JP7767992B2 - Railroad vehicle air conditioning system and railroad vehicle air conditioning system management system - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to air conditioning systems for railway vehicles and air conditioning system management systems for railway vehicles, and in particular to abnormality monitoring of air conditioning systems for railway vehicles.

Conventionally, methods have been proposed for diagnosing whether an abnormality has occurred in equipment that has an electric motor, and for detecting signs of an abnormality before an abnormality occurs in the equipment. For example, one known method diagnoses the presence or absence of an abnormality by performing FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) analysis on the current waveform of the current supplied to an electric motor driven by a commercial power source, extracting sidebands that occur at frequencies near the power supply frequency, and analyzing the spectral intensity of the sidebands (Patent Document 1).

International Publication No. 2019/82277

However, railway vehicle air conditioning systems are equipped with multiple devices that have electric motors, such as compressors, outdoor fans, and indoor fans. Therefore, when performing abnormality diagnosis on railway vehicle air conditioning systems using the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a problem in that vibrations of motors other than the motor being diagnosed may affect the vibrations of the motor being diagnosed, making it impossible to perform an accurate diagnosis.

This disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to accurately diagnose abnormalities in air conditioning systems for railway vehicles.

The railway vehicle air conditioning devices disclosed herein are a plurality of railway vehicle air conditioning devices that are mounted on a vehicle and condition the air inside the vehicle cabin, and include a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an indoor heat exchanger connected by refrigerant piping, an outdoor blower that sends air outside the vehicle to the outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor blower that sends air inside the vehicle cabin to the indoor heat exchanger, and a monitoring processing unit that, when the compressor is stopped and at least one of the outdoor blower and the indoor blower is driving, performs abnormality diagnosis by comparing the current value of the sideband wave of the current supplied to the driving blower with a reference value set based on the current value acquired individually for each railway vehicle air conditioning device when it is operating normally.
In addition, the railway vehicle air conditioning device according to the present disclosure is a railway vehicle air conditioning device that is mounted on a vehicle and conditions the air inside the vehicle cabin, and includes a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an indoor heat exchanger connected by refrigerant piping, an outdoor blower that sends air outside the vehicle to the outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor blower that sends air inside the vehicle cabin to the indoor heat exchanger, and a monitoring processing unit that, when the compressor is stopped and at least one of the outdoor blower and the indoor blower is driving, acquires a current signal of the current flowing through the motor of the driving blower, and uses a trained model that receives as input the frequency and current value of peaks corresponding to sideband waves detected from spectrum data obtained by frequency analysis of the current signal, and outputs the degree of similarity with the frequency and current value of the sideband waves when the vehicle is operating normally, estimates the degree of similarity from the peak frequency and current value, and determines that an abnormality occurs if the degree of similarity is less than a predetermined value.

The railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system according to the present disclosure is a railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system that includes a railway vehicle air conditioning unit that is mounted on a vehicle and conditions the air inside the vehicle cabin, and a central management device that can communicate with the railway vehicle air conditioning units of a plurality of vehicles, and the railway vehicle air conditioning unit includes a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an indoor heat exchanger that are connected by refrigerant piping, an outdoor blower that sends air outside the vehicle to the outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor blower that sends air inside the vehicle cabin to the indoor heat exchanger, and a current supplied to the operating blower when the compressor is stopped and at least one of the outdoor blower and the indoor blower is operating. and a first data communication unit that transmits the current signal acquired by the current acquisition unit to a central management device, wherein the central management device has a second data communication unit that receives the current signal transmitted from the first data communication unit of the railway vehicle air conditioning device, and a monitoring processing unit that performs abnormality diagnosis by comparing the current value of a sideband wave obtained by frequency analysis of the current signal supplied to the driven blower based on the current signal received by the second data communication unit with a reference value that is set based on the current value acquired individually for each railway vehicle air conditioning device when it is operating normally .

According to the present disclosure, when the compressor is stopped and at least one of the outdoor blower and indoor blower is operating, an abnormality diagnosis of the operating blower can be performed, thereby enabling accurate abnormality diagnosis of the air conditioning system for railway vehicles.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system according to a first embodiment; 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of equipment related to air conditioning in an air conditioning system for a railway vehicle according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning apparatus control device according to a first embodiment; 4 is a flowchart showing a process for switching the drive mode of the air conditioning apparatus control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence relationship between the indoor temperature, the outdoor temperature, and the drive mode. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence between drive modes and the operating states of each device related to air conditioning. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of spectrum data. 4 is a flowchart showing an abnormality diagnosis process of the air conditioning apparatus control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a central management device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioning apparatus control device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a central management device according to a second embodiment. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an indoor unit room of an air conditioning device for a railway vehicle according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an outdoor unit room of an air conditioning device for a railway vehicle according to a fourth embodiment. FIG.

The following describes a railway vehicle air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, identical or corresponding parts are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof may be omitted. Furthermore, when multiple similar devices are distinguished by subscripts or other symbols, the subscripts may be omitted if there is no need to distinguish or identify them. Note that the following describes a roof-mounted railway vehicle air conditioning system installed on the roof of a vehicle, but the railway vehicle air conditioning system may also be an underfloor-mounted system installed under the floor of the vehicle.

First Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system 1 is composed of a railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 mounted on a railway vehicle 2, and a central management device 6 that is installed at a railway vehicle depot or the like and manages the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 mounted on the vehicle 2. Because the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 is mounted on a vehicle 2 that is constantly moving, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 and the central management device 6 are connected via wireless communication. Note that while FIG. 1 shows only one vehicle 2, the central management device 6 can communicate with the railway vehicle air conditioning units 3 of multiple vehicles 2.

The railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 has a refrigerant circuit 4 and an air conditioning unit control device 5. The refrigerant circuit 4 is a device for performing air conditioning such as cooling, heating, and ventilation within the passenger compartment of the vehicle 2. The air conditioning unit control device 5 is a device for controlling and diagnosing abnormalities in the equipment included in the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3, and for communicating with the central management device 6.

First, the configuration of the air conditioning equipment in the railway vehicle air conditioning system 3 of this embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the air conditioning equipment in the railway vehicle air conditioning system 3 of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the railway vehicle air conditioning system 3 has two refrigerant circuits 4a and 4b, outdoor blowers 17a and 17b, and an indoor blower 18. The railway vehicle air conditioning system 3 has outdoor unit rooms 19a, 19b, and indoor unit rooms 20, which are spaces formed by dividing the interior of the housing with partition plates.

Refrigerant circuit 4a is configured such that compressor 11a, switching valve 12a, pressure reducing device 13a, outdoor heat exchanger 14a, and indoor heat exchanger 15a are connected by refrigerant piping 16a, allowing refrigerant to circulate through refrigerant piping 16a. Refrigerant circuit 4b is configured such that compressor 11b, switching valve 12b, pressure reducing device 13b, outdoor heat exchanger 14b, and indoor heat exchanger 15b are connected by refrigerant piping 16b, allowing refrigerant to circulate through refrigerant piping 16b. Note that, although the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 of this embodiment is configured to have two refrigerant circuits 4, the number of refrigerant circuits 4 is not limited to this.

The compressor 11 of the refrigerant circuit 4 draws in refrigerant, compresses it, and discharges it at a high temperature and high pressure. The compressor 11 has a compressor motor (not shown) and is driven by the compressor motor. The compressor 11 may also be a type of compressor whose drive rotation speed can be precisely controlled by inverter control.

The switching valve 12 of the refrigerant circuit 4 is, for example, a four-way valve, and switches the flow of refrigerant between cooling operation and heating operation. The switching valve 12 is switched to the solid line side in Figure 2 during cooling operation, and to the dotted line side in Figure 2 during heating operation.

The pressure reducing device 13 of the refrigerant circuit 4 is composed of a capillary tube or the like, and reduces the pressure of the refrigerant to expand it. The refrigerant circulating through the refrigerant circuit 4 may be, for example, a non-azeotropic refrigerant mixture, a near-azeotropic refrigerant mixture, or a single refrigerant.

The exterior heat exchanger 14 of the refrigerant circuit 4 exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the air outside the vehicle. For example, during cooling operation, the exterior heat exchanger 14 functions as a condenser, exchanging heat between the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 11 and flowing in through the switching valve 12 and the air, condensing and liquefying the refrigerant. During heating operation, the exterior heat exchanger 14 functions as an evaporator, exchanging heat between the low-pressure refrigerant flowing in through the pressure reducing device 13 and the air, evaporating and vaporizing the refrigerant. An exterior blower 17a is provided for the exterior heat exchanger 14a, and an exterior blower 17b is provided for the exterior heat exchanger 14b.

