The History and Technological Advances of SANYO DENKI (26) - San Ace Controller, an IoT Product for Remote Fan Control and Monitoring｜Column

History

Fans are a vital part of the devices in which they are used, making stable device operation possible. As such, IoT products that enable remote monitoring and preventive maintenance of fans are required.

Also, high energy efficiency and low noise are always important concerns for devices. To achieve even higher energy efficiency and lower noise, it is required to automatically control fans to operate at the proper speed for a given situation. To satisfy these requirements, SANYO DENKI developed San Ace Controller, an IoT product that enables remote control and monitoring of fans.

Main unit installation and connection

San Ace Controller can be installed sideways, vertically, or mounted on walls. All connectors are positioned in the front for easy wiring. Also, San Ace Controller can be connected to a network either by wired or wireless connection, and be accessed, controlled, and monitored from computers or smartphones.

User interface

San Ace Controller can be operated using a regular web browser. The user interface is designed to be user-friendly, and even first-time users can operate it easily.

Measuring and monitoring functions

For the connected fan and dedicated sensors, the following criteria can be measured and monitored.

Fans: Fan speed, current, and operation time
Dedicated sensors: Temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and acceleration

The threshold of each monitoring criterion can be set freely by the user. If measurement values deviate from these thresholds, the user will be alerted of an abnormality via email, a notification on a browser screen, an LED on the main unit, and an external output. Moreover, measurement data and alarm history can be downloaded from a computer and saved as a csv file, and be used for preventive maintenance, new product development, and error analysis. Furthermore, the device in which the fan is embedded can be monitored via an input signal from the device, and in the event of an abnormality, an alarm can be notified to the user.

Fan control functions

San Ace Controller can control up to four fans. There are two types of control mode: manual control and automatic control. Manual control is a function to control fan speed by inputting an arbitrary PWM signal duty value into the connected fans. PWM signal duty can be set in increments of 1%, so users can adjust to their desired fan speed. Automatic control is a function to automatically adjust fan speed according to the connected sensor measurements.

System Configuration Example

The San Ace Controller, the industry's first^* IoT product for remote control and monitoring of fans, not only reduces noise and saves energy by automatically controlling fan speed, but also contributes to preventive maintenance, new product development, and failure analysis.
Getting ahead of advancing technology, SANYO DENKI will continue to develop new products that can meet new requests from customers.

* Based on the research by SANYO DENKI as of August 20, 2019.

For more detailed technical information on this product, see our Technical Report.