WO2023135703A1

WO2023135703A1 - Device management system and notification method

Info

Publication number: WO2023135703A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/000881
Authority: WO
Inventors: 駿加藤; 裕信矢野
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2022-01-13
Filing date: 2022-01-13
Publication date: 2023-07-20
Also published as: JPWO2023135703A1

Abstract

This device management system comprises: a device that has a refrigerant; an acquisition unit that acquires measurement information which indicates measurement results for environment information pertaining to the surroundings of the device, an electrical property of the device, and the refrigerant temperature in the device; an estimation unit which estimates the refrigerant amount inside the device on the basis of the measurement information acquired by the acquisition unit and of device installation information pertaining to the installation environment of the device and device information which pertains to a preset device; and a notification unit which notifies a user of the device of information based on the refrigerant amount in the device estimated by the estimation unit.

Description

Device management system and notification method

This disclosure relates to a device management system and a notification method.

Disclosed is an air conditioner that estimates the amount of refrigerant in the device by adjusting the temperature so that the temperature of the target space satisfies a predetermined judgment temperature condition and measuring the refrigerant temperature under stable conditions (for example, , see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-198710

With the conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to estimate the amount of refrigerant when the air conditioning load of the outdoor unit and the indoor unit is constant, the compressor frequency is constant, and the refrigeration cycle is stable. However, since the air conditioning load on the indoor unit changes depending on factors such as the outside temperature being constant throughout the day, the number of people in the room, and the activity level of the people in the room, an environment where the air conditioning load is constant is realistic. not in Therefore, in the prior art, it is difficult to estimate the amount of refrigerant in an actual use environment, and a special operation is required to estimate the amount of refrigerant. As described above, since there was no mechanism for easily grasping the amount of refrigerant in the device, it was difficult to grasp the state of the device.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and aims to provide a device management system and a notification method that allow users to easily grasp the state of devices.

A device management system according to the present disclosure includes a device having a refrigerant, an acquisition unit that acquires measurement information indicating the measurement results of the temperature of the refrigerant in the device, the electrical characteristics of the device, and the environmental information around the device. an estimating unit for estimating the amount of refrigerant in the device based on the measurement information acquired by the acquiring unit, preset device information regarding the device, and device installation information regarding the installation environment of the device; a notification unit that notifies a user of the device of information based on the amount of refrigerant in the device estimated by the estimation unit;
Prepare.

Further, in the notification method in the device management system according to the present disclosure, the acquisition unit obtains measurement information indicating results of measurement of refrigerant temperature in a device having a refrigerant, electrical characteristics of the device, and environmental information around the device. and an estimating unit, based on the measurement information acquired by the acquiring unit, preset device information related to the device, and device installation information related to the installation environment of the device, the amount of refrigerant in the device and a notification unit notifying a user of the device of information based on the amount of refrigerant in the device estimated by the estimation unit.

According to the present disclosure, the user can easily grasp the state of the device.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a device management system according to a first embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the refrigerant circuit of the apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of measurement locations of temperature measurement points shown in FIG. 2 according to the first embodiment; The figure which shows an example of the refrigerant circuit of the multi-type air conditioner which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a Mollier diagram immediately after activation according to the first embodiment; The figure which shows an example of the Mollier diagram at the time of the stability which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the electric circuit of the apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 4 is a diagram showing an example of data items of device acquisition data according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of device acquisition data transmitted by the device according to the first embodiment; A diagram showing an example of data items of device information according to the first embodiment. A diagram showing an example of data items of device installation information according to the first embodiment. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an example configuration of a device management apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of refrigerant amount estimation processing according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method for calculating an estimated amount of refrigerant according to the first embodiment; The schematic block diagram which shows an example of the equipment management system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The schematic block diagram which shows an example of the equipment management system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the time series data which the equipment management apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment hold|maintains. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of time-series data of each of a plurality of devices held by a device management apparatus according to the third embodiment; The figure which shows an example of the relationship of the refrigerant|coolant amount and the performance of an apparatus which concern on 4th Embodiment. The figure which shows the comparative example with a catalog value about the relationship between the performance of the apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment, and temperature. The schematic block diagram which shows an example of the equipment management system which concerns on 5th Embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example displayed on a general-purpose device according to the fifth embodiment; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example displayed on a general-purpose device according to the sixth embodiment; FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a device management system according to an eighth embodiment; FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a device management apparatus according to an eighth embodiment; FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of device refrigerant data according to the eighth embodiment; FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another data example of device refrigerant data according to the eighth embodiment; The figure which shows the 1st example of the display of the information regarding the refrigerant|coolants amount which concerns on 8th Embodiment. The figure which shows the 2nd example of the display of the information regarding the refrigerant|coolants amount which concerns on 8th Embodiment. The figure which shows the 3rd example of the display of the information regarding the refrigerant|coolants amount which concerns on 8th Embodiment. FIG. 21 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a device management system according to a ninth embodiment; FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of device refrigerant data according to the ninth embodiment; FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of changes in the refrigerant amount and performance of the device according to the tenth embodiment; The figure which shows the 1st example of a display of the general purpose device which concerns on 10th Embodiment. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a second example of display on the general-purpose device according to the tenth embodiment; The figure which shows the 3rd example of the display of the general-purpose device based on 10th Embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a fourth example of display on the general-purpose device according to the tenth embodiment; FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a fifth example of display on the general-purpose device according to the tenth embodiment; The figure which shows an example of the refrigerant circuit of the water heater as a modification.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.
<First embodiment>
First, the first embodiment will be described.
[Overview of equipment management system]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a device management system according to this embodiment. The device management system SYS shown in this figure includes a device 1 having a refrigerant and a device management device 2 capable of communicating with the device 1 . The device 1 is, for example, an air conditioner that includes an outdoor unit 100 and an indoor unit 200 . The device management device 2 is a data management destination that stores communication data from the device 1 and estimates the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 . Here, the external terminal 3 and the cloud 4 are exemplified as the device management device 2 .

The external terminal 3 is a terminal device such as a smartphone or a PC (Personal Computer). In addition to communicating with the device 1 , the external terminal 3 may communicate with the cloud 4 and transmit communication data from the device 1 to the cloud 4 . The cloud 4 is a group of arithmetic processing units connected via a communication network such as a public line. The device management device 2 may be the external terminal 3 or the cloud 4 .

The device management system SYS communicates with the device 1 based on device acquisition data 10 acquired by the device 1, device information 20 regarding the device 1, and device installation information 30 regarding the installation environment in which the device 1 is installed. A connected external terminal 3 or a device management device 2 such as a cloud 4 estimates the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 .

For example, the device acquisition data 10 includes a measured value of the coolant temperature in the device 1 (hereinafter referred to as “refrigerant temperature 11”) and a measured value of the electrical characteristics in the device 1 (hereinafter referred to as “electrical input 12”). ) and measurement information such as a measured value of environmental information such as temperature or humidity around the device 1 (hereinafter referred to as “environmental information 13”). The device 1 transmits device acquisition data 10 to the device management apparatus 2 .

The device management device 2 acquires the device acquisition data 10 transmitted from the device 1. The device management apparatus 2 also has preset device information 20 and device installation information 30 . The device information 20 includes inspection data before shipment. For example, the device information 20 includes inspection data (stationary data or time-series data) of refrigerant temperature in the device 1 under specific inspection conditions, electrical characteristics in the device 1, or environmental information, inspection conditions, specifications (configuration) of the device 1 at the time of inspection. The device installation information 30 includes the environment or installation state of the place where the device is installed. Details of the device acquisition data 10, the device information 20, and the device installation information 30 will be described later.

[Configuration of refrigerant circuit of device 1]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a refrigerant circuit of equipment according to the present embodiment. The outdoor unit 100 and the indoor unit 200 are connected by inside/

outside connection pipes

301 and 302 . A refrigerant in a gaseous state passes through the internal/external connection pipe 301 . A coolant in a liquid state passes through the internal/external connection pipe 302 . By switching the four-way valve 101 provided in the outdoor unit 100 to switch the circulation direction of the refrigerant, the heating operation and the cooling operation are switched. The direction of the solid line arrow indicates the direction of refrigerant flow during cooling operation, and the direction of the broken line arrow indicates the direction of refrigerant flow during heating operation.

In the case of heating operation, gaseous refrigerant compressed by the compressor 102 of the outdoor unit 100 flows through the four-way valve 101 and the internal/external connection pipe 301 to the indoor heat exchanger 201 of the indoor unit 200 . The refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 201 exchanges heat with the ambient air to warm the ambient air. The refrigerant that has become liquid due to heat exchange flows through the internal/external connection pipe 302 to the expansion valve 103 of the outdoor unit 100 , and flows through the expansion valve 103 into the outdoor heat exchanger 104 . The refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 104 exchanges heat with the surrounding air. Refrigerant in a gaseous state through heat exchange passes through the four-way valve 101 and returns to the compressor 102 .

In the case of cooling operation, gaseous refrigerant compressed by the compressor 102 of the outdoor unit 100 flows through the four-way valve 101 into the outdoor heat exchanger 104 . The refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger 104 exchanges heat with the surrounding air. The refrigerant that has become liquid due to heat exchange flows through the expansion valve 103 and the internal/external connecting pipe 302 into the indoor heat exchanger 201 of the indoor unit 200 . The refrigerant in the indoor heat exchanger 201 exchanges heat with the surrounding air to cool the surrounding air. The refrigerant that has become gaseous due to heat exchange returns to the compressor 102 of the outdoor unit 100 through the internal/external connection pipe 301 and the four-way valve 101 .

A temperature sensor for measuring the refrigerant temperature is provided in each part of the outdoor unit 100 and the indoor unit 200 . FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the temperature measurement points T1 to T8 shown in FIG. A temperature sensor is provided on each of the outlet side and the inlet side of the compressor 102, the outlet side measuring point T1 is the outlet side measuring point, and the inlet side measuring point T8 is the suction temperature measuring point.

Further, the expansion valve 103 and the outdoor heat exchanger 104 of the outdoor unit 100 and the indoor heat exchanger 201 of the indoor unit 200 are each provided with three points: the outlet side, the inlet side, and the middle point between the outlet and the inlet. is provided with a temperature sensor. The outdoor heat exchanger 104 functions as a condenser during cooling operation. Measurement points T2, T2-3, and T3 are measurement points for the inlet temperature, intermediate temperature, and outlet temperature of the condenser during cooling operation, respectively. On the other hand, the outdoor heat exchanger 104 functions as an evaporator during heating operation. Measurement points T2, T2-3, and T3 are measurement points for the outlet temperature, intermediate temperature, and inlet temperature of the evaporator during heating operation, respectively.

The indoor heat exchanger 201 functions as an evaporator during cooling operation. Measurement points T6, T6-7, and T7 are measurement points for the inlet temperature, intermediate temperature, and outlet temperature of the evaporator during cooling operation, respectively. On the other hand, indoor heat exchanger 201 functions as a condenser during heating operation. Measurement points T6, T6-7, and T7 are measurement points for the outlet temperature, intermediate temperature, and inlet temperature of the condenser during heating operation, respectively.

Also, the measurement point T4 serves as a measurement point for the inlet temperature of the expansion valve 103 during cooling operation, and for the outlet temperature of the expansion valve 103 during heating operation. The measurement point T5 serves as a measurement point for the outlet temperature of the expansion valve 103 during cooling operation and for the inlet temperature of the expansion valve 103 during heating operation.

Note that the device 1 may be a multi-type air conditioner (a so-called package air conditioner) in which a plurality of indoor units 200 are connected to one outdoor unit 100.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a refrigerant circuit of a multi-type air conditioner. FIG. 4 shows an example of a refrigerant circuit when two indoor units 200 are connected to the outdoor unit 100. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals are assigned to the components corresponding to those in FIG. The configuration of the illustrated refrigerant circuit is the same as the example of the refrigerant circuit illustrated in FIG. 2 except that the number of indoor units 200 is different. Note that the number of indoor units 200 is not limited to two.

Since the multi-type air conditioner has a plurality of indoor units 200, for example, the indoor units 200 are set to No. 1, No. 2, and so on. Then, assign the unit number such as "discharge temperature of unit 1, inlet temperature of condenser, ...", "discharge temperature of unit 2, inlet temperature of condenser, ...", and the refrigerant temperature for each unit are treated separately.

