JP2001330293A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To contrive not to forget energizing of a crankcase heater for an air conditioner and to save a charge for electric power. SOLUTION: The immediate operation of the air conditioner, the prevention of forgetting energizing and the energy saving are permitted by a method wherein a solar battery 11 is employed for the power supply of the crankcase heater 5, and a circuit different from a main operating circuit is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, several control methods have been devised for simplifying or saving labor and handling of an air conditioner.

Conventionally, an air conditioner has been disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-1856.
No. 2 is disclosed. Hereinafter, the conventional air conditioner will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 9 is a control circuit diagram of a conventional crankcase heater of an air conditioner. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 1 denotes a compressor. Reference numeral 2 denotes a compressor operation relay, which is a normally open contact 3 that is turned on to operate the compressor when energized,
And N normally closed contacts 4. 5 is a crankcase heater wound around the compressor, 6 is a compressor control device for controlling the operation of the compressor, and 7 is a hand switch.

As shown in FIG. 9, the compressor 1, the normally open contact 3, the compressor operation relay 2, the compressor control device 6, the normally closed contact 4, and the crankcase heater 5 are connected in series, respectively.

[0006] The operation of the crankcase heater control device for an air conditioner configured as described above will be described below.

In general, when the air conditioner is stopped for a long time and then restarted, the hand switch 7 is first turned on, and before the compressor 1 is started, the compressor operation relay is operated without a signal from the compressor control device 6. When 2 turns OFF (compressor 1 stops), the normally closed contact 4 closes, the crankcase heater 5 connected in series is energized, and the compressor 1 is preheated.

Next, a signal is input from the compressor control unit 6, the compressor operation relay 2 is turned on, the normally open contact 3 is closed, the compressor 1 is operated, and the normally closed contact 4 is opened. 5 is de-energized. When the compressor 1 stops, the crankcase heater 5 is energized.

[0009]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional construction, it is necessary to supply electric power to the crankcase heater 5 using a commercial power supply and turn on the hand switch 7 several hours before the start of the compressor 1. If the user wants to operate the air conditioner immediately, he has to wait for several hours, and he forgets to turn on the hand switch 7 in advance.
If the compressor 1 is operated without preheating, there is a problem that an oil rising phenomenon due to oil forming occurs and causes an abnormality in the system. In addition, there is a disadvantage that preheating power, which is not directly related to the operation of the air conditioner, is consumed though it is small.

The present invention solves the conventional problems,
The purpose is to operate the air conditioner immediately without waiting for the user, to prevent forgetting to energize the crankcase heater, and to save energy on electricity.

In addition, the above-described conventional configuration has a drawback that power cannot be supplied during a power failure because the power supply of the crankcase heater 5 is a commercial power supply.

Another object of the present invention is to supply power to the crankcase heater even during a power failure.

Further, the above-described conventional configuration has a disadvantage that electric power cannot be stored only by supplying electric power to the crankcase heater 5.

Another object of the present invention is to store surplus electric power and to make effective use thereof.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention uses a solar cell as a power supply to a crankcase heater of an air conditioner.

[0016] Thus, the air conditioner can be operated immediately without waiting for the user, and it is possible to prevent the power supply to the crankcase heater from being forgotten and to save energy.

Further, the present invention uses a storage battery as power supply to a crankcase heater of an air conditioner.

Thus, power can be supplied to the crankcase heater even during a power failure.

Further, the present invention has charging means for charging the storage battery with surplus power of the air conditioner.

As a result, surplus power can be stored and used effectively.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to a solar battery provided on a surface of an outdoor unit which is exposed to sun light, and an opening / closing unit which opens when the compressor operates and closes when the compressor stops. A switch and a crankcase heater that heats the compressor are connected in a ring to form a closed circuit, and there is no hand switch for the separate circuit from the commercial power supply, and the operation is not required on the user side, In addition, since the power is supplied in advance, the air conditioner can be operated immediately without forgetting to energize, and the electricity bill has the effect of saving energy.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first aspect, a storage battery connected in parallel with a solar cell via a changeover switch and an output power of the solar cell are detected. Output power detection means, and when the output power detected by the output power detection means has reached a predetermined power, the changeover switch is switched so that power is supplied from the solar cell to the crankcase heater, and the output power is When the output power detected by the detection means has not reached the predetermined power, the power supply switching control means for switching the changeover switch so that power is supplied from the storage battery to the crankcase heater is provided. The storage battery supplies power when a power failure occurs or when the solar cell does not reach the predetermined power.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, when the output power detected by the output power detection means when the open / close switch is closed exceeds a predetermined power. When the open / close switch is open,
It is provided with charging means for charging the storage battery with the surplus power of the solar cell, and thus has the effect of storing the surplus power and using it effectively.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same components as those in the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are control circuit diagrams of a crankcase heater of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows a commercial AC power supply circuit, and FIG. 2 shows a DC power supply circuit. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a compressor. 2 is a compressor operation relay. Reference numeral 3 denotes a normally open contact that is turned on to operate the compressor 1 when energized. Reference numeral 5 denotes a crankcase heater wound around the compressor. Reference numeral 6 denotes a compressor control device for controlling the operation of the compressor 1, which is connected in series with the compressor operation relay 2. Reference numeral 7 denotes a hand switch. Reference numeral 8 denotes an open / close switch that opens and closes when the compressor 1 is operating, and is a normally closed contact that is turned on when power is not supplied.
It is connected in series with the crankcase heater 5. 9
Is an outdoor unit, and 10 is sunlight. Sunshine 10
A solar cell 11 is provided on the surface of the outdoor unit 9 that is hit by the solar cell 11. The crankcase heater 5, the open / close switch 8 and the solar cell 11 are connected in a ring to form a closed circuit.

