{DESCRIPTION}
{Title of Invention}
AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME
{Technical Field}
{0001}
The present invention relates to an air conditioning
system and a method of controlling the same.
{Background Art}
{0002}
Conventionally, an air conditioning system includes an
indoor unit and an outdoor unit. For example, PTL 1 discloses
an air conditioning system in which one outdoor unit and a
plurality of indoor units are connected to each other via a
common cooling medium piping, and the outdoor unit and each of
the indoor units are respectively provided with corresponding
control devices.
{Citation List}
{Patent Literature}
{0003}
{PTL 1}
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No.
2012-198020
{Summary of Invention}
{Technical Problem}
{0004}
3
However, in the aforementioned air conditioning system,
the indoor units and the outdoor unit are respectively
provided with control devices (processors). Therefore, the
respective costs of the indoor units and the outdoor unit
increase. The air conditioning system is controlled while the
indoor units and the outdoor unit communicate with each other.
Therefore, all control programs used for the control need to
have the same control version. Therefore, some of the indoor
units and the outdoor unit constituting the air conditioning
system have not easily been changed to equipment with a new
control specification.
{0005}
The present invention is directed to providing an air
conditioning system, which can implement respective cost
reductions of a single indoor unit and a single outdoor unit,
while easily upgrading the system, and a method of controlling
the same.
{Solution to Problem}
{0006}
According to a first aspect of the present invention,
there is provided an air conditioning system, including an
outdoor unit including communication means, an indoor unit
including communication means, an outdoor unit control section
that is enabled to communicate with the outdoor unit via a
communication medium while existing independently of the
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outdoor unit, and an indoor unit control section that is
enabled to communicate with the indoor unit via a
communication medium while existing independently of the
indoor unit, in which the outdoor unit control section and the
indoor unit control section are enabled to bidirectionally
communicate with each other, the outdoor unit control section
acquires information on equipment to be loaded onto the
outdoor unit via the communication medium while outputting a
control instruction to the equipment to be loaded onto the
outdoor unit, and the indoor unit control section acquires
information on equipment to be loaded onto the indoor unit via
the communication medium while outputting a control
instruction to the equipment to be loaded onto the indoor
unit.
{0007}
The aforementioned air conditioning system enables
respective configurations of the indoor unit and the outdoor
unit to be simplified because the indoor unit control section
and the outdoor unit control section respectively exist
independently of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit,
enabling reduction in cost. Further, the indoor unit and the
outdoor unit need not be respectively loaded with advanced
programs (e.g., are loaded with only a communication function
and a component actuation function) so that the equipment does
not become obsolete, and the outdoor unit and the indoor unit
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can be easily replaced. Further, the indoor unit control
section and the outdoor unit control section are respectively
provided independently of the indoor unit and the outdoor
unit. Therefore, when the indoor unit control section and the
outdoor unit control section are placed under control of a
manufacturer of the air conditioning system, for example, a
program update can be easily performed.
{0008}
In the aforementioned air conditioning system, the
outdoor unit control section and the indoor unit control
section may be respectively loaded as virtualized control
sections onto a control device.
{0009}
The aforementioned air conditioning system enables the
control sections to be flexibly created depending on
connection equipment by existing as the virtualized control
sections. Further, hardware resources of the control device
may be determined depending on the scale of the air
conditioning system. Therefore, waste of CPU (Central
Processing Unit) resources can be reduced.
{0010}
In the aforementioned air conditioning system, the
control device may include a master control section, and the
master control section may acquire attribute information on
the indoor unit and the outdoor unit connected to the
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communication medium at the time of startup, and the
virtualized indoor unit control section and the virtualized
outdoor unit control section may be respectively created based
on the attribute information.
{0011}
The master control section may be created as a
virtualized control section in the control device.
{0012}
In the aforementioned air conditioning system, the master
control section may assign each of the indoor unit and the
outdoor unit a virtual CPU and a memory region corresponding
thereto based on the attribute information, and the
virtualized outdoor unit control section and the virtualized
indoor unit control section may be created by storing
respective control programs corresponding to the attribute
information acquired from the indoor unit and the outdoor unit
in the respective memory regions.
{0013}
More specifically, the aforementioned air conditioning
system may further include control module storage means
storing a control module corresponding to each of a plurality
of pieces of equipment to be loaded onto the indoor unit and a
control module corresponding to each of a plurality of pieces
of equipment to be loaded onto the outdoor unit, and the
master control section may acquire the control module
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corresponding to the equipment provided in the indoor unit
from the control module storage means to create a custom
control program and store the custom control program in a
memory region corresponding to the indoor unit while acquiring
the control module corresponding to the equipment provided in
the outdoor unit from the control module storage means to
create a custom control program and storing the custom control
program in a memory region corresponding to the outdoor unit.
{0014}
According to the aforementioned air conditioning system,
minimum essential control programs can constitute the custom
control program when the control programs are customized
depending on the equipment to be loaded onto each of the
indoor unit and the outdoor unit. Thus, the useless control
program can be eliminated so that the capacity of the custom
control program can be reduced.
{0015}
In the aforementioned air conditioning system, the master
control section may store memory images respectively stored in
memory regions of the indoor unit control section and the
outdoor unit control section in a master storage region, and
the virtualized indoor unit control section and the
virtualized outdoor unit control section may be created by
storing the respective memory images stored in the master
storage region in the respective memory regions corresponding
8
thereto at the time of second and subsequent startups. Thus,
processing at the time of second and subsequent startups can
be simplified.

