JP4042713B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner having an oxygen enrichment function.

Conventionally, this type of air conditioner with an oxygen-enriched air supply device has air conditioning means for heating, cooling, etc., and air separation means for separating oxygen, nitrogen, etc. in the air. A functional membrane that separates nitrogen or the like and permeates oxygen, a pump for generating a pressure difference on the oxygen-specific side of the functional membrane, and a blower that exhausts nitrogen or the like on the non-permeable side of the functional membrane The thing comprised from the means is proposed (patent document 1).
Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-30927

  However, the oxygen-enriched film, which is a functional film that separates oxygen and nitrogen and transmits oxygen as described above, increases the oxygen flow rate but decreases the oxygen concentration as the temperature increases, as shown in FIG. If the temperature decreases, the oxygen concentration increases, but the flow rate decreases.

  That is, the oxygen supply amount represented by (oxygen concentration) × (oxygen-enriched air passage amount) tends to decrease as the temperature decreases. For this reason, the higher the ambient temperature of the outdoor unit provided with the functional film, the higher the work volume of the pump, the higher the temperature of the pump motor, and the shorter the pump life and the higher the pump noise. Moreover, if it was intended to cope with an increase in the motor temperature, there was a problem that it would lead to an increase in cost, such as the need to enlarge the motor.

  In addition, it is possible to detect the temperature in the vicinity of the oxygen-enriched membrane and continuously control the operation amount of the pump by an inverter system, etc., but power is supplied from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit like a so-called constant speed air conditioner. In the air conditioner that can transmit only the ON / OFF signal, there is no means for detecting the temperature on the outdoor unit side, and it has been difficult to cope with the above.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention suppresses pump temperature rise regardless of the temperature characteristics of oxygen enrichment, improves air pump life, reduces noise, and further achieves cost reduction such as miniaturization of the pump motor. The purpose is to provide a machine.

  In order to solve the above problems, an air conditioner of the present invention includes an oxygen-enriched membrane, differential pressure generating means for generating a pressure difference in the oxygen-enriched membrane and sending oxygen-enriched air, and an air It has means for detecting the operating current (Ta) of the conditioner or the supply voltage (Va) to the outdoor unit of the air conditioner, and it is applied to the differential pressure generating means based on this operating current (Ta) or voltage (Va). The operation load is estimated, and the operation of the differential pressure generating means is controlled according to the load.

  At this time, from the start of the oxygen enrichment operation to a predetermined time, the differential pressure generating means is continuously operated without operating the detection means. As a result, the oxygen-enriched air can be continuously supplied until the temperature of the differential pressure generating means rises above a predetermined level, and control corresponding to user comfort is performed.

The air conditioner of the present invention suppresses the pump temperature rise regardless of the temperature characteristic of oxygen enrichment, and realizes cost reduction such as improvement of pump life, reduction of noise, and miniaturization of the pump motor.

Hereinafter, the configuration and control of the air conditioner of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
First, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an outdoor unit of an air conditioner of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of an indoor unit of the air conditioner. As shown in FIG. 1, the outdoor unit 22 includes an outdoor heat exchanger 24, a compressor 25, and a blower fan 26 as main component parts.

  This air conditioner has a so-called constant speed, and the outdoor unit 22 detects an outdoor temperature and transmits the temperature to the indoor unit, and a heat exchanger temperature that detects the temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger. No means such as a sensor that can directly detect the temperature environment of the outdoor unit is provided.

  That is, the indoor unit to the outdoor unit includes only a switching signal for a four-way valve (not shown) in a model capable of switching between power supply of a compressor, power supply of a pump, and cooling and heating.

  The space of the blower circuit in which the air flow is generated in the outdoor heat exchanger 24 by the blower fan 26, and the space of the blower circuit and the compressor chamber in which the oxygen enriched membrane unit 2 having the oxygen enriched membrane 2a is disposed. The fresh air is supplied to the oxygen-enriched unit 2 a by the operation of the blower fan 26.

  On the other hand, in the oxygen enrichment unit 2, a pressure reducing pump 3 for generating a pressure difference in the oxygen enriched film 2a and transporting the oxygen enriched air to the outdoor unit side is provided with a flow path 4a at one end. Further, a hose 4 for sending oxygen-enriched air to the indoor unit side is connected to the other end of the pump 3, and is connected to the indoor unit 23.

  On the other hand, the indoor unit 23 is provided with an oxygen discharge port 4a that is a tip portion of the hose 4 and faces the air blower circuit of the indoor unit in order to release the enriched air.

