JP2001074239A - Combustion control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable past data to be continued easily without the extinction of the past data in a combustion control device provided with a storage means for storing various data that are necessary for the maintenance and inspection of combustion equipment even in the case when the main body of a control substrate provided with the storage means is changed. SOLUTION: This combustion control device 10 is provided with sensors and the like 14 detecting the combustion condition of combustion equipment and a microcomputer 12 controlling a load 16 of the combustion equipment using the data detected by the sensors and the like 14. In this case, a detachable auxiliary substrate memory 20 is provided independently of a memory in a main body 18 besides this, and a plurality of data that are detected by the sensors and the like 14 and necessary for the maintenance and inspection of the combustion equipment are stored in both the memory in the main body 18 and the auxiliary substrate memory 20. Moreover, the data is rewritten to the data in a safe side in the case when the data of the memory in the main body 18 is different from that of the auxiliary substrate memory 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a combustion control device, and more particularly, to a combustion control device for controlling the combustion state of a combustion device and storing various data necessary for maintenance and inspection of the combustion device. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Combustion devices such as water heaters, heaters, bath kettles, gas stoves, and the like have recently been remarkably provided with multifunctionality and high performance by microcomputer control. As a result, maintenance and inspection of combustion equipment require advanced product knowledge and complicated and time-consuming work.

[0003] In order to solve this problem, in addition to the function of monitoring the combustion equipment using various sensors and controlling the operation of the combustion equipment by a microcomputer, the use history, failure history, repair history and other combustion history are also measured. Various combustion control devices have been proposed which have a function of storing various data necessary for maintenance and inspection of the equipment and a function of displaying them on appropriate display means as necessary.

In a combustion control device having such a function,
The storage means (specifically, a rewritable non-volatile memory) built in the control device main body is used to store the presence or absence of an abnormality that has occurred during operation of the combustion equipment and its contents, the repair time of the combustion equipment and its contents, and the like. In general, the data is stored in a series. Further, the stored data is generally displayed on a display device provided in the combustion control device, or an external device such as an electronic organizer is connected to the combustion control device and displayed on the external device.

[0005]

However, all of the conventional combustion control devices store various data necessary for maintenance and inspection of the combustion equipment in a single storage means built in the control device main body. Therefore, if any part of the control board on which the storage means is mounted fails and it becomes necessary to replace each control board, all past data will be lost and maintenance and inspection after replacement of the control board will be performed. There was a problem that there was a problem.

On the other hand, in order to solve this problem, all data stored in the storage means is displayed on a display device before replacing the control board, and the data is copied on paper or the like, and is copied after replacing the control board. Although a method of manually writing all the data into the new storage means is also conceivable, the operation is extremely complicated and inefficient.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is that in a combustion control apparatus having a storage means for storing various data necessary for maintenance and inspection of a combustion apparatus, a control board main body having the storage means is replaced. Even in such a case, it is an object of the present invention to provide a combustion control device capable of easily continuing the past data without erasing the past data.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides detecting means for detecting the combustion state of a combustion device, and detecting the combustion state of the combustion device by using data detected by the detection means. A combustion control apparatus comprising: a first storage unit configured to store a plurality of data necessary for maintenance and inspection of the combustion equipment among the data detected by the detection unit; The gist is that the storage means is detachable independently of the first storage means and includes a second storage means for storing the same data as the plurality of data stored in the first storage means. Is what you do.

In this case, the first storage means and the second storage means
A representative data comparing unit that compares one or more representative data selected from the plurality of data stored in the storage unit; and a case where the representative data comparing unit determines that the representative data is different. All data rewriting means for storing, in the first storage means and the second storage means, all data stored in one storage means in which representative data on the safe side is stored in the other storage means; It is desirable to further provide. In addition, as the representative data, the cumulative combustion time and / or the number of times of combustion are preferable.

Alternatively, the first storage means and the second storage means
An individual data comparing unit that compares the plurality of data stored in the storage unit for each data; and, if the individual data comparing unit determines that the data is different, one storage unit for each data. The data storage device may further include individual data rewriting means for storing the safety-side data stored in the means in the other storage means.

