JP2011190974A - Heating control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce energy consumption of a battery of a terminal sensor unit 1 in a heating control system controlling on/off of a heater 3 installed in a room by a control device 2 while measuring a temperature of the room by the terminal sensor unit 1. <P>SOLUTION: The heater 3 is switched off by the control device 2 when a sensor temperature received from the terminal sensor unit 1 becomes higher than a set temperature, and the heater 3 is switched on when the received sensor temperature becomes lower than the set temperature. In the terminal sensor unit 1, the temperature is measured every lapse of a sleep time, and the sleep time is prolonged with respect to a basic interval when the temperature difference between the measured sensor temperature and the set temperature is large. The sensor temperature is wirelessly transmitted to the control device 2 when the measured sensor temperature satisfies a prescribed condition to the set temperature. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heating control system that performs on / off control of a heater installed in a room by a control device while measuring the temperature of the room with a terminal sensor device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a heating control system that performs wireless communication between a control device that performs heater on / off control and a terminal sensor device that measures room temperature has been considered. When constructing such a wireless network, the terminal sensor device can be operated by battery operation to eliminate restrictions on the installation location of the terminal sensor device. The battery that operates the terminal sensor device has a lifetime, and it is important to extend the usage period of the terminal sensor device by suppressing battery consumption.

  In a wireless network, a multi-hop wireless network system is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-206749 (Patent Document 1) as a power saving device for wireless terminals. Based on the control command from the control terminal, this system shifts to the sleep mode at a predetermined timing, returns from the sleep mode after a predetermined time, and responds to the control terminal. It tries to make it.

JP 2009-206749 A

  Although the terminal sensor device is operated by a microcomputer, the microcomputer is put into an operation state at every scanning interval from a sleep state (sleep mode), and the battery life is extended by performing temperature measurement and wireless communication by such intermittent operation. It is possible. However, when the room temperature is managed by heater on / off control, the room temperature does not change at an extreme speed. Therefore, in such an environment, merely operating at a predetermined scan interval includes substantially useless operations in temperature measurement and wireless communication, and there is still room for improvement.

  An object of the present invention is to achieve further power saving in a heating control system having a terminal sensor device that operates by battery driving.

  The heating control system according to claim 1 includes wireless communication means for receiving temperature data, a control device for performing on / off control of a heater installed in the room based on the received temperature, and a battery as an operation power source Is a heating control system comprising a terminal sensor device equipped with wireless communication means for measuring the temperature of the room with a temperature sensor and transmitting data of the measured temperature, the control device receiving the The terminal sensor device performs on / off control so that the heater is turned off when the temperature exceeds a preset temperature, and the heater is turned on when the received temperature falls below the set temperature. The temperature is measured by intermittent operation, and the interval between the intermittent operations is increased as the absolute value of the temperature difference between the measured temperature and the preset temperature is larger. Measured temperature, and transmits the temperature measured to the control apparatus when a predetermined condition is satisfied with respect to the set temperature.

  The heating control system according to claim 2 is the heating control system according to claim 1, wherein a Diff region having a predetermined temperature range with the set temperature as a lower limit is set in the terminal sensor device, and the predetermined control range is set. The conditions are characterized in that the measured temperature falls below the Diff area and the measured temperature rises above the Diff area.

  The heating control system according to claim 3 is the heating control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the terminal sensor device has a Diff region having a predetermined temperature range with the set temperature as a lower limit, and A region having a predetermined temperature range with an upper limit of the set temperature, and a B region having a predetermined temperature range on the high temperature side of the Diff region and the low temperature side of the A region are set, and the interval of the intermittent operation When the basic interval is Δt, when the measured temperature is in the Diff region or the A region, the temperature measurement value is collected every Δt, and when the measured temperature is in the B region, every 2Δt The measurement value is collected, and when the measured temperature is outside the Diff region, the A region, and the B region, the measurement value is collected every 3 Δt.

  When the heater is turned on / off by the control device, the heater needs to be switched from the on state to the off state or from the off state to the on state if the room temperature approaches the set temperature. However, when the room temperature is sufficiently higher than the set temperature, the heater is in an off state and there is room for the on state. Further, when the room temperature is sufficiently lower than the set temperature, the heater is in the on state and there is room for the off state. Therefore, according to the heating control system of claim 1, as the absolute value of the temperature difference between the measured temperature and the set temperature is larger, the interval of the intermittent operation is lengthened, and there is an allowance for the heater on / off control by the control device. Since unnecessary intermittent operation is not performed at a certain time, consumption of the battery of the terminal sensor device can be suppressed, and further power saving can be achieved.

  According to the heating control system of claim 2, in addition to the effect of claim 1, the measured temperature is transmitted to the control device only when the temperature falls below or exceeds the Diff area having a predetermined temperature range. Power transmission is not required, and further power saving can be achieved.

  According to the heating control system of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect, the interval of the intermittent operation is set stepwise by Δt, 2Δt, and 3Δt. become.

