CN110352320B

CN110352320B - Air conditioner

Info

Publication number: CN110352320B
Application number: CN201780003760.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 高畑茂; 上田贵郎; 梅泽光
Original assignee: Hitachi Johnson Controls Air Conditioning Inc
Current assignee: Hitachi Johnson Controls Air Conditioning Inc
Priority date: 2017-04-28
Filing date: 2017-10-04
Publication date: 2021-02-26
Anticipated expiration: 2037-10-04
Also published as: FR3076890A1; FR3066806B1; FR3066806A1; FR3076890B1; JP6290492B1; WO2018198401A1; TW201839326A; ES2687781A1; JP2018189257A; FR3065788B1; CN110352320A; MY169021A; FR3065788A1; TWI638119B

Abstract

The invention provides an air conditioner. An air conditioner (S) is provided with: a cleaning component which cleans the indoor heat exchanger (102); and a control unit (130) that controls the cleaning unit, wherein the control unit executes cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning unit after a predetermined 1 st delay time has elapsed from when the heating operation is stopped after the heating operation is completed when the indoor heat exchanger is to be cleaned by the cleaning unit.

Description

Air conditioner

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

Background

A heat exchanger (indoor heat exchanger) of an indoor unit installed inside an air conditioner has a problem in that dust, microorganisms, and the like (hereinafter, referred to as "dust") passing through a dust removing filter are accumulated in the indoor heat exchanger to generate offensive odor. In addition, there is a problem that the efficiency of the heat exchanger is lowered and the energy saving performance is deteriorated. A plurality of non-detachable pipes pass through the interior of the indoor heat exchanger, and it is difficult to remove the indoor heat exchanger from the indoor unit and clean the indoor unit.

As a technique for cleaning an indoor heat exchanger without detaching the indoor unit from the indoor unit, for example, the following technique is known. That is, patent document 1 describes the following technique: "after the heating operation, the cooling operation is performed as a moisture applying means for causing water to adhere to the fin surface, and the heat exchanger during the heating operation is automatically maintained in a clean state at all times by applying moisture to the fin surface".

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 4931566

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2016-200348

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, the technique described in patent document 1 has the following problems because the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger is started without considering the presence of the user in the room: the cold air leaked by the washing gives an uncomfortable feeling to the user or the abnormal noise due to the abrupt inversion of the refrigerant cycle system gives a trouble to the user.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner that smoothly cleans dirt that has adhered to an indoor heat exchanger.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention is characterized by comprising: a cleaning member that cleans the indoor heat exchanger; and a control unit that controls the cleaning unit, wherein the control unit executes the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning unit after a predetermined 1 st delay time has elapsed from a time when the heating operation is stopped after the heating operation is ended, when the indoor heat exchanger is cleaned by the cleaning unit.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an air conditioner that smoothly cleans dirt that has adhered to an indoor heat exchanger.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view of an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, and a remote controller of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram of devices included in an indoor unit of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of an indoor heat exchanger provided in an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is an image waveform of a result of differential analysis of an image obtained by imaging an indoor heat exchanger provided in an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a graph showing the correlation between the time required for the variation in the room temperature to reach the reference value and the capacity of the room, and the correction value thereof.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of the main microcomputer included in the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a front view of an indoor unit 100, an outdoor unit 20, and a remote controller Re included in an air conditioner S according to embodiment 1.

The indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 200 are connected by a refrigerant pipe (not shown), and the indoor unit 100 is provided with air conditioning by a refrigerant cycle. The indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 200 transmit and receive information to and from each other via a communication cable (not shown).

Although not shown, the outdoor unit 200 includes a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, an outdoor fan, and an expansion valve. In the heat pump cycle, the refrigerant is circulated through a refrigerant circuit in which a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an indoor heat exchanger 102 (see fig. 2) are sequentially connected in a loop.

The remote Re is operated by the user to transmit an infrared signal to the remote transceiver Q of the indoor unit 100. The content of the signal is a command such as an operation request, a change in set temperature, a setting of a timer value, a change in operation mode, and a stop request. The air conditioner S performs air conditioning operations such as a cooling mode, a heating mode, and a dehumidification mode based on these signals. Further, information such as room temperature information, humidity information, and electricity rate information is transmitted from the remote controller transceiver unit Q of the indoor unit 100 to the remote controller Re, and is reported to the user.

An imaging unit 110A for acquiring indoor image information and a visible light cut filter 117A are provided at a lower portion of the front surface of the indoor unit 100. The positions where the imaging unit 110A and the visible light cut filter 117A are provided can be changed according to the purpose of obtaining image information to be described later, and are not limited to the positions shown in fig. 1. In this embodiment, the reason for providing the visible light cut filter 117A is discussed later.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the indoor unit 100 of fig. 1 taken along the direction of arrows.

