Control device, air conditioning system and equipment system

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional air conditioning control devices require manual grouping of facility devices, leading to a significant workload when adapting to changes in layout or energy-saving needs, as they lack the ability to automatically and flexibly adjust groupings for optimal comfort and energy efficiency.

Innovation Solution

A control device that automatically groups facility devices by utilizing a communicator, control determiner, connection relationship manager, connection route database, device grouper, and information collector to create data arrays of control information, allowing for flexible and automated grouping based on connection relationships and control algorithms.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If manual grouping registration of facility devices is performed, then the control device can manage device groups, but a large workload is required to modify air conditioner groups when layout or energy-saving needs change

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveflexibility of device groupingVSAvoidworkload for modifying device groups
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables automatic device grouping by having the control device autonomously determine device connections and groupings based on received device information and control information requests, eliminating the need for manual grouping registration and automatically adapting to layout changes

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The control device preliminarily determines device connections and groupings by analyzing device information before actual control operations, so that when layout or energy-saving needs change, the system can quickly reconfigure without manual intervention

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Adaptability or versatility

If manual grouping registration is used, then device group management is possible, but the system cannot automatically adapt to changes in layout or energy-saving requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveautomatic adaptation to layout changesVSAvoidcomplexity of grouping management system
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces manual mechanical grouping operations with automated electronic determination processes, where the control device uses algorithms to automatically determine device connections and groupings based on received information, enabling automatic adaptation to changes without manual intervention

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Productivity

If control information is collected from all facility devices individually, then complete control information is obtained, but the process becomes inefficient and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveefficiency of control information collectionVSAvoidtime to collect control information
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges the collection of control information from multiple facility devices by determining device groupings and collecting information for groups rather than individual devices, significantly improving efficiency while still obtaining complete control information for all devices in the system

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP2827075B1Control device, air conditioning system and equipment system
Publication Date: 2023.02.15 MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP
  • EP2827075B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2827075B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2827075B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A device control determiner (11) outputs a control information request containing a condition of an facility device in a data possessing device group possessing control information to be obtained, and a kind of the control information to be obtained. A connection relationship manager (16) manages information regarding a connection relationship among each of the plurality of facility devices. A connection route database (15) stores information regarding a connection route from a reference device that is a reference among the plurality of facility devices to another facility device. The device grouper (14) creates a data possessing device group based on information managed by the connection route database (15) and by the connection relationship manager (16) in accordance with a group creating instruction based on the control information request. An information collective obtainer (13) obtains control information from the facility device in the data possessing device group through a communicator (17), and creates a data array of the obtained control information.