We Claim
1. An air conditioning system comprising:
an outdoor unit including communication means;
an indoor unit including communication means;
an outdoor unit control section that is enabled to communicate with the outdoor
unit via a communication medium while existing independently of the outdoor unit;
and
an indoor unit control section that is enabled to communicate with the indoor
unit via a communication medium while existing independently of the indoor unit,
wherein the outdoor unit control section and the indoor unit control section are
enabled to bidirectionally communicate with each other,
the outdoor unit control section acquires information on equipment provided in
the outdoor unit via the communication medium while outputting a control instruction
to the equipment provided in the outdoor unit, and
the indoor unit control section acquires information on equipment provided in
the indoor unit via the communication medium while outputting a control instruction
to the equipment provided in the indoor unit,
wherein the outdoor unit control section and the indoor unit control section are
respectively implemented as virtualized control sections onto a control device,
the control device includes a master control section,
the master control section acquires attribute information on the indoor unit and
the outdoor unit connected to the communication medium at the time of startup, and
the virtualized indoor unit control section and the virtualized outdoor unit
control section are respectively created based on the attribute information.
2. The air conditioning system as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the master control section assigns each of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit a
virtual CPU and a memory region corresponding thereto based on the attribute
information, and
the virtualized outdoor unit control section and the virtualized indoor unit
control section are created by storing respective control programs corresponding to the
attribute information acquired from the indoor unit and the outdoor unit in the
respective memory regions.
3. The air conditioning system as claimed in claim 2, comprising
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control module storage means storing a control module corresponding to each
of a plurality of pieces of equipment provided in the indoor unit and a control module
corresponding to each of a plurality of pieces of equipment provided in the outdoor
unit,
wherein the master control section acquires the control module corresponding
to the equipment provided in the indoor unit from the control module storage means to
create a custom control program and store the custom control program in a memory
region corresponding to the indoor unit while acquiring the control module
corresponding to the equipment provided in the outdoor unit from the control module
storage means to create a custom control program and storing the custom control
program in a memory region corresponding to the outdoor unit.
4. The air conditioning system as claimed in claim 3, wherein
the master control section stores memory images respectively stored in memory
regions of the indoor unit control section and the outdoor unit control section in a master
storage region, and
the virtualized indoor unit control section and the virtualized outdoor unit
control section are created by storing the respective memory images stored in the master
storage region in the respective memory regions corresponding thereto at the time of
second and subsequent startups.
5. The air conditioning system as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein
the control device starts the master control section when the control device
receives information on a program update, and
the master control section updates the control modules stored in the control
module storage means based on the information on the program update, and updates
the respective custom control programs stored in the memory regions using the updated
control modules.
6. The air conditioning system as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein
the control device starts the master control section when the control device
receives change information on the indoor unit or the outdoor unit, and
the master control section adds the indoor unit control section or the outdoor
unit control section or updates the custom control program in response to the attribute
information on the changed indoor unit or outdoor unit.
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7. The air conditioning system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein,
when the control device comprises a plurality of control devices,
the master control section in any one of the control devices operates as a higherlevel master control section while the master control section in the other control device
operates as a lower-level master control section,
the higher-level master control section allocates, according to the capability of
the control device including itself and the capability of the other control device, the
indoor unit control section and the outdoor unit control section to each of the control
devices, and
each of the control devices creates the indoor control section and/or the outdoor
control section allocated to itself.
8. The air conditioning system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the master control
section in the control device having the highest capability is selected as the higher-level
master control section.
9. The air conditioning system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the
control device is installed on a cloud.
10. The air conditioning system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the
virtualized indoor unit control section or the virtualized outdoor unit control section
provided in the control device receives information from a sensor attached to the indoor
unit or the outdoor unit and the other outdoor unit control section or the other indoor
unit control section, and a predetermined application gives a control instruction to the
indoor unit or the outdoor unit corresponding thereto according to a predetermined
control rule using the information as an input.
11. The air conditioning system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein
the outdoor unit comprises a plurality of outdoor units, and
the outdoor unit control section comprises a plurality of outdoor unit control
sections respectively corresponding to the plurality of outdoor units,
the plurality of outdoor unit control sections are enabled to bidirectionally
communicate with one another,
one of the outdoor unit control sections
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acquires information on respective performance coefficient characteristics and
capability available ranges of the plurality of outdoor units, and
the outdoor units are assigned higher priorities in descending order of their
maximum coefficients of performance (COPs) based on the acquired information, and
the outdoor units are sequentially started in descending order of the priorities while
each of the outdoor units is operated in a capability range in which the coefficient of
performance of the outdoor unit is higher than the coefficient of performance of the
other outdoor unit that is lower in priority than the outdoor unit.
12. A method of controlling an air conditioning system comprising an indoor unit
and an outdoor unit, the control method comprising:
causing an indoor unit control section that controls the indoor unit and an
outdoor unit control section that controls the outdoor unit to respectively exist
independently of the indoor unit and the outdoor unit; and
enabling bidirectional communication between the indoor unit control section
and the outdoor unit control section while enabling bidirectional communication
between the indoor unit control section and the indoor unit and the outdoor unit control
section and the outdoor unit,
wherein the outdoor unit control section and the indoor unit control section are
respectively implemented as virtualized control sections onto a control device, and
the control device acquires attribute information on the indoor unit and the
outdoor unit at the time of startup, and respectively creates the virtualized indoor unit
control section and the virtualized outdoor unit control section based on the attribute
information.