Multi-Unit Air Conditioner Abnormality Estimation by Unit Pairing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods fail to accurately determine the specific unit (indoor or outdoor) within a multi-unit air conditioning system where refrigerant circuit abnormalities occur.
Innovation Solution
An air conditioning system with a server-connected air conditioner that utilizes processing circuitry to detect state quantities, transmit detected values, and estimate abnormalities by pairing outdoor and indoor units, identifying issues in individual units or the entire system based on feature values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a plurality of indoor units are connected to an outdoor unit by refrigerant pipes to form a multi-unit air conditioning system, then the system provides broader cooling and heating coverage, but it becomes impossible to estimate in which specific unit (outdoor unit or indoor units) abnormality has occurred
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the multi-unit air conditioning system into multiple independent estimation pairs, where each pair consists of the outdoor unit and one indoor unit. The abnormality estimation is performed separately for each pair using their respective state quantities. This segmentation allows the system to identify which specific pair (and thus which specific unit) is experiencing abnormality, resolving the inability to locate problems in multi-unit systems while maintaining the benefits of expanded coverage.
2Device complexity
If only occurrence of abnormality of the air conditioner is estimated without unit-specific analysis, then the estimation process is simple, but it is impossible to identify the specific unit where abnormality has occurred
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a new dimension to the abnormality estimation by creating multiple estimation pairs (outdoor unit + indoor unit 1, outdoor unit + indoor unit 2, etc.). Instead of a single system-level estimation, the analysis is extended across multiple unit combinations. This dimensional expansion enables precise unit identification while maintaining relatively simple estimation processes for each individual pair.
Data Source
AI summary
An air conditioner includes a refrigerant circuit in which indoor units are connected to an outdoor unit. The conditioner includes a processor to detect a state quantity related to control on the air conditioner, acquire a detected value of the detected quantity and estimate occurrence of abnormality of the circuit by using a detected value of a feature value by assuming that the quantity related to abnormality of the circuit is adopted as the feature value. The estimating adopts the outdoor unit and each of the indoor units as a single pair, estimates occurrence of abnormality in the circuit for each of the pairs, estimates that abnormality has occurred in the indoor unit of a subject pair when estimating that abnormality has occurred in any of the pair, and estimates that abnormality has occurred in the outdoor unit when estimating that abnormality has occurred in all of the pairs.