The open / close switch 8 shown in FIG. 2 is preferably a normally closed contact associated with the compressor operation relay 2 and capable of using DC.

The operation of the crankcase heater control circuit of the air conditioner configured as described above will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, step S1 shows a state in which the control circuit shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is configured. In step S2, it is determined whether the compressor operating relay 2 is energized and the compressor 1 is operating.

At this time, when the compressor 1 is operating, the open / close switch 8 is opened and the power is not supplied to the crankcase heater 5.

On the other hand, when the compressor 1 is not operating (including the operation of the hand switch 7), the compressor operating relay 2 is de-energized and the open / close switch 8 is closed. The generated electric power is supplied to the crankcase heater 5 and energized.

Therefore, the power supply to the crankcase heater 5 is provided by the solar power supply 11 in a circuit separate from the commercial power supply circuit, and the air conditioner can be operated immediately because the on-off operation of the hand switch 7 is not required in advance. Since the solar cell 11 is used to convert the electric power into electric energy, energy saving of the electric bill can be realized.

As described above, the air conditioner according to the present embodiment includes the solar cell 11 provided on the surface of the outdoor unit 9 which is exposed to the sun light 10 and the solar cell 11 which is opened when the compressor 1 is operated and when the compressor 1 is stopped. A closed circuit is formed by annularly connecting a close open / close switch 8 and a crankcase heater 5 for heating the compressor. The closed circuit is independent of a commercial power supply circuit. The air conditioner can be operated immediately because the solar cell 11 is used.
Electricity can be saved.

(Embodiment 2) FIGS. 4 and 5 are control circuit diagrams of a crankcase heater of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows a commercial AC power supply circuit, and FIG. 5 shows a DC power supply circuit. 4 and 5, reference numeral 12 denotes a changeover switch, and reference numeral 13 denotes a storage battery. The changeover switch 12 connects the solar battery 11 and the storage battery 13 in parallel. Output power detection means 14 for detecting output power of solar cell 11
Is provided between the switch and the changeover switch 12. A power switch control means 15 receives the power detected by the output detection means 14 and switches the switch 1 at a predetermined power of the crankcase heater 5.
2 is provided for switching.

The operation of the crankcase heater control circuit of the air conditioner configured as described above will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, at step S4, the state in which the control circuits of FIGS. 4 and 5 are configured is shown. At step S5, it is determined whether the compressor operating relay 2 is energized and the compressor 1 is operating.

At this time, when the compressor 1 is operating, the open / close switch 8 is opened and the power is not supplied to the crankcase heater 5.

On the other hand, when the compressor 1 is not operating (including when the hand switch 7 is turned off), the compressor operating relay 2 is de-energized and the open / close switch 8 is closed. Detects the output of the solar battery 11, and in step S7, the power supply switching control means 15 determines whether the detected power has reached the predetermined power of the crankcase heater 5. Side, and if not reached, the changeover switch 12 is switched to the storage battery 13 side to supply the power to the crankcase heater 5 to energize it.

Therefore, the solar cell 11 is used as a power supply.
Or, by using the two systems of the storage battery 13, even if the output power of the solar battery 11 becomes lower than a predetermined value due to weather such as nighttime or cloudy weather, power supply to the crankcase heater 5 is realized. it can.

As described above, the air conditioner of the present embodiment includes the storage battery 13 connected in parallel with the solar cell 11 via the changeover switch 12 and the output power detecting means 14 for detecting the output power of the solar cell 11. When the output power detected by the output power detection means 14 has reached the predetermined power, the switch 12 is switched so that power is supplied from the solar cell 11 to the crankcase heater, and the output detected by the output power detection means 14 is output. When the power does not reach the predetermined power, the storage battery 1
Power supply switching control means 1 for switching a changeover switch 12 so that electric power is supplied to crankcase heater 5 from
Since the power supply 5 is provided, the storage battery 13 can supply power when a commercial power supply fails or when the solar battery 11 does not reach the predetermined power.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 7 is a control circuit diagram of a crankcase heater of an air conditioner according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the embodiment.

In FIG. 7, the solar cell 11 and the storage battery 13
Is provided before the circuit connected in parallel via the changeover switch 12, and the charging means 16 is connected thereto. The charging means 16 is connected to receive signals from the compressor operation relay 2 and the output power detecting means 14.

The operation of the crankcase heater control circuit of the air conditioner configured as described above will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, at step S8, a state in which the control circuit of FIG. 7 is configured is shown. At step S9, it is determined whether the compressor operating relay 2 is energized and the compressor 1 is operating. At this time, when the compressor 1 is operating, the open / close switch 8 is opened, and the crankcase heater 5 is not energized.

