FR3076890A1 - AIR CONDITIONER - Google Patents

Abstract

An air conditioner (S), comprising: a cleaner that cleans an indoor heat exchanger (102); a control unit (130) which controls the cleaner; a filter cleaner which cleans a filter (108) arranged on one side of the indoor heat exchanger (102), where air is admitted; characterized in that the control unit (130), in a case where the cleaner cleans the indoor heat exchanger (102) after an end of a cooling operation, a dehumidification operation or an operation blowing air, controls the cleaner to clean the filter for a second time that elapses since the end of the cooling operation, the dehumidification operation or the air blowing operation. Figure for abstract: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

BACKGROUND ART An indoor unit heat exchanger (indoor heat exchanger) mounted in an air conditioner has the problem that dust, microorganisms and the like (hereinafter referred to as dust) having passed through a dedusting filter settle there, to give off a bad smell. In addition, the efficiency of the heat exchanger decreases, which deteriorates the energy saving performance. A plurality of non-removable pipes are arranged in the indoor heat exchanger, making it difficult to remove the indoor heat exchanger from the indoor unit for cleaning.

As a technique for cleaning the indoor heat exchanger without removing the indoor unit, Japanese Patent No. 4,931,566 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-200348 are known, for example. Japanese Patent No. 4,931,566 describes that, "after the heating operation, the cooling operation is performed in order to cause the water to adhere to the fin surface, so as to maintain the heat exchanger in the constantly clean heating operation by itself ".

However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent No. 4,931,566, the indoor heat exchanger begins cleaning without considering the presence of a user in a room. As a result, the user may feel discomfort due to the leakage of cold air during cleaning, or may think that something is wrong due to an abnormal noise caused by the sudden reverse flow of a cycle. refrigeration.

Consequently, the present invention is intended to propose an air conditioner which gently cleans the sticky dirt from an indoor heat exchanger.

Disclosure of the invention In order to solve the problem identified above, the present invention provides an air conditioner including: a cleaner which cleans an indoor heat exchanger; and a control unit which controls the cleaner, wherein the control unit, in a case where the cleaner cleans the indoor heat exchanger after completion of a heating operation, controls the cleaner to clean the heat exchanger indoor heat after a first given time has elapsed since the end of the heating operation, and in a case where the cleaner cleans the indoor heat exchanger after the end of a cooling operation, a dehumidification operation or air blowing operation, controls the cleaner to clean the indoor heat exchanger after a second delay shorter than the first delay has elapsed.

According to the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner which gently cleans the sticky dirt from the indoor heat exchanger.

Brief description of the drawings [0008] [fig.l] is a front view of an indoor unit, an outdoor unit and a remote control of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[Fig.2] is a sectional view taken along a line I-I in Figure 1;

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

[Fig.4A] and [Fig.4B] are schematic perspective views of the indoor heat exchanger in the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[Fig.5A] and [fig.5B] are image waveforms of differential analysis results of images of the indoor heat exchanger in the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[Fig.6A] [fig.6B] and [0017] [fig.6C] are graphs showing the correlation between a period required for a change in room temperature to reach a reference value and the volume of a room, and its correction values; and [fig.7] is a flow diagram showing the processing of a main microcomputer in the air conditioner according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description [0019] Figure 1 is a front view of an indoor unit 100, an outdoor unit 200, and a remote control Re of an air conditioner S according to one embodiment.

The indoor unit 100 is connected to the outdoor unit 200 via refrigerant pipes (not shown), to cool the air in a room installed with the indoor unit 100 by a refrigeration cycle. In addition, the indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 200 transmit and receive information to each other via a communication cable (not shown).

Although not shown, the outdoor unit 200 includes a compressor, a four-way valve, an outdoor heat exchanger, an outdoor fan and an expansion valve. In a refrigeration circuit formed with the compressor, the four-way valve, the outdoor heat exchanger, the expansion valve and an indoor heat exchanger 102 (see Figure 2) connected sequentially in a loop, a refrigerant circulates in a heat pump cycle.

The remote control Re is put into operation by a user to transmit infrared signals to a remote control transceiver Q of the indoor unit 100. The signals are instructions such as an activation request, a change of setpoint temperature, setting a timer value, changing the operating mode, and a deactivation request. According to the signals, the air conditioner S is operated in a cooling mode, a heating mode, a dehumidification mode, or the like. In addition, information relating to a room temperature, a humidity level, an electricity expenditure, etc. are transmitted from the remote control transceiver Q of the indoor unit 100 to the remote control Re, to inform the user about the information.

