CN111164354B - Remote control device for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

A remote control device for an air conditioner, which communicates with an indoor unit (50) capable of blowing out two airflows having different temperatures or air volumes from outlet ports, comprises: since the first display unit (4) for setting the operation of the first blowout air flow (Fa) as one of the two air flows and the second display unit (5) for setting the operation of the second blowout air flow (Fb) as the other air flow are provided, the operation of the two blowout air flows can be individually set without complicated operations, and the operation of the air conditioner is convenient for the user.

Description

Remote control device for air conditioner

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a remote control device for an air conditioner, which communicates with an indoor unit of the air conditioner to set an operation of the air conditioner.

Background

A remote control device for an air conditioner generally includes an operation unit that receives an operation based on an operation instruction from a user, and a display unit that displays setting information of the user and operation information of the air conditioner. The operation unit is provided with a plurality of operation buttons as operation means, and the user can operate the operation of the air conditioner by appropriately pressing the operation buttons according to the purpose. The operation buttons also include up and down keys and cross keys. (see, for example, patent document 1)

The user operates the operation unit of the remote control device to perform operation settings such as an operation switch, an operation mode, a change in set temperature, and a timer reservation of the air conditioner. There are also remote control devices as follows: the operation unit is provided with not only an operation button that is pressed by a user for operation, but also a dial switch that is rotated for operation. Such a dial switch is used, for example, as a temperature change operation means. (see, for example, patent document 2)

The display unit of the remote control device is generally formed of a liquid crystal display device, but in recent years, there is a remote control device using a touch panel type liquid crystal display device in which operation buttons are displayed on the display unit on a liquid crystal screen and a user can perform an operation by touching the operation buttons. In such a remote control device, the display unit may be referred to as an operation unit. (see, for example, patent document 3)

In recent years, there are indoor units of air conditioners that communicate with a remote control device, the indoor units being configured to blow two air flows having different temperatures in the left-right direction or the front-back direction from an air outlet. In such an indoor unit, the two air flows can be blown out in different directions by the air vanes which are divided in the left-right direction and are independently controlled to rotate. For example, there are the following indoor units: two propeller fans which are arranged in the left-right direction and are independently controlled are provided at an upper portion of an indoor unit main body which is on the upstream side of the heat exchanger, and two airflows having different temperatures and separated in the left-right direction are blown out from an outlet port by rotating the two propeller fans at different rotation speeds. (see, for example, patent document 4.)

Further, conventionally, a general configuration in which 1 cross-flow fan is disposed downstream of a V-shaped heat exchanger facing downward has been proposed, but an indoor unit has been also sold in which the heat exchanger is thermally divided into two upper and lower portions, and two airflows of different temperatures separated in the front-rear direction are blown out from an outlet port by making the refrigerant pressures of the respective portions different from each other.

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2014-115000 (paragraph 0027, FIG. 4-1)

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-217537 (paragraphs 0022 to 0031, FIG. 3)

Patent document 3: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2016 (0012 to 0017, FIG. 2)

Patent document 4: WO2017/026013 publication (0074-0087 paragraph, FIG. 18)

It is not difficult to imagine that in the above-described recent air conditioner in which two airflows having different temperatures are blown out from the outlet of the indoor unit and air conditioning is possible in two temperature zones of the space to be air-conditioned, a user has demanded to individually control the two blown airflows from the outlet. However, since the conventional remote control devices disclosed in the above-mentioned documents 1 to 3 are devices corresponding to indoor units that do not blow out two airflows having different temperatures from each other from the outlet port, if a user individually performs operation settings of the air conditioner related to the two blown-out airflows using the above-mentioned remote control device, the operation becomes complicated and difficult to understand, and there is a problem that the user is not convenient.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device for an air conditioner, which is capable of easily and easily performing operation setting of two air streams to be blown out from an indoor unit of the air conditioner individually, and which is excellent in convenience for a user.

A remote control device for an air conditioner according to the present invention is a remote control device for an air conditioner that communicates with an indoor unit that can blow out two airflows having different temperatures or air volumes from an outlet, the remote control device including: a first display unit relating to an operation setting of a first blown air stream which is one of the two air streams; and a second display unit that displays the set temperatures on the first display unit and the second display unit, respectively, in relation to the operation setting of the second blown air flow, which is the other of the two air flows, and that is capable of individually changing the set temperatures, but does not accept a change operation of the set temperature in which the difference between the set temperature displayed on the first display unit and the set temperature displayed on the second display unit exceeds a preset maximum allowable temperature difference.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a remote control device for an air conditioner, which can individually set the operation of two air streams to be blown out from an indoor unit of the air conditioner without performing complicated operations, and which is excellent in convenience for a user.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an implementation state of a remote control device for an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an external perspective view of the remote control device of fig. 1 as viewed from the front side.

Fig. 3 is a front view showing display contents of a display unit in the remote control device of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a front view showing a state in which the display content of the display unit of fig. 3 is changed.

Fig. 5 is a front view showing a display content of the wind direction and the air volume which is different from the display content of the display unit of fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a front view showing a state in which a setting screen for displaying a function is enlarged and shown in the display content of the display unit of fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a front view showing a modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a front view showing another modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a front view showing another modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a front view showing another modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a front view showing another modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a front view showing another modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a front view of a remote control device for an air conditioner according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a front view of a modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 15 is a front view showing another modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 16 is a front view showing another modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a front view of a remote control device for an air conditioner according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is a front view of a modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 19 is a front view of a remote control device for an air conditioner according to embodiment 4 of the present invention.

Fig. 20 is a front view showing an example of a display of the display unit in a state where a setting change is performed in the remote control device of fig. 19.

Fig. 21 is a front view of a modification of the remote control device of the air conditioner according to embodiment 4 of the present invention.

Fig. 22 is a front view showing an example of a display of the display unit in a state where a setting change is performed in the remote control device of fig. 21.

Fig. 23 is a front view of a remote control device for an air conditioner according to embodiment 5 of the present invention when used in a portrait orientation.

Fig. 24 is a front view of the remote control device of fig. 23 in use in a landscape orientation.

Detailed Description

Embodiment mode 1

Hereinafter, embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an implementation state of a remote control device 100 (hereinafter, referred to as a remote control device 100) of an air conditioner according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, and fig. 2 is an external perspective view showing the remote control device 100 as viewed from the front (operation panel 30) side. An indoor unit 50 (hereinafter, indoor unit 50) of the air conditioner shown in fig. 1 is connected to an outdoor unit (not shown) through a refrigerant pipe, thereby constituting a refrigeration cycle.

The indoor unit 50 is installed on the upper wall surface of a room serving as a space to be air-conditioned. The remote control device 100 can communicate with the indoor unit 50, and the user operates the remote control device 100 to perform operation setting of the air conditioner. An operation instruction signal based on an operation by the user is transmitted from the transmitter 1 of the remote control device 100 to the indoor unit 50, and the air conditioner operates based on the signal received by the indoor unit 50. The remote control 100 includes a receiving unit 2 that receives an information signal transmitted from the indoor unit 50, and is capable of bidirectional communication with the indoor unit 50.

The indoor unit 50 shown in fig. 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped appearance, and includes two propeller fans 51a and 51b at an upper portion, and the two propeller fans 51a and 51b are arranged in a left-right direction which is a longitudinal direction of the rectangular parallelepiped, and are independently controlled to rotate in a horizontal direction. A propeller fan 51a is disposed on the left side of the indoor unit 50, and a propeller fan 51b is disposed on the right side. By the rotation of the propeller fans 51a and 51b, the indoor air is sucked in through the suction port 52 on the upper surface and blown out through the blow-out port 53 formed in the lower portion and long in the left-right direction.

In the indoor unit 50, a heat exchanger, not shown, is provided on the downstream side of the propeller fans 51a and 51b and on the upstream side of the air outlet 53 in the airflow generated by the rotation of the propeller fans 51a and 51 b. When the airflow generated by the propeller fans 51a and 51b passes through the heat exchanger, the indoor air exchanges heat with the refrigerant flowing through the heat exchanger, and is cooled in the cooling operation and heated in the heating operation. The air flow after the heat exchange is blown out from the air outlet 53 into the room.

Here, the two propeller fans 51a and 51b have the same specification. Each having a drive motor, and these drive motors are independently controlled, so that the rotational speeds can be made different from each other. Further, by making the rotational speeds different from each other, two airflows having different air volumes separated in the left-right direction can be generated. Since the difference in the amount of heat exchange in the heat exchanger can be caused by the difference in the amount of air flow, two airflows having different temperatures can be blown out while being separated in the left-right direction from the air outlet 53. As shown in fig. 1, the first outlet airflow Fa by the propeller fan 51a is mainly blown out from the left side of the outlet 53, and the second outlet airflow Fb by the propeller fan 51b is blown out from the right side.

Further, the air outlet 53 is provided with vertical air direction plates 54a and 54b which are divided into two parts in the left-right direction and are flat plates long in the left-right direction, and the air flow direction blown out from the air outlet 53 is adjusted in the vertical direction by rotating in the vertical direction. The left side is a left vertical wind vane 54a and the right side is a right vertical wind vane 54b as viewed from the user. The air outlets 53 are provided with drive motors, are independently controlled, and are rotated, whereby the directions of the air flows blown out from the air outlets 53 can be adjusted in the vertical directions different from each other. Here, the vertical vanes are 1 in the left-right direction, but a plurality of vertical vanes are arranged in the front-rear direction and each vane is controlled independently, whereby the air direction can be adjusted with higher accuracy.

Further, although not shown, inside the indoor unit 50, a horizontal louver that rotates in the horizontal direction and adjusts the direction of the airflow blown out from the air outlet 53 in the horizontal direction is provided on the downstream side of the heat exchanger and on the upstream side of the vertical louvers 54a and 54 b. The horizontal wind direction plate is configured such that two horizontal wind direction plate units are arranged in the horizontal direction, and a plurality of blades of the horizontal wind direction plate units are connected to each other and arranged in the horizontal direction, so that the blades can be rotated at the same angle by one drive motor. The respective horizontal air vane units are located on the inner sides of the left vertical air vane 54a and the right vertical air vane 54 b. The two horizontal louver units are controlled independently of each other by the drive motors provided respectively, and the directions of the airflows blown out from the air outlet 53 can be adjusted in the mutually different horizontal directions.

In the indoor unit 50 configured as described above, the two airflows having different temperatures can be blown out in different directions, respectively, while being separated in the left-right direction from the air outlet 53. The indoor unit 50 further includes a motion sensor 55, and can grasp the position of an indoor person in a room as a space to be air-conditioned. As a basic operation of this air conditioner, the indoor unit 50 controls the wind direction and the air volume of the two outlet airflows Fa and Fb based on the position of the indoor person detected by the human body sensor 55 of the indoor unit 50, and performs an air conditioning operation so that the sensible temperature of the indoor person is a set temperature.

