JPH11230603A - Central control device for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a centralized control device for an air conditioner that can be easily initialized at the start of centralized control in an air conditioner configured by a plurality of air conditioners. SOLUTION: An air conditioner is constituted by a plurality of air conditioners 2 to 8, and device addresses 502 to 5 of the air conditioners 2 to 8 and remote controllers 402 to 408 of the air conditioners.
A centralized control panel 1 is provided for automatically generating a group formation of air conditioners and remote controllers via input of setting information by the control unit 12. The central control panel 1 groups a plurality of air conditioners and remote controllers. Therefore, when starting up the centralized control of the air conditioner, the trouble of registering each air conditioner and each remote controller for each group for each group can be eliminated. In addition, group formation information is automatically generated to prevent erroneous setting of group formation, and to facilitate group number registration work.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a centralized control device for an air conditioner for centrally controlling a plurality of air conditioners and their remote controllers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 10 and FIG.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional centralized control device for an air conditioner similar to the configuration shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 19577; FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing connection of devices of the air conditioner; FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating a configuration of a centralized control panel.
In the figure, 1 is a central control panel, 2 is a first air conditioner, 3
Is a second air conditioner, 4 is a third air conditioner, 5 is a fourth air conditioner, 6 is a fifth air conditioner, 7 is a sixth air conditioner, 8
Is the seventh air conditioner.

[0003] 402 is a first remote controller corresponding to the first air conditioner 2, 404 is a second remote controller corresponding to the third air conditioner 4, and 406 is a third remote controller corresponding to the fifth air conditioner 6. A remote controller 408 is a fourth remote controller corresponding to the seventh air conditioner 8, and 9 is a transmission line, which is a central control panel 1, a first air conditioner 2, a second air conditioner 3, and a third air conditioner. The air conditioner 4, the fourth air conditioner 5, the fifth air conditioner 6, the sixth air conditioner 7, and the seventh air conditioner 8 are connected, and switching of the operation of each air conditioner, switching of cooling and heating, and the like are performed. Connect each remote control.

The centralized control panel 1 comprises a CPU 10, a memory 11, a transmission / reception circuit 12, an input unit 13, an internal hardware switch 14, and a display unit 15.
501 is the device address of the central control panel 1, 502 is the device address of the first air conditioner 2, and 503 is the second air conditioner 3.
504 is a device address of the third air conditioner 4, and 505 is a device address of the fourth air conditioner 5.

Further, reference numeral 506 denotes the device address of the fifth air conditioner 6, 507 denotes the device address of the sixth air conditioner 7, 5
08 is the device address of the seventh air conditioner 8, 509 is the device address of the first remote controller 402, 510 is the device address of the second remote controller 404, and 511 is the third remote controller 4.
A device address 06 is a device address of the fourth remote controller 408.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a first group including the first air conditioner 2, the second air conditioner 3, and the first remote controller 402, and 17 denotes a third air conditioner 4, a fourth air conditioner 5, and a second remote controller. A second group of controllers 404, 18 is a third group of fifth air conditioner 6, sixth air conditioner and third remote controller 406,
Reference numeral 19 denotes a fourth group including the seventh air conditioner 8 and the fourth remote controller 408.

The conventional centralized control device for an air conditioner is configured as described above. In the centralized control panel 1, the input unit 13 controls the air conditioner, that is, stops operation, switches between cooling and heating, and sets temperature. In addition, for each of the first group 16 to the fourth group 19 controlled by the centralized control panel 1, which device address the air conditioner and the remote controller are allocated to is set.

[0008] The setting items by the input unit 13 are CP
The data is sent to U10, and the judgment, calculation, comparison, and the like based on the setting items are performed. CPU1
The first air conditioner 2, the second air conditioner 3, the third air conditioner 4, the fourth air conditioner 5, the fifth air conditioner 6, the sixth air conditioner 7, the seventh air When a request for transmission processing of communication data to the harmony device 8, the first remote controller 402, the second remote controller 404, the third remote controller 406, and the fourth remote controller 408 occurs, the transmission / reception circuit 12 Output communication data.

