JP2009037825A - Controller for heater and method of controlling heater using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect an abnormality of a heater itself, related to a controller for the heater and a control method of the heater using the controller. <P>SOLUTION: The controller for a heater comprises: relays 4, 5 for a main power source; a voltage dividing means 11 having relays 12, 13 for a measuring power source and a compensation resistance 14 for voltage-dividing measuring power supplied to a heater 3; reporting means 9, 10; a microcomputer 7; and a power source circuit 6 for generating control power or the like. During the first supply of main power to the heater 3, when a reference time elapses, the supply of the main power is suspended, a measuring voltage is supplied to the heater 3, and a voltage of the measuring power which is voltage-divided by the voltage dividing means 11 is stored as a reference voltage. During the second and subsequent supply of the main power to the heater 3, when the reference time elapses, the supply of the main power is suspended, and the measuring voltage is supplied to the heater 3. Then, the voltage of the measuring power that is voltage-divided by the voltage dividing means 11 is assumed to be a measured voltage which is compared with the reference voltage. When both the voltages are different from each other, the supply of power to the heater 3 is suspended and warning means 9, 10 are started. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a controller for a floor heating or snow melting heater and a heater control method using the same. More specifically, when an abnormality occurs in the heater, the abnormality can be detected and the power supply to the heater can be cut off. In addition, the present invention relates to a heater controller that is notified of the occurrence of the abnormality and a heater control method using the same.

  Conventionally, in floor heaters and snowmelt heaters, a temperature sensor has been placed on the heater's heating element to shut off the power supply when the heater temperature reaches a predetermined temperature, and to control the power supply rate to the heater Although the method of controlling the heater temperature is employed, these control methods are control methods that focus on controlling the heater temperature, and do not detect any abnormality in the heater. Therefore, when an abnormality has occurred in the heater itself, the abnormality cannot be detected.

  That is, in the conventional control method, even when an abnormality occurs in the heater itself, the power supply is cut off and the power supply rate is controlled based on only the heater temperature without being aware of the abnormality. .

  For this reason, when the conventional control method is adopted, even if an abnormality has occurred in the heater, it cannot be known at all, which may lead to a situation such as ignition. .

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a heater controller and a heater control method using the heater controller that can detect abnormality of the heater, particularly in a heater for floor heating or snow melting.

The heater controller of the present invention is
A controller for a floor heating or snow melting heater,
A main power relay for supplying or stopping the supply of the main power to the heater;
A voltage dividing means having a measurement power supply relay for supplying or stopping the supply of the measurement power supply to the heater, and a 1 ohm correction resistor for dividing the measurement power supplied to the heater;
Notification means;
Stores the reference time from the start of power supply to the heater until the heater temperature stabilizes,
When the main power is supplied to the heater for the first time, the supply of the main power is stopped when the reference time has elapsed, the measurement voltage is supplied to the heater, and the measurement power source divided by the voltage dividing means is supplied. The voltage is stored as a reference voltage, and when the main power is supplied to the heater after the second time, the supply of the main power is stopped when the reference time elapses, and the measurement voltage is supplied to the heater and The voltage of the power supply for measurement divided by the pressure means is compared with the reference voltage as an actual measurement voltage. When the actual measurement voltage and the reference voltage are different, the power supply to the heater is stopped and the alarm means is activated. With the microcomputer
And a power supply circuit for generating a control power supply for the microcomputer, a drive power supply for a relay, a measurement power supply, etc. using a main power supply, and in the heater control method of the present invention using the power supply circuit In advance, the time from the start of power supply to the heater until the heater temperature stabilizes is set as the reference time and stored in the microcomputer.
When power is supplied to the heater for the first time, when the reference time has elapsed, the power supply is stopped and a 5V measurement voltage is supplied to the heater and the 5V measurement voltage is divided by the correction resistor. The divided voltage is stored in the microcomputer as a reference voltage,
When power is supplied to the heater after the second time, the power supply is stopped when the reference time elapses, and the measurement voltage of 5 V is supplied to the heater and the measurement voltage of 5 V is supplied by the correction resistor. Divide the voltage, input the divided voltage to the microcomputer as the actual measurement voltage, compare with the reference voltage,
When the actually measured voltage and the reference voltage are different, the power supply to the heater is stopped and the alarm means is activated.

