located in each home or business office
Is a transmission device having a modem function in addition to a normal telephone line control function, and is connected to the telephone set 22, the gas meter 23, and the second communication unit 8 of the water heater 1, and is obtained from the gas meter 23 and the water heater 1. The data is transmitted to a gas meter monitoring center 24 and a water heater monitoring center 25 via a telephone company line 27. The monitoring center 25 for the water heater also has an NCU 26 on the center side, and the water heater 1, 1
It is possible to transmit and receive information to and from the water heaters 1 and 1 at all times. Of course, it is also possible to output information by a personal computer or a printer.

In the water heater 1, the types of abnormalities that can occur are determined in advance according to the degree of
It is divided into ranks, and this rank division is stored in the storage unit 6. For example, a mild abnormality is an ignition mistake or a misfire on the way, and a severe abnormality is a malfunction of a solenoid valve, an inner body temperature abnormality detected by blowing of a fuse arranged at an inner body outlet of a heat exchanger, Inner body damage, etc., detected by fusing of a long fuse wound around the combustion chamber. So, usually,
When an abnormality occurs, it is immediately transmitted to the monitoring center 25. Here, it is determined whether transmission is necessary according to the rank of the abnormality that has occurred. This abnormal data processing control will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. First, in normal use, if the normal combustion conditions are satisfied in the determination of S1, the combustion control unit 4 performs burner combustion control in S2, and no abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit 5 in the determination of S3. If there is no normal combustion stop condition such as operation of the fire extinguishing button, the combustion is continued, and if the normal combustion stop condition is satisfied, the combustion is stopped in S5. On the other hand, if an abnormality occurs in the water heater 1 and this is detected in S3, the combustion is stopped in S6, and in the next S7, it is determined whether or not the occurred abnormality is a severe A rank.
If the rank is A, the telephone number of the monitoring center 25 is dialed in the second communication unit 8 in S8, and the NCU is
The abnormal data is transmitted via 21. On the other hand, S7
If the determined abnormality is other than the rank A, that is, if the abnormality is mild, the abnormality data is not transmitted. In S9, the content of the abnormality is stored, and if the same abnormality occurs, the number of times is accumulated. Then, if the number of times of occurrence of the minor abnormality reaches three in the determination in S10, the abnormality data is transmitted in S8.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the types of abnormalities are classified in advance, and the necessity of transmission is determined according to the rank of the abnormalities that have occurred. It is possible to eliminate a delay in reporting a severe abnormality due to traffic congestion. It is also possible to save on line usage fees. In the first embodiment, the notification is made by integrating the number of minor abnormalities in S9, but the time during which the minor abnormality is occurring is counted here, and the report is made when a predetermined time has elapsed. Even so, the same effect can be obtained.
Further, the setting of the severity of the abnormality and the number of ranks are not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be changed as appropriate, and the conditions of the number of times of reporting and the time may be changed according to each rank. Furthermore, when notifying the accumulated minor abnormality, the date and time of the last occurrence of the abnormality and the contents of the previous abnormality are also reported, so that more detailed information can be obtained and can be used as a reference for maintenance. is there. In addition, in the first embodiment, when a serious abnormality occurs, only the severe abnormality data is reported in S8, but at this time, the minor abnormality that occurred before the report was made. The number of occurrences and time of
By notifying even if the number of times and time have not reached the predetermined number, it is possible to reduce the frequency of notification due to minor abnormalities, and to refer to maintenance with detailed information, and Preventable.

Next, a description will be given of the second and third embodiments of the second invention in which the above object is realized without performing the ranking. The configurations of the water heater 1 and the remote monitoring system 20 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and only the abnormal data processing control in the controller 2 is different. Therefore, the description of the other components will be omitted, and only the same control will be described with respective flowcharts.

Mode 2 In FIG. 4, the controls S1 to S5 for normal use are the same as those in the mode 1. In this case as well, if an abnormality occurs, the combustion is first stopped in S6. It is determined whether the abnormality is the same as the abnormality that has occurred. If it is not the same as the abnormality that occurred last time in this determination, the monitoring center 2
5 is transmitted. Therefore, the abnormality that has occurred first is processed here. On the other hand, if it is the same as the previous abnormality, in S9, it is determined whether or not the interval from the occurrence of the previous abnormality to the occurrence of the current abnormality is a predetermined time or more,
If the time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, the notification in S8 is performed. If the time is within the predetermined time, the notification is reset and the notification is not performed, thereby enabling normal combustion control. That is, in the second embodiment, the notification is performed each time the type of abnormality is different, and the notification is omitted when the same type of abnormality occurs repeatedly. However, even if the abnormality is the same, if the interval becomes longer, the occurrence situation may be different. Therefore, in consideration of this, a notification is made after a lapse of a predetermined time or more to enable quick response such as maintenance. Therefore, also in this case, the necessity of notification can be selected based on the type of abnormality and its occurrence time, thereby reducing the load on the remote monitoring system 20 and eliminating delays in abnormality notification due to line congestion. Also, it is possible to save the line usage fee.

