JP2003120983A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of switching cooling and heating in a temperature scope suitable for conditions of a room if there is a heat source in the room and maintaining a proper room temperature to keep the comfortableness. SOLUTION: A pot mode key 1h for switching cooling and heating automatically when a dish is cooked at a table in the room is provided in a remote controller A. When the pot mode key 1h is operated, a temperature sensor on a main body side measures an initial room temperature. After that, a current room temperature measured by the temperature sensor is compared with the initial room temperature, and the operation control for switching from heating operation to cooling operation when the current room temperature rises by a fixed value or more using the initial room temperature as the reference and for switching from cooling operation to heating operation when the current room temperature drops by the fixed value or more is performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to automatic switching operation control of cooling / heating operation in an air conditioner (so-called air conditioner).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an air conditioner includes a main body composed of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and a remote control device for controlling the operation of the main body (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller).
It is possible to make the indoor temperature comfortable by switching between cooling operation and heating operation by operating the remote control. When switching between cooling and heating operations of this air conditioner, in order to save the user the trouble of switching each time by operating the remote control, the automatic switching between cooling operation and heating operation is automatically performed according to the indoor temperature condition. Switching operation control has been proposed.

FIG. 6 (a) is an explanatory view showing a cooling / heating automatic switching operation control of a conventional air conditioner. Tb is the room temperature during the air conditioning operation, Th is the upper limit of the set room temperature,
Tc is the lower limit value of the set room temperature, and the upper limit value Th
The lower limit value Tc and the lower limit value Tc are reference values for cooling / heating switching determination, which are stored in advance in a memory provided in the air conditioner body. In the figure, the passage of time is shown in the right direction. When the heating operation is first started, the room temperature Tb measured by a measuring unit such as a temperature sensor provided in the air conditioner main body starts to rise. If the indoor temperature Tb continues to rise and becomes equal to or higher than the upper limit value Th, the air conditioner switches to the cooling operation. After that, the indoor temperature Tb continues to decrease, and when it becomes lower than the lower limit value Tc, the heating operation is switched to. In this way, by repeating the automatic switching between the cooling operation and the heating operation, the indoor temperature Tb becomes almost T
A temperature in a certain range is maintained between h and Tc.

FIG. 6 (b) is an explanatory diagram of the cooling / heating automatic switching operation with the number of times of operation as the horizontal axis. The set upper limit value Th and lower limit value Tc of the indoor temperature are fixed temperatures for each cooling / heating automatic switching operation. In some cases, the upper limit value Th and the lower limit value Tc of the room temperature can be changed by the setting of the user or the like. Regarding the automatic switching operation control of the air conditioner as described above, JP-A-2-183756, JP-A-4-203733, and JP-B-2-299.
The contents are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 43.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional automatic switching operation control of the air conditioner, when there is a heat source other than the air conditioner in the room during the heating operation of the air conditioner, for example, a pot in the room. When cooking, the heat generated from the pan promotes an increase in room temperature. And
The user may feel heat before the indoor temperature becomes equal to or higher than the upper limit value of the set temperature and the operation mode is switched to the cooling operation. This is because, even if the indoor temperature that has actually risen is the same, if the heat source other than the air conditioner is present in the room, the sensible temperature felt by the user will be higher than if there is no heat source other than the air conditioner in the room. Because it is expensive. The sensible temperature as used herein refers to a numerical indication of the degree of cold and warm that the human body feels. In such a case, since the upper limit value Th of the indoor temperature is conventionally set as a fixed temperature, it cannot be said that it is optimal as the reference value for the switching determination from the heating operation to the cooling operation.
There is a problem that the comfort of the user in the room is impaired.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to perform cooling / heating switching within a temperature range suitable for the conditions of the room when there is a heat source in the room. An object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioner capable of maintaining an appropriate room temperature and maintaining comfort.