  The indoor unit 23 is provided with a current detection sensor 5 for detecting the operating current of the air conditioner on the control board 5a. Since the power of the air conditioner is generally supplied from an indoor outlet in which the indoor unit is arranged and is transmitted to the outdoor unit via an internal / external connection line 5b that supplies power from the indoor unit to the outdoor unit, If current detection means such as a transformer is provided, the total current flowing through the air conditioner can be detected, or the load applied to the compressor can be estimated.

  In other words, during cooling operation, if the operating current of the compressor is large, it can be estimated that the air conditioning load will be large, thereby estimating that the environmental temperature of the outdoor unit is high, and reliability based on this estimation The pump is operated considering the above.

  Next, the control operation of the air conditioner having the above configuration will be described below. When the oxygen enrichment operation is instructed on the indoor unit side, the blower fan 26 of the outdoor unit 22 is operated, air flows into the oxygen enrichment membrane 2a of the oxygen enrichment membrane unit 2, and the pump 3 is started to operate. The Of course, when the oxygen enrichment operation is instructed when the air conditioner is already in operation, the blower fan 26 is already in operation and only the pump 3 is started.

By this operation, oxygen that easily passes through the oxygen-enriched membrane 2a is selectively sucked by the pressure difference by the pump 3 and blown out into the room through the pump 3 and the hose 4 from the oxygen discharge port 4a in the indoor unit 23. Is done. On the other hand, nitrogen that is difficult to permeate the oxygen-enriched film 2 a is exhausted out of the outdoor unit 22 by the blower fan 26.

  Further, in the indoor unit 23, the current is detected by the operating current detection sensor 5 provided, and the operation on / off time of the pump 3 is controlled according to the operation current (Ta).

  For example, when the operation current (Ta) is high (the outdoor load is high and the load on the pump is high), the operation time of the pump is reduced to suppress the pump temperature rise.

  The operation time of the pump may be defined by, for example, operation rate = (pump operation time in a predetermined time span) / (predetermined time span). Specifically, if the continuous operation is performed within 10 minutes, the operation rate is 100%. If the operation is continued for 10 minutes, the operation rate is 70%.

  That is, when the operating current (Ta) is larger than a predetermined current set in advance, the outside air temperature is higher than the outside air temperature which is speculated to correspond to the operating current (Ta), and the environment where the pump is arranged is also relatively high. It is presumed that the operation rate of the pump 3 is lowered and the pump is prevented from overheating.

  Specific control will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of the pump 3. In the figure, 8 is an AC power supply, 9 is a power supply circuit for rectifying the output of the AC power supply 8 and supplying DC power to each circuit, and 10 is a microprocessor for controlling the variable capacity pump 3. An input circuit 11 to which an output signal of the detection sensor 5 is input, a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 12, a memory 13, and an output circuit 14 are configured. Here, the memory 13 is set current storage means for storing a preset current value. A pump drive circuit 15 drives and controls the pump 3 in accordance with a signal sent from the output circuit 14.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. This figure is an operation sequence flowchart showing the control specifications of the pump 3 of the above embodiment.

  First, in step 16, the current value Ta detected by the current detection sensor 5, which is an operating current detection means, is read into the CPU 12 through the input circuit 11. In step 17, the current value Ta read in step 16 and the memory 13 are stored in advance. The set first set current ta1 is compared. If Ta <ta1, the process proceeds to step 18, and if Ta ≧ ta1, the process proceeds to step 19. In Step 18, the ON time in the ON / OFF cycle of the pump 3 is lengthened, and the process returns to Step 16.

In step 19, the operating current Ta is compared with the second set current ta2 preset in the memory 13, and if ta1 ≦ Ta <ta2, the process proceeds to step 20, and if Ta ≧ ta2, the process proceeds to step 21. In step 20, the ON time in the pump ON / OFF cycle of the pump is shortened, and the process returns to step 16. In step 21, the pump is stopped and the process returns to step 16.
(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment, the current detection means 5 for detecting the operating current of the first embodiment is replaced with a voltage detection means 5b, and the current storage means for storing a preset current is replaced with a preset voltage storage means. The operation sequence will be described with reference to the operation sequence flowchart of FIG.

First, in step 27, the voltage value Ta detected by the voltage detection sensor 33, which is a voltage detection means, is read into the CPU 12 via the input circuit 11, and in step 28, the voltage value Va read in step 27 and the memory 13 are preset. The first set voltage va1 is compared, and if Va <va1, the process proceeds to step 28, and if Va ≧ va1, the process proceeds to step 29. In step 29, the ON time in the ON / OFF cycle of the pump 3 is lengthened, and the process returns to step 27.

In step 30, the voltage Va is compared with a second set voltage va2 preset in the memory 13, and if va1 ≦ Va <va2, the process proceeds to step 20, and if Va ≧ va2, the process proceeds to step 21. In step 31, the ON time in the pump ON / OFF cycle of the pump is shortened, and the process returns to step 27. In step 32, the pump is stopped and the process returns to step 27.
(Embodiment 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to the sequence flowchart of FIG. In Embodiment 3, from the start of operation of the oxygen-enriched air supply device to a predetermined time, control is performed so that the pump is continuously operated without operating the detection means.

