Anomaly detection system and anomaly detection method

Abstract

To provide an abnormality detection system and an abnormality detection method capable of early and highly accurately detecting which indoor unit has an abnormal indoor expansion valve in a VR air conditioning system comprising a plurality of outdoor units and indoor units.SOLUTION: An abnormality detection system includes a monitoring computer for monitoring an air conditioning apparatus. The monitoring computer defines a state where an instructed opening of an indoor expansion valve is a constant level or lower and a temperature difference between an inlet side air temperature and an outlet side air temperature of an indoor unit becomes a constant level or higher in the condition where an outdoor unit becomes a thermo-on state and the indoor unit becomes a thermo-off state as an opening abnormal state, and has a function of determining occurrence of an opening abnormality in the indoor expansion valve on the basis of occurrence of the opening abnormal state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an abnormality detection system and an abnormality detection method, and more particularly to an abnormality detection system and an abnormality detection method for detecting an abnormality in an air conditioning system. [Background technology]

[0002] Detecting abnormalities and failures in air conditioning systems (hereinafter referred to as "abnormalities") and signs of such abnormalities (abnormality detection) is extremely important for reducing the costs of inspection and maintenance of air conditioning systems.Recently, there has been a trend toward commercializing services that not only provide air conditioning equipment to customers but also undertake the operation and maintenance of air conditioning equipment as a whole.

[0003] Furthermore, in April 2015, the Ministry of the Environment implemented the Fluorocarbons Emissions Control Law for commercial air conditioning systems and refrigeration equipment, making it mandatory for companies to carry out simple inspections and regular inspections of equipment that uses fluorocarbon gas. As a result, it has become increasingly important for service businesses to accurately identify any abnormalities in air conditioning systems early on.

[0004] Furthermore, from the perspective of maintenance and repair, it is important to detect abnormalities in an air conditioning system consisting of an outdoor unit (one or more) and indoor units (multiple) connected by pipes through which a refrigerant circulates, identify the cause of the abnormality, and identify which device is experiencing the abnormality. Utilizing such abnormality detection can provide the following environmental, economic, and social values.

[0005] In other words, in terms of environmental value, early detection of refrigerant (fluorocarbon) leaks can contribute to preventing global warming by reducing the amount of leakage. In terms of economic value, it can help prevent customer business losses due to sudden air conditioning equipment failures (production stoppages, yield losses, food waste, etc.), and by changing maintenance from a time-based to a condition-based system, it can help reduce lifecycle costs. Furthermore, in terms of social value, it can help ensure stable operation of mission-critical air conditioning equipment in medical settings and other facilities, and resolve the shortage of maintenance personnel (by improving the work efficiency of maintenance workers).

[0006] In VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) air conditioning systems consisting of multiple outdoor and indoor units, it is empirically known that the incidence of abnormalities in indoor expansion valves is higher than that of other abnormalities. Furthermore, if abnormalities in indoor expansion valves cannot be detected early, problems such as increased power consumption and damage to the compressor can occur. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a method for quickly and accurately detecting which indoor unit's expansion valve is abnormal.

[0007] Regarding the detection of abnormalities in indoor expansion valves, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-61767 (Patent Document 1) discloses a method for preventing malfunctions in a multi-room air conditioner having multiple indoor units, where an indoor expansion valve used for flow control is instructed by a control device to be fully closed, but is actually slightly open due to a misalignment in the opening pulse, resulting in an abnormality being determined. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-61767 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] The indoor expansion valve abnormality detection system described in Patent Document 1 is a system that prevents malfunctions in multi-room air conditioners with multiple indoor units, where an indoor expansion valve used for flow control is instructed to be fully closed, but is actually slightly open due to a deviation in the opening pulse, resulting in an abnormality being determined.

[0010] Then, using temperature information from two temperature sensors that detect air temperature and refrigerant temperature, the number of indoor expansion valve abnormalities is counted based on the temperature difference between the temperature immediately after the indoor unit's thermostat is turned off and the temperature a specified time later, and the number of times the compressor switches from thermo-on to thermo-off is counted, and an abnormality is determined by calculating the ratio of the two counts.

[0011] The anomaly detection system in Patent Document 1 only detects anomalies based on the temperature difference based on the temperature information from two temperature sensors that detect the air temperature and refrigerant temperature, and has the problem that it does not provide information on the operation of the indoor expansion valve, making it unable to accurately detect anomalies in the indoor expansion valve.

[0012] The object of the present invention is to provide an abnormality detection system and an abnormality detection method that can quickly and accurately detect which indoor unit's indoor expansion valve is abnormal in a VRF air conditioning system consisting of multiple outdoor units and indoor units. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The first feature of the present invention is An anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, The monitoring computer The system has a function to determine that an abnormal opening state has occurred in the indoor expansion valve when the indicated opening degree of the indoor expansion valve is equal to or less than a predetermined value and the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature of the indoor unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value under the condition that the outdoor unit is thermo-on and the indoor unit is thermo-off, and based on the occurrence of this abnormal opening state, the system It's located there.

[0014] The second feature of the present invention is An anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, The monitoring computer A function to count the number of times that the outdoor unit is in thermo-on mode and the indoor unit is in thermo-off mode, and the state where the indoor expansion valve's indicated opening is equal to or less than a predetermined value and the temperature difference between the indoor unit's inlet air temperature and outlet air temperature is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and to count the number of times that this abnormal opening state occurs (hereinafter referred to as the number of abnormal opening occurrences); This function compares the number of opening abnormality occurrences with a predetermined threshold value, and determines that an opening abnormality has occurred in the indoor expansion valve if the number of opening abnormality occurrences exceeds the threshold value. Equipped with It's located there.

