JPH11281131A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner which facilitates rewriting of operation control information. SOLUTION: The air conditioner comprises a rewritable nonvolatile memory for storing operation control information in a control means, and a plurality of indoor units 5-1 to 5-11 and outdoor units 7-1, 7-2 of a plurality of air conditioning elements for setting intrinsic addresses. The control means of the respective elements are connected via a communication line 3. In the case of rewriting the information by a control information rewriter 1, the addresses of the information to be rewritten are set by an address setter, and a signal from a communication converter is supplied to the control means of the respective elements via the line 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner provided with a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory in a control board or the like, and more particularly, to an operation control information stored in the nonvolatile memory. The present invention relates to technology that facilitates rewriting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a large-scale air conditioning system installed in a large store or an office building, various operation control programs and operation control parameters (hereinafter, operation control parameters) are provided for the purpose of multifunctionality and improvement of controllability. In many cases, renewal of information (referred to as information) (so-called version-up) is appropriately performed.
The operation control information is generally stored in a storage device (memory IC) mounted on a control board of each air conditioning element (outdoor unit or indoor unit) via a socket. Was removed from the socket and replaced. However, in the air conditioning element, there is a possibility that intermittent vibrations or a contact failure of the socket portion due to a rapid temperature change may occur.
In particular, there is an increasing number of devices that are securely fixed to a control board by soldering or the like. In this case, since the entire control board must be replaced, there is a problem that the cost of parts and the number of steps required for upgrading are increased.

Therefore, a rewritable nonvolatile storage device such as a flash memory is adopted as a storage device mounted on a control board, and a storage device that stores operation control information in this nonvolatile storage device has appeared. In this case, the operation control information in the non-volatile storage device can be easily rewritten by using an external terminal such as a personal computer or a dedicated operation control information rewriter, thereby significantly reducing the cost and man-hour required for upgrading. I do. Normally, in an air conditioning system employing this method, version upgrade information (hereinafter, referred to as version upgrade information) is transferred to an external terminal via a storage means such as a floppy disk, an EEPROM, etc., while controlling an air conditioning element. A communication interface is provided on the board (or housing), and an external terminal is connected to the communication interface via a communication cable.

[0004]

The rewriting of the operation control information by the external terminal is performed individually for each air conditioning element. However, in a large-scale air conditioning system, the rewriting operation is very troublesome. I was For example, in a high-rise building or the like, one or a plurality of outdoor units are installed on a rooftop or the like, and a large number of indoor units are installed separately on each floor (or each room). It takes a lot of time and effort to perform the rewriting operation for all the air conditioning elements. In addition, when the indoor unit is a ceiling-mounted type, it is required to perform work at a high place using a stepladder or the like, and therefore, improvement has been desired from the viewpoint of safety.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an air conditioner that facilitates rewriting of operation control information.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a rewritable nonvolatile storage device for storing operation control information is provided in a control means and comprises a plurality of air conditioning elements having a unique address set therein. In an air conditioner in which the control means of each air conditioning element is connected by a communication line, a signal is supplied to the control means of each air conditioning element via the communication line when the operation control information stored in the nonvolatile storage device is rewritten. And a control information rewriter having an address setting unit for setting an address of an air conditioning element to be rewritten.

To rewrite the operation control information of the air conditioning element, a control information rewriter is connected to a predetermined portion such as a connection terminal of the air conditioning element, and a signal including the rewrite control information is transmitted from the communication conversion circuit to the communication line. The control information is supplied to the control unit of each air conditioning element via the control unit and the operation control information of the nonvolatile storage unit is rewritten.
The air conditioning element to be rewritten is specified by setting the address of the air conditioning element in the address setting section of the control information rewriter. When rewriting operation control information of a plurality of air conditioning elements such as all indoor units, a simultaneous address for a plurality of air conditioning elements is set in a control information rewriter. Each air-conditioning element receives a signal including the simultaneous address from the control information rewriter and becomes a target of rewriting.If many air-conditioning elements are connected to the communication line, the operation control information can be upgraded at a time, The rewrite processing time is greatly reduced.