Next, the remote control device 100 will be explained. As shown in fig. 2, the remote control device 100 has a rectangular parallelepiped appearance, and is a wireless type that a user holds and operates with his/her long side direction as the left/right direction, i.e., in a lateral direction. As is apparent from fig. 2, the remote control device 100 is different from a conventional remote control of an air conditioner in that two display units are provided. An operation surface 30 is formed on one surface of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing, and a user holds the remote control device 100 in his or her hand so that the operation surface 30 faces the user. The operation panel 30 is provided with a first display device 11, a second display device 12, and an operation unit 3 having a plurality of operation buttons as operation means for a user. Here, the first display device 11, the operation unit 3, and the second display device 12 are arranged in this order from the left side as viewed from the user. The shape of the housing case of the remote control device 100 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

The first display device 11 and the second display device 12 are both liquid crystal display devices having liquid crystal screens. The first display unit 4 is provided on the liquid crystal screen of the first display device 11, and the second display unit 5 is provided on the liquid crystal screen of the second display device 12. In this way, the operation panel 30 of the remote control device 100 is provided with two display units 4 and 5 via the two display devices 11 and 12. The contents displayed by these display units 4 and 5 will be described later.

The operation unit 3 located at the center in the left-right direction of the remote control device 100 between the two display devices 11 and 12 includes a plurality of operation buttons, and when the user appropriately operates the operation buttons, a signal indicating a command corresponding to the operation is transmitted from the transmission unit 1 to the indoor unit 50, and the operation of the air conditioner is operated. The transmission unit 1 is provided on an upper surface perpendicular to the operation surface 30, and the reception unit 2 is also provided on the same surface at a distance from the transmission unit 1. The receiving unit 2 receives an information signal from the indoor unit 50.

Among the plurality of operation buttons provided in the operation unit 3, the operation switch button 31 is a button for operating start and stop of operation. When the user presses the operation switch button 31 while the air conditioner is in a stopped state, the operation is started, and when the user presses the operation switch button again during the operation, the operation is stopped. The operation mode switching button 32 is an operation button for switching operation modes such as cooling, heating, and air blowing, and sequentially switches the operation modes by being pressed by a user. In fig. 2, the current operation mode is displayed as "cooling" on both the display portions 4 and 5, but may be displayed on at least one of them.

The up-down airflow button 33 is an operation button for changing the up-down direction of the airflow (hereinafter, the blown-out airflow) blown out from the air outlet 53, and can be pressed by the user to change the up-down direction of the blown-out airflow stepwise from the front direction to the downward direction, and also can select an automatic mode in which the upward and downward reciprocating swing is repeated and the control by the air conditioner is dependent. The right-left direction button 34 is an operation button for changing the right-left direction of the blown air flow, and can be pressed by the user to change the right-left direction of the blown air flow stepwise within a predetermined range around the front direction, and can also select a swing mode and an automatic mode in which the right-left reciprocation is repeated. In any of the wind direction buttons, the user sequentially switches the button every time the user presses the button, and when the user makes one rotation, the mode returns to the original mode, and the switch is performed again in the same order.

The air volume button 35 is an operation button for changing the air volume, and changes the air volume of the outlet airflow when pressed. The change in the air volume is realized by changing the rotation speed of the propeller fans 51a and 51 b. In the air volume setting, there are four stages of modes of static, weak, medium, and strong, in addition to the automatic mode, and the air volume is sequentially increased. That is, the rotational speeds of the propeller fans 51a and 51b increase. The switching is performed in sequence each time the user presses the air volume button 35, and when the user makes one rotation, the mode returns to the original mode and the switching is performed in the same sequence again.

The temperature setting button 36 is a button for changing the set temperature. The temperature setting button 36 is constituted by up and down keys, and when the up button 36a is pressed, the temperature is set to be increased by a predetermined temperature (here, 1 ℃), and when the down button 36b is pressed, the temperature is set to be decreased by the same predetermined temperature. In addition, the prescribed temperature is not limited to 1 ℃. By continuously pressing either one of them, the device can be continuously raised or lowered. The air conditioner is normally controlled so that the sensible temperature of an indoor person becomes a set temperature. The timer button 37 can set an on-timing for automatically starting the operation of the air conditioner at a set time or after a set time has elapsed, and an off-timing for stopping the operation.

The operation unit 3 is provided with a setting switching button 38. The setting switch button 38 is a button for selecting one of the two blown air streams Fa and Fb as an object of the operation setting, and details thereof will be described later.

The remote control device 100 is a device that is easy for a user to set two blown air flows Fa and Fb that are separated in the left-right direction of the air outlet 53 and that is excellent in operability, and the operation of the remote control device 100 will be described below. Both display devices 11 and 12 have a backlight for illuminating their own liquid crystal screen. In the remote control device 100 during the operation stop of the air conditioner, the backlights of the two display devices 11 and 12 are turned off, and both display units 4 and 5 do not display. The backlight is turned off, but at least one of them may be displayed, for example, as "stopped".

When the user presses the operation switch button 31, the air conditioner starts to operate, and in the remote control device 100, the backlights of the two display devices 11 and 12 are both turned on, and the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 both display. After that, if no operation is performed for a predetermined time (here, 30 seconds), the display of the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 is maintained, but the backlight of the display devices 11 and 12 is turned off.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the display contents of the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 after the start of the operation of the air conditioner, and the backlights of both the display devices 11 and 12 are turned on. Fig. 3 shows the operation surface 30 viewed by the user when the user holds the remote control device 100 in a hand with the operation surface 30 facing the user, the longitudinal direction of the operation surface being left and right, and the transmission unit 1 being the upper surface. Hereinafter, a view showing the operation panel 30 viewed by the user in this manner will be referred to as a front view.

Here, in fig. 3, the first display unit 4 located on the left side, that is, on the first display device 11 located on the left side as viewed from the user displays the setting relating to the airflow Fa mainly blown out from the left side of the air outlet 53, of the two blown-out airflows Fa and Fb divided in the left-right direction, and the second display unit 5 located on the right side on the second display device 11 mainly displays the setting relating to the right-side blown-out airflow Fb. Therefore, the user can see the setting state of the two blown air flows Fa and Fb without performing a screen switching operation.

Of the two air flows thus divided in the left-right direction, the air flow blown out mainly from the left side of the air outlet 53 is the first air flow Fa, and the air flow blown out from the right side of the air outlet 53 is the second air flow Fb. That is, the first display unit 4 displays the operation setting of the first outlet airflow Fa, and the second display unit 5 displays the operation setting of the second outlet airflow Fb. In addition, the indoor unit 50 can make the temperatures of the first outlet airflow Fa and the second outlet airflow Fb different, and can blow out the two outlet airflows Fa and Fb in different directions from each other, so that it is possible to perform two temperature zone air conditioning of the room to be air-conditioned.

In fig. 3, the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 have the same display content. The display content after the start of the operation is the display content before the stop in the previous operation. Both display units 4 and 5 display the set temperature at the center and display the operation mode (cooling in this case) below the set temperature display. Setting information of up-down wind direction, left-right wind direction, and air volume is displayed above the setting temperature display in order from the left side of the screen. Here, the indoor unit 50 automatically controls the wind direction and the air volume. The initial settings are automatic. Here, each of the above displays is referred to as a functional display. The function display includes a set temperature display, an operation mode display, an air volume display, and the like. The operation mode display may be only one of the display units 4 and 5.

Since the indoor unit 50 can blow out two airflows having different temperatures in different directions as described above, it is possible to perform two temperature zone air conditioning of a room as an air-conditioning target space. Moreover, the user can set two different set temperatures by the remote control device 100. This operation will be explained below.

First, the set temperature of the second display unit 5 on the right side is changed to 26 ℃ which is 2 ℃ lower than the current temperature. The user presses the setting switching button 38 of the operation unit 3. Then, the display content is maintained as it is, the backlight of the first display device 11 is turned on, and the backlight of the second display device 12 is turned off. This state indicates a state in which the setting operation of the first display unit 4 is possible. When the setting switching button 38 is pressed again, the backlight of the first display device 11 is turned off, and the backlight of the second display device 12 is turned on, and the setting operation of the second display unit 5 is accepted. When the setting switching button 38 is further pressed again, both the backlights of the first display device 11 and the second display device 12 are turned on, and both the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 can be set. In either state, if no operation is performed for a predetermined time thereafter, the backlight that is turned on is turned off, and the setting operation cannot be performed.

In order to change the setting temperature of the second display unit 5 from the current 28 ℃ to 26 ℃, the user presses the setting switching button 38 twice, and the setting operation on the second display unit 5 on the second display device 12 is enabled. At this time, since the backlight of the second display device 12 is turned on and the backlight of the first display device 11 is turned off, the user can clearly recognize that the setting of the second display unit 5 is possible, and the user can easily understand the setting.

In this state, when the user presses the down button 36b of the temperature setting button 36 twice, the set temperature of the second display unit 5 is changed to 26 ℃, as shown in fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a front view of the remote control device 100 showing a state after the set temperature of the second display unit 5 is changed. Thereafter, if the operation is not performed for a predetermined time, the backlight of the second display device 12 is also turned off.

If the user does not perform any operation for a predetermined time (here, 30 seconds) after pressing the setting switch button 38 twice to enable the setting operation of the second display unit 5, the backlight of the second display device 12 is turned off, and the set temperature is not changed even if the down button 36b is pressed after the turning off. Hereinafter, there is also a case where a state in which a setting operation is possible is expressed as an active state. The activated state of the second display unit 5 means a state in which the setting operation of the second display unit 5 is possible.

Since the second display unit 5 basically displays the display related to the operation setting of the second right outlet airflow Fb, when the set temperature of the second display unit 5 is changed to 26 ℃, the air conditioner controls the operation so that the sensible temperature of a person on the right side (a person on the left side when viewed from the indoor unit 50) among the indoor persons becomes 26 ℃ by mainly using the second right outlet airflow Fb out of the outlet airflows of the indoor unit 50. Then, since the set temperature of the first display unit 4 is kept at 28 ℃, the operation is controlled so that the sensible temperature of the person on the left side (the person on the right side when viewed from the indoor unit 50) among the indoor persons becomes 28 ℃ mainly by the first blowout air flow Fa on the left side. The indoor unit 50 air-conditions a room as an air-conditioning target space in two temperature zones using two outlet air streams having different temperatures.

As described above, in the indoor unit 50, the rotation speeds of the two propeller fans 51a and 51b are made different from each other, and the two airflows Fa and Fb having different temperatures are generated by the air volume difference therebetween, so that the temperature difference between the two airflows Fa and Fb is restricted. Therefore, the difference between the set temperatures in the two display units 4 and 5 naturally needs to be limited. Therefore, the remote control device 100 is configured to: the difference between the set temperature displayed on the first display unit 4 and the set temperature displayed on the second display unit 5 is not greater than a preset maximum allowable temperature difference.

