WO2024028765A1

WO2024028765A1 - A monitoring system for ventilating machines

Info

Publication number: WO2024028765A1
Application number: PCT/IB2023/057785
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sandro NUTINI
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2022-08-02
Filing date: 2023-08-01
Publication date: 2024-02-08
Anticipated expiration: 2025-02-02
Also published as: EP4565824A1; IT202200016437A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of machine control for their correct operation, in particular with regard to self-diagnosis, with particular reference to the field of ventilation and air conditioning machines in general. In particular, the present invention relates to an "all around" security monitoring system to monitor the operating status of the machine, in particular for ventilation machines or ventilation units, to program it, trace its history and events on it in a certified and safe manner.

Description

A MONITORING SYSTEM FOR VENTILATING MACHINES

TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

Scope of the invention.

The present invention relates to the field of machine control for their correct operation, in particular with regard to self-diagnosis, with particular reference to the field of ventilation and air conditioning machines in general.

State of the art.

To date, machine systems, in particular ventilation and/or air conditioning are composed of a plurality of electrical and electronic elements connected to each other in a known manner to perform the overall function for which they were designed.

As a rule, their assembly takes place in special factories and they are assembled by hand or on the assembly line, dedicated operators are instructed on how to carry out the assembly and usually sample checks are carried out to verify the qualities of the same.

In these particular situations there are no "piece by piece" checks of the individual elements that are assembled, nor a "piece by piece" check of the assembly of the same to form a finished machine, functional and ready for use.

In fact, it is known to have a percentage of chance of defective machines, which may be defective because one or more components do not work correctly (being defective at the base) and/or because during assembly there have been inaccuracies.

Again, in the art there are systems for self-diagnosis for the correct operation of one or more parts, in particular electrical, of a machine. Such schemes, normally, for example, include devices such as electronic boards mounted together with the machine that are in charge of reading data deriving from the machine and communicating externally by means of a display to account for the correct operation of the machine and/or a component. Typically in case of problems error codes are generated that correspond to precise machine data and are decipherable by means of common instruction booklets and/or by means of warnings that already indicate the problem and its solution (e.g. replace battery, sensor for malfunction ...etc.)

Still as a rule for installation and commissioning and maintenance, even if specialized personnel carry it out, there is no certainty that these operations are carried out in a workmanlike manner, sometimes it may happen that despite the interventions are carried out by personnel who should be specialized, this does not happen with consequent onerous and costly expenses for the resolution of problems, waiting times, collateral damage in case of use of the machines in particular situations: in substance such operations are entirely operator dependent and dependent on the experience or not of an operator himself. Unfortunately, it happens not infrequently that in case of malfunctions and/or maintenance interventions carried out not ad hoc, the owner of the machine and/or the technician try to give the "fault" of the malfunction to the parent company for the defective part and/or to the technician, and the technician in turn accusing of incorrect use of the machine or defective part, all this to the detriment of the machine manufacturer.

These operations can include the phases of: installation, first commissioning, ordinary and extraordinary maintenance, making the numerous problems that can be created very evident.

It also happens that the same type of machine can be "customized" depending on the customer, or that it has a series of variable parameters that can be set ad hoc to meet the precise needs of a particular customer, this operation is called logistical set up and it is therefore possible to program at the time of delivery to the customer the best machine configuration via data transfer from a program and set up terminal. Also in this case, in the known art there is no control of the correct logistical set up, a factor that, having customized and non-standard machines, could cause great confusion in case of correction and maintenance interventions.

WO 2020/068730 describes a method for remotely diagnosing an abnormality of an air conditioning device.

A signal representing one or more operating parameters of the air conditioning device is received by a remote diagnostic device and the device diagnostic generates an operating state metric based on the signal representing one or more operating parameters.

The diagnostic device compares the operational state metric with a reference metric, and the abnormality is diagnosed on the diagnostic device in response to a difference between the operational state metric and the reference metric.

Possible monitored metrics may be: abnormal difference between the temperature of a fluid entering the climate control device and the temperature of a fluid exiting the climate control device, abnormally low level of refrigerant in a cooling system of the climate control device, abnormal overheating of the cooling system of the climate control device, under abnormal cooling of the refrigeration system of the climate control device, abnormal electric current consumption of a compressor of the refrigeration system of the climate control device, abnormal electric current consumption of the condenser fan of the climate control device, abnormal total electric current consumption of the climate control device, abnormal pressure in a combustion chamber of the climate control device, abnormal pressure differential across a filter or a filter bank, and/or abnormal condensate discharge state.

In light of the above, an object of the present invention is to describe a monitoring system "" for the solution of all the aforementioned problems of the known art. It is still an object of the present invention to describe a monitoring system to control that each machine during production, assembly and placing on the market includes all working components, which make a machine working and well assembled, eliminating as much as possible the percentages of defective machines.

