KR20150045148A - Apparatus for error tracking and method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to an apparatus for error tracking and method for the same. The apparatus for error tracking according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a measuring unit which creates measurement data by measuring operation states of an operation unit; a central processing unit which creates error tracking data using the measurement data and saves the error tracking data; and a communication unit which transmits a data map representing the error tracking data and its format to an external source.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a fault history tracking apparatus and a fault history tracking method,

The present invention relates to a fault history tracing apparatus and a fault history tracing method, and more particularly, to a fault history tracing apparatus and a fault history tracing method capable of maintaining compatibility with different types of products.

The water purifier is a device for generating a purified water by filtering foreign matters contained in raw water by a plurality of filters. Conventionally, the water purifier includes a water purifying function for filtering raw water or a water purifying function including only a few convenient functions (hot water and cold water providing function) . However, with the development of electronic control techniques and the like, microprocessors and the like are built in the water purifier and are designed to be electronically controlled according to the stored control program.

However, the water purifier controlled by the control program may cause abnormal operation or failure due to various causes, and the water purifier may not be able to perform a normal operation. Conventionally, the water purifier is diagnosed whether the water purifier is broken or not by disassembling the water purifier directly, confirming whether the water purifier is malfunctioning or using various test equipments. However, in this case, it takes a lot of time and a considerable amount of time .

This application is intended to provide a fault history tracing device and a fault history tracing method that can maintain compatibility with different types of products.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a fault history tracking apparatus comprising: a measurement unit for measuring an operation state of an operation unit to generate measurement data; A central processing unit for generating fault trace data using the measurement data and storing the fault trace data; And a communication unit for transmitting the fault tracking data and the data map indicating the format of the fault tracking data to the outside using wired or wireless communication.

Here, the central processing unit updates the fault trace data every predetermined unit time and sequentially stores the fault trace data in a RAM (Random Access Memory), and when the stored fault trace data exceeds a predetermined storage capacity, The failure trace data can be sequentially overwritten within the capacity.

Here, the central processing unit stores the failure trace data stored in the RAM in an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read-Only Memory) when a failure signal is input, and updates the failure trace data stored in the RAM And can be sequentially stored in the EEPROM.

The data map may include a start address and an end address of the EEPROM storing the failure trace data, an update period of the failure trace data, a size of the failure trace data, and a repetition period of the failure trace data.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a fault history tracing method for generating fault trace data for a product using a measuring device provided inside the product, and transmitting the fault trace data to a RAM (Random Access Memory for storing the fault trace data; A failure detection step of storing the failure trace data stored in the RAM in an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read-Only Memory) provided in the product when a failure signal is input; And a failure trace data transmission step of transmitting the data map indicating the format format of the failure trace data and the failure trace data stored in the EEPROM to the outside of the product using wired or wireless communication.

The fault trace data generation step may include updating the fault trace data at predetermined unit time intervals and sequentially storing the fault trace data in the RAM. When the stored fault trace data exceeds the preset storage capacity, The fault trace data can be overwritten sequentially.

Here, in the failure detection step, when the failure signal is input, the failure tracking data stored in the RAM can be sequentially stored in the EEPROM sequentially from the latest updated failure tracking data.

The data map may include a start address and an end address of the EEPROM storing the failure trace data, an update period of the failure trace data, a size of the failure trace data, and a repetition period of the failure trace data.

In addition, the means for solving the above-mentioned problems are not all enumerating the features of the present invention. The various features of the present invention and the advantages and effects thereof will be more fully understood by reference to the following specific embodiments.

According to the fault history tracing apparatus and the fault history tracing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, compatibility with different types of products can be maintained, and in the same manner, Diagnosis can be performed.

According to the fault history tracing apparatus and the fault history tracing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, data necessary for determining whether a fault occurs and diagnosing a fault cause in the product is generated, and the generated data is transmitted through wired or wireless communication , It is possible to more quickly and accurately diagnose and take corrective action on the product.

1 is a block diagram showing a fault history tracking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic diagram showing a memory of a fault history tracking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 and 4 are flowcharts showing a failure history tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in order that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. In the drawings, like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings.

