JP2001201136A - Control method for air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control method for air conditioner in which comfortableness can be enhanced by performing cooling operation in 'good night timer' mode when the operation rate of a compressor in 'good night timer' mode is equal to or higher than a specified value otherwise performing dehumidification by switching the operation mode to 'dry operation'. SOLUTION: In an air conditioner having a 'good night timer' mode where the set temperature of cooling operation is increased stepwise by a specified value every predetermined time and the final temperature is sustained up to the end time of operation, and a 'dry operation' mode for lowering the humidity, cooling operation is performed in 'good night timer' mode when the operation rate of a compressor in 'good night timer' mode is equal to or higher than a specified value otherwise the operation mode is switched to 'dry operation'.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control method for an air conditioner, and more particularly to a control method for performing a cooling operation by selecting a "sleep timer".

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air conditioner is provided with a "sleep timer" for preventing excessive cooling at bedtime and a "dry operation" for reducing indoor humidity.
These operation modes can be selected and set on the remote controller side. By the way, as shown in FIG. 4, the “good night timer” is a control operation in which the set temperature during the cooling operation is increased stepwise by a predetermined value every predetermined time and then the final temperature is maintained until the operation end time. Therefore, for example, when the room temperature at the time of normal cooling operation such as that shown between t0 and t1 at bedtime is set and the “sleep timer” is set at the time of t1, the set temperature is changed every 30 minutes. 0.5 ° C at a time, a total time of 2 ° C t4
Therefore, the temperature is maintained, and it is possible to prevent excessive cooling at bedtime. If the operation time (operation stop time) is set, the operation stops at that time,
The setting for the "Good night timer" has also been eliminated.

However, in the cooling operation using the above-mentioned "night timer", the set temperature is increased in the same operation mode regardless of whether the set temperature is high or low. Since the operation time of the compressor is shortened and the operation rate of the compressor is reduced, the dehumidifying ability is also reduced, and a problem occurs that the comfort is impaired.

[0004]

In the present invention, in view of the above problems, when the operation rate of the compressor operated by the "sleep timer" is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the cooling operation by the "sleep timer" is performed. An object of the present invention is to provide a control method of an air conditioner capable of switching the operation mode to the “dry operation” when the pressure is equal to or less than a predetermined value and performing dehumidification and improving comfort.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the temperature of a cooling operation is gradually increased by a predetermined value every predetermined time, and then the final temperature is set. "Good night timer" that keeps the time until the driving end time
And, in the air conditioner provided with `` dry operation '' to reduce the humidity, when the operating rate of the compressor operated by the `` good night timer '' is a predetermined value or more, perform the cooling operation by `` good night timer '' When the pressure is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the operation mode is switched to the "dry operation".

[0006]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 schematically shows a control system of an air conditioner, 1 is an indoor unit control unit, 2 is an outdoor unit control unit, both of which are equipped with a microcomputer. The outdoor unit control unit 2 controls the compressor 4 and other operations via the drive circuit 3 based on an operation command signal (serial signal) from the indoor unit control unit 1.

The indoor unit control unit 1 operates the air conditioner in accordance with an instruction from a remote controller (not shown) (operation / stop, cooling, heating, dry, ventilation, air volume, room temperature setting, timer setting, timer setting, good nights). Timer, etc.)
It controls the indoor unit, outputs an operation command signal to the outdoor unit control unit 2, and receives information (monitor signal) on the outdoor unit side transmitted from the outdoor unit control unit 2 to the indoor unit control unit 1. Used for operation control.

The indoor unit has an infrared light receiving section (not shown) for receiving a remote control signal, an indoor temperature sensor 6 for detecting room temperature, a humidity sensor 7 for detecting humidity, and an indoor blower 8. The outdoor unit has an outdoor temperature sensor 9 for detecting an outdoor temperature, an outdoor blower 10
The remote control has a plurality of switches (not shown) such as a switch for setting a “sleep timer”.

FIG. 2 shows how the set temperature is changed by the "good night timer". For example, when the set temperature in a normal cooling operation is a value shown between t0 and t1, the time t1 is set. Assuming that the “good night timer” is set at this point, the set temperature is set to 0.5 every 30 minutes.
The temperature is kept at a time point t4 when the temperature rises by 2 ° C. in total. Therefore, if the "good night timer" is set when the initial set temperature is high, the upper limit of the cooling operation may be exceeded, so that the operation time (operating rate) of the compressor 4 decreases, and the dehumidifying ability decreases. Humidity increases and comfort decreases.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the operating rate of the compressor 4 operated by the "sleep timer" is equal to or more than a predetermined value (for example, 50% or more), the "sleep timer" is set.
And the dehumidifying operation by the "dry operation" when the pressure is equal to or less than the predetermined value. For example, the compressor 4 calculated at the time when one hour and 30 minutes have elapsed from the setting of the "good night timer". Is less than or equal to a predetermined value (for example, the operation rate at T time in FIG. 2 is 50% or less), the operation is switched to the dry operation from that point. When the operation is switched to the dry operation, the room becomes more comfortable because the humidity decreases as shown by the broken line.

FIG. 3 shows a "sleep timer" during the cooling operation.
In the flowchart showing a control operation example in the case of performing the setting, when the "good night timer" is set in step ST1, the measurement of the time by the timer is started in the next step ST2, and the operation time of the compressor is reduced. Integration is started. It is determined whether or not the compressor has stopped in step ST3. If the compressor has stopped, the operation rate of the compressor is calculated in step ST4. In step ST5, it is determined whether or not the operation rate of the compressor is equal to or more than a predetermined value. If the operation rate is equal to or more than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step ST6, and the cooling operation by the "good night timer" is continued.

If it is determined that the operation rate of the compressor is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step ST7, where the operation is switched to dehumidification by "dry operation". In step ST8, it is determined whether or not the time of the “good night timer” has reached the end (end time). If not, the accumulation / calculation is cleared in step ST9, and steps ST2 to ST9 are performed until the time is up. The work is repeated, and when the time is up, the process proceeds to step ST10, and the "sleep timer" is stopped.

With the above configuration, if the operation rate of the compressor is reduced to a predetermined value or less while the cooling operation is being performed by the "good night timer", the operation is switched to the dehumidifying operation by the "dry operation", so that the room is cooled too much. It is a method of controlling an air conditioner in which dehumidification is performed and comfort is maintained.

[0014]

As described above, if the air conditioner has the control function as described above, if the operation rate of the compressor becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value during the cooling operation by the "sleep timer", the "dry operation" , The dehumidification operation is switched to the dehumidification operation, so that the dehumidification is performed without excessively cooling the room, and the comfort is maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a control system of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a “good night timer” according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a control flowchart showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a “good night timer” according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit control part 2 Outdoor unit control part 3 Drive circuit 4 Compressor 6 Temperature sensor 7 Humidity sensor 8 Indoor blower 9 Temperature sensor 10 Outdoor blower

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sleep timer for increasing a set temperature during a cooling operation stepwise by a predetermined value at predetermined time intervals and then maintaining the final temperature until the operation end time, and a dry operation for reducing humidity. In the air conditioner comprising: when the operating rate of the compressor operated by the "night timer" is a predetermined value or more, performs the cooling operation by the "night timer", when less than the predetermined value, the operation mode Is switched to the "dry operation".