[0015] Furthermore, the third feature of the present invention is An anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, The monitoring computer is A function to count the number of times that the outdoor unit is in thermo-on mode and the indoor unit is in thermo-on mode, and the state in which the indoor expansion valve's indicated opening is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and the temperature difference between the indoor unit's inlet air temperature and outlet air temperature is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and to count the number of times that this abnormal closing state occurs (hereinafter referred to as the number of abnormal closing occurrences); This function compares the number of times that abnormal closing occurs with a predetermined threshold value for the number of times that abnormal closing occurs, and determines that an abnormal closing occurs in the indoor expansion valve if the number of times that abnormal closing occurs exceeds the threshold value. Equipped with It's located there. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention, abnormalities in the indoor expansion valve are detected from two sources: the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature of the indoor unit, which is based on changes in the amount of refrigerant that occur in the process leading to an abnormality in the indoor expansion valve, and the indicated opening degree of the indoor expansion valve, making it possible to detect abnormalities in the indoor expansion valve early and reliably. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1]1 is a configuration diagram showing the basic configuration of an abnormality detection system for an air conditioning system to which the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] 1 is a control block diagram showing a processing block of an abnormality detection system for an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of an air conditioning system having a plurality of indoor units. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a first process for determining whether an indoor expansion valve is abnormally open. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a second process for determining whether an opening abnormality occurs in the indoor expansion valve. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for determining whether an indoor expansion valve is abnormally closed. [Figure 7A] 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an analysis result in a normal state by the anomaly detection system of FIG. 4. [Figure 7B] 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an analysis result when an abnormality occurs, performed by the anomaly detection system of FIG. 4. [Figure 8A] 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an analysis result in a normal state by the anomaly detection system of FIG. 6. [Figure 8B] 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an analysis result when an abnormality occurs, performed by the anomaly detection system of FIG. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications and application examples within the technical concept of the present invention are also included within its scope. [Example]

[0019] Figure 1 shows the basic configuration of an anomaly detection system for an air conditioning system. The anomaly detection system for an air conditioning system is composed of an air conditioning equipment system 100 that has multiple air conditioning devices and sensors, and a monitoring computer 200 that monitors the operation of the air conditioning equipment system 100.

[0020] The air conditioning system in the air conditioning equipment system 100 basically consists of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, which are connected by refrigerant piping. The outdoor unit is equipped with devices such as a compressor, a heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and a blower fan, while the indoor unit is equipped with devices such as a heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and a blower fan. Furthermore, each device is equipped with a sensor that detects the operating state variables of the device (e.g., temperature, pressure, current, etc.).

[0021] Because an air conditioning system is composed of one or more outdoor units and one or more indoor units, the multiple devices that make up each outdoor unit and indoor unit are understood to be a device type. Here, a device type refers to the type of device that performs a certain function. For example, if we focus on compressors as a device type, compressors in different outdoor units are considered to be "devices of the same type" when viewed as compressors. Similarly, if we focus on expansion valves and blower fans as device types, expansion valves and blower fans in different outdoor units are each considered to be "devices of the same type." Of course, the same is true for indoor units.

[0022] The operation state quantity can be a sensor signal that can be measured directly from a sensor, or a measurement value that cannot be measured by a sensor and is calculated based on the sensor signal, but in the following, both will basically be described as a measurement value. When a quantity is specially handled as a sensor signal or a measurement value, this will be stated.

[0023] The monitoring computer 200 also has an interface with input / output functions and a processor (computing means) with computing functions, and the processor can execute the computations according to the present embodiment described below in accordance with a control program. Examples of the processor include a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), but other semiconductor devices can also be used as long as they are the main body that executes the specified computational processing.

[0024] The monitoring computer 200 may be integrally connected to the air conditioning equipment system, or may be a cloud system connected by wire or wirelessly. Furthermore, the control program has a control function, and therefore can be regarded as a control function block.

[0025] 2 shows the configuration of an anomaly detection system for an air conditioning system. Air conditioning equipment systems 100 are installed at multiple customer sites, and sensor information and the like is transferred via a network to a monitoring computer 200. The customer sites correspond to buildings (buildings such as buildings), and correspond to, for example, VRF air conditioning systems installed in the buildings.

[0026] The air conditioning equipment system 100 is composed of one or more air conditioning systems 101 and a sensor signal input unit 103 that inputs sensor signals 102 from multiple devices installed in the air conditioning systems 101 and transfers them to a monitoring computer 200. Sensors are installed in one or more of various devices in the air conditioning system 101. The sensor signals 102 from the multiple devices relate to, for example, temperature, current, pressure, etc.

[0027] The monitoring computer 200 detects operational abnormalities (open abnormality, closed abnormality) of the indoor expansion valve of the air conditioning system 101 and identifies the indoor unit in which the abnormality has occurred. These are functions executed by the control program of the processor. The processing flows executed by these control programs will be explained with reference to Figs. 4 to 6.

[0028] The monitoring computer 200 inputs the sensor signals 102 of multiple devices transferred from the air conditioning equipment system 100 into the sensor signal extraction unit 211, and uses the sensor signals extracted by this sensor signal extraction unit 211 to detect indoor expansion valve abnormalities (open abnormality, closed abnormality) and identify the abnormal indoor unit.

[0029] Next, we will explain the control functions of the monitoring computer 200. First, we will explain the "learning mode" when the monitoring computer 200 is in a normal state.

[0030] In the monitoring computer 200, a sensor signal extraction unit 211 extracts any sensor signal, such as outdoor unit thermo-on, from the sensor signals 102 of multiple devices transferred from the air conditioning equipment system 100. These extracted sensor signal values ​​are input to a subsequent abnormal condition determination unit 212. The abnormal condition determination unit 212 determines an abnormal state based on the determination conditions for the abnormal state (open abnormality, closed abnormality) of each indoor expansion valve.

[0031] In this embodiment, the sensor signal is (1) Outdoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off information to determine whether the outdoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off is on, (2) Indoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off information to determine whether the indoor unit is thermo-on or thermo-off; (3) Inlet air temperature information from an inlet temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the inlet air of the indoor unit; (4) Outlet air temperature information from an outlet temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the outlet air of the indoor unit; (5) Instructed opening information, which is the instructed opening (target opening) to the indoor expansion valve (as will be described later in this embodiment, abnormality detection is also performed using the instructed opening (target opening) given to the indoor expansion valve, so the instructed opening information is treated as a sensor signal for convenience); is used as input.

[0032] Here, the commanded opening (target opening) of the indoor expansion valve is calculated from various parameters by the processor (computing means) of the monitoring computer 200, and the calculated commanded opening (target opening) is given to the indoor expansion valve as a drive signal for the indoor expansion valve. Therefore, the commanded opening (target opening) can be regarded as the valve opening that the indoor expansion valve should be able to achieve as originally required.

[0033] Therefore, in this embodiment, when detecting an abnormality in the indoor expansion valve, the detection is made intentionally at a specific instructed opening (target opening). As will become clear from the following description of the embodiment, when an opening abnormality is detected, it is at an instructed opening where the refrigerant flow rate decreases, and when a closing abnormality is detected, it is at an instructed opening where the refrigerant flow rate increases.

[0034] The abnormal state determined by the abnormal condition determination unit 212 is input to the subsequent abnormality frequency calculation unit 213. The abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 counts the number of abnormal state determinations that satisfy each determination condition during an arbitrary period, and inputs the count to the threshold calculation unit 214. The determination conditions will be explained in the flowchart below.