Note that in this embodiment, the number of devices 1 is basically one for one outdoor unit 100 regardless of whether there is one indoor unit 200 or a plurality of indoor units 200 .

　Figures 5 and 6 schematically show an example of a Mollier diagram during cooling operation. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a Mollier diagram immediately after startup (in the initial stage of operation). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a Mollier diagram at the time of stability. Generally, at the initial stage of operation, all measurement points T1 to T8 are within the gas-liquid two-phase region (two-phase region) (see FIG. 5). After that, as the refrigerant gas is gradually compressed by the compressor 102, the pressure difference between the condenser and the evaporator increases, and at the discharge temperature measurement point T1, it is gasified and transitions into the gas phase region (see FIG. 6). ). Also, at the measurement point T3 of the outlet temperature of the condenser, the enthalpy decreases due to heat exchange with the air by the condenser. If the amount of refrigerant gas and the amount of heat exchange in the condenser are sufficient, the measurement point T3 transitions into the liquid phase region (see FIG. 6). On the other hand, if the amount of refrigerant gas is insufficient, heat exchange in the condenser and evaporator will be insufficient.

[Configuration of electric circuit of device 1]
Next, an example of main electrical circuits of the device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an electric circuit of the device 1 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 7, the same reference numerals are given to the components corresponding to the parts in FIG.

The outdoor unit 100 includes an outdoor unit control section 110. The outdoor unit control unit 110 includes a microcomputer, controls each unit of the outdoor unit 100 and obtains measurement values of various sensors provided in the outdoor unit 100 . For example, the outdoor unit control unit 110 acquires the measured values of the temperature sensors provided at the refrigerant temperature measurement points T1, T2, T2-3, T3, T4, T5, and T8 described in FIGS. do.

In addition, the outdoor unit control unit 110 controls switching of the refrigerant flow direction in the four-way valve 101, controls the compressor 102, controls the opening degree of the expansion valve 103, and controls the outdoor fan 105 that blows air to the outdoor heat exchanger 104. Rotation control, etc.

The compressor 102 includes a compression section 102a and a compressor motor 102b. Compression part 102a has a compression mechanism such as a rotary type or a scroll type, compresses the refrigerant sucked from the inlet side, and discharges it from the outlet side. Compressor motor 102b includes a three-phase motor whose rotation can be controlled by inverter 120, and drives the compression mechanism of compression section 102a. By controlling the inverter 120, the outdoor unit control section 110 controls the rotation of the compressor motor 102b to control the compression mechanism of the compression section 102a.

The indoor unit 200 includes an indoor unit control section 210. The indoor unit control unit 210 includes a microcomputer, controls each unit of the indoor unit 200, and acquires measurement values of various sensors provided in the indoor unit 200. For example, the indoor unit control unit 210 acquires the measured values of the temperature sensors provided at the refrigerant temperature measurement points T6, T6-7, and T7 described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. The indoor unit control unit 210 also controls the rotation of the indoor fan 202 that blows air to the indoor heat exchanger 201, and the like.

In addition, the indoor unit 200 includes a wireless device 220. The wireless device 220 is, for example, one of device-associated devices added to the indoor unit 200 as an option. The wireless device 220 connects to a communication network such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet by wireless communication, and performs data communication with the device management device 2 (the external terminal 3 or the cloud 4).

The indoor unit control section 210 is connected to the outdoor unit control section 110 via an internal/external communication line 310 . The indoor unit controller 210 generates device acquisition data 10 based on data acquired from the outdoor unit controller 110 via the indoor/outdoor communication line 310 and data acquired by the indoor unit controller 210 itself. Then, the indoor unit control section 210 transmits the device acquisition data 10 to the device management device 2 (the external terminal 3 or the cloud 4) via the wireless device 220. FIG.

Here, in conventional air conditioners, it is necessary to fix the frequency of the compressor and acquire various refrigerant temperatures or pressures from the air conditioner when the refrigeration cycle is stable. When estimating the amount of refrigerant, the mass of the liquid phase region and the gas-liquid two-phase region of the refrigerant are accurately estimated. This is because it is necessary to grasp the subcooled region on the outlet side of the vessel.

In other words, with conventional air conditioners, it was possible to estimate the amount of refrigerant when the air conditioning load of the outdoor and indoor units was constant, the compressor frequency was constant, and the refrigeration cycle was stable.

However, for air conditioners, there is no realistic environment where the air conditioning load of the outdoor and indoor units is constant like in a test room. For example, when focusing on the outdoor unit, the air conditioning load applied to the outdoor unit changes due to the outside temperature not being constant throughout the day. Further, when focusing on the indoor unit, the air conditioning load applied to the indoor unit changes depending on the number of people in the room or their activity status.

Therefore, in general, when controlling the compressor of an air conditioner so as to maintain a constant indoor temperature (or constant humidity), the compressor frequency is variably changed. It was difficult to estimate the amount of refrigerant. Therefore, a special operation was required to estimate the amount of refrigerant.

In addition, in the conventional technology, in order to estimate the amount of refrigerant, it is necessary to define parameters by experiments or numerical simulations, etc., but it is necessary to evaluate all of them according to the number of equipment specifications. Therefore, there is also a problem that the development cost increases. On the other hand, there is also the problem that the accuracy of estimating the amount of refrigerant deteriorates when the equipment specifications are defined to be a general-purpose, common model.

Therefore, as described with reference to FIG. 1, in this embodiment, based on the device acquisition data 10, the device information 20, and the device installation information 30, the device management device 2 (external The terminal 3 or the cloud 4) estimates the amount of refrigerant in the device 1. As a result, the equipment management system SYS can accurately estimate the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 in the actual use environment without requiring any special operation. A detailed description will be given below.

[Specific example of device acquisition data]
First, specific examples of data items included in the device acquisition data 10 will be described.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of data items of the device acquisition data 10 according to this embodiment. As described above, the device acquisition data 10 includes coolant temperature 11, electrical input 12, and environment information 13. FIG.

The refrigerant temperature 11 includes, for example, the discharge temperature, the temperature at any point from the inlet to the outlet of the condenser and evaporator (eg, inlet temperature, intermediate temperature, outlet temperature), the temperature of the expansion valve 103 (eg, inlet temperature , outlet temperature), inlet temperature, etc. In addition, the coolant temperature 11 may include the temperatures of all the locations described above, or may include some of them. When the refrigerant temperature 11 includes part of the above, it preferably includes at least the discharge temperature. Also, if the refrigerant temperature 11 does not include all of the inlet temperature, intermediate temperature, and outlet temperature of the condenser and evaporator, it preferably includes at least the intermediate temperature.

Temperature sensors may also be provided in the internal/

external connection pipes

301 and 302, and the temperature of the internal/external connection pipe 301 (for example, inlet temperature and outlet temperature) may be included in the coolant temperature 11. In addition, the coolant temperature 11 is not limited to the temperature at the location described above, and may include the coolant temperature at any location that can be acquired by the device 1 . The refrigerant temperature 11 includes measured values of the refrigerant temperature at more points, the higher the refrigerant amount estimation accuracy.

The electrical input 12 includes, for example, voltages (bus voltage, line voltage, phase voltage), currents (bus current, line current, phase current), rotation speeds (current rotation speed, command speed), power consumption, etc. Also, the electrical input 12 includes, for example, voltage (bus voltage, line voltage, phase voltage), current (bus current, line current, phase current), frequency (current frequency, command frequency), consumption of the compressor 102, Electricity, etc. are included. Further, the electrical input 12 includes, for example, the degree of opening of the expansion valve 103 (current degree of opening, commanded degree of opening), power consumption, and the like. The electrical input 12 also includes, for example, the voltage (primary voltage) and current (primary current) on the power supply side, and the power consumption of device-attached devices (eg, wireless device 220, heaters, air cleaning devices, etc.).

If the voltage, current, or power of the outdoor fan 105, the indoor fan 202, or the compressor 102 cannot be directly obtained, the power consumption of the device-attached device is determined by the voltage, current, or power that cannot be obtained by the device 1. It is used to estimate by the indirect method from the total sum of

It should be noted that the electrical input 12 may include all of the above data items, or may include some of them. For example, the electrical input 12 may include at least the number of revolutions (current number of revolutions) of the outdoor fan 105 and the indoor fan 202, the bus current and current frequency of the compressor 102, and the current opening of the expansion valve 103. preferable.

In addition to the data items described above, the electrical input 12 may include arbitrary electrical characteristics within the device 1 that can be acquired by the device 1 . The more data items included in the electrical input 12, the more accurate the refrigerant quantity estimate.

The environmental information 13 includes, for example, ambient temperature (outdoor temperature, indoor temperature) and humidity (outdoor humidity, indoor humidity) acquired by the outdoor unit 100 and the indoor unit 200 . The environment information 13 may include all of the above data items, or may include some of them. For example, the environment information 13 preferably includes at least room temperature.

In addition to the above data items, the environment information 13 may include environment information that the device 1 can acquire. The more data items are included in the environmental information 13, the higher the refrigerant amount estimation accuracy.

The device 1 transmits the device acquisition data 10 described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of device acquisition data 10 transmitted by the device 1. As shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the device 1 transmits time-series data of device acquired data 10 measured at regular time intervals. Note that the device 1 may transmit fixed point data under certain conditions when transmitting the device acquired data 10 .

[Specific example of device information]
Next, specific examples of data items included in the device information 20 will be described.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of data items of the device information 20 according to this embodiment. As described above, the device information 20 includes pre-shipment inspection data, inspection conditions, and specifications (configuration) of the device 1 at the time of inspection.

In FIG. 10, the common items include the specifications (configuration) of the device 1 at the time of inspection. For example, common items include date and time of inspection (No. 1), test room used for inspection (No. 2), manufacturing information and product specifications of the inspected device 1, and the like. The manufacturing information includes lot number (No. 3), manufacturing year (No. 6), and the like. In addition to the model (No. 4) and capacity (No. 5) of the device 1, the product specifications include power supply specifications, refrigerant type and amount, type and amount of refrigerating machine oil, type of compressor 102, stroke volume, The specifications of the compressor motor 102b, the internal volume of the compressor 102, the internal volume of the outdoor heat exchanger 104, the internal volume of the indoor heat exchanger 201, the internal volume of the receiver (No. 7 to No. 18), etc. are included.

The receiver is provided, for example, in the vicinity of the connecting portion between the expansion valve 103 of the outdoor unit 100 and the internal/external connection pipe 302 . This receiver is provided to store surplus refrigerant because the required amount of refrigerant differs between cooling operation and heating operation. Generally, the internal volume of the outdoor unit 100 is larger than that of the indoor unit 200, and the amount of refrigerant in the indoor unit 200 serving as a condenser during heating operation is smaller than that of the outdoor unit 100 during cooling operation.

In addition, the pre-shipment inspection data includes the refrigerant temperature in the device 1 under specific inspection conditions, electrical characteristics in the device 1, or inspection data of environmental information (steady data or time-series data).

　In FIG. 10, No. of inspection data items 1 to No. Item 5 is a common inspection condition regardless of the type of equipment 1 . The common inspection conditions include test conditions (for example, cooling standard or heating standard), outdoor DB (Dry Bulb), outdoor WB (Wet Bulb), indoor DB, and indoor WB.

In addition, among the inspection data items, the No. 8 to No. Item 11 is an inspection condition that differs for each device or for each performance band of the device, and includes the command frequency of the compressor 102, the command rotation speed of the indoor fan 202 and the outdoor fan 105, and the command opening of the expansion valve 103. such as instrument control settings for each individual examination.

In addition, among the inspection data items, the No. 6 to No. 7 and no. 12 to No. Item 19 is inspection data (stationary data or time-series data) under the above inspection conditions. For example, the inspection data includes the capacity of the indoor unit 200 (indoor capacity), power consumption, thermal characteristics of the outdoor heat exchanger 104 and the indoor heat exchanger 201, discharge temperature, inlet temperature and outlet temperature of the condenser and evaporator, Inhalation temperature etc. are included.

