Air conditioner management system and management device

Abstract

In an air conditioner management system (1), a management device (10) stores software in a software frame having a frame length that is less than or equal to three times the frame length of a control command frame; a software frame containing software is transmitted to the wall-mounted air conditioner (20-1), the ceiling-mounted air conditioner (20-2) and the duct-type air conditioner (20-3) by means of multicast; among the wall-mounted air conditioner (20-1), the ceiling-embedded air conditioner (20-2), and the duct-type air conditioner (20-3), the air conditioner that has completed the reception of software operates using the software that has completed the reception. The control command frame is transmitted from the management device (10) to any one of a wall-mounted air conditioner (20-1), a ceiling-mounted air conditioner (20-2), or a duct-type air conditioner (20-3), and has a fixed length.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an air conditioner management system and management device. Background Technology

[0002] A management system is known to forward new versions of software from a management center to multiple clients via a network. Once the clients have received the software, they use the new version to perform actions.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-126960 Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-321515 Summary of the Invention

[0004] In a system where multiple air conditioners and management devices are connected via a network (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an "air conditioner management system"), there may be situations where the management device sends new software versions to multiple air conditioners. The network bandwidth used for air conditioner management systems is generally narrow, for example, around 5kbps to 1.25Mbps. Therefore, the following problem exists: if the number of air conditioners connected to the management device increases, software updates will take a very long time.

[0005] In response, this disclosure proposes a technology that enables software updates to be completed in a relatively short time, even when using narrowband networks.

[0006] The air conditioner management system disclosed herein includes: multiple air conditioners and a management device connected to the multiple air conditioners via a network. The management device incorporates software into software frames and transmits the software frames containing the software to the multiple air conditioners via multicast. The software frames have a frame length that is longer than the frame length of a fixed-length control instruction frame transmitted from the management device to any one of the multiple air conditioners, but less than three times the frame length of the control instruction frame. The air conditioner that has received the software uses the software to perform operations.

[0007] According to this disclosure, software updates can be completed in a relatively short time even when using narrowband networks. Attached Figure Description

[0008] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the air conditioning management system disclosed herein.

[0009] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the management device of this disclosure.

[0010] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the air conditioner disclosed herein.

[0011] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of a software frame according to the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing a comparison between the software frames and control command frames of this disclosure.

[0013] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the air conditioning management system disclosed herein. Detailed Implementation

[0014] The embodiments of this disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, the same structures are labeled with the same symbols.

[0015] Example Structure of Air Conditioning Management System Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the air conditioning management system disclosed herein. Figure 1 In the system, the air conditioning management system 1 includes: a management device 10, a wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, a ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and a ducted air conditioner 20-3. The management device 10 is connected to the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and the ducted air conditioner 20-3 respectively via a network 30.

[0016] As an example of the management device 10, a server, which can be described as a computer, can be cited.

[0017] A wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1 is a type of air conditioner whose indoor unit is suspended from the wall of a room. A ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2 is a type of air conditioner whose indoor unit is installed in the ceiling of a room. A ducted air conditioner 20-3 is a type of air conditioner that supplies air from its indoor unit to various rooms through ducts. Thus, wall-mounted air conditioners 20-1, ceiling-mounted air conditioners 20-2, and ducted air conditioners 20-3 are air conditioners with different indoor unit installation methods. In the following text, wall-mounted air conditioners 20-1, ceiling-mounted air conditioners 20-2, and ducted air conditioners 20-3 are sometimes collectively referred to as "air conditioner 20".

[0018] The transmission bandwidth of network 30 is, for example, 5kbps or more and 1.25Mbps or less. As an example of network 30, LONWORKS (Fieldbus, registered trademark) used in building management systems can be cited.

[0019] Structure of the management device Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the management device of this disclosure. Figure 2In this device, the management unit 10 includes a storage unit 11, a processor 12, and a communication unit 13. The communication unit 13 is connected to the network 30. An example of the storage unit 11 could be a memory or RAM. An example of the processor 12 could be a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). An example of the communication unit 13 could be a communication module.