Still an object of the present invention is to describe a monitoring system that certifies each individual machine and components, as well as the operations carried out on it in an immutable and unequivocal way to follow it throughout its entire life path and optimize its performance and duration over time.

It is still an object of the present invention to eliminate operator-employee errors as much as possible.

A further object of the present invention is to maximize the possibility of customisation during the logistical setup phase, having as above uniquely recognisable and controlled in each component machines.

Brief description of the invention

These and further objects will be achieved thanks to the present invention will be achieved thanks to the present monitoring system for ventilating machines or ventilation units, comprising at least one machine body which includes at least electrical and electronic parts and mechanical parts to form the ventilating unit and for the operation of the ventilating unit, characterized in that said electrical, electronic and mechanical parts are connected to at least one adapter comprising one or more boards of which each comprising at least one data port connected to one of said electrical and/or electronic and/or mechanical parts, at least one memory to store data from said parts, each of said boards assigned to each of said parts being provided with a unique id, said boards being connected to said adapter by means of secondary data ports, said adapter, being able to receive data through said data port, said adapter comprising further physical data interfaces suitable for connection with external hardware systems to which the system provides said data to obtain a certification of the same through blockchain.

Note that with adapter in this case we mean a base board on which there are areas intended for separate functions or a board that can accommodate one or more boards dedicated to separate and/or specific functions.

In a variant said adapter comprising further physical data interfaces suitable for connection with external hardware systems for the configuration and functionality of the machine.

In a variant said board(s) also comprise a microprocessor to be able to process said data in the first instance.

In a variant said board(s) comprise said boards comprising further an operating system to be able to be programmed without the aid of additional devices and/or for blockchain certification.

In a variant said boards will be boards with at least three or more NOSM/OS/NOS configurations (memory, id, data port, integrated microprocessor/ memory, id, data port, microprocessor and operating system/ memory, id, data port). In one variant the adapter will be installed in factory construction of the machine and in one variant it can be mounted after-production by means of pre-existing connections.

In one variant the boards will be mounted on the adapter and in another variant the boards will be mounted on the electrical and electronic parts and parts mechanics. In a variant, said electrical and electronic parts and mechanical parts may include sensors for monitoring said parts or parameters of interest to the machine (such as its internal temperature or the CO2 emitted by the fan and/or the temperature outside the fan, the speed of the air flow, the quality of the air in general etc... ).

This monitoring system will be linked to a procedure to implement it that will have various possibilities of implementation in various operating modes such as:

- self-diagnosis;

- qualitative tests during production, end-of-line tests;

- scheduling of logistical set-ups;

- installation control, start-up, ordinary and extraordinary maintenance; - logistics control.

Brief Description of the Figures

Fig. 1 shows a preferred configuration of the adapter included in said monitoring system on a ventilating machine. Fig.2 shows an example of some boards that can be adapted to the embodiment objects in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 shows an example of ventilation and/or air conditioning unit suitable for the purpose of the present invention.

Detailed description of the figures

Figure 1 shows a ventilation unit 100 comprising a machine body 1 comprising an adapter 2, electrical parts 20, mechanical parts 21 and electronic parts 22. The adapter 2 comprises one or more boards 3-3n each board comprising at least one data port 4 connected to the electrical and/or electronic and/or mechanical parts, a memory 6 for storing data from the parts 20, 21 , 22 and for storing a unique id. Said one or more boards 3-3n further comprise a secondary data port 7 connected to said adapter 2. Said adapter may comprise a microprocessor 15 if one or more boards 3-3n do not have one in order for example to generate codes relating to the operation of the parts connected to the board 3-3n,. The adapter 2 comprises physical data interfaces 16 to be connected to external hardware 30, some of which are suitable for certifying said data with blockchain technology.

Remember as mentioned in the introductory part that each board is associated with a unique ID to identify them.

In particular, the data detected and stored in memory 6 can be data from sensors already present on the machine, such data can concern the operation of the sensors themselves, but can also be data relating to the operation of the machine parts on which they are mounted, it is also possible to detect data coming directly from machine parts, such as parameters referring to an electric motor, through the aforementioned data ports 4.

Note that a data coming, for example, from a sensor and read from an board N, is recorded on it and remains available on it indefinitely for subsequent readings. The ID data, on the other hand, which distinguishes each board from the others, allows you to associate the data contained in it with the sensors/devices to which it has been or is connected in a completely advantageous and innovative way, thus being able to know the "history" of the machine in general but also of the individual components in particular, even when for example the board or boards 3-3n should be removed from the machine fan, that is, the data will remain legible in the memory of the board tracing the history of the machine.