The casing base 101 accommodates internal structures such as the indoor heat exchanger 102, the blower fan 103, and the filter 108. Further, a filter 108 is provided on the air intake side of the indoor heat exchanger 102.

The indoor heat exchanger 102 has a plurality of heat transfer tubes 102a, and is configured to heat or cool air introduced into the indoor unit 100 by the blower fan 103 by exchanging heat between the air and the refrigerant flowing through the heat transfer tubes 102 a. The heat transfer pipe 102a communicates with the refrigerant pipe (not shown) and constitutes a part of a well-known refrigerant cycle system (not shown).

When the blower fan 103 shown in fig. 2 rotates, the indoor air is taken in through the air intake port 107 and the filter 108, and the air having exchanged heat in the indoor heat exchanger 102 is guided to the outlet air duct 109 a. The direction of the air guided to the outlet air duct 109a is adjusted by the horizontal wind direction plate 104 and the vertical wind direction plate 105, and the air is blown from the air outlet 109b to condition the air in the room.

The horizontal wind direction plate 104 is rotated by a horizontal wind direction plate motor (not shown) about a rotation shaft (not shown) provided at a lower portion in accordance with an instruction from a main microcomputer 130 (control means: see fig. 3) to be described later.

The up-down wind vane 105 is rotated by a motor (not shown) for up-down wind vanes with a rotation shaft (not shown) provided at both ends as a fulcrum in accordance with an instruction from a main microcomputer 130 to be described later. This enables the air-conditioning duct to be blown to a predetermined position in the room.

An imaging unit 110A and a visible light cut filter 117A are provided below a front panel 106 provided so as to cover the front surface of the indoor unit 100. The imaging unit 110A is provided at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal direction from the installation position of the imaging unit 110A downward, and can appropriately image the room in which the indoor unit 100 is installed. However, the detailed mounting position and angle of the imaging component 110A may be set according to the specification and application of the air conditioner S, and the structure is not limited.

Note that the structure of the air conditioner S shown in fig. 1 and 2 is basically an example of the present embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment and is applied thereto.

Fig. 3 is a control block diagram of the air conditioner S.

The main microcomputer 130 shown in fig. 3 controls the load driving unit 150 based on the environmental information detected by the environment detection unit 160 and the operation instruction received by the remote controller transmitting/receiving unit Q (see fig. 1), and controls each device included in the indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 200.

As shown in fig. 3, the imaging unit 110A includes: an optical lens 111A that adjusts a shooting range and a focus; an imaging element 112A that converts indoor light incident from the optical lens 111A into an electric signal; an a/D converter 113A that digitizes and converts the signal of the imaging element 112A into image information; and a digital signal processing unit 114A for correcting the brightness and color tone of the image information.

The imaging unit 110B is also configured similarly to the imaging unit 110A.

The image detection unit 122 performs various image processing on the indoor image information acquired by the imaging unit 110A. The image detection unit 122 may include an image detection unit for performing various image detections, such as a dust detection unit 122a for detecting the presence or absence of dust.

In this case, each image detection unit may be configured to perform image detection from the same image information acquired by the imaging unit 110A, or may be configured to transmit imaging parameters suitable for each image detection to the digital signal processing unit 114A of the imaging unit 110A and perform image detection using a dedicated captured image obtained by imaging in accordance with the imaging parameters.

The detection result such as the position information of the user detected by the image detection unit 122 and the operation command based on the detection result are reported to the arithmetic processing unit 132.

The arithmetic processing unit 132 comprehensively controls the control modules of the air conditioner, and controls the drive control unit 133 in accordance with the operation setting of the air conditioner and the operation command based on the detection result to perform the air conditioning operation. The imaging unit 110A performs an imaging operation using an operation command of the imaging request signal from the arithmetic processing unit 132.

The drive control unit 133 gives a drive signal to the load drive unit 150 and gives a drive instruction.

The load driving unit 150 drives a refrigerant cycle (not shown), an indoor fan motor (not shown) provided in the indoor unit 100, a compressor motor (not shown) provided in the outdoor unit 200, a vertical air vane motor (not shown) provided in the vertical air vanes 105, and a horizontal air vane motor (not shown) provided in the horizontal air vanes 104. The load driving unit 150 may be further configured to drive the imaging unit 110A, the near infrared projector 115, or the filter driving unit 116, and the filter driving unit 116 may be configured to rotate the visible light cut filter 117A.

The Memory units 121 and 131 are configured to include a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The program stored in the ROM is read out by the cpu (central processing unit) in the arithmetic processing unit 132 of the main microcomputer 130, developed in the RAM, and executed.

The environment detection unit 160 may be configured such that various sensors such as a temperature sensor including a thermopile and an activity amount detection sensor using a fresnel lens and an infrared sensor are provided in the main body of the air conditioner S.