In addition, in the entire specification, when a part is referred to as being 'connected' to another part, it may be referred to as 'indirectly connected' not only with 'directly connected' . Also, to "include" an element means that it may include other elements, rather than excluding other elements, unless specifically stated otherwise.

1 is a block diagram showing a fault history tracking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a fault history tracking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a measurement unit 10, a central processing unit 20, and a communication unit 30.

Hereinafter, a fault history tracking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The failure history tracking device according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied to various electronic products installed and operated in a home or a company. In particular, the present invention can be applied to indoor appliances such as a water purifier, an air purifier, and an air conditioner. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the fault history tracking device is applied to a water purifier.

Specifically, the water purifier can receive fluid from the outside, and the inflow fluid can move along the flow path. The fluid moved along the flow path can be supplied to the filter part (f), and the filter part (f) can filter out foreign matter and contaminants contained in the fluid to generate clean water. The filter unit f may include a sediment filter, a pre-carbon filter, a reverse osmosis membrane filter, a post-carbon filter, and a nano filter Various types of filters may be included, including filters. However, the types, the number and the order of the filters provided in the filter unit (f) may be variously changed according to the filtering method of the water purifier or the filtration performance required for the water purifier.

The purified water filtered in the filter unit (f) can be supplied to the storage tank (t), and the water stored in the storage tank is stored in the water tank. And a cold water tank for generating and storing cold water by cooling the purified water with the cooler (c). In addition, it may further include an ice producing unit for cooling the purified water to generate ice, and a sterilizing aquatic producing unit for electrolyzing water to generate sterilized water.

The purified water, the cold water, and the hot water stored in the storage tank t may be supplied to the user or the like by adjusting the supply amount according to the opening amounts of the water purification valve V1, the cold water valve V2, and the hot water valve V3, In addition, various kinds of valves for controlling the flow path may be further included.

In addition, various types of sensors, including a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the purified water supplied to the hot water tank and the temperature of the hot water out of the hot water tank, a water level sensor for measuring the water level in the storage tank t, .

In order for the water purifier to operate normally, it is necessary to control the operation parts of the heater h, the cooler c, the ice generator, the sterilizing water generator, the valves V1, V2 and V3, May control the operation unit using a central control unit included in the water purifier. That is, the central control unit can receive information on the operation of the operation unit, generate control commands for the operation unit using the information, and transmit the control instructions to each operation unit. Here, data and programs necessary for the operation of the central control unit may be stored in a storage device such as a RAM or an EEPROM provided in the water purifier.

However, the water purifier may cause abnormal operation or failure due to various causes. In the past, the cause of the abnormality of the water purifier was identified by disassembling the water purifier directly and visually confirming it, or diagnosing the water purifier by using various test equipments. However, even when the actual trouble does not occur, the user often receives a simple remorse, a feeling of dissatisfaction, or even a fault even when returning, so that it takes a lot of time and cost to identify the cause of the failure of the water purifier There was a problem of. Therefore, it is required to confirm the cause of the failure of the water purifier more quickly and accurately.

In more detail, the fault history tracking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a measurement unit 10, and the measurement unit 10 may be used to measure the operation state of the operation unit and generate measurement data have.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the measurement unit 10 can receive operation states from the respective operation units included in the water purifier, and can generate measurement data on the operation states. For example, the measurement unit 10 may measure an operation state of the heater h, generate a measurement cycle of the supply period of the power supplied to the heater h, V1) and to generate the measurement data of the water purification valve (V1) as the measurement data. The measuring unit 10 may measure the operation state of the flow sensor that measures the flow rate of the fluid supplied to the hot water tank, and generate an output value of the flow rate sensor as the measurement data. Here, the measuring unit 10 may be separately provided for the product such as the water purifier and directly measure the operation state and generate measurement data. However, the configuration of the sensor, etc., 10).

The central processing unit 20 may generate the failure tracking data using the measurement data, and may store the failure tracking data. The failure trace data may be a predetermined data selected in advance in order to confirm the cause of a malfunction or operation in a product such as the water purifier, and may be arranged in a predetermined format. Therefore, by using the failure trace data, it is possible to grasp information about the occurrence of the failure, failure cause, and failure location of the water purifier. The measurement data included in the failure tracking data may be a value measured at the same point in time, and then the measurement data may be updated every predetermined unit time to generate the failure tracking data.