Further, in step S10, the charging means 16 receives the signal of the compressor operating relay 2 and charges the output power of the solar cell 11 to the storage battery 13 via the bypass circuit.

On the other hand, when the compressor 1 is not operating (including when the hand switch 7 is off), the compressor operating relay 2 is de-energized and the open / close switch 8 is closed. Detects the output of the solar cell 11, and if this is V1 and the predetermined power of the crankcase heater 5 is V0, the power supply switching control means 15 determines whether or not the relationship of V1> V0 holds.

If this is the case, the charging means 16 receives the signal from the output power detecting means 14 in step S12, and V1-
The surplus power of V0 (referred to as V2) is charged in the storage battery 13. In step S13, the changeover switch 12 switches to the solar cell 11 side, and supplies the output power of the solar cell 11 equal to the predetermined power V0 to the crankcase heater 5 to energize it.

On the other hand, if the relationship of V1> V0 does not hold (when V1 <V0), the changeover switch 12 is switched to the storage battery 13 in step S14 to supply the power to the crankcase heater 5 to energize it.

Accordingly, when the compressor 1 is operating or when the output power of the solar cell 11 exceeds the predetermined power of the crankcase heater 5, the charging means 16
Can be charged with surplus power.

As described above, in the air conditioner of the present embodiment, when the open / close switch 8 is closed and the output power detected by the output power detecting means 14 exceeds a predetermined power, the open / close switch 8 is opened. In this case, the charging means 16 for charging the storage battery 13 with the surplus power of the solar cell 11 is provided in the bypass circuit, so that the surplus power can be stored and the power can be used effectively.

[0052]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a solar battery provided on a surface of an outdoor unit, which is exposed to the sun light, and an open / close opening when the compressor is operated and a closing when the compressor is stopped. The switch and the crankcase heater for heating the compressor are connected in a ring to form a closed circuit, so that the air conditioner can be operated immediately without waiting for the user, and the artificial operation of the crankcase heater. It is possible to prevent forgetting to energize and to save energy on electricity bills by using sunlight as electric energy.

Further, the invention described in claim 2 is the same as that in claim 1
In addition to the invention described in the above, the storage battery connected in parallel with the solar cell via a changeover switch, output power detection means for detecting the output power of the solar cell, and the output power detected by the output power detection means When the power reaches the predetermined power, the changeover switch is switched so that power is supplied from the solar cell to the crankcase heater, and when the output power detected by the output power detection means does not reach the predetermined power, By providing a power supply switching control means for switching the changeover switch so that power is supplied from the storage battery to the crankcase heater, a power failure in a commercial power supply or an output power of the solar battery may be determined by a weather such as nighttime or cloudy weather. Even in the following cases, power can be supplied from the storage battery to the crankcase heater.

Further, the invention described in claim 3 is the first invention.
Or, in addition to the invention according to claim 2, when the output power detected by the output power detection means when the open / close switch is closed exceeds a predetermined power and when the open / close switch is open, the solar cell Charging means for charging the surplus power of the storage battery, and when the compressor is operating or the output power of the solar cell exceeds a predetermined power of the crankcase heater, the charging means stores the surplus power in the storage battery. The battery can be supplied from the charged storage battery when the output power of the solar battery becomes insufficient, and can be used effectively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a power supply circuit diagram of a compressor according to a first embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a power supply circuit diagram of a crankcase heater of the air conditioner of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control of a crankcase heater of the air conditioner of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a power supply circuit diagram of a compressor according to a second embodiment of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a power supply circuit diagram of a crankcase heater of the air conditioner of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing control of a crankcase heater of the air conditioner of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a power supply circuit diagram of a compressor and a crankcase heater according to a third embodiment of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing control of a crankcase heater of the air conditioner of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a power supply circuit diagram of a compressor and a crankcase heater of a conventional air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compressor 5 Crankcase heater 8 On / off switch 9 Outdoor unit 10 Sunlight 11 Solar cell 12 Changeover switch 13 Storage battery 14 Output power detection means 15 Power supply switching control means 16 Charging means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A solar cell provided on a surface of an outdoor unit where sunlight shines, an open / close switch that opens when the compressor operates and closes when the compressor stops, and a crankcase heater that heats the compressor. An air conditioner characterized by comprising a closed circuit by being connected in a ring. 2. A storage battery connected in parallel with a solar cell via a changeover switch, output power detection means for detecting output power of the solar cell, and output power detected by the output power detection means being a predetermined power. When the output power has reached, the changeover switch is switched so that power is supplied from the solar cell to the crankcase heater, and when the output power detected by the output power detection means does not reach the predetermined power, the power is supplied from the storage battery. The air conditioner according to claim 1, further comprising a power supply switching control unit that switches the switch so that electric power is supplied to the crankcase heater. 3. When the output power detected by the output power detection means exceeds a predetermined power when the open / close switch is closed and when the open / close switch is open, the surplus power of the solar cell is charged to the storage battery. The air conditioner according to claim 2, further comprising a charging unit that performs charging.