Control device for air conditioner

• US 5,299,432 A
• Filed: 07/29/1992
• Issued: 04/05/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Isobe, Tomonori, Ishihara, Manabu, Nakae, Tsugio
• Primary Examiner(s): Tanner, Harry B.
• Application Number:
  US07/922,470
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• Field of Search: 62/231, 62/157, 62/126, 62/127, 62/129, 62/298, 236/51, 165/12
• US Class Current: 62/298
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/00 Control or safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/38 Failure diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/41 Defrosting; Preventing freezing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/52 Indication arrangements, e.g. displays
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/56 Remote control
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/64 using pre-stored data
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/77 by controlling the speed of ventilators
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/79 for controlling the direction of the supplied air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/88 Electrical aspects, e.g. circuits
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/10 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/12 of the outside air
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/20 Humidity
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2140/00 Control inputs relating to system states
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means

Abstract

This invention aims to facilitate setting and modifications of characteristic data for microcomputers used for control of various types of air conditioner. A control device for the air conditioner comprises a microcomputer having a first ROM for storing a program for controlling operations of a compressor and a blower, a RAM for storing present data and various data associated with the operations and a CPU for executing the program. A second ROM is provided in the control device for storing specific data representing capacity of the components such as compressors and a blower, functions of the air conditioner, exclusive cooling or cooling/heating and so on.

Claims

1. In an air conditioner having a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an indoor heat exchanger are connected by a refrigerant pipe, for supplying air which is temperature-controlled by said indoor heat exchanger to a room to be air-conditioned by controlling components, such as said compressor and a blower, a control device for controlling said components of said air conditioner,

a controlling means for controlling the operation capacity of said compressor so as not to exceed a predetermined maximum capacity for the compressor on the basis of a signal from said control device;

said outdoor heat exchanger and said indoor heat exchanger having such capacities as to continue operation at the time of operation of said compressor even with a maximum capacity,

said control device comprising,

a microcomputer housing in one package a first ROM for storing a program controlling the operation of said components and said controlling means, a RAM for storing present data and various data associated with operation, and a CPU for executing said program; and

a second ROM for storing specific data representing at least the maximum capacity of said compressor and the capacity of said outdoor or indoor heat exchanger and for sequentially outputting said stored specific data to said microcomputer in response to an output from said microcomputer, said second ROM being electrically connected to said microcomputer;

wherein said CPU stores said specific data output from said second ROM in accordance with said program into said RAM every time the air conditioner stops operation thereof and the operation capacity of the compressor is controlled below a predetermined maximum capacity and the capacity of the compressor is controlled on the basis of a room temperature and set temperature and on the basis of said data stored in said RAM .

2. A control device according to claim 1, wherein said second ROM is a one time programmable sequential read only memory in which said specific data are written in advance.

3. A control device according to claim 1 wherein said second ROM further stores specific data for determining capacity of the air conditioner.

4. In an air conditioner of separate type comprising an indoor unit having an expansion valve and an indoor heat exchanger and an outdoor unit having a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger, said outdoor unit including:

a controlling means for controlling the operation capacity of said compressor so as not to exceed a predetermined maximum capacity for the compressor on the basis of a signal from said control device;

said outdoor heat exchanger and said indoor heat exchanger having such capacities as to continue operation at the time of operation of said compressor even with a maximum capacity,

said control device comprising;

a microcomputer housing in one package a first ROM for storing a program for controlling operations of said components and said controlling means, a RAM for storing present data and various data associated with operation, and a CPU for executing said program; and

a second ROM for storing specific data representing at least the maximum capacity of said compressor and the capacity of said outdoor and indoor heat exchanger and for sequentially outputting said stored specific data to said microcomputer in response to an output from said microcomputer, said second ROM being electrically connected to said microcomputer;

wherein said CPU stores said specific data output from said second ROM in accordance with said program into said RAM every time the air conditioner stops operation thereof and the operation capacity of the compressor is controlled below a predetermined maximum capacity and the capacity of the compressor is controlled on the basis of a room temperature and set temperature and on the basis of said data stored in said RAM.

5. A control device according to claim 4 wherein the second ROM of said indoor unit further includes a specific data representing at least capacity of said indoor heat exchanger and said second ROM of the outdoor unit further includes a specific data representing at least capacity of said compressor.

6. A controller for a combined heating/air conditioning installation, said controller having a microcomputer with a memory for storing a set of program instructions defining a mode of operation for said controller, and for storing data relating to existing conditions, and for storing data relating to selected parameters of said combined heating/air conditioning installations, said parameters including the maximum operating capacity of various components of said installation so that said controller may thereby be used with different heating/air conditioning installations, said microcomputer having means for receiving and storing a desired value for an environmental condition and means for running said program instructions to achieve said desired value.

7. The controller of claim 6 wherein said heating/air conditioning installation includes a first group of equipment for location outdoors of a space whose environment is sought to be controlled by said heating air/conditioning installation, and a second group of equipment for location inside said space, said controller including a first microcomputer connected to said first group of equipment and a second microcomputer connected to said second group of equipment, and a data link connecting said first microcomputer to said second microcomputer so that said microcomputers may together coordinate the operation of both said first and second groups of equipment to achieve said desired value.

8. The controller of claim 7 wherein said second group of equipment includes devices for sensing the existing values of said environmental conditions desired to be monitored and controlled.

9. The controller of claim 8 wherein each of said microcomputers has a memory for storing said data.

10. The controller of claim 9 further comprising means for changing said data stored in each memory to thereby facilitate each of said microcomputer'"'"'s use with different equipment.

11. The controller of claim 10 wherein one of said microcomputers acts as a master by sending data over said data link to said other microcomputer, said other microcomputer acting as a slave by responding to said data to control its associated group of equipment in response to said data.

12. The controller of claim 11 wherein said second microcomputer is said master and said first microcomputer is said slave.

13. The controller of claim 12 further comprising means for an operator to input said desired values for said environmental conditions to said master microcomputer.

14. The controller of claim 13 wherein said input means comprises a remote control.

15. A controller for a combined heating/air conditioning installation, said installation including a first group of equipment for location outdoors of a space whose environment is sought to be controlled, and a second group of equipment for location inside said space, said controller including a first microcomputer connected to said first group of equipment for controlling said first group of equipment, a second microcomputer connected to said second group of equipment for controlling said second group of equipment, said second group of equipment including a plurality of sensors for sensing the instantaneous values of a plurality of environmental conditions, said sensors being connected to said second microcomputer for inputting data corresponding to said sensed instantaneous values, each of said microcomputers having a memory for storing data corresponding to its associated equipment parameters, data corresponding to the sensed instantaneous values of said environmental conditions, and a program for controlling the operation of said microcomputer, and a data link interconnecting said first and second microcomputers so that said microcomputers may communicate data to each other.

16. The controller of claim 15 wherein one of said microcomputers acts as a master by sending data over said data link to said other microcomputer, said other microcomputer acting as a slave by responding to said data to control its associated group of equipment in response to said data.

17. The controller of claim 16 wherein said second microcomputer is said master and said first microcomputer is said slave.

18. The controller of claim 17 further comprising means for an operature to input said desired values for said environmental conditions to said master microcomputer.

19. The controller of claim 18 wherein said input means comprises a remote control.