An imaging device 110A for acquiring interior image information and a visible light filter 117A are arranged at the bottom of a front face of the indoor unit 100. The arrangement positions of the device 110A imagery and the visible light filter 117A can be changed in accordance with the purpose of acquiring image information to be described later, and are not limited to those of Figure 1. The reason will be described later. which the visible light filter 117A is arranged in the present embodiment.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the indoor unit 100 in Figure 1 taken along a line I-I.

A housing base 101 accommodates internal components such as the interior heat exchanger 102, an insufflator fan 103, a filter 108 and the like. Note that the filter 108 is arranged on one side of the indoor heat exchanger 102, where the air is admitted.

The indoor heat exchanger 102 includes a plurality of heat transfer tubes 102a for exchanging heat between the air admitted into the indoor unit 100 by the blower 103 and a refrigerant passing through it, so as to heat or cool the air. Note that the heat transfer tubes 102a communicate with the refrigerant pipes (not shown) and constitute parts of a well-known refrigeration cycle (not shown).

The blower fan 103 shown in Figure 2 rotates to admit the interior air through an air inlet 107 and the filter 108, and to guide the air having been the subject of a heat exchange to through the indoor heat exchanger 102 to be guided to a purge duct 109a. In addition, the air guided to the purge duct 109a has its flow direction adjusted by a horizontal air deflector 104 and a vertical air deflector 105, then is blown from an air outlet 109b to cool the air. in the room.

The horizontal air deflector 104 is rotated by a motor (not shown) around a pivot shaft (not shown) at the bottom, in accordance with an instruction from a main microcomputer 130 (control unit : see Figure 3) to be described later.

The vertical air deflector 105 is rotated by a motor (not shown) around pivot shafts (not shown) arranged at both ends, in accordance with an instruction from the main microcomputer 130 to be described more later.

Consequently, the air having been subjected to air conditioning is blown towards a given position in the room.

The imaging device 110A and the visible light filter 117A are arranged at the bottom of a front panel 106 which is mounted to cover the front face of the indoor unit 100. The imaging device 110A is mounted so as to face downwards at a given angle to the horizontal direction from the mounting position, to correctly image the room where the indoor unit 100 is installed. However, the precise mounting position and the angle of the 110A imaging device can be attached according to the specification and use of the air conditioner S, and the configuration is not limited to them.

Note that the configuration of the air conditioner S shown in Figures 1 and 2 is simply an example according to the present embodiment, and the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment.

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

The main microcomputer 130 in FIG. 3 controls a charge pilot 150 according to environmental information detected by an environment detector 160 and the operating instruction received by the remote control transceiver Q (see the Figure 1) so as to control each device in the indoor unit 100 and the outdoor unit 200.

As shown in Figure 3, the imaging device 110A includes an optical lens 11 IA for adjusting imaging ranges and focal points, an image sensor 112A for converting incident light from the room through the optical lens 11 IA into an electrical signal, an A / D converter 113A which digitizes the signal from the image sensor 112A and converts it into image information, and a digital signal processor 114A which corrects the luminance and the shade of the image information.

An imaging device 110B is also configured in the same way as the imaging device 110A.

Various kinds of image processing are performed by an image detector 122 on the image information of the part acquired by the imaging device 110A. The image sensor 122 can be configured to include image sensors for detecting various images, such as a dust sensor 122a for detecting dust.

Consequently, each image detector can be configured to detect an image from the same image information acquired by the imaging device 110A, or can be configured to send an imaging parameter suitable for the detection of each image to the digital signal processor 114A in the imaging device 110A and to detect an image using an exclusive image captured according to the imaging parameter.

A detection result such as user position information detected by the image detector 122 and an operating instruction according to the detection result are sent to an arithmetic processor 132.

The arithmetic processor 132 fully controls the control units of the air conditioner S and controls a pilot control unit 133 according to an operating setting of the air conditioner S and the operating instruction according to the detection result to execute the air conditioning operation. The imaging device 110A captures the image from an operating instruction in an imaging request signal from the arithmetic processor 132.

The piloting control unit 133 sends a piloting signal to the load pilot 150 for piloting.

The charge pilot 150 individually controls the refrigeration cycle (not shown), an indoor fan motor (not shown) in the indoor unit 100, a compressor motor (not shown) in the outdoor unit 200, the motor (not shown) for the vertical deflector mounted with the vertical air deflector 105, and the motor (not shown) for the horizontal air deflector mounted with the horizontal air deflector 104. In addition, the pilot load 150 can be configured to drive the imaging device 110A, a near-infrared beam projector (not shown), or a filter driver 116 to rotate the visible light cut filter 117A.

Memories 121, 131 are configured to include a ROM (read only memory), a RAM (random access memory), and the like. Programs stored in are retrieved by a CPU (central processing unit) in the arithmetic processor 132 of the main microcomputer 130 in for execution.