The indoor heat exchanger 15 of the refrigerant circuit 4 exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the air in the vehicle cabin. For example, during cooling operation, the indoor heat exchanger 15 functions as an evaporator, exchanging heat between the low-pressure refrigerant that flows in through the pressure reducing device 13 and the air, evaporating the refrigerant and cooling the air. During heating operation, the indoor heat exchanger 15 functions as a condenser, exchanging heat between the refrigerant that is compressed by the compressor 11 and flows in from the switching valve 12 side and the air, condensing and liquefying the refrigerant, and heating the air. The indoor heat exchanger 15 is equipped with an indoor blower 18.

The outdoor blower 17a has an outdoor motor 23a, which is a three-phase induction motor, and an outdoor fan 21a fixed to the rotating shaft of the outdoor motor 23a. When the outdoor motor 23a is driven, the outdoor fan 21a rotates, drawing air from outside the vehicle into the outdoor unit compartment 19a and creating an airflow that passes through the outdoor heat exchanger 14a of the refrigerant circuit 4a. The outdoor blower 17b has an outdoor motor 23b, which is a three-phase induction motor, and an outdoor fan 21b fixed to the rotating shaft of the outdoor motor 23b. When the outdoor motor 23b is driven, the outdoor fan 21b rotates, drawing air from outside the vehicle into the outdoor unit compartment 19b and creating an airflow that passes through the outdoor heat exchanger 14b of the refrigerant circuit 4b. The arrows in Figure 2 indicate the airflow created by the outdoor blower 17. In this embodiment, the outdoor blower 17 is installed for each refrigerant circuit 4, but this is not limited thereto and an outdoor blower 17 may be installed commonly to multiple refrigerant circuits 4. In addition, in this embodiment, an airflow is formed from the position of the outdoor heat exchanger 14 to the position of the outdoor blower 17, but an airflow may also be formed from the position of the outdoor blower 17 to the position of the outdoor heat exchanger 14.

The indoor blower 18 has an indoor motor 24, which is a three-phase induction motor, and an indoor fan 22 fixed to the rotating shaft of the indoor motor 24. When the indoor motor 24 is driven, the indoor fan 22 rotates, and air from the vehicle cabin is drawn into the indoor unit compartment 20, creating an airflow that passes through the indoor heat exchanger 15 of the refrigerant circuit 4. This allows conditioned air to be delivered into the vehicle cabin. Note that in this embodiment, the indoor blower 18 is installed in common with multiple refrigerant circuits 4, but this is not limited to this and the indoor blower 18 may be installed for each refrigerant circuit 4. Furthermore, in this embodiment, an airflow is formed from the indoor heat exchanger 15 to the indoor blower 18, but an airflow from the outdoor blower 17 to the outdoor heat exchanger 14 may also be formed.

In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the outdoor blower 17 and the indoor blower 18, they may be collectively referred to as blowers.

The outdoor unit room 19a is equipped with an outdoor heat exchanger 14a and an outdoor blower 17a, the outdoor unit room 19b is equipped with an outdoor heat exchanger 14b and an outdoor blower 17b, and the indoor unit room 20 is equipped with a compressor 11, a switching valve 12, a pressure reducing device 13, an indoor heat exchanger 15, and an indoor blower 18.

Here, the operation of the air conditioning equipment will be explained based on the flow of refrigerant circulating through the refrigerant circuit 4.

First, we will explain cooling operation. The compressor 11 draws in refrigerant, compresses it, and discharges it at a high temperature and high pressure. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 flows into the exterior heat exchanger 14 via the switching valve 12. The exterior heat exchanger 14 exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air outside the vehicle supplied by the exterior blower 17, condensing and liquefying the refrigerant. The liquefied refrigerant passes through the pressure reducing device 13, which reduces the pressure of the refrigerant passing through in a liquefied state. The reduced-pressure refrigerant flows into the interior heat exchanger 15. The interior heat exchanger 15 exchanges heat between the refrigerant and air inside the vehicle cabin supplied by the interior blower 18, evaporating the refrigerant. The vaporized refrigerant then passes through the switching valve 12 again and is drawn into the compressor 11.

Next, heating operation will be explained. The compressor 11 draws in refrigerant, compresses it, and discharges it at a high temperature and high pressure. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 11 flows into the indoor heat exchanger 15 via the switching valve 12. The indoor heat exchanger 15 exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the air inside the vehicle supplied by the indoor blower 18, condensing and liquefying the refrigerant. The liquefied refrigerant passes through the pressure reducing device 13, which reduces the pressure of the refrigerant passing through in a liquefied state. The reduced-pressure refrigerant flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 14. The outdoor heat exchanger 14 exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the air outside the vehicle supplied by the outdoor blower 17, evaporating the refrigerant. The evaporated refrigerant then passes through the switching valve 12 again and is drawn into the compressor 11.

Next, we will explain the air conditioning device control device 5 in the railway vehicle air conditioning device 3 of this embodiment. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the air conditioning device control device 5 of this embodiment. The air conditioning device control device 5 controls each device related to air conditioning in the railway vehicle air conditioning device 3 described above, performs abnormality diagnosis, and transmits the results of the abnormality diagnosis to the central management device 6. Note that in the following explanation, when explaining the control of each device related to air conditioning, we will explain the control of the compressor 11, outdoor blower 17, and indoor blower 18, but will omit explanations of the control of other devices such as the switching valve 12 and pressure reducing device 13.

The air conditioning unit control device 5 includes a data communication unit 40, a control board 41, an I/O board 42, a power supply board 43, and an abnormality monitoring board 44. The control board 41 includes an air conditioning control unit 50 and a control memory unit 51. The abnormality monitoring board 44 includes a monitoring processing unit 52, a monitoring display unit 53, and a monitoring memory unit 54, and the monitoring processing unit 52 includes a current acquisition unit 55, an FFT analysis unit 56, a logical operation unit 57, and a judgment unit 58.

The data communication unit 40 of the air conditioning unit control device 5 serves as an interface for wireless communication between the air conditioning unit control device 5 and the central management unit 6. The data communication unit 40 acquires information relating to the results of abnormality diagnosis of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 from the abnormality monitoring board 44, generates a signal containing the acquired information, and transmits it to the central management unit 6. The data communication unit 40 also receives signals transmitted from the central management unit 6, extracts information contained in the received signals, and outputs it to the control board 41 and the abnormality monitoring board 44.

The control board 41 of the air conditioning device control device 5 generates and outputs commands to control various devices related to air conditioning in the railway vehicle air conditioning device 3. In other words, the compressor 11, exterior blower 17, and interior blower 18 are controlled based on commands output from the control board 41. In addition, an interior thermometer and an exterior thermometer (not shown) are connected to the control board 41. The interior thermometer detects the interior temperature, which is the temperature inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle 2, and the exterior thermometer detects the exterior temperature, which is the temperature outside the vehicle 2. The interior and exterior temperatures detected by the interior and exterior thermometers are input to the control board 41.

The air conditioning control unit 50 switches the drive mode of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3. Specifically, the air conditioning control unit 50 determines the drive mode based on the indoor temperature value and the outdoor temperature value stored in the control memory unit 51, and generates drive signals including commands to control the compressor 11, the outdoor blower 17, and the indoor blower 18 according to the determined drive mode. Drive modes include, for example, cooling mode, heating mode, and fan mode. Commands include, for example, instructions to drive and stop the target equipment. The air conditioning control unit 50 outputs the generated drive signals to the I/O board 42. The air conditioning control unit 50 also outputs the determined drive mode to the control memory unit 51. The air conditioning control unit 50 may output the drive mode to the control memory unit 51 when the drive mode changes, or may periodically output the latest drive mode to the control memory unit 51. Details of the drive mode switching process will be described later.

The control memory unit 51 stores the indoor and outdoor temperatures detected by the indoor and outdoor thermometers. The control memory unit 51 also stores the drive mode output from the air conditioning control unit 50 and information required for the drive mode switching process.

The I/O board 42 of the air conditioning device control device 5 controls the operation of the compressor 11, outdoor blower 17, and indoor blower 18 using drive signals output from the air conditioning control unit 50.

The power supply board 43 of the air conditioning unit control device 5 is equipped with a power supply circuit and supplies power to each device included in the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3.

Now, with reference to the figures, the operation of the drive mode switching process of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 will be described. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the drive mode switching process. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence between the indoor temperature, the outside temperature, and the drive mode of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3. Figure 6 shows an example of the correspondence between the drive mode of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 and the operating state of each device related to air conditioning. The correspondence relationships shown in Figures 5 and 6 are stored in the control memory unit 51.