It should be noted that the device information 20 may include all of the above data items, or may include some of them. For example, the device information 20 preferably includes at least the refrigerant type and the volume of space through which the refrigerant can flow. The volume of the space through which the refrigerant can flow is the internal volume of the compressor 102, the internal volume of the outdoor heat exchanger 104, the internal volume of the indoor heat exchanger 201, the internal volume of the receiver, and the like. The volume of the space through which the refrigerant can flow may include part of the internal volume of the compressor 102, the internal volume of the outdoor heat exchanger 104, the internal volume of the indoor heat exchanger 201, and the internal volume of the receiver. and all may be included.

In addition to the above data items, the device information 20 may include any measurable information at the time of inspection. The more data items included in the device information 20, the higher the refrigerant amount estimation accuracy.

Also, in addition to 100% inspection, sampling inspections are generally conducted at the time of product shipment. In sampling inspections, for example, the most recent lot is used as a representative value.

[Specific example of equipment installation information]
Next, specific examples of data items included in the device installation information 30 will be described.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of data items of the device installation information 30 according to this embodiment. As described above, the device installation information 30 includes information such as the installation location or installation environment of the device 1 .

For example, the device installation information 30 includes the position (latitude, longitude) of the installation location of the device 1, the building specifications, the installation direction (facing north, facing south, etc.), the installation method of the outdoor unit 100 (on the roof, on the ground, on the ceiling, etc.). hanging, wall surface, etc.), the height of the indoor unit 200 (height from the floor surface), the size of the indoor space, the length and diameter of the internal and

external connection pipes

301 and 302 that connect the outdoor unit 100 and the indoor unit 200, The height difference (indoor/outdoor height difference) between the outdoor unit 100 and the indoor unit 200 is included as information such as the installation location or the installation environment. Here, the building specifications are elements necessary for defining the thermal insulation performance of the building itself, such as wooden construction, reinforced concrete, condominium, or single-family house, and are parameters necessary for calculating the load on the indoor unit 200. The indoor/outdoor height difference is the height difference between the position where the inside/

outside connection pipes

301 and 302 are connected to the outdoor unit 100 and the position where the inside/

outside connection pipes

301 and 302 are connected to the indoor unit 200 .

It should be noted that the device installation information 30 may include all of the above data items, or may include some of them. For example, the equipment installation information 30 preferably includes the length and diameter of the internal/

external connection pipes

301 and 302, which are related to the volume of the space through which the refrigerant can flow.

Note that the device installation information 30 may include any information other than the above data items regarding the environment or installation state of the installation location. The more data items included in the equipment installation information 30, the higher the refrigerant amount estimation accuracy.

For example, the installation location or installation environment of the device 1 differs depending on the user. If the installation location or installation environment is different, the estimation of the refrigerant amount is also affected. For example, regarding the installation location of the device 1, when the outdoor unit 100 is installed on the first floor, when the indoor unit 200 is installed on the first floor and when the indoor unit 200 is installed on the third floor, the outdoor unit The height of the indoor unit 200 with respect to 100 is generally different by about 5m. Therefore, even if the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 excluding the internal/

external connection pipes

301 and 302 is the same, the lengths of the internal/

external connection pipes

301 and 302 are different, so it is assumed that different behaviors will be exhibited in terms of the refrigeration cycle. . Therefore, it is conceivable that the installation location of the device 1 affects the estimation of the amount of refrigerant.

Even if the height difference between the outdoor unit 100 and the indoor unit 200 is the same, the lengths of the internal/

external connection pipes

301 and 302 may differ. In that case, since the refrigerant is distributed in the internal/

external connection pipes

301 and 302, if the additional refrigerant is not charged for the length of the internal/

external connection pipes

301 and 302, the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 excluding the internal/external connection pipes will be reduced. It is conceivable that it will decrease in general and cause a gas shortage. Regarding the installation environment of the device 1, the lengths of the internal/

external connection pipes

301 and 302 differ depending on whether the outdoor unit 100 is suspended from the ceiling, placed on the ground, or placed on the roof. Also, even when the outdoor unit 100 is placed on the ground, the air conditioning load differs depending on whether it is facing south and exposed to direct sunlight or facing north and is in the shade, which affects the refrigeration cycle. Therefore, it is conceivable that the installation environment of the device 1 similarly affects the estimation of the amount of refrigerant.

In addition, regarding the installation environment of the device 1, the insulation performance differs depending on whether the building in which the device 1 is installed is made of wood or reinforced concrete. For example, if the building is made of wood and has low heat insulation, the air conditioning load will increase, which may affect the refrigeration cycle and affect the estimation of the amount of refrigerant.

Therefore, the device management apparatus 2 uses the device installation information 30 to estimate the amount of refrigerant according to the installation location or installation environment of the device 1 without fixing the installation location or installation environment of the device 1. be able to.

Next, the configuration of the device management apparatus 2 and the operation of the refrigerant amount estimation process for estimating the refrigerant amount will be described.
FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the device management apparatus 2 according to this embodiment. The device management device 2 is the external terminal 3 or the cloud 4 as described above, and includes, for example, a storage unit 401 , a communication unit 402 and a processing unit 403 .

The storage unit 401 stores control programs for controlling each unit of the device management apparatus 2 and various data. For example, the storage unit 401 includes DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), Flash ROM, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive) ), etc. For example, the device information 20 (see FIG. 10) and the device installation information 30 (see FIG. 11) are pre-stored in the storage unit 401 .

The communication unit 402 performs data communication with the device 1 or other devices by wireless communication. For example, the communication unit 402 connects to a communication network such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet by wireless communication, and performs data communication with the device 1 or other devices. do. Note that the communication unit 402 may also support wired communication.

The processing unit 403 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a control program stored in the storage unit 401 to perform a refrigerant amount estimation process for estimating the amount of refrigerant. 405 and an output unit 406 . The acquisition unit 404 acquires the device acquisition data 10 (see FIG. 8) from the device 1 (for example, the indoor unit 200) via the communication unit 402 and stores it in the storage unit 401. FIG. Estimating unit 405 estimates the amount of refrigerant in device 1 . Here, the estimated refrigerant amount is referred to as "estimated refrigerant amount 40". For example, the estimation unit 405 calculates the estimated refrigerant amount 40 in the device 1 based on the device acquisition data 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 404 and the device information 20 and the device installation information 30 stored in the storage unit 401. calculate. The output unit 406 outputs the estimation result of the refrigerant amount by the estimation unit 405 .

Next, with reference to FIG. 13, the operation of the refrigerant amount estimation process executed in the equipment management system SYS will be described in detail. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of refrigerant amount estimation processing according to the present embodiment.

The device 1 (for example, the indoor unit 200) sends the device acquired data 10 to the device management device 2, either voluntarily or passively by the user who operates the device 1, periodically (for example, every five minutes). Send. The device management apparatus 2 receives the device acquisition data 10 transmitted from the device 1 (step S101).

Upon receiving the device acquisition data 10 transmitted from the device 1, the device management apparatus 2 acquires the device acquisition data 10 each time it is received, and stores and accumulates it in the storage unit 401 (step S103).

In addition, the device management device 2 estimates the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 at any timing, in addition to internal periodic processing. The device management apparatus 2 determines whether or not it is time to estimate the amount of refrigerant (step S105). If it is not the refrigerant amount estimation timing (NO), the process returns to step S101, and the device management apparatus 2 periodically receives the device acquisition data 10 from the device 1 (step S103).

When it is time to estimate the amount of refrigerant (YES), the device management device 2 estimates the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 (step S107). Specifically, the equipment management apparatus 2 calculates the estimated refrigerant amount 40 based on the accumulated equipment acquisition data 10 and the equipment information 20 and the equipment installation information 30 held internally in advance. Then, the device management device 2 outputs the estimated refrigerant amount (estimated refrigerant amount 40) (step S109).

Here, a method for calculating the estimated refrigerant amount 40 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method for calculating an estimated amount of refrigerant according to this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the equipment management apparatus 2 calculates an estimated refrigerant amount 40 by summing a converted refrigerant amount 41, a dissolved refrigerant amount 42, and a retained refrigerant amount 43, for example. In addition to the calculated value, the estimated refrigerant amount 40 may be set directly if it can be determined from the refrigerant charging operation or the like.

The equivalent refrigerant amount 41 is the amount of refrigerant in the main refrigerant state in each part that constitutes the device 1 . For example, when the volume ratio of the gas phase and the liquid phase at the inlet of the condenser is 95:5, the converted refrigerant amount 41 indicates the amount of refrigerant in the gas phase portion. On the other hand, when the volume ratio of the gas phase to the liquid phase at the inlet of the condenser is 5:95, the converted refrigerant amount 41 indicates the amount of refrigerant in the gas phase portion. Further, when the volume ratio of the gas phase and the liquid phase at the inlet of the condenser is the same, the converted refrigerant amount 41 indicates the refrigerant amount using the two-phase average density. For example, the equivalent refrigerant amount 41 is calculated by multiplying the internal volume of each part of the device 1 by the refrigerant density. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, a converted refrigerant amount 41 is included in the internal volume 31 of the internal/

external connection pipes

301 and 302 determined from the equipment installation information 30 (the length and diameter of the internal/external connection pipes 301 and 302) and the equipment information 20. It is calculated by multiplying the internal volume 51 of each part in the equipment 1 and the refrigerant density 50 in each part.

Here, the refrigerant density in each component can be obtained from the relationship between pressure and density by converting the refrigerant temperature of the equipment acquisition data 10 into pressure. The relationship between pressure and density is determined by the type of refrigerant. In addition, when the data of the refrigerant pressure can be directly acquired from the device 1, it can be obtained based on the acquired refrigerant pressure or pressure data. Each component described here is a component having a space in which a refrigerant can flow among the components constituting the device 1, and includes, for example, the compressor 102, the outdoor heat exchanger 104, the indoor heat exchanger 201, the receiver, the internal and external They are connecting

pipes

301 and 302 and the like.

The dissolved refrigerant amount 42 is the amount of refrigerant dissolved in the refrigerating machine oil used in the equipment 1 . For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the dissolved refrigerant amount 42 is calculated by summing up the product of the retained oil amount 52 of each part and the oil dissolution ratio 53 of each part for each part. Here, the total amount of oil in the equipment 1 is the value of the oil amount in the equipment information 20 shown in FIG. A retained oil amount 52 remaining in each component out of the amount of oil in the equipment 1 is determined based on the equipment acquisition data 10, the equipment information 20, and the equipment installation information 30 according to the operating conditions (cooling, heating, etc.). obtained by experiments or numerical calculations. For example, the device information 20 further includes a retained oil amount 52 for each component determined by this experiment or numerical calculation.

Also, the oil dissolution ratio 53 of each component can be calculated using a Daniel chart showing the amount of refrigerant dissolved in refrigerating machine oil according to temperature and pressure by an experimental method. For example, the current oil dissolution ratio 53 of each part can be calculated using the measured value of the refrigerant temperature of each part included in the device acquisition data 10 and the Daniel chart. When obtaining using a Daniel chart, it may be calculated by an approximation formula.

It should be noted that the retained oil amount 52 of each part may target only the parts that have a large internal volume and in which the refrigerating machine oil tends to stagnate, and may exclude the parts in which the refrigerating machine oil is less likely to stagnate. For example, refrigerating machine oil tends to stay in the compressor 102, the outdoor heat exchanger 104, and the indoor heat exchanger 201 and is present in large amounts.

The retained refrigerant amount 43 is the amount of liquid refrigerant retained in each component (receiver, internal/

external connection pipes

301, 302, etc.) in the gas-liquid two-phase region. If the cross-sectional area of the coolant channel of each component is small, the flow velocity of the coolant becomes faster, making it difficult for the coolant to stagnate. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the amount of retained refrigerant 43 circulates through the cross-sectional area of the refrigerant flow path of each component and inside the device 1 based on the device acquisition data 10, the device information 20, and the device installation information 30. It can be obtained by experiments or numerical calculations depending on the refrigerant flow rate.

It should be noted that there is a lot of liquid retention in the downstream part of each part that mainly has height differences, so other parts can be excluded. The amount of retained refrigerant 43 is intended for transient phenomena in the refrigeration cycle, and may be ignored when the refrigeration cycle is stable.

