JP5460908B2 - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and in particular, variably controls the direction of an air blowing vane or the air speed or the air volume of a fan during heating operation according to the situation without including a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a occupant. It relates to air conditioners.

In a conventional air conditioner, if there is a strong possibility that no one is present when the timer or home control is activated, the direction of the air blowing vane at the air outlet of the indoor unit is set to the bottom blowing, or the fan air volume is reduced. There is one that controls to increase (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This is intended to accelerate the rise of the room temperature when there is no person in the room during the heating operation.
On the other hand, when a sensor such as an infrared sensor that detects the presence or absence of a person is provided in the indoor unit and the absence of the detection sensor is detected, the direction of the air blowing vane is set to downward blowing, or the fan Some control the air volume to increase (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3).
And especially the air conditioner shown in patent documents 2 and 3 is comfortable by setting the direction of the air blowing vane to horizontal blowing so that cold air or hot air does not directly hit the person when there are people in the room. It is going to have.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-223448 JP 2004-150731 A JP 2008-101874 A

  However, in the air conditioner disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the timer or home control is started, the air blowing vane is controlled to blow downward or the air volume of the fan is increased. When the timer or the home control is activated, there is a problem that the air blowing vane is turned downward or the air volume of the fan is controlled to be uncomfortable.

  On the other hand, in the method of detecting the absence of a person with an infrared sensor as in the air conditioners shown in Patent Documents 2 and 3, although the absence of a person can be accurately detected, the cost is reduced by installing an expensive infrared sensor. In order to achieve high accuracy and accurate detection, it is necessary to select the optimal installation location, and then consider structural and design constraints, and the air conditioner itself itself is expensive. there were.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. The first object is to provide a room for the purpose of preventing freezing in a house or a building such as a cold area in an unattended situation such as when going out. In the case of heating, an air conditioner that can efficiently create a comfortable air-conditioning space that warms air efficiently spreads throughout the room and is easy to warm up with energy saving.

  The second object of the present invention is to obtain an inexpensive air conditioner without mounting an expensive part such as an expensive infrared sensor.

The air conditioner according to the present invention includes a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the heat exchanger or the temperature of the intake air, and a control device that variably controls the direction of the air blowing vane of the indoor unit or the wind speed or air volume of the blower fan using a remote controller. And an air conditioner having a remote control for remotely controlling the operation of the indoor unit,
In the control device, the temperature set by the remote control is set in two temperature ranges,
At the time of heating operation, based on the two set temperature ranges and the temperature of the heat exchanger or the temperature of the intake air, at least the direction of the air blowing vane is set to horizontal blowing or downward blowing,
The controller is configured to determine the presence / absence of an occupant based on two set temperature ranges, and to control the direction of the air blowing vane or the wind speed or air volume of the blower fan based on the determination result.

  Since the air conditioner of the present invention is configured to be able to determine the presence / absence of an occupant by distinguishing the set temperature by the remote controller during heating operation into two temperature ranges, an energy-saving and comfortable air conditioner is obtained. It has the effect of being able to. Moreover, since an expensive infrared sensor etc. are not required, it has the effect that an inexpensive air conditioner can be obtained.

It is sectional drawing of the air conditioner which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a bottom view when the air conditioner of FIG. 1 is viewed from below. It is an expanded sectional view which expands and shows the cross section of the blower outlet part of the air conditioner of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control apparatus of the air conditioner which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control action at the time of the heating operation of the air conditioner which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the preset temperature range by the remote control at the time of the heating operation of the air conditioner which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control action at the time of the heating operation of the air conditioner concerning Embodiment 2 of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, here, a ceiling-embedded air conditioner installed on a ceiling in a room will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and is similarly applied to a wall-mounted air conditioner installed on a wall surface. It can be done.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a cross-sectional view of a ceiling-embedded air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the ceiling-embedded air conditioner of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the air outlet of the ceiling-embedded air conditioner of FIG. Moreover, the arrow of FIG. 1 shows the flow direction of air.
The air conditioner (indoor unit) 100 according to the first embodiment is installed on a ceiling in a room, sucks room air from a suction port 4 provided in the central portion of the decorative panel 2 of the main body 1, and performs heat exchange. Air that has been air-conditioned (air-conditioned air) is blown into the room from the air outlets 5 provided on the four sides of the decorative panel 2 and air-conditioning (heating or cooling) is performed in the room.