The environment detector 160 can be configured to include various sensors, such as a temperature sensor using a thermopile, an activity amount detection sensor using a Fresnel lens and an infrared sensor in the air conditioner S .

With the above configuration, the main microcomputer 130 fully controls the operation of the air conditioner S in accordance with the image information from the imaging device 110A, the instruction signal from the remote control Re, the outputs sensor from various sensors, and the like. This accomplishes a fine operating command.

The detection result through image processing in the image detector 122 may include only digital information such as user position, amount of activity, and distance, and may not include image information that can be viewed. This helps to reduce the amount of data stored in the memories 121, 131. In addition, since the image information cannot be taken outside of the main microcomputer 130, the user's privacy in the air-conditioned room is protected.

The indoor unit 100 has an automatic cleaning operation function for cleaning the indoor heat exchanger 102. A control unit of the automatic cleaning operation for the indoor heat exchanger 102 will be described with reference in Figures 2 and 3.

The automatic cleaning operation is intended to cool the indoor heat exchanger 102 to bring the humidity in the surrounding air to stick to the indoor heat exchanger 102, in order to clean the indoor heat exchanger 102 with humidity.

In order to cause the humidity to adhere to the indoor heat exchanger 102, the main microcomputer 130 fixes an evaporation temperature of the refrigerant in the automatic cleaning operation lower than an evaporation temperature of the refrigerant in a dehumidification operation. In cases where higher cleaning capacity is required, the evaporation temperature of the refrigerant can be set at a temperature below the freezing point.

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

Thus, the main microcomputer 130, if it is determined that a total of the hours of use since the previous cleaning stored in the memory 131, than the number of uses since the previous cleaning stored in the memory 131, or that a time elapsed since the installation of the air conditioner S has reached a given value, performs the automatic cleaning operation. This will initiate automatic cleaning if necessary, to reduce dust buildup and dirt adhesion. In addition, the number of executions of an automatic cleaning operation is reduced to save energy compared to a case where the automatic cleaning operation is executed each time the air conditioning operation ends.

The total hours of use in each operating mode is acquired as follows. The main microcomputer 130 stores time information managed by a time manager 134 in the memory 131, finds the time information in the memory 131 periodically or at the time of the occurrence of an event, and takes a difference between the information of time during the previous automatic cleaning operation and current time information, to acquire the total hours of use in each operating mode.

The number of uses is also acquired by the same processing as described above with respect to the usage information managed by an operating information manager 135.

The time elapsed since the installation of the air conditioner S is also acquired by the same processing as described above with respect to the time information at the time of the installation managed by the time manager 134.

The time manager 134 may have calendar information including dates, in addition to the time information.

There are several ways to set time information as follows. The user inputs the time information in the remote control Re (FIG. 1), and transmits the time information entered as a remote control signal from the remote control Re (FIG. 1) to the remote control receiver in the indoor unit 100 , to fix the time information in the main microcomputer 130. In addition, the user transmits the time information from an information terminal via a communication network 190 to the indoor unit 100, to fix the time information in the main microcomputer 130.

In addition, the indoor unit 100 can be configured to include an automatic time information acquisition function which automatically acquires time information from a time management server (such as NTP) on the network. communication 190.

The indoor unit 100 fixes the current time information acquired in the time manager 134 in the main microcomputer 130. The time manager 134 continues to count down the fixed time in accordance with the passage of time. Consequently, the time manager 134 manages the correct running time.

The user can update the current time managed by the time manager 134 to an arbitrary timing using a way to set the time information. In addition, the indoor unit 100 can be set up to periodically execute the automatic time information acquisition function, to update the current time managed by the time manager 134 periodically and automatically. This prevents a gap between the current time managed by the time manager 134 and an actual current time.

The various operating information is managed by the operating information manager 135. The operating information manager 135 manages an operation such as switching the operating mode according to an input from the remote control Re (FIG. 1) , switching the operating mode according to an input via the communication network 190, and switching the operating mode by a timer incorporated in the indoor unit 100.

The memory 131 stores the operating information and the current time managed by the time manager 134, to take account of the acquisition of the total hours of use and the number of uses in each operating mode, and the time elapsed since the installation of the air conditioner S.

The memory 131 stores values given in advance for each of the total hours of use to be stored in the memory 131 since the previous cleaning, the number of uses to be stored in the memory 131 since the previous cleaning, and the time elapsed since the installation of the air conditioner S. An operating condition for the automatic cleaning operation is that: the total of the hours of use stored in the memory 131, the number of uses stored in the memory 131, or the elapsed time reaches each given value stored in memory 131.