The air conditioning control unit 50 acquires the latest indoor and outdoor vehicle temperatures from the control memory unit 51 (ST1). The air conditioning control unit 50 uses the acquired indoor and outdoor vehicle temperatures and the correspondence relationship shown in Figure 5 to identify the drive mode corresponding to the acquired indoor and outdoor vehicle temperatures (ST2). As shown in Figure 5, the drive mode of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 differs depending on the combination of indoor and outdoor vehicle temperature values.

Next, the air conditioning control unit 50 compares the drive mode identified in this drive mode switching process with the drive mode identified in the previous drive mode switching process, and determines whether the drive mode has changed (ST3). The drive mode identified in the previous process is stored in the control memory unit 51. If the drive mode has not changed (ST3: No), the air conditioning control unit 50 ends the drive mode switching process.

If the drive mode has changed (ST3: Yes), the air conditioning control unit 50 uses the drive mode identified in this process and the correspondence shown in FIG. 6 to obtain the operating states of the compressor 11, outdoor blower 17, and indoor blower 18 corresponding to the drive mode identified in this process (ST4). As shown in FIG. 6, the operating states of the compressor 11, outdoor blower 17, and indoor blower 18 differ depending on the drive mode. For example, when the drive mode is heating mode or cooling mode, the compressor 11, outdoor blower 17, and indoor blower 18 are in an operating state. This allows heating or cooling of the vehicle cabin. When the drive mode is blowing mode, the compressor 11 and outdoor blower 17 are in a stopped state, and the indoor blower 18 is in an operating state. This allows air to circulate in the vehicle cabin.

Next, the air conditioning control unit 50 generates a drive signal including a command to control the compressor 11, outdoor blower 17, and indoor blower 18 so that they are in the operating state acquired in ST4 (ST5). The air conditioning control unit 50 outputs the identified drive mode to the control memory unit 51 and outputs the generated drive signal to the I/O board 42 (ST6), completing the drive mode switching process.

In this embodiment, the air conditioning control unit 50 has been described as ending the switching process if the drive mode has not changed, but this is not limited to this, and ST3 may be omitted and the process from ST4 onwards may be executed regardless of whether the drive mode has changed. Furthermore, the drive mode has been described as being determined based on the indoor temperature and the outside temperature, but this is not limited to this, and the drive mode may be switched by operation by the conductor or by a command from the central management device 6. Furthermore, the drive mode switching process may be performed periodically at a predetermined cycle.

Returning to the description of the configuration of the air conditioner control device 5 included in the railcar air conditioner 3, the following will be described.
The abnormality monitoring board 44 of the air conditioning unit control device 5 monitors the state of the indoor fan 18 of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3. As shown in Figure 3, the abnormality monitoring board 44 includes a monitoring processing unit 52, a monitoring display unit 53, and a monitoring memory unit 54.

A current detector (not shown) that detects the current waveform of the current flowing from the power supply board 43 to the indoor motor 24 is connected to the abnormality monitoring board 44, and the current value measured by the current detector is input to the abnormality monitoring board 44 as a current signal. The abnormality monitoring board 44 monitors the status of the indoor blower 18 by performing an abnormality diagnosis using the current value detected by the current detector to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the indoor blower 18.

In addition, the monitoring processing unit 52 performs abnormality diagnosis on the indoor blower 18 when the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 is operating in the blowing mode. In the blowing mode, the compressor 11 and the outdoor blower 17 are stopped, and the indoor blower 18 is driven; that is, the compressor motor and the outdoor motor 23 are stopped, and the indoor motor 24 is driven.

In this way, the monitoring processor 52 determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the indoor blower 18 using the current value of the current flowing from the power supply board 43 to the indoor motor 24, acquired when the compressor 11 and the outdoor blower 17 are stopped. This allows the monitoring processor 52 to perform an abnormality diagnosis of the indoor blower 18 without affecting the compressor 11 and the outdoor blower 17. The monitoring processor 52 may detect that the railway vehicle air conditioning device 3 is operating in the fan mode by referencing the drive mode stored in the control memory unit 51, or may detect that the drive mode has been switched to the fan mode by receiving a notification from the control board 41. Furthermore, it is preferable for the monitoring processor 52 to perform an abnormality diagnosis process for the indoor motor 24 after the compressor motor has stopped, the vibration of the compressor 11 caused by the compressor motor's operation has settled, and the compressor 11 has transitioned to a stable state, rather than immediately after the compressor motor has stopped. Therefore, it is preferable for the monitoring processor 52 to perform an abnormality diagnosis process for the indoor motor 24 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the compressor motor stopped. This more reliably eliminates the effects of compressor 11 vibration.

The monitoring processing unit 52 outputs the results of the abnormality diagnosis to the monitoring memory unit 54 and the monitoring display unit 53, and also transmits them to the central management unit 6 via the data communication unit 40. A more detailed configuration of the monitoring processing unit 52 and details of the abnormality diagnosis process will be described later.

The monitoring display unit 53 is configured, for example, with an LCD panel or the like, and displays the results of the abnormality diagnosis processing output from the monitoring processing unit 52. For example, if an abnormality occurs, the monitoring display unit 53 displays that an abnormality has occurred and notifies the conductor.

The monitoring memory unit 54 stores the current signal of the current detected by the current detector, the results of the abnormality diagnosis processing output from the monitoring processing unit 52, and information necessary for the abnormality diagnosis processing. The monitoring memory unit 54 also stores information to be sent to the central management unit 6 along with the results of the abnormality diagnosis processing, such as information about the vehicle 2 on which the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 is installed, such as the identification number and car number, information about the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3, such as the identification number of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3, and information about the equipment being diagnosed for abnormality. The monitoring memory unit 54 is composed of memory such as ROM or flash memory.

Next, the configuration of the monitoring processing unit 52 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 3, the monitoring processing unit 52 includes a current acquisition unit 55, an FFT analysis unit 56, a logical operation unit 57, and a determination unit 58.

The current acquisition unit 55 acquires a current signal of the current flowing from the power supply board 43 to the indoor motor 24. The acquired current signal is output to the monitoring memory unit 54 and stored as time-series data. The current acquisition unit 55 may output all current signals to the monitoring memory unit 54 for storage, or may output the current signal used for abnormality diagnosis, i.e., the current signal acquired when the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 is operating in fan mode, to the monitoring memory unit 54 for storage.

The FFT analysis unit 56 performs frequency analysis of the current signal acquired by the current acquisition unit 55. Specifically, the FFT analysis unit 56 performs a fast Fourier transform, an example of frequency analysis, on the time series data of current values read from the monitoring memory unit 54. The FFT analysis unit 56 outputs the spectral data obtained by the fast Fourier transform to the logical operation unit 57. The spectral data is data that indicates the relationship between frequency and the logarithmically transformed current spectrum.

Figure 7 shows an example of spectrum data obtained by performing a fast Fourier transform on the current waveform of the indoor motor 24. The horizontal axis represents frequency (Hz), and the vertical axis represents current value (A). As shown in Figure 7, a higher peak W1 occurs at a position corresponding to the power supply frequency of the indoor motor 24, and peak W2 due to sidebands occurs in frequency bands on both sides of the power supply frequency of the indoor motor 24.

The logic operation unit 57 detects peaks due to the power supply frequency, peaks due to sideband waves, and other peaks from the spectrum data output from the FFT analysis unit 56. For example, the logic operation unit 57 extracts peaks by identifying portions with steep slopes and inversions from the results obtained by differentiating the spectrum data. The logic operation unit 57 then identifies peaks due to the power supply frequency and peaks due to sideband waves from the extracted peaks. In this case, the logic operation unit 57 may identify the peak due to the power supply frequency using the motor's power supply frequency stored in the control memory unit 51 of the control board 41, or may identify the spectrum peak with the largest current value among the detected peaks as the peak due to the power supply frequency. The logic operation unit 57 may also identify a pair of peaks occurring on both sides of the peak due to the power supply frequency at a distance of the same frequency as the peak due to the sideband waves. The logic operation unit 57 outputs the frequency and current value of the peak due to the sideband waves to the determination unit 58.

The determination unit 58 determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the indoor motor 24 based on the peak current value of the sideband waves. Specifically, if the peak current value of the sideband waves output from the logic operation unit 57 deviates from the reference value by a predetermined value or more, the determination unit 58 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the indoor motor 24; if the deviation is not greater than a predetermined value, the determination unit 58 determines that an abnormality has not occurred. If the determination unit 58 determines that an abnormality has occurred, it outputs a signal indicating that an abnormality has been detected to the monitoring display unit 53 and to the monitoring memory unit 54. The determination unit 58 also wirelessly transmits a signal containing information indicating the detection of an abnormality to the central management unit 6 via the data communication unit 40. The reference value is a threshold value used to determine an abnormality and is set in advance. The sideband current value typically increases as the degree of abnormality increases. The predetermined value is a measurement error; for example, a difference of approximately +0.01 to 0.1 A from the reference value may be determined to be no deviation, and a deviation greater than this may be determined to be present. The reference value and predetermined value are stored in the monitoring memory unit 54.