With the above configuration, the main microcomputer 130 comprehensively controls the operation of the air conditioner S based on the image information input from the imaging unit 110A, the command signal input from the remote controller Re, the sensor output input from various sensors, and the like, thereby enabling extremely fine operation control.

The detection result obtained by the image processing of the image detection unit 122 may be information such as the position and activity of the user, distance information, or the like, or may be a configuration that does not include image information that can be visually recognized by the user. This can reduce the amount of data held in the storage units 121 and 131. Further, since the image information is not taken out of the main microcomputer 130, privacy protection of the user in the air-conditioned room can be achieved.

The indoor unit 100 has an automatic cleaning operation function as a cleaning member of the indoor heat exchanger 102. A control unit for the automatic cleaning operation (hereinafter referred to as an automatic cleaning operation) of the indoor heat exchanger 102 will be described with reference to fig. 2 and 3.

The automatic cleaning operation is a operation of cooling the indoor heat exchanger 102, causing moisture in the ambient air to adhere to the indoor heat exchanger 102, and cleaning the indoor heat exchanger 102 with the moisture.

In order to cause moisture to adhere to the indoor heat exchanger 102, the main microcomputer 130 can set the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant in the automatic cleaning operation to be lower than the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant in the dehumidification operation. In the case where a higher purging capability is required, the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant can also be set below freezing point.

The amount of dirt adhering to the indoor heat exchanger 102 varies depending on the time of use of the air conditioner S, the operation mode used, the amount of dust in the air in the room, and the like.

Therefore, the main microcomputer 130 executes the automatic washing operation when the operation accumulated time since the last washing stored in the storage part 131, the number of operations since the last washing stored in the storage part 131, or the elapsed time from the time of installation of the air conditioner S reaches a predetermined value. This enables automatic cleaning operation to be performed when necessary, and dust accumulation and dirt adhesion can be suppressed. Further, the number of execution times is reduced as compared with the case where the automatic washing operation is executed every time the air conditioning operation is stopped, and energy saving can be achieved.

The operation integrated time in each operation mode is obtained as follows. That is, the main microcomputer 130 stores the time information managed by the time management unit 134 in the storage unit 131, reads the time information from the storage unit 131 periodically or when an event occurs, and calculates a difference between the time information at the time of the last automatic cleaning operation and the current time information to acquire the accumulated operation time of each operation mode.

The operation information managed by the operation information management unit 135 is subjected to the same processing as described above with respect to the acquisition of the number of operations.

The same processing as described above is also performed on the time information at the time of installation managed by the time management unit 134 for the acquisition of the elapsed time from the time of installation of the air conditioner.

The time management unit 134 may grasp calendar information including a date in addition to the time information.

As the time information setting means, there are the following cases. That is, the user may input the time information to the remote controller Re (fig. 1), transmit the input time information as a remote controller signal from the remote controller Re (fig. 1) to the remote controller receiving unit of the indoor unit 100, and set the time information in the main microcomputer 130. The user may transmit time information from the information terminal to the indoor unit 100 via the communication network 190 and set the time information in the main microcomputer 130.

The indoor unit 100 may be configured to have an automatic time information acquisition function for automatically acquiring time information of a time management server (NTP or the like) present on the communication network 190.

The indoor unit 100 sets the acquired current time information in the time management unit 134 inside the main microcomputer 130. The time management unit 134 continuously increments the set time in accordance with the elapse of time. In this way, the time management unit 134 manages the correct current time.

The user can update the current time managed by the time management unit 134 at an arbitrary time using the time information setting means. Further, by setting the time information automatic acquisition function described above to be periodically performed on the indoor unit 100, the current time managed by the time management unit 134 can be periodically and automatically updated. This prevents the occurrence of a deviation between the current time managed by the time management unit 134 and the current time at the real time.

Various kinds of operation information are managed by the operation information management unit 135. The operation information management unit 135 performs operation management such as switching of an operation mode based on an input from the remote controller Re (fig. 1), switching of an operation mode based on an input via the communication network 190, or switching of an operation mode based on a built-in timer of the indoor unit 100.

By recording the operation information and the current time managed by the time management unit 134 in the storage means 131, the cumulative operation time, the number of operations, and the elapsed time from the installation of the air conditioner S in each operation mode can be acquired.

Predetermined values are stored in advance in the storage unit 131 for the accumulated operation time since the last cleaning stored in the storage unit 131, the number of operations since the last cleaning stored in the storage unit 131, and the elapsed time since the installation of the air conditioner S. The operation conditions of the automatic washing operation are set such that the accumulated operation time stored in the storage unit 131, the number of operations stored in the storage unit 131, or the elapsed time reaches each predetermined value stored in the storage unit 131.

As long as the automatic cleaning operation is performed at regular time intervals or every regular number of operations, the combination of the operating conditions of the automatic cleaning operation is not required. Within the above conditions, one or more may be satisfied.