  The main body 1 includes a decorative panel 2 that is fitted into the ceiling member 14 without a gap, and a casing 3 that houses main air conditioning equipment. The main body 1 has a blower fan (for example, a turbo fan) 6, a fan motor 7 that drives the blower fan 6, and functions as a condenser during heating operation, and evaporates during cooling operation. A heat exchanger 8 that functions as a heat exchanger, a drain pan 9 that receives drain water dripping from the heat exchanger 8, and a control device that performs setting, control, change, and the like for the operation of the air conditioner 100. An electrical component box 10 in which a computer, a power supply circuit and the like are stored is provided. A pipe temperature sensor (heat exchanger temperature sensor) 11 that detects the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 and an intake air temperature sensor 12 that detects the temperature of the intake air are provided inside the main body 1. Moreover, the blower outlet 5 of said decorative panel 2 is provided with the air blowing vane (wind direction vane) 13 in which an air blowing direction can be changed arbitrarily between horizontal blowing and downward blowing, respectively.

Next, the operation will be described.
In the main body 1 of the air conditioner 100 configured as described above, the indoor air sucked from the suction port 4 is heat-exchanged through the heat exchanger 8 and blown into the room from the blower outlet 5. . At that time, the wind direction is changed from horizontal blowing to downward blowing depending on the angle of the air blowing vane 13.

  Furthermore, the control operation during the heating operation of the air conditioner 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 20 of the air conditioner 100, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device during the heating operation of the air conditioner 100. Moreover, FIG. 6 is a figure which shows an example of the preset temperature range by the remote control at the time of the heating operation of the air conditioner 100. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the temperature set by the remote controller 21 (set temperature) and the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 detected by the pipe temperature sensor 11 are input to the control device 20 and based on these temperatures. Then, the control device 20 changes the direction of the air blowing vane (wind direction vane) 13 and the rotation speed of the fan motor 7 to set the wind speed (or air volume). Here, the remote controller 21 is not limited to a device that can be operated at hand by a device that remotely controls the indoor unit, but refers to an external input / output device that is installed indoors or can be operated from the outside, and includes a timer, home control, and the like. . Note that the intake air temperature detected by the intake air temperature sensor 12 may be used instead of the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 detected by the pipe temperature sensor 11.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the temperature range set by the remote controller 21 is generally set to a high set temperature, for example, 17 to 28 ° C. during heating operation, and set to a low set temperature, for example, 10 Set to ~ 16 ° C. That is, the set temperature range by the remote controller 21 is distinguished into two. One set temperature range is a normal temperature range in which the temperature is higher, and here is a temperature range of 17 to 28 ° C. This set temperature range is assumed to have a high possibility that there is a person in the room (there is an occupant), and is referred to as a first set temperature range. Another set temperature range is a temperature range with a lower temperature, and here is a temperature range of 10 to 16 ° C. This set temperature range is assumed to have a high possibility that there is no person in the room (no occupants, that is, absent), and is referred to as a second set temperature range.

Next, the control operation during the heating operation of the air conditioner 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
During the heating operation, in step S10, it is determined whether or not the temperature set by the remote controller 21 is 16 ° C. or lower. If it is not 16 ° C. or lower, there is a high possibility that there is a person in the room, and it is next determined whether or not the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 by the pipe temperature sensor 11 is 35 ° C. or higher (step S11). 35 ° C. is the temperature of the heat exchanger during normal heating operation. And based on the determination result of step S11, when it is not 35 degreeC or more, the control apparatus 20 sets the direction of the air blowing vane (wind direction vane) 13 to horizontal blowing, and the air while the heat exchanger 8 is not warmed is set. It is made not to hit a person directly (step S12). In step S11, when the temperature is 35 ° C. or higher, the control device 20 sets the direction of the air blowing vane (wind direction vane) 13 to downward blowing so that the warm air reaches the person's feet (step S13). .
That is, when the set temperature by the remote controller 21 is high (17 to 28 ° C.), it is recognized as normal heating with occupants, and when the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 by the pipe temperature sensor 11 is lower than 35 ° C., air The blowing vane 13 is set to a horizontal blowing to prevent a cold wind feeling. When the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 by the pipe temperature sensor 11 is higher than 35 ° C., the air blowing vane 13 is set to be blown downward, and is blown downward in the room so that warm air reaches the feet, thereby efficiently heating.