[0035] The threshold calculation unit 214 calculates a threshold (SL) according to the abnormality frequency (number of times or rate) in the "learning mode."

[0036] The threshold value (SL) calculated by the threshold value calculation unit 214 and the abnormality frequency (number of times or rate) obtained by the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 are compared by the abnormality detection unit 215. The comparison result is then sent to the abnormality cause determination unit 216, which identifies an "indoor expansion valve abnormality" and an "abnormal indoor unit." Here, the determination of an abnormal state is performed for each individual indoor unit, making it possible to identify the abnormal indoor unit.

[0037] Next, the "monitoring mode" of the monitoring computer 200 will be described. The "monitoring mode" is executed after the "learning mode" has ended. In the "monitoring mode" of the monitoring computer 200, the sensor signal extraction unit 211 extracts sensor signals 102 of multiple devices transferred from the air conditioning equipment system 100, such as outdoor unit thermo-on. These extracted sensor signal values ​​are input to the subsequent abnormal condition determination unit 212. The abnormal condition determination unit 212 determines an abnormal state based on the determination conditions for the abnormal state (open abnormality, closed abnormality) of each indoor expansion valve.

[0038] In the "monitoring mode" of this embodiment, the same sensor signals as those described above are used. (1) Outdoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off information to determine whether the outdoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off is on, (2) Indoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off information to determine whether the indoor unit is thermo-on or thermo-off; (3) Inlet air temperature information from an inlet temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the inlet air of the indoor unit; (4) Outlet air temperature information from the outlet temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the outlet air of the indoor unit. (5) Instructed opening information, which is the instructed opening (target opening) to the indoor expansion valve (as will be described later in this embodiment, abnormality detection is also performed using the instructed opening (target opening) given to the indoor expansion valve, so the instructed opening information is treated as a sensor signal for convenience); is used as input.

[0039] Here too, the commanded opening (target opening) of the indoor expansion valve is determined from various parameters by the processor (computing means) of the monitoring computer 200, and the determined commanded opening (target opening) is given to the indoor expansion valve as a drive signal for the indoor expansion valve. Therefore, the commanded opening (target opening) can be regarded as the valve opening that the indoor expansion valve should be able to achieve as originally required.

[0040] Therefore, in this embodiment, when detecting an abnormality in the indoor expansion valve, the detection is made intentionally at a specific instructed opening (target opening). As will become clear from the following description of the embodiment, when an opening abnormality is detected, it is at an instructed opening where the refrigerant flow rate decreases, and when a closing abnormality is detected, it is at an instructed opening where the refrigerant flow rate increases.

[0041] The abnormal state determined by the abnormal condition determination unit 212 is input to the subsequent abnormality frequency calculation unit 213. The abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 counts the number of abnormal state determinations that satisfy each determination condition during an arbitrary period, and inputs the count to the subsequent abnormality detection unit 215. The determination conditions will be explained in the flowchart below.

[0042] In the "monitoring mode", the abnormality detection unit 215 compares the abnormality frequency (number of times or percentage) calculated by the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 with the threshold value (SL) calculated by the threshold value calculation unit 214 from the abnormality frequency (number of times or percentage) in the "learning mode" to determine whether an abnormality has occurred.

[0043] The comparison results are then sent to the abnormality cause determination unit 216, which identifies the "indoor expansion valve abnormality" and the "abnormal indoor unit." Here, the abnormal state determination is performed for each individual indoor unit, so it is possible to identify the abnormal indoor unit.

[0044] Next, the configuration of an air conditioning system having multiple air conditioners will be described. Air conditioning system 101 shown in Fig. 3 is composed of, for example, multiple outdoor units 110 and 120 and multiple indoor units 140, 150, 160, and 170. There is no limit to the number of these outdoor units and indoor units, and the number can be increased or decreased.

[0045] Furthermore, the outdoor units 110 and 120 have the same type of homogeneous devices 111 and 121, and the same type of homogeneous devices 112 and 122. For example, the homogeneous devices 111 to 121 are heat exchangers, and the homogeneous devices 112 to 122 are compressors, and there may be any number of these homogeneous devices of the same type.

[0046] Similarly, the indoor units 140, 150, 160, 170 also have similar devices 141, 151, 161, 171, similar devices 142, 152, 162, 172, and similar devices 143, 153, 163, 173. For example, the similar devices 141 to 171 are indoor expansion valves, the similar devices 142 to 172 are heat exchangers, and the similar devices 143 to 173 are blower fans, and there may be any number of these similar devices of the same type.

[0047] Furthermore, the indoor units 140, 150, 160, 170 are equipped with temperature sensors that measure inlet air temperatures (Ti) 144, 154, 164, 174 and outlet air temperatures (To) 145, 155, 165, 175.

[0048] The inlet air temperatures (Ti) 144-174 and the outlet air temperatures (To) 145-175 are reversed in the cooling mode and the heating mode. In the cooling mode, the inlet air temperature (Ti) is high and the outlet air temperature (To) is low. On the other hand, in the heating mode, the inlet air temperature (Ti) is low and the outlet air temperature (To) is high.

[0049] An air conditioning system 101 made up of outdoor units 110-120 and indoor units 140-170 is connected by piping 201 through which a refrigerant circulates. Therefore, the sensors provided in the outdoor units 110-120 are affected by the operating state (thermo on / thermo off F) of the indoor units 140-170.

[0050] Here, we will explain abnormal conditions of the indoor expansion valve (abnormal opening, abnormal closing). First, an abnormal opening of the indoor expansion valve occurs when the indoor expansion valve remains too open and is fixed, causing a large amount of refrigerant to flow and a large difference in air temperature between the inlet and outlet. As a result, the processor issues a command to close the indoor expansion valve, but because it remains fixed and too open, the refrigerant does not gasify sufficiently and flows into the compressor as a liquid. This can cause liquid compression, which can lead to fatal malfunctions such as compressor damage, so it is important to detect abnormal opening conditions early and reliably.

[0051] Furthermore, an abnormal closure of the indoor expansion valve occurs when the indoor expansion valve remains closed, preventing refrigerant from flowing and resulting in a temperature difference between the inlet and outlet air temperatures of almost "0" or very small. Therefore, the processor issues a command to open the indoor expansion valve, but because it remains closed, sufficient refrigerant cannot flow. This results in insufficient cooling and heating capacity, and a command to increase the compression rotation speed is issued, resulting in increased power consumption. Therefore, it is important to detect abnormal closure early and reliably.

[0052] Next, the processing flow of this embodiment executed by the processor of the monitoring computer 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 4 to Fig. 6. Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show the processing flow when detecting an open abnormality, and Fig. 6 shows the processing flow when detecting a closed abnormality.