The operation count is also independent of the operation integrated time, the number of operations, and the method of calculating the elapsed time. Consider the following calculation method, for example. The operation cumulative time and the number of operations may be reset to 0 after the automatic washing operation is performed. After the automatic cleaning operation is performed, the number of times of the automatic cleaning operation may be incremented, and the product of the number of times of the automatic cleaning operation, the reference cumulative operation time, the number of times of the operation, and the elapsed time from the installation of the air conditioner S may be calculated and executed when the product becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

The predetermined values of the operation cumulative time, the number of operations, and the elapsed time may be arbitrarily set by an input device such as a remote controller Re or an information terminal connected to the communication network 190.

When the operating condition of the automatic washing operation is satisfied, the automatic washing operation is executed after the heating operation is completed and after a predetermined 1 st delay time has elapsed from the time when the heating operation is stopped.

When the automatic cleaning operation is to be executed from the cooling, dehumidifying, or blowing operation, the automatic cleaning operation is executed immediately after the operation is stopped or after the 2 nd delay time shorter than the 1 st delay time has elapsed.

Here, the stop of the operation means that the respective devices such as the compressor and the blower fan 103 of the air conditioner S are stopped.

After the heating operation is completed, the automatic cleaning operation can be performed after the indoor heat exchanger 102 is cooled by a predetermined 1 st delay time, and the automatic cleaning operation can be made energy-saving. In addition, the user may finish exiting the room during this time, and the cooling by the automatic washing operation can be suppressed from giving an uncomfortable feeling to the user. In addition, it is also possible to suppress the occurrence of abnormal noise or the like caused by switching the refrigerant cycle rapidly to the reverse rotation.

Consider the setting of the 1 st delay time predetermined at factory shipment, for example, to about 3 minutes. This is a sufficient time for the user to complete the exit from the room, cool the indoor heat exchanger 102, and quietly perform switching of the four-way valve for reversing the refrigerant cycle system.

It is desirable that, during the delay time, the blower fan 103 is driven, or the up-down wind direction plate 105 is opened. This enables the indoor heat exchanger 102 to be cooled quickly. Further, the room temperature can be obtained while the room temperature is made uniform by the blowing operation, and the cooling temperature of the automatic cleaning operation and the like can be optimized according to the degree of fluctuation of the room temperature.

Further, a humidity meter (not shown) may be provided near the indoor heat exchanger 102, the humidity near the indoor heat exchanger 102 may be measured during the delay time, and the automatic cleaning operation performed thereafter may be optimized based on the measurement result. For example, when the humidity is high and the moisture around the indoor heat exchanger 102 is high, the cooling time of the automatic cleaning operation can be shortened. If the cooling time is set to 20 minutes, sufficient water for the automatic cleaning operation can be collected even in dry winter, but if the water around the indoor heat exchanger 102 is large, the cooling time may be set to about 15 minutes.

The indoor heat exchanger 102 (fig. 2) shown in the indoor unit 100 (fig. 2) is provided with a filter 108 (fig. 2) above it, and prevents the indoor heat exchanger 102 from being contaminated by removing large dust. When dust accumulates on the filter 108, clogging occurs, air passing through the indoor heat exchanger 102 decreases, and the cooling/heating capacity of the indoor unit 100 decreases. To prevent this, the indoor unit 100 may include a filter cleaning member that automatically cleans the filter 108 using a brush (not shown) after the operation such as cooling and heating is completed.

When the indoor unit 100 includes the filter cleaning member, fine dust falls down to the indoor heat exchanger 102 when the brush 108 brushes the filter. Dust falling off by the filter cleaning is larger than dust adhering to the indoor heat exchanger 102 in normal air conditioning operation, and causes accumulation of dust on the indoor heat exchanger and adhesion of dirt.

Therefore, it is desirable that the cleaning of the filter 108 by the filter cleaning means be performed during the delay time. This makes it possible to clean the dust falling off immediately after the filter cleaning is performed by the automatic cleaning operation, and prevent the adhesion of the dirt to the indoor heat exchanger 102 due to the filter cleaning.

The time required for the user to exit varies depending on the situation. The time required to cool the indoor heat exchanger 102 varies depending on the air temperature and the like. Thus, it is desirable that the delay time can be changed.

For example, the indoor unit 100 may include an input unit that inputs the delay time from an information terminal connected to the communication network 190 or a remote control Re.

In the case where the delay time is present, it is desirable to be able to report to the user that the automatic washing operation is performed during the delay time. This can suppress the user from having a sense of incongruity. Therefore, the indoor unit 100 may be configured to include a notification means such as a display lamp (not shown) or a notification sound generation unit (not shown) that notifies the execution of the automatic cleaning operation within the delay time, and change the notification content of the notification means in accordance with the remaining time until the start of the automatic cleaning operation. The change of the report content corresponds to, for example, changing the blinking period of the display lamp or notifying it by voice guidance.

