JPH02234202A - Controller for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial minutes]

The present invention relates to an air conditioner that uses communication means to exchange operating information between an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and in particular detects abnormalities in transmission and reception between the indoor and outdoor units and provides 1.Regarding an air conditioner that prevents equipment malfunction.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional air conditioner disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-5805'3. In the figure, 1 is an indoor unit and 2 is an outdoor unit. Above indoor a! l1 is a micro controller for indoor control (
(hereinafter referred to as an indoor microcomputer) 3, an indoor transmitting/receiving device 4 connected to the indoor microcomputer 3 and transmitting and receiving serial signals with the outdoor unit 2, and a thermistor 5 that detects room temperature information and supplies it to the indoor microcomputer 3. , a relay 6 controlled and pressed by an indoor microcomputer 3, and a display 7, and a contact 6a of the relay 6 is connected in series to a power line L connecting an AC power source 8 and an outdoor unit 2. The outdoor unit 2 also includes an outdoor control microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as an outdoor microcomputer) 9, an outdoor transmitter/receiver 10 connected to the outdoor microcomputer 9, and an outdoor microcomputer that transmits and receives real signals to and from the indoor unit 1. A variable frequency device 11 controlled by 9 is provided. Reference numeral 12 denotes a signal line connecting the indoor transmitting/receiving device 4 and the outdoor transmitting/receiving device 10. FIG. 5 specifically shows the serial signal transmitting/receiving section in the overall configuration diagram of the air conditioner shown in FIG.
The same reference numerals as in the figure indicate the same parts. Further, a part of the power line L to the variable frequency device 11 is used as the signal line 12 that connects the indoor transmitter/receiver 4 and the outdoor transmitter/receiver 10. The space between each transmission photocoupler 1 and coupler 4a,
10a and receiving photo couplers 4b and 10b. In addition, in order to check whether an abnormality has occurred in the transmission and reception of serial signals between the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2, the serial signal sent from the outdoor unit 2 to the indoor unit ” is added to the serial signal sent from the indoor va1 to the outdoor unit 2, and “confirmation information” in response to the above-mentioned “induction motor operation/stop” transmission information is added to the serial signal transmitted from the indoor unit va1 to the outdoor unit 2. Next, the conventional operation configured as described above will be explained. The temperature information detected by the room temperature thermistor 5 is input to the indoor microcomputer 3. The indoor microcomputer compares the temperature of the room with the set temperature, and when it is determined that the room temperature is lower than the set temperature, the indoor microcomputer compares the room temperature with the set temperature. The corresponding [induction motor operation signal] is placed on a serial signal and transmitted from the indoor transceiver @4 to the outdoor unit 2 through the signal line 12. In the outdoor unit 2, the above serial signal is received by the outdoor transmitting/receiving device 1θ, and the outdoor microcomputer 9
By processing it, induction electricity is generated based on the “operation signal”! l
l! One unit is operated and the air conditioner is controlled so that the room temperature reaches the set temperature. In flowchart 1 of FIG. 6, first, the outdoor microcomputer 9 sets the "stop signal" to "1" and transmits it to the indoor unit 1. In the indoor microcomputer 3 of the indoor unit 1, step 4 in FIG.
1, it is determined whether or not a stop signal II has been received. Here, when it is determined that the stop signal 1'''1' has been received, the indoor microcomputer 3 sets the 1-Year U confirmation signal to ``1'' and transmits it to the outdoor unit 2. Then, the outdoor microcomputer 9 receives a confirmation signal ``IH''.
is received (step 42). When it is determined that the outdoor unit 2 has received the confirmation signal 1"1", the process proceeds to step 43, where serial signals are repeatedly transmitted and received between the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 2 as shown in steps 43 to 47. The variable frequency device 11 is turned on/off. On the other hand, when the judgment result in step 42 is NOJ, that is, it is judged that the confirmation signal 1"゜1" cannot be received and detected, the process proceeds to step 48, and the outdoor microcomputer 9 At the same time, in the next step 49, the outdoor unit 2 stops transmitting a serial signal (control signal) to the indoor unit 1. In other words, the indoor microcomputer 3 2 is stopped due to an abnormality in the serial signal by lighting up the display 7 of the indoor unit 1 (step 50), and in the next step 51, the relay 6 is turned off, thereby turning off the contact of the power line L. 6a to cut off the power supply to the outdoor unit 2.In this way, you can confirm from the indoor unit that an abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit.Also, turn the power back on to the outdoor unit. When supplying, reset 1 to indoor microcomputer 3.
・To do this, turn the switch 13 from off to on. By doing so, serial transmission and reception can be performed between the indoor microcomputer 3 and the outdoor microcomputer 9.