Here, "an abnormality has been detected" means, for example, that the indoor motor 24 has a fault such as an abnormality in the rotating shaft, eccentricity, imbalance, or air gap, or that a sign of such a fault has occurred. When such an abnormality occurs in the motor, it may cause abnormal noise, which may cause discomfort to passengers in the vehicle cabin. In particular, the indoor motor 24 is located closer to the vehicle cabin than the outdoor motor 23, so abnormal noises are more likely to be heard by passengers. For this reason, if an abnormality is detected, the motor must be serviced or maintained.

Next, the operation of the abnormality diagnosis process for the indoor blower 18 will be explained with reference to the figures. Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the abnormality diagnosis process.

The current acquisition unit 55 acquires the current signal of the current flowing from the power supply board 43 to the indoor motor 24 from the monitoring memory unit 54 and outputs it to the FFT analysis unit 56 (ST10). The FFT analysis unit 56 performs a fast Fourier transform on the current signal to generate spectral data and output it to the logic operation unit 57 (ST11). The logic operation unit 57 detects peaks due to sideband waves from the spectral data and outputs the detection results to the determination unit 58 (ST12). The determination unit 58 compares the signal level of the peak due to the sideband waves, i.e., the current value, with a reference value (ST13). If the current value deviates from the reference value by more than a predetermined value (ST13: Yes), the determination unit 58 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the indoor motor 24 (ST14) and outputs the diagnosis result to the monitoring display unit 53 and the monitoring memory unit 54 (ST15). If the current value does not deviate from the reference value by more than the specified value (ST13: No), the determination unit 58 determines that no abnormality has occurred in the indoor motor 24 (ST16) and ends the abnormality diagnosis process.

In this embodiment, the reference value, which is the threshold used to determine whether an abnormality has occurred, is described as being predetermined. However, for example, it may be the sideband current value obtained during the first abnormality diagnosis process performed after the indoor blower 18 is installed or after maintenance. That is, rather than uniformly setting the reference value for multiple railway vehicle air conditioning units 3, the reference value may be the sideband current value obtained individually for each railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 during normal operation. Because the magnitude of the sideband wave is affected by individual differences in the indoor blowers 18, setting a uniform reference value may result in railway vehicle air conditioning units 3 being unable to accurately determine whether an abnormality has occurred. In particular, railway vehicle air conditioning units 3 drive the indoor motor 24 with current supplied from a static inverter (SIV), and individual differences in the SIV affect frequency analysis. Therefore, by setting a reference value for each railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3, erroneous judgments due to individual differences can be eliminated and more accurate diagnosis can be performed.

The magnitude of the sideband waves is also affected by the vibration of the vehicle 2. The vibration pattern of the vehicle 2 differs depending on the line on which the vehicle 2 is traveling. Therefore, if the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 performs an abnormality diagnosis while the vehicle 2 is traveling on a line different from the line on which the vehicle 2 was traveling when the reference value was acquired, there is a risk that an accurate abnormality diagnosis will not be possible due to differences in the vibration of the vehicle 2 caused by the difference in line. Therefore, a more accurate diagnosis can be made by having the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 perform an abnormality diagnosis while the vehicle 2 is traveling on the same line on which the vehicle 2 was traveling when the reference value was acquired. Furthermore, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 may acquire reference values on multiple lines and perform an abnormality diagnosis using the reference value acquired on the same line as the line on which the vehicle 2 is traveling when performing the abnormality diagnosis, or may perform an abnormality diagnosis using the reference value acquired on the most similar line.

In addition, instead of using a reference value, the judgment unit 58 may determine the presence or absence of an abnormality using a trained model created in advance using a neural network or the like. The trained model receives the sideband wave information generated by the logical operation unit 57 as input, estimates the presence or absence of an abnormality, and outputs the result. The sideband wave information may be, for example, the frequency and current value of the peak corresponding to the sideband wave.

The trained model may be generated by unsupervised learning, using sideband wave information during normal operation as training data, or by supervised learning, using a pair of sideband wave information and a label indicating the state of the equipment when the sideband wave information was acquired, i.e., a normal state or an abnormal state, as training data. The trained model is pre-stored in the monitoring memory unit 54. The estimation result output from the trained model corresponds, for example, to the degree of similarity with the sideband wave information during normal operation provided as training data. If the degree of similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the result is considered normal, and if it is less than the predetermined value, the result is considered abnormal. The estimation accuracy improves as the number of training data increases. The determination unit 58 may store trained models created for each route on which the vehicle 2 travels in the monitoring memory unit 54 in advance, and use the trained model corresponding to the route on which the vehicle 2 travels when performing abnormality diagnosis. Furthermore, if the frequency or current value of the sideband waves differs depending on the type of abnormality, the determination unit 58 can generate a trained model capable of distinguishing the type of abnormality by using a pair of sideband wave information and the type of abnormality as training data. The trained model may be generated by the determination unit 58, or may be generated by an external device (not shown) and stored in the monitoring memory unit 54.

Next, the hardware configuration of the air conditioning unit control device 5 will be explained. The functions of the data communication unit 40, air conditioning control unit 50, monitoring processing unit 52, current acquisition unit 55, FFT analysis unit 56, logical operation unit 57, and judgment unit 58 of the air conditioning unit control device 5 can be configured using hardware such as circuit devices that realize those functions, or they can be configured using a calculation unit such as a microcomputer or CPU and a program executed thereon. Calculation units arranged on separate boards are connected by a bus. The program is stored in the control memory unit 51 of the control board 41 or the monitoring memory unit 54 of the abnormality monitoring board 44. The control memory unit 51 and monitoring memory unit 54 are configured using memory such as ROM or flash memory.

Next, we will explain the central management unit 6 included in the railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system 1. Figure 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of the central management unit 6 in this embodiment.

The central management unit 6 wirelessly transmits and receives signals to and from the railway vehicle air conditioning units 3 installed in multiple vehicles 2, and acquires information indicating the results of abnormality diagnosis of the railway vehicle air conditioning units 3. Based on the acquired information, the central management unit 6 manages maintenance and other operations of the railway vehicle air conditioning units 3. The central management unit 6 includes a data communication unit 30, a control unit 31, a management display unit 32, and a management memory unit 33.

The data communication unit 30 of the central management unit 6 serves as an interface for wireless communication between the central management unit 6 and the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3. The data communication unit 30 receives signals transmitted from the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3, extracts information contained in the received signals, and outputs the information to the control unit 31. The data communication unit 30 also generates signals containing the information output from the control unit 31 and transmits them to the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3.

Here, the information contained in the signal transmitted from the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 to the central management unit 6 includes, for example, information about the vehicle 2, such as the identification number of the vehicle 2 on which the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 is installed and the car number, as well as information about the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3, such as the identification number of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 and the results of abnormality diagnosis. The information contained in the signal transmitted from the central management unit 6 to the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 includes, for example, information necessary for controlling the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3. However, the information contained in the signal transmitted from the air conditioning unit control device 5 and the signal transmitted from the central management unit 6 does not need to include all of this information, and may be selected as needed.

The control unit 31 of the central management unit 6 outputs information received from the railway vehicle air conditioning units 3 of multiple vehicles 2 via the data communication unit 30 to the management display unit 32 and management memory unit 33. The control unit 31 also outputs information to be sent to the railway vehicle air conditioning units 3 to the data communication unit 30.

The functions of the data communication unit 30 and control unit 31 can be configured using hardware such as circuit devices that realize those functions, or they can be configured using a computing device such as a microcomputer or CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a program executed on that device. The program is stored in the management memory unit 33.

The management display unit 32 of the central management unit 6 is composed of an LCD panel or the like, and displays information received from the control unit 31. For example, if an abnormality occurs in the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3, the management display unit 32 displays the abnormality and notifies the monitor.

The management memory unit 33 of the central management unit 6 stores information received from the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 and information received from the control unit 31. The management memory unit 33 is composed of memory such as ROM or flash memory.

Next, we will explain the effects achieved by separately providing an abnormality monitoring board 44 for performing abnormality diagnosis and a control board 41 for controlling air conditioning in the air conditioning device control device 5 of this embodiment.

The amount of data for the current signals used in the frequency analysis described above is enormous. Therefore, if the control board 41 is to be equipped with an abnormality diagnosis function, the cost and size of the control board 41 will increase. Meanwhile, there is a demand for cost reduction and miniaturization in railway vehicle air conditioning units 3, and some prioritize cost and size and do not require an abnormality diagnosis function, while others require high functionality and require an abnormality diagnosis function even if it increases cost and size.