According to the combustion control apparatus of the present invention having the above configuration, a plurality of data necessary for maintenance and inspection of the combustion equipment are stored in the first storage means and the second storage means which can be detached independently of the first storage means. Since the data is stored in both means, even if one of the first storage means and the second storage means has to be replaced due to a failure, past data is lost in the other storage means. Will remain intact.

In a case where all data rewriting means or individual data rewriting means for comparing representative data or individual data stored in the first storage means and the second storage means and rewriting the data with safer data is further provided. When any one of the first storage means and the second storage means is exchanged, the past data stored in the other storage means can be written to the exchanged storage means. Can be easily continued.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a combustion control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a combustion control device 10 is generally used by being incorporated in a main body of a combustion device (not shown).
The microcomputer includes a microcomputer (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “microcomputer”) 12, sensors 14, a main body memory 18 (first storage unit), and an auxiliary substrate memory 20 (second storage unit).

The microcomputer 12 has one or two or three LSs.
It is composed of an I chip, and is usually mounted on one board (hereinafter, referred to as “control board main body”). Further, various sensors 14 and various loads 16 are connected to the microcomputer 12, and the control circuit provided in the microcomputer 12 controls the loads 16 based on various signals output from the sensors 14. Has become.

The internal memory 18 is built in the control board main body, and stores various data output from the microcomputer 12. The internal memory 18 contains
Generally, a rewritable nonvolatile memory is used.

The auxiliary board memory 20 is mounted on an auxiliary board separate from the control board main body, and includes connectors 22a,
The microcomputer 1 mounted on the control board main body via 22b
2 can be attached and detached. In addition, a rewritable nonvolatile memory is used for the auxiliary substrate memory 20 as in the main body memory 18.

As the auxiliary board memory 20, an independent memory may be used, or the free space of a memory provided in a device used for another purpose may be used. For example, a gas type switching board in which fixed data necessary to maintain an optimum combustion state according to the gas type is attached to the combustion equipment, but the free space of the memory of this board is used as an auxiliary board. It may be used as the memory 20.

Further, as the combustion equipment to which the present invention is applied, various equipment which exhibits a desired function by burning gas or petroleum correspond, and are not particularly limited. Specifically, a water heater, a bath kettle, a heater, a stove, and the like are mentioned as preferable examples. Therefore, the microcomputer 1
The load 16 connected to 2 differs depending on the type and function of the combustion equipment to which the combustion control device 10 is applied. For example,
When the combustion device is a water heater, specific examples of the load 16 include a water governor for supplying water to a heat exchanger, a solenoid valve and a gas proportional valve provided in a gas pipe, a blower fan, and the like.

The same applies to the sensors 14 connected to the microcomputer 12, and according to the type and function of the combustion equipment,
Various sensors are used. For example, when the combustion equipment is a water heater, the sensors 14 include an operation switch for enabling the water heater, a temperature setting switch for setting the temperature of hot water from the faucet, and a gas burner. A flame rod for detecting the ignition / misfire of the water, a water supply temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of water supplied to the heat exchanger, a tap water temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of hot water discharged from the heat exchanger, and a water flow in the heat exchanger Switch, a water flow sensor that detects the amount of water flowing through the heat exchanger, a sensor that detects the opening and closing of an electromagnetic valve provided in the gas pipe for supplying gas to the gas burner, and the opening of a gas proportional valve that is provided in the gas pipe. Specific examples include a sensor that detects the degree (current value), a sensor that detects the number of rotations of a blower fan for blowing air to the gas burner, a current and a voltage, and the like.

Next, various functions provided in the combustion control device 10 will be described in more detail. In the present embodiment, the microcomputer 12 has a function of controlling the load 16 based on a signal detected from the sensors 14 and a function of monitoring an abnormality of the load 16 based on a signal detected from the sensors 14. ing. The microcomputer 12 also stores various data necessary for maintenance and inspection of the combustion equipment (hereinafter referred to as “use history and failure history recognized by the sensors 14, and repair history input by an operator during repair”. It has a function of writing the "maintenance data" into both the main body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20, and a function of reading various maintenance data stored in the main body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20.