At the time of rewriting by the control information rewriter, the control information rewriter requests the type of the non-volatile storage device of the air-conditioning element (writable / not rewritable, storage capacity, etc.). It is recognized whether rewriting is possible or not, and how much storage capacity is available. Therefore, when an address of a non-rewritable air-conditioning element is set, unnecessary rewrite processing is not performed, and the processing time can be reduced. In addition, if the control information rewriter indicates that rewriting is not possible, the operator can know that fact. Further, the control information rewriter recognizes the storage capacity of the nonvolatile storage device, thereby confirming the capacity of the control information to be transferred.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an air conditioning system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing configurations of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. In these figures, the refrigerant circuit is indicated by a solid line, and the control / communication circuit is indicated by an alternate long and short dash line.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioning system of the present embodiment is connected to indoor units 5-1 to 5-11 and outdoor units 7- via a non-polar two-wire communication line 3. 1, 7-2. In the figure,
11 is a wired remote controller, and 13 is a wireless remote controller. Reference numeral 1 denotes a control information rewriter connected to an arbitrary portion of the communication line 3 during a control information rewriting operation.

In the outdoor units 7-1 and 7-2, the indoor units 5-1 to 5-11, and the control information rewriter 1, unique addresses used for communication on a communication line are respectively set. Outdoor unit 7-1, 7-2, indoor unit 5-
1-5-11, transmission and reception of a communication signal including a source address, a destination address and a control command with the control information rewriter 1 are performed on the communication line 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the indoor unit 5-1
The indoor heat exchanger 21 and the electric fan 2
3, the electric expansion valve 25, the electric heater 27, etc. are installed. The compressor 31, an electromagnetic four-way valve 33, an outdoor heat exchanger 35, an electric fan 37, an accumulator 39, and the like are provided on the outdoor units 7-1 and 7-2. The equipment constituting the refrigerant circuit is connected by refrigerant pipes 41 to 47 provided for circulation of a gas refrigerant or a liquid refrigerant. In the figure, reference numeral 51 denotes a gas engine, which drives the compressor 31 via a flexible coupling 53.

In each of the indoor units 5-1 to 5-11,
CPU 8 with built-in flash memory as shown in FIG.
1, an indoor control unit (hereinafter referred to as an indoor ECU) 61 as a control means, which includes an input / output interface 82, a communication interface 83, a timing control circuit 84, a RAM 85, and the like. The room-side ECU 61 includes a communication line 3, an electric fan 23, an electric expansion valve 25, an electric heater 27, and a room temperature Tr.
, The refrigerant temperatures Tfi and T on the inlet and outlet sides during the cooling operation of the indoor heat exchanger 21.
The first and second refrigerant temperature sensors 65 and 67 for detecting fo, the remote control unit 11, and the like are connected.

As shown in FIG. 3, a CP having a built-in flash memory is provided in both outdoor units 7-1 and 7-2.
U81, input / output interface 82, communication interface 83, timing control circuit 84, RAM 85
An outdoor control unit (hereinafter, referred to as an outdoor ECU) 71 serving as a control unit is provided. The outdoor ECU 71 includes a communication line 3 and a four-way valve 3.
3, the electric fan 37, the gas engine 51, and the compressor 3
A pressure sensor 73 for detecting the discharge side refrigerant pressure Pd, an outside air temperature sensor 75 for detecting the outside air temperature Ta, and the like are connected.

The timing control circuit 84 of the indoor ECU 61 and the outdoor ECU 71 includes a reset signal control circuit 96, a delay circuit 97, and a rewrite voltage supply circuit 98, as shown in FIG. Is input to the reset signal control circuit 96 and the delay circuit 97, the reset signal is output to the CPU 81 and the reset signal is output.
Supply / stop.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control information rewriter 1
Starting from the PU 91, a display unit 92 for displaying various information, a memory 93 for storing rewrite control information, an address setting unit 94 for setting an address of an indoor unit or an outdoor unit to be rewritten, and a communication line 3 between the indoor and outdoor units. It has a communication conversion circuit 95 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the communication line 3 in a signal format suitable for communication.

Next, the flow of the refrigerant during the cooling operation will be described.

In the outdoor units 7-1 and 7-2, the gas refrigerant sucked into the compressor 31 from the refrigerant pipe 47 is heated to a high temperature and a high pressure by adiabatic compression and discharged from the compressor 31. 33, and flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 35 via the refrigerant pipe 42. The high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant is cooled by the outside air while passing through the inside of the outdoor heat exchanger 35, condensed into a liquid refrigerant, and then passed through the refrigerant pipe 43 to each of the indoor units 5-1 to 5-5- Eleven electric expansion valves 2
Flow into 5.

