Air Conditioning Unit Address Mapping for Remote Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
In air conditioning systems with multiple units, managing and identifying individual units is challenging due to changes in serial numbers and addresses when units are replaced or added, leading to increased management burdens and costs, especially when access to units is restricted.
Innovation Solution
An air conditioning management system that uses logical addresses, with a local controller collecting and associating driving information to manage units using physical and temporary addresses, allowing offsite management and reducing the need for physical address setting, especially in restricted access locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual address setting using remote control is used, then addresses can be set while visually confirming units, but technician must visit restricted locations increasing burden and costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a temporary address as an intermediary that enables offsite configuration of air conditioning units. The temporary address allows the unit to be identified and configured remotely without requiring physical access, while still maintaining the ability to set permanent addresses later when access is available. This resolves the contradiction by providing a middle ground between precise address setting and avoiding restricted location visits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary address configuration using temporary addresses before final address assignment. By allowing units to be identified and partially configured with temporary addresses in advance, the system eliminates the need for technicians to visit restricted locations for initial setup, while preserving the option to assign permanent addresses later when physical access is possible.
2Reliability
If serial numbers are used for identification, then unique identification is provided, but addresses change when units are replaced or added increasing management burden
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the address identification system into two distinct parts: temporary addresses for initial identification and configuration, and permanent addresses for final identification. This segmentation allows the system to maintain reliable unit identification through permanent addresses while using temporary addresses to simplify the transition process when units are replaced or added, thereby reducing management complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a dynamic address management approach where temporary addresses can be automatically assigned and changed when units are replaced or added to the system. This dynamic characteristic allows the system to adapt to changes in unit composition without requiring manual reconfiguration of all addresses, thereby maintaining identification reliability while reducing management burden.
Data Source
AI summary
An air conditioning management system manages air conditioning units having unique physical addresses using logical addresses. The system includes a local controller collecting driving information for the air conditioning units, and an operating unit for each air conditioning unit. The local controller has a memory section which stores identification information for each of the air conditioning units, an information collecting section which collects the driving information, and an associating section which associates the driving information with the logical addresses. The identification information for each of the air conditioning units has a physical address section, a real address section set from the operating unit, and a temporary address section arbitrarily settable without the operating unit. The associating section uses the real address as the logical address when the real address is set and uses the temporary address as the logical address when the real address is not set.