Further, the microcomputer 12 has a function of comparing various maintenance data stored in the main body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20 and a different maintenance data stored in the main body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20. If
It has a function of rewriting the maintenance data of either the internal memory 18 or the auxiliary board memory 20 to maintenance data on the safe side.

Here, the maintenance data stored in the in-body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20 include, for example, the cumulative combustion time, the number of combustions, the current value for the number of rotations of the blower fan, the thermal efficiency of the heat exchanger, A preferable example is a use history of the exhaust resistance of the air supplied by the blower fan or the like, or a failure history such as presence / absence of non-ignition, presence / absence of misfire, and abnormal operation of the load 16. In addition, when consumables are replaced, the type of replaced parts,
A repair history such as replacement time and cumulative burning time at the time of replacement may be stored as maintenance data.

In this case, the method of storing the maintenance data in the main body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20 is not particularly limited. For example, in the case of the cumulative combustion time, the actual cumulative combustion time may be sequentially stored, but 1
One unit may be 0 hour, and one unit may be added every 10 hours. Similarly, regarding the number of times of combustion, the number of times of combustion may be integrated each time normal ignition and misfire are detected one by one. May be added one unit at a time every 10 times.

For example, if the flame rod does not detect ignition even though the user has pressed the operation switch, the error code "11" is stored in the main body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20. Even if the user did not operate the operation switch during use,
When the flame rod detects a misfire, the error code “12” is stored in the internal memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20.
It is good to memorize it. This makes it possible to easily distinguish misfire from misfire in the middle.

Further, when the replacement time of consumables is determined by using the change amount of the thermal efficiency, since there is a variation for each product,
Even if the same control current and control voltage are applied to the load 16, the same thermal efficiency may not be obtained. Therefore, in such a case, instead of making a judgment based on the change in the absolute value of the thermal efficiency, the initial value of the thermal efficiency is stored as maintenance data, the change in the deviation from the initial value of the thermal efficiency is calculated, and the It is advisable to judge the time of replacement.

In-body memory 18 and auxiliary board memory 20
Various methods can be considered as a method for comparing various types of maintenance data stored in the storage device. A method of comparing one or more representative data selected from a plurality of stored maintenance data (representative data comparison) Means) are preferred. In this case, when it is determined that the representative data is different, all the maintenance data stored in one memory storing the representative data on the safe side may be stored in the other memory (all data rewriting means). .

For example, when the control board main body in which the internal memory 18 is built is replaced, the representative data stored in the auxiliary board memory 20 is determined to be on the safe side. All the maintenance data in the internal memory 18 may be rewritten to the maintenance data stored in the auxiliary board memory 20.

Although various maintenance data can be used as the representative data, the cumulative combustion time and / or the number of times of combustion are particularly preferable. This is because the cumulative combustion time or the number of times of combustion directly corresponds to the magnitude of the heat stress applied to the combustion equipment, and is therefore the best index for estimating the time of replacement of consumables.

As a method of comparing the various types of maintenance data stored in the in-body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20, a method of comparing a plurality of stored maintenance data for each maintenance data (individual data comparing means) ) May be used. In this case, when it is determined that the respective maintenance data are different, the value on the safe side may be stored in both the main body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20 for each maintenance data (individual data rewriting means).

For example, if the cumulative combustion time stored in the internal memory 18 is longer (safe side), the cumulative combustion time of the auxiliary substrate memory 20 is rewritten to the cumulative combustion time stored in the internal memory 18. I just need. On the other hand, when the number of times of combustion stored in the auxiliary substrate memory 20 is larger (on the safe side), the number of times of combustion in the main body memory 18 may be replaced with the number of combustions stored in the auxiliary substrate memory 20.

Further, as a method of comparing various maintenance data stored in the main body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20, the above-mentioned representative data comparing means and all data rewriting means, and individual data comparing means and individual data rewriting means Means may be used in combination. That is, first, the representative data comparing means and the all data rewriting means use the memory 18 in the main body.
And the rewriting of the auxiliary board memory 20 on the safe side is performed, and if the discrimination is not possible, the individual data comparing means and the individual data rewriting means are used to determine which one of each maintenance data is safe. The determination as to whether the device is the side and the rewriting may be executed.