The central processing unit 20 may first store the failure tracking data in a RAM (Random Access Memory) 21, and sequentially store the failure tracking data and the updated failure tracking data in a storage area allocated to the RAM . However, if the capacity of the stored fault trace data exceeds the preset storage capacity allocated to the RAM 21, the fault trace data can be overwritten sequentially within the preset storage capacity. At this time, the central processing unit 20 may overwrite old data.

Here, the update of the failure trace data may be performed in different time units according to the type of the measurement data. For example, the measurement data such as the operation of the valve, the flow rate sensor, and the power supply cycle supplied to the heater can be updated every second to generate the failure trace data. As for the temperature of the hot water or the temperature of the cold water, So that the failure tracking data can be generated. In addition, according to the type of the water purifier, the failure trace data can be generated by changing the update interval or the type of the measurement data. For the failure trace data generated for each measurement data having the update interval, An area to be stored in the RAM 21 can be separately stored.

Thereafter, when a failure signal is input to the central processing unit 20, the failure trace data stored in the RAM 21 can be stored in an EEPROM 22 (Electrically Erasable Read-Only Memory) From the failure trace data to the EEPROM 22 sequentially from the latest updated failure trace data.

In the operation of the water purifier, the central processing unit 20 can detect a failure such as an error or the like, and can output the failure signal when the occurrence of the failure is detected. For example, when the temperature of the hot water in the measurement data is measured to be excessively higher than a predetermined value, or when the magnitude of the current supplied to the heater h rises above a preset overcurrent value, The controller may output the failure signal to stop the operation of the water purifier when an error occurs in processing the command. The central processing unit 20 may be included in a separate structure from the central control unit included in the water purifier, but it is also possible to use the central control unit of the water purifier as the central processing unit 20.

When the fault signal is generated, the operation of the water purifier is interrupted, and there is a risk that the fault trace data stored in the RAM 21 may be lost. That is, when the power supply is interrupted due to the characteristics of the RAM 21, all the data stored in the RAM 21 disappears. Therefore, when the fault signal is generated, the fault trace data stored in the RAM 21 is immediately transferred to the EEPROM 22, As shown in FIG. Since the stored data is retained even when the power is turned off, the EEPROM 22 can identify the cause of the failure of the water purifier by using the failure trace data stored in the EEPROM 22. Although the EEPROM 22 is illustrated here, any other nonvolatile memory may be utilized.

If the failure trace data is stored in the EEPROM 22, then even if the power of the water purifier is shut off, it is possible to use the failure follow-up data to determine the failure area in the water purifier and to identify the cause of the failure. However, since the types of the water purifiers vary, the type of the trouble tracking data may be different depending on the type of the water purifier. For example, a water purifier capable of providing both purified water and cold water, a water purifier providing water and ice, a water purifier capable of generating sterilized water using electrolysis, etc., So that the failure trace data also varies depending on the type of the water purifier. Furthermore, it is apparent that different types of products, such as water purifiers, air cleaners, air conditioners, etc., will each generate different failure trace data.

That is, since the fault trace data is different depending on the type of the water purifier or the type of the product, a problem may occur in terms of compatibility. Therefore, it is necessary to extract necessary information from different failure trace data generated by different kinds of water purifiers and different kinds of products. Specifically, when different purifiers transmit the failure trace data, the data map indicating the format of the failure trace data may be transmitted first. For example, a data map including a start address and an end address of the EEPROM 22 in which the failure trace data is stored, an update period of the failure trace data, a size of the failure trace data, and a repetition period of the failure trace data So that information included in the failure tracking data can be extracted according to the format format.

2 is a schematic diagram showing a data map stored in the EEPROM 22 and failure trace data. The left column of FIG. 2 represents the address of the EEPROM 22, and +0, +1, +2, +3, +4, +5, +6, Represents space. The "h" of the address is a hexadecimal notation.

First, the data map may be stored in the A area. That is, information on the format of each failure tracking data stored in the EEPROM 22 can be obtained by using the data map stored in the area A described above. As described above, the type of the fault trace data can be divided according to the update period and the like, and the area where the fault trace data according to each type is stored can be identified through the data map stored in the A area. Accordingly, after information on the update period, data size, and the like of the failure trace data is obtained through the data map, the measurement information included in the failure trace data can be extracted.