If the user does not exist, even if the automatic washing operation is started immediately after the air conditioning operation is stopped, cooling in the automatic washing operation does not cause a sense of discomfort to the user.

Therefore, when the operating conditions of the automatic cleaning operation are satisfied, the human detection means of the indoor unit 100 may execute the automatic cleaning operation immediately after the operation is stopped, as long as no human is detected in the room after the cooling, dehumidifying, and blowing operations are completed.

Further, when the air conditioning operation is stopped by remote input from the outside, there is a high possibility that no person is present in the room.

Therefore, when the operating condition of the automatic washing operation is satisfied, the automatic washing operation may be executed immediately after the operation is stopped, as long as the air conditioning operation is stopped by a remote input from an information terminal connected to the communication network 190 after the cooling, dehumidifying, and blowing operations are completed.

However, even when the air conditioning operation is stopped by the remote input, it is considered that a person is present in the room. Therefore, when the human detection means detects a human in the room, the automatic cleaning operation may be performed after the delay time has elapsed.

As the human detection means, there are the following cases. That is, the person detection unit 122b may analyze the image captured by the imaging unit 110A to detect whether or not a person is present. Further, infrared rays generated from a human body may be detected by a human body sensor (not shown). In this way, the start of the automatic cleaning operation can be controlled based on the detection result of the person in the room.

It is also conceivable that the user desires to perform the automatic cleaning operation immediately after the air conditioning operation is stopped when the operating conditions for the automatic cleaning operation are not satisfied for a long period of time and dust is accumulated in the indoor heat exchanger 102. Therefore, when an instruction to execute the automatic washing operation is input from the remote controller Re or an information terminal connected to the communication network 190, the automatic washing operation may be executed immediately after the input.

The larger the room as the air-conditioned space is, the larger the total amount of dust in the room increases. Since dust in the air passes through the indoor heat exchanger 102 by the blower fan 103, the area of the room is related to the amount of dust deposited on the indoor heat exchanger 102. Therefore, it is desirable that the air conditioner S includes a capacity detection means for detecting a capacity or an area of a room, and is configured to be able to determine in advance, based on a detection result, an operation integrated time from the last cleaning in which the automatic cleaning operation should be performed, and a threshold value of the number of operations from the last cleaning.

As the capacity detection means, there are the following cases. That is, the room temperature detection unit 161 may detect the room temperature and automatically detect the volume or area of the room based on the time required until the fluctuation of the room temperature reaches a reference value (for example, 1 degree) (hereinafter, referred to as room temperature fluctuation time).

The room temperature variation time is measured in advance by an experiment according to the volume of the room, and the data (fig. 6 (a)) relating the room temperature variation time to the volume or area of the room is stored in the storage unit 131. Here, since the correlation varies depending on the cooling/heating capacity of the air conditioner S, it is desirable to perform the measurement in each model of the air conditioner S in accordance with the cooling/heating capacity and to acquire correlation data corresponding to the cooling/heating capacity in advance.

The correlation between the room temperature variation time and the room capacity is affected by the room temperature at the start of measurement, the illuminance in the room, and the like. In order to eliminate this influence, it is desirable that the adjustment value α (fig. 6 (b)) relating to the room temperature and the room temperature variation time at the start of measurement and the adjustment value β (fig. 6 (c)) relating to the indoor illuminance and the room temperature variation time at the start of measurement be measured in advance through experiments, and that the adjustment value α and the adjustment value β be stored in the storage unit 131 in advance.

The capacity detection means acquires the room temperature and the illuminance in the room by using the room temperature detection unit 161 and the illuminance detection unit 162, and can detect the capacity of the room by comparing the correlation data, the adjustment value α, and the adjustment value β with each other.

Further, the volume or area of the room may be detected based on the image information input from the imaging unit 110A. For example, patent document 2 describes that "the imaging unit 13 recognizes information such as the entrance and exit of a person, the number of people in a room, the position, the amount of activity, the layout of the room, and the area illuminated by sunlight. ". In this way, the floor portion in the image information input from the imaging unit 110A is detected, the areas of the walls and the like other than the floor are estimated, and the capacity or area of the room may be calculated from the area ratio of the areas. In this way, the automatic cleaning operation can be optimized based on the capacity or area of the room as the air-conditioned space.

The capacity detection unit is ultimately responsible for obtaining the approximate size of the room. Thus, it is not necessary that the capacity detecting means be highly accurate. However, in order to cope with a case where the deviation between the detection result and the actual room capacity becomes large, it is desirable to have the following functions. That is, the indoor unit 100 may be configured to include not only the automatic detection of the capacity of the room but also the input means that the user inputs the capacity or size of the room as the air-conditioned space from the information terminal or the remote controller Re connected to the communication network 190 or can reset the initial value.

The main microcomputer 130 determines the cumulative operation time since the last cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning means and the threshold value of the number of operations since the last cleaning based on the capacity or size of the room input by the input means.

