JP2011137579A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of specifying a position of an infrared ray remote controller for remote-controlling the air conditioner without increasing costs. <P>SOLUTION: As a position of the infrared ray remote controller is determined only with components such as an infrared ray signal light receiving section 10, a vertical wind direction plate 6 and/or a horizontal wind direction plate 7 disposed in an indoor unit 1 in advance, additional installation of a new component to detect the position is unnecessary, thus cost-up of the air conditioner can be prevented. Further as the infrared ray signal light receiving section 10 is disposed in the depth of a supply opening 5 of the indoor unit 1, noise generated from an invertor fluorescent lamp and the like hardly enters into the light receiving section 10. Accordingly, it becomes unnecessary to dispose an infrared ray transmission filter on the light receiving section 10, and the air conditioner can be provided more inexpensively in comparison with a case when the light receiving section is disposed on a front surface of a housing of the indoor unit 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner that can determine the position of an infrared remote controller that remotely controls an indoor unit by the indoor unit and automatically perform air conditioning control according to the position of the infrared remote controller. .

  Conventionally, an air conditioner has been provided with an infrared remote controller for remotely controlling an indoor unit, and the indoor unit is provided with a light receiving unit for receiving an infrared signal transmitted from the infrared remote controller. This light receiving section is composed of a light receiving element such as a phototransistor, an infrared light transmission filter for blocking noise generated by an inverter fluorescent lamp, etc., an amplifier for amplifying the received signal, etc. One is provided on the front surface of the housing such as the front panel of the machine.

When the user presses the operation button of the infrared remote controller, an infrared signal corresponding to the pressed operation button is transmitted from the infrared remote controller. The indoor unit receives the infrared signal at the light receiving unit, and performs air conditioning control according to the infrared signal.
However, in the air conditioner described above, the indoor unit has only one light receiving unit, and the light reception level of the infrared signal is not detected, so the direction from which the infrared signal is received is specified. The position of the infrared remote controller (= user position) could not be determined. Therefore, it has been impossible to automatically perform air-conditioning control according to the position of the user, such as controlling the wind direction plate operation of the indoor unit so that the wind reaches the direction in which the user exists, increasing or decreasing the air volume, and the like.

  Therefore, an air conditioner that includes a light receiving unit provided with a plurality of light receiving elements at different angles in an indoor unit, and compares the received light intensity of infrared signals at the plurality of light receiving elements to identify the position of the infrared remote controller (for example, Patent Document 1), or a single light receiving unit in an indoor unit, a reflecting unit that reflects an infrared signal, and a drive unit that rotationally drives the reflecting unit, the light receiving level of the infrared signal at the light receiving unit is the highest. An air conditioner (for example, Patent Document 2) that specifies the position of an infrared remote controller based on the rotational angle of time has been proposed.

  Patent Document 1 describes an infrared remote controller that transmits two types of infrared signals (a control signal and a position specifying signal), a first light receiving unit that receives a position specifying signal, and a second that receives a control signal. An air conditioner having an indoor unit having a light receiving portion on the front surface of the housing, and the first light receiving portion that receives the position specifying signal is provided with three light receiving elements.

  The three light receiving elements are arranged at different angles, and when the indoor unit receives the position specifying signal transmitted from the infrared remote controller by the second light receiving unit, it transmits the position specifying signal from the infrared remote controller. Infrared signals for position identification are received by the three light receiving elements of the first light receiving unit, and the received light intensity is compared, and the infrared signal for position identification is transmitted at the angle of the light receiving element having the highest light receiving level. The direction of the infrared remote controller, that is, the position of the user is determined by specifying the direction.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 2 describes an infrared remote controller that transmits two types of infrared signals (control signal and position specifying signal), a light receiving unit that receives the control signal, and a reflection unit that reflects the infrared signal. An air conditioner having an indoor unit including a driving unit that rotationally drives the reflecting unit, and the reflecting unit is disposed in the vicinity of the light receiving unit so as to be rotated by the driving unit so that an infrared signal is incident on the light receiving unit. Yes.