Also, the flow rate of refrigerant circulating in the device 1 is determined by the frequency of the compressor 102 and the density of the suctioned refrigerant. The suctioned refrigerant density can be uniquely obtained from the amount of heat exchange between the condenser and the evaporator in the equipment 1 . Note that it can also be obtained from the intake temperature or pressure acquired by the device 1 .

Furthermore, the amount of heat exchanged between the condenser and the evaporator is determined by the outdoor or indoor environmental load, and can be obtained from the device acquisition data 10 and the device installation information 30 at this time.

As described above, in the device management system SYS according to the present embodiment, the device management device 2 controls the refrigerant temperature in the device 1, the electrical input (electrical characteristics) of the device 1, and the environmental information around the device 1. Acquires device acquisition data 10 (measurement information) indicating the measurement result of . Then, the equipment management apparatus 2 calculates an estimated refrigerant amount 40 based on the obtained equipment acquisition data 10 and preset equipment information 20 and equipment installation information 30 to estimate the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 . In addition, for example, the estimation of the refrigerant amount may be performed by the external terminal 3 , the cloud 4 , or the cloud 4 via the external terminal 3 .

As a result, the equipment management system SYS can estimate the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 during normal operation, unlike the conventional method of estimating the amount of refrigerant. That is, the equipment management system SYS can accurately estimate the amount of refrigerant in the equipment in the actual use environment without requiring any special operation.

For example, the device information 20 includes at least information about the volume of the space through which the refrigerant can flow within the device 1 and the type of refrigerant possessed by the device 1 . Thereby, the equipment management system SYS can estimate the amount of refrigerant in the space in which the refrigerant can flow in the equipment 1 according to the refrigerant type.

In addition, the device management device 2 calculates the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 based on the volume of the space through which the refrigerant can flow in the device 1 and the refrigerant density determined based on the refrigerant temperature and refrigerant type in the device 1 . As a result, the device management system SYS can accurately estimate the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 .

In addition, the equipment management device 2 further calculates the amount of refrigerant dissolved in the refrigerating machine oil used in the equipment 1 (dissolved refrigerant amount 42) and the amount of refrigerant in the liquid stagnant portion (accumulated refrigerant amount 43) in the equipment 1. In addition to the amount of refrigerant (converted amount of refrigerant 41) calculated from the volume of the space through which the refrigerant can flow and the density of the refrigerant, the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 is calculated. That is, the equipment management apparatus 2 calculates the estimated refrigerant amount 40 by summing the converted refrigerant amount 41 , the dissolved refrigerant amount 42 , and the retained refrigerant amount 43 . As a result, the equipment management system SYS can accurately estimate the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 even in a transient phenomenon.

In the device 1, an outdoor unit 100 including a compressor 102, an outdoor heat exchanger 104, and an expansion valve 103, and an indoor unit 200 including an indoor heat exchanger 201 use internal/

external connection pipes

301 and 302 through which refrigerant flows. connected. The device installation information 30 includes at least information about the volume of the internal/external connection pipes 301 and 302 (for example, the diameter and length of the internal/external connection pipes 301 and 302). As a result, the device management system SYS can accurately estimate the amount of refrigerant in the device 1, including the connecting portion between the outdoor unit 100 and the indoor unit 200. FIG.

Also, the environmental information around the device 1 includes at least information about the ambient temperature of the device 1 . For example, the ambient temperature is the temperature (indoor temperature) of the environment (indoor) in which the indoor unit 200 is installed or the temperature (outdoor temperature) of the environment (outdoor) in which the outdoor unit 100 is installed. As a result, the device management system SYS can accurately estimate the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 in consideration of the ambient temperature of the device 1 .

In addition, the device management system SYS is equipped with an external terminal 3 or a cloud 4 capable of communicating with the device 1 as the device management device 2 . Accordingly, the device management system SYS can be easily applied to various devices 1 because the device 1 does not need to have a function necessary for estimating the amount of refrigerant.

Further, in the device management system SYS according to the present embodiment, the refrigerant amount estimation method for estimating the refrigerant amount in the device 1 having the refrigerant is such that the device management device 2 determines the refrigerant temperature in the device 1, the electrical input of the device 1 ( electrical characteristics), and device acquired data 10 (measurement information) indicating the measurement result of environmental information around the device 1; acquired device acquired data 10; and estimating the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 based on the installation information 30 .

<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described.
The basic configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, except that a plurality of devices 1 are connected to the device management apparatus 2 .

FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a device management system according to this embodiment. The device management system SYS shown in this figure includes a plurality of devices 1 having refrigerant and a device management device 2 capable of communicating with each device 1 . Although this figure shows an example in which there are three devices 1, the number may be two or four or more.

The configuration and operation of the refrigerant amount estimation process in the equipment management system SYS are the same as in the first embodiment. For example, in the device management apparatus 2 , the acquisition unit 404 acquires the device acquisition data 10 from each of the multiple devices 1 . The estimation unit 405 calculates the amount of refrigerant (total amount of refrigerant) in the plurality of devices 1 based on the device acquisition data 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 404 and the preset device information 20 and device installation information 30 .

In this manner, the device management system SYS collectively manages the device acquisition data 10, the device information 20, and the device installation information 30 of each of the plurality of devices 1, thereby controlling the total refrigerant amount (refrigerant amount) of the plurality of devices 1. total amount) can be estimated. The equipment management system SYS can also individually estimate the amount of refrigerant for each of the plurality of equipment 1 .

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment will be described.
The basic configuration of the equipment management system SYS according to this embodiment is the same as in the first and second embodiments. Also, the basic operation of the equipment management system SYS according to this embodiment is the same as in the first and second embodiments, but differs in that the refrigerant management value is used.

Depending on the type of refrigerant used in the device 1, the impact on the global environment differs. In general, refrigerants with a high global warming potential (GWP) tend to gradually reduce their use in the market. there is For example, there are R410a and R32 as refrigerant types used in the market. GWP of R410a is 2090 and GWP of R32 is 675. In other words, R410a is a refrigerant that has three times as much global warming effect as R32. Therefore, when R410a is used, the impact on the global environment (global warming) is equalized by limiting the amount of refrigerant to one third of the amount of refrigerant when using R32.

The amount of refrigerant whose use is restricted in the device 1 for each type of refrigerant (the reference amount of refrigerant for each type of refrigerant) is the above-mentioned refrigerant management value. For example, the refrigerant management value is calculated as the sum of the charged refrigerant amount at the time of shipment of the device 1 and the additional charged refrigerant amount required for the device 1 .

FIG. 16 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a device management system according to this embodiment.
The equipment management device 2 estimates the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 based on the equipment acquisition data 10, the equipment information 20, and the equipment installation information 30, and calculates the estimated refrigerant amount (estimated refrigerant amount 40) and the refrigerant management value. can be compared to determine whether the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 is excessive or insufficient.

For example, in the device management device 2, in addition to internal periodic processing, the configuration is such that the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 is estimated at an arbitrary timing, so time-series data as shown in FIG. 17 can be retained. For example, the estimating unit 405 calculates the refrigerant management value of the device 1 based on the sum of the charging refrigerant amount at the time of shipment of the device 1 and the additional charging refrigerant amount required for the device 1 . Then, the estimating unit 405 compares the estimated refrigerant amount value in the device 1 with the refrigerant management value of the device 1, and determines whether the amount of refrigerant in the device is excessive or insufficient.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of time-series data held by the device management apparatus. This figure shows time-series data of the refrigerant management value and the estimated refrigerant amount value at each time. The estimated refrigerant amount value from time t0 to t1 is an estimated value of the refrigerant amount filled in the device 1 at the time of installation, and corresponds to the charged refrigerant amount of the device 1 at the time of shipment. Next, from time t1 to t2, assuming that the device 1 is charged with the additional amount of refrigerant required for the device, the estimated refrigerant amount value is close to the refrigerant management value at time t2. After time t3, when the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 decreases due to an external factor or the like, the estimated refrigerant amount after time t3 decreases, and then after time t4, the estimated refrigerant amount reaches a certain value. value stabilizes.

The device management device 2 can determine whether the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 is excessive or insufficient by comparing the difference between the refrigerant management value and the estimated refrigerant amount value based on the time-series data shown in FIG.

If it is determined that the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 is insufficient, the refrigerant gas is assumed to have leaked and decreased. Assume that there is For example, when the estimated refrigerant amount value is continuously decreasing, the equipment management device 2 can grasp that the refrigerant gas is leaking.

In addition, the device management device 2 determines whether the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 is excessive or deficient at an arbitrary timing with high determination accuracy (for example, after 30 minutes have passed since the start of the device 1), or periodically (for example, (every one minute), and output as instantaneous values or time-series data.

For example, the equipment management device 2 simply determines whether the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 is excessive or insufficient when judging whether the amount of refrigerant is excessive or insufficient for one equipment 1 . On the other hand, the device management device 2 can also manage the amount of refrigerant used in the market when judging whether the amount of refrigerant is excessive or insufficient for a plurality of devices 1 .

For example, when the device management system SYS includes a plurality of devices 1, the device management device 2 compares the refrigerant management value and the estimated refrigerant amount value at each time for each of the plurality of devices 1 as shown in FIG. Time series data can be obtained. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of time-series data of each of a plurality of devices 1 (here, device A, device B, and device C) held by the device management apparatus 2. As shown in FIG.

The device management apparatus 2 obtains the sum of the estimated refrigerant amount values at time t0 when each of the plurality of devices 1 is installed, so that the device management apparatus 2 can grasp the total refrigerant amount of the plurality of devices 1 at the time of installation. can. In the example shown in FIG. 18, only device A is additionally charged with refrigerant between time t1 and time t2, and the refrigerant gas in device A decreases between time t3 and time t4, so refrigerant leakage occurs. It can be seen that Similarly, it can be seen that device C has refrigerant leakage between time t2 and time t3. Furthermore, assuming that the devices A to C were removed at time t4, it can be seen that the rest of the refrigerant, excluding the refrigerant leaked from the devices A and C, could be recovered.

Therefore, it can be seen that although the leaked refrigerant affects the environment, the recovered refrigerant does not affect the environment even if it is replaced with a new device 1 having the same amount of refrigerant. As a result, it is possible to obtain the effect that the device 1 having the refrigerant can be used continuously. It should be noted that even if the new device 1 uses a different type of refrigerant, it can be replaced without affecting the environment by applying a refrigerant control value according to the type of refrigerant.

<Fourth Embodiment>
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.
The basic configuration of the equipment management system SYS according to this embodiment is the same as in the first and second embodiments. Further, the basic operation of the device management system SYS according to this embodiment is the same as in the first and second embodiments, but the performance of the device 1 is estimated based on the estimated refrigerant amount 40 and the estimated The difference is that the obtained operating performance is compared with the device information 20 of the device 1, published inspection data, catalog information, or the like. The catalog information is information described in the catalog of the manufacturer of the device 1 and includes, for example, numerical values regarding the specifications of the device 1 .

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the amount of refrigerant and the performance of equipment according to this embodiment. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of comparison with catalog values for the relationship between the performance of the device and the air temperature according to this embodiment. Here, the performance of the equipment 1 indicates, for example, operation performance such as cooling, heating, dehumidification, and freezing. Note that the power consumption of the device 1 may be used as the performance of the device 1 .

The equipment management device 2 calculates the estimated refrigerant amount 40 of the equipment 1 having the characteristics as shown in FIG. Then, the device management apparatus 2 summarizes the calculated performance of the device 1 as characteristics as shown in FIG. 19 is determined by numerical calculation based on the device information 20 and the device installation information 30. FIG. Similarly, the example shown in FIG. 20 is also determined by numerical calculation based on the device information 20, published inspection data, or catalog information. The inspection data or catalog information to be published is included in the equipment information 20 .

As described above, the device management system SYS according to the present embodiment estimates the performance of the device 1 based on the device information 20, the device installation information 30, and the estimated amount of refrigerant, thereby grasping the performance of the device 1. can do. Further, when the device management system SYS has a plurality of devices 1, the device management system SYS can grasp the performance of each device 1 as well as the performance of the plurality of devices 1 as a whole. Furthermore, the device management system SYS compares the estimated performance of each device 1 or the overall performance of a plurality of devices 1 with the device information 20, published inspection data, or catalog information, thereby Performance can be evaluated, and, for example, the adequacy of the performance of the device 1 can be grasped.

