JPH11173624A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set the indoor temperature in the vicinity of the floor part within the room at heating operation to the set temperature in its early stage and besides favorably. SOLUTION: In an air conditioner 10, which has an outdoor unit 11 installed outdoors and equipped with a compressor 17 and an outdoor heat exchanger 19, an indoor unit 12 equipped with an indoor heat exchanger 23 and an indoor air temperature detector 26, and a controller 21 which controls the outdoor unit 11 and the indoor unit 12, and in which the indoor air temperature detector 26 detects the indoor temperature in the vicinity of the ceiling inside the room and the controller 21 compares the control temperature a specified temperature apart from the set temperature set by a user with the outdoor temperature in the vicinity of the ceiling and starts and stops the indoor unit 12 and adjusts the indoor temperature in the vicinity of the floor inside the room, the controller 21 is one which controls the temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature to decrease gradually, according to the passage of the operation time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner that controls operation using a control temperature separated from a set temperature set by a user by a predetermined temperature.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, the operation of an air conditioner is controlled on and off using a control temperature which is a predetermined temperature away from a set temperature set by a user, and is adjusted so that the indoor temperature of a building approaches the set temperature. doing.

By the way, when an indoor heating operation of a building is performed using an air conditioner in which an indoor unit is installed on the ceiling or upper wall of the building, the room temperature near the ceiling in the room becomes lower than the temperature near the floor. Higher than the indoor temperature of
A temperature difference occurs between the two. The user sets the indoor temperature near the floor to determine the set temperature, but the control device of the air conditioner considers the above-mentioned temperature difference, and the control temperature is higher than the set temperature set by the user by a predetermined temperature. The operation of the indoor unit is started and stopped based on whether or not the indoor temperature near the air suction port (near the ceiling) of the indoor unit has reached the control temperature, thereby adjusting the indoor temperature. Actually, when the indoor temperature near the air suction port of the indoor unit becomes slightly higher (for example, 1 ° C.) than the control temperature, the operation of the indoor unit is stopped, and the indoor temperature near the air suction port becomes equal to the control temperature. When the temperature is slightly lower (for example, 1 ° C.), the operation of the indoor unit is started.

Conventionally, the temperature difference (shift temperature value) between the set temperature and the control temperature has been a predetermined fixed value.

[0005]

The temperature difference between the room temperature near the ceiling and the room temperature near the floor during the heating operation increases as the ceiling height increases. Decrease gradually. For example, this temperature difference is, for example, about 8 ° C. at the start of the operation of the air conditioner, but stabilizes at, for example, about 4 ° C. as the operation time elapses.

However, the shift temperature value is, for example, 8 ° C.
If the set temperature is set to 22 ° C., the control temperature will be 30 ° C. Therefore, at the start of the operation of the air conditioner, the room temperature near the floor surface reaches the set temperature (22 ° C.) early as shown by a two-dot chain line A in FIG. For example, approximately one hour after the start of operation), the temperature exceeds the set temperature, for example, 26
Stabilizes at ℃.

On the other hand, if the shift temperature value is set to a fixed value of, for example, 4 ° C., and the set temperature is set to 22 ° C.,
The control temperature is 26 ° C. In this case, the room temperature near the floor surface stabilizes in accordance with the set temperature of 22 ° C. after a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of operation of the air conditioner, as shown by the dashed line B in FIG. The rise of the room temperature at the beginning is delayed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and in particular, is an air conditioner which can quickly and satisfactorily reach a room temperature near a floor portion of a room during a heating operation. It is to provide a device.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
An outdoor unit having a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger, an indoor unit having an indoor heat exchanger and an indoor air temperature detector, and controlling the indoor unit and the outdoor unit;
A control device that starts and stops the indoor unit based on a control temperature separated by a predetermined temperature from a set temperature of the indoor air and the indoor temperature detected by the indoor air temperature detector, The control device controls to change the temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature as the operation time elapses.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the control device gradually changes the temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature in accordance with an increase in the number of times of starting and stopping the indoor unit. It controls to decrease.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature at the start of operation can be changed.

The first to third aspects of the present invention have the following effects.

At the start of the heating operation, the control device sets the temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature to be large so that the room temperature can reach the set temperature early. Further, after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the heating operation, the control device sets the temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature to be small, so that the room temperature can be made equal to the set temperature and stabilized.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall side view showing one embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the air-conditioning apparatus of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air conditioner 10 includes:
The refrigerant pipes 13 and 14 of the outdoor unit 11 and the indoor unit 12 are connected to connection pipes 15A and 15A, respectively.
B.

