HK1132033A - Remote software loading for refrigerant system - Google Patents

Description

Remote software download for refrigeration systems

Background

The present invention relates to a method of downloading software or software updates for controlling and operating a refrigeration system from a remote location, such as through the internet or other information carrying medium.

Refrigeration systems are used to condition secondary fluids such as gas, water, glycol solutions or other media. In one primary example, air conditioners or heat exchangers are used to change the temperature and/or humidity of air delivered to an indoor environment to provide comfort.

Air conditioning systems have been the subject of improved control logic and improved control characteristics. More sophisticated controls have been developed to increase the operating efficiency of the refrigerant system to achieve and maintain the desired ambient conditions that are adjusted within precisely defined tolerance ranges. Therefore, sophisticated controls running sophisticated software have become an integral part of many modern refrigeration systems.

It is well known that the software used for these controls needs to be updated from time to time as new algorithms are found and software "bugs" are detected. To date, technicians have had to visit the refrigeration system location in order to update the refrigeration system control software. This is time consuming, undesirable and requires the device to be shut down.

Disclosure of Invention

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the refrigeration system control provides a connection to the internet or other information carrying medium so that software can be downloaded to the controller. In one embodiment, after the software is downloaded, a test procedure is performed to ensure that the software is properly downloaded to the control and that the control is working properly. The test program results are transmitted back to the remote location via the internet or other information carrying medium so that the remote location can confirm and ensure that the update occurred successfully.

As is known, conventional refrigeration systems generally comprise a compressor which compresses a refrigerant and delivers it to a downstream condenser. Refrigerant from the condenser flows through an expansion and throttling device and then to the evaporator. In many refrigeration systems, fans drive the gas over the condenser and evaporator. The control, including software, may control any system component, such as the compressor, the two fans, and/or the expansion device. Thus, software updates and test procedures involve any combination or all of these elements.

These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a basic flow diagram of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The refrigeration system 24 is provided with a controller 22 to regulate the indoor environment 20. The refrigeration system 24 may be a well known air conditioner or heat pump, or a chiller. For example, the refrigeration system 24 may be used to condition the environment within a building, supermarket, refrigerator unit, truck trailer unit, or the like. As shown, an Internet hub 26, such as a home computer or router, communicates with the controller 22 through a remote connection. Alternatively, the controller 22 may be hardwired to the computer 26.

As shown, the refrigeration system 24 includes a compressor 100 that delivers refrigerant to a condenser 102. A fan 104 blows air over the condenser 102. The refrigerant flows through the expansion and throttle device 105, and then reaches the evaporator 106. Another fan 104 blows air over the evaporator 106. Software of controller 22 may control any of the components such as compressor 100, fan 104, and expansion device 105. Additionally, because the basic refrigerant system configuration shown in FIG. 1 is for illustrative purposes only, other elements and features/options may be included in the refrigerant system 24 and controlled by the controller 22. Also, while the refrigeration system 24 is shown in FIG. 1 as being confined to the conditioned space 20, in practice it is connected to the indoor environment through a vent that delivers the air blown off the evaporator 106 to the conditioned space 20.

The remote location 30, which may be a manufacturer location of the controller 22, or of the refrigeration system 24, or of another control center transmitting downloaded and uploaded data, is connected to the computer 26 via the internet or other information carrying medium, such as a local area network, a wide area network, or an intranet 28 via a wireless connection, such as satellite, or a land line, such as a telephone line or cable (copper, fiber optic, etc.). It should be understood that the remote location 30 may be directly connected to the controller 22 by having a dedicated line.

As shown in the schematic flow diagram of fig. 2, when updates to the software are required, the remote location 30 downloads these updates to the controller 22 via the internet 28 or other information carrying medium. Thus, no maintenance personnel are required at the building location 20. Once the software is downloaded to the controller 22, commands to run the test protocol are initiated. The test may include operating some of the components of the refrigeration system 24 associated with the update and determining whether some change in the refrigerant system 24 is expected to occur, if the update is successfully downloaded. For example, these test procedures may be performed prior to booting the device.