After the flow rate of the liquid refrigerant is adjusted by the electric expansion valve 25, the liquid refrigerant flows into the indoor heat exchanger 21 via the refrigerant pipe 44. The liquid refrigerant vaporizes while passing through the indoor heat exchanger 21 to become a gas refrigerant, and the electric fan 2
3 cools the blown indoor air. At this time, the indoor EC
U61 controls the rotation speed (rpm) of the electric fan 23 based on the deviation between the set temperature Ts and the room temperature Tr, and controls the inlet-side refrigerant temperature Tfi and the outlet-side refrigerant temperature Tfo of the indoor heat exchanger 21.
Is controlled so that the deviation from the predetermined value (for example, 0 to 1 ° C.) becomes a predetermined value (for example, 0 to 1 ° C.). The gas refrigerant vaporized in the indoor heat exchanger 21 flows from the refrigerant pipe 45 to the outdoor units 7-1, 7
-2 flows into the accumulator 39 via the four-way valve 33 and the refrigerant pipe 46 in the compressor 31, and from the refrigerant pipe 47 to the compressor 31 again.
Is sucked.

During the heating operation, the outdoor ECU 71
Thereby, the four-way valve 33 is switched as shown by the broken line. As a result, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 31 emits condensation heat in the indoor heat exchanger 21 to become a liquid refrigerant, and then flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 35 to remove vaporized latent heat from outside air. Will absorb.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

In the air conditioning system of the present embodiment, in the assembly process of each air conditioning element (the indoor units 5-1 to 5-11 and the outdoor units 7-1 and 7-2), the rom lighter installed on the assembly line is used. CPU of each control means (the indoor ECU 61 and the outdoor ECU 71)
Various types of operation control information (operation control programs and operation control parameters) are written in a flash memory incorporated in the memory 81. Then, based on the operation control information, the indoor ECU 61 and the outdoor ECU 71 drive-control each device to perform a cooling operation and a heating operation as appropriate.

Now, after the air conditioning system is installed,
In order to increase the number of functions and controllability, or to solve problems that could not be predicted at the time of manufacturing, the CPU 8
In some cases, the version of the operation control information stored in the flash memory 1 may be upgraded. In this case, the service worker who performs maintenance of the air conditioning system first connects the control information rewriter 1 to an arbitrary portion of the communication line 3 such as a communication line connection terminal of the outdoor unit 7-1 or 7-2. . The communication line 3 connection terminal is connected to the outdoor unit 7-.
1, 7-2, and can be easily accessed by opening a service panel (not shown).

A procedure for rewriting a specific outdoor unit or a specific indoor unit will be described below with reference to FIG.

First, an outdoor unit 7-containing the ECUs 61 and 71 for rewriting control information in the air conditioning system.
1, 7-2, the addresses of the indoor units 5-1 to 5-11 are input to the control information rewriter 1 by key input to the address setting unit 9;
Set with 4. Indoor unit 5-1 (address 80
0), the control information rewriter 1
Is set to the address “800” from the address setting unit 94. If the address of the control information rewriter 1 is “E4”,
The transmission signal from the control information rewriter 1 includes the transmission source address “E4” and the transmission destination address “800”, and the transmission signal from the indoor unit 5-1 includes the transmission source address “80”.
0 "and the destination address" E4 ".

After setting the unit to be rewritten, a predetermined operation of the control information rewriter 1 causes the control information rewriter 1 to transmit a command to stop the operation. When the indoor unit 5-1 that has received this command is operating, the operation is stopped and a processing normal signal (ACK signal) is transmitted. When receiving this signal, the control information rewriter 1
A signal for confirming the ROM type 61 is transmitted. When receiving this signal, the indoor unit 5-1 transmits a signal indicating the ROM type. The signal indicating the ROM type is shown in FIG.
R indicating whether the memory is a mask ROM or a one-time ROM that cannot be rewritten as shown in FIG.
The OM type and, in the case of a flash memory, a ROM size indicating its capacity are transmitted as pre-encoded code values. Since the indoor unit 5-1 is a CPU having a built-in flash memory, the ROM type is "1".
Is ROM size, for example "2" (128K bytes)
Is sent.

When the control information rewriter 1 receives a signal ROM type "0" indicating that rewriting is not possible, a message indicating that rewriting is not possible is displayed on the display unit 92. In this case, the rewriting operation is stopped.

When receiving the ROM type "1", the control information rewriter 1 sequentially transmits a signal requesting a version of the control information of each memory block of the flash memory. In the flash memory, a storage area is divided into blocks each having a predetermined capacity (for example, 16 Kbytes), and version information of control information is stored for each block. If the flash memory capacity of the indoor unit 5-1 is 128 Kbytes and the capacity of each block is 16 Kbytes, there are eight blocks. The control information rewriter 1 recognizes the number of blocks to request a version from the received ROM size of the indoor unit 5-1.