Mode 3 In FIG. 5, the normal use controls S1 to S5 are the same as those of the other modes, but a normal combustion stop flag is used here. When normal combustion is stopped in S5, normal combustion is stopped in S6. The flag is turned on (1). Then, if an abnormality is detected in the determination of S3 and the combustion is stopped due to the abnormality in S7, it is determined in S8 whether the normal combustion stop flag is ON (1). With this determination, the normal combustion stop flag is ON.
If (1), the abnormal data is transmitted to the monitoring center 25 in S9. On the other hand, the normal combustion stop flag is OFF
If (0), it is determined in S10 whether this abnormality is the same as the abnormality that occurred last time. In this determination, if it is not the same as the abnormality that occurred last time, the abnormality data is transmitted to the monitoring center 25 in S9. If the abnormality is the same as the previous abnormality, it is reset and no notification is made. Control is possible. After the data transmission in S9, S
At 11, the normal combustion stop flag is turned off (0). That is, also in the third embodiment, when the same type of abnormality repeatedly occurs, the notification is omitted. However, if normal combustion is performed during that time, the occurrence situation may be different even for the same abnormality, so in consideration of this, if there is normal combustion, cancel the omission of the report,
By reporting, quick response such as maintenance is possible. Therefore, also in this case, it is possible to select the necessity of notification according to the type of abnormality, reduce the load on the remote monitoring system 20, and eliminate delays in abnormality notification due to line congestion. Of course, it also leads to savings on line usage fees.

In the above-described embodiments 2 and 3, the same purpose is realized by a single configuration. For example, in the embodiment 3, after S10 in which the previous abnormality is determined to be abnormal this time, before resetting, It is also possible to add the determination of the elapse of a predetermined time or more and to transmit data if the elapse of the predetermined time or more. In the second and third embodiments, the combustion is stopped when an abnormality occurs. However, as in the first embodiment, the abnormalities are classified in advance, and it is determined whether the abnormalities are severe. If there is any abnormality, the process may proceed without stopping the combustion. Conversely, form 1
In this case, in addition to the notification of the number of times of the processing of the minor abnormality by the number of times and the time, similarly to the second and third embodiments, the control of not reporting the same type may be adopted by using the occurrence interval and the normal combustion as a guide.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the types of abnormalities are classified in advance, and a notification is made according to the rank of the abnormalities that have occurred, thereby reducing the load on the remote monitoring system. Thus, it is possible to eliminate delays in reporting abnormalities due to line congestion, and the like. It is also possible to save on line usage fees. According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, when reporting the abnormality of the highest rank, regardless of the arrival of the predetermined number of times or the predetermined time, the abnormality of the other rank is notified. By notifying at the same time, the frequency of notification at other ranks can be reduced, more detailed information can be reported, and maintenance and subsequent abnormal occurrence prevention can be appropriately dealt with.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, if the type of abnormality that has occurred is the same as the type of abnormality that occurred last time, no notification is made, so that the same effect as that of the first aspect is obtained. Obtainable. In addition to the effect of the third aspect, the invention according to the fourth aspect is such that, even if the same abnormality occurs, the notification is made when the interval between both occurrences is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. It is possible to quickly cope with a case where the occurrence situation may be different due to the passage of time. Further, in addition to the effect of the third or fourth aspect, the invention according to the fifth aspect provides a notification when a normal combustion control is performed between the two even if the abnormality is the same, thereby providing the same abnormality. Even in this case, it is possible to quickly cope with a case where the occurrence situation may be different due to normal combustion control.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a remote monitoring system using a water heater with a communication function.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a controller.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of abnormal data processing control according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of abnormal data processing according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of abnormal data processing according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Water heater with communication function 2. Controller 3.
CPU, 4 ... combustion control unit, 5 ... abnormality detection unit, 6 ...
Storage unit, 7 first communication unit, 8 second communication unit, 9
Remote control, 20 ... remote monitoring system, 21, 26 ...
NCU, 25 Monitoring center.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G08B 25/00 510 G08B 25/00 510B H04M 11/04 H04M 11/04

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A combustion device with a communication function capable of reporting an abnormality that has occurred to the outside using communication means, wherein the type of the abnormality is classified in advance according to the degree, and the abnormality that has occurred is ranked highest. The combustion device with a communication function is characterized in that a notification is made immediately when the condition is satisfied, or when a predetermined number of times or a predetermined time is reached when the condition corresponds to another rank. 2. The communication function according to claim 1, wherein when reporting the abnormality of the highest rank, the abnormality of the other rank is also reported at the same time regardless of whether the predetermined number of times or the predetermined time has been reached. With combustion device. 3. A combustion device with a communication function capable of notifying the generated abnormality to the outside using a communication means, wherein the notification is performed if the type of the generated abnormality is different, and the type of the generated abnormality is determined. The combustion device with a communication function, wherein the notification is not performed if the abnormality is the same as the abnormality that occurred last time. 4. The combustion device with a communication function according to claim 3, wherein the notification is performed when the occurrence interval is equal to or longer than a predetermined time even if the same type of abnormality is present. 5. The combustion apparatus with a communication function according to claim 3, wherein the notification is made when normal combustion control is performed between the two even if the abnormality is of the same type.