JP2007139239A

JP2007139239A - Air conditioner

Info

Publication number: JP2007139239A
Application number: JP2005330711A
Authority: JP
Inventors: Yasuo Imashiro; 康雄今城
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp; 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2005-11-15
Filing date: 2005-11-15
Publication date: 2007-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 2025-11-15
Also published as: JP4494327B2

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To avoid wasteful energy consumption by setting a temperature difference that does not impair comfort between a room air conditioning area that the user wants to specify, such as the front side, back side, left side, and right side, and other room air conditioning areas. To be able to air-condition quickly.
A remote controller 2 can select one or a plurality of air-conditioning areas from a plurality of air-conditioning areas AF divided into a room 3 by a plurality of air-conditioning area selection buttons 2b, and an air-conditioning control device 1d is selected. The air-conditioning area is configured to be intensively air-conditioned.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner having a function of selecting one or a plurality of air-conditioning areas with a remote controller in the same room.

Conventionally, a wide variety of air conditioners have been used in various places to obtain a more comfortable space. However, many of them are designed to control the temperature of room air. In the early days, the technology for sensing other environmental factors was difficult, including the cost, and the temperature of room air had a great influence on the user's sensation among various control targets. The air temperature was controlled. However, environmental factors that affect the sensible temperature of the user include, in addition to air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, radiation temperature, etc., and recent air conditioners are subject to environmental control. Something that has been incorporated into the control of this has also appeared.

For example, an indoor area is divided into a plurality of areas, an infrared sensor is provided corresponding to each of the divided areas, and the temperature of each area is detected from the amount of infrared radiation emitted from each area collected by the infrared sensor. Accordingly, there is one that attempts to equalize the room temperature by controlling the direction of the air flow of the air conditioner (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, for example, each infrared sensor that detects the radiation temperature of the upper space area and the lower space area of the indoor space area is provided, and the direction of the blown airflow is controlled according to the detection result of each of these infrared sensors, and the upper space area and the lower space area Some attempt to average by eliminating the radiation temperature with the space region (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-88957 JP 56-91139 A

As described above, the conventional air conditioner has been developed under the concept of simply eliminating the temperature difference between the temperature in each region of the room and making the entire room have a uniform temperature. It took time to realize, and there was a difficulty that a comfortable space could not be realized speedily.

In addition, it was impossible for a user in the room to remain stationary only in a specific area and to save energy by making only that specific area a comfortable space.

We also want to create a comfortable living space while conserving energy by creating a temperature difference that does not impair comfort between areas where indoor users stay stationary and areas where they live. I couldn't.

In addition, indoor users cannot specify air conditioning on the remote control as to whether the area that they want to make comfortable is the front side or the back side when viewed from the air conditioner. The comfortable space could not be specified in the direction.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the extent to which the user does not impair the comfort in the indoor air-conditioning area that the user wants to specify, such as the front side, the back side, the left side, and the right side, and the other indoor air-conditioning areas. The purpose of this invention is to obtain an air conditioner that is economical and easy to use with a remote control by quickly air-conditioning without consuming unnecessary energy.

The air conditioner according to the present invention is divided into a plurality of parts in the left-right direction, each having a vertical and horizontal wind direction plate that can independently control the swing angle, and an air conditioner body that air-conditions a room, and an air conditioner body An infrared sensor that is provided and divides the room into a plurality of air-conditioning areas and detects the amount of infrared rays emitted from each divided air-conditioning area, and the infrared emission of each air-conditioning area detected by the set air-conditioning area and the infrared sensor. An air conditioning control device that controls at least one of the air direction, the air temperature, or the air volume of the air conditioner body according to the amount, and a plurality of air conditioning region selection buttons corresponding to the plurality of divided air conditioning regions, A remote control capable of setting an area to be air-conditioned in the air-conditioning control device by these air-conditioning area selection buttons, and the remote controller uses one or more air-conditioning areas in the room by using a plurality of air-conditioning area selection buttons. Can be selected range, the air conditioner control apparatus is made of is configured to intensively conditioning a selected air-conditioning area.

According to the air conditioner of the present invention, the remote controller can select one or a plurality of air-conditioning areas from among the air-conditioning areas in the room by using a plurality of air-conditioning area selection buttons, and the air-conditioning control device concentrates the selected air-conditioning areas. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a comfortable, economical and easy-to-use air conditioner according to the user's preference.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on illustrated embodiments.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an indoor unit equipped with an infrared sensor of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the remote controller, and FIG. 3 is an air-conditioning region selection button of the remote controller FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the detection range of the infrared sensor when the indoor unit is installed indoors, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing another example of the remote controller, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for setting the detection range of the infrared sensor, FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a remote control display example when the air-conditioning region is selected by the remote controller in FIG. 3, and FIG. FIG.