As long as the automatic cleaning operation is performed at constant time intervals or for any given number of uses, any combination of operating conditions can be selected for the automatic cleaning operation. It is sufficient to meet one or more of the above conditions.

In addition, any method can be used to calculate the total hours of use, the number of uses and the time elapsed. For example, the following calculation methods can be used. The values for total hours of use and number of uses can be reset to 0 after the automatic cleaning operation. After each given number of automatic cleaning operations, the number of automatic cleaning operations can be counted down from 0, and the number of automatic cleaning operations can be multiplied by reference values of the total hours of use , the number of uses and the time elapsed since the installation of the air conditioner S, to execute the automatic cleaning operation when the product is greater than or equal to a given value.

The values given for the total hours of use, the number of uses and the elapsed time can be arbitrarily fixed via an input device such as the Re remote control or the information terminal connected to the communication network. 190.

In a case where the operating condition for the automatic cleaning operation is satisfied after the heating operation has ended, the automatic cleaning operation is executed after a first given time has elapsed. elapsed since the heating operation was deactivated.

In a case where the automatic cleaning operation is executed after the cooling operation, the dehumidification operation, or the air blowing operation, the automatic cleaning operation is executed immediately after the operation was interrupted or after a second delay shorter than the first delay has elapsed.

In this case, the operation having been interrupted means that the respective devices such as the compressor and the ventilator fan 103 in the air conditioner S have been interrupted.

In the case where the heating operation has ended, the indoor heat exchanger 102 is cooled after the first given time and the automatic cleaning operation can be performed, to allow the operation to be carried out. automatic cleaning in energy saving mode. In addition, the user may have left the room during the period, to prevent cold air in the automatic cleaning operation from causing the user to feel discomfort. In addition, the occurrence of abnormal and similar noise caused by sudden reverse rotation switching of the refrigeration cycle is prevented.

The first given time can be set, for example, about 3 minutes at the time of a factory shipment. This time is sufficient for the user to leave the room, to cool the indoor heat exchanger 102, and to quietly switch the four-way valve to reverse the refrigeration cycle.

Desirably, the insufflator fan 103 is controlled and the vertical air deflector 105 is opened in the interval of the first delay. This quickly cools the indoor heat exchanger 102. In addition, the room temperature is acquired while being equalized by the air blowing operation, and a cooling temperature, etc. in the automatic cleaning operation is optimized according to the degree of change in room temperature.

In addition, a hygrometer (not shown) can be arranged in the vicinity of the indoor heat exchanger 102 to measure the humidity in the vicinity of the indoor heat exchanger 102 in the interval of the first delay. Depending on the measurement result, the subsequent automatic cleaning operation can be optimized. For example, in a case where the humidity is high and the humidity around the indoor heat exchanger 102 is substantial, a cooling time in the automatic cleaning operation can be shortened. If the cooling time is set to 20 minutes, the substantial humidity for the automatic cleaning operation can be collected even during dry winter months, but when the humidity around the indoor heat exchanger 102 is substantial , the cooling time can be set to about 15 minutes.

The indoor heat exchanger 102 (Figure 2) in the indoor unit 100 (Figure 2) is provided with the filter 108 (Figure 2) at its top to remove significant dust so as to prevent the heat exchanger interior 102 to get dirty. The dust settling on the filter 108 causes an obstruction, which reduces the air passing through the indoor heat exchanger 102, and reduces the air conditioning performance of the indoor unit 100. In order to prevent this problem, the indoor unit 100 may be provided with a filter cleaner to automatically clean the filter 108 with a brush (not shown) after the air conditioning operation is completed.

In a case where the indoor unit 100 includes the filter cleaner, fine dust falls on the indoor heat exchanger 102 when the brush rubs the filter 108. The amount of dust falling due to the filter cleaning is larger than the sticky one during normal air conditioning, causing dust to build up and dirt to stick to the indoor heat exchanger 102.

Consequently, the filter cleaner desirably cleans the filter 108 during the first delay. This allows the dust dropped during the filter cleaning to be cleaned by the automatic cleaning operation immediately after the dust has dropped, to prevent the dirt due to the filter cleaning from sticking in the indoor heat exchanger 102 .

The period required for the user to leave the room varies depending on the situation. The period required to cool the indoor heat exchanger 102 varies with temperature and the like. Consequently, the deadline can preferably be changed.

For example, the indoor unit 100 may include a way to enter the first delay from the information terminal connected to the communication network 190 or to the Re remote control.