  Moreover, in step S10, when the set temperature by the remote controller 21 is low (10 to 16 ° C.), it is recognized that there is no occupant heating and regardless of the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 by the pipe temperature sensor 11, The air blowing vane 13 is set to be blown downward, or the air blown by the blower fan 6 is set to be strong wind, and blown downward in the room so that warm air reaches the floor surface, thereby efficiently heating (step S14). When the set temperature by the remote controller 21 is low (10 to 16 ° C.), it is recognized as absent heating. At that time, if a person is present and feels cold, the set temperature by the remote controller 21 is manually operated. It is canceled by changing the wind direction setting.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the control device 20 determines whether the occupant is present (in the presence / absence) by setting the temperature set by the remote controller 21 separately in two temperature ranges. Based on the determination result, the wind direction setting of the air blowing vane 13 is controlled on the main body 1 side. Improvement and energy saving can be realized, and an inexpensive air conditioner can be provided.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment described above, the wind direction of the air blowing vane 13 is changed according to the temperature set by the remote controller 21. However, in this second embodiment, the wind speed of the blower fan 6 is mainly changed by the temperature set by the remote controller 21. It is for setting. Hereinafter, Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control operation during the heating operation of the air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and is basically the same as the flowchart of FIG. The configuration of the control device 20 in the second embodiment is the same as that in FIG.

  When the set temperature by the remote controller 21 is high (17 to 28 ° C.), it is recognized as normal heating with occupants and when the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 by the pipe temperature sensor 11 is lower than 35 ° C. (Step S15) to prevent the feeling of cold air. When the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 by the pipe temperature sensor 11 is higher than 35 ° C., the wind speed is set to the set wind speed (weak wind or strong wind) of the remote controller 21 (step S16) so that more warm air reaches the entire room. Blows out efficiently and heats efficiently. Further, when the set temperature by the remote controller 21 is low (10 to 16 ° C.), it is recognized that there is no occupant heating and the wind speed is controlled by the remote controller regardless of the temperature of the heat exchanger 8 by the pipe temperature sensor 11. The set wind speed (weak wind or strong wind) is set (step S17), and the air is blown out so that more warm air reaches the entire room, thereby efficiently heating. In addition, when the set temperature by the remote controller 21 is low (10 to 16 ° C.), it is recognized as absent heating. At that time, if a person is present and feels cold, it is manually operated by the remote controller 21. Canceled by changing the wind speed setting.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the control device 20 determines the presence / absence of the occupant (in the presence / absence) by distinguishing and setting the temperature set by the remote controller 21 into the two temperature ranges. Since the wind speed setting of the blower fan 6 is controlled on the main body 1 side based on the determination result, the feeling of cold wind is prevented when the user is in the room, and the temperature unevenness is improved by efficient heating when the user is absent. And energy savings can be improved, and an inexpensive air conditioner can be provided.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body, 2 Cosmetic panel, 3 Casing, 4 Suction inlet, 5 Air outlet, 6 Blower fan, 7 Fan motor, 8 Heat exchanger, 9 Drain pan, 10 Electrical component box, 11 Piping temperature sensor, 12 Suction air temperature sensor, 13 air blowing vanes, 14 ceiling material, 20 control device, 21 remote control, 100 air conditioner.

Claims (2)

A temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the heat exchanger or the temperature of the intake air, a control device that variably controls the direction of the air blowing vane of the indoor unit or the wind speed or air volume of the blower fan, and remotely operates the indoor unit An air conditioner having a remote control,
In the control device, the temperature set by the remote controller is set to be distinguished into two temperature ranges,
At the time of heating operation, based on the two set temperature ranges and the temperature of the heat exchanger or the temperature of the intake air, at least the direction of the air blowing vane is set to horizontal blowing or downward blowing,
The control device determines the presence or absence of a person in the room based on the two set temperature ranges, and controls the direction of the air blowing vane or the wind speed or air volume of the blower fan based on the determination result. Air conditioner.   The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the direction of the air blowing vane or the wind speed or air volume of the blower fan can be changed manually.

Images