As a result, the transmission / reception circuit 12 transmits the received communication data to the destination device address specified by the transmission line 9. Further, the transmission / reception circuit 12 receives the response data transmitted from the first to seventh air conditioners 8 to 8 and the first to fourth remote controllers 402 to 408 via the transmission line 9 and transmits the response data to the CPU 10. To communicate.
Then, the content of the response data is analyzed by the CPU 10,
The result is output to the memory 11. Further, the CPU 10 converts the contents into display data as necessary, and
5 is output.

The function of the centralized control panel 1 is set by the internal hardware switch 14, and the setting state is C
The data is sent to the PU 10 and stored in the memory 11. Note that the memory 11 stores the contents output from the CPU 10 and also stores programs necessary for the central control panel 1 to operate. Then, the display unit 15 displays the CPU 10
It receives the operation result of the switch input and the display data of the analysis result of the received data, and displays the contents.

The first to seventh air conditioners 2 to 8 and the first to fourth remote controllers 402 to 408 are also provided.
Are the device address 502 to the device address 512, respectively.
Is held by a switch such as hardware. Then, it is necessary to assign those device addresses to the first group 16 to the fourth group 19, and it is necessary to set the group formation information at the input unit 13 of the centralized control panel 1, so that the group registered manually is registered. Composition information is stored in the memory 11. Further, the stored group formation information is communicated and set to the first to seventh air conditioners 8 to 8 and the first to fourth remote controllers 402 to 408 via the transmission / reception circuit 12. .
Thus, the initial startup of the group formation information ends.

In general, in the centralized control panel 1 for controlling each air conditioner and the remote controller, the group name of each group to be controlled is set in the input unit 13 of the centralized control panel 1. That is, unlike a personal computer keyboard or the like, in the centralized control panel 1 having a small number of switches having poor operation input characteristics, using a cursor key from a screen on which predetermined characters, for example, Japanese syllabary, numbers, and alphabets are displayed, Set the character you want to enter using the cursor keys, etc.
A group name consisting of up to 7 characters is set.

[0013]

In the conventional centralized control device for an air conditioner as described above, the amount of initial setting work at the time of starting the centralized control is large, which requires complicated work, and also requires connection. As the number of air conditioners increases, the configuration of the device becomes complicated, and there is a problem that erroneous settings are likely to occur.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a centralized control device for an air conditioner which can be easily initialized at the time of starting the centralized control.

[0015]

In a centralized control device for an air conditioner according to the present invention, an air conditioner constituted by a plurality of air conditioners and a remote control of the air conditioner are provided. A centralized control panel is provided for automatically generating a group formation of air conditioners and remote controllers via input of setting information according to the device address of the device.

In the central control device for an air conditioner according to the present invention, the group formation of the air conditioner and the remote controller is automatically generated in the central control panel, and then the group formation is changed through manual operation. Functions are added.

Further, in the centralized control device for an air conditioner according to the present invention, a function of setting the group name of the group formation through manual operation by a highly operable device is added to the centralized control panel.

In the centralized control device for an air conditioner according to the present invention, a function for displaying a function switching state of an internal hardware switch is added to the centralized control panel.

In the centralized control device for an air conditioner according to the present invention, a function of displaying the number of air conditioners and remote controllers in the air conditioner is added to the centralized control panel.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 1 to 4 are views showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing connection of equipment of an air conditioner, and FIG. 2 is a configuration of a centralized control panel in the air conditioner of FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of a setting switch of the centralized control panel of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an automatic group knitting operation by the centralized control panel of FIG. In the figure, 1 is a central control panel, 2 is a first air conditioner, 3 is a second air conditioner, 4 is a third air conditioner,
Reference numeral 5 denotes a fourth air conditioner, 6 denotes a fifth air conditioner, 7 denotes a sixth air conditioner, and 8 denotes a seventh air conditioner.

Reference numeral 402 denotes a first remote controller corresponding to the first air conditioner 2, 404 denotes a second remote controller corresponding to the third air conditioner 4, and 406 denotes a third remote controller corresponding to the fifth air conditioner 6. A remote controller 408 is a fourth remote controller corresponding to the seventh air conditioner 8, and 9 is a transmission line composed of a non-polar double core wire, a central control panel 1, a first air conditioner 2, a second air conditioner. 3, the third air conditioner 4, the fourth air conditioner 5, the fifth air conditioner 6,
The sixth air conditioner 7 and the seventh air conditioner 8 are connected, and remote controllers for switching operation of each air conditioner, switching between cooling and heating, and the like are connected.