[0020] The storage unit 11 stores control commands that are sent from the management device 10 to any one of the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, or ducted air conditioner 20-3 via unicast. Additionally, the storage unit 11 also stores software that is sent to all the wall-mounted air conditioners 20-1, ceiling-mounted air conditioners 20-2, and ducted air conditioners 20-3 via multicast. Examples of control commands stored in the storage unit 11 include control commands instructing the air conditioner 20 to set its operating parameters, or control commands requesting operating information from the air conditioner 20. Examples of software stored in the storage unit 11 include new versions of software that have fixed defects, or new versions of software with added features.

[0021] The processor 12 reads control instructions from the storage unit 11, encapsulates the read control instructions, and uses the encapsulated control instructions as a control instruction frame, so that the communication unit 13 can send them via unicast to any one of the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, the ceiling-embedded air conditioner 20-2, or the ducted air conditioner 20-3.

[0022] In addition, the processor 12 reads the software from the storage unit 11, stores the read software in a software frame, and enables the communication unit 13 to send the software frame containing the software to all wall-mounted air conditioners 20-1, ceiling-mounted air conditioners 20-2, and ducted air conditioners 20-3 via multicast.

[0023] Air conditioner structure Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of the air conditioner disclosed herein. Figure 3 In this air conditioner 20, there are an indoor unit 20A and an outdoor unit 20B. The indoor unit 20A is located indoors and heats or cools the indoor air by exchanging heat with the refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit 20B, thereby regulating the indoor air. The outdoor unit 20B is connected to the indoor unit 20A and is located outdoors, and is used to supply refrigerant to the indoor unit 20A.

[0024] The indoor unit 20A includes: a main body 21, an operation unit 22, a processor 23, a memory 24, and a communication unit 25. The communication unit 25 is connected to a network 30. As an example of the processor 23, a CPU, DSP, etc., can be cited. As an example of the communication unit 25, a communication module can be cited.

[0025] The main body 21 includes a heat exchanger and a fan, which blows out air after heat exchange with the refrigerant supplied from the outdoor unit 20B. The control unit 22 is the interface for the user of the air conditioner 20 to input various commands to the indoor unit 20A, such as a remote control. The processor 23 controls the entire indoor unit 20A. The memory 24 is used to store various information and software used to operate the processor 23.

[0026] Software frames Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the structure of a frame used in the software of this disclosure. For example... Figure 4 As shown, the processor 12 of the management device 10 reads the software SW stored in the storage unit 11, divides and encapsulates the read software SW, and sets the encapsulated software as a first software frame SF#1, a second software frame SF#2, a third software frame SF#3, ..., an Nth software frame SF#N, which is then sequentially sent to the network 30 by the communication unit 25. In the following text, the first software frame SF#1, the second software frame SF#2, the third software frame SF#3, ..., the Nth software frame SF#N are sometimes collectively referred to as "software frame SF".

[0027] like Figure 4 As shown, the software frame SF has a header and a data portion. The processor 12 divides and encapsulates the software SW according to the length of the data portion of the software frame SF, designating each encapsulated data as a first software frame SF#1, a second software frame SF#2, a third software frame SF#3, ..., an Nth software frame SF#N, and sequentially transmits them to the network 30 via the communication unit 25. The transmission of the software frame SF from the management device 10 to the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and the ducted air conditioner 20-3 is always performed via multicast.

[0028] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing a comparison between the software frames and control command frames of this disclosure. For example... Figure 5 As shown in the simulation results described later, the frame length LS of the software frame SF is preferably longer than the frame length LC of the fixed-length control instruction frame CF, and less than 3 times the frame length LC.

[0029] Actions of the air conditioning management system Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the air conditioning management system disclosed herein.

[0030] Figure 6 In step S01, the processor 12 of the management device 10 sends the N software frames SF from the first software frame SF#1 to the Nth software frame SF#N sequentially to all wall-mounted air conditioners 20-1, ceiling-mounted air conditioners 20-2 and ducted air conditioners 20-3 via multicast.

[0031] In step S02, the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, which has successfully received all software frames from the first software frame SF#1 to the Nth software frame SF#N, sends a reception response including ACK (acknowledgment response) for all software frames from the first software frame SF#1 to the Nth software frame SF#N (i.e., excluding NACK (negative response)) along with the identification ID of the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1 to the management device 10.