Each time the indoor unit 5-1 receives this version request signal, it transmits the version information of the corresponding block. When receiving the version information of all the blocks, the control information rewriter 1 compares the received version of each block with the version of each block in the memory 93, and thereafter performs the rewriting operation of the control information of only the blocks having different versions. .

Next, the control information rewriter 1 transmits a rewrite preparation command. When the indoor unit 5-1 receives this signal, the CPU 81 outputs a rewriting start signal P1 as shown in FIG. When this signal P1 is input, the timing control circuit 84 outputs a reset signal from the reset signal control circuit 96 to the CPU 81, and outputs the reset start signal P delayed by the delay circuit 97.
The input of 1 supplies the rewrite voltage VPP from the rewrite voltage supply circuit 98 with a delay of a predetermined time T before the output of the reset signal ends. After being reset at the falling edge Pd of the reset signal, the CPU 81 loads the information before rewriting stored in the flash memory into the RAM 85 by inputting the rewriting voltage VPP, executes the control program on the RAM 85, and completes the preparation for rewriting. Is transmitted.

When receiving the ACK signal, the control information rewriter 1 transmits an erase command for each block to be rewritten. Every time the indoor unit 5-1 receives the erase command, the indoor unit 5-1 erases the information written in the corresponding block of the flash memory and transmits an ACK signal indicating completion.

When receiving the ACK signal of the number of blocks to be rewritten, the control information rewriter 1 transmits a rewrite control information signal for each block. Each time the indoor unit 5-1 receives this signal, the indoor unit 5-1 writes the received control information in the corresponding block, and after the writing ends normally, transmits an ACK signal.

When receiving the ACK signal of the number of blocks to be rewritten, the control information rewriter 1 outputs a transmission end command. When the indoor unit 5-1 receives this signal, it recognizes that the rewriting process has been completed, and the CPU 81 sends to the timing control circuit 84 a rewriting end signal P2 as shown in FIG.
Is output. When this signal is input, the timing control circuit 84 outputs a reset signal to the CPU 81 and stops the supply of the rewrite voltage before the end of the output of the reset signal with a delay of a predetermined time T. The CPU 81 is reset at the rising edge Rd of the reset signal and restarted according to the control information (program) rewritten in the flash memory.

As described above, the contents of the flash memory can be rewritten from the control information rewriter 1 connected to the communication line 3 by designating a specific indoor unit in the air conditioning system.

Next, a procedure for rewriting the control information of all the outdoor units 7-1 and 7-2 or all the indoor units 5-1 to 5-11 will be described with reference to FIG.

In the case where the control information in the air conditioning system is rewritten in all the outdoor units 7-1 and 7-2, the outdoor simultaneous address "F1" is set in all the indoor units 5-1.
In the case of .about.5-11, the room simultaneous address "F0" is set in the control information rewriter 1 by key input in the address setting section 94.

Hereinafter, all the indoor units 5-1 to 5-1 will be described.
The case where the control information in 1 is rewritten will be described. In this case, the indoor address "F0" is set in the control information rewriter 1 from the address setting unit 94, and the transmission signal from the control information rewriter 1 includes the source address "E4" and the destination address "F0". Included, each indoor unit 5-1-5-
The transmission signal from 11 includes a source address “address of each indoor unit” and a destination address “E4”.

After setting the indoor simultaneous address "F1", the control information rewriter 1 transmits a command to stop the operation by a predetermined operation of the control information rewriter 1. If the indoor units 5-1 to 5-11 that have received this command are operating, they stop operation and transmit an ACK signal. When receiving the ACK signals from all the indoor units 5-1 to 5-11, the control information rewrite machine 1 transmits a signal for confirming the ROM type of the indoor ECU 61. Each indoor unit 5
-1 to 5-11 receive this signal,
A signal indicating the type is transmitted.

The control information rewriter 1 is provided in each indoor unit 5-1.
5-11, and records the number of rewritable indoor units and their addresses. Further, the addresses of the indoor units that cannot be rewritten are also recorded, and the processing abnormality signals (N
AK signal) is recognized as normal.

Next, the control information rewriter 1 transmits a rewrite preparation command. When the rewritable indoor unit receives this signal, the CPU 81 outputs a rewrite start signal P1 to the timing control circuit 84 as shown in FIG. 8 and is reset. Then, the rewrite stored in the flash memory by the input of the rewrite voltage VPP is performed. The previous information is loaded into the RAM 85, a control program is executed on the RAM 85, and an ACK signal indicating that preparation for rewriting is completed is transmitted. An indoor unit that cannot be rewritten transmits a NAK signal.