In a variant, a microprocessor 15 placed directly on one or more board(s) 3-3n or on the adapter 2 is programmed to read the data stored on the memory 6 of each board, and is programmed to carry out operation checks according to predefined standards and generate operating/error codes that correspond to as many notifications that will be made available through physical data interfaces 16 to be connected to external hardware 30 suitable for certifying said data with blockchain technology to be unalterable and structured in a consequential way without the possibility of error, this being advantageous and innovative.

This allows, as mentioned in the introductory part, to know at all times the state of life of each component of the machine that is equipped with a board, and having numerous advantages, such as: - the possibility of knowing at any time every event that occurred on board of the machine in a certain way, without the possibility of error and;

- Time certainty of each successive event on board of each component of the machine;

- certainty of maintenance of the same, whether it took place correctly or not, both ordinary and extraordinary;

- certainty of malfunction/correct functioning of the various parts or by carrying out monitoring without the possibility of altering the data, with considerable advantages for "the attribution of responsibility" (was it the end user who tamper with or break something? was it the maintenance technician? is a defective piece or has it broken on its own?).

Note that the adapter 2 can be assembled during the factory assembly of the machine - and the boards are chosen from at least three NOSM/OS/NOS configurations (memory, id, data port, integrated microprocessor/ memory, id, data port, microprocessor and operating system/ memory, id, data port) depending on the needs, at least one of said types of boards (or others suitable for the purpose) - or the adapter 2 can be mounted on board of machines that do not have it even after manufacture, obviously the machines must have certain design standards, this by connecting the adapter 2 to the physical parts of the aforementioned machine.

In some embodiments it is possible, if the adapter 2 is mounted on board of the machine during production, also use it to "configure" the machine in some custom shapes for customers (examples below).

Figure 2 shows an example of boards 3-3n that can be mounted on the adapter 2, or be mounted on physical parts 20,21 ,22 of the ventilating machine 100 and be connected to said adapter 2 (functionally this being practically equivalent). The sheets shown here by way of example are the ones mentioned above:

• OS board comprising: memory 6, id, data port 4, integrated microprocessor 15 and OS operating system, secondary data port 7;

• NOSM board comprising: memory 6, id, data port 4, integrated microprocessor 15, secondary data port 7;

• NOS board comprising: memory 6, id, data port 4 and secondary data port 7.

An example of operation with data certification and notification in the field of selfdiagnosis is now proposed. The ventilation unit 100 is assembled, already configured and operating at full capacity:

- the NOSM boards 3-3n (by way of example) mounted on the adapter 2 collect the data from parts 20-21 -22 which can be parameters of any type (currents, voltages etc...) and stored in memory 6 where the board id also resides; - said data are processed by said microprocessor 15 which generates, based on the programming to which it has been subjected, codes associated with the operation of both the board and the parts connected to it;

- the codes generated, as an expression of the operation of the ventilating machine are communicated externally by means of physical data interfaces 16, such as a network board or an NFC sensor, or a QR code, to external hardware 30 and/or hardware 31 suitable for certifying said data with blockchain technology.

- a certified notification is generated, all certified notifications will constitute a sequence of certified events that will allow you to identify without the possibility of error all the events that occurred to the machine, the general and particular operation of the components.

Note that even if a board is extracted from the machine, with or without the physical part of the machine to which it is connected, the board will keep its memory and the data contained therein intact, being able to reconstruct the history of that part of the machine together with certified notifications that have been generated over time (e.g. timestamps and uniquely generated codes).

A further advantage obtained thanks to the present monitoring system for ventilating and/or air conditioning machines is the possibility of building a single "variant" machine to be configured in a custom way for a particular customer, being able to carry out a logistical set-up, that is, at the time of assembly in the factory, the various components or electrical 20, electronic 22, mechanical 21 parts, all or at least the most relevant parts from the point of view of the configuration of the ventilating machine and its operation will be equipped with boards 3-3n connected to at least one adapter 2 and/or mounted on said adapter and connected to the desired parts 20, 21 , 22.

In the event of a logistical set up, at the time of the "sale" of the machine it will be possible, within certain limits, to set it in the best way for the end customer according to their needs, working in the "opposite" way, i.e. by connecting said at least one adapter 2 through said physical ports 16 to external hardware that can be connected to the network (for example) and that will provide configuration data from the parent company to the machine, even if the "bare" machine, for example, is located in the Netherlands and the parent company in Italy, a remote customized configuration will therefore be possible

- the hardware and the SW that have configured the machine will generate a notification of configuration according to the parameters set: if the configuration has been successful and the machine works correctly, the notification that will also be certified on the blockchain will guarantee that the operation has been correctly performed, in addition, all its components and configuration parameters cannot be tampered with or modified in any way without incurring error and/or other notifications that may be taken over by the parent company if necessary. But even in the event that the configuration has not been successful and/or there is a malfunctioning or defective part, this would be immediately detected by the configuration system and notified to the parent company preventing the placing on the market of defective equipment.