In order to make the automatic cleaning operation efficient, it is desirable that the indoor unit 100 is provided with a dirt detection means for detecting dirt in the indoor heat exchanger 102, and that the automatic cleaning operation be executed regardless of the value of the operation accumulated time since the last cleaning stored in the storage means 131, the number of operations since the last cleaning stored in the storage means 131, or the elapsed time from the time of installation of the air conditioner S when the dirt detected by the dirt detection means exceeds a predetermined amount. Thus, automatic washing is performed before dust accumulates on the indoor heat exchanger 102 and dirt adheres thereto, and the indoor heat exchanger 102 is washed without a large amount of water, while the indoor heat exchanger 102 is kept clean with less electric power.

The dirt detection means may include an imaging means 110B using visible light or near infrared light as a light source, and an optical filter for blocking or attenuating light of a specific wavelength. The image information inputted from the imaging unit 110B is subjected to image analysis by the dust detection unit 122a of the image detection unit 122 of the camera microcomputer, and the dust portion in the image information is detected as dirt.

In the indoor heat exchanger 102, the metal plates are arranged at regular intervals at very fine pitches as shown in fig. 4 (a). When the indoor heat exchanger 102 is imaged by the imaging means 110B, the metal plates are imaged white due to light reflection, and the air layer between the pitches of the metal plates is imaged black due to light non-reflection, so that images in which the metal plates are arranged at equal intervals can be acquired. When the image is subjected to differential analysis by the analysis line 301, an image waveform shown in fig. 5 (a) is obtained.

Here, when the indoor heat exchanger 102 to which the dust 401A adheres is imaged by the imaging means 110B as shown in fig. 4 (B), an image is acquired in which the boundary between white and black is unclear and the metal plates are arranged at equal intervals. When this image is subjected to differential analysis by the analysis line 302, the image waveform shown in fig. 5 (B) is obtained, and the image waveform 401B having a missing peak due to the adhesion of dust can be confirmed. This enables detection of dust adhesion.

As an example of a means for improving the accuracy of the imaging section 110B, there is the following example. That is, by forming only image data of a specific wavelength by the infrared light emitting unit (not shown) and the visible light cut filter 117B (fig. 3), it is possible to remove the influence of interference from the image data and improve the recognition accuracy of the dust detecting unit 122a (fig. 3).

The amount of dirt adhering to the indoor heat exchanger 102 varies depending on the operation mode such as cooling, heating, and dehumidifying operations. Therefore, it is desirable that the value of the operation integrated time from the previous cleaning, the number of operations from the previous cleaning, or the elapsed time from the installation of the air conditioner S be set in accordance with the operation mode such as the heating operation, the cooling operation, the dehumidifying operation, or the like.

The values of the operation cumulative time since the last cleaning stored in the storage means 131, the number of operations since the last cleaning stored in the storage means 131, and the elapsed time from the time of installation of the air conditioner S do not satisfy the set values, and it is considered that the user desires the execution of the automatic cleaning operation even when the filter cleaning is not executed. Here, in order to suppress the uncomfortable feeling of the user and the like, it is desirable to make a reservation setting so that the automatic cleaning operation is started when the user is not indoors. Therefore, an input means that is input from an information terminal connected to the communication network 190 or a remote controller Re may be provided, and the start time of the automatic cleaning operation may be input by the input means.

Hereinafter, a process executed by the main microcomputer 130 will be described as an example.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing of the main microcomputer 130 when the cleaning processing is started.

In step S101, the main microcomputer 130 determines whether or not a start condition of the cleaning process is satisfied. As described above, the "starting condition of the cleaning process" is a condition that, for example, a value obtained by integrating the time of the air conditioning operation from the end of the previous cleaning process reaches a predetermined value. If the starting condition of the cleaning process is satisfied in step S101 (yes in S101), the process of the main microcomputer 130 proceeds to step S102. On the other hand, if the starting condition of the cleaning process is not satisfied (S101: no), the main microcomputer 130 ends the series of processes (end).

In step S102, the main microcomputer 130 generates a predetermined warning sound by a warning sound generating unit (not shown) and turns on a display lamp (not shown). That is, the main microcomputer 130 notifies that the cleaning process is to be performed by using the notification sound generation unit and the indicator lamp before the cleaning process such as freezing of the indoor heat exchanger 102 is started. This makes it possible to report the start of the cleaning process to the user in advance.

Next, in step S103, the main microcomputer 13 sets a delay time until the cleaning process of the indoor heat exchanger 102 is started. The delay time (e.g., 3 minutes) is a time period from the time when the user is notified in advance that the cleaning process is to be started to the time when the cleaning operation is actually started in step S102, and is set in advance.