The centralized control panel 1 includes a CPU 10, a memory 11, a transmission / reception circuit 12, and an internal hardware switch 1.
4. Display unit 15, setting switch unit 22 including operation state setting switch unit 20 and group formation setting switch unit 21
It is constituted by. The operation state setting switch unit 20 is configured by a main part of a numeric key switch 23.

The group formation setting switch section 21 includes a delete switch 24 and an internal switch status read switch 25 which are a part of the numeric key switch 23, a cursor switch 26 including the other part of the numeric key switch 23, and a registered number display switch 27. , A group formation automatic generation switch 28 and a group selection switch 29.

Reference numeral 501 denotes the device address of the central control panel 1, 5
02 is the device address of the first air conditioner 2, 503 is the device address of the second air conditioner 3, 504 is the device address of the third air conditioner 4, 505 is the device address of the fourth air conditioner 5, and 506 is The device address of the fifth air conditioner 6.

Reference numeral 507 denotes a device address of the sixth air conditioner 7, 508 denotes a device address of the seventh air conditioner 8, 5
09 is the device address of the first remote controller 402, 510 is the device address of the second remote controller 404, 511 is the device address of the third remote controller 406, and 512 is the device address of the fourth remote controller 408.

In the centralized control device for an air conditioner configured as described above, the first to fourth remote controllers 402 to 408 perform switching of operation stop, cooling and heating of each air conditioner, and the like. The operation state setting switch unit 20 sets the operation state of the air conditioner, that is, operation stop, cooling / heating switching, set temperature, and the like.
Sets, for each group of air conditioners and remote controllers controlled by the central control panel 1, which device address the air conditioner and the remote controller are assigned to. Note that the above-described allocation of the air conditioner and the remote controller is defined as a group formation.

The contents set by the setting switch unit 22 are sent to the CPU 10 to make judgments, calculations, comparisons, and the like based on the setting items, output the results to the memory 11, and convert the results into display data to be displayed on the display unit. 15 is output. In addition, the first air conditioner 2, the second air conditioner 3, the third air conditioner 4, the fourth air conditioner 5, the fifth air conditioner 6, the sixth air conditioner 7, Seven air conditioners 8, first remote controller 402, second remote controller 4
04, third remote controller 406 and fourth remote controller 408
When a request for transmission processing of communication data to is issued, the communication data is output to the transmission / reception circuit 12.

Thus, the transmission / reception circuit 12 transmits the received communication data to the destination device address specified by the transmission line 9. Further, the transmission / reception circuit 12 receives the response data transmitted from the first to seventh air conditioners 8 to 8 and the first to fourth remote controllers 402 to 408 via the transmission line 9 and transmits the response data to the CPU 10. To communicate.
Then, the content of the response data is analyzed by the CPU 10,
The result is output to the memory 11. Further, the CPU 10 converts the contents into display data as necessary, and
5 is output.

The function of the centralized control panel 1 is set by the internal hardware switch 14, and the setting state is C
The data is sent to the PU 10 and stored in the memory 11. Note that the memory 11 stores the contents output from the CPU 10 and also stores programs necessary for the central control panel 1 to operate. Then, the display unit 15 displays the CPU 10
It receives the operation result of the switch input and the display data of the analysis result of the received data, and displays the contents.

The automatic generation of group formation based on the group formation information is started by the group formation automatic generation switch 28, and which group information among the respective group formation information displayed on the display unit 15 is displayed by the group selection switch 29. Select whether to allow. The cursor displayed on the display unit 15 is moved by the cursor switch 26, and the device address selected by the cursor is deleted by the delete switch 24.

The internal switch status read switch 25
Displays the setting status of internal hardware switches
5 is displayed. Further, the total number of air conditioners and remote controllers assigned to each group formation controlled by the central control panel 1 is displayed on the display unit 15 by the registered number display switch 27. The device address is set by the numeric key switch 23.

