Control method and device of boiler system

Abstract

The invention provides a control method of a boiler system, the boiler system comprises a central boiler and a room boiler connected to the central boiler, the control method comprises the steps that selection of a central relay input by a user is received, and the central relay is used for controlling the opening degree of a main pipe valve of the central boiler; the method comprises the following steps: receiving a specified room of a temperature controller and a specified room of a room relay input by a user, binding the temperature controller and the room relay according to the input specified room of the temperature controller and the specified room of the room relay, the room relay is used for controlling the opening degree of a branch pipe valve of the room boiler; and controlling the boiler system according to the binding of the temperature controller and the room relay.

Description

Boiler system control method and device Technical Field

[0001] The present invention mainly relates to the field of intelligent control, and in particular to a control method and device for a boiler system. Background Art

[0002] The HVAC component of a smart home or building system includes a boiler and a thermostat. The thermostat measures room temperature and controls the boiler using HVAC algorithms. The thermostat includes a relay, which controls the boiler. However, wireless thermostats are separate components, including the thermostat, relay, and boiler. The relay is located on the boiler side and wirelessly connects to the thermostat. This requires users to manually configure the relay for the thermostat, which significantly increases user workload and leads to a poor user experience, especially for homes or buildings with multiple rooms.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a control method and device for a boiler system to automatically bind a thermostat and a relay to improve user experience.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention proposes a control method for a boiler system, the boiler system comprising a central boiler and room boilers connected to the central boiler. The control method comprises: receiving a user input for selecting a central relay, the central relay being used to control the opening of the main pipe valve of the central boiler; receiving a user input for a designated room for a thermostat and a designated room for a room relay, binding the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room for the thermostat and the designated room for the room relay, wherein the thermostat is wirelessly connected to the room relay, and the room relay is used to control the opening of the branch pipe valve of the room boiler; and controlling the boiler system according to the binding of the thermostat and the room relay. To this end, by specifying rooms for the thermostat and room relay, thermostats and room relays that specify the same room are bound together, eliminating the need to manually configure the room relay for the thermostat, greatly reducing workload and improving user experience.

[0006] Optionally, receiving user input of a designated room for the thermostat and a designated room for the room relay, and binding the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room for the thermostat and the input designated room for the room relay includes: receiving user input specifying the same room for multiple room relays, and binding the multiple room relays corresponding to the same room to the same thermostat. Thus, binding of the thermostat to multiple room relays is achieved, increasing binding flexibility and adapting to a wider range of application scenarios.

[0007] Optionally, the method includes providing a mobile terminal, receiving a user's selection of a central relay via the mobile terminal, and receiving a user's selection of a designated room for a thermostat and a designated room for a room relay via the mobile terminal. Thus, user input can be implemented via the mobile terminal, increasing the flexibility of user input.

[0008] Optionally, the method includes providing a smart gateway, connecting the central relay, room relays, and thermostat to the smart gateway, and writing the binding between the thermostat and room relay into the smart gateway. Thus, the application scenario of the smart home system is realized.

[0009] Optionally, the method further includes: detecting the temperature of the water supply in the branch pipe in real time, and closing the valve on the branch pipe when the temperature of the water supply in the branch pipe exceeds a set temperature. This prevents overheating of the supply water from causing damage to the equipment, thereby improving the safety of the boiler system.

[0010] The present invention also proposes a control device for a boiler system, which includes a central boiler and a room boiler connected to the central boiler, and is characterized in that the control device includes: a first receiving module, which receives the user's input of the selection of the central relay, and the central relay is used to control the opening of the main valve of the central boiler; a second receiving module, which receives the user's input of the designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay, and binds the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay, wherein the thermostat is wirelessly connected to the room relay, and the room relay is used to control the opening of the branch valve of the room boiler; a control module, which controls the boiler system according to the binding of the thermostat and the room relay.

[0011] Optionally, the second receiving module receives the designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay input by the user, and binding the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay includes: receiving the user input to specify the same room for multiple room relays, and binding multiple room relays corresponding to the same room to the same thermostat.

[0012] Optionally, the device includes: providing a mobile terminal, receiving a selection of a central relay input by a user through the mobile terminal, and receiving a designated room of a thermostat and a designated room of a room relay input by the user through the mobile terminal.

[0013] Optionally, the device includes: providing an intelligent gateway, connecting a central relay, a room relay and a thermostat to the intelligent gateway, and writing the binding of the thermostat and the room relay into the intelligent gateway.

[0014] Optionally, the device further comprises: detecting the temperature of the water supplied in the branch pipe in real time, and closing the valve on the branch pipe when the temperature of the water supplied in the branch pipe is greater than a set temperature.