[0053] 4 is a flowchart showing a first abnormality detection system for detecting an abnormality in the opening of an indoor expansion valve. Each processing step will be explained below.

[0054] <Step S401> In step S401, first, the sensor signals 102 of the multiple devices transferred from the air conditioning system 101 are taken into the sensor signal input unit 103. Furthermore, since this processing flow is executed at predetermined time intervals, the sensor signals 102 are obtained at cycles corresponding to the intervals, such as at intervals of 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, or 1 day.

[0055] As explained above, the sensor signals include at least (1) outdoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off information, (2) indoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off information, (3) indoor unit inlet temperature information, (4) indoor unit outlet air temperature information, and (5) instructed opening information for the indoor expansion valve. Note that the temperature information may also be the temperature of the refrigerant before and after heat exchange in the heat exchanger of the indoor unit. When the sensor signal 102 is input, the process of step S402 is executed.

[0056] <Step S402> In step S402, loop process 1 is started for each of multiple indoor units (N), and the following process is repeated until all indoor units have been processed. This allows abnormality detection work to be performed in sequence on all indoor units, and also makes it possible to identify any abnormal indoor units. When loop process 1 is started, the process of step S403 is executed.

[0057] <Step S403> In step S403, the number of times an open door abnormality has been detected (M) and the number of times the indoor unit thermostat has been turned on (X) are initialized (to 0 value). After this process is executed, the process of step S404 is executed.

[0058] <Step S404> In step S404, loop process 2 is started during an arbitrary period in "learning mode" or "monitoring mode," and the following process is repeatedly executed until the arbitrary period ends. The arbitrary period may be, for example, one day, five days, one week, etc. When loop process 2 is started, the process of step S405 is executed.

[0059] <Step S405> In step S405, it is determined whether the outdoor unit thermo is on based on the outdoor unit thermo on / thermo off information. If the outdoor unit thermo is on, the process of step S406 is executed. If the outdoor unit thermo is off, the process of step S410 is executed. Here, outdoor unit thermo is on means that the compressor is operating, and outdoor unit thermo is off means that the compressor is stopped.

[0060] <Step S406> In step S406, it is determined whether the indoor unit thermostat is off based on the indoor unit thermostat on / thermostat off information. If the indoor unit thermostat is off, the process of step S408 is executed. If the indoor unit thermostat is on, the process of step S407 is executed. Here, indoor unit thermostat on refers to a state in which the blower fan is rotating and the indoor expansion valve is open and operating. Indoor unit thermostat off refers to a blower mode in which the indoor expansion valve is stopped on the closed side and the blower fan is rotating. This state forms the basis of the determination condition for detecting an abnormal opening of the indoor expansion valve in step S406, which will be described later.

[0061] <Step S407> In step S407, the number of times (X) the indoor unit thermo-on has occurred is counted. After this process is executed, the process of step S410 is executed.

[0062] <Step S408> In step S408, the abnormality condition determination unit 212 determines whether the conditions for determining an opening abnormality of the indoor expansion valve are met.

[0063] Abnormal opening of the indoor expansion valve (1) The command opening (target opening) of the indoor expansion valve when the indoor unit thermostat is off as determined in step S406 is "i° or less" (for example, ≦3°), (2) And the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature (Ti) measured by the inlet temperature sensor and the outlet air temperature (To) measured by the outlet temperature sensor is "j°C or more" (for example, ≧3°C), The determination is made based on whether the following conditions (which are AND conditions) are met: Here, the instructed opening (target opening) to the indoor expansion valve is used when this processing flow is executed, and is the instructed opening (target opening) in the indoor unit thermo-off state in step S406.

[0064] Therefore, although the indoor expansion valve should normally be closed because the indoor unit thermostat is off, the large temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature indicates that refrigerant is flowing, which makes it possible to detect an abnormality in the opening of the indoor expansion valve. If an abnormality in the opening is detected, the process of step S409 is executed. Note that if the conditions for determining an abnormality in the opening of the indoor expansion valve are not met (if normal), the process of step S410 is executed.

[0065] <Step S409> In step S409, the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 counts the number of times (M) that an opening abnormality has occurred that satisfies the determination condition for an opening abnormality of the indoor expansion valve in step S408. This is the number of times that an opening abnormality has occurred within the predetermined period defined in loop processing 2. After this processing is executed, the processing of step S410 is executed.

[0066] <Step S410> In step S410, loop process 2 is ended. After this process is executed, the process of step S411 is executed.

[0067] <Step S411> In step S411, the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 determines the number of times (X) that the indoor unit thermo-on has occurred and the number of times (M) that an open abnormality has occurred that satisfies the criteria for determining an open abnormality, and stores these in a predetermined RAM area of ​​the processor. After this process is executed, the process of step S412 is executed.

[0068] <Step S412> In step S412, the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 calculates the ratio of the number of times (M) that an opening abnormality occurs and satisfies the criteria for determining an opening abnormality to the number of times (X) that the indoor unit thermo-on occurs, i.e., the opening abnormality frequency (M / X).

[0069] In the "learning mode," this opening abnormality frequency (M / X) is input to the threshold calculation unit 214. The threshold calculation unit 214 calculates an opening abnormality rate threshold (SL) according to the opening abnormality frequency in the "learning mode" (M / X during learning). In the "monitoring mode," this abnormality frequency (M / X) is input to the abnormality detection unit 215.

[0070] In a VRF air conditioning system, the operating states of the air conditioners, each with multiple indoor units, are complex and diverse. For this reason, rising and falling noise data is frequently generated as multiple indoor units are switched on and off. The adverse effects of this noise data can be reduced by calculating the anomaly frequency (M / X), enabling highly accurate detection of indoor expansion valve anomalies. When this process is executed, step S413 is executed.

[0071] <Step S413> In step S413, the frequency of opening abnormality (M / X) in the "monitoring mode" calculated by the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 is compared with the opening abnormality rate threshold (SL) calculated by the threshold calculation unit 214 from the frequency of opening abnormality in the "learning mode" (M / X during learning) to determine whether an opening abnormality has occurred.

[0072] If the frequency of abnormal opening in the "monitoring mode" (M / X) is smaller than the frequency of abnormal opening in the "learning mode" (M / X during learning), the process of step S414 is executed. On the other hand, if the frequency of abnormal opening in the "monitoring mode" (M / X) is larger than the frequency of abnormal opening in the "learning mode" (M / X during learning), the process of step S415 is executed.