[0032] In step S03, the ceiling-embedded air conditioner 20-2 that fails to receive any one of the software frames SF from the first software frame SF#1 to the Nth software frame SF#N due to random external interference, etc., sends a reception response including the NACK for the failed software frame SF and the identification ID of the ceiling-embedded air conditioner 20-2 to the management device 10.

[0033] In step S04, the duct air conditioner 20-3, which has successfully received all software frames from the first software frame SF#1 to the Nth software frame SF#N, sends a reception response (i.e., excluding NACKs) including ACKs for all software frames from the first software frame SF#1 to the Nth software frame SF#N, along with the identification ID of the duct air conditioner 20-3, to the management device 10.

[0034] For example, the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and the ducted air conditioner 20-3 determine whether the reception of the software frame SF is successful based on the result of comparing the checksum calculation of the data part of the software frame SF with the checksum value contained in the software frame SF.

[0035] Since at least one of the multiple air conditioners 20 that were the recipients of the multicast in step S01 failed to receive the software frame SF (i.e., the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2), in step S05, the processor 12 resends the N software frames SF from the first software frame SF#1 to the Nth software frame SF#N in sequence to all wall-mounted air conditioners 20-1, ceiling-mounted air conditioners 20-2, and ducted air conditioners 20-3 via multicast, instead of using unicast for the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2.

[0036] In step S06, the ceiling-embedded air conditioner 20-2, which successfully received the software frames SF from the first software frames SF#1 to the Nth software frames SF#N that were not successfully received during the multicast transmission in step S01, which were retransmitted in step S05, i.e., the ceiling-embedded air conditioner 20-2 that successfully received all the software frames from the first software frames SF#1 to the Nth software frames SF#N, sends a reception response (i.e., without NACK) containing ACKs for the software frames SF that were successfully received during the retransmission in step S05, together with the identification ID of the ceiling-embedded air conditioner 20-2, to the management device 10.

[0037] Then, the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and the ducted air conditioner 20-3, which successfully received all the software frames of the first software frame SF#1, the second software frame SF#2, the third software frame SF#3, ..., the Nth software frame SF#N, thus completing the reception of the software SW, replaced the currently operating software and began to perform actions according to the received software SW.

[0038] Simulation results In the following text, software with a frame length that is the same as the frame length LC of the control instruction frame CF will be labeled as "1x frame"; software with a frame length that is 3 times the frame length LC will be labeled as "3x frame"; and software with a frame length that is 10 times the frame length LC will be labeled as "10x frame".

[0039] Furthermore, the following explanation describes the case where the software SW is divided into 26,215 software frames and transmitted using multicast. Additionally, it is assumed that there are 400 air conditioners 20 that are the recipients of the multicast transmission of the software frames. Furthermore, it is assumed that, among the 400 air conditioners 20, due to external interference, 3 out of the 26,215 software frames are not successfully received.

[0040] In the above case, the following calculation is made: when there are 3 software frames that are not successfully received, for each of the 3 software frames that are not successfully received, the probability that all 400 air conditioners 20 can successfully receive all 26215 software frames is obtained by retransmitting the same 1x frame twice (i.e., retransmitting once).

[0041] First, the total number of combinations of software frames that were not successfully received out of the initial 26215 software frames is the number of combinations of any three software frames selected from the 26215 software frames. Therefore, it is expressed as "". 26215 C3 (type)

[0042] Next, in the second transmission, the number of combinations in which software frames that were not successfully received in the first transmission failed to be received is the number of combinations with a total parameter of 26212 (26215 software frames minus the 3 software frames that were not successfully received in the first transmission). Therefore, it is expressed as " 26212 C3 (type)

[0043] Therefore, the probability [%] of successfully receiving all 26215 software frames in an air conditioner 20 by sending the same 1x frame twice (i.e., retransmitting it once) can be expressed by the following equation (1): the number of combinations in the first transmission is divided by the number of combinations in the second transmission.

[0044] ( 26212 C3÷ 26215 C3)×100…(1) Then, the probability that all 26,215 software frames are successfully received by sending the same 1x frame twice (i.e., retransmitting once) in all 400 air conditioners 20 is expressed by the following equation (2): multiply the probability that all 26,215 software frames are successfully received by sending the same 1x frame twice in one air conditioner 20 by 400 times.