Hereinafter, the device addresses 501 to 512 of the first to seventh air conditioners 2 to 8 and the first to fourth remote controllers 402 to 408 by the centralized control panel 1 are grouped. The automatic group formation generating operation for automatically assigning the group is described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The device addresses 501 to 512 are determined in advance as shown in Table 1 below.

[0033]

[Table 1]

The device addresses 501 to 512 are determined so as not to overlap each other. The communication data is composed of three items, a source device address portion, a destination device address portion, and a command content portion, as shown in Table 2 below.

[0035]

[Table 2]

That is, in step 601 of FIG. 4, if there is an input from the automatic group formation switch 28, the automatic group formation generation operation is started, and the routine proceeds to step 603. Also, even if there is no input from the group formation automatic generation switch 28, after the central control panel 1 is connected to the power supply, step 60
The process proceeds to step S2, and after the internal timer has expired, the automatic group formation generating operation is started, and the process proceeds to step S603.

Next, the routine proceeds to step 603, where the CPU 1
0 reads a program necessary for the automatic group formation operation from the memory 11 and executes the program. That is, the CPU 10 transmits the communication data for existence confirmation to the transmission / reception circuit 12. The communication command is a device address “001 to 2” which is a range that can exist in the air conditioner.
00 ”.

That is, the aforementioned communication data is transmitted to the device address “001”, and then the device address “002”.
The transmission is sequentially performed up to the device address “200”. This communication data is transmitted via the transmission / reception circuit 12 via the transmission line 9 to the remote controller from the air conditioner having the equipment address "001" to the equipment address "200". The communication data is responded via the transmission line 9.

Next, the process proceeds to step 604, and if there is no response data, the process proceeds to step 605, that is, the response reception data cannot be received from the air conditioner or the remote controller of the device address that does not exist in the air conditioner and is transmitted. It recognizes that the destination address does not exist. Step 6
If there is response data in step 04, the process proceeds to step 606, that is, the CPU 10 receives response data from the air conditioner or the remote controller of the existing device address via the transmission line 9 and the transmission / reception circuit 12. Thereby, the CPU 10
Are all stored in the memory 11.

Steps 605 and 60
6 to step 607, and the device address "200"
If the confirmation has not been completed, the process returns to step 603. If the confirmation has been completed, the process proceeds to step 608. In step 608, group formation is performed based on the group formation generation rule. That is, the device address stored in the memory 11 is
The operation is performed by 0 and assigned to each group. The regularity thereof will be described with reference to Table 3.

[0041]

[Table 3]

That is, the group number to be managed is determined from the device addresses stored in the memory 11 as shown in Table 3.
That is, STEP 1: Determination of management group number In order to determine the group number, the device address “101 to 101”
The device address of the remote controller existing in “200” is used. A value obtained by subtracting 100 from each value existing in “101 to 200” among the device addresses stored in the memory 11 is used as a group number managed by the centralized control panel 1 and stored in the memory 11.
To memorize it.

STEP 2: Arrangement of group of device addresses of remote controllers Also, the device address of the remote controller equal to the value obtained by adding 100 to the group number is stored in memory 11 as the device address of the remote controller of the group. Remember in memory. STEP 3: Group arrangement 1 of device address of air conditioner Also, since the group number is a value obtained by subtracting 100 from the value of "101 to 200", the group number is in the range of "001 to 100". This is the same as the device address range that can be set for the device. The device address having the same value as the group number stored in the memory 11 is stored in the memory 11 belonging to the group number.

STEP 4: Group arrangement 2 of device address of air conditioner Next, it is determined to which group an air conditioner not equal to the group number is assigned. Group arrangement is performed from the group number having the smallest value among the group numbers to be managed obtained in STEP 1 described above. If the smallest value group has a device address of a value obtained by adding 1 to the device address of the air conditioner registered in STEP 3 described above, it is assumed that the air conditioner with that device address also belongs to the group. .

Further, if 1 is further added to the device address of the value obtained by adding 1, and the device address of that value also exists,
The air conditioner with the device address also belongs to the group. In this way, 1 is added sequentially, and if there is a device address obtained by adding 1, the affiliation is registered to the group number. In this procedure, the operation is performed up to the device address obtained by subtracting 1 from the value of the device address registered in STEP 3 to the group number to be managed having the next largest value.