Here, the maximum allowable temperature difference is 3 ℃ (3 degrees). The set temperature of the first display section 4 is 28 ℃, and therefore the set temperature of the second display section 5 cannot be set to a temperature lower than 25 ℃. The user lowers the set temperature of the second display unit 5 from 28 ℃ in the above-described order, and presses the lower button 36b of the temperature setting button 36 three times to change the set temperature to 25 ℃, but the set temperature is maintained at 25 ℃ even if the user presses 4 times or more. As described above, the set temperature can be continuously lowered by long pressing of the down button 36b, but in this case, the set temperature of the second display unit 5 does not become lower than 25 ℃ regardless of how long the press is made, and the display is maintained at 25 ℃. The same applies to the operation of the up button 36 a. In this way, the remote control device 100 does not accept an operation of changing the set temperature such that the set temperature exceeds the maximum allowable temperature.

The set temperature has an upper limit value and a lower limit value, respectively. The set temperature exceeding the upper limit value cannot be set, and the set temperature lower than the lower limit value cannot be set. The upper limit value and the lower limit value are the same in the set temperature of the first display unit 4 and the set temperature of the second display unit 5. Even if the difference between the two set temperatures does not exceed the maximum allowable temperature difference, neither the first display unit 4 nor the second display unit 5 displays a set temperature higher than the upper limit value nor lower than the lower limit value.

As described above, since the remote control device 100 is provided with the two display units, i.e., the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5, the set temperature for the first blown air flow Fa is displayed on the first display unit 4, the set temperature for the second blown air flow Fb is displayed on the second display unit 5, and the set temperatures can be individually set and changed, the user can easily perform setting of air conditioning for two temperature zones in the room based on the two blown air flows Fa and Fb having different temperatures.

Further, since the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 are arranged in the left-right direction, and the set temperature displayed on the first display unit 4 on the left side corresponds to the first airflow Fa blown out mainly from the left side of the air outlet 53 of the indoor unit 50, and the set temperature displayed on the second display unit 5 on the right side corresponds to the second airflow Fb blown out mainly from the right side of the air outlet 53, when setting air conditioning in two temperature zones, it is possible to intuitively understand which display unit has to be changed in setting the set temperature, and thus the user-friendliness is high.

Further, since the operation unit 3 is disposed at the center, the two display devices 11 and 12 are disposed on the left and right sides with the operation unit 3 interposed therebetween, and the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 are arranged in the left-right direction with a distance therebetween, the display unit to be operated can be clearly and intuitively recognized.

Next, a case where the set temperature is changed in common for both the display units 4 and 5 will be described. In this case of two types. The two set temperatures are changed from the same state as shown in fig. 3 and from different states as shown in fig. 4. First, as the former, the user presses the setting switching button 38 three times, and the backlight of both the first display device 11 and the second display device 12 is turned on. This state is a state in which both the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 can be set. In this state, for example, when the down button 36b of the temperature setting button 36 is pressed once, both the set temperatures are changed to 27 ℃. Thereafter, if the operation is not performed for a predetermined time, both backlights are turned off.

In the latter case, since the backlights of the first display device 11 and the second display device 12 are turned on, for example, when the user presses the down button 36b, the set temperatures of both are first set to a low set temperature. In fig. 4, since the set temperatures are 28 ℃ and 26 ℃, when the down button 36b is pressed once, the set temperatures of both are first set to 26 ℃. Then, when the down button 36b is further pressed thereafter, the set temperatures of both become 25 ℃ and 24 ℃ in this order. When the up button 36a is pressed after the unification, both the set temperatures are increased. When the down button 36b is pressed for a long time, both are displayed at 26 ℃ at first, and then are continuously lowered in the same display. When the up button 36a is first pressed, the temperature is uniformly set to 28 ℃.

If the temperature setting of the first display unit 4 is decreased by 2 degrees from the temperature setting of fig. 4, the temperature setting of the second display unit is set to 26 degrees, the temperature setting of the first display unit 4 is set to 24 degrees, and the temperature setting is continued to be a temperature setting different from 2 degrees, the setting switching button 38 is pressed three times, the down button 36b is pressed once in a state where the backlights of both the first display unit 11 and the second display unit 12 are lit, both are first displayed at 26 degrees, then only the second display unit 5 is switched to the activated state by the setting switching button 38, and the temperature setting of the second display unit 5 is decreased by 2 degrees by the down button 36b to 24 degrees.

Or may be individually set as follows: only the first display unit 4 is set to the activated state by the setting switching button 38, and the set temperature of the first display unit 4 is lowered to 26 ℃ by the lowering button 36b, and this time, only the second display unit 5 is switched to the activated state by the setting switching button 38, and the set temperature of the second display unit 5 is lowered to 24 ℃ by 2 ℃. In this case, the order of the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 may be any one.

Since the setting switch button 38 is provided in this manner, it is easy to select which of the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 is to be operated or both of them are to be operated, and the backlight of the display device is turned on in the display unit in which the setting can be changed, so that the user can clearly recognize that the setting can be changed in the display unit. Therefore, the user can perform the operation intuitively and without worrying about the erroneous operation.

In addition, the operation modes cannot be set differently in the two display units 4 and 5. The operation mode switching button 32 is an operation button common to the two display units 4 and 5. When the user presses the operation mode switching button 32, for example, to change from the cooling operation to the heating operation, the backlights of the two display devices 11 and 12 are turned on, and the operation mode display of both the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 is changed to heating. Even if the setting switch button 38 is pressed once to set the first display unit 4 in the active state in advance and the operation mode switch button 32 is pressed to change the cooling to the heating, for example, both the displays of the operation modes of the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 are changed to the heating, and the indoor unit 50 that receives the instruction signal from the transmitter 1 switches the operation of the air conditioner to the heating operation.

In addition, the display of the operation mode may be performed only on one of the two display units 4 and 5, but even in this case, when the user presses the operation mode switching button 32 to change the operation mode, the backlights of the two display devices 11 and 12 are turned on, and the display of the operation mode displayed only on one display unit is changed. This is to communicate that the operation modes are common settings.

The operation switch button 31 is also an operation button that functions regardless of the selection of the display units 4 and 5 and regardless of the on/off state of the backlights of the display devices 11 and 12, and when pressed during operation, the air conditioner stops operating even if the setting switch button 38 is operated and only one of the display units is active. The timer button 37 is also set independently of the selection of the display unit. In this way, the operation switch button 31, the operation mode switching button 32, and the timing button 37 are operation buttons that are commonly operated regardless of individual settings of the two display units 4 and 5.

Next, the setting of functions other than the set temperature will be described. As described above, the indoor unit 50 can adjust the air volume and the airflow direction for each of the two blown air streams separated to the left and right. Therefore, the remote control device 100 can individually set the air volume of each of the blown air streams, and the vertical and horizontal wind directions.

When the air volume is changed, the setting switch button 38 is pressed to set the display portion to be changed to a settable state, and then the air volume button 35 of the operation portion 3 is pressed to switch to the target air volume mode. When the air volume button 35 is pressed while both the display units 4 and 5 are set to different air volume settings by pressing the setting switch button 38 in a state where both the display units 4 and 5 can be set, first, the air volume display of the second display unit 5 is made to coincide with the display of the first display unit 4 (the same as the display of the first display unit 4), and the air volume display changes of the two display units 4 and 5 are made to be the same in accordance with the pressing of the air volume button 35. The two propeller fans 51a and 51b rotate at the same rotational speed corresponding to the set air volume mode. The air volume can be replaced by the wind speed. In this case, first, the air volume display of the first display unit 4 may be matched with the air volume display of the second display unit 5.

Similarly, when the wind direction is changed, the setting switch button 38 is pressed to activate the display unit to be changed, and then the up-down wind direction button 33 or the left-right wind direction button 34 of the operation unit 3 is pressed to switch to the target wind direction mode. When both the display units 4 and 5 are activated by the setting switching button 38 and the up/down direction button 33 or the left/right direction button 34 is pressed, first, the up/down direction or the left/right direction of the second display unit 5 is changed to the same display as the first display unit 4, and the up/down direction display or the left/right direction display of the two display units 4 and 5 is changed to the same display according to the pressing of the up/down direction button 33 or the left/right direction button 34. Then, the up-down wind direction plates 54a and 54b or the left-right wind direction plates are rotated to an angle corresponding to the set wind direction mode. In this case, the wind direction display of the first display unit 4 may be the same as the wind direction display of the second display unit 5.

The set temperature may be configured to: when both the display units 4 and 5 are activated, even if either the up button 36a or the down button 36b is pressed, the set temperature of the second display unit 5 becomes the same as the display of the first display unit 4 first, or the set temperature of the first display unit 4 becomes the same as the set temperature of the second display unit 5 first.

In addition, with respect to the left-right wind direction, the other wind direction is restricted with respect to the one wind direction so that the first blowout airflow Fa on the left side and the second blowout airflow Fb on the right side do not collide with each other in the vicinity of the blowout port 53. If the left-right direction of the second blown air stream Fb is changed by setting only the second display unit 5 to a settable state in a state where the first display unit 4 sets the left-right direction, that is, the first blown air stream Fa is blown out to the right, the left direction cannot be set. The direction of the horizontal vanes that can be selected by pressing the horizontal direction button 34 is sequentially switched, but in this case, the direction is switched to the left direction that cannot be set. The current left and right wind directions without change are prioritized. Thus, the user cannot set the combination of the left and right wind directions in which the two blown-out airflows Fa, Fb separated to the left and right immediately collide after passing through the air outlet 53.

When one horizontal wind direction is automatically set, if the other horizontal wind direction is changed to face one side, the one horizontal wind direction does not face the other side. For example, when the left-right direction of the second display unit 5 is the automatic mode, if the left-right direction of the first display unit 4 is set to the right direction, that is, if the first blown airflow Fa is blown out to the right direction, the second blown airflow Fb set to the right side of the automatic mode does not become the left direction in which it collides with the first blown airflow Fa near the air outlet 53. The left and right wind directions manually set by the user are prioritized over the automatic mode. In this way, collision of the two blown air streams Fa, Fb divided on the left and right is avoided. Even if the wind direction and the air volume are changed to settings other than the automatic mode, the indoor unit 50 performs operation control so that the sensible temperature of the indoor person approaches the set temperature, including the setting contents.

The current wind direction and the current air volume are displayed in a horizontal arrangement on the two display units 4 and 5 above the set temperature display. Both in fig. 3 are automatic. Fig. 5 is a display example in the case where the wind direction and the air volume are all changed to the other mode than the automatic mode. The structure is as follows: when the wind direction and the air volume are changed, each function display above the set temperature display is sequentially switched every time the corresponding operation button is pressed, and the user selects a mode to be a target.

For example, in the vertical direction, when the vertical direction button 33 is pressed while one of the display units 4 and 5 to be operated is set to the activated state in advance by the setting switch button 38, the contents of the function display showing the vertical direction of the display unit are switched sequentially by repeating 5 steps from the front direction to the downward direction, swinging, and automatically, with the current setting state as a base point, every time the function display is pressed. The user presses the up/down wind direction button 33 until the target mode is displayed. When the target mode is displayed, the operation is stopped, and the up-down wind direction plates 54a and 54b are rotated to the displayed mode.