[0073] <Step S414> In step S414, the abnormality cause determination unit 216 determines that the system is normal. After this process is executed, the process of step S416 is executed.

[0074] <Step S415> In step S415, the abnormality cause determination unit 216 determines that the indoor expansion valve is opening abnormally and identifies the abnormal indoor unit in which the opening abnormality is occurring. After this process is executed, the process of step S416 is executed.

[0075] <Step S416> In step S416, loop process 1 for an arbitrary period is ended. The arbitrary period may be, for example, one day, five days, one week, one month, six months, one year, or more than one year. When this process is executed, the anomaly detection system flow for determining whether the indoor expansion valve is open abnormally is ended.

[0076] According to the present embodiment described above, an opening abnormality is determined based on the temperature difference between the indoor expansion valve's indicated opening degree and the inlet air temperature and outlet air temperature, making it possible to detect an opening abnormality in the indoor expansion valve early and accurately. [Example]

[0077] Next, a second abnormality detection system for detecting abnormal opening of an indoor expansion valve will be described. Fig. 5 shows a flowchart of the second embodiment. Each processing step will be described below.

[0078] <Step S501> In step S501, first, the sensor signals 102 of the multiple devices transferred from the air conditioning system 101 are taken into the sensor signal input unit 103. Furthermore, since this processing flow is executed at predetermined time intervals, the sensor signals 102 are obtained at cycles corresponding to the intervals, such as at intervals of 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, or 1 day.

[0079] As explained above, the sensor signals include at least (1) outdoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off information, (2) indoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off information, (3) indoor unit inlet temperature information, (4) indoor unit outlet air temperature information, and (5) instructed opening information for the indoor expansion valve. Note that the temperature information may also be the temperature of the refrigerant before and after heat exchange in the heat exchanger of the indoor unit. When the sensor signal 102 is input, the process of step S502 is executed.

[0080] <Step S502> In step S502, loop process 1 is started for each of multiple indoor units (N), and the following process is repeated until all indoor units have been processed. This allows abnormality detection work to be performed in sequence on all indoor units, and also makes it possible to identify any abnormal indoor units. When loop process 1 is started, the process of step S503 is executed.

[0081] <Step S503> In step S503, loop process 2 is started during an arbitrary period in "learning mode" or "monitoring mode," and the following process is repeatedly executed until the arbitrary period ends. The arbitrary period may be, for example, one day, five days, one week, etc. Furthermore, when loop process 2 is started, the process of step S504 is executed.

[0082] <Step S504> In step S504, it is determined whether the outdoor unit thermo is on based on the outdoor unit thermo on / thermo off information. If the outdoor unit thermo is on, the process of step S505 is executed. If the outdoor unit thermo is off, the process of step S509 is executed. Here, outdoor unit thermo is on means that the compressor is operating, and outdoor unit thermo is off means that the compressor is stopped.

[0083] <Step S505> In step S505, it is determined whether the indoor unit thermostat is off based on the indoor unit thermostat on / thermostat off information. If the indoor unit thermostat is off, the process of step S506 is executed. If the indoor unit thermostat is on, the process of step S509 is executed. Here, indoor unit thermostat on means that the blower fan is rotating and the indoor expansion valve is open and operating. Indoor unit thermostat off means a blower mode in which the indoor expansion valve is stopped on the closed side and the blower fan is rotating. The indoor unit thermostat off state forms the basis of the judgment conditions for detecting an abnormal opening of the indoor expansion valve in step S506, which will be described later.

[0084] <Step S506> In step S506, the abnormality condition determination unit 212 determines whether the determination conditions for an opening abnormality of the indoor expansion valve are met.

[0085] Abnormal opening of the indoor expansion valve (1) The command opening (target opening) of the indoor expansion valve when the indoor unit thermostat is off, as determined in step S505, is "i° or less" (for example, ≦3°), (2) And the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature (Ti) measured by the inlet temperature sensor and the outlet air temperature (To) measured by the outlet temperature sensor is "j°C or more" (for example, ≧3°C), The determination is made based on whether the following conditions (which are AND conditions) are met: Here, the instructed opening (target opening) to the indoor expansion valve is used when this processing flow is executed, and is the instructed opening (target opening) in the indoor unit thermo-off state in step S505.

[0086] Therefore, although the indoor expansion valve should normally be closed because the indoor unit thermostat is off, the large temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature indicates that refrigerant is flowing, which makes it possible to detect that an abnormality in the opening of the indoor expansion valve has occurred. If an abnormality in the opening of the indoor expansion valve is detected, the process of step S508 is executed. Note that if the conditions for determining an abnormality in the opening of the indoor expansion valve are not met (if the valve is normal), the process of step S507 is executed.

[0087] <Step S507> In step S507, the opening abnormality occurrence count (C) is initialized (value 0). After this process is executed, the process of step S509 is executed.

[0088] <Step S508> In step S508, the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 counts the number of consecutive times that the condition for determining an opening abnormality of the indoor expansion valve in step S506 is satisfied, i.e., the number of opening abnormality occurrences (C). After this process is executed, the process of step S509 is executed.

[0089] <Step S509> In step S509, loop process 2 is ended. After this process is executed, the process of step S510 is executed.

[0090] <Step S510> In step S510, the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 determines the number of consecutive opening abnormalities (C) and stores it in a predetermined RAM area of ​​the processor.

[0091] In the "learning mode," this number of times an opening abnormality has occurred (C) is input to the threshold calculation unit 214. The threshold calculation unit 214 calculates an opening abnormality occurrence count threshold (SL) according to the number of times an opening abnormality has occurred in the "learning mode" (C during learning). In addition, in the "monitoring mode," this number of times an opening abnormality has occurred (C) is input to the abnormality detection unit 215. When this process is executed, the process of step S511 is executed.

[0092] <Step S511> In step S511, the number of times (C) an opening abnormality has occurred in the "monitoring mode" calculated by the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 is compared with the opening abnormality occurrence count threshold (SL) calculated by the threshold calculation unit 214 from the number of times an opening abnormality has occurred in the "learning mode" (learning time C) to determine whether an opening abnormality has occurred.

[0093] If the number of times opening abnormalities occur in the "monitoring mode" (C) is smaller than the number of times opening abnormalities occur in the "learning mode" (C during learning), the process of step S512 is executed, and if the number of times opening abnormalities occur in the "monitoring mode" (C) is larger than the number of times opening abnormalities occur in the "learning mode" (C during learning), the process of step S513 is executed. <Step S512> In step S512, the abnormality cause determination unit 216 determines that the system is normal. After this process is executed, the process of step S514 is executed. <Step S513> In step S513, the abnormality cause determination unit 216 determines that the indoor expansion valve opening is abnormal and identifies the abnormal indoor unit. After this process is executed, the process of step S514 is executed. <Step S514> In step S514, loop process 1 for an arbitrary period is ended. The arbitrary period may be, for example, one day, five days, one week, one month, six months, one year, or more than one year. When this process is executed, the anomaly detection system flow for determining whether the indoor expansion valve is open abnormally is ended.