[0015] The present invention also provides an electronic device, comprising a processor, a memory, and instructions stored in the memory, wherein the instructions implement the above-mentioned method when executed by the processor.

[0016] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon. When the computer instructions are executed, the method described above is executed.

[0017] The present invention also provides a computer program product, characterized in that it includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method described above is implemented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The following drawings are only intended to illustrate and explain the present invention, and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

[0019] FIG1 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a boiler system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a boiler system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a control device for a boiler system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Description of Reference Numerals

[0024] 100 Boiler System Control Method

[0025] Steps 110-130

[0026] 20 Boiler System

[0027] 21 Central Boiler

[0028] 211 Main Valve

[0029] Room 212 Relay

[0030] Rooms 22, 23

[0031] Room 221, 231 Boiler

[0032] 222, 232 branch valves

[0033] Room relays 223, 233

[0034] 224, 234 thermostat

[0035] 24 Smart Gateway

[0036] 300 Boiler system control device

[0037] 310 First receiving module

[0038] 320 Second receiving module

[0039] 330 control module

[0040] 400 Electronic Equipment

[0041] 410 processor

[0042] 420 Memory DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to have a clearer understanding of the technical features, purposes and effects of the present invention, specific embodiments of the present invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0044] In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0045] As used in this application and the claims, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the words "a," "an," "an," and / or "the" are not intended to refer to the singular but may include the plural. Generally speaking, the terms "comprises" and "include" only indicate the inclusion of the steps and elements specifically identified, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list. A method or apparatus may also include other steps or elements.

[0046] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a boiler system 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Boiler system 20 can be located in a home, forming part of a smart home system, or in a building, forming part of a smart building. As shown in Figure 2, boiler system 20 includes a central boiler 21 and room boilers 221, 231, and so on, connected to central boiler 21. Room boiler 221 is located in room 22, and room boiler 231 is located in room 23. Figure 2 only shows two rooms, 22 and 23, but it is understood that the number of rooms is unlimited. A main valve 211 is provided on the main pipe of central boiler 21. Main valve 211 is connected to a central relay 212, which controls the opening of main valve 211. When valve 211 is fully open, maximum heating is achieved. When valve 211 is fully closed, no heating is provided. For room 22, a branch pipe of room boiler 221 is connected to the main pipe of central boiler 21. A branch pipe valve 222 is provided on the branch pipe of room boiler 221. Branch pipe valve 222 is connected to room relay 223, which controls the opening of branch pipe valve 222. Room relay 223 is wirelessly connected to and controlled by thermostat 224. Room boiler 221 can heat room 22 via a heat exchanger (not shown), such as a radiator. The components of room 23 are similar to those of room 22 and will not be described in detail here.

[0047] The present invention provides a method for controlling a boiler system. The boiler system includes a central boiler and room boilers connected to the central boiler. The boiler system may be the boiler system 20 shown in FIG. 2 . FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method 100 for controlling a boiler system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the control method 100 includes:

[0048] Step 110: Receive a user input for selecting a central relay, where the central relay is used to control the opening of a main valve of a central boiler.

[0049] The central relay, located near the central boiler, controls the opening of the central boiler's main valve. By receiving user input for selecting the central relay, the central relay can be added to the intelligent control network, enabling the central relay's control logic. For a smart home system, the boiler system is part of the system, and the central relay can also be called a home relay. Users can input their selection of the central relay through human-computer interaction methods such as voice, text, and touch. Specifically, if a room's thermostat detects a need for a higher temperature, the central relay will open. Conversely, if no room's thermostats indicate a need for a higher temperature, the central relay will close. In Figure 1, the user can select central relay 212 as the central relay to control main valve 211.

[0050] Step 120, receiving the designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay input by the user, and binding the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay, wherein the thermostat is wirelessly connected to the room relay, and the room relay is used to control the opening of the branch valve of the room boiler.

[0051] Users can specify the room for the thermostat and the room relay by inputting their assigned rooms. Once the thermostat and relay are assigned to the same room, the relay and the corresponding thermostat will be bound together, meaning the relay will be controlled by the corresponding thermostat. Users can use human-computer interaction methods such as voice, text, and touch to input the assigned room for the thermostat and the room relay. Thus, by assigning rooms to the thermostat and room relay, thermostats and room relays assigned to the same room will be bound together, eliminating the need to manually configure the room relay for the thermostat, significantly reducing workload and improving user experience. As shown in Figure 2, the user assigns room relay 223 to room 22 and thermostat 224 to room 22. Since both room relay 223 and thermostat 224 are assigned to the same room 22, room relay 223 and thermostat 224 will be bound together, meaning room relay 223 will be controlled by thermostat 224.