The air conditioner of this embodiment is divided into a plurality of horizontal air blowers (not shown) that can be controlled in rotation, and a swing angle (horizontal swing angle and vertical swing angle) independently. Dynamic angle) controllable vertical and horizontal wind direction plates (hereinafter collectively referred to as wind direction plates) 1a, an air conditioner body for cooling or heating a room, that is, an indoor unit 1, and a transmitter 2a, And a remote controller 2 for remotely controlling operations of various devices of the unit 1. The indoor unit 1 includes a remote control signal receiving unit 1b that receives a signal from the remote controller 2, and an infrared ray that divides the room into a plurality of air-conditioning areas and detects the amount of infrared rays emitted from each of the divided air-conditioning areas. At least one of the wind direction, the air temperature, and the air volume is controlled based on the sensor 1c, the amount of infrared rays emitted from each air-conditioning area detected by the infrared sensor 1c, and the indoor air-conditioning area specified by the remote controller 2. An air conditioning control device 1d is mounted. The air conditioning control device 1d controls the wind direction by controlling the swing angle (horizontal swing angle and vertical swing angle) of each of the wind direction plates 1a divided into a plurality of left and right sides, and for example, a compressor in the heat pump circuit. It has the function of controlling the air temperature by controlling the air temperature and controlling the blower for circulating the indoor air.

In addition, the remote controller 2 is provided with a plurality of air-conditioning region selection buttons 2b and a remote controller display unit 2c for displaying various operation information and operation information of the indoor unit 1 as shown in FIGS.

The indoor unit 1 is installed in a room 3 that is air-conditioned, for example, as shown in FIG. The room 3 is provided with windows (or doors) 4. A, B, C, D, E, and F indicate indoor air-conditioning areas detected by the infrared sensor 1c of the indoor unit 1.

Next, operation | movement of the air conditioner of this embodiment is demonstrated using FIG. 1 thru | or FIG.
First, for example, when the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner is in a heating operation, the cooling radiation energy that is incident from the window 4 is greater than the strong cooling radiation energy from the outside air that is incident from the wall surface of the room 3, so that As a result, the air-conditioning area C or the air-conditioning area F closer to the window 4 requires heating capacity than the air-conditioning area A and air-conditioning area D. The required heating capacity of each area can be known from the difference between the infrared energy sent from each air-conditioned area in the room 3 detected by the sensor 1c provided in the indoor unit 1 and the set infrared energy.

Here, for example, if the user is living only in the air-conditioning area A, the air-conditioning areas B, C, D, E, and F that are not living in the same way as conventional air conditioners are also in the air-conditioning area. When air conditioning is performed so as to have the same temperature as A, wasteful energy is consumed and heating is performed. In the present embodiment, the user can select an area that the user wants to air-condition with the remote controller 2, and the air-conditioning control device 1d controls and selects at least one of the wind direction, the air temperature, or the air volume based on the selected air-conditioning area. Since the air-conditioning area is intensively air-conditioned, energy is not wasted.

That is, if the user wants to air-condition mainly in the area where the user is present and selects that area, for example, the air-conditioning area A with the air-conditioning area selection button 21 of the remote control 2 in FIG. 3, the remote control signal indicating the selected air-conditioning area A Is transmitted from the transmitter 2a of the remote controller 2 to the remote controller signal receiver 1b of the indoor unit 1. In response to this, the air conditioning control device 1d controls at least one of the wind direction, the air temperature, and the air volume, and blows the warm air of the indoor unit 1 toward the air conditioning region A selected by the remote controller 2. become.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air conditioning area selection button 2b of the remote control 2 is divided into two corresponding to the front area and the rear area when viewed from the indoor unit 1, for example, and further corresponds to the left and right area when viewed from the user side. For example, when the air conditioning area selection button 21 is pressed, the air conditioning area A indicating the front left in FIG. 4 is displayed, and when the air conditioning area selection button 22 is pressed, the air conditioning area D indicating the far left is displayed. When the area selection button 23 is pressed, the air conditioning area B indicating the front center is pressed. When the air conditioning area selection button 24 is pressed, the air conditioning area E indicating the back center is pressed. When the air conditioning area selection button 25 is pressed, the air conditioning area C indicating the right front is displayed. When the air-conditioning area selection button 26 is pressed, the air-conditioning area F indicating the far right can be specified. And the designated air-conditioning object area comes to be heated intensively. In this way, the air conditioning area selection button 2b of the remote controller 2 is divided in the depth direction corresponding to the near side area and the back side area when viewed from the indoor unit 1 side, and further divided in the left and right direction when viewed from the user side. By doing so, it is possible to obtain a remote control that is easy to understand visually and has good operability.