It is a figure showing a schematic structure of a heating control system of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the terminal sensor apparatus of an embodiment. It is a block diagram of the control apparatus of an embodiment. It is a flowchart concerning an embodiment. It is a timing chart which shows an example of operation in an embodiment.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a heating control system according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a terminal sensor device, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control device. In this heating control system, for example, terminal sensor devices 1 and 1 are installed in two rooms, respectively, and the terminal sensor devices 1 and 1 perform wireless communication of signals with the control device 2, respectively. The control device 2 performs on / off control of the heaters 3 and 3 provided in the two rooms, and performs, for example, floor heating for each of the rooms. Since the terminal sensor devices 1 and 1 are operated by a battery, they can be installed at arbitrary positions.

  In the following description, one terminal sensor device 1 is described for the control device 2, but each terminal sensor device 1, 1 has the same structure, and each terminal sensor device 1, 1 is connected to the control device 2. Are independent of each other and have an equal relationship. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal sensor device 1 includes a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) 11, a temperature sensor 12, a transmission / reception unit 13 as a communication means, a timer 14 (built in the microcomputer 11), a storage unit 15, and a battery 16. The terminal sensor device 1 operates using the battery 16 as a power source for operation.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 2 includes a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) 21, an operation panel 22, a transmission / reception unit 23 as a communication means, a storage unit 24, a power supply circuit 25, and the like. The device 2 operates using a commercial power source via the power circuit 25 as an operating power source. The storage unit 24 stores various setting information such as a set temperature set by the operation panel 22. The transmission / reception unit 23 is a circuit that performs transmission / reception similarly to the transmission / reception unit 13 of the terminal sensor device 1 described later.

  In the terminal sensor device 1, the temperature sensor 12 is composed of a thermistor or the like, and the microcomputer 11 measures the temperature of the room by the temperature sensor 12 by intermittent operation. The temperature information based on the measured temperature is hereinafter referred to as “sensor temperature”. The transmission / reception unit 13 is a circuit that transmits and receives data according to a short-range wireless communication standard (for example, a transmission / reception distance of several tens of meters), and wirelessly communicates sensor temperature data and data request data from the transmission unit 13 to the control device 2. . Further, the transmission unit 13 receives set value data from the control device 1. The timer 14 measures a sleep time that is an interval between intermittent operations, and the sleep time is set by the microcomputer 11. When the timer 14 measures the sleep time and time is up, a time-up signal is output to the control unit and an intermittent operation is performed. The storage unit 15 stores various set values such as set temperature, Diff value, A value, and B value.

  The set temperature is temperature information set by the control device 2 and indicates the target temperature of the room in which the terminal sensor device 1 is installed. The Diff value is a value for setting a Diff region (insensitive region) having a predetermined temperature range with the set temperature as a lower limit. The A value and the B value are values for setting a temperature region together with the Diff value, and the A value is a value for setting an A region having a predetermined temperature range with the set temperature as an upper limit. The B value is a value for setting a B region having a predetermined temperature width on the high temperature side of the Diff region and on the low temperature side of the A region.

  Then, the terminal sensor device 1 switches the sleep time according to which temperature range the sensor temperature is. Specifically, when the sensor temperature is in the Diff region or the A region, a predetermined basic interval Δt is set as the sleep time. When the sensor temperature is in the B region, a time twice as long as the basic interval Δt is set as the sleep time. When the sensor temperature is not any of the Diff area, the A area, and the B area, a time that is three times the basic interval Δt is set as the sleep time. It should be noted that the sleep time may be set so that a higher or lower temperature region is provided and the time is n times the basic interval Δt.

  The terminal sensor device 1 determines whether or not to transmit the measured sensor temperature to the control device 2. Specifically, the sensor temperature is wirelessly transmitted to the control device 2 when the sensor temperature falls below the set temperature. In addition, when the sensor temperature exceeds (set temperature + Diff value), the sensor temperature is wirelessly transmitted to the control device 2. The control device 2 performs on / off control of the heater 3 based on the transmitted sensor temperature.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing operations of the terminal sensor device 1 and the control device 2. The control device 2 performs network startup processing in step S1. In this network start-up process, the network is established with the terminal sensor devices 1 and 1, and the addresses of the terminal sensor devices 1 and 1 are set. If the terminal sensor device 1 is not turned on, the terminal sensor device 1 and the control device 2 establish a network and set an address or the like when the power is turned on.

  Next, when the network startup process is completed, the control device 2 controls the heaters 3 and 3 in step S2. In the heater control, when the sensor temperature is received from the terminal sensor device 1, the sensor temperature is compared with the set temperature set for the terminal sensor 1 (for the room) and the corresponding heater 3 Perform on / off control. That is, when the sensor temperature falls below the set temperature, the heater 3 is turned on. When the heater 3 is in the on state and the sensor temperature exceeds (set temperature + Diff value), the heater 3 is turned off.