As shown in FIG. 1, the outdoor unit 11 comprises
It is installed outside the building 1. This outdoor unit 11
An accumulator 16, a compressor 17, a four-way valve 18, and an outdoor heat exchanger 19 are sequentially arranged in the refrigerant pipe 13 from the connection pipe 15A to the connection pipe 15B.
A fan 20 that blows air toward the outdoor heat exchanger 19 is arranged adjacent to the outdoor heat exchanger 19.

The indoor unit 12 is an embedded indoor unit embedded in the ceiling 2 of the building 1. The indoor unit 12 is configured such that an expansion valve 22 and an indoor heat exchanger 23 are sequentially arranged in a refrigerant pipe 14 from a connection pipe 15B side to a connection pipe 15A side, and a fan that blows air to the indoor heat exchanger 23 24 is arranged adjacent to the indoor heat exchanger 23. In the indoor unit 12, near the fan 24, that is, near the air inlet 25 of the indoor unit 12,
An indoor air temperature detector 26 for detecting the indoor temperature (suction air temperature) near the ceiling 2 in the room of the building 1 is installed. The room temperature detected by the room air temperature detector 26 is transmitted to the control device 21.

The control device 21 controls the outdoor unit 11 and the indoor unit 12. That is, the control device 21
Controls the start and stop of the compressor 17 and the start and stop of the fans 20 and 24, respectively. The control device 21 also controls the switching of the four-way valve 18 so that the air conditioner 1
0 is switched to cooling or heating operation. The control device 21
It is operated by a user via a remote controller (not shown). When the control device 21 switches the four-way valve 18 to the cooling side, the refrigerant flows as indicated by the solid line arrow in FIG. State, and the indoor heat exchanger 23
Cools the room of building 1. When the control device 21 switches the four-way valve 18 to the heating side, the refrigerant flows as shown by the broken line arrow in FIG. It becomes an operation state, and the indoor heat exchanger 23 heats the room of the building 1.

The controller 21 further controls the compressor 17 and the fan 20 when the indoor temperature near the ceiling 2 detected by the indoor air temperature detector 26 reaches a predetermined control temperature.
And 24 are stopped, and when the indoor temperature near the ceiling 2 detected by the indoor air temperature detector 26 has deviated from the above-mentioned control temperature, the compressor 17 and the fans 20 and 24 are started to activate the outdoor unit 11 and the indoor unit. 12 is controlled. The control temperature is a temperature separated from the set temperature near the floor portion 3 set by the user via the remote controller by a predetermined temperature. During the heating operation, the temperature difference between the control temperature and the set temperature (hereinafter, referred to as a “shift temperature value”) is set higher than the set temperature. The shift temperature value during the heating operation is set in consideration of the ceiling height of the building 1 and the like, and the control device 21 sets the initially set shift temperature value according to the elapse of the heating operation time, that is, the outdoor unit. The temperature is controlled so as to gradually decrease in accordance with an increase in the number of starts and stops of the indoor unit 11 and the indoor unit 12, and the indoor temperature near the floor 3 in the building 1 is adjusted.

The control of the control device 21 during the heating operation will be described with reference to FIG. When the user turns on the remote controller (step 1), the controller 21 sets the shift temperature value ΔT to, for example, 8 ° C. (ΔT = 8
C), the outdoor unit 11 and the indoor unit 12 are operated (step 2).

In this case, ΔT = 8 ° C. is a value stored in advance in the control device 21 at the time of shipment from the factory. This value may be determined by, for example, a setting worker according to the installation condition of the air conditioner. It can be changed by a predetermined operation using a remote controller.

When the shift temperature value .DELTA.T is set to .DELTA.T = 8.degree. C., if the user sets the set temperature to, for example, 22.degree. C. using the remote controller, the control temperature becomes 30.degree. When the room temperature near the ceiling 2 detected by the temperature detector 26 becomes slightly higher (for example, 1 ° C.) than the control temperature of 30 ° C., the compressor 17 and the fans 20 and 24 are stopped. The outdoor unit 11 and the indoor unit 12 are stopped (thermo OFF control), and when the indoor temperature near the ceiling 2 becomes slightly lower (for example, 1 ° C.) than the control temperature of 30 ° C., the compressor 17 and the fan Start 20 and 24 (Thermo O
N control), and as shown in FIG. 3A, the room temperature near the floor 3 is adjusted to match the set temperature (22 ° C.).