[0045] (( 26212 C3÷ 26215 C3)×100)^400≒87.167%…(2) Specifically, when the same amount of software SW data is transmitted using 3x frames, the number of frames required to transmit the software SW becomes one-third (8739, ≒26215 / 3) compared to the case of transmitting using 1x frames. Furthermore, when the same amount of software SW data is transmitted using 10x frames, the number of frames required to transmit the software SW becomes one-tenth (2622, ≒26215 / 10) compared to the case of transmitting using 1x frames. Therefore, by performing the same calculations as in the case of 1x frames, it is calculated that the probability of all 8739 software frames being successfully received by transmitting the same 3x frames twice (i.e., retransmitting once) across all 400 air conditioners 20 is 66.225%. Furthermore, by performing the same calculations as in the case of 1x frames, it was found that the probability of all 2622 software frames being successfully received from all 400 air conditioners 20 through two transmissions (i.e., one retransmission) of the same 10x frames is 25.288%. Moreover, by performing the same calculations as in the case of 1x frames, the probability of all 8739 software frames being successfully received through three transmissions (i.e., two retransmissions) of 3x frames is 99.286%, resulting in almost complete reception.

[0046] As mentioned above Figure 5 As shown, based on the probability calculations above, the frame length LS of the software frame is preferably longer than the frame length LC of the fixed-length control instruction frame CF, and less than three times the frame length LC. Furthermore, based on the probability calculations above, to ensure that all software frames are successfully received, the number of times the same software frame is sent via multicast, including the first transmission, is at most three times (i.e., at most two retransmissions).

[0047] Furthermore, if the reception of control commands used to control the air conditioner 20 frequently fails, it may affect the operation of the air conditioner 20. Therefore, the length of the control command frame CF needs to be a length that increases the probability of successful reception with fewer reception attempts. To address this requirement, since the success rate of a second transmission (i.e., a retransmission) using a frame that is twice the length of the control command frame CF LC in the simulation results above is 87.167%, it can be said that the simulation results are appropriate.

[0048] Software Examples The software SW is a universal software applicable to wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and ducted air conditioner 20-3 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "universal software"). By using the universal software, the same software SW can be sent to all air conditioners of various types of air conditioners 20 via multicast, thus shortening the forwarding time of the software SW. Furthermore, as the universal software, the software SW can perform different operations on each of the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and ducted air conditioner 20-3 when parameters for wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "first parameters"), parameters for ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "second parameters"), and ducted air conditioner 20-3 are set in the latter. The first parameter is stored in the memory 24 of the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, the second parameter is stored in the memory 24 of the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and the third parameter is stored in the memory 24 of the ducted air conditioner 20-3. The processors 23 of the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and the ducted air conditioner 20-3 respectively set the parameters stored in their own memory 24 into the general software and execute the general software, thereby enabling the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and the ducted air conditioner 20-3 to perform actions corresponding to their respective models.

[0049] For example, as a general-purpose software example, software SW for setting the airflow vane can be cited. Furthermore, the amount of rotation of the airflow vane is determined by the number of pulses output by the processor 23 to the stepper motor used to rotate the airflow vane. Therefore, for example, by storing a pulse value of "500" as a first parameter in the memory 24 of the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, a pulse value of "600" as a second parameter in the memory 24 of the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and a pulse value of "700" as a third parameter in the memory 24 of the ducted air conditioner 20-3, the processors 23 of the wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, the ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and the ducted air conditioner 20-3 can use the general-purpose software for setting the airflow vane to make the rotation positions of the airflow vanes different from each other.

[0050] The embodiments have been described above.

[0051] As described above, the air conditioning management system of this disclosure (air conditioning management system 1 of the embodiment) includes: multiple air conditioners (wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1, ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2, and ducted air conditioner 20-3 of the embodiment), and a management device (management device 10 of the embodiment) connected to the multiple air conditioners via a network (network 30 of the embodiment). The management device stores software (software SW of the embodiment) in a software frame (software frame SF of the embodiment) and sends the software frame containing the software to the multiple air conditioners via multicast. The software frame has a frame length that is longer than the frame length of a fixed-length control instruction frame (control instruction frame CF of the embodiment) sent from the management device to any one of the multiple air conditioners, and less than three times the frame length of the control instruction frame. Then, the air conditioner that has received the software performs an operation using the received software.