If the first delay is given, it is desirable to notify the user of the execution of the automatic cleaning operation during the first delay. This prevents the user from feeling that something is wrong. Accordingly, the indoor unit 100 may have an alarm device such as a display lamp (not shown) and an alarm sound generator (not shown) to warn the user about the execution of the automatic cleaning operation within the first delay, and the alarm device can change the contents to be notified according to a time remaining until the automatic cleaning operation is started. The change in content to be notified is, for example, the change of a flashing cycle of the display lamp or an announcement by a voice guide.

If the user is not in the room and the automatic cleaning operation is started immediately after deactivation of the air conditioning operation, the user does not feel discomfort with the cold air emitted in the automatic cleaning operation.

Consequently, in a case where the operating condition for the automatic cleaning operation is satisfied, if a human detector in the indoor unit 100 does not detect a human in the room after the operation cooling operation, dehumidification operation or air blowing operation has ended, the automatic cleaning operation can be performed immediately after the operation is deactivated.

In addition, in a case where the air conditioning operation is interrupted via a remote input from outside the room, it is entirely possible that the room is empty.

Consequently, in a case where the operating condition for the automatic cleaning operation is satisfied, if the air conditioning operation is interrupted via the remote input from the information terminal connected to the communication network 190 after that the cooling operation, the dehumidification operation, or the air blowing operation has ended, the automatic cleaning operation can be performed immediately after the air conditioning operation has been interrupted.

However, even when the air conditioning operation is interrupted via the remote input, a human may be present in the room. Therefore, when a human detector detects a human in the room, the automatic cleaning operation can be performed after the first delay has elapsed.

The following human detector can be used so that the human detector 122b analyzes the image captured by the imaging device 110A to detect whether a human is present. In addition, infrared rays generated by the human body can be detected by a human sensor (not shown). In this way, the start of the automatic cleaning operation is controlled according to the result of the detection of a human in the room.

In a case where the operating condition of the automatic cleaning operation is not satisfied for a long time and that dust accumulates on the indoor heat exchanger 102, the user may wish to execute the automatic cleaning operation immediately after the air conditioning operation has been interrupted. Consequently, in a case where an instruction to execute the automatic cleaning operation is supplied as input via the remote control Re or the information terminal connected to the communication network 190, the automatic cleaning operation can be executed immediately after the 'Entrance.

The larger the room to be conditioned, the more the total amount of dust in the room. Since the dust in the air passes through the indoor heat exchanger 102 through the blower fan 103, the room size correlates to the amount of dust accumulated in the indoor heat exchanger 102. As a result, it is desirable that the air conditioner S has a volume detector which detects the volume or size of the room, and is configured to determine threshold values in advance for the total hours of use and the number of uses since the last cleaning to execute the automatic cleaning operation, in accordance with the detected result.

The following volume detector can be used so that a room temperature detector 161 detects a room temperature and automatically detects the volume or size of the room after a time (hereinafter, designated per room temperature change time) required for the room temperature to reach the reference value (for example, 1 degree).

The room temperature change time is measured beforehand for each volume of the room by experiments, and correlation data (FIG. 6A) between the room temperature change time and the volume or the size of the room are stored in memory 131. Since the correlation varies according to the air conditioning capacity of the air conditioner S, it is desirable that the above measurements be made on each model of the air conditioner S by each air conditioning capacity to acquire correlation data corresponding to air conditioning capacity.

In addition, the correlation between the room temperature change time and the volume of the room is affected by a room temperature, the lighting of the room, and the like at the time of measurement. In order to eliminate the influence, an adjustment value a (FIG. 6B) between the room temperature at the start of the measurement and the time of temperature change in the room and an adjustment value β (FIG. 6C) between the illumination of the room at the time of measurement and the time of room temperature change are desirably measured by experiments and stored in memory 131.

The volume detector acquires the room temperature and the lighting of the room by the room temperature detector 161 and the lighting detector 162 to detect the volume of the room in view of the value of adjustment a and the adjustment value β.

In addition, the volume or size of the room can be detected based on the fourmes image information input by the imaging device 110A. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-200348 describes that "the imaging device 13 recognizes information such as people entering and leaving, the number and position of people in the room, the amount of 'activity, a configuration of the room and an area where sunlight enters'. A portion of the floor in the image information input to the imaging device 110A can be detected to estimate an area other than the floor such as a wall, and the volume or size of the room can be calculated from 'after the area report. As a result, the automatic cleaning operation is optimized based on the volume or size of the room to be an air-conditioned space.

The volume detector acquires only an approximate size of the part and does not necessarily have high precision. However, in order to deal with a case where a difference between the detected result and the effective volume of the room is important, the indoor unit 100 desirably includes a function as described below. Namely, the indoor unit 100 can be configured to include an input interface through which the user inputs the volume or size of the room to be conditioned or resets the volume or size value to a value initial from the information terminal connected to the communication network 190 or to the remote control Re, in addition to the automatic detection of the volume of the room.

