JP2013120052A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of performing optimal air conditioning operation by combining automatic control and manual control.SOLUTION: An air conditioner includes: an infrared sensor 4 detecting a position of a human body; a lateral blade 23 laterally varying wind directions; and a vertical blade 22 vertically varying wind directions. Then, the air conditioner has an automatic operation mode to perform air conditioning operation based on an area where a human body detected by the infrared sensor 4 is present. During operation in the automatic operation mode, wind directions by the lateral blade 23 are controlled based on the position of a human body detected by the infrared sensor 4, and wind directions by the vertical blade 22 are not controlled based on the position of the human body detected by the infrared sensor 4.

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner equipped with a human sensor.

  As a conventional air conditioner, an indoor unit includes a sensor that detects the presence of a occupant and performs air conditioning on a region where the occupant is estimated to exist (for example, Patent Literature). 1).

JP 2008-101871 A

  However, in an air conditioner equipped with a conventional human sensor, since air conditioning operation is performed based on the human sensor, the movement of the up / down changing blade that changes the wind direction up and down is also automatically controlled and installed. Depending on the size of the room, the air conditioning control is not necessarily comfortable.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner capable of performing an optimal air conditioning operation by combining automatic control and manual control.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, an air conditioner of the present invention includes an infrared sensor that detects the position of a human body, left and right blades that change the wind direction left and right, and upper and lower blades that change the wind direction up and down, It has an automatic operation mode that performs air-conditioning operation based on the area where the human body detected by the infrared sensor exists, and during operation in the automatic operation mode, the wind direction of the left and right blades is controlled based on the human body position detected by the infrared sensor Because the airflow direction of the upper and lower blades is not controlled based on the human body position detected by the infrared sensor, a combination of air conditioning control based on a small number of infrared sensors and air conditioning control not based on infrared sensors can be used for air conditioning operation according to the user. It can be performed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the air conditioner which can perform optimal air-conditioning driving | operation by combining automatic control and manual control can be provided.

The external perspective view and principal part block diagram of the indoor unit in Embodiment 1 of this invention Configuration schematic diagram of refrigeration cycle of air conditioner in Embodiment 1 Sectional drawing of the air conditioner in Embodiment 1 The figure which showed the area | region which can be detected with the infrared sensor in Embodiment 1 (A) The figure which showed the upper limit position of the upper and lower blades in Embodiment 1 (b) The figure which showed the lower limit position of the upper and lower blades in Embodiment 1 The figure which showed the position of the upper and lower blades in the same Embodiment 1 The figure which showed the position of the upper and lower blades at the time of the air_conditionaing | cooling operation in the same Embodiment 1. The figure which showed the position of the upper and lower blades at the time of the heating operation in Embodiment 1

  An air conditioner according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an infrared sensor that detects the position of a human body, left and right blades that change the wind direction to the left and right, and upper and lower blades that change the wind direction up and down, and the human body detected by the infrared sensor It has an automatic operation mode that performs air-conditioning operation based on the existing area. During operation in automatic operation mode, the wind direction of the left and right blades is controlled based on the human body position detected by the infrared sensor, and the wind direction of the upper and lower blades is infrared By not being controlled based on the human body position detected by the sensor, air conditioning operation according to the user can be performed by combining automatic air conditioning control and manual air conditioning control with a small number of infrared sensors.

  The air conditioner of the second invention is a comfortable air conditioning operation that realizes an upward airflow of heating by restricting the upward and downward movement of the upper and lower blades during heating operation, particularly in the first invention. It can be carried out.

  The air conditioner according to the third aspect of the invention is particularly comfortable in the first or second aspect of the invention in that the cooling down airflow is realized by restricting the downward rotation of the upper and lower blades during the cooling operation. Air-conditioning operation can be performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view and main part configuration diagram of an indoor unit according to Embodiment 1, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a refrigeration cycle of an air conditioner, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the indoor unit.

  The air conditioner in the present embodiment is configured by connecting an indoor unit 1 installed indoors and an outdoor unit 2 installed outdoor using a refrigerant pipe 3.