[0007]

In an air conditioner according to the present invention, a temperature sensor for measuring an indoor temperature, a memory for storing an initial indoor temperature measured by the temperature sensor, and a current indoor temperature with respect to the initial indoor temperature. And a control unit for automatically switching between the cooling operation and the heating operation based on the comparison result by comparing the fluctuation value with a predetermined reference value.

The temperature sensor measures the initial room temperature after the start of operation, and the measured value is stored in the memory. Then, the temperature sensor measures the current indoor temperature during operation, and the controller calculates a variation value with respect to the initial indoor temperature and compares it with a predetermined reference value. As this reference value,
For example, there are an ascending reference value and a descending reference value that are preset in the memory. As a result of comparison with these reference values, if the variation value of the current indoor temperature from the initial indoor temperature during heating operation is larger than the rising reference value, switch to cooling operation, and change from the initial indoor temperature of the current indoor temperature during cooling operation. If the fluctuation value of is larger than the falling reference value, switching to heating operation is performed.

In this way, by repeating the automatic switching between the cooling operation and the heating operation with the initial room temperature as a reference, the room temperature during operation can be maintained within an appropriate range even when there is a heat source in the room. It is possible to maintain comfort.

In the air conditioner according to the present invention, the remote control is provided with the automatic heating / cooling switching operation key for automatically switching between the cooling operation and the heating operation. By doing this, you can operate the cooling / heating automatic switching operation key,
The temperature sensor measures the initial indoor temperature and the current indoor temperature, and the switching between the cooling / heating operation and the heating operation is automatically performed based on these values and the reference value, so that the operation is extremely simple.

In the air conditioner according to the present invention, a pan mode key for automatically switching between heating and cooling when cooking a pan in a room and a pan mode command to be transmitted to the main body when the pan mode key is operated. The remote control unit is installed.
Further, a receiving unit for receiving the pan mode command, a temperature sensor for measuring the indoor temperature, a memory for storing the initial indoor temperature measured by the temperature sensor and a reference value of an arbitrarily settable temperature difference, and the initial indoor room The main body is provided with a control unit that automatically selects cooling operation or heating operation based on the temperature, the reference value, and the current indoor temperature measured by the temperature sensor.

When the pan mode key of the remote control is operated and the pan mode command transmitted from the remote control is received by the receiver of the main body, the automatic heating / cooling switching operation in the pan mode is started, and the initial room temperature and current The temperature difference of the indoor temperature of is calculated, the temperature difference is compared with the reference value, and the cooling operation and the heating operation are automatically switched based on the comparison result.

As described above, by automatically switching between the cooling operation and the heating operation based on the initial room temperature, when the pot is used indoors, the room temperature can be maintained within an appropriate range, and it can be hot. You can enjoy hot pot dishes under comfortable conditions without being cold. Further, when the reference value of the temperature difference is set during operation, the reference value is set with reference to the temperature of the room where the pan is used, which is advantageous in that it is easy to estimate the optimum reference value.

[0014]

1 is an electric block diagram of an air conditioner according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, an air conditioner 1
00 includes three units, a remote controller A, an indoor unit B, and an outdoor unit C, and the indoor unit B and the outdoor unit C form the main body of the air conditioner. The remote controller A controls the operation of the main body, and wirelessly transmits signals and data to the indoor unit B by infrared rays or the like. Details of the remote controller A will be described later.

In the indoor unit B, 10 is a receiving unit for receiving a signal from the remote controller A, 11 is a control unit including a CPU, 12 is an indoor fan rotated by a motor (not shown), and 13 is a room temperature detector. A temperature sensor, 14 is a humidity sensor for detecting indoor humidity, and 15 is a ROM or RA.
A memory as a storage unit including M and the like, and a display unit 16 such as an LCD for displaying various information.