For example, when the air conditioning area selection button 21 and the air conditioning area selection button 22 are selected in combination, both the air conditioning area A and the air conditioning area D are designated as the air conditioning area. D heating operation will be performed. That is, the area to be air-conditioned can be selected singly or in a plurality, and when the area is selected, the air-conditioning control device 1d makes the swing angle (horizontal swing) of each wind direction plate 1a so that all the selected areas become comfortable. Control of the swing angle and the vertical swing angle), or control to add a swing operation to the swing angle control as necessary, and blow the warm air of the indoor unit 1 toward the air conditioning region selected by the remote controller 2 To come. For this reason, the air conditioner which is easy to operate can be realized.

When the air-conditioning area selection button 21 and the air-conditioning area selection button 26 are selected in combination, the selection is made such as staking the air-conditioning area A on the left front side and the air-conditioning area F on the right back. Also in this case, as described above, the wind direction plate 1a is divided into a plurality of parts in the left-right direction so that each can independently control the swing angle. Therefore, the wind direction plate 1a allows the warm air of the indoor unit 1 to be discharged. It is possible to blow air toward the air conditioning area A and the air conditioning area F selected by the remote controller 2.

In addition, although the indoor air-conditioning area detected by the infrared sensor 1c has been described here as an example divided into six air-conditioning areas, for example, if the air-conditioning area is further divided, for example, divided into four or eight, Fine air conditioning control is possible.

Further, for example, the indoor air-conditioning area can be divided into six as shown in FIG. 4, and the corresponding air-conditioning area selection button of the remote controller can be divided into four as shown in FIG. In this case, the indoor air-conditioning area selected by each air-conditioning area selection button 51, 52, 53, 54 of the remote controller 2A is defined in advance. For example, when the air conditioning area selection button 51 of the remote controller 2A is selected, it is defined that the air conditioning area A and the air conditioning area B are selected from the air conditioning areas shown in FIG. When selected, the left front (air-conditioning area A) and the center front (air-conditioning area B) are air-conditioned. When the air conditioning area selection buttons 51 and 52 of the remote control 2A are selected together, it is defined that four air conditioning areas A, B, D, and E are selected from the air conditioning areas. When the air-conditioning area selection buttons 51 and 52 are selected, the left front (air-conditioning area A), the left back (air-conditioning area D), the center front (air-conditioning area B), and the center back (air-conditioning area E) are air-conditioned. To do. In other words, by defining that one air-conditioning area selection button can select multiple air-conditioning areas in the room, the number of air-conditioning area selection buttons is reduced, and the user does not feel complicated and can be operated easily. An air conditioner that can select only a specific region can be provided.

Further, the number of each area in the room detected by the infrared sensor 1c may be selected according to the capacity of the air conditioner. For example, the detection area may be changed to 4 areas for a small capacity air conditioner and 6 areas or 8 areas for a large capacity air conditioner.

Moreover, you may provide the function to change the detection range of the infrared sensor 1c according to the shape and magnitude | size of a room. For example, each air conditioning area selection button of the remote controller can be registered as a dead zone, and the amount of infrared radiation detected by the infrared sensor 1c from the air conditioning area corresponding to the air conditioning area selection button registered in the dead zone is ignored. By doing so, the detection range can be widened in the case of a large room such as a wide living room as shown in FIG. 6, and conversely, the detection range can be narrowed if the room is small such as a child room. In addition, the air-conditioning area can be set.

Further, in the case of a plurality of air-conditioning areas, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, by providing all area selection buttons 27 and 55 that can select all areas at once with a single button on the remote controller, When air conditioning is desired, the troublesome operation of pressing all the region selection buttons is eliminated, and the entire region can be selected with one operation, improving the operability.