Problem M to be Solved by the Invention In the conventional air conditioner configured as described above, even if a serial signal is transmitted and received between the indoor unit 1 and the outdoor unit 12rrR, if a data error occurs, this Since there is no way to check this, there was a problem in that it was unclear whether the sending and receiving operations were working normally. In addition, indoor microcomputer 3
When detecting an abnormality, the power supply to the outdoor BII 2 is stopped, and there is a problem in that the indoor microcomputer 3 must be reset in order to supply power to the outdoor unit 2 again. This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to check whether the indoor microcomputer is transmitting and receiving serial signals normally, and it can also be done without having to reset the indoor microcomputer. An object of the present invention is to provide a control device for an air conditioner that can supply power to an outdoor unit.

[Means to solve the problem]

In the air conditioner control device according to the present invention, the indoor control microcomputer receives received data.
・Means for detecting the presence or absence of an error in data transmission and determining whether communication is being performed normally; a display means for notifying an abnormality in the transmission and reception of the Nlual signal from a central location in the room; When the determination is made, the power supply control means stops supplying power to the outdoor unit and, after a predetermined period of time, restarts supplying power to the outdoor unit.

[Effect]

In this invention, the determining means detects the presence or absence of a receive data error from the stop bit of the received data, and determines that the transmitting/receiving operation is abnormal when the number of received data errors reaches a predetermined number. As a result, the power supply control means is turned off to cut off the power supply to the outdoor unit, and the display means displays an abnormality in the transmission/reception operation. Then, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the data transmission/reception abnormality occurs, the power supply control means is turned on and power is supplied to the outdoor unit. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to check whether data transmission and reception are operating normally, and also to prevent malfunction of the room control unit.
It becomes possible to supply lightning to the outdoor unit without applying any electricity.

【Example】

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an overall system configuration diagram of an air conditioner according to the present invention, and the same or corresponding parts as in FIG. 5 will be described with the same reference numerals. In the figure, 1 is an indoor unit, 2
is an outdoor unit. The indoor ML detects room temperature information with an indoor control microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) 20, an indoor transmitting/receiving device 4 connected to the indoor microcomputer 20 and transmitting and receiving unreal signals to and from the outdoor unit 2. Indoor microcomputer 2
0, a relay 6 and a display 7 controlled by an indoor microcomputer 20, and the relay 6
The contact point 6al is connected in series to the power line L connecting the AC power source 8 and the outdoor unit 2. In addition, the outdoor unit 2
is a variable frequency controlled by an outdoor control microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as an outdoor microcomputer) 21, an outdoor transmitting/receiving device 10 connected to the outdoor microcomputer 21 and transmitting and receiving serial signals with the indoor unit 1, and an outdoor microcomputer 21. A device 11 is provided. Reference numeral 12 denotes a signal line connecting the indoor transmitting/receiving device 4 and the outdoor transmitting/receiving device 10. Further, a part of the power line L to the variable frequency device 11 is used for the signal line 12 connecting the indoor transmitting/receiving device 4 and the outdoor transmitting/receiving device 10. Between this signal line L and the indoor transmitting/receiving device 4 and the outdoor transmitting/receiving device 10 are the respective transmitting river photocoupler 1/coupler 4a, 10a and receiving photocoupler 1/coupler 4b.
, 10b. In addition, in order to check whether an abnormality occurred in the transmission and reception of serial signals between indoor @1 and outdoor unit 2,
The serial signal sent from the outdoor unit 2 to the indoor unit 1 and the serial signal sent from the outdoor unit 2 to the indoor unit 1 are both appended with ``star 1 bit-J'' and a ``stop bit'' as shown in Figure 2. be. In FIG. 2, a is an indoor transmission signal transmitted from the indoor unit 1 to the outdoor unit 8!2-, b is an outdoor transmission signal transmitted from the outdoor unit 2 to the indoor unit 1, and C is an outdoor transmission signal transmitted from the outdoor unit 2 to the indoor unit 1. This is an indoor received signal. Moreover, a processing means is added to the program of the indoor microcomputer 20 to turn on relay b again after a certain period of time after detecting an abnormality in the transmission and reception of the serial signal. Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained. When the temperature information detected by the room temperature thermistor 5 is taken into the indoor microcomputer 20, the indoor microcomputer 20 compares the room temperature with the set fan temperature, and if it is determined that the indoor fan temperature is lower than the set temperature, the determination result is 1. "Induction motor operation signal" according to
is placed on a serial signal and transmitted from the indoor transmitting/receiving device 4 to the outdoor unit 2 through the signal fiber 12. In the outdoor unit 2, the above serial signal is received by the outdoor transceiver 10 and processed by the outdoor microcomputer 21 to operate the induction motor based on the "operation signal" and control the air conditioner so that the room temperature reaches the set temperature. . The above-mentioned "induction motor operation signal" is one of the serial signal data shown in Figure 2a, and is sent from indoor unit 1 to outdoor unit 2 with star 1, bit 1, and stop bit added to it. do. In the outdoor microcomputer 21, the serial signal “
After receiving "star 1 bit 1", "data" and "stop bit", the outdoor unit 2 transmits a serial signal in format 1 shown in FIG. 2b to the indoor unit 1. In the indoor microcomputer 3, the serial signal “Star 1”
・Bit” “Data” ・If “Star I Bit 1” can be received, the serial signal is sent from the indoor unit 1 to the outdoor unit 2 again. Such serial signal transmission and reception is performed while the relay 6 is turned on. FIG. 3 is a flowchart 1 for transmitting and receiving serial signals from the indoor microcomputer. First, in step 61, the indoor microcomputer 20 turns on the relay 6. Subsequently, a serial signal is transmitted from the indoor microcomputer 20 to the outdoor microcomputer 21 (step 62). When the transmission of the serial signal from the indoor microcomputer 20 is completed, the process proceeds to step 63 and a process for receiving the serial signal transmitted from the outdoor microcomputer 21 to the indoor microcomputer 20 begins. When the reception process is completed, the process proceeds to step 64, where the indoor microcomputer 20 determines whether "s1.tsububit1." has been detected. Here, if it is determined that the message "[S1 Tubbit)" has been received, the indoor microcomputer determines that there is no data error in transmission and reception, and counters the reception data error counter (configured by the CPU and RAM in the indoor microcomputer 20). .)
n (n is an arbitrary integer, and is used to determine that the transmission/reception operation is abnormal when the status of not being able to receive the external transmission signal S1 and Tsubbit1- sent from the outdoor unit 2 continues n times. ) is entered (step 65). Then return to star 1. If it is determined in step 64 that the indoor microcomputer 20 is unable to detect "s1.tsububit1.", then in step 66 n-1 is entered in the received data error counter.
Enter the value. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 67, where the indoor microcomputer 20 determines whether the received data error count has become 0. Here, when it is determined that the receive data error counter is not O, the process returns to star l. Furthermore, when it is determined that the reception data error counter is 0, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the transmission and reception system, or that the outdoor microcomputer 21 is out of control, and that data transmission and reception are not being performed normally. Proceed to steps 68-70. First, in step 68, the relay 6 is turned off, and in the next step 69, the display 7 flashes, and the timer t
(consisting of the CPU and RAM in the indoor microcomputer 20). Then proceed to step 71,
It is determined whether the time limit set by timer t has expired. If the count 1 has not been completed, the process returns to step 68 and the processes of steps 68 to 69 are repeated. Further, if it is determined that the count 1-up has been completed, the process proceeds to step 72, the blinking display on the display 7 is canceled, and the process returns to the start.