In the outdoor unit C, 21 is a control unit composed of a CPU, 22 is an outdoor fan rotated by a motor (not shown), 23 is a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outside air,
Reference numeral 24 is a humidity sensor that detects the humidity of the outside air, and 25 is a compressor that compresses the refrigerant.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of the remote controller A. 1 is a key input section in which various operation keys are arranged, 2
Is a display unit such as an LCD for displaying the contents input by the key input unit 1, and 5 is a transmission unit including an infrared light emitting diode and the like. In the key input unit 1, 1a is a run / stop key that switches between running and stopping, and 1b is a cooling / heating operation /
This is an operation mode key for selecting an operation mode such as dehumidification operation. 1c is a room temperature up key which is operated when raising the room temperature, 1d is a room temperature down key which is operated when lowering the room temperature, 1e is an air volume key for adjusting the air volume (strong wind, weak wind, breeze, etc.), 1f is the wind direction It is a wind direction key for adjusting. 1g is a timer setting key for setting the timer operation. Reference numeral 1h is a pan mode key which is a feature of the present invention, and is a key for performing a cooling / heating automatic switching operation according to the temperature in the room when the pan is used indoors. The pan mode key 1h constitutes the cooling / heating automatic switching operation key in the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an electric block diagram of the remote controller A. Reference numeral 1 is a key input unit, 2 is a display unit, and 5 is a transmission unit, which are the same as those shown in FIG.
3 is a memory as a storage unit including a ROM and a RAM,
Reference numeral 4 is a control unit including a CPU, and 6 is a power supply unit that supplies power to each unit.

Next, the air conditioner 10 having the above structure
The operation of 0 will be described by taking the case of using a pot indoors in the winter as an example. Before cooking the pot in the room, in the key input unit 1 of the remote controller A, the heating mode data is selected by the operation mode key 1b and the operation / stop key 1a is pressed. Is transmitted to the receiving unit 10. The heating operation data received by the receiving unit 10 is taken into the memory 15, and the control unit 11 performs operation control according to the heating operation data. That is, the control unit 11 sends a heating operation control signal to the control unit 21 of the outdoor unit C, and the outdoor fan 2
2 and the compressor 25 are driven, and the indoor fan 12 of the indoor unit B is driven to perform the heating operation.

After that, when the pot is used indoors, the heat of the pot is added to the heating operation to raise the room temperature. Since the heating / cooling automatic switching operation is performed in the pan mode, when the pan mode key 1h is pressed in the key input unit 1 of the remote controller A, the control unit 4 determines that the pan mode key 1h has been operated, and the pan mode command is issued. Is transmitted to the indoor unit B through the transmitter 5.
In the indoor unit B, the receiving unit 10 receives this command, and the control unit 11 starts the cooling / heating automatic switching operation in the pan mode. First, the control unit 11 sends a control signal to the temperature sensor 13, causes the initial indoor temperature Ta after the start of operation to be measured, and causes the memory 15 to store the measured initial indoor temperature Ta.

After that, the temperature sensor 13 measures the current indoor temperature T during the heating operation, and the controller 11 determines whether or not the current indoor temperature T has risen above the initial indoor temperature Ta by a certain temperature or more. Constant temperature value ΔTh at this time
Is previously stored in the memory 15 as an increase reference value. The value of ΔTh may be fixed,
You may make it changeable by a setting. Room temperature T
When the temperature rises above the initial indoor temperature Ta by ΔTh or more, the control unit 11 performs operation control according to the cooling operation data in the memory 15 to switch from the heating operation to the cooling operation. That is, the control unit 11 sends a cooling operation control signal to the control unit 21 of the outdoor unit C to drive the outdoor fan 22 and the compressor 25, and also drives the indoor fan 12 of the indoor unit B to perform the cooling operation. As a result, the room temperature gradually decreases, and a pleasant cool sensation can be obtained for those who are in a room that has become too hot due to the heating and the pan.

