Equipment management system, programmable controller and centralized controller

• US 8,311,650 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2006
• Issued: 11/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Masui, Hirotaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Chaki, Kakali
• Assistant Examiner(s): HANCHAK, WALTER P
• Application Number:
  US12/373,629
• Publication Number:
  US 20100004758A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,315 Days
• Field of Search: 700/59, 700/9
• US Class Current: 700/9
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/058 Safety, monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24155 Load, enter program if device acknowledges received password, security signal

Abstract

A centralized controller 2 controls facility equipment 3a and 3b according to a sequence control program corresponding to standard functions of the facility equipment 3a and 3b. In addition, the centralized controller 2 receives control information for controlling a unique function of the facility equipment 3a and 3b and a PIN code, which are transmitted from a programmable controller 1, and transmits, if the PIN code is a valid code, the control information to the facility equipment 3a and 3b.

Claims

1. An equipment management system comprising:

a programmable controller that accepts setting of a control program corresponding to a unique function of facility equipment and setting of an identification code from a removable program/code setting unit, that generates control information for said facility equipment by executing the control program, and that transmits the control information for said facility equipment and the identification code; and

a centralized controller that controls said facility equipment according to a control program corresponding to a standard function of said facility equipment, that receives the control information and the identification code transmitted from said programmable controller, and that transmits the control information to said facility equipment only when the identification code from the programmable controller is a valid code for said facility equipment, the identification code being unique to each piece of the facility equipment and calculated from an individual identification number assigned to each piece of the facility equipment, the individual identification number being a manufacturer'"'"'s serial number of the facility equipment, wherein

the programmable controller

detects a connection to the centralized controller and transmits the identification code accepted from the removable program/code setting unit to said centralized controller when the connection is detected,

generates the control information and then transmits the control information to said centralized controller when a control enabling signal that authorizes control of the facility equipment is received from the centralized controller, and

inhibits the transmission of the control information to said centralized controller when a control disabling signal that disables control of the facility equipment is received from the centralized controller, and

the centralized controller

receives the identification code and determines whether the identification code received is the valid code for said facility equipment or not,

generates the control enabling signal to the programmable controller which authorizes control of the facility equipment when the identification code from the programmable controller is determined to be the valid code, and

generates the control disabling signal to the programmable controller that disables control of the facility equipment when the identification code is determined not to be the valid code.

2. The equipment management system according to claim 1, wherein

said centralized controller accepts setting of the individual identification number of the facility equipment, calculates the identification code from the individual identification number, and authenticates that the identification code is the valid code so as to transmit the control information to said facility equipment only when the identification code calculated by said centralized controller matches the identification code transmitted from said programmable controller.

3. The equipment management system according to claim 1, wherein

said programmable controller generates the control information for general-purpose equipment by executing a control program of said general-purpose equipment, and transmits the control information for said general-purpose equipment to said centralized controller;

and

said centralized controller transfers the control information transmitted from said programmable controller to said general-purpose equipment.

4. The equipment management system according to claim 3, wherein

said centralized controller transfers the control information transmitted from said programmable controller to said general-purpose equipment only when the identification code transmitted from said programmable controller is the valid code.

5. The equipment management system according to claim 2, further comprising:

an individual identification number setting unit for setting the individual identification number of said facility equipment to said centralized controller.

6. The equipment management system according to claim 2, wherein the individual identification number used to calculate the identification code is the manufacturer'"'"'s serial number assigned to each piece of the facility equipment, and the calculation by said centralized controller converts the individual identification number.

7. The equipment management system according to claim 1, wherein the facility equipment are air conditioners and refrigeration equipment.

8. A programmable controller comprising:

storage means for accepting, from a removable program/code setting unit, setting of a control program corresponding to a unique function of facility equipment and for accepting setting of an identification code, and for storing the control program and the identification code, the identification code being unique to each piece of the facility equipment and represents a calculation from an individual identification number assigned to each piece of the facility equipment, the individual identification number being a manufacturer'"'"'s serial number of the facility equipment;

control information generating means for generating control information for said facility equipment by executing the control program stored in said storage means; and

communication means for transmitting the control information for said facility equipment generated by said control information generating means and the identification code stored in said storage means to a centralized controller, wherein

the control information generating means

detects connection of the communication means to the centralized controller,

supplies the control information to the communication means when the connection is detected,

causes the communication means to transmit the control information for said facility equipment to said centralized controller when a control enabling signal that authorizes control of the facility equipment is received from the centralized controller, and

inhibits the communication means from transmitting the control information for said facility equipment to said centralized controller when a control disabling signal that disables control of the facility equipment is received from the centralized controller.

9. The programmable controller according to claim 8, wherein

said control information generating means generates, when said storage means stores a control program of general-purpose equipment in addition to the control program corresponding to the unique function of said facility equipment, control information for said general-purpose equipment by executing the control program of said general-purpose equipment;

and

said communication means transmits the control information for said general-purpose equipment, which is generated by said control information generating means, to said centralized controller.

10. The programmable controller according to claim 8, wherein the individual identification number is the manufacturer'"'"'s serial number assigned to each piece of the facility equipment.

11. The programmable controller according to claim 8, wherein the facility equipment are air conditioners and refrigeration equipment.

12. The programmable controller according to claim 8, wherein

the control information is transmitted to the centralized controller over a first transmission line, and the control enabling signal and the control disabling signal from the centralized controller are received over the first transmission line.

13. A centralized controller comprising:

facility equipment control means for controlling facility equipment according to a control program corresponding to a standard function of said facility equipment;

receiving means for receiving control information and an identification code, which are transmitted from a programmable controller, the identification code being unique to each piece of the facility equipment and calculated from an individual identification number assigned to each piece of the facility equipment, the individual identification number being a manufacturer'"'"'s serial number of the facility equipment;

decision means for making a decision as to whether the identification code received by said receiving means is a valid code for said facility equipment or not, for generating a control enabling signal to the programmable controller that authorizes control of the facility equipment when the decision result indicates that the identification code is the valid code, and for generating a control disabling signal to the programmable controller that disables control of the facility equipment when the identification code is not the valid code; and

transmitting means for transmitting, only when the decision result by said decision means indicates that the identification code is the valid code for said facility equipment, the control information received by said receiving means to said facility equipment.

14. The centralized controller according to claim 13, wherein

said decision means accepts setting of the individual identification number of the facility equipment, calculates the identification code from the individual identification number, and makes a decision, when the identification code matches the identification code received by said receiving means, that the identification code is the valid code so as to transmit the control information to said facility equipment.

15. The centralized controller according to claim 14, wherein

said transmitting means transfers, when said receiving means receives control information for general-purpose equipment, which is transmitted from the programmable controller, the control information to said general-purpose equipment.

16. The centralized controller according to claim 15, wherein

said transmitting means transfers control information received by said receiving means to said general-purpose equipment only when the decision result by said decision means indicates that the identification code is the valid code.

17. The centralized controller according to claim 14, wherein the individual identification number used to calculate the identification code is the manufacturer'"'"'s serial number assigned to each piece of the facility equipment, and the calculation by said decision means converts the individual identification number.

18. The centralized controller according to claim 13, wherein the facility equipment are air conditioners and refrigeration equipment.

19. The centralized controller according to claim 13, wherein

the control information is received from the programmable controller over a first transmission line, and the control enabling signal and the control disabling signal are transmitted to the programmable controller over the first transmission line, and

the control information is transferred to the facility equipment over a second transmission line.