JPH0670513B2 - Air conditioner control method - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for controlling multiple indoor units with a single centralized controller.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a technique of installing a plurality of indoor units in a building and controlling them in common has been used. Such techniques include a so-called centralized control method and a group control method. Typical examples thereof include JP 61-243245 as the former and JP 59-63438 as the latter. . 7 and 8
The figure is a system diagram showing the conventional examples of these two parties in a simplified manner. In the air conditioner 1 shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of indoor units 2a, 2b,
, 2c (generally indicated by reference numeral 2) are individually connected to the centralized control device 3 and controlled independently of each other.

In the air conditioner 4 shown in FIG. 8, the indoor units 2a, 2b, ..., 2c are connected to each other in series, and one of the indoor units 2a has a remote control device (hereinafter, referred to as a remote controller) 5. Connected.
The remote controller 5 has an input means such as a key panel and can input various data such as temperature, humidity and air volume, and this data is given to the indoor unit 2a. Hereinafter, the indoor unit 2 to which the remote controller 5 is connected is referred to as a master unit, and the other indoor units 2 are referred to as slave units. The slaves 2b, ..., 2c are commonly controlled by the remote controller 5 in the same operation mode as the master 2a.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Based on such a conventional example, for example, when a plurality of indoor units 2 are provided for each floor such as building,
While indoor units installed on one floor are commonly controlled, indoor units on different floors are required to have different control modes. At this time, when a configuration in which each indoor unit 2 is individually connected to the central control device 3 as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 8 is used together, for example, the set temperature from the remote controller 5 for the slave unit 2b and the central control device When the set temperature from 3 is different, different commands are simultaneously given to the single indoor unit 2b.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above technical problem and to divide a plurality of indoor units into one or a plurality of groups, the indoor units in each group are commonly controlled, and each group is individually controlled. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control method for an air conditioner, which is capable of performing various controls and has significantly improved usability.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention is directed to a plurality of indoor units 12 in one or a plurality of groups.
It is divided into 13 to 15, and the master unit 19 is set in the groups 13 to 15 to connect the remote operation devices 16 to 18, and each group 13 to 15 is connected.
In the air conditioner in which the master unit 19 and the slave unit 20 that operates in a dependent manner are cascade-connected, and each master unit 19 is individually connected to the centralized control device 21 so that individual / collective operation is possible. The central control device 21 individually transmits an air conditioning operation state confirmation request command and an air conditioning operation operation command to each indoor unit 12, and the slave device 20 only receives the central control device through the master device 19. 21 or the remote operation device 16 to 18, the operating state is commonly controlled, and when the confirmation request command is received from the centralized control device 21, the operating state data is output and the operation command is received. In some cases, an air conditioner control method is characterized in that an abnormal state signal is output.

Operation According to the present invention, the plurality of indoor units 12 are divided into one or a plurality of groups 13 to 15. Base unit within each group 13-15
19 is set and the remote operation devices 16 to 18 are connected. In each of the groups 13 to 15, the master unit 19 and the slave unit 20 are connected in cascade and controlled in a common manner by either the remote control devices 16 to 18 or the centralized control device 21. Further, each master device 19 is individually connected to the centralized control device 21, and on the other hand, it is possible to individually transmit a command to each slave device 20 only through this master device 19. When the centralized control device 21 outputs an operation command related to the air conditioning operation, the child device 20 is configured not to execute the operation command. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which different handset commands are simultaneously given to the handset 20 with respect to the operation command. Centralized control device 21 and remote control device 16 to
By setting the priority order appropriately with 18
Also, the command collision is prevented.

Further, as a command transmitted from the centralized control device 21 to each indoor unit 12, when transmitting a command to individually confirm the operating state to each indoor unit 12, if this command does not belong to the operation command, centralized The control device 21 can collect data regarding the operating state from the slave device 20. When an operation command is issued from the centralized control device 21 to the child device 20, the child device
20 outputs an abnormal condition signal. This enables centralized control
21 can recognize the fact that the target device that outputs the command is the slave device 20.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing a configuration example of an air conditioner 11 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the air conditioner 11
Has a plurality (10 in this embodiment) of indoor units 12,
These indoor units 12 are divided into three groups 13, 14 and 15, for example, six units, three units, and one unit. Each group 13
Remote control devices (hereinafter, referred to as remote controllers) 16, 17 and 18 are connected to the single indoor units 12 in each of the above. The indoor unit 12 to which the remote controllers 16 to 18 are connected in this way
Hereinafter, the main unit 19 will be referred to. Base unit 19 within each group 13-15
The indoor unit 12 different from the above is referred to as a slave unit 20.