After that, if a predetermined time has elapsed without any operation, the backlight is turned off. For example, when the horizontal/vertical direction button 34 is pressed before the backlight is turned off, the horizontal/vertical direction of the display portion can be changed. The horizontal wind direction display function above the set temperature display is also switched every time the horizontal wind direction button 34 is pressed. The left and right wind directions are sequentially and repeatedly displayed in 5 stages, swinging and automatic display from the left direction to the right direction. The swing is a reciprocating motion of the left and right wind direction plates between the front direction and the left direction, and the right and left wind direction plates between the front direction and the right direction.

In the setting change operation of the wind direction and the air volume, when the display contents displayed by the functions above the set temperature display are sequentially switched to select the target mode, the display size is small depending on the size of the liquid crystal screen of the display device, and it is difficult to select the mode to be set. In such a case, when the operation button of the target operation unit 3 is pressed, the setting screen of the target function display may be enlarged and displayed. Fig. 6 is an example of the target vertical wind direction, and the user can easily select a wind direction mode to be set by enlarging and displaying the vertical wind direction setting screen on the first display unit 4. If no operation is performed for a predetermined time on the screen, the display content of the display unit returns to the original state. The predetermined time period here is set to be shorter (for example, 15 seconds) than the predetermined time period (30 seconds) until the backlight is turned off.

As described above, the remote control device 100 according to the present embodiment is provided with the two display units 4 and 5 corresponding to the two outlet airflows Fa and Fb from the indoor unit 50, respectively. In each of the display units 4 and 5, the wind direction and the air volume can be set, including the set temperature of the corresponding blown air flow Fa or Fb. The first display unit 4 displays the operation setting for the first blown air flow Fa, and the second display unit 5 displays the operation setting for the second blown air flow Fb. Therefore, the operation setting for each of the two blown air flows Fa, Fb can be set individually and easily understood.

Further, since the two display units 4 and 5 are arranged on the left and right sides with the operation unit 3 interposed therebetween, the user can intuitively grasp the correspondence relationship between the two display units 4 and 5 and the two blown air flows Fa and Fb divided in the left-right direction (which display unit corresponds to the setting relating to which blown air flow). This remote control device 100 is excellent in convenience for the user.

Further, the remote control device 100 cannot perform another temperature setting that is a temperature difference exceeding the maximum allowable temperature difference with respect to one set temperature, and cannot perform another setting that hinders the operation of one setting in the setting relating to the left and right wind directions. Therefore, the user is not concerned about making an erroneous setting, and can perform an operation with caution.

In the remote control device 100, the operation switch button 31, the operation mode switching button 32, and the timing button 37 are operation buttons that function when pressed without operating the setting switching button 38 in advance. On the other hand, when the setting switching button 38 is pressed, the temperature setting button 36, the up/down airflow button 33, the left/right airflow button 34, and the airflow rate button 35 select the display unit (including both) whose setting is to be changed, and the display unit is set to a state in which setting is possible (backlight is on), and the display unit is not operated and does not function. If the user directly presses any one of the temperature setting button 36, the up-down airflow direction button 33, the left-right airflow direction button 34, and the air volume button 35 without operating the setting switching button 38, a notification to prompt the advance operation of the setting switching button 38 is temporarily displayed on at least one of the two display units 4 and 5.

Modifications of embodiment 1 will be described below. In the remote control device 100, the operation unit 3 is disposed between the two display devices 11 and 12 arranged on the left and right, and the two display units 4 and 5 are separated, but a modified example in which the arrangement of the operation unit 3 is different from that of the remote control device 100 will be described. In the remote control device 101 shown in fig. 7, the operation unit 3 is arranged laterally long in the left-right direction below the laterally long operation panel 30 and mainly below the two display devices 11 and 12. In the configuration of the operation unit 3, when the user holds the operation button with both hands and tries to press the operation button, the display devices 11 and 12 are not covered with the hands, and the display units 4 and 5 are not easily visible. In the remote control device 101, the operation mode (cooling in this case) is displayed only on the first display unit 4.

In the remote control device 102 shown in fig. 8, the operation unit 3 is arranged on one of the left and right sides of the horizontally long operation panel 30, in the left-right direction, in parallel with the two display devices 11 and 12. Here, the operation unit 3 is located on the left side, and the operation unit 3, the first display device 11 (the first display unit 4), and the second display device 12 (the second display unit 5) are arranged in this order from the left side in the left-right direction. The operation unit 3 may be arranged on the right side instead of the left side. In the remote control device 102, the operation mode (cooling in this case) is displayed only on the second display unit 5.

The remote control device 103 shown in fig. 9 has two operation sections, namely, an operation section 3a and an operation section 3b, and is disposed on both left and right sides of the operation panel 30. Here, the operation unit 3a, the first display device 11 (the first display unit 4), the second display device 12 (the second display unit 5), and the operation unit 3b are arranged in this order from the left in the left-right direction, and the plurality of operation buttons described above are assigned to the operation units 3a and 3 b. Like the remote control device 101 of fig. 7, when the user holds the device with both hands and tries to press the operation buttons, the display devices 11 and 12 are prevented from being covered with the hands, and the display units 4 and 5 are prevented from being easily seen.

Next, the operation unit 3 of the remote control device 104 shown in fig. 10 is arranged on the left side in the same manner as the remote control device 102 shown in fig. 8, but the cross key 39 is provided in the operation unit 3 as a part of the operation buttons. The up-down airflow button 33, the left-right airflow button 34, the air volume button 35, and the set temperature button 36 provided in the remote control device 102 of fig. 8 are not provided. The cross key 39 functions as these operation buttons. The cross key 39 has a fixed button 39e at the center, and an upper button 39a, a right button 39c, a lower button 39b, and a left button 39d are arranged around the fixed button 39e in the order from the upper side.

When the setting switch button 38 is set to a state in which at least one of the display units 4 and 5 can be set, the cursor appears below any of the 4 functional displays of the vertical wind direction, the horizontal wind direction, the air volume, and the set temperature on the display units 4 and 5. Each time the user presses the right button 39c or the left button 39d of the cross key 39, the cursor moves in sequence under the display of these 4 functions. In fig. 10, the cursor is positioned below the vertical direction display on the first display unit 4. The user moves the cursor downward of the function display whose setting is to be changed by the right button 39c or the left button 39d, and presses the determination button 39 e. This enables the setting of the function display to be changed. In fig. 10, the cursor is displayed below the vertical direction, but the vertical direction setting can be changed by pressing the determination button 39 e.

The cursor is displayed only when the display units 4 and 5 are activated. In fig. 10, only the first display section 4 is in an activated state. When both the display units 4 and 5 are activated, the cursors are displayed on both the display units 4 and 5, respectively, and both cursors are moved in the same manner below the respective function displays by the user's operation of the right button 39c or the left button 39 d.

Then, the user presses the up button 39a or the down button 39b to select a desired mode or set temperature, and presses the ok button 39e again to complete the change of the setting. When another setting is to be changed, the cursor may be moved by the right button 39c or the left button 39d to continue the same operation. If the operation is not performed for a predetermined time, the backlight is turned off and the cursor disappears in the display unit, so that the setting is impossible. The following may be configured: instead of the cursor representation, the currently selectable function display is represented in a manner such that the color or shape of the function display is changed, as in the case of displaying the function display in a darker color or largely displaying the function display whose setting is to be changed.

The remote control device 104 is provided with the cross key 39 as an operation means for the user, thereby reducing the number of operation buttons of the operation unit 3 and improving the design. Further, since the function display of the display units 4 and 5 can be selected by the right button 39c or the left button 39d of the cross key 39 and the setting can be changed by the up button 39a or the down button 39b, the operation can be easily understood and the usability is excellent. Further, as the functions selectable and changeable by the cross key 39, in addition to the operation modes as the common operation, it is possible to configure: the operation mode switching button 32 is not provided in the operation unit 3, thereby further reducing the number of operation buttons. Since the operation mode switching is a common operation, the operation mode is switched to the operation mode in which the setting is changed regardless of which of the display units 4 and 5 is changed.

Next, the remote control device 105 of fig. 11 is provided with a dial switch 40 as an operation unit of the user in place of the cross key 39 of the remote control device 104 of fig. 10. The dial switch 40 is configured such that a cylindrical protruding dial portion 40a can be rotated in the left-right direction and can be pressed down. The user dials the dial 40a in the right direction (clockwise) or left direction (counterclockwise) to move the cursor on the display of the setting change target to the function display to be set and changed. The dial 40a in this case corresponds to the functions of the right button 39c and the left button 39d of the cross key 39. Then, by pressing the dial 40a, the setting of the function display can be changed. The dial portion 40a in this case corresponds to the function of the determination button 39e of the cross key 39.

When the dial portion 40a is moved from this state to the right or left again, the mode and the set temperature of the target function display are sequentially switched, and thus the target mode and the set temperature are selected. The dial 40a in this case corresponds to the functions of the up button 39a and the down button 39b of the cross key 39. Then, the dial portion 40a is pressed again, thereby completing the change of the setting.

In the remote control device 105, since the operation mode can be selected and changed by the dial switch 40, the operation mode switching button is not provided in the operation unit 3. Since the operation mode switching is a common operation, the operation mode is switched to the operation mode in which the setting is changed regardless of which of the display units 4 and 5 is changed.

In this way, the remote control device 105 can improve the design by reducing the number of operation buttons of the operation unit 3 by providing the dial switch 40 as the operation means, as in the remote control device 104 provided with the cross key 39, and can change the setting by selecting the function display to be changed only by operating the dial switch 40a, so that the operation can be easily understood and the use convenience is good.

The remote control device 106 shown in fig. 12 is a vertically long structure that can be held and operated by a user with one hand, and the first display device 11, the second display device 12, and the operation unit 3 are arranged in this order from above in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) on the vertically long operation surface 30. The user uses the remote control device 106 in the portrait orientation. The indoor unit 50 blows two airflows having different temperatures to the left and right from the laterally long outlet 53, but in the remote control device 105 in which the two display units 4 and 5 are arranged vertically, it is difficult for the user to understand the correspondence between the two display units 4 and 5 and the two blown airflows Fa and Fb (for example, which of the display unit 4 and the display unit 5 corresponds to the setting relating to the left-hand blown airflow).

The remote control device 106 is applied to, for example, an indoor unit that can blow out two airflows at different temperatures separated in the front-rear direction from an outlet port by thermally dividing a heat exchanger into two upper and lower portions and making the refrigerant pressures of the two portions different from each other. When the second display unit 5 provided on the screen of the lower second display device 12 on the side of the user's hand is responsible for the operation setting relating to the near-side outlet airflow (second outlet airflow), and the first display unit 4 configured on the screen of the upper first display device 11 is responsible for the operation setting relating to the far-side outlet airflow (first outlet airflow), the user can intuitively grasp the correspondence relationship between the two display units 4 and 5 and the two outlet airflows that are separated in the front-rear direction. The remote control device 106 can avoid covering the display devices 11 and 12 with the hand and thus making the display portions 4 and 5 less visible even when the user holds and operates the operation portion 3 with one hand.