For this reason, if the control board is given an abnormality diagnosis function, it will be necessary to design separate control boards for use in railcar air conditioning systems that require an abnormality diagnosis function and control boards for use in railcar air conditioning systems that do not require an abnormality diagnosis function. In other words, it will be impossible to standardize specifications between control boards for railcar air conditioning systems that require an abnormality diagnosis function and control boards for railcar air conditioning systems that do not require an abnormality diagnosis function.

The air conditioning unit control device 5 of this embodiment is therefore equipped with an abnormality monitoring board 44 separate from the control board 41, and abnormality diagnosis is performed by the abnormality monitoring board 44. By configuring the control board 41 and the abnormality monitoring board 44 as separate entities in this way, it is possible to accommodate railway vehicle air conditioning units that do not require an abnormality monitoring function by simply omitting the abnormality monitoring board 44, without changing the specifications of the control board 41. In other words, in this embodiment, the control board 41 can be shared between railway vehicle air conditioning units that require an abnormality diagnosis function and railway vehicle air conditioning units that do not require an abnormality diagnosis function.

In this embodiment, the railcar air conditioning unit 3 has been described as being configured to diagnose abnormalities in the indoor blower 18, but it can also be configured to diagnose abnormalities in the outdoor blower 17. The following will focus on the differences between the configuration for diagnosing abnormalities in the outdoor blower 17 and the configuration for diagnosing abnormalities in the indoor blower 18.

When performing an abnormality diagnosis on the outdoor blower 17, a diagnostic mode is added to the driving modes of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3. When the driving mode is diagnostic mode, the compressor 11 and indoor blower 18 are stopped, and the outdoor blower 17 is driven.

When the drive mode is switched to the diagnostic mode, the air conditioning control unit 50 controls the compressor 11, the outdoor blower 17, and the indoor blower 18 so that they are in an operating state corresponding to the diagnostic mode. Switching to the diagnostic mode may be performed by the conductor or by command from the central management unit 6.

A current detector (not shown) that detects the current waveform of the current flowing from the power supply board 43 to the outdoor motor 23 is connected to the abnormality monitoring board 44, and the current signal that is the measurement result of the current detector is input.

When the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 is operating in diagnostic mode, the monitoring processing unit 52 performs an abnormality diagnosis process to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the outdoor blower 17. Specifically, when the compressor 11 and indoor blower 18 are stopped and the outdoor blower 17 is operating (i.e., when the compressor motor and indoor motor 24 are stopped and the outdoor motor 23 is operating), the monitoring processing unit 52 acquires a current signal of the current flowing from the power supply board 43 to the outdoor motor 23 and uses the acquired current signal to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the outdoor blower 17. This allows the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 to perform an abnormality diagnosis of the outdoor blower 17 while eliminating the influence of the compressor 11 and indoor blower 18.

When operating in diagnostic mode, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 may stop the compressor 11 and drive the outdoor blower 17 and indoor blower 18 to perform abnormality diagnosis on the outdoor blower 17 and indoor blower 18. In this case, the monitoring processing unit 52 uses the current signal of the current flowing from the power supply board to the indoor motor 24 to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the indoor blower 18, and uses the current signal of the current flowing from the power supply board to the outdoor motor 23 to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the outdoor blower 17. This allows the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 to perform abnormality diagnosis on the outdoor blower 17 and indoor blower 18 without being affected by the compressor motor.

Generally, the motor of the compressor 11 is larger than the indoor motor 24 and the outdoor motor 23, and generates significant vibrations when it is running. Therefore, if an abnormality diagnosis is performed on the outdoor blower 17 and the indoor blower 18 while the compressor 11 is running, vibrations will occur in the outdoor blower 17 and the indoor blower 18 due to the influence of the compressor 11, making it impossible to perform an accurate diagnosis. Therefore, in this embodiment, an abnormality diagnosis is performed on the outdoor blower 17 and the indoor blower 18 when the compressor 11 is stopped, allowing for accurate abnormality diagnosis without being affected by the vibrations of the compressor 11.

In addition, although the present embodiment describes the central management unit 6 being installed outside the vehicle, such as in a railway vehicle depot, it may also be installed inside the vehicle. In this case, a central management unit 6 is installed in each of the cars at both ends of the train formation, and the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 is managed by the central management unit 6 installed in the leading car 2 depending on the direction of travel of the car 2. Communication between the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 and the central management unit 6 may be performed via an in-car transmission line installed inside the vehicle, rather than wireless communication. The central management unit 6 obtains abnormality diagnosis results from the railway vehicle air conditioning units 3 installed in each car of the train formation, and manages maintenance and other aspects of the railway vehicle air conditioning units 3 based on the obtained abnormality diagnosis results.

As described above, the railway vehicle air conditioning device 3 of this embodiment can accurately diagnose abnormalities without being affected by vibrations of the compressor 11 and the stopped blower by diagnosing abnormalities in the operating blower when the compressor is stopped and at least one of the outdoor blower and the indoor blower is operating.
In other words, by performing an abnormality diagnosis on the outdoor blower and the indoor blower when the compressor is stopped and both the outdoor blower and the indoor blower are operating, it is possible to perform an abnormality diagnosis while eliminating the influence of vibrations of the compressor 11.
In addition, by performing an abnormality diagnosis on the indoor blower when the compressor and outdoor blower are stopped and the indoor blower is running, it is possible to perform an abnormality diagnosis while eliminating the influence of vibrations of the compressor 11 and the outdoor blower.
Furthermore, by performing an abnormality diagnosis on the outdoor blower when the compressor and indoor blower are stopped and the outdoor blower is running, it is possible to perform an abnormality diagnosis while eliminating the influence of vibrations of the compressor 11 and the indoor blower.

Furthermore, the state in which the compressor 11 and the outdoor blower 17 are stopped and the indoor blower 18 is running corresponds to the fan mode, which is generally included in the driving modes of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3. Therefore, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 of this embodiment does not need to have a special driving mode for abnormality diagnosis, and abnormality diagnosis can be performed when the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 is used in the fan mode during commercial operating hours.

Furthermore, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 of this embodiment can perform abnormality diagnosis of the indoor blower 18 during the vehicle's commercial operating hours, allowing for earlier detection of abnormalities compared to when abnormality diagnosis is performed after the end of commercial operating hours. In particular, because the indoor unit room 20 in which the indoor motor 24 is located is directly connected to the vehicle compartment, if an abnormality in the indoor motor 24 causes an abnormal noise or the like, it may cause discomfort to passengers in the vehicle compartment. Therefore, by performing abnormality diagnosis during commercial operating hours, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 of this embodiment can detect abnormalities early and alleviate passenger discomfort. Furthermore, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 of this embodiment does not require the railway vehicle air conditioning unit to be operated to perform abnormality diagnosis outside of commercial operating hours, thereby reducing the effort and cost required for abnormality detection.

Furthermore, the railway vehicle air conditioning system 3 of this embodiment may drive the indoor blower 18 and perform an abnormality diagnosis before cooling or heating the vehicle 2 prior to commercial operation. In this way, the railway vehicle air conditioning system 3 of this embodiment can perform an abnormality diagnosis before the compressor 11 is driven, thereby eliminating the influence of vehicle 2 vibrations. Furthermore, the railway vehicle air conditioning system 3 of this embodiment can immediately start an abnormality diagnosis without waiting until the vibration of the compressor 11 has stabilized.

In addition, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 of this embodiment performs abnormality diagnosis based on the current signal of the current supplied to the blower motor that is the target of abnormality diagnosis, so it can accurately detect abnormalities related to the motor's rotating shaft.

Furthermore, in this embodiment of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3, the control board and the abnormality monitoring board are configured as separate units, which allows for the design specifications of the control board to be standardized between railway vehicle air conditioning units that require abnormality diagnosis and those that do not.

In addition, in this embodiment, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 notifies the central management unit 6 of the results of the abnormality diagnosis. Data communication between the central management unit 6 and the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 is performed wirelessly, but because the amount of data on the current values used in the abnormality diagnosis is enormous, constantly transmitting the current values used in the abnormality diagnosis to the central management unit 6 would require enormous resources. In contrast, in this embodiment, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 3 performs the abnormality diagnosis and only transmits the results to the central management unit 6, minimizing communication volume.

<Second Embodiment>
In the railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system 1 of embodiment 1, a configuration has been described in which the railway vehicle air conditioning units 3 perform abnormality diagnosis and notify the central management unit 6 of the results. In contrast, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system 101 of embodiment 2 differs from embodiment 1 in that the central management unit performs abnormality diagnosis using current values acquired by the railway vehicle air conditioning units. The following description will focus on the differences from embodiment 1. Furthermore, items that are not specifically described will be the same as embodiment 1, and the same functions or configurations will be described using the same reference numerals.