By performing the above-described procedure, the group arrangement of the device address of each air conditioner having the smallest group number and the device address of each remote controller is completed. Then
The above-described procedure is performed for the group number having the next largest value after the group number having the smallest value. By performing the above-described procedure up to the maximum group number, the device addresses of all the air conditioners and the device addresses of the remote controllers stored in the memory 11 are assigned to the respective groups to form a group. .

FIG. 1 shows the regularity of the group formation generation described above.
When the configuration is developed with respect to the configuration (1), each device is grouped as shown in Table 4.

[0048]

[Table 4]

Then, the group formation information calculated by the CPU 10 of the centralized control panel 1 passes through the transmission / reception circuit 12 and the transmission line 9,
The data is set and transmitted to each of the air conditioners and the remote controller using the communication data, and the process proceeds to step 609 where the group formation information of the calculation result is stored in the memory 11 in a nonvolatile manner. Note that the group formation information stored in the memory 11 can be displayed on the display unit 15, and the group formation information can be monitored.

In this way, by grouping a plurality of air conditioners and remote controllers, when starting centralized control, each air conditioner and each remote controller are grouped into each group. In contrast, the number of steps to be registered can be reduced.
Then, since the group formation information is automatically generated, erroneous setting at the time of group formation can be prevented, and the group number registration work can be reduced, so that the burden on the registration operator can be reduced.

Embodiment 2 5 and 6 are views showing an example of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a front view of a display unit and a setting switch of a central control panel, and FIG. 6 is a group formation by the central control panel in FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an information changing operation, and FIG.
A centralized control device for an air conditioner is configured similarly to the embodiment of FIG. In the figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS.

Centralized control panel 1 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6
The change operation of the group formation information after the automatic generation of the group formation of the air conditioner and the remote controller by the above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, if there is an input from the group selection switch 29 in step 701, step 702 is performed.
Then, the CPU 10 reads the group formation information of each group stored in the memory 11 and changes and displays the content on the display unit 15 every time the display group is switched.

Then, the process proceeds to step 703, and if the screen is to change the group information, the group selection switch 29 is operated to proceed to step 704. Step 704
If the cursor switch 26 is operated at step 705,
Go to, move the cursor to change the air conditioner,
The device address of the remote control is selected. Then, the process proceeds to step 706, and if there is a device address position to be deleted, the process proceeds to step 707.

If there is an input from the delete switch 24 in step 707, the process proceeds to step 708, where the air conditioner and the remote controller are deleted from the display unit 15, and the device address is deleted from the memory 11. Next, proceeding to step 709, if there is an input of the group selection switch 29, proceeding to step 710, the group display is changed. Then, the process proceeds to step 711, and if the screen is a group information to be changed, the process proceeds to step 712.

In step 712, if there is an input from the numeric key switch 23, the flow advances to step 713, and the air conditioner and the remote controller corresponding to the input are displayed on the display unit 15, and the device address is stored in the memory 11. Is done. By the above operation, the group formation information after the automatic group formation of the air conditioner and the remote controller by the centralized control panel 1 can be easily changed with a small number of steps.

By the automatic group formation by the centralized control panel 1 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, it is possible to obtain effects such as prevention of erroneous setting during group formation and simplification of group number registration work. . However, the partition of each room may be changed with the increase of the scale of the air-conditioned environment, and after the air conditioner is installed and the device address is set, the group formation of the air conditioners must be changed. You may not get it.

At this time, the device address of the air conditioner installed corresponding to each room is changed, and then the automatic group formation by the centralized control panel 1 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4 is performed. Can be. However, air conditioners are often installed behind the ceiling in each room, and the board on which the device address switch is installed is also installed behind the ceiling. is necessary.

Embodiment 3 FIG. FIG. 7 is also a diagram showing an example of another embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart for explaining the group name setting operation of the group formation by the centralized control panel.
Other than the above, a centralized control device for an air conditioner is configured in the same manner as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4 described above. The group name setting operation of the group formation by the centralized control panel 1 in the embodiment of FIG. 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, in step 801, each group name is set by a device having good operability (not shown) including a keyboard such as a personal computer.