<Fifth Embodiment>
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described.
The basic configuration of the equipment management system SYS according to this embodiment is similar to that of the first and second embodiments, but differs in that a general-purpose device is further provided.

FIG. 21 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a device management system according to this embodiment. In this figure, the equipment management apparatus 2 is configured to be able to communicate with the general-purpose device 5 . Here, the general-purpose device 5 is an example of an external device, such as a device having a display screen (eg, smart phone, PC) or a device that emits sound (eg, wireless earphones).

The basic operation of the equipment management system SYS according to this embodiment is the same as in the first to fourth embodiments, but the estimated refrigerant amount 40 of the equipment 1 calculated by the equipment management device 2 or information based on the performance is sent from the general-purpose device 5 The difference is that the output provides visual or auditory guidance or warning to the user.

For example, the device management device 2 transmits the estimated refrigerant amount 40 or performance information of the device 1 to the general-purpose device 5 to display it. In addition, the equipment management apparatus 2 transmits information about excess or deficiency of the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 determined based on the result of comparison between the value of the estimated refrigerant amount 40 of the equipment 1 and the refrigerant management value to the general-purpose device 5. It may be displayed on the general-purpose device 5 by doing so. In addition, the equipment management apparatus 2 transmits to the general-purpose device 5 the information of the judgment result based on the comparison between the performance of the equipment 1 and the equipment information 20, inspection data to be published, or catalog information. may be displayed.

Specifically, the output unit 406 of the device management device 2 outputs the estimated refrigerant amount 40 or performance information of the device 1 to the communication unit 402 to transmit it to the general-purpose device 5 . The general-purpose device 5 acquires the estimated refrigerant amount 40 or performance information of the equipment 1 transmitted from the equipment management apparatus 2 and displays it on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 . In addition, the output unit 406 outputs information about the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 to the general-purpose device 5 by outputting the information to the communication unit 402 . The general-purpose device 5 acquires the information about the excess or deficiency of the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 transmitted from the equipment management apparatus 2 and displays it on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 . Note that the general-purpose device 5 may output the information transmitted from these device management apparatuses 2 by voice.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a display example displayed on the general-purpose device 5 according to this embodiment. This figure shows a display example of information that guides or warns the value of the estimated refrigerant amount 40, the shortage of the amount of refrigerant in the device 1, the fact that the refrigerant is leaking, the performance determination result, and the like. Note that the display example shown in this figure is only an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

The visual or auditory guidance or warning is provided, for example, when it is determined that the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 is continuously insufficient. In this case, the refrigerant gas is considered to be leaking. Therefore, the user is urged to contact the administrator or repairer of the device 1, or the device 1 is operated so as to minimize the effect of the refrigerant gas leakage. If it is in the middle, it is intended to prompt the user to perform an operation to stop or to switch to a mode for shutting off refrigerant leakage.

Here, under certain environmental conditions or operating conditions of the device 1, when conditions other than the amount of refrigerant match, the performance of the device 1 can be represented by a function with the amount of refrigerant as a parameter. Taking the power consumption as an example of the performance of the device 1, if the amount of refrigerant is insufficient, the amount of heat exchanged in the heat exchanger will decrease according to the decrease, so the power consumption will decrease. . A similar trend is observed for cooling, heating, dehumidifying, or freezing performance.

Therefore, the device management device 2 can obtain the performance of the device 1 based on the estimated amount of refrigerant, and visually display the result to the user or administrator who uses the device 1 via the general-purpose device 5. Alternatively, an audible guidance or warning is provided. Further, even when a plurality of devices 1 are connected, the device management apparatus 2 can obtain the performance of each device 1 based on the refrigerant amount estimated for each device 1 . In addition, the device management apparatus 2 compares the obtained performance of each device 1 with the device information 20, published inspection data, or catalog information so that the performance of each device 1 can be objectively judged.

Further, when the performance of the device 1 is degraded due to an insufficient amount of refrigerant in the device 1 with respect to the refrigerant management value of the device 1, the device management device 2 determines that the performance is reduced due to the insufficient amount of refrigerant gas. Visually or audibly guides or warns of the deterioration.

In this way, the equipment management system SYS according to the present embodiment outputs visual or auditory guidance or warning information via the general-purpose device 5 based on the estimation result of the refrigerant amount or performance of the equipment 1 . As a result, the device management system SYS allows various people (for example, an unspecified number of people) such as a user who uses the device 1, a worker who maintains the device 1, a repairer, a manager, etc., to check the state of the device 1. can be easily grasped.

<Sixth embodiment>
Next, a sixth embodiment will be described.
The basic configuration and operation of the equipment management system SYS according to this embodiment are the same as those of the fifth embodiment, and information is transmitted from the equipment management apparatus 2 to the general-purpose device 5 and displayed. In this embodiment, the contents displayed on the general-purpose device 5 are different from those in the fifth embodiment.

The device management apparatus 2 transmits information regarding failure or maintenance of the device 1 to the general-purpose device 5 based on the calculated refrigerant amount or performance of the device 1, device acquisition data 10, device information 20, device installation information 30, and the like. is displayed on the general-purpose device 5. Information related to failure or maintenance is, for example, information that assists in failure or maintenance work and is information that is useful to the operator.

Specifically, the output unit 406 of the device management apparatus 2 outputs information regarding the failure or maintenance of the device 1 to the communication unit 402 to transmit the information to the general-purpose device 5 . The general-purpose device 5 acquires the information about the failure or maintenance transmitted from the equipment management apparatus 2 and displays it on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 . Note that the general-purpose device 5 may output the information transmitted from these device management apparatuses 2 by voice.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a display example displayed on the general-purpose device 5 according to this embodiment. In the display example shown in this figure, as the information of the device 1, the start date of operation, the device name, and the model of the compressor are displayed. Further, as the installation information of the device 1, information about the installation location of the outdoor unit and the height at which the indoor unit is installed is displayed. Graphs of time-series data of the estimated refrigerant amount value and performance of the device 1 and the estimated refrigerant amount value and refrigerant management value are also displayed. These pieces of display information are information that assists work in failure or maintenance. Note that the display example shown in this figure is only an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, according to the display example shown in FIG. 23, it is possible to grasp the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 as an instantaneous value or a time series, and to confirm information that assists work in the event of a failure or maintenance of the device 1. can.

As described above, the equipment management system SYS according to the present embodiment outputs information regarding failure or maintenance of the equipment 1 via the general-purpose device 5 based on the estimation result of the refrigerant amount or performance of the equipment 1 . As a result, the equipment management system SYS can confirm information that assists work in the failure or maintenance of the equipment 1 . Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the burden on the operator when the equipment 1 fails or perform maintenance, and to improve the efficiency of the work.

<Seventh Embodiment>
Next, a seventh embodiment will be described.
The basic configuration and operation of the equipment management system SYS according to this embodiment are the same as those of the fourth embodiment.

As described in the fourth embodiment, the equipment management device 2 estimates the performance of the equipment 1 based on the amount of refrigerant inside the equipment 1 . In this embodiment, based on the estimated performance of the device 1, the device management apparatus 2 performs pre-cooling or pre-warming when there is a possibility that the environment in which the device 1 is used exceeds the capacity of the device 1. to operate the device 1.

For example, compared to a device 1 with a regular charging amount (refrigerant amount that satisfies the refrigerant management value), the performance of the device 1 with a reduced refrigerant amount is degraded, so the frequency of the compressor 102 is increased. However, due to the pressure increase due to the increase in frequency, the operation may stop intermittently due to protective operation.

In this case, the device 1 takes longer to reach the set temperature in cooling operation, for example, and if the air conditioning load in the room increases beyond the capacity of the device 1, the room temperature does not decrease, but increases. It is conceivable to continue Therefore, the equipment management apparatus 2 reduces the air conditioning load in the room by causing the equipment 1 to perform pre-cooling so that even the equipment 1 whose performance is degraded does not enter the protection operation.

For example, when the equipment 1 is reserved for cooling or heating operation, the equipment management apparatus 2 (processing unit 403) acquires the reservation time from the equipment 1 via the communication unit 402, and the current environment (for example, , temperature) may exceed the cooling or heating capacity of the device 1 obtained based on the estimated refrigerant amount value. If the processing unit 403 determines that the current environment may exceed the cooling or heating capability of the device 1, it sends an instruction to the device 1 to operate the device 1 for cooling or heating before the reserved time. 402. The device 1 performs a precooling or prewarming operation in response to receiving this instruction.

Thus, the equipment management system SYS according to the present embodiment controls the operation of precooling or preheating of the equipment 1 based on the performance of the equipment 1 . As a result, when the environment in which the device 1 is used exceeds the capacity of the device 1, the device management system SYS can stably operate the device 1 compared to when precooling or preheating is not performed. can.

For example, when the environment exceeds the capacity of the device 1, the device 1 may take a protective action such as stopping or suppressing the operation to protect the device 1 itself because it cannot withstand the load. Since the device 1 cannot be used after the protective operation is performed, the user using the device 1 may feel uncomfortable. According to the present embodiment, precooling or prewarming operation control is performed on the device 1 based on the performance of the device 1, so that the occurrence of such protective operation of the device 1 can be suppressed. . For example, even if the performance of the device 1 is degraded due to factors such as deterioration of the heat exchange performance of the heat exchanger due to contamination or air duct blockage, or lack of refrigerant gas, it is possible to minimize the impact on use. can.

It should be noted that the device management system SYS is not limited to cooling or heating, and similarly in the case of dehumidification or freezing, if the environment in which the device 1 is used exceeds the capacity of the device 1, may be dehumidified or refrigerated.

<Eighth Embodiment>
Next, an eighth embodiment will be described.
The basic configuration of the device management system SYS according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment. are estimated respectively.

FIG. 24 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a device management system according to this embodiment. In this figure, the equipment management system SYS consists of equipment 1 of a plurality of owners (owner A, owner B, owner C, . . . ) and equipment management apparatus 2 capable of communicating with each equipment 1. I have. An owner is a person, an organization, or the like who owns the device 1 . This figure shows a plurality of devices 1 divided by owner in the configuration example of the device management system according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. It is the same in that it is communicably connected to the management device 2 .

Although an example in which each owner has three devices 1 is shown, the number may be one, two, or four or more. The number of owners is also not limited and may include owners in other countries as well as domestic owners.

Also, as described with reference to FIG. 21, the general-purpose device 5 is an example of an external device, such as a device having a display screen (for example, a smartphone, a PC) or a device that emits sound (for example, a wireless earphone). is. The general-purpose device 5 is an external device used by each of owner A, owner B, owner C, etc., and is capable of communicating with the device management apparatus 2 .

In recent years, the use of greenhouse gases has been gradually regulated in order to prevent global warming. In Japan and other countries, the reduction target for the total GWP of greenhouse gas (refrigerant) R410a is set by the Kyoto Protocol. The GWP total amount value is a value determined by "GWP (global warming potential) determined by refrigerant type"×"amount (weight) of refrigerant used". The amount (weight) of refrigerant used is, in other words, the amount (weight) of refrigerant charged in the device. In addition, F-gas (freon gas) regulations in Europe stipulate that the total amount of GWP will be reduced to 20% by 2030. Therefore, in equipment such as air conditioners that use a refrigerant, there is an increasing trend in various countries to reduce the amount of natural refrigerant with a low GWP and the amount of refrigerant used in the equipment.

Therefore, since the reduction target for the total GWP value is set, it is necessary to reduce the amount of refrigerant that can be filled in equipment year by year, or switch to a refrigerant with a lower GWP if the same refrigerant is used. On the other hand, the equipment sold in the past has remained in the market for 10 to 20 years, and it is essential to recover the refrigerant enclosed in the sold equipment as a social significance. In fact, the refrigerant recovery ratio is 38%, and most of it is released into the atmosphere, giving an adverse effect on global warming.

In addition, in the F-gas (freon gas) regulations in Europe, the distribution volume of the refrigerant itself is a quota system (Quiota Allocation: distribution permission frame) in order to achieve the reduction target of the total GWP value. If the Quiota Allocation runs out, it cannot be sold. This results in a steep rise in the price of the refrigerant, which affects costs. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize a method of regenerating the refrigerant by reusing the refrigerant recovered from the equipment.