In essence, thanks to the present invention it will be possible to uniquely and securely certify:

- self- diagnosis;

- qualitative tests during production, end-of-line tests;

- scheduling of logistical set-ups;

- installation control, start-up, ordinary and extraordinary maintenance; - logistics in real time, safe, free from possible tampering and unsolicited interventions, as well as false communications from technicians or customers.

In a completely advantageous way, therefore, guaranteeing the end user a definitely well-functioning product, customized also at the point of sale directly, certified by the parent company and guaranteed, with considerable savings in terms of maintenance time, components to be replaced (the machine will "warn" of this in certified way), impossibility of tampering or installation of unsuitable components, all this to protect the customer, to contain management and maintenance costs and greater protection also of the manufacturer. Finally, Figure 3 shows an example of a preferred embodiment of a ventilation system suitable for the application and implementation of this invention comprising by way of example

In addition to at least one heat exchanger and regulation electronics at least:

- electrical parts 20 such as exhaust fans, preheated resistors, delivery fans, post- heating resistance; electronic parts 22 such as temperature sensors, air quality sensors , pressure sensors, the aforementioned regulation electronics; mechanical parts 21 such as delivery filter, exhaust fan, cold/hot battery, return filter, etc. all or some of these elements or parts may be suitable to be connected to at least one adapter comprising one or a plurality of boards of which each comprising at least one data port connected to one of said electronic, electrical, or mechanical parts as described above.

These and further advantages as described by the present invention will be better clarified by the appended claims, it should be noted that variants in the type of boards 3-3n, of the parts 20, 21 , 22 to be monitored, devices and connection means, transmission hardware (laptops, smartphones, programming control units) various and any blockchain certification technologies, will be mere implementation variants suitable to allow the realization of the objects described by the present invention and therefore included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A monitoring system for ventilating machines (100) or ventilation units, comprising at least one machine body (1 ) comprising at least electrical (20) and electronic (22) parts and mechanical parts (21 ) to form the ventilating unit and for the operation of the ventilating unit, characterized in that said electrical (20), electronic (22) and mechanical (21 ) parts are connected to at least one adapter (2) comprising one or more boards (3-3n) of which each comprising at least one data port (4) connected to one of said electrical (20) and/or electronic (22) and/or mechanical (21 ) parts, at least one memory (6) to store data from said parts (20,21 ,22), each of said boards (3,3n) assigned to each of said parts being provided with a unique id, said boards (3,3n) being connected to said adapter (2) by means of secondary data ports (7), said adapter (2), being able to receive data through the aforementioned data port (4), said adapter (2) comprising further physical data interfaces (16) suitable for connecting with external hardware systems (30) to which the system provides said data to obtain certification of the same through blockchain.

2. The monitoring system for ventilating machines (100) according to the claim 1 , wherein said adapter (2) comprises further physical data interfaces (16) also suitable for connection with external hardware systems for the configuration and functionality of the machine.

3. The monitoring system for ventilating machines (100) wherein said adapter (2) comprises at least one microprocessor (15) for generating codes relating to the operation of the parts connected to the board (3-3n).

4 The monitoring system for ventilating machines (100) according to the preceding claims, wherein said board(s) (3,3n) further comprise an operating system to be programmed without the aid of further devices and/or for blockchain certification.

5. The monitoring system for ventilating machines (100) according to the preceding claims, wherein said boards comprise at least three configurations to choose from depending on the case, of which:

• of "NOSM" type i.e. defined including: memory (6), id, data port (4), integrated microprocessor (15), secondary data port (7);

• and/or "NOS" board defined including: memory (6), id, data port (4) and secondary data port (7).

• and/or "OS" board defined including: memory (6), id, data port (4), integrated microprocessor (15) and OS operating system, secondary data port (7).

6. The monitoring system for ventilating machines (100) according to the preceding claims, wherein the adapter (2) is installed in factory construction phase of the machine (100) or is mounted after-production using pre-existing connections.

7. The monitoring system for ventilating machines (100) according to the preceding claims, wherein the boards (3,3n) will be mounted on the adapter (2) or the boards (3,3n) are instead mounted on the electrical and electronic parts and mechanical parts (20,21 ,22).

8. The monitoring system for ventilating machines (100) according to the preceding claims, wherein said electrical (20) and electronic parts (22) and mechanical parts (21) may comprise sensors for monitoring said parts or parameters of interest to the machine, such as its internal temperature or the CO2 emitted by the fan flow and/or the temperature outside the fan, the speed of the air flow, the air quality in general etc.