  The terminal sensor device 1 makes a data request to the control device 2 in step S11 and receives the data. In step S12, the heater 3 is under control based on the received data, or the temperature setting value is updated. Determine if there is any. If the determination is NO, that is, the heater is not being controlled and the temperature set value has not been updated, the process proceeds to step S16. If the determination is YES, that is, if the heater is being controlled or if the temperature set value is updated, the sensor temperature is measured in step S13. Next, in step S14, based on the measured sensor temperature, it is determined whether or not a condition for transmitting sensor temperature data is satisfied. If the condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S16. If the condition is satisfied, the sensor temperature is transmitted to the control device 2 in step S15, and the process proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, the sleep time is determined based on the measured sensor temperature, and the sleep state is entered. The determined sleep time is set as the time measured by the timer 14. In step S17, the timer 14 measures the sleep time and monitors the elapse of the sleep time. If the sleep time elapses, the process returns to step S11. That is, by this step S17, steps S11 to S16 are intermittently repeated at intervals of the sleep time, and the sensor temperature is measured by this intermittent operation. During the sleep time, neither the sensor temperature measurement operation nor the data transmission / reception operation is performed, so that the power of the battery 16 is hardly consumed.

  By the above processing, for example, the operation is as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, in the terminal sensor device 1, when the sensor temperature is in the Diff area above the set temperature or the A area below the set temperature, the temperature measurement and collection operation is performed at every basic interval Δt. When the sensor temperature is in the B region above the Diff region or the B region below the A region, the temperature measurement and collection operation is performed every two intervals (2Δt) of the basic interval Δt. When the sensor temperature is in the region above the upper B region or below the lower B region, the temperature measurement and collection operation is performed at intervals of 3 times the basic interval Δt (3Δt).

  In addition, when the heater is stopped, the sensor temperature decreases, and when the sensor temperature falls below the set temperature, the sensor temperature is wirelessly transmitted to the control device 2, and the control device 2 detects that the sensor temperature is below the set temperature. Therefore, the heater 3 is turned on (heater operation). Then, when the sensor temperature rises and the sensor temperature exceeds the Diff region, the sensor temperature is wirelessly transmitted to the control device 2, and the control device 2 exceeds the Diff region (set temperature + Diff value). Therefore, the heater 3 is turned off (heater is stopped).

  As described above, when the measured sensor temperature is sufficiently high or sufficiently low from the set temperature, that is, as the absolute value of the temperature difference between the sensor temperature and the set temperature is large, the sleep time is longer than the basic interval. It is possible to suppress the consumption of the battery 16 without performing a useless operation when there is a margin before the heater ON / OFF control by the control device 2. In addition, since the terminal sensor device 1 transmits the sensor temperature to the control device 2 only when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the consumption of the battery 16 can be further suppressed.

  In the embodiment, a stepwise region is set as the temperature determination region. However, the sleep time is increased as the sensor temperature becomes higher than the set temperature without being stepped or as the sensor temperature becomes lower than the set temperature. Also good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal sensor apparatus 2 Control apparatus 3 Heater 11 Microcomputer 12 Temperature sensor 13 Transmission / reception part 14 Timer 15 Storage part 16 Battery 21 Microcomputer 22 Operation panel 23 Transmission / reception part 24 Storage part 25 Power supply circuit

Claims (3)

A wireless communication means for receiving temperature data; a control device for controlling on / off of a heater installed in the room based on the received temperature; and a battery as an operating power source; A heating control system comprising a terminal sensor device provided with a wireless communication means for measuring the temperature of and transmitting data of the measured temperature,
The control device performs on / off control so that the heater is turned off when the received temperature exceeds a preset set temperature, and the heater is turned on when the received temperature falls below the set temperature. ,
The terminal sensor device measures the temperature by intermittent operation, and increases the interval between the intermittent operations as the absolute value of the temperature difference between the measured temperature and the preset temperature is larger. A heating control system characterized in that when the temperature satisfies a predetermined condition for the set temperature, the measured temperature is transmitted to the control device. In the terminal sensor device, a Diff area having a predetermined temperature range with the set temperature as a lower limit is set,
The predetermined condition is that when the measured temperature falls below the Diff area, and when the measured temperature exceeds the Diff area,
The heating control system according to claim 1, wherein: The terminal sensor device includes a Diff region having a predetermined temperature range with the set temperature as a lower limit, an A region having a predetermined temperature range with the set temperature as an upper limit, a high temperature side of the Diff region, and the A region. B regions each having a predetermined temperature range are set on the low temperature side,
Regarding the interval of the intermittent operation, when the basic interval is Δt and the measured temperature is in the Diff region or the A region, the measured temperature value is collected for each Δt, and the measured temperature is in the B region. The measured value is collected every 2Δt, and the measured value is collected every 3Δt when the measured temperature is outside the Diff region, the A region, and the B region. Heating control system.

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