[0052] Furthermore, the management device disclosed herein is a management device connected to multiple air conditioners via a network, and it has a processor (processor 23 in the embodiment). The processor incorporates software into a software frame and sends the software frame containing the software to the multiple air conditioners via multicast. The software frame has a frame length that is longer than the frame length of a fixed-length control instruction frame sent from the management device to any one of the multiple air conditioners, and less than three times the frame length of the control instruction frame.

[0053] In this way, by using a smaller frame length—longer than the fixed-length control instruction frame but less than three times the length of the control instruction frame—software can be sent simultaneously to multiple air conditioners via multicast. This allows software updates to be completed in a shorter time even when using narrowband networks with transmission bandwidths of, for example, 5kbps or more but less than 1.25Mbps.

[0054] In addition, when there are multiple air conditioners that have failed to receive the software frame, the processor uses multicast to resend the software frame to multiple air conditioners, including those that have successfully received the software frame, instead of using unicast.

[0055] Therefore, since multicast is always used to send software frames, the communication process is simpler than using handshake communication (unicast) to resend software frames only to air conditioners that failed to receive them. Thus, even on narrow-bandwidth networks, retransmission of software frames can be completed in a shorter time. For example, the processor can complete a software update by sending the same software frame using multicast up to three times.

[0056] In addition, multiple air conditioners include a first air conditioner (wall-mounted air conditioner 20-1 in the embodiment) and a second air conditioner (ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-2 in the embodiment) with different indoor unit installation methods. The software is applicable to both the first and second air conditioners, and when the first air conditioner has a first parameter set for the first air conditioner and the second air conditioner has a second parameter set for the second air conditioner, it causes the first and second air conditioners to perform different operations.

[0057] In this way, by using software that is compatible with both the first and second air conditioners, and by using multicast to send the software, it is not necessary to use multiple multicasts to send different software depending on the model of the air conditioner. Therefore, software updates can be completed in a shorter time even with a narrowband network.

[0058] Symbol Explanation 1. Air Conditioning Management System 10 Management Device 11 Storage Department 12 processors 13 Ministry of Communications 20-1 Wall-mounted air conditioner 20-2 Ceiling-mounted air conditioner 20-3 Ducted Air Conditioner 20A Indoor Unit 23 processors 24 Memory 25 Ministry of Communications.

Claims

1. An air conditioning management system comprising: multiple air conditioners and a management device connected to the multiple air conditioners via a network, characterized in that, The management device uses multicast to send software frames to the plurality of air conditioners. The software frames have the following frame length: longer than the frame length of a fixed-length control instruction frame sent from the management device to any one of the plurality of air conditioners, and less than three times the frame length of the control instruction frame. Among the multiple air conditioners, the air conditioner that has completed receiving the software uses the software to perform actions.

2. A management device connected to multiple air conditioners via a network, characterized in that it comprises: Multicast is used to send software frames to the processors of the plurality of air conditioners. The software frames have the following frame length: longer than the frame length of a fixed-length control instruction frame sent from the management device to any one of the plurality of air conditioners, and less than three times the frame length of the control instruction frame.

3. The management device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The network has a transmission bandwidth of 5kbps or more and 1.25Mbps or less.

4. The management device according to claim 2, characterized in that, When one of the plurality of air conditioners fails to receive the software frame, the processor uses multicast to resend the software frame to the plurality of air conditioners, including those that successfully received the software frame, instead of using unicast.

5. The management device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The processor uses multicast to send the same software in frames up to three times.

6. The management device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The plurality of air conditioners includes a first air conditioner and a second air conditioner with indoor units installed in different ways. The software is applicable to both the first air conditioner and the second air conditioner, and when the first air conditioner is configured with a first parameter for the first air conditioner and the second air conditioner is configured with a second parameter for the second air conditioner, it enables the first air conditioner and the second air conditioner to perform different actions.

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