A series of numbers U0, U1, ..., U9 is assigned to each indoor unit 12. This allocation work is performed using, for example, a DIP switch or the like provided in each indoor unit 12, and hereinafter this number is referred to as a unit number. On the other hand, the indoor units 12 divided into groups 13 to 15 have a series of numbers in each group.
G0, G1, ... are given. Such a number is hereinafter referred to as a group number. In this embodiment, the base unit 19 has a group number
Give GO. The method of giving the group number to the remaining slave units 20 is arbitrary.

As shown in FIG. 1, the indoor units 12 in the same group are continuously connected to each other, and the parent devices 19 of the groups 13 to 15 are individually connected to the centralized control device 21. In the present embodiment, for the plurality of indoor units 12 as shown in the first drawing, the groups 13 to 15 are assigned to the indoor units 12 in the groups 13 to 15 by using the remote controllers 16 to 18.
In addition to performing group control for performing common operations for each group, the central control device 21 also intends to perform individual central control for each group. 2 to 5 are diagrams showing a format used for data transfer among the centralized control device 21, the master unit 19 and the slave unit 20, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of such data transmission. The present embodiment will be described with reference to these drawings as well. When the air conditioner 11 having the configuration shown in the first drawing is installed in, for example, a building, the unit number Ui is set in each indoor unit 12 by using, for example, a DIP switch, as described above, and similarly. Group number Gj is set.

In step a1 of FIG. 6, the centralized control device 21 designates the indoor units 12 by boring, for example, in order of the unit number Ui. In step a2, the indoor unit specified by boring
12 is the unit number Ui and the group number Gj that are set to self
And are returned to the centralized control device 21. In the switch a3, the centralized control device 21 constructs a table of data relating to the presence / absence of a connection depending on the presence / absence of a reply and the parent / slave unit distinction according to the reply contents in the order of the unit number Ui as shown in Table 1 below. To do.

In the “connection” column of the above Table 1, “1” is given if the connection is made, and “0” is given if the connection is not made. Further, in the “master / slave” field, “1” is given for the master and “0” is given for the slave. Step a4
Then, it is judged whether or not the pawning for all the indoor units 12 is completed, and if so, the operation proceeds to step a5.

After step a5, the normal data transmission procedure by the centralized control device 21 is shown. These data transmissions are performed by polling in order of the unit number Ui. For this reason, the unit number Ui is set to 0 in step a5. Step
At a6, the centralized control device 21 refers to the table shown in Table 1 to determine whether or not the indoor unit 12 having the unit number Ui is connected. Step a7 if not connected
Increment the unit number by +1 and reset step a6
Return to. If the determination in step a6 is affirmative, the process moves to step a8, and a different message is sent out depending on the type of the indoor unit 12 targeted.

That is, when the indoor unit 12 is the slave unit 20, the unit number Ui and the data concerning the operating state of the indoor unit 12 having the unit number Ui are requested to be transmitted by the format shown in FIG. If the target indoor unit 12 is the master unit 19,
As shown in FIG. 3, operation / stop instructions for the entire group including the base unit 19 and thus the handset 20 as well as the remote control 16 to.
It indicates whether or not control by 18 is possible and various operating conditions such as set temperature. Also, a reply signal from the indoor unit 12 can be obtained in this step.

If the indoor unit 12 is the child device 20, as shown in FIG. 4, data indicating the operating state of the child device 20 is returned. When the target indoor unit 12 is the master unit 19, as shown in FIG. 5, the operating / stop state of the entire group including the master unit 19 and thus the slave unit 20 connected to the master unit 19, Further, set temperature data, data indicating various operation modes such as cooling / heating / dehumidification, and data indicating presence / absence of various abnormal states in the indoor unit 12 are returned.