Further, the following may be configured: the cross key 39 of the remote control device 104 or the dial switch 40 of the remote control device 105 is provided as an operation means in the operation units 3 of the remote control devices 101 to 103, which are arranged differently from each other, thereby reducing the number of operation buttons of the operation units 3.

Embodiment mode 2

Next, embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 13 is a front view of a remote control device 200 (hereinafter referred to as the remote control device 200) of an air conditioner according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. The same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding parts as the remote control devices 100 to 106 shown in embodiment 1, and the description thereof will be omitted. The remote control device 200 is different from embodiment 1 in that operation units 3A and 3B are provided corresponding to the two display units 4 and 5, respectively. Note that the configuration differs in that the common setting button 41 is provided without the setting switching button 38 in embodiment 1.

As shown in fig. 13, in this remote control device 200, a first operation unit 3A and a second operation unit 3B are provided on the operation panel 30 at a distance in the left-right direction, and the first operation unit 3A, the first display device 11, the second display device 12, and the second operation unit 3B are arranged in this order from the left in the left-right direction. A common operation unit 3C is provided above and below the first operation unit 3A, and is arranged in the left-right direction with respect to the first display device 11. The first operation unit 3A includes a first cross key 39A, and the second operation unit 3B includes a second cross key 39B. In this way, the remote control device 200 is provided with two cross keys 39A, 39B. The common operation unit 3C includes an operation switch button 31 and a timing button 37 that are operated in common, and a common setting button 41 described later.

The first cross key 39A of the first operation unit 3A corresponds to the first display unit 4 of the first display device 11, and the second cross key 39B of the second operation unit 3B corresponds to the second display unit 5 of the second display device 12. In other words, the remote control device 200 includes two operation units 3A and 3B corresponding to the two display units 4 and 5, respectively, and the two operation units 3A and 3B include the cross keys 39A and 39B as operation means, respectively.

As in embodiment 1 described above, the first display unit 4 mainly corresponds to the first airflow Fa from the left side of the air outlet 53 of the indoor unit 50, and the second display unit 5 mainly corresponds to the second airflow Fb from the right side of the air outlet 53. Since the cross keys 39A and 39B corresponding to the display portions 4 and 5 are provided beside the display portions 4 and 5 corresponding to the blown air flow that the user desires to change the setting, the user can intuitively operate the cross keys 39A and 39B to be operated.

When the first cross key 39A on the left side is operated, the setting of each function display of the first display unit 4 can be changed, and the indoor unit 50 that has received the operation signal changes the operation relating to the first blown airflow Fa. When the right-side second arrow key 39B is operated, the setting of each function display of the second display unit 5 can be changed, and the operation of the second blowout air flow Fb can be changed. The operation method of each of the two cross keys 39A and 39B for changing the setting is the same as that of the cross key 39 of the remote control device 105 in embodiment 1 described above, and the description thereof is omitted. When the user presses one of the cross keys 39A and 39B when both the display devices 11 and 12 are turned off, the backlight of the display device 11 or 12 provided with the corresponding display unit 4 or 5 is turned on, and the setting can be changed.

In embodiment 1 described above, for example, when changing the setting relating to the first blowout air flow Fa, the user needs to first press the setting switching button 38 to select the first display unit 4. That is, if the setting switching button 38 is not pressed first, the display units 4 and 5 whose setting is desired to be changed cannot be set to a state in which the setting can be changed. However, since the remote control device 200 according to embodiment 2 includes the first cross key 39A corresponding to the first display unit 4 and the second cross key 39B corresponding to the second display unit 5, the cross keys 39A and 39B corresponding to the display units 4 and 5 to be set and changed can be directly operated without any advanced operation to change the setting. Therefore, the user can operate intuitively and quickly more than the remote control devices 100 to 106 according to embodiment 1, and the convenience for the user is further improved.

In the case where the setting of the two display units 4 and 5 is to be changed to the same content, that is, in the case where the operation setting is to be changed to the same operation setting for the first blown air flow Fa and the second blown air flow Fb, the operation setting may be changed using the cross keys 39A and 39B, respectively. Therefore, the remote control device 200 is provided with the common setting button 41 in the common operation section 3C. When the user presses the common setting button 41 before operating the operation units 3A and 3B (the cross keys 39A and 39B), the backlights of the display devices 11 and 12 of the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 are both turned on and activated. When one of the operation units 3A and 3B, i.e., one of the first cross key 39A and the second cross key 39B is operated, the two display units 4 and 5 can be simultaneously changed to the same setting. Any one of the first cross key 39A and the second cross key 39B may be used.

In addition, in the case where the common setting button 41 is pressed from the setting states different from each other in the present situation (for example, a state where the setting temperature is 27 ℃ in the first display unit 4, 25 ℃ in the second display unit 5, and the vertical wind direction is set automatically in the first display unit 4, and the vertical wind direction is set downward in the second display unit 5) and the setting states are changed to the same setting by both the display units 4 and 5, the function display to be set is selected by the right button 39c or the left button 39d of any one of the cross keys 39A and 39B, and the setting of the function display is changed by pressing the upper button 39A or the lower button 39B.

In this case, the cursor appears on both the display units 4 and 5, and moves below the same function display by operating either the right button 39c or the left button 39 d. When the up button 39a or the down button 39b is pressed after the function display is selected, the function display of the two display units 4 and 5 is changed in the same manner as in embodiment 1, after the setting of either one of the two display units 4 and 5 is first matched, in accordance with the pressing of the up button 39a or the down button 39 b.

As in embodiment 1, when the upper button 39a is pressed, the set temperatures of the two display units 4 and 5 are first set to the higher set temperature of the two display units 4 and 5, and then the set temperatures of the two display units 4 and 5 are changed in the same manner. When the button 39b is pressed, the set temperatures of the two display units 4 and 5 are matched with the lower set temperature of the two display units 4 and 5. Further, the following may be configured: when either one of the upper button 39a and the lower button 39b is pressed, the set temperature of the second display unit 5 is first displayed in the same manner as the first display unit 4, or the set temperature of the first display unit 4 is first displayed in the same manner as the set temperature of the second display unit 5.

The remote control device 200 also changes the setting by the cross keys 39A and 39B for switching the operation modes in the common operation. The operation mode can be switched regardless of which of the cross keys 39A, 39B is used. Although the number of operation buttons is increased, an operation mode switching button may be separately provided in the common operation unit 3C, and the operation mode may be switched only by pressing the operation mode switching button. With such a configuration, the user can quickly switch the operation mode.

A modification of embodiment 2 will be described below. In the remote control device 200, the common operation unit 3C is provided on the left side of the first display device 11 and below the first operation unit 3A, but the remote control device 201 shown in the front view in fig. 14 is provided with the common operation unit 3C extending laterally below the operation panel 30.

In the remote control 201, a first cross key 39A is provided on a first operation unit 3A on the left side of a first display device 11, a second cross key 39B is provided on a second operation unit 3B on the right side of a second display device 12, and a common operation unit 3C is provided across the lower side of the first operation unit 3A and the lower sides of the two display devices 11 and 12. The common operation unit 3C includes an operation switch button 31, a timing button 37, and a common setting button 41. The operation switch button 31 is disposed below the first operation unit 3A, the common setting button 41 is disposed below the first display device 11, and the timer button 3 is disposed below the second display device 12. An operation mode switching button may be added to the common operation unit 3C.

Since the distance between the left first cross key 39A and the operation button of the common operation unit 3C for performing common setting is larger than that of the remote control device 200, the presence of the left first cross key 39A is conspicuous and is easily recognized by the user. The common operation unit 3C may be disposed so as to straddle under the two display devices 11 and 12 and the second operation unit 3B. In this case, the operation switch button 31 is disposed at a position below the second operation unit 3B, and the timing button 37 and the common setting button 41 are disposed below the two display devices 11 and 12.

The remote control device 202 shown in the front view in fig. 15 includes dial switches 40A and 40B having dial portions 40A protruding in a cylindrical shape and rotatable in the left-right direction, instead of the two cross keys 39A and 39B of the remote control device 200. The first operation unit 3A has a first dial switch 40A and corresponds to the first display unit 4. The second operation unit 3B has a second dial switch 40B and corresponds to the second display unit 5. The remote control device 202 has two operation units 3A and 3B corresponding to the two display units 4 and 5, respectively, and the two operation units 3A and 3B have dial switches 40A and 40B as operation means, respectively.

The operation method of each of the setting changing dials 40A and 40B is the same as that of the dial 40 of the remote control device 106 in embodiment 1 described above, and the description thereof is omitted. Like the cross keys 39A, 39B of the remote control device 200, the dial switches 40A, 40B corresponding to the display units 4, 5 to be set and changed can be directly operated by the user without requiring an advance operation, and thus can be intuitively and quickly operated.

In the remote control 202, the common operation unit 3C is located above and below the first operation unit 3A, and is arranged side by side with the first display device 11 in the left-right direction. The common operation unit 3C includes an operation mode switching button 32. The operation mode can be switched by using only one of the dial switches 40A and 40B, but in addition to this, the operation mode switching button 32 is also provided because of the common operation. In addition, dial switches 40A and 40B may be provided instead of the two cross keys 39A and 39B of the remote control apparatus 201 having the common operation unit 3C at the lower portion of the operation panel 30 shown in fig. 14.

Next, in fig. 16, the remote control device 203 shown in the front view is provided with operation buttons for the wind direction and the air volume corresponding to the two display units 4 and 5, respectively, without using a cross key or a dial switch. The first operation unit 3A on the left side of the first display device 11 includes a first up-down airflow button 33A, a first left-right airflow button 34A, a first airflow rate button 35A, and a first temperature setting button 36A, which correspond to the first display unit 4. The second operation unit 3B on the right side of the second display device 12 is provided with a second up-down direction button 33B, a second left-right direction button 34B, a second air volume button 35B, and a second temperature setting button 36B corresponding to the second display unit 5. Both temperature setting buttons 36A, 36B are up and down keys. Since each of the first and second operation portions 3A and 3B has a plurality of operation buttons, the common operation portion 3C is laterally extended below the first operation portion 3A and below the two display devices 11 and 12.

Each operation button has a function name such as "air volume" and "up and down". Therefore, the operation buttons of the operation units 3A and 3B corresponding to the display units 4 and 5 to be changed can be directly pressed to change the setting of the target function display. Therefore, the user can perform the operation more intuitively and quickly than the remote control device 100 according to embodiment 1, and the user can be facilitated more easily.

Since the remote control device 203 simply presses the operation button of the target without selecting the function display to be changed, the operation can be easily understood and can be performed more quickly. However, since the number of the operation buttons is increased, the operation surface 30 becomes complicated, and there is a concern that a pressing error of the user may occur due to a small distance between the operation buttons. Therefore, reducing the number of operation buttons using the cross keys 39A, 39B or the dip switches 40A, 40B is excellent in appearance design, thereby giving the user an impression of easy operation and eliminating the fear of pressing errors by the user.