The test results are transmitted back to the remote location 30 via the internet 28 or other information carrying medium. The test routines and software updates may relate to any of the elements controlled by the controller 22, such as the compressor 100, the fan 104, and the expansion restriction 105. When it is confirmed that the test results ensure that the controller 22 and the refrigerant system 24 are operating properly, the older version of the software may be removed from the controller memory. If there is a problem, the test result is unsuccessful or there is a problem, the old version of software is reactivated. On the other hand, if errors associated with software downloads can be corrected (e.g., shutting down the device for maintenance, overloading the system while transmitting, insufficient power from the power grid, etc.), then a re-download scheme may be devised to attempt to download the software on a timeout basis until successful or a certain number of attempts.

In this manner, from a remote location, the manufacturer can update the software for the refrigerant system control 22 and ensure that the updated software is successfully downloaded to allow the control 22 to properly operate and operate the refrigerant system 24.

It is noted that software updates may be performed at a convenient time (e.g., nighttime) when there is no need for an urgent need to operate the device, the internet is not heavily loaded, and there is no compromise between occupant comfort in the conditioned space.

Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.

Claims (30)

1. A refrigeration system comprising a plurality of components operable to vary at least the temperature of a secondary fluid;

control of the plurality of elements, the control being provided with operating software; and

the connection is operable to provide software updates to the control through a connection of an information carrying medium to a remote location.

2. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the information carrying medium is one of the internet, LAN, WAN, secure network or intranet.

3. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said auxiliary fluid is used to condition the environment within one of a building, a house, a supermarket, a refrigerator unit, a truck trailer refrigeration unit, or a mobile air conditioning unit.

4. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said refrigerant system component comprises a component of one of an air conditioner, a heat pump and a chiller.

5. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein control is operative to perform a system test after downloading said system update and report back said results of said system test to said remote location.

6. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said connection is via a computer.

7. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 6, wherein the connection between said control and said computer is through a wireless connection.

8. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said plurality of components includes at least one compressor, and said software update relating to control of said compressor.

9. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 8, wherein a system test is performed on said compressor after said software update is downloaded and results of said system test are reported back to said remote location.

10. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said plurality of components includes at least a plurality of heat exchangers having fans or pumps for moving the auxiliary fluid through the heat exchangers, and said software updates involved in controlling said fans or pumps.

11. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 10, wherein a system test is performed after said software update is downloaded, and said system test includes operating said fan and pump, with the results of said fan and pump operation being reported back to said remote location.

12. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said plurality of components includes an expansion device and having said software update relating to control of said expansion device.

13. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 12, wherein a system test is performed after downloading said software update and said system test includes operating said expansion device with results of operation of said expansion device reported back to said remote location.

14. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said connection is operable to provide a software update for a selected period of time.

15. The refrigerant system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said connection is operable to attempt to repeat the software update if the software update is not successfully initialized.

16. A method of operating a refrigeration system comprising the steps of:

(1) providing a plurality of elements operable to at least vary the temperature of the secondary fluid;

(2) providing a control for controlling the plurality of elements, the control being provided with operating software; and

(3) connecting the control to a remote location via an information carrying medium and providing software updates of the control from the remote location.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the information carrying medium is one of the internet, a LAN, a WAN, a secure network, or an intranet.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the refrigeration system component comprises a component of one of an air conditioner, a heat pump, and a chiller.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the control is operable to perform a system test after downloading the software update and report back the system test results to the remote location.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the connection is through a computer.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of elements includes at least one compressor, the software update involving controlling the compressor.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein a system test is performed on the compressor after downloading the software update and results of the system test are reported back to the remote location.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of elements includes at least a plurality of heat exchangers having fans or pumps for moving the secondary fluid through the heat exchangers, and the software update involved in controlling the fans or pumps.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein a system test is performed after downloading the software update and comprises operating the fan and pump, the results of the fan and pump operation being reported back to the remote location.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of elements includes an expansion device and having the software update directed to control of the expansion device.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein a system test is run after downloading the software update and the system test comprises operating the expansion device, the result of the operation of the expansion device being reported back to the remote location.

27. The method of claim 16 including the additional step of removing the old software version after a successful download.

28. The method of claim 16 including repeating the downloading step if the previous attempt failed until a specified criterion is met.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein said specified criteria is at least one of a timeout and a number of unsuccessful attempts.

30. The method of claim 16, wherein the software update is downloaded over a selected period of time.