  When the indoor unit receives the position specifying signal by the light receiving unit, the indoor unit generates a sampling time, and the driving unit rotates the reflecting unit in synchronization therewith. Then, the infrared signal for position determination transmitted from the infrared remote controller following the position specifying signal is reflected by the reflecting part and incident on the light receiving part, and the received light level of the infrared signal is stored at each sampling time and the level is compared. By doing so, it is specified that the infrared remote controller is present in the direction indicated by the angle of the reflecting portion when the light receiving level is the highest.

  As described above, the position of the infrared remote controller, that is, the position of the user can be specified with the configuration described in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2. Then, air conditioning control according to the position of the user, such as moving the up / down / left / right wind direction plates in the direction in which the user exists, increasing / decreasing the air volume so that the wind reaches the user, etc., can be automatically performed. it can.

  However, in Patent Document 1 described above, it is necessary to provide a first light receiving section including three light receiving elements in addition to the second light receiving section that receives a control signal. It is necessary to provide a reflection part for reflecting the infrared signal and making it incident and a drive part for rotating the reflection part. Therefore, there is a problem in that these parts costs occur and the cost of the air conditioner increases.

  In both Patent Documents 1 and 2, the light receiving unit is arranged on the front surface of the indoor unit housing. In Patent Document 1, a plurality of light receiving elements are provided, and in Patent Document 2, a reflecting unit is provided. It is easily affected by noise generated by a lamp or the like, and there is a risk of malfunction due to noise. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to provide an infrared light transmission filter in the light receiving section to block noise. However, there is a problem that the cost of parts of the infrared light transmission filter is generated and the cost of the air conditioner is increased. It was.

JP-A-62-131155 (pages 2 to 3, FIGS. 3 and 4) Japanese Patent No. 2506913 (pages 2 and 3, FIGS. 1 and 3)

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, specifies the position of an infrared remote controller that remotely controls the air conditioner without increasing costs, and provides an air conditioner that can automatically perform air conditioning control according to the position of the infrared remote controller. The purpose is to provide.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an air conditioner of the present invention includes an infrared remote controller, a light receiving unit that receives an infrared signal transmitted from the infrared remote controller, and upper and lower and / or left and right wind direction plates. An indoor unit having an air outlet, and the light receiving unit is disposed above and below the depth direction of the indoor unit and / or behind the right and left wind direction plates, and the infrared remote controller has its own position set in the indoor unit. Infrared signals are transmitted to make them identify.

  When the indoor unit receives the infrared signal transmitted from the infrared remote controller, the indoor unit rotates the up / down and / or left / right wind direction plates, and changes the received light level of the infrared signal for each position (angle) of the up / down and / or left / right wind direction plates. It is specified that there is an infrared remote controller in the direction of the vertical and / or left and right wind direction plates when the stored light reception level is the highest, and air conditioning control is automatically performed according to the position where the infrared remote controller exists.

  The air conditioner of the present invention is specified that the infrared remote controller exists in the direction of the vertical and / or left and right wind direction plates when the indoor unit rotates the vertical and / or left and right wind direction plates and the light receiving level at the light receiving unit is the highest. Therefore, the indoor unit can identify the position of the user who operates the infrared remote controller, and can automatically perform air conditioning control according to the position of the user.

  In addition, since the position of the infrared remote controller is specified only by the configuration provided in the indoor unit in advance, such as the infrared signal receiver and the vertical and / or left and right wind direction plates, new parts are added to detect the position of the infrared remote controller. This is unnecessary, and the cost of the air conditioner can be prevented from increasing. Furthermore, since the infrared signal light receiving part is arranged behind the blowout port of the indoor unit, noise generated by the inverter fluorescent lamp or the like is less likely to enter the light receiving part. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide an infrared light transmission filter in the light receiving unit, and the air conditioner can be provided at a lower cost than in the case where the light receiving unit is provided on the front surface of the casing of the indoor unit.