Next, a control method of the combustion control device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 2 shows an example of a control flowchart. FIG.
First, in step 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “S1”), when the user turns on the power of the combustion equipment, in S2, various maintenance data stored in the memory 18 in the main body is transmitted to the microcomputer 12. Is read. Similarly, in S3, the microcomputer 12 reads various maintenance data stored in the auxiliary board memory 20.

Next, in S4, the internal memory 1
It is determined whether the maintenance data stored in 8 is correct. This is because erroneous maintenance data may be written to the internal memory 18 for some reason.
Whether or not the data stored in the internal memory 18 is correct is usually determined by comparing a check code (for example, parity) on the memory.

If it is determined that the maintenance data stored in the main unit memory 18 is correct (S4: YES), the process proceeds to S5. In S5, it is determined whether the maintenance data stored in the auxiliary board memory 20 is correct. Similarly, in the auxiliary board memory 20, whether or not the stored content is correct is performed by comparing a check code on the memory or the like.

If it is determined that the maintenance data stored in the auxiliary board memory 20 is correct (S5: YES), the process proceeds to S6. In S6, an operation is performed to determine which of the maintenance data stored in the in-body memory 18 and the maintenance data stored in the auxiliary board memory 20 is data on the safe side. As described above, either of the representative data comparing means and the individual data comparing means may be used as a method of determining which is the safe side, or both may be used in combination.

In S7, an operation of rewriting the maintenance data (non-application side data) determined to be non-safety in S6 to safe side data (application side data) is executed.
For example, when the representative data comparison means is used in S6, in S7, all data stored in one memory is rewritten to application side data (all data rewriting means). Further, for example, when the individual data comparing unit is used in S6, in S7, each maintenance data is rewritten to the application side data (individual data rewriting unit).

On the other hand, if it is determined in S5 that the auxiliary board memory 20 is not correct (S5: NO), it is not preferable to compare the maintenance data as it is. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds to S8, and the internal memory 1
The maintenance data on the side 8 is directly adopted as the data on the safe side. Then, in S9, all the maintenance data in the auxiliary board memory 20 is rewritten to the maintenance data in the internal memory 18.

Similarly, in S4, the internal memory 18
Is determined to be incorrect (S4: NO)
It is not preferable to compare the maintenance data as it is. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds to S10, where it is determined whether the auxiliary board memory 20 is correct.

If it is determined that the auxiliary board memory 20 is correct (S10: N0), it indicates that the maintenance data stored in the auxiliary board memory 20 has higher reliability. The data in the auxiliary board memory 20 is adopted as safe data (S11), and the memory 18 in the main body is used.
Is rewritten to the maintenance data in the auxiliary board memory 20 (S12). On the other hand, the auxiliary board memory 2
If it is determined that 0 is not correct (S10: N0), the maintenance data in both the internal memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20 are rewritten to default values (S13).

As described above, according to the combustion control apparatus of the present invention, the main body memory 18 in which the maintenance data is built in the control board main body, and the auxiliary board memory 20 which is detachably connected to the microcomputer 12. Therefore, for example, even if any part of the control board body on which the microcomputer 12 is mounted fails and the control board body must be replaced, , The past data remains without extinction.

The various maintenance data stored in the main body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20 are compared by the representative data comparing unit and / or the individual data comparing unit, and are compared by the all data rewriting unit and / or the individual data rewriting unit. By rewriting the data on the safe side, the past data can be continued. In addition, it is not necessary to copy the maintenance data on paper or the like and manually input the maintenance data into the replaced memory, so that the maintenance data can be reliably and easily continued.

Further, even when the in-body memory 18 or the auxiliary board memory 20 is not replaced, a maintenance data write error may occur. However, as in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not data is abnormal. Determination means (S4,
S5 or S10) and means (S8 or S11) for adopting the one without abnormality as safe data, erroneous rewriting due to a maintenance data write error is prevented, and the The accuracy of self-diagnosis is improved.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is.