Then, the process proceeds to step 802, where the set group name is transmitted to the central control panel 1 as data.
Proceeding to step 3, if group name data has been received, step 8
Go to 04. In step 804, the group name data for the corresponding group formation is stored in the memory 11 in a nonvolatile manner. Next, the process proceeds to step 805, and the group name is displayed on the display unit 15 in correspondence with the group organization stored in the memory 11. Therefore, the group formation corresponding to a specific room can be easily known.

The automatic group formation by the centralized control panel 1 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 can prevent erroneous settings during group formation, and facilitate the operation of registering group numbers. . However, since the group formation information is coded and displayed by the number, the user of the centralized control panel 1 needs to determine the group number corresponding to a specific room.

On the other hand, the centralized control panel 1 is inexpensive,
Since good operability is required, the number of switches is restricted as shown in FIG. For this reason, in the centralized control panel 1 for controlling dozens of group formations, the operation of inputting the group name for each group formation requires a complicated operation. However, in the embodiment of FIG. 7, a group name can be easily set, and the group formation of a specific room can be easily known by the group name setting.

Embodiment 4 FIG. 8 is also a diagram showing an example of another embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart for explaining an internal hardware switch reading and displaying operation by the centralized control panel. A centralized control device for an air conditioner is configured similarly to the embodiment.
The centralized control panel 1 is provided with an internal hardware switch 14, which is an internal setting switch for function switching, and it is necessary to set the function of the internal hardware switch 14 when starting up the centralized control of the air conditioner. There is.

Hereinafter, the internal hardware switch reading and displaying operation by the centralized control panel 1 in the embodiment of FIG. 8 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, if there is an input from the internal switch status read switch 25 in step 901, the CPU 10 starts the internal setting switch read display processing, reads a program corresponding to this processing from the memory 11, and executes it.

Then, the process proceeds to step 902, where the CPU 10
Outputs a scan signal to the internal hardware switch 14. Then, the process proceeds to step 903 to input a return signal to the CPU 10 based on the content corresponding to the setting state of the internal hardware switch 14. Then, step 90
The process proceeds to step 4 and the content based on the return signal is displayed on the display unit 15 by the CPU 10.

Thus, when starting up the centralized control of the air conditioner, the internal hardware switch 14 can be used without trouble such as opening the case using a tool.
The function set by can be easily verified. Therefore, the operation at the time of starting the centralized control of the air conditioner can be simplified.

Embodiment 5 FIG. 9 is also a diagram showing an example of another embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart for explaining the registered number display operation by the registered number display switch of the centralized control panel. A centralized control device for an air conditioner is configured similarly to the fourth embodiment.
A registered number display switch 27 for displaying the total number of air conditioners and remote controllers assigned to each group formation by the central control panel 1 is provided.

Hereinafter, the operation of displaying the number of registered vehicles by the centralized control panel 1 in the embodiment of FIG. 9 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, if there is an input from the registered number display switch 27 in step 1001, the process proceeds to step 1002, in which the CPU 10 reads out the group formation information stored in the memory 11. And step 10
In step 03, the total number of air conditioners and remote controllers registered for each group formation is calculated.

Further, the total number of the air conditioners and the remote controllers registered in all the group formations is calculated by adding up the total number of all the group formations by the CPU 10. In addition,
Although the above calculation integrates the air conditioners and the remote controllers, the total number of the air conditioners and the remote controllers can be calculated. Then, the process proceeds to step 1004, where the contents calculated by the CPU 10 are displayed on the display unit 15.

In this way, the total value of the number of air conditioners and remote controllers of the group formation registered by the central control device 1 is displayed. Therefore, it can be easily verified whether or not the grouping of the air conditioner and the remote controller is normally performed, and erroneous registration can be prevented, and the air conditioning apparatus can be easily controlled.

[0070]

As described above, the present invention relates to an air conditioner constituted by a plurality of air conditioners,
A centralized control panel is provided for automatically generating a group formation of the air conditioner and the remote controller through input of setting information based on the device address of the air conditioner and the remote controller of the air conditioner.