[0094] According to the present embodiment described above, an opening abnormality is determined based on the temperature difference between the indoor expansion valve's indicated opening degree and the inlet air temperature and outlet air temperature, making it possible to detect an opening abnormality in the indoor expansion valve early and accurately.

[0095] In the judgment process of step S505 in Fig. 5, if the current state of the indoor unit is the indoor unit thermostat off, the process proceeds to step S506. However, it is also possible to intentionally or forcibly set the indoor unit thermostat to the off state.

[0096] When this processing flow is started while the room temperature has not reached the set value and the indoor unit thermo is on, step S505 is set as a setting process to turn the indoor unit thermo off (fan mode). As a result, the processor sends the indoor expansion valve's command opening (target opening) corresponding to the indoor unit thermo being off as a drive signal to the indoor expansion valve. This command opening information can be read and the processing from step S506 onwards described above can be executed, making it possible to quickly and accurately detect an opening abnormality in the indoor expansion valve. [Example]

[0097] Next, a third abnormality detection system for detecting abnormal closing of an indoor expansion valve will be described. Fig. 6 shows a flowchart of the third embodiment. Each processing step will be described below.

[0098] <Step S601> In step S601, first, the sensor signals 102 of the multiple devices transferred from the air conditioning system 101 are taken into the sensor signal input unit 103. Furthermore, since this processing flow is executed at predetermined time intervals, the sensor signals 102 are obtained at cycles corresponding to the intervals, such as at intervals of 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, or 1 day.

[0099] As explained above, the sensor signals include at least (1) outdoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off information, (2) indoor unit thermo-on / thermo-off information, (3) indoor unit inlet temperature information, (4) indoor unit outlet air temperature information, and (5) instructed opening information for the indoor expansion valve. Note that the temperature information may also be the temperature of the refrigerant before and after heat exchange in the heat exchanger of the indoor unit. When the sensor signal 102 is input, the process of step S602 is executed.

[0100] <Step S602> In step S602, loop process 1 is started for each of the multiple indoor units (N), and the following process is repeated until all the indoor units have been processed. This allows abnormality detection work to be performed in sequence on all indoor units, and also makes it possible to identify any abnormal indoor units. When loop process 1 is started, the process of step S603 is executed.

[0101] <Step S603> In step S603, loop process 2 is started during an arbitrary period in "learning mode" or "monitoring mode," and the following process is repeatedly executed until the arbitrary period ends. The arbitrary period may be, for example, one day, five days, one week, etc. When loop process 2 is started, the process of step S604 is executed.

[0102] <Step S604> In step S604, it is determined whether the outdoor unit thermo is on based on the outdoor unit thermo on / thermo off information. If the outdoor unit thermo is on, the process of step S605 is executed. If the outdoor unit thermo is off, the process of step S609 is executed. Here, outdoor unit thermo is on means that the compressor is operating, and outdoor unit thermo is off means that the compressor is stopped.

[0103] <Step S605> In step S605, it is determined whether the indoor unit thermo is on based on the indoor unit thermo on / thermo off information. If the indoor unit thermo is on, the process of step S606 is executed. If the indoor unit thermo is off, the process of step S609 is executed. Here, indoor unit thermo is on means that the blower fan is rotating and the indoor expansion valve is open and operating. Indoor unit thermo is off means that the indoor expansion valve is stopped on the closed side and the blower fan is rotating in the blowing mode. The indoor unit thermo is on state is the basis for the determination condition for detecting an abnormal closing of the indoor expansion valve in step S606, which will be described later.

[0104] <Step S606> In step S606, the abnormality condition determination unit 212 determines whether the determination conditions for a closing abnormality of the indoor expansion valve are met.

[0105] The indoor expansion valve is not closing properly. (1) The command opening (target opening) of the indoor expansion valve when the indoor unit thermostat is on, as determined in step S605, is "i° or more" (for example, ≧3°), (2) And the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature (Ti) measured by the inlet temperature sensor and the outlet air temperature (To) measured by the outlet temperature sensor is "j°C or less" (for example, ≦3°C), The determination is made based on whether the following conditions (which are AND conditions) are met: Here, the instructed opening (target opening) to the indoor expansion valve is used when this processing flow is executed, and is the instructed opening (target opening) in the indoor unit thermo-on state in step S605.

[0106] Therefore, although the indoor expansion valve should be open because the indoor unit thermo is on, the small temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature indicates that refrigerant is not flowing, which makes it possible to detect that an abnormality in the closure of the indoor expansion valve has occurred. If an abnormality in the closure of the indoor expansion valve is detected, the process of step S608 is executed. Note that if the conditions for determining an abnormality in the closure of the indoor expansion valve are not met (if the valve is normal), the process of step S607 is executed.

[0107] <Step S607> In step S607, the number of times a closing abnormality has occurred (C) is initialized (set to 0). After this process is executed, the process of step S609 is executed.

[0108] <Step S608> In step S608, the number of times the determination condition for a closing abnormality of the indoor expansion valve in step S606 is met, that is, the number of times a closing abnormality has occurred (C), is counted by the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213. After this process is executed, the process of step S609 is executed.

[0109] <Step S609> In step S609, loop process 2 is ended. After this process is executed, the process of step S610 is executed.

[0110] <Step S610> In step S610, the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 determines the number of times (C) that a closing abnormality has occurred, and stores the number of times in a predetermined RAM area of ​​the processor.

[0111] In the "learning mode," this number of closing abnormalities (C) is input to threshold calculation unit 214. Threshold calculation unit 214 calculates a closing abnormality occurrence count threshold (SL) according to the number of closing abnormalities that occurred in the "learning mode" (learning time C). In addition, in the "monitoring mode," this number of closing abnormalities (C) is input to abnormality detection unit 215. When this process is executed, the process of step S611 is executed.

[0112] <Step S611> In step S611, the number of times a closing abnormality has occurred in the "monitoring mode" (C) calculated by the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213 is compared with the closing abnormality occurrence count threshold (SL) calculated by the threshold calculation unit 214 from the number of times a closing abnormality has occurred in the "learning mode" (C during learning) to determine whether a closing abnormality has occurred.