Therefore, in the device management system SYS according to the present embodiment, the device management device 2 acquires the device acquisition data 10 from each of the plurality of devices 1, estimates the refrigerant amount in each of the plurality of devices 1, and Aggregate and manage data.

FIG. 25 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the device management device 2 according to this embodiment. In this figure, the same reference numerals are given to the components corresponding to the parts in FIG. The device management apparatus 2 is the external terminal 3 or the cloud 4, as described above, and includes, for example, a storage unit 401, a communication unit 402, and a processing unit 403, similar to the example shown in FIG.

The processing unit 403 includes an acquiring unit 404, an estimating unit 405, and an output unit 406 as a functional configuration for estimating the refrigerant amount and managing data by the CPU executing a control program stored in the storage unit 401. , and a data management unit 407 . The acquisition unit 404 acquires the device acquisition data 10 (see FIG. 8) from the plurality of devices 1 via the communication unit 402 and stores it in the storage unit 401 . The estimation unit 405 estimates each of the refrigerant amounts in the plurality of devices 1 . For example, the estimation unit 405 estimates the amount of refrigerant in the plurality of devices 1 based on the device acquisition data 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 404 and the device information 20 and device installation information 30 stored in the storage unit 401. 40 are calculated respectively. The output unit 406 visually or audibly outputs information based on data managed by the data management unit 407 , which will be described later, via the general-purpose device 5 .

The data management unit 407 associates each of the refrigerant amounts in the plurality of devices 1 estimated by the estimation unit 405 with the refrigerant type and stores them in the storage unit 401 . The refrigerant type is the refrigerant type of the refrigerant used in each device 1 . The data management unit 407 refers to the device information 20 and identifies the refrigerant type of the refrigerant used in each device 1 .

For example, the data management unit 407 causes the storage unit 401 to store device refrigerant information such as information on the amount of refrigerant in a plurality of devices 1 estimated by the estimation unit 405 in association with the refrigerant type for each device 1 . In addition, the data management unit 407 determines the amount of refrigerant for each device 1 based on the amount of refrigerant for each device 1 and the regulation value for the upper limit of the amount of refrigerant that can be used in the space where each of the plurality of devices 1 is installed. It is determined whether or not it is within the regulation value, and determination information based on the determination result is stored in the storage unit 401 .

In addition, the data management unit 407 determines whether or not the refrigerant for each device 1 is to be collected based on the refrigerant type for each device 1, and stores determination information based on the determination result in the storage unit 401. For example, if the type of refrigerant used in the device 1 is prohibited by regulations, the data management unit 407 determines that the refrigerant is to be collected.

The data management unit 407 stores device refrigerant information associated with the refrigerant type for each device 1, the regulation value, determination information as to whether or not the amount of refrigerant for each device 1 is within the regulation value, and the collected refrigerant for each device 1. Determination information as to whether or not the device is a target is stored as device refrigerant data 410 in the storage unit 401 and managed.

Next, the device refrigerant data 410 stored in the storage unit 401 will be described.
FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a data example of the device refrigerant data 410 according to this embodiment. Here, an example of data in the case where one device 1 is installed in one space (for example, room) is shown.

The device refrigerant data 410 stores device refrigerant information, regulation values, determination information, etc. in association with each owner's device 1 . The device refrigerant information includes the refrigerant type, the GWP of the refrigerant type, and the refrigerant amount in the device. The intra-equipment refrigerant amount is the refrigerant amount (charged refrigerant amount) used for each apparatus 1 and is the value of the estimated refrigerant amount 40 estimated by the estimation unit 405 . The GWP total amount value is a value calculated by “GWP×equipment refrigerant amount”.

The regulatory values include the GWP total amount regulatory value, the refrigerant amount regulatory value, and so on. The GWP total amount regulation value is the upper limit regulation value of the GWP total amount value. For example, the GWP total amount regulation value is determined by "the GWP determined by the type of refrigerant charged in the device 1" x "the upper limit of the refrigerant amount (weight) that can be used in the space where the device 1 is installed". As an example, the total GWP amount regulation value is set according to the size of the space in which the device 1 is installed, based on the reduction target of the total GWP amount value of refrigerant R410a. The refrigerant amount regulation value is obtained by converting the GWP total amount regulation value into a refrigerant amount regulation value, and is calculated by "the GWP total amount regulation value/the GWP of the refrigerant used in the device 1".

The data management unit 407 compares the GWP total amount value and the GWP total amount regulation value for each device 1, and determines whether or not the GWP total amount value is within the GWP total amount regulation value. Then, if the total GWP value exceeds the total GWP regulation value, the data management unit 407 exceeds the regulation value based on the determination result of whether or not the total GWP value is within the total GWP regulation value. Determination information (“restriction”) indicating that the equipment refrigerant data 410 is stored.

Note that the data management unit 407 may compare the internal refrigerant amount with the refrigerant amount regulation value for each device 1 and determine whether the internal refrigerant amount is within the refrigerant amount regulation value. For example, the data management unit 407 determines whether or not the refrigerant amount in the device is within the refrigerant amount regulation value, and if the device refrigerant amount exceeds the refrigerant amount regulation value, the regulation value is set. Determination information (“regulation”) indicating that the limit is exceeded may be stored in the device refrigerant data 410 .

In addition, the data management unit 407 determines whether or not each refrigerant is a recovery target based on the type of refrigerant used (filled refrigerant) in each device 1 . For example, the data management unit 407 determines that if the type of refrigerant (filled refrigerant) used in the device 1 is a refrigerant whose use is prohibited by regulation (for example, R22), it is not a collection target. Determine that there is. Then, when the data management unit 407 determines that the refrigerant is a collection target based on the determination result, the data management unit 407 stores determination information indicating that the refrigerant is a collection target (“collection target”) in the device refrigerant data 410 .

Next, with reference to FIG. 27, a data example of the device coolant data 410 when there are a plurality of devices 1 installed in one space (for example, room) will be described.
FIG. 27 is a diagram showing another data example of the device refrigerant data 410 according to this embodiment. Here, an example of the device refrigerant data 410 is shown when a plurality of devices 1 are installed in one space (for example, room).

The device refrigerant data 410 shown in this figure shows an example in which three devices 1 (two model ZW and one model EW) are installed in the room A. The total GWP regulation value is set for one space (here, room A). Therefore, the data management unit 407 calculates the “total GWP value for each space” by summing the “total GWP value for each device” of each of the three devices 1 installed in this room A, and calculates the “total GWP value for each space”. It is determined whether or not the GWP total amount value is within the GWP total amount regulation value. Then, the data management unit 407 determines whether or not the “total GWP value for each space” is within the total GWP regulation value, based on the determination result, and the “total GWP value for each space” exceeds the total GWP regulation value. If it exceeds the regulation value, determination information (“regulation”) indicating that the regulation value is exceeded is stored in the device refrigerant data 410 .

In addition, when all the devices 1 installed in room A are of the same refrigerant type, the total amount of refrigerant in each device 1 is obtained by dividing the total GWP value of room A by the GWP of the refrigerant type. It may be determined whether or not it is within the value (that is, the refrigerant amount regulation value for room A).

Next, an output example based on the device refrigerant data 410 managed by the device management device 2 will be described. The output unit 406 of the device management apparatus 2 outputs information regarding the refrigerant amount of each device 1 to the communication unit 402 based on the device refrigerant data 410 managed by the data management unit 407, thereby identifying the owner of each device 1. to the general-purpose device 5. For example, the owner registers in advance user information, information on the device 1 set by the owner, information on the installation location, etc., so that the device management apparatus 2 refers to the registered information, Information about the amount of refrigerant in each device 1 is transmitted to the general-purpose device 5 of the owner of each device 1 .

The general-purpose device 5 visually or audibly outputs the information regarding the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 transmitted from the equipment management device 2 . Here, as an example of visual output, an example of display on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 will be described. In addition, the general-purpose device 5 may output audio from a speaker or an audio output terminal (for example, an earphone jack) of the general-purpose device 5 when outputting audibly.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a first example of display of information regarding the amount of refrigerant according to this embodiment. This figure shows an example in which information about the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 installed in the room A is displayed on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 of the owner A. FIG. In this example, the type of refrigerant used in each of the three devices 1 installed in room A and the amount of refrigerant in the device (estimated amount of refrigerant 40) are displayed. Also, the total refrigerant type and refrigerant amount used in the equipment 1 in room A, the regulation value for the size of room A (the legal regulation value for this refrigerant type), and the refrigerant amount used in room A (total amount of refrigerant) is within the regulation value. When the total amount of refrigerant (total amount of refrigerant) is within the regulation value, for example, "The total amount of refrigerant is within the standard" is displayed as information indicating that it is within the regulation value.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a second example of display of information regarding the amount of refrigerant according to the present embodiment. Similar to FIG. 28, this figure shows an example in which the display screen of owner A's general-purpose device 5 displays information about the amount of refrigerant in equipment 1 installed in room A. (total amount of refrigerant) exceeds the regulation value. When the total amount of refrigerant (total amount of refrigerant) exceeds the regulation value, information indicating that the regulation value is exceeded is displayed, for example, "Total amount of refrigerant exceeds."

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a third example of display of information regarding the amount of refrigerant according to this embodiment. Similar to FIGS. 28 and 29, this figure shows an example in which information about the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 installed in the room A is displayed on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 of the owner A. , shows a display example when there is a refrigerant to be collected. Here, two of the three devices 1 installed in the room A use refrigerant R32, but one device uses refrigerant R22 whose use is prohibited. Therefore, as information indicating that there is a refrigerant to be collected, for example, "There is a refrigerant to be collected" is displayed.

28 to 30 show display examples in which three devices 1 are installed in one space (for example, room A). is installed, information about the amount of refrigerant for one vehicle is displayed. In addition, in the case of the owner who has a plurality of spaces in which one device 1 is installed, the information regarding the refrigerant amount of the plurality of devices 1 is displayed in a list, and whether or not the refrigerant amount is within the regulation value is displayed. A determination result or a determination result as to whether or not there is a refrigerant to be collected may be displayed for each device 1 .

As described above, in the device management system SYS according to the present embodiment, the device management device 2 receives the coolant temperature in the device 1 and the electrical input (electrical characteristics), and device acquisition data 10 (measurement information) indicating measurement results of environmental information around the device 1 are acquired. Then, the device management apparatus 2 estimates the amount of refrigerant in each of the plurality of devices 1 based on the acquired device acquisition data 10 and the preset device information 20 and device installation information 30 . In addition, the device management apparatus 2 associates each of the estimated refrigerant amounts in the plurality of devices 1 with the refrigerant type and stores them in the storage unit 401 . The estimation of the refrigerant amount and the storage of the estimated refrigerant amount by the device management device 2 may be performed by the external terminal 3, the cloud 4, or the cloud 4 via the external terminal 3, for example. may go.

As a result, the device management system SYS can easily grasp the amount of refrigerant in the plurality of devices 1 installed in the market. Further, the device management system SYS can easily grasp the refrigerant type of the refrigerant used in the plurality of devices 1 installed in the market.

In addition, the device management apparatus 2 causes the storage unit 401 to store information in which each of the estimated refrigerant amounts in the plurality of devices 1 is associated with the refrigerant type for each device 1 . In addition, the equipment management device 2 determines the amount of refrigerant for each device 1 based on the amount of refrigerant for each device 1 and the regulation value for the upper limit of the amount of refrigerant that can be used in the space where each of the plurality of devices 1 is installed. It is determined whether or not it is within the regulation value, and determination information based on the determination result is stored in the storage unit 401 .

As a result, the device management system SYS can easily grasp whether or not the amount of refrigerant in each of the plurality of devices 1 installed in the market exceeds the regulation value.

Further, when a plurality of devices 1 are installed in one space (for example, a room), the device management device 2 calculates the total amount of refrigerant for each of the plurality of devices 1 installed in one space and one Based on the regulation value for the upper limit of the amount of refrigerant that can be used in the space, it is determined whether or not the total amount of refrigerant in one space is within the regulation value, and determination information based on the determination result is stored in the storage unit 401. Let

As a result, the device management system SYS can easily grasp whether or not the amount of refrigerant in a plurality of devices 1 installed in the market exceeds the regulation value for each space (for example, room) where they are installed. be able to.