As described above, the remote control devices 200 to 203 according to embodiment 2 are provided with the first operation unit 3A for changing the setting of the first display unit 4 for the first blown air flow Fa and the second operation unit 3B for changing the setting of the second display unit 5 for the second blown air flow Fb. That is, since the two operation units 3A and 3B are provided in correspondence with the two display units 4 and 5, respectively, the user can individually perform the operation setting for the two airflows blown out from the indoor unit 50 by directly operating the operation unit corresponding to the display unit to be set and changed without having to perform an operation of selecting the display unit to be set and changed in advance. Therefore, the user can intuitively and quickly operate the device, and the device is more convenient for the user.

Further, since the first operation unit 3A is disposed on the left side of the first display unit 4, the second operation unit 3B is disposed on the right side of the second display unit 5, and the two operation units 3A and 3B are disposed so as to sandwich the two display units 4 and 5 (the two display devices 11 and 12), the user can intuitively recognize that the first operation unit 3A corresponds to the first display unit 4 and the second operation unit 3B corresponds to the second display unit 5, and thus, an operation error can be prevented.

Further, by providing the cross keys 39A and 39B or the dial switches 40A and 40B in the operation units 3A and 3B, respectively, the number of operation buttons can be reduced, and the design can be improved and the erroneous operation by the user can be prevented.

Embodiment 3

Next, embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 17 is a front view of a remote control device 300 (hereinafter referred to as the remote control device 300) of an air conditioner according to embodiment 3 of the present invention. The same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding parts as the remote control devices 100 to 106 shown in embodiment 1 and the remote control devices 200 to 203 shown in embodiment 2, and the description thereof will be omitted. The remote control device 300 is different from the embodiments 1 and 2 in that it employs a display device of a touch panel system.

As shown in fig. 17, the remote control device 300 has the first touch panel display device 13 and the second touch panel display device 14 arranged side by side in the left-right direction on the horizontally long operation surface 30. The two touch panel type display devices 13 and 14 are each provided with a touch panel so as to overlap a liquid crystal screen. When a voltage is applied to the touch panel and the user directly touches (touches) each of the touch panel display devices 13 and 14, the remote controller 300 checks the change in the electrical signal generated when the touch panel display device touches the position, and thereby grasps the operation content.

The first touch panel display device 13 is provided with a first display unit 6 for displaying operation settings relating to a first outlet airflow Fa blown out from the left side of the indoor unit 50, and the second touch panel display device 14 is provided with a second display unit 7 for displaying operation settings relating to a second outlet airflow Fb blown out from the right side. Since the two display devices 13 and 14 are of a touch panel type, the user can operate the remote control device 300 by directly touching operation input displays such as buttons and icons displayed on the two display units 6 and 7. Specific examples of the operation will be described later.

The first display unit 6 has a function of displaying not only the setting and operating state of the first blown-out airflow Fa from the left side of the air outlet 53 but also an operation unit corresponding to the first operation unit 3A shown in embodiment 3. Similarly, the second display unit 7 has a function of not only displaying the setting and operating condition of the second outlet airflow Fb from the right side of the outlet 53 but also functioning as an operation unit corresponding to the second operation unit 3B shown in embodiment 3.

The two display units 6 and 7 each have an operation function of receiving an instruction input from a user, but the remote control device 300 includes two operation buttons, namely, an operation button 31a and a stop button 31b, which are arranged at a distance in the vertical direction between the two touch panel display devices 13 and 14 at the center in the horizontal direction of the operation surface 30. When the operation button 31a is pressed, the remote control device 300 transmits an instruction signal for starting the operation of the air conditioner to the indoor unit 50, and when the stop button 31b is pressed, transmits an instruction signal for stopping the operating air conditioner to the indoor unit 50.

In the operation instruction to the air conditioner by the user's remote controller, the frequency of the operation start instruction and the operation stop instruction is high. Therefore, in the remote control device 300, the operation buttons are provided on the operation surface 30 separately from the touch panel type display devices 13 and 14 for those instructions, so that the user can quickly and easily start and stop the operation of the air conditioner without touching the touch panel type display devices 13 and 14. When the user presses the operation buttons 31a and 31b, the corresponding instruction signal is transmitted from the transmission unit 1 to the indoor unit 50, and the start and stop of the operation are achieved.

The arrangement of the operation start button 31a and the stop button 31b is not limited to the arrangement between the two touch panel display devices 13 and 14. In a remote control device 301 shown in fig. 18 as a modification of embodiment 3, an operation start button 31a and a stop button 31b are provided on the left side of the first touch panel display device 13 in a vertically aligned manner. The touch panel display device 14 may be provided on the right side and may be provided below the operation surface 30 in the left-right direction. Further, the following may be configured: instead of dividing the operation start button 31a and the stop button 31b into two, one operation button capable of instructing both start and stop of the operation is used as the operation switch button 31.

An operation using the first display unit 6 and the second display unit 7 having the operation function will be described with reference to fig. 17. During the operation of the air conditioner, when the setting of the first outlet airflow Fa is to be changed, the user touches the first touch panel display device 13 with a finger, and when the setting of the second outlet airflow Fb is to be changed, the user touches the second touch panel display device 14 with a finger. If the first touch panel display device 13 is touched, the backlight of the first touch panel display device 13 is turned on, and the display of the first display unit 6 is turned on. At this time, the backlight of the second touch panel display device 14 remains turned off, and the user can clearly and intuitively recognize that the first display unit 6 is in a state in which the setting can be changed.

When the first display unit 6 is in the active state, for example, if the function display of the vertical direction displayed on the first display unit 6 is touched, the display contents are repeatedly switched from 5 stages in the front direction to the downward direction, swinging, and automatically, and sequentially, with the current setting state as a base point, every time the function display is touched. When the target mode is displayed, the operation is stopped, the mode is determined, and the transmission unit 1 transmits an instruction signal to the indoor unit 50. The indoor unit 50 that has received this signal changes the left up-down louver 54a to the display mode.

The following may be configured: when the function display of the vertical wind direction is touched, the setting screen displayed by the function is enlarged and displayed on the first display unit 6, so that the user can easily select the wind direction mode to be set. In this case, the convenience of the touch panel is effectively utilized, and the convenience is further improved by enabling the setting to be changed if the user directly touches a desired wind direction pattern without sequentially feeding the wind direction pattern every time the user touches the touch panel. In the remote control device 300, the function display of the vertical direction on the first display unit 6 indicates the current setting state, and has an input function equivalent to the setting change of the first vertical direction button 33A of the remote control device 203 (shown in fig. 16) of embodiment 2.

Similarly to the left and right wind directions and the wind volume, the setting can be changed by directly touching the functional display of the first display unit 6 or the second display unit 7. When the set temperature display (27 ℃ or 25 ℃ in fig. 17) displayed on the display units 6 and 7 is touched, the set temperature can be changed by the up button 42a or the down button 42b of the appearing temperature setting button 42.

When the set temperature display of the first display unit 6 is touched (27 ℃), the temperature setting button 42 (see the first display unit 6 in fig. 17) constituted by the up-down key, which has not been displayed so far, is displayed on the upper and lower sides of the set temperature display. When the up button 42a displayed as "up" is touched, the temperature rises by 1 ℃, and when the down button 42b displayed as "down" is touched, the temperature falls by 1 ℃. Can continuously rise or fall by long pressing. By operating the temperature setting button 42, the set temperature of the first blown air flow Fa can be changed.

The second display unit 7 shown in fig. 17 is in a state where the temperature setting button 42 is not displayed. When the set temperature display (25 ℃) of the second display unit 7 is touched in this state, the same temperature setting button 42 as that displayed on the first display unit 6 in fig. 17 is also displayed on the second display unit 7, and the set temperature relating to the second blown air flow Fb can be changed by the operation of the up button 42a or the down button 42b of the temperature setting button 42.

In this case, the set temperature button 42 is configured to appear when the user touches the set temperature display, but the set temperature button 42 may be displayed at all times while the set temperature is displayed on each of the display units 6 and 7 because the frequency of setting change is higher in the displayed function display than in the other function displays. Alternatively, when the touch panel display devices 13 and 14 are touched and the display units 6 and 7 are in the activated state, the temperature setting button 42 appears.

The operation mode can be changed by touching the operation mode display of each of the display units 6 and 7, but since this is a common setting, when the operation mode is changed by one of the two display units 6 and 7, both displays are changed to the display of the operation mode after the change. Here, the operation mode is displayed on the two display units 6 and 7, but only one of them may be displayed. Further, a menu button 43 is displayed on either one or both of the two display units 6 and 7. The setting can be performed by selecting a timing setting button for displaying the timing setting by touching the menu button 43.

When any one of the set temperature, the wind direction, and the wind volume is changed from a different setting state to the same setting by the two display units 6 and 7, the user first touches the two touch panel display devices 13 and 14 continuously. The order is not limited. In this way, the backlights of the two touch panel display devices 13 and 14 are lit together and become active together. When the setting of the target function display of either the first display unit 6 or the second display unit 7 is changed in this state, both the display units 6 and 7 change the function display to the same setting.

In this case, as in embodiments 1 and 2, the wind direction and the air volume are first matched with either one of the functional displays when the object is touched, and both are changed in the same manner every time the object is touched. When one of the up buttons 42a is touched, the set temperatures are unified into higher set temperatures of the two display units 6 and 7, and when one of the down buttons 42b is touched, the set temperatures are unified into lower set temperatures, and then the both set temperatures are changed into the same set temperature.

If the setting changing means is provided in which the selection screen of the object display unit, the selection screen of the object function display, and the setting changing screen are hierarchically advanced from the menu button 43, the convenience for the user is further improved.

In the remote control device 300, the first display unit 6 formed on the screen of the first touch panel display device 13 and the second display unit 7 formed on the screen of the second touch panel display device 14 function as the setting switching button 38 of the remote control devices 100 to 106 according to embodiment 1 and the common setting button of the remote control devices 200 to 203 according to embodiment 2. The remote control device 300 is a remote control that effectively utilizes the convenience of a touch panel.

As described above, in the remote control devices 300 and 301 according to embodiment 3, the first display unit 6 relating to the first blown air flow Fa is provided in the first touch panel display device 13, and the second display unit 7 relating to the second blown air flow Fb is provided in the second touch panel display device 14, so that the user can individually set the operation relating to the two flows Fa and Fb blown out from the indoor unit 50 by directly touching the display units 6 and 7 without having to perform an operation of selecting in advance a display unit desired to be changed in setting. Therefore, the user can intuitively and quickly perform the operation, and the convenience for the user is further improved.

The two display units 6 and 7 also function as operation units that are configured on the touch panel screen and receive a setting change instruction from the user. That is, the first display unit 6 also has a function as a first operation unit for changing the setting of the first display unit 6, and the second display unit 7 also has a function as a second operation unit for changing the setting of the second display unit 7. Therefore, the number of operation buttons on the operation panel 30 can be reduced, and the improvement of the design and the prevention of the erroneous operation by the user can be achieved.