It is indoor unit explanatory drawing of the air conditioner which is an Example of this invention, (A) is an indoor unit front view, (B) is CC sectional drawing in (A). It is a principal part block diagram of the air conditioner which is an Example of this invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of the infrared remote control in the Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the infrared remote control position in the room | chamber interior in which the indoor unit was installed in the Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the determination of an infrared remote control position in the Example of this invention, (A) is explanatory drawing at the time of determining the perspective with an indoor unit, (B) determines the position of the left-right center with respect to an indoor unit. It is explanatory drawing at the time. It is a figure explaining the light reception level in a light-receiving part in the Example of this invention, (A) is light reception level explanatory drawing at the time of determining the distance with an indoor unit, (B) is the position of the left-right center with respect to an indoor unit It is light reception level explanatory drawing at the time of determining. It is a flowchart explaining the process in the indoor unit control part in the Example of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As an example, an air conditioner including an outdoor unit, an indoor unit having an air outlet provided with upper and lower and left and right wind direction plates, and an infrared remote controller for remotely operating the indoor unit will be described as an example. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an indoor unit of an air conditioner that is an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1A, the indoor unit 1 is a horizontally long box, and a front cover 2 having a grill 3 on the front surface is disposed. In addition, two upper and lower wind direction plates 6 and six left and right wind direction plates 7 are disposed at the outlet 5 provided below. The up and down wind direction plate 6 and the left and right wind direction plate 7 are formed of a material that transmits a certain amount of infrared light, for example, a material in which a predetermined amount of titanium oxide is mixed with polystyrene resin or polyethylene resin.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, a heat exchanger 20 and a blower fan 21 are provided inside the indoor unit 1 covered with the front cover 2, and these are fixed to an indoor installation surface (wall surface). The base 4 is supported. Both the front cover 2 and the base 4 are made of a resin material.

  A filter 22 is disposed between the front cover 2 and the front side of the heat exchanger 20 to remove dust contained in the air sucked into the indoor unit 1 from the front cover 2. The filter 22 slides in the indoor unit 1 and dust attached to the filter 22 is removed by the dust removing means 25 disposed at the upper part.

  Between the lower end part of the front cover 2 and the blower outlet 5, a dew receiving part 24 that receives dew condensation water generated on the front side of the heat exchanger 20 is provided. Further, at the bottom of the base 4, there is a partition plate 4 a erected obliquely from the bottom toward the installation surface, and a pipe such as a drain pipe is formed in a space formed between the partition plate 4 a and the installation surface. Class 23 is stored.

The light receiving unit 10 includes a light receiving element such as a phototransistor (not shown) for receiving an infrared signal, an amplifier (not shown) for amplifying the received signal, and the like, as shown in FIG. A predetermined angle at the substantially central portion with respect to the up / down / left / right direction of the air outlet 5 and at the back of the left / right wind direction plate 6 with respect to the depth direction of the indoor unit 1 as shown in FIG. The light receiving unit 10 can be seen from any place in the room where the indoor unit 1 is installed.
In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, in addition to the structure demonstrated above, the electrical equipment box which stored the support part of the ventilation fan 21, various motors, a control board, a power supply board, etc. was provided in the indoor unit 1 inside. Yes.

  FIG. 2 is a principal block diagram showing the configuration of the air conditioner according to the present invention. The indoor unit 1 includes the light receiving unit 10 described above, a temperature sensor 16 that detects indoor temperature, a humidity sensor 17 that detects indoor humidity, and a sensor input that inputs detection signals from the temperature sensor 16 and the humidity sensor 17. Unit 15, communication unit 13 that communicates with outdoor unit 30, vertical wind direction plate step motor 26 that adjusts the angle of vertical wind direction plate 6, and left and right wind direction plate step motor 27 that adjusts the angle of left and right wind direction plate 7 A fan fan motor 28 for rotating the fan fan 21, a storage unit 12 for storing the current setting information of the indoor unit 1, an LED, and the like, the power on / off state of the indoor unit 1 and the filter A display unit 14 for displaying such as informing the user of the timing of cleaning and a control unit 11 for controlling them are provided.