The main microcomputer 130 determines the threshold values for the total hours of use since the previous cleaning and the number of uses since the previous cleaning to clean the interior heat exchanger by the cleaner, according to the volume or the size of the room supplied as input using the input interface.

In order to improve the efficiency of the automatic cleaning operation, the indoor unit 100 can, desirably, be provided with a dirt detector for detecting the dirt in the indoor heat exchanger 102, and if the amount of dirt detected by the dirt detector exceeds a given amount, the automatic cleaning operation is executed regardless of the values of the total hours of use since the previous cleaning stored in memory 131, the number of uses since the previous cleaning stored in memory 131, or the time elapsed since the installation of the air conditioner S. This allows automatic cleaning to be carried out before dust collects on the indoor heat exchanger 102 and the dirt adheres to it, to keep the indoor heat exchanger 102 clean with less electrical power, without requiring a large amount of water to clean the indoor heat exchanger 102.

The dirt detector may include the 110B imaging device which uses visible light or near infrared light as the light source, and an optical filter which cuts or dims light having a specific wavelength. The image information input from the imaging device 110B is analyzed by the dust detector 122a of the image detector 122 in the camera microcomputer 120, and the dust in the image information is detected as dirt.

As shown in Figure 4A, metal sheets are arranged in the indoor heat exchanger 102 at regular intervals at very fine steps. When the indoor heat exchanger 102 is imaged by the imaging device 110B, portions of metal sheet are imaged in white because the light is reflected, and layers of air between the steps of the metal sheets are imaged in black because the light is not reflected. As a result, an image is acquired, which shows that the metal sheets are arranged at regular intervals. When a differential analysis is performed on the image along an analysis line 301, an image waveform shown in Figure 5A is acquired.

As shown in FIG. 4B, if the interior heat exchanger 102 to which dust 401A is stuck is imaged by the imaging device 110B, an image having a dark border between the white portion and the black portion is acquired, which fails to show that the metal sheets are arranged at regular intervals. When a differential analysis is performed on the image along an analysis line 302, an image waveform shown in Fig. 5B is acquired, which shows an image waveform 401B without peak due to sticking of dust. Dust sticking is detected based on image waveform 401B.

The following can be used, for example, as a technique to improve the accuracy of the imaging device 110B. Namely, image data having only a specific wavelength using an infrared light emitter (not shown) and the visible light filter 117B (Figure 3) can be acquired to eliminate a disturbance influence image data, so as to increase the recognition accuracy of the dust detector 122a (FIG. 3).

The amount of dirt sticking to the indoor heat exchanger 102 varies according to the operating mode such as the cooling operation, the heating operation, and the dehumidification operation. Consequently, the values of the total hours of use since the previous cleaning, the number of uses since the previous cleaning, or the time elapsed since the installation of the air conditioner S are desirably set for each operating mode, such as the heating operation, cooling operation and dehumidification operation.

The user may wish to execute the automatic cleaning operation even if the values of the total hours of use since the previous cleaning stored in the memory 131, of the number of uses since the previous cleaning stored in the memory 131 , and of the time elapsed since the installation of the air conditioner S do not reach the threshold values and that the filter 108 is not cleaned. In order to prevent the user from feeling discomfort and the like, a reservation is desirably set so that the automatic cleaning operation is started when the user is out of the room. The indoor unit 100 can have an input interface, by means of which a start time for the automatic cleaning operation is supplied as input from the information terminal connected to the communication network 190 or to the remote control Re.

The processing carried out by the main microcomputer 130 will be described below by way of example.

Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the processing of the main microcomputer 130 at the start of the cleaning process.

[0103] In step S101, the main microcomputer 130 determines whether the condition for starting the cleaning process is satisfied. As described above, the "condition for starting the cleaning process" is, for example, the condition that the total value of the hours of air conditioning use since the end of the previous cleaning process has reached the given value. If the condition for starting the cleaning process is satisfied in step S101 (S 101: Yes), the main microcomputer 130 proceeds to step S102. On the other hand, if the condition for starting the cleaning process is not satisfied (S 101: No), the main microcomputer 130 completes a series of processing steps (LIN).

[0104] In step S102, the main microcomputer 130 generates a given alarm emitted by the alarm sound generator (not shown) and turns on the display lamp (not shown). Namely, before starting the cleaning process such as freezing the indoor heat exchanger 102, the main microcomputer 130 warns that the cleaning process will be executed by the alarm tone generator and the display lamp. This alerts the user in advance that the cleaning process will be started.