[0113] If the number of times a closing error occurs in the "monitoring mode" (C) is smaller than the number of times a closing error occurs in the "learning mode" (C during learning), the process of step S612 is executed, and if the number of times a closing error occurs in the "monitoring mode" (C) is larger than the number of times a closing error occurs in the "learning mode" (C during learning), the process of step S613 is executed. <Step S612> In step S612, the abnormality cause determination unit 216 determines that the system is normal. After this process is executed, the process of step S614 is executed. <Step S613> In step S613, the abnormality cause determination unit 216 determines that the indoor expansion valve is closed abnormally and identifies the abnormal indoor unit. After this process is executed, the process of step S614 is executed. <Step S614> In step S614, loop process 1 for an arbitrary period is ended. The arbitrary period may be, for example, one day, five days, one week, one month, six months, one year, or more than one year. When this process is executed, the abnormality detection system flow for determining whether the indoor expansion valve is abnormally closed is ended.

[0114] According to the present embodiment described above, a closing abnormality is determined based on the temperature difference between the indoor expansion valve's indicated opening degree and the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature, making it possible to detect early and accurately that a closing abnormality has occurred in the indoor expansion valve.

[0115] In the judgment process of step S605 in Fig. 6, if the current state of the indoor unit is in the indoor unit thermo-on state, the process proceeds to step S606. However, it is also possible to intentionally or forcibly set the indoor unit thermo-on state.

[0116] When this processing flow is started with the room temperature reaching the set value and the indoor unit thermostat off, step S605 is set as a setting process to turn the indoor unit thermostat on. As a result, the processor sends the indoor expansion valve's command opening (target opening) corresponding to the indoor unit thermostat on as a drive signal to the indoor expansion valve. This command opening information can be read and the processing from step S606 onwards described above can be executed, making it possible to quickly and accurately detect a closing abnormality in the indoor expansion valve.

[0117] Note that although the open abnormality detection in Fig. 5 and the closed abnormality detection in Fig. 6 are executed in different processing flows, the two processes can also be combined. For example, if the determination in step S505 is "No" (= indoor unit thermo on), the process from step S606 onwards in Fig. 6 can be executed, and if the determination in step S605 is "No" (= indoor unit thermo off), the process from step S506 onwards in Fig. 5 can be executed.

[0118] Next, examples of analysis results in the "learning mode" and "monitoring mode" of the monitoring computer 200 will be described with reference to Figures 7A, 7B, 8A, and 8B. Each figure particularly shows the outputs of the anomaly frequency calculation unit 213, threshold calculation unit 214, anomaly detection unit 215, and anomaly cause determination unit 216.

[0119] Fig. 7A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an analysis result under normal conditions by the anomaly detection system shown in Fig. 4. For each indoor unit N700, an anomaly detection graph (Grp) is displayed along the time course of a learning period 701 in "learning mode" and a monitoring period 702 in "monitoring mode."

[0120] In the abnormality detection graph (Grp), the horizontal axis represents the passage of time (date), "OA" represents the opening abnormality frequency calculated by the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213, and "SL" represents the threshold value (SL) calculated by the threshold value calculation unit 214. It can be seen that the opening abnormality frequency (OA) is equal to or less than the threshold value (SL), and therefore the abnormality detection unit 215 and the abnormality cause determination unit 216 have determined that the condition is normal.

[0121] On the other hand, Fig. 7B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the analysis results when an open abnormality occurs using the abnormality detection system shown in Fig. 4. For each indoor unit N700, an abnormality detection graph (Grp) is displayed along the time course of a learning period 701 in "learning mode" and a monitoring period 702 in "monitoring mode."

[0122] In the abnormality detection graph (Grp), the horizontal axis represents the passage of time (date), "OA" represents the frequency of abnormal opening calculated by the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213, and "SL" represents the threshold (SL) calculated by the threshold calculation unit 214. It can be seen that, since the frequency of abnormal opening (OA) exceeds the threshold (SL) during period WD of the monitoring period 702, the abnormality detection unit 215 and the abnormality cause determination unit 216 determine that an abnormality has occurred, and output the identification result of the abnormal indoor unit, "indoor unit N'700".

[0123] Fig. 8A is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an analysis result under normal conditions by the anomaly detection system of Fig. 6. For each indoor unit N800, an anomaly detection graph (Grp) is displayed along the time course of a learning period 801 in "learning mode" and a monitoring period 802 in "monitoring mode."

[0124] In the abnormality detection graph (Grp), the horizontal axis represents the passage of time (date), "CA" represents the number of times a closing abnormality has occurred calculated by the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213, and "SL" represents the threshold value (SL) calculated by the threshold value calculation unit 214. It can be seen that the number of times a closing abnormality has occurred (CA) is equal to or less than the threshold value (SL), and therefore the abnormality detection unit 215 and the abnormality cause determination unit 216 have determined that the condition is normal.

[0125] On the other hand, Fig. 8B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the analysis results when a closed abnormality occurs using the abnormality detection system of Fig. 6. For each indoor unit N800, an abnormality detection graph (Grp) is displayed along the time course of a learning period 801 in "learning mode" and a monitoring period 802 in "monitoring mode."

[0126] In the abnormality detection graph (Grp), the horizontal axis represents the passage of time (date), "CA" represents the frequency of closing abnormalities calculated by the abnormality frequency calculation unit 213, and "SL" represents the threshold value (SL) calculated by the threshold value calculation unit 214. It can be seen that, since the number of closing abnormality occurrences (CA) exceeds the threshold value (SL) during period WD of monitoring period 802, the abnormality detection unit 215 and the abnormality cause determination unit 216 determine that an opening abnormality has occurred, and output the identification result of the abnormal indoor unit "indoor unit N'800".

[0127] 7A, 7B, 8A, and 8B are displayed on the screen of a display device connected to the monitoring computer 200. This allows the time progression of abnormality detection to be read, making it possible to read signs of an abnormality occurring. Furthermore, because the graphs are displayed for each indoor unit, abnormal indoor units can be clearly identified.

[0128] The present invention is characterized by determining whether the indoor expansion valve is in an abnormal state using two pieces of information: temperature difference information between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature, which are actual measured values, and information on the instructed opening (target opening) to the indoor expansion valve.

[0129] In other words, when the indoor unit is in the thermo-off state, the indoor expansion valve's command opening (target opening) is on the closing side (for example, ≦3°), and the temperature difference is sufficiently large (for example, ≧3°C), it is determined to be an opening abnormality.

[0130] In addition, when the indoor unit is in the thermo-on state, if the judgment conditions are met that the instructed opening (target opening) of the indoor expansion valve is on the open side (for example, ≧3°) and the temperature difference is sufficiently small (for example, ≦3°C), a closing abnormality is determined.