Thus, a plurality of air conditioners and remote controllers are grouped by the centralized control panel via the device addresses. Therefore, when starting up the centralized control of the air conditioner, the trouble of registering each air conditioner and each remote controller for each group for each group can be eliminated. Then, the group formation information is automatically generated, so that erroneous setting of the group formation can be prevented, and the group number registration work is facilitated.

Further, as described above, the present invention adds a function of changing the group formation through manual operation to the centralized control panel after automatically generating the group formation of the air conditioner and the remote controller. It is.

Thus, the group formation after the group formation of the air conditioner and the remote controller by the centralized control panel is automatically generated can be easily changed with a small number of steps. Therefore, when the device address is changed after the air conditioner is installed, it can be dealt with by a simple operation, and there is an effect that the change operation is streamlined.

Further, as described above, the present invention adds a function of setting a group name of a group formation to a centralized control panel through manual operation by a highly operable device.

As a result, the group name of the group formation can be set through manual operation by the highly operable device, so that the specific group name of the group formation can be easily displayed on an inexpensive centralized control panel. . Therefore, the group name of the group formation can be set with a small number of steps, and there is an effect that the group name setting work is streamlined.

Further, as described above, the present invention adds a function for displaying the function switching state of the internal hardware switch to the centralized control panel.

Thus, at the time of starting the centralized control of the air conditioner, the function set by the internal hardware switch can be easily inspected without trouble such as opening a case using a tool. Can be. Therefore, the work at the time of starting the centralized control of the air conditioner can be easily performed, and the working efficiency can be improved.

Further, as described above, the present invention adds a function of displaying the number of air conditioners and remote controllers in an air conditioner to a centralized control panel.

As a result, it is possible to easily verify whether or not the grouping of the air conditioner and the remote controller is normally performed, prevent erroneous registration, and facilitate the control work of the air conditioner. There is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a circuit diagram illustrating connection of devices of an air conditioner.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a centralized control panel in the air conditioner of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a setting switch of the centralized control panel of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic group knitting operation by the centralized control panel of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows the second embodiment of the present invention, and is a front view of a display unit and a setting switch of a centralized control panel.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of changing group formation information by the centralized control panel in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view showing the third embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart for explaining a group name setting operation of group formation by a centralized control panel;

FIG. 8 is a view showing the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart for explaining an internal hardware switch read / display operation by the centralized control panel.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and is a flowchart for explaining a registered number display operation by a registered number display switch of a centralized control panel.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a conventional centralized control device of an air conditioner, and is a circuit diagram illustrating connection of devices of the air conditioner.

11 is a circuit diagram showing a device configuration of a centralized control panel in the air conditioner of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Central control panel, 2nd air conditioner, 3rd air conditioner, 4th air conditioner, 5th air conditioner, 6
Fifth air conditioner, 7 Sixth air conditioner, 8 Seventh air conditioner, 14 Internal hardware switch, 402 First remote controller, 404 Second remote controller, 406 Third remote controller, 408 Fourth Remote controller, 502 Device address of first air conditioner, 503 Device address of second air conditioner, 504 Device address of third air conditioner, 5
05 Device address of the fourth air conditioner, 506 Device address of the fifth air conditioner, 507 Device address of the sixth air conditioner, 508 Device address of the seventh air conditioner,
509 Device address of the first remote controller, 510 Device address of the second remote controller, 511 Device address of the third remote controller, 512 Device address of the fourth remote controller.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An air conditioner comprising a plurality of air conditioners, the air conditioner and a remote controller through input of setting information based on device addresses of the air conditioner and a remote controller of the air conditioner. A centralized control device for air conditioners equipped with a centralized control panel that automatically generates groupings of controllers. 2. The centralized control panel further includes a function of changing the group formation through manual operation after automatically generating the group formation of the air conditioner and the remote controller. Centralized control device for air conditioners. 3. The centralized control device for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a function of setting a group name of the group formation through manual operation by a highly operable device is added to the centralized control panel. 4. The centralized control device for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a function of displaying a function switching state of an internal hardware switch is added to the centralized control panel. 5. The centralized control device for an air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a function of displaying the number of air conditioners and remote controllers in the air conditioner is added to the centralized control panel.