In step S104, the main microcomputer 130 determines whether or not a predetermined delay time has elapsed since the user was previously notified that the cleaning process is to be started (S102). When the predetermined delay time has elapsed (yes in S104), the process of the main microcomputer 130 proceeds to step S105. The lighting of the display lamp and the like may be continued until the delay time elapses (S102).

In step S105, the main microcomputer 130 executes a cleaning process of the indoor heat exchanger 102.

On the other hand, in step S104, if the predetermined delay time has not elapsed (S104: NO), the process of the main microcomputer 130 proceeds to step S106.

In step S106, main microcomputer 130 determines whether or not there is a cancel instruction of the cleaning process by an operation of remote controller R or an information terminal (not shown). If there is no cancel instruction of the cleaning process (S106: no), the process of the main microcomputer 130 returns to step S104. On the other hand, if there is a cancel instruction of the cleaning process (S104: YES), the process of the main microcomputer 130 proceeds to step S107.

In step S107, the main microcomputer 130 generates a predetermined warning sound by the warning sound generating unit and turns on the display lamp. This makes it possible to notify the user that the washing operation has actually been cancelled, in response to an operation of the remote controller R or the like.

It is desirable that the notification sound or the like (S107) is of a different kind from the notification sound or the like (S102) for notifying the cleaning process in advance. This is because it is thereby possible to easily and clearly report to the user that the washing process is actually cancelled.

Next, in step S108, the main microcomputer 130 cancels the cleaning process of the indoor heat exchanger 102. That is, the main microcomputer 130 cancels the cleaning process including the freezing of the indoor heat exchanger 102 based on a signal from the remote controller R or the information terminal. More specifically, when a predetermined cancel command is received from the remote controller R or the information terminal from the report before the cleaning process (S102) to the elapse of a predetermined delay time (no in S104, yes in S106), the main microcomputer 130 does not perform the cleaning process including the freezing of the indoor heat exchanger 102 (S108). Thus, the main microcomputer 130 can appropriately cancel the cleaning process of the indoor heat exchanger 102 according to the intention of the user. After the process of step S108 is performed, the main microcomputer 130 ends the series of processes (end).

The embodiments are described in detail for the purpose of describing the present invention so as to be easily understood, and are not necessarily limited to the embodiments having all the configurations described. Further, a part of the configuration of each embodiment can be added, deleted, and replaced with another configuration.

The above-described mechanisms and structures are not intended to represent all the mechanisms and structures necessary for a product, but are merely necessary for the description.

Description of the reference numerals

S, air conditioning;

100 indoor units;

101 a housing base;

102 an indoor heat exchanger;

103 blower fan;

104 left and right wind direction plates;

105 up and down wind direction plates;

106 a front surface panel;

107 air intake;

108 a filter;

109a blow-out air passage;

109b air outlet;

110A, 110B photographing means;

a 111A optical lens;

112A imaging element;

113A A/D converter;

114A digital signal processing section;

116 a filter driving section;

117A, 117B visible light cut filters;

120 a camera microcomputer;

121. 131 a storage component;

122 an image detection section;

122a dust detection unit (dirt detection means);

122b a human detection section (human detection means);

130 a main microcomputer (control section);

132 an arithmetic processing unit;

133 a drive control section;

134 a time management unit;

135 operation information management unit;

150 load driving part;

160 an environment detection component;

161 room temperature detecting part;

162 an illuminance detection unit;

190 a communications network;

200 outdoor machine;

q remote controller (input means);

301. 302 analyzing the line;

401A dust;

401B is an image waveform with a defective peak due to adhesion of dust.

Claims

1. An air conditioner is characterized in that the air conditioner comprises a shell,

the air conditioner is provided with:

a cleaning member that cleans the indoor heat exchanger; and

a control part which controls the washing part,

the control unit, when the indoor heat exchanger is cleaned by the cleaning unit after the heating operation is finished, performs cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning unit after a predetermined 1 st delay time has elapsed since the heating operation is stopped,

the control means performs the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning means after a 2 nd delay time shorter than the 1 st delay time elapses, in a case where the indoor heat exchanger is cleaned by the cleaning means after the cooling, dehumidifying, or blowing operation is finished.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1,

the air conditioner is provided with a storage component for storing the operating condition of the air conditioner,

the control unit executes the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning unit when an operation accumulated time since the previous cleaning stored in the storage unit, an operation count since the previous cleaning stored in the storage unit, or an elapsed time since the installation of the air conditioner stored in the storage unit reaches a predetermined threshold value.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 1,

the air conditioner is provided with: an air supply fan which is arranged on the indoor unit and supplies air to the indoor heat exchanger; and

an up-down wind direction plate that adjusts the wind direction of air blown out from the indoor unit,

the control means drives the blower fan or opens the up-down wind direction plate during a period from when the heating operation is stopped until the 1 st delay time elapses.

4. The air conditioner according to claim 1,

the control means sets an evaporation temperature of the refrigerant at the time of cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning means to be lower than an evaporation temperature of the refrigerant in the dehumidification operation.