[0052] In some embodiments, a method includes providing a mobile terminal, receiving user input via the mobile terminal for selecting a central relay, and receiving user input via the mobile terminal for specifying a room for a thermostat and a room relay. Specifically, the mobile terminal can be a mobile electronic device such as a mobile phone or tablet. The user can select the central relay, the room for the thermostat, and the room for the room relay via touch within an application on the mobile terminal. This allows user input to be performed via the mobile terminal, increasing user input flexibility.

[0053] In some embodiments, receiving user input for a designated room for a thermostat and a designated room for a room relay, and binding the thermostat and room relay based on the input designated room for the thermostat and the designated room for the room relay includes: receiving user input for specifying the same room for multiple room relays, and binding the multiple room relays corresponding to the same room to the same thermostat. Specifically, for a larger room, there may be multiple boilers, each of which is equipped with a corresponding room relay. The user can specify the same room for the multiple room relays and bind the multiple room relays corresponding to the same room to the same thermostat. To this end, the binding of a thermostat to multiple room relays is achieved, improving the flexibility of the binding and adapting to more application scenarios.

[0054] Step 130: Control the boiler system according to the binding between the thermostat and the room relay.

[0055] Once a thermostat is bound to a room relay, the room relay will be controlled by the bound thermostat. As shown in Figure 2, if thermostat 224 receives a request to increase the temperature by 1°C, central relay 212 will control main valve 211 to open. The algorithm then generates a control signal, which in turn controls room relay 223 to open branch valve 222, increasing the hot water supply to achieve the desired 1°C temperature increase.

[0056] In some embodiments, the method includes providing a smart gateway, connecting a central relay, room relays, and thermostats to the smart gateway, and writing a binding between the thermostat and the room relays into the smart gateway. Specifically, as shown in FIG2 , a smart gateway 24 is provided. This smart gateway 24 is connected to a central relay 212, room relays 223 / 233, and thermostats 224 / 234. The central relay 212, room relays 223 / 233, and thermostats 224 / 234 become smart devices and form a smart home system. The binding between the thermostat and the room relays is written into the smart gateway, and the smart home system can be controlled through the gateway. This achieves applicability to the smart home system application scenario.

[0057] In some embodiments, the method further includes: detecting the temperature of the water supply in the branch pipe in real time, and closing a valve on the branch pipe when the temperature of the water supply in the branch pipe exceeds a set temperature. Specifically, a temperature sensor is provided in the branch pipe, and the temperature signal sensed by the sensor can be transmitted wirelessly. If the real-time temperature detected is greater than the set temperature, the valve on the branch pipe is closed, thereby preventing overheating of the supply water and causing high-temperature damage to the equipment, thereby improving the safety of the boiler system.

[0058] An embodiment of the present invention provides a control method for a boiler system. By specifying rooms for thermostats and room relays, thermostats and room relays in the same room will be bound together. There is no need to manually configure room relays for the thermostats, which greatly reduces the workload and improves the user experience.

[0059] The present invention further provides a control device for a boiler system. The boiler system includes a central boiler and room boilers connected to the central boiler. FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a control device 300 for a boiler system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control device 300 includes:

[0060] The first receiving module 310 receives a user input for selecting a central relay, where the central relay is used to control the opening of a main valve of a central boiler;

[0061] The second receiving module 320 receives the user input of the designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay, and binds the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay, wherein the thermostat is wirelessly connected to the room relay, and the room relay is used to control the opening of the branch valve of the room boiler;

[0062] The control module 330 controls the boiler system according to the binding between the thermostat and the room relay.

[0063] In some embodiments, the second receiving module 320 receives the user input of the designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay, and binding the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay includes: receiving the user input to specify the same room for multiple room relays, and binding multiple room relays corresponding to the same room to the same thermostat.

[0064] In some embodiments, the apparatus 300 includes: providing a mobile terminal, receiving a selection of a central relay input by a user through the mobile terminal, and receiving a designated room of a thermostat and a designated room of a room relay input by the user through the mobile terminal.

[0065] In some embodiments, the apparatus 300 includes: providing a smart gateway, connecting a central relay, room relays, and thermostats to the smart gateway, and writing bindings between the thermostat and the room relays into the smart gateway.

[0066] In some embodiments, the device 300 further includes: detecting the temperature of the water supplied in the branch pipe in real time, and closing the valve on the branch pipe when the temperature of the water supplied in the branch pipe is greater than a set temperature.

[0067] The present invention also proposes an electronic device 400. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 4, the electronic device 400 includes a processor 410 and a memory 420. The memory 420 stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor 410, the method 100 described above is implemented.