After switching to the cooling operation, the temperature sensor 13 measures the current indoor temperature T during the cooling operation, and the controller 11
Thus, it is determined whether or not the current room temperature T has dropped below a certain temperature. The constant temperature value at this time is stored in advance in the memory 15 as the falling reference value ΔTc.
Further, the value of the falling reference value ΔTc may be fixed or may be changed by setting, like the above-described rising reference value ΔTh. Further, in determining the temperature decrease, the temperature decrease from the initial indoor temperature Ta may be determined, or the temperature decrease from the time of switching to the cooling operation may be determined. In the latter case, since the temperature at the time of switching from the heating operation to the cooling operation is determined by the initial indoor temperature Ta and the reference value for increase ΔTh, the temperature decrease is determined based on the initial indoor temperature Ta.

When the indoor temperature T drops by ΔTc or more after the cooling operation continues, the control section 11 sends a heating operation control signal to the control section 21 of the outdoor unit C to drive the outdoor fan 22 and the compressor 25, and to Indoor fan 1 of B
2 is driven to switch the operation from the cooling operation to the heating operation. As a result, the room temperature gradually rises, and it is possible to prevent the hot pot from being cooled and the pan dish being cooled. After that, the temperature sensor 13 measures the current indoor temperature T during the heating operation, and thereafter, the above-described operation is repeated to automatically switch between the heating operation and the cooling operation. As a result, the indoor temperature can be maintained within a certain temperature difference range, and the hot pot dish can be enjoyed under comfortable conditions that are neither hot nor cold.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the cooling / heating automatic switching operation described above. The control unit 1 of the indoor unit B is shown in FIG.
1 represents a procedure to be executed. The air conditioner 100 is
It is assumed that the heating operation is in progress. First, it is determined whether or not the pan mode key 1h of the remote controller A has been pressed (step S1), and if the pan mode key 1h is pressed (step S1; YES), then the temperature sensor 13 causes the initial room temperature to rise. Is measured (step S2), and the measured value Ta is stored in the memory 15 (step S3). Then, the temperature sensor 1
The current indoor temperature T is measured according to 3 (step S4).
The control unit 11 calculates the temperature difference ΔT between the measured current indoor temperature T and the initial indoor temperature Ta and compares this with the rising reference value ΔTh set in the memory 15 (step S).
5). As a result of the comparison, if the temperature difference ΔT is equal to or higher than the increase reference value ΔTh (step S5; YES), the control unit 11 performs the operation control for switching to the cooling operation according to the cooling operation data in the memory 15 (step S6). On the other hand, if the temperature difference ΔT is less than the rising temperature difference ΔTh (step S5; NO), the heating operation is continued (step S10), and the current indoor temperature T is measured again (step S4).

Next, after switching to the cooling operation, the temperature sensor 13 measures the present indoor temperature T during the cooling operation.
(Step S7). The control unit 11 calculates the temperature difference ΔT between the measured current indoor temperature T and the initial indoor temperature Ta, and compares this with the falling reference value ΔTc set in the memory 15 (step S8). As a result of the comparison, if the temperature difference ΔT is equal to or higher than the falling reference value ΔTc (step S8; YES), the control unit 11 performs operation control for switching to heating operation according to the heating operation data in the memory 15 (step S9), and step S4. Then, the above operation is repeated. On the other hand, if the temperature difference ΔT is less than the falling temperature difference ΔTc (step S8;
NO), the cooling operation is continued (step S11), and the current indoor temperature T is measured again (step S7).

By performing the operation control as described above, the room temperature T becomes the initial room temperature T as shown in FIG. 5 (a).
Controlled in the range of Ta−ΔTc to Ta + ΔTh with a as the reference, and the temperature within this range is maintained.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, even if the temperature condition of the room in which the air conditioner 100 is operated is changed every time, since the heating / cooling is constantly switched based on the initial room temperature Ta, the temperature of the room at that time is changed. It is possible to perform comfortable cooling / heating operation according to the temperature condition of the room without extremely deviating temperature control.

In the embodiment described above, the temperature difference between the current indoor temperature T and the initial indoor temperature Ta is calculated and compared with the reference values ΔTh and ΔTc of the temperature difference, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the rate of change of the current room temperature with respect to the initial room temperature may be obtained and compared with a reference value of the rate of change.