  In the present invention, the reference voltage is set when power is first supplied to the heater, and then the measured voltage is calculated in the same manner as the method for calculating the reference voltage every time power is supplied to the heater. The voltage is compared with the actually measured voltage, thereby detecting the abnormality of the heater. Therefore, when an abnormality occurs in the heater, it is possible to easily detect the abnormality, thereby effectively preventing an unexpected situation from occurring.

  The heater controller of the present invention has a main power supply relay for interposing between the main power supply and the heater to supply or stop the supply of the main power supply to the heater and supply the measurement power to the heater. And a voltage dividing means for dividing the power supply for measurement, a notification means such as a display unit and a buzzer, and a power supply circuit for generating various power supplies using a main power supply. A measurement power supply relay for supplying or stopping supply of power to the heater, and a 1 ohm correction resistor for dividing the measurement power supplied to the heater.

  The heater controller of the present invention has a microcomputer as a control means, and the microcomputer first stores the time from the start of power supply to the heater until the heater temperature is stabilized as a reference time.

  In addition, when the main power is supplied to the heater for the first time, the microcomputer stops supplying the main power when the reference time has elapsed, supplies the measurement voltage to the heater, and is divided by the voltage dividing means. The voltage of the measured power supply is stored as a reference voltage, and when the main power is supplied to the heater after the second time, the supply of the main power is stopped when the reference time has elapsed, and the measurement voltage is supplied to the heater. Supply and compare the voltage of the measurement power supply divided by the voltage dividing means with the reference voltage as an actual measurement voltage, and when the actual measurement voltage and the reference voltage are different, stop the power supply to the heater, It has a function to activate the alarm means.

  The power supply circuit generates a control power supply for the microcomputer, a drive power supply for driving a relay, a measurement power supply, and the like using a main power supply.

  Next, in the heater control method of the present invention using the heater controller of the present invention configured as described above, first, the time from when the power supply to the heater is started until the heater temperature is stabilized at a predetermined temperature. Is set in advance in the microcomputer as a reference time.

  Next, when the power is first supplied to the heater, the power supply is stopped when the reference time elapses, and the measurement voltage of 5 V is supplied to the heater, and the measurement voltage is supplied to the correction resistor of 1 ohm. The divided voltage is stored in the microcomputer as a reference voltage.

  When the power is supplied to the heater after the second time, the power supply is stopped at the time when the reference time has passed, and the measurement voltage of 5V is supplied to the heater. The operation voltage is divided by a correction resistor of 1 ohm, and the divided voltage is input to the microcomputer as an actual measurement voltage and compared with the reference voltage.

  When the actually measured voltage and the reference voltage are different, the power supply to the heater is stopped and the alarm means is activated.

  An embodiment of the heater controller of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the heater controller of the present embodiment, in which 1 is the heater controller of the present embodiment. .

  In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes a power source, 3 denotes a heater, and a portion indicated by a thick line is a path of a main power source supplied to the heater. In the figure, reference numerals 4 and 5 denote main power supply relays, that is, in the present embodiment, main power supply relays 4 and 5 are interposed between the power supply 2 and the heater 3, and the main power supply relays 4, The operation of 5 controls the supply and stop of the main power supply to the heater 3.

  Next, a power supply circuit 6 is connected to the power supply 2, and a microcomputer 7 is connected to the power supply circuit 6, and the power supply circuit 6 drives the main power supply relays 4 and 5. 12V and 5V for controlling a microcomputer or the like.

  The microcomputer 7 is connected to various operation switches 8, LEDs 9 constituting a display unit, and a buzzer 10, and the microcomputer 7 controls the entire apparatus by operating the switches 8. The LED 9 and the buzzer 10 also function as notification means when the heater is abnormal.

  In the microcomputer 7, the switch 8 can be used to set the time from the start of power supply until the heater temperature is stabilized as the reference time for the heater to be used, and to store the set reference time. Yes.

  Next, in the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a voltage dividing means. The voltage dividing means 11 supplies a measuring voltage of 5 V to the heater 3 and also divides the measuring voltage supplied to the heater 3 to obtain the divided voltage. The compressed voltage value is stored in the microcomputer 7.

  That is, the voltage dividing means 11 has an input-side measuring relay 11 and an output-side measuring relay 12 each connected to the heater 3, and the input-side measuring relay 12 is connected to the power source. The 5 V generated by the power supply circuit 6 is supplied to the heater 3 via the input-side measurement relay 12 connected to the circuit 6.