For example, when 02 00 03 F 8 00 3 C 08 04 (h) is input in the area A, the start address (Start address) is 0200 (H), the end address (End address) is 03F8 The sampling time (Samp Time) indicates that the update period is 003C (h), the data size (D.Size) is 08 (h), and the repetition period (D.Peri) of each data is 04 (h). Therefore, the fault trace data is stored in the area B between 0200 (h) and 03F8 (h), that is, the fault trace data is updated every 60 (3 * 16 + 12) Each measurement data has a size of 8 bits, that is, 1 byte, indicating that four measurement data are continuously updated and stored. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, four measurement data Dm0, Dm1, Dm2, and Dm3, which are updated and stored every minute, may be sequentially stored in the B area. Here, Dm0 is a symbol indicating the order of the failure trace data, and Dm1, Dm2, and Dm3 may be measurement data each having a size of 1 byte.

In addition, different types of failure trace data may be stored in the C region according to another data map input in the A area. Ds0, Ds2, Ds3, Ds4, Ds5, Ds6, and Ds7 may be measurement data each having a size of 1 byte, and the eight measurement data may be data indicating the order of the failure tracking data, It can be updated every second.

The communication unit 30 can transmit the data map indicating the format of the failure tracking data and the failure tracking data to the outside using wired or wireless communication. As described above, since the measurement data of the water purifier stored in the EEPROM 22 can be extracted by using the data map and the failure trace data, the communication unit 30 can be used to extract the fault trace data and the data The map can be transmitted to the outside. The failure tracking data and the data map transmitted by the communication unit 30 can be transmitted to a separate analysis terminal (not shown) or the like to extract the measurement data.

When the communication unit 30 performs wired or wireless communication with an external analysis terminal (not shown), the wired communication method includes a USB (Universal Serial Bus), a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) And can utilize Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), wireless LAN, Bluetooth, zigbee, and the like as a wireless communication method. Further, the communication unit 30 may communicate with the analysis terminal by utilizing mobile communication standards such as 3G, 4G, and the like.

3 and 4 are flowcharts showing a failure history tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the failure history tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a failure tracking data generation step S10, a failure detection step S20, and a failure tracking data transmission step S30 .

Hereinafter, a fault history tracking method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.

The fault trace data generation step (S10) can generate fault trace data for the product using a measuring device provided inside the product, and store the fault trace data in the RAM provided in the product. The product may include various electronic products installed in a home or a company and may include indoor appliances such as a water purifier, an air purifier, and an air conditioner. Inside the product, a measuring device for measuring the operation state of the product may be included in order to control the operation of the product. Therefore, by using the failure trace data in which the measurement data measured by the measurement device are sequentially stored, it is possible to diagnose whether or not the product has a failure, a cause of failure, and the like.

Here, the failure trace data may be updated every predetermined unit time, and the failure trace data and the updated failure trace data may be sequentially stored in the RAM. However, the storage capacity for storing the failure tracking data may be preset in the RAM, and the capacity of the failure tracking data stored in the RAM may exceed the set storage capacity. In this case, the failure tracking data can be sequentially overwritten within the range of the storage capacity of the RAM, and the old data can be overwritten at this time.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a specific example of generating the failure trace data. First, t can be set to 0 (S11). Thereafter, first data as failure tracking data for measurement data to be updated every second is generated (S12), and the generated first data can be stored in the RAM (S13). If t is less than 60 (S14), the t data is incremented by 1 (S15), and the first data updated with the measurement data can be generated (S12), and the first data to be stored in the RAM After the address is adjusted, the updated first data may be stored (S13). The above process can be repeated until t becomes 60 (S14). If t is 60, the second data, which is the failure tracking data for the measurement data updated every minute, can be generated (S16). After adjusting the address where the generated second data is stored, 2 data can be stored in the RAM (S17). Accordingly, the first data is generated and stored every second until the failure signal is inputted (S18) (S12, S13), and the second data is generated every minute and stored (S16, S17) Tracking data can be generated.