For example, the method of displaying the maintenance data stored in the main body memory 18 and the auxiliary board memory 20 is not particularly limited. That is, the maintenance data may be displayed on a display panel of a remote controller for operating a combustion device to which the combustion control device 10 is attached, or an external display device such as an electronic organizer is connected to the microcomputer 12, You may make it display on an external display device.

The combustion control device 10 has a function of notifying the user of a failure by flashing a lamp or a warning sound when a failure occurs, and forcibly supplying fuel to the combustion equipment when an abnormality occurs. It may have other functions such as a function of shutting off the camera.

Further, in the above embodiment, the maintenance data comparison and rewriting are executed by turning on the power of the combustion equipment. However, the above-described maintenance data comparison function and rewriting function are executed. A separate switch may be provided so that the user can arbitrarily compare and rewrite the maintenance data, whereby the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0047]

According to the present invention, there is provided a combustion control apparatus comprising: detecting means for detecting a combustion state of a combustion device; and control means for controlling a combustion state of the combustion device using data detected by the detection means. , A first storage means for storing a plurality of data necessary for maintenance and inspection of the combustion equipment among the data detected by the detection means,
Detachable independently of the storage means;
Since there is provided the second storage means for storing the same data as the plurality of data stored in the storage means, one of the first storage means and the second storage means has to be replaced due to a failure. Even if it cannot be obtained, there is an effect that past data does not disappear.

Also, one selected from the plurality of data stored in the first storage means and the second storage means.
Or, if the representative data comparing unit determines that the representative data is different, the representative data comparing unit compares two or more representative data. And all data rewriting means for storing all the data stored in one storage means in the other storage means in which the representative data of the side is stored in the other storage means. There is an effect that can be.

When the cumulative combustion time and / or the number of times of combustion are used as the representative data, the use history of the combustion equipment can be accurately grasped, and the estimation accuracy of the replacement time of the consumables is improved. This has the effect.

Further, individual data comparing means for comparing the plurality of data stored in the first storage means and the second storage means for each data, and the individual data comparing means determines that each data is different. In the case where the data is further provided with individual data rewriting means for storing the safety-side data stored in one storage means in the other storage means for each data, the past data is There is an effect that it can be easily continued.

As described above, according to the combustion control device of the present invention, the use history, failure history, and repair history of the combustion equipment are easily and reliably continued, so that the accuracy of the self-diagnosis of the combustion equipment is improved. In addition, the present invention contributes to the improvement of safety and reliability of the combustion equipment, and is an industrially extremely effective invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a combustion control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control flowchart of the combustion control device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 combustion control device 12 microcomputer (control means) 14 sensors (detection means) 16 load 18 internal memory (first storage means) 20 auxiliary board memory (second storage means) 22a, 22b connector

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A combustion control apparatus comprising: a detection unit for detecting a combustion state of a combustion appliance; and a control unit for controlling a combustion state of the combustion appliance using data detected by the detection unit. A first storage unit for storing a plurality of data necessary for maintenance and inspection of the combustion equipment among the data detected by the unit, and the first storage unit is independently detachable, and
A combustion control device, comprising: a second storage unit for storing the same data as the plurality of data stored in the first storage unit. 2. Representative data comparing means for comparing one or more representative data selected from the plurality of data stored in the first storage means and the second storage means, and the representative data comparing means When it is determined that the representative data is different, the first storage means and the second
And all data rewriting means for storing all data stored in one of the storage means in which the representative data on the safe side is stored in the other storage means, among the storage means. The combustion control device according to claim 1. 3. The representative data includes a cumulative combustion time and / or
The combustion control device according to claim 2, wherein the number of times of combustion is the number of times of combustion. 4. An individual data comparison unit for comparing the plurality of data stored in the first storage unit and the second storage unit for each data, and the individual data comparison unit determines that each data is different. 2. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: individual data rewriting means for storing the safety-side data stored in one storage means in the other storage means for each data. 3. The combustion control device according to item 1.