【Effect of the invention】

According to the present invention as described above, the indoor microcomputer determines the presence or absence of a received data error based on the presence or absence of the S1 and TUB bits in the received data, and when the number of received data errors reaches a predetermined number, the transmission/reception {W! Since it is determined that lilJ production is not performed normally, malfunctions of the outdoor microcomputer can be prevented, and by turning off power control means such as relays, the power supply to the outdoor unit can be cut off and the outdoor unit can be turned off. It is possible to ensure the safety of the indoor unit, and to check for abnormalities in the outdoor unit on the indoor unit side by flashing the display. In addition, when a certain period of time (for example, 1 minute) has passed and the timer times out after detecting an abnormality in the transmission and reception of serial signals, the power control means is turned on again, so the indoor microcontroller This has the effect that power can be supplied to the outdoor unit without performing reset 1, and serial signals can again be transmitted and received between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of an air conditioner control device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2(a) to (1) are format diagrams of indoor and outdoor transmission signals in this embodiment, and FIG. A flowchart showing the operation procedure of the indoor microcomputer in this embodiment, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional air conditioner control device, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the real signal transmitting and receiving section of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a flowchart 1 showing the procedure for transmitting and receiving serial signals in the prior art. 1. Indoor unit, 2. Outdoor unit, 4. Indoor transmission/reception circuit, 5. Temperature sensor, 6. Relay, 7. Display unit, 10. Outdoor transmission/reception circuit, 11. Variable frequency device, 12. Signal line, 20. Indoor microcomputer, 21. Outdoor microcomputer. Note that the same symbols in the figures indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] an indoor unit having an indoor control microcomputer;
In a control device having an outdoor unit having an outdoor control microcomputer, and an indoor transmitting/receiving device and an outdoor transmitting/receiving device that perform serial data communication between the indoor unit and the outdoor unit, the indoor controlling microcomputer is configured to transmit received data. means for detecting the presence or absence of a received data error from the stop bit of the stop bit to determine whether communication is occurring normally;
Display means for informing the indoor unit of an abnormality in the transmission and reception of serial signals, and when the determination means determines that there is an abnormality in the transmission and reception of data, the power supply to the outdoor unit is stopped, and after a predetermined period of time, the outdoor unit 1. A control device for an air conditioner, comprising: power control means for restarting power supply to the air conditioner.