If the failure signal is input, the process proceeds to a failure detection step S20, and the failure tracking data stored in the RAM may be stored in an EEPROM provided in the product. Since the stored data is erased when the power supply is cut off, the RAM stores the data stored in the RAM in the EEPROM, which is a non-volatile memory, when the fault signal is input. So that fault trace data can be maintained. In particular, when the failure signal is input, the failure tracking data stored in the RAM may be sequentially stored in the EEPROM starting from the latest updated failure tracking data.

Then, through the failure tracking data transmission step S30, the failure tracking data stored in the EEPROM can be transmitted to the outside of the product. The fault trace data can be transmitted to an analysis terminal or the like, and the analysis terminal can perform a fault diagnosis on the fault of the product or the cause of the fault, using the fault trace data.

Specifically, the failure tracking data stored in the EEPROM can be transmitted to the analysis terminal or the like using wired or wireless communication, and the data map indicating the format format of the failure tracking data can be transmitted together with the failure tracking data . Since the data map is transmitted together, it is possible to maintain compatibility even when different types of fault trace data are utilized. For example, when the data map of 02 00 03 F 8 00 3 C 08 04 (h) is input, the start address (Start Address) is 0200 (H), the end address (End Address) is 03F8 It is determined that the sampling time (Samp Time), that is, the update period is 003C (h), each data size (D.Size) is 08 (h) and the repetition period (D.Peri) of each data is 04 . That is, it can be seen that the fault trace data is stored between 0200 (h) and 03F8 (h), and the fault trace data is updated every 60 (3 * 16 + 12) The measurement data of 8 bits, that is, 1 byte, and four measurement data are sequentially updated and stored. Therefore, by using the data map, measurement data stored in the failure tracking data can be extracted, and then it is possible to determine whether the product has a failure or a cause of failure by using the measurement data.

The failure trace data transmission step S30 may utilize USB (Universal Serial Bus), UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter) or the like as the wired communication method. The wireless communication method may include Near Field Communication (NFC) ), Radio frequency identification (RFID), wireless LAN, Bluetooth, zigbee, and the like.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

10: Measuring section 20: Central processing section
30: communication part f: filter part
t: Storage tank h: Heater
c: cooler V1: water valve
V2: cold water valve V3: hot water valve
S10: Failure trace data generation step S20: Failure detection step
S30: Failure trace data transfer step

Claims (8)

A measuring unit for measuring an operating state of the operating unit to generate measurement data;
A central processing unit for generating fault trace data using the measurement data and storing the fault trace data; And
And a communication unit for transmitting a data map indicating the format of the failure trace data and the failure trace data to the outside using wired or wireless communication.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the central processing unit
Updating the fault trace data in units of a predetermined unit time and sequentially storing the fault trace data in a RAM (Random Access Memory), and if the stored fault trace data exceeds a predetermined storage capacity, Fault history tracking device that overwrites data sequentially.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the central processing unit
And stores the fault trace data stored in the RAM in an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read-Only Memory) when the fault signal is input, and sequentially stores the fault trace data stored in the RAM in the EEPROM Fault history tracing device.
2. The method of claim 1,
A start address and an end address of the EEPROM in which the failure trace data is stored, an update period of the failure trace data, a size of the failure trace data, and a repetition period of the failure trace data.
Generating fault trace data for the product using a measuring device provided inside the product and storing the fault trace data in a RAM (Random Access Memory) provided in the product;
A failure detection step of storing the failure trace data stored in the RAM in an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read-Only Memory) provided in the product when a failure signal is input; And
And a failure trace data transmission step of transmitting a data map indicating a format format of the failure tracking data and the failure tracking data stored in the EEPROM to the outside of the product using wired or wireless communication.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step
Updating the fault trace data in units of a predetermined unit time and sequentially storing the fault trace data in the RAM, and if the stored fault trace data exceeds a preset storage capacity, Overwriting fault history tracking method.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the failure detection step
Wherein the fault history data stored in the RAM is sequentially stored in the EEPROM starting from the latest updated fault trace data when the fault signal is input.
6. The method of claim 5,
A start address and an end address of the EEPROM storing the failure trace data, an update period of the failure trace data, a size of the failure trace data, and a repetition period of the failure trace data.

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