When receiving the ACK signals from all the rewritable indoor units, the control information rewriter 1 transmits an erase command. Upon receiving the erase command, the rewritable indoor unit erases the information written in the flash memory and transmits an ACK signal indicating completion.

When receiving the ACK signals from all the rewritable indoor units, the control information rewriter 1 transmits a rewrite control information signal. The rewritable indoor units write the received control information into the flash memory and transmit an ACK signal after the writing is normally completed. Here, when receiving the NAK signal from the rewritable indoor unit, the control information rewriter 1 transmits the rewrite control information again. N
When the AK signal is received from a specific indoor unit continuously for a predetermined number of times, the indoor unit is determined as a writing failure and is removed from the retransmission target unit even if a NAK signal is received thereafter.

When receiving the ACK signal from all the rewritable indoor units, the control information rewriter 1 outputs a transmission end command. When each of the rewritable indoor units receives this signal, it recognizes that the rewriting process has been completed, and the CPU 81 outputs a rewriting end signal P2 to the timing control circuit 84 as shown in FIG. 8 to supply the rewriting voltage VPP. After the stop, the flash memory is restarted at the rising Ru of the reset signal in accordance with the control information (program) rewritten in the flash memory.

As described above, the contents of the flash memories of all the indoor units in the air conditioning system can be rewritten from the control information rewriter 1 connected to the communication line 3.

By adopting such a configuration, even when the air conditioning system is installed in a high-rise building or the like, the service worker does not need to go to the installation location of each air conditioning element for rewriting work. In addition to greatly reducing the time and labor required for up-loading, it also eliminates the need for dangerous altitude work even when the indoor unit is of a ceiling-mounted type or the like.

The description of the embodiment is finished above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the control information rewriter 1 is connected to the communication line 3. However, as shown in FIG. 10, a communication conversion interface in which a connector 100 conforming to the RS232C (JISx5101) standard or the like is provided in the outdoor ECU 71. 99,
Connect control information rewriter 1 to connector 100 and communication cable 10
1 and the communication conversion interface 99, CP
The communication of the rewriting process may be performed via the U81 and the communication interface 83. Further, the control information rewriter can be configured by connecting a signal converter suitable for a signal format transmitted and received on a communication line to a personal computer. Further, in the configuration of FIG. 10, a personal computer having a connector of the RS232C standard can be connected directly to the connector 100 of the outdoor unit with a communication cable without a communication converter to perform a rewriting operation.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, the rewrite information signal from the control information rewriter is supplied to the control means of each air conditioning element via the communication line, and the operation control of the nonvolatile storage means is performed. Since the information is rewritten, the service worker does not need to go to the installation location of each air conditioning element.

The air conditioning element to be rewritten is set by an address, and the operation control information of one air conditioning element or a plurality of air conditioning elements can be rewritten. When a plurality of air conditioning elements are to be rewritten, the operation control information can be upgraded at a time, and the rewriting processing time can be greatly reduced.

In rewriting by the control information rewriter, the control information rewriter requests the type of the non-volatile storage device of the air conditioning element, so that the type of the non-volatile storage device of each air conditioning element is recognized. Unnecessary rewriting processing is not executed when an impossible air conditioning element is set as an address. Further, by recognizing the storage capacity of the nonvolatile storage device, the capacity of the control information to be transferred can be confirmed, and the rewrite information can be transferred appropriately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an air conditioning system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the outdoor unit and the indoor unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control information rewriter.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a timing control circuit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a procedure for rewriting control information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing ROM types.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart of input / output signals of the timing control circuit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a procedure for rewriting control information.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of the outdoor unit and the indoor unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 control information rewriter 3 communication line 5-1 to 5-11 indoor unit (air conditioning element) 7-1, 7-2 outdoor unit (air conditioning element) 61 indoor ECU (control means) 71 outdoor ECU (control means) 94 Address setting section 95 Communication conversion circuit

Claims (4)

[Claims] A rewritable non-volatile storage device for storing operation control information is provided in a control means, and is constituted by a plurality of air conditioning elements having a unique address set therein. In an air conditioner connected by a line, when rewriting operation control information stored in the nonvolatile storage device, a communication conversion circuit that supplies a signal to control means of each air conditioning element via the communication line, An air conditioner, comprising: a control information rewriter including an address setting unit for setting an address of the air conditioning element to be rewritten. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein an address of a specific air conditioning element is set in the control information rewriter. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the control information rewriter is set with a simultaneous address for a plurality of air conditioning elements. 4. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the control information rewriter requests a type of a nonvolatile storage device of the air conditioning element.