The control device 21 is provided with the above-mentioned thermo-ON, OF
It is determined whether or not the F control has been performed (step 3). If the thermo OFF control has not been performed, the shift temperature value ΔT is held at the current value. The temperature value ΔT is set lower by 1 ° C. and updated (step 4). This is the same as the thermo ON, O
This considers that the FF control gradually reduces the temperature difference between the room temperature near the ceiling 2 and the room temperature near the floor 3 in the room of the building 1.

The control device 21 determines the updated shift temperature value Δ
If T exceeds 4 ° C., for example, steps 3 and 4 are repeated, and the temperature of the shift temperature value ΔT is set lower by 1 ° C. every time the thermo-OFF control is performed (step 5). Then, if the updated shift temperature value ΔT is, for example, 4 ° C. or less, the control device 21 sets the shift temperature value ΔT to 4 ° C. (step 6). Shift temperature value ΔT is 4
When the temperature is kept at ° C., if the set temperature is still 22 ° C., the control temperature becomes 26 ° C., and the control device 21 sets the room temperature near the ceiling 2 slightly higher (for example, 1 ° C.) than the control temperature of 26 ° C. When the temperature reaches the temperature, the compressor 17 and the fans 20 and 24 are stopped, and when the room temperature near the ceiling 2 becomes slightly lower (for example, 1 ° C.) than the control temperature of 26 ° C., the compressor 17 and the By activating the fans 20 and 24, as shown in FIG. 3 (B), the room temperature near the floor 3 is made equal to the set temperature of 22 ° C.

The controller 21 keeps the shift temperature value ΔT at 4 ° C. as long as the heating operation is continued without the remote controller being turned off by the user (step 7).

Therefore, the air conditioner 1 of the above embodiment is
0, the control device 21 sets a large shift temperature value, which is a temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature, at the start of the heating operation, and sets the control temperature significantly higher than the set temperature. As shown by the solid line C, the rise of the room temperature can be accelerated.

Further, the control device 21 sets the shift temperature value to a small value each time the thermo-ON / OFF control is repeated from the start of the heating operation to gradually bring the control temperature closer to the set temperature. As shown by the solid line C, the room temperature in the vicinity of the floor portion 3 can be stabilized by matching the set temperature.

Although the present invention has been described based on an embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the indoor unit 12 is not limited to the embedded indoor unit 12, but may be a wall-mounted indoor unit 12 installed above the wall 4 of the building 1. In the above embodiment,
Although the case where the indoor unit 12 is single has been described, a so-called multi-type air conditioner having a plurality of indoor units may be used. In this case, the control device 21
In the control, the compressor 17 and the fan 20 of the outdoor unit 11 are not stopped, and the indoor unit 12 to be controlled is not stopped.
The control for stopping the expansion valve 22 and the fan 24 is performed, and the shift temperature value is changed for each indoor unit 12.

[0029]

As described above, according to the air conditioner of the present invention, the control device sets a large temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature at the start of the heating operation. The room temperature can be set to the set temperature early, and the control device sets a small temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the heating operation. The temperature can be made equal to the set temperature and stabilized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view showing one embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of the air conditioner of FIG.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show the temperature distribution in the room in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 3A is a temperature distribution diagram when a heating operation is started, and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart executed by the control device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between room temperature and time during a heating operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Air conditioner 11 Outdoor unit 12 Indoor unit 17 Compressor 19 Outdoor heat exchanger 21 Controller 23 Indoor heat exchanger 26 Indoor air temperature detector

Claims (3)

[Claims] An outdoor unit including a compressor and an outdoor heat exchanger; an indoor unit including an indoor heat exchanger and an indoor air temperature detector; controlling the indoor unit and the outdoor unit to generate indoor air; A control device that starts and stops the indoor unit based on a control temperature separated by a predetermined temperature from a set temperature and the indoor temperature detected by the indoor air temperature detector, wherein the control device is An air conditioner that controls so that a temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature is changed as the operation time elapses. 2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control device controls the temperature difference between the set temperature and the control temperature so as to gradually decrease in accordance with an increase in the number of start / stop of the indoor unit. Air conditioner. 3. The temperature difference between a set temperature and a control temperature at the start of operation can be changed.
Or the air conditioner according to 2.