  The control unit 11 adjusts the angle of the up / down wind direction plate 6 and the left / right wind direction plate 7 according to the room temperature and humidity detected by the temperature sensor 16 and the humidity sensor 17 and input via the sensor input unit 15, and adjusts the air volume. Control related to various air conditioning functions. The control unit 11 communicates signals necessary for air conditioning control with the outdoor unit 30 via the communication unit 13.

  FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of an infrared remote controller for remotely operating the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner according to the present invention. The infrared remote controller 40 includes an upper housing 41, a lower housing 42, a transmission unit 43, operation buttons 44, and a display unit 45. The upper housing 41 and the lower housing 42 are each formed of a resin material and are shaped so as to be fitted to each other to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box.

  The transmission unit 43 is provided at one end of the infrared remote controller 40 in the longitudinal direction, and is configured by an infrared light emitting diode or the like. The operation button 44 is disposed on the upper housing 41 and is formed of a resin material. The operation button 44 is used for operating and controlling the indoor unit 1 such as a power switch for turning on / off the indoor unit 1, a room temperature setting button, an air volume setting button, adjustment of the up / down air direction plate 6 and the left / right air direction plate 7. Consists of buttons.

The display unit 45 is composed of a liquid crystal panel or the like, and displays various information such as a set temperature and an air volume of the infrared remote controller 40. The display unit 45 is also disposed on the upper housing 41 in the same manner as the operation buttons 44.
When the user of the infrared remote controller 40 operates the operation button 44, the infrared remote controller 40 reads a control code corresponding to the operation button 44 from a storage unit (not shown), and generates a transmission code from the control code. Then, an infrared signal corresponding to the transmission code is generated and transmitted from the transmission unit 43 to the indoor unit 1, and the operation content is displayed on the display unit 45.

  Next, the principle and operation | movement which determines the position of the infrared remote control 40 by the air conditioner of this invention are demonstrated using FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the room 50 in which the indoor unit 1 is installed is divided into six zones from zone A to zone F in advance, and the indoor unit 1 has an infrared remote controller 40 in any of these zones. Identify. Specifically, the room 50 is divided into a zone close to the indoor unit 1 (zones A to C) and a far zone (zones D to F), and the zone on the right side (zones B and E) as viewed from the indoor unit 1 and the center. Are divided in advance into zones (zones A and D) and left zones (zones C and F).

  The control unit 11 of the indoor unit 1 detects the presence of the infrared remote controller 40 for each of these six zones in accordance with the angles of the up / down wind direction plate 6 and the left / right wind direction plate 7. Specifically, the control unit 11 counts the number of drive pulses (steps) of the step motor 26 for the up / down wind direction plate and the number of drive pulses (steps) of the step motor 27 for the left / right wind direction plate to thereby determine the vertical wind direction plate 6 and the left / right direction. The angle of the wind direction plate 7 is determined, that is, it is determined to which zone in the room 50 the vertical wind direction plate 6 and the left and right wind direction plate 7 are directed in accordance with the counted steps.

  For example, if the up-and-down wind direction plate 6 operates from 1 to 24 steps from the fully closed position to the fully open position, the zone (zone) close to the indoor unit 1 in the case of 1 to 12 steps with the half 12 steps as a boundary. In the case of A to C) and 13 to 24 steps, it is determined that the vehicle is facing a zone far from the indoor unit 1 (zones D to F). Further, if the left and right wind direction plates 7 operate from the rightmost position to the leftmost position in 1 to 24 steps, the control unit 11 divides this step into three, and the case of 1 to 8 steps is the indoor unit 1. The right zone (zones B and E) as viewed from the center, 9 to 16 steps in the central zone (zones A and D), and 17 to 24 steps in the left zone as viewed from the indoor unit (zones C and C). F) is determined to be facing.