  The output-side measuring relay 13 is connected to the ground via a 1 ohm correction resistor 14, thereby dividing the 5 V output from the heater 3.

  The output from the heater 3 is connected to the microcomputer 7, whereby the measurement voltage divided by the correction resistor 14 can be stored in the microcomputer 7.

  4 is a specific circuit diagram of the heater controller of the present embodiment, in which 2 is a power source, 3 is a heater, 4b and 5b are contacts of a relay for main power supply, 6 is a power circuit, and 7 is a microcomputer. , 8 is a switch group, 9 is a display unit, 10 is a buzzer, 12 and 13 are measurement relays, 14 is a correction resistor, and 4a is a relay drive.

  In addition, heaters include so-called PTC heaters that increase in resistance as the temperature rises, and heaters such as nichrome wires that have a fixed resistance value and do not change even when the temperature rises. The example is applicable to any of these heaters.

  Next, an embodiment of the heater control method of the present invention using the heater controller of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3. In the heater control method of the present embodiment, First, a reference time is set in advance, and this reference time is stored in the microcomputer 7 (step 1).

  That is, since the heater heating element generally has a predetermined time from the start of power supply until the temperature stabilizes at the predetermined temperature, in the heater control method of this embodiment, first, the power supply to the heater The time from the start of supply until the heater temperature is stabilized at a predetermined temperature is checked, and this time is stored in the microcomputer 7 as a reference time. Specifically, in this embodiment, the reference time is set to 1 hour.

  As described above, the heater includes a so-called PTC heater whose resistance value increases as the temperature rises, and a heater made of nichrome wire or the like whose resistance value is fixed and does not change even when the temperature rises. However, in this embodiment, the reference time is set to 1 hour on the premise of a heater whose resistance value does not change even if the temperature rises. Therefore, this reference time differs depending on the type of heater. For example, when this embodiment is applied to a PTC heater, it is preferable to set it to about 2 hours according to the experiment data of the present inventors.

  Next, when the power supply to the heater 3 is the first power supply after the reference time has elapsed after the power switch is turned on in step 2, the reference based on the resistance value of the heater 3 is used in step 3. The voltage is calculated, and in step 4, the calculation result is stored in the microcomputer 7.

  The calculation of the reference voltage in step 3 and the memory of the reference voltage in step 4 will be described. When power is supplied to the heater 3 for the first time, when the reference time elapses from the start of power supply to the heater 3, that is, the power supply When one hour has elapsed from the supply, the contacts of the main power supply relays 4 and 5 are turned off under the control of the microcomputer 7 to stop the supply of the main power to the heater 3.

  Then, the contact point between the measurement relay 12 on the input side and the measurement relay 13 on the output side is turned on instantaneously to supply 5 V for measurement to the heater 3. In FIG. 1, the portion indicated by the long wavy line is the path of the power supply for measurement.

  Next, the 5V output from the heater 3 is divided by a correction resistor 14 of 1 ohm, whereby the resistance value in the initial state of the heater 3 is replaced with a voltage value, and the voltage is divided based thereon. The voltage value is stored in the microcomputer 7 as a reference voltage.

This calculation method will be described with reference to FIG. 2. In the figure, when the resistance value of the heater 3 is 9 ohms, 10 ohms, which is the sum of the resistance value of the heater 3 and the resistance value of the correction resistor, is assumed to be 100%. The ratio of the resistance value of the heater 3 is {100 (%) / (1 ohm + 9 ohm)} × 9 ohm = 90 (%), and the ratio of the resistance value of the correction resistor 14 is {100 (%) / ( 1 ohm + 9 ohm)} × 1 ohm = 10 (%).
Then, assuming that 5V applied to the heater 3 is 100%, this 5V is divided at a ratio of 9: 1. That is, the voltage value A applied to the heater 3 is 4.5 V, and the voltage value B applied to the correction resistor 14 Becomes 0.5v, and this 0.5v is stored in the microcomputer 7 as a reference voltage.

  Next, when the reference time has elapsed and the power supply to the heater 3 is the second time or later, the measured voltage is calculated in Step 5. The method for calculating the actual voltage is the same as the method for calculating the reference voltage, that is, when the reference time has elapsed from the start of power supply to the heater 3, the microcomputer 7 controls the main power relays 4 and 5 to operate. The contact is turned off and the supply of the main power to the heater 3 is stopped, and the contact between the input-side measurement relay 12 and the output-side measurement relay 13 is turned on instantaneously, so that the heater 3 has 5V for measurement. Supply. Then, the 5V output from the heater 3 is divided by a correction resistor 14 of 1 ohm, thereby replacing the current resistance value of the heater 3 with a voltage value, and the divided voltage value based on the voltage value. Is input to the microcomputer 7 as an actually measured voltage.