[0131] In this way, according to the present invention, opening abnormalities and closing abnormalities are determined based on the temperature difference between the indoor expansion valve's indicated opening degree and the inlet air temperature and outlet air temperature, making it possible to detect early and accurately that a closing abnormality has occurred in the indoor expansion valve.

[0132] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications. The above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace other configurations with respect to the configuration of each embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0133] 100...air conditioning system, 102...sensor signals from multiple devices, 103...sensor signal input unit, 110, 120...outdoor units, 140, 150, 160, 170...indoor units, 142, 152, 163, 172...heat exchangers, 143, 153, 163, 173...blower fans, 144, 154, 164, 174...inlet air temperature, 145, 155, 165, 175...outlet air temperature, 141, 151, 161, 171...indoor expansion valves, 200...monitoring computer, 211...sensor signal extraction unit, 212...abnormal condition judgment unit, 213...abnormal frequency calculation unit, 214...threshold calculation unit, 215...abnormality detection unit, 216...abnormal cause identification unit.

Claims

1. An anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, The monitoring computer Under the condition that the outdoor unit is thermo-on and the indoor unit is thermo-off, the indoor expansion valve is in an abnormal opening state when the indicated opening degree is equal to or less than a predetermined value and the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature of the indoor unit and the outlet air temperature measured by a temperature sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the indoor expansion valve is provided with a function to determine that an abnormal opening state has occurred in the indoor expansion valve based on the occurrence of this abnormal opening state. An anomaly detection system characterized by:

2. An anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, The monitoring computer The function is to determine that an abnormal opening state has occurred in the indoor expansion valve when the indicated opening degree of the indoor expansion valve is equal to or less than a predetermined value and the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature of the indoor unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value under the condition that the outdoor unit is thermo-on and the indoor unit is thermo-off, and to determine that an abnormal opening state has occurred in the indoor expansion valve based on the occurrence of this abnormal opening state. Furthermore, the monitoring computer a function for counting the number of thermo-on events of the indoor unit during a predetermined period, and a function for counting the number of times the opening abnormality occurs; a function of calculating an opening abnormality rate value from the number of thermo-on times and the number of opening abnormality occurrences; The opening abnormality rate value is compared with a predetermined opening abnormality rate threshold, and when the opening abnormality rate value exceeds the opening abnormality rate threshold, the occurrence of the opening abnormality is confirmed. An anomaly detection system characterized by:

3. An anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, The monitoring computer A function to count the number of occurrences of abnormal opening when the outdoor unit is in thermo-on mode and the indoor unit is in thermo-off mode, the indoor expansion valve's indicated opening degree is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature of the indoor unit is equal to or more than a predetermined value, and to determine the abnormal opening state. The number of times the opening abnormality has occurred is compared with a predetermined threshold value for the number of times the opening abnormality has occurred, and if the number of times the opening abnormality has occurred exceeds the threshold value for the number of times the opening abnormality has occurred, the indoor expansion valve is judged to have had an opening abnormality. An anomaly detection system characterized by:

4. An anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, The monitoring computer a function of counting the number of times that the outdoor unit is in thermo-on mode and the indoor unit is in thermo-on mode, determining that the indoor expansion valve has an indicated opening greater than a predetermined value and that the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature of the indoor unit is less than a predetermined value as an abnormal closing state; The number of times the closing abnormality has occurred is compared with a predetermined threshold value for the number of times the closing abnormality has occurred, and when the number of times the closing abnormality has occurred exceeds the threshold value for the number of times the closing abnormality has occurred, the indoor expansion valve is judged to have had a closing abnormality. An anomaly detection system characterized by:

5. An anomaly detection method for an anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, comprising: The monitoring computer Under the condition that the outdoor unit is thermo-on and the indoor unit is thermo-off, a state in which the indicated opening of the indoor expansion valve is equal to or less than a predetermined value and the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature of the indoor unit and the outlet air temperature measured by the temperature sensor is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is regarded as an abnormal opening state, and it is determined that an abnormal opening has occurred in the indoor expansion valve based on the occurrence of this abnormal opening state. An anomaly detection method for an anomaly detection system comprising:

6. An anomaly detection method for an anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, comprising: The monitoring computer Under the condition that the outdoor unit is thermo-on and the indoor unit is thermo-off, a state in which the indicated opening of the indoor expansion valve is equal to or less than a predetermined value and the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature of the indoor unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is determined as an abnormal opening state, and based on the occurrence of this abnormal opening state, it is determined that an abnormal opening has occurred in the indoor expansion valve, Furthermore, the monitoring computer During a predetermined period, the number of thermo-on events of the indoor unit is counted, and the number of opening abnormality events is counted, The ratio of the number of times the thermostat is turned on to the number of times the opening abnormality has occurred is calculated, The opening abnormality rate value is compared with a predetermined opening abnormality rate threshold, and when the opening abnormality rate value exceeds the opening abnormality rate threshold, the occurrence of the opening abnormality is confirmed. An anomaly detection method for an anomaly detection system comprising:

7. An anomaly detection method for an anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, comprising: The monitoring computer Under the condition that the outdoor unit is in the thermo-on state and the indoor unit is in the thermo-off state, a state in which the indicated opening degree of the indoor expansion valve is equal to or less than a predetermined value and the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature of the indoor unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is regarded as an abnormal opening state, and the number of occurrences of the abnormal opening state is counted. The number of times the opening abnormality has occurred is compared with a predetermined threshold value for the number of times the opening abnormality has occurred, and if the number of times the opening abnormality has occurred exceeds the threshold value, it is determined that an opening abnormality has occurred in the indoor expansion valve. An anomaly detection method for an anomaly detection system comprising:

8. An anomaly detection method for an anomaly detection system having a monitoring computer that monitors air conditioning equipment, comprising: The monitoring computer Under the condition that the outdoor unit is in the thermo-on state and the indoor unit is also in the thermo-on state, a state in which the indicated opening of the indoor expansion valve is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and the temperature difference between the inlet air temperature and the outlet air temperature of the indoor unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value is determined as an abnormal closing state, and the number of times this abnormal closing state occurs is counted. The number of times the closing abnormality has occurred is compared with a predetermined threshold value for the number of times the closing abnormality has occurred, and if the number of times the closing abnormality has occurred exceeds the threshold value for the number of times the closing abnormality has occurred, it is determined that a closing abnormality has occurred in the indoor expansion valve. An anomaly detection method for an anomaly detection system comprising:

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