  The user operates a specific operation button 44 of the infrared remote controller 40 to transmit a position detection signal for causing the indoor unit 1 to specify the position of the infrared remote controller 40, and subsequently, an infrared signal for position detection is predetermined. Send time (eg 10 seconds). As shown in FIG. 2, the position detection signal is received by the light receiving unit 10 and input to the control unit 11. The control unit 11 having received the position detection signal sets the up and down wind direction plate 6 and the left and right wind direction plate 7 to the initial positions, for example, the up and down wind direction plate so that the up and down wind direction plate 6 is in the fully closed position and the left and right wind direction plate 7 is in the rightmost position. The step motor 26 and the left and right wind direction plate step motor 27 are controlled. Note that, when the light receiving unit 10 receives the position detection signal, the upper and lower wind direction plates 6 and the left and right wind direction plates 7 may be blocking the light receiving unit 10, but as described above, the upper and lower wind direction plates 6 and the left and right wind direction plates are considered. Since the material forming the plate 7 transmits a certain amount of infrared light, the light receiving unit 10 can receive the position detection signal without any problem.

  The infrared signal for position detection transmitted from the infrared remote controller 40 following the position detection signal is continuously transmitted for a predetermined time as described above. During this time, the control unit 11 of the indoor unit 1 moves the up and down wind direction plate 6 and the left and right wind direction plate 7 step by step from the initial position, and detects the light reception level of the infrared signal for position detection at the light receiving unit 10 at each step. The received light level is stored in the storage unit 12 in correspondence with each step. The light receiving level at the light receiving unit 10 is converted into a light receiving level value by inputting an AGC (auto gain control) signal of the light receiving unit 10 to the A / D terminal of the control unit 11 as shown in FIG.

  Next, a specific operation of the indoor unit 1 when determining the position of the infrared remote controller 40 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5A, the control unit 11 first controls the up / down air direction plate step motor 26 to move the up / down air direction plate 6 step by step from the fully closed position, which is the initial position, to the fully opened position. When the infrared remote controller 40 is located near the indoor unit 1, the vertical wind direction plate 6 moves downward, that is, between 1 and 12 steps by the drive pulse of the vertical wind direction plate step motor 26, as shown in FIG. In addition, since the light receiving level of the infrared signal for position detection at the light receiving unit 10 is maximized, the control unit 11 determines that the infrared remote controller 40 exists near the indoor unit 1 (any of zones A to C). To do.

  When the infrared remote controller 40 is located far from the indoor unit 1, the up / down wind direction plate 6 moves upward, that is, between 13 and 24 steps by the drive pulse of the step motor 26 for the up / down wind direction plate. Since the light receiving level of the infrared signal for position detection is maximized, the control unit 11 determines that the infrared remote controller 40 is located far from the indoor unit 1 (any of zones D to F).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the control unit 11 controls the left and right wind direction plate step motor 27 to move the left and right wind direction plate 7 step by step from the rightmost position, which is the initial position, to the leftmost position. . When the infrared remote controller 40 is positioned on the right side of the indoor unit 1, the position of the left and right wind direction plates 7 in the right direction, that is, between 1 and 8 steps by the drive pulse of the step motor 27 for the left and right wind direction plates, Since the light reception level of the infrared signal for detection becomes the maximum, the control unit 11 determines that the infrared remote controller 40 exists on the right side of the indoor unit 1 (zone B or E).

  When the infrared remote controller 40 is positioned in front of the indoor unit 1 (in the center of the room 50), the left and right wind direction plates 7 are in the center, that is, between 9 to 16 steps by the drive pulse of the step motor 27 for the left and right wind direction plates. As shown in FIG. 6 (B), the light receiving level of the infrared signal for position detection at the light receiving unit 10 is maximized, so that the control unit 11 has the infrared remote controller 40 in front of the indoor unit 1 (in the center of the room 50). It is determined that it exists (zone A or D). When the infrared remote controller 40 is located on the left side of the indoor unit 1, the left and right wind direction plates 7 are moved in the left direction, that is, between 17 and 24 steps by the drive pulse of the step motor 27 for the left and right wind direction plates. Therefore, the control unit 11 determines that the infrared remote controller 40 exists on the left side of the indoor unit 1 (zone C or F).