  Next, the microcomputer 7 compares the memorized reference voltage with the actually measured voltage in step 6, and if the voltage values are different, in step 7, the power is turned off and the heater 3 is turned on. While stopping the supply of the main power supply, the alarm means such as the buzzer 10 and the LED 9 is activated to notify the occurrence of the abnormality. The fact that the actually measured voltage is different from the reference voltage means that the resistance value of the heater 3 is different from the resistance value in the initial state, that is, an abnormality of the heater 3. The supply of main power to the heater 3 is stopped and the alarm means 9 and 10 are activated.

  In this embodiment, the microcomputer 7 determines whether or not the power supply is the first using the counter function or the like.

  Thus, in the heater control method of the present embodiment, when the power is first supplied to the heater, the reference voltage is calculated based on the resistance value of the heater and stored in the microcomputer, and then the second and subsequent times. Every time power is supplied to the heater, the measured voltage is calculated in the same way as the method of calculating the reference voltage, and this reference voltage is compared with the measured voltage, so the abnormality of the heater itself can be easily detected. It is possible to effectively prevent unexpected situations from occurring.

  According to the heater controller and the heater control method using the same according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent an unexpected situation by easily detecting an abnormality of the heater itself. Applicable to control method.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the Example of the controller for heaters of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the method to calculate the reference voltage in the Example of the control method of the heater of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the Example of the control method of the heater of this invention. It is a specific circuit diagram of the Example of the controller for heaters of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Controller 2 Power supply 3 Heater 4 5 Relay for main power supply 4b, 5b Relay contact 4a Relay drive 6 Power supply circuit 7 Microcomputer 8 Switch group 9 Display part 10 Buzzer 11 Voltage dividing means 12, 13 Relay for measurement power supply 14 Correction resistance

Claims (2)

A controller for a floor heating or snow melting heater,
Main power relays (4, 5) for supplying or stopping supply of the main power to the heater (3);
Measurement power supply relays (12, 13) for supplying or stopping the supply of measurement power to the heater (3), and 1 ohm correction for dividing the measurement power supplied to the heater (3) A voltage dividing means (11) having a resistance (14);
Notification means (9, 10);
It stores the reference time from the start of power supply to the heater (3) until the heater temperature stabilizes,
When the main power is supplied to the heater (3) for the first time, the supply of the main power is stopped when the reference time elapses, the measurement voltage is supplied to the heater (3), and the voltage dividing means (11) The voltage of the power supply for measurement divided by is stored as a reference voltage, and when the main power is supplied to the heater (3) after the second time, the supply of the main power is stopped when the reference time has elapsed. When the measurement voltage is supplied to the heater (3) and the voltage of the measurement power source divided by the voltage dividing means (11) is compared with the reference voltage as an actual measurement voltage, the actual measurement voltage and the reference voltage are different. And a microcomputer (7) for stopping the power supply to the heater (3) and operating the alarm means (9, 10),
A heater controller comprising: a power supply circuit (6) for generating a control power supply for the microcomputer, a drive power supply for a relay, a measurement power supply and the like using a main power supply. A method for controlling a heater for floor heating or snowmelt using the heater controller according to claim 1,
The time from the start of power supply to the heater until the heater temperature stabilizes is set as a reference time in advance and stored in the microcomputer (7).
When power is supplied to the heater (3) for the first time, the power supply is stopped when the reference time has elapsed, the measurement voltage of 5V is supplied to the heater (3), and the measurement voltage of 5V is supplied to the heater (3). The voltage is divided by the correction resistor (14), and the divided voltage is stored in the microcomputer (7) as a reference voltage.
When power is supplied to the heater (3) after the second time, the power supply is stopped when the reference time elapses, and the measurement voltage of 5V is supplied to the heater (3) and the measurement of 5V is performed. The voltage is divided by the correction resistor (14), the divided voltage is input to the microcomputer (7) as an actual measurement voltage, and compared with the reference voltage,
A heater control method characterized by stopping power supply to the heater (3) and operating alarm means (8, 9, 10) when the measured voltage and the reference voltage are different.

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