Embodiment 4

Next, embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 19 is a front view of a remote control unit 400 (hereinafter referred to as a remote control unit 400) of an air conditioner according to embodiment 4 of the present invention. The same or corresponding portions as those of the remote control devices described in embodiments 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. The remote control device 400 is different from the embodiments 1 to 3 described above in that two display units are provided by dividing a screen of 1 display device.

As shown in fig. 19, the remote control device 400 includes a rectangular display device 10 whose left-right direction is the longitudinal direction at the center of the horizontally long operation panel 30. The screen of the display device 10 is divided into two parts in the left-right direction, thereby configuring the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5. The remote control apparatuses according to embodiments 1 and 2 include two display apparatuses 11 and 12, and the two display units 4 and 5 are provided on the dedicated display apparatuses 11 and 12, respectively, but the two display units 4 and 5 of the remote control apparatus 400 share the screen of one display apparatus 10.

The display device 10 is a liquid crystal display device having a liquid crystal screen. The display device 10 is provided with a first display unit 4 for setting the operation of the first blown air flow Fa on the left side and a second display unit 5 for setting the operation of the second blown air flow Fb on the right side. The two display units 4 and 5 are adjacent to each other in the left-right direction, but may be arranged to display a common image with a space therebetween.

The operation mode display, which is a function display for the common operation, is not displayed on the display units 4 and 5, but is displayed in the lower center of the screen so as to straddle the two adjacent display units 4 and 5, as shown in fig. 19.

Further, a first operation unit 3A having a first cross key 39A is provided on the left side of the display device 10, that is, the left side of the first display unit 4, and a second operation unit 3B having a second cross key 39B is provided on the right side of the display device 10, that is, the right side of the second display unit 5. Further, a common operation unit 3C is provided across the lower side of the first operation unit 3A and the lower side of the display device 10. The common operation unit 3C includes an operation switch button 31, a common setting button 41, and a timing button 37. An operation mode switching button may be added to the common operation unit 3C. The arrangement of the 3 operation units 3A, 3B, and 3C is the same as that of the remote control device 201 (shown in fig. 14) according to embodiment 2.

The procedure for the user to individually set the operations of the two outlet airflows Fa, Fb from the indoor unit 50 using the remote control device 400 is basically the same as that of the remote control devices 200, 201 of embodiment 2, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Since the remote control devices 200 and 201 include the two display devices 11 and 12, it is clearly reported to the user that the display unit to be changed is in the state in which the setting can be changed by turning on the backlight of the display device of which the display unit to be changed is to be set and keeping the other turned off. However, since the two display portions 4 and 5 of the remote control device 400 share the single display device 10, the active display portion and the inactive display portion cannot be separately indicated by turning on and off the backlight.

Therefore, for example, when the user presses any one of the first cross keys 39A while changing the set temperature of the first display unit 4 relating to the first blown air flow Fa, the backlight of the display device 10 is turned on, and the ratio of the display area of the first display unit 4 occupying the liquid crystal screen of the display device 10 becomes large as shown in fig. 20. The second display section 5 becomes smaller in size in accordance with the size of the first display section 4. The display area of the first display unit 4 which is changed to the active state is larger than the display area of the inactive second display unit 5.

By showing the difference from the inactive second display unit 5 in this manner, the user is notified that the first display unit 4 is in a state in which the setting can be changed. In the case where one display section is in the activated state and the other display section is not in the activated state, the proportion of the display area of the display section in the activated state with respect to the screen of the display device 10 is made larger than the proportion of the display area of the display section in the non-activated state, thereby making it easy for the user to understand that the display section is in the activated state. Therefore, the user can clearly and intuitively recognize that the display unit to be set is in a changeable state. When the setting change is completed, the display areas of the two display units 4 and 5 return to the original same size.

When the common setting button 41 is pressed first and both the display units 4 and 5 are in the activated state, the display areas of both the display units 4 and 5 are not changed and the same area is maintained. The user accepts a setting change operation by turning on only the backlight of the display device 10 without performing any other report.

As the operation unit having the first operation unit 3A and the second operation unit 3B, dial switches 40A and 40B may be provided as in the remote control device 202 shown in fig. 15, or a plurality of operation buttons corresponding to respective function displays may be provided as in the remote control device 203 shown in fig. 16, instead of the cross keys 39A and 39B.

In the case of a user who uses the remote control device 106 as shown in fig. 12 in the vertical direction, that is, in the case of making the operation panel 30 vertically long, one display device 10 arranged in the vertical direction may be divided into two upper and lower parts and two display units 4 and 5 may be arranged in the upper and lower parts.

The remote control device 401 shown in fig. 21 as a modification of embodiment 4 is configured such that the first display unit 6 and the second display unit 7 divide the screen of the touch panel display device 15 in the left-right direction. The first display unit 6 and the second display unit 7 are adjacent to each other, but may be arranged at intervals. The operation mode is displayed in the center lower part of the screen so as to straddle the two display units 6 and 7. Switching of the operation mode as the cooperative operation can be performed by the user touching the operation mode display. In addition, a common setting button 41 is displayed in the lower left portion of the screen of the touch panel display device 15, and a menu button 43 is displayed in the lower right portion. The timing setting can be set by selecting the timing setting button displayed by touching the menu button 43.

The procedure for the user to individually set the operations of the two blown air streams Fa and Fb using the first display unit 6 and the second display unit 7 included in the touch panel display device 15 is basically the same as that of the remote control devices 300 and 301 according to embodiment 3 using a touch panel, and detailed description thereof is omitted. However, the case where the setting is changed in common on the two display units 6 and 7 is different from the remote control devices 300 and 301 according to embodiment 3 in which the setting can be changed by continuously touching the two display devices 13 and 14.

The remote control device 401 has the common setting button 41 as in embodiment 2, and both of the display units 6 and 7 can be brought into an active state by touching the common setting button 41 displayed on the screen. When the setting of the target function display is changed using either one of the two display units 6 and 7, both of the display units 6 and 7 change the function display to the same setting. Further, the following may be configured: instead of stably displaying the common setting button 41 on the screen, the common setting button is displayed together with the timing setting button when the menu button 43 is touched.

As shown in fig. 22, the report to the user of the activated display unit is displayed on the display unit changed to be activated relatively largely, as in the case of the remote control device 400 described above. Fig. 22 shows a state in which the first display unit 6 can be changed and the second display unit 7 cannot be changed. As a point different from the remote control 400, the temperature setting button 42 is displayed on the display unit in the activated state (the first display unit 6 in fig. 22). In the remote control device 401, when the remote control device is in the activated state, the temperature setting button 42 is displayed on the display unit. The following may be configured: when the temperature setting display is touched on the display unit in the activated state, the temperature setting button 42 appears.

When the common setting button 41 is touched and both the display units 6 and 7 are activated, the backlight of the touch panel display device 15 is turned on, but the sizes of both the display units 6 and 7 are not changed. However, the temperature setting buttons 42 are displayed on the display units 6 and 7, respectively.

In this remote control device 401, as in embodiment 3, the first display unit 6 also functions as a first operation unit for changing the setting of the first display unit, and the second display unit 7 also functions as a second operation unit for changing the setting of the second display unit 7.

As described above, the remote control devices 400 and 401 according to embodiment 4 do not use two display devices, but two display units are provided by dividing the screen of one display device, one display unit corresponding to the operation setting for the first blown air flow Fa and the other display unit corresponding to the operation setting for the second blown air flow Fb, so that the same effects as those in embodiment 2 or embodiment 3 can be obtained, power consumption can be suppressed, and the life of the battery of the remote control device 400 or 401 can be extended.

Embodiment 5

Next, embodiment 5 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 23 and 24 are front views of a remote control device 500 (hereinafter referred to as a remote control device 500) of an air conditioner according to embodiment 5 of the present invention. Fig. 23 shows a state in which the user uses the remote control 500 longitudinally, and fig. 24 shows a state in which the user uses the remote control 500 laterally. The same or corresponding portions as those of the remote control devices described in embodiments 1 to 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. The remote control device 500 is different from the embodiments 1 to 4 in that the display configuration of the screens of the two display devices 11 and 12 changes between the case where the user uses the device vertically and the case where the user uses the device horizontally.

The remote control device 500 incorporates the acceleration sensor 45, and can determine whether the orientation of the remote control device 500 itself is in the portrait orientation or the landscape orientation based on the output of the acceleration sensor 45. The acceleration sensor 45 is provided on a circuit board housed inside the case of the remote control device 500. Whether the orientation of the remote control device 500 is the portrait orientation or the landscape orientation refers to whether the user holds the remote control device 500 vertically or horizontally, and the rectangular parallelepiped remote control device 500 has the lateral direction as the lateral direction and the lateral direction as the lateral direction, respectively, of the operation surface 30.

When the remote control device 500 determines that it is in the portrait position, the individual operation settings of the first airflow Fa and the second airflow Fb are not accepted. Fig. 23 shows a display configuration of screens of the display devices 11 and 12 when used in a portrait orientation, but the mode/set temperature display unit 4 is configured without providing the first display unit 4 for setting the operation of the first blown air flow Fa on the screen of the first display device 11. The wind direction/air volume display unit 5 is configured without providing the second display unit 5 for setting the operation of the second blowout air flow Fb on the screen of the second display device 12. Even if the screens of the two display devices 11 and 12 are matched, only one of the function displays is displayed.

The configuration of the operation panel 30 of the remote control device 500 other than the display configuration of the screen is the same as that of the remote control device 106 (see fig. 12) according to embodiment 1, and the description thereof is omitted. The set temperature and the operation mode are displayed on the mode/set temperature display unit 4 formed on the screen of the first display device 11 located at the upper side in the vertical direction, and the up-down wind direction mode, the left-right wind direction mode, and the air volume mode are displayed on the wind direction/air volume display unit 5 formed on the screen of the second display device 12 located at the lower side.

The screen display contents shown in fig. 23 are operation settings desired by the user, and the indoor unit 50 that has received an instruction signal for the operation settings transmitted from the remote control device 500 in the vertical state controls the display of each function as follows.

In the air volume mode, the two propeller fans 51a and 51b are controlled at the same rotation speed, and are operated at the rotation speed that is the air volume mode displayed on the wind direction/air volume display unit 5. The up-down wind direction mode and the left-right wind direction mode are rotation-controlled based on one mode that is set respectively. Then, the indoor unit 50 performs an air conditioning operation such that the sensible temperature of a person in the room as the air-conditioning target space becomes the set temperature displayed on the mode/set temperature display unit 4.

For example, in the horizontal airflow direction mode, the airflow blown out from the right side of the air outlet 53 may be blown out in the right direction, and the airflow blown out from the left side may be blown out in the left direction. In short, when the user holds the remote control 500 in a portrait orientation and operates it to transmit an instruction signal to the indoor unit 50, the two propeller fans 51a and 51b are rotated at the same rotational speed, and the airflow blown out from the right side of the air outlet 53 and the airflow blown out from the left side are both substantially the same air volume and temperature.