  The control unit 11 specifies the location of the infrared remote controller 40 in the room 50 from the perspective and the left and right positions of the infrared remote controller 40 determined with the above operation with respect to the indoor unit 1. For example, based on the data shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the control unit 11 specifies that the infrared remote controller 40 exists in the zone A that is a common zone of the zones A to C and the zone A or D. The control unit 11 controls the up / down wind direction plate step motor 26 and the left / right wind direction plate step motor 27 so that the wind reaches the infrared remote controller 40 existing in the zone A, that is, the user, and the up / down wind direction plate 6 and the left / right wind direction plate. The control unit 11 automatically performs air-conditioning control in accordance with the position of the user such that the direction of 7 is directed to the zone A.

  In the embodiment described above, one light receiving unit 10 is provided in the indoor unit 1 and the light receiving unit 10 receives a normal air conditioning control signal and a position detection signal. However, the normal air conditioning control signal and the position detection are described. A second light receiving portion according to the present invention provided at the back of the outlet 5 when a first light receiving portion for receiving a signal is separately provided on the front cover 2 and a position detection signal is received by the first light receiving portion. The position of the infrared remote controller may be detected. In this case, the material forming the up / down wind direction plate 6 and the left / right wind direction plate 7 may be a material that does not transmit infrared rays.

  Moreover, although the case where the blower outlet 5 was provided with the up-and-down wind direction board 6 and the right and left wind direction board 7 was demonstrated, only the right and left wind direction board was provided in the blower outlet, for example, the room where the indoor unit was installed left and right The position of the infrared remote controller may be determined by dividing into three by only the operation of the wind direction plate. In addition, the description has been given of the case where the upper and lower wind direction plates 6 and the left and right wind direction plates 7 are provided and the room 50 is divided into six zones to determine the position of the infrared remote controller. The number of zone divisions may be changed according to the number of sheets and the size of the room. In addition, although the case where the position detection signal is transmitted from the infrared remote controller 40 and the position detection infrared signal is transmitted for a predetermined time has been described, it may be transmitted as a single signal for a predetermined time. .

  Next, a flow for specifying the position of the infrared remote controller 40 using the light receiving unit 10, the up / down wind direction plate 6 and the left / right wind direction plate 7 will be described using the flowchart representing the processing in the control unit 11 shown in FIG. 7. To do. In FIG. 7, ST represents a step, and the subsequent numbers represent step numbers.

  First, the control unit 11 determines whether or not an infrared signal is received by the light receiving unit 10 (ST1). If the infrared signal is not received (ST1-No), the process returns to ST1, and if the infrared signal is received (ST1-Yes), the control unit 11 determines whether the received infrared signal is a position detection signal. Is determined (ST2).

  If the received infrared signal is a position detection signal (ST2-Yes), the controller 11 moves the vertical wind direction plate 6 to the fully closed position and the left and right wind direction plate 7 to the rightmost position (ST3). Next, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the movement of the up and down wind direction plate 6 and the left and right wind direction plate 7 is completed (ST4). If the movement is not completed (ST4-No), the control unit 11 returns to ST4 and moves. Is completed (ST4-Yes), the control unit 11 moves the vertical wind direction plate 6 step by step from the fully closed direction to the fully opened direction, and sets the light receiving level of the infrared signal for position detection at the light receiving unit 10. It memorize | stores in the memory | storage part 12 for every step. Then, the number of steps of the driving pulse of the up / down wind direction plate step motor 26 with the highest light receiving level is extracted (ST5).

  Next, the control unit 11 moves the left and right wind direction plates 7 step by step from the rightmost direction to the leftmost direction, and stores the received light level of the infrared signal for position detection at the light receiving unit 10 in the storage unit 12 for each step. To do. Then, the number of steps of the drive pulse of the left and right wind direction plate step motor 27 having the highest light reception level is extracted (ST6). Next, the control unit 11 determines whether the infrared remote controller 40 exists in any zone of A to F shown in FIG. 4 based on the number of steps of the drive pulses of the extracted up / down wind direction plate step motor 26 and left / right wind direction plate step motor 27. Whether to do it is specified (ST7). And the control part 11 performs air-conditioning control according to the position of the determined infrared remote control 40 automatically (ST8), and jumps to ST1.