Next, in step S103, the main microcomputer 130 sets the first delay until the cleaning process of the indoor heat exchanger 102 begins.

The first delay (for example, three minutes) is a time until the user is notified that the cleaning process begins at step S102 until the cleaning operation actually begins, and is set in advance.

[0106] In step S104, the main microcomputer 130 determines whether the first given time has elapsed since the user was notified in advance to start the cleaning process (S 102). If the first given delay has elapsed (S 104: Yes), the main microcomputer 130 proceeds to step S105. The display lamp can continue to be lit (S 102) until the first delay has elapsed.

[0107] In step S105, the main microcomputer 130 performs cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger 102.

Furthermore, in step S104, if the first given delay has not elapsed (S104: No), the main microcomputer 130 goes to step S106.

[0109] In step S106, the main microcomputer 130 determines whether an instruction to cancel the cleaning process is supplied as input using the Re remote control or the information terminal (not shown). If no instruction to cancel the cleaning process is detected (S 106: No), the main microcomputer 130 returns to step S104. On the other hand, if the instruction to cancel the cleaning process is detected (S 104: Yes), the main microcomputer 130 proceeds to step S107.

In step S107, the main microcomputer 130 causes the alarm sound generator to generate a given alarm sound and causes the display lamp to light up. This alerts the user that the cleaning operation is effectively canceled according to the operation using the remote control R or similar.

Note that the alarm sound or the like (S 107) is desirably a different type of the alarm sound or the like (S 102) to warn in advance of the cleaning process. As a result, the user is easily warned that the cleaning process is effectively canceled.

Then, in step S108, the main microcomputer 130 cancels the cleaning process of the indoor heat exchanger 102. Namely, the main microcomputer 130 cancels the cleaning process including freezing the heat exchanger indoor 102 according to the signal from the Re remote control or the information terminal. More specifically, if the cancellation instruction given is received from the Re remote control or from the information terminal (S 104: No, S106: Yes), from the alarm (S 102) before the cleaning process begins until the first given time has elapsed, the main microcomputer 130 does not execute the cleaning process including freezing the indoor heat exchanger 102 (S 108). This allows the main microcomputer 130 to cancel the cleaning of the indoor heat exchanger 102 appropriately according to the intention of the user. After the processing in step S108, the main microcomputer 130 completes the series of processing steps (FIN).

The embodiment has been described in detail in order to describe the present invention so as to easily understand it, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to the embodiment having all the configurations described above. In addition, part of the configuration of the embodiment can be added, deleted, or replaced by other configurations.

Furthermore, the mechanisms and configurations described above show what is considered necessary for the description, and are not necessarily found in an effective product.

List of reference signs [0115] S: air conditioner; 100: indoor unit; 101: housing base; 102: indoor heat exchanger; 103: blower fan; 104: horizontal air deflector;

105: vertical air deflector; 106: front panel; 107: air intake; 108: filter; 109a: purge duct; 109b: air outlet; ΠΟΑ, 110B: imaging device; 111A: optical lens; 112A: image sensor; 113A: A / L converter; 114A: digital signal processor; 116: filter pilot; 117A, 117B: visible light filter; 120: camera microcomputer; 121, 131: memory; 122: image detector; 122a: dust detector (dirt detector); 122b: human detector; 130: main microcomputer (control unit); 132: arithmetic processor; 133: piloting control unit; 134: time manager; 135: operational information manager; 150: charge pilot;

160: environment detector; 161: room temperature detector; 162: illumination detector; 190: communication network; 200: outdoor unit; Q: transceiver (input interface); 301, 302: line of analysis; 401A: dust; 401B: image wave without peak due to the adhesion of dust.

Claims (1)