  The indoor unit 1 includes an indoor heat exchanger 5 that exchanges heat between indoor air and a refrigerant, and an indoor fan 6 that promotes heat exchange in the indoor heat exchanger 5 and blows air into the room. Moreover, the temperature sensor 7 which is an indoor temperature detection means which detects indoor temperature, and the humidity sensor 8 which is an indoor humidity detection means which detects indoor humidity are provided.

  The outdoor unit 2 includes an outdoor heat exchanger 9 that exchanges heat between the outdoor air and the refrigerant, an outdoor fan 10 that promotes heat exchange in the outdoor heat exchanger 9 and blows air, and compresses the refrigerant and discharges high-temperature refrigerant. A compressor 11 for switching, a four-way valve 12 for switching the flow path of the refrigerant, and a decompressor 13 for decompressing the refrigerant.

  And at the time of air_conditionaing | cooling operation, the refrigerating cycle is comprised so that a refrigerant | coolant may flow in order of the compressor 11, the four-way valve 12, the outdoor heat exchanger 9, the decompression device 13, the indoor heat exchanger 5, the four-way valve 12, and the compressor 11. During the heating operation, the refrigerant flow path is reversed by switching the four-way valve 12.

  In addition, an infrared sensor 4 that is a human body detection unit is disposed above the outlet of the indoor unit 1 to detect the presence of a person in the installed room and to detect the movement of the person. In the present embodiment, the infrared sensor 4 is disposed at the upper part of the outlet, but is not limited thereto, and may be provided on the front panel, for example.

Further, in the present embodiment, the detection of indoor persons is performed using three pyroelectric infrared sensors 4, but depending on the size of the room, the number of infrared sensors 4 may be reduced to detect indoor persons. In addition, since the number of infrared sensors 4 may be increased to detect a person in the room, the number of infrared sensors 4 may be changed depending on the capacity of the air conditioner, for example. Conceivable. Further, in the present embodiment, the infrared sensor 4 is fixed, but it may be of a type driven left and right. In addition, although a pyroelectric infrared sensor is used, any type of sensor that can detect the position and movement of a person may be used. For example, a thermopile infrared sensor may be used.

  Further, on the front side of the indoor unit 1, the front panel 20 that opens during the air conditioning operation and closes when the air conditioning operation is stopped, the air outlet 21 that blows air into the room, and the upper and lower blades that change the wind direction from the air outlet 21 up and down. 22 and left and right blades 23 that change the direction of the wind from the outlet 21 to the left and right.

  The remote control device 30 is provided with a remote control device 30 that gives a driving instruction to the indoor unit 1. The remote control device 30 includes a display unit 31 that displays driving information and other information, and an operation unit 32 that performs setting changes and commands. The operation unit 32 includes a plurality of buttons.

  The remote control device 30 can set an instruction for cooling operation or heating operation and a reference indoor set temperature, and in normal air conditioning operation, the air conditioning operation is performed so that the reference indoor set temperature is obtained.

  In the air conditioner configured as described above, first, human body detection will be described. Note that the human body detection method described in this embodiment is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to this human body detection method.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a region that can be detected by the infrared sensor. In the present embodiment, by appropriately arranging the three infrared sensors 4, human bodies can be detected in a plurality of regions a to g as shown in FIG.

  For example, the infrared sensor 4a is configured to detect the region a, the region b, the region c, and the region d, the infrared sensor 4b is configured to detect the region b, the region c, the region e, and the region f, and the infrared sensor 4c The region c, the region d, the region f, and the region g are configured to be detectable. By comprising in this way, when a human body is detected with the infrared sensor 4a and the infrared sensor 4b and a human body is not detected with the infrared sensor 4c, it can be judged that it exists in the area | region b. In the present embodiment, there are seven areas that can be detected using the infrared sensor 4, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  Further, based on the signal output from the infrared sensor 4, the amount of activity (movement) of the human body is determined. In the present embodiment, the determination of the amount of activity of the human body is made in three stages of large, medium and small. When the amount of activity is determined to be large, the human body is in a state of intense movement, and when the amount of activity is determined to be small, it means that the movement of the human body is in a quiet state.

  In the present embodiment, the amount of activity is determined in three stages according to the number of times the human body is detected by the infrared sensor 4 during a predetermined detection time (for example, 2 minutes). The activity amount is determined to be small when the number is less than the predetermined number, and the activity amount is determined to be large when the number of human body detections is greater than the predetermined number Y (predetermined number X <predetermined number Y).