Further, in the above embodiment, the rising reference value ΔT
The memory 1 is set in advance as h and the falling reference value ΔTc.
Although the set values stored in FIG. 5 are used, these reference values may be arbitrarily set by the user using the remote controller A each time the vehicle is driven. In this case, the set value is remote control A
From the indoor unit B to be stored in the memory 15.

In the above embodiment, the operation mode key 1b is operated to start the heating operation, and then the pan mode key 1h is operated to perform the pan mode operation. However, the pan mode key 1h is operated. By doing so, the heating operation may be started, and then the pan mode may be automatically switched to.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, an example in which the pan mode key 1h is provided independently is shown, but the pan mode key 1h may also be used as another operation key. For example, a pan mode can be provided in the modes selected by the operation mode key 1b, and the operation mode key 1b can also serve as the pan mode key. In this way, it is not necessary to add a new key to the key input unit 1, and the existing remote controller can be used as it is and only the software needs to be changed.

In the present invention, the pan mode key 1h is
It is not always necessary to provide the display of "pot mode" as shown in FIG. 2, and it may be a display such as "operation for pot". In short, in the present invention, any key having a function of causing the air conditioner to perform the cooling / heating automatic switching operation when the pan is used indoors corresponds to the pan mode key regardless of the key name.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where pot cooking is performed indoors is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this case, so that a hot plate, a stove or the like may be used.
It can be applied when there is a heat source other than the air conditioner in the room.

[0033]

According to the air conditioner of the present invention, when there is a heat source other than the air conditioner in the room such as when cooking a hot pot, the cooling operation and the heating operation are automatically switched based on the initial room temperature. As a result, it is possible to switch between heating and cooling in a temperature range that matches the conditions of the room, and it is possible to maintain comfort without the user feeling the heat or cold.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an electric block diagram of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of a remote controller.

FIG. 3 is an electrical block diagram of a remote controller.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of an automatic cooling / heating switching operation.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating control of room temperature in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a cooling / heating automatic switching operation control of a conventional air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Key input section 1h pan mode key 2 Display 3 memory 4 control unit 5 transmitter 10 Receiver 11 Control unit 15 memory 100 air conditioner A remote control B indoor unit C outdoor unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main body of an air conditioner including an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, and a remote controller for controlling the operation of the main unit, and automatically switches between cooling operation and heating operation in accordance with the indoor temperature. In the air conditioner, the remote control includes a pan mode key for automatically switching between heating and cooling when cooking a pan indoors, and a transmitter that transmits a pan mode command to the main body when the pan mode key is operated. The main body has a receiving unit that receives the pan mode command, a temperature sensor that measures an indoor temperature, an initial indoor temperature measured by the temperature sensor, and a reference value of an arbitrarily settable temperature difference. A control unit that automatically selects a cooling operation or a heating operation based on the stored memory and the initial room temperature, the reference value, and the current room temperature measured by the temperature sensor; In the heating / cooling automatic switching operation in the pan mode, the section calculates a temperature difference between the initial indoor temperature and the current indoor temperature, compares the temperature difference with the reference value, and based on the comparison result, the cooling operation is performed. An air conditioner characterized by automatically switching between heating operations. 2. An air conditioner that automatically switches between a cooling operation and a heating operation according to the indoor temperature, and a temperature sensor for measuring the indoor temperature, and a memory for storing the initial indoor temperature measured by the temperature sensor. A control unit that automatically calculates a variation value of the current indoor temperature with respect to the initial indoor temperature, compares the variation value with a predetermined reference value, and automatically switches between cooling operation and heating operation based on the comparison result. An air conditioner characterized by being equipped with. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, further comprising a main body composed of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, and a remote controller for controlling the operation of the main body, wherein the remote controller switches between cooling operation and heating operation. An air conditioner characterized by being provided with an automatic heating / cooling switching operation key for automatically performing the operation.