[0068] The present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon. When the computer instructions are executed, the method 100 described above is executed.

[0069] The present invention further provides a computer program product, comprising a computer program, which implements the method 100 described above when the computer program is executed by a processor.

[0070] Some aspects of the methods and apparatus of the present invention may be performed entirely by hardware, entirely by software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or by a combination of hardware and software. The above hardware or software may be referred to as "data blocks," "modules," "engines," "units," "components," or "systems." The processor may be one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DAPDs), programmable logic devices (PLCs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or combinations thereof. In addition, various aspects of the present invention may be embodied as computer products in one or more computer-readable media, the product including computer-readable program code. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, tapes, etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, key drives, etc.).

[0071] Flowcharts are used herein to illustrate the operations performed by the methods according to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the preceding operations are not necessarily performed in exact order. Instead, the various steps may be performed in reverse order or simultaneously. Furthermore, other operations may be added to these processes, or one or more operations may be removed from these processes.

[0072] It should be understood that although this specification is described according to various embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative method of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other implementation methods that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0073] The above description is only an illustrative embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any equivalent changes, modifications and combinations made by those skilled in the art without departing from the concept and principle of the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control method (100) for a boiler system, the boiler system comprising a central boiler and room boilers connected to the central boiler, characterized in that: The control method (100) comprises: receiving a user input for selecting a central relay, the central relay being used to control the opening of a main valve of the central boiler (110); Receiving a designated room of a thermostat and a designated room of a room relay input by a user, binding the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room of the thermostat and the input designated room of the room relay, wherein the thermostat is wirelessly connected to the room relay, and the room relay is used to control the opening of the branch valve of the room boiler (120); The boiler system is controlled (130) according to the binding of the thermostat and the room relay.

2. The control method (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: Receiving user input of a designated room for the thermostat and a designated room for the room relay, and binding the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room for the thermostat and the designated room for the room relay includes: receiving user input to specify the same room for multiple room relays, and binding multiple room relays corresponding to the same room to the same thermostat.

3. The control method (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method (100) includes: providing a mobile terminal, receiving a selection of a central relay input by a user through the mobile terminal, and receiving a designated room of a thermostat and a designated room of a room relay input by the user through the mobile terminal.

4. The control method (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method (100) comprises: providing an intelligent gateway, connecting a central relay, a room relay and a thermostat to the intelligent gateway, and writing the binding of the thermostat and the room relay into the intelligent gateway.

5. The control method (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method (100) further comprises: detecting the temperature of the water supplied in the branch pipe in real time, and closing the valve on the branch pipe when the temperature of the water supplied in the branch pipe is greater than a set temperature.

6. A control device (300) for a boiler system, the boiler system comprising a central boiler and room boilers connected to the central boiler, characterized in that: The control device (300) comprises: A first receiving module (310) receives a user input for selecting a central relay, wherein the central relay is used to control the opening of a main valve of the central boiler; A second receiving module (320) receives a designated room of the thermostat and a designated room of the room relay input by a user, and binds the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room of the thermostat and the input designated room of the room relay, wherein the thermostat is wirelessly connected to the room relay, and the room relay is used to control the opening of the branch valve of the room boiler; The control module (330) controls the boiler system according to the binding between the thermostat and the room relay.

7. The control device (300) according to claim 6, characterized in that The second receiving module (320) receives the designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay input by the user, and binds the thermostat and the room relay according to the input designated room of the thermostat and the designated room of the room relay, including: receiving the user input to specify the same room for multiple room relays, and binding the multiple room relays corresponding to the same room to the same thermostat.

8. The control device (300) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The device (300) includes: providing a mobile terminal, receiving a selection of a central relay input by a user through the mobile terminal, and receiving a designated room of a thermostat and a designated room of a room relay input by the user through the mobile terminal.

9. The control device (300) according to claim 6, characterized in that The device (300) includes: providing an intelligent gateway, connecting a central relay, a room relay and a thermostat to the intelligent gateway, and writing the binding of the thermostat and the room relay into the intelligent gateway.

10. The control device (300) according to claim 6, characterized in that The device (300) further comprises: detecting the temperature of the water supplied in the branch pipe in real time, and closing the valve on the branch pipe when the temperature of the water supplied in the branch pipe is greater than a set temperature.

11. An electronic device (400), comprising a processor (410), a memory (420), and instructions stored in the memory (420), wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor (410), implement the method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

12. A computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon, wherein the computer instructions, when executed, perform the method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

13. A computer program product, characterized in that The invention comprises a computer program for implementing the method (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 when the computer program is executed by a processor.

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