This will be described with reference to FIG. 4 taking the case of the remote controller 2 of FIG. 3 as an example. First, assume that only one person is in the air-conditioning area A during the day, and the air-conditioning area A is selected by pressing the air-conditioning area selection button 21 of the remote controller 2. After that, when there are a plurality of visitors and wants to air-condition the entire room by resetting the air-conditioning area, for example, pressing the remaining air-conditioning area selection buttons 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 one by one. But you can select the entire air conditioning area. However, such an air conditioning area setting change operation for resetting all the air conditioning areas one by one becomes more troublesome as the number of divisions of the air conditioning area increases. As in the present embodiment, by providing the all area selection button 27 that can select all areas at once with a single button on the remote controller, the operation of selecting all the air-conditioning areas becomes simple and the operability is improved. In addition, when the all region selection button 27 is pressed again under this all region selection state, it is set so as to return to the previous setting (operation mode). The selection button 21 can be pressed to return to the air-conditioning area A, or the entire area selection button 27 can be pressed again to return to the air-conditioning area A, further improving usability.

When the indoor user operates the air-conditioning area selection button 2b of the remote controller 2 and presses any one of the buttons 21 to 26, a signal from the remote controller 2 is transmitted to the remote control signal receiver 1b of the indoor unit 1 via the transmitter 2a. This transmission content is displayed on the remote control display unit 2c.

When this air conditioning area is selected, the remote control display unit 2c displays which area is the selected air conditioning area with a graphic that is the same as or similar to the shape of the air conditioning area selection button 2b. For this reason, when the user selects the air-conditioned area, the selection result is displayed in a similar graphic on the remote control display unit 2c, so that the user-selected area can be easily confirmed, and the operability is improved.

FIG. 7 shows three patterns of display examples in the case of the remote controller 2 of FIG. When the air conditioner has 6 air conditioning areas and the remote control 2 has 6 air conditioning area selection buttons (not including all area selection buttons) as in this display example, the number of air conditioning area selection buttons and air conditioning areas is the same. What is necessary is just to display the selection state of an air-conditioning area | region selection button on the remote control display part 2c as it is. In this case, since the operation and display patterns match, it is easy to understand and it is possible to provide an air conditioner that can select only a specific region with a simple operation.

FIG. 8 shows three patterns of display examples in the case of the remote control 2A shown in FIG. If the air conditioner has 6 air conditioning areas and the remote control 2A has 4 air conditioning area selection buttons (not including all area selection buttons) as in this display example, the number of air conditioning area selection buttons and the number of air conditioning areas are different. As described above, for example, when the air conditioning region selection button 51 of the remote controller 2A is selected, it is defined that the air conditioning region A and the air conditioning region B are selected from the air conditioning regions shown in FIG. For this reason, when the air-conditioning area selection button 51 is selected, the left front (air-conditioning area A) and the center front (air-conditioning area B) are displayed as shown in the pattern shown on the left side in FIG. When the air conditioning area selection buttons 51 and 52 of the remote control 2A are selected together, it is assumed that four air conditioning areas A, B, D, and E are selected as shown in the pattern in the center of FIG. The left front (air-conditioning area A), the left back (air-conditioning area D), the center front (air-conditioning area B), and the center back (air-conditioning area E) are displayed. Further, when the air conditioning area selection buttons 51 and 54 of the remote controller 2A are selected together, it is assumed that four air conditioning areas A, B, E, and F are selected, and the pattern shown on the right side in FIG. Thus, the left front (air conditioning area A), the center front (air conditioning area B), the center back (air conditioning area E), and the right back (air conditioning area F) are displayed. Thus, when four air-conditioning area selection buttons are selected, the actual air-conditioning area is displayed on the remote control display unit 2c as shown in FIG. In other words, by defining that one air-conditioning area selection button can select multiple air-conditioning areas in the room, the number of air-conditioning area selection buttons is reduced, and the selected air-conditioning area is controlled by the remote control according to the actual air-conditioning area. Since it is displayed on the display unit 2c, it is possible to provide an air conditioner that does not give a complicated feeling to the user, is easy to understand, and can select only a specific area with a simple operation.

Needless to say, when the all region selection button is pressed, the remote control display unit 2c displays the entire region air-conditioned.

Further, even if the heating operation is switched to the cooling operation and the air conditioning region selection button 2b of the remote controller is operated, the operation is almost the same as that in the heating operation described above, although there is a difference between heating and cooling.

Further, as the infrared sensor 1c for detecting the amount of infrared rays emitted from each air conditioning area in the room, it is desirable to use a multi-element type infrared sensor. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a swing mechanism having a driving unit is provided. Using the single element infrared sensor, the same function can be realized by swinging the single element infrared sensor vertically and horizontally toward each air conditioning region.

