Refrigerant amount management system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerant filling techniques for multi-air conditioner systems lack effective management of refrigerant amounts during additional filling at construction or maintenance sites, which can lead to inefficient operations if the additional refrigerant is not appropriately managed.
Innovation Solution
A refrigerant amount management system that includes an additional-filling-amount obtaining unit, storage units for apparatus and initial filling amounts, and a useful-information creation unit to manage and determine the appropriateness of refrigerant filling, allowing remote monitoring and reporting of refrigerant levels in relation to installation environments and apparatus specifics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If additional filling of refrigerant is performed at the construction site, then the refrigerant amount in the refrigeration cycle apparatus can be increased, but the management and tracking of the additional filling amount becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The management apparatus receives additional filling amount information from multiple sources (weighing device, flow rate measurement device, or operator input) and stores it in association with the refrigeration cycle apparatus. This feedback mechanism ensures that the additional filling amount is accurately tracked and recorded, resolving the information loss problem while enabling proper refrigerant amount management.
Solution Approach 2:
The management apparatus acts as an intermediary between the refrigeration cycle apparatus, the weighing/flow rate measurement devices, and the useful information creation device. It collects, stores, and manages the additional filling amount information, facilitating proper tracking and enabling the creation of useful management information without requiring direct connection between all components.
2Quantity of substance
If the additional filling amount is not properly managed, then the refrigeration cycle apparatus can be filled with refrigerant, but the appropriateness of the refrigerant amount cannot be determined
Solution Approach 1:
The system collects feedback information including the additional filling amount, initial filling amount, and installation environment information. This comprehensive feedback enables the useful information creation device to determine whether the total refrigerant amount (initial + additional) is appropriate for the specific installation conditions, thereby achieving precise appropriateness determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual judgment of refrigerant amount appropriateness with an automated information processing system. The management apparatus and useful information creation device automatically compare the total refrigerant amount against the installation environment information to determine appropriateness, providing more precise and objective assessment than manual methods.
3Loss of information
If refrigerant filling management is performed locally at each site, then the refrigerant amount can be tracked, but remote management and centralized monitoring become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The management apparatus is designed with multi-functionality to handle various types of information (additional filling amount, initial filling amount, installation environment data) from multiple refrigeration cycle apparatuses. It can perform both local tracking at each site and centralized remote management simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between detailed tracking and ease of remote operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The management apparatus serves as a centralized intermediary that collects information from multiple refrigeration cycle apparatuses at different locations. This enables remote management and centralized monitoring while maintaining accurate tracking of refrigerant amounts at each individual site, as the management apparatus aggregates and manages all the data in one central location.
Data Source
AI summary
A refrigerant amount management system manages an amount of refrigerant with which a plurality of refrigeration cycle apparatuses is filled. Each refrigeration cycle apparatus has a refrigerant circuit. The refrigerant amount management system includes an additional-filling-amount obtaining unit that obtains an additional filling amount of refrigerant with which a refrigeration cycle apparatus has been additionally filled after installation, a storage unit, and a useful-information creation unit. The storage unit stores apparatus information regarding the refrigeration cycle apparatus that has been additionally filled with refrigerant and the additional filling amount of the refrigeration cycle apparatus identified with the apparatus information in association with each other. The useful-information creation unit creates useful information to be used in management of the amount of refrigerant based on the additional filling amount of one of the refrigeration cycle apparatuses and the additional filling amount of another of the refrigeration cycle apparatuses.