In addition, the device management apparatus 2 determines whether or not the refrigerant for each device 1 is to be collected based on the refrigerant type for each device 1, and causes the storage unit 401 to store determination information based on the determination result.

As a result, the device management system SYS can easily grasp whether or not the refrigerant type used in each of the plurality of devices 1 installed in the market is subject to recovery.

In addition, the equipment management device 2 visually or audibly outputs information on the refrigerant amount and refrigerant type in the equipment 1 stored in the storage unit 401 via the general-purpose device 5 (an example of the external equipment).

As a result, the device management system SYS can easily notify users (owners, etc.) of refrigerant types and refrigerant amounts in a plurality of devices 1 installed in the market. Note that the notified user may be the owner or the user (person in the space where the device 1 is installed).

In addition, the device management apparatus 2 visually or audibly outputs the determination information stored in the storage unit 401 via the general-purpose device 5 (an example of an external device). For example, the device management device 2 provides determination information based on the determination result as to whether the amount of refrigerant for each device 1 is within the regulation value, and whether or not the total amount of refrigerant in one space is within the regulation value. Judgment information based on the judgment result or judgment information based on the judgment result as to whether the refrigerant of each device 1 is to be collected is visually or audibly output via the general-purpose device 5 (an example of an external device). .

As a result, the device management system SYS can easily notify users (owners, etc.) of whether or not the refrigerant in the plurality of devices 1 installed in the market is subject to recovery. Note that the notified user may be the owner or the user (person in the space where the device 1 is installed).

In addition, the management method in the device management system SYS according to the present embodiment is such that the device management device 2 obtains from a plurality of devices 1 having a refrigerant, the refrigerant temperature in the device 1, the electrical input (electrical characteristics) of the device 1, and a step of acquiring device acquisition data 10 (measurement information) indicating the measurement result of environmental information around the device 1; and a step of associating each of the estimated refrigerant amounts in the plurality of devices 1 with the refrigerant type and storing them in the storage unit 401 .

<Ninth Embodiment>
Next, a ninth embodiment will be described.
The basic configuration of the device management system SYS according to this embodiment is the same as in the second and eighth embodiments, and acquires device acquisition data 10 from a plurality of devices 1 having refrigerant, However, the difference is that the amount of refrigerant is managed for each type of refrigerant in the entire plurality of devices 1 shipped to the market.

FIG. 31 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a device management system according to this embodiment. This figure differs from the configuration shown in FIG. 24 in that the equipment management device 2 can communicate with the service terminal 6 and the refurbishing factory 7 . The service terminal 6 is a portable terminal possessed by a serviceman of a collection company that collects refrigerant from the market (for example, the device 1).

The service terminal 6 may be a general-purpose device such as a smartphone or tablet PC, or may be a dedicated device. The service terminal 6 transmits to the device management apparatus 2 information about the refrigerant type and the amount of refrigerant input by the serviceman when the refrigerant is recovered.

The regeneration factory 7 receives the refrigerant recovered by the recovery agent (hereinafter referred to as “recovered refrigerant”), regenerates the delivered recovered refrigerant, and ships the regenerated refrigerant (hereinafter referred to as “regenerated refrigerant”). It is a factory that When the regenerated refrigerant is shipped, the regeneration factory 7 transmits information on the refrigerant type and amount of the shipped regenerated refrigerant to the equipment management device 2 .

The basic configuration of the device management device 2 according to this embodiment is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. The acquisition unit 404 acquires the device acquisition data 10 (see FIG. 8) from the plurality of devices 1 via the communication unit 402, and also receives information on the refrigerant type and refrigerant amount of the recovered refrigerant transmitted from the service terminal 6, and Information on the refrigerant type and refrigerant amount of the regenerated refrigerant transmitted from the regeneration factory 7 is acquired, stored in the storage unit 401, and managed.

The estimation unit 405 estimates the estimated amount of refrigerant 40 in the plurality of devices 1 based on the device acquisition data 10 acquired by the acquisition unit 404 and the device information 20 and device installation information 30 stored in the storage unit 401. Calculate each.

The data management unit 407 sums the amounts of refrigerant in the plurality of devices 1 estimated by the estimation unit 405 for each refrigerant type, and calculates the total amount of refrigerant in the device (hereinafter referred to as the “total amount in the device”). Each refrigerant type is associated and stored in the storage unit 401 . Further, the data management unit 407 associates the refrigerant amount of the recovered refrigerant and the refrigerant amount of the regenerated refrigerant acquired by the acquisition unit 404 with each refrigerant type and stores them in the storage unit 401 .

In addition, the data management unit 407 calculates the amount of refrigerant remaining in the market ("total amount in device" - "refrigerant amount of recovered refrigerant") based on the total amount in the device for each refrigerant type and the amount of recovered refrigerant. Calculate for each refrigerant type. In addition, based on the amount of recovered refrigerant and the amount of recovered refrigerant, the data management unit 407 determines the ratio of the recovered refrigerant shipped as the recovered refrigerant ("amount of recovered refrigerant" - "amount of recovered refrigerant"). ) is calculated. The data management unit 407 stores information about these refrigerants as the device refrigerant data 410 in the storage unit 401 and manages the information.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing a data example of the equipment refrigerant data 410 according to this embodiment. Equipment refrigerant data 410 includes the total amount of refrigerant in the equipment in the market, the amount of recovered refrigerant (recovered amount), the amount of refrigerant remaining in the market (residual amount in the market), whether regulation is possible, and the percentage of recovered refrigerant shipped as recycled refrigerant. Information such as (regenerated refrigerant) is associated. It should be noted that in this figure, refrigerant types associated with "regulation" in the regulation propriety are refrigerant types to be recovered (that is, refrigerant types whose use is prohibited). The refrigerant species to be recovered is not shipped as regenerated refrigerant.

As described above, in the device management system SYS according to the present embodiment, the device management device 2 acquires information on the refrigerant type and the amount of refrigerant collected from one of the plurality of devices 1, and estimates a plurality of The storage unit 401 stores the total refrigerant amount in the device 1 and the collected refrigerant amount in association with each refrigerant type.

As a result, the device management system SYS can easily grasp the amount of refrigerant collected from the plurality of devices 1 installed in the market. Therefore, the equipment management system SYS can easily grasp the response status of the environmental load to the market, and can appeal the environmental response to the market.

In addition, the equipment management device 2 acquires, for each refrigerant type, information on the amount of regenerated refrigerant that has been regenerated and shipped from any one of the plurality of equipment 1, and obtains the amount of regenerated refrigerant that has been shipped. are stored in the storage unit 401 in association with each refrigerant type.

As a result, the equipment management system SYS can easily grasp the percentage of the refrigerant recovered from the plurality of equipment 1 installed in the market that is being used as regenerated refrigerant. Therefore, the equipment management system SYS can easily grasp the response status of the environmental load to the market, and can appeal the environmental response to the market.

<Tenth Embodiment>
Next, a tenth embodiment will be described.
The basic configuration of the equipment management system SYS according to this embodiment is the same as that of the fifth embodiment or the eighth embodiment. The user is notified by visual or auditory output. The external device is, for example, the general-purpose device 5 described above. The general-purpose device 5 visually or audibly outputs by displaying on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 or outputting by sound.

Conventionally, even if there is a factor that causes a device to malfunction, it is not possible to notice it, and the user (owner, user, etc.) of the device may continue to use it until it fails. In addition, the outflow of refrigerant gas into the atmosphere is a major cause of the deterioration in equipment performance.

Therefore, the equipment management system SYS estimates the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 and notifies the user of a decrease in the amount of refrigerant, deterioration in performance, lack of performance, etc., and promotes maintenance or replacement of the equipment 1. In addition, the equipment management system SYS is a model that is subject to environmental regulations based on the refrigerant type of the refrigerant in the equipment 1 (for example, a model that uses a refrigerant whose use is prohibited by regulation). In such a case, the user is notified, and maintenance or replacement of the device 1 is promoted.

For example, the device management device 2 estimates the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 periodically or at arbitrary timing, and retains data on the estimated amount of refrigerant in chronological order. A correlation formula between refrigerant quantity and performance is maintained, and performance is calculated from the estimated refrigerant quantity. In addition, when the estimated amount of refrigerant decreases from a certain time to a certain time, the device management device 2 predicts performance degradation of the device from the time difference Δt.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example of changes in refrigerant amount and performance of the device 1 according to this embodiment. Similar to the example shown in FIG. 19, FIG. 33A is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the amount of refrigerant and the performance of the device. The performance of the device 1 decreases from the optimum value (100% performance) to the current value (80% performance) as the amount of refrigerant decreases. Based on the time difference Δt from the time of the optimum value (100% performance) to the time of the current value (80% performance), the device management apparatus 2 predicts future performance deterioration, as shown in FIG. 33(B).

For example, the output unit 406 of the device management apparatus 2 transmits information regarding performance, maintenance or replacement (purchase of a new device), etc. to the general-purpose device 5 for the user of the device 1 based on this performance deterioration prediction. By transmitting, it is made to output from the general-purpose device 5 . That is, the output unit 406 provides the user of the device 1 with information based on the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 (information on performance, information on maintenance or replacement) so that the user can easily grasp the state of the device 1. It has a function as a notification part. As a result, the device management system SYS notifies the user of the device 1 of the state of the device 1 such as its performance, and when the performance is degraded, the device 1 is maintained or replaced (purchase of a new device). ) can be recommended.

Also, for example, in the equipment refrigerant data 410 shown in FIG. 26, the refrigerant type of the equipment 1 of the model name EEE of the owner B is R410, and the amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1 exceeds the regulation value. Therefore, the output unit 406 may output from the general-purpose device 5 by transmitting information prompting the general-purpose device 5 to change from the refrigerant R410 with a GWP of 2090 to the refrigerant R32 with a GWP of 675. By changing to a refrigerant type with a lower GWP, the total GWP amount value can be reduced to be within the total GWP regulation value.

Further, when the refrigerant in the device 1 is to be collected, the output unit 406 may output from the general-purpose device 5 by transmitting information indicating that the refrigerant is to be collected to the general-purpose device 5 . Further, when the refrigerant in the equipment 1 is to be collected, information indicating that the refrigerant is to be collected may be sent to the general-purpose device 5, and information prompting replacement of the equipment may be sent to the general-purpose device 5 to output. .

For example, the general-purpose device 5 displays this information on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5. Note that the general-purpose device 5 may output these pieces of information by voice. Here, display examples of the general-purpose device 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a first example of display on the general-purpose device 5 according to this embodiment. In this figure, on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5, as information indicating that the recovery target refrigerant is being used in the device 1, "The model name CCC is a device that currently contains the recovery target refrigerant R22." is displayed. Further, on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5, "If you want to replace your device <here>" is displayed as information prompting you to replace your device. In "<here>", a link is set to jump to a site that introduces a replacement model or to a replacement site. Also, on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5, campaign information or the like to encourage replacement may be displayed, such as "You can purchase at a special price if you want to replace with our product."

In addition, in this figure, the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 displays "model BBB is overcharged" as information about the model 1 overcharged with refrigerant among the other models 1 owned by the same owner. Power consumption may be increasing due to overcharging." is displayed. Further, on the display screen of the general-purpose device 5, "request for maintenance <here>" is displayed as information prompting maintenance. A link to jump to the site of the maintenance request destination is set in "<here>".

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a second example of display of the general-purpose device according to this embodiment. In this figure, the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 displays information indicating the type of refrigerant charged in each of the three devices 1 installed in the room A and the device to be recovered. Here, "this is a device for refrigerant recovery" is displayed in association with the device 1 filled with the refrigerant R22.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a third example of display of the general-purpose device according to this embodiment. In this figure, the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 displays the power consumption based on the refrigerant amount of each of the three devices 1 installed in the room A. FIG. Here, the power consumption of two of the three devices 1 is 100%, which is normal, and the power consumption of one device is 120%, indicating an increase. In addition, "request maintenance <here>" is displayed as information prompting maintenance in association with the device 1 whose power consumption is 120%. A link to jump to the site of the maintenance request destination is set in "<here>".