  Next, the movement of the left and right blades and the upper and lower blades during the air conditioning operation will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the driving range of the upper and lower blades, FIG. 5 (a) is a diagram showing the upper limit position, and FIG. 5 (b) is a diagram showing the lower limit position. is there.

  Then, reciprocating driving is performed between the upper and lower blades shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B as base points. The arrow shown in FIG. 5 is the direction in which the blade moves.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the positions of the upper and lower blades 22 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper and lower blades are driven in four stages. Note that although the present embodiment is configured to drive in four stages, the number of times is not limited to four stages. According to the arrows shown in FIG. 6, the upper and lower blades are changed by operating the upper and lower blade changing operation unit arranged in the remote control device 30.

  First, the movement during the cooling operation will be described. The air conditioner in the present embodiment has an automatic operation mode in which an air conditioning operation is performed based on an area where a human body detected by an infrared sensor is present, and is in an automatic operation mode when the cooling operation is started. Determine whether or not.

  Then, in the automatic operation mode, it is determined whether or not the rotation of the upper and lower blades 22 is set to automatic rotation. If it is set to automatic rotation, the area in the area shown in FIG. The upper and lower blades 22 rotate so as to aim at the area direction determined to have a human body.

  Further, when the rotation of the upper and lower blades 22 is set to manual rotation, the rotation of the left and right blades 23 is controlled so as to aim at an area in which the human body in the area shown in FIG. 4 is entered. However, the rotation of the upper and lower blades 22 is not automatically controlled.

  When the rotation of the upper and lower blades 22 is set to manual rotation, the position of the upper and lower blades 22 can be freely set by the remote control device 30 as shown in FIG. At this time, since the cooling operation is performed, the downward rotation of the upper and lower blades 22 is restricted in order to perform the air conditioning operation using the descending airflow of the cooled air.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5B, the limit position in the lower direction cannot be set, and only the other three positions can be designated. Whether the upper and lower blades 22 are turned automatically or manually is provided in the operation unit 32 of the remote control device 30 and can be switched by operating the remote control device 30. .

  Next, movement during heating operation will be described. It is determined whether or not the automatic operation mode is set as in the cooling operation.

  Then, in the automatic operation mode, it is determined whether or not the rotation of the upper and lower blades 22 is set to automatic rotation. If it is set to automatic rotation, the area in the area shown in FIG. The upper and lower blades 22 rotate so as to aim at the area direction determined to have a human body.

  Further, when the rotation of the upper and lower blades 22 is set to manual rotation, the rotation of the left and right blades 23 is controlled so as to aim at an area in which the human body in the area shown in FIG. 4 is entered. However, the rotation of the upper and lower blades 22 is not automatically controlled.

  When the rotation of the upper and lower blades 22 is set to manual rotation, the position of the upper and lower blades 22 can be freely set by the remote control device 30 as shown in FIG. Since it is heating operation at this time, in order to perform the air-conditioning operation using the rising airflow of the warmed air, the upper and lower blades 22 are restricted from turning upward.

  As described above, since the user can freely set the rotation of the upper and lower blades 22 even when the air-conditioning operation based on the infrared sensor is set, the position of the upper and lower blades according to the user's preference is set. In addition to being able to change, comfortable air conditioning control can be realized by using a combination of automatic control and manual control.

As described above, the present invention is not only an air conditioner in which one indoor unit is connected to one outdoor unit, but also a multi-type air conditioner in which a plurality of indoor units are connected to one outdoor unit. Even a machine can be applied.

4 Infrared sensor 22 Upper and lower blades 23 Left and right blades

Claims (3)

An infrared sensor that detects the position of the human body, left and right blades that change the wind direction to the left and right, and upper and lower blades that change the wind direction up and down, and performs air conditioning operation based on the area where the human body is detected by the infrared sensor An automatic operation mode to be performed, and during operation in the automatic operation mode, the wind direction of the left and right blades is controlled based on the human body position detected by the infrared sensor, and the wind direction of the upper and lower blades is detected by the infrared sensor. An air conditioner that is not controlled based on the human body position. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein during the heating operation, the upper and lower blades are restricted from turning upward. 3. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein during the cooling operation, the downward rotation of the upper and lower blades is restricted.