The configuration of a railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system 101 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system 101 according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system 101 is made up of railway vehicle air conditioning units 103 (103a, 103b, 103c) mounted on railway cars 2 (2a, 2b, 2c), and a central management device 106 that manages the cars 2.

The railway vehicle air conditioning system 103 has a refrigerant circuit 4 (4a, 4b, 4c) and an air conditioning system control device 105 (105a, 105b, 105c). The refrigerant circuit 4 is a device for performing air conditioning such as cooling, heating, and ventilation within the passenger compartment of the vehicle 2. The air conditioning system control device 105 is a device for controlling the equipment included in the railway vehicle air conditioning system 103, acquiring data for abnormality diagnosis, and communicating with the central management device 106.

First, we will explain the air conditioning unit control device 105 in the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 103 of this embodiment. Figure 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of the air conditioning unit control device 105 of this embodiment. The air conditioning unit control device 105 of this embodiment has an abnormality monitoring board 144 instead of the abnormality monitoring board 44. The abnormality monitoring board 144 acquires data for abnormality diagnosis and transmits it to the central management unit 106 via the data communication unit 40.

The abnormality monitoring board 144 includes a monitoring memory unit 54 and a current acquisition unit 155. A current detector that detects the current signal of the current flowing from the power supply board 43 to the indoor motor 24 is also connected to the abnormality monitoring board 144, and the current signal that is the measurement result of the current detector is input. The abnormality monitoring board 144 monitors the status of the indoor blower 18 by using the current signal input from the current detector to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the indoor blower 18.

The current acquisition unit 155 acquires a current signal of the current flowing from the power supply board 43 to the indoor motor 24. The acquired current signal is output to the monitoring memory unit 154 and stored as time-series data. The current acquisition unit 155 may output all current signals to the monitoring memory unit 154 for storage, or may output and store current signals used for abnormality diagnosis, i.e., current signals acquired when the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 103 is operating in fan mode, to the monitoring memory unit 154. In addition, when the vehicle 2 enters the railway vehicle depot for maintenance of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 103, the current acquisition unit 155 wirelessly transmits the current signal stored in the monitoring memory unit 154 to the central management unit 106 installed at the railway vehicle depot via a LAN (Local Area Network) or the like.

The monitoring memory unit 154 stores the current signal detected by the current detector. The monitoring memory unit 154 also stores information to be sent to the central management device 106 along with the current signal, such as information about the vehicle 2, such as the identification number and car number of the vehicle 2 on which the railcar air conditioning unit 103 is installed, information about the railcar air conditioning unit 103, such as the identification number of the railcar air conditioning unit 103, and information about the equipment from which the current signal was acquired.

Next, we will explain the central management unit 106 in the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 103 of this embodiment. Figure 12 is a diagram showing the configuration of the central management unit 106 of this embodiment. The central management unit 106 of this embodiment has a processing unit 131 instead of the control unit 31, and a management memory unit 133 instead of the management memory unit 33.

The processing unit 131 includes a monitoring processing unit 152, which determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the indoor blower 18 based on the current signal acquired from the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 103 via the data communication unit 30.

The monitoring processing unit 152 includes an FFT analysis unit 156, a logical operation unit 157, and a determination unit 158.

The FFT analysis unit 156 performs frequency analysis of the current signal received through the data communication unit 30. Specifically, the FFT analysis unit 156 performs a fast Fourier transform, an example of frequency analysis, on the time series data of the current signal read from the monitoring memory unit 154. The FFT analysis unit 156 outputs the spectrum data obtained by the fast Fourier transform to the logic operation unit 157.

The logic operation unit 157 detects peaks due to the power supply frequency, peaks due to sideband waves, and other peaks from the spectrum data output from the FFT analysis unit 156. The logic operation unit 157 outputs the frequency and current value of the peak due to the sideband waves to the determination unit 158.

The determination unit 158 determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the indoor motor 24 based on the peak current value due to the sideband waves. Specifically, if the peak current value due to the sideband waves output from the logic operation unit 157 deviates from the reference value by a predetermined value or more, the determination unit 158 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the indoor motor 24, and if the deviation is not significant, the determination unit 158 determines that an abnormality has not occurred. If the determination unit 158 determines that an abnormality has occurred, it outputs a signal to the management display unit 32 that an abnormality has been detected, and also outputs a signal to the management memory unit 133.

The management memory unit 133 stores the current signal received from the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 103 and the abnormality diagnosis results output from the judgment unit 158. The management memory unit 133 also stores the current signal and the abnormality diagnosis results in association with the information received from the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 103. This allows the central management unit 106 to identify the abnormality diagnosis results of multiple railway vehicle air conditioning units 103 stored in the management memory unit 133.

In this embodiment, the central management unit 106 is installed outside the vehicle, such as in a railway vehicle depot, but it may also be installed inside the vehicle. In this case, a central management unit 106 is installed in each of the cars at both ends of the train formation, and the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 103 is managed by the central management unit 106 installed in the leading car 2 depending on the direction of travel of the car 2. Communication between the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 103 and the central management unit 106 may be performed via an in-car transmission line installed inside the vehicle, rather than wireless communication. The central management unit 106 acquires current signals from the railway vehicle air conditioning units 103 installed in each car of the train formation, and performs abnormality diagnosis of the railway vehicle air conditioning units 103 based on the acquired current signals.

As described above, in the railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system 101 of this embodiment, the central management unit 106 is equipped with an FFT analysis unit 156, a logical operation unit 157, and a judgment unit 158, and performs an abnormality diagnosis of the indoor blower 18 based on the current signal received from the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 103, and outputs the diagnosis results to the management memory unit 133 of the central management unit 106.

This allows the central management device 106 to store the history of abnormality diagnoses for the indoor fans 18 of multiple railway vehicle air conditioning units 103, making it possible to compare and perform detailed analysis of the abnormality diagnosis records of multiple railway vehicle air conditioning units 103.

<Third Embodiment>
The railway vehicle air conditioning apparatus 203 of embodiment 3 differs from the railway vehicle air conditioning apparatus 3 of embodiment 1 and the railway vehicle air conditioning apparatus 103 of embodiment 2 in that a beam member having a rectifying section is provided in the indoor unit room 20 to rectify the flow of air in the indoor unit room 20. The following will focus on the differences from embodiment 1 and embodiment 2. Items that are not specifically described will be the same as embodiment 1 and embodiment 2, and the same functions or configurations will be described using the same reference numerals.

The configuration of the indoor unit room 20 will be described with reference to the figure. Figure 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the indoor unit room 20 of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 203 of this embodiment.

The housing 260 of the railcar air conditioning unit 203 has a top plate 261, a bottom plate 262, and side plates 263. The side plates 263 also include the partition plates that divide the interior of the housing 260, as previously described. The railcar air conditioning unit 203 has an indoor unit room 20 defined by the top plate 261, a bottom plate 262 arranged opposite the top plate 261, and side plates 263 connecting the top plate 261 and the bottom plate 262. The indoor unit room 20 houses the indoor heat exchanger 15a, the indoor heat exchanger 15b, and the indoor blower 18.

Top plate 261 is formed with intake port 264a, intake port 264b, and exhaust port 265. Intake port 264a and intake port 264b are located on either side of exhaust port 265, with a gap between them. Intake port 264a and intake port 264b are connected to an intake duct (not shown) that communicates with the vehicle interior. Exhaust port 265 is connected to an outlet duct (not shown) that communicates with the vehicle interior.

As shown in the figure, the indoor heat exchanger 15a is positioned below the intake port 264a, i.e., facing the intake port 264a, the indoor heat exchanger 15b is positioned below the intake port 264b, i.e., facing the intake port 264b, and the indoor blower 18 is positioned below the exhaust port 265, i.e., facing the exhaust port 265. The indoor blower 18 is positioned between the indoor heat exchangers 15a and 15b, and is installed on the surface of the bottom plate 262 facing the top plate 261 so that its rotation axis is parallel to the vertical direction. The indoor heat exchangers 15a and 15b are each tilted toward the indoor blower 18.

In this configuration, when the indoor blower 18 is driven, an air flow is formed from the intake ports 264a and 264b toward the exhaust port 265. Specifically, air from the vehicle cabin taken into the intake duct is drawn into the indoor unit room 20 through the intake ports 264a and 264b. The air drawn into the indoor unit room 20 passes through the indoor heat exchangers 15a and 15b, then is discharged from the exhaust port 265 into the exhaust duct and blown out from the exhaust duct into the vehicle cabin.