[Claim 1] [Claim 2] [Claim 3] [Claim 4] claims Air conditioner (S), comprising: a cleaner which cleans an indoor heat exchanger (102); a control unit (130) which controls the cleaner; a filter cleaner which cleans a filter (108) arranged on one side of the indoor heat exchanger (102), where air is supplied; characterized in that the control unit (130), in a case where the cleaner cleans the indoor heat exchanger (102) after the end of a cooling operation, a dehumidification operation or an operation blowing air, controls the cleaner to clean the filter for a second time that elapses from the end of the cooling operation, the dehumidification operation or the air blowing operation. An air conditioner (S) according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (130), in a case where the cleaner cleans the indoor heat exchanger (102) after completion of a heating operation, controls the cleaner for clean the filter for the first time, which has elapsed since the heating operation was interrupted. An air conditioner (S) according to claim 1, further comprising: a blower fan (103) which is supplied in an indoor unit and blows air into the indoor heat exchanger (102); and an air deflector that regulates a direction of supply air from the indoor unit; wherein the control unit (130), in a case where the cleaner cleans the indoor heat exchanger (102) after the end of the cooling operation, the dehumidification operation or the operation of blowing air, controls the cleaner to clean the interior heat exchanger (102) after the second given time has elapsed; wherein the control unit (130) controls the blower (103) drive or the opening of the air deflector within the second delay. Air conditioner (S) according to claim 2, wherein the control unit (130), in a case where the cleaner cleans the indoor heat exchanger (102), after the heating operation has ended, controls the cleaner to clean [Claim 5] [Claim 6] [Claim 7] [Claim 8] [Claim 9] the indoor heat exchanger (102) after the first delay, longer than the second delay, has passed since the heating operation is interrupted, and in which the blower fan (103) is driven or the air deflector is opened in the interval of the first delay. Air conditioner (S) according to claim 1, further comprising a memory (121, 131) which stores an operating condition of the air conditioner, In which the control unit (130) controls the cleaner to clean the indoor heat exchanger (102) when a total of the hours of use since a previous cleaning stored in the memory (121, 131), the number of 'uses since the previous cleaning stored in the memory (121, 131), or a time elapsed since an installation of the air conditioner (S) stored in the memory (121, 131) reaches a given threshold value. An air conditioner (S) according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (130) sets a temperature for evaporation of a refrigerant when the cleaner cleans the indoor heat exchanger (102) to be below a temperature of evaporation of the refrigerant in the dehumidification operation. An air conditioner (S) according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (130) sets a temperature for evaporation of a refrigerant when the cleaner cleans the indoor heat exchanger (102) at a temperature below a point of freezing. An air conditioner (S) according to claim 2, further comprising an alarm device which alerts that the cleaner is cleaning the indoor heat exchanger (102) after the heating operation is interrupted until the first delay s or after the cooling operation, the dehumidification operation or the air blowing operation is interrupted until the second delay has elapsed. An air conditioner (S) according to claim 1, further comprising an input interface (Q) by which an execution instruction for cleaning the indoor heat exchanger (102) by the cleaner is input from a terminal information connected to a communication network (190) or to a remote control, characterized in that the indoor heat exchanger (102) is cleaned [Claim 10] [Claim 11] [Claim 12] [Claim 13] [Claim 14] by the cleaner immediately after the instruction to clean the indoor heat exchanger by the cleaner is entered through the input interface (Q). An air conditioner (S) according to claim 5 further comprising a volume detector which detects a volume or space of a room to be air conditioned, wherein the control unit (130) determines the threshold value of a total of hours d use since a previous cleaning by the cleaner to clean the indoor heat exchanger (102) or the threshold value of the number of uses since the previous cleaning, according to the volume or space of the room detected by the detector volume. Air conditioner (S) according to claim 10, characterized in that the volume detector detects the volume or the space of the room on the basis of a room temperature measurement reaching a reference temperature. Air conditioner (S) according to claim 10, characterized in that the volume detector detects the volume or space of the room based on image information supplied as input by an imaging device (110A, 110B) which captures images of the room. Air conditioner (S) according to claim 5 further comprising an input interface (Q) by which a volume or space of a room to be conditioned is input from an information terminal connected to a network communication (190) or a remote control, wherein the control unit (130) determines a threshold value of a total of hours of use since a previous cleaning by the cleaner to clean the indoor heat exchanger (102 ) or a threshold value of the number of uses since the previous cleaning, according to the volume or space of the room which is supplied as input using the input interface (Q). An air conditioner (S) according to claim 1, further comprising a dirt detector (122a) which detects dirt in the indoor heat exchanger (102), characterized in that the control unit (130), in one case where the dirt detector (122a) detects an amount of dirt greater than a given amount, controls the cleaner to clean the heat exchanger [Claim 15] [Claim 16] [Claim 17] indoor heat (102). An air conditioner (S) according to claim 14, wherein the dirt detector (122a) includes an imaging device (110A, 110B) which uses visible light or near infrared light as a light source; and an optical filter which cuts or attenuates light having a specific wavelength, and detects dirt in the indoor heat exchanger (102) based on image information input from the imaging device ( ΠΟΑ, 110B). Air conditioner (S) according to claim 2 combined with claim 5, wherein the threshold value of the total hours of use since the previous cleaning, the number of uses since the previous cleaning or the time since the installation of the air conditioner is set for each mode such as the heating operation, the cooling operation and the dehumidification operation. An air conditioner (S) according to claim 1, further comprising an input interface (Q) by which a start-up time for cleaning the indoor heat exchanger (102) is input from an information terminal connected to a communication network (190) or a remote control.