When the user wants to individually perform the operation setting for the indoor unit 50, which is intended to perform air conditioning in two temperature zones, that is, for the first outlet airflow Fa blown out from the right side of the outlet 53 and the operation setting for the second outlet airflow Fb blown out from the left side, the user holds the remote control 500 in a lateral direction to determine that the remote control 500 itself is in the lateral state based on the output of the built-in acceleration sensor 45, and as shown in fig. 24, the first display unit 4 is provided on the screen of the first display unit 11 as the display for the operation setting for the first outlet airflow Fa, and the second display unit 5 is provided on the screen of the second display unit 12 as the display for the operation setting for the second outlet airflow Fb.

The operation method of the remote control 500 in the landscape state in which the operation of the air conditioning in the two temperature zones is set as the target is basically the same as that of the remote control 104 (see fig. 10) of embodiment 1 except that the orientation of the cross key 39 is shifted by 90 °, and the description thereof is omitted. The setting switch button 38 is used only when the remote control device 500 is in the landscape state, and does not function in the portrait state.

When the remote control 500 and the indoor unit 50 communicate with each other using infrared rays, since infrared communication is directional, the transmission unit 1 and the reception unit 2 may be provided on both the upper surface in the portrait orientation (fig. 23) and the upper surface in the landscape orientation (fig. 24). On the other hand, if the remote control 500 communicates with the indoor unit 50 using radio waves, there is no directionality, and therefore the transmission unit 1 and the reception unit 2 may be provided at any one of the locations 1.

When the remote control 500 is to be changed from the portrait orientation shown in fig. 23 to the landscape orientation, not only the orientation shown in fig. 24 but also the landscape orientation is shifted by 180 ° from the orientation shown in fig. 24. That is, when rotated 90 ° counterclockwise from the vertical direction in fig. 23, the state of fig. 24 is obtained, but when rotated 90 ° clockwise, the state of fig. 24 is obtained. If the remote control 500 uses infrared rays for communication and if the transmitter 1 and the receiver 2 are provided on the upper surface in the state of fig. 24, the transmitter 1 and the receiver 2 are oriented in a direction shifted by 180 ° from the state of fig. 24, the transmitter 1 and the receiver 2 are oriented not toward the indoor unit 50 but toward the user, and communication with the indoor unit 50 becomes difficult.

Therefore, it is necessary to make the user notice that the reverse lateral state is changed. Therefore, the remote control device 500 does not change the display contents of the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 in the correct lateral state (the state of fig. 24) even in the reverse lateral state. Therefore, when the user sets the horizontal state to be opposite, the display of the two display units 4 and 5 is also reversed. In this case, the user can easily notice the shift of 180 °, and correct the lateral state.

Further, the following may be configured: when the remote control device 500 communicates with the indoor unit 50 using radio waves without using infrared rays, the display is not reversed regardless of the horizontal state differing by 180 °, and the operation setting for two temperature zone air-conditioning can be performed regardless of the orientation (regardless of whether the operation unit 3 is on the right side or the left side).

As described above, the remote control device 500 according to embodiment 5 can change the display contents of the two display units 4 and 5 between the case of being used vertically and the case of being used horizontally by the user, and can perform the operation setting of the air conditioning in the two temperature zones by providing the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 on the operation panel 30 only when it is determined that the display is in the horizontal state. That is, the individual operation settings of the first blowout air flow Fa and the second blowout air flow Fb are received. On the other hand, when the user does not want or intentionally need the temperature zone air conditioning in a situation such as a room, the user can more easily perform the operation setting of the target air conditioner by operating the remote control device 500 in the vertical state.

In embodiment 5, the remote control device 500 includes the cross key 39 in the operation unit 3, but may include the dial switch 40 instead of the cross key 39, or may include a plurality of operation buttons for each function. In addition, the number of buttons of the operation unit 3 may be reduced by replacing the first display device 11 and the second display device 12 with the first touch panel display device 13 and the second touch panel display device 14, respectively.

Further, the following may be configured: the first display device 11 and the second display device 12 are changed to 1 display device 10, and the first display unit 4 and the second display unit 5 are provided by dividing the screen of the display device 10 vertically in the portrait orientation and dividing the screen of the display device 10 horizontally.

The configuration may be such that: the display device 10 is changed to a touch panel display device 15, and the first display unit 6 and the second display unit 7 are provided by dividing the screen of the touch panel display device 15.

In embodiments 1 to 5, the description has been made so far with respect to the case where the liquid crystal display device is used as the display device constituting the first display unit 4 or the first display unit 6 and the second display unit 5 or the second display unit 7, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other display devices such as an organic EL display may be used.

The remote control device according to embodiments 1 to 5 having two display units according to the present invention is effective for an air conditioner including an indoor unit capable of performing indoor air conditioning for two temperature zones. In the indoor unit 50 including two blower fans that are independently controlled, two outlet airflows having different air volumes and different temperatures can be blown out from the outlet ports by changing the rotation speeds of the two blower fans. The air volume is made different, so that a temperature difference is generated between the two blown air streams. In addition, the air volume can be replaced by the wind speed. On the other hand, there is also an indoor unit in which only one blower fan is provided, but two blown air streams having different temperatures can be blown out from the outlet ports even if the air volume is the same by thermally dividing the heat exchanger into two parts and making the refrigerant pressures of the two parts different from each other. The remote control device according to embodiments 1 to 5 is effective as a remote control device for an air conditioner including an indoor unit as described above that is capable of blowing two airflows, i.e., a first blown airflow Fa and a second blown airflow Fb, having different temperatures or air volumes from the outlet, because the remote control device includes two display units that can display the set temperatures, respectively, and can change the set temperatures individually.

The remote control devices according to embodiments 1 to 5 can be applied to air conditioners having indoor units that cannot make the temperature or the air volume different but can blow out the blown air in two different directions. However, in this case, since both the set temperature and the air volume are set in common in the functional display, the advantage of providing two display units is small.

Industrial applicability of the invention

In a house, only 1 indoor unit of an air conditioner is often installed in one room. However, in a room having a large floor area, which is not a wide living room or a dwelling but is 1 air-conditioned space like a business office, two indoor units may be installed in 1 room. Thus, in the case where two indoor units are provided in 1 room, the user operates the two indoor units simultaneously and identically using 1 remote control device so far. In order to perform operations based on different operation settings, it is necessary to prepare two remote control devices in one-to-one relationship with the indoor units, and to perform operation operations of the corresponding indoor units individually for each remote control device.

When two indoor units, that is, the first indoor unit and the second indoor unit, are installed in such 1 room, the remote control device according to embodiments 1 to 5 of the present invention having two display units can be applied as a remote control device commonly corresponding to the two indoor units. By applying the present invention to the case where the airflow blown out from the outlet port of the first indoor unit is the first blown airflow Fa and the airflow blown out from the outlet port of the second indoor unit is the second blown airflow Fa, the first display unit is made to correspond to the operation setting of the first indoor unit and the second display unit is made to correspond to the operation setting of the second indoor unit, and thus, the operation settings of those two indoor units can be made different by 1 remote controller, and the operation contents of the two indoor units can be made different. In this case, the function of the operation switch can be set independently in the same manner as the set temperature and the air volume.

Description of the reference numerals

4 … a first display unit; 5 … a second display part; 6 … a first display unit; 7 … a second display part; 10 … display device; 11 … a first display device; 12 … a second display device; 13 … a first touch panel display device; 14 … second touch panel display device; 15 … touch panel display device; 30 … operating surface; 38 … setting a toggle button; 41 … common setup button; 45 … acceleration sensor; 50 … indoor unit; a 53 … air outlet; 100 to 106 … remote control devices; 200-203 … remote control device; 300 … remote control device; 301 … remote control device; 400 … remote control device; 401 … remote control device; 500 … remote control of the device.

Claims (11)

1. A remote control device for an air conditioner, which communicates with an indoor unit that can emit two airflows having different temperatures or air volumes from an outlet port, comprising:

a first display unit relating to an operation setting of a first blown air stream which is one of the two air streams; and

a second display unit relating to operation setting of a second blown air stream which is the other of the two air streams,

the first display unit and the second display unit display set temperatures, respectively, and the set temperatures can be individually set and changed,

but does not accept the operation of changing the set temperature in which the difference between the set temperature displayed on the first display unit and the set temperature displayed on the second display unit exceeds the preset maximum allowable temperature difference.

2. The remote control apparatus for an air conditioner according to claim 1,

has an operation surface, and is provided with an operation surface,

two display devices are provided on the operation panel,

the first display unit is provided on a screen of a first display device which is one of the two display devices,

the second display unit is provided on a screen of a second display device that is the other of the two display devices.

3. The remote control apparatus for an air conditioner according to claim 1,

has an operation surface, and is provided with an operation surface,

the operation panel is provided with a display device,

the first display unit and the second display unit are provided by dividing a screen of the display device.

4. The remote control apparatus of an air conditioner according to claim 2 or 3,

the first display unit and the second display unit are arranged in a left-right direction on the operation surface.

5. The remote control apparatus of an air conditioner according to claim 2 or 3,

the first display unit and the second display unit are arranged in an up-down direction on the operation surface.

6. The remote control apparatus for an air conditioner according to claim 4,

the indoor unit is an indoor unit that blows out the two air flows while being separated in the left-right direction of the air outlet, and blows out the first blown air flow from the left side and the second blown air flow from the right side of the air outlet as viewed from a user,

in the remote control device, the first display unit is provided on the left side and the second display unit is provided on the right side of the operation surface.

7. The remote control apparatus for an air conditioner according to claim 5,

the indoor unit is an indoor unit that separates the two air flows in the front-rear direction of the air outlet and blows out the first air flow from the rear side of the air outlet and the second air flow from the front side,

in the remote control device, the first display unit is provided on an upper side and the second display unit is provided on a lower side of the operation panel.

8. A remote control device for an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the display device is provided with a setting switching button for selecting either one of the first display unit and the second display unit or both of them as an operation target.

9. A remote control device for an air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising:

a first operation unit that changes a setting of the first display unit;

a second operation unit that changes the setting of the second display unit; and

a common setting button capable of simultaneously changing the first display unit and the second display unit to the same setting.

10. The remote control apparatus of an air conditioner according to claim 2 or 3,

the display device is a touch panel type display device,

the first display unit has a function as a first operation unit for changing the setting of the first display unit,

the second display unit has a function as a second operation unit for changing the setting of the second display unit.

11. The remote control apparatus of an air conditioner according to claim 2 or 3,

the device is provided with an acceleration sensor which is provided with a sensor,

based on the output of the acceleration sensor, the remote control device determines whether the direction of the remote control device held by the hand of the user is a lateral state in which the long side direction of the operation panel is the left-right direction or a longitudinal state in which the short side direction is the left-right direction,

when it is determined that the air conditioner is in the landscape state, the first display unit and the second display unit are provided on the screen of the display device, and the first outlet airflow and the second outlet airflow are individually set for operation,

when it is determined that the state is the portrait state, the first display unit and the second display unit are not provided, and separate operation settings for the first outlet airflow and the second outlet airflow are not accepted.

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