As described above, in the air conditioner of this embodiment, when the user designates an area to be air-conditioned by operating the air-conditioning area selection button of the remote controller, the designated area is air-conditioned. Combined with comfortable indoor air conditioning, an economical and easy-to-use air conditioner can be obtained. In addition, since the feedback control is performed so that the infrared ray emission amount from the air-conditioning region selected by the air-conditioning region selection button becomes the set infrared ray emission amount, the selection region can be quickly made comfortable. Furthermore, since the air conditioning is performed mainly on the selected area without air-conditioning the useless area, energy is not wasted and an economical air conditioner can be obtained.

In general, the comfortable temperature of human beings differs between the area where the indoor user is stationary and the area where the user is active, so that each area is comfortable according to the different comfortable temperature. You may enable it to set so that it may become perceived temperature. For example, in the case of the remote controller 2 of FIG. 3, if the comfortable temperature for each of the air conditioning area selection buttons 21 to 26 is registered and all the air conditioning area selection buttons are pressed, first, the entire room, that is, Heating is performed by airflow or the like toward all air-conditioning areas from air-conditioning area A to air-conditioning area F, but when it warms up to some extent, it is the most detected actually based on the difference in height of the registered comfortable temperature When an air-conditioning area having a temperature lower than a certain value is detected from a high-temperature air-conditioning area, the air-conditioning may be concentrated on the detected area (single or plural areas). . It should be noted that such control based on the height difference of the sensible temperature (set temperature registered for each air-conditioning area by the user) is performed when at least two or more air-conditioning areas are selected. It is preferable. In this way, an air conditioner that makes the room comfortable according to the user's request is obtained, and the temperature difference between the floors in each region is reduced, so that an uncomfortable cold draft caused by the floor temperature difference is reduced. An air conditioner that air-conditions while suppressing can be obtained.

It is a front view which shows the indoor unit carrying the infrared sensor of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows schematic structure of the remote control of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the detail of the air-conditioning area | region selection button of the remote control of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the detection range of an infrared sensor when the indoor unit of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is installed indoors. It is a top view which shows the other example of the remote control of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the setting method of the detection range of the infrared sensor of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of remote control display at the time of the air-conditioning area selection by the remote control of FIG. 3 of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of remote control display at the time of air-conditioning area selection by the remote control of FIG. 5 of the air conditioner which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit (air conditioner main body), 1a Vertical / horizontal wind direction plate, 1c Infrared sensor, 1d Air-conditioning control apparatus, AF air-conditioning area, 2,2A Remote control display, 3 indoors, 27,55 All area selection buttons.

Claims

An air conditioner main body that is divided into a plurality in the left-right direction, each having a vertical and horizontal wind direction plate that can independently control the swing angle, and that air-conditions the room;
An infrared sensor that is provided in the air conditioner main body, divides the room into a plurality of air-conditioning areas in a plane, and detects an infrared emission amount from each of the divided air-conditioning areas;
An air conditioning control device that controls at least one of the air direction, the air temperature, or the air volume of the air conditioner body according to the set air conditioning area and the infrared radiation amount of each air conditioning area detected by the infrared sensor;
A plurality of air conditioning area selection buttons corresponding to the plurality of divided air conditioning areas, and a remote controller capable of setting an area to be air-conditioned in the air conditioning control device by these air conditioning area selection buttons;
The remote controller can select one or a plurality of air-conditioning areas from each air-conditioning area in the room, and the air-conditioning control device is configured to intensively air-condition the selected air-conditioning areas. Air conditioner.
2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of air conditioning region selection buttons of the remote controller are divided in a front direction and a depth direction when viewed from the air conditioner body side.
The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of air conditioning region selection buttons of the remote controller are divided in the left-right direction when viewed from the user side.
4. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of air-conditioning region selection buttons of the remote control are configured with four buttons that are divided into two in the front direction, the depth direction, and two in the left-right direction. .
4. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of air-conditioning region selection buttons of the remote control are configured with six buttons divided into two in the front direction and the depth direction and into three in the left-right direction. 5. .
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a button capable of collectively selecting an entire air-conditioning area is added to a plurality of air-conditioning area selection buttons of the remote controller.
The remote controller is provided with a remote control display unit that graphically displays an actual air conditioning area corresponding to the selected air conditioning area selection button when the air conditioning area selection button is selected on the remote control. 6. The air conditioner according to any one of 6.