The railway vehicle air conditioning unit 203 has a beam member 266a between the indoor heat exchanger 15a and the indoor blower 18, and a beam member 266b between the indoor heat exchanger 15b and the indoor blower 18. A gap is maintained between the beam member 266a and the indoor heat exchanger 15a, and between the beam member 266b and the indoor heat exchanger 15b. A gap is also maintained between the beam member 266a and the indoor blower 18 and the indoor blower 18, and between the beam member 266b and the indoor heat exchanger 15b.

Beam members 266a and 266b extend on the surface of bottom plate 262 facing top plate 261 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which indoor heat exchanger 15a, indoor heat exchanger 15b, and indoor blower 18 are arranged. Beam member 266 also extends between one side plate 263 and the other side plate 263 of a pair of side plates 263 that face each other in the direction in which beam member 266 extends. Beam member 266 is joined to bottom plate 262, reinforcing it.

When viewed from a direction parallel to the normal of the bottom plate 262, beam members 266a and 266b are adjacent to each other in the direction in which the indoor heat exchanger 15 and indoor blower 18 are arranged, and the indoor blower 18 is arranged between beam members 266a and 266b.

Beam member 266a has a rectifying portion 267a, and beam member 266b has a rectifying portion 267b. The rectifying portion 267a is an inclined surface that extends in the longitudinal direction of beam member 266a when viewed in a direction parallel to the normal to the bottom plate 262. Similarly, the rectifying portion 267b extends in the longitudinal direction of beam member 266b when viewed in a direction parallel to the normal to the bottom plate 262. Specifically, the rectifying portion 267a and the rectifying portion 267b extend between one side plate 263 and the other side plate 263 of a pair of side plates 263 that face each other in the extending direction of the beam member 266.

Furthermore, when viewed from a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the beam member 266a and the rectifying portion 267b, the rectifying portion 267a and the rectifying portion 267b slope downward toward the surface of the bottom plate 262 facing the top plate 261 as they move away from the indoor blower 18.

In this embodiment, the beam members 266 that reinforce the bottom plate 262 also serve to straighten the airflow in the rectifying section 267. In particular, by providing the rectifying section 267, which is an inclined surface, between the indoor heat exchanger 15 and the indoor blower 18, the air flow that passes through the indoor heat exchanger 15 and heads toward the bottom plate 262 can be controlled so that it is directed toward the position of the indoor fan of the indoor blower 18.

When diagnosing deterioration of the indoor blower 18 in a railway vehicle air conditioning unit 203, if variations in the airflow speed distribution inside the indoor unit room 20 occur due to problems with the air path structure, an imbalance may occur in the indoor unit room 20 and sideband waves may be generated due to causes other than deterioration of the indoor unit room 20. Therefore, in this embodiment of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 203, the indoor unit room 20 is provided with a beam member 266 that reinforces the bottom plate 262 of the housing 260, and the beam member 266 is provided with a straightening section 267, which is an inclined surface that straightens the airflow.

This configuration reduces variations in the airflow speed distribution inside the indoor unit room 20, and when the railway vehicle air conditioning device 203 performs an abnormality diagnosis of the indoor blower 18, sideband waves generated due to causes other than deterioration of the indoor blower 18 are suppressed. As a result, erroneous diagnosis of an abnormality in the indoor blower 18 is reduced.

<Fourth Embodiment>
The railway vehicle air conditioning apparatus 303 of embodiment 4 differs from the railway vehicle air conditioning apparatus 203 of embodiment 3 in that a beam member having a rectifying section is provided in the outdoor unit room 19 to rectify the flow of air in the outdoor unit room 19. The following description will focus on the differences from the configuration of embodiment 3. Items that are not particularly described are the same as those of embodiment 3, and the same functions or configurations will be described using the same reference numerals. Note that while the outdoor fans in embodiments 1 to 3 were installed for each refrigerant circuit, the outdoor fans of this embodiment are installed in common to the refrigerant circuits 4 of multiple systems, just like the indoor fans.

The configuration of the outdoor unit room 19 will be described with reference to the figure. Figure 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the outdoor unit room 19 of the railway vehicle air conditioning unit 303 of this embodiment.

The housing 360 of the railcar air conditioning unit 303 has a top plate 361, a bottom plate 362, and side plates 363. The side plates 363 also include the partition plates that separate the interior of the housing 360, as previously described. The railcar air conditioning unit 303 has an outdoor unit chamber 19 defined by the top plate 361, a bottom plate 362 arranged opposite the top plate 361, and side plates 363 connecting the top plate 361 and the bottom plate 362. The outdoor unit chamber 19 houses the outdoor heat exchanger 14a, the outdoor heat exchanger 14b, and the outdoor blower 17.

Top plate 361 is formed with intake port 364, exhaust port 365a, and exhaust port 365b. Exhaust port 365a and exhaust port 365b are located on either side of intake port 364, spaced apart from each other. Intake port 364 is connected to an intake duct (not shown) that communicates with the outside of the vehicle. Exhaust port 365a and exhaust port 365b are connected to an outlet duct (not shown) that communicates with the outside of the vehicle.

As shown in the figure, the outdoor blower 17 is disposed below the intake port 364, i.e., facing the intake port 364; the outdoor heat exchanger 14a is disposed below the exhaust port 365a, i.e., facing the exhaust port 365a; and the outdoor heat exchanger 14b is disposed below the exhaust port 365b, i.e., facing the exhaust port 365b. The outdoor blower 17 is disposed between the outdoor heat exchangers 14a and 14b, and is installed on the surface of the bottom plate 362 facing the top plate 361 so that its rotation axis is parallel to the vertical direction. The outdoor heat exchangers 14a and 14b are each tilted toward the outdoor blower 17.

In this configuration, when the exterior blower 17 is driven, an air flow is formed from the intake port 364 toward the exhaust ports 365a and 365b. Specifically, air from outside the vehicle is taken into the intake duct and drawn into the outdoor unit compartment 19 through the intake port 364. The air drawn into the outdoor unit compartment 19 passes through the outdoor heat exchangers 14a and 14b, then is discharged from the exhaust ports 365a and 365b into the outlet duct, and is then blown out of the vehicle from the outlet duct.

The railway vehicle air conditioning unit 303 has a beam member 366a between the outdoor heat exchanger 14a and the outdoor blower 17, and a beam member 366b between the outdoor heat exchanger 14b and the outdoor blower 17. A gap is maintained between the beam member 366a and the outdoor heat exchanger 14a, and between the beam member 366b and the outdoor heat exchanger 14b. A gap is also maintained between the beam member 366a and the outdoor blower 17 and between the beam member 366a and the outdoor heat exchanger 14b and the outdoor blower 17.

Beam members 366a and 366b extend on the surface of bottom plate 362 facing top plate 361 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which outdoor heat exchanger 14a, outdoor heat exchanger 14b, and outdoor blower 17 are arranged. Beam member 366 also extends between one side plate 363 and the other side plate 363 of a pair of side plates 363 that face each other in the direction in which beam member 366 extends. Beam member 366 is joined to bottom plate 362, reinforcing it.

When viewed from a direction parallel to the normal of the bottom plate 362, beam members 366a and 366b are adjacent to each other in the direction in which the outdoor heat exchanger 14 and outdoor blower 17 are arranged, and the outdoor blower 17 is arranged between beam members 366a and 366b.

Beam member 366a has flow rectifying portion 367a, and beam member 366b has flow rectifying portion 367b. Flow rectifying portion 367a is an inclined surface that extends in the longitudinal direction of beam member 366a when viewed in a direction parallel to the normal to bottom plate 362. Flow rectifying portion 367b similarly extends in the longitudinal direction of beam member 366b when viewed in a direction parallel to the normal to bottom plate 362. Specifically, flow rectifying portion 367a and flow rectifying portion 367b extend between one side plate 363 and the other side plate 363 of a pair of side plates 363 that face each other in the extending direction of beam member 366.

Furthermore, when viewed from a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the beam member 366a and the flow rectifying section 367b, the flow rectifying section 367a and the flow rectifying section 367b slope downward toward the surface of the bottom plate 362 facing the top plate 361 as they approach the outdoor blower 17.

In this embodiment, the beam members 366 that reinforce the bottom plate 362 also serve to straighten the airflow at the rectifying section 367. In particular, by providing the rectifying section 367, which is an inclined surface, between the outdoor heat exchanger 14 and the outdoor blower 17, the air flow that passes through the outdoor blower 17 and heads toward the bottom plate 362 can be controlled so that it heads toward the outdoor heat exchanger 14.