As described above, the centralized control device 21 constantly scans the indoor unit 12 by polling. Therefore, the data different from the data previously set by the centralized control device 21 is the reply data by the format shown in FIG. If this is included, it means that, for example, the group 13 including the indoor unit 12 is controlled by the remote controller 16 in a different manner. That is, the format shown in FIG. 5 is the monitor data of the operating state from the master unit 19 based on the polling from the central control unit 21, and also includes the case where it is a command from the master unit 19 to the central control unit 21. become.

At step a9, it is judged whether or not the reply data from the indoor unit 12 obtained at step a8 is data indicating unmatching (incompatibility of command). That is, when a command for the slave device 20 is transmitted to the master device 19, the master device 19 causes the central device 21 to operate.
To the slave device 20, and when the command used for the master device 19 is transmitted to the slave device 20, the slave device 20 also returns the unmatching.

When it is determined in step a9 that it is not unmatching, the process proceeds to step a10, the unit number Ui is incremented by +1 and the process proceeds to step a6.

On the other hand, if the determination is affirmative in step a9, the process proceeds to step a11, and the indoor unit 1 that returns the unmatching data is returned.
Initially message to 2. The initial message referred to here is a command that the central control device 21 requests the indoor unit 12 to return data including its unit number Ui and group number Gj, and the central control device 21 The table in Table 1 above will be rewritten based on the reply data. That is, this table is rewritten in step a12, and the unit number Ui is incremented in step a13.
The value is incremented by 1 and the process returns to the step a6.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the centralized control device 21 can obtain the operation data necessary for monitoring the individual operation states from all the indoor units 12 regardless of the parent device 19 and the child device 20. . The centralized control device 21 can instruct the master unit 19 to change the operating state, and the master unit 19 changes the operating state of each slave unit 20 via the remote controllers 16 to 18 according to the command. On the other hand, the indoor units 12 in each group 13-15 are remote controllers 16-18.
Can be used to perform control that is a common operation mode for each individual group.

Further, the centralized control device 21 performs the initial transmission only for the indoor unit 12 that has returned the unmatching data, and controls while automatically changing the table shown in Table 1. This allows multiple indoor units 12
In the air conditioner 11 having, when the indoor units 12 are grouped, each group 13 to 15 can be commonly controlled by using the remote controllers 16 to 18, and the central controller 21 is used to control each group via the master unit 19. So that they can be individually controlled. As a result, the usability of the air conditioner 11 is significantly improved.

As described above, according to the present invention, the child device 20 has the centralized control device 21.
When the operation command is output from, the operation command is not executed. Therefore, regarding the operation command,
A situation in which different commands are simultaneously given to the child device 20 is prevented. Centralized control device 21 and remote control device in base unit 19
By setting the priority order appropriately between 16 and 18,
Command collision can be prevented even in the base unit 19.

Further, as a command transmitted from the centralized control device 21 to each indoor unit 12, when a signal for individually confirming the operating state is generated for each guide device 12, if this signal does not belong to the operation command, The control device 21 can collect data regarding the operating state from the slave device 20. Central control device
When an operation command is issued from 21 to the remote unit 20, the remote unit 20
Outputs an abnormal condition signal. This allows the centralized control device 21
Can recognize the fact that the command output target is the child device 20, and the usability is significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an air conditioner 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 5 are diagrams showing a data transfer format, and FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the operation of the present embodiment. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are system diagrams showing the configuration of a typical conventional example. 11 ... Air conditioner, 12 ... Indoor unit, 13-15 ... Group, 16-
18 ... Remote control, 19 ... Master unit, 20 ... Slave unit, 21 ... Centralized control device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of indoor units 12 are divided into one or a plurality of groups 13 to 15, and a master unit 19 is provided in each of the groups 13 to 15.
To connect the remote operation devices 16 to 18, and
Within ~ 15, the master unit 19 and the slave unit 20 that operates in a dependent manner are cascade-connected, and each master unit 19 is individually connected to the centralized control device 21 and is configured to enable individual / collective operation. In the machine, the centralized control device 21 individually transmits an air conditioning operation state confirmation request command and an air conditioning operation operation command to each indoor unit 12, and the child device 20 concentrates only via the master device 19. The operation state is commonly controlled by either the control device 21 or the remote operation devices 16 to 18, and when the confirmation request command is received from the centralized control device 21, the operation condition data is output and the operation command is issued. An air conditioner control method, wherein an abnormal state signal is output when received.