  First, in step 34, the time T from the start of the oxygen enrichment operation is read into the CPU 12 via the input circuit 11 by the timer of the operation time passage detection means, and in step 35, the time T read in step 34 and the memory 13 are stored in advance. The set set time t1 is compared, and if T <t1, the process proceeds to step 36, and if T ≧ t1, the process proceeds to step 37. In step 36, the pump 3 is continuously operated, and the process returns to step 34. In step 37, the current value Ta detected by the current detection sensor 5 as the operating current detection means is read into the CPU 12 via the input circuit 11, and in step 38, the current value Ta read in step 37 and the memory 13 are preset. The first set current ta1 is compared, and if Ta <ta1, the process proceeds to step 39, and if Ta ≧ ta1, the process proceeds to step 40. In step 39, the ON time in the ON / OFF cycle of the pump 3 is lengthened, and the process returns to step 34.

  In step 40, the operating current Ta is compared with the second set current ta2 preset in the memory 13, and if ta1 ≦ Ta <ta2, the process proceeds to step 41, and if Ta ≧ ta2, the process proceeds to step 42. In step 41, the ON time in the pump ON / OFF cycle of the pump is shortened, and the process returns to step 34. In step 42, the pump is stopped and the process returns to step 34. Thus, until the temperature of the pump rises, the pump can be operated continuously, oxygen can be continuously supplied into the room, and the oxygen concentration in the room can be increased in a short time.

  As described above, the air conditioner of the present invention can estimate the thermal load information of the space where the pump is arranged, such as a constant-speed air conditioner, on the internal unit side without using the temperature sensor. is there. Therefore, it is applicable to any device that controls the pressure difference generating means by estimating the load while arranging the pressure difference generating means outdoors or in an environment that can be overloaded thermally. For example, it can also be applied to devices such as a vehicle air conditioner having an oxygen enrichment function.

The outdoor unit cross-sectional schematic diagram of the air conditioner showing the first embodiment of the present invention The indoor unit side surface schematic diagram of the air conditioner showing the first embodiment of the present invention The block diagram which shows the control system in the 1st Embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the control specification example of the pump in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the control specification example of the pump in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the control specification example of the pump in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. Diagram showing temperature characteristics (flow rate and oxygen concentration) of oxygen-enriched film

Explanation of symbols

2 Oxygen enrichment unit 3 Pump (Differential pressure generating means)
4 Hose 5 Operating current sensor 5b Internal / external connection line (part)
23 Indoor unit 25 Compressor 26 Outdoor unit

Claims (5)

An indoor unit having an oxygen-enriched membrane and differential pressure generating means for generating a pressure difference in the oxygen-enriched membrane and sending out the oxygen-enriched air and discharging the enriched air to the air-conditioned space And an outdoor unit, wherein at least the differential pressure generating means is provided in the outdoor unit, and the indoor unit has current detection means for detecting an operating current (Ta) of the air conditioner. When the operating current (Ta) is smaller than a first predetermined value , the operating amount of the differential pressure generating means is increased , and the operating current (Ta) is greater than or equal to a first predetermined value and the second An air conditioner characterized in that when the pressure difference is smaller than a predetermined value, the operation amount of the differential pressure generating means is decreased, and further, the differential pressure generating means is controlled to stop when the differential pressure generating means exceeds a second predetermined value. . An indoor unit having an oxygen-enriched membrane and differential pressure generating means for generating a pressure difference in the oxygen-enriched membrane and sending out the oxygen-enriched air and discharging the enriched air to the air-conditioned space And an outdoor unit, wherein at least the differential pressure generating means is included in the outdoor unit, and the indoor unit detects a supply voltage (Va) to the outdoor unit of the air conditioner. Having a detecting means, and when the voltage (Va) is smaller than a first predetermined value , the operating amount of the differential pressure generating means is increased , and the supply voltage (Va) is not less than a first predetermined value and When the pressure is smaller than a second predetermined value, the amount of operation of the differential pressure generating means is decreased, and when the pressure exceeds a second predetermined value, the differential pressure generating means is controlled to stop. Air conditioner. The operation rate of the differential pressure generating means is changed according to either the operating current (Ta) or the voltage (Va). Air conditioner. 2. The air conditioning according to claim 1, wherein the differential pressure generating means is not intermittently operated when any one of the operating current (Ta) and the voltage (Va) is a predetermined value. Machine. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the differential pressure generating means is not operated intermittently for a predetermined time from an instruction to start the oxygen enrichment operation.

Images