5. The air conditioner according to claim 1,

the control part sets the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant when the indoor heat exchanger is cleaned by the cleaning part to be below freezing point.

6. The air conditioner according to claim 1,

the air conditioner includes a notification unit that notifies that the indoor heat exchanger is cleaned by the cleaning unit during a period from when the heating operation is stopped to when the 1 st delay time elapses or during a period from when the cooling, dehumidifying, or blowing operation is stopped to when the 2 nd delay time elapses.

7. The air conditioner according to claim 1,

the air conditioner comprises an input component for inputting the execution instruction of the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning component from an information terminal connected with a communication network or a remote controller,

when an instruction to perform the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning means is input by the input means, the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning means is performed immediately after the input.

8. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2,

the air conditioner is provided with a dirt detection component for detecting dirt of the indoor heat exchanger,

the control means may perform the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning means in a case where the dirt detected by the dirt detecting means exceeds a predetermined amount.

9. The air conditioner according to claim 8,

the dirt detection member includes:

an imaging unit having a light source using visible light or near infrared light; and

an optical filter that blocks or attenuates light of a particular wavelength,

the dirt detection means detects dirt of the indoor heat exchanger based on the image information input from the photographing means.

10. The air conditioner according to claim 2,

the threshold value of the operation cumulative time since the last cleaning, the threshold value of the number of operations since the last cleaning, or the threshold value of the elapsed time since the installation of the air conditioner is set in accordance with an operation mode such as a heating operation, a cooling operation, or a dehumidifying operation.

11. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2,

the air conditioner includes an input unit for inputting a cleaning start time of the indoor heat exchanger from an information terminal connected to a communication network or a remote controller.

12. An air conditioner is characterized in that the air conditioner comprises a shell,

the air conditioner is provided with:

a cleaning member that cleans the indoor heat exchanger;

a control unit that controls the cleaning unit; and

a filter cleaning member for cleaning a filter provided on an air intake side of the indoor heat exchanger,

the control unit executes the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning unit after the heating operation is finished and after a predetermined 1 st delay time has elapsed since the heating operation was stopped, when the indoor heat exchanger is cleaned by the cleaning unit,

the control means executes cleaning of the filter by the filter cleaning means during a period from when the heating operation is stopped until the 1 st delay time elapses.

13. An air conditioner is characterized in that the air conditioner comprises a shell,

the air conditioner is provided with:

a cleaning member that cleans the indoor heat exchanger;

a control unit that controls the cleaning unit;

a storage unit that stores an operating condition of the air conditioner; and

a capacity detection means for detecting a capacity or an area of a room as an air-conditioned space,

the control means determines a threshold value of an operation accumulation time from the previous cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger performed by the cleaning means or a threshold value of the number of operations from the previous cleaning based on the capacity or area of the room detected by the capacity detection means,

the control unit executes the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning unit after a predetermined first delay time has elapsed from the time of the stop of the heating operation after the end of the heating operation when the operation count accumulated in the storage unit from the previous cleaning or the operation count accumulated in the storage unit from the previous cleaning reaches the threshold value or the elapsed time from the time of the installation of the air conditioner reaches a predetermined threshold value.

14. The air conditioner according to claim 13,

the capacity detection means detects the capacity or area of the room based on the time elapsed from the start of measurement of the room temperature to the time when the variation in the room temperature reaches the reference temperature.

15. The air conditioner according to claim 13,

the capacity detection means detects the capacity or area of a room based on image information input from imaging means in the room.

16. An air conditioner is characterized in that the air conditioner comprises a shell,

the air conditioner is provided with:

a cleaning member that cleans the indoor heat exchanger;

a control unit that controls the cleaning unit;

a storage unit that stores an operating condition of the air conditioner; and

an input means for inputting the capacity or area of a room as an air-conditioned space from an information terminal connected to a communication network or a remote controller,

the control means determines a threshold value of an operation accumulation time from the previous cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger performed by the cleaning means or a threshold value of the number of operations from the previous cleaning based on the capacity or area of the room input by the input means,

17. An air conditioner is characterized in that the air conditioner comprises a shell,

the air conditioner is provided with:

a cleaning member that cleans the indoor heat exchanger;

a control unit that controls the cleaning unit;

an air supply fan provided in the indoor unit and configured to supply air to the indoor heat exchanger; and

a wind direction plate that adjusts the wind direction of air blown out from the indoor unit,

the control means performs the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaning means after the cooling operation, the dehumidifying operation, or the air blowing operation is finished and after a predetermined 2 nd delay time shorter than the 1 st delay time elapses from the time when the cooling operation, the dehumidifying operation, or the air blowing operation is stopped, in the case where the indoor heat exchanger is cleaned by the cleaning means,

and driving the air supply fan or opening the wind direction plate within the 2 nd delay time.