  If the infrared signal received in ST2 is not a position detection signal (ST2-No), the control unit 11 determines that the received infrared signal is an air conditioning control signal, and performs air conditioning control corresponding to the air conditioning control signal. (ST9), jump to ST1. Further, by rotating the vertical wind direction plate 6 to a position corresponding to the number of steps of the drive pulse of the vertical wind direction plate step motor 26 where the light reception level extracted in ST5 is the highest, the light reception sensitivity in the light receiving unit 10 is increased. To ST6.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the infrared remote controller is directed in the direction of the up / down and / or left / right wind direction plates when the indoor unit rotates the up / down and / or left / right wind direction plates and the light receiving level at the light receiving unit is highest. Since it is specified that it is present, the indoor unit can specify the location of the user who is operating the infrared remote controller, and air conditioning control according to the location of the user can be automatically performed.

  In addition, since the position of the infrared remote controller is determined only by the configuration provided in the indoor unit in advance, such as the infrared signal receiver and the vertical and / or left and right wind direction plates, new parts are added for detecting the position of the infrared remote controller. This is unnecessary, and the cost of the air conditioner can be prevented from increasing. Furthermore, since the infrared signal light receiving part is arranged behind the blowout port of the indoor unit, noise generated by the inverter fluorescent lamp or the like is less likely to enter the light receiving part. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide an infrared light transmission filter in the light receiving unit, and the air conditioner can be provided at a lower cost than in the case where the light receiving unit is provided on the front surface of the casing of the indoor unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Indoor unit 2 Front cover 5 Air outlet 6 Vertical wind direction board 7 Left and right wind direction board 10 Light-receiving part 11 Control part 12 Memory | storage part 26 Step motor for vertical wind direction board 27 Step motor for right and left wind direction board 30 Outdoor unit 40 Infrared remote control 43 Transmitting part 44 Operation buttons 50 Indoor

Claims (2)

An air conditioner having an infrared remote control, an indoor unit including a light receiving unit that receives an infrared signal transmitted from the infrared remote control, and a blowout port provided with a vertical wind direction plate and / or a horizontal wind direction plate ,
The light receiving unit is disposed behind the up and down wind direction plate and / or the left and right wind direction plate with respect to the depth direction of the indoor unit,
The infrared remote controller transmits an infrared signal for causing the indoor unit to determine a position in the room where the indoor unit is installed when the infrared remote controller is operated,
The indoor unit that has received the infrared signal rotates the upper and lower wind direction plates and / or the left and right wind direction plates so that the light reception level of the infrared signal at the light receiving unit is maximized. An air conditioner characterized by specifying that the infrared remote controller is present in the direction of the wind direction plate and automatically performing air-conditioning control according to the position of the specified infrared remote controller. An indoor unit including an infrared remote controller, first and second light receiving units that receive infrared signals transmitted from the infrared remote controller, and an air outlet provided with a vertical wind direction plate and / or a horizontal wind direction plate An air conditioner,
The second light receiving unit is disposed behind the up and down wind direction plate and / or the left and right wind direction plate with respect to the depth direction of the indoor unit,
The infrared remote controller transmits an infrared signal for causing the indoor unit to determine a position in the room where the indoor unit is installed when the infrared remote controller is operated,
The indoor unit that has received the infrared signal by the first light receiving unit rotates the up and down wind direction plate and / or the left and right wind direction plate, and the light reception level of the infrared signal at the second light receiving unit is maximized. An air conditioner characterized by specifying that the infrared remote controller is present in the direction of the vertical wind direction plate and / or the left and right wind direction plates, and automatically performing air-conditioning control according to the specified position of the infrared remote control.