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a fourth example of display of the general-purpose device according to this embodiment. In this figure, the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 displays the capacity based on the refrigerant amount of each of the three devices 1 installed in the room A. FIG. Here, it is shown that the capacity of two of the three devices 1 is normal at 120%, and the capacity of one device is degraded at 80%. In addition, "request maintenance <here>" is displayed as information prompting maintenance in association with the device 1 whose capacity is 80%. A link to jump to the site of the maintenance request destination is set in "<here>". The display screen of the general-purpose device 5 also displays information indicating that the capacity of the room A as a whole is sufficient with the total capacity of the three devices 1 .

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing a fifth example of display of the general-purpose device according to this embodiment. In this figure, the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 indicates that the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 installed in the room A has decreased to 80%, and information prompting maintenance, "Request maintenance <here>". is displayed. A link to jump to the site of the maintenance request destination is set in "<here>". Further, the display screen of the general-purpose device 5 displays information indicating that the refrigerant may be leaking due to a decrease (insufficient) in the amount of refrigerant. Here, as details of the information indicating the state of the device 1, data indicating changes in the refrigerant amount and performance of the device 1 shown in FIG. 33 are displayed.

It should be noted that each display example shown in FIGS. 34 to 38 is an example, and the contents of the displayed information can be changed arbitrarily. For example, as a display example, the display example shown in FIG. 22 in the fourth embodiment can also be applied. As display examples, the display examples shown in FIGS. 28 to 30 in the eighth embodiment can also be applied.

As described above, in the device management system SYS according to the present embodiment, the device management device 2 receives from the device 1 having a refrigerant the refrigerant temperature in the device 1, the electrical input (electrical characteristics) of the device 1, and the Device acquisition data 10 (measurement information) indicating measurement results of environmental information around the device 1 is acquired. Then, the device management apparatus 2 estimates the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 based on the acquired device acquisition data 10, the preset device information 20 related to the device 1, and the device installation information 30 related to the installation environment of the device 1. . In addition, the device management device 2 notifies the user (owner, user, etc.) of the device 1 of information based on the estimated amount of refrigerant in the device 1 .

As a result, the device management system SYS estimates the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 and notifies the user of information based on the estimated amount of refrigerant, so that the user can easily grasp the state of the device 1.

For example, the equipment management device 2 estimates the performance of the equipment 1 based on preset equipment information 20 and equipment installation information 30, and the estimated amount of refrigerant in the equipment 1, and estimates the estimated performance of the equipment 1. to the user of the device 1.

As a result, the device management system SYS allows the user to easily grasp the performance state of the device 1 .

Further, when the refrigerant used in the device 1 is of the recovery target refrigerant type, the device management device 2 notifies the user of the device 1 of information indicating that the refrigerant is a recovery target.

As a result, when the refrigerant in the equipment 1 is to be collected, the equipment management system SYS allows the user to easily understand that the refrigerant is to be collected.

In addition, the device management apparatus 2 notifies the user of the device 1 of information regarding maintenance of the device 1 based on the estimated performance of the device 1 or the refrigerant type of the refrigerant used in the device 1 .

As a result, the equipment management system SYS can prompt the user to maintain the equipment 1 when the performance of the equipment 1 is degraded or when the refrigerant in the equipment 1 is to be recovered.

In addition, the device management apparatus 2 notifies the user of the device 1 of information regarding replacement of the device 1 based on the estimated performance of the device 1 or the refrigerant type of the refrigerant used in the device 1 .

As a result, the equipment management system SYS can encourage the user to replace the equipment 1 when the performance of the equipment 1 is degraded or when the refrigerant in the equipment 1 is to be recovered.

In addition, the device management apparatus 2 visually or audibly outputs information to be notified to the user of the device 1 via the general-purpose device 5 (an example of the external device).

As a result, the device management system SYS can easily notify the user (owner, etc.) of the performance of the device 1 installed in the market or the status of whether or not the refrigerant filled therein is subject to recovery. . In addition, the equipment management system SYS can promote maintenance or replacement of the equipment 1 installed in the market.

Note that the device management device 2 itself (for example, the external terminal 3) visually or aurally outputs information to be notified to the user of the device 1 instead of or in addition to the general-purpose device 5. You may In addition, the device management apparatus 2 visually or audibly outputs information to be notified to the user of the device 1 via the device 1 (for example, the indoor unit 200) instead of or in addition to the general-purpose device 5. may Further, the device management apparatus 2 visually or audibly outputs information to be notified to the user of the device 1 via a remote controller (not shown) of the device 1 instead of or in addition to the general-purpose device 5. may

In addition, the notification method in the device management system SYS according to the present embodiment is such that the device management apparatus 2 receives from the device 1 having a refrigerant the refrigerant temperature in the device 1, the electrical input (electrical characteristics) of the device 1, and the device a step of acquiring device acquisition data 10 (measurement information) indicating the measurement result of environmental information around the device 1; the acquired device acquisition data 10; a step of estimating the amount of refrigerant in the device 1 based on the device installation information 30; and a step of notifying the user of the device 1 of information based on the estimated amount of refrigerant in the device 1.

In addition, according to the equipment management system SYS according to the present embodiment, it is possible to create employment for maintenance workers involved in refrigerant recovery work and refrigerant charging work, and employment for development and sales associated with the replacement of the equipment 1.

As described above, each embodiment has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and each embodiment may be combined, modified, or omitted as appropriate. It is possible to

In the above embodiment, an example of an air conditioner capable of switching between cooling operation and heating operation has been described as an example of the device 1, but it may be a dedicated cooling device or a heating dedicated device. In the case of a cooling-only machine, the refrigerant circuit is for cooling only, excluding the four-way valve 101 in FIG. Also, in the case of a machine dedicated to heating, the refrigerant circuit is for heating only, excluding the four-way valve 101 in FIG.

Also, the device 1 is not limited to an air conditioner as long as it has a refrigerant. For example, the device 1 may be a refrigerator or a freezer in which a condenser and an evaporator are combined. In the case of a refrigerator or a freezer, the refrigerant circuit is for cooling only.

Also, for example, the device 1 may be a water heater (ATW: Air To Water). FIG. 39 is a diagram showing an example of a refrigerant circuit when device 1 is a water heater. In FIG. 39, the same reference numerals are given to the components corresponding to the parts in FIG. When the device 1 (water heater) estimates the amount of heat exchanged by the gas cooler 205, instead of the inlet and outlet temperatures T6 and T7 of the gas cooler 205 for the refrigerant, the inlet and outlet temperatures T6' and T7' of the water circuit may be used.

Also, the examples of Mollier diagrams shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 differ depending on the type of refrigerant. For example, the CO2 refrigerant used in water heaters becomes supercritical during operation, so there is no distinction between a liquid phase and a gas phase, but the relationship between pressure and enthalpy change is the same as the example shown in FIG. In the water heater, when the refrigerant temperature in the gas cooler 205 portion cannot be measured, it can be converted from the refrigerant circulation amount, the water amount in the water circuit, the inlet/outlet temperatures T6' and T7' of the water circuit, and the heat exchange efficiency.

Also, in the above embodiment, an example in which the device management device 2 is the external terminal 3 or the cloud 4 has been described, but it is not limited to this. For example, the device management device 2 may be provided in the device 1 .

A program for realizing the functions of the device management apparatus 2 is recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded in the recording medium is read by a computer system and executed. processing may be performed. It should be noted that the "computer system" here includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.

In addition, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs and CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a program that dynamically retains a program for a short period of time, like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. volatile memory inside a computer system that is a server or a client in that case, which holds a program for a certain period of time. Further, the program may be for realizing part of the functions described above, or may be capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system. Alternatively, the above program may be stored in a predetermined server, and distributed (downloaded, etc.) via a communication line in response to a request from another device.

Also, part or all of the functions of the device management device 2 may be implemented as an integrated circuit such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration). Each function may be individually processorized, or part or all may be integrated and processorized. Also, the method of circuit integration is not limited to LSI, but may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. In addition, when an integration circuit technology that replaces LSI appears due to advances in semiconductor technology, an integrated circuit based on this technology may be used.

1 Device 2 Device Management Device 3 External Terminal 4 Cloud 5 General Device 6 Service Terminal 7 Refurbishment Factory 10 Device Acquisition Data 11 Refrigerant Temperature 12 Electrical Input 13 Environmental Information 20 Device Information 30 Device Installation Information 31 Internal Volume of Internal/External Connection Piping 40 Estimated Refrigerant Quantity 41 Converted refrigerant amount 42 Dissolved refrigerant amount 43 Remaining refrigerant amount 50 Refrigerant density 51 Internal volume of each component in equipment 52 Remaining oil amount 53 Oil dissolution ratio 100 Outdoor unit 101 Four-way valve 102 Compressor 102a Compressor 102b Compressor motor 103 Expansion valve 104 outdoor heat exchanger 105 outdoor fan 110 outdoor unit control unit 120 inverter 200 indoor unit 201 indoor heat exchanger 202 indoor fan 210 indoor unit control unit 220

wireless device

301, 302 internal/external connection pipe 310 internal/external communication line 401 storage unit 402 Communication unit 403 Processing unit 404 Acquisition unit 405 Estimation unit 406 Output unit 407 Data management unit 410 Equipment refrigerant data SYS Equipment management system

Claims

a device having a refrigerant;
an acquisition unit that acquires measurement information indicating measurement results of refrigerant temperature in the device, electrical characteristics of the device, and environmental information around the device;
an estimating unit for estimating the amount of refrigerant in the device based on the measurement information acquired by the acquiring unit, preset device information regarding the device, and device installation information regarding the installation environment of the device;
a notification unit that notifies a user of the device of information based on the amount of refrigerant in the device estimated by the estimation unit;
equipment management system.
The estimation unit
estimating the performance of the device based on the device information, the device installation information, and the estimated amount of refrigerant in the device;
The notification unit
Notifying a user of the device of information regarding the performance of the device estimated by the estimation unit;
The equipment management system according to claim 1.
The notification unit
If the refrigerant used in the equipment is of a refrigerant type to be collected, notifying the user of the equipment of information indicating that the refrigerant is to be collected;
The equipment management system according to claim 1.
The notification unit
Notifying a user of the device of information regarding maintenance of the device based on the performance of the device estimated by the estimation unit or the refrigerant type of the refrigerant used in the device;
The equipment management system according to claim 1.
The notification unit
Notifying the user of the device of information regarding replacement of the device based on the performance of the device estimated by the estimation unit or the refrigerant type of the refrigerant used in the device;
The equipment management system according to claim 1.
The notification unit
Visually or audibly outputting information to be notified to the user of the device via an external device;
The equipment management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The device information includes at least information on the volume of space in which the refrigerant can flow and the type of refrigerant possessed by the device.
The equipment management system according to claim 1.
The estimation unit
calculating the amount of refrigerant in the device based on the volume of the space in which the refrigerant can flow in the device and the refrigerant density determined based on the refrigerant temperature in the device and the refrigerant type;
The equipment management system according to claim 7.
The estimation unit
Further calculating the amount of refrigerant in the equipment by adding the amount of refrigerant dissolved in the refrigerating machine oil used in the equipment and the amount of refrigerant in the liquid retention portion to the calculated amount of refrigerant,
The equipment management system according to claim 8.
In the device, an outdoor unit including a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an expansion valve, and an indoor unit including an indoor heat exchanger are connected by a connecting pipe through which a refrigerant flows,
The device installation information includes at least information about the volume of the connecting pipe,
The equipment management system according to claim 1.
The information about the environment surrounding the device includes at least information about the ambient temperature of the device.
The equipment management system according to claim 1.
A notification method in a device management system,
an acquisition unit acquiring measurement information indicating measurement results of a coolant temperature in a device containing the coolant, electrical characteristics of the device, and environmental information around the device;
an estimating unit estimating the amount of refrigerant in the device based on the measurement information acquired by the acquiring unit, preset device information regarding the device, and device installation information regarding the installation environment of the device;
a notification unit notifying a user of the device of information based on the amount of refrigerant in the device estimated by the estimation unit;
Notification methods, including;