In this embodiment, a beam member 366 is provided in the outdoor unit chamber 19 to reinforce the bottom plate 362 of the housing 360, and the beam member 366 is provided with a straightening section 367, which is an inclined surface that straightens the airflow.

This configuration reduces variations in the airflow speed distribution inside the outdoor unit room 19, and when the railway vehicle air conditioning device 303 performs an abnormality diagnosis of the outdoor blower 17, sideband waves generated due to causes other than deterioration of the outdoor blower 17 are suppressed. As a result, erroneous determinations in the abnormality diagnosis of the outdoor blower 17 are reduced.

In general, the heat exchange efficiency of a heat exchanger is better when the airflow passes through the center of the heat exchanger rather than through the ends of the heat exchanger. Therefore, the airflow straightening unit 367 controls the airflow so that it is directed toward the center of the outdoor heat exchanger 14, thereby improving heat exchange efficiency.

In the fourth embodiment, we have described a case where air flows from the outdoor blower 17 toward the outdoor heat exchanger 14. However, if air flows in the opposite direction, the same effect as in the third embodiment can be achieved by providing the rectifying section 267 of the third embodiment in the outdoor unit room 19.

Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the case where air flows in the direction from the indoor blower 18 toward the indoor heat exchanger 15 was described. However, if air flows in the opposite direction, the same effect as in the fourth embodiment can be obtained by providing the rectifying section 367 of the fourth embodiment in the indoor unit room 20.

Note that the above-described first to third embodiments are intended to explain the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, the scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the meaning of equivalent disclosures are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

1 Railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system, 2 Vehicle, 3 Railway vehicle air conditioning unit, 4 Refrigerant circuit, 5 Air conditioning unit control device, 6 Central management unit, 11 Compressor, 12 Switching valve, 13 Pressure reducing device, 14 Outdoor heat exchanger, 15 Indoor heat exchanger, 16 Refrigerant piping, 17 Outdoor blower, 18 Indoor blower, 19 Outdoor unit room, 20 Indoor unit room, 21 Outdoor fan, 22 Indoor fan, 23 Outdoor motor, 24 Indoor motor, 30 Data communication unit, 31 Control unit, 32 Management display unit, 33 Management memory unit, 40 Data communication unit, 41 Control board, 42 I/O board, 43 Power supply board, 44 Abnormality monitoring board, 50 Air conditioning control unit, 51 Control memory unit, 52 Monitoring processing unit, 53 Monitoring display unit, 54 Monitoring memory unit, 55 Current acquisition unit, 56 FFT analysis unit, 57 logical operation unit, 58 judgment unit, 101 railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system, 103 railway vehicle air conditioning unit, 105 air conditioning unit control device, 106 central management unit, 133 management memory unit, 144 abnormality monitoring board, 152 monitoring processing unit, 154 monitoring memory unit, 155 current acquisition unit, 156 FFT analysis unit, 157 logical operation unit, 158 judgment unit, 203 railway vehicle air conditioning unit, 260 housing, 261 top plate, 262 bottom plate, 263 side plate, 264 intake port, 265 exhaust port, 266 beam member, 267 rectification unit, 303 railway vehicle air conditioning unit, 360 housing, 361 top plate, 362 bottom plate, 363 side plate, 364 intake port, 365 Discharge port, 366 Beam member, 367 Rectifier.

Claims (12)

A plurality of railcar air conditioning devices mounted on a vehicle for conditioning the air inside the vehicle,
a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an indoor heat exchanger connected by refrigerant piping;
an exterior blower that sends air outside the vehicle to the exterior heat exchanger;
an interior blower that sends air from within the vehicle interior to the interior heat exchanger;
and a monitoring processing unit that, when the compressor is stopped and at least one of the outdoor fan and the indoor fan is driven, performs abnormality diagnosis by comparing the current value of a sideband wave of a current supplied to the driven fan with a reference value that is set based on a current value acquired individually for each of the air conditioning devices for railway vehicles in a normal operating state . The air conditioning system for a railway vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring processing unit performs an abnormality diagnosis when the compressor and the outdoor fan are stopped and the indoor fan is operating. The air conditioning system for a railway vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the monitoring processing unit performs an abnormality diagnosis when the vehicle is stopped. The blower to be diagnosed as an abnormality has a motor with a fan fixed to a rotating shaft,
The air conditioning system for a railway vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring processing unit detects an abnormality in the rotating shaft. 2. The air conditioning device for a railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring processing unit sets as the reference value a current value of a sideband wave obtained by frequency analysis of a current signal of a current supplied to the blower that is the target of abnormality diagnosis when the blower that is the target of abnormality diagnosis is operating normally . 2. The air conditioning device for a railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring processing unit sets as the reference value a current value of a sideband wave obtained when the vehicle on which the fan to be diagnosed is mounted is traveling on the same line as the vehicle on which the fan is traveling. An air conditioning device for a railway vehicle that is mounted on a vehicle and conditions the air inside the vehicle cabin,
a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an indoor heat exchanger connected by refrigerant piping;
an exterior blower that sends air outside the vehicle to the exterior heat exchanger;
an interior blower that sends air from within the vehicle interior to the interior heat exchanger;
When the compressor is stopped and at least one of the outdoor fan and the indoor fan is driven, a current signal of a current flowing through a motor of the driven fan is acquired;
a monitoring processing unit that receives as input the frequency and current value of a peak corresponding to a sideband wave detected from spectrum data obtained by frequency analysis of the current signal, estimates the degree of similarity from the frequency and current value of the peak using a trained model that outputs the degree of similarity with the frequency and current value of the sideband wave during normal operation, and determines that an abnormality has occurred when the degree of similarity is less than a predetermined value;
Air conditioning equipment for railway vehicles. The trained model is created for each route on which the vehicle travels,
The air conditioning apparatus for a railway vehicle according to claim 7 , wherein the monitoring processing unit uses the trained model corresponding to the line on which the vehicle is traveling when performing an abnormality diagnosis. 9. The air conditioning device for a railway vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a control board that realizes an air conditioning function and an abnormality monitoring board that realizes an abnormality diagnosis function, the control board and the abnormality monitoring board being configured as separate entities. a housing having an indoor unit chamber and an outdoor unit chamber, which are spaces defined by a top plate, a bottom plate facing the top plate, and side plates connecting the top plate and the bottom plate, wherein an intake port and an exhaust port that connect the indoor unit chamber to the vehicle interior are formed in the indoor unit chamber, and an intake port and an exhaust port that connect the outdoor unit chamber to the outside of the vehicle are formed in the outdoor unit chamber;
a beam member provided in at least one of the indoor unit room and the outdoor unit room,
the outdoor heat exchanger and the outdoor fan are housed in the outdoor unit room such that one of the outdoor heat exchanger and the outdoor fan faces an intake port formed in the outdoor unit room, and the other faces an exhaust port formed in the outdoor unit room,
the indoor heat exchanger and the indoor blower are housed in the indoor unit room such that one of the indoor heat exchanger and the indoor blower faces an intake port formed in the indoor unit room, and the other faces an exhaust port formed in the indoor unit room,
10. The air conditioning device for a railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the beam member is positioned between a heat exchanger and a blower housed in the space in which the beam member is provided, and has a rectifying portion that rectifies the flow of air from the intake port toward the exhaust port in the space in which the beam member is provided. 10. A railway vehicle air conditioning device management system comprising: the railway vehicle air conditioning device according to claim 1; and a central management device capable of communicating with the railway vehicle air conditioning devices of a plurality of the vehicles,
The railcar air conditioning unit transmits the result of the abnormality diagnosis to the central management device. A railway vehicle air conditioning unit management system including a railway vehicle air conditioning unit mounted on a vehicle for conditioning the air inside a vehicle cabin, and a central management unit capable of communicating with the railway vehicle air conditioning units of a plurality of the vehicles,
The air conditioning system for railway vehicles is
a refrigerant circuit having a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an indoor heat exchanger connected by refrigerant piping;
an exterior blower that sends air outside the vehicle to the exterior heat exchanger;
an interior blower that sends air from within the vehicle interior to the interior heat exchanger;
a current acquisition unit that acquires a current signal of a current supplied to at least one of the outdoor fan and the indoor fan when the compressor is stopped and the outdoor fan and the indoor fan are driven;
a first data communication unit that transmits the current signal acquired by the current acquisition unit to the central management device;
The central management device
a second data communication unit that receives the current signal transmitted from the first data communication unit of the railway vehicle air conditioning device;
and a monitoring processing unit that performs abnormality diagnosis by comparing the current value of a sideband wave obtained by frequency analysis of the current signal supplied to the driven blower based on the current signal received by the second data communication unit with a reference value set based on current values obtained individually for each of the railway vehicle air conditioning units when the unit is operating normally .